of New York from 1691 to 1773. Peter needed to search in the Council Books and Journals of the General Assembly in order to determine which Acts had received royal assent, which were repealed, and which remained probationary. He was instructed to place the Acts in order, to divide them into chapters and sections, to provide notations in the margins as to the status of the Acts, and to make an index and table of all the principal matters in the Acts. Once completed to the satisfaction of designated government officials, Peter would be paid 250 pounds. Laws of New-York, From The Year 1691, to 1773 inclusive was published in 1774. At 836 pages with an index of 53 pages, it was considered an indispensable work by practicing lawyers in New York and helped Van Schaack develop a reputation as an authority on New York law. In May 1775, Peter Van Schaack moved to Kinderhook in search of relief from the growing turmoil of New York City and out of concern for the health of his family. His hopes, however, were dashed. He resumed his legal practice in Kinderhook and soon took on the representation of people who had claims to press for the seizure of their property by radicals. A Committee of Correspondence from Pittsfield, Massachusetts quickly censured him for representing “Tories” against “Friends of the Country.” His correspondence was opened by the order of the Provincial Congress, and read publicly in Albany. American Revolution Van Schaack maintained neutrality during the American Revolution, but was eventually branded a loyalist - a description he rejected. In January 1776, he wrote that he believed the colonies to be part of the British Empire and subordinate to Parliament, but that he also believed that there needed to be a check on the powers of Parliament regarding the colonies and expressed hope that the conflict would lead to the establishments of such a check. Van Schaack was committed to seeking a peaceful resolution to the hostilities, and he refused to take up arms because he feared the consequences for his countrymen. On 21 December 1776, the Committee for Detecting Conspiracies (created by the New York Convention) noted that Peter Van Schaack had “long maintained an equivocal Neutrality in the present Struggles” and “in General supposed unfriendly to the American Cause and from [his] influence [is] enabled to do it essential Injury.” The Committee