The sun., 1901-06-02
ISTORS. TITLE CLEAR NOW,
1ND ~ LITIGATION TRAf ASQALxxD
OLD COLONIAL 0Axe-e,i = -
n vmas q Dssds La wsck leW ~
vssAi Chavtsr esrts fs4sD ~eon
Over the BSesniAsdaie Road frsp~sy
-auuions Wsrs Involved In the Ceutess.

r. DlnnG a Doods L13 We2 -
DsnAl ChaDtsr a 'tts fsaoD ~eUss
Over the B,ssniasdaie Read frsp~sy
-suuions was Iavoivsd In the Centsss'
The recording IN the Registers once
during the last week Of NUMEROUS deeds from
osu. sohuyler Hamilton and others 70 william
Waldorf Astor and 70 John Jacob Astor Tor
ths land In tho old Bloominsdsle road. between
Raxhty-ninth and Ninetieth streets, Ntnetietn
and Ninety-nrst streets. Ninetvyseoend ana
Ninety-third streets, and for a por1oe ofSn
in the block between Ninety NTH and Ninety
sixtA strssts. closes quite an interesting ohap-
Ter CONCERNING land titles IN this cify "
terminates also q long litigation during whcn
various paroals Of land on the upper wes'
Side we're regarded as 30 mans land oy
numerous horde OF. sauattars. or; pruoess ,
whose occupation greatly retarded tne ,tn-
provanent Of lands II the vicinity
Tn. old road, which bad been v use slor
...rlv two centuries. vas legally closed 10
,ses when tho Central Park Commissioners
a,sd their map. laying out anew that socti Oh
Of the city and proxidins for the bonleVata'
now Broadway. and che present avenues anu
intsrssctins styeSts. Tho road, however.
continued In actual use for severaI yesis
thereaftAr and until is use asa paoan sscs-
ouqhfare became impossible by reason OF tne
srading of the Boulevard and oi tne cross
sfeets
The heirs Of many Of the forneJ owners
of IN. and in Colonial days laid claim to the
land as agaips g The, city. and those VINO nso
souattsd upon or taken possession 4. sen aaSan- =
inc owners The Hamiltons Holoways.
Bibbys md other heirs OF. Charles WaFd
Apthorp retained James A Dsssing, oI. 10
Wan street in respect to tho roads and lanss
in the "Apthorp tract. which extendeo
from Eigh,y.nioth, ,sQ Ninesy-sixth street.
and the deed. which have nov been, re-
corded mark tho close Of Il long snd bitterly
ooate ted struggle 10 the courts
As early as 1903 Charles Ward Apthorp
had acquired title TO q tract Of land con
tanning something over two hundred acres,
extending from the Harlem Commons on the
esst m the North River on the ~es' ana
from Oliver Delaney lapt q ecu seven
tieth street on the south 10 Humphrey Jones ;
land at about Ninety-eighth street on the
north The road ran through THIS tract,
having q width Of four rods. and continued
On further north tosthe~-baIs' ef.Atcnsise
De Psyster. at about il6th street. wheTe "
terminated AZ that time Apthofps owner
ship OF the land IN the road was OF course
subject 70 It's use as a public highway.
Immediately after he became such owner
Mr. Apthorp. who was Q rlembsr OF the CNy
Council a leading lawyer Of the cityencia
man OF social distinction in those Colonial
times. srected q beautiful mansion IN the
middle OF the tract. between the present
Nineueth and Ninety.fVt streets and Colun-
bus and Anster dam ayanues. The appsoAeA.
OF the mansion was over lane forty feet VIDE.
extendine from The Bloomihgdale road 70
the Harlem Commons between thrpressnt
NInety-third and Nlnety-fourth streets He
laid out two other lanes running from. the
road west 10 tho North River one, beng be-
tween Ninety-first and Ninety-seoond straets,
and the other between NiaeY-thEd !spd
Sinety-io nth streets 49,. .- ..,~ -.-y
The rarsion vas made famous from the
fact that /, was used py Gen Washington as
q headquarters and later by. Gen Howe
the British commander. Washington went
there when he evacusted he city baow
and rom aimed thare. untl Sllraaa's brigade,
which was 81 pposed 70 be hemned 10 by the
British, was led 70 safety BY Aaron Burr.
Who vas aided ID this lpv'a 'ovak ~ Hs tron.
the npothM 81 Lindlev Murray ne gram
marian. Mrs Murray lived on srhat is now
Murray Hill and she detained Gsr~ Howe
and his n En-. With Sweet smiles and delicious
wines" until Washinston's army hsf bad
time to consolidate and hurry away
whap Gen Howe took the Apthorp house
as his headquarters Il was whispered about
tbst he was made very welcome there, ana
when the war was over ths lawyer was u:
Setne Iory syu?pathisers His New York
proper,y was not conAscated.,. aithoish
sor,e that ne .eanea in other colonies vac.
ard sSs: s3oqse9 ,o 4s9r,S b ia pSr
the Colonial sov,ruruent, his suspected Aypl-
Es-riies were soon forgotten -
This stately mansion; Ntn MS historiSai
triumphs through the Colonia! and 'Revolu-
tionsry periods, ana on through tne drst
hall Of the nineteenth century, then BECAME
s3nyeTtss s., s annn mo a. eo9a E r sGS shGe us f
and only few years ago twas. torn dewh
Cssrle. Wsrd Apth2.p Siea y ~ Ihs rnaps,9n ,st
,horp vsu' N Trinity churc award, Hr lett
ten children as his hcrs-lt-i1w he. heisa-
ton ROW closed was Instituted by the preseat
children ags.rs many OF. he occupants OF
.shA old road aId lanes The nrjncpai de-
PENDANTS were the kstoF eSate-. uho we're
a. he time Of the BEGINNING ol the suits and
IA The deeds lust recorded Thev we're also
heirs Of one OF the children of Apthorp, ana
the lifIgatIOl Wlfcn. 'Isusu lOI NE. fTdSOH
was more PROLONGED than Y would have been
. between strangers. '.
In these actions agains' them, their ar
torneys, Evar.s. Choats & .Bear man, claimed
-that the Astors owned the roadted in' con-
-rection with the sbuuips lands % the ex-
ctuIon of al the other hcrs, Sod fiat even
~ tney did not own i they had pirate ease
nncnts over i for light dir ana leeess 20 Their
other land Tho cases dfpendef primarily
upon ascertalnlng and ti1ing with accuracy
the time when -tho-soAd- -22s -irst !ald oIt
whether during. the dutch at Elsllsh oSol-
pstion Of the island and then uTon tts con
strlction Of the DIES pscr'ptions g! TIE prQp-
eyty con vercd by numerous dAods .Faar.s ~
the heirs Of those 10 whom the early ? tents
ward ApthoIp and the application ~ the
y.r,oue wills and convex aAqes made prior
10 The revised statutes 81 TIL: St@te oi The
common Law Of England. The ablost real
e.tste conveyancers had for years taken
diScTeut views az 20 the les1l sroct and re-
s,It oi the proceedings to lay out che road
originally II the last century and 10 clos. u IN
IN IN. trial Of the oases brought by NJ
bearing or behalf Of the Apthorp heirs In The
napa of James W, HOLLOWAY one Or 'he
hers, aaainst the trustees ot the Asfor estate on
Tho ctrcui, .. rho supreme Court neld In 1897
the original records were produced under
which tie road was laid out In .728. during tho
reign OF George and the ancient deeis ~ rec.
ord from the t,rne when Theuniss ELS lcalncu
ti'ie U 1874 70 tho plarta,ton o. te0 acres which
eItended from. the present EiShty-sirth s,fee'
10 l07th street 'hc Central P1fk and HIfs IN
River and 10 which ha gave the DANle Of