The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1900-10-14
CITY'S FORFEIT ESTATES.
4 CURIOUS REvOH TIONAn EfCORD
~ TiIE REGINT!R RS OffiCE.

sold Under the Hammer li '"'h
the Patriots Game Into Their own.
In taking deep soundines Of title tie con-
yeyapcer occasionally touches a curious book
In the Registers ofliCe inscribed FORFEITED
Estate. II isahout as thick as the other ton -
which make the book-walliug Of al sides OF tho
building and is in a good stat Of preservation.
It's records are quite different In a legal way
from other munimCnts of title and 80 break
the monotuny Of a general search, and To ! 81
sons interested In the early history oItlo
county and Who are not impcllod 10 speed
over its pages to take titles 10y certain dates
It would be-. If better known. aweH often
sought ont in the desert Of reiterated cove
nauts of deeds and mortgages which 'ohstl-
tutc almost entirely the archives ot the Once
II Is a record Of the sale of estates IN TINS
county forfeited to the people of the state OF
New York by the attaiuder of a number OF
persons for treason in the Revolution. The
correctness Of the record II Nouohcd for 10y
Isaac Stuutcnhurgh and Philip Van tortlandt,
appointed by the Legislature Of THE state IN
MAY y, l7si, Commissioners for the speedy
sulc Of contscatcd and forfeited estate. Ihe
commissioners sold 800 parcels of lund OF tho
attained cr,uus, and the record manly con-
sists VI abstracts of deeds they gave. il cuu-
not be learned from a few of the abstracts
the persons from whom the state conhscated tho
property. but the bulk OF the abstracts give
the names. Tho consideration expressed In
the deeds is stated in pounds sterling. The
property sold in this county brought clos" On
to sl,Uoo.u,O, a considerable sum Of money IN
those days. and Yet would naturally BRING less
than It's valued at such sales.
The bulk Of the money realized on the sales
or about ElO8.UO, came from sales ot dllrr"ut
parcels Of thu large estate of james DE lauc"y.
Upward of 20O parcels of his estate were sold
bv the Commissioners Most Of the land sold
l. in the lower part Of the city. Some of It II
described in bounds running in the so-called
"Out ward or upper part Of the old city.
Other persons who suffered forfeiture OF lands
a, shown by the records in N" book are: john
Watts. the elder: James %Jauncey, Joshua I. d..
st. Croix, Waldron Blauw. Frederick PhiliI-o
Thomas White. Alexander Wallace. ilush
Wallace. james Leonard, Edmund ward. Roger
Morris, David Mathews, Robert Bayard, Henry
white. William Bayard. William ANtoll, Isaac
low, John Harris Crugdr mot Crlger), Joseph
Geducy, Robert McGrinnis, John Weather
head, Beverley Robinson, Oliver DE lRuccy
and John Grirg, described as Of undertook.
There Is no statement in the record rs To what
the men did specifically. The only statement
j. that they were attained, or "cOuvlctcd.'
An indication OF the enemy they bclricndod
is given in deeds which refer to Henry white.
lilf' bllt ol lllf llfllllflN 70 IL ''uh'h VI Nlb
late COLONY OF New York" 1t Is also stated
that Oliver De Lanoey was a member Of tho
Same council. The spelling OF tho word colony
in the book il usually colony"
II IL diflcult 70 ascertain from the records
exactly what each man lost. because some II
the parcels were held in common by two u
the men and then there are tho deeds which
do not tell from whom the property came.
approximately, John Watts lost $l5.CO; james
Jauucey. s4j.OJo. 81. CroiN. Ss,O0GI Waldron
Blauw. sS,OUI. Frederick Phllipse, SI5,OOO;
Thomas White, $1,000. Roger Morris, $500;
Robert Bayard, sIO,JDO; William Bayard. ss1.-
900; Isaac Low, $500; Crugar. 5000; Oliver
DE lAncey, $1,000. and Henry White. sIl2.5oO.
The other persons lost from 5000 or SO down
John Grigg OF Kinderhook only lost property
that brought $50 10 shillings. Most OF the
property was sold in 1854 and 1885. and all the
extracts and deeds We're filed Dec. 30 1881. In
several cases the property was sold 10 relatives
OF the men attainted, and In one or two cases
TO the relict OF an attained man. suggestive
to the conyeyancing clerks. who are not likely
to look for further information. that "A head
or two may have gone forfeit with an estate.
Resort seems To have been had In those days
- selling lots by lottery to boom some OF the
lower last side property. An abstract OF =
deed by which the Commissioners sold a lot Ia
John Quackenbos on July S. 1884. Tor G25 states:
Being one OF the lots drawn in a lottery II
Nicholas Bayard, Esq, and was forfeited ia
the pc ,ple OF this State by the attainder Of
Alexander Wallace. late OF the city Of New
\ Drk, merchant
In | eating a piece Of property sold by tho
Commissi ,ners for 1850 to Anna White, part
Of the forfeited estate OF her husband. Thomas
White, II is STATED. situate in the North ward
Of the city OF New York and In the Garden or
place commonly called the Vineyard" A
piece Of property on Dey street. adjoining
land of Widow Earle. and having two houses
On It, brought ~, $50 on July s. lisa IL was
part Of the oonnscated estate OF Edmund Ward
Il was sold 70 Henry TIebUuL ono of the
northcrnmust pieces sold seems 70 have been a
farm of $50 acres in the out Ward on tho
heights commonly called Haorlem Heights"
II brouht e. $50 ~ the sale on July .. 1854, and
was bought by John B'rrian. II was part of
the con0scat,d property Of Roger Norris
Property formerly owned by James Jaancry
IN Montg ,mcry ward, on the north corner Of
Water street and Bcekman slip. which on ono
side adiolned the land Of Widow Paine, VAS
sold 10 John Malrv for 81 1000
Horny Viii. paWt'rar, bought for Cl,3O
property which had belonged to Hugh Wallace
and Alexander Wallace, aud had two store-
houses on it. situate in the East ward at
Hunters quay aud Water street. extending
50 far into the East River ~ u range viii thb
present wharf of Henry Crugrr and Robert MUIR
ray. 4 deed to property in Bridge street,
sold for C3SO says. Forfeited to the people
of IN" State Of New York bv the attainder of
John Watts, the Elder. Esd, lat % Kings
Council Of the late COLONY Of New So <. the
other by the conviction Of " aldron BlauW.
Two churche. obtained coni-catcd estates.
The German Reform Church obtained a piece
Of property which had belonged to jane De
Ian'cy for cl22 Il was situated at Fir~t
and Pump streets. III deed Is made ont
To a number Of trustee. of N" church. headed
b, Frederick william Baron De Steuben. An
other Parcel ~ james DE Iauccl's e>tatc went
80 the United Lutheran Church for ESQ. IL
VA also IN the out ward between second
and Third -'rcr'- and bounded southcrly nv
Pump street. The trustees Of this church
were John Baltus Dash, Dcdrick Hover. Jacob
Rc-lar. Alexander Fiuck. Henry Arcularius.
John Ga,>ncr. Philip Oswald. Christian Schultz
and George Soim,lIel.
\ decd 81 jul, n. l7S, given 10 John Sompr-
dixie for rs,snO for property formerly belong