Series 1: Legal Files., 1665-1862, inclusive
Extent
Scope and Contents
Legal Files is comprised principally of the records of Henry Landon in his various official capacities, such as justice of the peace in Suffolk County (circa 1820s-1850s); estates executor; officer of an incorporated religious society in Cutchogue; and officer in Southold's Democratic-Republican party. The series also includes documents related to Jared Landon's tenure as justice of the peace in the late 1700s and early 1800s. Some documents pertain to the Landons' personal legal matters, including a case concerning Henry and Samuel H. Landon (and, after his death, Samuel's estate) related to land takings for the Long Island Railroad. Much of the material appears to consist of drafts, copies, or transcriptions.
Document forms in the series that relate to court matters include court filings, court orders, decisions, testimony, subpoenas, complaints, trespasses on cases, proxies, witness statements, deeds, indentures, and wills and other estate execution papers. Court cases primarily concern matters of indebtedness, but also include theft, assault, rape, fraud, bastardy, and murder.
Southold town matters represented in the series include local elections, indentures for the overseers of the poor, town meetings, public notices, extracts from town records, judgments, and petitions against liquor licensing. Southold Democratic-Republican party matters include notices of meetings, delegate elections, and resolutions concerning national political events.
There are several corporate matters represented in the series, including dividend announcements and other documents from various whaling and fishing ventures, and draft articles of incorporation for the artillery company under the command of Capt. Silas Horton, the Education Society of Southold, the Moral Society of Southold, and the Suffolk County Anti-Slavery Society.
The series includes legal matters related to the American Revolution. These include complaints from Flushing farmers recorded against one Col. Archibald Hamilton during the war, records of takings of oxen and other property, and post-war pension claims.
The series includes various documents with reference to African-Americans. Those identified during processing include court cases in which African-Americans were charged with attempted rape, burglary, and larceny, as well as cases in which African-Americans appear as witnesses and seek relief from a (presumably white) man who imposed himself on a family. In addition, African-Americans appear as debtors to Dr. Tuthill's estate, members of Cutchogue's religious society, and a wagon driver (in connection with the complaints against Col. Hamilton).
Although the bulk of the series concerns Suffolk County and Southold in particular, there is a set of miscellaneous legal documents from the 1700s concerning other jurisdictions in New York, Connecticut, New Jersey, Rhode Island, and Virginia. Among the more notable New York documents are a 1793 Flatbush land indenture, a circa 1730 deed of trust in favor of a Presbyterian Church in Manhattan, and a 1794 assault complaint by a Brooklyn (Gowanus) resident.
Arrangement
Legal Files is arranged by broad subject area. Folders holding a broad mix of Suffolk County and then Southold town matters are followed by more narrowly-defined subjects. Miscellaneous materials close the series.
Users of the collection should be aware that it was not possible during processing to relate all individual documents on the basis of specific matters (e.g., to bring together all documents for a particular estate or court case). Therefore, it is possible that documents for particular matters will be found in various folders of the series.
Users should also be aware that many documents seem to be drafts, with each document referencing multiple matters. A folder of miscellaneous material at the end of the series includes material that could not be categorized or that had matters so divergent as to preclude a single categorization.
