Our Collection

At the Institute’s core is the Gilder Lehrman Collection, one of the great archives in American history. More than 85,000 items cover five hundred years of American history, from Columbus’s 1493 letter describing the New World through the end of the twentieth century.

Court of Common Pleas Law suit brought before the Court of Common Pleas

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC03107.04929 Author/Creator: Court of Common Pleas Place Written: Albany, New York Type: Manuscript document Date: [n.d.] Pagination: 1p. + docket 40.7 x 32.3 Order a Copy

In the law suit, Reyer Schermerhorn charged that Karel Hamsen Toll defamed his character by speaking ill of him in the Dutch tongue, not realizing that Schermerhorn could understand. Schermerhorn therefore sued Hansen for slander.

Schermerhorn, Reyer
Hansen Toll, Karel, fl. 16th century

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