THE OATH OF ABJURATION,

1715-1716

The accession of George I of the House of Hanover to the throne of England on October 20, 1714, and the end of the reign of the House of Stuart with the death of Queen Anne on August 1, 1714, was reflected in the Colony of the Province of New York by an act passed on July 5, 1715, by the General Assembly "for Naturalizing all Protestants of Foreign Birth now Inhabiting within this Colony." The act provided "That every Such persons now alive shall within nine Months after the Publication hereof, take the Oaths by Law appointed to be taken, in Stead of the Oaths of Allegiance and Supremacy, Subscribe the Test, and make, repeat and Swear to, and Subscribe the abjuration Oath, in any of his Majesties Courts of Record within this Colony"

The Abjuration Oath swore allegiance to King George "Lawfull and Rightfull King" as against all claimants to the Crown in the name of the late King James. The original parchment inscribed with this oath and signed by one hundred and twenty-five persons of foreign birth is preserved among the archives of this Society and a transcript of it is here printed for the first time. It is dated from July 12, 1715, to April 3, 1716, being the nine months allowed by the Act of the General Assembly for such persons to sign the oath and enjoy the same privileges of freedom as natives. These oaths were administered in the Mayor's Court of the City of New York and the names of the persons who signed this original document may be found in the Minutes of that Court, in the County Clerk's Office of this City. In the Mayor's Court Minutes additional information concerning those who signed the parchment is given such as the town where they resided and their occupation or trade. In the following list this information has been included and is indicated by the words in brackets.

RECORDS of the Names of Persons of Forreign Birth who are made his Majesties Natural Born Subjects Pursuant to the Directions of an Act of General Assembly of this Colony made in the first year of the Reign of our Sovereign Lord George by the Grace of God King of Great Brittain France and Ireland Defender of the

faith &c. Entitled an Act Declareing that all Persons of Forreign Birth heretofore Inhabiting within this Colony and dying seized of any Lands Tenements or Hereditaments shall be forever hereafter Deemed taken and Esteemed to have been Naturalized And for Naturalizing all Protestants of Forreign Birth now Inhabiting within this Colony taken at a Court of Record held at the City Hall of the City of New York before the Mayor Recorder and Aldermen of the same City which Persons Respectively hereafter Named and Subscribed did in the Court of Record above mentioned take the Oaths by Law Appointed to be taken instead of the Oaths of Alleigance & Supremacy Subscribe the Test and make Repeat and Swear to and Subscribe the Abjuration Oath following (viz)

I A B do truely and sincerely Acknowledge Profess Testifie and declare in my Conscience before God and the World that our Sovereign Lord King George is Lawfull and Rightfull King of this Realm and of all other his Majesties Dominions and Countries thereunto belonging and I do Solemnly and Sincerely declare that I do believe in my Concience that the Person pretended to be Prince of Wales dureing the Life of the late King James and since his decease pretending to be and takeing upon himself the Stile and Title of King of England by the Name of James the third hath not any Right or title whatsoever to the Crown of this Realm or any other the Dominions thereto belonging And I do Renounce Refuse and Abjure any Alleigance or Obedience to him and I do Swear that I will bear faith and true Alleigance to his Majesty King George and him will Defend to the utmost of my Power against all Traiterous Conspiracies and Attempts whatsoever which shall be made against his Person Crown or Dignity And I will do my utmost endeavour to disclose and make known to his Majesty and his Successors all Treasons and Traiterous Conspiracies which I shall know against him or any of them. And I do faithfully Promise to the utmost of my Power to Support maintain and Defend the Succession of the Crown against him the said James and all other Persons whatsoever as the Same by an Act Intitaled an Act for the further Limitation of the Crown and better Secureing the Rights and Liberties of the Subject is and stands Limitted to the Princess Sophia Electress and Dutchess Dowager of Hannover and the heirs of her Body being Protestants and all these things I do plainly and Sincerely Acknowledge and Swear according to the Express words by me

Spoken and according to the plain and Common Sence and understanding of the same words without any Equivocation Mental Evasion or Secret Reservation whatsoever and I do make this Recognition Acknowledgment Abjuration Renunciation and Promise Heartilly willingly and truely upon the true faith of a Christian So Help Me God.