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.
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The i)rcsont ofhcei-s are : F oreman, John Ferguson ; first assistant foreman, Lewis C. Piatt, Jr. ; second assistant foreman, Peter F. Tracy ; secretary, Edward Baxter; treasurer, Thomas J. McCarty; steward, James Htines. Tni', Union IIook-.vnd-Ladder CoAri'AXY. -- This company was also reorganized in 1883. Its first oflicers, on reorganization, were: Foreman, Feltus Pullen …
Barnes ; secretary, Edward Bogart ; treasurer, Thomas Ilohhni. The number of members was one hundred and two. The present officers are : Foreman, John II. Barnes; firet assistant foreman, William H. ].,awler; second assistant foreman, Adolph Matthies ; secretary, John Haley, Jr.; treasurer, Thomas Holden ; steward, Janu's Barrett. The chief officers of the Fire Department …
The professional talent enil)loyc(l has been of the very best, and the anuiteur entertainments have always been welcomed with crowded audiences and have jiroduced an exalted opinion of the dramatic talent of some of the citizens. The Ionic Lodge was the first Lodge of Free and Accei)ted Masons in White Plains. It was organized under a dispensation from the Grand Lodge of the …
Meetings arc now held in a hall, which has been fitted up at an expense of about three thousand dollars, on the northeast corner of Railroad and Lexington Avenues. The present officers are (ieorge W. Brown, Master; John Birch, Senior Warden ; William Nehr, Junior Warden; Francis H. Hessels, Secretary ; Richard Manney, Treasurer; Leonard O. Roselle, Senior Deacon ; James H …
The White Plains Concokdia. -- This German I Musical Society was organized June 10, 1880, under HISTORY OP WESTCHESTER COUNTY. the name of the " White Plains Gesang Verein," with seventeen members. Its first officers were Dr. Ludwig Dresher, president ; Adolph Matthies, vicepresident ; Joseph Lye, treasurer ; Charles Burmeister, recording secretary ; and Frank Gempler …
Bogart, Adjutant; Geo. W. Brown, Officer of the Day ; David P. Barnes, Sergeant; Burlin H. Palmer, Quartermaster; Henry J. Williams, Officer of the Guard ; James S. Snedeker, CJhaplain ; Richard Roach, Inside Sentinel ; Charles B. \\'histon. Outside Sentinel. This post was organized under the name of Weitzel Post, but it soon after ai)pearing that there was another post …
White Plains Gas Company. -- The manufacture of gas was begun in White Plains in 1860 on a small scale, by parties from New York City. In April, 18()3, the i)ropcrty and works were ])urchased by Eugene T. Preudliomme, Esq., and in 1872 passed into the possession of a stock company, the capital being twenty-five thousand dollars. The officers of the company are Eugene T …
M. Schirmer. In 1878 it passed into the possession of Theodore Doll, the present jjroprietor. The Standard House. -- In 1860 Brundage Sniffin erected this building on Railroad Avenue, directly opposite the court-house. It is now owned by Mrs. Ada Richardson, a daughter of Mr. Sniffin, and is managed by Mr. N.' Hubbard Miller. It has thirty sleeping-rooms and from its nearness …
John Cromwell, the oldest son, was a resident of Harrison, born December 5, 1737. He married Anna Hopkins, of Long Island, and they were the parents of eight children -- James, Daniel, John, Joseph, William, Naomi (wife of Rev. Mr. Halstead), Esther (wife of John Griffin, Jr., of North Castle), and Hannah (wife of William Field of Cortlandt. John Cromwell, the father of this …
He married Charlotte, daughter of Aaron Hunt, of Greenwich, Conn., and left twelve children -- Hannah (wife of David Grittin ), Rebecca (wife of George Fritts), Daniel, James, Oliver, Ann (wife of John Haviland), David, Aaron, William, Mary (twins who died young), William and John. John, the la.-it named, was born in Monroe, July 26, 1803, engaged in business in New York, and …
His early education was obtained at the Cornwall Collegiate School, from which he graduated as a civil-engineer and surveyor, and after practicing his profession for about one year ho went to New York and embarked in the grain trade. In 18t)2 he came to ICast Chester and established a sjtore, where he conducted business until 1879. In 1877 he wiis elected supervisor of East …
In early youth he went to ilontpelier, and served iis clerk in a store for a year or two, when he removed to Cincinnati, Ohio, where he engaged in mercantile business, until failing health induced him to take a sea voyage, returning from which he went to Winchendon, Mass. There he purchased a store and stock of goods, and engaged in a general mercantile business, and also in …
At the time he began his operations there was hardly a successful mining enter()rise in that section. The methods for obtaining gold were almost entirely primitive, the mills and machinery being crude and imperfect. Under his thorough business knowledge and energy, and by backing his judgment with his means, he has, more than all others, brought the mining industry of northern …
There are ten thousand six hundred feet of twentyfour and thirty-six inch iron pipe, and six thousand seven hundred feet of wooden pipe, of like dimensions, used in the work. I All this has been the result of Mr. Hand's skill, I pluck and perseverance. So fully is this realized in I the Georgia gold belt, that he is generally called the I father of the gold mining interests of …
The courts were api)ealed to, the farther construction of the canal was enjoined by the lower tribunal and work was stopped for several months, pending the appeal to the Supreme Court of the State. For a time the entire mining industry of Georgia hung upon the question. If the miner could not get water for his stamp mills, then all operations of any magnitude must cease. The …
Parker, et al., 59th Georgia Reports) says: "In view of the evidence contained in the record as to the necessity for the General Asssembly to exercise the right of Eminent Domain in granting the right of way for the defendant's ditch or canal to convey the water from Yahoola River and Cane Creek into the gold belt in the County of Lumpkin, for the successful workings of the …
Let the defendant's ditch or canal be constructed in pursuance of the grant in the defendant's charter, and let the water from Yahoola River and Cane Creek flow therein into the gold belt of Lumpkin County, where, in the judgment of the General Assembly of the State, the public good requires it should flow, so as to enable the defendant to increase the production of gold on …
In 1835 he left his native county and came to New York City, where he entered the grocery store of Benjamin Albro. It was while here that he first met his future partner, Mr. Park, with whom, after a clerkship of five years, in Mr. Albro's store, he embarked uj>on his first business venture at No. 35 Carmine Street, New Y'ork City. How successful this proved to be is well …
He has a handsome residence in White Plains, and is well known in its social circles. In 1840 he married Miss Jennie White. He has two sons, Charles E. and Frank, both of whom are engaged in business with their father. His business foresight, together with his genial manner, have caused liis advice to be widely sought in financial circles and have endeared him both to those in …
Young left home and went to Somers, where he worked on a farm, and subsequently removed to Sing Sing, where he engaged in business with his brother. He then wont to New York and remained in business there for five years, and afterwards went to Mount Kisco. whence he came to White Plains, which has since been his residence. Here he engaged in the lumber and coal business, which …
Upon the decease of his uncle he inherited the homestead and fifty acres of land. His early circumstances were unfavorable and he enjoyed few educational and religious advantages. During the whole of his life he was a farmer, a business which he conducted with such success that at the time of his death he was the owner of a farm of three hundred acres in a higli state of …
After a long life of active usefulness Mr. (Jedney died December 28, 1841, and rests in the old burying-ground by the Methodist Church in White Plains. liartholomew Gedney, the oldest son of this family, has passed his entire life on the ancestral farm inherited from his father. Of an exceedingly industrious nature, he has devoted his time and labor to the improvement of his …
frequently took premiums at the Westchester County Fairs while the society had an existence. Mr. Gedney married, in 1824, Ann Eliza, daughter of William Hunt, of Tarrytown. They have six children, -- Ann A., John, William H., Mary L., wife of William Horton ; Jane H., wife of William Banks, of New Castle ; and Bartholomew, Jr. The residence .of Mr. Gedney is pleasantly …
His grandfather, John Olliffe, one of the Irish patriots of 1798, came hither with Thoniiis Addis Emmett and others, to escape British persecution, before the beginning of the century. About the same time a nephew of the same ancestor went to India and became, in turn, Catholic Bishop and Archbishop of Calcutta. His father. Dr. William J. Olliffe, was a physician of …
As became a gentleman of cultivation and of means, he traveled through most of the States of the Union, visited the Mexican republic and made an extended tour in Europe. On his return from the Continent he married the only daughter of Jordan L. Mott, the ironmaster of Mott Haven. In his early manhood and on the death of his father he succeeded to Dr. Olliffe's business as a …
In the autumn of the following year he was missed from the races and gatherings which he had graced and enjoyed. The winter found him too feeble to journey southward, as be had done before, and confined him, reluctant but uncomplaining, within doors to suffer a painful illness and to pass away at the very commencement of the spring from the town house of his father-in-law, a …
Description. -- The area under consideration -- about four thousand acres -- lies just south of the city of Yonkers. ' Its boundaries are the Yonkers city line on the north, the Bronx on the east, the late West Farms line, ^ Harlem River and Spuyten Duyvil Creek on the south, and the Hudson on the west. Its northernmost point, Mount St. Vincent, is about twelve miles from …
Topographically, it consists of two main ridges and an intermediate one, liaving their axes parallel with the Palisades of New Jersey, and a direction northnortheast. 1. Spuyten Duyvil Kidge, from Yonkers city line to Spuyten Duyvil Creek, and between the Hudson on the west and Tippett's Brook ' on the east. Greatest elevation, two hundred and eighty-two feet, ' ou land of …
The geological formations are very ancient, consisting mainly of micaceous gneiss or granite, * the former largely preponderating, the exposed surfaces indicatingsubjectionto intense heatand pressure, with so great displacement that the strata are nearly vertical, outcropping in numerous parallel ledges, not continuous, but cii echelon, and giving steep inclination to …
The elevation of Fort W'ashington, the greatest on Manhattan Island, is two hundred and sixty-four feet. 3 So called after Jonas Bronck, the earliest white settler and proprietor of "Bronck's Land," now Morriaania, Twenty-third Ward, New York. '.\n arliticial pond, formed by Jacobus Van Cortlandt, circum 1700, by damming Tippett's Brook. 5.\ffording building-stone of fine …
Their hair was worn shorn to a coxcomb on top, with a long lock depending on one side. They wore beaver and other skins, with the fur inside in winter and outside in summer, and also coats of turkey feathers. They were valiant warriors. " Yea," says De Vries, " they say they are Manetto -- the devil himself! '' Their leading sachems, at the advent of white settlers, were …
Here he located his bowerie, or home-farm, with its " planting-field," and near the latter he had already begun the erection of his house, before going to Holland, in 1649, as the representative of the commonalty of New Amsterdam. Van der Donck's " planting-field " was on the plain or flat of the Van Cortlandt estate, lying between Broadway and the present lake, and extending …
In 1652 he was about to return io his colonie, and had already embarked his wife, mother, brother and sister, with an ample stock of goods, when the West India Company prevented his departure.' During his detention he got word that some " land-greedy " persons were squatting on his lands. He appealed to the company to protect his possession of the " flat and meadows ;" also …
After the patroon's death his widow joined her father, the Rev. Francis Doughty, in "the Virginias," where she became the wife of Hugh O'Neale, of Patuxcnt, Maryland. The province had jjassed under English rule, and nearly ten years had elapsed since the death of her first husband before Mrr. O'Xeale took any steps to reclaim the Yonkers estate. On the 2l8t of September …
But the States being on the eve of war with England, and needing the assistance of the rich and powerful West India Company, the latter was enabled to, not only procure the revocation of Stuyvesant's recall, but to detain its bearer in Holland. 2 Of " a certain parcel of laud upon the maine, not farre from W'eat- " Chester, commonly called y« Youuckers Laud." They declared its …
It had the countenance and protection of the Governor, being " in a "convenient place for the relief of strangers, it being " the road for passengers to go to and fro the maine, " as well as for mutual intercourse with the neighbor- " ing colony." The village consisted of about a dozen houses in an extended line, along the base of Tetard's Hill, crossed at the middle by the " …
During the Dutch re-occupation, in 1673-74, his government was suspended, and the inhabitants of Fordham nominated their own magistrates ; but on the return of the English, in the latter year, Archer resumed his sway. In 1679 he was sheriff of New York. At his death the manor was so heavily mortgaged to the wealthy Dutchman, Cornelis Steenwyck, that his heirs could not redeem …
The writer is of opinion that Archer, conniving with the Governor or Secretary Nicoll, advance<l this claim of title through Van der Donck's successors, in order to forestall claims to the tract which might have been otherwise established. Such claims were preferred early in the following century by Quimby against the Dutch Church, which then owued it, and about 1750 a brief …
Betts and Tippett obtained from Governor Lovelace, February 20, 1671, a patent which contained a proviso that it should no way prejudice " the New towne of tfordham," nor what had been done by his order towards its settlement. Mr. Betts was an Englishman, and by trade a turner. He was at Scituate, Mass., in 1635, four years after which he married Alice, a " maiden of the Bay," …
While he lived in the Yonkers the swine of the New Harlem people used to run at large at the upper end of Manhattan Island, and sometimes straying across the ivading- 2)lace at low tide, failed to return. Tippett would be charged with their detention and the whole community hauled into court as witnesses. Tippett's " ear-mark " for his own swine was said to be " the cutting of …
His deed of June 7, 1668, antedates that of Betts and Tippett, but bounds on land already sold to them. It conveys three parcels aggregating three hundred and twenty acres, lying directlj' north of Van der Donck's planting- field and extending across from the Albany post road to the road to Mile Square. The Van Cortlandt estate now includes the whole of it. For two hundred …
He came to Nieuw Amsterdam in Stuyvesant's time, under an engagement with the West India Company for five years, during which time he worked on the forts at Nieuw Amsterdam and Esopus. He married, in 1662, Margaret Hardenbrook, widow of Peter Rudolphus de Vries, a successful trader. Margaret was also engaged in trade, which she continued after this marriage, going to and from …
O'Neale " received a good part of her payment in horses and mares," with which she was about to '■ return home into Maryland, y« place of her abode ; " but hearins report of a prohibition against importing horses to that colony, she procured a letter to its Governor from Governor Lovelace, of New York, asking a dispensation from the rigor of the late order in her case so as to …
There was allotted to his use the " island or neck of land Papariuamin, " where he was required to provide a dwelling-house furnished with three or lour good beds for the entertainment of strangers ; also provisions at all seasons for them, their horses and cattle, with stabling and stalling ; also a sufficient and able boat to transport passengers, horses and cattle on all …
It means " spouting devil," and may have arisen from some peculiar vphnrst of water as tlie tide rushed over the reef which obstructs the channel at that point. Mr. Riker has ingeniously suggested the outpour from the guns of the " Half-Moon ;" also tlie gushing spring under Cock Hill; but thee.xplanation in Irving's quaint and humorous legend of the ' Trumpeter' will ever …
" For feeding a horse one day or night with hay or grasse, C pence." ^This causeway was on the line of the present McConib Street. During the last quarter of the seventeenth century the Betts, Tippett and Haddeu families, and those who had interniarriad with them, and their retainers and servants composed all the population of the Yonkers outside of Fordham and Papariuamin …
A bill to erect one was introduced in the Assembly in 1691. The next year Governor Fletcher recommended its construction by the city of New York, but the municipal authorities were deterred from the undertaking by the "great expense." In January, 1693, Fredryck Flypsen offered to build one at his own expense, if he could have certain " easy and reasonable toles." * In June the …
* They probably stood in the neighborhood of the present Van Cortlandt mansion. 5 To wit : " 1 penny for each head of neat cattell ; 2 pens for each "niann and horse, and 12 pens for each score of Uoggs and sheep that " shall pass the said brige ; and U pens for every boat, vessell or canoo " that shall pass the said brige, and cause the same to be drawne up." 0 The removal to …
He made a mill-pond by damming up the Tip])ett's Brook, and setup a grist and saw-mill. In 1704 there were about twenty families in the Yonkers. The Belts and Tippett families partitioned their tract in 1717, and gradually sold it off to new settlers. Agriculture was the chief industry, and the farms were noted for choice fruits and fine breeds of cattle. Produce was carried …
Benjamin Palmer' headed the movement, and when enough was subscribed, he attempted to build it where the first bridge had stood. Colonel Phillipse, who owned the shore on Paparinamin, naturally objected. Palmer had to go farther down the Harlem. He interested with him Jacob Dyckman, on the island, and Thomas Vcrmilye, on the Westchester side, and they began the work from land …
Palmer, towai-ds the end of the century, unsuccessfully applied to the Assembly for aid on the same account. The press took up his cause and declared that his work had been " the first step towards freedom in this State, « « « "for it was almost as diflicult for Mr. Palmer to get a free bridge in "those (lays as it was for .\merica to get her freedom." Aaron Burr auu others …
Across the Boston road from Tetard's farm was one of about seventy-five acres, which Richard Montgomery purchased and occuj)ied in 1772, pursuant to his longcherished wish to leave the service and engage in husbandry.* His house stood on the brow of the hill, near the Boston road,' and there he lived until his marriage to Janet Livingston and removal to another farm he had …
C; came to Xew York 17.')6 ; married Frances, daughter of Robert Ellison ; became assistant pastor of Cliurch du St. Esprit, taking charge 17G4-GC, until a new minister could be engaged in Europe. After his removal to King's Bridge he used to preach in Fordham Dutch Church. lie was commissioned .)«ly li, 177.5, " French interpreter to General Schuyler and chaplain to the …
A few days later the inhabitants were aiding to unload, at King's Bridge and the hills beyond, upward of one hundred cannon,' which had been carted out from the city for security. On the 8th of May the new committee for Westchester County, on which Frederick Van Cortlandt represented the Yonkers, chose Colonel James Van Cortlandt as deputy to the new Provincial Congress, and …
On the spots thus indicated forts were afterwards erected by the Americans, and when captured by the British, were strengthened and garrisoned by them for many years. Colonel Van Cortlandt was a member of the committee of the Provincial Congress to arrange the troops and form the militia. ' Frederick Van Cortlandt, Thomas Emmons, Williams Betts and William Hadley were of the …
Prince Charles; " the one on Tippett's Hill " yumber TJiiee, and the one on Tetard's Hill, the American Ft. Independence, " Xumber Four." Elnathan, Jr., Elijah, Henry and Jacob Taylor, Izarell Underbill, Frederick Van Cortlandt, Abm, Frederick and Josh. Vermilye, John and Wm. Warner, Geo. Wertz, John and Samuel Williams. On August 24, 1775, they chose John Cock, captain ; Wm …
A majority of the company and a score more inhabitants of Yonkers sent down a petition in his favor, stating that he had been chosen " for his well-known skill and ability in the military discipline," and that the complaints were made out of " spite and malice." But further affidavits by Isaac Green and George Hadley, that Cock " had damned the Continental Congress," satisfied …
John Fowler was brought before the Committee of Safety on the 23d, charged with a recent purchase of rat-tail files in New York. He implicated William Lounsbery, of Mamaroneck, as the real purchaser. They were imprisoned. Jacamiah Allen was employed to unspike the guns at twenty shillings each. He raised them on fires of several cords of wood, tended day and night to soften …
While it was left temporarily at Jacob Moore's tavern, near by, an emissary from Colonel Montresor went out through the "rebel camp" with a message to Cock to steal and bury the head. This was done (probably at Cock's tavern), and when the British arrived, in November, 1776, it was dug up and sent in care of Lady Gage to Lord Townsend, " to convince them at home of the …
After months of inactivity at the heads of inlets when he should have been at sea, Cregier was discharged for inefficiency and the vessel was sold. Early in June Washington visited and inspected the grounds above King's Bridge. He found them to admit of seven places well calculated for defense. " Esteeming it a pass of the utmost importance in order to keep open communication …
On the 12th of July the ships of war "Rose" and "Ph(enix" sailed up the Hudson, and unaware of the new batteries which had been j)lanted on Tippett's and Cock Hills, anchored near the mouth of Spuyten Duyvil Creek. A dozen guns opened fire on them and " did great execution." On the 15th additional troDps were hurried out to King's Bridge, the destruction of which was …
On the nights ol the 14th, IGth and IGth numbers of oflicers and men, (including on two occasions Generals Heath and Clinton) gathered on Tippett's Hill to witness an attempt to destroy these vessels with fire-ships. It was made at midnight on the 17tli. A fiamiiig galley set fire to one of the tenders and consumed her with " horrid flames." At sunrise on the IHth the frigates …
Colonel Swartwout's regiment threw up a battery " on the north side of Spuyten Duyvil Creek, at its very mouth," to prevent the enemy from approaching the bridge in boats, and also constructed two additional redoubts on the top of Tippett's Hill, one of which was called " P^ort Swartwout." No "fatigue rum "was allowed to any one engaged on these works, except on certificate …
He replied that the defensible state of that ground had not escaped him, and that as the posts at King's Bridge were of such great importance, he hoped the convention would artbrd aid for their defense. When it became evident in September that the city was untenable by the Americans in the face of the superior British force, Washington determined to take post at King's Bridge …
The next day one hundred and sixty thousand boards were ordered for the barracks at the bridge, also brick and stones for ovens, which all soldiers who were masons were ordered to assist in making. Meanwhile the inhabitants suffered from the occupation of their farms. Fences were pulled down and burned and corn-fields, gardens and orchards pillaged. The orders of the day …
Lasher, in Fort Indei>endence, was "to burn the barracks, quit the post and join the army, by way of the North River, at White rlains." At three in the morning of the 28th the lon^ lines of barracks were fired and the forts abandoned. Their garrisons either withdrew to Fort Washington, or, crossing to New Jersey, rejoined their regiments at White Plains by way of King's Ferry …
Then, with part of his forces, he descended and took a position on Paparinamin, north of King's Bridge. Having repaired the bridge, he crossed over and occupied the deserted American post on the opposite hill, but retired on the 4th. He crossed again on the 7th with fifteen hundred men and took positions on the hills commanding the old King's Bridge road. On the 16th the …
In the adjoining field to the westward a flanking redan may yet be seen overlooking the Riverdale road. Number Three stood where Warren B. Sage's house now stands, on the easterly brow of Spuyten Duyvil Hill and directly overlooking the post on the northerly end of Manhattan Island at King's Bridge, called Fort Prince Charles^ by the British. Numbers one, two and three were …
It had two bastions at the westerly angles. The British garrisoned it continuously from its capture until they removed its guns, August 16th, its wood-work, August 17th, and demolished its magazine, September 12, 1779. It was not garrisoned again during the war. A number of iron six-pounders were dug up inside its walls, by Mr. Giles, when excavating his cellar, about thirty …
It is about seventy feet square. It was occupied in 1777, and dismantled September 18, 1779. Number Six stood just west of the present road to Hifrh Bridge, and its site is now occui>icd by a house formerly owned by John B. Haskin. Number Sercti was on the Cammann place. No trace remains. Number Eight was on land now owned by H. W. T. Mali and Gustav Schwab. The latter's house …
An outpost of light trooi)s was estal)lished near lyiosholu and maintained throughout each year. The force was usually composed of German mounted and foot yagers and a company of chasseurs formed of detachments from the difterent Hessian regiments in New York. - Their camp was on Frederick Van Cortlandt's farm, near his house. ' They made frequent patrols out Mile Square road …
The British kept an outguard there in the winter of 1776-77. Xo trace of it remains, a house now occupying its site. 2 In 1778 five companies of foot and one of mounted yagers, under Lieutenant Colonel Von Wurmli. In 1779 the yagere and Lord Rawdon's <-.)rps. Captain von Hanger's company of chasseurs, in 1778, consisted of four officers, twelve sub-offlcers, three drummers and …
It was also the scene of ceaseless ravages by those irregular bands, known as "Cowboys" and "Skinners." Most of the inhabitants went into exile, and were refugees within either the American or British lines. Their homes were desolated, their buildings, fences and orchards destroyed. The Tippetts were mainly Tories. In 1776, General George Clinton arrested Gilbert Tippett for " …
Heath moving with the centre, as it ai)proached Valentine's house, ordered its cannonade by Cajjtain Bryant in case of resistance from the guard quartered there, and sent two hundred and fifty men at double-quick to the right into the hollow between the house and Fort Independence- to cut off the guard. Just then two British light horsemen, reconnoitering out the Boston road …
Heath sent a detachment with two field-pieces southward to the brow of the hill over, looking the Free Bridge, ' and opened fire on a bat. talion of Hessians drawn up across the Harlem, back of Hyatt's tavern. The enemy settled down as the shot passed them, and one piece being moved lower down, they retired rapidly behind their redoubt, -' receiving a shot as they were turning …
The men were detached and gathered at Spuyte^ Duyvil Ridge for the attack, but before morning the weather had so moderated that it was deemed too hazardous to make the attem])t. There was cannonading on both sides on the 20th, and the enemy on the island were thrown into much confusion. Heath observing that the enemy, when fired at across the Harlem, found shelter behind the …
On the 24th a severe storm began; Lincoln's division had to quit their huts in the woods back of Colonel Van Cortlandt's, and move back, some even to Dobbs Ferry, to find shelter. A freshet in the Bronx caused the water to run over Williams' bridge. Early on the 25th, the enemy sallied from Fort Independence towards De Lancey's jMills, surprised and routed the guard, wounding …
When nearly up the hill on the Boston road, Bryant unlimbered to prevent his horses being shot, and the men took the drag-ropes ; but the steepness of the ascent required the dragging of the piece almost within pistol-shot before it could be depressed enough to bear on the enemy. Its first shot opened a breach in the wall four or five feet wide, the next made another opening …
The British garrison on Montressor's (Randall's) Island, alarn:ed at this, set fire to the buildings and fled to New York. ' A brigade of the enemy moved up to Fort Washington and a detachment was sent for from Rhode Island. On the 29th a severe snow-storm came on. Gens. Lincoln, Wooster, Scott and Tenbroeck were unanimous that the troops ought to move back where they could be …
The boldness of these opera- | tions, by raw militia, and for so long a period, in face | of the strong force of British and German veterans in New York, speak volumes for the spirit of our grandsires in their determined contest for independence. The Massacre of the Stockbkidge Ixoians. -- During the summer of 1778 the British light troops, which were encamped about King's …
He took measures to increase this belief and meantime planned to ambuscade and capture their whole force. His idea was, as the enemy came down the "Mile Square Road," to advance past his flanks. This movement would be perfectly concealed by the fall of the ground to the right {i.e., down the slope in Woodlawn Heights, towards the stream at Second Street) and by the woods on …
By mistake he took post in the woods near Daniel Devoe's house, which stood on the " Mile Square Road," near the entrance to the lane, and sent a patrol forward on the road. ; Before Simcoe, who was half-way up a tree reconnoit- ' ering, could stop this movement, he saw a flanking party of Americans approach and heard a smart firing by the Indians who had lined the fences …
Tarleton and Emmerick then got among them with the cavalry. The Indians fought most gallantly, pulling several of the cavalry from their horses ; but overpowered by the superior force of the enemy, they had to flee. They were swiftly pursued up over the fields, across the lane, down through Van Cortlandt's woods, over Tippett's Brook into the woods on the ridge beyond, where a …
In July, 1781, Wttshington came in force to attempt a surprise of the British posts at King's Bridge, expressly to cut off De Lancey's and other light corps ; but without success. Later in the month, accompanied by De Rochambeau, he moved a force of five thousand men down to the heights beyond King's Bridge and reconnoitered the northerly part of Manhattan island from …
It was afterwards known as the Yonkers Precinct (except the parts included in the Manor of Phillipsburgh after the erection of the I latter, in 1693). By the act of June 19, 1703, the towns, manors, etc., were authorized to choose supervisors, and each inhabitant of any precinct, being a freeholder, was allowed " to join his vote with the next adjacent town." The freeholders …
On the first Tuesday in April, 1756, the freeholders and inhabitants of the Yonkers and Mile Square'^ held a public town-meeting at the house of Edward Stevenson, in the Yonkers, and chose James Corton (Coerten ?) supervisor and pounder : Benjamin Fowler, town clerk; Thomas Sherwood, constable and collector; David Oakley and William Warner, assessors; Edward Weeks, Wm …
By act of March 7, 1788, a new town was erected, containing part of Phillipsburgh, Mile Square and the old precinct of Yonkers, under the name of Y'onkers. In November, 1872, the supervisors of Westchester County erected a township consisting of all of the town of Yonkers lying south of the southerly line of the city of Yonkers, to be called King's Bridge. Its first and only …
Upon the organization of the English Church at the Lower Mills those of that faith in the Yonkers attended there. After the Revolution Augustus Van Cortlandt and John Warner were of the first trustees of the new "Yonkers Episcopal Society," formed in 1787, and members of the first vestry of " St. John's Church in the town of Yonkers," on its incorporation, in 1795. Isaac …
Varian made and filed a certificate of incorporation as "Trustees of Methodist Church Bethel" in the town of Yonkers. A frame building was erected on the westerly side of the Albany post road and is yet standing, though disused for several years. Its pastors have been E. Oldrin, I. D. Bangs and Thonuis Barch (superannuated), 183G-37; John Davies, Salmon C. Perry and Barch …
Chukch of the Mediator (King's Bridge). -- Formed at meeting held August 15, 1855, pursuant to notice given by the rector of St. John's Church, Yonkers, "who presided. Certificate recorded November 17, 1856. Name adopted " The Church of the Mediator, Yonkers." Abraham Valentine and James R. Whiting were elected wardens, and Thomas J. De Lancey, William 0. Giles, John C …
RiVEUDALE Preskyteriax Church. -- Formed at a meeting held Wednesday, 24th June, 1863, Isaac G. Johnson and Edwin P. Gibson presiding. The first trustees chosen were Samuel N. Dodge, Robert Colgate, J. Joseph Eagleton, John ^lott, James Scrymser, Isaac G. Johnson, William E. Dodge, Jr., Warren B. Sage and David B. Kellogg. Certificate of incorporation recorded July 14, 1863 …
Corporate name, "The Rector, Church Wardens and Vestrymen of Christ Church, Riverdale." The cornerstone of the church was laid in 1865. It is built of granitic gneiss and is cruciform. Rev. E. M. Peck acted as rector until the Rev. George D. Wildes, D.D., present rector, assumed charge, in 1868. The rectory adjoining the church is a frame building. There are some beautiful …
Van Gaasbeek, 1875-76 ; Aaron Coons, 1876-79; David Tasker, 1879-80; S. Lowther, 1880-82; R. H. Kelly, 1882-83; Isaac H. Lent, present incumbent. Membership, forty-seven. St. John's Church (King's Bridge). -- Built under the direction of the Rev. Henry A. Brann, D.D., and dedicated December 3, 1880, by Cardinal McCloskey. Since its erection Dr. Brann has been aided in attend …
MACOMB'S DAM, HARLEM RIVER, 1S.50. this tract vested in the colonial government, which had already assigned its use to Ferryman Verveelen. In 1693 it was included in the grant of the Manor of Phillipsburgh, of which it remained a part until forfeited by the attainder of Colonel Phillipse, in 1779. It was sold by the Commissioners of Forfeiture (deed July 30, 1785) to Joseph …
Having obtained from the mayor, etc., of New York, in December, 1800, a water grant extending across the creek, just east of the King's Bridge (which reserved, however, a passage-way fifteen ieet wide for small boats and craft), Macomb erected a four-story frame grist-mill extending out over the creek. Its power was supplied by the alternate ebb and flow of the tide against …
Ten years later it was possessed by the " New York Hydraulic Manufacturing and Bridge Company," by which an elaborate plan was put forth for mill-seats and a manufacturing village, based on a report of Professor James Renwick, of Columbia College, approved by Colonel Totten and General Macomb, chief engineers United States army. The enterprise proved abortive.- The old …
The bed of the stream and the salt meadows through which it flowed were to form a reservoir for tail-water, which would empty itself into Spuyten Duyvil Creek at low tide. Fourteen mill-seats, each fifty by one hundred feet, bordered the race-ways, and an aggregate of at least two hundred and thirty-four horse-power was assured for them. 3 It fell down about 1836. KING'S …
Fuller, of Troy, X. Y. They had surveys and plans made for a village to be called Fort Independence,' but which was changed to Spuyten Duyvil. Streets were opened and several houses erected on the hill, and a foundry was established at its base. The latter was afterwards bought and extended into a rolling-mill by Jervis Langdon, who was succeeded by the Langdon Rolling-Mill …
Frederick Yan Cortiandt purchased it in several parcels between 1768 and 1788, and built his house on a commanding spot on the easterly side, approached by a private road leading up from the post road at Mosholu. He devised this property to his brother Augustus, by whose v»ill it passed to a grandson, Augustus F. Morris, who assumed the name of Van Cort- ' Mr Gwtwiii's …
Wetmore and Daniel Ewing became interested in Whiting's purchase in 1841, and they subsequently divided it into parcels stretching from the Hudson across the neck to Tippett's Brook. Thomson took the northerly parcel, on which stood a large stone house erected about 1822 on the site of the "Upper Cortlandts'," destroyed in that year by fire. Surrounded by well laid out and …
He purchased the southerly part, about one hundred and fifty acres extending up to the line of the Manor of Phillijjsburgh, from James Yan Cortiandt, in 1761, and the remainder froiii the Commissioners of Forfeiture, May 18, 1786. He lived in the old stone house yet standing on this tract, just west of the post road. Joseph Delaficld purchased the farm from Hadley's executors …
Atherton, Samuel D. Babcock and C. W. Foster, and laid out as the village of Riverdale. In j 1856 Henry F. Spaulding and others laid out the land j adjoining on the south as "The Park, Riverdale." On these lands have since been erected a number of beautiful country-houses, including those of William H. Appleton, Samuel D. Babcock, Martin Bates, George H. Bend, Robert Colgate …
The institution was founded here in 1856, when this site was still in Westchester County, Nearly a thousand Sisters, in more than a hundred subordinate houses, including asylums, hospitals, the Girls' Protectory in Westchester, the retreat for the insane at Harrison, industrial schools, academies and parish schools, are governed from Mt. St. Vincent. The many parish and other …
Mother Angela Hughes, the youngest sister of Archbishop Hughes, was superior of the order when the Sisters, in December, 1856, bought this property of Edwin Forrest, with the farm buildings and the castle upon it, as he had built them for his own residence.- The following year Mother Angela commenced the new building, which now forms the central part of the present convent …
- The Forrest property was part of the large farm that Captain John Warner, of the Kerolutionary army, bought at the sale of the confiscated estate of Colonel Frederick Phillipse. -- heed of Commissiu7iers of Forfeiture, Dec. 6, 1785. who, twenty-five years before, had been in charge ot the girls' parish school in Yonkers, then treasurer at j Mt. St. Vincent, and subseqently …
The north half of the convent is the mother house of the Sisters, the residence of the Mother Superior and her assistants, with the Sisters of the academy, as well as those at home from the outside missions for needed rest or in broken health, so that there are usually a hundred Sisters or more in the house. At the extreme north end is now the spacious novitiate, built in …
The institution is supplied with gas and with water from the Yonkers works, and is under the protection of the New York Qity police. The picturesque stone castle of Edwin Forrest still stands between the convent and the railroad station, and a part is made the dwelling of the chaplain of the institution. The larger rooms on the first floor are occupied by the museum of natural …
MosHOLu' is an old hamlet and post-office skirting the Albany post road, known early in the century as " Warner's," where many years ago there were a church (Methodist), school-house, store, blacksmith and wagon-shop and a cluster of dwellings. WooDLAWX Heights. -- A village (and until recently a post-office) on the Harlem Railroad, laid out in 1873 by George Opdyke and others …
No improvements have been made on this tract except to open streets and avenues. WooDLAAVx Cemetery. -- This beautiful " city of the dead " consists of about four hundred acres on the heights of the Bronx, extending westward to an ancient road, whose line is now followed by Central Avenue The house of Abraham Vermilye stood on its easterly side in 1781. Early in this century …
The Croton aqueduct, begun 1837 and completed 1842, passes along the brow of Valentine's, (iun and Tetard's Hills. 2. The Bronx River water supply, determined upon in 1879 and opened September 9, 1884, is carried in a forty-eightinch cast-iron conduit pipe along the west side of the Bronx to Woodlawn and thence to the top of the hill, half a mile west of Williams' Bridge …
Primary No. 48, at Woodlawn, was established in 1880. The Riverdale Institute, a s' ininary for young ladies, and the boarding-school for boys at Hudson Park have been closed for several years. The academy at Mount St. Vincent is mentioned under that head. BIOGRAPHY. THE VAN cortlandts OF YOXKERS. Right Hon. Stephen Van Cortlandt, the ancestor of the race, whose name must ever …
Frederick Van Cortlandt, the oldest son, was born in 1698, and married Francina, daughter of Augustus Jay (the ancestor of the family bearing that famous name) and Anna Maria Bayard, his wife. The old family Bible, printed in Amsterdam in 1714, and now in possession of Augustus Van Cortlandt, ofYonkers, contains the following record of this family, written in Dutch by Francina …
"Niew York de 28 Mart. 1730 is geboren myn derden soon Frederick Van Cortlandt, zyn compear Peler Jay, peet Judith Jay." '"Niew York de 28 Mart. 1732 is geboren myn dochter Ev a Van Cortlandt, liar compear Jacobus Van Cortlandt har grote vader, peet Anna Van Cortlandt. En is gestorven den 10 June 1733, en begraven in de helder by Gerardus Btuyvesants." " Niew York de 22 May …
New Y'ork the 3rd August, 1728, is born my second son Augustus Van Cortlandt ; his godfather my father, Augustus Jay, godmother Margaret De Peyster. New Y^ork, 28th March, 1730, is born my third son, Frederick Van Cortlandt ; his godfather Peter Jay, godmother Judith Jay. New York, 28th March 1732, is born my daughter, Eva Van Cortlandt; her godfather Jacobus Van Cortlandt …
Miss Catharine Barclay, of Santa Cruz, W. I. His children were James Van Cortlandt, born March 3, 1736, and died April 1, 1781 ; Helen, born January 4, 1768, and married James Morris, of Morrisania (whose son, Augustus Frederick Morris, assumed the name of Van Cortlandt, and inherited from his grandfather a part of his estate in Lower Yonkers); and Anna, born January 18, 1766 …
In 17G9 he was appointed one of His Majesty's Council for the province of New York, and retained that honorable position till the Revolution closed the English rule. During his life he was one of the foremost merchants , in New York, and his residence was a large house on 1 Queen (now Pearl) Street, between the Fly Market, which was at the foot of the present Maiden Lane, and …
James, Westminster, in Piccadilly. He was esteemed by his contemporaries as a gentleman of respectability and integritj'. His estate was confiscated by the act of 1779, and his house in New York was sold in May, 1786. The children of Henry White and Eva Van Cortlandt were Henry, Admiral Sir John Chambers, General Frederick Van Cortlandt, Wm. Tryon, Ann (wife of Sir John …
The will of Augustus Van Cortlandt, dated December, 1823, contains the following clause : " Whereas, the greatest part of the lands and real estate which I occupy and hold in the town of Yonkers was derived to me by inheritance from my ancestors; and Whereas, I have purchased .some tracts of land, also lying in the town of Yonkers, which I at present possess, it is my desire …
In accordance with this, Augustus White assumed the name of Augustus Van Cortlandt, and at the time of his death, which occurred April 1, 1839, he left the estate to his brother Henry for life, and to his brother's eldest son in fee, provided they take and constantly use the name of Van Cortlandt ; and upon the failure of male heirs, it was provided that the property should …
Munro, of Pelham) and Ann W. (wife of Robert Ogden Glover, of Mt. Vernon). The early education of Mr. Van Cortlandt was obtained at the collegiate school of Rev. R. T. Huddart, in New York ; later at a school in Bloomingdale ; and subsequently at the celebrated school of the Brothers Pugnet, on Bank Street. He left school in 1842, and a year later entered the counting-room of …
The Van Cortlandt mansion at Lower Youkers, a relic of colonial times, stands in solitary state on an eminence about one mile north of King's Bridge, and on the east side of the old Albany post road. It is a large edifice of stone and was built by Frederick Van Cortlandt in 1748. A more ancient structure stood on the banks of the mill pond, a little north of the mill. This was …
THE VAN CORTLANDT MANOR HOUSK, KINO Augustus Van Cortlandt, Henry White, the first, and his son, and others of a long past time, grace the walls of this historic place. The ej^e of the visitor to the grounds cannot fail to be attracted by two eagles which surmount the posts of the old gateway. These are said to have been taken from a Spanish privateer and presented to Augustus …
Jacob, the elder, married Tryntje Benson, and left nine children, as follows, -- Jacob, Samson, Benjamin, John, Garret, William N. ; Maria, wife of John Clark ; Jane, wife of John Van Vredenburgh ; and Catharine, wife of Daniel Hale. Of these children, Garret, the fifth son, married Joanna, daughter of Jonathan Odell, of Greenburgh. Their children were William N. and Jacob G …
His entire life was passed in the city of New York, in the practice of his profession, in which he held an honorable position. In politics he was in early life a Whig, but at the formation of the Republican party he became one of its supporters, but his distaste for political life led him to take little part in public afiairs. Mr. Dyckman married Eliza A., daughter of John and …
They were the parents of nine children, -- Jacobus, Abraham, Michael, William, John; Maritje, wife of Jacob Vermilyea ; Jane, Joanna, wife of Evert Brown ; and Charity, wife of Benjamin Lent. The oldest son, Jacobus, was born September 13, 1748. His children were William, Frederick, who married Eva Myers, John, Abraham, Jacob, James, Isaac, Michael, Hannah, who married Caleb …
While a boy he went to live with his maternal grandfather, and was adopted by him, and assuming the family name, has ever since borne the name of Isaac M. Dyckman. Two of his grandfather's brothers, Abraham and Michael, were soldiei-s in the Revolution and one of them was killed in the war. Their perfect knowledge of the localities on both sides of Harlem River rendered them …
During the early part of his life, before the growth of New York City had reached the vicinity of Harlem River, he cultivated this tract as a farm, but the advancement of the city I has made it far too valuable for that purpose, and he finds his time fully occupied in looking after his extensive real estate. In politics he has always been identified with the Democratic party …
They appear to have been settled in the county of Kent at an early date. The immediate ancestor of the branch of the family that settled in America was Robert Colgate, a native of the village of Seven Oaks, in Kent, a man of note and influence and a prominent agriculturist of his native county. In ])olitical atiairs he was a most determined Radical, and so plainly outspoken of …
Acting upon this suggestion, he hired a vessel and, with his family, sailed for the New World, and landed at Baltimore in 1795. Under the protection of a free government, the fiery Radical soon became the peaceful citizen, and, purchasing a farm near Baltimore, he made sigriculture the business of his life. Upon this farm he remained for several years, then removed to the …
In afteryears Mr. Slidell failed in business, and, through the influence of Mr. Colgate, he obtained the position of president of the Mechanics' Bank, and was subsequently president of the Traders' Insurance Company. He died very suddenly of cholera in 1832. His son, John Slidell, lived in Virginia, and gained, at a later day, a very undesirable notoriety as the ambassador of …
He left to his descendants not only the wealth which was the result of his commercial ability and energy, but the still richer legacy of an unblemished reputation ; and all who knew him were willing to unite in the testimony that he was a man of upright life and free from guile. Like his father before him, he was a devoted member of the Baptist Church, and deeply interested in …
His introduction to business was as clerk in the employ of Samuel Hicks & Sons. One of the most important episodes of this period of his life was his experience during the cholera of 1832, when he was the only one of the employees who remained at his post during that fatal time. Upon one occasion he, in company with a carman in the employ of the firm, left the building at the …
They have stood unshaken through all the financial reverses which have visited the city, and never failed to meet all obligations with promptness. It has always been the policy of the firm to secure the services of trusty and faithful employees and to retain them as long as they are willing to remain. As an illustration, it may be mentioned that the bookkeeper, James B. Carr …
She died in 1865, leaving four children, -- Samuel J., Alice R. (wife of John D. Wood), Robert, Jr., and Romulus R. KING'S GENERAL JOHN EWEN. General Ewen was a native of New York. He was educated for the profession of civil engineer, and began practice in that city before attaining his majority. At this period he surveyed and laid out, under the direction of his brother …
Removed in 1844, with many other officers, by the incoming Native American Common Council, he was appointed comptroller on a change of administration in the spring of 1845, by a unanimous vote, and held that office under Democratic and Whig rule more than three years, when he resigned to accept the vicepresidency of the Delaware and Hudson Canal Company. After one year he …
At the beginning of the litigation, perceiving that his efficiency in directing the defense would be greatly increased by his admission to the bar, he unhesitatingly undertook the study of law, which he prosecuted in season and out of season, so that in a few months he was regularly admitted to l)ractice in the courts of this State. Availing himself of this ])rivilege, he took …
Elected in 183G lieutenant-colonel of the Eighth Regiment of Light Infantry, he was soon afterward chosen colonel, and in 1847 was elected brigadier-general of the Fourth Brigade. This command included, at the outbreak of the Civil War, the famous Sixty-ninth and Seventyninth Regiments. The former, composed almost exclusively of men of Irish birth, upon the first call for …
His father, Eliaa Johnson (who married Laura, daughter of Solomon Gale, of Vermont), was a resident of Westfield, Mass., from which place he removed to Troy, and was for many years extensively engaged in the manufacture of stoves as a member of the well-known firm of Johnson, Cox & Fuller. He was the first manufacturer who used a cupola-furnace, for melting iron, north of …
The great object of his labors and experiments was to find some means hy which articles now made by the slow process of forging could be made from cast iron. These eflbrts have been crowned with complete success, and bid fair to work a complete revolution in the manufacture of iron implements. In 1853 Johnson, Cox & Fuller came to Spuyteu Duyvil and purchased a tract of one …
Soon after Mr. Johnson entered into an agreement with the Parrott Company, and made shot and shell for them during the war. To explain the process by which the various articles are produced at the Johnson Foundry, and to enumerate them, would very far exceed our limits. It is sufficient to say that they are the results of a thorough knowledge of chemical analysis, a careful …
Their children are Elias M., Isaac B., Gilbert H., Arthur G. and James W. Two of these are now in partnership with their father, and their skill and talent bid fair to lead to new discoveries. It deserves especial mention that Mr. Johnson has always evinced a deep interest in the welfare of his employes, and a well-furnished reading-room affords them means for mental culture …
From the Discovery to the Revolution. -- The most celebrated of American historians says, " To the enterprise of proprietailes New Netherlands was to owe its tenants," and he lays great stress upon the fact that the Dutch West India Company insisted that the Indian title should first be extinguished before any of the Dutch settlers could obtain permanent rights in the soil.* …
In 1616 all the southermost part of Westchester County and as far north as the Saw-Mill or Nepperhan River, at what is now known as Yonkers, was in possession of that tribe ; and in 1626 - one of the tribe with his nephew, crossed Harlem River and got as far south as the " Kolck Pond, or Canal Street, on New York Island, for the purpose of trading his beaver skins. Governor …
The present limits (188.")) are, on the north Pelham or East Chester Bay, and a line extending in a westerly direction to Bronx River; the East River and the beginning of Long Island Sound form the south and east boundaries, and Bronx River is its western boundary; but, originally, Westchester township consisted of all that portion of the southern part of Westchester County …
He purchased from Ranachqua, or Ranaque, and Taekamuck, Indian chiefs, a tract of five hundred acres, " lying between the great kill" (Harlem River) and the "Ahquahung," (Bronx) part of which is now included in Jlorrisania. Here he erected a stone house covered with tiles, a barn, tobacco house and two barracks." From the old map of Bronxland on file in the office of the …
Claes Sinits, a harmless Dutchman, had built a small house ou the East River neiir Harlem, on the Manhattan side, now One Hundred and Twenty-third Street, near the river. He was a wheelwright by trade. The young savage came one day and offered to barter some beaver skins for duffels, and while Smits was stooping over the chest in which he kept the goods the Indian killed him …
He therefore sought counsel of the community, and the twelve men, from whom, by the charter of the company, he was directed to ask advice agreed that Smits' murder should be avenged, but they thought that " God and the opportunity" should be taken into consideration and that the director should make the necessary preparations. They advised that trade and intercourse with the …
It was also suggested by the twelve men that the director should " lead the van," but that in the meantime a shallop should be three times sent to demand the murderer.^ Kieft would not listen to this wise counsel ; by private colloquy with each of the twelve he tried to advise them to sanction a war, but they voted to await the arrival of the next ship from Fatherland.^ A …
In the permission to settle there given by Director Kieft to John Tlirockmorton and his associates the territory is described as along the East River of New Netherlaud, " being a piece of land surrounded on one side by a little river and on the other side by a great kill, which river and kill on high water running to meet each other." This description covers the present …
In 1C62, Matthias de Vos, as attorney for Geertruit Andries, the widow of Van Stoll, conveyed it to Geertrieu Hendrick, the widow of one Andries Hoppen, and she, on the same day, with the consent of her husband, Dirck Gerritts Van Tright, sold to Harmann Smeeman, who, on the 22d of October, sold the same to Samuel Edsall, a beaver-niaker, of New York City, who held it until …