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Treaty

Convention with Oneida at the Village of Oneida Nation, New York (1798)

In 1798 the Oneida ceded much of their New York reservation to the state for $500 plus $700 a year.

Signed
June 1, 1798
Senate
Ratified
Promises
0 of 1 broken or only partly kept

What happened

On 1 June 1798, at the Oneida village in New York, the Oneida nation agreed to give up a large part of its reservation to the State of New York. A United States commissioner, Joseph Hopkinson, was present. New York sent three agents: Egbert Benson, Ezra L'Hommedieu and John Taylor.

The Oneida had proposed the sale to New York's governor in March, the text says. The governor accepted and advanced them 300 dollars. At the village meeting the nation ceded, released and quit-claimed to the people of New York all its reservation lands west and southwest of a described line near Oneida Lake. It also ceded strips a mile wide along the main Genesee road.

Seven named Oneida families could keep the ground they cultivated, up to fifty acres each, while they lived there. In return for this exception, the Oneida ceded a 1,280-acre tract set aside for those families for when they moved.

New York paid another 200 dollars. It also promised 700 dollars a year, payable at the village each 1 June. President John Adams sent the treaty to the Senate on 30 January 1799, and it was communicated to the Senate on 31 January 1799. The transcript does not show a Senate vote or proclamation. It is a treaty between a Native nation and a state, held under United States supervision.

What was promised, and what happened

  • Not known

    New York would pay the Oneida 700 dollars each 1 June, yearly. (Treaty)

    the annual sum of seven hundred dollars treaties.okstate.edu

Good to know. Though labeled a convention, this was a sale to New York State held under United States authority.

Summarized with AI assistance from 4 sources and checked against their words; not yet reviewed by historians or by the nations. Report an error

What the sources say, and how this was checked

Well supported by the sources below.

  1. The said Indians do cede, release, and quit claim to the people of the State of New York, forever, all the lands within their reservationTreaty with the Oneida, 1798, Tribal Treaties Database, Oklahoma State University
  2. the annual sum of seven hundred dollarsTreaty with the Oneida, 1798, Tribal Treaties Database, Oklahoma State University
  3. Joseph Hopkinson, commissioner, appointed under the authority of the United States to hold the treatyTreaty with the Oneida, 1798, Tribal Treaties Database, Oklahoma State University
  4. shall be suffered to possess, of the tract first abovementioned, to grounds cultivated by themTreaty with the Oneida, 1798, Tribal Treaties Database, Oklahoma State University

Research notes. The transcript shows no Senate vote. It is often labeled a 'Convention'; the text is a state treaty held under United States authority.

What happened next

Everything the record holds about this land and this treaty, in order: what earlier agreements said, what this one did, and what the United States, the courts and the nations did afterwards.

Who is doing the work today

The nations connected to this treaty come first, then groups returning land and defending treaty rights. Support goes directly to them.

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Sources

No source is linked to this record yet. That is a gap we are working to close.

Shapes are approximate and are not legal descriptions of land, title or jurisdiction.