Publications of the Westchester County Historical Society Volume IV <blank page> Officers of the WESTCHESTER COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY (Founded 1874) 1925-1926 CHARLES J. DUNLAP……President New Rochelle Prof. DIXON R. FOX……First Vice-President Hartsdale EDWARD C. BAILEY……Second Vice-President White Plains ARTHUR ISELIN……Third Vice-President Katonah REGINALD P. RAY……Treasurer 169 Main Street, Wh…

BARRETT, Bedford HERBERT D. TOMPKINS, Cortlandt FREDERICK P. CLOSE, Eastchester CHARLES D. MILLARD, Greenburgh BENJAMIN I. TAYLOR, Harrison EDWARD H. SMITH, Lewisboro GEORGE W. BURTON, Mamaroneck CHARLES J. MARASCO, Mount Pleasant GEORGE S. HAIGHT, Mount Vernon THOS. H. HODGE, Mount Vernon JAMES BERG, Mount Vernon JOHN G. ARCHER, Mount Vernon HOWARD R. WASHBURN, New Castle LEONARD H. GOLDSMITH, Ne…

Oct.7, 1856 The Danbury Expedition, April 23d to 28th, 1777 Oct. 5, 1858 The Capture of Pound Ridge Oct. 1, 1861 Colonel DeLancey's Final Departure, June 17, 1862 The Operations and Skirmishes of the British and American Armies in 1776, Before the Battle of White Plains, Oct. 7, 1862 The ''McDonald Papers" are not only interesting and valuable for the information that they contain but they are …

Sydney H. Carney, Jr., on Feb. 7, 1899. Edward Floyd de Lancey will be remembered as an incorporator and the first active president of this Society, 1874-1876, and as one deeply interested in Westchester County history. Among many other items he was the author of "The Origin and History of Manors in New York, and in the County of Westchester" and "Mamaroneck" both published in Scharf's ''History o…

He was interred in the burying-ground belonging to the Purchase Meeting Society where his father, mother and friends also lie. I do not know that his grave can be found but I hope and believe on proper enquiry and search that it may and this circumstance may lead to the discovery, viz:--his daughter Eliza was buried at his feet in a contrary direction, that is, at right angles. His father was by r…

It is a monument of patient, per-sistent and discriminating research. INTRODUCTION xi and when he arrived went to Mrs. Day's Tavern and threw himself upon her mercy and friendship, telling her that his life and liberty were in her power. The woman was much alarmed and trembled with agitation but said she would do all in her power to aid him. Mrs. Day is an old acquaintance and tried to get a boa…

Oakley and Dyckman prevailed upon the lieutenant to accompany them to Westchester and try and retake Isaac Oakley before he was taken to New York. They started and after proceeding four or five miles night overtook them and was likely to be very dark and rainy. The lieutenant hesitated about proceeding farther as he had no orders and if anything disastrous should happen he might be censured, but c…

the refugee if he was faithful, as soon as they effected their purpose he might go, but if he had deceived them they would kill him on the spot. They then placed the refugee in front of two soldiers, one behind the other and Oakley behind them that they might appear as one man and ordered the refugee when hailed to answer but press forward and seize the sen-try, which they did with his gun on his …

Before Oakley could get on his feet, Dyckman sprang in over him at the same time the soldiers burst in the door and they took 24 prisoners and one of them was a cornet in De-lancey's Horse; their surprise was so sudden, that but three or four of the enemy had time to seize their muskets. Oak-ley hurried off the prisoners and had gone three miles, when the alarm gun of the enemy was fired. They hur…

He then came to the door and Oakley asked him for something to eat. Griffin gave him some cake and a mug of cider while sitting on his horse. Griffin expected they would be pursued and kept looking out for the enemy; he soon saw they were in sight and told Oakley of it. He paid but little attention to it although he was there alone, the rest of the party having gone on. He INTRODUCTION xiii sat …

They passed the advanced posts undis-covered and crept along a wall by Redoubt No. 8, close to the sentinels and reached the house in question without being seen or heard. The revellers were completely sur-prised being engaged in dancing while they surrounded the house and up to the moment they entered. The men were seized before they could get their arms and threatened with death if they resisted…

My father at first declined the offer, but they persuaded him to accept, saying "If it does you no good, it can do you no harm and you had best take it." After my father's escape from imprisonment at New York, General Washington invited him to dinner where he met a large board of officers, convened, as he soon after discovered for the purpose of persuading him to become a spy. The proposition was …

Upon their urging him again to comply with their proposition, he rose from the table, expressed how much his feelings were hurt to think they had not a better opinion of him and took his leave. The proposal disgusted him so much that he left the service for a while and kept a school on Long Island. The bold stand he always took on all questions involving principle created for him warm friends and …

ered and fixed upon it, Mr. James Carpenter who lives near by, and was present at the interment, joined us, and his recol-lection of the spot corresponded with ours exactly, so that in all probability we have ascertained the right grave. We then had a plain stone prepared and put up, such as the Quakers allow. It contains simply the name of Cornelius Oakley, the time of his death and his age and n…

INTERVIEW WITH ANDREW CORSA OF FORDHAM, OCTOBER 7, 1848 Soon after the French and American armies came down to reconnoitre (New York) Cornelius Oakley and Isaac Webbers came for me on a Sunday morning and asked me to accom-pany them as a guide to Morrisania and I went. We found Generals Washington and Rochambeau waiting for us-- (From here on the account is substantially the same as given in Bolto…

The size of the volume is determined by the amount of the appropria-tion; the arrangement is such that the parts may be bound together as one volume when publication is completed. Acknowledgment is given William A. Moore [X], President of the Board of Education, New Rochelle, who courteously loaned the photostatic copies of the papers for use in prepar-ing this volume. Also to the New York Histori…