Information About William Newman: A Witness to the Signing of Thomas Pell's Treaty with Local Native Americans on June 27, 1654

Please Visit the Historic Pelham Web Site
Located at http://www.historicpelham.com/.
Please Click Here for Index to All Blog Postings.

Yesterday I published to the Historic Pelham Blog an item about "John Ffinch", one of the Englishmen who witnessed, and signed, Thomas Pell's "Treaty" with local Native Americans by which Pell acquired the lands that subsequently became Pelham and surrounding areas. I included in that posting a list of four other such postings I have published to the Blog about the various Englishmen who signed the Treaty.

Today's posting to the Historic Pelham Blog transcribes a reference to another of those Englishmen: William Newman. The reference also appears in "The Minutes of the Court of Sessions (1657-1696) Westchester County New York" published by the Westchester County Historical Society in 1924.

The reference relates to Newman's appearance as a witness in a lawsuit. It appears that the dispute was between John Archer and two other men: Anthony Gill and Robert Rose. It seems that Gill and Rose accepted money from Archer and that Archer took possession of a particular house and land. The dispute seems to have revolved around whether the transaction was an outright sale of the house and the land or whether the house and the land were merely security for a debt and that once that debt was repaid, possession would be returned to Gill and Rose. Newman testified as follows:

"march the 6th: 1659: the Testimony of william newman sayth that he heard John archare say that if Anthony gill & Robert Rose would pay the monys back again which the said archare had diburst then he would let them have their hous & ground Again"

Source: Fox, Dixon Ryan, ed., The Minutes of the Court of Sessions (1657-1696) Westchester County New York, p. 16 (White Plains, NY: Westchester County Historical Society 1924) (Publications of the Westchester County Historical Society Vol. II, Source Series, Vol. I).

Please Visit the Historic Pelham Web Site
Located at http://www.historicpelham.com/.
Please Click Here for Index to All Blog Postings.