Kings County (N.Y.). County Clerk.

The Fishery Case involves a dispute over the rights to land between the inhabitants of Gravesend and certain property owners. The earliest land patent for the area (which later became known as Gravesend) was issued by Gov. William Kieft in 1643. It gave Antoine Jansen Van Salee (also called Anthony Johnson) possession of Morgen (200 acres). This land was divided into two parts, one part called the Old Bowery and the other the 12 morgen. A meadow situated between these two parts and a neck of land running south from the Old Bowery were the subject of conflicting claims between the inhabitants of Gravesend and property owner Francis De Bruyn (also called Brown), who was the successor of Van Salee.

In 1669 the matter was referred to Governor Lovelace who, in turn, appointed two referees, John Clanning and Jacques Corteleau, to give a report. In August, 1669, Governor Lovelace issued an edict which gave his judgement concerning the land in question.

The question of property rights resurfaced in 1789 by Albert Voorhees, who had purchased the land from Brown and then claimed exclusive rights to it. He thus prevented Gravesend inhabitants from erecting their fishing huts and drying their nets on the beach section of the property. In a following attempt to enforce his claim of exclusive rights, Voorhees brought an action for trespass against certain townspeople. The case was tried on September 18, 1789 in the Supreme court at Flatbush before a jury of seven men from Queens county. Aaron Burr served as attorney for the town of Gravesend and won a verdict in its favor. The judgement was upheld by the October term of the Supreme Court.

In 1848, another lawsuit arose regarding the property. David Davis, the new owner of the property, filed an ejectment suit against Thomas Hicks and Coart Van Sicklen, as representatives of the town. Once again the rights of the town to use the ground for fishing was upheld, but when the plaintiff appealed the case, the town of failed to meet the appeal and therefore lost the case by default.