Scope and Contents
Dates
- circa 1750-1900
- Majority of material found within 1800 - 1840
Creator
Conditions Governing Access
Conditions Governing Use
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Arrangement
Extent
5.63 Linear Feet ( (6 boxes) + 25 broadside folders)
Language of Materials
English
Catalog Record
A record for this collection is available in Orbis, the Yale University Library catalog
Persistent URL
Overview
Overview
Martha Bradstreet (1780-1871)
Martha Bradstreet inherited land in the Mohawk River Valley of New York through the estates of her father, her namesake, and aunts, Agatha Bradstreet Evans (died 1794) and Elizabeth Bradstreet Livius (died 1795). Most of the land originally accrued through the estates of her step-grandfather, Major General John Bradstreet (1714-1774) and her grandmother, Mary Aldridge Bradstreet (died 1782). However, poorly drafted deeds of sales created uncertain titles to a portion of the land. The terms of the estate of Elizabeth Bradstreet Livius further complicated Martha Bradstreet's land claims because she had married without the approval of the estate's executor. Bradstreet subsequently discovered that much of the land she inherited from her aunt Martha was sold by the estate's executor, Charles Gould (1726-1806) through his son and attorney, Edward Goold (Gould). During the early nineteenth century she pursued litigation to cancel the land sales and gain title to the properties designated for her in the bequests. In 1831, the United States Supreme Court denied her claim to portions land in Cosby's Manor, a tract of land in and around Utica, New York, in James Jackson, Ex Dem. of Martha Bradstreet, v. Henry Huntington, 30 U.S. 5 Pet. 402 (1831).
Bradstreet continued to pursue her land claims in communities throughout the Mohawk River Valley until her death in Bennettsville, New York.
Processing Information
- Bradstreet family
- Bradstreet, John, 1711-1774 -- Estate
- Bradstreet, Martha, 1780-
- Bradstreet, Martha, 1780- -- Trials, litigation, etc.
- Bradstreet, Samuel, -1784
- Catlin, Clarissa Bartlett Gregory, 1807-1845
- Codd, Matthew, active 1799-1817
- Conkling, Alfred, 1789-1874
- Deerfield (N.Y. : Town)
- Divorce -- New York (State) -- Cases
- Legal documents
- Maps (documents)
- Masonville (N.Y.)
- Mohawk River Valley (N.Y.)
- Real property -- New York (State) -- New York
- Tompkins (N.Y.)
- Utica (N.Y.)
- Women -- New York (State) -- Social conditions -- 19th century
- Title
- Guide to the Martha Bradstreet Papers
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- by Matthew D. Mason and Ève Bourbeau-Allard
- Date
- October 2009, July 2019
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description note
- Finding aid written in English.
Part of the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library Repository
Location
121 Wall Street
New Haven, CT 06511
Opening Hours
Access Information
The Beinecke Library is open to all Yale University students and faculty, and visiting researchers whose work requires use of its special collections. You will need to bring appropriate photo ID the first time you register. Beinecke is a non-circulating, closed stack library. Paging is done by library staff during business hours. You can request collection material online at least two business days in advance of your visit, using the request links in Archives at Yale. For more information, please see Planning Your Research Visit and consult the Reading Room Policies prior to visiting the library.