Rare Book & Manuscript Library
 

Philipse-Gouverneur family papers, 1653-1874

Summary Information

At a Glance

Call No.: MS#0994
Bib ID 4079215 View CLIO record
Creator(s) Gouverneur family; Verplanck family; Livingston Family
Title Philipse-Gouverneur family papers, 1653-1874
Physical Description 3 boxes (3 manuscript boxes)
Language(s) English , Dutch; Flemish .
Other Finding Aids

A PDF scan of the original typed description was the primary method for accessing these items until 2022, when it was superceded by the current finding aid. A copy of the PDF is made available for historical reference here: http://www.columbia.edu/cu/libraries/inside/projects/findingaids/scans/pdfs/ldpd_rbml_4079215.pdf.

Access You will need to make an appointment in advance to use this collection material in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library reading room. You can schedule an appointment once you've submitted your request through your Special Collections Research Account.

This collection is located on-site.

This collection has no restrictions.

Arrangement

Arrangement

Cataloged.

Description

Summary

The collection contains documents about land holdings in and around Yonkers and Westchester and Dutchess Counties, New York owned by the wealthy Philipse, Gouverneur, Verplanck, Livingston, and other allied families. Included are grants, patents, deeds, indentures, transfers, wills, leases, accounts, maps, and records of civil and chancery court actions. These records not only chronicle legal actions, riots and uprisings of the European colonial settlers related to land disputes against these wealthy colonial settler families, but also record their interactions with the true landowners the Wappinger Confederacy.

The Wappinger ('easterners'), a confederacy of the Algonquian Indians, formerly occupied the eastern bank of the Hudson River from Poughkeepsie to Manhattan Island and the country extending east beyond the Connecticut River. The Wappinger Chief Daniel Nimham (1726-1778) fought a long sustained battle to recover tribal lands fraudulently taken through the Philipse Highland Patent, 13 August 1702 (document (56)). In 1766, Nimham traveled to England, presented his case, and received a favorable ruling before the Royal Lords of Trade. In New York Provincial Council proceedings, the governor ruled against Chief Nimham stating that returning the land to the Indians would set an adverse precedent regarding similar disputes. Some aspects of this long legal fight can be reviewed in the following documents: (45) through (49); (54) through (56); and (99).

Unfortunately, documents that contain references to the enslavement of African-Americans were withdrawn before Columbia University received the collection. However, please refer to the original PDF finding aid URL located below at "Other Finding Aids", which identifies in highlighted yellow all removed items.

Finally, many of the documents bear the signature of Roger Morris, Sir Henry Clinton, General Sir William Howe, General William Tryon, Edward Hyde Viscount Cornbury (later, 3rd Earl of Clarendon), John Jacob Astor, and various members of the landholding families of the area. In addition, there are some reproductions of Philipse and Gouverneur family portraits.

Using the Collection

Rare Book and Manuscript Library

Other Finding Aids

A PDF scan of the original typed description was the primary method for accessing these items until 2022, when it was superceded by the current finding aid. A copy of the PDF is made available for historical reference here: http://www.columbia.edu/cu/libraries/inside/projects/findingaids/scans/pdfs/ldpd_rbml_4079215.pdf.

Restrictions on Access

You will need to make an appointment in advance to use this collection material in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library reading room. You can schedule an appointment once you've submitted your request through your Special Collections Research Account.

This collection is located on-site.

This collection has no restrictions.

Terms Governing Use and Reproduction

Single photocopies may be made for research purposes. The RBML maintains ownership of the physical material only. Copyright remains with the creator and his/her heirs. The responsibility to secure copyright permission rests with the patron.

Preferred Citation

Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Philipse - Gouverneur family papers; Box and Folder; Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University Library.

Existence and Location of Copies

A small number of items have been digitized. Please email rbml@columbia.edu for more information.

Custodial History

A number of items referred to in the Index, many containing references to the enslavement of African-Americans, were removed from the collection before it became the property of Columbia. These items include: 91, 92, 97, 106, 111, 112, 113, 114, 115, 116, 120, 121, 122, 123, 126, 127, 129, 132, 134, 138, 139, 140, 147, 148, 149, 150, 151, 152, 153, 169. 170. 171, 174, 175, 176, 177, 178, 181, 182, 183, 184, 187, 190, 191, 192, 193, 194, 195, 196, 197, 198, 199, 201, 203, 204, and 205. In addition, items 34, 77, 99 1/2, 207, and 208 are missing as of 2022.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Source of acquisition--Goodrich, Mrs. Ethel May Iselin Goodridge. Method of acquisition--Gift; Date of acquisition--1930. Accession number--M-30.

About the Finding Aid / Processing Information

Columbia University Libraries, Rare Book and Manuscript Library

Processing Information

1989-08-00 Cataloged Christina Hilton Fenn.

Revision Description

2020-06-15 Following the guidelines outlined in the Protocols for Native American Archival Materials, restored the original Algonquian language regarding appropriate and accurate geographic and cultural identifiers emphasizing positive power tribal leadership relationships. cml

2022-08-10 Finding aid updated. cml/kws

Subject Headings

The subject headings listed below are found in this collection. Links below allow searches at Columbia University through the Archival Collections Portal and through CLIO, the catalog for Columbia University Libraries, as well as ArchiveGRID, a catalog that allows users to search the holdings of multiple research libraries and archives.

All links open new windows.

Genre/Form

Heading "CUL Archives:"
"Portal"
"CUL Collections:"
"CLIO"
"Nat'l / Int'l Archives:"
"ArchivedGRID"
Maps (documents) Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Patents (land) Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID

Subject

Heading "CUL Archives:"
"Portal"
"CUL Collections:"
"CLIO"
"Nat'l / Int'l Archives:"
"ArchivedGRID"
Astor, John Jacob, 1763-1848 Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Bronson, Greene C. (Greene Carrier), 1789-1863 Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Clarendon, Edward Hyde, Earl of, 1661-1723 Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Clinton, Henry, Sir, 1738?-1795 Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Colden, Cadwallader, 1688-1776 Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Cooper, Myles, 1737-1785 Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Courts -- New York (State) -- Dutchess County Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Courts -- New York (State) -- Westchester County Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Cruger, Henry, 1739-1827 Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
De Lancey, James, 1703-1760 Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Duane, James, 1733-1797 Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Dutchess County (N.Y.) -- Maps Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Dutchess County (N.Y.) -- Social life and customs Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Families -- New York (State) -- Dutchess County Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Families -- New York (State) -- Westchester County Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Fanning, Edmund, 1739-1818 Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Fletcher, Benjamin, 1640-1703 Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Hardy, Charles, Sir, 1716?-1780 Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Hicks, Whitehead, 1728-1780 Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Horsmanden, Daniel, 1694-1778 Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Howe, William Howe, Viscount, 1729-1814 Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Johnson, William, 1715-1774 Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Land grants -- New York (State) -- Dutchess County Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Land grants -- New York (State) -- Westchester County Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Limerick, Thomas Dongan, Earl of, 1634-1715 Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Livingston, William, 1723-1790 Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Morris, Roger, 1727-1794 Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
New York (State) -- History -- Colonial period, ca. 1600-1775 Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Nimham, Daniel Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Philipse, Frederick, 1626-1702 Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Real property -- New York (State) -- Dutchess County Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Real property -- New York (State) -- Westchester County Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Real property -- New York (State) -- Yonkers Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Stirling, William Alexander, Earl of, 1567 or 1568-1640 Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Tryon, William, 1729-1788 Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Van Cortlandt, Stephanus, 1643-1700 Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Van Schaack, Peter, 1747-1832 Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Westchester County (N.Y.) -- Maps Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Westchester County (N.Y.) -- Social life and customs Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID