Transcription and Analysis of Deed dated 26 April 1825 conveying land from the descendants of Matheus Van Keuren to Cornelius Westervelt

Date: 26 Apr 1825 [unknown]
Location: Poughkeepsie, Dutchess, New York, United States
Surnames/tags: van_keuren westervelt

On 26 April 1825, all of the living descendants of Benjamin Van Keuren sold land inherited by Benjamin from his father Matheus Van Keuren, and, thereafter, jointly owned by his descendants. The deed [1] provides information regarding:
(1) The descendancy from Matheus, and
(2) Several transactions on the property.

First, I will consider the descendancy.

Following is a partial transcription of deed found at [1]. This text is quoted as is, with little punctuation. I have started new lines to separate the various persons involved; these do NOT appear in the original. I have also inserted letters to mark correspondence with the subsequent analysis:

"This Indenture made the twenty sixth day of April in the year one thousand eight hundred and twenty five Between
John Dearin and Anna his wife [A]
Mary Wittse widow of Hendrick Wittse deceased. [B]
Anna Carpenter late widow of Robert Van Keuren [N]
James R. Gibson and Catherine his wife [C]
Peter Van Keuren [P]
Benjamin Van Keuren [D] son of said Robert deceased. [E]
Isaac H. Dutcher and Cobaucha [probably Jacoba, who signed below] his wife [K] late widow of Benjamin Van Keuren deceased [F]
Robert Van Keuren & Julia his wife [G]
Benjamin Van Keuren (son of said Benjamin deceased) and Jane his wife [H]
& all of them representatives of the ancestor
Benjamin Van Keuren deceased [I] who was the son of
Mattheus Van Keuren & Celetje [J] his wife deceased of Poughkeepsie in Dutchess County of the first part and
Cornelius C. Westervelt [Z] of the same place Blacksmith of the second part."

Signers of the deed are: John Dearin, Anna Dearin [A]
Mary Willsie [B]
James R. Gibson, Catherine Gibson [C]
B. Van Keuren [D]
P. Van Keuren [P]
Anne Carpenter [N]
Isaac H. Dutcher, Jacoba Dutcher [K]
Robert Van Keuren, Julianne Van Keuren [G]
Benjamin Van Keuren, Jane Ann Van Keuren [H]
Catharine Van Keuren [L]
David H. Vanwagner, Ann Maria W. Vanwagoner [M]

To analyze the relationships of the persons named in the deed, I turned to "The Descendants of Mathijs Jansen van Ceulen,"[2] for the relevant portion of the descendancy. The intent is to map the descendancy that is implicit in the deed to the descendancy in the book, thus removing ambiguities in the deed and pointing out possible omissions in the book. The relevant portion of the book can be found in pages 118 through 127. In extracting the information, I have prepended codes that correspond to those that I've inserted in the excerpt from the deed. I have also abbreviated "Van Keuren" as "VK". The following list shows all of the known then-living descendants of Benjamin [I] and their relationship back to Matheus [J]:

J 1 Matheus VK, 1706-1781
.... + Seeletjen Delameteer, 1706-1770
I ......2 Benjamin VK, 1741-1810
.......... + Annatje Saal Dutcher, 1751-1818
E ...........3 Robert Saal VK, 1771-1808
................ + Anne Van Bommel, 1780-?
D ................4 Benjamin VK, 1798-?
C ................4 Catherine VK, 1799-1874
.....................+ James Renwick Gibson, 1791-1890
K ...........3 Matheus VK, 1773-?
F ...........3 Benjamin VK, 1778-1813
................+ Jacoba Van Vleek
G ................4 Robert VK, 1801-1838
......................+ Julia Ann Odell, ?-1825
H ................4 Benjamin VK, 1803-1888
......................+ Jane Ann Hoffman, 1802-1843
M ...............4 Anna Maria VK, 1806-?
L .................4 Catherine VK, 1808-?
B ...........3 Maria VK, 1780-1859
................. + Hendrik Wiltsie, 1788-1824
A ...........3 Anna VK, 1784-1841
................. + John Dearin, 1781-1856

Conclusions regarding descendancy:

• The relationships described in the book and the deed align.
• The deed appears to name all of the living descendants of Matheus Van Keuren as of 1825.
• It would appear that Anne Carpenter [N] was the same person as Anne Van Bommel, the widow of Robert VK [E], renamed due to re-marriage and apparently widowed again.
• It would appear that Jacoba Dutcher was the same person as Jacoba Van Vleek, the widow of Benjamin [F] and subsequently the wife of Isaac Dutcher [K].
• It would appear that Anna Maria VK married David H. Vanwagoner [M] before signing the deed.
• One signer, Peter VK [P] is not accounted for in the book, nor is his relationship explained in the deed. However, the position of his name in the deed suggests that he was a son of Robert VK [E]. Perhaps he is the same person listed in the book as Matheus. Alternatively, Matheus might have died before the signing of the deed and Peter might be a child missing from the book. Because no birth record is known for a Peter, son of Robert, it is also possible that Peter was, in effect, adopted.
• Because Benjamin's son, Matheus [K], is not mentioned in the will, we could conjecture that he died without issue prior to the will. Alternatively, we could conjecture that Peter [P] was the sole issue of Matheus [K]
• Cornelius Westervelt [Z] is the person who is buying the land.

Second, I will consider the historical transactions on the property.

I'm not an expert in reading land descriptions, but the deed appears to describe land in Poughkeepsie northeast of the land previously owned by Theophilus Anthony, which is known from other sources to have been located in the hamlet of Van Keuren, roughly west of the current IBM plant. The deed goes on to state:

"... the above courses are taken from a deed made or executed the eleventh of January one thousand seven hundred and seventy seven by the said Theophilus and Nicholas N. Anthony to the said Matthew Van Keuren [J] and are the same courses in a deed executed the twenty fifth of September one thousand seven hundred and seventy nine by the said Matthew Van Keuren & Celetjie his wife [J] to their son Benjamin Van Keuren [I] who was the father of the said Anna Dearin [A] & Mary Wittse [B] and of the said Robert Van Keuren [E] deceased & Benjamin Van Keuren deceased [F]."

Conclusions regarding property:

• About 11 January 1777, Matheus VK [J] subdivided his property and, on that date, sold the southwestern parcel to Theophilus and Nicholas N. Anthony, retaining the northeastern parcel.
• On 25 September 1779, Matheus VK [J] deeded that parcel to his son Benjamin VK [I].
• In this deed, the descendants of Benjamin [I] sold the land to Cornelius Westervelt.

[1] "New York Land Records, 1630-1975", Ancestry.com, https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QSQ-G9WZ-XN7P, > Dutchess > Deeds 1825-1826 vol 33-34, image 272 of 546.

[2] Van Curen, D. G. The Descendants of Mathijs Jansen van Ceulen: A History of the Van Steenberghs, Peersens, Jansens, Van Keurens and Related Families, from Their Beginnings in Kingston, Ulster County, New York. 2nd edition of "Van Keulen/Van Keuren, Van Kuren/Van Curen". Chesterfield, Missouri: Mira Digital Publishing, 2016.