As it was, no regard seems to have been paid by the Council to either claim. The lands were granted to Harrison, and the people of Rye, 'revolted' back to Connecticut.

The individuals to whom this grant was made, were William Nicolls, David Jamison, Ebenezer Wilson, John Harrison, f> and Samuel Haight. Nicolls was a member of Colonel Fletcher's Council; Jamison was clerk of the Council ; Wilson was Sheriff of the City of New York, and a prominent merchant. All these men stood high in the governor's

a County Records at White Plains, vol. B. pp. 259-261.

b In his petition for a patent, he signs his name John Harrison.

HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF WESTCHESTER.

favor, and were largely concerned in the land grants which he made." Of course the humble farmers of Peningo Neck had no influence to weigh against the interests of a company so powerfully manned.

Under this grievance, the town of Rye seceded. It renounced the authority of the provincial government, and returned to the colony of Connecticut. We do not greatly wonder at the secession. The provocation was great, and the temptation strong. It is more surprising that the Connecticut Government shpuld have received the rebellious town. But there was much bitter feeling just at this time between the two colonies, growing out of the unsettled state of the question as to their boundaries. We shall see in the next chapter what passed between the colonial governments relative to this secession. Meanwhile, for four years Rye was a part of Connecticut. From 1697 to 1700, inclusive, the inhabitants designated themselves as living in Rye, ' in the county of Fairfield, in the colony of Connecticut.'6 They applied to the General Court at Hartford for the settlement of any matters in dispute, and the Court seems to have considered and disposed of such applications precisely as in the case of any town east of Byram River.