Minutes of the Board of Property and Other References to Land in Pennsylvania
The Significance
This record shows us that John Test is present at Upland about three months after his arrival in America. John Test, on board the Griffin, landed off West Jersey on October 3, 1675 by the modern Gregorian Calendar or September 23, 1675 by the Julian Calendar. A few months later John Test bought 22 acres of land from Niels Matson at Upland on the west bank of the Delaware River.
The account of the minutes begins with the first patent to the property:
The Governor of New York, Francis Lovelace, granted Niels Matson about 22 acres of land in exchange for one bushell of good winter wheat.
The Explanation of the Dates
Massey and Hardin explain the date of this transaction:
It should be noted that 31 January 1675 under old style dating was actually 21 11 mo. 1675, and occurred about three and a half months after the arrival of the Griffin. [Section 1.4 above]
England retained the Old Style (O.S.) Julian Calendar until 1752. In the old style of dating the first day of the year was March 25. March was the first month. September (sept–prefix meaning 7),, October (octo meaning 8), November (novem meaning nine) and December (deca meaning 10) retained their meanings as the 7th, 8th, 9th, and 10th months. January was the 11th month near the end of the year and February was the last month of the year.
So, John Test arrived in America in September of 1675 (O.S) and four months later (In January of 1675 O.S.) he is purchasing land at Upland.
The Record
Here is the record as it appears in the Pennsylvania Archives Series 3 Volume 1:
Source: William Henry Egle, ed., Minutes of the Board of Property and Other References to Lands in Pennsylvania, (Harrisburg, Pa: Clarence M. Busch , State Printer, 1894).
