Christopher Hurlbut
Papers, 1788-1839

SC11599

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Biographical Note:

Christopher Hurlbut was born in Groton, Connecticut, May 30, 1757, and died in Arkport, New York, April 21, 1831. In 1770 he served in the Continental Army under the immediate command of George Washington. He helped capture the Native Americans who raided settlements in the Wyoming Valley of Pennsylvania, where he was living in 1779. In 1776 he married Elizabeth Mann. They had eight children.

In 1796 Christopher Hurlbut purchased and surveyed several great lots located in the Canisteo River valley that now encompasses parts of Steuben, Allegany, and Livingston counties. Much of the land was part of the estate of Sir William Pulteney, who had received a patent through Robert Morris in 1790. Prior to that, the land was part of the Phelps and Gorham purchase.

In 1797 Hurlbut built a house for his family on a lot now located in the hamlet of Arkport. By 1800 he had opened a general store and started a saw mill. In addition, he began to run arks (rafts) down the Canisteo River, which was eventually designated as a public waterway by the State of New York. Hurlbut also was involved in the planning and construction of roads and turnpikes in Allegany and Steuben counties, and in local politics, including serving on the board of the Arkport school district. His eldest daughter was one of the first teachers in the Arkport school. The Hurlbut family remained prominent in the area for several succeeding generations.

Scope and Contents Note:

The papers of Christopher Hurlbut relate not only to his personal life and career, but also provide historical documentation relative to the settlement and development of land in western New York State in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. These papers include correspondence, accounts, receipts, land titles, survey field books, and plat maps.  

The correspondence consists chiefly of letters addressed to Christopher Hurlbut from his family and from business associates detailing his work as a merchant, and later as a land surveyor and agent for the Pulteney estate. The letters also consider civic activities, political issues, and personal and family matters. Principal correspondents include John Hurlbut, Dugald Cameron, Matthias Hollenback, Samuel S. Haight, Henry Wells, and Robert Troup.

Papers related specifically to his business interests in land development include copies of land titles, contracts, plat maps, and survey field notes. These records are arranged primarily by town and range number, the system employed to subdivide and describe tracts of land in the United States after the Revolution. Lands held by Hurlbut were situated mostly in towns 4, 5, and 6 in the ranges 5, 6, and 7, which now form parts of Allegany, Steuben, and Livingston counties in New York State.

Ancillary papers include accounts and receipts for goods and services purchased by Hurlbut; promissory notes taken up by those who owed money to Hurlbut, contracts for road construction and maintenance, and records related to the district school in Arkport, New York.

Provenance Note:

The bulk of papers related to Christopher Hurlbut were purchased by this repository from B.S. Tighe in April 1946, and accessioned as collection SC11599. An additional series, consisting of 29 letters, appears to have been purchased from the same vendor in September 1950, and accessioned as collection 12451. The two series were collated in March 1994. Another series, consisting of 53 letters, was purchased from Frank Collins about March 1944, and accessioned as collection 11276. This series was collated with SC11599 in June 2014.

Box and Folder List:

Note: Survey field notes are generally identified by Town (T) and Range (R) number and not dated. The few items that are dated indicate the surveys were done as early as 1806 and as late as 1827.