McKownville land forming the Gore; ownership records from deeds

McKownville Improvement Association
- McKownville land forming the Gore; ownership records from deeds

Extent of the Gore lots allocated by partition in 1807

map showing the area
of the gore subdivided in 1807

Some of the land called "the Gore", in between two surveyed lines, of 1712, and 1800, for the southern boundary of the City of Albany, including that in what is now McKownville, falls within the larger 5¼ mile square in which property was granted to the proprietors of the Van Bael patent by a deed of 1789 from Stephen Van Rensselaer 3rd. This land within the Gore was allocated by partition in 1807, apparently to the Van Bael patent owners in proportion to their existing shares of that conveyance.
William McKown obtained a large piece of the first parcel of the Gore, about 135 acres encompassing a substantial proportion of what is now McKownville (see the map below). Other persons received smaller lots in the first parcel of the Gore. The Gore extended farther northwest of parcel 1, and some parts of these other parcels were also acquired by William McKown (see list below).
The map to the left shows both the small Van Bael patent and the larger Van Bael patent grant, and the area of the gore partitioned in 1807 (click on the map to see a larger image). A separate page gives more information on the origin of the Gore.

A description of allocation of the lots in 1807 can be found in deeds for two of the lots (9 and 10) in the first parcel, for conveyances in 1860, and in 1908, which specifies a decision of three named Commissioners of the (NY) Supreme Court: "All that certain lot of land distinguished as lot number nine being part of [a] large tract of land conveyed by Stephen Van Rensselaer of the County of Albany to the proprietors of Van Balens Patent situate in the Town of Guilderland on both sides of the Great Western Turnpike and in the first parcel of a certain tract of land commonly called the Gore which said Gore was subdivided and set apart by Benjamin Gilbert, John D. P. Dow, Charles R. Webster, Commissioners appointed by the Supreme Court for that purpose in the year 1807 and the lot hereby intended to be conveyed was distinguished by said Commissioners as lot number nine as aforesaid which by reference to the Records of said Supreme Court will fully appear..." and "Also one other lot piece or parcel of land situate lying and being in the Town of Guilderland, County of Albany on the south side of the Great Western Turnpike Road and which is known and distinguished on a certain map of partition made on the seventeenth day of October in the year one thousand eight hundred and seven by Benjamin Gilbert and others as the west half of lot number ten...". A statement in William McKown's will indicates he obtained land in the Gore by partition, but no details are given.
Deeds for the original 1807 allocations have been sought in the index files, but no trace of them has been found (for grantors: under Commissioners, the names of any of the three Commissioners, Stephen Van Rensselaer, City of Albany, Mayor etc of the City of Albany, and Philip Van Rensselaer [Mayor at the time]; for grantees: William McKown, John, Christian, Omie, Isaac, and other LaGranges; Volkert, Abraham, John M., Jacob, and other Veeders). They appear never to have been registered.
Some of the deeds for lots in gore parcel 1, for transactions in the earlier part of the 19th century, describe markings on stakes defining corners of the lots, which are in the form of initial letter of given name(s), and a last name, and a lot number: C and J LaGrange number 7; J C LaGrange number 8; G Brown number 9; J Gourlay number 10. These are presumed to be the original owner(s) of the lot. Two of them, G(eorge) Brown, and J(ames) Gourlay, are not among the names of the Van Bael patent grantees, and it is unclear how they came to be allocated lots 9, 10, and 11 in the Gore first parcel.
We have constructed a map of the lots of parcel 1 of the Gore, which shows them to scale in their proper locations. William McKown obtained nearly 3/4 of this parcel, the proportion being 14/19ths. Perhaps the allocation was made based on a similar division to that used in the 1789 grant to the Van Bael patent owners. Map on the left shows just the allocation areas and roads and tracks of the time; modern streets and roads are added for reference in the map on the right; click on either map for the enlarged version.

Listed below are property transactions for the gore lots, with links to scanned images and transcripts or abstracts of the relevant deeds, mostly for the lots in the first parcel in McKownville, up to the ownership just before extensive subdivision of each one.

deeds by which shares of Van Baels patent came to William McKown

Deed book, pages	property	Grantors	grantee	date	date recorded
17; 376-81	Van Baals patent	Stephen Van Rensselaer	J Glen; Veeders; LaGranges^§	1789-02-08	1800-03-13
16; 80-2	all of share in Van Baals Pat	Volkert S & Hannah Veeder	William McKown & John Humphrey	1797-04-26	1797-04-29
17; 383-4	all of share in Van Baals Pat	John & Judith LaGrange	William McKown	1798-12-05	1800-03-24

^§ The grantees were: John & Catherine Glen, Luykas Veeder, Volkert S. Veeder, Volkert Veeder, Abraham Veeder, John M. Veeder, Jacob Veeder, John LaGrange, Christian LaGrange, John LaGrange the Younger, Omie LaGrange the Younger, Jacobus LaGrange, Omie LaGrange (son of Isaac LaGrange), Isaac LaGrange, Coenradt LaGrange, and Arie LaGrange

deeds conveying a share of ownership in the Gore to William McKown

Deed book, pages	property	Grantors	grantee	date	date recorded
17; 504-5a	5* miles btw Betty & Corp ln	James M. LaGrange	William McKown	1800-12-02	1800-12-02
18; 232-5	5* miles btw Betty & Corp ln	Lucas Veeder	William McKown	1800-12-25	1803-07-02
27; 238-9	share of Gore parcel 1	Jacob Veeder	William McKown	1804-01-05	1824-06-10
19; 327-9	share of 2 Gore parcels	Omie LaGrange	William McKown	1806-08-03	1806-09-06
27; 290-1	share of Gore parcel 1	Jacob & Catherine Veeder	William McKown	1823-11-28	1824-07-24

* The original conveyance by Stephen Van Rensselaer (1789) defines the larger square of the Van Bael patent as 5¼ miles on a side; the western boundary of the gore partition of 1807 appears to be located on the western boundary of this square, but the 5 mile dimension in these two deeds, and specification in deeds for lot 11 of the first parcel of a stone marker of the southeastern corner of the Gore, and also in a deed (1848) for the adjacent farm of Martin J Blessing, shows that the gore property partitioned in 1807 did not extend the full width of the patent award.

Gore properties in McKownville; first parcel of the Gore
lot 1 - "McKown's Tavern Stand" and lots 2-6 "McKowns 10 acre lot" and "McKowns 12 acre lot"

Deed book, pages	property	Grantors	grantee	date	date recorded
will of W McKown	all of the gore property owned	William McKown	John McKown	1815-08-25	1843-10-24
166; 179-80b	Gore pcS; 12ac	John & Catherine McKown	James F. McKown	1860-04-23	1861-01-07
228; 513-4a	Gore lot 1; 113.32ac	John McKown	William J. McKown	1864-08-19	1870-01-15
228; 513-4b	Gore pcN; 10ac	John McKown	William J. McKown	1864-08-19	1870-01-15
421; 207-8	1ac W side McKown Rd	James Francis McKown, et al	Thomas Helme MD	1890-09-22	1890-10-04
456; 184-5	2ac N of Turnpike, W of Drumm	Kate, Ella, Anna McKown	William J Knowles	1894-10-22	1894-11-02
482; 524-5	1ac W side McKown Rd	Thomas & Charlotta Helme	George A Manville	1900-05-04	1900-05-xx
567; 19-21	McKown Hotel Farm 184.35ac*	heirs of William J McKown	William H Witbeck	1907-03-28	1907-04-03
567; 148-9	Release of restrictive covenant	heirs of William J McKown	William H & Selenia Witbeck	1907-11-27	1908-04-02
603; 197-200	McKown Hotel Farm 184.35ac*	William H & Selenia Witbeck	A Pitkin & BF Witbeck	1912-06-07	1912-06-07
603; 206-7	~1.74ac (W side Brookwood)^§	William McKown	John H Bloomingdale	1912-05-25	1912-05-28
679; 509	0.22ac S side tpike^§	William McKown	Margaret Rice	1921-03-23	1921-03-23
739; 212	2.4ac E side McKown Rd	William McKown	Anna & Eva Floy McKown	1921-02-25	1924-11-11
739; 260-1	0.48ac W side Brookwood^§	Executors of William McKown	John H Bloomingdale	1925-02-11	1925-02-24
774; 360-5	~9.6ac (Westlyn Ct)	Executors of William McKown	Herbert W Best	1927-04-20	1927-04-20

*includes ~63ac adjoining, southwest outside the gore area; ^§ 603-206 may have been reverted/not completed; 679-509 overlaps, and 739-260 is (part of?) the remainder

lot 7 - (marker C & J LaGrange) "Peter Hilton (Jr.) lot"

Deed book, pages	property	Grantors	grantee	date	date recorded
23; 421-2	6.25 acres gore	Christian C LaGrange	Francis Van Valkenburgh	1811-03-26	1815-03-25
124; 39-42	6.25 acres gore	Francis Van Valkenburgh	Peter Hilton (Jr.)	1818-08-10	1835-07-07
will of Peter Hilton	all real property*	Peter Hilton (Jr.)	James French McKown¤	1845-05-13	1847-03-31
231; 306-7	2ac gore N side tpike	James F & Sarah McKown	Andrew Drumm	1870-04-01	1870-04-25
327; 231-2	1ac N side tpike	Andrew & Rispah Drumm	Henry Drumm	1875-04-01	1875-05-17
334; 431-2	1ac N side tpike	Henry & Mary Drumm	Harriet P Shear	1881-08-03	1881-08-13
392; 106-8	1.25ac N side tpike	Andrew & Rispah Drumm	Henry Drumm	1882-03-06	1888-01-28
347; 256-7	1ac N side tpike	Harriet P Shear	James B Clark	1883-01-23	1883-02-01
449; 277-8	1ac N side tpike	James B Clark	Adam J Blessing	1893-04-15	1893-09-23
449; 278-9	1ac N side tpike	Adam J Blessing	Mary J Clark	1893-04-15	1893-09-23
456; 282-3	1ac N side tpike	Henry & Mary Drumm	William J Knowles	1894-10-25	1895-04-06
456; 290-1	4ac S side tpike	William & Rachael McKown¤	Henry & Mary Drumm	1895-04-03	1895-04-06
545; 508	1.48ac S side tpike	Henry & Mary Drumm	William E Stevens	1907-01-03	1907-01-03
630; 190	1.48ac S side tpike	William E Stevens	Maryum G Stevens	1914-09-01	1914-09-02
651; 271	1.48ac S side tpike	Maryum G Stevens	Grace H Brett	1917-01-19	1917-01-20
651; 270	1.48ac S side tpike	Grace H Brett	William & Maryum Stevens	1917-01-19	1917-01-20
679; 122	1.14ac S side turnpike	Mary Drumm	William & Maryum Stevens	1919-02-01	1919-03-07
679; 414-5	0.92ac S side tpike (E½)	Elda P Rapp°	Floyd & Lena D Hane°	1920-10-02	1920-10-05
679; 415-6	0.73ac S side tpike (W½)	Lena D Hane°	Arthur O & Elda P Rapp°	1920-10-02	1920-10-05
705; 37-8	1.48, & 1.14ac S side tpike	William & Maryum Stevens	Elizabeth C Wetheral	1921-06-07	1921-06-08
774; 244	0.92ac S side tpike (E½)	Lena Hane, Arthur & Elda Rapp°	Richard J Rasmuson	1926-10-09	1926-10-13
774; 245-6	0.73ac S side tpike (W½)	Arthur O & Elda P Rapp°	Richard J Rasmuson	1926-10-08	1926-10-13
774; 246-7	1.48, & 1.14ac S side tpike	Elizabeth C Wetheral	Richard J Rasmuson	1926-10-08	1926-10-13
774; 333-5	60ft roadway (Brookwood Av)	John H Bloomingdale	Richard & Catherine Rasmuson	1927-02-14	1927-02-14

*after decease of his wife Rebecca (d.1860); ^¤William McKown as the only child inherited the property of his parents James French (d.1880) & Sarah Ann McKown (d.1881)
°Elda Rapp and Lena Hane were the two daughters of Henry & Mary Drumm

lot 8 (marker JC LaGrange) (north and south of the Great Western Turnpike) - "Eli Warford lot"

Deed book, pages	property	Grantors	grantee	date	date recorded
48; 86-7	quitclaim 11 acres gore	John LaGrange	five daughters of J LaGrange	1834-10-14	1835-07-07
55; 599-600	11 acres gore	John LaGrange	Isaac & Isaac J LaGrange	1835-11-16	1836-12-13
55; 600-1	11 acres gore	four daughters of John LaGrange	Isaac & Isaac J LaGrange	1835-11-16	1836-12-13
68; 168-9	11 acres gore	Isaac LaGrange	Jonathan Taylor	1840-02-18	1840-02-27
96; 13-14	11 acres gore	Jonathan Taylor	John Birdsall	1847-03-25	1847-05-17
mbk 65; 483-5	$2000# (3 parcels)	John Birdsall	Lydia Vischer	1847-05-17	1847-06-12
104; 270-74	11 acres gore	John Jacobson (administrator)	Eli Warford	1849-08-27	1849-10-08
171; 207-8	11 acres gore	Eli Warford	Ann Birdsall	1861-11-13	1861-11-16
186; 204-5	11 acres gore	Ann Birdsall	Jacob Sager	1864-04-01	1864-04-02
243; 181-2	11 acres gore	Jacob Sager	William H Bailey	1870-11-30	1871-06-13
243; 449-50	11 acres gore	William H Bailey	Annie & John Taylor	1871-07-01	1871-08-24
253; 343-5	11 acres gore	Annie & John Taylor	Emma McCann & Helen Salisbury	1872-05-16	1872-05-29
332; 68-70	11 acres gore	Emma McCann & Helen Salisbury	Charles Gimlick	1881-03-31	1881-04-04
567; 365-6	7.51ac S side tpike	Charles Gimlick	Jacob W Wilbur	1909-10-16	1909-10-20
705; 10	~0.57ac; Gimlick lot 5*	Charles A & Mary Gimlick	Minnie Briare	1921-05-05	1921-05-05

# refers to "...buildings on the said premises..." but could be just on the two Bethlehem lots; also, "...John Birdsall of the Town of Bethlehem..."
* Charles A Gimlick sold between 1912 and 1925 the ~2.5 acres on the north side of Western Avenue as 8 separate lots. Lot 5 contains the ~1840 Federal style brick house at 1245 Western Avenue

lot 9 (marker G Brown) prior to division across the Turnpike

Deed book, pages	property	Grantors	grantee	date	date recorded
not found grantee index	lot 9 gore ~6.23ac		George Brown (?)
not found grantee index		(?) George Brown	Volkert P Douw
55; 53-5	lot 9 gore ~6.23ac	Volkert & Helen Douw	Warner Daniels	1836-08-28	1836-08-31

lot 9 (north side of the Gt Western Turnpike) - "Aaron Jennings lot"

Deed book, pages	property	Grantors	grantee	date	date recorded
166; 58-60	lot 9N; 1 acre gore	Elizabeth Daniels et al	Thomas Helme	1860-11-20	1860-12-11
176; 258-9	lot 9N; 1 acre gore	Thomas & Elizabeth Helme	Margaret McMillen^#	1862-03-25	1862-11-22
208; 81-2	lot 9N; 1 acre gore	Margaret^# & Robert Moak	James French McKown	1867-03-22	1835-07-07
379; 5-6	lot 9N; 1 acre gore	William & Catherine L McKown (heirs)	Aaron Jennings	1886-12-01	1886-12-01

#Margaret Van Schaack, wife/widow of Alexander McMillen; mother of Lavina, wife of William McKown; subsequently married Robert Moak

lot 9 (south side of the Gt Western Turnpike) - "Helme W lot"

Deed book, pages	property	Grantors	grantee	date	date recorded
173; 115-7	lots 9S, 10W & E gore ~11.5ac	Elizabeth Daniels et al	Thomas Helme	1862-03-29	1862-04-01
258; 251-3	lots 9S, 10W & E gore ~11.5ac	Henry & Cordelia Daniels	Thomas Helme	1873-01-11	1873-02-04
423; 435-8	lots 9S, 10W & E gore ~11.5ac	Thomas & Lottie Helme et al	Elizabeth Helme	1891-02-04	1891-02-24
567; 196-8	lots 9S, 10W & E gore ~11.5ac	execs of Elizabeth Helme	Thomas Helme	1908-07-01	1908-09-03

lot 10 (marker J Gourlay) prior to division

Deed book, pages	property	Grantors	grantee	date	date recorded
22; 403-5	lot 10 ~10.5ac	James & Lany Gourlay	Solomon Southwick	1813-10-22	1813-11-10
22; 399-401	lot 10 ~10.5ac (half share)	Solomon & Jane Southwick	Henry C Southwick	1813-10-28	1813-11-13
25; 6-7	lot 10 piece N side Turnpike (~1 acre)	James & Lany Gourlay	John Taylor	1818-08-03	1819-01-12
26; 84-88	lot 10 ~10.5ac	Stephen Lush et al (mtge holders)	Volkert P Douw	1822-07-02	1822-09-19

lot 10 (small gore ~0.75 acre north of the GWT) - "Cooper lot"
see deed 25; 6-7 above

lot 10 (south side of the Great Western Turnpike) - "Helme E lot"

Deed book, pages	property	Grantors	grantee	date	date recorded
26; 88-90	lot 10W gore ~5.35ac	Volkert P Douw	Stephen Lush	1822-07-29	1822-09-19
55; 6-7	lot 10E gore ~5.35ac	Volkert P Douw	James Walsh	1822-07-29	1836-08-20
70; 332-4	lot 10W gore ~5.35ac	Lydia Lush et al	Gertrude Ross	1833-12-[ ]	1840-10-13
55; 42-3	lot 10E gore ~5.35ac	Daniel & Catherine Barnard	Warner Daniels	1836-08-20	1836-08-20
55; 255-6	lot 10W gore ~5.35ac	William & Gertrude Ross	Warner Daniels	1836-09-24	1836-10-08
173; 115-7	lots 9S, 10W & E gore ~11.5ac	Elizabeth Daniels et al	Thomas Helme	1862-03-29	1862-04-01
258; 251-3	lots 9S, 10W & E gore ~11.5ac	Henry & Cordelia Daniels	Thomas Helme	1873-01-11	1873-02-04
423; 435-8	lots 9S, 10W & E gore ~11.5ac	Thomas & Lottie Helme et al	Elizabeth Helme	1891-02-04	1891-02-24
567; 196-8	lots 9S, 10W & E gore ~11.5ac	execs of Elizabeth Helme	Thomas Helme	1908-07-01	1908-09-03

lot 11 - "Amsdell lot"

Deed book, pages	property	Grantors	grantee	date	date recorded
not found grantee index		LaGrange (?)	James Gourlay
31; 428	19.3 acres gore	James & Lena Gourlay	Samuel Bromley	1821-01-05	1827-06-27
33; 41-2	19.3 acres gore	Samuel & Elizabeth Bromley	Stephen Higgins	1827-11-01	1827-11-01
mbk 24; 261-2	for $300; disch. mbk 28; 292-3	Stephen Higgins	Samuel Bromley	1827-11-01	1827-11-01
mbk 28; 293-5*	for $500; disch. 1835-07-07 (33; 152)	Stephen Higgins	Ambrose Spencer	1830-11-20	1830-11-20
50; 200-202	19.3 acres gore	Stephen & Eleanor Higgins	William Amsdell	1834-06-20	1835-07-07
104; 103-5	2ac S of pike; tollgate	Great Western Turnpike Co	William Amsdell	1849-07-14	1849-07-14
115; 315	small triangular piece N of tpike	William Amsdell	William Cooper	1852-01-xx	1852-03-31
150; 456-7	19.3 acres; 2ac S of tpike;	William Amsdell	John A Millard	1858-04-17	1858-04-17
150; 457-8	19.3 acres; 2ac S of tpike;	John A Millard	Abbey Amsdell	1858-04-17	1858-04-17
373; 28-9	19.3 acres; 2ac S of tpike;	George & Theodore Amsdell	John Grisel [Geisel]	1886-02-11	1886-04-01
448; 339-40	2.11ac strip on E side	Frederick Danker	John & Mary Geisel	1893-07-28	1893-07-31
448; 341-2	2.11ac strip on E side	John & Mary Geisel	Henry & Anna Weyman	1893-07-28	1893-07-31
482; 106-8	19.3 acres; 2ac S, less 2.11ac	John Geisel	William Knowles	1897-04-05	1897-04-05
482; 514-7	19.3 acres; 2ac S, less 2.11ac	William & Caroline Knowles	Anton Keller	1900-04-02	1900-04-02
567; 186-7	19.3 acres; 2ac S, less 2.11ac	Anton & Clara Keller	Bernard & May Sheehan	1908-07-22	1908-07-24
771; 114-6	E boundary agreement	Bernard & May Sheehan	Sidney & Lucy Stockholm	1926-03-01	1926-03-03

* contains the statement: "...and on which said lot or piece of land the said Stephen Higgins now resides...." - the implication being that the house was built by this time

Property adjoining east side of lot 11; not part of the gore

Deed book, pages	property	Grantors	grantee	date	date recorded
25; 4-6	49.2 acres, S of tpike, W from Magazine St	Philip S & Ann Van Rensselaer	John Taylor	1818-09-24	1819-01-12
43; 195-7	49.2 acres, S of tpike, W from Magazine St	John Taylor	Ambrose Spencer	1819-05-24	1832-11-26
43; 116-9	183.7 acres, S of tpike, W from Blessing Rd	Ambrose & Catherine Spencer	Sidney Hawes	1832-10-25	1832-10-25
50; 266-9	183.7 acres, S of tpike, W from Blessing Rd	Sidney & Barbara Hawes	Caleb Bennett	1835-08-01	1835-08-03
98; 416-9	183.7 acres, S of tpike, W from Blessing Rd	Caleb N & Susan Bennett	Martin J Blessing	1848-11-16	1849-02-08

Gore properties northwest of McKownville; McKown holdings in the second and third parcels of the Gore

Deed book, pages	property	Grantors	grantee	date	date recorded
109; 258-9	136.1ac gore NW from Willow St (3rd parcel)	John & Catherine McKown	C Miller et al	1851-01-03	1851-02-04
140; 208-9	158.3ac gore Westmere N of tpike (2nd parcel)	John & Catherine McKown	J Craven, S Kelly	1856-05-31	1856-06-02
229; 12-13	gore lot; 2ac	John T & Charles D Cooper	John McKown	1870-01-01	1870-01-17
239; 217-22	[lot 2; 1101/3ac] gore 2ac	James F. McKown (administrator)	William J McKown	1871-01-26	1871-03-23
285; 509-10	2ac ?in gore	William J & Lydia McKown	John Smith	1875-10-11	1875-10-19

Gore properties northwest of McKownville; some other early owners holdings in the second parcel of the Gore

Deed book, pages	property	Grantors	grantee	date	date recorded
23; 419-20	69.75ac lot 8; 19.13ac lot 7 (2nd parcel gore) (+)	John LaGrange	Robert Adams	1815-01-13	1815-03-18
33; 198-200	30.33ac; lot 11 2nd parcel gore (J Gourlay)	Samuel & Elizabeth Bromley	P Cushman, A Adams	1827-11-26	1827-11-28
55; 47-9	29.3ac lot 3; ¼ lot 4 29ac (2nd parcel gore) (+)	Matthew & Susannah Bullock	Warner Daniels, W Adams	1836-08-24	1836-08-30

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