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LITTLE VISITS
TO
HISTORICAL
POINTS IN
WESTCHESTER
••COUNTY
PART ONE
BY
AN AUTHOPJTY
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MAMARONECK, N. Y. • PUBLISHED
Br THE 51ICHBBLL PRESS - M C M ^ I
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PUBLIC LIBRARY
355664
ASTOR, LFNOX AND
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The Richbell Press • Waterbury
& Clapp • Mamaroneck • N. Y.
Copyrighted 1902
WATERBURY & CLAPP.
LITTLE FISirS TO
HISTORICAL POINTS IN
WE SrCHES TE R CO UN TT
WHITE PLAINS
HITE Plains was originally included
in the Richbell patent, but in 1683, by-
some authorities said to be November
2 2d of that year, the people of the
town of Rye bought of the Indians a
tract of land embracing approximately
4,500 acres, and thereby obtained pro-
prietorship; this tract of land was called
by the aborigines Quaroppas, and by the whites
the White Plains, from the fact that when first
seen by them the plain was covered with White
Balsam, (Gnaphalium Polycephalum. Meaning
a head of soft down or wool) then in full blossom.
WHITE PLAINS
After the purchase, White Plains was with Rye
under the government of Connecticut; White
Plains' connection with Rye was dissolved in 1816.
After a time a new boundary line was fixed which
gave both Rye and White Plains, to New York.
As early as 1760 White Plains constituted one of
the precincts of Rye parish, and paid a small sum
annually towards the support of the Rector and
poor.
The original county seat of Westchester was
in the village of the same name, but in 1759 the
courts were removed to White Plains, as a half
shire town with Bedford, the courts being held
alternately at both places. The first Court House
was built and here were enacted many stiring
events which lead in time to the establishing of
our national liberty. The present Court House
stands near the centre of the village and occupies
the site of the old building. Upon the removal
of the Courts from Westchester, the first Court of
Common Pleas assembled here the 27th day of
WHITE PLAINS
May 1760. Previous to the American Rev-
olution party feeling ran high, the people to a
unit were in favor of adhering as loyal subjects to
his most Gracious Majesty King George the
Third; but there were different ideas as to what
constituted this allegiance; many deemed it prop-
er to pay without dissent the taxes demanded by
the King, others held that the interpretation of
the British constitution permitted the inhabitants
of the Country, or at least the freeholders to a
voice in the disposal of the revenue, they were
opposed to taxes without representation, and as
the press was entirely in the hands of the King's
officers, the revolutionary party was compelled to
issue circulars and hand-bills, to publish their sen-
timents. Both parties held many meetings and
passed resolutions declaring their adherence to
what each considered right. Meanwhile the rev-
olutionists were quietly drilling and preparing for
the conflict, which they thought might take place,
as they saw the uncompromising spirit manifested
WHITE PLAINS
by the King who continued sending troops to
the Colonies.
There are events connected with White
Plains which will long live in the pages of Amer-
ican History.
It was here that the Whigs of Westchester
Co., solemnly in convention promised at the risk
of their lives and fortunes, to join with the other
colonies in supporting the liberties of the country
and protesting against the army that King
George was sending into the country, presumedly
with the intention of frightening the people into
submission.
It was in White Plains that the Whigs of
Westchester Co., appointed t6 meet the commit-
tees of the several towns to elect deputies to the
Continental Congress, who were to assemble at
Philadelphia on the first day of September 1774.
Earnest and spirited efforts were made to
get the voice of both parties on the great ques-
tion of the day, and a special meeting was called
WHITE PLAINS
to obtain an expression of the sentiments of the
freeholders or voters of the county, to be held at
White Plains on Tuesday the eleventh of April
1775. A spirited article appeared in Rivington's
Gazette on the sixth of April addressed to the
Freeholders and inhabitants of Westchester Co.,
calling them to be prompt in acknowledging their
county. On the 13th of June the Provincial
Congress of this State adjourned from the City of
New York, to the Court House in White Plains
where they met on the 9th of July following and
there continued in session until the 29th of that
month, it was there resolved that the Treasurer
and Secretary of this Congress, be, and they
thereby are, directed forthwith to repair with all
and singular the public papers and money now in
their custody or possession unto the White Plains,
County of Westchester, and this Congress be and
hereby is adjourned to the Court House aforesaid
there to meet on Tuesday the 2d. day of July
next, and proceed upon business; and that the
WHITE PLAINS
next Congress of this County do meet at the
same place on Monday the 8th of July aforesaid
unless otherwise ordered by Congress.
It was further ordered that all the lead, pow-
der, and other military stores, belonging to this
State be forthwith removed to White Plains.
It was at White Plains on the 9th of July
1776, the Provincial Congress received the Dec-
laration of Independence; there it was read in
front of the Court House, and there the people
solemnly in convention promised at the risk of
their lives, and fortunes, to join with the other
colonies in supporting it. It was there resolved
that 500 copies of the Declaration of Independ-
ence be published in hand-bills and sent to all
the county committees of the State. The letter
of John Hancock enclosing to them that declara-
tion, after acknowledging their dependence for suc-
cess upon the Ruler of the Universe^ with almost
prophetic vision announced the important conse-
quences, which would flow from that declaration.
WHITE PLAINS
"The Declaration of Independence was read
by John Thomas Esq. and seconded by Michael
Varian and Samuel Crawford two prominent
Whiss of Scarsdale. The latter met a sad and
early fate by the hands of British refugees."
On Thursday the nth day of July 1776
with beat of drum the official proclamation of the
great Declaration on the part of the Representa-
tives of the State of New York was made before
the Old Court House.
The Old Court House honored by this fear-
less step in the cause of liberty and associated
with the wisdom and virtue of the great and
good men of the period, was destroyed by fire
about 12 o'clock on the night of the 5th of No-
vember 1776, together with every dweUing left
by the enemy at White Plains. By order of Gen-
eral Washington the culprits were tried by the
laws of the state. Pierre van Cortlandt vice pres-
ident of the committee of public safety in a letter
to the Honorable John Hancock, President of
V/HITE PLAINS
the Congress of the United States, writes, "The
soldier who plunders the country he is employed
to protect is no better than a robber, and ought
to be treated accordingly, and a severe example
in the opinion of the committee ought to be made
of the officer who, without any necessity, or his
general's permission, set fire to the Court House
and other buildings at White Plains." At the
trial which followed it was made known that the
firing of the town which consumed the Court
House, the Presbyterian Church, with a quantity
of timber desined for its enlargement, besides all
that remained of the town, was done bv order of
Major Osborne of the Massachusetts line, for the
purpose of preventing them from being used by
the British troops, then in the neighborhood,
during the ensuing winter; these facts are fully
proven by affidavits of witnesses, said to be now
in existance.
Washington's army was stationed at Harlem
Heights and King's Bridge, but kept a lookout
WHITE PLAINS
on the Sound and Hudson river routes, to pre-
vent the enemy moving south and east, consider-
able bodies of troops were advanced along these
lines and temporary entrenched camps were es-
tablished all the way to White Plains. The prin-
cipal magazine of provisions had been accumulated
at the town of White Plains; a place not too
far removed from Harlem Heights headquarters
and yet at a sufficient distance in the interior to
be deemed safe. White Plains commanded the
whole country above, since all the roads centered
there. These various conditions positively indi-
cated White Plains as the essential point for
Washington to reach. The military stores at
White Plains were under the guard of a militia
force of 300 men. Washington accordingly made
a deliberate countermove for that place. Mean-
while General Howe had transported his army
from New York City, to Throgg's Neck, and
from there to PelFs Neck or Point, each army
keeping a sharp lookout on the other. Washing-
WHITE PLAINS
ton's troops had been filing into White Plains for
several days, and finally on October 26th 1776
General Lee's division had the honor of bringing
up the rear, more than three days being required
to cover the distance. The full strength of
Washington's army finally concentrated at White
Plains, was in the neighborhood of 13,000 al-
though many authorities give a much less number.
The British soldiers were well equiped and thor-
ougly disciplined; while the Americans were
principally raw recruits, indifferently fed and
armed. Directly across the Bronx, in the pres-
ent town of Greenburgh rose an elevated height
called Chatterton's Hill which was to be the scene
of the impending battle, which General Howe
supposed would be the decisive conflict of the
War; on the crest of this Hill a breastwork had
been begun on the night of October 27, 1776 but
it was not sufficiently advanced to prove of any
value. There were no American troops west of
Chatterton's Hill. From his camp in Scarsdale
10
WHITE PLAINS
General Howe marched early on the morning of
Monday, October 28th, 1776 to White Plains.
He proceeded in two heavy columns, the right
commanded by Sir Henry Clinton, and the left
by General de Heister; on arriving at Hartsdale
he was met by a body of 2,600 New England
troops under Major General Spencer; this force
had been pushed forward by Washington to stop
the enemy's advance, some authorities say these
New Englanders made only a sorry defence, and
this circumstance largely determined the scene of
the conflict known as the battle of White Plains.
The Hessian force was commanded by
Colonel Rhal; Rhal in his pursuit of the New
Englanders approached Chatterton's Hill and ob-
serving that the summit was occupied by an
American force turned his attention thither, he
accordingly took a station commanding the Hill.
The American troops on Chatterton's Hill who
had engaged the attention of Colonel Rahl were
Colonel Haslet's Delaware regiment and a regi-
1 1
WHITE PLAINS
ment of Massachusetts militia commanded by
Colonel John Brooks. During Rahl's artillery
attack, Washington sent over a strong force com-
manded by General Mc. Dougall to assist the
Americans already on the Hill, the united force
was about i,8oo and made a respectable showing
as they took their positions. Just outside Wash-
ington's lines the English commander ordered a
halt, and General Howe and his officers held a
consultation on horseback. They concluded
that the force on Chatterton's Hill was a serious
menance and that it must be dislodged. There-
upon their best regiments were ordered to storm
the Hill; the attacking army was large, some
authorities placing it as high as 7,500. The
Massachusetts militia again showed their weekness,
and although protected by a stone wall fled in
confusion without more than a random scattering
fire, when Rahl's troops who it was their duty to
oppose, advanced upon them. Shonnard and
Spooner thus describes the affair.
12
WHITE PLAINS
"The Massachusetts militiamen who had
been so skittish under the artillery fire, showed
themselves equally disinclined to sustain an in-
fantry shock, and although sheltered by a stone
wall fled in confusion, without more than a ran-
dom, scattering fire." "Dawson calls this the
Rout of the Bashful New Englanders."
The Delaware men were only about 300
strong and made a most gallant defense; the Dela-
ware riflemen stood their ground nobly and their
remarkable steadiness in maintaining their posi-
tion was greatly supported by the artillery, under
command of Alaxander Hamilton. In fact the
crowning honors of the day were won by the
Delaware riflemen and Hamilton's artillery.
The engagement on Chatterton's Hill was not
fought by the Americans from behind entrench-
ments, but on ground fully exposed to the on-
rush of the enemy relieved only by the slight
protection of two or three stone walls or an oc-
casional rock before troops outnumbering them
_
WHITE PLAINS
by three or four to one. The retreat when noth-
ing but retreat remained was performed with
dignity and without material loss.
The British loss in killed and wounded was
157, the mercenery regiments 79, total on the
enemy's side 233. The losses in killed, wound-
ed, and missing was 93, which added to the 47
lost on the march through Hartsdale, made the
American total 147.
It has been proposed to erect a monument
commemorative of this battle either in White
Plains or on Chatterton's Hill to mark this in-
teresting Revolutionary event.
The following account of the military quar-
ters in this town, and its vicinity, in October 1776,
is from the address of J. W. Tompkins, deliver-
ed at White Plains.
"The county of Westchester at the com-
mencement of the Revolution, contained a multi-
tude of hardy yomen inured to toil whose ancestry
had fled from oppression abroad, and In the en-
WHITE PLAINS
joyment of greater freedom in the colony, had
imbibed an ardent love of liberty. When the
star of Independence arose in the east, they were
ready to follow its lead; and when New York in
1776, was threatened with invasion, they flocked
with alacrity to its defence. When the battle of
Long Island turned the tide of war against us, they
still adhered to the American army, contending
every inch of ground to Harlem, thence to Kings-
bridge, and through the southern part of West-
chester County to White Plains, where General
Washington again determined to entrench himselt
and make another stand against an overwhelming
force of the choicest British troops, flushed with
victory and confident of success. A brief ac-
count of the movement of the two armies to this
place, and of their operations here, it is my pur-
pose to give."
"The City of New York was selected by the
English as the centre of their military operations,
with the view of commanding the North River
_
WHITE PLAINS
and acting in conjunction with a force from Can-
ada, descending through Lake Champlain, thus
securing the Colonies. Their march into West-
chester County was designed to obtain command
of tlie two principal routes leading to New Eng-
land, one through Rye and the other by way of
Bedford, and thereby cut off the American army
from its supplies principally derived from the
East, and obtain the rear of General Washington's
army, and force him to a general battle, or to a
precipitate retreat. But Washington penetrated
their intentions, and conducted his forces north-
ward from Kingsbridge with great skill, moving
in a line parallel with the British a little in ad-
vance of them, facing them constantly, with the
Bronx in his front, which was fortified at every
assailable point.
On the 1 2th of October 1776, a portion of
the British army, consisting of the Guard, Light
Lifantry reserve, and Count Dunop's Corps land-
ed on Throgg's Neck, and on the night of that
^6
WHITE PLAINS
day, Colonel William Smith (then a lieutenant)
with a Corporal's guard, broke down the bridge
connectingr the Neck with the Town of West-
Chester, and left Sir William Howe upon an island.
On the i6th and 17th of October, the English
force on Throgg's Neck were augmented by the
1st, 2d, and 6th Brigades crossing from Long
Island, and by the 3d Hessian battalion from
New York.
On the 1 8th the whole British Armv cross-
ed to Pelham Point, and marching northerly, en-
cam.ped the same night on the high ground be-
tween Hutchingson River and the village of New
Rochelle, where they remained until the 21st.
On the 2 1 St the British removed, and en-
camped on New Rochelle Heights, north of the
village, and both sides of the road leading to
Scarsdale. This camp was broken up on the
25th, and the Army moved forward to a position
upon the high ground in Scarsdale and there
remained till the morning of the 28 th of
17
WHITE PLAINS
October.
General Washington during that time had
not remained inactive; as early as the nth of
October a part of his army crossed from Harlem
Heights, reached White Plains on the 12th and
commenced erecting fortifications, and on the 2 2d
General Washington leaving his headquarters at
Fort Washington established them at Valentine's
Hill, whence they were removed to White Plains
on the 23d.
The entrenchments at White Plains were
erected under the directions of a French engineer,
and consisted of a square fort of sods in the main
street, with breast works on each side running
westerly over the south side of Purdy's Hill on
the Bronx, and easterly across the hills to Horton's
Pound.
When the English attacked Chatterton's
Hill on the 28th they were unfinished, but dur-
ing the night of the 28th and 29th of October
they were raised and strengthened, being intended
18
WHITE PLAINS
for temporary use until the position above
Abraham Miller's in North Castle could be forti-
fied, which was done, and to which the American
army afterwards retired.
During the march of the two armies to
White Plains frequent skirmishes occurred. On
the 1 8th the vanguard of the British army was
attacked by a detachment under General Sullivan,
and the fight which ensued near New Rochelle,
has always been represented as very creditable to
the Americans.
On the morning of the 28th of October, the
British army marched from their camp, in two
columns— the right commanded by General Clin-
ton, the left by De Heaston, and came in sight
of the American forces about 10 o'clock.
On the previous day two regiments had been
sent over to throw up entrenchments on Chatter-
ton's Hill, and the next morning General Wash-
tngton ordered Colonal Haslet to take command
of the Hill, having under his command a Delaware
19 ~
WHITE PLAINS
Regiment, the Militia, and a part of the Mary-
land troops. General McDougal soon followed
him, and took command. Colonel Haslet says
the enemy in the first place moved toward the
fortifications in the village— they then halted— the
general officers then had a council of war on horse
back in the wheat-field and the result w^as that
their forces inclined towards the Bronx. Fifteen
or twenty pieces were placed upon the high
ground opposite the Hill, and commenced a furi-
ous cannonade upon McDougal's forces, under
cover of which fire the British built a bridge over
the Bronx and prepared to cross.
General McDougal placed two field pieces
upon a ledge of table rock, which did great execu-
tion among the British officers and soldiers. So
soon as the bridge would admit their crossing,
they rushed forward and attempted to take the
two pieces by a charge up the Hill- these two
cannons were in charge of Alexander Hamilton,
and never did officers and men do better execu-
20
WHITE PLAINS
tion. When upon the spot in after years, de-
scribing it to a youthful friend he was heard to
say, "For three successive discharges the ad-
vancing column of British troops were swept from
hill-top to river."
The British finding this table-rock inaccessi-
ble inclined to the left down the river, and joined
the troops under General Rhal which had cross-
ed about a quarter of a mile below.
They now attacked McDougal and at-
temped to turn his right flank. He retreated,
but contested the ground all the way up to the
summit of the hill, making a stand at every fav-
orable point. At length the British cavalry gained
the crest ot the hill, and charging, cut to pieces
the militia on McDougaFs right.
The last stand was made by the Americans
behind a fence at the top of the hill, where the
Delaware regiment and part of McDougal's
brigade twice repulsed the British Light Intanury
and Cavalry. At length compelled to retreat, it
21
WHITE PLAINS
was done in good order over the bridge at the
foot of the hill under cover of some regiments
detached by Washington from his main army.
The militia and a few of the regulars were dis-
persed among the hills of Greenburg, but soon
returned to headquarters. The British forces
engaged in the attack were the flower of the
army consisting of the second brigade, the twenty-
eight, the fifth, and the forty-ninth regiments,
Rhal's battalion, the Hessian Grenadiers under
Dunop, and a party of Light Dragoons all com-
manded by General Leslie.
That General Washington did make a suc-
cessful stand at this place has ever excited the
wonder of miltary men. His troops were greatly
inferior in numbers, and discipline and composed
in parts of militia and raw recruits. After the
battle, the enemy for several days attempted to
gain Washington's rear, tried to alarm him and
induce him to retreat or fight by threatening his
flanks. At several times they formed a semicir-
22
WHITE PLAINS
cle about him. On the night of the 31st of Oc-
tober, Washington evacuated his camp at White
Plains and establishes his new position in the
hills of North Castle, about one mile in the rear
of his former encampment, when the British ap-
pear to have relinquished all further offensive
operations. At the advance of the British army
to White Plains, the Whig families were seen
hurrying unprotected before them with their
clothing and a scanty supply of provisions to seek
shelter for the coming winter, they knew not
where. Desolation and famine marked that fair
region over which the two armies passed. The
English army finding all attempts to circumvent
General Washington hopeless, broke up their
camp at White Plains on the 5th of November
and retired to Dobb's Ferry, and from thence to
Kingsbridge where they encamped on the 13th
of that month. Thus ended in Westchester for
the year 1776 the movements of the British
army.
_
WHITE PLAINS
The Wars of 1776 and 18 12 Impoverished
the County and the population dedined. In
one year (1814) there was a shrinkage of nearly
4,000. This loss is easily accounted for, West-
chester County responded with alacrity to the
calls of the National and State grovernments for
troops to serve in the war of 18 12 with England,
and therefore the decline was considerable in
every township.
Early in the twenties rail-roads were brought
into use. Trains commenced running on the
New York and Harlem railroad in 1 842, but is was
not until 1 844 that the road extended to W^hite
Plains, this was the first railroad in the County.
Although the road was conducted in a very im-
perfect manner its completion through the Coun-
ty was an event of great importance, not only to
the people living along the route, but also to
those of other sections, and as the work progres-
sed, stage communication between the villages
near the railroad was immediately established.
_ _
WHITE PLAINS
With the completion of the railways the
population quickly increased, and the value of
personal property and real estate was almost
doubled.
The first County Judge elected in West-
chester County, was John W. Mills of White
Plains 1850— 1856; the first surrogate, Lewis C.
Piatt of White Plains i 848-1 856; the first Coun-
ty Treasurer, Elisha Horton of White Plains
1849-1852.
Intense partisan feeling characterised the dis-
cussion of political issues in Westchester County
in the electoral campaign of i860. The County
has always been on the conservative side political-
ly, and the Democrative party was largely domi-
nant; the startling events of 1861 made a radical
change in the political sentiments of very many.
It was no longer a question of the supremacy of
this party, or that, but of the existance of the
federal union. The president's proclamation
calling for 75,000 militia volunteers was issued on
WHITE PLAINS
the 15th of April 1861. White Plains immedi-
ately responded to the call, but for financial
reasons the men drifted into different regiments,
some were credited to Elmira, their captain being
made lieutenant-colonel on the 21st of May.
The original line of White Plains officers were:
Company B-Captain E. W. Anderson, Lieuten-
ants Thomas W. Dick and Horton R. Piatt.
Another regiment in which the White Plains
men were largely represented was the i6th New
York Cavalry mustered into service between
June and October 1863. The war interfered
seriously with the growth of this section of the
country.
A beautiful monument which is shown in
the half-tone cut on the frontispage, was erected
by the Patriotic Town's people of White Plains,
in memory of the Soldiers who fell in the War
of Secession.
The Village of White Plains was incorpo-
rated by an act passed April 3d, 1866. The
_
WHITE PLAINS
first officers of the village were: President, John
Swineburne; Clerk, John M. Rowell; Trustees,
Gilbert S. Lyon, Edward Sleath, H. P. Rowell,
J. P. Jenkins, J. W. Mills, and Harvey Groat.
The present population is about 10,000.
The trolley is exercising a developing in-
fluence in this section of the country; the line
from Tarrytown through White Plains to Ma-
maroneck, is well patronized at all hours.
As a residential town, it is unsurpassed by
any town in this locality; its government is con-
ducted by energetic, progressive, business men.
Within the last five years the village has acquir-
ed the water works, the sewerage system has been
extended to all parts of the town, fifteen miles of
macadam roads have been built at a cost of $400,
000, a free mail delivery has been established,
the county buildings have been enlarged and
improved, three school buildings and one church
erected, the train service has been improved so
that at the present, ninety-eight passenger trains
_
WHITE PLAINS
to and from New York arrive each day, a high-
school organized and charted, and a pubhc Hbra-
ry established.
The streets are splendidly paved, and im-
maculately clean. The houses are comfortable,
and in many instances large and beautiful, and an
air of contentment and civic pride appears to
prevail.
Whitelaw Reid's beautiful residence, Ophir
Farm, is justly admired; Mr. Reid is the leading
envoy and special embassador from the United
States to witness the coronation ceremonies of
Edward VII. Among the mxost magnificent of
palatial the residences are the Gedney farm of
Howard Willets; Hillair of Paul G. Theobald;
Hill Crest of Trenor L. Parks, etc.
The sanitariumiS are large and picturesque, not
the least of which are the White Plains Hospital;
the Keely Institute; the enormously wealthy
Bloomingdale Asylum, which is a village in itself,
covering with its fourteen great buildings and
WHITE PLAINS
beautiful grounds 308 acres, was originally found-
ed in New York City in 171 1 and remained there
over one hundred years, being removed here
about twenty years since.
All the Christian denominations are repre-
sented at White Plains; as you enter the village
from Mamaroneck Avenue the Baptist Church is
the first to attract your attention, this is a substan-
tial stone structure, with a congregation fully appre-
ciative of its pastor the Rev. Dr. J.W.T.Boothe.
There is also an interesting and steadily growing
Baptist Colored congregation. The Presbyterians
hold the oldest Church property in White Plains,
dating back to 1727. The Episcopalians have
a large and flourishing congregation. The first
Methodist Church was incorporated in 1795.
The Roman Catholic in 1848.
The Police and Fire Departments next claim
our attention. An efficient Police Department
thoroughly housed and equipped. A Fire De-
partment with modern apparatus. Lighting plant
__
WHITE PLAINS
fully up to date. The three Banks are in a flour-
ishing condition and are ready to transact busi-
ness to any extent. While the Hotels furnish
ample accomadation to people visiting the town,
all are under superior management and therefore
it is unnecessary to make invidious distinction,
although Admiral Dot's wide known popularity,
being exhibited by P. T. Barnum, as the famous
dwarf, brings his hotel into special notice.
The tax rate for State, County, School and
local purposes is less than 2 per cent; and every-
thing points to great future prosperity and pro-
gress.
30
^IC LIBRARY \
-.1
Vol. I. FEBRUARY 1902 No. 2
'} 9SS^)
LITTLE VISITS
TO
STORICAL
OINTS IN
.H^vJ^ JL ^v^ Jn. J. JLLa'vJ^ M. mL^
"w
PART TWO
BY
AN AUTHORITY
NEW ROCHELLE ,,
Wl
MAMARONECK, N. Y. • PUBLISHED '^^\
BTTHE RICHBELL PRESS - M C M I 1
assK^)^)
Copyrighted 1902
BY
J. WALLACE CLAPP.
The Richbell Press • J. Wallace
Clapp • Mamaroneck • N. Y.
WWi
LITTLE VISITS TO
HISTORICAL POINTS IN
IFESTCHESTER COUNTT
NEW ROCHELLE
[HE town of New Rochelle, formerly a
part of the Manor of Pelham, was orig-
inally included in the grant made by the
Indians in the year 1640 to the Dutch
West India Company, but no settlement
was actually commenced on it until
long after Thomas Pell's purchase
which occurred in 1654. The aborigines appear
to have resided on Davenport's Neck, where
they had a large settlement denominated, Shippa;
a few settlements were also scattered along the
fertile meadows bordering the various fresh water
31
NEW ROCHELLE
streams, especially in the northern part of the
town,
"On the sixth day of October 1666, Richard
Nicolls, governor of the province, dia give ratify
and confirm unto Thomas Pell, all that tract
of land lying to the eastward of Westchester
bounds, being a portion of Pelham Manor,
which said tract of land hath heretofore been
purchased of the Indian proprietors, and ample
satisfaction given for the same."
In 1669 the patentee devised the whole
Manor of Pelham to his nephew, John, common-
ly called Lord Pell, who obtained a further con-
firmation tor the same from Thomas Dongan,
governor of the province, on the 28th of October
1687. "On the 20th of September 1689 we find
John Pell, Lord of the Manor of Pelham, and
Rachel, his wife, conveying to Jacob Leisler of
the City of New York, merchant, in considera-
tion of the sum of Sixteen Hundred and Seventy-
five Pounds Sterling, current money of the prov-
NEW ROCHELLE
ince, all that tract of land lying and being within
said Manor of Pelham, containing six thousand
acres of land, and also one hundred acres of land
more, which the said John Pell and Rachel, his ^
wife, do freely give and grant for the French ■
Church, to be erected by the inhabitants of the
said tract of land, or by their assignees, being
butted and bounded, as herein is after expressed,
beginning at the west side of a certain white oak
tree, marked on all four sides, standing at high
water mark at the south end of Hog Neck, by
shoals, harbor, and runs; northwesterly through
the great fresh meadow lying between the road
and the Sound, and from the north side of the
said meadow, to run from thence due north to
Bronx River, which is the v/est division line be-
tween the said John Pell's land, and the aforesaid
tract bound on the southeasterly by the Sound
and salt water, and to run northeasterly to a
certain piece of salt meadow lying in the sait
creek which runneth up to Cedar Tree Brook
33
NEW ROCHELLE
or Gravelly Brook, and is the bounds to south-
ern.
Several of the leaders of the Huguenots
entered into correspondence with Lei&Ier, with a
view to the purchase, by him, as agent, of eligible
land for the establishment of a Huguenot Colony.
The Edict of Nantes, a decree granting a meas-
ure of liberty to the Protestants of France, pro-
mulgated in 1598 by Henry IV., was revoked
by Louis XIV., on the 22nd of October 168-5,
and by that act of state policy, the conditions of
life in the Kingdom of France v/ere made intol-
erable to most persons of Protestant belief.
For a long time previous to the revocation
an increasing number of French Protestants had
begun to seek homes in foreign lands. America
was especially attractive to them, and after the
revocation (1685), the emigration grew to large
proportions.
The French Protestants already in America
were constantly looking about them for a suit-
34
NEW ROCHELLE
able place to plant a colony, and in 1686 and
1687, secured from John Pell, portions of land
in that part of Pelham now embraced in the City
of New Rochelle, and as the location met the ap-
proval of the Huguenots, Leisler as the constitut-
ed agent of the French Protestants was led to locate
the settlement in that place; he was authorized by
the Committee of Public Safety on the i6th of
August 1689, "to use the power and authority
of commander-in-chief, until orders should come
from their Majesties King William and Queen
Mary. And further to do all such acts as are re-
quisite for the good of the province, taking coun-
sel with the militia and civil authority as occasion
shall require.**
For assuming the government, Leisler was
afterwards tried on a charge of high treason, and
executed, May i6th 1691. Everything proves
Leisler was condemned unlawfully and executed
unjustly. A petition in favor of reversing
Leisler*s attainder was signed by the Huguenots
35
NEW ROCHELLE
of New Rocheik. "Jacob Leisler was truly an.
honest man, but was a martvr to the cause ct
liberty, and sacrificed by injustice, aris;tocracyy
and party malignity." Throughout the year pre-
ceding his execution^ we find Leisler releasing ta
the exiled Huguenots, the lands which he had
purchased in their behalf of John Pell in 1689.
The Huguenots or French Protestants of
New Rochelle came directly from England, and
were a part of the 50,00a persecuted who had
fled into that country before the revocation of
the Edict of Nantes; this is confirmed by the
Charter of Trinity Church, New Rochelle, where-
in they specify that "they fled from France in
1681."
La Rochelle in France v/as the stronghold
of the Protestants and the English favored them
at every opportunity. "Assure the Rochellese
that I will not abandon them," was the message
of King Charles of England in 1627, and the
same interest and sympathy was extended by
- ^6
NEW ROCHELLE
King Charles IL, who on the 28th of July 1681^
granted letters of denization in council, undef
the Great Seal, and assured the exiles that, at the
next meeting of Parliament, he would introduce
a bill by which they should be naturalised; reliev-
ed them at the moment from importation duties
and passport fees, aud encouraged voluntary con-
tributions for their support.
This order was issued the same year in
v/hich the Huguenots of New Rochelle fled from
France, conclusive evidence that they constituted
a portion of those exiles who accepted the royal
offers, and afterwards under the patronage of the
government, purchased and settled here in 1689,
The Huguenots must have been aided in their
escape from France by the English vessels that
lay for some time off the Island of Rhe, opposite
La Rochelle, in which they were conveyed to
England.
Tradition says that they v/ere afterwards
transported to America in one of the King's
_ _
NEW ROCHELLE
ships. The point on Davenport's Neck, Bauffet's
or Bounefoy's Point, was the spot where they
first landed.
On the 17th of April 1695, we ^^^^ letters
of denization granted to Francis LeCount, under
oaths appointed to be taken.
On the 6th of April 1595-6 letters of den-
ization were issued under the Seal of the province,
to twenty-eight persons of foreign birth; being
fugitives by the persecution.
They continued to arrive from England, as
far as can be ascertained, till the year 1700.
The settlement of New Rochelle was com-
menced by the Huguenots in 1691, two years after
the purchase of the town. The records of New
Rochelle commenced on November ist 1 699 in the
French language. The first independent election
for town officers took place in 1783. The early
settlers gave the place the name it now bears, in re-
membrance of their native residence. La Rochelle,
in France, and soon became noted on account of
_
NEW ROCHELLE
the hospitality and politeness of the people, and
also for the facilities for acquiring the French
language. Many people who afterward became
distinguished, received under the charge of the
French clergy, the elements of their education;
mention may especially be made of Washington
Irving, the author of numerous interesting books;
John Jay, "who made the celebrated Treaty of
Paris, for the independence of our Country, and
exerted a powerful influence in extending the
limits of the United States to the Mississippi,"
he was also the first Chief Justice of the United
States.
Philip Schuyler entered the army during the
French and Indian War; after the Revolution he
became a member of the Colonial Assembly of New
York, and resisted earnestly the British attempts
to tax the Colonies without their consent; he was
a delegate to the Continental Congress, by whom
he was assigned to the command of the troops
in New York, and of the expedition against
39
NEW ROCHELLE
Canada; he afterwards actively superintended In-
dian alfairs. Before the National Constitution was
formed he became a member of Congress; and
afterwards twice represented his State in the
United States Senate. His name is perpetuated
in this county, by naming the Fort at Throgg's
Neck in honor of him.
For two generations the Huguenots of New
Rochelle preserved in its purity the French lan-
guage.
In the grant to Jacob Leisler, John Pell,
Lord of the Manor, and Rachel, his wife, "did
give and grant to the said Jacob Leisler, the fur-
ther quantity of one hundred acres of land for
the use of the French Church erected, or to be
erected, by the inhabitants of the said tract of
land." This property was long in dispute be-
tween the Episcopalian and Presbyterian Cor-
porations, each claiming to be the original French
Church.
On July 22d 1700 in the general assembly
40
NEW ROCHELLE
of the inhabitants of this place, according to
Justice Mott's warrant, "it has been agreed by
the plurality of votes, that above the hundred
acres of land given by Sir John Pell for the j
Church of this place, the said hundred acres
shall be taken on the undivided lands according
to the choice of the elders of the church, as they
will find the more profitable for the church and
people."
In 1763 the members of Trinity Church ob-
tained a further confirmation of the grant from
the heirs of John Pell, and subsequently released
to each other.
On the 4th of February 1763, David Guion
released the same to Trinity Church for the sum
of One Hundred Pounds.
Isaac Guion, Peter Flandreau, Samuel
Gelliot and Magdaline Stouppe also released to
the Church in 1767.
Prior to the erection of the first Huguenot
Church in New Rochelle the pious inhabitants
_
NEW ROCHELLE
of this town walked regularly every Saturday,
starting about midnight, to New York a distance
at that time of twenty-three miles, to attend the
Sunday service at the old Church du St. Esprit
in Pine street, New York City, and returned on
Sunday evenings to their homes to be ready for
their regular duties on Monday morning; always
commencing their march by singing their beauti-
ful hymns. Many continued to worship in this
manner until the American Revolution broke out,
when this part of the country became harassed
and over-run by the British troops; the people
in consequence were scattered, and the younger
members of the community grew up without
going to any regular place of worship.*
The Rochellese were the first to bring the
Marigold to America; this was their national
*For further particulars on this subject see
Rikeman's Evolution of Stuyvesant Village (New
York City)
NEW ROCHELLE
emblem, and on all occasions displayed with
pride.
John Pintard In his "Recollections", refers
to the Huguenots of New Rochelle as receiving
the Holy Sacrament four times a year — Christ-
mas, Easter, Whitsunday and the middle of
September; during the intermission that occurred
the communicants walked to New York for that
purpose. Previous to their departure they always
collected the young children, and left them in
the care of the friends who remained at home.
The Huguenots were very solicitous In the do-
mestic education of their children. In the com-
mon sitting room of most houses, the mantle-
piece was finished with Dutch tiles, containing
chiefly the history of the New Testament, and
the Parables; they used these object lessons with
excellent effect, in connection with verbal train-
ing.
The first minister of the French Reformed
Church in New Rochelle appears to have been
43
NEW ROCHELLE
the Rev. Daniel Bondet, although there are some-
reasons for supposing that the Rev. Thauvet
Ecotonneau occupied that position.
The year of the Rev. Daniel Bondet's set-
tlement at New Rochelle was 1700. At iirst he
used the French Prayers according to the Protes-
tants Churches of France, but in 1709, his con-
gregation unanimously, with the exception of
two individuals, followed the example of their
French Reformed brethren in England and New
York, by conforming to the English Church.
Upon this conformity we find the venerable
Propagation Society making an allowance to the
Rev. Daniel Bondet, and directing him to use
Liturgy of the Church of England.
Governor Ingoldsby issued the following
order or license empowering the inhabitants to
erect a new Church.
"By ye Honorable Richard Ingoldsby, Esq.
her majesties Lieutenant Governor and Com-
mander-in-chief of ye province of New York and
44
NEW ROCHELLE
New Jersey, To ye Rev. Mr. Daniel Bondet
minister, Chaplain Oliver Beesley, Mr. Isaac
Vallian, Dr. John Neuille, Joseph le Villian, and
ye other inhabitants of ye town of New Rochelle,
in ye county of Westchester, communicants of ye
Church of England, as by law established, greet-
ing: Whereas, I am informed of your pious de-
sign to build a Church for the worship and ser-
vice of God, according to ye form and manner
prescribed by the Liturgy of the Church of Eng-
land, and have been applied to for lycense to
erect it on ye public street. I have thought fit,
and do hereby give leave and lycense to you to
erect such building in such convenient place of
ye street, as ye shall think most proper, provid-
ed ye breadth of such Church do not exceed thir-
ty foot. And further I do authorize and empow-
er you to receive and collect such sums of mon-
ey and other help, as charitable people shall be
disposed to contribute to the good work.
Given under my hand and seal at New York,
45
NEW ROCHELLE
this 20th. day of March, 1709, and of her maj-
esties reign ye ninth year."
"Richard Ingoldsby"
Church erected in 1710-11 was constructed of
stone, and formed nearly a square, being perfectly
plain, within and without. The foundation stone
was laid by Governor Hunter; and the people
were so enthusiastic that even the women carried
stones in their hands, and mortar in their aprons,
to complete the work.
On February 7th 1714 Queen Annie of
England was pleased to grant and confirm the
new Church, and the ground whereon it stood.
During the incumbency of the Rev. Michael
Houdin, Trinity Church, New Rochelle, receiv-
ed her first charter from King George III.
Queen Annie in 1706, presented to Trinity
Church a large chalice and paten; this beautiful
service, was many years since deposited in the
vaults of Tiffany, Mahattan. The Queen also
presented a Church Bible, Book of Homilies, and
NEW ROCHELLE
cloth for the pulpit and communion table.
About the same time, two small chalices were
presented by a member of the Davenport family.
On the 28th of February 1808, the Presby-
terian Church was incorporated under the title of
the "French Church of Nev/ RocheJle./* proving
-conclusively that many of the Huguenots did
not enter the Episcopal fold; this congregation
"was at iirst attached to the Bedford presbytry.
There is a tradition that one of the old Hugue-
nots would daily repair to Bounefoy's or BaufFet's
Point, the place where the Huguenots first land-
ed, and turning his eyes in the direction in which
he supposed France was situated, would sing one
of Marot's hymns, and send to heaven his morn-
ing devotions. Frequently his friends joined
him in these pious remembrances of their God,
and their beloved country, from which they had
been so cruelly driven.
The Huguenots opened the road from New
Rochelle to White Plains, this road seperated
47
NEW ROCHELLE
their farms into two sections, distinQ-uished as
the eastern and western division.
The land was originaJly laid out in parallel.,
narrov/ strips, containing each from fifty to sixty
acres. Some of the early settlers purchased
double lots, and a very few from eight to ten^^
containing four or five hundred acres in all.
The lower p^rt of the town, designated as the
southern division, was laid out in a similar man-
ner, the lots extending from the south side of
the Boston Turnpike to the Sound. Am.ong
those in the west division, were the Drakes^
Badeaus and the Secors. In the east division
the Le Counts, Soulices, Scurmans and Bonnetts,
And in the southern division the Guions, Rhine-
landers and Flandreaus.
The refugees escaped from France, w^ith only
a few articles concealed about their persons; the
woman hiding their smxall bibles in their high
dressed hair. Their farms were not paid for
until after many years of toil, rigid econom.y and
NEW ROCHELLE
£rm reliance in the All Powerful One^
"What sought they thus afar,
Bright jewels of the mine ?
The wealth of war, the spoil of seas ?
They sought a faiths pure shrine."
This ceaseless toil and endeavor, developed
still further their already well-rounded characters,
and placed them among the noblest of our
national pioneers.
A descendant of one of "these men of sterl-
ing worth" has recorded his name on Boston's
great Kail. Peter Faneuil a native of the "Town
of New Rochelle," went to Boston in the year
1720, at the age of eighteen; his uncle Andrew
Faneuil, was a wealthy merchant of that place, and
Peter obtained employm.ent with him, and inherit-
ed his fortune. In 1740 the people of Boston
were divided in opinion upon the question of the
erection of a new Central Market Hall, and much
bitter feeling was aroused. Thereupon, Peter
Faneuil, actuated by public spirit, erected Faneuil
NEW ROCHELLE
Hall, and presented it to the City.
During the Revoiutionar)' War New Ro-
chelle appears to have endured her share of suffer-
ing from the incursion of the enerny, and their
emissaries. On the i^th of October, Lord
Howe, the British commander, took post in the*
village, General Washington occupying the in-
termediate heights between the two rivers the
enemy was joined by the second division of
Germans, under the command of General Knvp-
hausen, and by an incomplete regiment of caval-
ry from Ireland, some of which had been captur-
on their passage.
The Scotch Highland battalion occupied
the heights of New Rochelle. From this place
both armies moved toward White Plains, on the
25th of October, 1776. On the 29th of January
1777, General Wooster's division was ordered to
New Rochelle.
At the east end of the village a severe skir-
mish took place between a body of American
50
NEW ROCHELLE
light horse, under Colonel Moyland, and the
Queen's Rangers, commanded by Lieut Colonel
Simcoe. In this affair, Colonel Moyland greatly
distinguished himself, by beating oif the enemy,
and making good his retreat to Greenwich.
During the War, the entire coast suffered sev-
erely both from the enemy's shipping and the
incursions of the whale boat-men.
Shortly after our Country's strugle for Inde-
pendence the State Government conveyed to the
notorious Thomas Paine, a large tract of land in
the eastern division of New Rochelle, for services
he had rendered during the War. Paine came to
this Country under the auspices of Franklin,
Rush and other prominent people. In 1774 he
composed his first song, followed soon after by
"Common Sense, ""Crisis, ""The Age of Reason,"
etc. Paine was a companion of Robespierre,
and was on the trial of the Innocent Louis. Lie
several times escaped a miserable death, and
spent a large part of his time in the New Rochelle
_
N E Vv^ R O C H E L L E
house, but at one period lived in a house that
stood not far from Prince and Marion Streets, N.
Y., he was invariably seen sitting before an old
table, on v/hich stood a jug of spirituous liquors.
Paine died on the 8th of June 1809, aged
72 years and 5 months. His body was brought
up from New York, and interred on his farm; his
bones were afterward disinterred by William
Cobbett, and taken to England for exhibition.
Som.e authorities assert that the remains were re-
interred in the original ground, and others with
equal certainty, claim that after the death of
Cobbett, a box of human bones v/ere found
among his goods and chattels. In the early four-
ties, Paine's friends purchased the site of his sup-
posed grave, and erected a handsome monument
to his m.emorv, to which for a long period they
made an annual pilgrimage.
Many of the towns in Westchester County
owe their very existance to the railroads, but not
so with New^ Rochelle, nearly two hundred years
NEW ROCHELLE
before railroads were even thought of, the town
was occupied by a prosperous community.
The Churches in the tov/n are commodious
and every way attractive; the Episcopalians were,
after the Huguenots, the first to erect buildings,
followed by the Presbyterians in 1754, the Meth-
odists in 1 79 1, the Baptists in 1849, ^'^^ Roman
Catholics in 1850 and later by the Lutheran and
Colored Congregations.
Among New Rochelle's literati may be men-
tioned. Rev. Dr. C. W. Bolton, Rev. Mr. Cane-
dy, V/illiam Leggett, an able journalist, who
died at the early age of 37, Frederick Remington,
artist and author, etc.
The islands off the coast are picturesque and
useful; David's Island has been used by the
Government for military purposes since 1861.
Starin's Glen Island is a popular resort and
is connected with the mainland by trolley and
steamboat.
The Young Men's Christian Association has
53
NEW ROCHELLE
located in the Roval Arcanum Building, "is dif-
ferentiated form m.erely recreative, educational, or
ethical movements, by its pervading spiritual
intent, and its aggressive religious activity." Its
work at Fort Slocum, David's Island, among the
soldiers has received unsolicited testimonials from
both officers and men.
The New Rochelle Exchange for Women's
Work, was founded in 1891, for the purpose of
aiding reduced gentle women who shrink from
ordinary charity, but are thankful for opportuni-
ty to help themselves. The Rooms are at 295
Main Street.
The New Rochelle Public Library, founded
April, 1893. Chartered July 5, 1894, is nicely
located in the Masonic Tem.Dle, Main Street.
The Library is under superior managem^ent, and
is exerting a pov/erfal educational influence.
A beautiful monument erected in 1895 ^7
the Patriotic Citizens of the City in memory of
those v/ho fought in the War of Secession for
._ _ __
NEW ROCHELLE
"One Flag and One Country" is most advanta-
geously placed at the divergence of the two roads
near the Presbyterian Church.
New Rochelle was incorporated as a City by
act of the legislature of 1899, which received the
Governor's signature on the 24th day of March.
The first City election was held April 18, 1899.
The city government was organized the 25th day
of April 1899.
All the fraternal societies are represented.
The schools are numerous and well conducted by
competent teachers, and the old town promises to
attain the distinction of it's prototype: —
"Proud City of the Waters."
55
r-4EW YOP
PUBLIC L
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Jtivi'v
Vol. 1. MARCH 1902 No. 3
LITTLE VISITS
HISTORICAL
POINTS IN
WESTCHESTER
COUNTY
PART THREE
BT
AN AUTHORITY
TARRYTOWN i
MAMARONECK, N. Y. • PUBLISHED
^rTHE RICHBELL PRESS - M C M I I
Copyrighted 1 902
BY
J. WALLACE CLAPP.
The Richbell Press • J. Wallace
Clapp • Mamaroneck • N. Y,
LITTLE F I S LT S TO
HISTORICAL POINTS IN
WESrCHESrER COUNTY
TARRYTOWN
jHE chieftaincies of Westchester Coun-
ty are capable of tolerably exact geog-
raphical location. The entire county
south of the Hudson River Highlands^
was occupied by chieftaincies of the
Wappinger division of the Mohicans.
One of their villages was Alipeonek
the "place of the elms" now Tarrytown.
Tarrytown is pleasantly situated in the lap
of the Greenburgh hills, overlooking the Hudson
at the widest point of the Tappan Zee, which is
here nealy three miles across
57
TARRYTOV/N
Tarwe town, was the name given to this
locahtv by the first white settlers from the old
Dutch word tan^e (wheat) i.e. "the wheat town ,"
probably so called from the abundant culture of
that grain in this vicinity.
The first Frederick Philipse bought of the
Indians several large tracts of land on the Hud-
son in 1 68 1, (confirmed in 1683.) the Pocantico
tract, covering the territory around Tarrytown.
Dr. David Cole, in his historical discourse
delivered at the second centennial of the old
Dutch Church of Tarrytown, October 11, 1897
after fixing upon 1683 as the year when Philipse
removed to Tarrytown, says "that he found there,
at that early date, a small commiunity already
gathered." The first dwellings appear to have
been erected near the water's edee, for the con-
venience of shipping, which found here a fi^ne
natural harbor. Philipse found the old srave-
yard, now knov/n as Sleepy Hollow Cemetery as
old as the settlement; it is believed to have been
TARRYTOWN
Started as early as 1645, ^^^ ^^^^ ^^ ^^^ ^^ ^^ three
graves by 1650, and fifty by 1675, ^^'^ ^^^^
hundred and eighty by 1700.
Evidently Tarrytown and the country round
about, belong to the oldest settled locations of
the County.
Philipse erected a mansion on the Pocan-
tico which was known as Castle Philipse, * this
structure was substantially built, and carefully
fortified to resist attack, its walls were pierced
v/ith port and loop holes for cannon and musket-
ry. The building of Castle Philipse appears to
have been immediately followed by the arrival of
tenants and the settleing of farms.
The settlement grew to such an extent that
'i^Mr. William F. Minnerly, well known in Tarrytown
as a builder, states that in 1864 he was employed to make some
alterations in the old (Pocantico) Manor House. One was in
taking down the chimney which was very large. In the secoid
story he found that a room about four feet square had been built
in the chimney to be used as a smoke-house for smoking meat.
59
TARRYTOWN
The number of bricks in this chimney was a marvel. They
had all been brought from HoUand, and landed on the north
shcre of the Pocanrico, very near the old mill, one of the pro-
mixient objects on the manor. The portion of the chimney
taken down was relaid with the bricks, five feet breadth, sixteen
inhces deep, to the same height as before, and a nevv" partition
bulk, fifteen feet long and nine feet high. The remainder of
the bricks that came out of the chimney- for strange to say there
was a remainder, and a large one, too- Mr. Minnerly bought,
and with them he filled in a new house, twenty-two feet front
by tw-enty-eight feet deep, and two stories high, and found
them amply sufficient for the purpose. The bricks were so
hard that when the masons who did the work wished to cut them
they were obliged to use a hatchet. In size, each brick was an
inch and a quarter thick, three and one half inches wnde, and
seven inches long Scharf, i i., 309.
Philipse deemed himself under obligations to
provide the people with suitable opportunities for
religious worship. His first wife, Margaret, and
his second wife, Catherina, were also greatly in-
terested in the work. The result was, the build-
ing of the Reformed Church of Sleepy Hollow,
6^
TARRYTOWN
one of the most noted of old religious edifices in
America. It is supposed that Philipse com-
menced to build this church as early as 1684; the
bell was cast to order in 1685. But according to
records now in existance it v/as not until 1697
that the church organization was effected; and a
minister, the Rev. Guiliam BertholfF summoned.
The tablet over the door of the church states
that it was built in 1699, but presumedly this
tablet was not put up until the completion of the
structure, making no mention of the time at
which it was begun. Frederick Philipse was a
worshipper within its walls, and was buried in a
vault beneath it, which was prepared expressly
for his family.
The church is constructed of gneiss and
granite, found in the neighborhood, this stone
will not disintegrate for many generations; while
the solid oak beams are as free from decay, as
though placed but yesterday; the bricks used in
the building were brought from Holland, as the
_
TARRYTOWN
pioneer Dutchmen had no facilities for making-
bricks. The door of the church now faces the
west; but previous to 1837, it opened more to
the southeast.
The bell which i& suspended in the turret of
the church, is small and peculiarly shaped, it was.
cast in old Amsterdam, in 1685 and presented to
the society by Frederick Philipse.
Inscribed on the bell is this sentence:
"Amsterdam^ 1685, Si Deus pron'obis quis
CONTRA NOS."
(If God be for us, who can be against us.)
In 1697 Jan Ecker, became the first deacon;
and at the same time the Rev. William BartholiF,
of Hackensack, New Jersey, the first settled
minister. In the church annals he is described
as "the learned and Godly Dominus Guilliaume"
This pastor came from Hackensack three or four
times annually to preach in Sleepy Hollow, con-
^>.'^^#^ng there as dominie until 171 5. The pre-
^■^'%^ent pastor is the Rev. John Knox Allen, of the
—
'Va ,
T A R R Y T O W N
First Reformed Church of Tarrvtown. The old
church is open Sunday afternoons from August
to November.
The tvvo Reformed churches of Tarrytown
had charge of the bicentennial of the Sleepy
Hollow church, v/hich was observer on Sunday
and Monday, October tenth and eleventh, 1897,
Friends and Strangers from all parts of the
country, were drav/n to this region to participate
in the commemorations. The two hundredth
anniversary, was in recognition of the year 1697
w^hen the Dutch Association called its first
minister and in honor of the two centuries and
over, which have looked upon the building.
"On Sunday morning the Rev. Mr. Allen
began the services in the First Fvefcrmed Church
by preaching a sermon appropriate to the
occasion. In the afternoon the observance was
continued in the Sleepy Hollow structure. In
this building an old time ceremony was held,
with the selected choir accompanied by a vio-
TARRY TOWN
loncello. The church will barely accommodate
two hundred, but it was crowded to its fullest
capacity, while some who could not gain an
entrance, occupied the windows, and others
v/andered about the old cemetery, endeavoring
to decipher the verses on the lichencovered head-
stones. In the evening an address by Hamilton
W. Mabie attracted a crowd to the First Re-
formed Church. All day Monday the Sleepy
Hollow church was open to the public. The
church had been somewhat repaired for the
celebration; v/hile the architect in making the
changes, had been careful to follow the original
lines of the building. The celebration closed
on Monday evening, when a large assembly
gathered in Music Hall, Tarrytown. A chosen
choir rendered the national anthem of Holland.
-Mr. Edgar Bacon read an original poem, and
the principal address was delivered by Colonel
(now President,) Theodore Roosevelt, himself
a member of the Dutch Reformed Church."
TARRYTOWN
The old cemetery begins at the church, the
tomb stones having been imported from Flolland,
while on the hill sloping to the north is continued
the newer part; on the eastern side of this beautiful
necropolis the land falls precipitately to the
channel of the Pocantico, and then abruptly rises
to Tarrytown Heights, at a considerable altitude
above. The western section of the cemetery
forms a gradual slope to the shore of the Hudson,
visions of whose broad stream may be caught
through the trees. This burial place Vv^as first
styled the Tarrytown Cemetery, but v/as finally
changed to the Sleepy Hollow Rural Cemetery.
Here are interred many persons of note: —
Christopher Collins, the first man who planned
the Erie Canal; General Adam Badeau, a member
of General Grant's staff, as well as his private
secretary and historian, also the author of several
exceedingly interesting books; Henry B. Dawson,
the historian, and many others. Near the
western gate of the cemetery stands the monument
TARRYTOWN
erected in remembrance of those volunteers of the
civil war who were sent out from this vicinity;
about thirty of whom are now sleeping in the
plot, in whose centre now stands their
memorial.
In another part of the cemetery is a
substantial cenotaph of Quincy granite, placed here
to honor the soldiers who fought in the Revolu-
tion; it is located in that part of the cemetery
known as Battle Hill, because in 1779 the
Continental troops formed a redoubt at this point
and posted a battery to command the Albany post
road below. A section of these earthworks has
been allowed to remain undisturbed. In this
vicinity are interred the remains of General
Daniel Delavan, who was a staunch friend of
both Washington and Lafayette. Near by is
the grave of Washington Irving, a new headstone
has been erected, the first stone being ruined by
people who chipped it to pieces for mementos;
it bears this inscription.
66
T
A
R
R
Y
T
O
W
N
^
WASHINGTON IRVING
BORN
APRIL 3. 1783.
DIED
NOVEMBER 28, 1859,
On almost any pleasant day throughout the
year lovers of the great genius come on pilgrim-
ages to his grave. Just below Tarrytown is Irving-
ton, and passing over tuppenny bridge, we arrive at
Sunnyside Lane, which turns west from the more
travelled thoroughfare, and leads in the direction
of the Hudson; at the end of the lane is a low
stone structure of the Dutch style of architecture;
over the main porch is this inscription.
ERECTED ANNO 1650
REBUILT BY
WASHINGTON IRVING
ANNO 1835.
GEO. HARVEY, ARCHITECT
67
T A R R Y T O V/ N
This was Washington Irving's home trom
1835— 1859, twenty-four vears. "The outlook
from the place aitords a fine panorama of
the Hudson, upon which one's eyes may dwell
with contentment from morning till evening."
Two nieces of Irving, who were with himi at
the timiC of his death occupied the property until
1897, when the estate passed into the hands of
Mr. Alexander Duer Irving, a grand-nephew of
the author.
Washington Irving's genial nature was a
magnetic force, quickly drawing all hearts to him,
consequently he was a great favorite in the neigh-
borhood gatherings. He had a decided pre-
ference for childrens parties.
James Kirke Paulding the author, and
secretary of the navy under Martin Van Buren,
lived in Water Street Tarrytown, the house al-
through in a very dilapidated condition was
standing in 1888.
With Washington Irving, and his brother
68 ~ ~ ~
TARRYTOWN
William, Paulding was a collaborator on
"Salmagundi," the new world "Spectator,"
begun by them in 1807.
Next to the Second Reformed Church on
the east side of Broadway was the Jacob Mott
place, the old Mott house was destroyed in 1897,
that the Washington Irving High School might
be erected on its site. This old house is said to
have been the home of Katrina Van Tassel, when
courted by Ichabod Crane, although at one time
Katrina lived in the house in which Washington
Irving afterwards bestowed the title of Sunny-
side. Irving relates in "Wolfert's Roost," that
one Van Tassel occupied the Dutch mansion,
and that the interior of the building was burned
in the war by a company of British soldiers, who
left only the stone shell remaining. The build-
ing has been further honored by the fact that
Washington once went there in the Revolutionary
days, to visit a wounded soldier.
Previous to Irving's death he had been a
_ _ _^
TARRYTOWN
member for eleven years of Christ's Episcopal
Church in Tarrytown. His long remembered
obsequies were held in this church of which he
had been for sometime an honored warden.
"From Christ's Church, the funeral procession
moved up Broadway toward the Sleepy Hollow
Cemetery, followed by a great concourse of his
friends. It was the first day of December; yet
the air was filled with genial sunshine so warm,
that the villagers could not but liken it to the
character of their sleeping friend and neighbor.
Just before reaching the grave, the procession
crossed the Sleepy Hollow bridge, which was
heavily draped with black, thus recognizing the
pen which had given it distinction.
On April third, 1883 the centennial of
Irving's birth was celebrated in the Second
Reformed Church, by the Washington Irving
Association of Tarrytown. Judge Noah Davis
presided, and among those who gave addresses
were Donald G. Mitchell and Charles Dudley
70
TARRYTOWN
Warner. Letters were read from John G.
Whittier, George William Curtis, John Jay,
Governor Cleveland and others of prominence:
During the centennial, Sunnyside was opened
for inspection, and was thronged for a number
of days by eager visitors."
Excepting the seizure of Major Andr'e,
Tarrytown did not perform an active part in the
Revolution, as did some adjacent villages. Still
the inhabitants here devoted all their strength to
sustain the American cause. General Howe, in
speaking of the Hollanders along the Hudson,
said in 1777. "I can do nothing with this
Dutch population; I can neither buy them with
money, nor conquer them with force." Governor
William Tyron of Nev/ York was so incensed at
what he considered the perverse patriotism of
the people of Tarrytown. that he proposed burn
ing their village. Providentually his commands
were never executed.
Both American and British troops march-
_
TARRYTOWN
ed and countermarched throus[h Tarrvtown
and at different times were encamped upon its
heights. The allied troops of V/ashington and
Roahambeau marched through Tarrytown in
July 1 78 1, to threaten the British in New York.
In his diary for July 2d of that year, Washing-
ton v/rites of this march: "I made a halt at the
church (Sleepy Hollow) by Tarrytown, till
dusk."
The Action at Tarrytown, as it is called,
occurred on the 15th of this month. While two
British sloops, two tenders and one galley were
sailing up the Hudson towards West Point, they
saw coming towards them from^ the north two
American Sloops; these were loaded with valua-
ble stores of powder and cannon. To prevent
the enemy from seizing these supplies, the
Americans ran in to Tarrytown hoping to unload
a part of tTi^ stores with expedition. Unfortu-
nately, the sloops were grounded in the harbor.
Only a sergeant's guard, were then at Tarrytown;
72
T A R R Y T O ^A^ N
but Coloricl Sheldon's mounted dragroons were
rapidly hurried up from Dobb's Ferry, and began
unloading the vessels; the enemy soon came
.abreast of the scene^ opened fire, and despatched
mmboats and barges to destroy the American
sloops. Then began a fierce hand to hand
•Struggle, in which the British fired our vessels, b-ut
'the Americans extinguished the fire, gallantly
driving oft the enemy and saving the boats and
the stores. Washington publicly thanked the
Americans for their splendid behavior in this
encounter. On the western wall of the main
railway station at Tarry town is a bronze tablet,
unveiled July 15, 1899, by the Sons of the
Revolution, to comimemorate this event o^ J^ly
15, 1781.
During the Revolution the old Jacob Mott
house was occupied by Elizabeth Van Tassel, as
a tavern.
There was also another tavern a little east of
Tarrytown. The proprietress was Mistress Betty
TARRY TOWN
Flanagan, who is so humorously characterized in
Fenimore Cooper's "Spy." To the novelist we
are indebted for the information that Betty origi-
nated the drink known as "the cocktail.'^
Prospect Hill, the highest point of land in
or near Tarrytown, was a watch-tov/er for the
Americans throughout all the conflict with
England; and from its elevation Washington
observed the British war vessels on the
Hudson.
But the most important event occurring in
this vicinity during the Revolution was the in-
terception and arrest of Major John Andrei
Andre' had been long negotiating with the
American general, Arnold, to put the British
general, Clinton, in possession of West Point.
This post was and is a beautiful place lying on
the west bank of the Hudson, a little below
where it breaks through the chain of mountains
called the Highlands. Great importance had
always been attached to this post by the Ameri-
_
TARRYTOWN
cans, v/ho had fortified it at great labor and
expense. The British also appear to have
appreciated the importance of this post, and it
is probable that the purchase of it had been
arranged with Arnold some months prior to the
detection of the plot.
It was when Washington marched to
Kingsbridge with a view to the attempt on New
York and when he had mustered under him every
man who could carry a musket, that he placed
Benedict Arnold in command of a corps of
invalids at West Point. The commander-in-
chief had offered Arnold a position suitable
to his rank and reputation in the army, but
under various pretexts he declined acceptance as
the negotiations for the surrender of West Point
had already commenced.
Soon after this Washington, leaving Gener-
al Green in command of the main army, in
concert with the French naval and military com-
manders met at Hartford on the Connecticut
T A R R Y T O W N
river to consult on their future joint operations^
This was on the lyth of September 1780. The-
British commander had now become sensible that
no timxC v7as to be lost, as most probably Wash-
mgton on his return trorn Hartford would assume
the command m person at West Point, Andre'"
was accordingly dispatched in the sloop of war
Vulture, to hold a personal conference with
General Arnold. The Vulture ascended the
Hudson river on tiie 20th as far as Teller's
point, and cam.e to anchor at the mouth of
Harvestraw bay. Arnold had designated the
spot where the meeting w^as to take place and
the commander of West Point lay concealed
among the bushes and trees. Here the spy and
the traitor, matured their plans.
On the evening of September 22, 1780.
Major John Andre', under the assumed name of
John Anderson, crossed the river, mounted a
horse which was in waiting, and took the road
leading to Pine's bridge.
' ^6
TARRYTOW N
Tradition says that Andre'; having started
from Pine's bridge was advised to follow the road
to White Plains and thence south to the British
lines. Kad he acted under these directions,
perhaps he v/ould have reached the British
army in Nev/ York with the valuable draw-
ings of West Point in his possession. But upon
learning that more British sympathizers were
likely to be met with on the Tarrytown read he
changed his course, and v/as soon confronted by
his captors. Judging from the appearance of
Andre', they concluded that no ordinary person
had fallen into their power.
On this fated morning some of the inhabi-
tants of Tarrytown had by agreement proceeded
to the neighborhood of a small brook, now called
the Andre' brook, to prevent cattle being driven
down towards Nev/ York, and to seize as a loyal
prize any such cov/s or oxen as might be destined
for his majesty's troops by their friends. This
TARRYTOWN
patriotic band of seven'" had volunteered of their
own account to go upon ti'iis expedition the day
previous September 22, 1780. Up by times the
next morning, tlie party followed the v/indings
of the Saw Mill valley, and from thence to the
hill immediatelv above Tarrvtov/n. Here it was
agreed that three of their num^ber;, Paulding, Van
Wart and David Williams, should go below,,
while the remaininor four should v/atch the road
above. The upper party were stationed east on
the hill above the lower party, the latter being
concealed in the bushes near the post road.
Presently one of the young men exclaimed,
"there comes a gentlem^an-like lookmg rnan who
is well dressed and has boots on, let us step
out and stop him; on that, Paulding got up
and presented, his firelock and told him to stand,
at the samie time asking him which way he was
going and his name; he replied' "Gentlemen I
^John Yerks, Isaac See, James Romer, Abraham Williams,
John Paulding, Isaac Van Wart and David Williams.
78
TARRYTOWN
•am John Anderson, going below on important
business I hope you belong to our prcrty."
Paulding asked him. what party." He answer-
ed "the lov/er party/' Andre' then show-
ed his pass from Benedict Arnold, and said
'^'Gentlemen ^^ou had best let me go, for
your stopping me will detain the General's
business. "Upon this the three young m^en took
Andre' into the bushes, and ordered him to pull
off his clothes, which he did, but on searching
him narrowly they could not find any sort of
writings. They then told him to pull off his
boots, to which he seemed indifferent, but they
got one boot off, and searched in that boot and
found nothing. But there appeared to be some
papers in the bottom of his stocking next to
his foot, on which they miade him. pull his
stocking off, and found three papers wrapped
up. Mr. Paulding looked at the contents,
and said he was a spy. They then made him
pull off his other boot, and there they found
_
TARRYTOWN
three more papers at the bottom of his foot within
his stocking." Immediately Paulding, Williams
and Van Wart, hurried him about a mile north-
east from the scene of capture, to the old Lan-
drine house which is yet to be seen on Tarrytown
Heights. This structure was one of the points
of rendezvous while the Revolution continued:
After a brief halt Andre' v/as hastened inland to
North Castle, the nearest military post.
Aithrough Andre' offered his captors, his
horse, bridle and watch, besides a large sum of
money and any quantity of dry goods to let him
go, they spurned his offer, and avoiding the
roads hurried their prisoner v/ith all speed across
the fields to North Castle.
Upon the delivery of their prisoner, the
seven patriots returned to their different quarters
little imagining the importance of their prize.
More than a month afterwards (General Wash-
ington having recom.mended the captors to Con-
gress,) they received the following vote of thanks
8^
TARRYTOWN
from that body.
In Congress, November 3, 1780. Whereas
Congress have received information that John
Paulding, David Williams and Isaac Van Wart,
three young volunteer militia men of the State
of New York, did, on the 23 day of
September last, intercept Major John Andre',
adjutant general of the British army on his return
from the American lines in the character of a spy,
and notwithstanding the large bribes offered them
for his release, nobly disdaining to sacrifice their
country for the sake of gold, secured and con-
veyed him to the commanding officer of the
district, v/hereby the dangerous and traitorous
conspiracy of Benedict Arnold was brought to
light, the insidious designs of the enemy baffled,
and the United States rescued from impending
danger:
Resolved, that Congress have a high sense
of the virtuous and patriotic conduct of the said
John Paulding, David Williams and Isaac Van
_
TARRYTOWN
Wart. In testimony whereof, Ordered, that
each of them receive annually out of the public
treasury tv/o hundred dollars in specie, or an
equivalent in current money of these States,
during life, and that the board of war procure
for each of them a silver medal, on one side of
which shall be a shield with this inscription
"Fidelity" and on the other, the follov/ing motto
"Vincit omor patriae", and forward them to the
commander-in-chief, who is requested to present
the same, with a copy of this resolution, and the
thanks of Congress for their fidelity and the
eminent service they have rendered their country.
The State also gave each of the captors a
farm.
A remarkable incident is said to have be-
fallen the celebrated tulio or whitewood tree
under which Andre^ was captured. It was struck
by lightning on the same day that the intelligence
of General Arnold's death arrived at Tarry-
town. This tree was a fine specimen of the
TARRY TOWN
ancient forest, being twenty-six feet in circum-
ference, and one hundred and eleven feet in
height. It was while passing beneath this tulip
tree that Ichabod Crane, in his midnight career
toward Sleepy Hollow "suddenly heard a groan,
his teeth chattered, and his knees smote against
the saddle. It was but the rubbing of one huge
branch upon another, as they were swayed about
by the breeze."
President Van Buren while journeying
through Tarrytown suggested the propriety of
placing a monument on this spot to commemor-
ate the seizure of Major Andre^
An assocration was formed to take charge of
the monument and grounds. On Monday July
4, 1853 the corner stone of this monument was
laid. Addresses were delivered by Colonel
James A. Hamilton, son of Alexander Hamilton,
and Henry J. Raymond editor of the New York
Times. The monument was finally dedicated
on the succeeding yth of October; it was a simple
- — -—
TARRYTOWN
tapering monolite of native dolomite.
The side of the monument facing Broadway
was finished with a base-relief copied from A. B.
Durand's picture showing the search which dis-
closed the fatal papers in the spy's boots. This
base-relief is the work of Theodore Baur, and
was not placed until the monument was remodel-
ed. The south side has the following inscription:-
On This Spot
the 23rd. day of September, 1780, the Spy,
Major John Andre
Adjutant General of the British Army was
captured by
John Paulding, David Williams
and Isaac Van Wart,
all natives of this County.
History has told the rest.
The People of Westchester County, have erected
this Monument, as well to commemorate a great
Event, and to testify their high estimation of the
TARRYTOVVN
Integrity and Patriotism which rejecting every
temptation, rescued the United States from most
Imminent peril, by baffling the arts of a Spy, and
the plots of a Traitor.
Dedicated October 7th. 1853.
On the north side of the monument is a
quotation from the great chief:—
"Their conduct merits our warmest esteem. They
have prevented in all probability our suffering
one of the severest strokes that could have been
meditated against us" — Washington.
The approach to the monument on the west
side is artistic in conception and execution.
A citizen of Tarrytov/n— Mr. John Anderson
presented a life size statue of John C. Paulding,
said to be correctly delineated, and on September
23, 1 880 after the monument had been remodelled
and the statue placed upon the apex making the
total height 27 feet, and exactly one hundred
years after Major Andre' had yielded to the three
patriots, the inhabitants of Tarrytown were arous-
__ . _
TARRYTOWN
ed in the early morning by the booming of can-
non and the ringing of bells. The United States
vessel of war Minnesota was anchored near the
shore and answered the national salute of Battery
C of the 3d United States Artillery which occupi-
ed the crest of the hill immediately above the
village. The remodelled monument was about to
be unveiled. It was computed that nearly sixty
thousand people witnessed the celebration. A
procession led by General James W. Husted
finally arrived at the memorial; addresses were
delivered by exGovernor Samuel J. Tilden and
Hon. Chauncy M. Depew.
Surprise is sometimes expressed that Pauld-
ing invariably has the precedence of his fellow
captors, but this is easily accounted for when we
remember that he was the only one of the three
who could read writing, and therefore he was the
leader.
The first ncwsapper issued in this locality
was the Pocantico Gazette, dated September i,
_
TARRYTOWN
1 846. The present newspapers are the Tarry-
town Argus, and the Tarry town News.
The schools are superior in every respect,
Miss G. B. Peck's school elicits special notice.
The Tarrytown trolley road extends through
White Plains and Maniaroneck to New York,
thus connecting the Hudson with the Sound; it
is proposed to build a road through Sleepy
Hollow to Ossining.
The New York Central, and the New York
and Putnam have attractive stations, with foun-
tains, plants and well kept lawns.
As a place of residence I'arrytown has num-
erous attractions; its unrivaled location situated
as it is on the broadest part of the Tappan Zee,
with the beautiful village of Nyack on the oppo-
site shore, its partly natural and partly artificial
terraces asscending from the Hudson, so that the
town occupies the side of the hills, which in n^.any
places reach an altitude of five to six hundred
feet above the river level, its broad and well
TARRYTOWN
kept streets, its historical and literary atmosphere^
all combine to m.ake the town the home of wealth
and inteligence. It would require many pages to
give the names of distinguished people who have
located here to enjoy the superb scenery and
beautiful surroundings. Among those well
known are the Goulds, Chief Justice Noah, Rafael
JosefFy, Carl Schurz, Minna Irving, C. L. Tiffany^
¥/. G. Webb, John D. and W. H. Rockefeller.
Indeed it is difficult to stop writing of the
natural and artificial attractions of Tarrytown^,
they must be seen to be appreciated.
88
NEW vunr
Vol. i.
APRIL 1902.
No. 4
i^CiS
LITTLE VISITS
"~ TO
HISTORICAL
POINTS IN
WESTCHESTER
COUNTY
PART FOUR
BY
AN AUTHORITY
THE MANORS
OF WESTCHESTER CO.
t
iffiS
MAMARONECK, N. Y. • PUBLISHED
irTHE RICHBELL PRESS ■ M C M I I
'■^n 5*3^ C^itf
Copyrighted 1902
BY
T. WALLACE CLAPP.
The Richbell Press • J. Wallacs
Clapp ?vIamaroneck. N. Y.
LITTLE VISITS TO
HISTORICAL POINTS IN
WESTCHESTER COUNTY
THE MANORS OF
WESTCHESTER COUNTY
I HE Manor was a very ancient institu-
tion in Europe, commencing early in
the 9th century and continuing until
the close of the 13 th century. The
Manor was usually an independent
government, the Lord of the Manor
being a petty king not accountable to
any higher authority; by the statue o^ quia emptores
enacted in 1290 the erection of new Manors in
Great Britain was forever put to an end.
No grant of a feudal manor in Europe,
89 _.
MANORS OF Vv^ESTCHESTER CO-^
much less in America, ever carried with it a title;:,
the term Lord of a Manor is a technical one^
and means simply the owner, or possessor of a
manor — ^nothing more^ Vv'ithout exception the
proprietors of the manors in Amierica were per-
fectly plain, untitled gentlemen.
We sometimes hear the expression "to the-
manor born," V7hich means born to large estates,.
and presum.edly to refinement and intelligenceo
The right of Advowson v/as never in force in
America, although the proprietor invariably
erected a church, and influenced the tenants of
the manor religiously, as v/ell as otherwise; but
not being socmien in the full sense of the word,,
they follov/ed their own religious convictions
which were sometimes widely different from
those held by the reigning lord or proprietor.
The great original proprietorships in West-
chester County were only six in number, as
follows:- (i) Cortlandt Manor, the property of
Stephanus van Cortlandt, which went, after his
90
MANORS OF WESTCHESTER CO
death, to his children and was by them preserved
■'intract for many years; (2) Phiiipseburgh Manor.
founded by Frederick Philipse and retained as a
■whole by the Philipse family until confiscated in
'Revolutionary times; (3) Fordham Manor estab-
lished by John Archer, subsequently forfeited by
morteape indebtedness to Cornelius Steenwycl^
and by him and his wife willed to the Neither Dutch
Conp-rep-ation in New York which contimaed In.
sole ownership of it until the middle of the
1 8th century; (4) Mornsania Manor, the old
Bronxland built up into a single estate by Colonei
Lewis Morris, by him devised to his nephew"
Lewis Morris the younger, who had the property
erected into a mianor and whose descendants con-
tinued to own it entire for generations; (5)
Pelham Manor, originally established under
Thomas Pell, its first lord; (6) Scarsdale Manor,
the estate of Colonel Caleb Heathcote, v/hich for
the most part remained the property of his heirs
until sold by partition in 1775.
___ _
^MANORS OF WESTCHESTER CO-
MANOR OF CORTLANDT
Ducal ArrTi^. — Arg. a" lici? ranlpart, gu. crowned or, for Cour-
knd, charged GH the breast with an escutcheon, on which are
placed the arms o{ the reigning Duke, Supporters, — two liont
crowned^ or the v^hole \Tithin a mantle lined erin.ine, sur-
mounted with a cro-Vv'n.
Family Arnms. — -Arg. the wings or arms of a wind-mill, saltier-
ways sa. voided of the field, five estoiles gUo Crest, — ar
fstoile gu. betvreen tvVb wings eievsted arg.
Motto. ^ — Virtus sibi munns,
Stephanus v^n Cortkndt, the first lord of
!he Manor of Cortkndt, was th.& son of the Hon.
Oloff Stevensen van Cortlandt, immediately de-
scended from one of the most noble families in
Holland, their ancestors having emigrated thither^
when deprived of the sovereignty of Courland.*
Courland in Russia, formerly constituted a
portion of Lavonia, but was conquered by the
Tutonic Knights in 1561. It subsequently
became a fief of Poland. After the fall of that
*Burke's Gentry
92
MANORS OF WESTCHESTER CO.
power it remained for a short time independent
under its own Dukes, but in 1795 it was united
to Russia.*
In the early part of the 17th century we find
the Dukes of Courland engaged in the military
service of the United Netherlands. The house
of Courland was represented in 16 10 by the
Right Hon. Steven van Cortlandt father of the
previously mentioned Oloff Stevensen van Cort-
landt; early in the History of the Dutch occupan-
cy of this country he emigrated to New Amster-
dam, and was soon after his arrival advanced to
the civil department as commissary of cargoes; he
continued to hold many offices of trust until the
close of the Dutch government in New Nether-
land.
Under date of November 16, 1677 van
Cortlandt received from Governor Andros a
license authorizing him to acquire such lands on
the east side of the Hudson River "as have
^Schuitzler, La Russia, p. 585
MANORS OF WESTCHESTER CO.
not yet been purchased of the Indian proprie-
tors," "payment whereof to be made publicly at
the Fort or City Hall."
He did not begin to avail himself of this
privilege however, until six years afterwards, when
August 24, 1683 he bought from seven Indians,
"in consideration of the sum of twelve pounds
and several other merchandise," what is now
known as Verplanck's Point together v/ith an
adjacent tract extending eastward "being at the
entering of the Highlands just over against
Haverstraw."
Early in the sam.e year, July 13, 1683, van
Cortlandt purchased from the Indians a tract of
land of about fifteen hundred acres on the west
side of the Hudson.
The territory below Vcrplanck's Point was
originally bought from the Indians in part by
Cornelius Van Bursun of New Amsterdam, and
in part by Governor Dongan. Both Van Bursun*s
and Dongan's holdings were later sold to van
94
MANORS OF WESTCHESTER CO.
Cortlandt.
Thus Stephanus van Cortlandt became the
owner of nearly the v/hole of Westchester Coun-
ty along the Hudson, from Croton Bay to the
Highlands, and east, twenty miles both north
and south, to the Connecticut border. The area
of the van Cortlandt Manor in Westchester
County was 86,203 acres, and adding that to the
tract on the opposite side of the Hudson, aggre-
gated 87,703 acres.
On the 17th of June 1697 the whole was
established as the Lordship and Manor of Cort-
landt, by royal letters patent from Governor
Fletcher.
On the 14th of April 1700, the Hon.
Stephanus van Cortlandt, son of OlofF Stephanus
van Cortlandt, published his last will and testa-
ment. The said van Cortlandt died shortly after,
leaving eleven children, who by his will became
seized in fee of Cortlandt Manor, as tenants in
common. These children intermarried with the
95
MANORS OF WESTCHESTER CO.
de Peysters, de Lanceys, Beeckmans, Skinners,
Bayards, Johnstons and van Rensselaers. In
1730 the aforesaid children and devisees drew up
articles of agreement for the division of the
Manor. It was not however until November 4,
1734 that a final partition and division of the
Manor took place between the surviving children
of Stephanus van Cortlandt, when they gave to
each other releases in due form of law, the share
of each amounting to nearly 8,000 acres. One of
the eleven dying soon after, bequeathed his share
equally to his brothers and sisters.
The original townships carved out of this
.Manor were Cortlandt, Yorktown, Stephantown,
(now Somers) Salem, (now North Salem) Lewis-
boro and a third of Poundridge.
Cortlandt was the largest of the six Manors
of Westchester County. The Van Wycks of
Ossining, are said to have the partition papers in
their possession.
The manor house at the mouth of the
MANORS OF WESTCHESTER CO.
Croton River, supposed to have been built in
1683, is stiil standing, in a good state of preserva-
tion, and has always been occupied by some
member of the van Cortlandt family.
97
MANORS OF WESTCHESTER CO.
MANOR OF PHILIPSBURGH
Arms.— az. a demi lion rampart, rising out of a ducal coronet arg,
surmounted by a ducal coronet, or. Crest.— a demi lion ram-
part rising out of a viscount's coronet arg. surmounted by a ducal
coronet, or.
Motto:— Quod tibi vis fieri facias.
In the year 1658 Frederick Philipse emigra-
ted from East Friesland to New Netherlands,
carrying with him money, plate and jewels. Upon
his arrival he purchased a large estate and soon
became a wealthy merchant. His oldest son,
Frederick Philipse, Jr., born at Bbolsv/aert, East
Friesland, in 1656, became in course of time the
first lord of the Manor of Philipsburgh. Freder-
ick Philipse, Jr., in his first appearance as purcha-
ser of lands in Westchester County, acted as one
of three associates, combined to acquire all the
land they possibly could on the Hudson River.
By this arrangement he became owner, in
1672, of some 2,900 acres; but this was only an
initial venture in a series of land buying transac-
_ __
MANORS OF V/ESTCHESTER CO.
tions, at least eight in number, which continued
over a period of fifteen years, and when complet-
ed made him sole owner of the country from
Spuyten Duyvil to the Croton River, and from
the Hudson to the Bronx. His purchases were
as follows:- 1681, confirmed in 1683, the Pro-
cantico tract, covering the territory around Tarry-
town; 1682, confirmed in 1684, the Bissightick
tract, or Irvington; 1682, confirmed in 1684,
the Weckquaesgeck tract, or Dobbs Ferry; 1684,
confirmed in 1684, the Nepperhan tract, stretch-
ing from the north line of the present Yonkers to
the extremes of the manor, between the Sawmill
and Bronx Rivers; 1685 the equal thirds of his as-
sociates 1672 Thomas Delaval and Thomas Lewis
in the Upper Yonkers tract; in 1686 the Sint-
Sinck tract, or Sing Sing, which had been previous-
ly purchased and confirmed by Philip Philipse;
in 1687, the, Tappan Meadows, Rockland
County, and finally, previous to June 12, 1693,
the holdings of Betts, Tibbetts and Haddon in
99
355664^
MANORS OF WESTCHESTER CO.
the Lower Yonkers tract, together with the
island or flat of Papirinemen, now Kingsbridge.
"Frederick Philipse being now vested in the
fee simple, the whole territory was by royal
charter erected into the lordship and manor
of Philipsburgh, to be holden of the king, in free
and common soccage, its lord yielding, rendering,
and paying therefor, yearly and every year, on
the feast day of the Annunciation of the Blessed
Virgin Mary, at the fort in New York, the
annual rent of 4^. 12s."* The Royal Charter
of Philipsburgh, said to be one of the most
elaborate of ancient land deeds, was executed June
12, 1693. Shortly after this he erected a Manor
Hall in the upper purchase, and also a fine
building in the present Yonkers, called Castle
Philipse. Each house required from thirty to
fifty servents both black and white. Besides
these buildings he erected mills on the
Pocantico River, and also the stone church at
=^BoIton's Westchester, II. 418.
100
MANORS OF WESTCHESTER CO,
Sleepy Hollow, now known as the oldest church
edifice in Westchester County.
Frederick Philipse by his last will, bearing
the date December 9, 1702, devised his lands on
the Hudson to Frederick Philipse his grandson,
born in Barbadoes, "ye only son of Philip his
only son."
These lands continued in the possession of
Colonel Frederick Phillipse, until the year 1779,
when, having broken his military parole by not
returning to Yonkers, they became confiscated
to the people of New York State, and were sold
and conveyed by Isaac Stoutenburgh and Philip
van Cortiandt Commissioners of Forfeitures
appointed in pursuance of an act of the Legislature
of the State passed May 12, 1784, to sixty dif-
ferent parties; the largest buyer securing 750
acres.
In the progress of events, Colonel Philipse
abandoned his home, and took refuge in the City
of New York, and finally embarked for England.
lOI
MANORS OF WESTCHESTER CO,
The manor at that period, 1784.5 was valued at
13,500,000, but realty had no fixed value.
Philipse applied to the British government for
compensation and was ailov/ed a little over
§300,000. This last lord of the Manor of
Philipsburgh died, in Chester, England, in I78£,
102
MANORS OF WESTCHESTER CO
ANOR OF FORDHAM
John Archer purchased in 1667 of Van der
Donck and the Indians, several portions of land
aggregating 1,253 acres, afterwards known as the
Manor of Fordham, John Archer was not only
the founder of Fordham, but remained its prin-
cipal man and controlling spirit until his death.
On May 3, 1669, he received authority from
Governor Lovelace to settle sixteen families on
the mainland *^near the v/ading place." Between
the years 1669 and 1671 he leased various farms
about Fordham to tenants; but his financial affairs
became involved.
On September 18, 1669, he executed to
Cornelius Steenwyck of New Amsterdam a mort-
gage of 2,200 guilders; on November 14, 1671,
another for 7,000 guilders; and November 24,
1676, for 24,000 guilders. Archer being an
ambitious, progressive person obtained from
Governor Lovelace a royal patent consolidating
MANORS OF WESTCHESTER CO
his landed possessions into one complete property
"which was appointed to be an entire and enfran-
chised township, manor and place of itself," It
included the hamlet of Fordham, and was styled
Fordharn Manor. Its northern line began not
far from th.Q present Kingsbridge, where the
Spuyten Duyvil Creek bends due south merging
into the Harlemi River, and its southern line
started from a point on the Harlem belov/ High
Bridge; its eastern boundary was the Bronx.
As "acknowledgment and quit rent" for his
manorial patent Archer was to pay yearly "twenty
bushels of good peas, upon the first day of
March when it shall be demanded."
Fordham, already mortgaged two years before
its creation, and again mortgaged for a much
larger amount on the very day after the issuance
of the royal patent, never recovered from
the burden of indebtedness that lay upon
it. Moreover, at the end of the fifth year of its
existence, it became pledged beyond the hope of
104
MANORS OF WESTCHESTER CO.
redemption.
In Archer's mortgage of 1676 to Steenwyck,
all his rights in the Manor were transferred to
the latter, conditioned only upon the proviso
that, if, before the 24th of November 1683, he
should repay the amount borrowed at six per
cent yearly interest, he should re-enter as pro-
prietor. The debt was not discharged and
Steenwyck took the whole estate as his prop-
erty.
By the will of Cornelius Steenwyck and
Margaretta his wife drawn November 20, 1684,
they devised the Manor to "the Nether Dutch
Rcform.ed Congregation in the City of New
York." By that congregation it was preserved
intact, its lands being leased to various per-
sons, until 1755, when an act was passed per-
mitting the minister, elders and deacons of the
Church to sell the lands.
Archer is said to have been a contentious
man, being involved in many legal disputes
MANORS OF V/ESTCHESTER CO,
vAth his tenants and the neighboring landowners.
Upon one occasion the mayor's court in New
York acting upon a complaint from the people
of Fordham, that he had undertaken to govern
them by ''^rigour and force'' and, "had been at
several times the occasion of great troubles
betVv'ixt the inhabitants of the said tov/n/' admon-
ish him ^'to behave him.self for the future civilly
and quietlyj as he will ansv/er for the same at his
peril." By the mortgages the Manor was brought
under the jurisdiction of Manhattan Island.
Bolton says that 300 acres including the
manorial residence were, through the lib-
erality of Mrs. Steenwyck, who survived her
husband, exemxpted from the bequest to the
Dutch Church, and continued in the possession
of the Archers.
Archer suddenly expired in his coach while
journeying from the manorial residence to New
York City, and v/as interred "on Tetard Hill,
Fordham.
106
MANORS OF V/ESTCHESTER CO.
MANOR OF MORRISANIA,
Arms.— cru. a lion, rairiDant, ree-uardant or, cuarterlv, with three
tOTteaux, arg. Crest.— a castle in flames.
Motto.— Tandem yincitur.
The foundations of the preat Morris estate
were begun about 1670, when Captain Richard
Morris, an English merchant from Barbadoes,
purchased, in behalf of himself and his brother
Lewis, from Samuel Edsale, the old Bronxland
tract, consisting of 500 acres, which about
1639 was granted by the Dutch West India
Company to Jonas Bronck. It is an interest-
ing fact that this Bronxland tract is nov/ the
most thickly populated portion of Westchester
County.
On March 25, 1676, Governor Andros
issued to him a patent covering not only the
original 500 acres of Broncks, but some 1,420
adjoining acres in addition.
He lived on the Bronxland property until
107
MANORS OF WESTCHESTER CO.
his death In 1691, occupying a handsome res-
idence which was a place of liberal hospitality.
He left no descendants, his sole heir being his
nephew Lewis, the only son of his brother Richard.
As was the custom of the times Captain, or
Colonel, Morris owned a large number of slaves;
in his will he records over sixty negroes.
The Colonel vvas an intimate acquaintance
of William Penn, who had great influence over
him, and induced Morris to become a Friend;
the Colonel retained his Quaker convictions to
the last.
The nephew, young Lewis Morris, was a
gay youth, and his uncle referred to him in his will
with considerable severity, adverting to "his many
and great miscarryages and disobedience towards
my wife and me, and his causeless absenting him-
self from my house, and adhering to and advizing
with those of bad Hfe and conversation."
This graceless youth soon proved himself
eminently deserving of his fine inheritance.
108
MANORS OF WESTCHESTER CO.
Under him the Bronxland estate, and the adjoin-
ing 1,420 acres were converted into the Manor
of Morrisania, authority was given him to hold a
court leet, and court baron, "to exercise jurisdic-
tion over all waifs, strays, wrecks, goods or felons
happening or being within the manor limits."
Lewis Morris obtained letters patent from King
William III. on May 8, 1697, erecting the prop-
erty into a township to "be hoiden of the king
in free and common soccage, its lord yielding and
rendering therefore annually, on the Feast Day
of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary,
the rent of six shillings." Lewis Morris was a
man of strong convictions and had an especial
contempt for consequences where duty was at
stake; he rose to be one of the most distinguished
men of his time in America, holding many pro-
minent positions, those of Chief-justice of New
York, and Governor of New Jersey; giving his
name not only to the Manor, but also to Morris-
town, Nev/ Jersey, the elder Morris having
109
MANORS OF WESTCHESTER CO.
owned about 3,540 acres there. He died May
21, 1746. His successor was Lewis Morris, Jr.,
the third proprietor and second lord of the Manor
of Morrisania. He was the father of Colonel
Lewis Morris one of the signers of the Declaration
of Independence; Gouverneur Morris of the Su-
preme Court; Judge Richard Morris successor
to John Jay, as Chief-justice; and General Staats
Morris of the British Army.
The Town of Morrisania, by act of Legis-
lature, March 7, 1788, coincided with the Manor
of Morrrisania; by an act passed February 22,
1 79 1 it was annexed to the town of Westchester,
from which it was not again severed until Dec-
ember 7, 1855, and was finally annexed to New
York City in 1874.
1 10
MANORS OF WESTCHESTER CO.
THE MANOR OF PELHAM.
Arme.— ermine, on a canton, azure, a pelican or, vulncd gules.
Crest.— on a chaplet vert flowered, or, a pelican of the last
vulned gules. (Granted October 19th 1594.)
The founder of the house of Pell was John
Pell, Esq., of Norfolk County, England, Master
of the King's Cup, who married Margaret
Overend, daughter of William of Norfolk; he died
February 1607.
The name Pelham is of Saxon origin and
compounded of two words Pel, remote, and
nam, mansion.
The first Manor formed in the present
County of Westchester was owned by Thomas
Pell, and obtained by him partly by purchase
from the Indians, and partly by grant of Nov-
ember 14, 1654. It included an immense tract
of land originally embracing 9,166 acres extend-
ing from the eastern confines of CorneH's Neck,
and reaching to the Mamaroneck purchase of John
Richbell. Previous to Pell's purchase, in the
1 1 1
MANORS OF WESTCHESTER CO.
year 1642, Anne Hutchinson, to avoid the bitter
persecutions of the Puritans, fled here for protec-
tion, and commenced a plantation. Later Mrs.
Hutchinson and family consisting of sixteen
persons were all killed by the Indians. After
considerable legal contest Pell parted with all
that section of land below Hutchinson River, and
immediately turned his attention to the erection
of the remainder into one imposing estate.
This was accomplished by letters patent procured
from Governor Nicolls on October 8, 1666, a
document under which the first Manor of West-
chester County was organized. The boundaries
given it were Hutchinson River on the west, and
Cedar Tree Brook, or Gravely Brook, on the
east; and it was to include "all the Islands in the
Sound, not already granted or otherwise disposed
of, lying before that tract, and to run into the
woods about eight English miles in breadth."
The whole was declared to be "an enfran-
chised township, manor, and place by itself.**
1 12
MANORS OF WESTCHESTER CO.
and to be entirely free from the "rules, orders, or
directions of any riding, township, or townships,
place or jurisdiction, either upon the main or
upon the Island of Nassau," as Long Island
was then called. The proprietor was to pay an-
nually to the Duke of York, "one lamb upon the
first day of May if the same should be demanded."
Thomas Pell died in 1669, three years after
obtaining from Governor Nicolls the manorial
patent for his magnificent estate on the Sound,
stretching from Hutchinson River to Richbell's
Mamaroneck grant; tradition says that he perished
in a gale while upon a pleasure excursion in his own
yacht off City Island; and was buried in Fairfield,
Connecticut. His will, dated September 21, 1669,
bequeathed all his possessions, except certain per-
sonal bequests, to his nephew John Pell, then resid-
ing in England, the only son of his only brother
the Rev. John Pell D.D. John Pell the successor
of Thomas thus became the second Lord of the
Manor of Pclham. He arrived in America, and
_ __
MANORS OF WESTCHESTER CO.
entered into his proprietorship in the summer of
1670. On October 25, 1687, a new royal patent
ofPeiham Manor was issued to him by Governor
Dongan; the reason for this proceeding being, as
stated in the patent, that he desired a "more full
and firm grant and confirmation of his lands."
The bounds of the manor as specified in the new
instrument were precisely the same as those pre-
scribed in the Nicoll'* patent, but the dignities
attaching to the manorial lordship were somewhat
more elaborately defined, and, instead of paying
to the royal government as quit-rent, "one lamb
on the first day of May" as had been required of
Thomas Pell, he was to pay "twenty shillings
good and lawful money of this province" "on
the five and twentyeth day of March." He mar-
ried in 1685 Rachel, daughter of Philip Pinckney,
one pf the first proprietors of East Chester. He
resided on his estate and seems to have taken an
active part in the affairs of Westchester County
having been appointed by Governor Andros
114
MANORS OF WESTCHESTER CO.
August 27, 1688, the first judge of Westchester
County; serving as delegate from that County,
in the provincial assembly from 1691 to 1695.
He died in 1702. The most notable event of
John Pell's administration of his Manor, was the
conveyance by him through the celebrated Jacob
Leisler of 6,000 acres as a place of settlement for
the Huguenots, a transaction out of which resulted
the erection of the City of New Rocheilc.* By
this sale the Manor of Pclham embracing 9,166
acres was reduced to one-third of its original
dimensions. After this the Manor never enjoyed
a very conspicuous part among the great original
landed estates of Westchester Counry. But the
Manor was preserved as such, until the death of
the last "Lord" Joseph Pell in 1776. Pelham
Manor was incorporated as a village in 1891.
*See New Blochelle Little Visits.
__
MANORS OF WESTCHESTER CO.
MANOR OF SCARSDALE.
Heathcote Arms.- Ermine three pomeis, each charged with t
cross or. Crest.- A mural crown azure, a pomeis as in the arms,
between two wings displayed, ermine.
Motto.- Deus prosperat justos.
Colonel Caleb Heathcote firit lord of the
Manor of Scaradalc was a representative of the
ancient family of Heathcotes of Cheitcrfield,
Derbyshire, England. The Colonel came to
America in 1692, and the first year of hit
arrival attained a seat in the council.
On March 2iBt, 1701, letters patent for the
Manor of Scarsdale were issued to Caleb Heath-
cote by King William III. through his deputy
Lieutenant-Governor Nanfan. Its bounds are
not very clearly described in that document.
According to the spirit of the grant, its north-
ward projection was to be a distance of twenty
miles, as in the original Richbell patent; but
express proviso was made that no further title
should be given to Heathcote than that which he
__
MANORS OF WESTCHESTER CO.
"already hath to yc lands called ye White Plains,
which is in dispute between ye said Caleb Heath-
cote and some of the inhabitants of ye Town
of Rye."
In point ot fact Scarsdale Manor was always
limited at the north by the White Plains tract,
Heathcotc never having been able to legally
establish his claim to the disputed lands; the north-
ern line of the Manor followed the Mamaroneck
River from its mouth for about two miles, and
thence proceeded to the Bronx; at the west and
east it was bounded respectively by the Bronx and
the Sound; on the south it was bounded by lands
belonging to Cornelius Steenwyck. Caleb Heath-
cote, in buying from Mrs. Richbell her title to
most of the present Township of Mamaroneck and
other lands, embracing White Plains, Scarsdale
and A part of North Castle, paid for his acquisition
only £600, The quit-rent for the Manor of
Scarsdale was £^. current money of New York,
upon the Nativity of our Lord. Appended to
MANORS OF WESTCHESTER CO.
most of the quit-rent leases was the significant-
statement that the prescribed payment was to be
*4n lieu of all rents, services, and demands what-
ever;" apparently inserted to emphasize the v/cU
understood fact, that the manor grants were strict-
ly in the line of public policy, and were in no way
intended to become a source of revenue to the
government.
The influence exerted by Caleb Heathcote
wai manifested not only in his own Manor,
but elsewhere; he was frequently called upon to
arbitrate serious difficulties, and always decided
on the side of honor and justice; he was
a man of perfect honesty and openness, free from
all meanness, low craft, and servility; to the man-
liest of personal qualities he added brilliant abil-
ities, an extraordinary capacity for public affairs,
and an affability and grace of manner which made
him an object of general admiration and affection.
The Manor of Scarsdale patented by Colonel
Caleb Heathcote in 1701 had only a nominal con-
MANORS OF WESTCHESTER CO.
tinuance after his death, 1721. He left no male
heir to take a personal interest in the development
of the property, as one of the great family estates
of Westchester County. Caleb Heathcote's
daughters Ann and Martha married respectively
James de Lanccy of New York and Dr. Lewis
Johnston of Perth Amboy, New Jersey.*
The importance of the Manorial proprietor-
ships in Westchester County, in their relations to
its political and social character and to its eventful
history for a hundred years, cannot be overesti-
mated. All the founders of the six Manors were
men of forceful traits, native ability, and wide in-
fluence. With a single exception']*, they left their
estates, entirely undiminished and unimpaired, ei-
ther to children or immediate kinsmen, who in turn,
by their personal characters and qualities, as well
as by their marital alliances, solidified the already
*For further information on this subject see Rikeman's
History of Mamaroneck to be issued in the Fall.
yjohn Archer of Fordham.
MANORS OF V/ESTCHESTER CO.
substantial foundations which had been laid, and
greatly strengthened the social position and enlar-
ged the sphere of their families. To enumerate
the marriages contracted during the seventeenth
and eighteenth centuries, in the male and female
lines, by the van Cortlaiadts, the Philipses, the
Morrises, the Pells, and the descendants of Caleb
Heathcote, would involve almost a complete re-
capitulation of the most conspicuous and wealthy
New York families of the entire colonial period,
besides many prominent families of other
provinces. To the Westchester manorial families
belonged some of the most noted and influential
Americans of their times; men of shining talents,
fascinating manners, masterful energy, and splen-
did achievement; statesmen, orators, judges,
and soldiers, who were among the principal
popular leaders and civic officials of the province,
and who won renown both in public service and
in the field during the Revolution. Alike to the
patriot cause and the Tory faction these families
1 20
MANORS OF WESTCHESTER CO
contributed powerful and illustrious supporters.
The tenants in each case were controlled
largely by the proprietor, and thus an acute divi-
sion of sentiment and sympathies was occasioned
which, in connection with the unique geographical
position of this county in its relation to the
contending forces of the Revolution, caused it to
be torn by constant broils, and to be devastated
by innumerable conflicts and depredations."
121
CROTON AQUEDUCT ARCH, OSSINING.
Ct t\ fc-\\ , r\ w 7
Vol. I.
MAY IQ02.
No.
LITTLE VISITS
- TO
HISTORICAL
POINTS IN
WESTCHESTER
COUNTY
PJRT FIFE
BY
AN AUTHORITY
OSSINING and CROTON.
MAMARONECK, N. Y. • PUBLISHED
SrTHE RICHBELL PRESS - M C M I I
»'S w
Copyrighted 1902
BT
J. WALLACE CLAPP.
PUBLISHED THE FIRST OF
EVERY • MONTH • BY
The Richbell Press • J. Wallace
Clapp • Mamaroneck • N. Y.
T-'T^^o♦-£»/^ TiiUr >« -w
LITTLE FISirS TO
HISTORICAL POINTS IN
fFESrCHESTER COUNTT
OSSINING and CROTON.
HE Indian orthography of Ossining is
variously written; Sin Sing, Sin Sinck,
and Sink Sink the word is derived from
ossin, a stone, and ing, a place, or stone
upon stone; a name exceedingly charac-
teristic of this beautiful town, whose
coast is guarded by a vast munition of
rocks and ancient boulders.
At a^very early period Ossining constituted
a part of the possessions of a powerful Mohcgan
clan called the Sin Sing. April 22, 1643, ^P"
peared before the Dutch Director-General Kieft
122
OSSINING and CROTON
in Fort Amsterdam, Oratatrlm, sachem of Ack-
kin-kas-hacky, who declared he was deputed by
those of Tappan, Reekgawanck, Kitchawan,
Croton, and Sin Sing, to conclude a peace
with the Dutch in the following manner, viz.:
that all the injustices com^mitted by the said
nations against the Netherlanders, or by the
Netherlanders against said nations, shall be forgiv-
en and forgotten forever; they reciprocally promis-
ing one another to cause no trouble the one to the
other; but whenever the Indians understand that
any nation not mentioned in this treaty might be
plotting mischief against the Christians, that they
vv^ill give timely warning, and not admit such a
nation within their own limiits. To secure and
confirm this peace, presents were given on both
sides, while God is prayed to that this peace may be
duly observed by the Indians. August ^^y 1645
Aepjen, chief sachem of the Mohcgans, personally
appeared at Fort Amsterdam as a delegate to the
general council held there, in behalf of the
123
OSSINING and CROTON
Wappinecks, the Weckquaesqueecks, the Sin
Sing and the Kitchawan*
In the year A. D. 1653, the Sin Sing
appear to have been without a chief.
On the early Dutch maps of Van der Donck
1656, and Nicolaus Johannes Visschers 1659,
an Indian settlement, Kestaubuiuck, was placed
between Sin Sing and Kitchawan or Croton; it
was perhaps merely a small collection of wigv/ams,
as wc find no further mention of the name.
The first grantee, under the Indians ot
Ossining, was Frederick Philipse to whom on
August 24, 1685, they released "all that tract of
land or parcel of land situate, lying and being by
the northcrmost part of the land late purchased
by Frederick Philipse and so running alongst the
Hudson's river to the creek or river called
Kitchawan and called by the Indians Sin Sing,
with the use of half the said creek, and from
thence running up the country upon a due cast
*Dr. O. Callaghan's History N.N. p. 356.
124
OSSINING and CROTON
line till it comes to a creek called Nepperan, by
the Christian's Younckers creek, and so running
alongst said creek till it comes to the northerly-
bounds of the said land of Mr. Frederick Philipse,
and from thence alongst the said land till it
comes to Hudson's river together with/' etc., etc.
The grantors were: Weskenane, Crawman,
Wappus, Keanarham, Wennicktanon, Aquaincs,
Mam.annane, Weremenhore.
Here followeth the schedule or particular
of the goods paid by the grantee for the above
said lands.
50 feet black wampum, 12 blankets,
100 feet white wampum, 12 fathom stroudwater,
1 1 kettles, 50 Tbs. of powder,
12 large ditto, 30 bars of lead,
1 5 fathom trade cloth, 20 axes,
12 guns, 15 hoes,
15 shirts, 40 knives,
12 pair of stockings, 20 stone jugs,
2 ankers of rum, i iron chain,
125
OSSINING and CROTON
12 drawing knives, i rolls of tobacco,
6 adzes, 2 pistols.*
This Indian purchase was confirmed to his
son Philip Philipse by royal patent, dated Janu-
ary 12, 1686, under the hand and seal of his
Excellency Thomas Dongan, Governor of the
Province.
On the death of Frederick Philipse, in 1700
this portion of the Manor of Philipsburgh passed
by will to his second son Acolph Philipse, who
dying in 1749, the property became vested in
the Hon. Frederick Philipse, grandson of the
first owner. The last mesne lord was Colonel
Frederick Philipse with whose attainder Ossin-
ing and Croton passed into the possession of
other proprietors, who purchased under the
Commissioners of Forfeitures appointed in
pursuance of an act of the Legislature of the
State passed May 12, 1784.
The Kitchav/an or as it is now called Croton
*Alb. Book of Pat. v. 90.
126
OSSINING and CROTON
was the boundary line between the van Cortlandt
and Philipse Manors.
The name Croton is said to have been adoDt-
ed from an illustrious sachem of that nam.e who
resided here at an early period. In all the early
deeds the river is called Kitchawan.
Judge Benson, in his returns to the Nev/
York Historical Society, states that Croton is a
corruption of the name of a chief who lived and
exercised his authority at the mouth of this
stream. It is clearly a derivative from Knotin,
or Knoten, or as it was oftener used without the
prefix, meaning in cither case the wind or
tempest. According to tradition the Indian
castle of Kitchawan occupied a commanding
position on the neck proper overlooking the
Croton and Harvestraw bays. This site was
chosen for the purpose of protecting the fisheries,
and overawing the neighboring tribes. The
Cortlandt Manor house was built on this very
site; it is supposed that this mansion was
127
O S S I N I N G and C R O T 6 i^.
erected in 1583, and was originally intended
as a trading post and fort. The building
was subsequently enlarged and occupied by
the van Cortlandt family. This house was built
with very thick stone walls, pierced with loop-
holes for musketry, all of which have been filled
in, save one in what is now the sittingroom,
which is preserved as a memento of olden times
and of the antiquity of the building. Situated
just where the road from Ossining to Croton
Landinor crosses the wide mouth of the Croton
River, where that stream enters into the
Hudson, it commands a magnificent view of the
broad Tappan Zee. In former times the ferry
cross the Croton River mouth, which was the
only means of reaching the country above with-
out making a wide detour, had its northern
terminus near the mansion. The house has
been continuously occupied by the descendants
of Steplianus; the present occupants are Mr. van
Cortlandt and Miss Anna van Cortlandt. ^S^ijud^lf^t
128
05SINING and CROTON
The beautiful neck, now known as Croton
Point and seperated from Ossining bv the Croton
River, which here forms a charming bay, was
called by the Indians Senasqua; at an early period
this point or neck passed from the native Indian
proprietors to Williami and Sarah Teller, husband
and wife, who it is said received it as a gift.
After William Teller's death his widow held
possession of the property, and the neck was
known to the Skippers as Sarah's Point; it is
certain that prior to 1748, Sarah Teller held the
neck as tenant at sufferance under the van
Cortlandt family.
A branch of the Teller family were early
connected with the van Cortlandts by marriage,
Andrew Teller in 1671 having married Sophia,
daughter of the Right Hon. Oloff Stcvensen van
Cortlandt.
Upon July 14, 1800, the heirs of William
Teller conveyed part of the neck to Elijah
Morgan of Cortlandt-town; November 6, 1804,
129
OSSINING ixjid CROTON
Elijah Morgan, Jr., and Ann his wife resold
the same to Robert Underbill; en August i6,
1804, ^-obert McCord and wife conveyed ^^ncther
portion of the neck to Robert Underhill; upon
the death of the latter individ'aal the wjiQle" be-
came vested in his two sons, and y/as known as
Underhill's Point.
This Neck is now an extensive vineyard
containing two and a half miles ot grape vines,
fi-om which are gathered annually immense
quantities of luscious 2:raDes, so thorou.chlv ap-
predated that thev have a world-wide rcDutation,
as Croton Point Grapes.
The marble deposits at Ossining contain
minute grains of iron pyrites, thus causing the
stone to become stained in course ot time by the
action of sea air, although in other respects it is
an admirable building stone. Early in the
past century silver was discovered in Ossining a
little south of the landing; naturally the announce-
ment of the discovery of precious metal caused
O S S I N I N G and C R O T O N
great excitement; in the town, and, to add to the
commotion, copper was found not far from the
silver mine; a great rush for Sing Sing set in, and
realty advanced accordingly.
Both of these ventures are of historical interest
representing no actual successfully productions of
& definite character. A little east of Ossining is
the Chappaqua Mineral Spring, supposed to
possess medicinal virtues.
The beginninc; of the gic-antic Croton Aoue-
o to o to 1
duct enterprise dates from about 1 83 i. "On No-
vemiber 10, 1832, the joint committee on fire and
v/ater of the New York City common council
engaged Colonel De Witt Clinton, a competent
engineer, to examine the various sources and
routes of v/ater supply which had been suggested
up to that tim.e, and to make a careful report on
the subject. Colonel Clinton recommended the
Croton water shed as the source of supply, and
demonstrated by unanswerable facts that no other
source adequate to the ultimate needs of the
__
O S S I N I N G n ,. (1 C R O T O M
City was available. This report marks the begin-
nino:, as a serious undertakinrr, of the proiect to
conduct the Croton water to Nev/ York City."
Early in 1700 a reservoir was built on what
is now Fourth Avenue just below Art Street,
and wooden pipes were connected with a pretty
little lake or pond back of the site now occupied
by the Bible House. From this reservoir water
was distributed to certain parts of the City.
This however did not meet the jirrowincr needs
of the people; and soon after the Revolution an
organization called the Manhattan Com^pany was
empov/ered to draw water from Westchester
County, but it contented itself with sinking two
large wells and distributing their contents to
customers. The increasing population demanded
a more complete and convenient system. Various
committees were appointed, and surveys made,
and the Bronx w^as suggested as a suitable
supply. Colonel Clinton was called upon to
undertake a final investigation of the questions
132
OS S I N I N G and C R O T O N
involved.
At the session of May 2. 1834, the
Legislature passed an act autlAorizing the reap-
pointmen^t of water commissioners, and directing
the commissioners to adopt a definite olan for
procuring a supply of water.
The commissioners selected Major Douglass
as their chief engineer, and on July 6, 1835,
that gentlemian, with fifteen assistants took the
field tor preliminary work in our County. Their
first care was stake out the lake to be formed by
dammdng the Croton, which as at first calculated
would have an area of 496 acres. But it was
nearly two years before construction work was
actually begun. The land owners along the
proposed line m.ade vexations demands, among
them, the extraordinary one that the legal pos-
session and use of the land should remain with
the original proprietors, notwithstanding the
circumistance of its having been paid for by the
City. The legislature endeavored to conciliate
133
O S S I N I N G and C R O T O N
the landowners with but Httle success. The
consequence of this discontent v/as that the
commissioners were unable to purchase the lands
along the line. In 1836 Major Douglass was
superseded by Mr. J. B. Jervis, under whose
direction the whole work was carried to comple-
tion. On April 26, 1837, bids were opened "for
furnishing the materials and completing the
construction of twenty-three sections of the
Croton Aqueduct, including the dam in the
Croton, the aqueduct bridge over Sing Sing
Kill, and the necessary excavations and tunnelling
on the line of about eight and one-half miles
from the Croton to Sing Sing Village", three
years being allowed for the fulfillment of these
contracts.
By December i, 1837, 2,455 ^^^^ ^^ ^^"^^
aqueduct had been completed, and during the
next year the whole of the work in Westchester
County, thirty-three miles in length, had either
been finished or placed under contract.
^34
OSSINING and CROTON
In the Croton's course throvigh Westchester
County it receives as tributaries the Muscot,
Titicus, Cross and Kisco Pvivers. The Muscot
is the outlet of the celebrated Lake Mahopack
in Putman County, and the Cross or Peppexeg-
hock of Lake Vs^accabuc one of the largest of
the Westchester Lakes. The Croton water-shed
lies almost wholly in the State of New York,
although draining a small area in Connecticut.
It extends about forty mxiies north and south and
fifteen miles east and west, and has an area of
359 square miles above Croton Dam. This
water-shed embraces thirty-one lakes and ponds
in Westchester and Putnam Counties, many of
which have been utilized as natural storage basins
in connection with the New York City water sup-
ply, by cutting down their outlets and building
dams across.
Besides Croton Lake, there are two very
large reservoirs in our County incidental to the
Croton system; the Titicus Reservoir near
OSSINING and GROT ON
Purdy's, and the Amawalk Reservoir.
Croton Lake is by far the most extensive
sheet of water in the County. It is formed by a
dam about five miles east of the mouth of the
Croton, and has a length of more than eleven
miles. From the lake two aqueducts the
"Old" and the "New" lead to Nev/ York City;
the former is thirty-eight and the latter thirty-
three miles long, the distance in each case being
measured to the receiving reservoir which crosses
the Harlem River over High Bridge: the New is
carried underneath the stream.
The original water commissioners were
appointed in 1833 and retired in 1840: they
were Stephen Allen, B. M. Brown, S. Dusen-
berry, S. Allen and William W. Fox.
May 2, 1834, the legislature passed an act
authorizing that a sum not exceeding J2, 500,000
should be raised as "Water Stock of the City of
New York," bearing five per cent interest. The
commissioners through re-examination of the
136
OSSINING and CROTON
matter expressed the opinion that "the whole
Croton River could be brought to Murray Hill,
42d. Street, in a close aqueduct of masonry at
an expcnce of $4,250,000," and that the revenue
accuring from v/ater-rates would "overpay the
interest on the cost of the works." The dam
across the Croton River was commenced in Jan-
uary 1838, and was completed about the end of
1 840. This dam was formed of "hydraulic stone
masonry, connected with an earthen embank-
ment," the embankment being two hundred and
fifty feet long, sixty-five feet high at its extreme
height, two-hundred and fifty feet wide at the
base, and fifty-five feet wide at the top, "protect-
ed on its lovv^er side by a heavy protection wall
twenty feet wide at the base." "On the night
of January 7, 1841, in consequence of a sudden
and great rise in the water of the Croton, the
portion of the dam comprised in the earthen
em_bankment gave way, and the whole country
below was flooded. Three bridges, Tompkins
OSSINING and CROTON
Bridge, the bridge at the Wire Mill and Quaker's
Bridge, were swept away, and several mills and
dwelling houses were destroyed; but, so far as
was known only two residents lost their lives-.
This was the only serious casualty that occurred
in connection with the building of the Croton
Aqueduct"*
At five o'clock on the morning of June 2i2,
1842, water to the depth of eighteen inches was
admitted into the aqueduct from Croton Lake.
A boat called the ''Croton Maid", carrying four
persons, was placed in the aqueduct, to be floated
down by the stream, and finally, on July 4,
reached the distributing reservoir in Forty-second
Street. The event was observed by the grandest
demonstration in the history of New York City
up to that time, held on October 14, 184I.
Near the head of the procession, as one of the
guards of honor, marched the "Sing Sing
Guards."
*Shonnard and Spooner.
OSSINING and CROTON
in 1880 works for increasing New York
City's water supply fi-om ¥/estchester County
were commenced, which are ^tiil in progress; for,
although the new Croton Aqueduct was com-
pleted in 189I5 the great dam, which is to convert
the present Croton Lake into a body eleven miles
long, is not yet finished. In 1884 the Bronx
River Conduit from the dam near Kensico Station
to tlie receiving reservoir at ¥/i[iiamsbridge was
completed. Since 1888 the building of subsid-
iary basins and reservoirs in Westchester and Put-
nam Counties has been steadily prosecuted. No
less than seven of the townships of Westchester
County have made extensive contributions of land
for the purpose of the new works, involving the
extinction of several settlements. The additional
land for the construction of the New Croton
Reservoir has been taken from the Towns of
Ccrclandt, Yorktown, New Castle, Bedford,
Somers, Lewisboro, and North Salem in West-
chester County covering an area of 6,398,244 acres.
139
OSSINING and CROTON
Many attractive residence localities in the ter-
ritory taken v/ill soon be, if not so already, among
the things of the past. What was knov/n as the
Village of Katonah, in the Town of Eedford,
has become extinct, and is now only a matter of
history. The buildings were appraised and sold
by order of New York City. Whitlock, Woods-
bridge, Purdy's Station, Pinesbridge, Croton Fails,
Golden's Bridge and several other tov/ns will soon
fare the fate of old Katonah and "go under with
the flood."
Still the water supply for New York City
barely answers the needs, farther demands will
soon be made on other quarters.
The Croton Aqueduct Arch at Ossining is
said to be one of the finest of its kind in the
United States.
Sing Sing was the first village of Westchester
County organized under the State government
the incorporation occurred April 2, 18 13.
The first village election of Sing Sing was
140
OSSINING and CROTON
held on the first Tuesday of May, 1B13, whery
"seven discreet freeholders" were elected trustees^
Their names arc not preserved, all the early records
of the village having been destroyed by fire.
Sixty years ago capitalists were slow tO'
formulate new plans of railway development cen-
tering in New York; but about this period the
New York and Hudson River Railroad, now
known as the New York Central and Hudson
River Railroad, began to take shape; this road was
chartered by the Legislature in May 1846, and
the company was soon after organized.
Mr. John B. Jervis, the engineer of the
Croton Aqueduct was employed as chief engineer
Work was begun toward the middle of 1 847, the
entire line being placed under contract by sections
and the work was prosecuted so diligently that by
September 1 847, passenger travel was commenced
between New York and Sing Sing; the average
number of passengers per day for the first month
was 720 and the total number 21,593. It was
OSSINING and CROTON
a single track road with turnouts where needed.
This at once caused the New York and Albany
stages to be withdrawn, and it also competed with
the steamboats. The following advertisement
was published in the New York Herald: "Pas-
senger trains will commence to run from New
York on Saturday September 29, 1849. Trains
will start at 8 a. m., 12 noon, and 4 p. m."
The New York and Putnam and the New
York and Harlem are now incorporated in the
New York Central and Hudson River system.
"On December 4, 1851, occured the first serious
railway accident in Westchester County. An
afternoon up train from New York was stop-
ped by the conductor near Croton to put off
two men who did not pay their fare, and was run
into by an engine without cars, several pas-
sengers suffering injury. Another up-train which
followed it, an express train, was switched off to
the west track and halted to render assistance;
whereupon it was run into by a down train result-
142
O S S I N I N G and C R O T O N
ing in more casualties." This double accident
caused much newspaper comment.
From 1810 until 1845, Mount Pleasant,
embracing the Village of Sing Sing, had been the
most prosperous township of the county; it v/as
also one of the largest townships in area. By
a legislative act passed May 2, 1845 ^'^^^
present Township of Ossining was erected from
it; the new town received the name of Ossin-sing.
In March 1846, the namie was changed by drop-
ping the third s, and made to read Ossin-;ng,
and still later the hyphen was omitted.
During the War of Secession the President
of the United States, in 1862, called for 300,000
volunteers for three years.
Governor Morgan appointed a union defense
committee for the 8th senatorial district; then com-
prising the Counties of \Vestchester, Rockland,
and Putnam; v/hich proceeded to raise the troops
required to make the quota of the district. "It
began its work by promptly effecting the organiza-
__ -
O S S I N I N G a. 11 d C R O T O N
tion, ci" an infantry regiment often full companies
of more than one hundred men each, enlisted to
serve for three years, which was designated by
the authorities of the State of New York as the
13 ^th New York Volunteer Infantry, and was
named by the committee the "Anthony Wayne
Guards." The oificers of the Sing Sing Como-
any, were Captain Clark Peck, Lieutenants Char-
les C. Hyatt and J. H. Ashton. "The regiment
was fa-st assembled at the headquarters, Yonkers,
about the Qnd of August 1862, and it was muster-
ed into the United States service on September 2.
Although instituted as an infantry organiza-
tion this regiment took the name of the 6th New
York Heavy Artillery. Nevertheless, during its
whole three years of arduous service with the 8th
Corps, with the Army of the Potomac, with the
Anriy of the James, and with Sheridan's Army of
the Shenandoah, it continued to serve as infantry.
On and after December 26, 1862, the regiment
was sent to Harper's Ferry in detachments.
OSSINING and CROTON
After six months or more of very varied
service in the Shenandoah Valley with other
troops, guarding the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad,
perporming skirmishing, scouting and general out-
post duties, the regiment formally joined the
Army of the Potomac during the Gettysburg
campaign becoming part of French's 3d Corps,
which was held in the neighborhood of Frederick
City as a reserve to protect Washington, by the
orders of the war department.
The regiment, first with General Morris's
brigade of the 3d Division, 3d Army Corps,
then with the reserve artillery, and afterward with
Ayres' division of the 5th Corps, participated in
all the campaigns of the Army of the Potomac
from Gettysburg in July 1863, ^° August 13,
1864, in the seige of Petersburg, including the
Bristol Station, the Mine Run, and the Grant
campaigns and has probably the unique record
of having served in battle with every corps of
the Army of the Potomac, with Sheridan's Army
145
OSSINING and CROTON
in the Shenandoah, and with the Army of the
James. The last time the regiment was under
fire was in a brief engagement at Bermuda
Hundred, April 2, 1865.
The original members were mustered out of
the service June 27, 1865. ^^^ remainder with
a battalion of the loth New York Artillery, be-
came the consolidated 6th New York Artillery.
About one year before the termination of its
period of enlistment the regiment unanimously
tendered its services to the government for anoth-
er term of three years. This offer was declined on
the ground that "the men v/ould not be needed."
The 6th New York Heavy Artillery is recog-
nized by all writers on campaigns and battles of the
Civil War as one of the great fighting regiments.
Its surviving members retain to this day a
fraternal organization,which holds annual reunions.
The citizens of Ossining have erected two
monuments in honor of their brave soldiers who
fell in the War of Secession.
146
O S S I N I N G a 11 d C R O T O N
Ossining has furnished the State with one
Governor. John Thompson HofFman was the
democratic candidate, elected in 1868 by a large
majority. He was a son of Dr. A. K. ThoiTipson
and was born in Sing Sing on January 10, 1828.
After comxpleting his general education he studied
law, and v/as admitted to the bar, and engaged in
the practice of law in New York City. He soon
becam.e prominent both in his profession and m
politics. He served two terms as Governor, being
re-elected in 1870. Upon the completion of his
second term he retired from Dublic life.
To sue^est the beauties of Dale Cemetery,
Ossining, it is only necessary to say that there
may be found every variety of hill and dale, and
from the high points a charming view ot the
Hudson as it widens into the broad expanse of
the Tappan Zee, and Haverstraw Bay and
Reach with Rockland and Haverstraw Villages
on the opposite shore, beyond which are the rug-
ged outlines of the Highlands to make every
; H7 '
OSSINING P.nd CROTON
iover of the beautiful long for that spot as their
last resting place. Here too are the Devil's
Stairs a natural flight of sixteen steps in the rock;
there are also other attractions named for his
Satanic Majesty. The ground now occupied by
the Cemetery was formerly the Picnic resort for
people in the surrounding country.
Ail the religious denominations are represent-
ed in Ossining. '''The first meeting of Episco-
palians in this town v/as held at the house of Caleb
Bacon. There ¥/ere five heads of families present,
viz: George W. Cartwright, William Darguc,
John Barlow, John Stang and Caleb Bacon. At
this meeting it was agreed to hold service at the
same place every Sunday evening, James Smith,
of New York City, reading the service. The
first clergyman to preach at these services was
Rev. A. H. Crosby of Yonkers. I'he first meet-
ing to organize a parish was held at the house of
Caleb Bacon, Novemiber ii, 1833. The corner-
stone of a church building was laid by Bishop
148
OSSINING and CROTON
Onderdonk, November 6,1834. The church was
consecrated July 6, 1836 by Bishop Onderdonk,
assisted by thirteen of the clergy. The Rev.
Dr. Niles is the present rector.
Haifa century ago the ^.Iethodists purchas-
ed a large tract of land in Sing Sing, for the pur-
pose of occupying the ground Vvith their annual
camp meetings. Of late years many cottages
have been erected on the propei-ty.
There are numerous Clubs in the town;
mention may be made of the Shattemuc Yacht
and Canoe Club, The Ossining Gun Club, Point
Senasque Rod and Reel Club, Owl Club and
Sparta Rats. Here may be found the old factory
of Dr. Brandreth, established in the early thirties.
It turns out Allcock's Plasters by the million
and Brandreth's Pills by the ton.
The newspapers of Ossining are the Republic-
an, Ossining News, and the Democratic Register.
The Ossining Flospital Association was
incorporated under the act ot 1848, of the Laws
of the State of New York, authorizing the incor-
poration of benevolent, charitable, scientific and
missionary societies.
_
X
u
<
JV,
5>Frr
Vol. 1.
JUNE 1902.
ry
No. 6
LITTLE VISITS
TO
HISTORICAL
POINTS IN
WESTCHESTER
COUNTY
PJRT SIX
By
AN AUTHORITY
RYE
MAMARONECK. N. Y. - PUBLISHED
BrrUE RICHBELL PRESS • M C M I I
Copyrighted 1 902.
BY
J. WALLACE CLAPP.
PUBLISHED THE FIRST i,l
EVERY MONTH • BY
The RichbeU Press • J. Wallace
Clapp • Mamaroneck ■ N. Y.
Entered Jul; ^.^ 19C2 as Second Class Maf: - ' Mamaroneck, Post Officr
LITTLE VISITS TO
HISTORICAL POINTS IN
^WESTCHESTER COUNTY
"^
i,"w «>>..^- <i«^»i.'''» Vi
.*Jus;i.*5ws:iJ
point of land jutting into Long Island
Sound, is one that may be said to
mark the limit of the State of New
York. From the jagged rocks that
terminate this point a tract of land,
nowhere more than two miles wide,
stretches northward about nine miles
to a sharp angle upon the Connecticut border.
This little territory, called by the Indians Peningo,
with the island of Manussing on the east, and a
part of the neighboring shore on the west, con-
stitutes the town of Rye.
150
RYE
The territory of this town, until after the
Revolution, comprehended the present towns
of Harrison and White Plains.
About 1660 a little company of New England
men from the neig^hboring town of Greenwich
resolved to establish them_selves here. The orig-
inal purchasers of this place were three in num.ber,
Peter Disbrow, John Coe, and Thomas Stedwell.
Peter Disbrow was the leader in all their negotia-
tions. On the third day of January, 1660, we
find Disbrow in treaty with the Indians of Peningo
Neck for the purchase of that tract of land.
This purchase comprised the lower part of the
present town of Rye, on the east side of Blind
Brook extending north to the present village of
Port Chester.
Nearly six months elapsed before any further
step Vy^as taken by the pioneers. East of Peningo
Neck, separated from it only by a narrow channel,
lay an island about a mile in length, called by the
Indians Manussing. This island appears not to
_
RYE
have been includsd in the first purchase. On the
twenty-ninth day of June, 1660, Peter Disbrow,
with John Coe and Thomas Stedwcll, concluded
a treaty with the Indian proprietors for the pur-
chase of this island. The deed is as follows:—
"Be it knowen vnto all men whom it may
concern both Indians and English that we Shana-
rockwell sagamore, Maowhobo and Cokensekoo
have sold unto Peter Disbrow, John Coo,
Thomas Studwell, all living at this present at
Grenwige, to say a certain parcel of land; the par-
cel of land which these Indians above mentioned
have sold is called in the Indian name Manussing
Island, and is near unto the main land which is
called in the Indian name Peningo. This said
island we above mentioned doe here by virtue of
this bill doe sell all our right and title unto
John Coo, Peter Disbro, Thomas Studv/ell,
quietly to enjoy from any molestation of us or any
other Indians to them and to their heirs, assigns,
and exccuters for ever, and farther we have given
RYE
unto Peter Disbro John Coo and Thomas
Studwell feed for their cattle upon the main called
by the Indians Peningo and what timbers or trees
that is for their use and not to be molested bv us
or other Indians and we doe hereby acknowledgre
to have received eight cotes and seven shirts fitrene
fathom wompone v/hich is the full satisfaction for
the parcel of land above mentioned and for the
witness we have hereto set our hands.
The marke of V Shanasockwek.
j^ Aranaque.
Q Cokow.
" Z Wawatauman.
" X Cokinseco.
" 3 Maswbort.
" Z Ouauaike.
" L Aramapow.
" S Wonanas.
" Y Topogone.
W Matishes.
T Richard."
153
cc
cc
RYE
It is supposed that the last name was that of
the interpreter, whose services would very likely
be needed in the transaction. By these two trea-
ties,, the settlers acquired the lower half of the
present territory of the town, between Blind Brook
and the Sound or Byram River; together with the
adjoining island of Manussing.
Nearly a year after they bought the land
lying farther north, between the same streams.
The deed of this purchase is dated the twenty-
second day of May 1 66 1.
And so the early settlers continued buying
lands, until Rye was a much larger territory than
at present.
The settlement at Manussing Island was com-
menced while these dealings v/ith the natives for
the purchase of their lands were still in progress.
It is easy to see why this spot should have
been chosen. Here the settlers would be almost
in sight of their old home Greenwich, whither they
could speedily retreat if molested. And here,
RYE
while exploring the adjacent shores and completing
their purchases of land, they could quietly gain a
ioothold and wait for accessions to their numbers.
The planters could scarcely have found a
more inviting spot. Manussing Island comprises
about one hundred acres of upland, v/ith as many
more of sedge or salt meadow. The first busi-
ness of the settlers was to apportion the land
among themselves and erect temporary habitations.
A hom^e-lot of two or three acres w^as assigned to
each. The island village took the name of
Hastings. For two or three years the planters,
se^. enteen in num^ber, confined themselves to their
insular homes. With perhaps one exception these
m.en Vv^ere English by birth, and doubtless also
Puritans in faith; some of them at least were men
of religious principle and conviction; it is far from
true that all who came out with the early colonists
of New England v/ere men of this stamp; un-
worthy and disorderly characters appear to have
thrust themselves among them from the first.
__
RYE
There is conclusive evidence that the founders
of this plantation were not of the latter class.
In 1664 Rye became annexed to the colony
of Connecticut, Thus by the year 166 c there
had sprung up two infant settlements within 'the
bounds of Hastings': the one on the island, the
other on the shore of Peningo Neck stretching
across to Blind Brook.
The latter, we find, had begun to be known by
the name of Rye. It is supposed that this name
was given in honor of two prominent members
of the colony, Thomas and Hachaliah Browne.
They were the sons of Mr. Thom.as Brcv/ne, a
gentleman of good family, from Rye in Sussex
County, England, who removed to this country in
1632. On the eleventh day of May the General
Court of Connecticut passed an act, merging these
settlem.ents under the name which the town has
since borne. The act is as follows:-
'It is ordered that the Villages of Hasting-s
and Rye shall be for the future conjoyned and
^56
RYE
made one Plantation; and it shall be called by the
appellation of Rye/"
Within the next six years the village on
Manussing Island ceased to be; the planters came
over and united with their associates in building
upon the present site of the village.
The eleventh day of May 1671, the General
Court oi Connecticut granted that the town of
Rye bounds should extend up into the country
northward twelve miles. J
The village of Rye was now rising upon its
present site amid the forests on Peningo Neck; the
new town plot lay at the upper end of the Neck,
along the eastern bank of Blind Brook. The
Milton Road, once perhaps an Indian path leading
down from the old Westchester Path to the lower
part of the Neck, was the village street, on either
side of which the home-lots of the settlers were
laid out. The Field Fence, of which we find fre-
*Rye Records.
;|;Trumbuirs Records of the Colony of Connecticut.
iS7
RYE
quent mention, was the northern boundary of the
village. This enclosure began at the present Epis-
copal church property, and stretched across the
Neck from Blind Brook to the mill-pond; near
the Episcopal Church was the Field Gate. The
home-lots, which commenced here, extended down
the street as far as the road leading to the Beach.
A part of the town plot was known in early
times as *The Plains'; this name belonged to the
level grounds bordering on Blind Brook, at the
upper end of the village, and extending from the
present stone bridge to the neighborhood of the
railway station. The home-lots on the Plains
appear to have been held as the choicest part of
the village grounds; they fronted on the street, or
Milton Road, and ran back to the brook; the post-
road which now passes through the village not
having, as yet, been opened. This street was
nothing more than a pathway, barely practicable
for the ox-cart, the only vehicle in use. The
mill was erected by Mr. John Budd; it stood at
■ ^58
RYE
the head of the creek, or the mouth of Blind
Brook on the opposite side of Peningo Neck,
and within half a mile of the Beach.
This mill was convenient for the inhabitants
of Peningo Neck, yet it stood on Budd's own tract
of land, known as Apawamis or Budd's Neck.
During the first few years our settlers con-
tinued to cluster in this tolerably compact village,
and their improvements were limited to the territo-
ry thus defined. Outside the Field Fence all was
yet a wilderness of woods and swamps, secured
indeed by purchase from the savage, but waiting
to be appropriated and cleared: it was not long,
however, before some houses were built a little
outside of the Field Gate.
There was no church as yet; the litttie con-
gregation met in private dwellings, notably in that
of Timothy Knap, to whom the town awarded
forty shillings in 1682 *for the liberty of his house
to meet in, and the beating of the drum, for the
time past.*
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The earliest notices of Rye that have come
down to us, contain allusions to some serious
difficulty among the people. The very act by
which the town was constituted, the eleventh day
of May, 1665, refers to this subject: "Mr. Gold,
Mr. Lawes, and John Banks, or any two of them
are desired and appointed to take paines to goe
down to settle and issue such differences as may
be disturbing to ye inhabitants of those Villages
of Hastings and Rye."* Three years passed
and these divisions were still unhealed. The
trouble appears to have been between the people
of Rye and John Budd About the time when
he engaged with Disbrow, Coe and Studwell in
the purchase of Peningo Neck, he bought from
the Indians a tract of land on the opposite side of
Blind Brook, which was subsequently known as
Budd's Neck. The other purchases had been
made by the associates in common, but the fact of
one individual holding a large tract of land near
^Public Records of Connecticut, Vol. II. p. 16.
160
RYE
them they considered prejudicial to the interests
of the town of Rye. It was supposed that John
Budd bought the Neck solely for his children and
immediate heirs, but it was not long before he be-
gan to dispose of his land without the consent of
the town. The planters were exceedingly jealous
of the right to admit or reject strangers who came
among them. The new settlers at Budd's Neck
were in close proximity to the village, and indeed
they seem to have considered themselves as within
the limits of the town of Rye; yet they had never
been formally admitted to the privileges of free-
holders.*
The dispute relative to Budd's Neck was
finally settled in 1672, in which year the territory
was incorporated into the town of Rye, while the
claims of Mr. Budd as proprietor were allowed.
There is no evidence that a distinct patent for the
tract was obtained from Connecticut, and it was
not until the year 1720 that Joseph Budd, grtnd-
*Rye Records, Vol. B. pp. 9, 34, 150.
161
RYE
son of the first purchaser, obtained a patent for
his lands from the government of the province
of New York.
After the settlement of the dispute concerning
Budd's Neck, the jurisdiction of the town appears
to have been unquestioned.
Local officers v/ere sometimes appointed
especially for the 'east side of Blind Brook' and the
*'west side'.* As the pioneers multiplied nev/
lands were purchased.
At the time v/hen Rye was settled there were
within the limits of Connecticut sixteen plantations
dignified with the name of tovv'ns. Each of these
was a petty commonwealth, maintaining, within a
certain district, a government of its own choice.
Two deputies, chosen by a majority of voters in
each town, took part with magistrates, also chosen
by the people, in the general government.
The legislature thus constituted, known as
the General Court, met in the spring and fall of
*Dr. Baird.
162
RYE
each year at Hartford.
Rye is mentioned for the first time in the
Court Records, on the thirteenth of October
1664; and in 1666 Rye was included within
the Fairfiela County limits. On the ninth of
May 1667 Mr. Richard Lawes and Mr. John
Holly were chosen Commissioners for the Towns
of Stamford, Greenwich and Rye, and 'to assist in
the execution of justice at the courts of Fairfield
for the year ensuing'.
The last meeting of the General Court of
Hartford, previous to the revolt of the town to
Connecticut some years later, at which deputies
from Rye were present, was held in October 1683.
In the following month, the twenty-eighth of
November 1683, Rye was ceded to the province
of New York, according to the articles of agree-
ment then concluded for the establishment of the
boundary line.
Rye remained unwillingly for some years be-
neath the rule of New York, when the inhabitants
163
RYE
^revolted' back to Connecticut. This was the
beginning of the great boundary question that
agitated at different periods the border towns of
the Connecticut and Nev/ York Colonies for
nearly two hundred years.
A very confused idea of the bounds of the
two territories was shared by many; there had long
been pending between Rye and Greenwich a
boundary question upon a small scale, like that
waged by the two governments to which they
belonged. Their respective limits were very
indefinitely traced as yet.
At a town meeting held on the first of April,
1699, a committee was appointed *to agree with
Greenwich men to run the preamble line'. At a
similar meeting held on the first of November,
1707, Thomas Merrit, Deliverance Brown, senior,
and Robert Bloomer were chosen a committee to
agree with Greenwich men to settle and run the
line between the town of Greenwich and the town
of Rye. In 1722 the inhabitants of Rye near
164
RYE
Byram River again complained and another
mimic war was enacted. '"^
Governor Hunter lost no time in transmit-
ting to Connecticut a copy of these complaints
from Rye. In his letter to Governor Saltonstall,
he expressed his hope that there had been some
mistake in the matter, as othervv^ise he must
regard it as *the most extraordinary method of
procedure in disputes about boundaries between
two provinces, under the same Sovereign, that has
been hitherto known.'
'You see' he adds, 'the necessity of your
having a law passed, previous to the running the
line in your Colony as has been done in this,
declaring the line which shall be so run to be
forever hereafter the true division line betwixt the
two. The minute that is done, I shall appoint
Commissaries and Surveyors who shall, in con-
junction with such as you shall appoint, forthwith
set about it to prevent all future disputes. We
*Town Meeting Book, No. C. p. 4; No. G. p. 23.
165 ——
RYE
have hitherto/ concludes the good-natured gover-
?ior, 'at least during my time, lived together in
good and friendly correspondence, and I hope
nothing can intervene that shall be able to break.
It ort. '
This episode at Rye may have had seme
•effect in hastening the movement for the settling
of the boundary line. In October of the same
year, 171 8, commissioners appointed by the
two governments met at Rye, but failed to
agree upon a method of procedure. The com-
missioners from New York refused to go on, be-
cause those from Connecticut were not empower-
ed to complete the line, and bind their govern-
ment to its adoption. In 1719, Connecticut ap-
pointed new commissioners with larger powers;
but still without pledging itself that the survey
should be final. New York, meanwhile, without
taking any notice of this action passed what was
termed 'a probationary act.' It provided for the
*New York Colonial MSS.
__ —
RYE
appointment of commissioners on the part of that
province, in conjunction with others from Con-
necticut. These were to run all the lines in
accordance vv^ith the agreement and survey of
1683 and 1684. But if no commissioners should
be sent from^ Connecticut duly empowered, those
from New York v/ere authorized to go on alone,
taking every precaution to do justice to both
provinces, and to conform to the agreement and
former survey; and the line so run was to remain
forever as the boundary. This act was made
conditional on the royal approbation.
Four years elapsed before this proposition
was responded to. At length in October 1723
the General Assem.bly of Connecticut appointed
commissioners with full powers, as requested by
New York. A meeting was arranged to be held
at Rye on the fourth of February, 1724. But
tedious negotiations followed, and it was not until
April 1725, that the commissioners met at the
appointed place. Their first business was to agree
167
RYE
Upon the mode in which the survey should be
made. This accomphshed they entered upon
their v/ork, starting at Hhe great stone at the
v/ading-place'"' which had been designated as the
point of beginning forty-one years before. Their
survey was extended as far as that of 1684, to
"^the Duke's trees', at the northwest angle of the
town of Greenwich, where three white oak trees
had been marked as the termination of the former
survey. PI ere the work v/as suspended for want
of funds and it v/as not resumed until the spring
of 1 73 1, The survey was then completed to
the Massachusetts line; the ^equivalent tract' or
'Oblong' w^as measured, and setoff to New York;
and the line dividing the province of New York
from the colony of Connecticut was designated by
monuments at intervals of two miles.
This survey was ratified by both govern-
ments, and terminated all local differences res-
*This stone is at the northeastern end of the bridge cross-
ing the Byram River.
__
RYE
pectin g the boundary. The town of Rye espe-
cially felt the benefit of the decision. During:
much of the time that this controversy had been;
waging, it was- even doubtful to which territory
the tov/n belonged. And,, to the very last, its^
eastern limits rem.ained uncertain, to the great
annoyance of the increasing population in that
quarter. '"^
In 1729 the town appointed a committee ^ta
meet Greenvv'ich men concerning running the
preamble line between Rye and Greenwich, and
to act in this matter to the best of their discre-
tion. J
The boundary laid down in 1731 remained
without disturbance until 1855 when the question
arose as to its existing definiteness. On some
portions of the line the marks had disappeared,
and along the whole distance the greatest uncer-
tainty existed. Residents near the border rcfrain-
'l^Dr. Baird.
;{;Town of Rye, Records p. 33.
169
RYE
ed from voting in either State, while officers of
justice and tax collectors hesitated to exercise their
authority up to any well-defined limit. These
circumstances were taken advantage of by those
wishing to evade the payment of taxes or the en-
forcement of the law. In May, 1855, the General
Assembly of Connecticut took steps to have the
true position of the line ascertained, by means of
a new survey and the erection of new monuments.
In the following year the New York legislature
took similar action, and the commissioners ap-
pointed under the several acts employed engineers
to run the line. The commissioners could not
agree, however, as to the method of running the
line and nothing was done. In August 1859, new
commissioners were appointed on the part of each
State, but owing to the tenacity with which
Connecticut adhered to the claim that a straight
line should be run, regardless of existing monu-
ments to indicate the original course, no agreement
could be reached.
170
RYE
The last step in the matter was taken in
i860. On the third of April in that year the
legislature of New York passed an act empower-
ing the commissioners formerly appointed "ta
survey and mark with suitable monum^ents" the
line between the two States, as fixed by the sur-
vey of 1 73 1."
They were to give due notice of their
purpose to the com.missioners of Connecticut^
inviting them to join in the duties imiposed upon
them. But in case of their refusal or neglect to
do so, they v/ere to proceed alone and preform the
work assigned. The commdssioners of New-
York, acting under their instructions, held several
conferences with those of Connecticut, but the
latter adhered inflexibly to the principle that the
boundary to be established must be a straight one.
The commissioners from New York therefore
pursued the course enjoined upon them. They fix-
ed and m.arked the boundary line betv/een the two
States, placing monuments along its course at in-
__
RYE
Nervals of one mile, from the Massachusetts line to
the mouth of the Byram River. The work was
undertaken on the eighth of June, 1S6O5 and
was completed in the autumn of that year. On
the fifth of December, 1879, this line was agreed
upon by the Legislatures of New York and
Connecticut, and con^rmed by Congress during
the session of 1880-81.
Thus ended the most remarkable boundary
case on record.
As we have before stated Rye had unwilling-
ly belonged to the Province of Nev>^ York, and for
just cause had seceded. It renounced the author-
ity of the provincial government and returned to
the colony of Connecticut. Rye continued a
part of Connecticut from 1697 to 1700 inclusive,
and then in 1700 the King's orders in Council
placed them back v/ithin the jurisdiction they had
renounced, 'forever thereafter to be and remain un-
der the government of the Province of New York.'
The people acquiesced in this decision, and the
172
RYE
following action of the town is the record of the
last protest made against an unrighteous procedure
to which they were obliged in the end to submit.
'At a lawful townc meeting held in Rye,
on the twenty-ninth day of September 1701,
Deliverance Browne, senior, is chosen to go
down to New York to make the towne's
aggrievances knowne unto the Governor and
Council, and also to make inquiry concerning
the Claim that John Harrison makes to our lands,
and to use what methods he shall see good for
securing the towne's interest/* It must be
remembered that at this period Harrison and
Bedford were included in the Rye limits, and that
John Harrison in company with several other
Quakers from Flushing had bought of the Indians,
without the consent of the Rye authorities, the
tract of land since known as Harrison. The
worthy Brown appeared to have met with but
little or no success. Harrison and his compan-
*Town and Proprietors' Meeting Book, No. C. p. 20.
_ __ __
RYE
ions were permitted to retain their purchase, and
heavy taxes were levied on the inhabitants of
Rye. The simple inhabitants of Peningo Neclc
did not know that while they were prancing from
colony to province, and from province to colony,
their taxes were accumulating with accruing
interest. From this time they submitted though
unwillingly to the Government of the Province
of New York. The Justice of the Peace of the
County of Westchester sent orders to the Town
of Rye for the assessing and levying of
several taxes laid on the inhabitants of this
Province during the time of the unhappy separa-
tion. These amounted to considerable sums of
money. Brown asks that this tax might not be
insisted on until a more equal apportionment
shall be made, and promised that the quota shall
be colleded and paid with all expedition.* This
was not the worst, the town troubles caused dis-
sensions in families that in some instances were
*New York Colonial MSS., Vol. XIV. p. 38.
■ 174
RYE
not healed for many years. We see from this
that the good people of Rye did not "go to
heaven on flowery beds of ease." They struggled
on for many years hardly able to hold their own.
At the breaking out of the Revolution, Rye
stood bravely by her country and furnished some
excellent soldiers, one of the most prominent
was Judge Thomas. Still there was no consider-
able increase in the population.
Rye was the same quiet, obscure village as
for generations past. In 1836 it contained but
thirty houses, with less than two hundred inhabi-
tants. In time the outside world recognized the
natural, political and religious capabilities of the
place, and beautiful villas were ereded by summer
residents, who found the old town so delightful that
they remained permanently, and now among the
inhabitants may be seen many prominent people.
The Wainwrights dire6l descendants of 'good old'
Peter Stuyvesant the last and best of the Dutch
Governors, the Shermen descendants of a
RYE
Signer of the Declaration of Independance, Seth
Low, Mayor of Greater New York, and others
During the RebelHon, the Town of Rye
furnished about 3 50 men, beside many who enHst-
ed in New York and Brooklyn Companies.
Who has not heard of Rve Beach? Not
Rye in Sussex England; not Rye Beach in New
Hampshire, but Rye Beach on the Sound, a
popular resort for recreation from the earliest
period until the present. Here our native Indians
assembled for their pow-wows, and not unusually
remained a week or more to enjoy a jolly good
time. The Indians never dreamed of the crowds
that frequent their oft time bathing and canoeing
place, and picnic on the very spot where their
braves were interred. Burying Hill is well known
to have been a place of sepulchre.
Rye Beach with its warm sands inviting the
visitor to repose after the plunge, its charming
scenery on land and water, its beautiful rocks
rising compladily, forming low blviffs, or broken
176
RYE
in large irregular masses of coarse granite forming
islands curiously worn and perforated by the
a(5lion of the waters, its unrivaled facilities for
boating and yachting, its pleasant company both
at Rye and Oakland Beaches, a portion of the
Beach frequented by the more conservative class,
and its pretty cottages in increasing numbers.
One of the most attradlive cottages is that occu-
pied by the Westchester Wheelman of Mount
Vernon. The New York Yacht Club is on
Milton Point.
The facilities for reaching Rye Beach are to
say the least, up to date; the trolley from the
Hudson River by way of White Plains conne6l-
ing at Mamaroneck with the Greenwich Tramway,
and also with the trolley from New York
City by way of Mount Vernon and New Rochelle
brings the visitor diredly to the shore. The
syndicate of millionaires who purchased Beck's
hotel property at the beach, propose to ered: a
large country club house on it and make it the
RYE
rendezvous of the Westchester Hunt Club and
the new yacht club.
The beautiful half-tone illustration on the
frontispage of this number showing the Pier at the
beach, and Burying Hill in the middle distance,
was photographed by W. W. Holly, Rye Beach.
Union Cemetery originated in 1837; in that
year three acres of land were purchased by private
individials and presented to the authorities of the
Episcopal Church, Rye, to secure to the Church a
suitable burial place. In 1855, the trustees ot
the Methodist Episcopal Church of Rye bought
eight acres contiguous to this traft; and in 1864
to 1868 they added more than six acres. The
grounds thus owned by the two congregations
have been graded, inclosed and laid out uniformly,
with no visible separation between them; they
form one of the most beautiful cemeteries in this
part of the country.
Here we find interred, the authoress, Mrs.
Alice B. Haven, for many years a resident of Rye
_ _ _
RYE
Neck, her morxument in a cross, upon which is
her favorite motto "Bear ye one anothers burdens.
and so fulfill the law of Christ/*
The first Chief Justice of the United States,.
John Jay, died on the seventeenth of May, 1829,,
and was buried in the Jay Family Vault in the
Town of Rye. Fie was an earnest laborer in the
cause of freedom for the negroes, and the first
president of the old New York society for the
manumission of slaves.
179
M Fresbyterian Cfitircfi, Rye
An oil painting of Dr. Baird's old
church and the stone bridge, for sale.
A, A. RIKEi
Masnarooeck, N.Y,
SCHOOL! SCHOOL!!
^he opportunity is no^o) offered to a, limited num-
ber of both sexest and alt ages to receive the personal
supervision of an experienced teacher, J^ith a
thoroughly equipped school room, constantly increasing
facilities for illustrating and explaining lessons,
up-to-date methods, eic*, etc*
Lessons in Oil, Water Color and Pastel Painting
every afternoon* Sketching from Nature a specialty*
First-class references from long-time residents*
, ^^sume regular duties September t5, 1902*
A* A* %IKEMAN,
Duboise Ave.,
Mamaroneck, N. Y.
... - 1931
