Finding Aid or Collection: New York State Department of State Bureau of Miscellaneous Records Letters Patent (Series 12943 _ 1667-1763)

Letters patent (commonly called a "patent") convey a grant of real property from a government to a person or persons. In the colonial period the instrument was also used to grant some authority to an individual or corporation. From 1664 to 1775 patents were issued by the governor of the province of New York in the name of the king of England. The earliest books of patents include numerous confirmations of land conveyances made under the Dutch regime; this confirmation was required by the "Duke's Laws." Patents were issued by the governor as the representative of the Duke of York, under the royal grants of 1664 and 1674 and later as representative of the king. Patents issued after 1786 include grants of land under water, which were authorized by Chapter 67 of the Laws of 1786. A great increase in the number of such grants occurred in the mid-19th century, when piers were being extended into New York harbor (see "History of Water Grants," Appendix XIII in Anson Getman, Principles and Sources of Title to Real Property; Albany, 1921).

The Board of Commissioners of the Land Office was established by Chapter 60 of the Laws of 1784 and Chapter 66 of the Laws of 1785. The form of the letters patent was specified by Chapter 67 of the Laws of 1786. Further statutes governing issuance of letters patent are found in Chapter 69 of the Laws of 1801; Revised Statutes of 1829, Part I, Chapter 9, Title 5, Sections 27, 29; Chapter 317 of the Laws of 1894; and Chapter 50 of the Laws of 1909 (the "Public Lands Law"). A major change occurred when the Board of Commissioners of the Land Office was abolished by Chapter 462 of the Laws of 1960. The new Office of General Services continues to authorize issuance of letters patent for lands sold by the State of New York, pursuant to Chapter 643 of the Laws of 1962.