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Landon family papers

Call Number

1977.025

Dates

1665-1864, inclusive
; 1718-1864, bulk

Creator

Landon, Henry
Landon, Jared
Landon, Samuel
Conkling, David
Landon family

Extent

2.5 Linear Feet in 5 manuscript boxes

Language of Materials

English .

Abstract

The Landon family papers relate principally to Jared Landon (died circa 1815) and to Henry Landon (died 1866) in their capacities as county judges, estate executors, and landholders. The Landons were residents of Cutchogue, part of the town of Southold in Suffolk County on the eastern end of Long Island, and the bulk of the collection concerns that area. Other Landons, such as Jared's father Samuel (circa 1700-1782), and other New York areas are represented in the collection, though to a much lesser extent. The collection is rich with legal and financial documents that can provide insight into social, economic, cultural, and political aspects of Suffolk County in the late eigtheenth century and first half of the nineteenth century. Document types include inventories, vendue (auction) accounts, day books, ledgers, promissory notes, court orders, trespasses and other court-related documents, land indentures and transfers, town meeting notices and resolutions, and more. The collection also holds substantive correspondence on legal, financial, personal, and political matters, including those related to the Democratic Party in Southold in the late 1820s-1840s. Documents concerning the American Revolution and the British occupation of New York, including the imprisonment of Jared Landon, are in the collection. References to African-Americans appear throughout the collection, including in account books and court cases.

Biographical Note

The Landon family papers relate principally to Henry Landon (died 1866) and to his father, Jared Landon (died circa 1815). Other Landons represented in the papers are Samuel Landon (circa 1700-1782), who was the father of Jared, and Samuel Hutchinson Landon (died circa 1843), who was the grandson of Jared and nephew of Henry. Another family relationship relevant to these papers is the marriage in 1819 of Henry to Mehetabel Griffing, the widow of Samuel Griffing.

The Landons were residents of Cutchogue, part of the town of Southold in Suffolk County on the eastern end of Long Island. During the American Revolution, both Samuel and his son Jared were supporters of the rebellion. As a result, during the British occupation of New York, father and son spent some time in prison. After his release, Samuel became a "refugee," fleeing with some family members to Guilford, Connecticut, where he would die in 1782. Jared remained on Long Island.

Samuel, Jared and Henry Landon owned farmland, but also held various Suffolk County and Southold public offices, including county judicial positions that earned them the appellation "Judge." Along with many other legal matters, Jared and Henry were involved, as either surrogate judges or as executors, with the administration of estates. For example, Jared was executor for his brother-in-law, merchant David Conkling, who was imprisoned with the Landons by the British. Henry was executor for Jared's grandson, Samuel H.

Both Jared and Henry represented their district in the New York State Assembly at various times. Henry was active in the local politics of Southold as a member of the emerging Democratic Party.

Arrangement

The Landon family papers were found to be only roughly organized at the beginning of processing in 2010, with a substantial portion of the collection categorized as miscellaneous or other catch-all term. There was no indication that the material was still in its original order. Consequently, the material was substantially rearranged, and a series structure and folder titles imposed, by the processing archivist.

The collection is organized in the following series: Series 1 - Legal Files; Series 2 - Correspondence; Series 3 - Financial Records; Series 4 - Miscellaneous.

Users of the collection should be aware that it is likely that documents on some matters will be found in various series, and in various folders within series. For example, documents related to estate work will be found in all of the series. Also, Henry Landon commonly used sheets of paper for multiple purposes (e.g., calculations, drafts of agreements, estate notes, etc.) and multiple matters. Generally, these documents could be placed within one series despite their multiple uses. Documents with "mixed content" that ranged across series in significant ways were placed in the Miscellaneous series.

Folders labeled with a date range might also include undated documents.

Scope and Contents

The Landon family papers are comprised principally of legal and financial documents concerning matters involving Jared and Henry Landon. Most of these matters concerned the Landons in their capacities as justices of the peace in Suffolk County, estate executors, or landholders. Accordingly, the collection has extensive legal files, such as court orders, testimony, trespasses on cases, court decisions, etc. Legal matters were of a criminal, civil, and commercial nature. Financial records include inventories, vendue (auction) account books, day books, ledgers, receipts, promissory notes, invoices, account statements, and the like. Many of the financial records concern the estate of merchant David Conkling. Indentures, mortgages, deeds, wills, and other documents related to land matters are in the collection. The collection also holds substantive correspondence on legal, political, financial, and personal matters. The bulk of the collection concerns Southold, and particularly Cutchogue, in Suffolk County, though some records relate to Kings County, New York City, and elsewhere. Overall, the collection is rich with documents that can provide insight into social, economic, cultural, and political aspects of Suffolk County in the late eighteenth century and first half of the nineteenth century.

The collection includes correspondence and other material from the American Revolution period, including documents related to Jared's imprisonment by the British and Samuel Landon's time as a refugee in Connecticut. References to African-Americans appear throughout the collection, including in account books and court cases. Jared and Henry were politically active in the emerging Democratic Party, and the collection includes material on national and local politics, especially from the late 1820s to the 1840s.

The collection also holds miscellaneous documents dating principally from the 1700s with no clear connection to the Landons. The American Revolution and Indian treaty proceedings are among the several subjects found in these documents. The documents include the journal maintained by Daniel Youngs while he was imprisoned in the Provost of New York during the Revolution.

Conditions Governing Access

Open to researchers without restriction.

Conditions Governing Use

Material in this collection is in the public domain.

Preferred Citation

Identification of item, date (if known); Landon family papers, 1977.025, Box and Folder number; Brooklyn Historical Society.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

The Landon papers were acquired in 1866 from the estate of Henry Landon. The papers were selected by Rev. Epher Whitaker, a Suffolk County counsellor for the Long Island Historical Society.

Related Materials

The Landons' stay in Provost prison is referenced in the John Fell diary, held by Brooklyn Historical Society (collection 1974.225).

An undated document related to Henry Landon can be found in the Middagh family papers (collection 1974.179). This document records the terms of sale of property mortgaged by Isaac Conklin and George L. Conklin to Landon (property unspecified).

Brooklyn Historical Society holds account books of David Conkling, a subject of the Landon papers (collection 1974.073).

Col. Archibald Hamilton, the subject of wartime complaints in the Landon papers, is likely the same Hamilton found in the John Kissam papers held by Brooklyn Historical Society (collection 1974.133).

Bibliographic References

Information on Samuel and Jared Landon's part in the American Revolution can be found in:

Jefferson, Wayland. Southold and its People in the Revolutionary Days. Southold, NY: Long Island Traveler Print, 1932.

Jefferson, Wayland. Cutchogue: Southold's First Colony. New York: Colonial Press, 1940. This book includes transcriptions of some of the correspondence between Jared and Samuel found in this collection.

Reference to the relationship of Jared Landon to David Conkling can be found in: Easter, David M., abstractor. The Wills of Suffolk County, Long Island [New York], Liber A, 1787-1798. Westminster, Maryland: Heritage Books, 2007 (reprint). See page 8, item A-41.

Reference to Henry Landon's marriage can be found in the Long Island Star of October 6, 1819.

Collection processed by

Larry Weimer

About this Guide

This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2023-08-21 11:09:14 +0000.
Using Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language: English

Processing Information

The Landon family papers were processed in May 2010 by Larry Weimer.

Repository

Brooklyn Historical Society
Center for Brooklyn History
128 Pierrepont Street
Brooklyn, NY 11201