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Morris-Boegly Farm
Property Records, 1796-1978
(Land-title history of the Morris-Boegly property records)

SC23068

Quantity: 1 box (folio) (0.25 cubic ft)
Access: Open to research
Acquisition: Gift; Carolyn Boegly, Ithaca, N.Y., June 2008
Processed By: Nicholas Webb, Student Assistant, State University of New York at Albany, October 2008

View catalog record

Historical Note:

This collection of farm property records documents the land-title history of the Morris-Boegly farm in Schodack, Rensselaer County, N.Y.

In 1796, Stephen Van Rensselaer leased a 160-acre farm to Carrick Myers in exchange for the traditional annual ground rent of twenty bushels of winter wheat, "four fatt hens," and a day's labor with horse and wagon. In 1807 the heirs of the deceased Myers sold the lease to Darius Morris. The property passed to Morris's sons after his death and was split into two eighty-acre parcels. In 1859 a surveyor named Burton Thomas was hired to make a map of the property, and in 1863 Joseph Morris, the owner of the southern parcel, was released from the rent and reservations of the manor

The eighty acres belonging to Joseph Morris remained in the Morris family until 1948, when Herbert D. Morris sold the property to William and Caroline Boegly. During this process, Stephen Van Rensselaer's lease to Carrick Myers, which had never been formally recorded at the Rensselaer County Clerk's office, was finally entered into the official record, and the Troy Record reported on the historical curiosity of a 152-year-old lease being filed.

The Boeglys lived on the property for the next thirty years. In 1971 they sold a portion of the land to Edgar C. Rosekrans; in 1978 they sold the remaining property to Joseph and Alma Horst.

Scope and Content Note:

This collection contains deeds and related records which document the title history of the Morris-Boegly farm for nearly two hundred years, beginning in 1796 with Stephen Van Rensselaer and concluding in 1978 with William J. Boegly's sale of the property to the Horst family. It includes the 1796 lease between Stephen Van Rensselaer and Carrick Myers, the 1807 deed which transferred Myers' lease to Darius Morris, and the 1863 release which freed Joseph Morris from his obligation to the patroon. A series of mid-nineteenth-century deeds documents the passing down of the property through several generations of the Morris family. William J. Boegly's 1948 purchase of the property is represented by deeds, mortgage records and a 1948 Troy Record clipping on the entry of the Van Rensselaer lease into the County Clerk's official record. The 1971 parcel sale to Edgar Rosekranz and the 1978 sale to the Horst Family are also represented by deeds and related records. In addition, the collection includes two sets of survey maps, one from 1859 and one from 1970.

Container list:

Box Folder Description
1 1 Lease – Stephen Van Rensselaer to Carrick Myers, 1796
1 2 Deed – Myers heirs to Darius Morris, 1807
1 3 Survey map, 1859 (includes copies)
1 4 Release from rent and reservations of the Van Rensselaer Manor to Joseph Morris, 1863
1 5 Deeds and records – Morris family, 1858-1892
1 6 Abstract of Title of William J. Boegly, 1948
1 7 Deeds and records – Herbert D. Morris to William J. Boegly, 1948
1 8 Mortgage records – Boegly family, 1948
1 9 Troy Record clipping on Van Rensselaer lease, 1948
1 10 Survey plat and records – Boegly family, 1970
1 11 Parcel sale to Edgar C. Rosekranz, 1971
1 12 Deeds, records and correspondence – Boegly family to Horst family, 1978
Last Updated: February 25, 2022