Name/Title
Deed between Thomas Watkins & John BullEntry/Object ID
002555Tags
John Bull, Thomas Watkins, Lydia WatkinsScope and Content
This document is an Indenture (a formal legal agreement or deed) dated April 24, 1787. It records a real estate transaction between parties in post-Revolutionary War New York.
Here is a summary of the key details:
The Parties Involved
The Grantors (Sellers): Thomas Watkins and his wife, Lydia Watkins, of the precinct of Wallkill in the County of Ulster, State of New York.
The Grantee (Buyer): John Bull of the precinct of Goshen in the County of Orange, State of New York.
Transaction Details
Sale Price: 97 Pounds, 17 Shillings, and 3 Pence "of good and Lawfull Money of State aforesaid."
Property Description: A messuage (dwelling house) and tenement located in the precinct of Goshen, Orange County.
Land Size: Approximately 32 acres of land.
Boundaries: The deed describes the land using "metes and bounds," mentioning specific landmarks such as a walnut bush, an ash tree marked "T.W.," an elm sapling, and a maple tree.
Legal Provisions
Ownership Rights: The document specifies that the sale includes all "houses, outhouses, barns, stables, gardens, orchards," and water rights associated with the land.
Warranty: Thomas Watkins guarantees that he has the legal right to sell the property and promises to defend John Bull’s title against any future legal claims by himself, his heirs, or others.
Signatures: The document is signed at the bottom by Thomas Watkins and Lydia Watkins. It was witnessed by Joshua Brown Junr. and Peter Bull.
Historical Context: In 1787, New York was operating under the Articles of Confederation (the U.S. Constitution was written later that same year). Deeds from this era are highly prized by genealogists and local historians because they often provide the only surviving evidence of family relationships and specific land locations before modern mapping.
