Scharf, J. Thomas, ed. History of Westchester County, New York, including Morrisania, Kings Bridge, and West Farms, which have been annexed to New York City, Vol. I. Philadelphia: L.E. Preston & Co., 1886.

Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library Gift of Seymour B. Durst Old York Library Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2013 http://archive.org/details/historyofwestcheOOscha PIT STORY WESTCHESTEE COUNTY, NEW YORK, INCLUDING MORRISANIA, KINGS BRIDGE, AND WEST FARMS, WHICH HAVE BEEN ANNEXED TO NEW YORK CITY. J. THOMAS SCHARF, A. M., LL. D. Author " Ilislory of Mnri/lanil," …

The plan of the work is to a large extent novel -- the grouping of so many representative writei-s, to tell so interesting a storj' as that of the origin, career and significance of Westchester County, has no parallel in the history of any other county in the United States. To present the principal historical phases of the several towns, and the county's life and development …

The Editor has endeavored to prevent any unnecessary repetitions, and to provide against serious omissions of what might naturally be expected in a history of its kind. In more than one instance he has been constrained by his deference to local authority upon strictly local subjects, and by yielding to the testimony of experts in matters which they alone are supposed to know …

The achievements of the living must not be forgotten, nor must the memories of those who have passed away be allowed to perish. It is the imperative duty of the historian to chronicle the public and private efforts to advance the great interests of society. Their deeds are to be recorded for the benefit of those who follow them, -- they, in fact, form part of the history of …

The scope and method of this history of Westchester County, is best understood by the table of contents, and the names of the Avriters annexed. It is sufficient to demonstrate the broad taste and judiciousness of selection on the part of the Editor. Without their indispensable aid and invaluable stores of material on the history of this interesting county, which they have been …

They have most liberally met every desire of the writers in respect of letter-press and engravings of portraits, views, maps and other illustrations ; they have spared no expense or effort to make the mechanical execution of the volumes equal to the subject, and to the Editor's ambition, and they have helped him in every difficulty and sought to remove every obstruction from …

The Origin and History of Manors IN New York, and in the County of Westchester, 31-160 a Parts : 1. The Indian Owners of New Nethorland ami of Westchester. 2. How tlie Indian Title vested successively in the Dutch West India Company, the British Crown, and the Independent State of New York. 3. The Dutch in New Nethcrland. 4. The Colonization by the West India Company. 5. The …

The Churih of Enj;land I'arochial Organization in Westchester County, and its Relations to tlie Manors. 12. The Manors and the County in their Mutual Kclations, and the Origin and Formation of the latter. 13. The Manor of Cortlandt, its Origin, Special Franchises, Division, First Lord and his Family, Particular Histoi-y, and Topography, 14. The Manor of S< ars<lale, iU Origin …

By Edward Floyd de Lancey. By Hon. Isaac N. Mills. vi CONTENTS. Page. The Medical Profession, 568-598 By Geobge Jackson Fisher, M. D. The Literary Men and Literature OP Westchester County, . 598-639 By J. Thomas Scharf, A. M., LL.D. The Civil History, 639-657 By Rev. William J. Cdmming. Soarsdale, 657-685 By Allen M. Butler, M. D. New Rochelle, 685-701 By Rev. Charles E …

Blue Bell Tavern 472j Brewster, Joseph B., Portrait of 70X Brown, Neheniiali, Portrait of 528 Butler, Allen M., Autograph of 684 Camp, Hugh N., Portrait of 836 Carjienter, Jonathan, Residence of 698 Carpenter, Jonathan, Portrait of 099 Caqwuter, W. J., Portrait of 598 Cauldwell, William, Portrait of 624 Cheese-Press, Primitive . 472a Church, Old Dutch, at Fordham 620 …

William H., Portrait of 867 Depew, Chauncey M., Portrait of 557 De Vries, David Pietersen 35 Dickel, C. W., Residence of 664 Disbrow House 856 Doctor of Olden Time 468 Drake, Joseph R., Portrait of 016 Dyckman, Isaac M., Portrait of 765 i Dyckman, Isaac Residence of 765 Dyckman, J. O., Portrait of 534 Dyckman, John H., Portrait of 705 Dyckman, William X., Portrait of 704 …

Franklin, Benjamin, Portrait of 171 Franklin's Cream Pot 641 Garth. D. J., Residence of 081 Gedney, Bartholomew, Portrait of 743 Gedney, Bartholomew, Residence of 743 Giffbrd, Silas D., Portrait of 532 Goodridge, Frederic, Residence of 769 Graystone, Residence of S. J. Tilden 554, 555 Griswold, U. B., Portrait of 597 Guion, Place, View of 686 Haerlem, View of, from Morrisania …

Huntington Homestead, Views at 822 Huntington Homestead 821 Huntington, H. K., Portrait of. 596 Indian chief 32 Indian family 33 Indian fort 34 Indian relics and specimens 14, 15, 16 Irving, Washington, Portrait of blO Jay, John C, Portrait of 582 Johnson, IsaacG., Portrait of 768 Johnson, S. W., Portrait of. 564 vii ILLUSTRATIONS. On or opposite page Johnson & Co. 'a Works …

Map of Fordham and the Meadows 775 Map, Roads about White Plains 732 Map, Sauthier's, published by Faden 403 Map, White Plains, 1721 720 Map, White Plains, 1776 . . . . 727 Mapes, Daniel, Portrait of 841 Mills, Isaac N. , Autograph of 550 Mitchell, Josiah S., Autograph of 740 Morris, A. Newbold, Portrait of 829 Morris, Fordham, Autograph of 817 Morris, Gouverneur, Portrait of …

Popham, L. C, Residence of 680 Popham, W. U., Portrait of 673 Popham, W. H., Residence of 672 Popham, W. S., Portrait of 672 Purdy, Samuel M., Portrait of 558 Putnam, A. E., Residence of 758 Reiufelder, M. I., Portrait of 596 Reynal, J., Residence of 724 Robertson, W. H., Portrait of 530 Sands, D. Jerome, Portrait of 590 Scharf, Autograph of 9 Scharf, J. Thomas, Portrait of …

Tilford, J. M., Residence of 742 Tompkins, Daniel D., Portrait of 671 Truman, Norman K., Portrait of 591 Van Cortlandt, A., Portrait of 762 Van Cortlandt Manor-House, King's Bridge 764 Van Rensselaer, W. P., Residence of 553 Van Rensselaer, W. P., Portrait of 553 Van Wyck, P. C, Portrait of 595 Varian, William A., Portrait of 584 Washington's Headquarters, White Plains 728 …

Never fettered by axioms, they avoid all prejudices that come from the past; not more attached to one line of operation than another, they are not prone to employ an old method rather than a new; without rooted habits, they easily shake off the influence which other nations might exercise. Their firm conviction is that their country is unlike any other, and that their …

As the same causes are continually in operation throughout the country, they ultimately impart an irresistible im- .pulse to the national character. The American, taken as a chance specimen of his country, must then be a man of singular warmth in his desires, enterprising, fond of adventure, and above all of innovation. The same bent is manifested in all that he does; he …

Alison, in his "History of I'urope," prophesied that " democratic institutions will not and can- ! not exist permanently in North America. The frightful i anarchy which lias prevailed in the Southern States I since the great interests dependent on slave emancij pation were brought into jeopardy, the irresistible j sway of the majority, and the rapid tendency of 1 the majority …

Democratic ideas will not be moderated in the New World till they have performed their destined end, and brought the Christian race to the shores of the Pacific." All the convulsions thus predicted have taken place with even greater force and consequences than the historian contemplated, and yet our Union is preserved in greater strength and more apparent durability than was …

BouxDAEY. -- The northern boundary line of Westchester County, as it is at present marked, was fixed at the time the county was erected November 1, 1683, and at the same time Long Island Sound was designated as the southern boundary, and the Hudson River a.s the western boundary. The line between New York and Connecticut has for more than two centuries been a matter of dispute …

Van Twiller, in 1633, purchased from the Indians an extensive tract of land, called the Connittelsock, lying on the west bank of the river and sixty miles from its mouth. At this point was established a trading post, called "The House of Good Hope." November 3, 1()20, King James I. incorporated "The Council established at Plymouth, in the county of Devon, for the planting …

The Plymouth Company complained to the privy council about " the Dutch intruders," and as early as February, 1622, we find the British ambassador at the Hague, Sir Dudley Carlton, claiming New Netherland as a part of New England and re(iuiring the States-General to stay the prosecution of their plantation. To this remonstrance no attention was paid. I\Iay 5, 1632, the West …

What boundaries Your High Mightinesses have granted to your subjects, can be seen by the charter issued in the year 1615," which date appears to refer to the charter of October, 11, 1614, which went into effect January 1, 1615. The remonstrance of New Netherland of July 28,' 1649, maintains their right of possession by virtue of discovery made by the ship "de Halve Maen " …

It was upon the validity of this sale, in connection with the voyage of the Dutchman, Adrian Block in 1614, through Hell Gate and along the coast of Connecticut to Fisher's and Block's Island, and Cape Cod that the claim of the Dutch to Connecticut rested. The claim of the Dutch to the coast of Connecticut was maintained in 1646 by Governor Kieft, who threatened Clovernor …

In 1650, Peter Stuyvesant, on behalf of the colony of New Netherland, had a conference with the authorities of Connecticut at Hartford, which resulted in a provisional treaty on the boundary that the line should "begin at the west side of Greenwich Bay, being about four miles from Stamford, and so run a northerly line twenty miles up into the country, until it shall be …

War breaking out between England and Holland, this agreement or treaty was never ratified by the home governments. King Charles II., on the 23d of April, 1662, granted to the colony of Connecticut the following boundary : " All that part of our dominion in .\merica bounded by Narraganset liay, conunonly called Xarngousit l!)iy, where the said river lalleth into the sea, and on …

This grant embraced Connecticut east of the Connecticut River -- with some variations of the boundaries -- and also the whole of Long Island, " together with all the river called Hudson River, and the lands from the west side of Connecticut River to the east side of Delaware Bay." By the charter and patent issued within less than two years of each other, nearly all of New York …

York for the purpose of cougratulation and settlement of the boundary line. These delegates and the commissioners appointed by the Governor of New York met on the 28th of October, 1664, and came to the understanding that the boundary limit between the two claimants should be fixed at a distance of twenty miles east of the Hudson River, and ninning parallel with that river …

The intention was that this line, twenty miles east of the Hudson, should continue at that distance until it struck the boundary line of Massachusetts ; but being given a " North Northwest " direction, it intersected the Hudson River at West Point, and cut off a large part of New York west of that river. On the 24th of November, 1688, negotiations were again undertaken to fix …

The boundary thus agreed upon began at the mouth of Byram River at a j^oint thirty miles from New York, and following that stream as far as the head of tide-water, or about a mile and a half from the Sound, to a certain " wading-place," where the common road crossed the stream at a rock known and described as " The Great Stone at the Wading- Place." From that stone the line …

The Legislature of Connecticut, on the 8th of May, 1684, formally approved the agreement and appointed a surve} or to lay oft' the line. In October following. Governor Dongan's officers met the surveyor of Connecticut at Stamford, and the amount of land conceded to Connecticut was ascertained, but their survey terminated with the line drawn parallel to the Sound as far as a …

" A probationary act" by New York followed, providing for the appointment of a new commission by each colony, and requiring the New York commission to run all the lines in accordance with the agreement and survey of 1683 and 1684, and this duty was required to be performed, though no commission from Connecticut should be appointed. This act was conditional on the royal …

had been scattered. Traditions were found inconsistent and contradictory, varying the line in places to a considerable extent. Along the whole distance the greatest uncertainty existed, and a distrust and want of confidence in all the supposed lines, ratherthan a disposition to contend for any. Resident* near the border refrained from voting in either State ; while officers of …

On the other hand, the commissioners of New York considered their authority limited to " ascertaining " the boundary as originally defined ; no agreement was reached, and in August, 1859, each State appointed new commis- I sioners ; but at their conference at Port Chester, on 13th September, of that year, the same difference of views confronted the commission, and the …

An agreement was made, December 5, 1879, whereby the western boundary of Connecticut was fixed as the ex parte line surveyed by New York in 1860, which was the old line of 1731. Connecticut, therefore, gave up her claim to the twenty-six hundred acres in dispute, between the straight line and the line of 1731 as reached, in exchange for her southern boundary extended into the …

The continuous valleys, extending north and south have been availed of by the railroads which intersect the county, while other roads in every direction have made the means of inter-communication easy and convenient. These features give to the roads running north and south a generally level character,wliile those extending across the country east and west are a constant …

These depressions have in several places created small lakes, of which Croton Lake is entirely artificial. Byram Lake, in Bedford and North Castle, Rye Pond in Harrison (covers two hundred and ten acres), Cross Lake and North and Solith Ponds, in Poundridge, Waccabuck Lake (covei-s two hutidred and twelve acres), in Lewisboro', Peach Lake, in North Salem, Mohegau and Mohansic …

Furnace Brook, in Cortlandt, is another small tributary of the Hudson. Pocantico River, rising in New Castle, forms the dividing line between Ossining and Mount Pleasant, and through Sleepy Hollow, finds its outlet in the Hudson at Tarrytown. Neperhan, or Saw-Mill River, rises in New Castle, and flowing through Mount Pleasant, Greenburgh and Yonkers, discharges its waters into …

The Maharness, rising in North Castle, and Stamford Mill River, rising in Poundridge, flow into Connecticut and thence to the Sound. The southern or Sound shore of the county is indented with bays and estuaries, of which Westchester or Pelham Bay and Mamaroneck Harbor are the largest. Peninsulas stretch out into the Sound, of which Throgg's Neck, Pelham's Neck, Davenport's …

Yonkers, Hastings-on-the- Hudson, Dobbs Ferry, Abbotsford, Irvington, Tarrytown, Sing Sing, Croton, Crugers, Verplanck and Peekskill, are the principal stations along the line of this road. The New York and Harlem River Railroad extends through the central portion of the county, through Morrisania, West Farms, Eastchester, Scarsdale, White Plains, Mount Pleasant, New Castle …

1 The accompanying geological map of Westchester County was prepared by the officers of the United States Geological Survey, at Washington, D. C, from data prepared by Professor Dana, and presents the latest conclusions of that school of geologists who agree with Prof. Dana as to the Lower Silurian age of the Westchester County rocks. The geological portion ol' this cliapter …

Dana's account of the limestone beds as the most importiint feature and value which geology points out for the county. Of course we had to abridge as much a.s possible in order to keep within the limits of our work. '- Prof. I. S. Newberry, in Popular Sci«Ht« Monlhly, for October, 1878. 73"45 73°30' 45' 73 •45 ' 73 '30' Geoloi>ir Map of VV^est Chester Coimty, N.Y. MILES …

In Vermont the marbles occur in what is essentially a single belt, are fine-grained, unusually banded and mottled, are nearly pure carbonates of lime, and the rocks immediately associated with them are gray siliceous limestones, quartzites and slates. In Westchester County and on New York Island, on the contrary, the niarbles are very coarsely crystalline dolomites (double …

Dana ' holds that Westchester County is comprised within t\u Green Mountain region, that it borders the southern side of the Putnam County Archa'an, as Dutchess County does the northern, and resembles in its ordei that part of the Green Mountain region which now makes Western Connecticut. The topographical features of the county owe much to the lime-stont bolts, which, by …

Dana holds that the throw of the waters against the right bank of a stream (the western if flowing south, or the northern if flowing west), in consequence of the earth's rotation, may have had its effects, and may possibly account for the cases in which the western side is the steep one, notwithstanding a vertical or even a high eastern pitch. The lime-stone belts of the …

The most southern outcroj) occurs about a mile north of the Bridge; it again outcrops near the " Club House." This belt probably continues southward into New York Island. The third area of the southern section is a prominent feature of the north end of New York Island, from which it extends three miles northward into Westchester County along Tippitt's Brook. The Harlem River …

There are indications of a more eastern belt along the Saw-Mill River Valley just north of the city. On Gnissy Sprain Brook a small area exists with a width to the south of live iiundred yards. On the IJronx River a lime-stone belt begins near Bronx ville, and taj)ers out to the south, while to the north, and for the most of its course, it is divided into two parts, separated …

Half a mile east of the village of Croton occurs a small area without distinguishable features, and south of the Croton River a narrow area extends from near " Quaker Bridge " to the forcation of the river at Huntersville. At Merritt's Corner, and on the east border of Croton Lake, as well as near Bedford Station, small areas of lime-stone are indicated. East of the …

It is in accordance with this that the least degrees of metamorphism are found in the lime-stone and associated schists of the vicinity of Peekskill, in the northwest corner, while along the central and eastern portions of the county, and in the western, also, south of the Croton, the crystallization is commonly very coarse; that the lime-stones have the same kind of …

The hillsides have suffered I'rom washing by heavy rains, but yield abundant crops to good cultivation. About the hill-tops and along the .summits of the ridges the rocks generally crop out, so that these localities are mostly left to be covered with forest growths, adding greatly to the beauty of the scenery. In many places in the county there are peat swam2>s, where ancient …

It stands on the hill directly northeast of Muscoot Mountain in the southwestern part of Somers, and from its top can be seen the blue hills of Long Island across the sound, the northern elevations of Dutchess County and the distant lands of Connecticut. To the west it overlooks Yorktown and Cortlandt. One side of this curious rock has the appearance of an Indian's face. It is …

On that day Henry Hudson, the intrepid English navigator, anchored his vessel, the "Half-Moon," in the newly-discovered river, near the site of the present city of Yonkers. The dawn of the following day disclosed the residents of the village of Nappeckamak gathered upon the eastern shore, and viewing with wonder, but with a kindly interest, the strange revelation before them …

Their color was unique, and was imagined to resemble that of copper ; but further investigation showed that this color varied greatly. Some of the natives were found to be nearly as dark as negroes, while in other sections they were almost as light as Caucasians. They spoke many hundred different languages, which showed striking analogies in their grammatical construction …

We may reasonably suppose that man existed here for a long time before he discovered the litness of maize for food, and for a much longer period before he began its cultivation; and then it must have required centuries to introduce it to general cultivation over nearly a hundred degrees of latitude in the two continents. It is well known that plants change their character very …

The attempts to designate particular nations as the original peoplers of the American continent, whether they were the Lost Tribes of Israel the Phwnicians or the Chinese, have so utterly failed to convince inquirers, that they have been generally abandoned. The autochthonic theory, the theory of indigenous origin, has had many strong arguments produced in its favor. Some of …

The Pacific currents frequently cast the wrecks of Japanese vessels upon our northwestern shores. The islands of the South Pacific afforded a probable way of communication, and it is believed that many have disappeared, comparatively recently, beneath the surface. On the Atlantic side the difficulties were by no means insurmountable, even if we ignore "the lost Atlantis." The …

Their traditions referred in a very vague way to long journeys from the northwest, and great suflTering from cold on their way hither, and of contests with a people who occupied the country before them. Of their own history they were lamentably ignorant. Their computation of time by moons and revolving cycles led all investigations into inextricable confusion. Any event beyond …

It has been found more fertile in dialects than any other aboriginal speech. It was strangely agglutinative, and gave expression to thought by stringing words together into an extended compound. It was the mother-tongue of those who greeted Raleigh's colonists on the Roanoke, of those who boarded the " Half-Moon " on the Hudson, and of those who welcomed and fed the Pilgrims …

Long Island was occupied by Mohegan tribes. It has been stated that at the time of discovery the Mohegans were under military subjection to the Iroquois, and were compelled to pay an annual tribute to them. This is not substantiated by investigation, for we find no reference to it in any of the treaties made by these tribes with the whites, nor was such a thing ever alluded to …

The national obligation was imperative, and treason to the decisions of a council was punished with death. Each nation had its emblem, or totem, which served the purpose of the flag of a civilized nation. These were used in times of war, and were drawn upon trees and rocks to indicate that the tribes had taken up the hatchet and had gone upon the warpath. The Mohegan totem was …

The ownership of land depended upon conceded original occupation or upon conquest. If obtained by conquest, all original rights became vested in the conquerors, and if it was re-conquered, these returned to the original owner. They had but little idea of title to land. They valued only its occupation and use. The game that filled the forests and the fish that swarmed in the …

Their territory also extended along the Mahicanituk, or Hudson River, northward to the Neperhan, or Saw- Mill River, and eastward to the Aquehung, or Bronx River. Between the Neperhan and the Pocantico were the Weckquaesgeeks. The Sint Sinks occupied the land between the Pocantico and the Kitchawan, or Croton River. North of the Croton were the Kitchawancs, whose lands …

These villages were located where there were special advantages for fishing, or where a light and easilyworked soil was favorable for cultivation. The Manhattans had three villages upon Manhattan Island. Their largest village in this county was Nappeckamak, which occupied the site of the present city of Yonkers. At the southern end of the original township of Yonkers …

They had another village upon Verplanck's Point and a larger one called Sackhoes, where Peekskill now stands. The Siwanoys were a numerous tribe. They had a village upon Pelham Neck, ill the present town of Pelham ; another on Davenport's Neck, in New Rochelle ; and their largest settlement upon the shores of Rye Pond, in the present town of Harrison. Here was a very extensive …

The whole county is remarkably well watered and its soil produced an abundance of rich natural grasses. These conditions caused an abundance of game. The lands bordering the Beaver Dam River in Bedford were called "the deer's delight." The numerous lakes and streams throughout the county were well stocked with fish. These were taken with lines and nets, the cordage of which …

The valleys from the south and southwest come together here by the subsidence of the intervening ridges. The Indians in considerable numbers would start in the early morning many miles away, and would " beat the bush " with hideous yells, working in the direction of the trap, while parties ran along the ridges on the right and left to prevent lateral escapes, and thus they …

So extensive were these shell-heaps upon City Island, now forming part of the township of Pelham, that they gave to the surrounding waters the name of "the great bay of the island of shells." Similar heaps were found upon Berrian's Neck, in the township of Yonkers, and at the various village sites along the Hudson. The largest of these were upon Croton Point, where …

To overlook and protect the important oyster-beds of this wide portion of the river, the fort upon Van Cortlandt's neck was erected. It is an interesting fact that where these shells have remained undisturbed they are nearly all found whole, showing that the Indians opened the oysters without breaking them. It was probably accomplished by exposure to the sun. None of them have …

It must be remembered that he had taught no animal to assist him in his labor. He had no flock or herd, nor any kind of poultry. His dog was a worthless creature, resembling a cross between the fox and the w-olf, and was only the lazy sharer of his cabin or the playmate of his children, and was not trained to usefulness in the chase. He had no iron nor any other metal, except …

His most important crop was maize, and upon this he relied, very largely, for his subsistence in winter. It was roasted while young, and when matured and dry was ground into meal by stone pestles and mortars, and when this was moistened with water and baked upon heated stones.the product was called nookhik," from which have come " nocake and " hoe-cake." The grain was …

In November, 1624, among the cargo of the first laden vessel from New to Old Amsterdam were 7246 beaver-skins, 675 skins of otters, 48 of mink, 36 wild-cat and various other sorts. In Wassenares' " History of the New Netherlands," it is narrated : " The tribes are in the habit of clothing themselves with otter-skins, the fur inside, the smooth side without ; which, however …

The men always went bare-headed, and, in the summer, wore nothing beside a short garment about the loins, called, by the white settlers, " Indian breeches." The women dressed their glossy hair in a thick, heavy plait. Their dress usually consisted of two garments, -- a leather shirt and a skirt of the same material fastened around the waist, with a belt and reaching below the …

Their villages were composed of houses closely huddled together about a central .sj)ace, which was used for the transaction of public business, for ceremonies and amusements. Besides the manufactures already named there were others that attested the Indian's skill. He made boats of two kinds. One consisted of a light, wooden frame, covered with birch-bark, skillfully and …

Specimens of all these have been found in Westchester County. The mortars were usually bowl-like depressions worn into some rock beside the village site, where the women could conveniently resort to grind the corn. Sometimes they were made in portable stones. The pestles were from two to three inches in diameter and from six to twenty inches in length, and generally of fine …

The cutting tools were leaf-shaped implements made of flint or jasper, finely chipped to an edge, which combined in its cutting the principles of the saw and the knife. There were also flakes of obsidian that had sharp cutting edges. Skinning tools, or celts, were wedge-shaped implements made of many kinds of stone, worked to a fine edge at one end, and generally polished …

Occasionally throughout the county quantities of flint chips are found on some Indian village site, where the ancient arrowmaker had his workshop. Mauls and hammer-stones were made of several varieties of tough stones. The former were grooved for hafting, and the latter were POLISHED FLESHER. FLESHER WITH HANDLE. THE INDIANS. circular or elliptical, two and a half inches in …

Pipes have not been found in great numbers, but some of the specimens are very interesting. They are made of greenstone, steatite and sometimes were fashioned of clay. They represent birds, or the heads of birds, turtles and various animals, the beaver more frequently than others. Ceremonial stones were the most finely wrought of all the Indian's stone-work. They were carried …

These facts prove that the Mohegans carried on commerce of exchange with other tribes, and thus obtained articles that liad been brought from very remote localities. Holes were drilled through stones for ornament or use by a drill ot flint, or a reed with water and sand. These were worked by a bow-string. The bow was an important article of the Indian's outfit, and was his …

They were used for ornament as well as for coin, and ten thousand or more were sometimes wrought into the belt of some 1 Six by two inches, found in Bedford. GROOVED HAMMER. HISTORY OF WESTCHESTER COUNTY. great chieftain. The district about Byram Lake was called Cohemong, which meant the place where wampum is made. There have been but few unbroken specimens of Indian pottery …

The consent of the sachem was obtained to their marriage, and he usually joined their hands together and they went away as man and wife. The man had but one wife, unless he was a sachem or occupied an exceptionally high position. The marriage tie was respected, and unfaithfulness was looked upon as a crime. In cases of separation the wife was given her share of the goods and …

They had learned the medicinal virtues of many herbs and of a few other simples. They bound HAND-MADE AND FINCiER-MARKED VESSEL OF POT T E up wounds with mollifying preparations of leaves. They treated fevers by opening the pores of the skin with a vapor bath ; but their chief reliance in many diseases was upon supernatural cures. Their medicine-man, or pow-wow, excited their …

The Indian endeavored to express these in a language imperfectly understood by the whites, and naturally the hearers interpreted these expressions according to their own predilections. It is not strange, therefore, that very little has come to us that can be implicitly accepted. But all our witnesses unite upon this important point, -- thea-e was no kind of idolatry practiced …

They believed in rewards and punishments hereafter, and they held that after death the souls of the good went to the home of Cantantowit, far away in the good southwest. There they were delivered from every sorrow and preserved from all suflering. The pleasures they there enjoyed were similar in character with those they had known here, but their perfection was more complete …

At best, there was presented only a dissolving view that was transformed before the observer's gaze. The Indian was immediately called a drunkard, and yet he had no beverage whatever that could intoxicate, and no drug that answered any similar purpose. The first Indian who felt the influence of alcohol found it in the cabin of the " Half-Moon." So, also, with other vices …

The one fixed, unchanging and unchangeable factor in his existence, upon which he could imjilicitly rely, was the land ; and now this was snatched from him by devices of which he was totally ignorant. The term "title" conveyed no meaning to his understanding. Acting under the laws of his fathers, and doing only what he had always been taught was right, he found himself accused …

He detained two of their number (*n the vessel, and, although they soon jumped overboard and swam to the shore, his act was nevertheless an outrage upon the universal rules of hospitality. He recorded that, when they reached the shore, they called to him "in scorn." Hudson ascended the river to Albany, holding communication with the Indians along the way ; and so kind was …

The young men whom he had attempted to kidnap came out with their friends in canoes and discharged their arrows at the " Half-Moon," "in recompense whereof six muskets replied and killed two or three of them." The Indians renewed the attack from a point of land (perhaps preceding the vessel to Fort Washington), but "a falcon shot killed two of them and the rest fled into the …

In 1639 the first sale of land in Westchester County was made. It included the northern shore of Spuyten Duy vil Creek. Other sales were made by the Indians to the Dutch until, on the 8th day of August, 1699, the Sachems Sackima, Corachpa, Wechrequa, Monrechro and sundry other Indians gave a general deed confirming numerous smaller sales made to Stephanus Van Cortlandt and …

Subsidiary to this great sale, numerous others were made, -- some of lands included in the above, and others of lands adjacent thereto, like the one made to Thomas Pell, of Fairfield, Conn., in 1654, and to Edward Jessup and John Richardson, in 1663, of tracts adjoining those sold to the Dutch in the southern part of the county. By these sales the Indians disposed of the …

It is not necessary here to specify the considerations named in the several deeds, as this matter was the work of the settlers, and will be more fully considered in their connection. They consisted of a few hoes, hatchets, knives, kettles, articles of clothing, rum and "divers other goods." These seem very insignificant to us; but, in justice to the settlers, it must be …

So soon as the Dutch had made a settlement, their cattle were allowed to run at large for pasturage, and "frequently came into the corn of the Indians, which was unfenced on all sides, committing great damage there. This led to complaints on their part, and finally to revenge on the cattle, without sparing even the horses." In 1626 a Weckqujesgeek Indian, from the vicinity of …

Finally, a treaty was concluded between the Dutch and the Indians, the former agreeing to some matters required by the latter, on condition that the murderer should be surrendered. But the treaty was never fulfilled by either party. It was a very difficult matter to have an Indian arrested whose actions had been in strict accordance with the laws and customs of his race …

The farmer was murdered in the open field; women and children, granted their lives, were swept off" into long captivity; houses and boweiies, hay-stacks and grain, cattle and crops were all destroyed." The Indians were now satisfied, and on the 22d of April, 1643, they made a treaty of peace, in which it was declared that '"all injuries committed by the said natives against …

The position of the Dutch was perilous in the extreme, and had the Indians known their power the whites would have been swept away. Governor Kieft now solicited aid from New England, offering a large sum for men and arms and proposing that New Netherland should be mortgaged to secure the i)ayment of the money. They received the aid, however, of only a few English volunteers …

The inmates preferred to perish in the flames rather than to fall by their enemy's weapons. In this merciless manner five hundred human beings were butchered. Other statements carry the number to seven hundred. The militarj' power of the Indians was now broken and thereafter warlike operations ceased. On the 30th of the following August, 1645, a general treaty of peace was …

All this through a foolish hankering after war, for it is known to all right-thinking men here that these Indians have lived as lambs among us until a few years ago, injuring no one and affording every assistance to our nation." There are traditions of the slaughter of large numbers of Indians at other points in the county, but they are believed to be unfounded. Mount Misery …

On the 31s;t of August, 1778, they took part in the engagement at Tibbet's Brook, on the Van Cortlandt's estate, in Yonkers. They fought bravely and over forty of their number were killed. When Nimham saw that they were surrounded by the British horse, he called to his followers to fly, exclaiming, " I am old and will die here." Ridden down by Colonel Siracoe, he wounded that …

The Indians vanished from Westchester as noiselessly as the morning mists disappear before the advancing day, inclosed valleys and hidden nooks retaining remnants after the great body had gone. They left behind them so few material evidences of their existence here that we find them only by accident or by careful search. But many of the names applied by them to mountains …

These visible realities had been supplemented by extravagant fables of the riches of the East, until the minds of navigators were inflamed with an eager desire to reach these inexhaustible treasures and bring them quickly home in their ships of the sea, instead of upon the "ships of the desert," as they had so slowly come before. This desire led to great events. It developed …

The daring fishermen of France sought the shores of Newfoundland in the pursuit of their vocation, and were followed into the St. Lawrence by the flag and arms of their country, where they so tenaciously remained. England waited for the reign of Elizabeth for the enterprise that developed her greatness in every direction and planted colonies in North Carolina and Virginia, and …

The wealth and power of Spain were considered almost boundless. The revolting )jrovinces were small in area and in population. The ' contest seemed most unequal, but the same energy, persistence and skill that had wrested their fertile land irom the sea defeated the armies of Spain and wore out the endurance of her sovereigns, until, on the 9th of April, 1609, the protracted …

Striking the American coast at Nova Scotia, Hudson skirted the shores of Maine and Cape Cod and next reached the mouth of Chesapeake Bay, and, turning northward, passed the coast of Maryland and entered Delaware Bay. Again standing northward, on the 2d of September he sighted the highlands of Navesinck, " a very good land to fall in with and a pleasant land to see," and on the …

England, becoming jealous of the advantages that might accrue to her maritime rival by these discoveries, prevented Hudson from returning to Holland, and his connection with the East India Company ended. He never revisited the river that makes his name immortal, but under English patronage he continued the vain search for a sea-way to India and lost his life in Hudson's Bay in …

During the war with Spain they had opened and developed a profitable interchange ot commodities with the countries of the Baltic, and they had become the chief distributors of Russian furs to the countries of Europe. Naturally, they soon turned their attention to the prosecution of the fur trade with the Indians of the Hudson River, where beaver, otter and other valuable …

In the " Restless " Block sailed boldly through the rushing currents of the East River, naming its most dangerous portion " Hell Gate," after a similar situa. tion in a branch of the Scheldt, near Hulst, in Zealand, called " Hellegat." He explored our shore of Long Island Sound, and continued eastward to Cape Cod. The importance of these enterprises increased so that the …

Various propositions were considered and dismissed, until, in 1621, the West India Company was organized, and received a charter of almost unlimited powers of government, while it was required to "advance the peopling of this fruitful and unsettled part, and do all that the service of those countries and the profit and increase of trade shall require." The internal …

Opportunely, the West India Company invited settlers to New Netherland. Considerable numbers embraced the offer, and thus the Walloons became the first permanent residents upon the shores of the Hudson, and the first tillers of the soil. They spoke the French language, and were chiefly united with the Hollanders in their common hatred of the Spanish rule. They came here to …

Having the interest of the fur trade more in view than the welfare of the colonists, the members of the company were, unfortunately, dispersed, some going to the South, or Delaware River, and others to Castle Island, near Albany, where Fort Nassau was soon afterward built. May had been appointed Director. The settlers who went to the South River soon returned. Other Walloons …

It was soon seen that the rights of the Indians must be respected, as being superior to any European right of discovery and occupation. Minuit, therefore, very justly opened negotiations with them for the purchase of Manhattan Island, and they relinquished their claims thereto " for the value of sixty guilders," which was equivalent to about twenty-four dollars of our money In …

With the increase of wealth from trade and manufactures, the rich merchants were unable at home to satisfy their desires for landed estates, and hence it was proposed to offer them lands in New Netherland. On June 7, 1629, the West India Company issued its " Charter of Privileges and Exemptions," by which any member of the company who should purchase land of the Indians, and …

wealthy directors took immediate advantage of the company's action before the other share-holders could avail themselves of its privilege, and at once the most desirable territory was seized by a few. Disagreements and dissensions speedily followed. Intelligent emigrants were afraid to place themselves under the control of such grasping masters. Instead of encouraging the …

It was called Donck's Colony, and its proprietor, invested with all the rights and privileges contained in the charter of 1629, became a member of the order of Patroons. In 1650 a contract was made by the West India Company, with Van der Donck and others, for the transportation of two hundred persons to New Netherland. Yonkers soon became a place of considerable trade with the …

During Kieft's administration an Indian war, resulting from the murder of an Indian, as is related in the previous chapter, befel New Netherland, and drove the white settlers from Westchester County and threatened the complete destruction of the colony. Kieft's administration proved unfortunate for the company. It was considered that he had unnecessarily brought on the …

PETEK ST U Y \-ES A N J . further troubles with the Indians up the Hudson. The internal affairs of his government were very jarring. Jealousies and disputes were frequent. He was stern in his assertion of authority, but that authority was but poorly respected. To add to his difficultie-', lie was very insufficiently supported by the college of the company in Amsterdam. The …

The grants made to the Patroons were not interfered with. Adriaen Van der Donck died in 1655, leaving to his wife the colony of Yonkers. She subsequently married Hugh O'Neal e. In 1666, Governor Nichols granted a patent to Hugh O'Neale and Mary, his wife, confirming the rights of Van der Donck. There were a number of subsequent transfers of the title to these lands, until they …

Under the fostering care of the Philipse and Van Courtlandt families, the settlement of the lands along the Hudson rapidly progressed. English families mingled with the Dutch to a considerable extent, but the Holland emigrants greatly, outnumbered them, so that, in the people and their habits, customs and character, the settlements along the Hudson were active with the …

They were thoroughly imbued with the democratic spirit that, with the freedom of the individual, respected fully both the natural and the acquired rights of others. They valued education. In Holland their free-school system was the best in Europe. Women occupied an exceptionally honorable position, both in society and in the management of afiairs, so that they ably assisted in …

The chief disputes were among the Protestants themselves, and mainly concerned the extent to which the changes should go. The people abandoned themselves to the consideration of questions of civil and religious liberty. Dissenters returning from the Continent threw their advanced ideas into the arena of public discussion. During the Commonwealth the spirit of controversy …

At one time they looked toward emigrating to New Netherland, and at another to Virginia, but, finally, arrangements were completed for a more northern location, and, in 1620, they crossed the Atlantic and commenced the Massachusetts settlement. Their trials and sufferings in the new home were varied and severe. The settlement grew, however, and it was not long before the …

Remaining but a short time at Boston, they came to Connecticut and securely planted the New Haven colony in the spring of 1638. The land had been purchased from the Indians in the preceding autumn. So soon as they were comfortably established they desired to enlarge their borders, and on the 1st of July, 1640, Nathan Turner, on behalf of the people of New Haven, purchased of …

In 1661, John Richbell, of the island of Barbadoes, West Indies, purchased of the Indians a tract lying between the lands purchased by Pell and those just mentioned, and extending a long distance inland. His title to this was confirmed by lettera patent issued by Governor Lovelace in 1668. In 1696 the widow of John Richbell conveyed these lands to Colonel Caleb Heathcote, who …

By her mother, she was connected with the family of the poet Dryden. Her religious views did not harmonize with those of the Puritans, and she was driven out of the colony. She first went to Rhode Island, but afterward sought peace and security near the Dutch settlement in New Netherland. She settled with her family upon Pelham Neck in 1642. Soon afterward John Throckmorton …

The old " Westchester Path " had long been used by the Indians and furnished the whites with the best inland communication. The fields that the Indians had cultivated were already cleared for the whites, and enabled them at once to raise the necessary food for their support. Gradually the settlers pushed inland and made additional purchases from the Indians. In 1683 the …

begun. Poundridge and Salem were settled from the same source. While the growth of these settlements was not rapid, it was steady and healthful. The people gradually became rooted to the soil. After wandering so far, they were content to remain in the quiet enjoyment of their new homes. Nearly all those who settled in the eastern portion of the county were Dissenters, who …

Beside the Puritans, who came fi-om Connecticut, another English element came into Westchester County after the transfer of New York to the English, in 1664. The Governors sent over by the Duke of York were accompanied by numerous officers and retainers, who were no sooner established in their new positions than they began to look about them for lands for themselves and their …

The most of these centred about the present town of North Castle. THE DISCOVERY AND SETTLEMENT. The Huguenot Settlement. -- Simultaneously with Luther's work in Germany thereformed ideas were widely spread in France. They were born on French soil, but were greatly strengthened by the progress of the Reformation in Germany, and grew rapidly under the active influences of …

The Huguenots stoutly defended themselves throughout France, although great numbers were slain. The tide of their fortunes constantly ebbed and flowed. In 1598, Henry IV. issued the famous Edict of Nantes, which was helpful to both Catholics and Protestants, reproducing the more favorable and tolerant of former edicts. Under Louis XIII. their rights were again attacked, which …

Great numbers went to England, causing silk manufacture and other important industries to flourish there; others went to Ireland, making her linen and poplin manufactures the most important in the world; some went to Switzerland and some to Germany, and many crossed the Atlantic to seek peaceful homes and assured liberty in the New World. Their trials and sufferings and heroic …

He came to America in 1660 as a private soldier in the service of the Dutch West India Company. Leaving the army, he engaged in the Indian trade, with great success, and acquired a considerable fortune. Under Dougan's administration, in 1683, he was appointed one of the commissioners of the Admiralty Court, and, when Dougan was succeeded by Lieutenant-Governor Nicholson …

On the 20th of September, while Leisler was exercising the full power of a Governor in all civil and mrlitary matters, John Pell, lord of the manor of Pelham, conveyed to him for the consideration of sixteen hundred and seventy-five pounds and five shillings sterling, "all that tract of land lying and being within said manor of Pelham, containing six thousand acres of land …

In the following year he conveyed these lands to them, when his connection with the settlement ceased. Some of the Huguenots came here by way of the West Indies, but the greater portion came from England. The main company landed at what is known as Bonnefoy's Point, in Echo Bay, adjoining Davenport's Neck. Numbers continued to arrive until the year 1700. Their new home was …

Claiming the complete spirituality of the gospel dis- ' pensation, they denied all outward rites and ceremonies, and insisted that the types' of the Jewish ritual were fulfilled and ended in Christ. They acknowledged no order of priesthood but the universal priesthood of believers. They held that Christ as the head of His church chose and commissioned whom He would to preach …

This claim rested upon the clause in the Massachusetts charter which expressly guaranteed " all liberties and immunities of free and natural subjects of the realm to all Englishmen 'which shall go to and inhabit' Massachusetts, or which shall happen to be born there, or on the seas in going thither or returning from thence." The result of the contest was one of those sad …

Governor Winthrop thus speaks of her in his journal : " In 1643, Lady Moody was in the colony of Massachusetts, a wise and anciently religious woman, and being taken with the error of denying baptism to infants, was dealt withal by many of the elders and others, and admonished by the church of Salem, whereof she was a member, but persisting still, and to avoid further trouble …

Friends came to Gravesend in considerable numbers in 1657. Many of the inhabitants embraced their doctrines, and their first religious meeting on Long Island was established there. It was recorded that " meetings were held at the house of Lady Moody, who managed all things with such prudence and observance of time and place as to give no offense to any person of another …

In the official instructions given by the directors of the Dutch West India Company, the official oath required '" the maintenance of the Reformed Religion in conformity to the word and the decrees of the Synod of Dordrecht, and not to tolerate in public any other sect." In this the Governor had an excuse for his treatment of the Quakers. Some were imprisoned for a long time …

The first who settled here located in the town of i Westchester. When the first meeting was held there i we cannot learn, but one was in existence in 1685. \ Soon afterward numbeis of Quakers settled in Mama- i roneck. In 1695 a step was taken that proved of great moment in the future settlement of Friends in Westchester County. John Harrison, of Flushing, purchased of the …

Harrison's purchase was made for the settlement of Friends from Long Island. They called it " The Purchase," and it is still so known. The emigration began as soon as the interests of the patentees who were not Friends were purchased, and the necessary arrangements completed. Large numbers then came across the Sound. In 1704 the Court of General Sessions recorded the places …

Into this the Quakers rapidly ])ushed, purchasing the lands from those who had obtained titles therefor. The line of settlement ran through the i)resenttownsofHarrison, North Castle, New Castle, Yorktown, Lewisborough and North Salem, and through Putnam, Dutchess and Columbia Counties. In the town of Harrison, and in some of those just named, the Quakers constituted for a …

In 1767, Purchase Quarterly Meeting sent the following minute to the Yearly Meeting, then held at Flushing : " If it is not consistent with Christianity to buy and sell our fellowmen for slaves, during their lives and their posterity after them, then whether it is consistent with a Christian spirit to keep those in slavery that we have already in our possession by purchase …

But they did not leave the matter therein 1781, Purchase Monthly Meeting, in session at Chappaqua, decided "to appoint a number of solid, judicious Friends as a committee to perform a visit to such Friends who have set their negroes free, and inspect into the circumstances of such negroes and aflford them advice, both with respect to their spiritual and their temporal good, as …

All slaves in the State of New York were made free by law on 4th of July, 1827. When the Quakers of Purchase liberated their slaves they settled them upon their rough lands in the northwestern portion of the town of Harrison, and thus the negro community', still existing northeast of the village of White Plains, was begun. Some of the slaves liberated in the northern portion …

The heat of summer and the continued cold of winter were found most trying. The animals they brought with them were greatly reduced by their long voyages and then had to endure the trials of acclimatization. As there were no mills for sawing lumber, the houses were constructed of stones and logs, while the necessary boards were obtained only by tedious hand labor. The shingles …

Oxen also performed nearly all the animal labor of the farm. There were but few horses. These were chiefly used under the saddle, the women often riding upon pillions behind the men. Until mills for grinding grain were built, the flour was made by hand-grinding in a mortar, and afterward, the mills being few in number, much of the grain was carried long distances upon • the …

essary adjunct to every well-regulated establishment. The people made their own shoes or were supplied from leather of their own making by the itinerant shoemaker, who sojourned with the family till his work was completed. In the preparation and manufacture of so many articles all the members of the family were employed, and each home was the scene of busy industries …

They manfully overcame the obstacles that beset them; from rough materials they hewed homes of comfort and contentment ; they reared their families to virtue and usefulness, and their children rose up to call them blessed. Tho.se were rich streams that flowed into Westchester County : the Dutch, the Puritan, the Huguenot and the Quaker. Each fought its battle for civil and …

They saw before all others, her lofty hills, rich valleys, and deep magnificent forests, glowing in the transparent air and warm sun of Autumn beneath the bright blue sky of America.^ They sailed up the river as far as the site of Albany and then slowly returned. On the second of October, they anchored at the historic inlet of Spyt-den-Duyvel, their progress being checked by a …

These Indians, as well all the others with whom Hudson came in contact, belonged to a great aboriginal nation, or stock, termed the Lenni-Lenape. This was the name of that great confedera cy of Indian tribes, which, as Heckewelder states, extended from the mouth of the Potomac northeastwardly to the shores of Massachusetts Bay, and the mountains of New Hampshire and Vermont …

HISTORY OF WESTCHESTER COUNTY. used, however, by many writers to describe all the aborigines east of the Mississippi and south of the j St. Lawrence, from the singular and very striking fact, that but one language was spoken throughout this entire region which was styled the "Algonquin" or "Algonkin." All the Indians Avithin these limits j understood each other. There were …