The Letters Patent for Harrison,
June 25, 1696
When the English came to power in the New World, they used the system of local
governance that had served them well for hundreds of years in England. They
established six manors and several patents in Westchester County. In fact,
most of Westchester was governed in this way. A manor was granted to one person;
a patent was granted to a group of associates. The granting of manors and patents
conferred upon their holders many privileges and benefits, but it also carried
with it certain responsibilities. The manor holders sold or leased land to
settlers, and provided those living on the land with livestock, millers, boat
builders and mechanics, as well as physicians, clergymen and schoolmasters.
This document confers patent status in 1696 to the group of associates who had
recently bought a tract of land in central Westchester from local Native Americans.
It was known as “Harrison’s Purchase.” When the county was
organized into towns by the New York State Legislature in 1788, the existence
of manors and patents ended. However, there is still a clause in the state constitution
that saves from forfeiture “all the lands of the loyal lords of the manor.”
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