Extensive Archive Letters Documents Creation (1 results)

Condition: Near Fine. The development of Jefferson County by French immigrants connected to Revolution, including maps with city planning and hundreds of documents about land acquisition and the general context surrounding the creation of the city [New York, Jefferson County]. An extensive archive of letters and documents on the creation and planning of Jefferson County, New York, Paris, etc., 1797-1877. The following items in the archive are especially worthy of note: 1. A map, highlighted in watercolour, showing plots of land along the St Lawrence River, copied 'from the map filed in the office of the Surveyor General Mr Simeon de Witt, the 24th January 1797 in Albany', and signed by Le Ray de Chaumont. The map shows Damas Bay (altered to Defourneaux Bay), the Julie River, and Langeron's Creek. The plots are marked as 'tres bon', 'bon', or 'modest'. 2. An undated plan for a town on the St Lawrence River at Cape Vincent, showing streets and plots for houses, and bearing the names 'Esselstyn' and 'Murray'. 3. An undated document signed 'Le Ray de Chaumont' giving costs in dollars of clearing, sowing, and fencing his land, as well as for a barn, stable, wooden and stone house, livestock, and tools, and predicted income for a hundred-acre farm in 1812-1813; with a note also in the hand of Desfourneaux. 1 p. 4. An enthusiastic letter (signature cut out) to Desfourneaux, written from New York on 27 August 1821, reporting on the writer's visit to Desfourneaux's lands; describes travelling by steamer to Albany and then by road to Le Ray and Cape Vincent; praises the roads; describes a meeting with Le Ray de Chaumont whom the writer found helpful but ostentatious; mentions the sale of 100,000 acres to Prince Joseph Bonaparte; describes trips to Damas Bay and the Julie River; mentions immigration, woodland, fish ponds, the value of the land, etc. 4 pp. 5. An undated note prepared for Desfourneaux regarding a potential associate to exploit his land and a suitable team under his management. The associate would need to be young and robust with some knowledge of chemistry, physics, mechanics, and veterinary science, as well as skill with a plane. The note discusses the qualities and equipment needed by his team, which would include a miller, carpenter, brewer, gardener, cook, baker, potter, and builder; also discusses crops, weapons, and clothing. 2 pp. 6. 'Etat descriptif de la propriété du Genl Defourneaux dans le Comté de Jefferson, Etat de New-Yorck'; describes the position of the land; mentions wood suitable for houses and ships, a river full of salmon and herring, and good agricultural land; discusses plans for establishing a town called Desfourneaux to rival Kingston, Ontario, with forty-seven streets and thirteen public squares, and provision for cemeteries, prisons, barracks, and hospitals; the town to be in the vicinity of Cape Vincent, Brownville, and Watertown; discusses transport links via steamboat and road; promises investors in the new town a guaranteed and swift return ('nowhere else could one find a place as favourable as this for founding a commercial town'), claiming that 2790 lots will produce 345,400 dollars. Joseph Bonaparte is mentioned as the owner of neighbouring property currently under development. 4 pp. 7. An extensive and remarkable group of letters between Desfourneaux, Villeneuve, Peugnet, and others, from the 1830s to the 1870s, sent from New York, Paris, and elsewhere. In a letter of 26 November 1849 from Peugnet to Villeneuve, for example, Peugnet writes that 'events in Europe, Canada, and California have not had an effect on your lands; on the contrary the immense immigration towards the Pacific has put a price on the lands of the Union'; he also refers to the impact of the Mexican War. A full description is available upon request.