Settlement Patterns on the Holland Land Purchase

Proposal for MGIS Capstone Projectby David Watkins

July 18, 2007

Background

Western NY Holland Land Company Joseph Ellicott Very few Europeans in the area First Land sales in 1799

Township 12 Range 5 & 6

Sources of Data

Karen Livsey book Holland Land Company records

Maps Annual Reports Correspondence

County Deed records History books

Entries from Karen Livsey book

Project Proposal

Using the historic maps, create the required feature classes for counties, tracts, roads, townships, ranges, sections, lots, and parcels.

Using the data from the Holland Land Company sales offices record the original sale of each lot with the name of the owner, location, price, down payment, and acres and assign these attributes to the appropriate record in the ‘parcels’ feature class.

Create a map of townships showing the earliest purchase in each.

For each township that had a purchase made between 1799 and 1807, create a map showing the parcels sold by date with purchaser’s name.

Project Proposal cont’d

Attempt to determine which parcels were sold to non-residents (speculators)

Conduct spatial analyses of the parcels sold between 1799 and 1807 to determine relationships to the following factors: Lowland Plains in the north vs Hills in the south Proximity to a saw or grist mill Proximity to a major road Proximity to market Townships offered at wholesale vs smaller parcels Trend – East to west? 

Scope:

Limit the detailed parcel work to those parcels sold prior to January 1, 1811.

Limit the scope to original sales only.

References:

Pioneer History Of The Holland   Purchase of Western New York Orsamus Turner. Jewett, Thomas, & Co., 1849

The “Market” in the Early Republic, James A. Henretta, in Journal of the Early Republic, Vol. 18, No.2, (Summer 1998), pp 289-304

Land Subdivision on the Holland Purchase in western New York State, 1797-1820. William Wyckoff, in Journal of Historic Geography, 12, 2, (1986:Apr.), pp 142-161

History of the City of Buffalo and Erie County, With Illustrations and Biographical Sketches of its Prominent Men and Pioneers. H. Perry Smith, editor, Syracuse NY, D. Mason & Co, Pub., 1884