We have accurate documentation of the ownership of the house from Christopher Deyo (Christoffel) through the generations and deeds for almost all of the purchase transaction through to the present day.
Christoffel was born in 1727 and married Deborah Van Vleit in 1756. The house was built some time between those dates. The records at the Tax office say1740 and this was also reiterated by the library in New Paltz but we have no idea where this date came from. We also have no evidence that the kitchen was added in 1765, although that too has been told us from many sources.
In the tax records of 1765 the house is listed as being owned by Christopher Deyo. We are certain this is the house because the order in which houses are listed start from the bottom of Springtown Road and travel up to the place where we know there was a river crossing by Deitz farm and then go back into the center of New Paltz. Christopher Deyo's house is listed exactly in the order of old stone houses on Springtown road as shown on the 1790 map. I can imagine the tax collector on his horse riding up the road taking names and measuring houses and counting windows (as taxes were based on windows in those days).
Now 13 seems a little young to start building a house but in those days maybe that was not so unusual. It seems more likely that Christoffel would have built the house closer to 1745 when he was 18. I'm not sure we will ever know exactly, unless we can find a date stone or some other reference to the house before 1765.
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