Papers : 1723-1892.

            Johan Jost Herchmer/Herkimer/Hercheimer was a prominent Loyalist from the Mohawk Valley of New York who settled at Cataraqui (Kingston) Ontario in 1784 after the end of the American Revolution. He and his brother Nicholas were the sons of Johan Jost Herchmer, Sr., originally spelled Engheimer, and his wife Catherine Van Ness, who emigrated from the Palatinate on the Rhine in 1721.  Nicholas Herchmer, the brother of Johan Jost Herchmer, was a general in the American army who died after being seriously wounded at the Battle of Oriskany.  Johan Jost Herchmer was a captain in the Loyalist regiment, Butler's Rangers, and as a consequence of his loyalty to the Crown, his lands in Tryon County, New York, were confiscated by the rebels. He is the father of the Kingston, Ontario, branch of the family.  Johan Jost and his wife Mary Van Allan had seven children:  George, Lawrence, Nicholas, Jacob, Mary, Jane and Catherine.   He died in 1795 and Mary died in 1805.  Several members of the family became prominent in business, church and civic affairs, and through marriage, the family was connected with a number of other prominent families of the time.  In the Papers, there are records that relate to a number of these families including:  Kirby, Macaulay, Markland, Glasgow, MacPherson, Gildersleeve, Purdy, Youmans/Yeomans, Sadler, Wartman, McLean, and Hamilton.            

            The Papers are arranged in seven Transfer Cases and subdivided into Folders within each Transfer Case.  The collection consists of correspondence, business records, and legal documents, the majority of which relate to the transfer of property.  Most of the material relates to Johan Jost Herchmer, his son Lawrence Herchmer, grandson the Rev. William Macaulay Herchmer and his wife Francis Turner, and their son Col.William Macaulay Herchmer. 
 The correspondence includes:    letters received by Mrs. W.M. Herchmer (Frances Turner) concerning family matters;  Rev. William Macaulay's letters received from Richard Cartwright and George Okill Stuart;  Mrs. Frances Herchmer's letters, sent; and records concerning the Herchmer estate, 1838 - 1883.   The business records and legal records consist of:   bills;  receipts;  accounts, specifically with William Graham,Simon Sweetland, Francis Hill, John Waddell, and William Wales;  stocks;  shares; wills;  probates;  and powers of attorney, 1800 - 1881.  Much of the material relates specifically to Rev. William Macaulay Herchmer. 
 Miscellaneous documents include: photocopies of the Herchmer family tree;  a plan of Kingston with early owners of lots, c.1815;  a report of St. George's Parish, Kingston, Ontario, 1847;  and papers of Col. William Macaulay Herchmer, consisting of appointments and commissions, 1863-1892.   The land records contain:   deeds; grants;  mortgages;  land tax receipts;  certificates;  agreements;  conveyances; indentures;  memorials;  bonds;  insurance policies;  and notices of sale by auction of the Herchmer Reserve, 1723 - 1882. There is a list of papers belonging to the Herchmer estate at the end of Reel 2.   The list is not dated.   Most land transactions concern the Township of Kingston, but the records also include the following Townships: Vaughan, Etobicoke, Whitby, Pittsburg, Hamilton, Haldimand, Hallowell, Murray, Marysburg, Loughborough (later Storrington), Darlington, and Alnwick.            

            Within specific time periods, the land records are not always organized in the exact order as noted in the preliminary inventory. 
 A preliminary inventory, which includes a family history and brief descriptions of the contents of each Transfer Case and Folder, is located at the beginning of reel 1.   The preliminary inventory is also available in print. A microfilm shelf list is available in print and electronically. 
 Web finding Aid available in Adobe Acrobat (pdf) format.            

Folder 5, Land Lots, 1803-1807, appears to be missing from microfilm Reel 2. The Herchmer family tree is out of order and is found after Col. William Macaulay Herchmer's papers, 1863-1892, under the category of Miscellaneous.