They were part of John Brown's (of Providence, Rhode Island, not the later abolitionist) 1798 purchase, which was a subdivision of the Macomb Purchase of 1792. Like the New Military Tract "townships," they are merely names of surveyed land tracts, not political subdivisions. There is no political unit "township" in NYS, but what are called "townships" in other states are called "towns" here.

See Henry A. L. Brown and Richard J. Walton, John Brown?s Tract: Lost Adirondack Empire, (Canaan, NH, 1988).

Edward Knoblauch

Does anyone know anything about the history of the Townships of Unanimity, Frugality, Sobriety, Regularity, Enterprise, Economy, and Industry? They are all shown on Simeon De Witt's 1802 and 1804 maps of the State of New York. They are located in northern Herkimer County, near the modern town of Old Forge.

I have not been able to find these townships on later maps, and they don't seem to be mentioned in the few local histories I have consulted. They must have existed on paper only, but I would be curious to learn more about the origin of these curious names. Given their location, they seem unrelated to the famous group of classical place names in central New York with which De Witt is associated.

(formerly Map Librarian, Stony Brook University)

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