Text of 1643 New Netherland Patent to John Throckmorton for Land at Vreelandt, Once Part of the Manor of Pelham

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Today's Historic Pelham Blog article includes an image of a patent to lands that later became part of the Manor of Pelham issued by Director General William Kieft and the Council of New Netherland on July 6, 1643 to John Throckmorton.  The patent encompassed lands that later became known as Throgmorton's Neck, today's Throggs Neck.

John Throckmorton emigrated from Norfolk, England to Massachusetts Bay Colony in the early 17th century.  Religious tensions with Puritan leaders of that colony, however, led him in 1638 to become one of the twelve original proprietors of the settlement of Providence Plantation, an area that became the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations.  

In 1643, Throckmorton and his family removed to New Netherland and settled in an area known by the Dutch as Vreedlandt (various spellings), a Dutch term roughly translated by many as "Freedom Land."  Throckmorton, his family, and several dozen others settled in the region after Director General William Kieft and the Council of New Netherland granted Throckmorton a patent to the lands on July 6, 1643.  

Throckmorton could not have picked a worse time to settle in the region.  Relations between the Dutch and local Native Americans had been deteriorating for years with skirmishes and killings on both sides throughout the region.  Only months before Throckmorton arrived, Kieft launched an attack on camps of refugee Wichquaeskeck and Tappan Natives on February 23, 1643, one of the early skirmishes of what some have called "Kieft's War."  

Local Natives including Wiechquaeskecks (who later sold local lands that became the Manor of Pelham to Thomas Pell) clearly viewed the settlements of the families of John Throckmorton and Anne Hutchinson as threatening intrusions into their territory by the Dutch.  

In July, 1643, Native Americans approached the Hutchinson family settlement in the area of today's Coop City apartments in the Bronx.  They feigned friendship and convinced the family to tie up its fierce guard dogs.  They then massacred the entire settlement.  (The attackers spared only little Susanna Hutchinson whom they kidnapped and held for several years until traders ransomed the child and returned her to Dutch authorities.)

The Natives then proceeded to Throckmorton's nearby settlement and attacked.  Fate intervened.  As the attack began, the crew of a passing ship in Long Island Sound saw the pandemonium and pulled alongside the settlement to take on board a number of the settlers who were saved from murder.  

Though no patent for the lands settled by Anne Hutchinson and her family has ever been located, the patent for the lands settled by Throckmorton, his family, and followers continues to exist.  Below is an image of the page of the New Netherland deed book reflecting the patent, followed by two translations of the Dutch patent.

Image of Original Page from the Council of New Netherland

"Dutch Colonial Patents and Deeds, 1630-1664.  Series A1880.

Volume GG" Reflecting Patent to "John Trockmorton; part of

Vreland, being half a league along the East river, as by the map

and survey thereof may appear."  This, of Course, Became

Known as Throgmorton's Neck, Today's Throggs Neck, Once

Part of the Manor of Pelham and, Later, Westchester County.

Source:  New York State Archives Digital Collections:  New

Netherland Council Dutch Colonial Patents and Deeds, "Patent

of John Trockmorton for land along the East river" (visited

June 21, 2019).

*          *          *          *          *

Below are two translations of the pertinent portion of the page depicted above reflecting the patent issued to John Throckmorton by the Director General and Council of New Netherland on July 6, 1643.  Each is followed by a citation and link to its source.

"Patent to Jan Trockmorten . . .  

We, Willem Kieft, etc... have conceded and granted to Jan Trockmorton a parcel of land, (which is a part of Vrelant) extending along the East River of New Netherland for one half mile beginning at the point; and bounded on one side by a small river and on the other by a great kil, which river and kil run together at high water surrounding the aforesaid parcel of land, as is shown by the map thereof, made and deposited by the surveyor, under the express condition etc... 

Done at Fort Amsterdam, 6 July 1643."

Source:  New York State Archives Digital Collections:  New Netherland Council Dutch Colonial Patents and Deeds, "Translation Patent to Jan Trockmorten Series:  A1880  Scanned Document:  NYSA_A1880-78_VGG_0078" (visited June 21, 2019) (Citing Translation: Gehring, C. trans./ed., New York Historical Manuscripts: Dutch, Vols. GG, HH & II, Land Papers, 1630-1664 (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc.: 1980)).

"PATENT TO JOHN THROCKMORTON FOR LAND AT VRELAND (THROCKMORTON'S NECK, WESTCHESTER CO.)

We, William Kieft, Director General and the Council of New-Netherland etc. etc., 

Testify and declare herewith, that this day, date as below, we have conceded and granted to Jan Trockmorton a parcel of land, (which is a part of Vreland) stretching along the East river of New-Netherland for one half of a league beginning at the Point and bounded on one side by a small river and on the other by a great Kil, which river and kil run together at high-water surrounding the aforesaid parcel of land, as is shown by the map thereof, made and deposited by the surveyor, under the express condition and stipulation, that he, Jan Trockmorton or his successors, shall acknowledge as his Masters and Patroons the Noble Lords-Directors of the Privileged West-India Company under the sovereignty of Their High : Might : the States-General and obey their Director and Council, as is the duty of a good inhabitant, provided also, that the said Jan Trockmorton and his company submit to all burdens and taxes, which have been or may hereafter be imposed by the Lords-Directors.  It is further expressly stipulated, that the said Jan Trockmorton shall according to his promise settle as many families upon the said land as may conveniently be done, And we constitute the said Jan Trockmorton and his company etc. etc.

Done at Fort Amsterdam, July 6, 1643."

Source:  "PATENT TO JOHN THROCKMORTON FOR LAND AT VRELAND (THROCKMORTON'S NECK, WESTCHESTER CO.)" in Fernow, B., ed., Documents Relating to the History and Settlements of the Towns Along the Hudson and Mohawk Rivers (with the Exception of Albany), from 1630 to 1684 and Also Illustrating the Relations of the Settlers with the Indians, pp. 15-16 (Albany, NY:  Weed, Parsons and Company, 1881).

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Seventeenth Century Maps that Depict the Pelham Region

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Maps, of course, provide an interesting glimpse of changes within our region since the earliest European explorers began traversing the area and attempting to chart and map it for others to follow.  Dutch and English cartographers began crafting such depictions that included the region around today's Pelham as early as 1614.  

The accuracy and reliability of such maps must be considered with extreme care, however.  Most were drawn and engraved in Holland or England and were crafted by reliance on earlier maps supplemented with interpretations of carefully recorded information from the logs of ships that since had visited the same region.  Indeed, many maps of the New York region included images of Natives, Native canoes and dugouts, Native palisades, and other such cultural resources but placed the locations erroneously.  As one example, some showed birch bark canoes off the shores of Manhattan, an unlikely scenario since the Natives of the region crafted dugout canoes, not birch bark canoes which were far more prevalent near Massachusetts.  

Many, many maps were crafted simply by beginning with a copy of an earlier map.  Thus, errors were repeated over and over in many instances for decades.  Still, much can be learned from reasoned consideration of such maps and the ways they depict particular areas.

Today's Historic Pelham Blog article presents details from a handful of important 17th century maps that included depictions of the region that later became Pelham.  In each instance, the detail is followed by a brief commentary that summarizes a little about the historical significance of the map viz-a-viz the Pelham region.  

There are far too many such 17th century maps to discuss in a single article.  Indeed, some already have been discussed in other Historic Pelham Blog articles.  See, e.g., Mon., Aug. 13, 2018:  There Seems To Be Another Early 17th Century Map that References Siwanoys.  Today's article, however, will begin what is planned as a series of intermittent discussions of such maps in an effort to document such material as it relates to the history of the little Town of Pelham, New York.  Each detail, on which visitors can click to see a higher resolution of the image, is followed by a citation to its source and a link to an image of the full map which, typically, can be magnified to very large size for study.

Detail from "Nova Anglia, Novum Belgium et Virginia + Bermuda majori mole

expressa" (New England, New Netherland, and Virginia, and Bermuda Drawn

on a Larger Scale).  1630.  By Mapmakers Hessel Gerritsz and Ioannes de Laet.

Source:  Christie's, LAET, Johannes de (1593-1649) and Hessel GERRITSZ

(1581-1632). Nova Anglia, Novum Belgium et Virginia.  Leiden, ca 1630.,

(visited Aug. 18, 2018).  NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

This map is considered a landmark work.  It was prepared in 1630, barely five years after the founding of New Amsterdam and the construction of Fort Amsterdam. The detail above shows the region that became Pelham just left of center.  There are three significant references important to the history of the region.  There is a reference to "Helle gat" (today's Hell Gate where the so-called East River enters Long Island Sound, once a treacherous, boulder infested area where many vessels foundered).  There also is a reference to "Wecké" in the region which clearly is an early reference to Wiechquaeskeck.  The reference may have been a reference to the geographical feature referenced so often as "Wickers Creek" (and by many spelling variants).  However, because other nearby references on the map clearly indicate local Native peoples, this most likely is a reference to the Wiechquaeskeck Natives in the region.  If so, it is significant to note that it is the only such Native reference on the map in the Pelham region -- there is no reference to Siwanoys.  

A third significant aspect of the detail is the reference in the Long Island Sound waters off the shores of the Pelham region to "Aechipelago" (i.e., Archipelago) and the depiction of a host of islands off the shores.  This group of islands clearly would include the myriad such islands, islets, and rocky outcroppings off the shores of Pelham including City Island, Hart Island, Hunter's Island, Travers Island, Davids Island, the Blauzes, the Chimney Sweeps, and dozens of other such islets.

Detail from "Nova Belgica et Anglia Nova." (New Netherland and New

England.) 1635.  By Mapmaker Willem Blaeu.  Source:  "Nova Belgica

et Anglia Nova," New York Public Library Lionel Pincus and Prrincess

Firyal Map Division, Digital Image No. 434101 (visited Aug. 18,

2018).  NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

Though published in 1635, this is an enhanced, engraved, and published version of Adriaen Block's early 1614 manuscript map of New Netherland and New England.  Unlike most of the other maps, this one is oriented with north depicted to the right on the map as seen by the viewer.  

This early map references "Wecke" (i.e., Wiechquaeskecks) roughly in the region of today's Pelham (with no reference in that region to Siwanoys).  The map also shows "Hellegat" and three references in the area to "Archipelagus" (or other spelling variants). 

Detail from "Nova Anglia, Novum Belgium, et Virginia" (New England,

New Netherland, and Virginia).  1636.  By Mapmakers Janssonius

Jansz and Johannes Jan.  Source:  Nova Anglia, Novum Belgium, et

Virginia, New York Public Library, Lionel Pincus and Princess Firyal

Map Division, Image ID 484206 (visited Aug. 18, 2018).  NOTE:

Click on Image to Enlarge.

Map collectors refer to this map as the "first state" of Janssoniu (or Jansson) Jansz's printed map plate that clearly was based on the above-referenced 1630 copper plate prepared by cartographer Hessel Gerritsz.  Because the map is based on the earlier 1630 Gerritsz map, the region of today's Pelham references the same three features important to Pelham history:  (1) Wecke; (2) Helle gaet; and (3) Aechipelago.

Detail from "Nova Belgica sive Nieuw Nederlandt." 1656.  Prepared by

Adriaen van der Donck and Included in van der Donck's "Beschryvinge

van Nieuw-Nederlant" Published in 1656.  Source:  "Nova Belgica sive

Nieuw Nederlandt," 1656, John Carter Brown Library Map Collection,

Brown University, Accession No. 02929, File Name 02929-1, Call No.

F656 D678b (visited Aug. 18, 2018).  NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

This map is fascinating because it was created from a map drawn by Adriaen van der Donck, after whom today's Yonkers is named.  During portions of the 1640s van der Donck owned and developed a vast acreage awarded him by the Director-General and Council at Fort Amsterdam that encompassed a large swath of the southwestern portion of today's lower Westchester County.  Van der Donck actually resided in the region and served as, among other things, a guide and interpreter for the Dutch colonial authorities given his experience with local Natives.

That makes the map detail depicted above quite interesting given that it contains a reference to "Siwanoys" suggesting that a band of local Natives in the region was known as "Siwanoys."  Interestlingly, the map places such "Siwanoys" north and northwest of Stamford rather than in the Pelham region.  

The Pelham region, which is labeled "Freedlant," is shown as populated by the Natives known as "Manhattans" (who also are shown as located on today's Manhattan).  It is known that the Manhattans of the Island of Manhattan and the Wiechquaeskecks of the Bronx and lower Westchester County, both Lenape groups that spoke the Munsee dialect, were close and communicated and traded with one another via a significant trail that became Broadway and Old Boston Post Road.  However, most modern scholars agree that the Manhattans populated the Island of Manhattan while the Wiechquaeskecks populated much of the Bronx, Westchester County, and even southwestern Connecticut.

The map seems to copy other earlier maps in its placement of a reference to "Siwanoys" north of Stamford.  It also includes a reference to "Hellegat."  Though it references "Archipelago" in Long Island Sound well east of Stamford, it shows the Sound as the "Oost Rever" (East River) and depicts many small islands in waters off the shores of Freedlant.  

Detail from "Pas caerte van Nieu Nederlandt en de Engelsche Virginies

van Cabo Cod tot Cabo Canrick"  1666.  By Mapmaker Pieter Groos.

Source:  Barry Lawrence Ruderman Antique Maps Inc., "Pas caerte

van Nieu Nederlandt en de Engelsche Virginies van Cabo Cod tot

Cabo Canrick" (visited Aug. 18, 2018).  NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

This detail immediately above is from a significant 17th century Dutch map that illustrates the Atlantic coast of America from Cape Cod to Cape Hatteras with, of course, an emphasis on the Dutch Colony of New Netherland.  Cartographer Pieter Goos published the map in De Zee Atlas ofter Water-Weereld, first published by Goos in 1666.  

There are a number of notable features in the region that became today's Pelham depicted on this map.  First, it once again includes a reference to "Hellegat" (similar to the earlier-referenced 'Helle gaet" references described above.  It also references the Pelham region as "Freedlant," a Dutch term that translates very roughly as "Freedom Land."  Not only did the Dutch know today's Pelham region as Freedlandt (with many variant spellings reflected in 17th century records) but also in the 1960s a massive amusement park operated in the same area (including the area where today's Co-op City stands) that was named "Freedom Land."  Additionally, it shows the Long Island Sound off of Pelham shores as "Oost Rivier" (i.e., "East River").  Finally, this map shows the "Archipelago" as an area of islands off Connecticut shores, although it continues to show many small, untitled islands and islets off the shore of "Freedlant."

 Detail from "Pas caerte van Nieu Nederlandt en de Engelsche Virginies : van

Cabo Cod tot Cabo Canrick" (Later Edition, 1676, of Map by Pieter Goos first Published

in 1666).  Source:  Pas caerte van Nieu Nederlandt en de Engelsche Virginies :

van Cabo Cod tot Cabo Canrick, New York Public Library Lionel Pincus and 

Princess Firyall Map Division, Digital Image No.  433976 (visited Aug. 18, 2018).

NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

This detail from a 1676 edition of a map first published by cartographer Pieter Groos in 1666 (see above) includes two interesting elements depicted in the region that became today's Pelham.  First, it once again includes a reference to "Hellegat" (similar to the earlier-referenced 'Helle gaet" references described above.  It also references the Pelham region, once again, as "Freedlant."

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April 19, 1655 Dutch Protest Against Thomas Pell's Efforts To Settle Englishmen on Lands the Dutch Called VreedLandt

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On April 19, 1655, the Dutch issued a protest against Thomas Pell complaining of his efforts to settle Englishmen on lands known by the Dutch as VreedLandt. It is believed that the settlement was near the head of today's Westchester Creek in the area that once was the Village of West Chester. Pell had acquired the lands as part of his massive purchase on June 27, 1654 that eventually became the Manor of Pelham. Below is a transcription of an English translation of the "Protest"

"PROTEST AGAINST THOMAS PELL FOR SETTLING ON LANDS BELONGING TO THE DUTCH WITH NOTICE TO QUIT

19th April 1655.

Cornelis van Tienhoven, by virtue of his commission as Fiscal for the Province of New Netherland and Attorney for its authority and jurisdiction, etc etc.

To you, Thomas Pell or whom else it may concern.

Having been directed to proceed to and upon the lands of VreedLandt, taken possession of during the time of the late Hon ble Director-General Kieft and bought from and paid for to the actual owners and proprietors, natives of this country, as the Book of Deeds and their signatures prove, I inform and warn you and all, whom it may concern, herewith, that you and your associates have not only settled upon lands, bought many years ago by the Dutch nation and occupied by the late Hon ble Director Kieft by virtue of the title deeds, but that you also occupy it by usurpation, contrary to the agreement made at Hartford and to the peace concluded between the two nations in Europe, against the will and consent of the Director-General and High Council of New-Netherland.

Therefore, I, the Fiscal, give you and all, whom it may concern, this public notice in th name, and on behalf of their Noble High: Might: the States General and the Lorde Director of the Priv. W. I. Company by the bearer hereof, Claes van Elslandt, Court Messenger, chosen and appointed to execute this errand, to warn you not to proceed with building, clearing, pasturing cattle or cutting hay or whatever else may be necessary for the cultivation of the soil upon the aforesaid purchased and long possessed lands contrary to the agreement made at Hartford and to remove within fifteen days after the service of this notice from the lands within the jurisdiction of New Netherland with your people, servants or bound slaves, furniture, cattle, implements and everything brought there by you or yours as your property, under the penalty, that if you or any of you shall be found after the date aforesaid to have acted contrarily, of being prosecuted, you and all whom it may concern, according to law. In the meantime I protest against all damage, [Page 38 / Page 39] injury, mischief and trouble, which through your actions may arise, while we declare before God and the World to be innocent thereof.

Done at Amsterdam in New Netherland on the date as above.

Whereas the present situation does not permit, that the Fiscal of N. Netherland should serve the foregoing notice and protest in person, therefore the Court Messenger, Claes van Elsland, is authorized to do it. Done at Amsterdam in N. N. date as above."

Source: Fernow, Berthold, Documents Relating to the Colonial History of the State of New York, Vol. XIII, pp. 38-39 (Albany, NY: Weed, Parsons and Company 1881).

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