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History of Orange County
Town of Newburgh
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GERMAN PATENT.—ORANTED 1719—RENEWED 1752.
George the Second, by the grace of God, of Great Britain, France and Ireland, King, defender of the faith, &c., to all to whom these presents shall come, greeting: Whereas our loving subjects, Alexander Colden and Richard Albertson, trustees, and Edmond Conklin, jun., William Ward, Thomas Ward, Nathan Furman, Jacob Wendall, Johannes Wandel, Daniel Thurston, James Denton, Cohlass Leveridge, Michael Demott, William Smith, Henry Smith, Duncan Alexander, and William Mitchell, the other proprietors and inhabitants of a tract of land above the Highlands at a place called Quassaick, now commonly called Newburgh Patent, in Ulster County, by their petition presented to our trusty and well-beloved George Clinton, Captain General and Governor-in-chief of our Province of New-York and territories thereon depending in America, Vice Admiral of the same and Admiral of the White squadron of our fleet in council, therein setting forth that while Lord Lovelace was Governor of our said Province, he had promised, pursuant to an instruction from the late Queen Anne, (or a letter from the then Secretary of State,) a grant to nine Palatines of a tract of land above the Highlands, at a place called Quassaick, and accordingly the same was surveyed by the then Surveyor General, and laid out into nine lots for them with a glebe of 500 acres for their minister---the whole tract containing 2190 acres: But nothing further was done therein during the life of Lord Lovelace nor during the government of Brigadier Hunter; but after his departure from this Province, Col. Peter Schuyler, then President of the Council, on the 18th day of December, 1719, by letters patent bearing that date, granted eight of the lots so laid out to eight of the said Palatines and their families, and the ninth lot to one Burgher Mindertse, a blacksmith, who had purchased a right of one of the said Palatines; and by the same letters patent granted to Andries Valch and Jacob Webber and their successors forever, as trustees, for the benefit of a Lutheran minister, to have the care of souls of the inhabitants of the same 2190 acres of land, a glebe of 500 acres of the same tract—to hold the said glebe to them as first trustees during their natural lives, and their successors forever. But for the sole use of a Lutheran minister to have the care of souls of the inhabitants of the same 2190 acres, and upon death or absence of the trustees or their successors, it should be lawful for all the inhabitants of the same tract being male and above the age of twenty-one, to meet upon the glebe land and by a majority of votes to elect other trustees in the room of the dying or removing, which persons so chosen should be trustees of the said glebe lands.