penses are defrayed by rate bills, against those who send to the schools.

5. City of Brooklyn. Here, too, the common council are, from their office, commissioners of common schools; the general management of which is committed to a board of education, consisting of two members from each district appointed by the common council. They are divided into three classes, one of which annually goes out of office. The schools are free, deriving their support from assessments on the taxable property of the city.

6. City of Utica. The board of Commissioners for common schools in this city, consists of six members, two of whom are elected annually. They hold their office for three years. The rate bills may not exceed $2.00 per term. The remaining sums necessary for the support of schools, beyond the state apportionment, are raised by

taxes.

7. City of Schenectady. The Schenectady Lancasterian school society has the general control of public education, in this city and receives, and disburses the public money applicable to this purpose.

8. City of Albany. The public schools of this city are under the supervision of a board of commissioners, nine in number, appointed by the Mayor, Recorder, and such of the Regents as may reside in the city. The members of this board, hold office for three years, one third going out of office each year.

The schools are not entirely free, the sum raised by tax being only twice the amount received from the state; but the indigent are exempted from the payment of rate bills; and a certain number of indigent pupils, who have attended the district schools at least two years, are supported at either of the academies of the city, or at the state normal school. Instruction in vocal music is provided in all the schools. The number of school districts is ten, and children instructed about 3000.

The city of Troy, and the villages of Poughkeepsie and Williamsburgh, have separate local systems, similar to those above described.

UNIVERSITIES, COLLEGES, AND ACADEMIES.

Regents of the University. These institutions are, by law, placed under the supervision, and subject to the visitation of a board, organized by the legislature in 1784, under the title of "Regents of the University of the state of New York." This board consists of twenty-one persons; of this board, the Governor and Lieutenant Governor are, ex officio, members, and the others are appointed by the legislature, and hold office, during its pleasure.

Its officers are, a Chancellor, Vice Chancellor, Secretary, and Treasurer, elected by the board. It is their duty to examine, and report to the legislature, the modes of education, discipline, number of students, course of study, funds, debts, &c., of the institutions under their charge.

They are also empowered to fill vacancies in the offices of president or principal of these institutions; to confer degrees, under certain circumstances, above that of Master of Arts; to apportion the annual income of the literature fund, among the several senate districts; and to incorporate academies, on compliance with such terms as they may prescribe.

The Literature Fund, appropriated to the support of this class of institutions, amounts to $268,990 57, consisting of state, bank, and insurance stocks, and money in the treasury, besides 9625 acres of land, valued at $4300. It yields an annual revenue of about $75,000. Of this amount, $40,000 is divided among the academies of the state; $9000 to the university of the city of New York; $7000 to Geneva college, including its medical department; $3000 to Hamilton college; $1000 to the Albany medical college; $2300 to Genesee Wesleyan Seminary; $10,000 to the state normal school, and the balance to the purchase of books and apparatus for the various academies, in pursuance of the provisions of an act passed in 1834.

Universities and Colleges. There are at present, in this state, four incorporated universities, viz: the University of the city of New York, organized in 1832; the Madison University, at Hamilton, Madison county; the Rochester University, and the Buffalo University; the three latter incorporated in 1846.

There are also four colleges; Columbia College, in the city of New York; Union College, at Schenectady; Hamilton College, at Clinton, Oneida county, and Geneva college, at Geneva, in Ontario county.

The

In addition to these, there are five medical schools, viz; the College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York city; the Medical Department of the University of the city of New York; the Albany Medical College; the Medical Department of Geneva College, and the Medical Department of the Buffalo University, organized in 1846. Academies. There are 179 incorporated academies in the state, comprising upwards of 25,000 pupils of both sexes. aggregate value of the land and buildings belonging to these institutions, exceeds $1,000,000; the value of the libraries belonging to them, $60,000, and of their apparatus, $56,000. The aggregate amount paid for tuition, during the year 1845, was over $200,000; the number of teachers employed, over 600; and the number of students gratuitously instructed, over 200.

The branches of study taught, embrace, in addition to those ordinarily pursued in common schools, the higher departments of mathematics and natural Philosophy, with their various applications to practical uses; the languages, ancient and modern; the physical sciences; moral and intellectual philosophy; history in its widest and most comprehensive range; natural theology; political economy; vocal, and occasionally, instrumental, music; drawing, and other accomplishments.

There are several female academies and seminaries; among which, the Albany Female Academy, and Female Seminary, the Troy, Rutgers, in the city of New York, Poughkeepsie, Amsterdam, Schenec tady, Clinton, Utica, Auburn, Ontario at Canandaigua, Batavia, Le Roy, Seward, and Rochester Female Seminaries, are the most prominent. Theological Seminaries. Of these there are nine, viz: the Hamilton Theological Institution, now forming a department of the Madison University, in Hamilton, Madison county, under the patronage of the Baptist denomination, but open, without distinction, to students of every religious denomination, designing to prepare themselves for the gospel ministry; the Oneida Conference Seminary, founded by the Methodists, and located in the village of Cazenovia, Madison

county; the Genesee Wesleyan Seminary, at Lima, Livingston county; Auburn Theological Seminary, (Presbyterian ;) the Hartwick Theological Seminary, (Lutheran ;) the Theological Seminary of the Associate Reformed Church of New York, at Newburgh, Orange county; the General Theological Seminary of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States, located in New York city; the Union Theological Seminary, in the same city; and the Roman Catholic Ecclesiastical Seminary, at Rose Hill, in Westchester county. Collegiate Schools. There are seven of these institutions, located in different sections of the state. St. John's College, a Roman Cath. olic institution, pleasantly situated at Rose Hill, Westchester Co., about twelve miles from New York city, numbers 115 pupils; St. Paul's College, St. Thomas' Hall, and St. Ann's Hall, at Flushing, Long Island, are under the patronage of the Protestant Episcopal de nomination; the latter is specially designed for the education of young ladies; the Poughkeepsie Collegiate School, is located in the flourishing village of Poughkeepsie, and has a high reputation; the Black River Literary and Religious Institute, is a well ordered and flourishing seminary, situated at Watertown, Jefferson county, and averages about 200 pupils; and the New Brighton Collegiate School, situated on the heights, overlooking the village of New Brighton, on Staten Island, six miles from New York.

GEOGRAPHY AND HISTORY

OF THE

COUNTIES.

LAND PURCHASES REFERRED TO IN THIS WORK.

In the description of the several counties, references are made to the Manor of Rensselaerwyck, the Livingston Manor, the Kayaderosseras Patent, the Hardenburgh Patent, Phelps' and Gorham's Purchase, the Holland Land Company's Purchase, the Pulteney estate, the Military tract, Bingham's Purchase, Morris' estate, &c.

The first three of these, are fully described in the general historical sketch, and in the description of the counties of Albany, Rensselaer, Columbia and Saratoga. The Hardenburgh Patent was granted at an early date to a Dutch citizen of wealth, and comprised the larger part of Delaware and Sullivan counties.

Phelps' and Gorham's Purchase included the Holland Land Company's purchase, the Pulteney estate, and the Morris estate.

The history of this purchase is as follows:

The second charter of Massachusetts, granted by William and Mary in 1691, bounded the territory of that colony westwardly, by the Pacific Ocean: thus dividing the present state of New York into two parts, separated from each other, by a section of the width of the state of Massachusetts.

The colony of New York, under the grants made to the Duke of York and Albany in 1664, claimed the whole extent of territory, at present included under her jurisdiction. These conflicting claims gave rise to long and harassing disputes, and protracted legal proceedings, but on the 16th of December, 1786, the controversy was settled, by a convention between the two states, concluded at Hartford, Conn.

By this convention, Massachusetts ceded to New York, all claim to the government, sovereignty, and jurisdiction, of the lands in controversy; and New York granted to Massachusetts, the right of pre-emption, (or first purchase,) from the Indians, and when so purchased, the fee simple of the soil, of all that part of the state, lying west of a mer dian drawn through Seneca lake, except a tract one mile wide, along the shores of Lake Erie, and the Niagara river; a territory now comprising thirteen entire counties, and the larger part of Wayne county, and containing nearly 600,000 inhabitants.

On the first of April, 1788, the state of Massachusetts contracted to sell to Oliver Phelps and Nathaniel Gorham, the right of pre-emption, to the whole of this vast tract, for the sum of one million dollars, to be paid in three equal instal

ments.

On the 8th of July, of the same year, Messrs. Phelps and Gorham made a treaty with the Indians in the neighborhood of Canandaigua, by which the Indian title was extinguished to the tract lying east of the Genesee river, and a tract extending twelve miles west of that river, from York, in Genesee county, northward to the lake. This tract was confirmed to the contractors, by the Massachusetts legislature, in November, 1788.

In February, 1790, Messrs. Phelps and Gorham, having paid $656,666, on the purchase money, and being unable to pay the third instalment, the time agreed, proposed to the state of Massachusetts, to surrender to the state the remaining portion, to which the Indian title was not extinguished, and should the amount already purchased of the Indians, prove more than one-third of the whole tract, to pay for the excess, at the average price of the whole. This proposition was accepted.

On the 18th of November, 1790, Messrs. Phelps and Gorham sold to Robert Morris, all of their tract east of the Genesee river, except the portion already sold to settlers, and two townships reserved to themselves. The tract thus sold, contained 1,264,000 acres, and Mr. Morris paid about $200,000 for it.

The lands surrendered to the state of Massachusetts were sold to Samuel Ogden, and by him to Robert Morris, who extinguished the Indian title for the sum of $100,000. Mr. Morris, by this purchase, became possessed of the greater part of the tract, originally purchased by Messrs. Phelps and Gorham.

Mr. Morris, soon after, sold to a company formed in Holland, a portion of the land thus purchased, comprising 3,200,000 acres, and including the present counties of Erie, Niagara, Chautauque, and Cattaraugus. This company was known as the Holland Land Company, and their tract as the Holland Purchase. They established a land office at Batavia, and sold the land to actual settlers. Those lands which remained unsold, were, after a time, transferred to other associations, but by far the larger part, are now owned by the inhabitants.

The tract purchased of Phelps and Gorham, by Mr. Morris, was sold by him, to Sir William Pulteney, and hence called the Pulteney estate. It comprised nearly all of Steuben, Yates, and Ontario counties, the east range of townships in Allegany, and the principal part of Livingston, Monroe, and Wayne counties. About one-third of the whole tract had been sold to companies and individuals, previous to Sir William's purchase. Mr. Williamson was appointed his agent, and opened land offices at Geneva and Bath. To his energy, public spirit, and liberality, the people of those counties are much indebted.

The tract lying between this estate, and the Holland purchase, was retained by Mr. Morris, and sold by him to actual settlers. It embraced portions of Orleans, Genesee, Wyoming, and Allegany counties, and contained 500,000 acres.

The Military tract, or rather tracts, for there were two to which this name was applied, were bounty lands, granted by New York, to her soldiers, who had served during the revolutionary war; an appropriation of 600 acres was made to every private soldier, and larger quantities to the officers.

The act, granting these lands, was passed in 1786, and the grant was made, with the proviso, that the Indian title should first be extinguished. The lands thus granted, comprised the present counties of Onondaga, Cortland, Tompkins, Cayuga, Seneca, and part of Oswego, and Wayne. It contained 1,680 000 acres. As, however, the Indian title was not immediately extinguished, the legislature, the same year, appropriated twelve northern townships in the present counties of Clinton, Franklin, and Essex, containing 768,000 acres, to the location of revolutionary patents. This was called the Old Military tract. The Indian title to the other traɔt, however, being extinguished in 1789, the greater part of the bounty lands were located in Onondaga, and the adjacent counties.

Bingham's Purchase was a tract some twenty miles square, lying partly in Broome county, and partly in the state of Pennsylvania. It was purchased by Messrs. Bingham, Wilson, and Cox, of Philadelphia, in 1785. Immediately north of this, was another purchase, made the succeeding year, by a company from Massachusetts, and containing 230,000 acres. There were sixty proprietors in this company.

Large tracts of land are also held in the counties of Jefferson and St. Lawrence, by the Messrs. Van Rensselaer, and Governeur Morris; and in different sections of the state, by Gerrit Smith, Esq., of Peterboro, Chenango county, and the heirs of the Messrs. Wadsworth, of Livingston county.