Little Nine Partners Patent

The first ten, granted between 1685 and 1697, covered almost all of Hudson River shoreline in the original county, with three - Rombouts, the Great Nine Partners, and Philipse Patents, extending significantly inland.

The eleventh, and smallest, Cuyler, 1697, was the first to contain solely inland territory, just in from the Hudson.

The twelfth, and next smallest, Fauconnier, in 1703, completed the Hudson River shoreline.

The last two, Beekman, 1705, and the Little Nine Partners, 1706, laid claim to the remaining interior lands.

[1] Although awarded in 1706, it was not until 1744 that the allocation of each of the nine partners was associated with a specific lot through a Dutchess County Court process that involved a lottery system, drawn by "two boys...under the age of sixteen."