Research

Scope and Content Note

This series consists of a manuscript copy of the "Duke's Laws" created by the office of the secretary of the Colony of New York for use as an official copy. The copy includes forty-three leaves, measuring 7 ? x 11 ? inches. The laws address such varied issues as establishment of town boundaries; assessments for raising public funds; legal appeals; jurors and juries; prohibitions against holding Christians in bond slavery; capital crimes; other criminal offenses and associated penalties; civil law; marriage; estates; maintenance of common fields and fences; freedom of religion within the bounds of Christianity; powers and duties of sheriffs, overseers, and constables; land conveyances and titles; fees payable to public officers; licenses and other regulations of inn and tavern keepers; interactions with Native Americans; raising, training, and support of militias; and the creation and filing of official records.

A section entitled "Masters Servants and Labourers" guarantees servants legal protection from harsh masters and empowers constables and overseers to "protect and sustain" servants in their own houses until the Court of Sessions could address the servants' complaints. This section was featured (No. 21) in the Freedom Train exhibit that traveled the state of New York from January 1949 to February 1950.