Philip dis- tinguished himself as a General in the Revolutionary War and mem- ber of Congress for sixteen years . General Philip Van Cortlandt died on November 2 , 1831 , and his son Pierre , grandson of the first Pierre came into possession of the Manor . Pierre resided here until his death in 1884. Pierre's widow Catherine Beck Van Cortlandt next occupied the Manor with her children Cath- erine Van Cortlandt Matthew , James Stevenson Van Cortlandt and Anne Stevenson Van Cortland . All are now deceased . After the death of Anne Stevenson Van Cortlandt , the Manor House was purchased by Otis Chatfield- Taylor . Mr. Taylor died as the re- sult of an accident and his widow Mrs. Otis Chatfield - Taylor and son reside in the Mansion . André and Arnold No history of our community is complete without at least a brief account of the activities of Andre ' and Arnold . The story , as told by Alvin Higgins ** follows : The confusion or uncertainty of facts with regard to the story of This Page Donated By NATHANIEL N. H. BLUMENKRANZ , M.D. VAN CORTLANDT MANOR Andre ' and Arnold have caused many versions of it to be written . One as- pect which none of them contradict , however , reflects with credit upon the Croton - on - Hudson patriots . The British warship " Vulture " an- chored above Teller's ( now Croton ) Point , in plain view of this little hamlet . While the warship awaited Andre's arrival from New York ( he had come to Dobbs Ferry by horse and was being rowed up the Hudson to the ship ) , a barge load of sailors from the Vulture rowed over to the Croton shore to reconnoitre , to as- certain whether it was in the hands of the Whigs or the Tories .