New Jersey | A Bill in the Chancery of New-Jersey, with three of the earliest American maps of the region

[New Jersey — Proprietors of the Eastern-Division]

A Bill in the Chancery of New-Jersey at the Suit of John Earl of Stair, and others, Proprietors of the Eastern-Division of New-Jersey; against Benjamin Bond, and some other Persons of Elizabeth-Town, distinguished by name of the Clinker Lot Right Men. With Three large Maps, done from Copper-Plates. To which is added; the Publications of the Council of Proprietors of East New-Jersey, and Mr. Nevill's Speeches to the General Assembly, concerning the Riots committed in New-Jersey, and the Pretences of the Rioters, and their Seducers. These Papers will give a better Light into the History and Constitution of New-Jersey, than any thing hitherto published, the mMatters whereof have been chiefly Collected from Records. New York: Published by Subscription: Printed by James Parker, in New-York, 1747; and a few copies are to be sold by him, and Benjamin Franklin, in Philadelphia

Folio (349 x 216 mm). Text in two columns, three folded engraved maps with contemporary outline color, engraved and printed by James Turner in Boston after Lewis Evans of Philadelphia, the third map on two sheets joined; Moderately spotted and toned throughout, a darker stain affecting leaves U2–3, a small area of offsetting in the lower margin of leaf 2C2, the maps with a few very short tears at edges and some inky marginal fingerprint marks (apparently originating in James Turner's printshop), Map No. II with a tiny paper repair at bottom edge, trimmed along the platemark at right edge without touching the printing, Map No. III with small chips, splits, and tears, but professionally restored and laid-down on Japanese tissue. Contemporary marbled boards backed with modern calf; boards quite worn, hinges reinforced. Half blue morocco folding-case.

First edition. The Bill in the Chancery of New-Jersey, printed by James Parker and published in partnership with Benjamin Franklin, deals with a lengthy legal dispute between the colony's proprietors and the Elizabethtown Associates over land titles and taxation. The controversy eventually led to a major local uprising, now sometimes seen as a regional precursor to the American Revolution.

The problems that this bill sought to resolve began in 1664, when Charles II granted his brother James, the Duke of York, New Jersey as a reward for having overthrown the Dutch in New York. Soon after, his colonial governor, Colonel Richard Nicholls, allowed a group of English settlers to buy a tract of land just to the West of Staten Island from the Lenni Lenape people. Their deed was confirmed by Nicholls in June of 1664. The tract was then surveyed, a town laid out, and Elizabethtown was established. Meanwhile, back in England, James gave his colony to Lord John Berkeley and Sir George Carteret. When their governor arrived, he demanded that the Elizabethtown settlers pay quitrents on the lands they had settled. The Elizabethtown Associates, as they came to be known, citing the lack of a provision for quitrents on their deed, refused to pay.

"Thus began one of the most famous controversies in the early history of New Jersey. Over the years the numbers of disputants increased dramatically as more individuals began to own shares and fractions of shares of the proprietorship of New Jersey" (Felcone). The Associates continued to survey and sell their lands, while the proprietors repeatedly tried legal and civil suits against them. Over time, the dispute stretched into the third and fourth generations of Elizabethtown residents. The newer Associates, known as the Clinker Lot Right Men, even established a legal fund to help defend their titles.

James Alexander, a surveyor and prominent attorney in New York and New Jersey, stepped in on behalf of the Proprietors to try and settle the dispute. In 1741, he suggested that the suit be settled in Chancery by English Bill, where one decree could settle all the individual suits simultaneously. Alexander prepared his bill (pp. 3–81), a legal argument "of great subtlety and complexity," and submitted it in April 1745 (Streeter). He then shifted his focus to having it printed and distributed. Lewis Evans, an associate of Franklin agreed to draw the maps, while James Turner, a Boston silversmith, would engrave and print them. The text sheets would be printed by Parker in New York. However, securing the funding took time. By April 1746, with a war of words ongoing in the New York press and the Clinker Lot Right Men riots at their peak (appendix, pp. 1–11), a second and third Bill were drafted to calm the situation (appendix, pp. 13–24, and pp. 25–39). The dispute between the Elizabethtown Associates and the proprietors would never, in fact, be fully resolved—it was still ongoing when the Revolutionary War broke outm making the claims of the proprietors moot.

The three engraved maps are among the earliest American maps of the region. Per the imprint, the price of a bound copy with colored maps was 3 Pounds. According to Felcone, "it would appear that about 60 sets of the maps were 'colored.'" As such, this is a rare survival in the deluxe format of an important colonial text. The maps are:

"Map I" shows the middle British colonies along the coastline from Boston Harbor to Cape Hatteras, the cartouche provides a key to place-names in English and Dutch, and a coloring guide.

"Map II" is of New Jersey, centered on Essex County and Elizabethtown, also showing all of New York City, with "Part of Pensylvania" and "Part of New York" at the corners.

"Map III" shows the disputed area in great detail, with a grid and individual properties marked and titled. The area is bordered with the Raritan River on the south, Hackinsack Bay and the shores of Staten Island to the east, the Cushetunk Hills at the west, and the North Mountains to the north.

REFERENCES

Miller 426; ESTC W2730; Evans 6021–6024; Felcone 197; Streeter sale II:918

PROVENANCE

Bennington Gill (signature on title, dated 1855) — Fred Gerken (purchased from Roger A. Lyon, twentieth-century pencil inscription on front pastedown)