Twelve Men's Contract

The front-side of the Contract of 1728. Photo Courtesy of Historic Huguenot Street

Faded script written on fraying, yellowed pieces of paper, this document presents the “Contract of 1728.” An agreement between the Twelve Men of New Paltz, also known as the Duzine, would designate elected representatives from each of the twelve founding families who would act in the town’s government. The contract resulted from the desire to manage and survey the land the Huguenot settlers had bought from the Esopus tribe.

Physical Description: 

Four pages, interestingly varying in size, come together to form the Contract of 1728. Their appearance is testament to their age; a few stains and tears interrupt the looping and fading script reminiscent of many antiquated documents from the era. Pages 1, 2, and 4 are the same size, measuring 12.75 by 15 inches. The third page is the largest lengthwise, measuring 12.75 by 21.5 inches. The first three pages include the actual agreement, detailing the institution of the Twelve Men and the power that they would have in the New Paltz government. On the bottom half of the third page, and arguably the reason for its length, rests twenty-four wax seals and corresponding signatures of the signatories and witnesses of the document. The final page is a notary statement dated to 1771, written by Dick Wynkoop and signed by three more witnesses. 

Provenance:

Being a legal document within New Paltz’s government, the 1728 Duzine Agreement has been kept with the town records since its creation. The New Paltz Town Records are stored in the archives of Historic Huguenot Street and consist of nineteen boxes of documents and other items relevant to the history of the first two-hundred years of the town, before the incorporation of the New Paltz Village. The document is also associated with and can be better understood through the examining of the Proceedings of the Twelve Men, a 72-page book which documents the discussion of the Duzine from 1738, the year in which the Contract of 1728 was reaffirmed, until 1772. 

The back-side of the Contract of 1728. Photo Courtesy of Historic Huguenot Street.

Narrative:

To All Christian People. In four, very powerful opening words, the creation of the Contract of 1728 makes clear who in the newly patented New Paltz land would have power and who should be made aware of it. The writers and signatories were aware of their excluding a group of people from their new system of governmental representation, or else there would be no need to address the document specifically to only Christian people. While this could serve as an acknowledgement of the hardships the Huguenots had faced in result of their search for religious freedom, it also illuminates the darker and often unspoken history of slavery and racism in the town of New Paltz. 

The Huguenots, Calvinist Protestants who fled France during a time of intense religious persecution, settled in the area now known as the town of New Paltz. The original twelve families who settled on the land entered into an agreement with the Esopus people, the Native American tribe that had already been living there, under the Contract of 1677. This contract officiated the transfer of land from the Esopus to the New Paltz founders in exchange for currency, clothes, gunpowder, lead, and the guarantee that the Natives could continue to hunt on the land. Once having officially obtained the land called the New Paltz Patent, the twelve founders, also known as the “patentees,” equally split the land amongst themselves and their families, supporting a community of 60 total Huguenots. For the first 25 years of their settlement, the New Paltz land was held in common by its population, governed by the heads of the original twelve households. In 1703, the remaining patentees and the heirs of the deceased formally reversed the precedent of commonly owned land and declared ownership over their respective property, leading to the creation of the contract of 1728. 

The contract was developed in part as a way of discouraging neighboring towns and individuals from encroaching on the patentees’ land. Further, the contract hoped to create a strong, centralized government that became more desirable as the population continued to grow. The contract created a new system of land management through the institution of the Twelve Men, or the Duzine: one man from each of the original founding families who was elected annually to represent his respective family in council meetings. The Twelve Men held the power to survey and divide the lands bought under the Contract of 1677 and to “act and set in good order and unity all common affairs Business or things coming before them.” The contract was renewed ten years later with the Contract of 1738. 

The Contract of 1728 established an electoral system of voting and representation, with the families deciding amongst themselves which person—or realistically, which man—would best represent their needs and desires. As the population grew, so did the government; by the end of the 18th century, there were 50 elected officials representing about 1,263 people. Similarly to the modern-day discourse over the efficacy of an electoral system in properly representing the citizens of the United States, the establishment of the Twelve Men raises questions of who would have a voice in the government, especially considering the history of slavery in New Paltz.  

The development of New Paltz was built on slavery, in particular during its first 150 years of existence. The Huguenots benefited greatly from the slave trade which was especially prominent in colonial New York, relying on enslaved Africans as a supply of forced labor on farms, and in mills and homes. The first record of slavery in New Paltz is from 1674, three years before the founders bought the New Paltz Patent. According to the census of 1755, there were 28 slaveholders owning a total of 78 slaves over the age of 14. As New Paltz’s population continued to grow, so did the number of enslaved people; by 1790, slaves made up more than 13% of the population, with records showing prominent New Paltz founding families such as the DuBois’s, Freer’s, and LeFever’s owning several slaves.  

These enslaved people were considered the property of their owners and not given a voice. Consider the two slaves owned by Louis DuBois; they, despite living in the home of the DuBois family, were not considered in the election of their representative and could have no say in the government they were living under, the government which decided they were property. Even later when slavery was abolished in New York, freed Black men struggled to find their voice within the New Paltz government. New York State required ownership of $250 worth of land, the modern equivalent of $10,000, for them to vote or hold office. Although there is record of one freed black man, Caesar DuBois, being registered to vote, this offers little consolation: one man out of hundreds of both freed black people and those still enslaved could participate in government, a result of the founders’ intentions on who this electoral system was made for.  

When understanding the history of slavery in New Paltz, the question of the language of the Contract of 1728, of its purpose being to inform “all Christian people,” becomes hauntingly clear. The contract was meant to assure the white landowners would have continued ownership over their property and efficient representation in government. Historic lack of representation of people of color in the United States has had continuous oppressive impacts in the contemporary world, and therefore histories of slavery and restricted representation in quaint, “progressive” towns like New Paltz must be acknowledged to repair the communities disenfranchised by racism and enslavement. 

~Makayla Witherell

Works Cited

“Caesar DuBois · New Paltz Historic Documents Project · Hudson River Valley Heritage Exhibits.” Hrvh.org, 2021, omeka.hrvh.org/exhibits/show/new-paltz-historic-doc-project/research-projects/free-black-community/caesar-dubois. Accessed 2 Nov. 2024. 

“Enslavement · New Paltz Historic Documents Project · Hudson River Valley Heritage Exhibits.” Hrvh.org, 2018, omeka.hrvh.org/exhibits/show/new-paltz-historic-doc-project/research-projects/enslavement. Accessed 2 Nov. 2024. 

“New Paltz Town Records (1677-1932).” Historic Huguenot Street, http://www.huguenotstreet.org/new-paltz-town-records. 

“Proceedings of the Twelve Men.” New York Heritage Digital Collections, 2019, nyheritage.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16694coll153/id/21568/rec/1. Accessed 2 Nov. 2024. 

Roth, Eric J. For the Village: The Story of Huguenot Street. Huguenot Historical Society of New Paltz, Inc., 2009. 

Roth, Eric J. “‘The Society of Negroes Unsettled’: a history of slavery in New Paltz, NY.” Afro-Americans in New York Life and History, vol. 27, no. 1, Jan. 2003, pp. 27+. Gale Academic OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A128705774/AONE?u=acc&sid=googleScholar&xid=1814ccca. Accessed 2 Nov. 2024. 

“Slavery in New York.” http://www.slaveryinnewyork.org, http://www.slaveryinnewyork.org/history.htm. 

Smith, Michael J. Natives’ Prosopography of Individuals Mentioned in the 1767 Land Agreement, Loughlo to Moses Depuy, Et.al. Feb. 2024, static1.squarespace.com/static/53285698e4b0689686dbce6c/t/66db17c353c8324988414849/1725634499715/1767+Native+deed+participants-8-30-24.pdf.“The Twelve Men, Agreement for an Annual Election of Representatives.” New York Heritage Digital Collections, 2019, nyheritage.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16694coll153/id/21573/rec/3. Accessed 2 Nov. 2024.