Cheesecocks Patent
Encyclopedia
The Cheesecock or Cheesecocks Patent, in the southern part of what became Orange County
, New York State, was a tract of land that now covers the towns of Monroe
and Tuxedo
and extends over part of Rockland County
, which was separated from Orange County in 1798
A variant of the name is still applied to Cheesecote Mountain, Rockland County. As derived from Unami/Delaware (Algonkian) language
, its source was formerly reported as unclear, but William Bright, in Native American Placenames of the United States, suggests, for the related name Cheesequake (some miles south in New Jersey) chiskhake, "land that has been cleared".
The Patent was purchased from the Indians under terms of a land grant of Queen Anne
, the warrant for its "drawing" signed in Common Council of the Colony of New York, 20 March 1707, confirmed by letters patent in the name of Queen Anne dated 25 March 1707. The patentees applied to Charles Clinton to make a survey of the tract and to allot it among the owners.
This survey was begun in 1735 and not finished until 1749. The lots were partitioned. 23 February 1737/38. The “marble covered field book” of the surveyor, Charles Clinton, contains a record of the partition of the lots of Cheesecocks among the owners in 1738, divided in sevenths: William Smith (2/7 interest); James Alexander (1/7 interest); Smith and Alexander (1/7 interes); Philip Livingston (1/7 interest); John Chambers (1/7 interest) and John McEvers and Catherine Symes (1/7 interest).
The lots were surveyed into lots approximately 150 acre (0.607029 km²) each, and a description of the quality of the land and the availability of water was included in the description of each lot. The town of Monroe, New York
, was laid out in 1799, as Cheesecocks.
Unluckily, Clinton's survey laid out allotments four and a quarter miles southward of the line. "Clinton's Old Line", as it came to be called, occasioned disputes between New York, to the northeast, and New Jersey
to the southwest, though Clinton's line was never intended as a division line.
The division of the original tract among patentees is conserved in the New York State Library
, among the Sterling Iron and Railway Company records.
Orange County, New York
Orange County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. It is part of the Poughkeepsie–Newburgh–Middletown, NY Metropolitan Statistical Area and is located at the northern reaches of the New York metropolitan area. The county sits in the state's scenic Mid-Hudson Region of the Hudson Valley...
, New York State, was a tract of land that now covers the towns of Monroe
Monroe, New York
Monroe, New York may refer to two municipalities in Orange County, New York in the United States:*Monroe , New York*Monroe , New York, located entirely within the town...
and Tuxedo
Tuxedo, New York
Tuxedo is a town located in Orange County, New York. As of the 2000 census, the town had a total population of 3,334. The town is in the southeastern part of the county. NY Route 17 and the New York State Thruway pass through the town...
and extends over part of Rockland County
Rockland County, New York
Rockland County is a suburban county 15 miles to the northwest of Manhattan and part of the New York City Metropolitan Area, in the U.S. state of New York. It is the southernmost county in New York west of the Hudson River, and the smallest county in New York outside of New York City. The...
, which was separated from Orange County in 1798
A variant of the name is still applied to Cheesecote Mountain, Rockland County. As derived from Unami/Delaware (Algonkian) language
Unami language
Unami is an extinct Algonquian language formerly spoken by Lenape people in what is now the lower Hudson Valley area and New York Harbor area, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware, but later in Ontario and Oklahoma. It is one of the two Delaware languages, the other being Munsee...
, its source was formerly reported as unclear, but William Bright, in Native American Placenames of the United States, suggests, for the related name Cheesequake (some miles south in New Jersey) chiskhake, "land that has been cleared".
The Patent was purchased from the Indians under terms of a land grant of Queen Anne
Anne of Great Britain
Anne ascended the thrones of England, Scotland and Ireland on 8 March 1702. On 1 May 1707, under the Act of Union, two of her realms, England and Scotland, were united as a single sovereign state, the Kingdom of Great Britain.Anne's Catholic father, James II and VII, was deposed during the...
, the warrant for its "drawing" signed in Common Council of the Colony of New York, 20 March 1707, confirmed by letters patent in the name of Queen Anne dated 25 March 1707. The patentees applied to Charles Clinton to make a survey of the tract and to allot it among the owners.
This survey was begun in 1735 and not finished until 1749. The lots were partitioned. 23 February 1737/38. The “marble covered field book” of the surveyor, Charles Clinton, contains a record of the partition of the lots of Cheesecocks among the owners in 1738, divided in sevenths: William Smith (2/7 interest); James Alexander (1/7 interest); Smith and Alexander (1/7 interes); Philip Livingston (1/7 interest); John Chambers (1/7 interest) and John McEvers and Catherine Symes (1/7 interest).
The lots were surveyed into lots approximately 150 acre (0.607029 km²) each, and a description of the quality of the land and the availability of water was included in the description of each lot. The town of Monroe, New York
Monroe (town), New York
Monroe is a town in Orange County, New York, United States. The population was 31,407 at the 2000 census. The town is named after President James Monroe....
, was laid out in 1799, as Cheesecocks.
Unluckily, Clinton's survey laid out allotments four and a quarter miles southward of the line. "Clinton's Old Line", as it came to be called, occasioned disputes between New York, to the northeast, and New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
to the southwest, though Clinton's line was never intended as a division line.
The division of the original tract among patentees is conserved in the New York State Library
New York State Library
The New York State Library is part of the New York State Education Department. The Library and its sister institutions, the New York State Museum and New York State Archives, are housed in the Cultural Education Center...
, among the Sterling Iron and Railway Company records.