Scope and Content: Massachusetts had claims on lands west of the Hudson River based on provisions of the Plymouth Colony (1620) and Massachusetts Bay (1629) charters, while New York had competing claims based on provisions of the 1664 charter from King Charles II to his brother, James, Duke of York.  After American independence, Congress urged that boundary lines and land disputes between Massachusetts and New York be settled.  After preliminary legislative study and negotiation with New York, Massachusetts petitioned Congress to adjudicate the western lands conflict (Resolves 1784, May Sess, c 1 (May 27, 1784)).  (For the boundary dispute see: Massachusetts. Commissioners to Ascertain the Boundary Line between Massachusetts and New York. Files on the Massachusetts-New York boundary, 1784-1787 ((M-Ar)2359X)) –After further negotiation among Congress, Massachusetts, and New York, the original idea of a federally constituted court to settle the dispute was abandoned, and the commissioners acknowledged and authorized by Massachusetts to prosecute its claims (St 1784, c 60 (Mar. 14, 1785)) agreed to a conference with their New York counterparts in Hartford beginning Nov. 30, 1786 (Governor’s Message, Resolves 1786, Sept Sess, c 95, Nov. 14, 1786) –The conference resulted in an agreement of Dec. 16, 1786 (Resolves 1786, Jan Sess, c 21 (Feb. 13, 1787)); text published between c 61 and c 62).  By this agreement New York was awarded total sovereignty over the disputed area, with Massachusetts retaining right of preemption to purchase such lands from the Indians. This right of preemption was sold to various third parties in the years following the agreement, as the Massachusetts treasury was in a depleted state because of debts incurred from the Revolutionary War and Shays’ Rebellion.  (See: Massachusetts. Treasury Office. Accounts of payments on bonds for New York lands–Brown purchase, 1788-1804 ((M-Ar)2398X); Gorham/Phelps purchase, 1788-1813 ((M-Ar)2466X); Morris purchase, 1790-1797 ((M-Ar)2467X). For a much later legal action stemming from the agreement see: Massachusetts. Attorney General. Rochester, N.Y., land claim hearing files, 1787-1926 ((M-Ar)1519X))
Restrictions: (1-2) restricted; access by permission of state archivist or curator of Massachusetts Archives only
Notes: The Secretary of the Commonwealth is keeper of permanent public records of Massachusetts, including this series
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