I02 FOREST commissioner's REPORT. 



My index above described will show the name under which 

 an island was conveyed, if by another name than it now bears; 

 the person to whom it was conveyed ; book and page of record 

 at Land Office ; and a reference to book and page of plans. To 

 take the above illustration, the card in my index designated 

 "Ingalls Island" — its present name — would show as follows : 

 "Conveyed as Island A to William Ingalls, June 15, 1786. Vol. 

 4, Page 27. Plan Book 8, Page 142." 



My report must- necessarily appear largely in my card index, 

 as I have there attempted to indicate on the card for each island 

 the disposition made of it, if any, and any facts relative to it. 

 I do not think it expedient to mention individual islands already 

 conveyed in a report of this kind — the facts about such may 

 be found in the index. Nor does my report or index attempt 

 to deal with titles subsequent to their conveyance by the State, 

 the fact of such conveyance eliminating the island from my list 

 as far as the object of this inquiry is concerned. 



In making this investigation, I have come across a great deal 

 of information relative to Maine island titles, much of which 

 I shall incorporate into this report even at the risk of making 

 it bulky and disconnected, with an idea of preserving it and 

 making it easily accessible to anyone interested in this subject. 



In my research I was unable to find any works treating of 

 the source of titles to these islands as a whole, but was obliged 

 to gather my information from various historical works, acts 

 and resolves. 



. At this point it will perhaps be of benefit to enter into a his- 

 tory of legislation relative to the sale of these islands from two 

 of the great sources of title, Massachusetts and Maine, from 

 the time of the Treaty of Peace of 1783, — when this territory 

 came wholly under the control of Massachusetts — to the present 

 time. (The matter of ancient grants from the Crown will be 

 treated hereafter.) 



Massachusetts. 



By a resolve of May i, 1781, a committee consisting of 

 Jedediah Preble, Johnathan Greenlief, David Sewell, John 

 Lewis, and William Lithgow was appointed to look after the 

 unappropriated lands of the Commonwealth. They were au- 

 thorized to protect them from trespass ; to examine the authority 



