Putnam County, with the stipulation that an Indian deed be acquired by June 2, 1688 and letters patent by July 1, 1688. 6 The property was described as a strip of land along the Hudson shore in the Highland, "beginning at the north side of a hill called Anthony's Nose at a marked Red Seader Tree, and along said River Northerly to the Land belonging to Stephanus Van Cortlandt and the Heirs of Francis Rhombout and G. Verplanck, and Eastwards in the Woods as far along the said Lands of Stephanus Cortland and Co. aforesaid to a marked tree..." 7

Because the Eastern boundary was never clearly defined, the Governor at the time did not grant a patent, waiting for a more detailed survey. 8 Further, although required by the Governor to obtain an Indian deed for the parcel by 1688, Sybrant and Dorland did not manage to acquire a deed for the 15,000 acre tract until 1691. 9

Nonetheless, on June 16, 1697 Adolph Philipse, the son of land baron, slave trader, mill owner, and owner of almost one third of Westchester County, Fredrick Philipse, bought the property from Sybrant and Dorland. 10 Amazingly, the next day Adolph received a royal patent from Governor Fletcher extending the eastern boundary approximately an additional 190,000 acres to the CT border! 11 Adolph's cozy relationship with the governor more than likely facilitated the transaction. Taking advantage of the hazy description of the eastern boundary, one story even suggests that Philipse cut down the tree marking the eastern border, rode all day and remarked a tree near the CT border. 12 Although Adolph Philipse managed to acquire a patent for the enlarged property, no deed was ever recorded as he likely realized it would have been considered invalid due to the fuzzy Eastern boundary and because no additional compensation had been provided to the Wappinger for this massive eastward expansion. 13 The recording of deeds was--and still is--an important step in the legal process of authenticating land transactions. 14