New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1912-05-19

Those who take pleasure I'm figures could
! learn that the Van Cortlandts might he
among the wcaithlcst families Of the world
had they followed the example Of the As
! tors In tho matter OF holding their proper
/ ties unsod through generations Tor at one
/ time the Van Cortlandt estate extended
I for fifteen miles along the Hudson. from
/ Spuyten Duyvil north To the Croton River
above OssinnG. and back I'm the country to
! Tue Bronx River II contained the sites
| OF Nonkers. Tarrytown, IrvingtCn. Dobbs
/ Ferry and all the other Hudson River set
| Elements south Of Croton, as well as a
large Slice II what Is now Mount Vernon.
I The value Of this territory to-day IL 50
/ great a. almost 10 seem fictitious. In
/ stead Of f. however. the Van COrtlandts
/ now own only sixty acres. and that,
! too, is 10 go from them. for the Supreme
! Court has ordered It's sale to the highcs.
! bidder no matter what prices the lots
/ bring
/ The original deed TO this great tract Of
/ land is stil to be seen. Ii Is IN the pos.
session OF J. Clarence Davies. and Is IN
an excellent state OF preservation. though
II is more than two hundred years old. II
contains sixteen pages Of close. hand writ
ten description. and tells. besides the story
OF tho original grant OF how the land was
acquired from the Indians. Included ia
4 these Indian lands were the site OF Yon-
/ kers. Want Cortlandt Park. Riverdale and
| Kngsbridge. which originally formed "A
part of the tract now 10 be sold. Title TO
all this great tract was confirmed by the
owning tribes for consideration of two
. tho. 81
money Of New York" The sum name
/ equals now about s. g..
/ First title 10 all the Van Cortlandt prop
! erty was recorded on June II. l7o9, so that
II viii be just 20 years later that the last
OF the holdings will pass from Van Cort-
landt hands The grant or patent und =
which ownership was established goes back
| to October 5, 1866 which Thomas NOEL, then
/ Mayor OF New York. recognizes on later
/ granting the title. Everything about the
old deed breathcs OF Colonial times. The
/ paper itself IL Of the finest lineu. though
/ yellow with age. It's watcrmark is the
arms OF King William. and It's opening line
starts, william and Mary, by the Grace
Of God, of England. Scotland. France and
, ireland King and Queen, Defenders Of the
/ Faith, and TO all To whom these presents
shall come, Greeting."
/ The deed then goes on 10 recite how the
Favourable Richard Nichols. Esqr., late
/ Governor OF our provensc,' granted TO
| Hugh ONeall and Mary his wife. all
/ that tract OF land upon the Main. bounded
/ on the North by "A RIvolet called by the
/ Indians MacatrassInso and running South
I erward To Nippcrhan; from thence 10 the
| XIII Shorackhappock and then TO Paparine-
mo, which is the sOuthernmost bounds;
/ then to GOe Crosse the Country to the
| Eastward by that which is Commonly
. known by the Name Broncks's his River.
together with all the WOODS. marshes
meadows, pastures, waters lakes, creekes,
Rivolcts. fishing, hunting and fowling and
all other profits. commodities and cmolu-
mCus to the said tract OF land belonging."
From O'Ncall and his wife the small tract
| so described went TO Elias Doughty. 'of
| Flushing, IN the County Of York, on Lang
! Island" who I'm turn divided his interest
with Thomas Delayan. Frederick Philips
and Thomas Lewis Mariner. 1t was
Philips who founded the Van Cortlandt
estate. lie bought out the interests of his
partners in the original tract and then
went about gathering up more lands from
Governor of New York, he obtained patents
To other great stretches, and on his death
he held under his own ownership the great
tract Of 5000 acres. Twelve separate tracts
were gathered In this way from 1866 10 1854
Some OF the plots are described in a
most unique manner. One description
has, for instance, (which said land is sit
uate, lying and being on east side OF said
creek or river north and south sixteen
hundred treeds or sleeps. which at twelve
foot to the rodd makes four hundred rodd,
aud runs up into the country rs far as
the said creek or river goeth." Al an
other time il speaks OF the creek or river
called by the Indians Nippiorha and by
the Christians the Jonckers Creek" War
hamanhack Sparramogh Antrock seems to
have been quite real estate seller at
that time. for his name appears frequent
ly in the deed ss having coded great areas
OF land north Of what is now Yonkers TO
Philips. He was chief Of local Indian
tribe.