Will of Thomas Bowne, 1675

TITLE: Will of Thomas Bowne

DOCUMENT ID: BFP 2018.1.01-01

DATE: 20 October 1675 (Old Style) / 30 October 1675 (New Style)

Thomas Bowne leaves all his estate “of any kind whatsoever, real or personal, here in this country or in Old England” to his son and heir John Bowne, excepting only a cow to his granddaughter Mary Bowne and 10 pounds to his daughter Truth, provided she travel to America to claim it in person. Thomas also names John as the executor of his will. In fact, Thomas Bowne died while John Bowne was traveling abroad, and there is no evidence that this will was ever proved. It was supplemented a year later by a deed of gift that exclusively referred to family holdings in their Matlock, Derbyshire.

Articles of Agreement, 1675

TITLE: Articles of Agreement - Executors for William Richardson with Evert Byvanck and Johannes Hoagland

DOCUMENT ID: BFP 2018.1.01-18

DATE: 15 July 1695 (Old Style) / 25 July 1675 (New Style)

John Bowne, John Rodman, Samuel Palmer, and Samuel Haight, executors for the estate of William Richardson, sell Evert Byvanck and Johannes Hoagland some property of the deceased, which is currently leased by Joseph Haviland for 500 pounds New York money. The property consists of two mills on the Bronx River with the land belonging to them, including a half share of fresh meadow and two parcels of salt meadow; two enslaved "negromen" named Jack and Dick; and six oxen with equipment.

 

Crook Power of Attorney, 1675

TITLE: Power of Attorney - John Crook to John Bowne, John Tilton, Samuel Spicer, and William Richardson

DOCUMENT ID: BFP 2018.1.01-17

DATE: 7 August 1675 (Old Style) / 17 August 1675 (New Style)

John Crook, a merchant and exporter from Newton in the County of Bedford, England, authorizes John Bowne, Samuel Spicer, and John Tilton, planters, and William Richardson, Master of the Ship Mayflower of Kent, to recover money owed to him by Nathaniel Sylvester of Shelter Island in New York. This business dispute regarding a trans-Atlantic shipment of goods intended for Crook’s deceased nephew is described in greater detail in two letters from Crook (see Correspondence of John Bowne, BFP 2018.1.02-12 and BFP 2018.1.02-14).

 

Clement Indenture, 1663

Title: Indenture of James Clement to John Bowne

Document ID: BFP 2018.1.01-16

Date: 30 May 1663 (New Style)

This agreement was made in Amsterdam between John Bowne and James Clement of “the Buthropp Bridge” in County Durham, England. Clement was to serve Bowne for six years in exchange for one-half the cost of Clement's passage to New Netherland and a parting payment of two suits of clothes and 240 pounds of “merchantable” tobacco. Bowne dispatched the young man to Flushing to help out his wife Hannah during his absence; he describes him to her in a letter home (see Papers of Hannah Feake Bowne, Document BFP 2018.1.03-02). Clement remained in Flushing after his term of service ended and became the town clerk, a post he held for decades; his son Samuel became a noted Long Island furniture-maker.

 

Harrison Deed, 1693

Title: Deed, John Harrison to John Bowne

Document ID: BFP 2018.1.01-15

Date: 7 December 1693 (Old Style) / 17 December 1693 (New Style)

John Harrison of Jamaica on the Island of Nassau (Long Island) sells John Bowne three shares of land “south of the hills,” as laid out in a document issued by Robert Fullerton, Surveyor. Unfortunately Fullerton’s survey does not survive, making it impossible to precisely locate the tracts described in these deeds; however, “the hills” refers to a ridge that formed the southern boundary of Flushing and the borderline with Jamaica. The area in question is today’s Jamaica, Queens. (The name is derived from a Native American word, and does not refer to the Caribbean island of Jamaica.)

 

Jessop Deed, 1690/1

TITLE: Deed, Edward Jessop to John Bowne

DOCUMENT ID: BFP 2018.1.01-14

DATE: 15 February 1690/1 (Old Style) / 25 February 1691 (New Style)

Edward Jessop of Fairfield, CT. sells John Bowne a half share of salt meadow near the Mill in Forster's Neck, Newtown. This land was previously owned by his father, Edward Jessop the elder, who had lived in Flushing some years before. The exact location of “Forster’s Neck” is unknown, but Newtown lay near present-day Forest Hills and Corona on the west bank of Flushing Creek. Salt meadow refers to marshy land used to grow so-called “salt hay” or “salt wheat,” prized as nutritious animal fodder among many other uses.

 

Wilday-Terry-Hinchman Land Documents, 1675

TITLE: Retroactive Deed of Land to Robert Terry (deceased) from Richard Wilday & Authorization for Sale from John Hinchman, Estate Administrator

DOCUMENT ID: BFP 2018.1.01-13

DATE: 21 September 1675 (Old Style) / 1 October 1675 (New Style)

Richard Wilday issues a retroactive deed to Robert Terry, deceased, having sold the latter a four-acre lot in 1655 but neglected to document the sale during his lifetime. John Hinchman, the administrator of Terry's estate, declares that he has granted the land to John Adams, Terry's son-in-law and thus one of his heirs by right of marriage. He then retroactively authorizes Adams to sell the land to John Bowne. (See BFP 2018.1.01-12: Deed, John Adams to John Bowne, issued one day before the drafting of this document, for details of the property.)

 

Adams Deed, 1675

TITLE: Deed, John Adams to John Bowne

DOCUMENT ID: BFP 2018.1.01-12

DATE: 20 September 1675 (Old Style) / 30 September 1675 (New Style)

John Adams sells John Bowne a four-acre lot for twelve pounds; the property fronts to "the Street" and is otherwise bounded by the land of Richard Stockton and Richard Wilday, and by John Bowne’s own property. The ownership of this land had some gaps in documentation, necessitating a deed to be posthumously issued, along with an authorization for sale from the administrator of the prior owner’s estate (see the following document, BFP #2018.1.01-13: Retroactive Deed of Land to Robert Terry, deceased, from Richard Wilday & Authorization from John Hinchman, Estate Administrator, for sale to John Bowne, issued one day later.)

 

Field Deed, 1671/2

TITLE: Deed, Benjamin Field to John Bowne

DOCUMENT ID: BFP 2018.1.01-11

DATE: 22 March 1671/2 (Old Style) / 1 April 1672 (New Style)

Benjamin Field sells John Bowne two shares of fresh meadow, No. 34 and No. 42, lying in the “Upper Meadow” within the bounds of Flushing. Given the date, the seller is not the Benjamin Field who married Bowne’s daughter Hannah in 1691, but likely his uncle of the same name.

Hinchman Deed, 1671

TITLE: Deed, John Hinckman [Hinchman] to John Bowne

DOCUMENT ID: BFP 2018.1.01-10

DATE: 12 May 1671 (Old Style) / 22 May 1671 (New Style)

John Hinchman (here spelled Hinckman) sells John Bowne a four-acre lot formerly granted to Thomas Wilkinson by the town of Flushing. The land is bounded on the south by property of John Bowne’s father Thomas Bowne, on the west by “the highway,” and to the east and north by land already owned by John Bowne.

 

Sarah Feake Deed, 1669

TITLE: Deed, Sarah Feke (Feake) to John Bowne

DOCUMENT ID: BFP 2018.1.01-09

DATE: 22 November 1669 (Old Style) / 2 December 1669 (New Style)

Sarah Feake, widow of John Bowne’s brother-in-law Robert Feake, sells Bowne twelve acres of land in Flushing with a share of fresh meadow No. 55. Eight acres of the above, originally purchased from Richard Stockton, are bounded by the land of Robert Terry, by "the woods" and the “Common Path”; the other four acres are to be allotted from the Common land.

 

John Feake Deed, 1668/9

TITLE: Deed, John Feke (Feake) to John Bowne

DOCUMENT ID: BFP 2018.1.01-08

DATE: 10 March 1668/9 (Old Style) / 20 March 1669 (New Style)

John Feake of Killingsworth near Oyster Bay sells John Bowne of Flushing fifty acres of upland meadow No. 60 lying in Newton's Neck, located west of Doughty's Swamp and "butting to the hills." (Feake was the brother of John Bowne’s first wife, Hannah Feake Bowne. He too became a Quaker and remained close to the couple, doing carpentry and joinery for them.) This deed was written and witnessed by James Clement, who came to Flushing in 1663 as John Bowne's indentured servant (see BFP 2018.1.01-16) and became the Flushing Town Clerk at the end of his term of service.

 

Firman Deed, 1666/7

TITLE: Deed, John Firman to John Bowne

DOCUMENT ID: BFP 2018.1.01-07

DATE: 1 January 1666 (Old Style) / 11 January 1667 (New Style)

John Firman of Newtown sells John Bowne a five-acre piece of meadow on the west bank of Flushing Creek, bordered by Thomas Roberts' meadow on the south, Henry Sawtell on the north, and "the woods" to the west. The 17th-century settlement of Newtown lay in the approximate location of present-day Forest Hills and Corona, Queens, across the Creek from Flushing.

 

John Feake Deed, 1665

TITLE: Deed, John Feke [Feake] to John Bowne

DOCUMENT ID: BFP 2018.1.01-06

DATE: 8 November 1665 (Old Style) / 18 November 1665 (New Style)

John Feake of Flushing sells John Bowne a four-acre lot of upland bounded on the East and South by the Common path, on the West with the land of Charles Bruggs and Richard Cornell, and on the North by Bowne's own land; purchase includes a share of fresh meadow and a share of salt meadow within the bounds of Flushing. (John Feake is the younger brother of Bowne’s wife Hannah; though he moved from Flushing to Matinecock near Oyster Bay, he remained close to the Bownes and performed carpentry and joinery for them, including building them a barn. He is sometimes referenced as “brother John” in the Bownes’ correspondence.)

 

Storer Deed, 1664/5

TITLE: Deed, John Storer to John Bowne

DOCUMENT ID: BFP 2018.1.01-05

DATE: 15 March 1664/5 (Old Style) / 25 March 1665 (New Style)

John Storer sells John Bowne three four-acre home lots, one formerly belonging to original Flushing patentee and Flushing Remonstrance signer Edward Griffin, one formerly belonging to William Bromefield, and one belonging to the Town of Flushing. One of the witnesses is Bowne’s indentured servant James Clement, who remained in Flushing and became the Flushing town clerk after his term of service ended in 1669. Note that the date falls after the English takeover of New Netherland, so unlike the previous deeds in this series the “Old Style” calendar is used to date the document. The English New Year began on March 25, and by the 17th century the old calendar had fallen ten days behind the modern calendar used by the Dutch.

 

Lawrence Deed, 1660

TITLE: Deed, William Lawrence to John Bowne

DOCUMENT ID: BFP 2018.1.01-04

DATE: 3 March 1660 (New Style) 

William Lawrence sells John Bowne a 4-acre lot between the property of Thomas Cheartman and the land that Bowne had bought from Nicholas Pearsall about one month earlier (see BFP #2018.1.02-03). For more on Lawrence, see Lauren Brincat’s article Material Life on the Long Island Frontier: The Inventory of Captain William Lawrence, Flushing, 1680. (An original copy of this inventory is also in the Bowne House Archives.) Given the date, either this plot or the adjacent one purchased from Pearsall may have been the home lot on which the Bowne House was built a year later. This is the last deed in our collection to be written and witnessed by Flushing town clerk Edward Hart, draughtsman of the Flushing Remonstrance; in the early 1660s he disappears from the Flushing records altogether.

 

Pearsall Deed, 1660

TITLE: Deed, Nicholas Pearsall to John Bowne

DOCUMENT ID: BFP 2018.1.01-03

DATE: 29 January 1660 (New Style)  

Nicholas Pearsall sells John Bowne a four-acre lot in Flushing formerly owned by a Mark Menlove. The property is bordered by the holdings of prominent land-owner William Lawrence and those of William Hallett. Hallett was the step-father of Bowne’s wife, Hannah Feake Bowne, and thus Bowne’s de facto father-in-law. Given the date of purchase, this may have been the home lot on which the Bowne House was built a year later. The document was written and witnessed by Flushing town clerk Edward Hart, draughtsman of the Flushing Remonstrance; those familiar with the latter document will recognize Hart’s distinctive handwriting.

 

Bromefield Deed, 1653

TITLE: Deed, William Bromefield to John Bowne

DOCUMENT ID: BFP 2018.1.01-02

DATE: 12 November 1653 (New Style)

This is the first known purchase of land in Flushing by John Bowne, two years after his initial visit in 1651. William Bromefield [Broomfield/Bromfeld] sells Bowne a four-acre lot bounded on one side by the property of William Storer and on another by the town Common. This document was written and witnessed by Flushing town clerk Edward Hart, draughtsman of the Flushing Remonstrance.