Document: Report of commissioners on the bounds between the town of Gravesend and the lands of Anthony Jansen van Salee

We, the undersigned, requested as impartial arbitrators by their honors the lord director general and councilors of New Netherland, to proceed in the presence and company of the honorable fiscal Nicasius de Sille to Gravesande, and there to examine with the magistrates and Anthony Jansz van Zalee the letters patent for the lands or groundbriefs of either party and to see what their rights and competencies are, did yesterday, the 18th of July, proceed there, and following the patent of Gravesande we went to the mouth of the kil opposite Conijnen Island, being the first and best known place.[i] We find that pursuant to the tenor of the patent, their land should border westward from the mouth of the kil on Anthony Jansz’s and Robbert Pinoijer’s land; Anthony Jansz claiming also (though it is not stated in his patent) that his land begins at the aforesaid mouth of the kil and runs along the south side of the same kil eastward to Gysberden Island; and on the other side northerly from the mouth of the same kil is the land of Robbert Pinoijer, which is separated by a creek or small kil, running through the meadow to or past Jan Huijbert’s mill standing in the meadow; from this meadow, the kil runs by Gysberden Island; so that in our opinion Anthony Jansz claims much more than expressed in his patent, unless the lords, director general and councilors, as interpreters of the letters patent in this country, consider the aforesaid meadow and the whole southernmost point to the mouth of the kil opposite Conijnen Island to be the protruding points, and belonging to Anthony Jansz besides the 100 morgens stated in his patent, which we think, under correction, not to have been the intention of the signer of the patent. In order not to proceed too hastily and upon unsound premises in our advice, which is to serve in ending these disputes, we advise before going any further that Anthony, as the oldest and first settler by virtue of his grant, shall cause his land to be surveyed according to the tenor of his patent and have posts or marks placed at each turn of the compass. When that is done, it will be possible to see clearly, [ what hooks or points of land belong to Anthony Jansen and then it will be evident what belongs to the people of Gravesend and how much land between them still remains to the government. ]

July 1656 in New Amsterdam (was signed:) Cornelis van Tienhoven and Tho: Willeth.