Lot: Stuyvesant Farm (Original Grants and Farms)

Lot
Stuyvesant Farm
Lot Group
Original Grants and Farms
Property Was Used in 1660 For:
Full Stokes Entry (See images below)
THE STUYVESANT FARM

Block Check List. 559-872-875-954-366-402-403-460559-428-402-373-41 1-428.

The Stuyvesant farm comprised

A. Bouwery No. i of the Dutch West India Co., and a large tract of land north of Bouwery No. I, conveyed by the directors of the Dutch West India Co., at Amsterdam, to Petrus Stuyvesant, March 12, 1651.

B. Bouwery No. 2.

C. Part of Bouwery No. 3.

D. The meadow belonging to the Old Company's Bouwer>'. Petrus Stuyvesant, the last Dutch governour, died in Fels-

ruary, 1672. March 7, 1672, his widow, Judith Bayard, was "Admitted Executrix of the Last will of her Husb'J." — Liber mils, I: 89 (New York).

The petition states that the will of Stuyvesant had been produced in the mayor's court; that a copy had been placed upon the record. It cannot be found there now.

Judith Stuyvesant's will, dated Jan. 29, 1679; again signed Feb. 15, 1679, and Dec. i, 1684; proved March 15, 1686. — Liber lVills,\\\: 69 (New York). It makes no reference to the real estate.

Nicholas William, second son of Petrus Stuyvesant and Judith Bayard, was born 1648; died 1698. By his wife Ehzabeth Slechtenhorst he had Petrus, who died young, unmarried; Anna, who married the Rev. Thomas Pritchard, a clergyman of the P. E. Church. He died in 1706. Mrs. Pritchard died in 1759, without issue. Gerardus, born 1690; died 1777.

A partition (by writ) took place between Gerardus and his sister Anna, April 20, 1742. — Lamb, Hist. City of N. Y., Vol. I: 654, note. Under this partition Anna Pritchard took the farm of 131 acres, which she sold to John Watts, and a large part of the Leandert Farm and a piece of meadow belonging to it, which she advertised to sell, March 17, 1746, but which was not sold. After her death it fell to her brother Gerardus. She left no will of record. For the advertisement see Chronology.

Gerardus Stuyvesant died siezed of his grandfather's farm, or the greater part of it, in 1777.

He left two sons, Nicholas William who died in 1780, without issue, never having been married, and Petrus Stuyvesant.

It was stated, upon the authority of Peter G. Stuyvesant, that Gerardus left a will devising his estate equally to his two sons. The will was lost. It had never been recorded. As Petrus Stuyvesant was the heir at law of Nicholas William Stuyvesant, a will was not necessary.

The farm that finally came to Petrus Stuyvesant was all of the Bouwery of his great grandfather except the Watts, Duane and Tiebout farms, and some small parcels along the Bowery Lane. He bought the meadow belonging to the Church Farm, in 1784.

Nov. 30, 1787, Petrus Stuyvesant had the old road ber\veen Bouweries i and 2 of the West India Company widened and extended, and laid out as Stuyvesant St. See Chronology Nov. 30, 1787, April 15, 1807.

Petrus Stuyvesant died in 1805, leaving a will dated Nov. 15, 1802. Proved Nov. 30, i%o^.— Liber IVills, XLVI: 107 (New York).

By this will he devised his farm called "Petersfield" to his son, Peter Gerard Stuyvesant. The farm known as the "Bowery Farm," to his son, Nicholas William Stuyvesant. His farm called "Leanderts," and a parcel of salt meadow belonging to it, to his four daughters, Judith, Cornelia, Margaret, and Elizabeth.

The will directed that Stuyvesant Street should be the boundary between "Petersfield" (on the north) and the "Bouwery Farm" (on the south).

Having thus briefly carried the chain of title to 1805, the earlier historj' of the old bouweries will be set forth.

It is impracticable to give much space to the Stuyvesant family in the farm story. The index will give a clue to many interesting items.

A genealogy of the family is printed in the Collections of the N. Y. Hist. Soc. for 1841, p. 455.

Petrus Stuyvesant, the former director, owned Bouweries I and 2 of the Dutch West India Company; part of Bouwery 3, and a large tract of land north of Bouwery i, between the old Post Road and the river, as far north as the Kip's Bay Farm.

"Special Instructions for Cryn Fredericksz Regarding the laying out of the fort, April 11, 1625."

"The lands [farms] Nos. I and 1 shall each be 80 rods in width along the road and shall extend in length so as to contain up to 60 morgens, instead of 50 raorgens as put down on the plan, so that they will be 450 rods in length."