The Freeholders and Inhabitants agree that the overseers of Highways are impowered to call on all the Men in their several Districts for the purpose of Destroying the Barbery bushes, so often as the said overseers shall think proper, until the whole are destroyed, any man refusing to come, if he is legally warned, shall forfeit -is. for every day, to be recovered in the same manner as the fines for neglect of working the roads are, which lines shall be lay'd out as the overseers think proper." It was the popul ir belief of that day that the smut or blight in wheat and other grains was caused by these unfortunate barberry bushes, hence in Mamaroneck as in many other places, ridiculous as it seems at this day, they were proceeded agaiust as public enemies.

The de Lanceys of New York so closely connected with the Province, and State, and the County of Westchester, are of French origin, the first of them in America having been driven from France by the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes, being a Huguenot. The annexed account of this family is mainly from Bolton's second edition of his History of Westchester County, whicli was drawn up from the autiiorities referred to in it, and later information from the late Bishop de Lancey and the present writer.

The de Lanceys of New Y'ork, are a branch of the ancient house of de Lancey in France, springing from Guy de Lancey, Ecuyer, Vicomte de Laval et de Nouvion, who in 1432, held of the Prince-Bishop of the Duchy of Laon, the fiefs of the four banier of Laval, and that of Nouvion.' These territories formed one of the fourVicomte-cics of the Laonnois, a division of the old province of the " Isle of France," bordering on Picardy.