1817 Albany NY Land Deed – Vedder, Woodworth, Crary Families – 28 Acres Located For Sale

Own a true piece of early American history. This original 1817 land deed documents the sale of 28.3 acres in Guilderland, Albany County, New York, from the descendants of Levi Vedder—a Dutch-American landholder—to Robert Vedder. Co-signed by multiple family members, including Cornelius and Catharine Woodworth, this document represents the legal, familial, and landowning dynamics of the post-Revolutionary frontier.

What makes this even more remarkable? That once-rural farmland is now the home of Stuyvesant Plaza, a modern high-end shopping district in Albany.

This handwritten deed includes: • A complete land boundary survey

• Nine family member signatures

• Rare legal acknowledgments from the wives

• Later official recordation, with a subsequent transfer noted to Isaac H. Crary, a prominent early settler in nearby Knox

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✍️ Full Transcription (Main Text)

This Indenture made the twenty eighth day of July in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and seventeen, between Susanna Vedder widow of Levi Vedder late of the town of Guilderland in the County of Albany deceased, John Vedder and Mary his wife, Samuel Vedder and Margaret his wife, Elias Vedder and Jenny his wife, and Cornelius Woodworth and Catharine his wife (heirs at law of the said Levi Vedder deceased), of the first part, and Robert Vedder of the same place, yeoman, of the second part.

Witnesseth, that the said parties of the first part… for and in consideration of the sum of fifteen hundred dollars… do grant… unto the said party of the second part…

All that certain piece or parcel of land situate in Guilderland, Albany County, beginning at the northwest corner of a lot formerly owned by Peter Sculley,

• south 15° east, 36 chains and 62 links,

• north 75° east, 7 chains and 80 links,

• north 15° west, 36 chains and 62 links,

• south 75° west, 7 chains and 80 links,

Containing 28.3 acres.

Signed by:

Susanna Vedder, John Vedder, Mary Vedder, Samuel Vedder (mark), Margaret Vedder, Elias Vedder, Jenny Vedder, Cornelius Woodworth, Catharine Woodworth

Witnesses: Willis Woodruff, James Holliday

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📜 Acknowledgments (Reverse Side)

• Dated July 31 – October 21, 1817, signed before James Holliday, Master in Chancery.

• Includes official acknowledgment of consent from the women—Mary, Margaret, Jenny, and Catharine—executed freely and without any compulsion from their husbands.

• Recorded December 29, 1825, Albany County Clerk’s Office (Deed Book and page noted on document).

• Later notation: “Susanna Vedder to Isaac H. Crary – Deed.”

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📚 Biographies of Families Involved

🟨 The Vedder Family

Descendants of Harmen Albertse Vedder, a 17th-century Dutch settler and Schenectady magistrate.

• Levi Vedder: The original landholder, deceased by 1817.

• Susanna Vedder: His widow, joint seller.

• John, Samuel, Elias Vedder: His sons.

• Mary, Margaret, Jenny: Their wives, who legally consented.

• The Vedders were part of New York’s longstanding Dutch elite, prominent in landholding, trade, and civic development.

🟨 The Woodworth Family

English in origin, descended from Walter Woodworth, who settled in Massachusetts in the 1630s.

• Cornelius Woodworth (b. ~1777): Farmer in Guilderland, married Catharine Vedder.

• Catharine Woodworth: Daughter of Levi Vedder.

• Though their branch remained agrarian, other Woodworths were influential lawyers and judges in New York and Ohio.

🟨 The Crary Family

• Isaac Crary (1751–1812): Born in Connecticut, settled in Knox, NY. A local pioneer and teacher.

• Isaac H. Crary: Likely his son or heir. Name appears on the back of this deed as a later grantee.

• Crarys were part of the wave of New Englanders who helped settle Albany’s hilltowns after the Revolution.

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📍 Modern-Day Location: Stuyvesant Plaza

The land once deeded in this document is now part of Stuyvesant Plaza, an upscale open-air shopping and office center in Guilderland, NY, along Western Avenue (Route 20).

Today, the property includes:

• Shake Shack (opening 2025)

• Warby Parker, Anthropologie, Pottery Barn, Sur La Table

• Local icons: Peaches Café, The Book House, Circles

• Adjacent Executive Park Tower: home to accounting, finance, and legal firms

What was once frontier farmland is now a hub of commerce, fashion, and finance.

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🎯 Ideal Buyers for This Document

This rare document is perfect for:

• 📚 Historians of Albany County or Dutch–English settlement

• 🧬 Genealogists researching Vedder, Woodworth, or Crary lines

• ⚖️ Attorneys and legal historians focused on early American land law and women’s property rights

• 🏢 Real estate professionals in the Capital Region

• 🖼️ Museum curators and archivists

• 🧑‍🏫 Educators seeking authentic 19th-century legal examples

• 👪 Descendants of the families involved

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📦 Item Details:

• Size: approx. 15” x 20”

• Material: Handwritten on period paper, folded with expected wear

• Condition: Legible and complete, ink lightly faded but clear; reverse with recording and acknowledgments

• Ships flat in archival materials with full tracking

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A rare and evocative legal document, connecting the 1817 frontier to today’s Guilderland commerce. This deed is a portal through time—from the plow to Pottery Barn.

📬 Ships fast. Questions welcome. More photos available on request.