Pell set up the plea that the so-called Cornell's Neck was comprehended within the tract that he had bought from the Indians in 1054; that the governor and council of Connecticut had taken " notice of this land to be under their government," and had licensed him to purchase it; and that any prior Dutch grant ought to be voided, since " where there is no right there can be no dominion, so no patent could be granted by the Dutch, they having no right." On the other hand, the plaintiffs alleged " ye articles of surrender, and the King's instructions, wherein any grant or conveyance from the Dutch is , confirmed." The jury promptly returned a verdict for the plaintiffs, with sixpence damages; and it was ordered "that the high sheriff or the undersheriff of ye North Biding of Yorkshire upon Long Island do put the plaintiffs in possession of the said land and premises; and all persons are required to forbear the giving the said plaintiffs or their assigns any molestation in their peaceable and quiet enjoyment thereof." Under this decision the absolute ownership of Cornell's Neck by the descendants of Thomas Cornell was never subsequently questioned. Mrs. Bridges deeded the Neck to her eldest

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son, William Willett, who on the 15th of April, 1GG7, procured from Governor Mcolls a new and more carefully worded patent to it. The Keck continued in the Willett family for more than a century afterward, and, although never invested with manorial dignity, was recognized throughout the colonial period as one of the most important landed estates in Westchester County, the heads of the Willett family vying in social and public prominence with the Morrises, Philipscs, de Lanceys, and Van Cortlandts.