Research Notes:
Manors in New York by Henry B. Hoff [The NYG&B Newsletter, Fall 1999 and Winter 2000]:
One of the unique aspects of New York history was the existence of manors as political and judicial units in the colonial era. A manor in New York was created by a patent from the governor to a single individual (or two related individuals) who already owned the property in question, with some extra rights granted, principally local autonomy. These rights were only vaguely defined in the grants made in the period 1664-1667, then somewhat better defined in the grants made 1667-1682. Starting with Gov. Dongan's administration (1682-1688), all manorial grants included court leet (criminal and administrative jurisdiction) and court baron (civil jurisdiction); some included advowson (the power to nominate a minister), and the largest manorial grants included a seat in the General Assembly. Nevertheless, there is practically no evidence that these manorial courts were held or that advowson was exercised. Because the territories given by Charles II to his brother James, Duke of York, in 1664 apparently included the islands between Cape Cod and Cape May (except Block Island), a few of the grants below are in present-day Massachusetts or Rhode Island.
Martha's Vineyard, granted to Matthew Mayhew (1648-1710), Lord of the Manor of Tisbury (see Tisbury)
Size/Location: the 64,000-acre island of Martha's Vineyard [also called Martin's Vineyard in the 17th century], plus the Elizabeth Islands and the Island of Noman's Land (totaling 7,000 acres) (Charles Edward Banks, The History of Martha's Vineyard, Dukes County, Massachusetts, in Three Volumes, 3 vols. [Boston: George H. Dean, 1911] 1:17 [MASS. L M361.5])
Map:
Date of Grant: 25 April 1685 by Gov. Thomas Dongan (the island of Martin's Vineyard plus the Elizabeth Islands and the Island of Noman's Land "into one Lordship or Mannor of Martins Vineyard"); transcript of original grant in Land Patents Transcriptions 5:186-189 (Land Patents 5:56-60)
Rights Granted: court leet, court baron, advowson
Published History: Banks, above, 1:174-177
Location of Papers:
Published Papers:
Grantee and Family: Banks, above, 2:Edgartown:79-84; 3:298-328
Tenants/Residents: Banks, above, vol. 3
Comments: Matthew Mayhew clearly did not own all the property granted; most of what he did own probably was part of the Manor of Tisbury (see Tisbury). On 12 May 1685 Matthew Mayhew conveyed the "Manor of Martin's Vineyard" back to Gov. Dongan (compare to CASSILTOWN) with the exception of certain tracts to be kept by Mayhew or which had already been sold to others; these tracts actually comprised most of the manor (Banks, above, 1:175-177). In 1691 Martha's Vineyard was transferred to Massachusetts.
Tisbury, granted to Thomas Mayhew (1593-1682) and his grandson, Matthew Mayhew (1648-1710)
Size/Location: various parcels of land on the island of Martha's Vineyard, described in Charles Edward Banks, The History of Martha's Vineyard, Dukes County, Massachusetts, in Three Volumes, 3 vols. (Boston: George H. Dean, 1911) 2:Chilmark:20 [MASS. L M361.5]
Map:
Date of Grant: 8 July 1671 by Gov. Francis Lovelace ("to be called & knowne by the name of Tysbury Manor" ... the said Manor of Tisbury shall ... bee an Entire Enfranchized Mannor of itselfe. ..."); transcript of original grant in Banks, above, 2:Chilmark:18-19; Ida M. Wightman, The Mayhew Manor of Tisbury (New York: The Order of Colonial Lords of Manors in America, Publication No. 10, 1921) pp. 31-33 [N.Y. G 51]; and Land Patents Transcriptions 4:73-75 (Land Patents 4:78-79)
Rights Granted: local autonomy (Landlord and Tenant p. 14)
Published History: Banks, above, 2:Chilmark:17-26; Wightman, above; Eberlein pp.78-83
Grantees and Family: Banks, above, 2:Edgartown:79-84; 3:298-328; Robert Charles Anderson, The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England 1620-1633, 3 vols. (Boston: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1995) 2:1243-1246 [NEW ENG. G 2.61]; Wightman, above
Tenants/Residents: Banks, above, vol. 3
Comments: See Martha's Vineyard for related information. On 7 November 1674 Tristram Coffin and Matthew Mayhew petitioned Gov. Andros regarding whether they had the right to erect a "manor court" on Nantucket (Peter R. Christoph and Florence A. Christoph, eds. The Andros Papers, 1674-1680, 3 vols. [New York Historical Manuscripts: Syracuse, N.Y.: Syracuse University Press, 1989-91] 1:11-12 [N.Y. G 55.2 v.24])