Week #2 CHALLENGE

The CHALLENGE is to find the oldest ancestor. For me, it's to find my missing ancestors. . .ancestors who refuse to leave a paper trail. For my ancestors, it was a CHALLENGE to be alive in the 1600s in New York with Indians and other immigrants from different foreign countries. 

Take the issue of Christopher (Christoffel) Davis/Davidts.
In the minutes of Mattheus Capito, the Secretary of the village of Wildwyck, dated March 27/April 6, 1667. Christopher Davis left a lot of paper records, reports and stories.
In the matter below, Davis is conveying title of a property in exchange for another property from another entity or person. It's like today's 1031 Exchange it seems.
It starts out with the Secretary, Mattheus Capito, the Secretary of the Village of Wildwyck saying, before me:

"appeared Christoffel Davids, who declares having conveyed and ceded as by the present he is ceding and conveying for himself and his heirs to Evert Pels his small dwelling and the land situated near the Rondout on the bank of the Esopus Kil, belonging under the jurisdiction of the village of Wildwyck, with all the obligations and privileges appertaining to the aforesaid land, by virtue of the grant made by the former vice-director Johannes Dyckman at the time residing at Fort Orange in the service of the Lord's Directors of the privileged West India Company, dated Aug. 16. 1653, with the request that the said Evert Pels in the name of him, Christoffel Davids, shall obtain for said lands a deed from the hon. Lord Gov. Genl. Ridsert Nicolls. Wherefore he also grants him absolute power and authority to obtain the aforesaid deed. Promising to consider valid whatever he, Evert Pels, may have done regarding said affair in his name, and also nevermore to revoke the aforesaid conveyance and grant, neither by himself nor his heirs, nor to proceed nor to have proceeded against the same under obligations as per law, under condition that the conditions of sale of said lands and little house shall be complied with by Evert Pels, in accordance with the contract of sale of the same, dated Feb. 12/22, 1667. And therefore the appearer besides Roelof Swartwout and Gerret Fooken as witnesses invited and requested for the purpose, has subscribed to the present with his own hand at Wildwyck on the day and in the year named before. (Signed) the mark C D of Christoffel Davids, (signed) Roelof Swartwout, Gerre Foocken. In my presence, (signed) Mattheus Capito, Secretary."

In other words,  Christoffel Davis has conveyed or granted his property to Evert Pels in exchange for a deed from the Lord Governor General Nicolls to be obtained by Evert Pels. The new property is not described.  There must be more information to this transaction. The lawyers were no doubt paid by the word. Not much has changed since then.