38 Staten Island Association of Arts and Sciences 



Had the descriptions of these grants stopped with the words 

 " to the westward of Long Island and Manhitas Island " Staten 

 Island would seem clearly to have been included, but the addi- 

 tion thereto of the words " and bounded on the east, part by the 

 main sea and part by Hudson's river," introduced a latent am- 

 biguity. What was Hudson's river ? 



Capt. Philip Carteret came over as the first governor of East 

 New Jersey and took possession of that territory. It does not 

 appear that he then attempted to take possession of Staten Island. 



Governor Nicolls had made several grants of land in New 

 Jersey after the grant to Berkeley and Carteret, but before he had 

 notice that it had been made; these grants were promptly repu- 

 diated by the Duke of York.^ But Governor Nicolls during the 

 same period had made grants of land on Staten Island; these were 

 not repudiated by the Duke of York; on the contrary, some of 

 them were later confirmed. The Duke and his successors there- 

 after remained in uninterrupted possession of Staten Island and 

 resisted all adverse claims thereto. The matter became the sub- 

 ject of official correspondence, which will be briefly recited. 



The first dispute over the title to Staten Island seems to have 

 arisen when Governor Carteret of New Jersey attempted to cut 

 hay thereon, a proceeding which led Governor Lovelace of New 

 York to address to him a letter of the following tenor : — 



" S^ ■ 



" I received yo'" Letf by y^ hands of Mr, Jones; y® Contents 

 were a narrative of what had past between one of yo'" Magiss- 

 trates & my Marshall ; I must confess I have heard something of 

 that Story though imperfectly ; neither did I give too much Credit 

 to his Relation, finding him to bee too much transported, w*^** I 

 can attribute to noe other reason, then what he averrs, his hard 

 Treatm*; Tis true, I employed him to forewarne all persons (that 

 had not that common Civility to them to desire Liberty of mee) 

 to cutt & carry away Hay from Staten Island without my Appro- 



^ I N. J. Arch., 1st series, 17, 46, 97. 



