The Arent van Corlaer and Lake Family Patent Early Years
Albany County, New York 1760s


On 20 May 1761, the indigenous owner, Jacob Schenk, sold to Arent van Corlaer and his brother-in-law Nicholas Lake of 5,000 acres on behalf of King George III. They and three brothers of Nicholas (John, Thomas, James) on 17 June 1761 petitioned Cadwallader Coulton, President of the King's Council of the province of New York, to be granted land by the King. On 22 June, the Council advised the President to grant the land, which was done 21 November 1761.

The grant was to all five men as tenants in common (and not as joint tenants). They divided the tract into 31 lots, with each receiving 6 lots except for Nicholas Lake Jr who received 7 lots.

This web page gathers all the documents thus far found, mainly through the research of Marshall Lake, and provides a summary of which men received which lots and in some cases to whom they sold some of their lots. References to McMillan are to the book "A History of My People & Yours" by Claud Nelson McMillan. -- Wesley Johnston


Contents

Founding Documents
Click on the "I" link to see the image of the document. Click on the "T" link to see a transcription of it.
  1. 20 May 1761 Purchase by Arent van Corlaer and Nicholas Lake from undigenous (Shachtickook) Jacob Schenk I T
    Source: New York State Archives, Series A0448 (New York State Department of State Recorded Indian Treaties and Deeds), Volume 2, pages 62-63 - obtained by Wesley Johnston

  2. 17 June 1761 Petition and 21 November 1761 Grant I T
    Source: FamilySearch, Patents of state of New York, 1640-1912, Volume 13, pages 451 (peition), 452-455 (grant) - obtained by Marshall Lake
    McMillan (p. 211) notes "However, this five thousand acres, so granted, did not cover all of the land included in the Deed of Jacob, Alias Schenk. There was still a great acreage of land covered by this deed.
    "Evidently inspired by Arent Van Courlaer, other brothers and brothers-in-law, led by Hendryck Schnider, who had married Sarah Lake and after her death, had married her sister, Jane Lake, became the leading spirit in applying for a much larger grant, which was then called the Schneyder Patent, or Grant.
    "He gathered about him nine others and interested them in making application for ten thousand acres of the wild lands lying alongside the five thousand acres already applied for by Arent Van Courlaer, Nicholas Lake, Junior, Thomas Lake, Jacobus and John Lake.
    "Those interested in this later application for ten thousand acres, were, Hendrick Schneyder, John Wettick, Hendrick Lake, a brother-in-law; John Johnson, a nephew of Eleanor Lake-Johnson, Garrett Williamson, brother-in-law of Thomas Lake, of the five thousand acre grant, Nathaniel Acherly, Benjamine Abbott, William Taylor, and Marinieus Voorheis, all of the Province of New Jersey, and Daniel Hollinbeck, of the City of Albany.
    "

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