LOT Old Heritage Auctions  /  2007 May Marketplace Auction #87051  / 

90000

1750 Vellum Indenture - Lower Manhattan

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles / Paper Start Price:25.00 USD Estimated At:100.00 - 200.00 USD
1750 Vellum Indenture - Lower Manhattan
<B>Indenture Between the Mayor Alderman and Commonalty of the City of New York and Benjamin Moore, February 12, 1750, New York City,</B></I> transferring ownership of “Water Lott 13” in the East River. The vellum document is two pages, 29.5” x 24”, signed by New York Mayor Edward Holland and affixed with a paper royal seal of New York. The document is in excellent condition. This is a "water grant”, the title to land then under water. This grant, and others like it, was purchased by Peter Schermerhorn a wealthy a ship owner and merchant. Ultimately, he sank bulkheads in the East River and filled them with landfill brought in by horse drawn carts. When the land was solid enough, he began the construction of mercantile warehouses and piers. Soon, trade was conducted from the East River shore of Manhattan to the four corners of the world. Because the East River is not a river but an extension of Long Island Sound, the water around their piers was deep enough to accommodate heavily laden clipper ships. Whalers and packets arrived at the wharves of Schermerhorn Row, as did boatloads of coffee, tea, molasses, and immigrants. Ships would off load cargo from afar and sail out again with the products grown or manufactured by the newly independent nation. Very interesting and researchable! <BR><BR><b>Shipping:</b> Flat Material, Small (<a target="_blank" href="http://www.heritageauctions.com/common/shipping.php">view shipping information</a>)
Sign In to Bookmark Lot