1692 Thomas Lloyd and wife Patienes, of Philadelphia, sold land in New York City to William Bickley. Dated November 3. [1]
1695 William Bickley and wife Susan conveyed land in New York City to Edward Burling Senior. Citing deed 21-311. Dated May 2. [2]
1696 David Lloyd, of Philadelphia, and Isaac Norris, of New York, as the administrators of Thomas Lloyd, deceased, sold land to William Bickley, merchant, of New York; John Rodman of flushing on ye island of nassau, physician; and Thomas Stevens and Edward Stevens of newtown on nassau island. The land was adjacent to land of John Rodman. At the top of the deed is a parenthetical note: (Quaker meeting house lot). Dated August 5. [3]
1705 William Bickley and wife Susanna sold land in New York City to Samuel Shaen. Dated June 6. [4]
1707 The will of William Bickley stated [5]:
I, William Bickley, of New York, in America, shop keeper. Being at this time through the mercy of God in indifferent health and also sensible of my own frailty. I give and forgive unto all my children such sums of money as shall be due unto me from each of them. I give to my two daughters, Sarah Potter and Elizabeth Brown, '20 shillings each, in full of all pretence or demand for my estate in the future. I give my grandson, William Cook, £20, if he serve out the remainder of his time, as by his indenture to me; otherwise I give him two pieces of 8. I give 12s to each of my grand children, and to my son in law, Nicholas Brown, and to each of my daughters in law, one Arabian piece of gold of 12s value. I leave to my loving neighbors, Thomas Ives and his wife Susanah, £5, to make a small piece of plate in consideration and remembrance of their kindness to me and mine. I leave to Dr. John Rodman, Hugh Cowperthwaite and Samuel Bowne, of Flushing, £10 each, and to George Curtis, John Lipincott, Sr., and William Worth, of Shrewsbury, in New Jersey, £ 5 each. All the rest of my estate I leave to my son Abraham Bickley, of Philadelphia, and I make him executor. And I desire my much respected friends, Richard Willett and Walter Thong, whom I have found to bear cordial and loving kindness toward me, that they continue the same toward my son, with their best advice and counsell. And that they accept from him one of the best Beaver hats that can be got for money, to each of them, to wear in rememberance of this my last request. And I enjoine my son Abraham, to be helpful and assistant to his helpless sister Sarah Potter, during her Widowhood. Dated 3d of 5th Month, 1707. Witnesses, Joseph Latham, Joshua Delaplaine, Abraham Van Vleeq. Proved, November 20, 1707.
The transcriber of the will added this note:
[Note.—William Bickley was one of the members of the Society of Friends, or Quakers, in New York. He was one of the purchasers of the lot on which the first Quaker meeting house was built on the west side of Green street (now Liberty place) a little south of Maiden lane, about 1696.—W. S. P.]
1713 The executor of William Bickley granted power of attorney to Abraham Van Vleig. Citing Book 25, page 53. Dated October 8. [6]
Research Notes:
The Bickley family might be cited in this article. [7]
[1] New York City Deeds of Conveyance, 18-289, [FamilySearchImage].
[2] New York City Deeds of Conveyance, Index for Bickley, [FamilySearchImage], [FHLCatalog].
[3] New York City Deeds of Conveyance, 23-34, [FamilySearchImage].
[4] New York City Deeds of Conveyance, 39-30, [FamilySearchImage].
[5] William S. Pelletreau, Abstracts of Wills on file in the Surrogate's office: city of New York, Vol. 1, 1665-1707 (New York: The New York Historical Society, 1893), 449, Will 7-426, [HathiTrust], [InternetArchive], [GoogleBooks].
[6] New York City Deeds of Conveyance, Index for Bickley, [FamilySearchImage], [FHLCatalog].
[7] Joseph R. Klett, ed., Genealogies of New Jersey Families: From the Genealogical Magazine of New Jersey, Vol. 1 (Baltimore, MD : Genealogical Publishing Co., c 1996), 170, citing "Thomas Cooke of Shrewsbury" by Richard W Cook (1978), [GoogleBooks].