c1769 Exceptional Colonial New York Mortgage for Manhattan Waterfront Property – Abraham P. Lott – Witnessed by Abraham De Peyster
Exceptional Colonial New York Mortgage for Manhattan Waterfront Property – Abraham P. Lott – Witnessed by Abraham De Peyster
A rare original eighteenth-century New York manuscript mortgage documenting the conveyance of an undivided one-half interest in a valuable waterfront parcel on Dock Street at Hunter's Key, extending to the East River in colonial Manhattan.
The document is executed by Abraham P. Lott, a member of one of New York's oldest Dutch families, in favor of William Astell, securing repayment of £600 New York currency.
Particularly desirable is the detailed legal description of the property, which identifies its location in the East Ward along the East River waterfront and names neighboring owners including Henry Cruger and Robert Murray, placing the property within one of colonial New York's principal commercial districts.
The document is witnessed by:
- Henry Duyvis
- Abraham De Peyster
The De Peyster family ranked among colonial New York's foremost merchant and political dynasties, producing mayors, provincial officials, and major landowners whose influence extended throughout the eighteenth century.
Highlights
- Original colonial New York manuscript.
- Manhattan waterfront real estate.
- Hunter's Key and Dock Street.
- Signed by Abraham P. Lott.
- Witnessed by Abraham De Peyster.
- Original seal present.
- Excellent genealogical and early New York research potential.
A highly desirable colonial New York legal document connecting two of the city's most distinguished early families and documenting ownership of valuable Manhattan waterfront property during the colonial era.
Where It Was
On Bernard Ratzer's magnificent 1766–1767 Map of the City of New York, Hunter's Key appears just south of what is now the South Street Seaport area.
Today the property would have been located approximately near:
- South Street Seaport
- Old Slip
- Pearl Street
- Water Street
- Fulton Street
essentially within today's historic Financial District of Lower Manhattan.
The Neighbors
Henry Cruger
Henry Cruger (1739–1827) was one of New York's wealthiest merchants.
Remarkably, he later became:
- a member of the British Parliament
- while simultaneously serving as a representative of New York commercial interests.
His waterfront warehouses lined this section of the East River.
Robert Murray
Robert Murray was another prominent New York merchant.
His estate later became famous because his daughter,
Mary Lindley Murray,
famously delayed British General William Howe after the Battle of Harlem Heights in 1776, giving Washington's army time to escape.
Hunter's Key
Hunter's Key was one of several colonial wharves extending into the East River.
Merchants owning property there handled:
- Caribbean trade
- British imports
- flour exports
- whale oil
- rum
- sugar
- molasses
- shipping warehouses
This was literally among the most valuable commercial real estate in British North America.
Research Potential
Because your mortgage identifies:
- Abraham P. Lott
- William Astell
- Henry Cruger
- Robert Murray
- Hunter's Key
- Dock Street
- East Ward
- £600 mortgage
it should be possible to locate the exact recording in the New York County deed books.
That would provide:
- exact execution date
- Liber and page number
- complete legal description
- confirmation of all parties
- potentially earlier and later transfers of the same property.
Exceptional Colonial New York Mortgage for Manhattan Waterfront Property – Abraham P. Lott – Witnessed by Abraham De Peyster
A rare original eighteenth-century New York manuscript mortgage documenting the conveyance of an undivided one-half interest in a valuable waterfront parcel on Dock Street at Hunter's Key, extending to the East River in colonial Manhattan.
The document is executed by Abraham P. Lott, a member of one of New York's oldest Dutch families, in favor of William Astell, securing repayment of £600 New York currency.
Particularly desirable is the detailed legal description of the property, which identifies its location in the East Ward along the East River waterfront and names neighboring owners including Henry Cruger and Robert Murray, placing the property within one of colonial New York's principal commercial districts.
The document is witnessed by:
- Henry Duyvis
- Abraham De Peyster
The De Peyster family ranked among colonial New York's foremost merchant and political dynasties, producing mayors, provincial officials, and major landowners whose influence extended throughout the eighteenth century.
Highlights
- Original colonial New York manuscript.
- Manhattan waterfront real estate.
- Hunter's Key and Dock Street.
- Signed by Abraham P. Lott.
- Witnessed by Abraham De Peyster.
- Original seal present.
- Excellent genealogical and early New York research potential.
A highly desirable colonial New York legal document connecting two of the city's most distinguished early families and documenting ownership of valuable Manhattan waterfront property during the colonial era.
Where It Was
On Bernard Ratzer's magnificent 1766–1767 Map of the City of New York, Hunter's Key appears just south of what is now the South Street Seaport area.
Today the property would have been located approximately near:
- South Street Seaport
- Old Slip
- Pearl Street
- Water Street
- Fulton Street
essentially within today's historic Financial District of Lower Manhattan.
The Neighbors
Henry Cruger
Henry Cruger (1739–1827) was one of New York's wealthiest merchants.
Remarkably, he later became:
- a member of the British Parliament
- while simultaneously serving as a representative of New York commercial interests.
His waterfront warehouses lined this section of the East River.
Robert Murray
Robert Murray was another prominent New York merchant.
His estate later became famous because his daughter,
Mary Lindley Murray,
famously delayed British General William Howe after the Battle of Harlem Heights in 1776, giving Washington's army time to escape.
Hunter's Key
Hunter's Key was one of several colonial wharves extending into the East River.
Merchants owning property there handled:
- Caribbean trade
- British imports
- flour exports
- whale oil
- rum
- sugar
- molasses
- shipping warehouses
This was literally among the most valuable commercial real estate in British North America.
Research Potential
Because your mortgage identifies:
- Abraham P. Lott
- William Astell
- Henry Cruger
- Robert Murray
- Hunter's Key
- Dock Street
- East Ward
- £600 mortgage
it should be possible to locate the exact recording in the New York County deed books.
That would provide:
- exact execution date
- Liber and page number
- complete legal description
- confirmation of all parties
- potentially earlier and later transfers of the same property.
