Deed for Property on the World Trade Center Site in Manhattan

Theunis (Teunis) Dey, William McAdam, Ann McAdam, David Shaw, Mary Shaw

Edité par New York, New York, 1765

A propos de cet article

This is a deed from Theunis (Teunis) Dey, William McAdam and his wife Ann McAdam, and David Shaw and his wife Mary Shaw to John (Johannes) and Jane Varick, for a piece of property bounded on two sides by Dey Street (likely named for Theunis Deyâ s grandfather, Dirck Jansen Dey) and the Hudson River. Dated August 31, 1765. Manuscript on vellum, 46x70 cm. Excellent condition with light water stain at right side and along the left fold. Several manuscript notes and endorsements on the verso. Five small seals in red wax on recto, all largely intact but with loss from chipping at edges. Signatures on recto of Theunis Dey, William McAdam, Ann McAdam, David Shaw and Mary Shaw. On the verso are several endorsements and notes, including one which indicates that this deed was not recorded in the office of the New York City Clerk until 1796. Dey Street now runs roughly east-west only between Broadway and Church Streets in lower Manhattan. At the time of this deed, however, Dey Street extended west all the way to the Hudson River. In 1766, according to the 1776 Ratzer Plan, Greenwich Street (now Greenwich Avenue) did not yet extend south as far as this property, but if it had, it would not have run into the Hudson River and this property, bounded as it was by the river on the west, would have been west of Greenwich Street. Thus, being bounded by the river and Dey Street, the property transferred via this deed would have comprised a portion of the land where the World Trade Center property is today. This was a family transaction. Theunis Dey, Ann McAdam, Mary Shaw and Jane Varick were all siblings, children of Dirck and Jeanne Dey. This was a transfer of land from Theunis, Ann and Mary, all devisees of Dirck Dey who had died the previous year, 1764. These were the sole survivors of the seven children of that family, as three other siblings, John, Sarah and Dirck, had all predeceased their father. Jane Varick, who purchased the land with her husband John, was the mother of Richard Varick, who was to become mayor of New York in 1789 and after whom Varick Street in New York is named. At this time he was twelve years old. Undoubtedly, this transaction was to unify title to this piece of land in John and Jane Varick. As her living brothers and sisters all transferred their interests in the land to Jane, it is highly likely that she also had an interest resulting from her fatherâ s estate. A reflection of the laws of the time is seen in the fact that Maryâ s and Annâ s husbands both assumed property rights in this land and were required to sign this deed whereas Teunisâ s wife Hester did not have an ownership interest and thus did not have to sign. Deeds from 18th century New York City are quite rare. Deeds such as this one, for what has become an iconic location, are virtually unknown in trade. Owing to the fact that the Hudson River was used as the westward boundary of this property, it is not possible, 250 years later, to determine exactly where this land lays now given the variation over time in the exact location of the Hudson River shoreline. This land is at, or very near, the spot where the first Dutch settlers of New York landed: The western portion of the World Trade Center site was originally under the Hudson River, with the shoreline in the vicinity of Greenwich Street. It was on this shoreline close to the intersection of Greenwich and the former Dey Street that Dutch explorer Adriaen Block's ship, the Tyger, burned to the waterline in November 1613, stranding Block and his crew and forcing them to overwinter on the island. They built the first European settlement in Manhattan. Much of the World Trade Center land was under water in 1765 as this predated the major landfill efforts on the west side of Manhattan in the 19th and 20th centuries. In spite of our inability to locate this land with total precision, it is certain that it was west of where Greenwich Avenue runs and bounded by Dey Street which ran from Broadway to West Str.

N° de réf. du vendeur e00009

Détails bibliographiques

• Titre: Deed for Property on the World Trade Center Site in Manhattan
• Éditeur: New York, New York
• Date de parution: 1765
• Catalogues du vendeur:
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