USA > New York > Schenectady County > Schenectady > A history of the Schenectady patent in the Dutch and English times : being contributions toward a history of the lower Mohawk Valley > Part 20
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His village lot, on the north side of Union street, is thus described in a deed given June 3, 1701, by Reyer Schermerhorn and others, trustees. " Whereas Reynier Schaets was in peaceable possession of a certain lot in " Schenectady, the patent to which is thought to have been destroyed in 1690 "by the French, and as said lot was sold by Gidcon Schacts, eldest son of " said Reynier Schaets to Albert Vedder, and as said Vedder now desires a "conveyance, therefore, said trustees of Schenectady conveyed to said Vedder " said lot, having to the east the lot of Symon Groot, to the west the lot of " Johannes Teller, north and south, the common highway [Front and Union " streets], in breadth before and behind 51 feet, and in length 404 feet, wood " measure." **
This same lot was in possession of Arent Van Curler in 1662, and after his death in 1667, it passed into possession of Benjamin Roberts, by whom it was sold to Reynier Schaets.
* Albany Co. Rec., 83. + Albany Co. Rec., 306.
# Ibid, 468 ; or Deeds, II, 775.
§ Albany Co., Rec., 166, also Not. Papers.
| Albany Annals, VII, 35.
** Deeds, v, 106.
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History of the Schenectady Patent.
He owned and occupied a farm on the north bank of the Mohawk river at what was called Lusigh hoek, a short distance above the lower Glenville bridge, late the property of Thomas Walmsley. At this point was the " Lower Ferry," until 1808, when it was removed to Van Vorst's the next farm below, and without the limits (one mile), prescribed by the Mohawk Bridge charter.
He also inherited his father's pasture on Front street ; in 1759 this lot belonged to Albert Johannese Vedder .*
HARMANUS VEDDER.
Harmanus, son of Harmen Albertse, was an Indian trader. He first married in 1691, Grietje, daughter of Jacques Cornelise Van Slyck and widow of Andries Arentse Bratt, through whom he probably obtained pos- session of the village lot on the north corner of State and Church streets, and the use of most of Bratt's property during the life of his wife, who died about 1730.+ In 1733 he married Ariaantje, daughter of Claas Laurense Van der Volgen and widow of Aarnold De Graaf. He had eleven children all born before 1711.
On the 27th Sept., 1733, the Dutch church conveyed to him and his son Harmen, Jr., for £13 [$32.50], " a lot on the south side of Schenectady and " on the south side of Mill creek, beginning at the mill dam,-thence along " said creek [easterly ] with a straight line 283 feet to land of Gerrit Symonse " Veeder to a post, thence along land of said Gerrit Symonse Veeder [south] " westerly 180 feet to land of Cornelis Viele, thence along land of Cornelis " Viele north [westerly] 215 feet and thence 70 feet to said Mill dam, Am- " sterdam measure."}
On the 21st July, 1757, Harmen Vedder, Jr., conveyed this lot to Alex- ander Vedder then in possession of the mill. Ferry street (extended south) from State street passes through this lot. In 1747 he was also the reputed owner of at least a part of his father's farm No. 9,-on the bouwland.§
* Deeds, v, 417.
+ Bratt Papers.
# Dutch Church Papers.
§ Gerrit Symonse Veeder's will.
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Adult Freeholders.
ARENT VEDDER.
Arent, son of Harmen Albertse, married Sara, daughter of Symon Groot, and had eleven children, all of whom save one were living and had families 10 Aug., 1746, when he made his will.
His village lot on the west side of Washington street, extended from the lot of Charles Thompson to that of Mrs. Peck, about 100 feet Amsterdam measure. This lot is now owned and occupied by D. Cady Smith.
By his will which was proved March 1, 1755, he devised to his youngest son Albert,." my house and lot in Schenectady where I now dwell, bounded " south by the lot of Myndert Veeder, north by the house and lot of " Hendrick Brouwer, east by the street [Washington], and west by my son " Harmanus Vedder,"*
He had a farm at Hoffman's [late Vedder's] ferry, which was confirmed to him by patent of date March 21, 1686 ;- " a certain parcel of land lying " above Schenectady on the south side of the river, beginning at the end " of the limits of said town and so along the river side to the steep strand " just over a little stoney kil, stretching itself into the woods as far as the " trees are marked, containing 16 acres, according to the Indian deed thereof " dated July 20, 1686, and the warrant of Governor Dongan, dated 26 May, 1686."+
By his will he gave to his eldest son Harmen £3 ;- to son Symon "the "east part of my land on the south side of the Mohawk river in the " Woestyne [opposite Hoffman's ferry], where I now live, with house, barn " and hofstede, beginning at the division between me and Jan Wemple and " running up the river to Kromme kil, and a morgen on the hight over or " on the west side of the Kromme kil between the ditch (sloot) and the river " and then with a right line where the uppermost or most western line of " that morgen comes over the kromme kil from the river or to the Kings " highway, with bosland behind my house ;- to my son Harmen my westerly "part of my bouwland on the south side of the Mohawk in the Woestyne " where he has built a house and barn,- beginning on the west side of the " Kromme kil, &c.,-to youngest son Albert Vedder, my house and lot in "Schenectady where he now dwells, &c .- Also three morgens of lowland " at Schenectady [part of farm No. 8] bounded north by the King's high- " way, east by the land of Harmanus Vedder, south by land of Corset " Vedder, west by land of Abraham Mebie,-and my hay pasture ( Weytje) " ¿ of a morgen lying in the lowland on the south of Schenectady bounded " south, west and north by the pasture of heirs of Lourens V. D. Volgen " and east by the road."}
* Wills, I, 285.
+ Patents, 1364 ; Toll Papers. Į Wills, 1, 285
26
202
History of the Schenectady Patent.
JOHANNES VEDDER.
Johannes, fourth son of Harmen Albertse, was carried away to Canada in 1690 with his brother Albert. After his return he married Maria, daughter of Johannes Fort of Watervliet, in 1705, and secondly Engeltie, daughter of Gerrit Symonse Veeder in 1732. He had 13 children and died Aug. 14, 1748.
He inherited perhaps a portion of the hindmost farm No. 8 from his father, to which was added 120 acres of upland in the rear, by patent.dated June 12, 1714 ; this land was situated about 600 yards south of the Poenties kil .*
CORSET VEDDER.
Corset the fifth son of Harmen Albertse, settled in "Schaghkook " about 1708, where he remained until 1720. His first wife was Margarita Darrith in 1709; she died before the baptism of her first child; his second wife was Neeltje, daughter of Christiaan Christiaanse of Albany. He had twelve children.
In 1721, he sold his farm in " Schaghkook " and moved to Niskayuna.t He owned four morgens of his father's farm No. 8.1 His will was dated Oct. 25, 1745 and he was not living Sept. 20, 1748.
SYMON VOLCKERTSE VEEDER alias de Bakker.
He was born in 1624; in 1644 he belonged to the ship Prince Willem plying between Holland and New Amsterdam.§
In 1652 he was in New Amsterdam where he purchased a house and lot,| which he sold in 1654 to Albert Gerritse for 30 beavers and removed to Beverwyck .** In 1665 he owned a house lot in Albany and the year follow- ing purchased another house and lot by the river of the heirs of Cornelis Theunise Bos.tt
* Patents, 1672. t Albany Annals, v, 184, 186; VII, 17; VIII, 231, 264, 308.
Į Deeds, VII. § Albany Rec., II, 278; Albany Annals, rv, 44.
Į Patents, H. H., 3. ** Deeds, II, 36. tt Albany Co. Rec., 76, 408.
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Adult Freeholders.
His home lot in this village was on the north corner of State and Ferry streets ;- 120 feet front on the former and 268 feet on the latter street. On his death about 1700, this lot became the property of his son Volkert who bequeathed it to his three sons.
Of the allotments made in 1662 of the bouwland, Veeder received the two parcels numbered 9, which by the confirmatory patent of Jan. 15, 1667, are described as-"two parcels of land at Schenectady, both marked No. 9 :- " one lying by the river to the east of No. 10 alongst the low ground, a line "running between No. 9 and No. 10 then going forward, its encompassed " by the river and the creek [Poenties kil], containing 24 acres or 12 mor- " gens ;- the other parcel lying upon the hindmost piece of land next to the " woods, to the west of No. 10, to the east of No. 8, a line running on each " side from the creek [dove gat] to the woodland south-west and by west, "in breadth 50 rods, in bigness 24 acres or 12 morgens in all 24 morgens."* These two farms remained in the family wholly or in part for several generations.t
He also had a pasture lot in the Kalver-wey between Front street and the river which he conveyed to Joris Arissen Van Baast 27 Feb., 1679,-" in "length 75 [95 ?] rods, bounded on the west by Gerrit Bancker, on the north " by the river, breadth 15 rods on the river, on the east by the common "pasture, on the south by the common boswegh [Front street] 17 rods."t This pasture containing nearly 2} morgens was opposite the present Jefferson street.
Nov. 2, 1682, he bought a farm with house, barn, &c., on the Normanskil, of Jacob Casparse Hallenbeck of Albany, giving in exchange his foremost lot No. 9, commonly called De Bakkers hoek,§ and on the 16th June, the following year he purchased of Hallenbeck the same farm, probably, which passed to his sons Pieter and Johannes. |
In his will Veeder speaks of his wife Engeltie, and five sons and three daughters all of whom married and left families.
* Patents, 310.
t See Wills of Symon Volckertse and sons Volkert and Gerrit ; Deeds, Iv, 106; Not. Pap., II.
Į Deeds, II, 795.
§ Not. Pap., II.
| Deeds, III, 183; Will.
204
History of the Schenectady Patent.
GERRIT SYMONSE VEEDER.
Gerrit, son of Symon Volckertse, married in 1690 Tryntje, daughter of Helmer Otten.
They had eight children-four sons and four daughters, all of whom lived to maturity.
Through this marriage in addition to other property, he obtained possession of lots in the village on the north and west corners of Union and Church streets, which remained in the family several generations .* The lot on the west corner came to him by Otten's purchase from Van Woggelum; that on the north corner was purchased by Reyer Schermerhorn, of Ludovicus Cobes ;- 100 feet on Union street and 223 feet on Church street. By his will he divided this lot into four smaller ones and gave to his sons Hendrikus and Symon the lot on the corner, 50 by 180 feet, to his daughter Catriena, the lot of the same size next west having a front on Union street of 50 feet ;- to Cornelis a lot on Church street 40 by 100 feet 180 feet north of Union street and another 51 X 100 feet north of Cornelis' lot to Hendrikus and Symon. A large portion of these lots fronting on Church street belonged to the estate of the late Col. Stephen Yates.
December 9, 1718, the Dutch Church conveyed to him a lot on the south side of State street, " bounded north by the street, 52 feet, east by the lot "Folkert Symonse [Veeder, his brother] 142 feet, west by the lot of Adam " Smit 140 feet, and south by land belonging to the afore mentioned " church 441 feet wood measure."t Subsequently this lot came into the possession of Thomas Brouwer Bancker, who built upon it the house now occupied by Mr. John Lake and a blacksmith shop next east, which portion now belongs to the estate of James Walker deceased.
Besides the above lots within the village, Gerrit Symonse owned several parcels of land on the bouwland among which were the two farms numbered
* By the contract between Helmer Otten's widow and Jan Janse Bleecker and Hans Hendrickse, guardians for her daughter Catryna, made July 1, 1676, said widow agreed to pay her daughter as soon as she was of age or married, " ye somme of 225 whole beaver skins for the payment of which said Ariaantje doth bind the farm [No. 4] at Schenectady," &c. The money in Holland was to be equally divided between mother and daughter,-a very comfortable estate for a young woman in those times -Veeder Papers.
t Church and Veeder Papers.
-
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Adult Freeholders.
nine, patented to his father, four small gardens on the lowland between Mill creek and the canal and the mill privilege at "Veeder's mill " and the land adjacent.
He built a mill at this locality quite early. On the 19th Feb. 1713, he received title to the lands on both sides of the creek, (then called Sand kil) from Vrooman's mill-right (at the Brandywine mill) to and north of the gasworks on Centre street ; this conveyance gave him 100 yards on each side of the creek, and that portion lying between the mill and the city along Centre street was called "Symon's meadow."*
In 1762 the Veeders obtained from Isaac Vrooman (the owner of the Brandywine mill lot) a conveyance of 600 yards of land and stream above " Veeders mill" and this remained in the family until 1812, when Judge Gerrit S. Veeder conveyed the mill right and land at the "cotton factory" so called, to the "Schenectady Manufacturing Company."
He made his will in which he was joined by his wife, Mar. 12, 1749, proved July 8, 1755,t-making the following disposition of his estate: "To " his eldest son Helmer the hindmost lot of lowland [No. 9], which he now " has in possession,-12 morgens more or less,-lying between the land of " Harmanus Vedder and Sander Glen, except a morgen that lies on the " Kings' highway [River road],- item two gardens lying next Cornelis " Vielen's pasture, that part next Ephraim Smith's ;- item those two gardens " which lie next above the foregoing gardens, which came from his grand- " mother " [Otten]t to Henderikus his " corn mill and half part of the saw " mill, with the house, barn, stables and all belonging thereto lying on the " Zant kil,-the whole pasture as it lies in fence called the vley belonging " to the right of the above written house and mills excepting six morgens " of the above written vley beginning at the village and next the pasture " of Jan Barentse Wempel;"-to his son Symon "the six morgens of the " vley above mentioned,"§ -- to sons Hendrikes and Seymon "four morgens " of lowland lying in the Hoeck on the bouwland [part of foremost farm "No. 9] next the path or Kings highway; also my house and part of the lot "in the village of Schenectady next the new Dutch church, on the corner
* Dutch Church and Veeder Papers.
t Will in Court of Appeal's office.
# These four gardens lay between Mill creek and the canal.
§ These six morgens of land commencing at or near the " Coehorn kil" on Centre street and extending southward, on the death of Symon without issue were the occasion of much doubt as to the interpretation of his father's will ; they were in the end sold to James Willson, merchant.
206
History of the Schenectady Patent.
" of the street [north corner of Union and Church streets],* being in breadth " on the south side [on Union street] fifty feet and in length along the " [Church] street on the east one hundred and thirty feet to the lot which I ' below give to our son Cornelis, and a lot on which my barn stands, being " fifty feet broad along the [Church] street on the east side and one hundred " feet long to the lot of Nicolas Groot, all Amsterdam measure ;- to my four " daughters Engeltie, Ariaantje, Annatie and Magdalena, all the rest and "remainder of my land in the Hoeck which I have not above devised, being " four morgens to each one equal morgen ;- to son Cornelis, a lot lying in " the aforesaid village near the new Church, lying to the south of the lot " and barn that I gave above to my son Symon and Hendrikes, in breadth " on the east side along the [Church] street forty feet and length from the " street to the lot of Nicolas Groot one hundred feet ;- to our sons Hen- " drikes and Seymon and Gerrit, son of our son Helmer I give all our land "in the Jersey at a place called the Ganse Gat ;- to Catharina Vedder, " daughter of my daughter Engeltie, wife of Johannes Albertse Vedder a "lot of ground lying between the house and lot of Nicolas Groot and the "house and lot which I have herein above devised to our sons Hendrikes " and Seymon being in breadth on the south side [on Union street] fifty " feet and in length on both sides one hundred and thirty feet to the lot " above devised to my son Cornelis,-a little pasture remaining from the " pastures which we herein above have devised to our son Helmer as it lies " in fence next to Cornelis Vielen's pasture and the church pasture and Jan "Vrooman's in the corner where they go into the vley ; also a morgen of " woodland lying on the hill next the mill-right to the south of Jan " Barentse [Wemps] woodland, which sometime ago was cleared, also a " morgen of lowland lying on the road on the hindmost lot of lowland [No " 9] hereinabove devised to my son Helmer on condition that my son Helmer " shall have a waggon way over this morgen of land from his bouwland; " and our sons Hendrikes and Symon shall have the right to drive their " waggons to the saw and corn mills through the little pasture as the path " now runs through it ;- to Gerrit Van Antwerpen, four feet in breadth of "ground lying by his house and lot on the south side thereof and one " hundred feet long."t
Gerrit Symonse Feb. 9, 1734, conveyed half of his sawmill to his son Wilhelmus [Helmers ?], who lived just south of the mill near the Veeder burying ground.}
* This house and lot on the death of Symon without issue came to Hendricus, who by will made 3 Mar., 1790, devised it to his daughter Catharina, wife of Jellis J. Fonda .- Veeder Papers.
t Gerrit Symonse's will.
# Deeds, VII.
-
207
Adult Freeholders.
PIETER SYMONSE VEEDER.
Pieter, son of Symon Volkertse, married Neeltje, daughter of Claas Lawrense Van der Volgen, in 1704. He settled on the Normans kil, prob- ably on land given him by his father. At the date of his last child's baptism in 1709, he was not living.
JOHANNES SYMONSE VEEDER.
Johannes, son of Symon Volkertse, married, first, Susanna, daughter of Myndert Wemp, in 1697, and secondly, Susanna Wendel, of Albany, in 1718. He had seven children, all, save one, living at the time of his will, July 15, 1746,* children of his first wife.
He resided on the Normans kil, where he had a portion of his father's land, to which he added a part of Jan Hendrickse Van Bael's patent, by purchase.
VOLKERT SYMONSE VEEDER.
Volkert, son of Symon Volkertse, married Jannetje, daughter of Reyer Schermerhorn, in 1698. They had twelve children, seven of whom are mentioned in his will made August 4, 1733, and proved February 21, 1760. He died 12th August, 1733. He lived on the north corner of Ferry and State streets, on a lot received from his father, 120 ft. front, to which his father-in-law added about 60 ft. more on the west, as a bequest to his wife Jannetje.
This lot was divided into three equal shares and devised to his three sons, Symon, Hendricus and Johannes-to each a lot of about 60 ft. front. He also owned a lot on the south side of State street, east of the lot of the Young Men's Christian Association Building, which he devised to his wife.
In 1729, he had an interest in the mill-right, for which he paid a quit rent to the town of 30 boards.t
PIETER CORNELISE VIELÈ.
Two brothers of this name were among the early settlers of Schenectady. Pieter Cornelise and Cornelis Cornelise Vielè.
* Will, Court of Appeal's office.
t Groote schult boek.
208
History of the Schenectady Patent.
Pieter came to Schenectady with his brother Cornelis, senior, and in com- pany with Elias Van Gyseling purchased De Winter's bouwery in 1670 .* His wife was Jacomyntje, daughter of Teunis Swart the first settler, by whom he had two sons and one or more daughters. He died sometime before 1690, after which his widow married Bennony Arentse Van Hoek, who was killed in the massacre of 1690. She subsequently married Cornelis Vinhout and removed to Ulster county, where she was living as late as 1700.
Vielè's village lot was confirmed to him by patent of date Oct. 21, 1670, " containing as it lies along the highway 200 feet, having to the west Bent "Bagge and on the east the woodland; as also another small piece of land " for a plantation, of two morgens or four acres bounded west by the fence " of Claas Van Petten and on the lot aforementioned, behind on the " line of Pieter the Brasihaen's lot."+
On the 12th Dec., 1684, Pieter Viele and Jan Janse Jonckers obtained a conveyance from the trustees of Schenectady of the Second flat, next above Maalwyck on the north side of the river, the former taking the easterly 17 morgens and the latter, the westerly 17 morgens. After his widow's removal to Ulster county, she conveyed her bouwery on the Second flat in 1699 to her only surviving son, Lewis Vielè, who about 1708 being about to remove to Schaghticoke, reconveyed the same to the patentees of Schenectady; and they on the 25th March, 1718, conveyed it to Reyer Schermerhorn.t
CORNELIS VIELÈ.
Cornelise Vielè in company with Claas Frederickse Van Petten, in 1668 purchased the two bouweries No. 8, of Marten Cornelise Van Ysselsteyn, in- cluding his house, barn, three ricks, four horses, five cows, eight hogs, wagon, plough and harrow. Viele sold his moiety, the hindmost farm to Jurriaen Teunise of Albany.§
He was one of the two licensed tapsters of the village, his inn being on the south corner of State street and Mill lane near Church street. He was suc-
* Deeds, II, 789.
+ Patents, 752. The locality of these lots is unknown to the compiler.
Į Deeds, Iv, 215, 216; VI, 464; Gen. Entr., XXXII, 12.
§ Deeds, II, 740, 741, 777.
209
Adult Freeholders.
ceeded here by Douw Aukes, who married Maria Vielet his grand-daughter. It was at his house that the traditional merry making was going on when the village was destroyed on the night of the 8th Feb., 1683 ; Aukes' wife, two children and a negro servant were slain, and his brother-in-law, Arnout Vielè was carried away to Canada.
The following action was taken Jan. 9, 1671, by the Governor in refer- ence to a " Lycence for Cornelyse Cornelyssen Vielen of Schanechtide to tapp " strong Beer & Liquors there" &c. "Whereas Cornelys Cornelyssen Vielen " of Schanechtide haveing made this Address to ye commissarys att Albany, " desiring hee may have Liberty to tapp strong Beer & Liquors and to keep " an Ordinary, in recompence for several services done by him between us " & ye Maques, the wh: they have Recommended to mee for my approba- " tion. But in regard there is a Person already there by name Aques Cor- " nelyssen Gautsh [Van Slyck] an indyan, that doeth ye same by Lycence " and Appointm' of my Predecessor, Coll: Richard Nicolls, would give noe " Determinaçon therein :
" And it being likewise represented that ye said Acques hath not sufficient " Accommadaçon for Strangers wh. ye said Cornely's Cornelyssen Vielen " doth promise to bee well provided off ye reliefe of Strangers & Travellers, " Upon consideracon had thereupon I have Thought fitt to graunt ye Request " of ye said Coruelys Cornelyssen Vielen & by these Presents doe give him " free Lycence and Liberty to tap or sell by Retayle strong Beere & "Liquors to Strangers & Travellers at Schanechtide, wth this Proviso, " That this Lycence now granted she" not take away ye priviledge of ye " former Lycence given by my Prey cessor to Aques : And that ye said " Cornelys Cornelyssen doe keep fitting Accommadaçon for men and horses, " but doe not presume to sell any strong Liquors to ye Indyans to cause " any disturbance that way under ye penalty of forfeiting this Lycence " & paying such ffine as ye Law shall Require.
" Given under my Hand at Fort James in New York this 9th day of January 1671."+
* [The Viele chart compiled by Genl. E. L. Viele of N. Y., records : Maria married Matthys Vrooman, Mary married Douwe Aukes.
The text agrees with Trouw boek and other Dutch church records. There were but two daughters mentioned. Willempie who married S. J. Schermerhorn, and Maria who mar- ried first M. Vrooman ; second Douwe Aukes.
Sewell's Dictionary Amsterdam 1708, compares names : Maria, Mariken, Mary, Mar- ritje, Marytje Maartje, Maaike = Mary in the English. Was not this Maria of one mar- riage the Mary of the other ? - M'M. ]
+ Gen. Entries, 83.
1
210
History of the Schenectady Patent.
A dispute having arisen between the two above mentioned tapsters, Governor Lovelace on the 6th of May, 1672, "ordered that both have Lycence to tap without molesting each other."*
On the 15th of Aug., 1671, Cornelis Viele received a patent to confirm to him a parcel of land at Schenectady on the north side of the Mohawk river, " beginning at a certain oaken tree markt on the east and west sides thereof and "so goes alongst the river S. S., east to ye Point containing in breadth 130 "rods and from ye Point goes again north-west 106 rods, lyeing south [North] " west from ye hindmost lot of bouwland belonging to Gerrit Bancker and "running along ye bush or woodside north-west, its in length 132 rods ;- " all ye said land as it lyes having been markt ont by ye Indians at the " uttmost limits thereof ;- as, also a certain island [ Sassians] bounded on ye " south side by ye Maqaaees river over against ye north end of Jacques "Cornelissen's [Van Slyck's] island, on the north-east side with a creek or " kil that lies by the aforementioned Hoeke of bouwland, containing in " bigness fourteen acres, or seven morgens of land."t
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