A tall single-column manuscript page in brown ink on cream laid paper. The heading reads, in an ornate secretary hand, "To the Honorable" and beneath it, "Cadwallader Colden Esqr. President of his Majestys Council, and Commander in Chief of the Province of New York, and the Territories depending thereon in America." Below, a formal petition opens with the words "The Memorial of the Subscribers, Merchants of the City of New York" and "Humbly Sheweth" set as ornate capitals. The body describes the commercial harms suffered from the want of a lighthouse at Sandy Hook and the shipwrecks that have followed.

Merchants' Memorial to Cadwallader Colden urging a Lighthouse at Sandy Hook

ca. 1761

Sandy Hook · petitioned from the City of New York (approx)

The five-page petition — the original document behind the 1764 Sandy Hook Lighthouse. Addressed to the Honorable Cadwallader Colden, President of His Majesty's Council and Commander in Chief of the Province of New York, and signed by the merchants of the City of New York on behalf of themselves and the trading inhabitants of the province. The subscribers argue that the commercial interest of the city and province had always laboured under the greatest disadvantages and discouragements from the want of a Light House in a proper situation at or near Sandy Hook; that numberless shipwrecks had happened; that recent losses totalled near twenty thousand pounds; and that the High Land of Neversink alone was no longer a sufficient landmark. Colden served as acting Governor of New York in 1760–61 and again in 1763–65; the memorial dates from this window and led directly to the tower that first lit on 11 June 1764. Six pages exist in the source; page 5 is missing from this scan set.

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The Light and the War — founding-petition (image)

Item record

Title: Merchants' Memorial to Cadwallader Colden urging a Lighthouse at Sandy Hook
Date: ca. 1761
Source: Merchants of the City of New York · to Cadwallader Colden, acting Governor of New York · ca. 1761–1764 · scan from the New York Public Library
Contributor: The New York Public Library
Rights: Public domain (18th century manuscript)
Slug: lighthouse-petition-colden

Verification: unverified.

Cite this item

Merchants' Memorial to Cadwallader Colden urging a Lighthouse at Sandy Hook (ca. 1761). Merchants of the City of New York · to Cadwallader Colden, acting Governor of New York · ca. 1761–1764 · scan from the New York Public Library The Highlands History Project, https://history.abovethehook.com/archive/lighthouse-petition-colden/.