The LaGrange lots adjacent to Country Club Highlands, and their access roadway/alley

McKownville Improvement Association
- The LaGrange lots adjacent to Country Club Highlands, and their access roadway/alley

History of the LaGrange lots
The area of McKownville east of Fuller Road, and north of the Pitkin-Witbeck development called Country Club Highlands, was once the property of Christian P LaGrange. His wife Jeanette bought in 1846 two of the "Great Lots" which the City of Albany had created in the area of the Liberty of Albany west of Magazine Street, after a survey in 1817 by Evert Van Allen. Christian P LaGrange subdivided these lots, numbers 16 and 17 of Van Allen's map, into two rectangular pieces, a northern part of 73 acres or so, which he sold in 1863; and a southern part of about 42 acres which he retained. [Deed listing]

map (Bradt 1843) of
eastern set of Great Lots, as set out 1817

map showing the eastern set of Great Lots, as set out by Evert Van Allen 1817 (from an inset on the Bradt map of the City of Albany 1843)
Lots 16 and 17 bought by Jeanette wife of Christian P LaGrange in 1846 outlined in purple [click on the image to view enlarged]

excerpt from 1851 Sidney map showing location of C P
LaGrange farmhouse

excerpt from the 1851 map by J Sidney [Map of the vicinity of Albany and Troy]
showing location of farmhouse of C P LaGrange (upper center at the Guilderland-City of Albany boundary)

After the death of Christian P LaGrange this 42 acre parcel was divided into 8 equal rectangular lots of 5.23 acres each, and these were in 1877 distributed by deeds to his various heirs. Although all of them were subsequently sold on, and some of them several times, 7 of these 8 lots remained more or less intact, each with a single owner, and one house (or none), until about 1950. Lot 1 adjacent to Fuller Road had four lots in its northern part sold and houses built there in the 1915-23 interval, and the northern extension of Elmwood Street was built and further subdivision of the southern part of lot 1 started about 1939.

map of the property of the heirs of Christian P LaGrange 1881 (copy dated 1921)

map showing the
boundary roadway between the LaGrange and Country Club Highlands
about 1935

map showing the boundary roadway along the southern edge of the LaGrange lots, and the Country Club Highlands lots and alleys, about 1935
Location, date of building and ownership of the single house in each of LaGrange lots 2 and 4-8 is indicated

The roadway along the southern boundary of the Christian LaGrange lots
When the division of the property was made in 1877 into 8 lots for the heirs of Christian P LaGrange, a stipulation (exclusion) was made for a roadway 12 feet wide passing along the southern edge of the property to allow access for all of the lot owners to Fuller Road (although that road may not have had a name at the time). In the deeds to the various heirs of Christian P LaGrange allocating each of the lots 1 through 7 (but omitted for lot 8), this form of wording occurs:
"Excepting and reserving a strip of land of the width of twelve feet on the southerly end of said lot adjoining the lands of said McKown for a road or highway for the use and benefit of subdivision lot Nos. 1-2-3-4-5-6-7 and 8 of the whole lot of Christian LaGrange deceased".
This roadway was in active use by the occupants of the house built about 1919 in lot 2 which is now known as 30 West Parkwood St, until West Parkwood St was built (about 1955), and also by Jane LaGrange and other occupants of the original farmhouse of Christian P LaGrange, which was located in lot 4, and which existed until about 1935. The house in lot 6, more recently known as the Nicholas Lane house, may have been built as early as 1880, and not later than 1903; so the occupants probably used the LaGrange lot roadway at least until the lower part of Norwood St was built, about 1910.
The house now known as 21 Norwood St was built in 1912, and for access most probably used the lower part of Norwood St just built a year or two previous to that date. In lot 7, the Barnes Lodge was built in 1909, and seems to have had access out through the Country Club, but in 1915 obtained a right-of-way agreement to use Waverly Place, as did the owners from 1923 of the lot 6 "Nicholas Lane" house. The house built in about 1914 in lot 8 by Thomas Woods had access out through the Albany County Club, but also used a connection to the Barnes driveway to Waverly Place. After the construction of lower Norwood St and Waverly Place, it seems unlikely that any further use for access was made of the LaGrange roadway by the occupants of these four eastern lots.

The deeds for the Christian LaGrange lots up to the time before they were subdivided into multiple house lots
This stipulation for an access roadway persists and mention of it is included in all of the subsequent deeds for sale of these LaGrange lots, and for lots 1 through 5 before their subdivision into multiple smaller lots for houses. While there are very minor variations from one deed to another, the substance of the statement about the "road or highway" remains, and is specifically an "Excepting and reserving" condition for the 12 ft wide strip; it is not an easement or grant of right-of-way, but a common access road.
For example, when Catherine Smith purchased lot 5 from James Treanor in 1944, this exclusion in that deed reads: "excepting and reserving a strip of land of the width of twelve feet on the southerly end of said lot adjoining the lands of said McKown for a road or highway for the use and benefit of subdivisions ~~lot~~ of Nos. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 of the whole lot of said Christian LaGrange ~~deceased~~" [bold letters are additions relative to the 1877 original deeds; ~~strikethrough~~ are removals]

Easements along the 12 ft roadway granted for water supply pipes of the McKownville Water District
The McKownville Water District was established in 1947, starting from the existing Pitkin-Witbeck system with its source in the McKownville Reservoir. That system was legally purchased in 1949 along with easements mostly in the Country Club Highlands alleys. As a part of the development on the then new streets of upper Norwood, upper Glenwood and Parkwood E & W in the early 1950's, the McKownville water system was extended, and some of this water supply piping was installed along the LaGrange access roadway. One of the LaGrange lot deeds, and the several development property maps for these LaGrange lots, contain evidence of the easements for these installations. The date on the earliest map to show the water main indicates it was already installed by May 1951. Despite a careful index search, no registered/recorded deeds for these easements have been found, besides the one general statement in the 1949 deed for the sale of the Pitkin-Witbeck water supply system to the McKownville Water District.
1155; 421-4 Deed for lot 4 Anna LaGrange Friebel to Philip & Jean Wogel, & Carol Buher 1949-02-17 contains this statement: "Subject to an easement granted by the party of the first part to McKownville Water District to pay" [?place] " and maintain water pipes along the southerly boundary line of said property."
[however, a search under Friebel, or LaGrange, as grantor in the deed index list for 1940-1953 fails to reveal any registered document for this easement, nor does searching the grantee index pages for McKownville Water District]
Map 2750 Norwood Street Extension filed 1951-05-07 shows: the 12 ft wide roadway, marked "12' ROW", and following its medial line a water main (west part 8", changing to 6" in east part, and with a reference "From sheet 2 of 11 plans of McKownville Water District". This water main is shown continuing from and into both adjacent lots along the same line and 12 ft roadway/ROW.
Map 2794 Part 1 Glenwood Heights filed 1951-08-30 shows: the 12 ft wide roadway, marked "12' ROW", and following its medial line a water main marked "existing 6" main"
Map 3015 Part 2 Glenwood Heights filed 1952-10-08 shows: the 12 ft wide roadway, marked "12' ROW", and following its medial line a water main; marked elsewhere on the plan "6" main"; this water main is shown continuing from and into both adjacent lots along the same line and 12 ft roadway/ROW.
Map 3379 Revised map of Parkwood Homes dated 1955-07-05 shows: the 12 ft wide roadway, marked "12' ROW", and following its medial line a water main; marked "existing 6" water main". This water main is shown continuing from and into both adjacent lots along the same line and 12 ft roadway/ROW.
Map 1168 Amended map of Elmwood Street Extension dated 1939-02-02, filed 1940-09-03 shows: the 12 ft wide roadway, marked "Right of Way".

So for LaGrange lots 1 through 4, all the maps prepared for the housing subdivisions show the 12 ft "Right of Way", and there was a 6 inch water main installed about 1950 along the whole of the length of the roadway/right of way through these four lots, and continuing into lot 5 east of Norwood St (and beyond, extending through lot 8 to the north end of Knowles Terrace). New water mains were installed in this part of McKownville in 2019-20, and there is now a new pipe in the same 12 ft "Right of Way" along the full distance from Fuller Road across Elmwood to Parkwood Streets. Beyond this point, the plan was to cap/plug the old pipe and abandon it in place? Or are eastern parts still in use?

The deeds of subdivision house lots (1950 and later) located along the southern Lagrange lots boundary next to the common access roadway
After the LaGrange lots were subdivided for houses in the years 1951-55, there have been varying treatments of the 12 ft access roadway/right-of-way in the individual subdivision lot deeds, and parts of the roadway have become effectively closed off. Other parts, however, were never included in the adjacent lot deed, and appear to be like the bulk of the Country Club Highlands alleys, currently ownerless, or having an unknown owner.

CCH alleys and the
LaGrange access track segments c.1975

Map of the status of the Country Club Highlands alleys after 1964, and of the segments of the LaGrange access track after 1975

Elmwood Street west side (26 Elmwood St) [LaGrange lot 1]

Deed book, pages	property	Grantors	grantee	date	date recorded
1048; 22-5@	Lot 1 Elmwood St Ext	William W Farley	Mary Ellen Herndon	1946-12-24	1946-12-30
1166; 316-8 *	Lot 1 Elmwood St Ext	Mary Ellen Herndon	Abram Lee	1949-04-12	1949-05-19
1195; 303-6 #	S part Lot 1 Elmwood St Ext	Abram Lee	Katherine Riegel	1949-12-21	1949-12-21

@deed refers only to lot 1 and Map 1168; has no boundary recitation
*boundary recitation: >193 ft more or less along Fuller Road, 133.26 feet along the line of the right of way to Elmwood Street Extension, 223.86 feet on the Elmwood Street Extension [Map 1168 shows these dimensions for lot 1; they exclude the right of way, shown 12 ft wide, adjacent to S]
#boundary recitation in part: >SW corner of lot 1, >S38° 28'E along southerly line of lot 1, 133.26 feet to POB in westerly line of Elmwood Street Extension, SE corner of lot 1 [same dimension as in previous deed for S boundary of lot 1 along the right of way; which is not mentioned in this deed]
This recitation, not mentioning the adjacent right of way, continues in subsequent deeds:
bk2018 p257-8, 1970-05-11 Riegel to Wessendorf; bk2260 p29-32, 1984-03-27 Wessendorf to Del Rosario; bk 2269 p21-2, 1984-09-14 Del Rosario to Debye-Saxinger; bk2488 p675-6, 1993-07-23 Debye-Saxinger to Malkowski; bk2768 p569-70, 2004-05-11 Malkowski/Diacetis to Malkowski; R2019-22326, 2019-10-09 Malkowski to Ma; to the latest sale:

Deed book, pages	property	Grantors	grantee	date	date recorded
R2021-32668	S part Lot 1 Elmwood St Ext	Eric Ma	Stephen Cope	2021-10-11	2021-10-27

however, in bk1985 p213-6, 1969-01-30 the sale by Riegel of a strip to County of Albany for the widening of Fuller Road, the boundary recitation does mention the 12 ft right of way, as forming the southern boundary, the 11 ft wide end, of the strip conveyed along the east side of Fuller Road.

Elmwood Street east side (25 Elmwood St) [LaGrange lot 1]

Deed book, pages	property	Grantors	grantee	date	date recorded
917; 435-8	Lot 2 Elmwood St Ext@	George H C Farley	John F & Luciette G Firlik	1941-02-24	1941-02-24
2607; 387-90	Lot 2 Elmwood St Ext*	Marie Coluccio (executor of Luciette G Firlik)	Marie Coluccio	1998-07-01	1998-07-14
2623; 1136-9	Lot 2 Elmwood St Ext	Marie Coluccio	Samuel V Ricotta	1999-02-18	1999-02-25
3048; 282-5	Lot 2 Elmwood St Ext	Samuel V Ricotta	Kathleen Bonneau	2012-10-16	2012-10-30
R2022-18882	Lot 2 Elmwood St Ext	Kathleen Bonneau	Antonio & Aurora Goncalves	2022-07-26	2022-08-12

@ the lot boundary recitation refers to the older (unrevised) map of Elmwood Street Extension (Map 821 filed 1939-03-03), in which lot 2 includes a parcel adjacent to the north, excluded from this and all the later conveyances. The Amended map of Elmwood Street Extension (Map 1168 filed 1940-09-03) shows lot 2 as consisting of all the property conveyed in this deed.
*boundary recitation in part, for the southern end adjacent to the 12 ft roadway/right of way: "Beginning at a point in the easterly line of Elmwood Street distant twelve and forty-one hundredths (12.41) feet on a course North thirty-six degrees fifty minutes east from the intersection of said line with the division line between lands now or formerly of Benjamin F. Witbeck, known as "Country Club Highlands" and a strip of land twelve (12) feet wide excepted in a conveyance from Peter LaGrange and wife to Shuble Kelly dated July 6, 1878 and recorded July 15 1878 in said Clerk's Office in Book 310 of Deeds, page 265, and running thence North.....along the easterly line of Elmwood Street....[2 omitted segments]......thence South fifty-one degrees thirty-two minutes West one hundred seventy-two and seventy-one hundredths (172.71) feet to a point twelve (12) feet northeasterly at right angles from said division line between lands now or formerly of Benjamin F. Witbeck and said strip of land above referred to, and then North thirty-eight degrees twenty-eight minutes West parallel with said division line and twelve (12) feet distant northeasterly therefrom seventy and three hundredths (70.03) feet to the place of beginning."
This recitation remains the same through to the latest (2022) deed. The dimensions and directions correspond exactly to those shown on the amended map, which shows the excluded 12 ft strip adjacent to lot 2, marked Right of Way. It is worth mention that this roadway was in use, and the only access, for the occupants of the house now known as 30 W Parkwood St up through 1955, 14 years after this lot 2 was sold and the house at 25 Elmwood occupied.

Parkwood Street W west side (26W Parkwood St) [LaGrange lot 2]

Deed book, pages	property	Grantors	grantee	date	date recorded
1427; 152-4	lots 30 & 31 Parkwood Homes	James J Smith	Robert L & Helen M Hanley	1954-11-26	1954-11-26
1744; 425-6 #	lot 30r Parkwood Homes	Robert L & Helen M Hanley	Jessie B Van Denbergh	1963-01-21	1963-01-22
1744; 427-8	lot 30r Parkwood Homes	Jessie B Van Denbergh	Edith M Parsons Van Denbergh	1963-01-21	1963-01-22
2087; 757-8 *	lot 30r Parkwood Homes	Helen M Hanley Matie	Thomas L & Miriam C Rider	1974-09-09	1974-09-13
2355; 119-20	lot 30r Parkwood Homes	Miriam C Rider	Steven N Rider	1982-11-14	1983-01-11
R2019-24465 @	lot 30r Parkwood Homes	Steven N Rider	Steven N Rider (Trustee)	2015-11-06	2019-11-15

# resubdivided 1956, which involved a change to the position of the northern boundary of lot 30, but it also resulted in the inclusion of the 12ft right of way into the revised lot 30r; in the 1954 deed, the right of way was specifically excluded.
* these grantees built the house on lot 30, completed 1975.
@boundary recitation mentions 12 ft wide Right of Way, extending across whole of lot 30, but as included in the lot. This recitation extends back to the bk1744 p 425 deed of 1963-01-21.
In the 1954 deed, this statement appears: "Subject to the exception and reservation of a strip of land of the width of 12 feet on the southerly (southwesterly) end of said lot adjoining the lands of said Wm. J. McKown for a road or highway for the use and benefit of lots #1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 subdivision of the whole lot of Christian La Grange, deceased."
The recitation for the southwestern part of the lot boundary in the 1954 deed: "Beginning at an iron pipe at the southwesterly corner of the premises.....which iron pipe is also at the intersection of the northeasterly line of the Country Club Highlands (formerly McKown) and the southeasterly line of lots as shown^§ on "Amended Map of Elmwood Street Extension" and running thence northeasterly along the division line between premises of Emma M. Hoag on the southeast and premises as shown on "Amended Map of Elmwood Street Extension" on the northwest for a distance of 46.67 feet to a point; thence southeasterly....to the westerly side of....Parkwood Street West; thence southerly along the said proposed street...[3 segments]....to the aforementioned northerly line of Country Club Highlands (formerly McKown); thence northwesterly along said northeasterly line of Country Club Highlands......169.26 feet to an iron pipe; thence continuing along said line.....for a distance of 87.60 feet to the point and place of beginning...."
The first 1963 deed reverses the direction of the boundary recitation, and starts at Parkwood Street, reading: Beginning at a point on the Northerly boundary line of Parkwood Street at its intersection with with the Northerly boundary line of Parkwood Street West, said point also being in the division line between the lands of the former Country Club Highlands on the west and the lands of Parkwood Homes Subdivision on the east, said division line also being the Westerly boundary line of a 12 foot Right of Way extending northerly across Lot No. 30 from Parkwood Street to the rear line of the lots off Elmwood Street Extension. Thence from the point of beginning.....along the Northerly boundary line of Parkwood Street West....[3 segments]...to a point. Thence on a line....a distance of 130.63 feet to a point in a line forming the rear of lots off Elmwood Street Extension. Thence on a line....a distance of 63.67 feet to a point in the first mentioned division line. Thence on a line.....a distance of 256.86 feet to the point of beginning." All the subsequent deeds have this recitation.
^§ The rear line of the Elmwood Street Extension lots (see Map 1168) begins on the north side of the 12 ft right of way, so this part of the statement is not fully correct

Parkwood Street E east side (27E Parkwood St) [LaGrange lot 3]

Deed book, pages	property	Grantors	grantee	date	date recorded
1427; 137-8	lot 11 Parkwood Homes	James J Smith	Charles W & Edith M Parsons	1954-11-26	1954-11-26
1492; 326-8 #	lot 11 Parkwood Homes	James J Smith	Charles W & Edith M Parsons	1956-05-15	1956-05-15
1610; 171-2	lot 11 Parkwood Homes	Edith M Parsons Van Denbergh	Robert L Hanley	1959-04-22	1959-04-23
1697; 249-50	lot 11 Parkwood Homes	Robert L Hanley	Merritt A & Edith C Cline	1961-09-27	1961-09-27
1904; 301-2	lot 11 Parkwood Homes	Merritt A & Edith C Cline	Melvin L & Anita Behn	1967-04-24	1967-05-12
R2024-4337	lot 11 Parkwood Homes	Michael I Behn (executor)	James M & Martha J Guenther	2024-02-28	2024-03-18

# corrections in this deed - two substitutions of "southeasterly" for "northwesterly" in the first part of the boundary recitation, and a small change of the first boundary segment length (from 49.40 to 49.45 feet, a change which does not match the development map); in the 3rd, 6th and 7th lines of this section of that deed.
In the 1954 and all later deeds, this statement appears: "Subject to the exception and reservation of a strip of land of the width of 12 feet on the southerly (southwesterly) end of said lot adjoining the land formerly of Wm. J. McKown for a road or highway for the benefit of lots #1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8, subdivision of the whole lot of Christian La Grange, deceased."
The recitation in the 1956 deed for the lot boundary edited to include only details for the part including the 12 ft road strip: "Beginning at a point in the northeasterly line of the Country Club Highlands, formerly the property of Wm. J. McKown, at a point where it is intersected by the southeasterly line of premises conveyed by Jean Wogel to James J. Smith by deed dated July 30, 1954 and recorded in the Albany County Clerk's Office on July 30, 1954 in Book 1411 of Deeds at page 167, and continuing northeasterly along the southeasterly line of premises so conveyed to James J. Smith a distance of 49.45 feet; thence northwesterly....to the southeasterly line of......Parkwood Street East; thence southwesterly along the said proposed street....[3 segments, the third of 5.71 feet]....thence southeasterly....along the northerly line of Country Club Highands (formerly McKown) a distance of 156.22 feet; thence continuing southeasterly along the line of premises formerly Country Club Highlands.....a distance of 24.55 feet to the point of place of beginning....."

Glenwood Street west side (22 Glenwood St) [LaGrange lot 4]

Deed book, pages	property	Grantors	grantee	date	date recorded
1741; 240-4	Lot 18A Glenwood Heights	Jean Wogel	Howard E Kohn	1962-03-21	1962-12-17
1768; 135-7	Lot 18A Glenwood Heights	Howard E Kohn	Anthony J & Ethel De Gaetano	1963-08-28	1963-08-29
1915; 135-6	Lot 18A Glenwood Heights	Anthony J & Ethel De Gaetano	Anthony J De Gaetano	1967-08-17	1967-08-18
1928; 195-7 #	Lots 18A & S pt20 Glenwood Heights	Anthony J De Gaetano	Gonzalo & Maria F Torrente-Ballester	1967-12-18	1967-12-18
2007; 199-201	Lots 18A & S pt20 Glenwood Heights	Gonzalo & Maria F T-Ballester	Gonzalo Torrente-Ballester	1970-01-28	1970-05-01
2007; 190-2	Lots 18A & S pt20 Glenwood Heights	Gonzalo Torrente-Ballester	Lloyd L & Jonna A Lininger	1970-05-01	1970-05-01
2687; 578-9	Lots 18A & S pt20 Glenwood Heights	Lloyd L & Jonna A Lininger	Gary R Gnirrep & Sandra M Clark	2001-07-26	2001-08-09

In the 1962 deed, this statement appears: "Excepting and reserving from the above described premises a strip of land at the Southerly end of said plot 12 feet wide to be reserved as a right-of-way for a pipe line for the use and benefit of all lots shown and designated on map No. 146 drawer 8, Book 8 being part of the property conveyed to Philip Wogel and Jean Wogel by Anna LaGrange Fribel by warranty deed dated February 17, 1949 and recorded in the Albany County Clerks Office on that day in Book 1155 of Deeds Page 42." [error, is in fact page 421]. Note that this statement is not at all similar to that in the referenced 1949 deed, in which the 12 ft road or highway is excepted and reserved in and from that conveyance.
The boundary recitation in the 1962 deed (abbreviated): "Beginning at a pipe at the southeast corner of Lot 11 Parkwood Homes and runs thence northeasterly for a distance of 99.9 feet.....thence southeasterly....135.43 feet...to the northwesterly side of Glenwood Street thence southwesterly along said Glenwood Street...[2 segments, lengths 20.3, and 86.16 feet]...to a pipe.....thence northwesterly....for a distance 145.79 feet more or less to the point and place of beginning....". The appended map (book 1741 page 244; closer view of lot 18A portion). This recitation and the Exception statement on the 12 ft right of way continue through the deed of 1967-08-17.
#In this deed of 1967-12-18 the length of the plot rear boundary was increased 6 feet; the sides remained the same lengths and orientations; the front overall length was increased by a net 1 foot. The lot description was, however, significantly changed, with the removal of the Exception statement for the right of way, and the insertion of wording on the 12 ft right of way that is was "now abandoned and discontinued".
The boundary recitation in this and all the later deeds (abbreviated): "Beginning at a pipe marking the westerly corner of the premises herein described, said point being also the southeasterly corner of the so-called Parkwood Homes subdivision as shown on that certain map filed in the Albany County Clerk's Office in Drawer 157 as Map No. 3379 said point of beginning being in the northeasterly line of the subdivision known as Country Club Highlands and in the southwesterly line of a 12 foot right of way shown on said map (now abandoned and discontinued), and running thence northeasterly along said Parkwood Homes subdivision a distance of 105.9 feet to a point; thence southeasterly....135.43 feet...to the northwesterly side of Glenwood Street; thence southwesterly along the northwesterly side of Glenwood Street...[2 segments, lengths 26.3, and 81.16 feet]...to a pipe.....thence northwesterly.... a distance of 145.79 feet to the point and place of beginning....". Subject to all enforceable conditions, covenants, easements and restrictions of record, and to any state of facts an accurate survey may show."

Glenwood Street east side (21 Glenwood St) [LaGrange lot 4]

Deed book, pages	property	Grantors	grantee	date	date recorded
1179; 179-82 #	lot 21 Glenwood Heights Pt I	Carol M Buher	Philip & Jean Wogel *	1949-08-25	1949-08-25
1251; 73-6	lot 21 Glenwood Heights Pt I	Philip & Jean Wogel	Jean Wogel	1950-11-16	1951-01-17
1251; 107-10	lot 21 Glenwood Heights Pt I	Jean Wogel	William C & Marjorie R Lester	1951-01-17	1951-01-17
1297; 467-9	strip along Glenwood St E side	Philip & Jean Wogel	William C & Marjorie R Lester	1951-12-04	1952-01-16
1369; 385-8 @	lot 21 Glenwood Heights Pt I	William C & Marjorie R Lester	Robert H & Eleanor L Griessel	1953-08-17	1953-08-17
1568; 282-4	lot 21 Glenwood Heights Pt I	Robert H & Eleanor L Griessel	Tobin Packing Co. Inc.	1958-02-01	1958-02-07
1586; 247-9	lot 21 Glenwood Heights Pt I	Tobin Packing Co. Inc.	John C & Marguerite M Siegrist	1958-07-31	1958-08-12
2401; 75-8	lot 21 Glenwood Heights Pt I	Marguerite M Siegrist	Mary A Taffe & John J Siegrist (cotrs)	1989-09-21	1989-09-27
2510; 495-7	lot 21 Glenwood Heights Pt I	Mary Ann Taffe & John J Siegrist (cotrs)	Mary Ann Taffe & John J Siegrist	1994-05-31	1994-06-03
2534; 223-5	lot 21 Glenwood Heights Pt I	Mary Ann Taffe & John J Siegrist	Frank A Catalano	1995-05-15	1995-05-22
2991; 909-11	lot 21 Glenwood Heights Pt I	Frank A Catalano	Anthony Catalano (trustee)	2010-11-02	2010-11-09

* Philip & Jean Wogel were the developers for Glenwood Heights; they were living in 21 Glenwood St in 1950, but not in 1949. The house was most likely built in late 1949.
#The earliest deed for this lot contains this statement regarding the 12 ft right of way: "Excepting and reserving from the above described premises the strip of land at the southerly end of the lot, 12 feet wide, to be reserved as a right of way for a road or highway, or water pipe line, for the use and benefit of the subdivision of all the lots shown and designated on the map previously referred to as Map No. 146, Drawer 8, Book 8; being a part of the property conveyed to the parties hereto by Anna La Grange Friebel by warranty deed, dated February 17, 1949, and recorded in Albany County Clerk's Office on that day in Book 1155 of Deeds, page 42." [an error, is page 421]
The lot recitation in this deed (abbreviated): "Beginning at an iron pipe at the most southerly point in the division line between the lands of Philip Wogel, Jean Wogel and Carol Buher on the west and the lands now or formerly of Catherine M. Smith on the east, said point of beginning being the southeasterly corner of Lot No. 4 as shown on the map of the subdivision of property in Guilderland, Albany County, belonging to the heirs of Christian La Grange, deceased, made by Wm. H. Slingerlands & Son, surveyors, filed in Albany County Clerk's Office as Map No. 146, in Drawer 8, Book 8 of Maps; running thence northeasterly along the said division line, for a distance of 126.06 feet, to the northwest corner of the lot herein being described; thence northwesterly at right angles to the preceding course, for a distance of 113.66 feet to the northwest corner.....; thence southwesterly.....an arc distance of 126.74 feet...to the point...being in the southerly lot line of the lot herein being described...; thence southeasterly....for a distance of 107.72 feet to the point and place of beginning...."
@ From this deed (1953-08-17) onward, the strip along the Glenwood St frontage obtained in the deed of 1951-12-04 is added in, and the boundaries of the main lot and this strip recited separately, and with both of them having an "Excepting and reserving" statement regarding the 12 ft wide strip on the southerly end of the lot. The wording of this exception with the Glenwood St frontage strip is slightly different from that for the main lot 21, and derives directly from the wording in the original inheritance deed for the LaGrange lot 4 to Julia Ann LaGrange in 1877, rather than that written with different wording in the deed of 1948 to the Wogels from Anna LaGrange Friebel. However, both these statements have the same intent, to reserve the 12 ft strip for the common use of all the LaGrange lot owners.

Norwood Street west side (21 Norwood St) [LaGrange lot 5]

Deed book, pages	property	Grantors	grantee	date	date recorded
963; 232 #	CP LaGrange heirs lot 5	James S Treanor	Catherine M Smith	1944-09-15	1944-09-18
1954; 267-8 @	21 Norwood St (lots 1 & 3)	Joseph O'Brien (executor)	Robert W & Joyce C Butler	1968-09-26	1968-09-26
2414; 1159-60	21 Norwood St lots (lots 1 & 3)	Robert W Butler	Robert W & Nancy P Butler	1990-05-08	1990-05-11
2743; 895-98	21 Norwood St lots (lots 1 & 3)	Nancy P Butler	Brian Chakurmanian	2003-07-17	2003-09-08

# This deed contains the statement: "excepting and reserving a strip of land of the width of twelve feet on the southerly end of said lot adjoining the lands of said McKown for a road or highway for the benefit and use of subdivisions of Nos. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 of the whole lot of said Christian La Grange."
@ Catherine Smith was the developer of upper Norwood Street in ~5 acres of the LaGrange heirs lot 5, with lots subdivided as shown on the Map of property of Catherine Smith dated November 1950. The Smith's retained lots 1 and 3 of this subdivision, and lived in the existing house in lot 3, at 21 Norwood Street. Both of these lots adjoin the southwestern boundary of the original LaGrange lot 5, and the 12 ft strip along it, excepted and reserved in the 1944 deed. In the 1968 executors deed from the will of James J Smith (who inherited through the previous will of his wife Catherine M Smith) the two lots are described separately, and at the end contains just this statement: "Together with all the right, title and interest of James J. Smith in and to a 12-foot right of way adjoining said premises on the south." However, the lot dimensions given in the deed, and the lot map (map excerpt showing the two lots), show that these lots did not include the 12 foot wide strip (and the current County tax map also shows this exclusion), and both lot description recitations each include one boundary stated to be "along the northerly side of the twelve (12) foot right of way". The subsequent deeds give the same lot recitations, but do not mention anything else about the 12 ft right of way, or any rights to it.

Lot 6 - containing the "Nicholas Lane" house <=1903 to 2016

Deed book, pages	property	Grantors	grantee	date	date recorded
739; 53-4 #	LaGrange lot 6	Benjamin F & Caroline L Witbeck	Charles & Isabel S Tracey	1923-12-15	1923-12-15
		will of Isabel S Tracey	John & Susan Holt-Harris		1966-11-07

# This deed contains this statement: "Excepting and reserving, however, a strip of land of the width of twelve feet on the southerly end of said lot adjoining the land of said McKown for a road or highway for the benefit and use of subdivisions No. 7, and 8 on said map." Deeds of date 1903 and before conveying both lot 6 and lot 7 together have the additional phrase at the end of this sentence: "and of the whole lot of Christian LaGrange, deceased", and they only list lot 8, rather than both 7, and 8; the original 1877 deed for lots 6 and 7 is also different, reading: "Excepting and reserving a strip of land of the width of twelve feet on the southerly end of said lot adjoining the lands of said McKown for a road or highway for the benefit and use of subdivision lots No. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 8 the whole lot of Christian LaGrange, deceased."
Lot 6 reappears in a deed of 1993 in which the Holt-Harris couple convert legal ownership; the lot boundary recitation is for the whole of the original lot 6, and is followed by: ""Excepting and reserving, however, a strip of land of the width of twelve feet on the southerly end of said lot adjoining the land now or formerly of McKown for a road or highway for the benefit and use of subdivision No. 7 and 8 on said map."
From the will of John Holt-Harris, the executor's deed of 2001 similarly conveys lot 6, with the same exception statement following the lot boundary recitation.
The conveyance of 2016 of lot 6 to the University at Albany Foundation, and their gift conveyance in 2019 to the People of the State of New York also have the same exception statement following the lot boundary recitation.
In 1986-7 a new drain was installed between Norwood St and Waverly Place, in part in the southern end of Lot 6, oblique to and in part overlapping the 12 ft LaGrange roadway strip (map). Easements were obtained by the Town of Guilderland for this installation (text and map for one covering an adjacent property), but can not be found recorded in the County Clerk's Office.
In 1999, a lot of about 1.4 acres was conveyed that covers the southwest corner of lot 7 and the southeast corner of lot 6, overlapping the 6/7 boundary, and extending up to and along the southern border of lot 6. This lot therefore includes a part of and occupies the 12 ft wide LaGrange roadway, although no mention of that was included in this deed.

Lot 7 - the Holt-Harris property

Deed book, pages	property	Grantors	grantee	date	date recorded
679; 535-6 #	LaGrange lot 7	Horace D & Anna L Haight	Katherine L Perkins	1923-10-03	1923-10-03

The original deed conveying lots 6 and 7 together contains this statement: "Excepting and reserving a strip of land of the width of twelve feet on the southerly end of said lot adjoining the lands of said McKown for a road or highway for the benefit and use of subdivision lots No. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 8 the whole lot of Christian LaGrange, deceased." The subsequent deed changes this to "Excepting & reserving a strip of land of the width of twelve feet on the southerly end of said lot adjoining the land of said McKown for a road or highway for the benefit of and use of subdivision No. 8 and of the whole lot of Christian LaGrange, deceased"
The first sale of lot 7 separately reverts to something closer to the original: "Excepting and reserving a strip of land of the width of twelve feet along the southerly end of said lot adjoining the lands of said McKown for a road or highway for the benefit and use of subdivision lots Nos. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 8, formerly the whole lot of said Christian La Grange, deceased." This wording continues through subsequent deeds until that of 1923, which includes significant changes, and is the last one before sales of 1948 and soon after, when the lot was first subdivided.
# This 1923 deed defines the conveyed area of lot 7 as excluding the 12 ft wide roadway/access track on its southern side. It contains these statements: "Together with an easement or right of way over a strip of land of the width of twelve (12) feet adjoining and along the southerly end of the lot hereby conveyed." And: "Together with and subject to any and all rights and easements heretofore created or now existing over a strip of land twelve (12) feet in width along the southerly end of subdivision lots numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 on the said Map by William H. Slingerland & Son above referred to and for the use in common of the owners of said lots for a road or highway."
Subsequent deeds for parts of lot 7 are presented on a separate page. The exclusion statements for the 12 ft common roadway incorporated in these begin in a 1948 deed, of which the relevant part reads: "; together with an easement or right of way over a strip of land of the width of twelve (12) feet adjoining and along the southerly end of the lot hereby conveyed. Being a portion of the premises conveyed to the party of the first part herein [Katherine L Perkins] by Horace D. Haight and Anna L. Haight, his wife, by deed dated October 3, 1923..." Given the property definition in the 1923 deed, the 12 ft strip was not included in the property conveyed in 1948, just a right to use it.
This southern parcel of lot 7 next appears in a deed of 1993 in which the Holt-Harris couple convert legal ownership; the definition of the parcel is unchanged and reference to the previous 1948 deed is made; the statement on the easement or right of way is the same as in the 1948 deed.
From the will of John Holt-Harris, the executor's deed of 2001 similarly conveys lot 7, with the same exception statement following the lot boundary recitation.
The conveyance of 2016 of lot 7 to the University at Albany Foundation, and their gift conveyance in 2019 to the People of the State of New York also have the same exception statement following the lot boundary recitation.
In 1999, a lot of about 1.4 acres was conveyed that covers the southwest corner of lot 7 and the southeast corner of lot 6, overlapping the 6/7 boundary, and extending up to and along the southern border of lot 6. This lot therefore includes a part of and occupies the 12 ft wide LaGrange roadway, although no mention of that was included in this deed. In previous deeds for lot 7, the lot description shows that this 12 ft roadway is specifically not included in lot 7, so this 1999 deed takes a portion of the strip adjacent to lot 7, without justification.

Lot 8 - Thomas Woods house lot

Deed book, pages	property	Grantors	grantee	date	date recorded
630; 227	LaGrange lot 8	Susan Barkhuff	Thomas F Woods	1914-11-10	1914-11-24

The deeds for lot 8 contain no mention of the 12 ft roadway/access track, which is a bit surprising since the occupants would have had the farthest to go along the track if there was no other exit, and statements in the deeds for all the other lots include the right of the lot 8 owner to use the roadway. However, since lot 8 was initially sold to Cynthia LaGrange, who never lived here, and nor did Susan Barkhuff, the second owner, this omission was perhaps easily overlooked. By the time Thomas Woods bought it in 1914 and built a house on it, there were easier alternatives for access, out through the Country Club road, or through Waverly Place. There is no expectation that later deeds contain anything about the LaGrange access track, and they do not; only containing mention of access to Waverly Place through a common easement with owners of parts of lot 7 adjacent.

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