NYSA_A1140-78_1829_063_p2

This letter of appeal was written by the citizens of the town of German Flatts (sometimes written Germanflatts) in Herkimer County to the Canal Board. The petition describes how a feeder stream for the Erie Canal floods in fall and freezes over in winter, spilling onto the road into town. The water and ice cause damage to properties and create a hazard. The petitioners suggest an alternative source of water for the canal which will not flood the river road. 1829.

NYSA_A1140-78_1831_023

This petition was submitted by Herman V. Hart to the New York State Canal Board, and concerns the overflowing of his land by the Erie Canal in the area of Manlius. Hart states that the land was previously dry, but as a result of the porous nature of the canal bank about 200 acres has suffered flooding. The petitioner claims that he has been unable to dispose of the land because of the overflowing. 1831.

NYSA_B0462-84_10239

Five page letter from the New York Paymaster General to the New York Adjutant General during the Civil War, decrying the practice of "bounty jumping", 1863. It grew increasingly popular for men to volunteer for the Union Army to receive a bounty, or reward, and then to desert once the bounty was paid to re-apply elsewhere. Local communities used bounties to fulfill quotas for soldiers without having to institute a draft. September 10, 1863.