to a black oak marked tree standing upon the northeast side of Twiller's Flats, havving a small snip of flats upon the southeast side of the line; and so from thence to a white oak tree standing to the west side of Moschito Hole to a small island, leaving a snip of flats in the Flatlands bounds; and from thence to a certain marked tree or stump, standing by the highway which goes to Flatlands upon the Little Flats, about twenty rods from Flatbush Lots, and so along the fence six hundred Dutch rods, to the corner of Flatbush fence, and so along the rear of the lots to a sassafras stump standing in Cornelius Jansen Berrian's lot of land; and from thence with a straight line to a certain old marked tree or stump, standing by the Rush Pond under the hills, and so along upon the south side of the hill till it comes to the west end of the Long Hill, and so along upon the south side of the said hill, till it comes to the east end of the long hill; and then with a straight line from the east end of the said long hill, to a marked white oak tree, standing to the west side of the road, near the place called the gate or port of hills; and so from the east side of the port or gate aforesaid upon the south side of the main hills, as far as Brooklyn Patent doth extend; and so along the said hills to the bounds of Jamaica Patent; and from thence with a southerly line, to the kill or creek by the east of the Plunders Neck, and so along the said kill to the sea, as according to the several deeds or purchases from the Indian owners, the Patent from Governor Nicolls, and the award between Brooklyn and the town of Flatbush, relation thereunto being had, doth more fully and at large appear; And, whereas, application to me hath been made for a confirmation of the aforesaid tract and parcels of land and premises: Now Know ye, that by virtue of the commission and authority unto me given by his majesty, James the Second, by the Grace of God, of England, Scotland, France and Ireland, King, Defender of the Faith, Supreme Lord and Proprietor of the Province of New-York, in consideration of the premises and the quit rent hereinafter reserved, I have given, granted, ratified and confirmed, and by these presents, do give, grant, ratify and confirm, unto Cornelius Vanderwyck, John Okie, Joseph Hegeman, Aries Jansen Vanderbilt, Lafford Pieterson, William Guilliamsen, Hendrick Williamse, Pieter Williamse, Arien Ryers, Peter Stryker, John Stryker, John Remsen, Jacob Hendricks, Derick Vandervleet, Hendrick Ryck, Okie Johnson, Daniel Polhemus, Peter Lott, Cornelius Vanderveer, Derick Johnson Hooglandt, Denise Teunis, John Johnson, Ditimus Lewis Jansen, William Jacobs, Hendrick Hegeman and Garrit Lubbertse, for and on the behalf of themselves and their associates, all the freeholders and inhabitants of the said town of Flatbush, and to their heirs and assigns forever, all the before recited tract and tracts, parcel and parcels, of land and islands within the said bounds and limits, together with all and singular, the woods, underwoods, plains, hills, meadows, pastures, quarries, marshes, waters, lakes, causeways, rivers, beaches, houses, buildings, fishing, hawking, hunting and fowling, with all liberties, privileges, hereditaments and appurtenances to the said tract of land and premises belonging, or in any wise appertaining: To have and to hold the said tract of land and premises before mentioned, and intended to be given, granted and confirmed, unto the said Cornelius Vanderwyck, John Okie, Joseph Hegeman, Aries Jansen Vanderbilt, Lafford Pieterson, William Guilliamsen, Hendrick Williamse, Peter Guilliamsen, Arien Ryers, Peter Stryker, John Stryker, John Remsen, Jacob Hendricks, Derick Vandervleet, Hendrick Ryck, Okie Johnson, Daniel Polhemus, Peter Lott, Cornelius Vanderveer, Derick Johnson Hooglandt, Denise Teunis, John Johnson, Ditimus Lewis Jansen, William Jacobs, Hendrick Hegeman, and Garrit Lubbertse, the said patentees and their associates, their heirs and assigns, forever. To be holden of his majesty in free and common soccage, according to the tenure of East Greenwick, in the county of Kent, in his majesty's kingdom of England: Yielding, rendering, and paying therefor, yearly, and every year, at the city of New-York, unto his majesty, his heirs or successors, or to his or their officer or officers, as by him or them shall be appointed to receive the same, eighteen bushels of good merchantable wheat, on or before the five and twentieth day of March, yearly and every year.

"In Testimony whereof, I have caused these presents to be entered upon record, in the Secretary's office in the said Province, and the seal thereof, have hereunto affixed, and signed with my hand, this twelfth day of November, in the first year of his majesty's reign. Anno Domini, 1685.

                                  THOMAS DONGAN."
 

It will be perceived, that by the above recited Patent granted by Governor Dongan, to the freeholders and inhabitants of the town of Midwout alias Flatbush, that the tenure by which they held their lands is denominated a tenure "in free and common soccage." The tenures of lands which were authoratively established in England, in the reign of William the Conqueror, were principally of two kinds, according to the services annexed. They were either denominated tenures by knight service, or tenures in free and common soccage. The tenures by knight service, in which the services were occasionally uncertain, were altogether of a military nature, and esteemed highly honorable according to the martial spirit of the times.

These tenures however, in addition to the obligation of fealty and the military services of forty days in a year, were subject to certain other hard conditions, which we need not here enumerate, but which gradually rendered them more and more oppressive and increased the power of the feudal lords. At length upon the restoration of Charles the Second, to the crown of Great Britain, the tenure by knight service with all its grievous incidents, was abolished by law, and the tenure of land was, for the most part, turned into free and common soccage, and every thing oppressive in that tenure was also abolished.

A soccage tenure according to which the town of Midwout, or Flatbush, was patented, denotes lands held by a fixed and determinate service which is not military nor in the power of the lord to vary at his pleasure. It was the certainty and specific nature of the service, duty, or render, which made this species of tenure such a safeguard against the wanton exactions of the feudal lords, and rendered it of such inestimable value in view of the ancient English. It was deemed by them a point of the utmost importance, to change their tenures by knight service, into tenures by soccage.

All lands granted by Patent by Governor Dongan, and the other subsequent English governors, were in free and common soccage, and subject to an annual render or rent charge, called quit rent. In the Patent of the town of Midwout, this render or rent charge was fixed at eighteen bushels of good winter merchantable wheat, to be yielded, rendered and paid yearly and every year, at the city of New-York, on or before the 25th, of March, in every year to the king, his heirs and successors, or to such officer or officers as he or they should appoint to receive the same. This render and delivery of wheat, was regularly and annually made by the freeholders and inhabitants of this town, to an officer residing in the city of New-York, appointed to receive the same, and styled "the Receiver General." The quit rent continued to be paid in kind, till it became more convenient for the inhabitants to pay, and the crown to receive money, in the place of wheat. The Receiver General was then authorized and required in equity and good conscience, to estimate the standard value of wheat in money. According to his determination, wheat was valued in money, at four shillings and eight pence a bushel, New-York currency. This appears to have been the standard value thereof for years. From this time onward, the quit rents of the town were regularly paid in money, according to the then estimated value every year, until the 25th, day of March, 1762. Why the payments were not regularly and annually continued, from and after that time, does not appear. The delay may perhaps be ascribed to the agitations then existing in the country, caused by events which led to the war of the revolution.

Soccage tenures are however considered by Chancellor Kent, from whose commentaries on American laws, the above recited account of tenures is taken, as of feudal extraction, and retain some of the leading properties of feuds. But most of the feudal incidents and consequences of soccage tenures were expressly abolished in the State of New-York, shortly after the termination of the revolutionary war, and they are wholly and entirely annihilated by the Revised Statutes, which took effect on the 1st, of January, 1830. But soccage lands were not to be deemed discharged of any rents, certain or other services, incident or belonging to tenure in soccage, due to the people of the State (who were considered to stand in the place of the crown.) Therefore on the 1st, day of April, 1786, the Legislature of this State passed an Act, entitled "An Act for the collection and commutation of Quit Rents." By this act it is provided that it shall and may be lawful to, and for every person and persons, being citizens of the United States, who is, or shall be seized of any lands, or tenements, in this State, charged with an annual quit rent, to commute for the same, by paying fourteen shillings for every shilling, of such annual quit rent, at any time on or before the first day of May, 1787, in any public securities receivable in payment on sales of confiscated estates, or in any other securities or certificates, issued or to be issued by the Treasurer of this State, and at the same rate, such securities and certificates are receivable in payment for confiscated estates, to the Treasurer of this State, for the time being, for the use of the people of this State: and the said Treasurer shall, upon such payment, give the person making such payment a receipt or certificate, expressing the sum paid, the annual quit rent in lieu of which the same is paid, and the land on which the said annual quit rent was charged or reserved, and shall enter the same receipt in a book, by him to be kept for that purpose, which receipt or certificate, or the entry thereof, shall be a good discharge of such quit rent forever.

In compliance with the provisions of the Act above recited, the inhabitants of the town of Flatbush purchased public securities, to the amount of œ162. 9. 0. which amount they paid to Gerard Bancker, the Treasurer of the State, on the 18th, day of December, 1786, and upon the payment thereof obtained from him the following receipt, or certificate.

"Patent granted to the inhabitants of Flatbush, in Kings County, dated 12th November, 1685, Quit Rent, eighteen bushels wheat per annum.
years.
Balance due 25th, March, 1765. 3 12 12.
 From 25th, March, 1765,
to 25th, Decem, 1786. y. m.
 (???) 21 9
(Deduct for the period of revolution,) 8
  13 9 at 18 B. Wt.
pr. Ann. 247 1/2 "6s. 74 5
 14 years commut. 252 "6s. 75 12
 œ162 9 0.

Received, 18th, December, 1786, from Philip Nagle, of Flatbush, Public Securities, which with the interest allowed thereon, amount to one hundred and sixty two pounds, nine shillings, in full, for arrears of Quit Rent, and commutation, for the future quit rents that would have arisen on the above described Patent.

                   GERARD BANCKER, Treasurer."
  œ162 9 00.
The town of Flatbush upon the payment of the abovementioned sum of money, for arrears of quit rent, and commutation of future quit rents became exhonerated from all further exactions on the score of such rents.

But to return from this digression, to the regular history of the town of Midwout, which was brought down to the time in which Governor Dongan administered the Colonial Government. The woodlands still remained in common and undivided, because the farms previously allotted, had all along furnished timber sufficient for building, fuel and other needful purposes. But as these resources began gradually to diminish, it became necessary as well as dictated by prudence, that some order should be taken on the partition and division of the common woodlands. About the year 1700, these lands were surveyed, and laid off in separate allotments or grand divisions, and these were again severally subdivided into forty-eight smaller allotments, corresponding with the original division of the town. These smaller allotments were all laid out in oblong forms with parallel lines, and usually containing about five acres apiece. Upon the completion of the survey, the several wood lots were allotted to the inhabitants of the town, in proportion to the farm lots by them respectively owned, and the church drew its proportionate share with the several owners.

The meadows had been previously subdivided into similar lots, and allotted in like manner, with the exception of one lot in the Canarsee Meadows, which was set apart for the use of the schoolmaster, for the time being. Corlaer's and Twiller's Flats, so called after the names of the original purchasers, Anthony Van Corlaer and Wouter Van Twiller, the first Dutch governor, were also previously subdivided, but not fully alloted, with the exception of a small tract of woodland lying between, and adjoining these Flats, which was assigned to some of the patentees, and a lot reserved for the use of the school.

About the year 1706, an encroachment was made on the patent of the town of Flatbush, by inhabitants of Newtown, and on the 3d day of April, in the same year, the town unanimously agreed that every patentee should contribute six shilling to carry on and pay the expenses of a law suit, in defending the Patent from this encroachment. From this time forth at the annual town meetings, two persons were chosen to guard the interests of the town in regard to their meets and bounds, as set forth