Gc 974.701 W52s 1142755 GENEALOGY COLLECTION ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 01150 1514 fam Jat/> l/ H IS T O R Y Westchester County YORK From Its Earliest Settlement to the Year 1900 13 Y FREDERIC SHONNAED W. W. SPOONER ARMS YORK JONAS HISTORY 114 FIFTH BRONCK AVENUE YORK COMPANY Copyright The New York History Company 114275 EDITOR'S PREFACE HE preparatory work for this…

Spooner; and whatever satisfaction the editor may reasonably -- without an excess of complacency -- take to himself in view of his own association in the enterprise, rests in a peculiar manner upon his appreciation of the conscientious devotion and accomplished ability with which Mr. Spooner has brought it to its practical issue. Although the previous histories of Westchester County, Bolton's and …

however exhaustively and excellently written, do not constitute a history of the county; and for a consecutive understanding of the general comity history the reader of Bolton or Scharf must rely upon his own constructive ingenuity -- must indeed be his own historian. Long before the work now given to the public was conceived as a practical project, the present editor realized the force of these c…

These lines have been followed throughout. All existing materials, so far as accessible, have been utilized, proper credit being given to the sources from which borrowings have been made. The work comprehends a variety of new materials, which have been interwoven in the text. Portions of the manuscript have been revised or criticised by persons particularly well informed on certain phases of the s…

'^Z^c ^ CONTENTS Editor's Preface in Chapter Physical Description of the County Chapter The Aboriginal Inhabitants Chapter Discovery and Preliminary View Chapter The Earliest Settlers -- Bronck, Anno Hutchinson, Throckmorton, Cornell Chapter The Redoubtable Captain John Underbill-- Dr. Adrian Van der Donck Chapter VI Beginnings of Serious Settlement -- Westchester Town, Rye Chapter (->i…

Westchester County in Lino for Independence -- Events to July 9, L776 Chapter XVI The State of New York Born at White Plains-- Events to October 12, 1776 Chapter The Campaign XY1I and Battle of White Plains Chapter XVIII Fort Washington's Fall -- The Delinquency of General Lee Chapter The Strategic Situation -- The Neutral Ground Chapter Events of 1777 and 1778 Chapter T25 From January. 177…

By the terms of this act, Westchester County was to comprise " East and West Chester, Bronxland, Fordham, and all as far eastward as the province extends," and to run northward along the Hudson River to the Highlands, its southern limits being, of course, Long Island Sound and the waters between the mainland and Manhattan Island or New York County. Of the boundaries thus described, only the wester…

This long-standing and curious controversy as to the eastern boundary involved, however, nothing more than rival claims of colonial jurisdiction, arising from mathematical inaccuracies in original calculations of distance, and from peculiar conditions of early settlement along the Sound, which presented a mere problem of territorial rectification upon the basis of reciprocal two commonconcessions …

In these pages the story of old Westchester County is to be told; and whenever the county as a whole is mentioned without specific indication of the present limits, the reader will understand that the original county, including those portions which have actually passed under a new political jurisdiction, is meant. Westchester County, thus considered in its primal extent, is something more than fiv…

a short distance below Anthony's Nose, however, it continues decidedly narrow, until, at the very termination of this portion of its course, a place called Verplanck's Point, its banks approach quite close together, being only one mile apart. Here was located the famous King's Ferry of the Revolution, an extremely important line of inter- PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION COUNTY communication between the p…

The breadth of the county varies from twenty-five to eight and one-half miles. Throughout its entire extent along the Hudson the Westchester shore rises abruptly from the river edge to elevations seldom less than one hundred feet. Nowhere, however, does the Westchester bank ascend precipitously in the manner, or even at all resembling the manner, of the Palisade formation on the western shore. The…

But every other part of the county -- at least every part conveniently reached from the railroads -- is also highly esteemed for select residence purposes; and, indeed, Westchester County throughout its extent is peculiarly a residential county. Spuyten Duyvil Creek and the Harlem River, which separate Manhattan Island from the mainland and form a portion of the southern boundary of the old County…

tides in the Harlem River," says General John Newton, in a report to the War Department, " are chiefly due to the propagated Hellgate wave, while the latter is the result of the contact of the Sound and Sandy Hook tides. The tides in the Hudson River and Spuyten Duyvil are produced by the propagation of the sea. tide through the Upper and Lower bays." The mean rise of the tide in the Harlem is fro…

The mean natural depth of Spuyten Duyvil Creek has always been comparatively slight. Owing to the importance of this waterway as a means of short transit for craft plying between the Hudson River and ports on the Sound and in New England, the United States Government has in our own time dredged a channel, which, from the Hudson to Hellgate, has a depth of from twelve to fifteen feet. This improvem…

Among the more important of the projecting points of land are Stony Point ( Tort Morris), Oak Point, Barreto Point. Hunt's Point, Cornell's Neck (Clason's Point), Throgg's Neck (with Fort Schuyler at its extremity), Rodman's (Pelham) Neck, Davenport's Neck, De Lancey Point, and Rye Neck. Some of these localities are famous in the history of the county, the province, and the State. The coast indent…

The New York ( 'ity limits on the Hudson now reach to i he northern bounds of the hamlei of Mount Saint Vincent, and on the Sound to a point about opposite, taking in also Hunter's, Hart, and City Islands. Of the more than one hundred miles of coast line originally and until 1873 possessed by Westchester County, about thirty have passed to the city -- three miles on the Hudson, eight on Spuyten Du…

Pursuant to this provision the line between Westchester and Putnam Counties starts on the Hudson at Anthony's Nose and follows an easterly course to the Connecticut boundary. The surface of the county consists of several ranges of hills, with valleys stretching between, in which are numerous streams and an abundance of lakes. None of the physical features of Westchester County (if we except its lo…

A high ridge, called the Stone Hill (the watershed of tin- county), passes from the town of Mount Pleasant on the Hudson eastward through the towns of New Castle, Bedford, Pounolridge, and Salem into Connecticut, in spite of this exception, however, the general trend of the hills is north and south, a fact illustrated by the almost uniformly southerly course of the more considerable streams, and b…

The former river is the chief source of the water supply of New York City; the latter -- which, by the way, also furnishes water to New York -- has many historic and romantic associations, dear to New Yorkers as well as Westchester people, and its name has been adopted for one of the beautiful new parks of the city, and also for one of the five grand divisions which constitute the Greater New York…

The Muscoot is the outlet of the celebrated Lake Mahopac in Putnam County, and the Cross (also called the Peppenegheck ) of Lake Waccabuc, one of the largest of the Westchester lakes. The Croton watershed lies almost wholly in the State of New York, although draining a small area in Connecticut. It extends about thirty-three miles north and south and eleven miles east and west, and has an area of …

It is formed by a dam about five miles east of the mouth of the Croton, and has an ordinary length of some three and one-half miles. When the new dam is finished the length of the lake will be in excess of eleven miles. From the lake two aqueducts, the wk Old " and the " New," lead to the city. The former is thirty-eight and the latter thirty-three miles long, the distance in each case being measu…

Into the Spuyten Duyvil Creek empties Tibbet's Brook, a small runlet which rises in the Town of Yonkers and flows south, passing through Van Cortlandt Lake ( artificial ). The most noteworthy of the streams emptying into the Sound is the Bronx Eiver, whose outlet is between Hunt's Point and Cornell's Neck. The Bronx lies wholly within Westchester County, having its headwaters in the hills of the t…

The portion of the Bronx watershed drained for this purpose has an area of thirteen and one-third square miles. East of the mouth of the Bronx River on the Sound are the outlets of AYestchester and Eastchester Creeks -- tidal streams -- emptying, respectively, into AVestchester and Eastchester Bays. The Hutchinson River rises in Scarsdale and flows into Eastchester Bay. The Mamaroneck River has it…

The lakes of Westchester, like the hills and streams, boast no features of exceptional interest, but are strictly in keeping with the quiet beauty of the general landscape. The largest, as already mentioned, isCroton Lake, entirely artificial; and we have also seen that ^^|5*JWL, , several of the natural lakes have been utilized for purposes of water supply. Lake Waccabuc, in the Town of Lewisb…

Tarr, of Cornell University, in a recent series of papers1 on the geology of New York State, embodying the latest investigations and conclusions on the subject, assigns to the southern angle of the State, including Westchester County, the name of the " Gneissic Highland Province." This province, he says, is of complex structure, and one in which, in its main and most typical part, the rocks are ve…

This is extremely well illustrated in Rockland County, where the gneissic Ramapo Mountains are faced at their southeastern base by a lowland, a somewhat rolling plain, which, however, is bounded on its eastern margin by another highland where the trap of the Palisades rises close by the Hudson River/' In the opinion of Professor Tarr, this region, with the large Adirondack area, at the beginning o…

This mountain range extende of it was a alone the eastern part of the seacoast States, and west Adironthe r Whethe . <>Teat sea in the present Mississippi Valley connected, and daeks and this Highland mountain range were ever told in the w'lia! was the actual extension of the two areas, can not be of much of the present state of geological knowledge, the record of later ages. earlv history having …

It Lower the area ami belong to an even earlier age than of W estmarbles the and is pointed out that the marbles of Vermont lly different chester County, with their associated rocks, are essentia f,-,>m one another, and can hardly, therefore, belong to a common belt and formation; the Vermont marbles being found in a single banded and mottled of and behio' almost pure carbonates of lime, es, quart…

The Sing Sing marble, however, although an admirable building stone for many purposes, is of comparatively coarse and inferior quality, becoming stained in the course of time by the action of the sea air on account of the presence of grains of iron pyrites. Marble is also quarried at Tuckahoe. Abundant indications are afforded of extensive and radical glacial action. " Croton Poiut, on the Hudson,…

It is a prodigious rock of red granite, said to be the solitary one of its kind in the county. The minerals found in the county, in greater or lesser quantities, embrace magnetic iron ore, iron and copper pyrites, green malachite, sulphuret of zinc, galena and other lead ores, native silver", serpentine, garnet, beryl, apatite, tremolite, white pyroxene, chlorite, black tourmaline, Sillimanite, mo…

There are various mineral springs, as well as other springs, yielding in some water of singularly pure quality, The latter being utilized for cases with commercial profit. A well-known mineral spring, whoso waters medicinal virtues are claimed, is the Chappaqua Spring, _ three miles east of Sing Sing. disinteof product the is The prevailing soil of Westchester County grations ofthe primitive rocks…

The entire North American mainland, in fact, from Florida to Hudson's Bay, although explored by voyagers of different nationalities within comparatively brief periods after the advent of Columbus, had been practically neglected throughout the sixteenth century as a field for serious purposes of civilized occupation and exploitation. The early French attempts at settlement in Canada, in the first h…

Elizabeth in 1585 for establishing coloRaleigh under his patent from nies north of the Spanish dominions in Florida were, according to Bancroft, a body of -broken-down gentlemen and libertines, more few mechanfitted to corrupt a republic than to found one,'1 with very ering advenics farmers, or laborers among them-- mere buccane turers, who carried fire and sword into the land and had no higher en…

Throughout the era of original American discovery and coast exploration, the returning mariners had agreed in describing the region to the north of the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea as utterly lacking in indications of accumulated riches, inhabited only by savage races who possessed no gold and silver or other valuable propexerty,*enjoyed no civilization, offered no commodities to commerce …

The impressive record of these disastrous failures, in connection with the uniformly unflattering accounts of the lands farther north, deterred all The poverty of European nations from like pompous adventurings. the native inhabitants of North America saved them from the swift fate which overtook the rich peoples of the south, and for a century preserved them even from intrusion, except of the mos…

Yet the same conditions made them the ruggedest, bravest, and most independent of races, and utterly unassimilable. Thus, as found by the Europeans, while because of their poverty provoking no programme of systematic conquest and dispossession, they were foredoomed to inevitable progressive dislodgement and ultimate extermination or segregation. The cultivated and numerous races of Mexico and Peru…

There is a strong- probability that on the civilization of the Aztecs was either of direct Mongolian derivati . ntations transpla an .Mongoli early or partiallv a development from This view is sustained, first, by certain superficial resemblances, and, of second by various details in old Chinese manuscripts suggesti.veThe former intercourse with the shores of Mexico and South America as a wanbelie…

Yet while the aspects of the World are most unsatispurely historical progress of man in the New attended by much more factory, anthropological studies proper are favorable conditions in the Americas than in Europe. In the Old World, occcupied and thickly settled for many historic ages by man in the various stages of civilized development, most of the vestiges of prehistoric man have been destroyed…

Chenoweth, at Inwood, on Manhattan Island, a short distance below Spuyten Duyvil. Mr. Chenoweth unearthed a variety of interesting objects, including Indian skeletons, hearthstones blackened by lire, implements, and utensils. There can be no doubt that these remains were from a period antedating the European discovery. But they possessed no importance beyond that fact. With all the other traces of…

They came, he says, " dressed in mantles of feathers and robes of fur, the women clothed in hemp, red copper tobacco pipes, and other things of copper did they wear about their necks." Their attitude was entirely amicable, for they brought no arms with them. On his voyage up the river to the head of navigation, Hudson was everywhere received by the Indian chiefs of both banks with friendliness, an…

Under the early Dutch governme of their continues Ruttenber, the .Mohicans sold a considerable portion Mohawks the admitted and r, Rensselae Van to side west the on land to territorial sovereignty north of the Mohawk River. The Mohawks were one of the five tribes of the great Iroquois confederacy, whose other members were the Oneidas, Onondagas, Cayugas, and Senecas. Thus as early as L630 there we…

as a separate grand division or as a minor body, the geographical limits of the territory over which they were spread are well defined. _ Maikans, and by the French misThey were called' by the ofDutch Mahingans, gathered between Manhatsionaries the " nine nations tan ;,nd the environs of Quebec." The tradition which they gave of their origin has been stated as follows: nation was situated partly T…

Our forefathers assert that the other country was and this another country ; that they passed over great waters, where or water where snakes are nearly connected, called Ukhokpeck ; it signifies snake water they derived the abundant • and that they lived by the side of a great water or sea, whence man of the Mahheakunnuk name of the Muhheakunnuk nation. Muhheakanneuw signifies a from the west they…

The Mohican power is regarded by Ruttenber as hardly less formidable than that of the Iroquois, and he points out that notwithstanding the boasted supremacy of the Iroquois in war there is no historical evidence that the Mohicans were ever brought under subjection to them or despoiled of any portion of their territory. Yet it is unquestionable that the Iroquois exacted and received tribute from th…

This finds a good illustration in the affidavit says deponent the which in 1730, 13, October executed Mmhani, King es (Wappmthat"he is - a River Indian of the Tribe of the Wappinoeast shores of o-ers) which tribe was the ancient inhabitants of the of middle the about to York New of City the from River, Hudson's of County present the of part Beekinans patent (in the northern nMayhicco the called In…

The latter, havmet Connecticut line being were, i is believed fn jurisdiction thence to the Connecticut River, the original head of the s perhap « gers, Wappm of family ed enlarg an over the southern pa tribe from whence its conquests were pushed of the territory of the extent south of the peninsula.-' The north and They first sold their miles. sixty some Sequin Ts said to have been ny ami upon th…

No apologies need be made for transferring to these pages, even quite literally. Ruttenber's classification of the Indians of the county, with the inciPALISADED dental descriptive particulars. 1. The Reck o-awa wanes, better known by the generic name of Manhattans and so designated by Brodhead and other New York historians. Bolton gives to this chieftaincy the name of Nappeekamaks, a title which, …

In Breeden Raedt their name is given as the Reckewackes, and it is said that in the treaty of 1643 Oritany, sachem of the Hackinsaeks, declared he was delegated by and for those of Tappaen, Reckgawawanc, Kicktawanc, and Sintsinc. The tract occupied by the Reckgawawancs on the mainland was called Keckesick, and is described as " lying over against the flats of the Island of Manhates." In its northe…

It is said that outlines of it can still be traced by numerous shell beds. It was called Weckquaesgeck, and its location was at the mouth of Wicker's Creek (called by the Indians the V\ ysquaqua elms, ' now or Weghqueghe). Another of their villages was Alipconck, the - place of the to the Tarrytown. Their territory appears to have extended from Norwalk on the Sound Creenburgh, Pleasant, Mount of t…

Ketchtawonck was their leading village, at the mouth of the Croton (Kitchtawonck) River. They occupied another, Sackhoes, on the site of Peekskill. Their castle or fort, which stood at the mouth of the Croton, is represented as one of the most formidable and ancient of Indian fortresses south of the Highlands. Its precise location was at the entrance or neck of Teller's Point (called Senasqua), an…

Ponus reserved portions of Toquams for the use of himself and his associates, but with this exception the entire possessions of the Tankitekes appear to have passed under a deed to the whites without metes or bounds. The chieftaincy occupies a prominent place in Dutch history through the action MORTAR PESTLE. of Pacham, " a crafty man," who not only perEormed discreditable services for Director Ki…

They possessed, besides, portions of the towns of Rye and Harrison, and of Stamford (Conn.), and there are grounds for supposing that the tract known as Toquams, assigned to the Tankitekes, was part of their dominions. They had a very large village on the banks of Rye Pond hi the town of Rye, and in the southern angle of that town, on the beautiful hill now known as Mount Misery, stood one of thei…

Though greatly astonished at the advent of the tk Half Moon," and perplexed by the white skin, remarkable dress, and terrible weapons of its crew, they discovered no fear, and at the first offer of physical violence or duress were prompt and intrepid in resentment. On his way up the river, at a point probably below Spuyten Duyvil, Hudson attempted to detain two of the natives, but they jumped over…

The entire conduct of the Indians in their subsequent relations with the Europeans who settled in the land and gradually absorbed it was in strict keeping with the grim and fearless attitude shown upon this all the refirst occasion. To manifestations of force they opposed sistance thev could summon, and with the fiercest determination and and most relentless severitv administered such reprisals, b…

They have so much witchcraft, divination, sorcery, and wicked tricks that they can not be held in by any locks or bounds. They are as thievish and treacherous as they are tall, and in cruelty they are more inhuman than the people of Barbary and far exceed the Africans. 1 have written something concerning these things to several persons elsewhere, not doubting that Brother Crol will have written su…

If we speak to them of God it appears to them like a dream, and we are compelled to speak of Him not under the name of Manetto, whom they know and serve -- for that would be blasphemous-- but under that of some great person, yea of the chiefs Sackiema, by which name they -- living without a king -- call those who have command of many hundreds among them, In striking conand who, by our people, are …

Romans. the outdone have Indians our and most formidable people in North America, and at the same time as politic and judicious as can well be conceived." Although exterminating wars were waged between the Dutch and the Westchester Indians, in which both sides were perfectly rapacious, it was the general policy of the Dutch to deal with the natives amicablv and to attain their great object, the ac…

The whites now put handles or helves in the former, and cut trees down before their eves, and dug the ground, and showed them the use of the stockings. Here a general laughter ensued among the Indians, that they had remained for so long a time ignorant of the use of so valuable implements, and had borne with the weight of such heavy metal hanging to their necks for such a length of time. . . . Fam…

That they readily granted this request; whereupon the whites took a knife and beginning at one place on this hide cut it up into a rope not thicker than the finger of a little child, so that by the time the hide1 was cut up there was a great heap; that this rope was drawn out to a great distance ami then brought round again, so that the ends might meet; that they carefully avoided its breaking, an…

This letter conveyed the information that a ship had arrived the day before bringing news from the new settlement, and that "They have bought the island Manhattes from the wild men for the value of sixty guilders " $24 of our money. The acquisition of title to the site of what has become the second commercial entrepot of the world for so ridiculous a sum -- which, moreover, was paid not in money b…

A blanket was to him a whole wardrobe." Moreover, the moral phases of such a bargain can not fairly be scrutinized by any fixed conception of the relative values involved. It was purely a bargain of friendly exchange for mutual convenience and welfare. The Indians did not understand, and could not have been expected to understand, that it meant a formal and everlasting alienation of their lands; o…

But the right to buy land from the Indians was not a. necessary natural right inhering in any white settler. The government, upon the well-known principle of the supreme right of discovery, assumed a fundamental authority in the disposal of lands, and hence arose the numerous land grants and land patents to specified persons, which were based, however, under both Dutch and English law, upon previo…

Resulting from this principle was that of the sole right of the discoverer to acquire the soil from the natives and establish settlements, either by purchase or by conquest. Hence also the exclusive right can not exist in government and at the same time in private individuals ; and hence also The natives were recognized as rightful occupants, hut their power to dispose of the soil at their own wil…

Having no conception of the principles of civilized law, and no idea of the binding effect of contracts, they seldom realized that the mere act of signing over their lands to t he whites was a necessarily permanent release of them. They were incapable of comprehending any other idea of ownership than actual physical possession, and in cases where lands were not occupied promptly after sale they as…

But it was not until after the close of the seventeenth century that the last vestiges of their legal ownership of lands in the county disappeared. In succeeding chapters of this History their relation to the progress of events and to the gradual development of the county during the period of their organized continuance in it will receive due notice, and it is not necessary in the present connecti…

The wild animals fled to the forest solitudes, and the wild famimenfollowed them, until only small groups, and finally isolated lies and individuals, remained. The locality called Indian Hill, in the Town of Yorktown, is still pointed out as the spot where the last lin<rerino- band of Indians in Westchester County had its abiding place. & The historian of the Town of Rye, the late Rev. Charles W. …

Tradition states that in old times a band of Indians several days. Another a year, resorting to the beach, where they had a frolic which lasted last century, was a spot on place which they frequented as late, certainly, as the middle of the Here a troop of Grace Church Street, at the corner of the road now called Kirby Avenue in a « pow-wow, during which their [ndians would come every year and spe…

The letter was addressed " To ( :aptain Solomon Ahkannu-auwaumut, chief sachem of the Moheackonuck Indians." Captain Solomon thereupon journeyed to Boston, where, in reply to the communication from the congress, he delivered the following impressive addres : now make Brothers : We have heard you speak by your letter ; we thank you for it : we answer. , you Brothers : You remember when you first ca…

We never till this day the foundation of this quarrel between you and the country you came from. my revenge to about me find soon will you running, blood vour Brothers : Whenever I see I will gripe hold of your enemy's heel, I am low and very small, brothers' blood. Although that he cannot run so fast and so light as if he had nothing at his heels. what Brothers : You know that I am not so wise as…

Now I think I can do you more blood marching off immediately to Boston and staying there ; it may be a great while before runs. Now. as I said, you are wiser than I ; I leave this for your consideration, whether spilled. is blood some come down immediately or wait till I hear Brothers : I would not have you think by this that we are falling back from our engagements We are ready to do anything for…

Wherever you go We are determined never to be Our bones shall lie with yours. we shall be by vour sides. ABORIGINAL INHABITANTS at peace with the redcoats while they are at variance with you. We have one favor to beg. We should be glad if you would help us to establish a minister amongst us. that when our men are gone to war our women and children may have the advantage of being instructed by h…

In -Inly and August of the same year, being stationed in Westchester County, they performed highly valuable services, culminating in their memorable fight, August 31, 1778, at Cortlandt's Ridge, in the Town of Yonkers, where, according to the British commander, they lost "near forty killed or desperately wounded," about half their number. In this light they first attacked the British from behind t…

It was upon this occasion that Washington wrote the letter above alluded to. which was a communication to congress, requesting that suitable measures be Taken to provide them with necessary clothing. With The close of the Revolution the history of the Mohicans as a people ends completely, and even their name vanishes. From that time they are known no longer as Mohicans, but as " Stockbridge Indian…

The women delivered their young with singular ease, and immediately after labor were able to resume the ordinary duties of life. The appearance and general physical characteristics of the Indians are thus described by Van der Donck : Thev are well shaped and strong, having pitch-hlack and lank hair, as coarse as a horse's tail, broad shoulders, small waist, brown eyes, and snow-white teeth ; they …

They also wrap the naked body in a deerskin, the tips ot which swing with their points. . . . Both go for the most part bareheaded. . Around the neck and arms they wear bracelets of seawant, and some around the waist. Moccasins are made of elk hides. . . . The men paint their faces of many colors. The . . . Both are uncommonly faithful. women lay on a black spot only here and there. Although thei…

Such forbearance was of course dictated in no way by sentiment. The women, in common with the young children, were regarded by the conquerors merely as accessions to their numbers. Unchastity was an exceptionally rare thing among the married females; and in no other particular do the different accounts of the natives given by the earliest observers agree more markedly than in the statement that bo…

Inured to abstemiousness by the rigors of his lot and but little disposed to sexual gratification, the Indian yet fell an easy victim, and speedily became an abject slave, to strong drink. It was not the taste rum which enbut the stimulating properties of the white man's thralled him. Hudson relates that when he first offered the intoxicating cup to his Indian visitors while at anchor in New York …

A chief of the Six Nations, in a speech delivered before the commissioners of the Tinted States at Fort Stanwix, in 1788, said: "The avidity of the white people for land and the thirst of the Indians for spirituous liquors were equally insatiable; that the white men had seen and fixed their eyes upon the Indian's good land, and the Indians had seen nothing and fixed their eyes on the white man's k…

There is one safe starting point, and only one, for a correctly balanced estimate of the Indian. He was essentially a physical being. Believing both in a supreme good deity and an evil spirit, and also in an existence after death, religion was not, however, a predominating factor and influence in his life and institutions. In this respect he differed from most aboriginal and peculiar types. Of a s…

INHABITANTS physical ends rather than regularly ordained formularies expressive of a real system of abstractions. He was a pare physical barbarian. His conceptions of principles of right and wrong, of social obligations, and of good and bad conduct, wore limited to experience and customs having no other relations than to physical well being. Thus there was neither sensibility nor grossness in his…

The Great Spirit of the Indians of this locality was called Cantantowit, who was good, all-wise, and all-powerful, and to whose happy hunting grounds they hoped to go after death, although their beliefs also comprehended the idea of exclusion from those realms of such Indians as were regarded by him with displeasure. The Spirit of Evil they called Hobbaniocko. The home of Cantantowit they located …

On such occasions they cut off their hair and bound it on the grave in the presence of all their relatives, painted their faces pitch black, and in a deerskin jerkin mourned the dead a full year In burying their dead the body was placed in a sitting posture, and beside it were placed a pot, kettle, platter, spoon, and money and provisions for use in the other world. Wood was then placed around the…

They were formed by long, slender hickory saplings set in the ground, in a straight line of two rows, as far asunder as they intended the width to be, and the rows continuing as far as they intended the length to be. The poles were then bent toward each other in the form of an arch and secured together, giving the appearance of a garden arbor. Split poles were then lathed up the sides and the roof…

Chenoweth draws some interesting deductions as to the processes of pottery manufacture prevalent in early times from his examinations of specimens that he has unearthed. He says : They could fashion earthen jars with tasteful decorations, manufacture cloth, and twist fibers into cords. They had several methods of molding their pottery. One was to make a mold of basket work and press the clay insid…

The study of the decoration and method employed reveal the implements used for that purpose. The imprint of a finger nail is clearly defined on some of the rudest as a decoration. Others show the imprint of a coarse netting or cloth, while the edge of an escallop shell or clam shell was often used. Pointed sticks, wedge-shaped sticks, and straws were also common implements for decorating with. The…

When they wished to make one of their more durable canoes they had first to fell a suitable tree, a task which, on account of the insufficiency of their tools, required much labor and time. Being unable to cut down a tree with their stone axes, they resorted to fire, burning the tree around its trunk and removing the charred portion with their stone implements. This was continued until the tree fe…

The extent and character of the trade relations between the Indians of the same tribe and those of different tribes can only be inferred relations from known facts which render it unquestionable that such among existed For instance, tobacco, which was in universal use e m exchang by obtained be to had , America North the aborigines of copThe growth. its to soil and climate by ed all localities una…

The author of an instructive treatise on k' Ancient and Aboriginal Trade in North America"1 (from which some of the details in the preceding pages are taken) says of the wampum belts, so often mentioned in connection with the history of the eastern tribes: Thev consisted of broad straps of leather, upon which white and blue wampum-beads were sewed In rows, being so arranged that by the contrast of…

The old accounts, however, are not quite accordant concerning these details, probably because the different Atlantic tribes followed in this particular their own taste rather than a general rule. At any rate, however, the wampum belts were considered as objects of importance, being, as has been stated, the tokens by which the memory of remarkable events was transmitted to posterity. They were empl…

" Though this people,*' says Van der Donck, " do not make such a distinction between man and man as ether nations, yet they have high and low families, inferior and superior chiefs." Their rulers were called sachems, the title usually remaining hereditarily in the family, although the people claimed the right of election. It does not appear that the sachems ever assumed oppressive powers, or, on t…

Even to the local historian, indeed, their names have little importance beyond that attaching to them from their connection with notable transfers of land and with rivers, lakes, and localities to which they have been applied. In the geographical nomenclature of Westchester County, as well as of the whole country from the Atlantic to the Pacific, are preserved numerous permanent memorials of the v…

Those of the personal names bestowed on places are noted especially difficult to analyze, owing to their construction and the changes already and Many of the place names were translated many years ago by Schoolcraft, Trumbull, so erroothers, some correctlv, and others more often incorrectly. Some of the latter were are neous that thev have' been passed by the writer without notice. The present att…

Appoqua, signifies « to coyer;" tree, and used a generic, heme -the covering tree." possibly a descriptive term for the lurch -- Var.s Apparaghpogh. Lands near Verplanck's Point, also a locality the with east ** AppamaghpTgT Cortlandt. The main stem of this term is the same as that in the previous name, of place a i.e., water-place," covering (lodge) -The pond." « or suffix paug, - a water-place "…

P'tukqua-paug, -a round pond, or water-place. (See bull's Names in Connecticut.) Canopus. -- Name of a chieftain. to Cantetoe.-- In this form not a place name, but seemingly from Cantecoy, "to sing and dance." Variation., Kante Kante, Cante Cante, etc. It may have been derived, however, . . from Pocantico, which see chief. ( 'atonah.-- Var., Katonah, Ket-atonah, " great mountain." Said to he the n…

Cowan - in West Farms ; a -boundary-place." p,--irsoni Croton (J01 Aigh. . < Schoolcraft suggests Kenotin, - the wind." ne | I prefer the Delaware Kloltin, -he contends." -A high ridge in Rye." also applied to Rye cuson. Euketaupucuson.-- Var., Ekucketaupa This name denotes a « place where a stream opens out or widens on both sides. Woods. ; ,., overflows, generally where the stream Hows through l…

Nyack signifies " a point of land," and is the equivalent of the Long Island Nyack ("Kings County) Noyac (Suffolk County). Kiwigtignock. -- Var., Keioightegnack, He-weghtiquack. An elbow of the Croton River. Whquae-tigu-ack, " land at head of the cove." Compare Wiq'uetaipiock, the cove at Stonington, Conn. Laapha/rachking. -- Pelham. None of the components warrant a translation " as a place of str…

Brinton follows Captain Ilendrick, a native Mohegan, in translating the name as " a people of the great waters which are constantly ebbing and was first applied b y others. 1 flowing." The tribe would naturally reject a term which lation." All th early maps agree with Schoolcraft and Trumbull that it denotes the " ' Aolf 1 corroborate it. See Creuxius's ma]) of 1<><><), for " Natio Li sonal name. …

Both the n and r are intrusive. The suffix, amack or amuck, denotes " a fishing-place "; the prefix appeh " a trap "; hence we have appeh-amack, " the trap fishing-place." Neperhan (apehhan) « a trap, snare, gin," etc. At the locality where the name was originally bestowed, the Indians probably had a weir for catching fish, and this tact gave On Long Island Rapahamuck was at the mouth of a rise to…

Patthunck. -- A personal name; "pounding-mortar." Pachamitt.-- (Van der Donck's map. ) Name of a tribe taken from the place where they lived, "at the turning-aside place." De Laet says : " Visher's Rack, that is the fisherman's a little beyond where projects a bend," and here the eastern bank is inhabited by the Pachami, tribe and place. Pachanu, a sachem, takes his name also from sandy point." fo…

Inis of Papirinemen.-- Spuyten Duyvil Creek ; also place at north end name has a verbal termination denoting the act of doing something, a suffix not allowable m divide, « to parcel out,"_ to name denoting n. a personalnie it was probably ine HencePew names. . variation, divert, to place Pechquinakonck.-- (Van der Donck.) A locality in North Salem; probably originally an Pachquin-ak-onk, " at the…

"The plantatio of Rippowams is named Stamforde " (X. H. Rec, Vol. I, p. 69). This included the territory on both sides of Mill River. The late J. H. Trumbull was unable to translate this name. It may the be rather presuming to suggest where he failed. We think we can see Nipau-apuchk in In colloDelaware, or Nepau-ompsk in the Massachusetts, " a standing or rising up rock." quial use ompsk is frequ…

A personal name, probably, although Eliot gives ns Keechepam, " shore." Sigghes. -- A great bowlder, a landmark mentioned as a boundary. Another name for Meghkaekassin. From an original Siogke-ompsk-it, "at the hard rock." Sacunyte Napucke. -- A locality in Pelham. Sakunk-Napi-ock, " at the outlet of a pond or water-place." Probably used in some conveyance to indicate the line running to this plac…

But on the Delaware Paver is a place called Maetsingsing (see Col. Hist. N. Y., Vol. 1, pp. 590, 596), which seems to be a fuller form of our name and warranting another interpretation : " Place where stones are gathered together," a heap of stones, probably. Snakapins.-- Cornell's Neck. If not a personal name, as I suspect, it may represent an earlier Sagajnn, "a ground-nut." Suckehonk.--" A blac…

This is probably a term of derision applied to them by other tribes : " Those of little worth." Tatomuck.-- This name has probably lost a syllable or more. The suffix indicates a « fishOn Long Island Arhata-amuck denotes "a crab fishing-place." Corrupted m to Katawamac. some records ing-place." Toquams.--Ynv., Toquamske. This was a boundary mark in some conveyance, or else a well known landmark ;…

Schoolcraft's suggestion, " the place of the bark-kettle," and as repeated in various histories, is absolutely worthless.' The name is simply a descriptive appellation of the locality where the Indians lived at the date of settlement. Delaware, Wiquie-askeek, Massachusetts, Wehque-askeet, bog." Chippewa, U'aiekwa-ashkiki, "end of the marsh ofor the foregoing. A variant Weqh</itfghe. -- Yar., Wyoqu…

It is also conceded to be not impossible that accidental Norse descents from Greenland upon the continent were made in the centuries that followed. But this is merely an amiable concession to academic conjecture. It is insisted that no reliable Norse remains have ever been found south of Davis Straits: and one by one the various relics thought to be of Norse origin that have been brought forward, …

The markings were claimed to be rude Runic characters constituting an inscription, out of which one writer, by ingeniously interpolating missing letters, formed the words Kirkjussynir akta, which translated are " Sons of the Church tax (or rake a census)." k' I suppose it to mean," added this writer, " that representatives of the Church of Rome had been there to tax, or number the people, and that…

The authentic history of Westchester County begins in the month of September, 1609, when Henry Hudson, in his little ship the " Half Moon," entered the harbor of New York and ascended the great river which now bears his name. But there are strong reasons for believing that Hudson was not the first navigator to appear on our shores, or at least in their immediate vicinity. In 1524 Juan Yerrazano, a…

All of a sudden, as is wont to happen to navigators, a violent contrary wind blew in from the sea, and forced us to return to our ship, greatly regretting to leave this region which seemed so commodious and delightful, and which we supposed must also contain great riches, as the hills showed mamT indications of minerals." This description, although perplexing in some of its statements, and therefo…

Chripstapel" was unquestionably the Lower New York Bay, and his "Rio St. Antonio" (so named in honor of the saint on whose day he beheld it) the Hudson River. The latter conclusion is clearly established by his description ofthe river as "north and south with said bay," which, taken in its connections, can not possibly apply to any other stream. To have established the north and south direction of…

Indeed, it was in studied violation of the instructions laid down for him by his employers at his setting out that he turned his vessel hitherward. His instructions were to sail past Nova Zembla and the north coast of Siberia, through the Bering Strait into the Pacific, and so southward to the Dutch Indies. The famous 1 Benson, in his "Memoirs.'" says that " the promontory in the Highlands is call…

Proper recognition of these historical facts does not, however, involve any diminishing from the uniqueness and greatness of his achievement. He found a grand harbor and a mighty and beautiful river, previously unknown, or only vaguely known, to the civilized world. He thoroughly explored both, and, returning to Europe, gave accounts of them which produced an immediate appreciation of their import…

He explored the bay and strait to which his name has since been given, passed the winter in the southern part of the bay, and on the 21st of June, 1611, was, with his sou and seven companions, set adrift in an open boat by his mutinous crew, never to be heard of more. When Hudson adventured forth on his momentous voyage of 1609 he flew from the mast of his vessel the flag of the new-born Republic …

In Sweden the young Gustavus Adolphus was about to come to the throne. In Russia the dawn of a new era was being ushered in by the accession of the first sovereign of the house of Romanoff. In the south of Europe, on the other hand, the glories of long ages of commercial, intellectual, and political supremacy were fading away : the Italian republics were beginning to decline, and the might of Spai…

During that decplans of orderly colonization began to be set on settlements in Canada, ade the French inaugurated their permanent an established last at Smith, John Captain under English, the and secure the on founded because enduring colonv in Virginia-- enduring basis of mutual self-interest, labor, and economy. Even Spain, with all her greed for new realms to pillage, had practically abandoned …

There was to be no visionary exploration for a possibly existing route through the coastline of America, but a direct entrance into Arctic waters in the region of Nova Zembla. in the hope that an open sea, or continuous passage, would there be Hudson, an Englishman, was chosen for the undertaking befound. cause he was known to be familiar with the northern seas -- no Dutch On the 4th of April, nav…

Although his intercourse a conflict with them, in provoked boat men whom he sent out in the which one of the exploring party, John Coleman, was killed and two On the 12th of September he steered the " Halfmen were wounded. Moon " through the Narrows, anchoring that evening somewhere in the Upper Bay, probably not far from the lower extremity of Manhattan Island. The next day he began his voyage up…

Hudson"* vessel when he was returning down the river, an attack in retaliation for his treacherous act upon this occasion, occurred at Manhattan Island InSpuyten Duyvil Creek, and was clearly made by on the southern shore dians, the Indian fortress in that locality being of the creek. The question, of course, is not important enough to require any serious discussion, but upon its determination dep…

The record of the day's sailing is thus given in Juet's Journal : " In the morning we sailed up the river twelve leagues . . . and came to a strait between two points, . . . and it (the river) trended north by one league. . . . The river is a mile broad; there is very high land on both sides. Then Ave went up northwest a league and a half, deep w a t e r; t h e n northeast five miles; then n o r t…

off Stony Point, in the k> strait " described by Juet, and the natives, animated solely by curiosity, came out in their canoes, some of them being received on board. The occupant of one of the canoes, which kept " hanging under the stern," was detected in pilfering from the cabin windows, having secreted " a pillow and two shirts and two bandaliers." Whereupon the " mate shot at him, and struck hi…

The details of this fight have been given in our chapter on the Indians, and need not be repeated here. It is noticeable that the only sanof Hudson's exploration of the river occurred along guinary incidentscoast. the Westchester Sailing away from the scene of this bloody conflict, the " Half Moon " passed out of the Narrows on the 4th of October, just one month and a day after its arrival in the …

By the delimitations of its charter granted in 1602, the Dutch East s in India Company was excluded from all commercial operation n to corporatio that by taken were steps no y accordingl and America; the But Hudson. Henry by found develop the promising country alert and enterprising private traders of Holland were prompt in seeking to turn the new discoveries to profitable uses. While Hudson and h…

In 1612 a memorable voyage was made to Hudson's River by Henry Christiansen and Adrian Block, two Hollanders, in a vessel which they owned jointly. They returned with a goodly cargo of furs, carrying with them to the home country two sons of Indian chiefs, by one of whom Christiansen, several years subsequently, was murdered on a Hudson River island. In 1613, with two vessels, the " Fortune " and …

With the " Restless " Block now entered upon an exploration almost as important as Hudson's own, and certainly far more dangerous. Steering it through the East River, he came suddenly into the fearful current of Hellgate, whose existence was previously unknown to Europeans, and which he navigated safely. Passing the mouth of the Harlem River, he thoroughly explored the Westchester coast along the …

Although the outlines in certain respects, particularly in the case of Manhattan Island, are extremely crude, they are surprisingly faithful in the parts representing It will be observed that the general his individual resp< visibility. DISCOVERY PRELIMINARY VIEW trend of the Westchester coast on the Sound is traced almost exactly. Returning to Holland in the fall of 1614, with the " Fortune,"…

On October 11, 1614, Block submitted to the StatesGeneral, at The Hague, explicit information of his discoveries, and a charter bearing that date was accordingly granted to him and a number of individuals associated with him (of whom Christiansen was one), comprising a business society styled the New Netherland Company. This company had for its formally defined aim the commercial exploitation of t…

The grant of the States-General establishing the New Netherland Company, after naming the persons associated in it -- these persons being the proprietors and skippers of five designated ships, -- describes the region in which its operations are to be carried on as " certain new lands situate in America, between New France and Virginia, the seacoasts whereof lie between forty and forty-five degrees…

The second division, or Second Colony, assigned to the Plymouth Company, embraced the country from forty-one degrees to forty-five degrees, with the privilege of acquiring rights southward to thirty-eight degrees, likewise conditioned upon priority of colonization. Throughout the long controversy between England and Holland touching their respective territorial rights in America, it was, indeed, t…

Under the strictly commercial regime of the New Netherland Company other voyagWwere made, all highly successful in material results, the fur trade with the Indians still being the objective. That the scope of operations of these early Dutch traders comprehended the entire navigable portion of the Hudson River is sufficiently evidenced by the fact that two forts were erected near the site of Albany…

This peculiar condition was not, however, due to any flagging of interest in their American possessions on the part of the Dutch government, but was an incident of a well-considered political programme which was kept in abeyance because of the circumstances of the time, to be launched in the fullness of events. The twelve years' truce between Holland and Spain, signed in 1609, was now drawing to i…

In the eventuality of war it would become a particularly important part of Dutch policy not merely to provide for the protection of the new provinces in America and their prospective inhabitants, but to cope with the formidable Spanish maritime power in American waters, and as far as possible prey upon the rich commerce of Spain with that quarter of the globe and even wrest territory from her ther…

In 1604, two years after the establishment of the East India Company, and long before the first appearance of the Dutch tlag on the American coast, the aconception of a West India Com] .any was carefully formulated in paper drawn up by one William Usselinx and presented, progressively, to the hoard of burgomasters of Amsterdam, the legislature or " states " of Holland province, and the States-Gene…

Twelve additional articles were subsequently incorporated, the whole instrument receiving final approval on the 21st of June, 1623. The Dutch West India Company, to whose care the conversion of the American wilderness into a habitation for civilized man was thus committed, and under whose auspices European institutions were first planted and organized government was erected and for many years admi…

The spheres of trade marked out for and confirmed to the company, " to the exclusion of all other inhabitants or associations of merchants within the bounds of the United Provinces," comprehended both the Atlantic and the Pacific coasts of the two Americas, from the Straits of Magellan to the extreme north, and, in addition, the African coast from the Tropic of Cancer to the Cape of Good Hope. The…

The director-general and his council were invested with all powers, judicial, legislative, and executive, subject, some supposed, to appeal to Holland, but the will of the company, expressed in their instructions or declared in their marine or military ordinances, was to be the law of New Netherland, excepting in cases not especially provided lor, when the Roman law, the imperial of Patr'tii-- sta…

teen yachts, fully armed and equipped-- the former to be at least of three hundred and the latter of eighty tons' burden; but these vessels were to be maintained at the expense of the company, which was to furnish, unconditionally, sixteen ships and fourteen yachts, of like tonnage, for the defense of trade and purposes of war, which, with all merchant vessels, were to be commanded by an admiral a…

On the South American mainland Brazil, a province of Portugal, at that time tributary to Spain, was conquered DUTCH WINDMI and held for several years as Dutch territory, and the country known as Dutch Guiana, where the flag of Holland still floats, also yielded itself to these merchant princes In addition numerous AVest India islands were of the Netherlands. taken. A celebrated episode of the comp…

It is certain that the separate voyages undertaken hither by various adventurous men between 1610 and 1623 resulted in no settlement of the country worthy of the name. We find no record of any transportation ofyeomen or families to this locality for the announced object of making it their abode and developing its resources. Although there is no doubt respecting the utilization of Manhattan Island …

In 1648 a pamphlet was published in England, with the title, " A Description of New Albion," by one Beauchamp Plantagenet, Esq., which assumed to narrate that in the year 1613 the English Captain Samuel Argall, returning from Acadia to Virginia, "landed at Manhattan Isle, in Hudson's River, where they found four houses built, and a pretended Dutch governor under the West India Company of Amsterdam…

ship's pinnace on a trip to Virginia which he had decided to make Martha's after dispatching his laden vessel back to England.theLeaving coast led me till "as Yh.evard, he shaped his voyage he narrates, coast began to fall away I came to the most westerly part where the my way 1 discovIn Sound]. the to southerly [the eastern entrance ered land about thirty leagues in length [Long Island], heretofo…

This was five years after through the same Sound from the Manhattans, and ten years after singuHudson's discovery of the Great River of the Mountains. Very lar it is that fights with the Indians, both on the Hudson and on the Sound, and at 'points nearly opposite each other, were the beginning of civilization in Westchester County, and that the first was with the Dutch and the second with the Engl…

On February 12, 1(520, its directors addressed to Maurice, Prince of Orange, stadtholder or chief executive of the Netherlands, a petition reciting that " there is residing at Leyden a certain English preacher, versed in the Dutch language, who is well inclined to proceed thither [to New Netherland] to live, assuring the petitioners that he has the means of inducing over four hundred families to a…

This condition was not complied with, and the scheme fell to the ground. It is a coincidence, and very presumably no accidental one, that this offer was volunteered in the same year that the Pilgrims sailed from Holland in the "Mayflower" and landed at Plymouth. Indeed, it is well known that the original intention of the " Mayflower" company was to proceed to New Netherland, and their landing on t…

River or South River, as that stream was called by the of our readers We have shown, in perhaps greater detail than some that the dehistory, mav think is necessary in the pages of a local Company termining consideration m the creation of the West India view ot the m provide, to en statesm ands Netherl the of was the desire e and defensive naval impending war with Spain, for a strong offensiv of th…

this point the document specified simply that the company " Further may promote the of fertile and uninpopulating habited regions, and do all that the advantages of these provinces [the United Netherlands], tin- profit and increase e.*' of commerce shall requir "Brief as is this language," ian, aptly says a recent histor " there Avas enough of it to express the vicious principle underlying coloniz…

These Walloons, stanch Huguenots in religious profession, finding life intolerable in their native land, removed, like the sturdy English dissenters, to Holland, and there gladly embraced opportunity to obtain permanent shelter from persecution, as well as homes for themselves and their families, in the new countries of America. They were not Hollanders, and had nothing in common with the Dutch ex…

It does not appear that any of these first colonists were placed in Westchester County, or even within the northern limits of Manhattan Island. Arriving in May, with seeds and agricultural implements, they were able to raise and garner a year's crop, and consequently suffered none of the hardships which made the lot of the Puritans during their first winter at Plymouth so bitter. Although distribu…

URING the first fifteen or so years after the beginning of the colonization of New Xetherland there was no attempt at settlement north of the Harlem River, so far as can be de^^ termined from the records that have come down to us. The earliest recorded occupation of Westchester land by an actual white settler dates from about 1639. At that period at least one man of note and substance, Jonas Bronc…

To this spot and its immediate vicinity settlement was necessarily confined for some years; and though by degrees certain enterprising persons took up 'lands considerably farther north, steadily pushing on to the Harlem, it is most unlikely that that stream was crossed for purposes of habitation by any unremembered adventurer before the time of Bronck. exCertainly any earlier migration into a regi…

In the journals of Jasper Bankers New Peter Sluvter-a narrative of a visit to York in 1679-it is related (p. 135) that people •' can go over this creek at dead low water upon rocks and reefs at the place called Spyt den duyvel " (the original name of Kingsbridge,,. The editor of this History has crossed there when fishing, finding the passage reasonably safe at - dead low water." At other times, …

In 1025 wheeled vehicles were introduced, and a large importation of domestic animals from Holland was made, including horses, cattle, swine, and sheep. Moreover, some new families and single people, mostly Walloons, were brought over. With the arrival of Peter Minuit, as director-general, on May 1, 1020, the concerns of the colony first came under a carefully ordered scheme of management. The set…

The conduct of Director Kieft in entering upon his course of violent aggression against the Indians, which resulted in great devastation in our county, was given the color of popular favor iu this manner. In the early months of Minuit's administration the Island of Manhattan was purchased from the Indians " for the value of sixty guilders," or $24. The same ship which carried to Holland the news o…

Europe-- mostly honest, sturdy people, but poor and unresource The inducements so far offered by the AVest India Company were not tic sufficiently attractive to draw other classes to their transatlan lands, and the natural colonists of the New Netherland, the yeomen adand burghers of the United Provinces, finding no appearance ofvery vantage to offset the plain risks involved in emigration, were w…

After careful deliberation, an elaborate series of provisions to this end was drawn up, entitled " Freedoms and Exemptions granted by the Assembly of the XIX. of the Privileged West India Company to all such as shall plant any colonies in New Netherlands which in June, 1G29, received the ratification of the States-General. As this document was the the patroonbasis upon which the celebrated patroon…

Upon the patroons was conferred the right to " forever possess and enjoy all the lands lying within the aforesaid limits, together with the fruits, rights, minerals, rivers, and fountains thereof; as also the chief command and lower jurisdiction, fishing, fowling, and grinding, to the exclusion of all others, to be holden from the company as a perpetual inheritance." In case " anyone should in tim…

It was even permitted to the patroons to traffic in New Netherland waters, although they were strictly forbidden to receive in exchange any article of peltry, "which trade the company reserve to themselves." Nevertheless they were free to engage in the coveted peltry trade at all places where the Company had no trading station, the peltry they can procure " on condition that they should " bring al…

from all " customs, taxes, excise, imports, or any other contributions for the space of ten years." In addition to the grants to the patroons, it was provided that private persons, not enjoying the same privileges as the patroons, who should be inclined to settle in New Netherland, should be at liberty to take up as much land as they might be able properly to improve, and to " enjoy the same in fu…

The universal recognition in those times of the propriety and expediency of employing negro slaves in new countries found expression in Article XXX. of the instrument, as follows: "The company will use their endeavors to supply the colonists with as many blacks as they conveniently can, on the conditions hereafter to be made; in such manner, however, that they shall not be bound to do it for a lon…

The first patroonship erected within the borders of the State of Xew York was that of Rensselaerswyck, comprising territory on both banks of the upper Hudson, of which Kiliaen Van Rensselaer, of Amsterdam, was the founder. This great tract was subsequently changed into an English manor, and continued under the proprietorship of a single hereditary owner until near the middle of the present century…

It was charged that the latter paid little or no heed to the plain spirit of the charter of Freedoms and Exemptions, which in creating the patroons had in view essentially the development of the country granted to them; and that, instead of settling the land in good faith, with they sought principally the profits of trade, coming into conflict the was sy controver the of the' interests of the comp…

This was an exceedingly trifling return on a capitalization of nearly three millions of dollars, and it is no wonder that the practical-minded merchants who controlled the company began to look in a decidedly pessimistic spirit at the whole New Netherland undertaking, and as time went by conceived a fixed indifference to the local welfare of such barren and unprofitable settlements. On the other h…

According to an explicit " Eeport on the Condition of New Netherland," presented to the States-General in 163S, the company declared that up to that time it had suffered a net loss in its New Netherland enterprise; that it was utterly unable to people the country; and that " nothing now comes from New Netherland but beaver skins, minks, and other furs." Closely following the submission of this sig…

The specific terms attached to this very radical proposition were the following: " All and every the inhabitants of this State, or its allies and friends," were invited to take up and cultivate lands in New Netherland, and to engage in traffic with the people of that region. Per-, sons taking advantage of the offer of traffic were required to have their goods conveyed on the ships of the West Indi…

was to vated four years; but subsequently to that period the owner toseed, grain, fruit, all of pay to the company -the lawful tenths bacco, cotton, and such like, as well as of the increase of all sorts of cattle" Those establishing themselves in New Netherland under this offer were bound to submit themselves to the regulations and orders no of the company, and to the local laws and courts; but t…

The legal limits of their estates were reduced to four English miles along the shore, although they might extend eight miles laud ward in; and the planting of their "colonies" was required to be completed within three instead of four years. Trade privileges along the coast outside of the Dutch dominions were continued as before; but within the territory of New Netherland no one was permitted to co…

Free colonists were defined to be those who should " remove to New Netherland with five souls above fifteen years," and all such were to be granted by the director-general " one hundred morgens (two hundred acres) of land, contiguous one to the other, wherever they please to select." The colonists were put on precisely the same footing as thepatroons in matters of trade privilege, and, in fact, en…

The first plan, after being tested for nine years, was found a complete failure, because based upon the theory that colonization should naturally and would most effectively proceed from the patronage of the rich, who, acquiring as a free gift the honors of title and the dignities of landed proprietorship, would, it was thought, readily support those honors and dignities by the substance of an esta…

The most t day to Westchester lands which has been preserved to the presen of dispose s Indian the terms its by and 1639, 3, bears date of August purthe a tract called Keskeskeck; the West India Company being Cornelius Van Tienhoven, pro, ntative represe their through chasers, vincial secretary to Director Kieft. on similar In the next year Van Tienhoven was dispatched by Ivieft from bought 19, Ap…

The instructions of the mouth the at islands, of group or to purchase the archipelago, mamthe on y territor ng adjoini the all with r togethe Norwalk River, and High the of arms and d standar the thereon erect to land, and " protecour under savages the take to ; General Mighty Lords Statesour tion, and to prevent effectually any other nation encroaching on stole policy, beingof 1640 was in the lin…

From the parent settleme lish not only rapidly advanced into the whole surrounding country, but in the course of a few years sent colonizing parties to quite remote EARLIEST SETTLERS localities; and wherever an English advance colony gained a foothold, there permanent and energetic settlement was certain very speedily to follow. As early as 1633 a number of Englishmen from Massachusetts, desiri…

Later, Dutch voyagers returned to those shores and trafficked with the natives; and finally, in 1623, when Director May arrived in New York harbor on his mission of colonization from the West India Company, he dispatched a number of his Walloon families to the mouth of the Connecticut River. At the same place the arms of the States( General of the Netherlands were formally erected in 1632, and in …

But the Dutch occupation of the mouth and valley of the Connecticut River was never otherwise than merely nominal, a fact which, in view of the easily conceivable future importance of that quarter in connection with the maintenance of Dutch territorial claims, is certainly striking, and characteristically illustrates Dutch deliberation and inefficiency in colonizing development as contrasted with …

The truth m opment bythe Dutch even of Manhattan Island during the period aggreregular any by ed occupi was question/ Only its southern end ation still existed mainly for the gation of settlers, and this aggreg sending to Holland " beavbusiness of bartering with the Indians and produc ts which, as declared er skins minks, and other furs," the only Netherland, were New of ion in the " Report of 163…

This was done to forestall English claims to priority of possession, at that time conspicumatter of land purously in course of preparation. But even inof this the alert English. To chases the Dutch were scarcely aforetime the latter, also, the Indians executed a deed of sale, embracing extensive portions of Westchester County, and nearly as ancient as the first On July 1, 1610, Captain Nathaniel T…

No early settlements in the Westchester sections of the tract were attempted by the English; but it is an interesting point to bear in mind that the interior sections of this county bordering on Connecticut were first bought from the Indians not under Dutch but under English auspices, and thus that the English fairly share with the Dutch the title to original sovereignty in Westchester County, so …

While there is no evidence that he was a man of large wealth, it is abundantly manifest that he was quite comfortably circumstanced in worldly goods. Unquestionably his sole object in emigrating to New Netherland was to acquire and cultivate land, probably under the liberal States-Gengeneral offer to persons of all nations proclaimed by the eral in 1638. He was, therefore, one of the first of the …

River branch of the New Harlem the of depot present not far from the This dwelling York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad, at Morrisania. is described as of " stone," covered with tiles, and had connected with As the Dutch word for it a barn, tobacco-house, and two barracks. stone fsteenj is always ambiguous unless accompanied by a descriptive prefix, it is uncertain what kind of building stone, whet…

Jonas Bronck left a son, Peter, who went with his mother to her new home,and from whom the numerous Bronx family of Albany and vicinity is descended. The Bronck property on the Harlem was sold on July 10, 1651, to Jacob Jans Stall. One of its subsequent owners was Samuel Edsall, a beaver-maker and man of some note in New York City, who had trade transactions with the Indians, became versed in thei…

The example of Bronck in boldly venturing over upon the mainland would doubtless have found many ready followers among the Dutch already on Manhattan Island, or those who were now arriving in constantly increasing numbers from Europe, if the threatening aspect of the times had not plainly suggested to everybody the inexpediency of going into an open country exposed to the attacks of the Indians. I…

First in point of prominence is to be mentioned the noted Anne Hutchinson, whose name, like that of Bronck, has become lastingly identified with Westchester County by being conferred upon a river. Whether she was the first of the immigrants from Xew England into Westchester County, can not be determined with absolute certainty; but there is no question that she was among the very earliest. In the …

It is true of this remarkable woman an abiding interest attach sympathy or that interest in Anne Hutchinson, in the form of special g individual capabilspecial admiration, may vary according to varyin ; but upon one women of type c polemi the of ities for appreciation the foremost point there can be no disagreement-she was among cuous relation conspi a ing sustain a, Americ in times her of ers cha…

Hutchinson personally was of spotless Westchester County. self-sacnhcing; holdreputation and high and noble aims; benevolent, iuo- the things of the world in positive contempt; an enthusiast in reliction, independent in her opinions, and fearless in advocacy of them.to With her husband and their children, she left England and came Settling in Boston, she immediately enMassachusetts Bay in 163G. tk…

To the work of instruction she added a large practical philanthropy, assisting the poor and ministering to the sick. But it was not long before Mrs. Hutchinson, by the independence of her opinions, excited the serious displeasure of the rigid Puritan element. Her precise doctrinal offense against the established standards concerned, says a sympathetic writer, " a point so nice and finely drawn tha…

In the following November Anne was publicly tried at Cambridge. "Although in a condition of health that might well have awakened manly sympathy, and that even barbarians have been known to respect, her enemies showed her no compassion. She was forced to stand up before the judges until she almost fell to the floor from weakness. No food was allowed her during the trial, and even the members of the…

It is said that an Indian came that mding hip. friends ing profess g, mornin one home nson's Hutchi g evenin the in ed return he less, defense the little colony was utterly the business of to ded procee once at which party, us numero a with InAccording to tradition, the leader of the murderous slam-liter. himself dians was a chief named Wampage, who subsequently called - \nn-Hoock," following a fr…

Hutchinson's company spared by the attacking held being after who, child, small a quite r, daughte st younge was her Dutch the of efforts the h throug d in captivitv four years, was release she -had governor and restored to her friends; but it is said that from forootten her native language, and was unwilling to be taken This girl married a Mr. Cole, of Kingston, in the Narthe'lndians." One of the…

associates, solicits to settle with thirty-five families within the limits of the jurisdiction of their High Mightinesses, to reside there in peace and enjoy the same privileges as our other subjects, and be favored with the free exercise of their religion,"' and there being no danger that injury to the interests of the West India Company would result from the proposed settlement, 'k more so as th…

By the ensuing spring various improvements had been made, and on July 6, 1643, a land-brief, signed by Director Kieft, " by order of the noble lords, the director and council of New Netherland," was granted to " Jan Throckmorton," comprising " a piece of land (being a portion of Vredeland), containing as follows: Along the East River of New Netherland, extending from the point half a mile, which p…

He emigrated to Massachusetts from Island Rhode to went time; a for Boston in inn an kept about 1636; d. in 1611; and from there came to the Vredeland of New Netherlan a On the 26th of July, 1616, he was granted by the Dutch a patent to " certain piece of land lying on the East Rh er, beginning from the kill of Bronck's land, east-southeast along the river, extending about half a Dutch mile from t…

Cornell,county Cornell, founder of Cornell I'ni in the first settlement of the His part ernor of New York. has been traced in an interesting and valuable pamphlet from the pen Both Throckmorton and Cornell escaped the of Governor Cornell.1 to which Anne Hutchinson fell a vicIndians murderous fury of the It is supposed that they were in New Amstertim in the fall of 1643. dam at the time with their …

Cornell, after receiving the grant to Cornell's Neck, erected buildings there, which he occupied until forced for the second time by hostile Indian manifestations to abanHis daughter Sarah don his attempt at residence in the Vredeland. testified in September, 1665, that he " was at considerable charges in building, manuring, and planting" on Cornell's Neck, and that after some years he was " drive…

By reference to the map, it will be observed that all these first Westchester settlements were closely contiguous to one another, and embraced a continuous extent of territory." Bronck's patent reached to the mouth of the Bronx River, and was there joined by Cornell's; beyond which, successively, were Throckmorton's grant and the domain occupied by Anne Hutchinson. It is also of interest to note t…

The latter, after the custom of his race in circumstances of personal grievance, made a vow of vengeance, which in 1641, having arrived at manhood's estate, he executed in the most deliberate and cruel manner. He one day entered the shop of Claes Cornel isz Hmits, a wheelwright living near Turtle Bay, in the vicinity of Forty-fifth street and the East River. The Dutchman, who knew him well, suspec…

All endeavors in this line proving unsuccessful, war was declared in the spring of 1642. Ilendrick Van Dyck, an ensign in the company's service, was placed in command of eighty men, with, instructions to proceed against the Weekquaesgecks and kk execute summary vengeance upon that tribe with Are ami sword." This party crossed into our county, and, under the direction of a guide supposed to be expe…

Early in February 1643, a has covered Kieft's name with infamy. descent upon the Mohican a made band of Mohawks from the north Many of the Wecktribes, for the purpose of levying tribute. the hands of the inat death escape to ns, qnaesgecks and Tappae and thus large parties of vaders fled to the Dutch settlements; against whom Kieft Indian fugitives belonging in part to a tribe within close cherish…

Even the Long Island Indians, who had formerly dwelt on terms of amity with the settlers, rose against the common white foe. The settlement planted in the previous year at Maspeth by the Rev. Francis Doughty, father of Elias Doughty, who in 1666 became the purchaser of Van der Donck's swept away; and another Engpatroonship of Yonkers, was, entirely lish settlement at Gravesend presided over by Lad…

This treaty included the solemn declaration that " all injuries committed by the said natives against the Netherlanders, or by the Netherlander against said natives, shall be forgiven and forgotten forever, reciprocally promising one the other to cause no trouble the one to the other.-' There is no doubt that the Dutch, alarmed for the very existence of their New Netherland colony, this time most …

Kieft first senl a force to scour SI at on Island, which, like Van Dyck's Westchester expedition of 1042, returned without results, no foe being encountered. A detachment of one hundred and twenty men was then dispatched by water to the English, settlement of Greenwich, on the Sound, it having been reported that a large body of hostile Indians was encamped in the vicinity of that place. Disappoint…

Indian two d attacke and Island, Long ead), stede (Hempst loss Afore than a hundred Indians were killed, the Dutch and English l principa the Hut as being only one killed and three wounded. the of north regions the in be to known was enemy the of strength the settlers and deHarlem River, whence the warriors whowereslew constantly emerging, it vastated the fields of Manhattan Island 111 that was de…

It was a toilsome all-day march through ofdeep the snow ami over mountainous hills and frequent streams, some they evening the in latter being scarcely fordable. At eight o'clock halted within a few miles of the village, " which had been carefully CAPTAIN JOHN UNDERBILL arranged for winter quarters, lay snugly ensconced in a low mountain recess, completely sheltered from the bleak northerly wi…

But in this they failed, leaving one dead and twelve prisoners in the hands of the assailants, who now kept up such a hrisk fire that it was impossihle for any of the besieged to escape. After a desperate conflict of an hour, one hundred and eighty Indians lay dead on the snow outside their dwellings. Not one of the survivors durst now show his face. They remained under cover, discharging their ar…

This battle, if battle it may be called, was by far the most sanguinary ever fought on Westchester soil. At White Plains, the most considerable Westchester engagement of the devolution, the combined losses of both sides in killed, wounded, and missing did not reach four hundred. The site of the exterminated Indian village has been exactly located by Bolton. It was called Xanichiestawack, and was i…

Indeed, during more than two-thirds of his residence in America he lived within the confines of the present State of New York, where most of his descendants have continued. Westchester County, by his prowess rescued from the anarchy into which it had been thrown by the aboriginal barbarians and established on a secure foundation for practical development, became the home of one of his sons, Nathan…

In this encounter seven hundred Pequods were arrayed against him, of whom seven were taken prisoners, seven escaped, and the remainder were killed -- a record almost identical, it will be noted, with that made at the battle in our Bedford township in 1644. Captain Underbill felt no compunctions of conscience for the dreadful and almost exterminating destructiveness of his victories over the Indian…

We had sufficient light from the Word of God for our proceedings.'7 Espousing the religious doctrines and personal cause of Anne Hutchinson, Captain Underhill suffered persecution in common with the other Hutchinsonians, and in the fall of 1637, only a few months after his triumphant return from the wars, was disfranchised and forced to leave Massachusetts. He went to England the next year, and pu…

In 1665 he was a delegate from the Town of Oyster Bay to the assembly held at Hempstead under the call of the first English governor, Nicolls, by whom he was later appointed under-sheriff of the North Biding of Yorkshire, or Queens County. In 1667 he was presented by the Matinecoc Indians with one hundred and fifty acres of land, to which he gave the name of Kenilworth or Killing-worth. A portion …

" Tarry with ns," the settlers cried, « Thou man of God, as our ruler and guide." And Captain Underhill bowed his head, « The will of the Lord be done! " he said. And the morrow beheld him sitting down In the ruler's seat in Cocheco town. HISTORY WESTCHESTER COUNTY And he judged therein as a just man should; His words were wise and his rule was good ; He coveted not his neighbor's land, From t…

Captain Underbill was really a man of high and impetuous spirits, fond of adventure, always seeking military employment, leading a changeful and roving life almost to his last days; yet possessing earnest motives and substantial traits of character, which made him a good and respected citizen, and enabled him to accumulate considerable property. But although not a Puritan, his final adoption of Ne…

" Mamaranack, chief of the Indians residing on the Kicktawanc or Croton River; Mongockonone, Pappenoharrow, from the Weckquaesgecks and Nochpeems, and the Wrappings from Stamford, presented themselves, in a few days, at Fort Amsterdam; and having pledged themselves that they would not henceforth commit any injury whatever on the inhabitants of New Netherland, their cattle and houses, nor show them…

This peace hath borne little fruit for the common advantage and reputation of our lords, etc., for as soon as the savages had stowed away their maize into holes, they began again to murder our people in various directions. They rove in parties continually around day and night on the island of Manhattans, slaying our folks, not a thousand paces from the fort; and 'tis now arrived at such a pass tha…

Handsome presents were made by Kieft to the chiefs, for the purchase of which, it is said, he was obliged to borrow money from Adrian Van der Donck, at that time sheriff of Hensselaerswyck. The settlement of the lands beyond the Harlem was not, however, resumed at once. For some time the restoration of the burned farmhouses and ruined fields of Manhattan Island claimed all the energies of the Dutc…

The tract constituted a portion of the so-called Keskeskeck region, bought from the natives for the West India Company by Secretary Van Tienhoven, " in consideration of a certain lot of merchandise," under date of August 3, 1639. That Van der Donck made substantial recompense to the original owners of the soil is legally established by testimony taken in 1G66 before Richard Nicolls, the that it is…

Earlier in the same year he loaned money to Director Kieft, a transaction which probably helped to pave the way for the prompt bestowal upon him of landed rights upon the termination of his official connection with Rensselaerswyck. In the Dutch grant to Van der Donck, the territory of which he was made patroon was called Nepperhaem, from the Indian name of the stream, the Nepperhan, which empties …

In one of his papers he states that before 1649 he built a sawmill on the estate, besides laying out a farm and plantation; and that, having chosen Spuyten Duyvil as his place of residence, he had begun to build there and to place the soil under cultivation. His sawmill was located at the mouth of the Nepperhan Kiver, and from its presence that stream was called by the Dutch " De Zaag Kill," whenc…

In the spring of 1G49 he was selected a member of the advisory council of the " Nine Men," a body chosen by the popular voice to assist in the general government. In this capacity he at once took strong ground against the tyrannical conduct of the new director, Stuyvesant, and, in behalf of the Nine, drew up a memorial, or remonstrance, reciting the abuses under which the people of New NethStuyves…

Yet Van der Donck's earnest and commendable efforts for the public weal wore not wholly without result. An act was passed separating the local functions of the principal settlement on Manhattan Island from the general affairs of the province. By this measure the settlement formerly known as Fort Amsterdam became an incorporated Dutch city, with the name of New Amsterdam; and thus to the labors of …

Pursuant to his perfectly serious intentions respecting his estate in this county, he obtained from the States-General, on the 20th of April, 1652, the right to dispose by will, as patroon, " of the Colonie Nepperhaem, by him called Colen Donck, situate in New Netherland." From this time for more than a year he was constantly occupied in seeking to overcome the obstacles put in the way of his depa…

On the 24th, renewing his application, he stated that " proposing to depart by your High Mightinesses' consent, with his wife, mother, sister, brother, servants, and maids," he had " in that design packed and shipped all his implements and goods "; but he understood " that the Honorable Directors [of the West India Company] at Amsterdam had forbidden all skippers to receive him, or his, even thoug…

"Brfchnren doer able disposition of the authorities. i D R I A E N vander D O N C Resigning himself to the situaBeyder Rechten Do&oor, die teghenwooption, he now turned his attention digh noch in Nieuw Nederlant is. to literary labors, which resulted in the composition of a most valuable work on the Dutch provinces in America. Wo reproduce here a facsimile of the title page of this interesting boo…

Anno 1655." The book was probably first published in 1653, the copy from which the above translation is made a later edition. It was Van der Donck's intention to enlarge of being the director-general's upon his facts by consulting the papers on file in office at New Amsterdam, to which end he obtained the necessary permit from the company. But upon his return to America, which occurred in the summ…

While he makes frequent allusion to his residence at Kensselaerswyck, there is no special mention of that part of the country where his own patroonship was located-- our County of Westchester,-- a circumstance which may reasonably be taken to indicate that he never had made it his habitation for any length of time. Some of the statements which appear in Van der Donck's pages belong to the decidedl…

This fish was tolerably fat, for, although the citizens of Bensselaerswyck broiled out a great quantity of train oil, still the whole river (the current being rapid) was oily for three Aveeks, and covered with grease." His accounts of the native animals of the country, excellent for the most part, become amusing in places where he relies not upon his individual knowledge but upon vague stories tol…

Although the Indians throughthouout the year, and every year (but mostly in the fall), kill many sands, and the wolves, after the fawns are cast and while they are everyyoung, also destroy many, still the land abounds with them ed." undiminish remain to appear where, and their numbers Being finally granted leave to go back to New Netherland, Van der Donck applied to the West India Company for perm…

During the nine years which intervened between his death and the end of too unthe Dutch regime, the general condition of the province wasdirection satisfactory tojustifv any similar ambitious endeavor in the of extensive land ownership above the Harlem. The Indians were still restless and inclined to harass individual settlers. Indeed, in 1655, the year of Van der Donck's death, a general massacre…

Apparently, nothing whatever was done by O'Xeale and his wife in the way of continuing the improvements begun by Van der Donck; and, for all that we know to the contrary, the estate remained in a wholly wild and neglected condition for some ten years, lint in 1666 the O'Xeales, desiring to more perfectly establish their legal title, with a view to realizing from the lands, obtained from the Indian…

They at once proceeded to sell the lands in fee to different private persons. Notice of the resulting sales must be deferred to the proper chronological period in our narrative. It may be noted here, however, that the principal purchasers of Van der Donck's lands were John Archer and Frederick Thilipse, who later became the lords, respectively, of the Manors of Fordham and Philipseburgh, the forme…

HE destruction by the Indians of the early English settlements in the Vredeland on the Sound was followed by a long period of almost complete abstention from further colonizing enterprises in that portion of Westchester ™ It is true that after the definite conclusion of peace beCounty. tween the Dutch and the Indians in 1645, both the Dutch government of New Netherland and the English government o…

Ou July 11, 1019, Director Stuyvesant, representing the West India Company, confirmed the former Indian deeds of sale by purchasing from the sachems Megtegichkama, Oteyochgue, and Wegta- SETTLEMENT WESTCHESTER TOWN kockken the whole country " betwixt the North and East Rivers." The boundaries of this tract, which in the record of the transaction is called Weckquaesgeek, are not very distinctly…

The authorities of that colony were evidently satisfied to leave the westward extension of English possessions to the individual enterprise of the settlers, meantime holding themselves in readiness to support such enterprise by their sanction, and regarding all the land occupied by their advancing people as English soil, without reference to the counterclaims of the Dutch. The purchase made by Xat…

But in the preceding year a private English purchase from the Indians was made of a district lying nearer the Dutch settlements and within the limits of the already well-established jurisdiction of the New Amsterdam authorities, which became a matter of acute irritation. On the 14th of November, 1(>54, Thomas Pell, of Fairfield, Conn., bought from the sachems Maminepoe and Ann-Hoock (alias Wampage…

Bronck's River to a certain bend in the said river, thence by marked trees south until it reaches the tide waters of the Sound, This together with all the islands lying before that tract." is the earliest legal record we have of the application of the name reason Westchester to any section of our county; although there is the for believing that for several years previously this locality on some th…

River and terminated or driven away, like those on Hutchinson's by the Throw's and Cornell's Necks; and, though interfered with therefore was ter Westches ly. Dutch" held their ground permanent This the earliest enduring English settlement west of Connecticut. upon •• OostT 1M F ng 11. e^^ents was called by the Westchester dorp ''-aT Dutch. It is hardly likely that the English ton and his colonis…

Tell, in the law suit which he brought in L665 against the heir of Thomas Cornell to recover Cornell's Neck, stated that in buying the Westchester tract he had license from the governor and council of Connecticut, "who took notice of this land to be under their government," and "ordered magistratical power to be exercised at Westchester." The colonial records of Connecticut show that such License …

Van Elslandt, upon arriving at the English settlement, was met by eight or nine armed men, to whose commander he delivered the writ. The latter said: "I can not understand Dutch. Why did not the fiscaal, or sheriff, send English ? When he sends English, then I will answer. We expect the determination on the boundaries the next vessel. Time will tell whether we shall be under Dutch government or th…

On the 14th of March this party made its descent upon the village, and, finding the English drawn up under arms, prepared for their resistance, overpowered them, and apprehended twenty-three of and m Amsterda New from s fugitive were number, some of whom conwere captives the All colonists. English fide bona others the veyed to Manhattan Island, where the Dutch runaways were confined in prison and …

They agreed that, if permitted to continue on their lands, they would subject themselves to the government and laws of New Netherland, only requesting the privilege of choosing their own officers for the This petition was granted by Stuyenforcement of their local laws. of magistrates should be subchoice vesant, on condition that their to be made council, selections Under and ject to'the approval o…

At the end of 165(3 Stuyvesant sent three of his subordinates to Westchester, to administer the oath of office to the newly appointed magistrates and the oath of allegiance to the other inhabitants. But the latter objected to the form of oath, and would promise obedience to the law only, provided it was conformable to the law of God; and allegiance only " so long as they remained in the province."…

Baly gave out another prayer and sang a psalm, and they all separated. The writing-book for the magistrates provided, with other necessary articles, by Governor Stuyvesant, was at once put to use; and from that time forward the records of the towu were systematically kept. All the originals are still preserved in excellent condition. The identical magistrates' book of 1G57, with many others of th…

an court of the general assembly, held at Hartford, October 9, 1662, dehereby doth y assembl -this that effect the to issued order was clare and inform the inhabitants of Westchester that the plantation is included in ye bounds of our charter, granted to this colony oi The Westchester people were accordingly notified to Connecticut." d send deputies to the next assembly, appointed to meet at Hartf…

Lord Peter Stevletters to the wrathful director. enson," said he in one of these missives, - thy dejected prisoner, raRichard Mills, do humbly supplicate for your favor and commise , presence honor's your unto me of ng tion towards me, in admitti there to indicate my free and ready mind to satisfy your honor wherein I am able, for any indignity done unto your lordship m more any way, and if possib…

The Dutch-English controversy regarding the Westchester tract was one of the incidental phases of the general boundary dispute, which Stuyvesant, from the very beginning of his arrival in New a deciNetherland as director-general, had iu vain sought to bring to sion In 1650, as the result of overtures made by him for an amicable with adjustment of differences, he held a conference at Hartfordand on…

The English government, when approached on the subject, assumed a haughty attitude, pretending total ignorance of their High Mightinesses having any colonies in America, and, moreover, declaring that, as no proposal on the boundary question had been received from the English colonies in America, it would be manifestly improper to consider the matter in any wise. Subsequent attempts to settle this …

Thus whatever course might be suggested by fairness respecting the ultimate English attitude toward Westchester, that was only one local issue among others of very similar nature; and with so much at stake, the policy of self-interest required a studied resistance to the Dutch claims in general, even if that involved violation of the spirit of an agreement made in inchoate conditions which, though…

They came to avenge the recent killing of a squaw by the Dutch for steal" Stuyvesant, with most of the armed force of the seting peaches. tlement, was absent at the time upon an expedition to subdue the Swedes on the Delaware. A reign of terror followed, lasting for three days, during which, says O'Callaghan, " the Dutch lost one hundred people, one hundred and fifty were taken into captivity, and…

He was of aristocratic and distinguished descent, tracing his ancestry to the ancient Pell family of Walter Willingsley and Dyinblesbye, in Lincolnshire. A branch of this Lincolnshire family removed into the County of Norfolk, of which was John Pell, gentleman, lord of the Manor of Shouldham Priory and Brookhall (died April 4, 155G). One of his descendants was the Rev. John Pell, of Southwyck (bor…

Being summoned in 1648 to take the oath of allegiance to New Haven, he refused, for the reason that he had already subscribed to it in England, "and should not take it hero." For his contumacious conduct he was fined, and, refusing to pay the fine, " was again summoned before the authorities, and again amerced." Thus his early career in Connecticut was attended by circumstances which, on their fac…

He married Lucy, widow of Francis Brewster, of New Haven, and died at Fairfield without issue in or about the month of September, 1669. He left property, real and personal, valued at £1,294 14s. 4d., all of which was bequeathed to his nephew, John Pell, of England, who became the second lord of the manor. For some six years following Pell's acquisition of Westchester in 1654, there were, so far as…

But with the decade commencing in 1660 a general movement of land purchasers and settlers began, which, steadily continuing and increasing, brought nearly all the principal eastern and southern sections under occupation within a comparatively brief period. The earliest of these new purchasers were Peter Disbrow, John Coe, and Thomas Stedwell (or Stud well), all of Greenwich, Conn., who in L660 and…

Six months later (June 29, 1660) the Indian owners, thirteen in number, conveyed to Disbrow, Coe, and Stedwell, for the consideration of eight coats, seven shirts, and fifteen fathom of wampum, all of Manussing Island, described as " near unto the main, which is called in the Indian name Peningo." A third purchase was effected by Disbrow May 22, 1661, comprising a tract lying between the Byram Riv…

aggregate landed property represented by the several deeds: "The southern part of it alone comprised the tract of land between Byram River and Maniaroneck River, while to the north it extended twenty miles, and to the northwest an indefinite distance. These boundaries included, besides the area now covered by the Towns of Rye and Harrison, much of the Towns of North Castle and Bedford, in New York…

In Disbrow's deed of May 22, 1661, to the lands between the Byram River and Blind Brook, mention is made of "the bounds of Hastings on the south and southwest," which indicates that at that early date the island village had already been inaugurated and named. The following list of all the inhabitants of Hastings (the second town organized in Westchester County) whose names have come down to us is …

Early in 1663 the townsmen, at a public meeting, appointed Richard Yowles as constable, who went to Hartford and was duly qualified. John Budd was selected as the first deputy to the Connecticut general court, which body, on the 8th of October, 1663, designated him as commissioner for the Town of Hastings with " magistraticall power." The Island of Manussing, only one mile in length, was in the co…

The village of Rye became Avithin a few years a very respectable little settlement. It lay k" at the upper end of the Neck, along the eastern bank of Blind Brook, and the present Milton road was the village street, on either side of which the home-lots of the settlers were laid out. . . . The houses erected were not mere temporary structures, as on Manussing Island, but solid buildings of wood or …

All the meadows, rivers, and islands thereunto belonging were included in the sale; and it was also specified that Eichbell or his assigns might " freely feed cattle or cutt timber twenty miles Northward from the marked Trees of the Necks.'' As payment, he was to deliver to Wappaquewam, half within about a month and the other half in the following spring, twenty-two coats, one hundred fathom of wa…

From the testimony of Wappaquewam it appears that that chief was overpersuaded by another Indian, Cockoo, to resell the territory to Eevell, upon the alluring promise that " he should have a cote," " on which he did it." The burden of the evidence was plainly in favor of Eichbell, who, in all the legal proceedings that resulted, triumphed over his opponent. The Indian Cockoo, who contributed his g…

he taught to write, " which he quickly learnt." " He was the first," says Eliot, " that 1 made use of to teach me words and to be my interpreter." And at the end of his " Indian Grammar," printed at Cambridge in 1 <'><;*>, Eliot testifies more particularly to the services rendered him by this youth. " By his help," he says, " I translated the Commandments, the Lord's Prayer, and many texts of Scri…

J& i nd need t hem t o grant J[§ mu<an(b n'$ rttthtwtJuuMl'b «J* him power of attorney to sell the lands to Revell. ^£p ncbji*kitbt'Mt}2dds $& fj^ i?, K-ib watch h.ummikfii:fi!)n- |k&. The understanding was 4&U. jjwt .'ivwn&lioxvitfncetvp.'itd. xjgC, shrewdly planned, but Mitmmt(J\\rrborp{b:&?. (§f Richbell's claim was too well established to be overcome. ~¥ -^ ■ W »-f» *f- ^ ■ t^S *j* tf, *r yp j…

communication, dated " In New Netherlands, 24th December, 1661," and addressed "To the most noble, great, and respectful lords, the Director-General and Council in New Netherlands," he solicited " most reverently " that letters patent be granted him for his tract, promising not only that all persons settling upon it should similarly crave letters patent from the Dutch authorities for such parcels …

The East Neck extended from Mamaroneck River to a small stream called Pipin's Brook, which divided it from the Great Neck, and is the same which now (1886) crosses the Boston Road just east of the house of the late Mr. George Vanderburgh. The North Neck extended from the latter stream westward to the month of a much larger brook called Cedar or Gravelly Brook, which is the one that bounds the land…

In the interior his landed rights, ;is understood in his deed from the Indians, extended "twenty miles northward." By letters patent from Governor Lovelace, issued to hint October Hi, Kills, the whole tract was confirmed to him, " running northward twenty miles into the woods." This tract embraced the present Towns of Mamaroneck, White Plains, and Scarsdale, and most of New Castle. But the enterpr…

John Richbell, the original purchaser of all the lands whose history has thus been briefly traced, was " an Englishman of a Hampshire family of Southampton or its neighborhood, who were merchants in London, and who had business transactions with the West lie was engaged for a time in commerIndies or New England." cial enterprises in the British West India Islands of Barbadoes, then In 1656 ho was …

The next year he enchant in Charlestown, Mass. (near Boston). tered into a peculiar private understanding with Thomas Mediford, of Barbadoes, and William Sharpe, of Southampton, England, which is supposed to have afforded the basis for his purchase, four years The details of the understanding later, of the Mamaroneck tract. are not stated in terms in any document that is extant; but its nature can…

In the falling and clearing your ground save all your principal timber for pipe stands and clapboard and knee timber.'' Lastly, he is instructed to " advise us, or either of us, how affairs stand with you, what your wants are, and how they may be most advantageously employed by us, for the life of our business will consist in the nimble, quiet, and full correspondence with us." There can be no dou…

John Richbell to town [New York City] a prisoner," wherein it was recited that " John Richbell, of Mamaroneck," was " a prisoner under arrest for debt in this city, from which place he hath absented himself contrary to his engagement." It may hence justly be remarked that, on the other hand, he could hardly have been engaged in any very extensive or remunerative "nimble" business. Before buying th…

Elizabeth, according to Bolton, became " the second wife of Adam Mott, of Ham stead," and their son, William, was the ancestor of Dr. Valentine Mott, of New York City. Mary Richbell married Captain James Mott, of Mamaroneck, who, in an entry in the town records, alludes to " a certain piece of land laying near the salt meadow," ,f in my home lot or field adjoining to my house," as being the burial…

At the same time, sovereignty on Long Island was formally divided with the English, it being provided in the articles that "upon Long Island a line run from the westernmost part of Oyster Day, so, and in a straight and direct line, to the sea, shall be the bounds betwixt the English and Dutch there, the easterly part to belong to the English and the westernmost part to the Dutch." Subsequent devel…

forced to au issue on Long Island by the stubborn attitude of the English towns there, they entered into an arrangement by which all controverted matters in that part of their diminishing realms were determined agreeably to the British interests. By this latter transaction the villages of Newtown, Flushing, Jamaica, Hempstead, and Gravesend became English. The arrogant general disposition of the E…

Tis evident and clear that were Westchester and the five English towns on Long Island surrendered by us to the Colony of Hartford, and what we have justly possessed and settled on Long Island left to us, it would not satisfy them, because it would not be possible to bring them sufficiently to any further arrangement witli us by commissioners to be chosen on both sides by the mediation of a third p…

At the time of the gift to the Duke of York, no state of war existed between England and the Netherlands. Neither was there the plausible excuse of emergency on the ground of any threatening behavior of the Dutch in America, or even of dangerous differences between the provinces of New Netherland and Connecticut; for, as wTe have seen, the Dutch had pursued an undeviating course of forbearance and…

One of the first documents which the new authorities had to consider was a communication from the "inhabitants of Westchester," reciting, under seven different heads, their local grievances against the Dutch. In this paper no specific remedy was prayed for, and it appears to have been drawn merely to put on record the real and supposed injuries that the settlers had suffered from the New Netherlan…

socage, and not in capite, nor by knight service, yielding and rendering of and for the same, yearly and every year, forty beaver skins when they shall be demanded, or within ninety days thereafter." This meant simply that there was to be no feudal tenure of lands under its provisions (all feudal tenures having, in fact, been abolished throughout English dominions by act of Parliament four years p…

The erection of " manors," presided over by so-called " lords," did not affect in the least this elementary free status; the manors being only larger estates, and their lords wealthy proprietors with certain incidental aristocratic functions and dignities which violated in no manner the principle of perfectly free land tenure, New York, under this patent from Charles II., assumed at once the chara…

ing Long Island, Staten Island, and the present Westchester County; and, following the local style of old Yorkshire, in England, he subdivided this district into three so-called " Hidings " -- the ''East," "West," and "North." The East Hiding consisted of the present Suffolk County; the West Hiding, of Staten Island, the present Kings County, and the Town of Newtown, in the present Queens County; …

This formality was provided for in the celebrated code known as "The Duke's Laws," adopted by an assembly of delegates from the towns of the province held at Hempstead in the summer of 1665. It was prescribed that "all persons whatsoever who may have any grants or patents of townships, lands, or houses, within this government, shall bring in the said grants or patents to the said governor and shal…

He appointed commissioners to meet these delegates, and on the 28th of October, lf>C>4, it was agreed that the line should start on the Sound at a point twenty miles east of the Hudson River and pursue a north-northwest coarse until it intersected the line of Massachusetts, which at that time was supposed to ran across the continent to the Pacific Ocean. In locating the twenty-mile starting point,…

It was unquestionable that everything east of Greenwich belonged to Connecticut, by virtue of long settlement and also of the articles of 1 (;:»(}. West of Greenwich there were only three settlements on the Sound-- those at Rye and Westchester, and an infant colony at Eastdies) er -- and all of these had been established exclusively by Connecticut people. Westchester village, and with it all the t…

He adds: "A short distance above the present bridge between the Towns of Maniaroneck and Rye, where the river bends suddenly to the east and then takes a northerly course, a rocky reef originally crossed it nearly at right angles, causing the formation of rapids. It was high enough to prevent the tide rising over it at high water, so that the fresh water of the river always fell into the salt wat…

Besides undertaking to hold the Westchester settlers to the letter of their agreement with him, he asserted and attempted to legally enforce a claim to Cornell's Neck, which in 1646 had been patented by the Dutch director, Kieft, to Thomas Cornell, and from him had descended to his eldest daughter, Sarah, the wife of Thomas Willett and later of Charles Bridges. Shortly after the English government…

Pell set up the plea that the so-called Cornell's Neck was comprehended within the tract that he had bought from the Indians in 1054; that the governor and council of Connecticut had taken " notice of this land to be under their government," and had licensed him to purchase it; and that any prior Dutch grant ought to be voided, since " where there is no right there can be no dominion, so no patent…

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

and Philip Pinckney, for themselves and their associates, to the number of ten families,"' the privilege " to settle down at Hutchinson's, that is, where the house stood at the meadows and uplands, to Hutchinson's River." This new English colony, located just above Westchester, on the strip between Throgg's and Pelham Necks, was called Eastchester, or the >k Ton Farms." All the grantees came from …

That all and every one of us, or that shall f us. do pave unto the minester, according to his meade. 7. That none exceed the quantity of fifteen acres, until all have that quantity. S. That every man hath that meadow that is most convenient for him. H. That every man build and inhabit on his home lot before the next winter. 10. That no man make sale of his lot before he hath built and inhabited on…

That all public affairs, all bridges, highways, or mill, be carried on jointly, according to meadow and estates. 11. That provision be endeavoured for education of children, and then encouragement be given unto any that shall take pains accordinn' to our former way of rating. 15. That no man shall give entertainment to a foreigner who shall carry himself obnoxious to the company except amendment b…

That every man that hath taken up lottes shall pay to all publick charges equal with those that got none. That all that hath or shall take up lots within this track of land >f his alotno man if the s land whei y sow or plant in their fields. give new encouragement to Mr. other week, to give us word and that when we are settled Thomas Shute The mark of Nathaniel Tompkins, Philip Pinkney. The ma…

Although the Eastchester settlement was made by men fresh from Connecticut, its citizens do not appear to have sought at any time to remain under that colony. Having parted with all that section of his lands below Hutchinson's River, Thomas Pell next turned his attention to the erection of the remainder into one imposing estate. This was accomplished by letters patent procured from Governor Nicoll…

Applying to Governor Nicolls for a town patent, they were informed by him (December 28, 1665) that he would defer issuing it until the whole could be equally divided into lots according to each man's assessed valuation. Early in Kit!" (February 13) the desired instrument was granted to them, being the first of its kind in our county. The persons mentioned in the document are "John Quimby, John Fer…

" Bronks' land," whose " western part " was indicated as the limit of Westchester town in the direction of the Hudson Eiver, was a territory of quite uncertain dimensions. Together with the lands beyond along the Harlem and the Spuyten Duyvil Greek, it was dotted with the farms of Dutch settlers who had been gradually coming over from the Manhattan Island side. On Manhattan Island, from the mouth …

But in 1666 Governor Nicolls granted to the people of Harlem a charter providing for "a ferry to and from the main," and authorizing them "at their charge to build one or more boats for that purpose fit for the transportation of men, horses, and cattle, for which there will be such a certain allowance given as shall be adjudged reasonable." A ferry was soon afterward put in operation, conducted by…

Each passenger whom he entertained was to pay " for his meal, eight pence; every man for his lodging, two pence a man; every man for his horse shall pay four pence for his night's or grass, or twelve stivers wampum, provided the grass be in thehayfence." The site of the ferry landing on the Manhattan side is located by Biker, in his "History of Harlem," at the north of One Hundred and Twenty-third…

The governor therefore (October 8, 1666) granted a royal patent to " Hugh O'Xeale and Mary his wife," confirming them in its possession, its limits being thus described: " Bounded to the northwards by a rivulet called by the Indians Macakassin, so running southward to Xeperhaem [Yonkers], from thence to the Kill Shorakkapoch [Spuyten Duyvil] and then to Paprinimen [Kingsbridge], which is the south…

In March and September, 1667, he sold to John Archer, of Westchester, - fourscore acres of land and thirty Kingsbridge, " lying acres of meadow," in the vicinity of the present and beino' betwixt Brothers River and the watering place at the end of the Island of Manhatans." This was the beginning of a new . manorial estate-- the second of our country in point of antiquity Tippett, George and Betts …

And River to Francis French, Ebenezer Jones, and John Westcot of the d remaine that all finally on the 20th of November, 1671', Yonkers Land was disposed of in equal thirds to Thomas Delaval, Thonms Lewis, and Frederick Philipse. Of these various sales, the first, to Archer, and the last, to Philipse and others, arc of special historic interest, each of the two being followed by consecutive develo…

Hiker, the historian of Harlem, states that in the original records of that villag e ids name occasionally appears in connection with Fordhani and s imilar matters, and that it is invariably written "Jan Arcer." It is supposed by Riker and others that he came from Amsterdam, Ilo Hand, and that marrying in this country an Englishwoman, and livi ng in an English-speaking settlement, he ultimately an…

chase, which made him the sole owner probably as far south as High Bridge, was effected on the 2Sth of September, 1669, the consideration given by him to the Indians being " 13 coats of Duffels, one-halfe anchor of Runie, 2 cans of Brandy, wine with several other small matters to ye value of 60 guilders wampum." The lands which he bought from Doughty in L66T, and other adjacent lands which he poss…

Connectic toward hill the over up leading Road), Posl (Boston reader the course Of " remain. ons habitati No traces of these old on will not confound the Fordham of Poe's Cottage mow a station ty communi ancienl this with ) Railroad tlarlem and York the New on Spuj'ten I >u\ \ il < 'reek. The people settled ai Fordham and thereabouts on both shores of eastern travel from its natfelt sorely aggriev…

The elder tsland, Verveelen, upon assuming his new functions, received "the d "require was he where use, liis for " men Papirine or neck of land, good beds to provide a dwelling house furnished with three or lour for for lll(, entertainment of strangers; also provisions a1 all seasons sufa also them, their horses an. I cattle, will, stabling and stalling; on all occaficieni .M„| abie boal to trans…

In the contracl made with Verveelen for taking charge ot the ferry, its location was fixed -at tin- place commonly called Spuyten now village called FordDuyvil, between Manhattan lslan.1 andnowtherestricte d to the point ot ham." This name Spuyten Duyvil, confluence of the Hudson River and Spuyten Duyvil Creek, was. says side Bdsall, originally "applied to a strip on the Manhattan Island to the of…

On September IS, 1GG9, he executed to Steenwyck a mortgage for 2,200 guilders; on November 14. 1671, another tor 7,000 guilders; and on November 24, 1676, a third for 24,000 guilders, the lasl mentioned being payable in seven years. Meanwhile, however, despite his financial complications, Archer obtained from Governor Lovelace a royal patent consolidating his landed possessions inn, one complete p…

If it " spuyt." Inn •• spijt." I .1" iioi know how were the latter, it meant "Spouting Devil." Irving was, Im il could mean nothing else. Ii might have il for "in spl ,-il " his spell sted by an energetic or boiling iiiK i" spijt "I spring in tin vicinity. This would turn en"Spijt" and '•spuyt." in the I) irely on a question of fact. Was t here such a wholl.i : loe 1 spring? See a footnote of Dr. …

"spuyt." Of course, Irving's fun decides In the phrase of which you speak as sus nothing. It may, however, have rested on Kested bj soi no. viz.: "point "f the dov- some tradition which lias not come down to us. lis," the word is confounded with another and Yours as ever, very cordially. -till wholly different Teutonic root, which is neither "spijt " nor "spuyt," bul "spit " or David Col "spits." …

By the will of Cornelius Steenwyck and his wife, Margareta, t drawn November 20, 1684, they devised the manor without any reservations to "the Nether Dutch Beformod Congregation within the City of New York." By that congregation it was preserved intact (its lands being leased to various persons) until 1755, when an act was passed permitting the minister, elders, and deacons of the church to sell C…

To quote again from Bolton, it is said that three hundred acres upon which stood the old manorial residence were, through the liberality of Mrs. Steenwyck (who survived her husband), exempted from the bequest to the Dutch Church, and continued in the possession of the Archers. At all events, members of the family continued to reside upon their ancestral lands, and in the eighteenth century Benjami…

Out of Westchester township, as thus first established, was subsequently (1846) new Township of West Farms, which included both Fordthe carved ham and Morrisania .Manors; and West Farms was in turn subdivided, the lower section of it being erected (IS.").")) into another township, called Morrisania, whose bounds coincided generally with tlK.se of the historic Morrisania Manor, having for their nor…

Jessup's half, after his death, Westchester, and Richcame into the possession of Thomas Hunt, ofdaughter s, one of whom ardson's was inherited by his three married Farms LegWest the of or progenit was the wife of Gabriel Leggett, Ike o-etts, and the other the wife of Joseph Hadley, of the Yonkers. ely collectiv parcels, twelve into divided y originall whole patent was styled " The West Farms," a n…

Amsterdam New in aker beaver-m a Samuel Edsall, chase was made on the 22d day of October, 1664, almost immediately after the conquest of New Netherland by the English; and he The promptly took out a patent for it from Governor Nicolls. of land Nicolls patent describes it as " a certaine tract or parcel commonly formerly in the tenure or occupation of Jonas Bronck's, the Engby and e, Ranackqu of na…

Lewis inherited the paternal estate of Tintern in that county, which was confiscated by Charles I. because of his connection with the Parliament party, in whose service he fought as commander of a troop of horse. For the loss thus suffered he was later indemnified by Cromwell. Emigrating to Barbadoes, he bought a splendid property on that island. He took part in the successful English expedition a…

Articles of agreement were entered into between the brothers, providing that " if either of them should die without issue, the survivor, or issue of the survivor, if any, should take the estate." By an instrument dated August 10, 1670, Captain Richard Morris, who is styled " a merchant of New York," and Colonel Lewis Morris, " a merchant of Barbadoes," jointly purchased from Edsall the five hundre…

Meantime the province had been recaptured by the Dutch, and the new governor, Anthony Colve, finding that " Colonel Morris, being a citizen of Barbadoes, was not, under the terms of the capitulation, entitled to the same liberal terms as British subjects of Virginia or Connecticut," and " also that the infant owned only one-third of the estate and the uncle two-thirds," resolved upon the confiscat…

The wording of this important patent, in its description of the property, is as follows: "Whereas, Colonel Lewis Morris of the Island of Barbadoes, hath long enjoyed, and by patent stands possest, of a certain plantation and tract of land, lying and being upon the maine, over against the town of Harlem, commonly called Bronck's land, the same containing about five hundred acres or two hundred and …

Colonel Morris, to render his title to the whole estate absolutely invulnerable, took the precaution of obtaining a deed from the InOf course this formality was not dians, dated February 7, 1685. MORRIS PURCHASE necessary as to the portion of the property which formerly belonged to Edsall, and he had in view simply to secure himself beyond all possibility of legal dispute in the possession of t…

During his lifetime, although possessing abundant means and enjoying the distinction of aristocratic birth and antecedents, no steps were taken to erect the estate into a manor. He was twice married, but left no descendants, his sole heir being his nephew, Lewis, the only son of his brother, Richard. The value of Colonel Morris's personal property, etc., exclusive of his real estate, as appraised …

tured Africans, like other human beings, have natural rights, which can not be withheld from them without great injustice." Upon the same occasion Penn spoke of his long and familiar acquaintance with Colonel Morris, which intimacy, he said, had its influence in inducing him (Morris), although many years older, to become a Friend. Colonel Morris retained his Quaker convictions to the last, and in …

E have seen that the old patroonship of Colen Donck, after being confirmed by Governor Nicolls in 1GGG to Van der Donck's widow and her second husband, Hugh O'Neale, was conveyed by them to Mrs. Q'Neale's brother, Elias Doughty, and by him sold in parcels to a number of purchasers. The southernmost portion was bought by John Archer, and, with other land adjoining, was erected, under his proprietor…

Tibbetts, Hadden, and Betts, as settlers outside the limits of Fordham, had various disputes with the authorities of that place, and especially with Archer, the lord of the manor. Being summoned to assist in the building of the " causeway " from the ferry terminal to the firm land, they objected, representing to the governor that this improvement would be of less value to them than a bridge across…

All the lands north of Archer's line, with sole exception of the Mile Square, were eventually absorbed in the great Philipsc purchase; and accordingly by June 12, 1693, the date on which the royal charter for the Manor of Philipseburgh was issued, the independent holdings of Hadden, Metis, and Tibbetts had been completely extinguished. .Such of their former proprietors, or their descendants, who c…

He bought additional lands successively as follows: 1081 (confirmed in 1683X, the Pocantico tract, covering the territory around Tarrytown; 1682 (confirmed in 1684), the Bissightick tract, or Irvington; 1082 (confirmed in 1081), the Weckquaesgeck tract, or Dobbs Ferry; 1681 (confirmed in 1081), the Nepperhan tract, stretching from the north line of the present Yonkers to the extreme northern limit…

The document is one of the most elaborate of ancient land deeds. Besides confirming him in tin* ownership, it erects the estate into a manor called Philipseburgh or Philipseborough, and also confers upor> Philipse the privilege of building a bridge across Spuyten Duyvil Creek at Papirinemen, on the line of the then existing ferry, and authorizes him, in recompense for his expenses in that enterpri…

In addition to his various purchases in this county, Philipse bought of white people, in 1C>S7, the Tappan salt meadows lying opposite Ervington and Dobbs Ferry in the present County of Rockland, a comparatively small but finely situated tract, which was incorporated in the manor grant of June 12, 1693, and always remained a part of the hereditary manor. The ancestors of Frederick Philipse are sai…

But soon barking in commerce, aud developing great shrewdness and moneylarge getting ability, his fortunes rapidly improved. He made shipping the from and Indians the with ns profits" from transactio good business, and, having the tact and address to place himself on valuperiod early an from terms with the government, he enjoyed grants to desirable special favors. From Stuyvesant he isreceived lit…

She continued the business of her first husband, and which made frequent voyages to and from Holland on the vessels of a l Journa " nown well-k the In argo. superc as she owned acting s Colonie an Americ the of Several in Tour and Voyao-e to'New York by the in 1679-80," by Jasper Dankers and Peter Sluyter (published one of Lon<r island Historical Society), the writers, who crossed on s eristic cha…

As the waves were running high, there was no chance of getting it, for we could not see it from the ship. Yet the whole voyage must be delayed, three seamen be sent roving at the risk of their lives, and Ave, with all the rest, must work fruitlessly for an hour and a half, and all that merely to satisfy and phase the miserable covetousness of Margaret." Within a comparatively few years after his m…

He resigned from the council in 1698, in anticipation of his removal by the home government in England, which followed, in fact, not long after. This removal was the result of satisfactory evidence that he was interested in the piratical East Indian trade, having its rendezvous in Madagascar -- evidence upon which a number of New York citizens had based a petition, praying that "Frederick Philips,…

Annetje and sold in due time bv the State commissioners of of the manor, marPhilipse, the daughter of Frederick, the first lord rried with prominterma who ants descend ried Philip French, and left tons ami inent patriotic families, including the Brockholsts, Livings daughter The first Frederick Philipse also had an adopted Javs ), who married Eva (child of his wife Margaret by her first husband dt…

Pleasa Mount a quesbecame the -Manor House" of the Philipses, was begun is has init h althoug torily, satisfac settled been tion that has never was acvolved some very animated controversy. The date 1682 City Hall cepted at the time when the -Manor House" became the authorities able respect by ned maintai of Yonkers; but it is sturdily the dwelling did on the early history of Philipseburgh Manor th…

David Cole, in his " History of Yonkers," written in 18S6, discussing the subject of the two Philipse houses, makes no allusion to possible settlements at or near Tarrytown antedating Philipse's appearance, or to the pre-existence of a mill there, simply remarking that he chose the banks of the Pocantico " as a site for a new mill." More over, in the same connection, speculating with regard to the…

Cole says that " around were built. ' Continuing, was brought Philipse who to the mill their grain to be ground and their farmers ' They (the Philipses) found the old graveyard, as be sawed. logs asto the settlement, with regard to which 1 have no difficulty in old accepting Mr. Irving's belief that it had been started as early as 1645 and that it had in it three graves by 1050, and fifty by 1075,…

This much is certain: that a mill; whether an old one established by some enterprising pioneer whose name is unknown to us, or a new one built by Philipse, was in operation on the Pocantico from the time that Castle Philipse was erected by the proprietor. The Yonkers and Tarrytown mills were styled by Philipse, respectively, the Lower Mills and the Upper Mills. The residence on the Nepperhan at Yo…

In 1SS2, boring blockhouse, to be used in case of an original buildthe of erection presumed two hundred years after the ing, the Manor House, renamed Manor Hall, after having been put inl state of permanent preservation, Avas formally dedicated to the uses of the City of Yonkers as a municipal building. built,1 Castle Philipse, on the Pocantico, was also very substantially and possessed a feature …

The remainder of the bricks that came out of the chimney-tor. strange to say, there was a remainder, and a large one. and with them he Minnerly bought too-Mr. tilled in a new house, twenty-two feet front . bj feet deep and two stories high, twenty-eight for the purand found them amply sufficientthat when the pose. The bricks were so hard masons who did the work wished to cut them In size, liged to…

To this worthy deed he was prompted by his first wife, Margaret; and his second wife, Catherina, also took a deep interest in the matter. The result was the building of the Dutch Reformed Church of Sleepy Hollow, one of the most noted of old religious edifices in America. From certain circumstances Dr. Cole, in the centennial address already referred to, feels justified in expressing the convictio…

We have now traced the early history of the various original land patents and grants along the shore line of Westchester County, extending from the mouth of the Byram River on the Sound to the Hudson, with incidental accounts of the principal patentees or grantees and of the settlements established. This embraces all the exterior portions of the county except the section from Croton Bay to the Hig…

Oloff was a native of the provinc ed to have suppos is and on, in Holland, possessed a good educati gh nothalthou t descen gentle not if been of thoroughly respectable a brief time hm- definite is known of his ancestry. After remaining nted by in'the military service in New Amsterdam, he was .appoi in 1648 to ened resign he which from n, positio official Kieft to he was very suco-age in mercantile…

COKTLAXDTS of Cortlandt Manor, and Jacobus (who married Eva, stepdaughter of the first Frederick Philipse) the founder of the younger or Yonkers branch. Stephanus, a native-born Dutch-American, received an excellent education under the direction of the scholarly Dutch clergymen of New Amsterdam. He had just become of age when the English fleet, in 10(34, in the name of the British king and of Jam…

At the time of the Leisler regime, the responsibility for the government of the province was temporarily committed to him and Philipse by the departing lieutenant-governor, Nicholson, and, although a kinsman of assumption of authority, an Leisler's, he firmly resisted the hitter's act which for a time endangered his life, so that he was obliged to flee from the city. He was later one of the justic…

Equally esteemed and confided in by the governments of James as duke and king, and by William and Mary in the troublous times in which he lived, and sustained by all the governors, even though, as in Bellomont's case, they did not like him personally, no skill, and integrity." of his greater He died proof on thecould 25th beof adduced November, 1700.ability, Under date of November 10, 1077, Yan Co…

The general situation Being " follows: as deed the in is described the purchase thus made on the east side of the Hudson River, at the entering in of the Highlands, just over against Haverstraw." Van Cortlandt purchased Earlier in the same year (July 13, 1683) from the Haverstraw Indians a tract of about fifteen hundred acres on the west side of the Hudson, " directly opposite to the promontory of…

To him was conveyed also a tract owned by " Hew MacGregor, Gentleman, of the City of Xew York," lying above Verplanck's Point. Thus Stephanus Van Cortlandt became the proprietor of nearly the whole of Westchester County along the Hudson from Croton Bay to the Highlands. In the interior his bounds, both at the north and the south, ran due east twenty miles to the Connecticut border incial agreement…

Substantially the whole tract passed to Hercules Leut, Richard's son, about 1730. The second of the two strips on the Hudson which always remained independent of the Van Cortlandt estate was a three-hundred-acre parcel fronting on the inner and upper part of Peekskill Bay, which was deeded, on April 25, 1685, to Jacobus DeKay " for the value of four hundred guilders, seawant," and which ultimately…

This house was originally intended as a trading place and a fort, and was built with very thick stoue walls, pierced with loopholes for musketry, all of which have been filled in save one, iu what is now the sitting-room, which is preserved as a memento of olden times and of the antiquity of the dwelling. Situated just where the road from Sing Sing to Croton Landing crosses the wide mouth of the C…

Apart from the erection of this dwelling, and of mills for the benefit of his existing and prospective tenants, Van Cortlandt acOn the 17th of complished little in the way of developing his estate. and Manor of Lordship the as ed establish June, 1G9T, the whole was a quitFletcher, Governor from patent letters royal Cortlandt, bv rent of " forty shillings current money " to be paid annually to the …

The settlements were in the neighborhood of Croton and Peekskill. , peaceable part most the for though Indians continued numerous, until an advanced period in the eighteenth century. at Stephanus had fourteen children,1 of whom eleven were living il Johannes, married Anne Sophia Van Schaaek and eft one child, Gertrude, who 'n „ Verplanck, grandson of AbraZm Tsaacsen Verplanck, the first of that na…

the time of the father's death; and he devised the manor lands to them in equal shares, excepting that the eldest, Johannes, received, in addition to his equal portion, the whole of the peninsula of Ver(This peninsula was so called for Philip Verplanck, planck's Point. family it congrandson of Johannes, who inherited it, and in whosefirst half of the tinued uutil sold to a New York syndicate in th…

Its eastern boundary was fixed in the governor's grant at a distance twenty miles from the and coincidHudson, ed at the time with the boundary line between New York and Connecticut; but the ultimate State line, as adjusted by compromise under the " Oblong " arrangement, ran somewhat to the east of it; so that the extreme northeastern portion of the county, as well as a part of the extreme northwes…

He left the property to his son, Frederick, who married a daughter of Augustus Jay (ancestor of Chief Justice John Jay). Frederick built in 171S the line Yan Cortlandt mansion, which, together with the then existing residue of the estate, was purchased by the City of Xew York in 1889, the land being converted into a public park (Yan Cortlandt Park) and the mansion placed in the custody of the Colo…

The reader has, of course, borne in mind that throughout the period we have traversed in tracing the originial land acquisitions under English rule in the western division of the county -- that is, a period reaching to the end of the seventeenth century, -- the more complete settlement of the already well-occupied eastern division was steadily proceeding, and, besides resulting in the constant upb…

But in recurring to the history of the eastern portions of the county and of the gradual movement of settlers thence into the interior, Ave shall first review the progress of events in the two large proprietary estates of that division: the Pell estate, which, when last noticed, had been erected into a manor under the lordship of its founder, Thomas Pell; and the estate of John Pdchbell, of Mamaro…

Leaving no issue, he willed all his possessions, excepting certain personal bequests, to his nephew, John Pell, then residing in England, the only son of his only brother, the Rev. John Pell, D.D. Doctor Pell, Thomas's brother, was a man of brilliant intellectual accomplishments, served as ambassador to Switzerland under Cromwell, and subsequently took orders in the Church of England. But despite …

The bounds of the manor as specified in the new instrument were precisely the same as those prescribed in the Nicolls patent to his uncle -- Hutchinson's River on tin1 south and Cedar Tree or Gravelly Brook on the north, with the neighboring islands; but the dignities attaching to the manorial lordship were somewhat more elaborately defined, and instead of paying to the royal governor as quit-rent…

The most notable event of John Pell's administration of his manor was the conveyance by him through the celebrated Jacob Leisler of six thousand acres as a place of settlement for the Huguenots-- a transaction out of which resulted the erection of the Town of New Rochelle. The Edict of Nantes, a decree granting a measure of liberty to the Protestants of France, promulgated in 1598 by King Henry IV…

He entered into negotiatio and Pell John " 1689, , September of 20th with Pell, and on the Rachel his wife " conveyed to him, " in consideration of the sum of sixteen hundred and seventy-five pounds sterling, current silver money of this province," " all that tract of land lying and being within said Manor of Pelham, containing six thousand acres of land, and also one hundred acres of land more, w…

Bounded on the east by a line that runs from said meadow northwesterly by marked trees, to a certain black oak tree standing a little below the road, marked on four sides, and from thence to run due north four miles and a half, more or less, and from the north side of the said west line, ending at Broncke's river, and from thence to run easterly till it meets with the north end of the said eastern…

In addition to the purchase money, " said Jacob Leisler, his heirs and assigns,1' were to yield and pay " unto the said John Pell, his heirs and assigns, lords of the said Manor of Pelham, to the assigns of them or him, or their or either of them, as an acknowledgment to the lords of the said manor, one fat calf on every four and twentieth clay of June, yearly and every year forever -- if demanded…

It will be remembered that John Rickbell's original purchase from the Indians of what is now the Township of Mamaroneck-- a purchase confirmed to him at the time by the Dutch authorities, and later by the English governor, Lovelace-- comprised three necks on the Sound Pell's lands, and that between the Mamaroneck River and Thomastwenty miles northward the interior extension of the purchase was " i…

It is of interest, before coming to the period of Heathcote's proprietorship, to glance to at the origin of the village of Mamaroneck, which we have omitted section. this with do in our account of Richbell's connection and Soon after procuring his English patent (1G68), John Richbell a lots, house or ts, allotmen of his wife set apart for the purpose along d westwar River neck Mamaro the from runn…

The strip devoted by Eichbell to the Mamaroneck house lots was called " BichbelFs two-mile bounds," from the fact that each lot ran two miles " northwards into the woods." Such was the beginning of the venerable village of Mamaroneck. For many years, however, only a very few settlers lived there, and in an instrument drawn as late as 1707, by " the freeholders of Mamaroneck " in common, the names …

This circumstance, strengthened by the incorporating of it within the Eye limits while the old boundary understanding still prevailed, enabled the Eye men to advance plausible pretensions to it when, very soon afterward (in fact, only six days subsequently), a new boundary line was fixed, beginning at the mouth of the Byram Eiver, which gave both the White Plains and Eye to New York. The claim set…

Availing himself of the rights and privileges thus acquired, ho not only became the founder and lord of an organized manor, but embarked in comprehensive original purchases of the interior lands of Westchester County, which ultimately gave him, in association with others, the title to most of the county between the Manors of Cortlandt on the north, Philipseburgh on the west, Scarsdale on the These…

"The family was an ancient one, the first of whom there is authoritative mention having been a master of the Mint under Richard II." His father, Gilbert, was a Roundhead and stanch adherent of the Parliament in the civil Avars, serving creditably in the Parliamentary army. He held the office of mayor of Chesterfield. All of the seven sons became successful merchants. The eldest, Sir Gilbert, was "…

He immediately became a prominent man in the city and province, and served at various times in a number of important offices, among them being those of surveyor-general of His Majesty's customs for the eastern district of North America, judge of the Court of Admiralty for the provinces of New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut, member of the governor's council, mayor of New York City, judge of the …

He was mayor ( AI.KIi IIKATHCOTK of New York at the same time that his brother Gilbert was Lord Mayor of London. lie was firmly attached to the Church of England, and probably did more than any other man of his times to promote its dominance in New York, being one of the founders of the parish of Trinity Church in New York City, and the leading person in establishing the parishes of Westchester, E…

Westchester's town charter, dated April 16, 1696, conferred the " municipal privileges of a mayor and aldermen and assistants, and the additional one of a representative ofits own in the assembly of the province"; and Colonel Heathcote was appointed its first mayor. It was in this same year, as we have seen, that he took the steps which led to the creation of the Manor of Searsdale and to the grea…

Preparaprocured Indian contory to his application for a manorial grant,thehe property thus bought; firmations ofhis title to various portions of and he also extended its limits southward to the Eastchester patent all the country between the headby purchasing from the Indians and the Bronx, a strip known as the waters of the Hutchinson River Fox Meadows. On the 21st of March. 1701. letters patent f…

The annual quit-rent fixed in the grant was " five pounds current money of New Yorke, upon the Nativity of our Lord." The manor was called Scarsdale by its proprietor after that portion of Derbyshire in England where he was born -- a locality known as " the Hundred of Scarsdale." Although his proprietary interest in the town lots of Mamaroneck was confined to his personal ownership of two of them,…

He made leases at different points throughout the manor, but did not sell in fee many farms, though always ready and willing to do so, the whole number of the deeds for the latter on record being only thirteen during the twenty-three years or thereabout which elapsed between his purchase from Mrs. Richbell and his death. Some of these farms, however, were of great extent. He did not establish, as …

Here he lived during the remainder of his life, which terminated on the '28th of February, 1720-1, in his fifty-sixth year. The house stood till some six or seven years before the American Revolution, occupied, however, only by tenants after the death of his widow in 173G. Later it was accidentally destroyed by tire. The present double frame building standing on a portion of the old site was built…

Scarsdale Manor, as it existed before the partition, comprehended the presof Mamaroneck and Scarsdale, with a small part of Harrison.ent Towns The reader will remember that Heathcote, in addition to buying the Kichbell estate and some adjacent Indian lands, called the Pox Meadows (the latter being secured in order to extend the limits of his proposed manor southward to the Eastchester boundary), p…

The West Patent, dated February 14, 1701, to Robert Walter and nine other patentees, included all of the large angle between Philipseburgh and Cortlandt Manors, and stretched eastwardly to the Bryam River and the Town of Bedford. It contained five thousand acres of improvable land. The Middle Patent, dated February 17, 1701, to Caleb Heathcote and twelve others, extended from the West Patent to th…

The first of the purchases leading up to the three patents was made by him personally, October 10, 1696 (seven days after the procurement of his license from Governor Fletcher), from Pathunck, Wampus, Cohawney, and five other Indians. This is known as " Wampus's Land Deed," or the " North Castle Indian Deed," and was " for and in consideration of 100 pounds good and lawful money of New York." Amon…

With the purchases upon which this manor and the Three Patents were constructed, the original acquisition of great areas of land in Westchester County by individual proprietors came to an end, there being, indeed, no more " vacant and unappropriated " soil to be absorbed. It may therefore be said that with the beginning o'f the eighteenth century, but not until then, the whole of our county had co…

These great original proprietorships were, indeed, only nine in number, as follows: (1) Cortlandt Manor, the property of Stephanus Van Cortlandt, which went after his death to his children and was by them preserved intact for many years; (2) Philipseburgh Manor, founded by Frederick Philipse and retained as a whole by the Philipse family until confiscated in Revolutionary times; (3) Fordham Manor,…

OBSERVATIONS MANORS Three Great Patents of Central Westchester, granted to Heathcote and associates on the basis of purchases from the Indians, and by the patentees gradually subsold, mainly to settlers who in I he course of time occupied the lands. In the nine estates and patents thus enumerated were contained, at a rough estimate, about 225,000 of the 300,000 acres belonging to the old County …

Upon this point de Lancey, the historian of the manors, says : " It will give a correct idea of the great extent and thoroughness of the manorial settlement of Westchester County, as well as the satisfactory nature of that method of settlement to its inhabitants, although a surprise, probably, to many readers, when it is stated that in the year 1769 onethird of the population of the county lived o…

certain English subjects in America who, while popularly styled " lords " of the manors, enjoyed no distinguished rank whatever, and were in no way elevated titalarly, by virtue of their manorial proprietorships, above the common people. In no case was a manorial grant in Westchester County conferred upon a member of the British nobility, or even upon an individual boasting the minor rank of baron…

Its use as a title is simply a mark of intense or ignorant republican provincialism. ' Lord ' as a prefix to a manor owner's name was never used in England nor in the Province of New York." The manor was a very ancient institution in England, but by the statute of quia emptorvs, enacted in 1290, the erection of new manors in that kingdom was forever put to an end. The old English manors, founded i…

But it was never contemplated that New York or any of the other provinces in America should develop a characteristically democratic organization of government or basis of society. Titled persons were sent to rule over them, and, particularly in New York, there was a manifest tendency to render the general aspect of administration and social life as congenial as possible to people of high birth and…

" The charter of Pennsylvania," said the learned Chief Judge Denio of the New York Court of Appeals, in his opinion in the Rensselaerswyck case, " empowered Penn, the patentee, to erect manors and to alien and grant parts of the lands to such purchasers as might wish to purchase, ' their heirs and assigns, to he held of tlu. said William Pain, his heirs and assigns, by such services, customs, and …

In his letters patent to John Archer for the Manor of Fordham, Governor Lovelace says: " I doe grant unto ye said John Archer, his heirs and assigns, that the house which he shall erect, together with ye said parcel of land and premises, shall be forever hereafter held, claimed, reputed and be an entire and enfranchised township, manor, and place of itself, and shall always, from time to time and …

There was also usually a socalled " Court Leet," which has been described as " a court of record having a similar jurisdiction to the old sheriff's ' Tourns ' or migratory courts held by the sheriff in the different districts or ' hundreds ' of his county, for the punishment of minor offenses and the preservation of the peace," which was provided for in order GOVERNOR LOVELACE. that the lords of m…

In addition to their civil functions, the proprietors of four of the manors (Cortlandt, Philipsebnrgh, Pelham, and Morrisania) enjoyed the right of advowson and church patronage, under which they had the power to exercise controlling influence in church matters within their domains. The prevailing sectarian tendencies of different localities in Westchester County during the colonial era and for ma…

At the expiration of that time, Stephanus Van Cortlandt, his heirs or assigns, had full authority to " return and send a discreet inhabitant in and of the said manor to be a representative of the said manor in every assembly," who should " be received into the house of representatives of assembly as a member of the said house, to have and enjoy such privilege as the other representatives returned …

The various quit-rents exacted were, for the Manor of Pelham, as originally patented to Thomas Pell, " one lamb on the first day of May (if the lamb shall be demanded) "; for Pelham, as repatented to John Pell, "twenty shillings, good and lawful money of this province, at the City of New York, on the five and twentieth day of March"; for Fordham, " twenty bushels of good peas, upon the first day o…

The importance of the manorial proprietorships in Westchester County, in their relations to its political and social character and to its eventful history for a hundred years, can not be overestimated. All the founders of the six manors were men of forceful traits, native ability, and wide influence. With a single exception,1 they left their estates, entirely undiminished and unimpaired, either to…

To the Westchester manorial families belonged some of the most noted and influential Americans of their times -- men of shining talents, fascinating manners, masterful energy, and splendid achievement; statesmen, orators, judges, and soldiers -- who were among the principal popular leaders and civic officials of the province and who won renown both in the public service and in the held during the …

Remembering that the old manorial families of Westchester County rested upon an original foundation of very recognizable aristocratic dignity, which was made possible only by monarchical institutions; that the pride of lineage had, at the time of the Revolution, been nourished for the larger part of a century; and that the disposition of attachment to the king naturally arising from these conditio…

Even in the formative period of the Revolution, before passions had been stirred by experience and example, and before actual emergency impelled men to put aside caution, it was distinctly apparent that the Tory party was the weaker, both numerically and in point of leadership; and at a very early period of the war, notwithstanding the loss of New York Citv to the American army and the retreat of …

During Mcolls's administration, the old Dutch land patents throughout the province were reissued, being altered only so as to provide for allegiance to the Duke of York and the government of England, instead of the Dutch West India Company and the government of the United Netherlands; the boundary line between New York and Connecticut was provisionally established, although upon a basis soon to be…

A distinct article providing for the furnishing of blacks to settlers was incorporated in the " Freedoms and Exemptions " of the Dutch West India Company, a series of regulations adopted to promote colonization. All the leading English families who came to the province after the conquest owned negroes, both as laborers and as house servants. Colonel Lewis Morris, as has been noticed in another pla…

They are prefaced with the statement that " it being universally agreed that people are the foundations and improvement of all plantations, and that people are encreased principally by sending of servants thither, it is necessary that a settled course be taken for the furnishing them with servants.'' " Servants," it is next stated, " are either blacks or whites," and the status of the former is de…

He strongly urged upon the people of Harlem village the necessity of building a good wagon road to the fort, and at an early period of his government the ferry service at Kingsbridge was inaugurated. From his time dates the opening of the first regular route of travel to Connecticut, what was later improved into the Boston Post Road. " Once a month, beginning with January 1, 1673, the postman, mou…

The Netherlands, however, opposed a powerful and eventually successful resistance to the allies, both on land and sea. The dykes were opened, the Prince of Orange, who had been invested with supreme authority, brilliantly defended his country against the invader at every point, and the French armies were forced to retire. The Dutch navy, triumphing over both the French and English fleets, in a num…

One of Colve's summary acts was his attempted confiscation of the property of the infant Lewis Morris, which he was prevented from accomplishing by the skillful address of Colonel Morris. The governor very promptly notified the settlements of the existence of the new regime, and demanded their obedient submission. One of the first to receive his attention in this regard was Westchester, or Oostdor…

Colve caused its citizens to nominate to him six of their number best qualified to act as magistrates, all of whom should be of the Reformed Christian religion, and at least one-half men of Dutch nationality. This action as to Fordham, however, was in part the result of the initiative of the people of the place, who desired a new status of village government. The secretary of the province under Co…

In 1673 it was practically extinct, but it was not until 1671 that it was officially dissolved." Such was the melancholy end of this magnificent organization, which came to pass in the very year that Dutch authority, after a fitful period of renewal, was terminated forever in New York. Early in 1671, by the Treaty of Westminster, peace was restored between England and Holland, each party agreeing …

The assembly was to meet once in three years at least, and to number not more than eighteen members." This first New York assembly consisted of fourteen representatives, of whom four were from Westchester, as follows: Thomas Hunt, Sr., John Palmer, Richard Ponton, and William Richardson.1 The assembly passed an act, approved by the governor on November 1, from which we quote the pertinent portion …

The Countye of Westchester, to contain West and East Chester, Bronx Land, Ffordham, Anne Hooks Neck [Pelham Neck], Bichbell's [de Lancey's Neck], Miniford's Island [City Island], and all the Land on the Maine to the Eastward of Manhattan's Island, as farr as the Government Extends, and the Yonckers Land and Northwards along Hudson's River as far as the High Lands." The other eleven counties named …

By one of the acts passed by the assembly of 1683, entitled tk An act for the more orderly hearing and determining matters of controversy," courts of session for Westchester County were directed to be held on the first Tuesdays of June and December, one at Westchester and the other at Eastchester; and on the first >Vednesday of December a Court of Oyer and Terminer and General Jail Delivery was to…

One of the chief enactments of the assembly of 1683 was a proposed "Charter of Liberties and Priviledges, granted by his Royal Highness to the Inhabitants of New York and its dependencies,"* which, however, was disapproved when transmitted to England. Indeed, before the time for the convening of the second general assembly arrived, this representative body was abolished altogether, the Duke of Yor…

So the starting point was fixed at the Maniaroneck's mouth, whence the boundary was to run north-northwest until it should intersect the southern line <>f Massachusetts. Here, again, great injustice was done to New York; for this north-northwest line would cut the Hudson below the Highlands, utterly dismembering the Province of New York, and giving to Connecticut all of the river above the Highlan…

New York demanded, as the fundamental thing, that the original intention of a twenty-mile distance from the Hudson should be adhered to; and, moreover, that the boundary should run north and south, or parallel to the Hudson, instead of north-northwest-- a demand to which Connecticut yielded. On the other hand, it was conceded to Connecticut that she should retain her older settlements on the Sound…

Beginning at the mouth of the Byram River, the line, as thus decided upon in 1683, ran up that stream as far as the head of tidewater (about a mile and a half), where was a " wading-place" crossed by a road, and where stood a rock known as "The JERSEY Great Stone at the Wading-place." From this point as a natural boundary LONG ISLAND mark it went north-northwest to a distance eight miles from the …

Along these latter two sections of the boundary, the so-called kk equivalent tract " or " Oblong," having an area of 61,440 acres, was, in recompense for the Sound settlements which New York surrendered, taken from Connecticut and given to New York; and as thus rectified the whole north and south boundary line, beginning at the northeast corner of the Connecticut parallelogram, was located some tw…

And now, under the new boundary treaty of the two provinces, Rye itself was rudely sundered from its parent colony and made a part of New York. This was extremely repugnant to the settlers of Rye, who, indeed, continued to deem themselves as belonging to Connecticut, and ultimately, rather than submit to the government of New York, when that government took certain steps distasteful to them, boldl…

Thus the territory retained by Connecticut on the Sound was formally marked off without delay; but the "equivalent tract" or "Oblong" to which New York was entitled was not apportioned upon that occasion, although its approximate width was calculated and indicated by the surveyors. The new boundary, while accepted by the two provinces, did not receive ratification in England, probably because no s…

The history of this dispute of two hundred years' standing may conveniently be completed in the present connection. We quote from the excellent summary of it given in the Eev. Mr. Baird's " History of Eye " : After various failures to effect a settlement, New York and Connecticut selected commissioners, who met at Rye in April, 1725, and began the work of marking the boundary. They started at " th…

At the distance of five miles from the Wading-place it crosses Blind Brook near the head of that stream at an angle which the territory of Rye. The famous " Duke's Trees " are about two miles north of terminates this point. The boundary line laid down in 1731 remained without disturbance until 1855, when the question arose as to its existing definiteness. On some portions of the line the marks had…

The last step taken in the matter occurred in 1860. On the 3d of April in that year the legislature of New York passed an act empowering the commissioners formerly appointed " to survey and mark with suitable monuments " the " line between the two States, as fixed by the survey of 1731." They were to give due notice of their purpose to the commissioners of Connecticut, inviting them to join in the…

The existence of New York as a proprietary province, belonging to James, Duke of York, terminated in 1085, when, Charles II. having died without leaving legitimate issue, James, his brother, succeeded to the sovereignty. This was an event of considerable importance, not alone for New York, but also for the colonies of New England and New Jersey. New York at once lost its separate status as a propr…

Dongan, therefore, urged the expediency of consolidating all the king's colonies from the Delaware to and including Connecticut and Massachusetts. " 2 Despite some local opposition this was done, and in 1688 Sir Edmund 1 The representatives of Connecticut contended for a straight line between the two extreme points, fifty-three miles apart, because the old monuments and marks upon the line were ge…

This advance step taken by the city is fairly representative of the general development which had fairly begun at that period -- a development to which Westchester County contributed its share. The reign of James, the last of the Stuart monarchs, was brief. Three years after he ascended the throne the people of England, weary of the tyranny, corruption, and religious intolerance of his dynasty, ro…

In New York Lieutenant-Governor Nicholson, having by unguarded behavior and unbecoming language provoked popular resentment and distrust, found himself confronted by the determined hostility of the captains of the training bands, who, in June, compelled him to vacate his office and return to England. The province was thus left without a head, and the people were quite unwilling to intrust affairs …

This was one of the principal charges brought against it by the opposing aristocratic party, who, however, did not vouchsafe it so reputable a name, but styled it an organization of " the rabble." The leading members of Nicholson's council -- Bayard, Philipse, and Van Cortlandt -- not only lent no countenance to the training band captains, the committee of safety, or the popularly chosen lieutenan…

At the time of Bayard's arrest, fearing a like fate, he saved himself by hasty by marriage was related Leisler that and an interesting It is Cortlandt flight.' of kin also became Philipse Bayard; and fact both Van to so inYet to Leisler's family by marrying Van Cortlandt's sister. tense were the passions of the times that these ties of relationship counted for nothing, and Leisler's own kinsmen we…

Upon the arrival of Governor Sloughter, in March, 1691, he was imprisoned, and then, by swift proceedings, sentenced to die the death of a traitor. On May 17, less than two months after giving up the reins of government, he was hanged, together with his son-in-law, Jacob Milbourne. No appeal of his case to England was permitted, a melancholy circumstance in view of the action of Parliament four ye…

As a few individual Huguenots had already built homes on Pelham Manor, that quarter was already indicated as the one to be chosen. In the original purchase from John and Rachel Pell, September 20, 1689, "Jacob Leisler, of the City of New York, merchant," was the sole person interested; and his conscientious spirit in the transaction is indicated by the significant provision of the deed that, besid…

Smith, in his " History of New York," gives the following interesting item: " Leisler' s party was strengthened on the 3d of June, 16S9, by the addition of six captains and four hundred men in New York, and a company of seventy men from Eastchester, who had all subscribed on that day a solemn declaration to preserve the Protestant religion and the Port of New York for the Prince of Orange and the …

Leisler at once summoned a general assembly for the purpose of providing means and supplies for retributive measures. In that body Thomas Browne was the delegate from Westchester County. The influence of Leisler as a plain citizen, before by the stress of events placed in the control of affairs, was uniformly on the side of the public welfare, of intelligence, and progress; and the history of his …

He was, moreover, sustained throughout his administration by some of the best and most substantial citizens, notwithstanding the opposition and intrigues of the former governing class; and the persistent continuance of a perfectly respectable u Leislerian party " for many years after his tragical end is convincing tribute to the excellence of both his private and civic character. His descendants a…

By the act of May 8, 1699, the representatives were elected by the freeholders of £40 in value, who were residents of the electoral district at least three months prior to the issue of the act. The elections were held by the sheriff at one place in each county, and voting was rira voce. The act of November 25, 1751, directed the sheriff to hold his court of election near the Presbyterian meeting-h…

These duties were transferred to a board of supervisors by an act of general assembly passed June 19, 1703 (2d Anne), entitled " An Act for the better explaining and more effectually putting into execution an act of general assembly made in the third year of the reign of their late majesties, King William and Queen Mary, entitled An Act for defraying the publick and necessary charges thro'out this…

During the ton years following The arrival of the first royal governor under King William, and the definite erection of representative government in the province, there was a steady expansion of population, wealth, and enterprise. Sloughter died only two months after Leisler's execution, and was succeeded as governor the next year by Benjamin Fletcher, who was superseded in 1G98 by the Earl of Bel…

" The most apor less intimacy with the pirates of the high seas. proved course usually pursued was to load a ship with goods for Rum costing two exchange and sale on the Island of Madagascar. shillings per gallon in New York would fetch fifty to sixty shillings A pipe of Madeira wine costing nineteen pounds in in Madagascar. New York could be sold for three hundred pounds in that distant Not that …

A number of particularly rehunter. pirate a of character nobfe spectable and distinguished subscribers (among them King William and Lord Bellomont at that time not yet governor), having at heart the suppression of piracy, equipped a stanch vessel for Kidd, who was known as a bold and experienced mariner, and sent him forth to search for these evil men wheresoever they might ply their horrid As the…

His favorite haunts after returning from his precious landed he where Sound, Island Long inlets and islands of and jewsilver, gold, his buried cargoes, and, according to tradition, els.^ It is said that when brought to trial he confided to the authorities the location of a treasure secreted on Gardiner's Island, and the authenthat it was duly found and appropriated by them. ofFrom the coast of the…

It was in October, 1G96, that he was dispatched to hunt down pirates, and at that time he must have had a fairly honest reputation. Less than five years later he met his doom on the gallows. His exceptional popularity as a pirate hero is doubtless due to the fanciful stories of his buried treasures, to which a certain substantial foundation was supposed to have been given by the unearthing of one …

The Lye settlement, which grew out of purchases made by citizens of Greenwich, Conn., on the New York side of the Byram River, beginning in 1G60, flourished from the start, and gradually expanded over all the adjacent country. Included within the Colony of Connecticut bythe boundary compact of 1664, there never existed any question as to its political status until, under the new boundary adjustmen…

It was probably due to the privilege of direct representation thus enjoyed, quite as much as to the circumstance of their Connecticut nativity, that the Rye people so stoutly persisted, long after being legally annexed to New York, in holding themselves allegiant to the mother colony, and so bitterly resented the assumption of authority over them by an alien aristocratic government which for a con…

It has been mentioned in our account of the boundary revision of 1683 that the aggressive attitude of the Town of Rye in its territorial pretensions as the frontier settlement of Connecticut was one of the principal causes leading to that revision. tk May, 1082, John Ogden, of Rye, presented himself before the general court and on behalf of the people complained that sundry persons, and particular…

The town, while reluctant to accept the fate appointed for it, desisted from electing deputies to the general court of Connecticut, and did not renew that practice until the " revolt " in 1097. Nevertheless, attempts were made from time to time to secure some sort of official recognition from Connecticut, representatives being dispatched to deal with the governor and general court as to various sp…

Some of them, it would appear, sided with the province in the controversy, and hence, doubtless, some of the actions for defamation and other proofs of disturbance which we find on record about this time." In 1695 a tract of land which for more than thirty years had belonged to the Kye settlers, "situated above Westchester Path, between Blind Brook and Mamaroneck River, and extending as far north …

Ann Bichbell against the Eye people for intrusion on the White Plains lands. These two events brought matters to a crisis. Eye seceded from New York, applied to be received back into Connecticut, and, meeting with encouragement, resumed formal connection with the latter government, until by order of the king compelled to abandon it. Eye's petition to the general court of Connecticut, in conjunctio…

In addition, Fletcher tried conciliatory measures, dispatching Colonel Caleb Heathcote, one of the members of his council, to Eye, with instructions to do what he could by means of his personal influence toward settling the troubles. Heathcote's report gives a very clear idea of the merits of the controversy, showing that the Rye settlers had only themselves to blame for the loss of the Harrison l…

During this period and for one year longer, the town was designated of Fairfield." officially by its inhabitants as being " in the County the matters at New York made no attempt at coercion, but referred issue to the king; and in March, 1700, an order of the king in council was issued, not only approving the boundary agreement of 16S3-81, but directing the revolted towns "forever thereafter to be …

He consented to the insertion in the letters patent for his Manor of Scarsdale of a clause expressly withholding from him any further title to the White Plains than that which he already possessed. The Kye settlers of White Plains always retained the lands which they acquired there, and at length, in 1722, obtaiued a patent for the whole tract of 4,435 acres. " White Plains/' says Dr. Baird, " dre…

The fare fixed for " every person " using the ferry was one shilling and six pence; and in addition rates of carriage for a great variety of articles were specified. For the privilege thus conferred upon them, the patentees paid an annual quitrent of two shillings and six pence. The operation of this ferry was very instrumental in contributing to the growth of population in the towns of Rye and Ha…

1683, six days before the signing' of the new boundary articles between New York and Connecticut, the enterprising men of Rye purchased the whole tract, known by the Indian name of Quaroppas, from the native chiefs who at that time professed to own it. Thus Rye came under the government of New York with a very plausible Gradually Eye men began to occupy the title to the White Plains. lands -- a mo…

In this endeavor they were put to considerable vexation " Three times were they compelled and expense by the authorities. to make surveys of their goodly land, three times required to notify the owners of adjoining lands that such surveys were about to be made, and all to furnish pretexts lor oppressive charges by the The royal patent was finally officers of the governor's council."1 It granted on…

"At the time ibis patent was isbeing confined to the patentees. sued," says the author of the chapter on White Plains in Scharfs History, " Broadway, with its home-lots, had long been established." After the procurement of the patent the population increased so rapidly that "in 172.% the inhabitants assumed an independent organization, elected officers, and proceeded to manage their own affairs.''…

It is the only one of the first settlements having an inland location, and the only one whose original history stands quite apart from that of the remainder of the county, with no associations or relations binding it to other Westchester settlements of early origin and respectable importance. In common with Westchester, Eastchester, Pelham, and Rye, it was settled by Connecticut people; but, unlik…

of Stamford granted to twenty-two Stamford men1 the lands known the north end of Stamford bounds.'' as the " Hop Grounds " lying " at es, on the 23d of December, 1680, Under this grant the beneficiari bought from Katonah, Rockaway, and several other Indians, the territory in question, 7,(573 acres, for the value of £16 16s. 6d. The Three Miles Square." purchase thus made became known as " Bedford …

Indian of case in n precautio a as together close live to tlers the setMay 12 the general court at Hartford officially recognized laid out tlement, and recommended that "there be a suitable loot for ye first minister of ye place, and a loot for ye ministry to be and This pious injunction was promptly belong to ye ministry forever." 1681, the town took steps to pro, December as early obeyed, and as…

All the newcomers for very many years were New England people. Notwithstanding the exclusion of Bedford from Connecticut by the provisions of the boundary agreement of 1083-84, Bedford continued to recognize the sole authority of Connecticut. Her people, like those of live, disregarded the summons of Governor Dongan of Now York in 1085, to take out patents for their lands, although this omission d…

Every of which sides is six miles in length, to witt : from the east side westerly, and from the south side northerly, and is a township of six miles square, or six miles on every side, which said lands have been by purchase or otherwise, lawfully obtained of the Indian native proprietors." April 8, 1704, this Connecticut patent was confirmed by New York, an annual quit-rent of £5 being provided f…

Consequently, says a Bedford historian, " when Van Oortlandt-s surveyor, working on his fc due east ' line, was .advancing through Bedford, he Avas doubtless apprised by our settlers that he was on Connecticut soil. No use to go farther; so he ran his line around the north side of Bedford, leaving her out of the Van Cortlandt Manor." 1 Indeed, Van Cortlandt or his heirs, fully accepting the claims…

This was the same Jacobus Van Cortlandt who married Eva, adopted daughter of the first Frederick Philipse, and founded the Van Cortlandt estate of the Little or Lower Vonkers, above Kingsbridge. He purchased lands of the Indians and settlers of Bedford as late as 1714, and his landed possessions in the town ultimately amounted to 5,115 acres, which he bequeathed to his son Frederick Van Cortlandt,…

Chester, which we have already described, secured by Caleb Heathcote and others from Lieutenant-Governor Nanfan in 1701, were among the foundations upon which such portions of the county north of the White Plains and Harrison tracts as were not included in the Eye and Bedford Patents and the Philipseburgh and Cortlandt Manor The West Patent, known as " Wampus's Land grants were settled. Deed," or …

The patentees, ten in number, much of the Town of North Castle. in the province, whose influence and included men of prominence "interest was not that of settlers seeking a home, but merely that The lands began to be settled about 1718-20 by of speculators." Harrison's Quaker farmers from Long Island, who came by way of purchase, and whose descendants to this day belong to the principal families o…

Patent, North Castle originally embraced a portion of the Middle Patent and also a separate grant made in 1700 to Ann Bridges, Roger It even encroached on the bounds Mompesson, and seven others.1 of the East Patent, covering a considerable part of the present Town The number of settlers increased rapidly, and we of Poundridge. are informed that at the time of its division by the setting off of New…

The old Town of Salem, now constituting the Towns of North Salem and Lewisboro, also has an interesting early history, on account of the inclusion in it of all of the lands of the " Oblong," or " Equivalent Tract." It will be remembered that the Oblong was uot laid off and monumented until 1731. In 1700 twenty-live citizens of Connecticut (mostly residents of Norwalk) obtained from the government …

The name comes " from the ancient ' Indian pound,' which formerly stood at the foot of a high ridge a little south of the present locality known as Poundridge, where the Indians sot their traps tor wild game." The first settler is supposed to have been Deacon John Fancher. He came in 1730. In 1711 Joseph Lockwood, James Brown, David Potts, Ebenezer Scofield, and others from Stamford, made a settle…

At that date Westchester was the fifth in rank among the ten counties embraced within the present limits of New York State, being exceeded by New York, Suffolk, Kings, Queens, and Albany. At the next census, taken in 1703, Westchester's population had increased to 1,946; in 1712, to 2,815; and in 1723, to 4,409. Thus in the first quarter of a century alter the county as a whole had begun to displa…

Under this census the ancient Town of Westchester led all the other localities of the county in population, with 572 inhabitants, having, indeed, a very decided preponderance over every community except Rye, which numbered 51 (5 souls. But it must be borne in mind that in 1712 Rye as a political division included certainly the White Plains and Harrison tracts; and probably not a few settlers dispe…

Moreover, Westchester, with its attached locality of West Farms, was peculiarly justified in appealing for special privileges, in view of the exceptional functions that had been conferred upon the adjacent manorial lands of Morrisania, Fordham, Philipseburgh, and Pelham. These lands had been erected into "entire and enfranchised townships, manors, and places by themselves," for the gratification o…

government" were beprivileges belonging to a town within this In 1686 it was deemed advisable by stowed upon the patentees. the inhabitants to procure a second patent, which was accordingly Under this second patent issued (January 6) by Governor Dongan. twelve men1 were designated as the "Trustees of the Freeholders and Commonalty of the Town of Westchester," these trustees beingIn order to discon…

In 1670 the good people of Westchester were somewhat exercised An order apby the appearance of a supposed witch amongst them. pears in the Assize Book, dated July 7, 1670, for the removal of one " Katherine Harrison late of Wethersfield in his Maties Colony of Connecticott widdow." In this order it is related that " contrary to ye consent & good liking of ye Towne she would settle amongst them & s…

A fact of curious interest, illustrating in a striking way the active enterprise which characterized the Town of Westchester and its associated districts from the beginning, has been brought to the attention of the present writer by the kindness of the Rev. Theodore A. Leggett, D.D., of Staten Island, a descendant of one of the West harms patentees. We have seen that Elizabeth Richardson, daughter…

It is interesting to note that he named as his executor the first Frederick Philipse, with whom he seems to have sustained a business partnership of some kind, and to whom ho bequeathed the sum of thirty pounds sterling. Upon the organization of our county, in 1683, Westchester was appointed to be its shire-town, and in legislative acts passed shortly after the regular institution of parliamentary…

By an act passed May 11, 16!>3, "a public and open market" was appointed to be held every Wednesday at Westchester; and it was enacted that "there shall likewise be held and kept twice yearly and every year a fair, to which fair it shall and may be likewise lawful for all and every person to go and frequent, . . . the first to be kept at the Town of Westchester in the said county on the second Tue…

After instancing the previous grants of patents to the town and describing it with extreme and redundant particularity (its bounds being specified as the westernmost part of tk Brunks land " at the west and the westernmost line of " Mr. Pell's pattent " at the east), the charter provides that the former Town of Westchester shall in future be styled "the borrough and town of Westchester." The requi…

Retail liquor sellers are to be licensed at the discretion of the mayor, the annual license fee exacted being such sum of money as the licensee " shall agree for, not exceeding the sum of 20s." Finally the " mayor, aldermen, and common council*' are authorized "to return and send one discreet burgess of the sd town and borough into every general assembly hereafter to be summoned or holden within t…

A Lift of the Names of the prefenf .Reprefentatives ■EUtledand chofen by the ftverdtCUtes and Counties jn tkft Colony to jerve &Qimf0fj0Mlfa& For the City *nd County of Ne%-York, ' Efq; , Speak StephenPhiltp De fe,Lanccy Ef<# er^ A Dolph Capt. Gerrit Van Horns, Capt. Anthony, Rutgreft, For the Ctty and Qounty of Albany, RyerGerrttJe, Efc.; Coll. Mjndert Schuyla ■, Capt. Jacob Glen, Capt. Jeremiah …

Difadvantage, to leficn the Encouragement thar has been given to the nccefiary Officers ot the Government. ■ I depend on your Readinefs to the bed of Kings, who has fhewn, during the whole eourfe of His Reign, That theconjiam Em* filoymem of Ms Thoughts, and the mofi tartieft Wishes of His Heart, tend wholly to the Securing to His Subjetls the'irjufi Rights and Advr.tc.ges. You need not fear that …

General Afsemblv, on the 17th of September his I fhall lay before you my late Conferences Excellency the'Governour made the following with the Six Nations, an which I flatter my felf, Speech to them, »«.-. that I hare contributed not a little to fix them in their Duty to His Majefty, their Afteftion to Qtnthmin ; this Government, and their juft Apprehcnfions of this of the Til Defigns of the Peopl…

Some (lie says) have likened this ancient town to those of New England and Long Island, while others, zealous members of the Episcopal Church, have tried to make themselves and others believe that the town was a reproduction of an English parish of the eighteenth century, such as we read of in the Spectator or the tales of Fielding and Smollett. They fancy the squire in his high-backed pew, the pa…

Though an act for settling orthodox ministers in the province was passed shortly after the establishment of the English colonial system (for of course, the English was the orthodox church in colonial times), those sons of Cromwellian soldiers, Quaker refugees, and Independents did not at first take kindly to a State church, and good Parson Bartow . . . did not even wear a surplice. Many of the peo…

Warham Mather as our minister for one whole year; and that he shall have sixty pound, in country produce at money price, for his salary, and that he shall be paid every quarter." Apparently the arrangement was not effected, or at least did not endure for long; for in 1092 the town voted that " there shall be an orthodox minister, as soon as possible may be," and requested Colonel Caleb Heathcote, …

He was a man of excellent learning and high character, and his letters (of which numerous ones are reproduced by Bolton) are of much interest to students of the early conditions in Westchester County. The orthodox church at Westchester was formally chartered under the name of Saint Peter's by Lieutenant-Governor Clarke in 1762. Eastchester, incorporated in the parish of Westchester by the act of 1…

The local history of Westchester County from the beginning of the eighteenth century to the Revolution involves nothing remarkable, aside from the aspects of the peculiar character from the first assumed by the county which have been described in our account of the origin and erection of the great manorial estates. Following the lines of development naturally resulting from its selection as the se…

The purely internal history of Westchester County for three-quarters of a century following the comparative completion of its settlement comprehends, indeed, nothing more than the ordinary chronicles of a lew scattered communities and of a mixed land-owning and farming population, living together in circumstances of good understanding and of xneasing though quite uneventful prosperity and progress…

He first went to Virginia, and then to Jamaica, trying to support himself as a copyist and in other ways, The old and finally returned, tractable enough, to his uncle's roof. took an gentleman not only granted him full pardon, but promptly interest in procuring a suitable wife for him, with the result that, in November, 1691, he received the hand of Isabella, daughter of James Graham, Esq., attorn…

He did not, however, neglect his property in New York. Following the example of other large land-owners, he had his Westchester County estate erected into the lk Lordship or Manor of Morrisania." This was done by letters patent granted to him on the 8th of May, 1697, by Governor Fletcher, wherein authority was given him and his successors to hold a court leet and court baron, to exercise jurisdict…

There were few encouragements in those limes for the development of independent and lofty civic character. All high positions were appointive, depending upon the favor of the royal governor, who was as likely as not to be a man utterly corrupt, mercenary, and unscrupulous. But from an early period of his public life, Morris displayed a bold and aggressive spirit, and an especial contempt for conse…

After the appointment of Jeremiah Basse as governor of New Jersey, in 1G98, Morris was one of the principal leaders of the party which refused to acknowledge his authority. He was in consequence expelled from the council and fined £50 for contempt. In 1700, when Hamilton was again made governor of New Jersey, Morris was appointed president of the council. In this position he strongly advocated the…

It was not uncommon for him to dress in a woman's habit, and then to patrol the fort in which he lived. Such freaks of low humor exposed him to the universal contempt of the whole people. Their indignation was kindled by his despotic rule, savage bigotry, insatiable avarice, and injustice, not only to the public, but even to his private' creditors." In brief, he plundered the public treasury, conv…

To this end resolutions were passed detailing the evils and infamies of his administra- HISTORY WESTCHESTER COUNTY tion, which were sent to England and resulted in Cornbury's recall (1708). During the brief rule of Lord Lovelace, Morris again sat in the council; but under Lovelace's successor, Ingoldsby, lie was once more suspended because of personal unacceptability to the executive. Finally,…

Individual Palatine families sought homes from time to time in Westchester County, but our county was not one of the chosen places of colonization for these people, and no Palatinate settlements were established here. Hunter was an entirely different manner of man from the governors who preceded him. He boasted no dazzling ancestry. As a lad he was apprenticed to an apothecary, but left that emplo…

The two collaborated in the composition of a farce entitled " Androborus," which hit off the peculiarities of some of their opponents in a lively fashion. Morris was promptly installed by Hunter as president of the council. It was in 1710, the year of Hunter's assumption of the governorship, that he entered the Xew York assembly as a delegate from the borough Town of Westchester, and in that body …

It is a curious fact that Lewis Morris, whose chief claim to remembrance is his identification with the great popular agitation of a later period, whereof, indeed, he was one of the heroes, was, in this early controversy between the " Court party " and the people, the mainstay of the former. Moreover, the warmth of his advocacy of the governor's cause was such that, on account of violent language …

The affairs of the Province of New York moved along smoothly enough, excepting for the differences between the assembly and the executive, from the time of Hunter's appointment as governor, in 1710, until the arrival of Cosby, in August, 1732. Hunter was succeeded by William Burnet, also a highly polished and amiable man, with whom Morris sustained relations quite as friendly and agreeable as with…

It also stood to his credit that he was the father of a family of fifteen children.1 Pending the selection of a new governor by the appointive power in England, Van Dam, in his capacity of president of the council, became vested with the authority of acting chief magistrate. elevaNone of the complicated circumstances attending the atlike this time. tion of the unfortunate Leisler forty years befor…

Such ridiculous conduct on the part of a mere acting governor, who was only a plain, merchandizing citizen and Dutchman, could not be submitted to by the sensitive Cosby. He demanded that Rip Van Dam should deliver over to him one-half of the salary thus taken. 'host ATan Dam shrewd lv responded that he would cheerfully do so if Cosby him paid York City, would, on his part, relinquish half the fee…

Equity courts, of which the governor was ex officio chancellor, had always been extremely distasteful to the people, and being constituted by the exclusive act of the executive, without the consent of the legislature, were, according to the best legal opinion, tribunals of at least doubtful authority. The assumption of the powers of chancellor by former governors had given rise to intense popular …

I have no reason to expect that it or anything that I can say will be at all grateful or have any weight with your Excellency, after the answer I received to a message I did myself the honor to send you, concerning an ordinance you were about to make for establishing a Court of Equity in the Supreme Court as being in my opinion contrary to law, which I begged might be delaved till I could be heard…

The answer your Excellency was pleased to send me was, that 1 need not give myself any trouble about that affair, that you would neither receive a visit nor any message from me, that you would neither rely upon my integrity nor depend on at all fit to be trusted my judgment, that you thought me a person notever since your coming with anv concerns relating to the king, that person and as your to as…

I have been in office almost My hands were twenty years. power never soiled with a bribe, nor am I conscious to myself that of favor in partial be to me induce to able or poverty hath been from either of them; and as I have no reason to expect any favor test of the you so I am neither afraid nor ashamed to stand the I have served strictest inquiry you can make concerning my conduct. according to t…

Always opposed to the institution of the Court of Chancery, the extemporization of that tribunal by Cosby for the special purpose of procuring a judgment in his own favor was an outrage deeply offensive to their sense of decency and right; and the rude expulsion of Chief Justice Morris from the bench, because of his unwillingness to be a party to such a flagrant transaction, was, in their eyes, a …

The resulting eiection, held on the 29th of October, on " the Green " at the Town of Eastchester, was probably the most notable one in the whole colonial history of Westchester County. The elaborate and graphic description of it, published in the first number of the famous New York Weekh/ Journal, November 5, 1733, is undoubtedly familiar to many of our readers, having been frequently reproduced. …

I shall give my readers a particular account of Eastchester and other Church the to affixed papers by having County, said the of Sheriff of public places, given notice of the Day and Place of Election, without mentioning any time Day when it was to be done, which made the Electors on the side of the late Judge very watch kept them of fifty about suspicious that some Fraud was intended-- to prevent…

of the Electors o the lower part of U ,t tie East e„d o the Town by about seventy horse Election in the following order, vu: he Connty and then proceeded toward the place of the principal Freeholders, one of Fi-st r le tw o trumpeters and three violins; next, four of gold capitals « king George and v nVl ca rhHl a banner, on one side of which was affixed in to££ n the other in golden' capitals "Li…

Baker, which was to town, finely mount *«£*£■£ Sheriff came after, the Highlaced 1 .. Abou "an hlr scarlet, with silver. Upon Ins approach, the Elect Orson richly „,i,l holster cans being read Ins Majesty s v em i, the Green, where they were to elect, and, after having 1.1, appeared tor majority great a and did, they which choice, a to "proceed te to b the 1 , hut by whom is not known to Mr. Morri…

William Willet (a person of good estate and known integrity, who was at that time present and ready to make oath to the truth of what was said) that true it was that he had not taken the oaths to his Majesty King George, and enjoyed a place in the Government under him which gave him his bread; yet notwithstanding that, should King James come into England he should think himself obliged to go stron…

The people made a loud huzza, which the late Chief Judge blamed very much, as what he thought not right. Forster replied he took no notice of what the common people did, since Mr. Morns did not put them upon the doing of it. The indentures being sealed, the whole body of Electors waited on their new Representative to his lodgings with trumpets sounding and violins and in a little time took their l…

As the Philipse and de Lancey party chose to take their stand against the so-called land tax, the Morrisites met them by raising the counter issue of no excise. question of the governor's But in reality it was a contest onandtheas sole such it became a perfect test outrageous abuse of authority, of the disposition and readiness of the people to shake off the fetters of an odious government ami to …

of " land tax " and " excise." All the government influence was arrayed againsl Morris, and with a f..m.alii.v ami .ht.T.ninaiion most The Morris party, on the other hand, stood just as unconspicuous. mistakably and resolutely for the principle of popular defiance of op The electors of the county were conscious thai pressive government. the verdict which they were called upon to render would have …

L- 1. , whirl,, under the influence of its proprietor, waj t. I rom L'elhara and New imi for his antagonii ,r i lie Manor of I lort landl I he word Uochelle to th( ,i i iastchester earlj on the had gone forth to gather on the Un • I-. Kven the Quakers, the parti «>f 0< niMinni;. mI M. mm lav, tl..- L".Hli strictest oi Sabbath observers, joined in the throng which began to m,,vr thitlnr .,n Mi.n…

I-, ..I (In- (.lain p.-.,p|.-, particularly i1" in i he \ merica n i olonies, I he associa I ions (»i the d< graded dynasty corrupt ion, and wore entirely ' hose of oppressive rule, licenl ioi could attach to So severer political re] religious intolerance. elective office) than the an American subjecl (especially if he son ,r the Stuart Pretender. suspii ion of being n Jacobite or support ii" ni i…

' In hl ■■' ""l"1" i ;,i i (ml i im. 1 1.. ..hi fn i ipnp< r in I In |n •■ Im i ,,i ii,,- (jn , it, .i|.|.i .u.'l ..i. I " Infn i Mi I i ' .. iimli i 1 1" 'ii" i Hon of \\ iiii.ii,, Hi ,i.ii., i-l v ho fi i "i i"in,'i i fi [irinh r In IMiilndi Ipliln, [nil ,M), ,. \{\%\ h,..l [mm ii ••'• ' i mi" nl |H Inlci In ,,l j in |„ i fiiifiiifn .. - r find Film i v linl I" ■ "i I rm tnigfil enrn fi mi…

II,. 1 1 '/< I,-. •!■, before r < I u r n i k • • tn \ .,i I itio .-.I In i in,, im ■< i ipl f.o fi lend mi' Iim-imI, u I..., n-fi I I m- f.o the (Jiml ,i ,,i. uiid 1 1 imI in ' 'i ;• Ii i ■' " fl Hurl ;, , opie I /\l Fill < .cfil I, lie Fil nm f00| I. p , fo l..-:-in I Im |. ill. In Fl.l lofl "I rivnl new KpH per ; ■< ml In I i | ,r n«/ fM.ni( n weel .,) i I,. Ve V '» Ofl from i In [rl i I…

,,i (| „i (I- w.Unmltom ' : l m,„-. fi u\ i.K i,l kh Ki ,.,■ r. l. nl : .■ •■ In |*<>f,i> »,« I ■'■ ■ ' " : ,'"1"' ' nl '■ riiel ,.,,.., ,,i ,,.,' . ■ n ; ' ,-" I-" '" f"i I in il,- ..,..!•' ' I. •« | ■ "' ' |))( I,.,., |, il,,- ;,,,■.,!<• || .i,l im i.i irn pre allied .un'-n;- -ill i hi pttph ' eepl tl"- '" \hium\UiU-\) \<U nlifn -I villi \.\u «nv< f-m»i i .n,-l i…

Leisler, Zenger was a German by birth -- a typical representative of the early class of alien immigrants who came to America to better their condition, and readily adapted themselves to the institutions He came over as a lad in the Palatinate which they found here. immigration of 1710, served as an apprentice at the printing trade with William Bradford for eight years, and later opened a printingo…

These and others furnished him, for his paper, numerous able and aggressive articles upon topics germane to the absorbing quesThe tion of popular rights, which were printed over noms de plume. personaldirect, more became gradually Journal tone of the Wecldy ities were indulged in, and unsparing poetical effusions, of very manifestly personarapplication to the governor and his creatures, were Gover…

But what was most desired, the indictment lie was nevertheless arrested on an inof Zenger, was still refused. ELECTION 1 < 33 formation for libel, and, after languishing in prison several months, was brought to trial on a charge of printing matter that was " false, scandalous, and seditious." His counsel, Alexander and Smith, courageously took the ground that the whole proceedings before de Lan…

" I make no doubt," said he, in prophetic words, "but your upright conduct this day will not only entitle you to the love and esteem of your fellowcitizens, but every man who prefers freedom to a life of slavery will bless and honor you as men who have baffled the attempts of tyranny, and, by an impartial and incorrupt verdict, have laid a noble foundation for securing to ourselves, our posterity,…

During the long controversy and agitation which preceded it, the people had familiarized themselves with the doctrine of resistance to tyrants. " If all governors are to be reverenced," said one of the writers in Zenger's Journal, " why not the Turk and old Muley, or Nero?" It became decidedly the fashion to exalt the people above their rulers, and to make pungent retorts to those who urged the ol…

In September, 1731, when the agitation arising out of the Van Dam matter, Morris's dismissal, and the course of the Weekly Journal was at its height, an election for aldermen and assistants was held, at which only one of the government candidates was successful. As we have seen, the grand jury from first to last refused to indict Zenger; and the common council was equally refractory when demands w…

Therefore eit will not be improper to chy, the Will of the Prince being the communicat to the Publick the Senti- Law,a Liberty of the Prefs to complain ments of a late excellent Writer upon of Grievances would be complaining this Poinr. fuch is the Elegance and againft the Law, and the Conftitution, Pcrfpicuity of his Writings, fuch the to which they have fubrnitted, or have inimitable Fo'cc of hi…

They are the flreigh fuffeT any Subject to animadvert on his Actions, when it is in his Pow- Rule and fureGuide to direct theKing, er to declare the Crime, and to nomi- the Minifters, and other his Subjects : nate the Punifhmcnt > This would And therefore an Offence againft the make it very dangerous to exercifefuch Laws_ is fuch an Offence againft the a Liberty Bcfidcs the Object againft Conftitu…

Nothing is more interesting in connection with the Westchester electoral contest of 1733 than the fact that the lines of local division upon which it was fought were precisely the ones that divided the rival Whig and Loyalist factions of the county when they came to make their trial of strength forty years later on the issue of co-operation or non-co-operation with the general cause of the America…

Soon afterward, in 1736, Cosby died. Morris, upon his return to America, was very warmly greeted by the people. Notwithstanding his prominent connection with the events whose history we have traced, and in spite of the comparative failure ol his mission to England, he retained the friendship and appreciation of influential men at the British court, and was, in 1738, appointed colonial governor of …

He was the father of Colonel Lewis Morris, the signer of the Declaration of Independence; of the still more noted statesman, Gouverneur Morris; of Judge Richard Morris, successor to John Jay as chief justice of the Supreme Court of New York State; and of General Staats Long Morris, of the British army. Lewis Morris, Jr., third proprietor and second lord of the Morris estates in Westchester County,…

When the great popular issue arose in 1733 on the Van Dam salary question he was a zealous supporter of his father's cause. Cosby, in his denunciatory communications to the Lords of Trade respecting the attitude of Chief Justice Morris, speaks with savage resentment of the son also, who, he says, having "got himself elected an assemblyman for a borough, gave all the opposition he could to the meas…

He related how Morris and his son, Van Dam, Smith, and Alexander had by their long-continued acts " wrought the people to a pitch of rebellion." " These are the men," he said, " who declaim against the king's prerogative, who poison the minds of the people, who libel the governor and all in authority in weekly printed papers, and who have endeavored to distress the governor in his just administrat…

" It is my wish," he says, " that my son Gouverneur shall have the best education that can be furnished him in England or America, but my express will and directions are that under no circumstances shall he be sent to the Colony of Connecticut for that purpose, lest in his youth he should imbibe that low craft and cunning so incident to the people of that country, and which are so interwoven in th…

In 1740 the people of Bogt(m were rtivi(led in opinion llpon the ques,. . ., ,, . „. . , ,, , . lion of the erection of a new Central Market of New was a native of our Town named, Rochelle, whence he went to Boston in the year 1720, at the age of eighteen. His uncle Andrew was a wealthy merchant of that city, bltter fee,mg was aroused. Hal1' and mneh Thereupon, Peter Faneuil, actuated by public …

By him the whole manor was transmitted at his death in 1751 to his eldest son, the third Frederick, who continued in possession of it until the Revolution. When tin- first Frederick Philipse died, the manor had been in existence only nine years. But he had previously devoted many years to the purchase of the estate and its gradual preparation for aristocratic pretensions, had built two mansions, o…

every personal and local name, of its four great registers of members, consistorymen, baptisms, published a little book entitled, " First Record an(J marriageSi from its organization to the Cook of the Old Dutch Church of Sleepy Hoieighteenth century. Translated and low, Organized in 1697, and now the First Reorig- copied from the original, and carefully proofN. Y. Anmatter. formed Church islatio…

It is unquestionable that the first lord of the manor laid substantial foundations for its development and transmitted it to his successors in a condition At the census of reasonably good preparedness for rapid progress. of 1712, only ten years after his death, the population of Philipseburgh Manor was 60S-- more than one-fifth of the whole population of the county. All of the first Frederick's ch…

Adolph was his second son and Frederick his grandson -- the only child of his eldest son, Philip, who died on the Island of Barbadoes in 1700. Adolph Phiiipse was born in New York City, November 15, 1065. He was reared to mercantile pursuits, and according to all accounts was, like his father, a shrewd and successful man of affairs. From old official documents it appears that he was his father's t…

In a memorable report of the British Board of Trade, October 19, 1698, on the connections subsisting between the New York merchants and the pirates, the operations of the clever Adolph in one instance are explicitly described. A ship or sloop called the " Frederick," belonging to Frederick Philipse, at that time " one of his Majesty's Council of New York," was, " upon expectation of a vessel from …

There the said sloop delivered some small part of East India cargo, and from thence, by his direction, sayled with the rest (North about Scotland) to Hamburgh, where some seizure5 having been made by Sir Paul Ricaut (His Majesty's Resident there), and the men sent hither (London), they have each of them severally made depositions relating to that matter before Sir Charles Hedges, Judge of the Admi…

Adolph Philipse in the year before this episode of the wt Frederick " had become on his own account one of the principal land owners of the province. On the 17th of June, 1697, Governor Fletcher granted to him a patent (known historically as "The Great Highland Patent") for the territory immediately above Westchester County, running from the Hudson to the Connecticut line, a distance of some twent…

Blake in his " History of Putnam County," were confiscated by the legislature, but the reversionary interest was not affected by this action, and that interest was purchased of the heirs for $100,000 by the first John Jacob Astor, who ten years afterward received for it from the State of New York $500,000 in State stock at six per cent. After the death of his father, Adolph became the head of the …

He occupied the speaker's chair until 1737, when he lost his seat; but at an election held soon afterward to till a vacancy from the city he was once more returned, although, it was charged, only by means of the "most barefaced villany " practiced in his behalf by the sheriff. He was again chosen speaker in 1739, and remained as such until 1745, when, at the age of eighty, his legislative career w…

In 1727 we find Governor Burnet bitterly complaining to the Lords of Trade about some " extraordinary resolves " concerning the Court of Chancery, "which," he says, "was all done at the suggestion their speaker, who had lately lost a cause in chancery." Philipse,of he continues, had "the least reason of any man to disown the Court of Chancery, for he himself was a member of council when that court…

Adolph Philipse, moreover, was never an intense partisan; and his long-continued service as speaker of the assembly is sufficient testimony to the general fairness and acceptability of his political disposition. He always adhered to the simple religious faith in which he had been brought up, that of the Dutch Reformed Church, although the Church of England increasingly claimed the attachment of th…

His grandfather, who was still living, thereupon sold the Barbadoes property, and the boy was sent to England to be reared by his mother's people. There he remained until his early manhood, enjoying every educational and social advantage which wealth and distinguished connections could give. Although from these associations he derived marked aristocratic predilections, which, in turn, were inbred …

To the west the greensward sloped gradually toward the river, dotted with fine specimens of ornamental trees, and was emparked and stocked with deer. The roof of the manor house was surmounted by a heavy line of balustrade, forming a terrace, which commanded an extensive view. The interior of the new part was elaborately finished. The walls were wainscoted, and the ceilings highly ornamented in ar…

During the first few years of his residence on his estate he took no part in public life. But from the time of his first election to the assembly, in 1726, until his death, in 1751, he was constantly in official position. His career in the assembly was not specially noteworthy. Despite the rivalry of the Morrises, who stood for political views radically opposed to his own, his seat in the assembly…

It is related in Governor Cosby 's official letter to the home government concerning Morris's famous decision that Justice Philipse, in common with Justice de Lancey, heard k' with astonishment "the abrupt declaration by the chief justice that the Court of Chancery was not a legal tribunal; and this no doubt was a quite faithful representation of his mental attitude on that trying occasion. Whatev…

Adolph, that he enjoyed possession of the whole property -- he ruled with much appreciation of his proprietary dignity and correspondingobservance of ceremony, but to the uniform satisfaction of his tenants, lie displayed none of the puffed-up characteristics of the parvenue lord, but was kind, approachable, moderate, and good to the poor. He presided in person over the manorial court. The inhabit…

Joseph Bebits, and sometimes in a barn when empty." That this unsatisfactory condition of things was permitted by the second lord to continue throughout his lifetime, although meanwhile he made the most elaborate expenditures upon his manorial mansion and grounds, must be set down positively to his discredit. When, finally, by his will he directed his executors to expend £4(10 for the erection of …

HISTORY OF westchestp:r county property as one of the great family estates of Westchester County, and thus Scarsdale never ranked with the other manors. It was preserved intact, however, under the joint proprietorship of Heathcote's two daughters, until just before the Revolution, when its lands were disposed of to various persons by partition sale. Its progress in population, although wry slow a…

The de Lancey family of the county, descended in part from him and in part from his brother Peter, is one to which uncommon historical interest attaches. His father, Stephen de Lancey, a descendant in the Huguenot bianch of an ancient and noble French house, fled from France after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes, and in 16SG arrived in New York with a capital of £300. Embarking in mercantile…

Whatever may have been the determining reasons for his support of Governor Cosby ARISTOCRATIC FAMILIES and antagonism of Chief Justice Morris in the Van Dam ease, he unhesitatingly followed to its logical conclusion the course that he adopted upon that occasion. Of a very proud nature, he deeply resented the assumption by the other side of superior virtue and superior regard for liberty and law…

Although the quarrel resulted in the dismissal of Morris and his own appointment to the vacated office, he had to suffer for two years the humiliation of extreme unpopularity and of utter failure to compel acceptation for his official orders and rulings in the further developments of the controversy. The grand jury, despite his strenuous and repeated application, refused to indict Zenger, and on t…

During the administration of the royal GovernorClinton, father of Sir Henry Clinton, he severed his connections with the "court party" and was consequently regarded with scant favor by the executive and his adherents. He was appointed to the office of lieutenant-governor by the proper authority in England, but Clinton revengefully withheld the commission for six years, delivering it to him only up…

James was prominent politically after his father's death until the devolution, and then became a Tory; he married a daughter of Chief Justice William Allen, of Pennsylvania; two of his sons were officers in the British military and naval service. Stephen received from his father as a gift what is now the Town of North Salem in this county (which came to the elder de Lancey as his share in the Mano…

He married Elizabeth, daughter of Governor Cadwallader Colden. Among his children were John, who sat in the assembly for Westchester Borough from 1708 to 1775, and Avas high sheriff of the county in 1709-70; James, high sheriff from 1770 to 1777, the famous colonel of the Westchester Light Horse (British), who after the Revolution lived and died a refugee in Nova Scotia; and Oliver, of West Farms,…

Livingjhris own Tcnan againft him, in which they fo far ithin a few Years held Lands as Tenants under, fiicceeded, that feveral Perfons, < ind paid their Rents to him, now keep Poffeffion of the Lands Dclance of, and fet up a pretended Right againft him, under e Government of the Majfachufetts Bay, and the aforementioned Ind iPurchafe; by which illegal Proceedings, fupportcd with Orce, the Courfe …

IN Ord< ^therefore to put a Stop as much cay be to P'ocs«ding», the Confcdfcnces whereof have already been fatal to fome, and winch if not timely prevented, may ft ill be produi?nve of the worfi Evd3 to *>Jep ; and to efhblifh and keep up Peace and a good Und (landing among the Borderefs, till Cor.troverfy Hereby ihall beinft,|ed in a legal Courfcnrictly : I HAVE > maieity siNsme, enjoiningthought…

Reel, and all and cv y of their Affociates, who fliali appear to nave been aiding or alettii the faid Offenders in the Riot aforefaid ; and them and i f of them to keep, or caufe to be committed, in fife Cufody, in that iWnty Goal, until delivered by due Courfe of Law : And ' ke Manner, to apprehend and fceep in fafe Cuftody all and every . rerfon and Perfons who (hall hereafter be guilty i th rio…

Another brother of Governor de Lancey, Oliver, was a conspicuous figure in public life until the end of the colonial regime, although never connected with Westchester County. In the Revolution he was the British commander of the Department of Long Island, and raised three regiments, known as " De Laneey's Battalion;' of which he was brigadier-general. His descendants contracted brilliant marriages…

The Manor of Cortlandt, devised by Stephanus Van Cortlandt at his death, in 1700, to his eleven surviving children in equal shares (except that his eldest son, Johannes, received, in addition to his equal portion, what is now Verplanck's Point on the Hudson, a tract of some twenty-five hundred acres), remained undivided for many years. The family was a very united one. The widow of Stephanus, Gert…

By articles of agreement entered into by the Van Cortlandt heirs in November, 1730, Philip Verplanck was appointed to survey and lay out the manor into thirty lots. This commission was duly executed, although Verplanck's survey was confined to the portion of the manor north of the Croton River. The lots were soon afterward conveyed to the several parties in interest by partition deeds, appraisals …

Thus in 1733 all of Westchester County north of the Croton River, and between that stream and the Connecticut line, having an aggregate area of over seventy-five thousand acres, was appraised for the paltry sum of $48,000. This territory now includes the Towns of Cortlandt, Yorktown, Sinners, North Salem, Lewisboro, and a portion of Pouudridge, whose combined taxable value amounts to not a few mil…

The whole tract was laid out into farms, rectangular in shape, of two hundred acres each as a rule. These were leased for lung terms of years at low rents, the highest not being more than £10 and the lowest about £2 or £3. The rent rolls and map showed the farms, which were all numbered, the tenants' names, and the rent payable by each. It was always understood that the tenants might buy " the soi…

Notwithstanding the complete partition of the estate, the " Lordship and Mannour " of Cortlandt, as erected by letters patent front Governor Fletcher in 1697, did not in any respect lose iis original identity or the peculiar privileges bestowed upon it by the terms of that grant. It continued to be a distinct political division, and, indeed, was separated front the remainder of Westchester County …

In 1750, on account of increasing population, the election of two constables was authorized -- one for the portion of the manor near the Hudson River and the other for the interior sections. In L708 the number of constables was increased to three. Ryck's Patent (Peekskill) acquired in 1770 the privilege of choosing its own local officers independently of the manor, although the inhabitants of this…

But this second Philip, preferring a military life, entered the British army, in which he had a long career, fighting against American freedom in the Revolution.1 His uncle Pierre (youngest son of the first Philip and grandson of Stephanas) ultimately became the leading member of the Van Cortlandt family resident on the manor. Pierre Van Cortlandt's is one of the great names of Westchester County,…

Not an old man, ami yet arrived at an age of gravity; not a politician in the common sense, but well experienced in public affairs and having a reputation for great judiciousness and virtuous love of truth and right; the head of a family as reputable and as highly and widely connected as any in the province, his example was of inestimable moral value to a cause which, in this county at least, had …

At the termination of the war, he went to England to reside, and died at Hailsham, in 1S14. He had twenty-three children, twelve of whom reached maturity, the sons all attaining high rank in the British army and the daughters marrying into the best English and Scotch families. The present Lord Elphinstone, one of the Queen's lords in waiting, is a greatgrandson of Colonel Van Cortlandt. Of the Eng…

He died in the manor house on the 1st of May, 1S14, being aged more than ninetythree years. He lies buried in the cemetery of the Van Cortlandts. The following is the inscription on his tomb: " Mark the perfect man and behold the upright ; for the end of that man is peace." In memory of the Honorable Pierre Van Cortlandt, late Lieutenant-Governor of the State of New York, and President of the Conv…

Jacobus purchased from his father-in-law, Philipse, in 1G99, fifty acres, to which he later added several hundred acres more. He promptly began to improve his estate. About 1700 he dammed Tippet's Brook, thus creating the present Van Cortlandt Lake; and probably not long afterward he erected below the dam the Van Cortlandt mill, which until as recent a date as 1889 (when it came into the possessio…

It is unpretentious in appearance, yet possessing- a stateliness all its own, which grows upon the visitor. It was erected in 1748 by Frederick Van Cortlandt -- a stone on the southwest corner bears the date -- and possesses within and without many peculiarities of the last century. . . . The style of architecture of the house is essentially Dutch. The old Dutch builders were thorough masters of t…

Though an undoubted patriot, and resident within the British lines, ho was not disturbed by the enemy in his possessions, and, indeed, so great was the respect in which his character was hold, was able frequently to exercise powerful influence with the British authorities in New York in behalf of his distressed countrymen. lie died in 1800 without issue, whereupon the "•Little Yonkers" estate pass…

However, the manor was preserved as such until the death of the last " lord," Joseph Pell, in 1776; and the Pells in their various branches were always a numerous and respectable family, contracting advantageous marital alliances in both the male and female lines. The principal person of the Pell name in later colonial and Revolutionary times was Philip Pell, a conscientious, able, and prominent p…

From Thomas Cornell the estate passed successively to his widow, to his two daughters, Sarah ami Rebecca, aiid to his grandson, William Willett, son of his eldest daughter, Sarah, by her first husband, Thomas Willett. William Willett (born 1644) ir, 1667 obtained from the first English governor, Nicolls, a new patent to Cornell's Neck. He made his abode there, apparently, soon afterward, ami lived…

We have seen thoroughly He was in a previous chapter that when the great issue of the abuse of the governor's prerogative arose, and a test of popular sentiment was instituted by causing the deposed Chief Justice Morris to stand for the assembly, William Willett resigned his seat in that body to afford opportunity for the desired test; and also that he was one of the most zealous of Morris's parti…

jpB^SfHE theory and practice of colonial self-government were of •%|M*i no sudden development in the Province of New York. Still Jtg^jl;, iess were they the result of mere observation and imitation ' of bold examples set by the people of other British colonies in America. In the earliest days of English rule, the people of New York were not only ready for any measure of self-government that might …

The liberty-desiring people of the province harbored no kindly feeling for James as proprietor or James as sovereign, and when the news arrived of the Revolution of 1688 and the accession under liberal auspices of William, Prince of Orange, they hailed it with joy, treated James's lieutenant-governor, Nicholson, with scant courtesy, and finally expelled him from his post and organized a temporary …

Regarding the existing government of the City of New York as unadapted to the changed order of things, they did not, however, presume to reorganize it by the use of appointive powers, but ordeal a popular election for the choice of a new mayor and aldermen. The spirit and transactions of the Leisler period afford convincing evidence of the very early preparedness of the people of New York for poli…

It was in practice wholly subservient to the governor, since its members were appointable and removable by the home government in England, subject singly to his recommendation. By the entire absence of a ki government of the day," executive power was concentrated in the hands of the governor, who, unless a man of exceptionally virtuous and moderate character (which seldom happened), was therefore …

The result was that, instead of being a co-operative factor in the business of managing the province, it held itself in an attitude of confirmed reserve toward the executive It was a substantial repetition of the feud between the parliament and the king, with the difference that, while that unhappy feud in the mother country endured for only a brief comparative period, its simulacrum in New York c…

To such a pitch had the resolute spirit of the colonists readied after sixty years of representative government, that upon the arrival of the royal Governor Osborn, in 1753, he was greeted by the city corporation with an address in which was expressed the significant expectation that lie would be as "averse from countenancing as we from brooking any infringements of our inestimable liberties.'' It…

A tragical episode of another kind, the " battle of Golden Hill," New York City (January 19 and 20, 1770), resulting in the shedding of the hrst blood of the Revolution, is directly traceable to the grim policy of the New York provincial assembly in relation to money grants. The assembly had persistently refused to provide certain articles, such as beer and cider, for the use of the British garris…

The provincial assembly of New York was always entirely loyal to the king in its professions, and also in its true spirit; and even to the last days of its last session, when the clouds of war were about to spread over the land, was averse from being otherwise regarded. It was a relatively small legislative body, never having more than thirty members; and it uniformly contained a large proportiona…

In the vacillating record of the assembly i> certainly to be found the explanation of the general impression which has always existed and probably never will be quite removed, that New York was comparatively a conservative and reluctant factor in the movement of the thirteen colonies for independence-- an impression which is most unjust, not to be encouraged for a moment by any historical student …

Writing on the 21st of February, 1770, soon after the Golden Hill conflict, he said: ,( The persons who appear on these occasions are of inferior rank, but it is not doubted that they are directed by some persons of distinction in this place. It is likewise thought they are encouraged bysome persons of note1 in England. They consist chiefly of dissenters, who are very numerous, especially in the c…

Governor Colden's enumeration of the Lutherans, the old Dutch, and "several Presbyterians" among the "friends of government" is merely a recognition that Toryism did not wholly depend for support upon the aristocratic church. The Lutherans, or Germans, and the "old Dutch," belonging to an alien race, deliberate, slow, easily satisfied with moderately free institutions, accustomed by all their trad…

In earlier times the name "Presbyterians" was generic for all who were not of the "Court" party-- that is, for all who arrayed themselves politically against the " Episcopalian," or arrogant ruling, class-- the Church of England having been the institution of those who cherished peculiarly their British breeding and antecedents, holding themselves as a superior society amid a mixed citizenship of …

With all their boasts of superiority, the Tories of New York have left few names remarkable for anything more meritorious than proud faithfulness to the British monarchy, which faithfulness, moreover -- as, for example, in the lamentable case of our Frederick Philipse, -- was p r o m p t e d quite as often by miscalculating conceptions of the chances of the war as by nervous scorn for sordid selfi…

The colonists had cheerfully borne their part in the great achievement, and, if properly appealed to, would have discharged as cheerfully their share of the resulting indebtedness. But the British government had grown weary of submitting to the caprices of the colonial assemblies inthe matter of money grants, and, in looking to America after the close of the war for financial assistance on a subst…

Finally, the colonies were to be taxed directly by parliament, through the medium of stamped paper, whose use was to be obligatory in all mercantile transactions, and even for marriage licenses. And as a means for compelling acquiescence in the new regulations a standing army of ten thousand men Avas to be sent over and quartered on the Americans, who were required to pay toward its maintenance so…

Communications on the subject were exchanged by the various colonial assemblies; ami it was decided to hold a general congress of the colonies to discuss the matter and to take steps for united action. This body came together on October 7 in the assembly chamber of the city hall in New York, twenty-eight delegates being in attendance, representing nine of the thirteen colonies. EVENTS The delegat…

But the most powerful weapon used by the inhabitants of New York against the Stamp Act was the celebrated "Non-Importation Agreement." This was adopted on the evening of October 31, 17C>.>, by some two hundred New York merchants, at a meeting held in Burns's coffee house. They pledged themselves to import no goods from England until the Stamp Act should be repealed. The merchants of Philadelphia …

The king's birthday, the 4th of June, was made the occasion of a grand celebration, one of whose incidents was the erection of a This organliberty pole under the auspices of the Sons of Liberty. ization was a secret confraternity of the more radical element of It appears the people, with ramifications throughout the colonies. at the time of the taking effect of the to have been full Hedged Stamp A…

Then, in the spring of 17(59. the merchants of New York again met and formulated a second Non-Importation Agreement, under which no English goods, with but few exceptions, were to be purchased so long as the duties should remain in force. The mercantile communities of Philadelphia and Boston were somewhat tardy in assenting to this instrument, but by the fall they gave in their adhesion. Again the…

Finally, in 1773, the British cabinet attempted a master stroke. They rescinded the large export duty taxed on tea leaving British ports, retaining, however, the small import duty of three pence per pound on American importations of the article. The Boston Tea Party occurred on the 16th of December, 1773. Up to that date no tea had arrived at New York, but more than a month previously careful arra…

News of the proceedings reached New York on the 12th of May. It was instantly recognized that a like fate was undoubtedly in store for New York, and accordingly a great meeting was held, under the joint auspices of the Sons of Liberty and the more dignified classes of the community, presided over by Isaac Low, a prominent merchant, a leading member of the Church of England, and, although a sympath…

Dawson regards it as scandalously improbable that the honest, discreef, humble, and virtuous inhabitants of this strictly rural county, fearing Cod ami loving their lawful king, could have had anything in common with the greedy, smuggling merchants and unblushing political deina1 Although this performance of Dawson's is very elaborate, ii is really Inn a fragment, terminating with tin- battle of W…

"Such a community as that which constituted the County of Westchester," says lie, "a community of well-situated, intelligent, and well-to-do farmers, diligently and discreetly attending to its own affairs, without the disturbing influences of any village or county coterie, has generally been distinguished for its rigid conservatism in all its relations; and such a community has always been more in…

Dawson's reputation as a minute and entirely well-meaning historical writer -- a reputation appreciated especially by his many surviving friends in Westchester County, -- his study of our Revolutionary period can not, in a work on the general history of the county, escape the passing criticism which its spirit merits, as, on the other hand, the abundant historical data that we owe to his researche…

represented in the assembly, for longer or briefer periods, by Colonel Frederick Philipse (3d), Peter de Lancey and John, his brother, Judge John Thomas, Philip Verplanck, Pierre Van Cortlandt, Isaac Wilkins, and Colonel Lewis Morris (3d). Philipse and Thomas served continuously throughout that period, both sitting for the county. Van Cortlandt succeeded Verplanck as member from Cortlandt Manor. M…

Judge Thomas was a very prominent citizen of Rye, and one of the most consistent and valuable advocates of independence, dying a martyr to the cause in a prison in New York City in 1777. Isaac Wilkins, of Castle Hill Neck, in the Borough of Westchester, was ;i brother-in-law of Lewis and Couverneur Morris, but was on the opposite side politically. He was one of the leaders of the conservative forc…

In the historic assembly of 1775, when the issues for and against aggressive resistance to England were sharply drawn, Westchester County's representatives were Van Cortlandt, Thomas, Philipse, and Wilkins. It is thus seen that, as concerns representation in the assembly, the opposing parties of liberty and loyalty were exactly balanced in this county. On the one side were Pierre Van Cortlandt ami…

Van Cortlandt was in all respects a match for Philipse and the de Lanceys, to whatever elevation of ISAAC WILKIN!: dignity or social importance they pretended; and it was his personality which gj to the Revolutionary movement in Westchester County a far different aspect than that of a mere propaganda of agitators. His support of the cause stamped it necessarily as one demanding Hie most respectful…

They all proceeded to one Van Cortof the highest points on the estate, and, pausing, Tryon announced to the listening landt the great favors that would be granted to him if he would espouse the royal cause and added to be would land of grants Large give his adhesion to the king and the parliament. his estate, and Tryon hinted that a title might be bestowed. Van Cortlandt answered that approbation …

On the afternoon of Tuesday, the 17th of May, Paul Revere passed through Westchester County, along the old Boston Post Road, bearing dispatches from the Boston citizens to their brethren in New York and Philadelphia. New York responded immediately with a recommendation for a new colonial congress, which was adopted. The people of New York City on July 4 elected as delegates to that body Philip Liv…

He lived with his parents throughout his childhood and youth in the homestead at Rye -- " a long, low building, but one room deep and eighty feet wide, having attained this size to meet the wants of a numerous family." He was educated at King's College (now Columbia), taking the bachelor of arts degree in 1764, and, after being admitted to the bar, entered upon a professional career in which he so…

A subcom it e oflive (John Jay being one of its members) was appointed on the 30th of May " to write a circular letter to the supervisors in the different counties, acquainting them of the appointment of this committee, and submitting To the consideration of the inhabitants of the counties whether it could not be expedient for them to appoint persons to correspond with this committee "upon matters…

tion of the election of delegates to the approaching congress by the City and County of New York, and requested the other counties either to appoint additional delegates of their own or to signify their willingness that the delegates already chosen in the city should act for them also, on the understanding that whatever number of representatives should appear from this province at the congress the…

Upon this point the Rye people said: "That they think it their greatest happiness to live under the illustrious House of Hanover; and that they will steadfastly and uniformly bear true and faithful allegiance to His Majesty, King George the Third, under the enjoyment of their constitutional rights and privileges as fellow-subjects with those of England." And the W'estchester citizens declared: " T…

There was no dissident element in the convention, and by unanimous consent the live men previously elected by the people of New York City as delegates to the general congress were accepted as delegates for the County of Westchester likewise. The general congress of the colonies, the first held since the Stamp Act congress of 1765, assembled in Philadelphia on the 5th of September, 1774, and contin…

It is an emphatic protest against the agitation of the period, as follows: We, the subscribers, Freeholders and Inhabitants of the Town of Rye, in the Comity of Westchester, being much concerned with the unhappy situation of public affairs, think it onr Duty to our King and Country, to Declare that we have not been concerned in any Resolutions entered into or measures taken, with regard to the Dis…

Evidently some local pressure hostile to the Thomas interest was brought to bear upon the conservative element of the Rye people; and evidently, also, not a few of the signers had been overpersuaded, for in Rivington's next issue appears a humble disclaimer, signed by fifteen of them, who say that, after mature deliberation, they are fully convinced that in indorsing the former paper they " acted …

was destined to be the last session of the general assembly of the Province of New York convened on the 10th of January, 1775, in New York City. Although the general aspect of affairs had undergone no improvement siuce the adjournment of the Philadelphia congress-- and, indeed, the tendency had been toward a further estrangement from Great Britain, especially through the operation of the "Associat…

But the house framed and passed a state of grievances, petition to the king, memorial to the lords, and representation or remonstrance to the commons, to which little or no exception could reasonably be taken. These papers were respectful, but comprehensive and firm, and did honor to the leaders of the majority. The complaint made against the assembly of 1775 was not on the score of its positive t…

The committee decided that the delegates should be chosen this time not by the individual counties in an independent capacity, but by a provincial convention; and such a convention was called for the 20th of April, the counties being severally requested to send representatives to it. Circular letters to this end were dispatched under date of March 16. There was at that time no committee existing i…

There was more than a suspicion that this had been done deliberately, though insidiously, in 1774, when Frederick Philipse, the head and front of the conservatives, had been chosen chairman of the county convention, and that representative body, the first of its kind to meet in the county, had adjourned without adopting any aggressive resolutions or appointing a committee of correspondence to co-o…

A call was issued for a general meeting of freeholders of the county, to be held in the court house at White Plains on Tuesday, the 11th of April, a n d communications were sent to represenTHE TIII1!I> KKFbKRIt'K I'll I LII'SK. tative persons in every locality, requesting them to give notice to all the freeholders, without exception, " as those who do not appear and vote on that day will be presum…

It is very significant that, while the White Plains call appealed only to the freeholders -- that is, to the legally qualified voters exclusively,-- the counter-address comprehended the "inhabitants" as well. As a body, the tenant farmers of the Manor of Philipseburgh were not freeholders, but only non-voting "inhabitants"; and of course it would never do, in the coming struggle of the factions, t…

The supporters of the announced business of the day made their headquarters at the tavern kept by Isaac Oakley, and the " friends of government " at the establishment of Captain Hatfield. About noon the former party proceeded to the court house, and, without waiting for the appearance of their friends of the other side, organized a meeting and elected Colonel Lewis Morris chairman. Soon after the …

came the authority that had summoned them hither; but that they ngs, proceedi ly disorder such all against protest to only with a design and conand to show their detestation of all unlawful committees ions oresses » They then, according to the account of their transact detertheir declared " press, which their leaders furnished to the mined resolution to continue steadfast in their allegiance to th…

Notwithstanding tives conserva organization of the meeting by the Morris party, the to their will could, of course, have made its proceedings conformable retire with Their preference to if they had been in the majority. into a mere nothing more than a protest, and convert themselves discretion. rump was an act either of political petulance or studied apprecause good with were they that is on The r…

Cortlan landt of the Manor of y of ing thanks to " the virtuous minority of the general assembl CortVan Pierre and Thomas this province, and particularly to John attachment landt, Esquires, two of our representatives, for their firm of the union of to and zeal for. on a late occasion, the preservation and also thankthe colonies and the rights and liberties of America/ the essential in- " the deleg…

Ious?namely, a bounty of twelve dollars, an annual and fully fufficient ample ration of provifions, together with sixty dollars a yeaT in gold lay up for himfelf and friends, as all articles proper for his fubfiftance and kove, will have an opportunity of hearing and feeing in a more particular in viewing the [embrace this opportunity of fpendino* a few happy years in view""return liable character…

Samuel Seabury and Luke Babcock, Judges Jonathan Fowler and Caleb Fowler, and several other prominent persons, including Mayor Nathaniel Underbill, of the Borough of Westchester, and Philip Pell, of Pelham Manor. The patriotic meeting at White Plains was conducted with perfect decorum, and, in spite of the aggressive speech of Mr. Wilkins against "disorderly proceedings" and "unlawful committees a…

In this statement, which appeared in Rivington's paper on the 20th of April, the day after the battle of Lexington, it was charged that the meeting held at the court house had, by assuming (o represent the true sentiment of Westchester County, imposed upon the world and insulted the "loyal County of Westchester" in a most barefaced manner"; that it was "the act of a few individuals unlawfully asse…

To give the appearance of dignity to these curious and very orderly protestors, the author has been very mindful to annex every man's addition to his name, upon a. presumption perhaps that it would derive weight from the title of Mayor, Esquire, Captain, Lieutenant, Judge, etc. But it is not easy to conceive why the publisher should be less civil to the clergy than to Samuel Seabury ami Luke Babco…

Luke Babcock, who preaches and prays for Colonel Philipse and his tenants at Philipseburgh." Tn his analysis of the signers of the protest he showed that no fewer than one hundred and seventy of the three hundred and twelve were persons not possessing the least pretensions to a vote, many of them being lads under age; while of the one hundred and forty-two who were freeholders many held lands at t…

Among the recanters was Jonathan Fowler, one of the judges of the Court of Common Pleas of the county, who, in a published card, declared that " upon mature deliberation and more full knowledge of the matter" he had come to the conclusion that the sentiments expressed in the protest were "not only injurious to our present cause, but likewise offensive to our fellow-colonists, " and therefore repud…

Spread from mouth to mouth throughout the county, it everywhere intensified the passions which had been stirred by the local political events of the previous few weeks. Already incensed at the arrogant bearing of the conservative party, which had just been freshly illustrated by the injudicious narrative of the proceedings at White Plains that the leaders of that party had inserted in the New York…

And that the Senfe of the Freeholders and Freemen of this City and County, upon this Subject, may be better procured and afcertained, the Committee are further unanimoufly of Opinion, That the Polls be tzken on Friday Morning next, at 51 o'clock, at the ufual Places cf -Election in each Ward, under the Infpection of the two Vestrymen of each Ward, ar.d two of this Committee, or any two of the four…

And that a Letter be forthwith prepared and difpatchedto all the Counties, requeuing them to unite with us in forming a Provincial Cong-cfs, and to appoint their Deputies withoutDclay^ to meet at New-York, en Monday the 22 d of May next. By Order cf the Committee, ISAAC LOW, Chairman, FACSIMILE YORK COMMITTEE CIRCULAR AFTER BATTLE LEXINGTON". jority in the provincial assembly, yielded its…

Although a provincial convention had just been held, and a continental congress was about to meet, it was decided to summon a provincial congress; and a call was promptly issued for such a body to meet in New York City on the 22d of May and "deliberate upon and from time to time to direct such measures as may be expedient for our common safety." In the circular sent to the counties the gravity of …

Robert Graham, Colonel Lewis Graham, and Colonel James Van Cortlandt, all of the Town of Westchester; Stephen Ward and Joseph Drake, of Eastchester; Major Philip Van Cortlandt, of Cortlandt Manor; Colonel James Holmes, of Bedford; John Thomas, Jr., of Rye; David Dayton, of North Castle; and William Paulding, of Philipseburgh Manor. It is noteworthy that among the results of this White Plains meeti…

He immediately espoused the cause of the anti-government party, although identifying himself, like Jay, with its more moderate advocates; and it was not until the die had been cast by the introduction of the Declaration of Independence in the continental congress that he took a pronounced position in support of radical doctrines. As a delegate from Westchester County to the provincial congress of …

There he resided during the closing years of his life, and died on the Kith of November, 1816. Jonathan G. Tompkins,1 of Scarsdale, the lather of Governor and Vice-President Daniel I>. Tompkins, was a prominent Westchester County figure throughout the Revolution and for many years after. His ancestors emigrated from the north of England to MassachuJusl dale from Westchtster Town. One of the fa…

When the New York provincial congress assembled on the 22d of May, the programme of revolution had already been well marked out. This provincial body was equal to the emergency, being fully controlled by the patriotic element, although well balanced in its membership. Itentered at once upon the serious business of the hour. By the election of Peter Van Brugh Livingston, an extremist, as its presid…

The British garrison in New York had given little trouble to the populace since the Golden Hill affray of January, 1770. During its brief stay in the city after the battle of Lexington it was not reenforced. Although as yet no armed body of colonists had arisen to threaten the British soldiers, it was perfectly understood that the people, and not the garrison, were masters of the local situation, …

Indeed, as early as the 4th of May the New York City committee ordered " that Captain Sears, Captain Randall, and Captain Fleming be a committee to procure proper judges to go and view the ground at or near Kingsbridge, and report to this committee, with all convenient speed, whether it will answer for the purposes intended by it." Thus the very first warlike measure determined upon in this portio…

At the corner of Broad and Beaver Streets a single citizen, Marinus Willett by name, emerged from the crowd, seized the horse of the leadingvehicle by the bridle, and commanded the driver to turn back. An altercation now ensued, several prominent gentlemen expressing their opinions -- among them Gouverneur Morris, who, consistently with the pacific attitude that he had taken, deprecated Willett's …

History records that one of the men deserted in response to this appeal. In all the preliminary events of the devolution there is no more dramatic episode than this exploit of Marinas Willett. It is typical of the whole course of the people of New York from the earliest period of the troubles with the mother country -- a course of unfaltering aggression, taking no thought of consequences. Willett …

HISTORY WESTCHESTER COUNTY That a post be also taken in the Highlands, on each side of Hudson's River, and batteries erected in such a manner as will most effectually prevent any vessels passing that may be sent to harass the inhabitants on the borders of said river ; and that experienced persons be immediately sent to examine said river, in order to discover where it will be most advisable and…

In addition to its function as a citadel at the northern end of Manhattan Island, Fort Washington covered the passage up the Hudson River, to which end Fort Lee, erected about the same time directly opposite on the New Jersey bank, also contributed. The committee having iu charge the matter of advising as to fortifying both banks of the Hudson in the neighborhood of the Highlands and obstructing t…

Of the various Revolutionary fortresses in the Highlands and that section, West Point was built last. In addition to its particular recommendations respecting Kingsbridge, the Highlands, and the Hudson, the continental congress advised New York to have its militia thoroughly armed and trained, and placed in "constant readiness to act at a moment's warning"; and, as a final matter, the colony was s…

Three of its ten com panics were largely from Westchester County. In the summer of 1775 the provincial congress ordered a complete reorganization of the militia of the colony, and required every member of that body, between the ages of sixteen and fifty, to provide himself with a musket and bayonet, a sword or tomahawk, a cartridgebox to contain twenty-three rounds of cartridges, a knapsack, one p…

These regulations were drastic, and, as they were applied with particular severity in Westchester County, a somewhat detailed notice of i hem is called for. The measure embodying them was adopted on the 2(>th of August. It prohibited the furnishing of provisions or other necessaries, kk contrary to the resolutions of the continental or of this congress," to the ministerial army or navy, as well as…

general was necessaryConsequently to sternly punish abusessafety," of suchit privileges. all persons were prohibited from opposing or denying "the authority of the continental or this congress, or the committee of safety, or the committees of the respective counties, cities, (owns, manors, precincts, or districts in this colony" and from "dissuading any person or persons from obeying the recommend…

It is true that Kings, Queens, Suffolk, and Richmond Counties contained a large Loyalist population -- perhaps as numerous and important, proportionately, as that of Westchester. But with the capture of New York City in the summer of 1776 these island counties came under the complete protection of the British forces, and their Tory inhabitants were consequently exempted from the inquisitorial obse…

The Americans at least seldom burned private mansions or devastated estates, which the British did not fail to do in their raids; and, indeed, the Westchester raids of the British were often exclusively for these j:)recise purposes. Summary arrests by the British in this county of persons not in arms, but deemed obnoxious for political reasons, were also very frequent; and many a Westchester patri…

So far as their individual cases have been traced, documentary evidence has been found showing that at least twenty of the number were duly convicted and cast into prison. A specially interesting case was that of Godfrey Hains, of live, denoun ced by one Eunice Purdy, supposed to have been a revengeful sweetheart, in an affidavit over her mark. Eunice, being sworn " upon the Holy Evangelists of Al…

The ship was wrecked, its cargo was seized by the Revolutionary government, and Hains was again imprisoned, this time in the Ulster County jail, where a strong guard was placed over him, and where, presumably, he languished long enough for his Tory ardor to become cooled. Hains was supposed to have been concerned in a plot to seize the distinguished Judge John Thomas, and other prominent Westchest…

It was particularly feared that British vessels of war would appear on the Westchester shore of the Sound and land marines to carry out concerted local Tory plans. Strong feelinghad been excited in this county by an order of the committee of safety for the general impressment of arms -- that is, the seizure of all fire-pieces belonging to private persons -- on the ground that they were needed for …

Fowler, although he had signed <i recantation of expressed views of a similar character, was still regarded with a good deal of suspicion. The three men were leading representatives of the disaffected classes who wTere giving so much trouble to the Revolutionary committee in Westchester County, and Sears conceived the idea that their simultaneous arrest by means of a dashing expedition would exert…

At the time of the Golden Hill conflict between the citizens and the soldiers, in 1770, he was in the thick of the fray, and, finding himself confronted at one stage of it by a fierce grenadier with a bayonet, with great presence of mind and precision of aim hurled a rani's horn at the unfortunate man, which struck him full in the forehead and put him liors de combat. Wherever there was an affray …

With sixteen mounted and armed men, described by a New Haven newspaper of the day as " respectable citizens of this town," Sears set out on the 20th of November for the avowed purpose of an expeditionto " East and West Chester, in the Province of New Yrork, disarm the principal Tories there and secure the persons of Parsonto Seabury, Judge Fowler, and Lord Underbill." On the way they were joined b…

He had long been displeased with the editorial conduct of Rivington's New York Gazetteer, and he now rode with his remaining men, a troop of about seventy-five, down to the city, "which they entered at noon-day, with bayonets fixed and the greatest regularity, went down the main streets, and drew up in close order before the printing office of the infamous James Rivington.,,1 They completely wreck…

Our nineteenth century Tory historian, Dawson, in his account of this raid, comments with uncontrolled and terrible excitement upon every phase of it, describing Sears as a cowardly, plundering ruffian of the dirtiest water, and his troopers as diabolical banditti, and insists that they returned to Connecticut laden with spoils. Of this there is no evidence whatever. Abundant evidence docs exist t…

neck, where on the 27th of November they were joined by the parent band. The next day the whole party took up their triumphal march to New Haven. They were escorted, says the local newspaper from which we have already quoted, " by a number of gentlemen from the westward, the whole making a grand procession. Upon their entrance into town they were saluted with the discharge of two cannons, and rece…

Farmer " tracts, so peculiarly offensive to the patriotic sentiment of the times; and however that might be he was undeniably a Tory of the most intractable and odious type. It was remembered with great indignation against him that he had refused to open the church at Eastchester on the day appointed for the continental fast. Finally, he was regarded with deep private resentment by Captain Sears, …

During the military campaign of 1776 he was obliged to give accommodation in his house to a company of FROM JANUARY, 1775, JULY 9, 1776 Revolutionary cavalry, who, says Dawson, consumed or destroyed all the products of his glebe. The poor Tory clergyman finally, in desperation, fled with his wife and six children to the British lines. Like Isaac Wilkins, also of the Borough of Westchester, S…

Farmer, and many others to the same purpose, which are replete with i he most impudent falsehoods and the grossest misrepresentations; and that the authors, printers, and abettors of the above and such like publications ought to be esteemed and treated as traitors to their country, and enemies to the liberties of America." A writer in Dawson's Historical Magazine (January, L868) says: "When copies…

the burden of evidence furors the opinion that Wilkins was their author.1 The provincial congress which assembled in May, 1775, continued in session, with several brief recesses, until the 4th of November, when it adjourned sine die. On the 7th of November elections for delegates to a second provincial congress were held in a number of the counties of New York, those in Westchester County occurrin…

During its lifetime the general condition of affairs steadily grew more critical, events of commanding importance transpired, and developments ofportentous significance to the people of New York and Westchester County resulted. In the early part of this period the invasion of Canada by the American troops was brought to a disastrous end before the walls of Quebec,1 but tin1 collapse in that quarte…

If the British had not captured and held New York, it is in every way historically improbable that they could have made even a respectable struggle for 1 The lamented General d M. whose death in this expedition will always be remembered as one of the capital tragedies of the Revolution, was a resident of our county, and seme of the most important associations of the War of Independence cluster aro…

the retention of the colonies, and, indeed, it is not likely that they would have persevered long in the attempt. In the very act of taking New York they all but annihilated the American nation at one blow, missing by a mere chance the capture of Washington's whole army; and thereafter for a dreary period the distinguishing phases of the War of Independence were complete British prestige and almos…

In such an event, or in any other except the mastery of New York, which, with its inevitable consequences, seemed to establish the supremacy of Great Britain beyond the possibility of dispute, the French alliance would have been a matter of months instead of years. After the evacuation of New York by its small British garrison, in •Tune, 177."), the city, although in fact fully controlled by the p…

At Kingsbridge they were divided, by the order of congress, into three parcels, one portion being left there, another sent to Williams's Bridge, and a third to Valentine's Hill, near Kingsbridge.1 "Before the close of the year 1775," says Dawson, whose facts may generally be accepted without question, " between three and four hundred cannon, of all calibers, grades, and conditions, some of them go…

Subsequently, during the military administration of the noted and notorious General Charles Lee in Xew York City, most of the heavy cannon in Fort George and upon the Battery were, in anticipation of the capture of the place by the British, removed to Kingsbridge. These were about two hundred altogether, mostly excellent pieces of artillery. The reply of General Lee to the persons charged with tra…

nental army, was dispatched by Washington to New York in the latter part of January, 177G, with instructions to put the place " in the best posture of defense the season and circumstances will admit of." In his march through Westchester County he caused numerous dwellings to bo entered and searched for arms, which ho appropriated and bore away with him for the good of the cause. Dawson patheticall…

Of this organization it is recorded in an official document that it possessed, when summoned into active duty, no fewer than " four field officers, two captains, thirteen other commissioned officers, and twenty non-commissioned officers " -- a most ridiculous state of things, about which Dawson makes merry as illustrating the abominable propensity to office-holding among the so-called " friends of…

The committee of safety, in its instructions to the recruiting officers charged with enlisting men under this act, prescribed that the pay of privates should be |5 per month, and that each should receive, as a bounty, a felt hat, a pair of yarn stockings, a pair of shoes, and, if they could be procured, a hunting-shirt and a blanket. On the other hand, the men were to furnish their own arms, or, i…

This was the beginning of the well-known Westchester Troop of Horse. About the same time there were various enlistments in the county for the infantry service. Local zeal for the cause continued to manifest itself in the ominous forms of information and arrest, and it was even proposed by some Westchester enthusiasts, who doubtless had acquired thorough experience in that particular line at home, …

No quorum was obtained, however, until the 18th. The delegates from Westchester County were Colonel Pierre Van Cortlandt, Colonel Lewis Graham, Colonel Gilbert Drake, Major Ebenezer Lockwood, Gouverneur Morris, William Paulding, Jonathan G. Tompkins, Samuel Ilavilaml, and Peter Fleming. The third provincial congress was the last of the series to sit in the City of New York, where its sessions came…

One of the first acts of the congress was the appointment of a committee "to consider of the ways and means to prevent the dangers to which this colony is exposed by its intestine enemies." Although the committee was headed by one of the principal conservatives of the province, John Also]), who soon afterward resigned his seat in the continental congress on account of the Declaration of Independen…

In such circumstances, and in view of the crisis of invasion then impending, it is not surprising that the third provincial congress, although comprising in its membership influential men of singularly calm and judicious temperament, who had previously been noted for moderation, was pervaded by a determination to deal summarily wit li all Tories of the dangerous or irreconcilable type. The Alsop r…

The committee was directed to inquire as to their guilt or innocence upon the following points: (1) Whether they had afforded aid or sustenance to the British fleets or armies; (2) whether they had been active in dissuading inhabitants from associating for the defense of the united colonies; (3) whether they had decried the value of the continental money and endeavored to prevent its currency; and…

Richard Morris was a brother of Colonel Lewis Morris, the signer of the Declaration of Independence, and a half-brother of Gonverneur Morris, lie was judge of the colonial Court of Admiralty, but his designation as a possible foe to the Revolutionary programme seems to have been wholly undeserved, lie resigned his crown commission, giving as his reason that he could not conscientiously retain it, …

Who it is that has made such a representation, or upon what particular facts it is founded, as you have not stated them it is impossible for me to imagine ; but, considering my situation and the near and intimate ties and connections which I have in this country, which can be secured and rendered happy to me only by the real and permanent prosperity of America, I should have hoped that suspicions …

This being my real situation, I must request the favour of you to excuse my attendance to-morrow ; but you may rest assured, Gentlemen, that I shall punctually attend, as soon as I can, consistent with my health, flattering myself, in the meantime, that, upon further consideration, you will think that my being a friend to the rights and interests of my native country is a fact so strongly implied …

The lord of Philipseburgh Manor deemed himself well within the bounds of political sagacity in treating the committee with such exact though courteous reserve. The overpowering fleet and army of Great Britain had just arrived, the provincial congress was scurrying out of New York ( V.y, and, indeed, if Frederick Philipse had been so obliging as to journey to the city on that 3d of July conformably…

Philipse to England, and survived him but one year. They are interred in the same churchyard. Charley Philips, son of Angevine, lived for many years on the banks of the Hudson, and wa.s sexton of Saint John's Church (Yonkers) forty-five years. After the Philipse family had left Philipseburgh (1777), John Williams, steward of the manor, had possession of the manor until its confiscation, in 1779." …

The Uniform Rectitude of His conduct commanded the Efteem of others : Whilft the Benevolence of His Heart and Gentleness of His Manners secured their Love. Firmly attached to His Sovereign and the British Constitution, He opposed, at the Hazard of His life, the late Rebellion in North America ; and for this Faithful discharge of His Duty to His King and Country He was Proscribed, and His Estate, o…

In addition to summoning or arresting the various individuals specified in the resolutions to which wo have alluded, the third provincial congress authorized its committee for the detection of conspiracies to summon or apprehend all other persons deemed dangerous or disaffected, and to use for that purpose not merely detachments of the militia, but troops of the continental line, the latter to be …

It will thus be seen how rigid and detailed were the arrangements, upon the eve of the breaking out of the war in the Colony of New York, for com pelling absolute submission everywhere to the will of the Revolutionary authorities, and for visiting swift and condign punishment upon all refractory or sullen spirits. 11 is needless to remark that t here was no relaxation of this severe programme duri…

FLAG OF THE men Who were its controlling members to bring thirteen colonies. its labors promptly to a conclusion, and to have it superseded by a new congress, freshly elected by the people upon the great issue of American independence which was being shaped for ultimate decision at Philadelphia. in anticipation of the Declaration of Independence, the continental congress had, as early as the Kith …

Consequently on the 31st of May action was taken summoning the electors of the various counties to meet at an early date and choose delegates to a fourth provincial congress. Meantime steady progress was being made at Philadelphia toward the definite consideration of the subject of American independence, and some of the New York representatives in the continental congress couceived a strong desire…

It then adopted a series of resolutions whose essential purport was to declare the congress's unwillingness and incapacity to deal with the matter, and 1<> commit it for decision to the people at the forthcoming election The first of these resolutions was for a new provincial congress. an emphatic intimation to the delegates at Philadelphia that they possessed as yet no authority to vote in favor …

FROM JANUARY, 1775, JULY 9, 1776 with independence pending possible final efforts for reconciliation The resolutions embodied, so far as it was posthe mother country. sible for them to do, an absolute prohibition of support of independfurther inence by the New York delegates at Philadelphia until instructi ons No further structions should be dispatched to them. ot ion Declarat the of tion pro…

It can scarcely be questioned that his bold attitude, in which he was joined by the highly respected Philip Livingston, was influential in persuading two of the signers of the communication of June S to in like manner set duty above caution. Particularly apropos to the four courageous delegates from New York, in view of the embarrassing circumstances which compassed them about, is the magnificent …

In June, 177C>, he was appointed by the New York provincial congress brigadier-general of the militia miliof Westchester County, and later he was made major-general of tia. Alwavs devoted to agricultural pursuits, he resumed his favorite avocation as soon as peace was restored. He lived to witness the complete realization of all the patriotic aims and governmental prinmost radical prociples of whi…

It was there that the Declaration of Independence was formally proclaimed, that the name of the State of New York was substituted for the ancient designation of the Province of New York, and that the original steps for the organization of the State machinery were taken. To the lasting regret of all who hold venerable associations dear, the historic court house where these ever-memorable events tra…

Robert Graham, who was supervisor of White Plains from 1769 to 1775. and county the credit of having judge in 1778, White riains fixed upon is the county-seat, having the court house building erected, and having the courts removed there from WestHe gave to the county the site upon ehester irt house was erected. His efwhich t ly seconded by John Thomas, .if forts w< Rye, who was then a member of t…

In the adopted without a dissenting voice: In Convention of the Representatives of the State of New York, White Plains, July 9, 177G. the continental congress '^Jecl^ Resolved, unanimously, That the reasons assigned hyare cogent and conclusive , and that inP- the United Colonies free and independent States le, we approve ruel necessity which has rendered that measure unavoidab Se we ament tl join…

Resolved, That five hundred copies of the Declaration of Independence, with the two last-mentioned resolutions of this congress for approving and proclaiming the same, be published in handbills and sent to all the county committees in this State. Resolved, That the delegates of this State, in continental congress, be and they are hereby authorized to consent to and adopt all such measures as they …

A committee of thirteen, of which John Jay was chairman and Gouverneur Morris was a member, was appointed on the 1st of August to take into consideration and report a plan for instituting a form of government. Out of this action resulted the first constitution of the State, which was reported on March 12 and adopted on April 20. 1777. Meantime, and until the new governmental machinery was started,…

The local committees every where were supreme, and manifestations of an unfriendly nature, even in the form of disfavoring remark, were pretty certain to involve the culprits in difficulty. The name of one bold spirit, who for three weeks persevered in a public attitude of defiance, has come down to us; and before proceeding with the narrative of the momentous events which now crowd thick upon us,…

Next, he was ordered to furnish blankets for the " Rebel soldiers," and, refusing, was sent under guard to the committee, which, failing to persuade him on the same point, gave orders to search his house^and appropriate the desired goods; but happily his wife had Then he was directed to pay - upsafely secreted all they possessed. wards of thirty shillings " to the mortified searching party, refuse…

On the second Sunday he still pursued the even tenor of his duties in this particular; but on the third Sunday, says Bolton, 4k when in the afternoon he was officiating, and had proceeded some length in the service, a company of armed soldiers -- said to have belonged to Colonel Sheldon's regiment, stationed on Keeler's Hill, opposite marched into the church with drums beating and fifes playing, t…

His ship foundered, and he and his whole family perished. The first vessels of the British expedition against New York, which arrived at Sandy Hook on June 2!), were gradually joined by the entire fleet. The united military force comprised the army formerly quartered in Boston (which, after evacuating that place, had been transported to Halifax), some troops from the Southern colonies, n large add…

But if such was the purpose of the British commander, he promptly abandoned it (being actuated, it is supposed, by the prudential feeling that it would be wisest to await the arrival of the bulk of his forces); and, indeed, it was not until the 22d of August that the landing on Long Island was made. There Washington was granted a respite of seven weeks, which he availed of by perfecting the Long I…

But toward the end of peace so devoutly to be wished for, he unfortunately was not able to make any progress whatever One of his first acts was to dispatch an officer under a flag of truce with a letter addressed to " George Washington, Esq./' impertinence, the offireminding one of that other historic British cial designation of the fallen and captive Emperor Napoleon, after Waterloo, as "General …

This was that been threatened had so ful chastisement On the 2d of July the British ships left Gravesend, advanced in stately procession through the Narrows, dropped anchor one by one along the shores of Staten Island, and began to discharge the troops, who, gladly remarks Dawson, were tk welcomed by the inhabitants of oppression that' beautiful island as their deliverers from the terrible Not unt…

But there was no such endeavor; and, although the hostile ships remained opposite Tarrytown for four days, no clash of arms occurred there. Meantime the State convention at White Plains sent supplies of powder and ball to Tarrytown, and also ordered re-enforcements thither. It is very conjecturable that the purpose of the British warships in staying so long at that spot was to carry on communicati…

Solicitude was likewise felt for KingsIn June Washbridge, a point of even greater immediate importance.Kingsbridge and ington had made a personal visit of inspection to fortificaadvantageous of admit to locality the found had vicinity, tion in seven distinct places, and, " esteeming it a pass of the utmost importance in order to keep open communication with the country," had assigned troops to pus…

It is well known that General Howe placed not a little dependence upon the hope of receiving active co-operation in the held from the loyal inhabitants of the lower counties of this State, and in that hope he was encouraged by assurances which he received from Governor Tryon and others upon his arrival. So far as Westchester County is concerned, no evidence exists that any results to sustain him i…

One-fourth of the entire militia of Westchester, Dutchess, and Orange Counties was called out, and, in view of the emergency, each militiaman taking the field was granted a bounty of twenty dollars ut generous allowance in the circumstances of the time), with continental This whole militia force (Westchester County's ami subsistence. pay contingent being under the command of Colonel Thomas Thomas)…

Returning slowly down the stream, they soon found that some tolerably lively adventures had been prepared for (hem by the alert American commander. At Tarrytown, on the 4th of August, they were boldly engaged by a number of galleys -- the " Washington," kk Lady Washington," kl Spitfire," k Whiting," kk Independence," and " (Vane " -- which Washington had procured from the governors of ( Connecticu…

One of our tars, being mortally wounded, cried to his messmate: kI am a dying man; revenge my blood, my boys, and carry me alongside my gun, that I may die there.' We were so preserved by a gracious Providence that in all our galleys we had but two men killed and fourteen wounded, two of which are thought dangerous." An (wen more exciting experience was reserved for the kk Phoenix," kk Rose," and …

FItOM JULY OCTOBER 12, published in the Worcester Magazine in 1826) is so explicit and in essential respects so intelligent that it seems to us his statement that the event transpired on the west side of the river mast be accepted without question. Yet Dawson, after examining numerous original authorities, all carefully cited in his footnotes, gives no suggestion of this; although he does not …

" The fire-ships," says Ruttenber, whose account is digested from the narrative of Captain Bass, "had been prepared with fagots of the most combustible kinds of wood, which had been dipped in melted pitch, and with bundles of straw cut about a fool long, prepared in the same manner. The fagots and bundles tilled the deck and hold as far aft as the cabin, and into this mass of combustible materials…

One of the fire-ships grappled a tender (or " bombketch," according HISTORY WESTCHESTER COUNTY to Bass), and the other made fast to the " Phoenix." The fires were lighted, and instantly the rafts were aflame. The tender, or bombketch, was burned to the water's edge, and the "Phoenix" seemed exerin a fair way of total destrnction, but was saved by desperate tions. Nevertheless she was tired in …

One of the captains, Thomas, it is to be feared perished in the attempt, or in making his escape by swimming, as he has not been heard of. His bravery entitled him to a better fate. Though this enterprise did not succeed to our wishes, I incline to think it alarmed the enemy greatly; for this morning (Aucmst 18 ) the " Phoenix " and « Rose," with their two remaining tenders, taking advantage of a …

With the details of the battle of Long Island, which presently followed, our narrative is not concerned, and it is sufficient for the purpose of this History to briefly summarize its results. By noon on the 27th of August that disastrous battle ended in complete victory for the British, and Washington, having sustained a heavy loss in killed, wounded, and prisoners, retired with his whole remainin…

Without was therefore that of the most expeditious possible escape. of the evening the By arrangements. his make to began he delay 29th all the available craft in the surrounding waters had been colThe night was lected and brought to the Brooklyn end of the ferry. fortunately dark, and not a, ship of the enemy's had yet appeared in the vicinity, while Howe's army lay before our works in complete O…

Rapelje, living near the ferry, as that the wife of a Tory named began after nightfall, dispatched soon as the retreating movement a negro with information of it to the British camp, but that the mesthe American lines, senger, after safely making his way through had the ill luck to stumble upon an outpost of Hessian mercenaries, who were unable to understand a word of his language, and, not appreh…

HISTORY WESTCHESTER COUNTY money on an enormous scale. It was best that he should be rid of it at once with no greater sacrifice than that incurred in the brief Long Island campaign and the mainly defensive movements that followed it. lie was thereby released from a most perilous situation and enabled to withdraw his army into the interior, where it could recruit its strength, improve its disci…

On Manhattan Island Washington was still undisputed master, and the British, without any precipitancy but with great thoroughness, proceeded to bring him to another reckoning there. Although the ileet made no attempt to dispose itself around the island for days with Howe's land forces until several purposes of co-operation Island, two of the warships, with a brig, had after the battle of Long on t…

Manhattan Island, it was now imperatively necessary for Washington to withdraw his whole command to the northern portion of the island, which lie was fortunately able to do, following the Bloomingdale Koad on the west side, and camping on the evening of the 15th on Harlem Heights. Here he established his headquarters in the Roger Morris mansion, which afterward became the Jumel mansion, and is sti…

Beverly Robinson, between who of friendship subsisted, which, indeed, continued without liil severed by their opposite fortunes twenty years aft rward ange in the Revolution. It happened that Miss Mary Philipse, a sist r of Mrs. Robinson, and a young lady of rare accomplishments, wa mate in the family. The charms of the lady made a deep an insion upon the heart of the Virginia colonel, lie went to…

The lady lived to be ninetyHeights resilive years old, dying in England in 1825. The Harlem dence was occupied for a time after the Revolution as a tavern, and a wealthy Frenchman, whose was then purchased by Stephen Juniel, wi<low became the wife of Aaron Burr. of HarOn the 16th of September occurred the lively encounter lem Plains, in which the Americans acquitted themselves well and for the fir…

In the weeks that incifollowed the convention adopted a great number of measures dental to the serious situation, of which many applied specially to Westchester County. We can not here attempt anything more than a mere allusion to some of the more interesting of these measures. Provision was made for removing all the horses, cattle, and other livestock from Manhattan Island and the exposed portion…

This clievaux de frise consisted of a line of sunken craft stretching across the stream, and it was hoped that the obstructions would at least detain the enemy's vessels long enough to admit of their being so destructively played upon by the Fori Washington and Fort Lee batteries as to compel them to turn back. It is true the batteries did some execution, killing and wounding men on each ship; but…

It is the general opinion of historical writers that the real purpose of the British commander in sending them tip the stream was to make a feint and cause the Americans to fix their attention upon the Hudson while he was preparing to outflank Washington from the Sound. The incident certainly did produce a vast deal of uneasiness on the We shall recur to this subject in detail later. American side…

Early in Septem^. -- --- .... <" * * <" > • * >• from inm of ber he established «> < hain Morrisania to Throgg's vedettes moven Neck, so as to provide tor immediate informatio of any hostile render to began also lie force, in resistance require ment'that 1I1 the Harlem and the Sound ds might leading from the villages artillery British trees athwart them the to telling le by impassab and digging de…

On Washof September, five davs before the British army moved upon Island Randall's) (now 's Montressor Bay, Kip's from ington's forces amount w;?s taken, and a detachment was placed there, with a large Colonel of stores. The island commanded the Morrisania shore, and hunfour Some range. convenient within Morris's manor honse was dred of Heath's men were posted along the shore, and for a time betwe…

They arrived at the calculated time, with no other misadventure than an unfortunate experience with an American sentry, who, refusing to believe that they were friends, discharged his gun at them, thereby probably alarming the enemy. Yet the endeavor would undoubtedly have succeeded if it had not been for the cowardly behavior of the troops on two of the boats, who at the critical moment failed to…

At that point also a large quantity of cordwood had been piled up, which General Heath found to be "as advantageously situated to cover a post defending the pass as if constructed for the very purpose." It Avas a valuable strategic position -- a few men posted there could hold an army at bay. and, moreover, as the bridge and causeway communicated direct with the Village of Westchester, it was a ve…

be the chosen landingsibilitv that Throgg's Neck might prove to Accordingly the genplace of the now daily expected invading host. ed Colonel Hand, eral-we qnote from -Heath's Memoirs "-" direct of the best sub ah one upon fix to camp, to return immediately on his and assign them corps, his of men tern officers and twenty-five picked m case the m and tin.es; all at post alarm their to this pass, as…

It was, in the aggrega conto the a curious armament that Westchester County contributed these militinental battalions. The State convention, in ordering out arms they tiamen, directed that if any of the men were without tened and fixed should bring -a shovel, a pickaxes or scythe, straigh them all "disarmed OI1 a poie." They were, moreover, to take with sixteen and fiftyand disaffected (Tory) male…

Jo tne lasi a . ^^ ^ bl.idge> ,,n tlu, promises of i„ a good state of preservation for its age, , ana Brainerd T. Harrington, grape-shot wore was still in use for grinding gram The old Mr Bu mu j_ b_ evidently wore mill," writes a venerable resident of the local- found as ^te^amissiles ■ M^ th< of some in sided "was historian, present itv to the lean artillery. and a man living here in 1S49 EVENT…

Great numbers of them have gone off; in some instances almost by whole regiments, by half ones, ami by companies at a time." And in a letter to his brother he gave the following vivid account of the situation: "The dependence which the congress have placed upon the militia has already greatly injured and, 1 fear, will totally ruin our cause. Being subject to no control themselves, they introduce d…

General Howe had at his disposal for the invasion of Westchester County, after leaving behind him ample garrisons, as well as all his sick, an army many thousands larger -- all professional soldiers. The contrasting conditions are thus powerfully summarized in the notorious Joseph Galloway's " Letters to a Nobleman": "The British army was commanded by able and experienced officers; the rebel by me…

In all the official correspondence on the American side up to the day of Howe's landing in our county (October 12), there appears not the slightest inkling of the real designs of the British commander. Indeed, during the days when Howe was making the final preparations for his grand coup, American attention was absorbed by the successful passage of the three British frigates (the "Phoenix," " Roeb…

During the pause after the bitter American defeat on Long Island, all the conditions seemed to indicate that whatever General Howe's preference might: be in the selection of a quarter from which to renew his direct operations against Washington's army, he would at least not neglect to secure a substantial foothold at the essential points along the lower Hudson. Hence the American measures for obst…

The escape of Washington to New been obliged to have would he and off, cut been have then would oi waging a retreal into New England, with the single alternative bout northern round-a a by ing proceed or there war local defensive route to the middle colonies, where also he would have been under the disability of local confinement, with his lines of eastern communication closed by the Hudson. Gener…

It was not doubted that when he got ready to act he would choose some point on .he Sound for his outflanking movement, since that const was wholly unprotected by American forts or improvised impediments to navigation, and from its low formation afforded perfectly satisfactory conditions for landing, which nowhere existed on the precipitous shores of the Hudson. But there to conwas an apprehension …

The originals furnished us, thirty-seven in number, are from the documentary remains of Colonel Tilghman now owned by his descendant, lion. Oswald Tilghman, of Maryland; behalf of and for the most part are the communications of Duer, on although the committee, in reply to Tilghmans notes of information, tocommittee, the o1 a few letters to Tilghman from other members gether with copies of some of …

The following are extracts army in correspondence up to the date of the landing of the British our county: Letter to the Convention Duer to Tilghman, September 25.-I shall communicate your to the Obstruction --to-morrow who will (I doubt not) be happy to find that their Attention n. approbatio 's of Hudson's River meets with General Washington making some Duer to Tilolnnan, September !><».-- I exp…

I dare say however them across the Sound, in order to come on the Rear of our Works. that Precautions will be made here to prevent any Surprise of that Kind. Ducr to Livingston, September 27. -- I have heard it reported that near 100 Sail of the Enemy's ships are gone out of the Hook [Sandy Hook]. Is it true? If so, it is far from improbable that they will go round Long Island into the Sound, and …

Duer to Tilghman, September 28.-- You observe that if the Passage of the North River is sufficiently obstructed that our Lines will keep the Enemy from making any Progress in Front. This is certainly true; but you must recollect that the Sound is, and must ever be, in 'Landing a Body of Men in Westchester County, they open;' and if they shouldto succeed the North River as effectually hem us in, as…

Duer to Tilghman, September 30.-- I am extremely happy to hear that you are in so to force your Lines, good a Situation for opposing the Enemy shonld they make an Attempt down, properly Sunk. and I should be still more so were the Yessells, we have lately sent are certainly are Sound the from Roads the up The Precaution you have taken by breaking they land very proper; and will of course tend to i…

Should they succeed no Event so fatal befall the American Cause. you I am sorry the Ships have been so long detained; but I hope they will be with the before this arrives. Don't let their Youth or their Beauty plead for them, if there is in that part of Hudson's River more least Probability of their rendering the Obstructions would be a effectual. I am convinced upon the Maturest Reflection that a…

Cook is now up the River cutting Timber for Chevaux de Frise, as he is much wanted here to sink the old Vessels-- the General begs that he has Superhe may be sent down immediately, we are at a Stand for want of him, for as be obstructed. intended the Matter from the Beginning he best knows the properest places to If the new ships should be found necessary to our Salvation you need not fear their b…

He is now at Fishkill Landing on Ins Way down & is to set out in the Morning with a quantity of Oak Plank &c. for the Enemys Procrastination unless Duer to Tilghman, October 8.-- I cannot account it proceeds from some of their Ships being sent into the Sound round Long Island for the Purpose of making an Attempt to Land in West Chester County. They never certainly will make any Attempt but on our …

If you have any Stores on the Water Side you had better have them removed or secured in time. Boards especially for which we shall be Streights if the Communication above should be cut off. The Enemy have put to nogreat Move on the land Side. made p. s.-- Be Pleased to forward this Intelligence up the River and to Albany. The two new Ships are put in near Colo. Phillips's. A party of Artillery wit…

It is impossible for the Convention to draw out a force which can be depended on from the Counties last mentioned. By the Influence and Artifices of the Capital Tories of this State the Majority of Inhabitants in those Counties are ripe for a Revolt; many Companies of Men have actually been enlisted in the Enemys service, several of whom are now concealed in the Mountains. From the Frontier Counti…

Tilghman to the committee, October 11.-- We have no Intelligence of any Troops, either Horse or Foot, going round long Island into the Sound. Duer to Tilghman, October 12.-- Notwithstanding the Enemy had, agreeable to your last Advices, sent no Yessells tip the Sound, depend upon it they will endeavor to make an Attack upon your Flanks by means of Hudson's and the Fast River. Several Examinations …

As late as the 11th of October (the very day before Howe's complete disclosure of his project) Colonel Tilghman, writing to the committee of Hie State convention from the American cam]), with full knowledge of such informal ion as Washington himself possessed, made this peculiarly malapropos statement: "We have no intel igence of any troops, either horse or foot, going round Long Island into°thc S…

It is true that, contrasted with the conditions which would have obtained if Howe had been in possession of the Hudson simultaneously with opening his campaign from the Sound, the situation created by his sudden descent on Throgg's Neck was not without an element of hope. At least, one flank of the American army remained quite unimperiled, which afforded scope for thwarting the designs of the enem…

Washington, intrenched on the Heights of Harlem -- that is, in the northwestern portion of .Manhattan Island, -- with New York City below him in the hands of the British, and Howe making ready to fall upon him on his flank, had but three possible courses of action -- first, to remain in that position and undergo a siege, which could have resulted in nothing but early capitulation, as he would have…

It was by no means plain to him at first just what ultimate object it repreHowe's appearance on Throgg's Neck imported, or whether A too sented all or even the essential part of the British scheme. have would part precipitate retirement to the north on Washington's had the aspect and all the ill moral effect of a cowardly retreat; whereas just on this occasion it was most important for him to gain…

Meantime the royal army, as the aggressor, had but to march with reasonable expedition to White Plains-- the natural n, because, in Howe's case, of destination for Howe as for Washingto its central location, and the excellent roads leading thither from the Sound and the circumstance that all the other roads of the county converged there-- and Washington would be completely hemmed in. In the light …

Neither but at nor any part of the Neck was occupied by American troops, the only loWestchester causeway and also at the head of the creek, calities affording passage to the mainland, the picked riflemen posted of General about a week previously, through the happy foresight invader on Heath still stood guard. As soon as the presence of the ripped up bridge the at men the them, to known the Neck be…

General Heath "immediately ordered Colonel Prescott, the hero of Bunker Hill, with his regiment, and CaptainLieutenant Bryant, of the artillery, with a three-pounder, to reenforce the riflemen at Westchester causeway, and Colonel Graham, of the New York line, with his regiment, and Lieutenant Jackson, of the artillery, with a six-pounder, to re-enforce at the head of the creek; all of which was pr…

The responsibility for the selection of Throgg's Neck as theof Britthe ish lauding place has been charged to the commander fleet, Admiral Lord Howe, General Howe's brother; and in explanation of the choice of that locality it has been urged that a direct lauding on Pell's Neck would have been an imprudent measure because of the shallowness of the water at the latter place, preventing the co-operat…

The of which were two arrived, s regiment s Lincoln' Gen. > jotted on the North River. 12-th.-- Early in the morning, 80 or 90 Britifh boats, full of men, flood up the found, from Montrefors Ifland, Long-Mand, &c. The troops landed at Frog's Neck, and their advance pufhed towards the caufeway and bridge, at Weft Chefter mill. Col. Hand's riflemen took up the planks of the bridge, as had been direc…

Jackfo-n of the artillery, with a 6 pounder, to reinforce at the head of the creek ; all of which was promptly done, to the check and difappointment of the enemy. The Britifh encamped on the neck. The riflemen and Yagers kept up a fcattering^ popping at each other acrofs the marfh \ and the Americans on their fide, and the Britifh on ihe other, threw up a work at the end of the caufeway. Capt. Bry…

But even granting the force of the special objection to Pelham Neck as an original landing place, one marvels why Throgg's Neck should have been regarded as the only alternative spot. Surely there was adequate depth of water at points farther up the Sound (Mamaroneck Harbor, for instance); and General Howe's sole object being to outflank Washington, it would have been rather an advantage than a di…

The complacency of Washington in renminbis in his Harlem Heights and Kingsbridge position until after Howe had pushed northward to Pell's Neck, although six days had elapsed meanwhile, is of itself plain demonstration that Howe blundered egregionsly in his choice of ground so far as his intention of outflanking the patriot general was concerned. The civilian Duer, of t lie State convention, in his…

I think they will endeavor to Land the Main Body of their Army near Rye and endeavor to surround our Troops from the Sound to the North River." And the next day. writing to Robert Harrison, Washington's secretary, he says: " I . . . am happy to find you have got the Enemy in so desirable a Situation. " There appears to me an actual Fatality attending all their Measures. One would have naturally im…

On the evening of the 12th he rode over to Westchester village and personally inspected the situation, becoming satisfied that it threatened no immediate clanger and that his plain duty, pending a further disclosure of the enemy's intentions, was to strengthen his defensive position in every way. At a loss to understand why Throgg's Neck should have been selected if the British purpose was to quic…

His confidence in his ability to repel a mere movement against Kingsbridge is well reflected in the following extract from a letter written from headquarters on the loth of October by Lieutenant-Colonel Tilghman to the committee of correspondence of the State convention: The Grounds leading from Frogs Point towards our Post at Kingsbridge are as defensible as they can be wished, the Roads are all …

The cheerful remark in this letter that the commander-in-chief had matters so well in hand as to be able to spare a considerable number of his best troops for purposes other than his own defense against Howe received practical application on the same day by the send1 This letter 0 f Ti Ighman's was replied to on i Duer. from the citations the 14th, by Wi made in previo US ]l ages from the Duer-Til…

to FishhiU off of Colonel Tash's regiment of New Hampshire militia kill " for the assistance of the committee of safety in holding the disaffected in check." By recurring to the consecutive extracts from the Duer-Tilghman correspondence printed on pp. 359-362, it will he seen that Duer, on the 12th of October, communicated to Washington's headquarters information (or supposed information) which th…

Washington seems also to have been considerably impressed by Duer's intel igence of a general British plan for the 17th of October. The pre diction was evidently treasured up at headquarters, for Tilghman, writing to Duer on the 15th, remarks: "The information you furnish concerning the intended operations on Thursday next deserve our highest thanks; it may be false, if it is, there is no harm don…

To-morrow one Company actually enber 1 1 that thirty-two of the latter listed in the Enemy's Service will be march'd been taken into custody, to Philadelphia, there to be confined In jail ion or her conspirators, says: "I till the Establishment of our Courts enables us In rpe Matters be so managed that two or to hang the Ringdeaders." And on October 10 iree of ■nthen cipal Miscreants who have (see…

On the morning of the loth Washington issued a stirring address to the army, probably as characteristic a specimen of his writings of this nature as his career affords: "As the enemy seem mew to be endeavoring to strike some stroke before the close of the campaign," said he, "the General most earnestly conjures both officers and men, if they have any love for their country and concern for its libe…

At that period Lee was still generally estimated at his own enormous valuation of himself; and it is amusing to note in the public and private correspondence of the time the satisfaction with which the coming of this littlest of little souls, most vile of marplots, and most heinous and despicable of willing though impotent traitors was hailed on account of his supposed majestic genius and scientif…

his power to reap a fresh Harvest of Laurels, and inure on accountof of this Country wli leeks up to him as one of the brave Apostles her dearest Rights." Lee's machinations to supplant Washington in the supreme command were in course of development at this period, g ;n„l the gloomy outlook for the American cause, with the appallin record of recent disaster, gave buoyancy to his selfish expectatio…

A council of war was held in attendance, beat the headquarters of General Lee, the officers Lee, Putnam, sides the commander-in-chief, being Major-Generals Stirling, Lord -Generals Brigadier Heath, Spencer, and Sullivan, Fellows, Scott, , Wadsworth Nixon, Parsons, McDougal, Mifflin, George Clinton, and Lincoln, and Colonel Knox, commanding the artillery-- to whom Washington, after conveying such i…

At the same time the expediency of retaining possession of Fort Washington was considered, and all the general officers, most of them influenced doubtless by the desire of congress that this stronghold should be held as long as possible, favored the policy-- although Washington's judgment was against it. Preparations were now begun, though with no special haste, for CAMPAIGN BATTLE WHITE PLAIN…

" We are sinking the Ships as fast as possible," wrote Tilghman to Duer on the 17th; "200 Men are daily employed, but they take an immense Quantity of Stone for the purpose." Although the ultimate necessity of quitting Manhattan Island and Kingsbridge was not decided on until the Kith, and the beginning of the formal movement was delayed several days longer, the objective point in the coming north…

And finally White Plains commanded the whole country below, and equally the country above, since all the roads centered there; while directly in its rear rose the range of North ' In most historical references to Washington's march through Westchester County the Irnpression is given thai the intrenched camps along tlie Bronx wer nslrneted by detachments from the army during its actual progress. Bu…

It and Kingsbrid ment from Harlem is generally characterized by loose and hasty writers-- and not infrequently bymore careful ones -- as a retreat. This is a strange misconception ofits nature. It was not a retreat in any proper or admissible sense of the term, but really a deliberate conntermove for position, fearless and almost aggressive in its fundamentals.^ So far from retreating upon the app…

If his object had been simply to retire beyond his enemy's reach, he wo aid not have stopped at White Plains, a comparatively exposed locali ty, but would have gone at once to the North Castle hills, which v ere practically impregnable with the force he had. lint with those hills at his back to resort to in case of need, he was satisfied to oil Vr battle at White Plains, because, with the conditio…

Finally, at one o'clock on the morning of the 18th, he embarked a portion of his forces on flatboats and had them rowed over to Pelham's or Rodman's Point, on the opposite side of Eastchester Pay. They were successfully landed in the darkness. This was a preliminary movement to secure the ground for his main body, which he put in motion at daylight; and simultaneously he caused an embrasure to be …

Washington, says Heath inhave his division formed ready (Heath) to return immediately and for action, and to take such a position as might appear best calculated to oppose the enemy should they attempt to land another body of troops on Morrisania, which he thought not improbable." Having distracted the attention of the Americans by his pretended plan of crossing the marsh from Throgg's Neck, Howe …

Its total strength upon this occasion was about Captain Curtis). 750, and il was equipped with three field pieces, which, however, were not brought into action because of the unevenness of the ground and The fact that the American the nature of the tactics employed. numerous and effecrelatively so place to general had the discretion tive a body on Pell's Neck, despite his lingering belief that the…

Both sides now tired, several rounds being exchanged. of the British party were seen to fall, and of the Americans two were The British were soon re-enforced and killed and a number wounded. charged the Americans, who retreated in good order, leading their ambuscaded regiment (Colonel Read's) pursuers up to where the first The concealed men rose from behind the stone wall and fired lay. with such …

The three regiments, having well performed the duties which fell to them, then retired across Hutchinson's Kivei and up a slope of ground to where the fourth, commanded by Captain Curtis, was This ended the fighting, alstationed, with the three field-pieces. though the British cannon continued to belch thunderously at the the CAMPAIGN BATTLE WHITE PLAINS disappearing continentals. The brigade…

Dawson, after careful examination of all the known facts, concludes that the number of the enemy actually engaged by Glover and his men could not have been less than 4,000; while the two regiments of Read and Shepard, which sustained practically the entire attack of this army, could not have exceeded 400 rank and file. The American losses, according to official returns, were six men killed and Col…

The reports of deserters, and other unofficial reports, made the total losses, hoth British and German, from eight hundred to a thousand men ; and it is difficult to make one helieve that four hundred Americans, familiar from their childhood with the use of firearms, sheltered by ample defenses, from which they could fire deliberately and with their pieces rested on the tops of their defenses, cou…

Dawson's extreme compassionate feeling for the miserable Tories of Westchester County procures naturally from his magnanimous pen a properly respectful reception of the British forces sent to their relief by a gracious sovereign; and in this particular he goes so far in several places as to express impatience at the traductions of General Howe as a military commander which so characterize the writ…

The gallant behavior of Colonel (Hover and his men was made the subject of very complimentary observations in general orders issued by Washington; and General Lee, to whose command they belonged, paid a visit to them in their cam]) and tk publickly returned his thanks for their noble-spirited and soldier-like conduct during the battle." After the retreat of this obstructing American brigade, Gener…

Also on the 21st he detached a Loyalist corps Rogers, as the Queen's Gangers, commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel the to occupy Mamaroneck, which was successfully accomplished, any without ly apparent it ing abandon place that at post n America was attempt at defense. Thus as early as the 21st General Howe encamped with his whole army in a splendid strategic position on the Sound, with a hue road befo…

After the advance of the British on the 18th from Throgg's Neck to Pell's Neck, and thence t<> New Rochelle, Washington put forth his utmost exertions toward marching his army as quickly as possible to the north. The enterprise, aside from the extreme fundamental hazard attending it on account of the expected appearance of Howe at any moment athwart the line of march, was beset with embarrassing p…

in-;- terms to the State convention: "Upon a Survey of our Stores we find we are not so fully stocked as we could wish. Flour is what is most likely to be wanted. His Excellency therefore rails upon your Convention in the most pressing maimer, and begs you will set every Engine at work to send down every Barrel you can procure towards the Army." Yet at the last some eighty or ninety barrels of pro…

On the morning of the 20th Washington dispatched Colonel Rufus Putnam, an able engineer and very trustworthy officer,1 to reconnoiter the country in the vicinity of the enemy. Colonel Putnam proceeded to within two or three miles of White Plains. From his observations of the easy accessibility of that place to the enemy, he became profoundly convinced of the immediate necessity of having it occupi…

Supplementing The 21st was a day of great and fruitful activity. of Colonel receipt the upon before night the of action his prompt Heath, then at directed General report, Washington Putnam's Kino-sbrido-e, to break camp, " if possible, at eight o'clock this mornHe was himing," and take his division speedily to White Plains. self in the saddle at an early hour, and rode to White Plains on a While t…

But once ing, Heath did not get started until four in the afternoon. on the way, he performed the maneuver with remarkable rapidity, arriving in White Plains at four o'clock in the morning (October 22), It was only twelve hours after his departure from Kingsbridge. practically a forced march, for the immediate purpose of throwing a strong body into White Plains-- Stirling's single brigade bybeing …

The withdrawal of Heath's division from Kingsbridge left the whole southern line of Westchester County denuded of defenders, except that a garrison of 600, under Colonel Lasher, was spared for Port Independence on Tetard's Hill; but even this was only a temporary measure, for, as we shall see, Colonel Lasher's small command was withdrawn from that station a few days later and joined the army at Wh…

In short, in the instructions for the management of the corps, its commander seems to have anticipated the more modern tactics of the Freneh army." The sending of this body to Mamaroneck-- the home, by the way, of the distinguished Tory family of de Lancey-- was the first enterprise of the British commander apart from his main forward movement since his landing in Westchester Comity, and undoubted…

A surprise was thus prevented, and a hand to hand fight ensued in the darkness, the Rangers, inspired by the great courage and address of their colonel, defending themselves excellently. The Americans were finally forced to retire, sustaining aloss of three or four killed and about fifteen wounded, but bearing with them thirty-six prisoners and a quantity of captured arms and blankets. The number …

On the 21st Washington advanced his headquarters from KingsHill, a promibridge a distance of about four miles to Valentine's nent ridge in the present City of Yonkers, upon whose brow Saint Joseph's Seminary stands. From this place a number of documents in connection with the movement then in progress are dated, and of sentimental interest. Valentine's Hill here occurred an episode was so called f…

The following item appears in "Washington's Accounts with the United States,'' under date of October 22, 177<5: " To Exp3 at Valentine's, Mile Square -- 20 Doll8." It has been claimed that while in the vicinity of Yonkers, Washington availed himself of the hospitalities of the Manor House of and the southwest room of the second story is said to Philipses, the have been his bedchamber. In our opini…

Philipse had written to him in not too amiable terms about seizures of cattle belonging to her family which had been made for the American army. His reply, dated " Headquarters at Mr. Valentine's, 22 Oct., 177(5," is couched in strictly ceremonious language. "The misfortunes of war,'' he says, "and the unhappy circumstances frequently attendant thereon to individuals, are more to be lamented titan…

Hence the traditions which associate him with the last hospitalities of the Philipses at the Manor House have not the slightest likely foundation. It is unquestionable, however, that on more than one occasion during the Revolution he was the guest of the patriotic Colonel James Van Cortlandt at the old Van Cortlandt mansion in the " Little Vonkers." The old Valentine house, from which Washington's…

During the night, of the 22d General Sullivan's division completed the march, and from then until the close of the 26th the weary and bedraggled battalions kept steadily tiling into the White Plains camp. General Lee's division had the honor of bringing up the rear; and the time occupied on the march by this body, commanded by an officer of undoubted capacity (whatever may be said of him otherwise…

Lee, encamped were British the where section the evei-fiipon reaching (Scarsdalel, was apprehensive of attack, and by a forced niglll march lefl the Tnckahoe Uoad ami gained the Dobbs Kerry road, by which army lie proceeded the rest of the way. There was no pursuit of the Colonel even and City, York New in remaining by the British forces Lasher's little command of a few hundred men, which Washingt…

It may be said, we think without the possibility of mistake, that for fully six days after General Howe's passage to Pell's Neck on the L8th it was abundantly in his power, with ili«> forces at his disposal and from the positions successively occu pied by him, to cut the Revolutionary army in twain by an easy flank movement; and that, without speculating at all as to the probable maximum results o…

Aside from the engagement in Pelham on the 18th and the affair at the outlying British post of Mamaroneck on the morning of the 22d, both brought on by the enterprise of the Americans, there were two or three skirmishes of some interest along the line ^i' inarch -- which likewise were precipitated by the Americans. On the 23d a scouting party Glover attacked a party of Hessians, killing sent out b…

The remarkable forbearance of the British general was duo, as he subsequently explained, to his settled policy "not wantonly to commit His Majesty's troops where the object was inadequate." He abhorred skirmishes, and he despised such a merely partial issue as the capture of ;i portion of Washington's forces or even the shattering of the whole -- for his cautious mind saw only the minimum advantag…

According to his definition of his object, it was to make a master stroke which would end the war. This he might have attempted by assailing Washington in his intrenchments on Harlem Heights, which would have been foolhardy because of the strength of the position. His whole purpose in coming up to Westchester County was to surround thai position from the north, and, by thus cutting off Washington'…

Instead he tral locality in the upper part of Westchester County. occupied had gton Washin until Sound the of shores the on loitered his adWhite Plains with a powerful body, and then lie -ranted versary time to fortify his now station; so that, when he finally did move forward to bring on the decisive engagement for which he was he had longing, he was in precisely the same relative situation as mb…

These intrenchments, says Dawson, - had been hastily constructed, without The stony soil prenced engineers. the superintendence of experie vented the ditch from being made of any troublesome depth or the Only The latter was not (raised. parapet of a troublesome height. where it was least needed-- probably because the construction of it elsewhere had been interfered with-- was there the slightest a…

On the crest of this hill a breastwork had militiabeen begun on the night of the 27th by some Massachusetts men, but it was not sufficiently advanced to prove of any value. There were no American works or troops whatever west of Chatterton's Hill. The easterly termination of the White Plains intrenchments, as already said, was at Horton's Pond, and there were no supplemental works beyond that poin…

In its dispersal the Hessians bore a conspicuous part, but obtained not much substantial satisfaction for the hard blows they had suffered on previous days, as the Americans made good their escape -- in fact fled in every direction with the utmost diligence. Yet a noticeable loss was inflicted-- 22 killed, 24 wounded, and one missing, a total of 47, or about half as many as our side lost in the we…

That catastrophe so agitated the comrades of the hapless man that it is related they " broke and not rallied without much difficulty." But the hill was were sturdier fled, and soon to have defenders. The American troops on Chatterton's Hill who had engaged the attention of Colonel Rahl were Colonel Haslet's Delaware regiment (which participated in the raid on the Queen's Rangers), and a regiment o…

During these preliminaries the main body of Howe's army, in its two columns, continued to approach the American intrenchments, as if to proceed forthwith to the general attack. But at the distance of about a mile from Washington's lines a halt was ordered, and General Howe and his principal officers held a consultation on horseback. They concluded that the force on Chattel-ton's Hill was a serious…

The Massachusetts militiamen, who had been so skittish under the artillery lire, showed themselves equally disinclined to sustain an infantry shock; and, although sheltered by a stone wall, " lied a random, scattering tire;' when in confusion, without more thanduty to oppose, advanced upon them. Rain's troops, whom it was their and New Yorkers awaited unders Marylan the hand, On the other flinchin…

It seems canthat before the ascent of the assailing party, while the enemy's nonade was still in progress, one of the l wo field-pieces belonging to Alexander Hamilton's company of New York Artillery was, upon Colonel Haslet's application to General McDougall, assigned to his l Haslet 'si command. This gun became, however, partially disabled by a Hessian cannon-ball, and although several discharge…

COUNTY WASHINGTON From the original cabinet-size Portrait by Peale, presented by John Quincy Adams to Carlo Giuseppe Guglielmo Botta, author of " History op the War of American Independence." Purchased from the Botta Family, with full credentials of authenticity, by Frederic de Peyster, LL.D., a former President of the New York Historical Society, and presented by his son, Brev.-Maj.-Gen. J. Wat…

A feature of the fighting at the left of the line was the spirited defense of a portion of the position, against a force twice as strong as his own, by Captain William Hull (afterward General Hull, distinguished in the War of 1812), who commanded a company of the Connecticut regiment. It has already been mentioned that a slight intreiichment was thrown up (or rather begun) on Chatterton's Hill dur…

Everything reasonably possible was performed by all concerned -- if we except the single regiment of undisciplined militia: the position at every point was nobly defended, and in several instances with signal brilliancy; the retreat, when nothing but retreat remained, was performed with dignity as well as discretion and without material loss; and finally the punishment visited upon the foe was muc…

It is probable that a good many of our killed and wounded fell under the artillery fire which preceded the assault. This, although not long continued, was very heavy for the time that it did last. A participant on the American side, writing over the signature of " A Gentleman in the Army," has left a truly epic description of it, whereof we will not deprive our readers, especially as we shall hard…

It is said that Alexander Hamilton, visiting Chatterton's Hill many years after, remarked on this point: "For three successive discharges the advancing column of British troops was swept from hill-top to river," and in the writings of his son, John C, Hamilton, much is made of the artillery phase of the American defense. Dawson, whose animus against Hamilton is strong, utterly discredits the claim…

In the often-quoted words of Stedman, the English historian of the Revolution, " the difficulty of co-operation between the left and right wings of our army was such that it was obvious that the latter could no longer expediently attempt anything against the enemy's main body/' That is, in the storming and occupation of the hill Howe split his forces into two remotely separated parts, which could …

The light horse leaped the fence of a wheat field at the foot of the hill on which Colonel Malcolm's regiment was posted, of which the light horse were not aware until a shot from Lieutenant Fenno's field-piece gave them notice by striking in the midst of them, and a horseman pitching from his horse. They behindbuta came in, as they as fastcame out .of. .theThefield 'short then the road, up rode n…

But while there was no battle at White Plains, the whole engagement having transpired on Chatterton's Hill in the Town of Greenburgh, the name of the battle of White Plains, by which alone the event is known in general histories, is a strictly appropriate one; and indeed it would have been regrettable if this exceedingly important conflict-- one of the most important and representative of the stru…

Moreover, as rural battlefields are always named alter the most conspicuous and most familiarly known locality of their vicinage, it would have been a peculiar departure from such ethics not to dignify this very notable engagement with the name of tin1 flourishing and widely known village beside which it occurred. There exists no public memorial, either on Chatterton's Hill or in White Plains vill…

fort Washington's fall -- the delinquency of general lee TIE divided British army, with its right resting on the road from White Plains to Mamaroneck, and its left on the Bronx River and Ghatterton's Hill, remained completely inactive not only during the rest of the 28th of October, but throughout the period of its continuance before Washington's As we have seen, it was deemed inexpedient by Gener…

In other words, he sought counsel of his fears. It is true the Americans did strengthen their lines to every extent possible, thankfully taking advantage of the respite granted them; but when Howe marched from Scarsdale he was coming to assail intrenchments of entirely uncertain strength, and if willing to venture against them then he could hardly have changed his mind after the lapse of a few hou…

Between the hours of nightfall on the 31st of October and daybreak on the 1st of November, Washington retired to his new position in the North Castle hills, about a mile above his first stand, leaving, however, a tolerably strong force on the lines at White Plains, which held them for a number of hours on the 1st without suffering disturbance from the enemy, and then abandoned them to a party of H…

As tin- reader doubtless knows, that stream, previously to the diversion of its waters for the uses of New York City, had a decidedly wide channel for a considerable distance from its mouth; and at the lime of the Revolution the only structure affording passage over it to the north was Line's Bridge, some live miles east of the Hudson River.1 There was a ferry at the mouth of the Croton, but of co…

of the country above Howe made no offer to dispute the possession he even attempted that r appea not does it and the No rt Castle hills, w which was Agne al Gener o re ei noi er it. B it the brigade of two mile.be about rd forwa d pushe was k ItioZatMamaronec force at the can Ameri an v 1 Eye in order, if possible, to bring returned to w Agne this, in ng Faili nt. geme Sawpits to an enga gh live, …

The Tory clergyman no mark of violence were found on his Propagation Society about the to ng Seaburv of Westchester, writi persons that he was mursome of cture mentions the conje hi, preference to the opinion gives ently appar but ," tl e " rebels ., uced by distress of nnnd ;,;1:|;,,111;N,1;„| from „,„„,„ causes,he superind was subjected, „,„!,. ,. the persecutions to which of the new situa ion, …

FORT WASHINGTON'S FALL his mastery of the lower Hudson complete; second, to transport his army to the west bank of the Hudson, and by a march through New Jersey seize Philadelphia, the Revolutionary capital; or third, to proceed up the Hudson River along its west bank and take possession of the Highlands. In the case of an intended capture of Forts Washington and Lee it was manifestly impossibl…

Conformably with this decision Washington on the 9th detached 3,000 men under General Heath to Peekskill and removed 5,000 to New Jersey under the temporary charge of General Putnam, intending to assume this command personally within a few days, and on the 10th he committed to General Loo the command of the North Castle residue, at that time about T.oOO. In making this disposition ho had two funda…

He directed that the stores ami baggage be removed north of the Croton River into General Heath's jurisdiction, and closed with this injunction: " If the enemy should remove the greater part of their foreo to the west side of Hudson's River, I have no doubt of your following with all possible dispatch." We shall see later how Lee, in his commander's direst need during the retreat through New Jerse…

"The General expressly forbids any person or soldier belonging to the army to set fire to any house or barn, on any pretense, Avithout The burning of the court someof "general fromnight order the special ahouse was therefore done in defiance of the 5th officer." during The cula recent stringent prohibition by the commander-in-chief. prits were a band of Massachusetts troops led by Major Jonathan W…

It belong to a general narrative history of moderate for ns persecutio individual of cases the in as is sufficient to say that, ess mercilessn and activity with d perpetrate were they political belief, by both sides-- with the important distinction, however, that while the offenses committed by the American soldiers were the acts of individuals or small detachments in defiance of very strict army …

The following, from a letter written from Peekskill, War: January 19, 1777, reads like a chapter from the Thirty Years' General Howe has discharged all the privates who were prisoners in New York ; one-half he sent to the world of spirits for want of food. The other he hath sent to warn their countrymen of the danger of falling into his hands, and so convince them, by ocular demonstration, that it…

At Delancey's farm the body of a beautiful young lady, which had been buried for two years, was taken out of the ground and exposed for five days in a most indecent manner ; many more instances could be mentioned, but my heart sickens at the recollection of such inhumanity. Some persons try to believe that it is only the Hessians who perpetrate these things, but I have good authority to say that t…

But his reasons for so abruptly retiring from in front of Washington at North Castle, where he seemed to have established himself with the serious intent of attacking him sooner or later, remained none the less shrouded in mystery; and indeed for more than a hundred years historical writers, in commenting on this phase, were quite at a loss to reasonably account for his conduct -- although the sub…

The the at ce eviden in out t brough sons might, if necessary, be successwas secret the and s"ted proceedings were not taken, e of AmeriMagtmn the in article an in when, 1877, until fully guarded supported by docucan History bv Mr. Edward Floyd de Lancey, al reasons alluded politic « The d. mentary proof, it was fully expose the attack on from ed divert was b General Howe were that he intelligence…

withdrawing from his hopeless campaign in the field, faced about and with a celerity, skill, and success which had never characterized his operations up to that hour proceeded to the investment and reduction of the betrayed stronghold. Fort Washington, to which reference has so frequently been made in these pages, barred all progress by land to and from New York City, and with its fall Westchester…

The three intrenched lines of Harlem Heights, crossing the island, were to the south ; Laurel Hill, with Fort George at its northern extremity, lay to the east ; upon the river edge, near Tnbby Hook, was Fort Tryon, and close to Spuyten Duyvil were some slight works known as Cockhill Fort ; and across the creek, on Tetard's Hill, Fort Independence. The main communication with these various works w…

At the very first council of war on the subject, held at Kingsbridge on the Kith of October, he advised its abandonment, both because he was convinced that in the case of a siege it would be taken, and because he foresaw that the whole theater of war would soon be shifted from Manhattan Island and the lower Hudson, in which event its usefulness would be ended. But he was loath to set ins authority…

From there on the 7th lie dispatched his pack of artillery to Kingsbridge, and immediately upon its arrival at that place the work of erecting These were shore was begun. batteries along the Westchester planted in conformity with the secret information about the Fort Washington works which the traitor Demont had furnished; and it was always a matter of astonishment to American officers in studyeve…

To this san guinary threat Magaw replied that it was unworthy of General Howe and the British nation, at the same time declaring that he intended to hold out to the last extremity. During the night of the 15th numerous small boats for the transportation of the attacking troops from the Westchester side were passed up the Hudson and through asSpuyten Duyvil Creek into the Harlem River. On the 16th …

But the loss of 3,000 men, at the moment when he was engaging in a. new campaign having for its probable object the defense of the capital, with but a meager force at his disposal, which was rapidly moldering away in consequence of desertions and the expiration of militia terms of service, was about as disastrous a thing as could betide short of his own destruction. On the 20th Fort Lee was taken …

Indeed, though he was strengthened eight days later by the 2,000 from Fort Lee, his ranks were so reduced by the departures of militiamen and other causes that by the time he gained the west shore of the Delaware on the 8th of December it is doubtful if he had more than 3,000 soldiers effective for active purposes. Soon after arriving in New Jersey lie appealed in pressing terms to the governor of…

On the 16th, the day of the capitulation of Fort Washington, the commander-in-chief wrote to Lee at length upon the subject of the proper employment of his time so long as it should be expedient for him to remain in Westchester County, plainly giving him to understand that the North Castle position was no longer of any particular importance, and that for the time being he should devote his energie…

On the 10th he had the impudence to send to Washington in person a letter reciting his "objections" to moving from North Castle. On the 20Th, when Fort Lee was abandoned and there remained no doubt that the British would begin a campaign in New Jersey, WashNKW YORK STATE REGIMENTAL FLAG EMBLEM. illgton, tllOU at HaCkeilsack, dispatched an express command was repeated This move. to him ordering to …

On the 20th he wrote the following astonishing words to Ben" I could say many things-- let jamin Rush, a member of congress: you much good-- might me talk vainly-- had I the powers I could do will never give any man I but dictate one week-- but I am sure you read the Roman over congress the of the necessary power-- did none order from on's Washingt receiving upon 21st, On the history9" Lee not mer…

I, of course, command on this der-in-chief isnow separated I must and will be obeyed. future the for and water, the side of communication Washington was obliged to notify Lee in a positive In a letter to Bowdom, that not a man must be taken from Heath. ized then at the bead of the Massachusetts government, Lee character as Castle North from move to him to ns instructio on's Washingt should himself…

He request let him take 1,000 The to , refused was that when and his troops, should march from soldier single a not that d latter bluntly declare in command, to senior as , assumed then Lee order. his bv the post a statemenl sign to him d require Heath but , himself order issue the bility. responsi own his certifying that he did this exclusively upon use own his for ts regimen Lee thereupon detach…

J., by some British horsemen, having just completed a letter to General Gates, in which he said: " Entre nous, a certain great man is most damnably deficient." His troops, thus happily disencumbered of him, presently joined Washington, although not in time to participate in the glorious victory of Trenton. General Lee's occupation of the North Castle position for nearly a month after the dismember…

The condition of the men under Lee's command was deplorable, most of them being without shoes, stockings, blankets, or proper clothing, and this was instanced by him as an excuse for not leaving the post, But he was no worse off than Washington in that particular. When the latter, with his band of heroes, attacked the Hessians at Trenton, the whole line of march of the little army was stained with…

Even Mamaroneck was to Seed on the 21th of November, Lee mentioned a project he had formed to cut off Rogers's corps of Queen's Bangers at that place, together with a troop of light horse and a part of the Highland (Scotch) and another brigade; but upon attempting to carry it into execution he found that these hostile forces had been withdrawn. of WestBut though the enemy for the time being occupi…

On the 22d of November he issued orders to General Nixon to proceed with two brigades and a party of light horse "to Phillips's house," and, beginning at. that place, collect all the stout, able horses, all the cattle, fat and lean, and all the sheep and hogs, with the exception of such few milk cows and hogs as should be necessary to the subsistence of the families, and drive them up to the camp.…

It is true that Newport (K, I.) was taken in the winter of 177(5, Philadelphia in (he fall of 1777, and various important Southern points at later periods. But all these were occupied only by isolated, temporary, or shifting British commands. New York alone, from the beginning to (he end of its possession by the enemy, was held without incidental disturbance on the part of the Americans or inciden…

On the other hand, the British were content to abide at Kingsbridge as their most advanced permanent establishment, never attempting to take a formal stand above as an added feature of their basic position. Their occupation of Westchester County beyond Kingsbridge was only for the minor business of covering that place, controlling the territory to some extent, cutting off occasional American detac…

And like the Rhode Island expedition, the various British attacks on Connecticut (with one minor exception) proceeded by water from New York, accomplishing nothing but local results. Consequently although Westchester County was continually exposed to the enemy at the south, and suffered terribly and without cessation from his incidental occupation and aggression, it was nor similarly exposed at th…

Peekskill was no less clearly indicated as the vital post for the Americans, to be maintained at all hazards, than Kingsbridge was Lying just below the Highlands and just above the for the British. point on the Hudson River where its waters, previously confined between closely approaching banks, suddenly spread out into a broad commanded equally the passes into the mountains, the naviit sea, gatio…

In this respect it was at first the American policv to push down advance posts as near as practicable to the to enemy's sphere, and at no time did the patriots retire their lines Yet Peekskill, the northward of Pine's Bridge across the Croton. with the country immediately dependent upon it, always remained HISTORY WESTCHESTER COUNTY the seat of the serious American establishment for general pu…

In order to make a formidable campaign on New York City -- which could proceed only by way of Kingsbridge, a point not to be reached except by a long march down the Westchester County peninsula, and not to be deliberately assailed without the previous concentration of all of Washington's forces -- the Americans would have had to lay bare their SIR HENRY CLINTON. intentions weeks in advance. How di…

in several of his main movements preliminarily to the unfolding of the enemy's principal project for the impending campaign, he made it the cardinal point of his programme to take a central station from which he could with equal convenience march to Peekskill or to other threatened points according to ultimate circumstances. To the vigilance with which he watched the Hudson, his carefulness in for…

The situation as finally developed was in detail briefly as follows: On the east side of the river, just above Peekskill village, was a work called Fort Independence.1 This was substantially completed during the winter of 1770-77. There was at that time no other fort on the Westchester shore, although later Fort Lafayette was built at the extremity of Yerplanck's Point to protect the King's Ferry …

These two strongholds, with the co-operation of Fort Independence below and the help of the obstructing chain, were deemed adequate to the protection of the river. II was considered impossible that the enemy would ever attempt to march through the diffieull passes south of Fori Clinton and attack that place and Fort Montgomery from the rear-- although just such a contingency was foreseen by Washin…

Wherever the term, "the Neutral Ground," occurs in general histories of the Revolution, it applies exclusively to Westchester County-- and to substantially the whole of the county. It is generally considered that the Neutral Ground proper embraced only the district between the Croton River at the north and a limit at the south about identical with the present city line of New York-- that north of …

As late as 1782 Crompond, though well above the Croton, was deemed a quite exposed situation. On the other hand, daring assaults by the Americans were frequently undertaken down to the very outposts of Kingsbridge, and no part of the comity witnessed more animated scenes than the present Borough of the Bronx. The command on the lines, as the projection of the American position below Peekskill was …

Washington Irving's description is without doubt familiar to all our readers: This debatable land was overrim by predatory bands from either side ; sacking henroosts, plundering- farmhouses, and driving off cattle. Hence arose those two great orders of border chivalry, the Skinners and Cowboys, famous in the heroic annals of Westchester County. The former fought, or rather marauded, under the Amer…

No one went to his bed but under the apprehension of having his house plundered or burnt, or himself or family massacred, before morning.-' The following picture of the times is from the " Bevolutionary Services and Civil Life of General William Hull," who was an officer on duty in Westchester County during a portion of the war: 41^ HISTORY WESTCHESTER COUNTY called Refugees, ranged The Cowbo…

beThe fmures of comparative population in Westchester County In ant. signific ngly exceedi are ion Revolut the after fore during and next census, 1756 the population of the county was 13,257, and at the After in 1771 it was 21,715-- an increase of 8,148 in fifteen years. ants 1771 no' enumeration was taken until 1700, when the total inhabit n year s preof the county were 21,003, only 2,258 more th…

Timothy Dwight, in his « Travels," desola te condition to which and solate discon the of tial description period of the RevoluWestchester County was reduced at an early ly present so inpossib could write tion Nothing we could hope to simple narrat's Dwigh Dr. as t subjec whole the forming aview of on here is citati its d quote ntly freque been has it h thoug tion; ami e: ensabl indisp quite Tu the…

Their inclosures were burnt where they were capable of becoming fuel, and in many cases thrown down where they were not. Their fields were covered with a rank growth of weeds and wild grass. Amid all this appearance of desolation, nothing struck my eye more forcibly than the sight of the high road. Where I had heretofore seen a continual succession of horses and carriages, life and bustle -- lendi…

The inhabitants of the villages ceased ; they ceased in Israel." The fearful depredations in the Neutral Ground were viewed by the higher military authorities on the British side with entire approval, and on the American side, it must be admitted, generally without any acute disapprobation. The command of the American troops " on the lines " was always particularly coveted by officers of unscrupu…

It is but fair to say, however, that the American commanders on the lines were usually men of good personal antecedents, and it does not appear that any very notorious person on our side was ever intrusted with authority in Westchester County. But while the American commanders were well-intentioned as a rule, they generally allowed their subordinates and men much license. Burr's stern administrati…

Governor Tryon, in his reply, said: "I have candor enough to assure yon -- as much as I abhor every principle of inhumanity or ungenerous conduct -- I should, were I in more authority, burn every committeeman's house within my reach, as I deem those agents the wicked instruments of the continued calamities of this country; and in order sooner to purge the country of them, I am willing to give twen…

It is widely known that Cooper was mainly indebted to Chief Justice John Jay for the facts of Crosby's career which led to the writing of the " Spy," that Jay was in error in supposing that Crosby's operabut it appears tions took him occasionally within the British lines in New York the counCity. The fact is, he devoted himself quite exclusively to historian of try districts. Mr. Joseph Barrett, t…

Thus he not only acquired that intimate knowledge of the country that was to prove so valuable to the American cause, but also was brought into contact with the Whigs and Tories, the bumCowboys, and Skinners "who infested the Neutral Ground between the lines of mers, raiders,armies. the opposing His first work as a spy was accidental. Determining to re-enlist, he tramped southward toward the Ameri…

Learning that a meeting of the Tory band was to be held on a certain night, lie slipped away on the previous morning and by a forced march across the country reached at midnight the house of a Mr. Youngs, eight miles from White Plains, whom he knew to be a true American. Prevailing on this man to accompany him, they aroused Messrs. Jay, Duer, Sackett, and Piatt, the committee of safety at White Pl…

One who can counteract these infiuences is entitled to more credit employdemurred at first, but finally accepted thewould than he who&fights in the ranks." Crosby should see die in their service the committee ment of a spy on the condition that if he that his name was vindicated. Witli much feeling Mr. Jay and his associates gave him this task. arduous and dangerous his to himself solemn assurance…

He gained the confidence of the Tory leaders so completely that he was allowed to examine the roll, and was shown an immense haystack in a meadow near the captain's house, which proved to be a framework covered with hay and capable of concealing forty or fifty men. A meeting of the company having been arranged for the next evening, he left his bed in the captain's house during the night ^previous,…

Suggesting to the captain that they had best leave the cave due time with he departed and sent word to the committee. Crosby arrived at the barn m outside, the the Tories and laid down with them in the hay. Presently he heard a cough with the rangers. signal agreed upon, which he answered, and the barn was quickly filled purpose of Colonel Duer, of the committee of safety, had come with them for t…

This was at Pawling, Dutchess County, and, fearing to a VV hig of the the vengeance of Captain Townsend, he arranged with Colonel Morehouse, When their rendezvous was neighborhood, to raise a body of volunteers and capture them. out from under a surrounded, Crosby, he having again made a false enlistment, was dragged so much injured that he bed, where he had taken refuge, and complained that his l…

He ioined Captain Philip Van Cortlandt's company, boats ordinate officer. ' While on duty at Teller's Point, in the spring of 1780, he decoyed adressed on the beach a soldier crew from a British ship in the stream to the shore by parading the In all them captured and them for in Lafayette's uniform. He had his ambuscade set His whole pay from the following; fall his enlistment expired and he retir…

Putnam Carmel, near nd, burying-grou in the old Gilead Colonel Green was also a soldier of He married the widow "of Colonel Benjamin Green. NEUTRAL GROUND Centre depot. the Revolution, and after the close of the war settled near the present Somers Crosby, After the Colonel's death his widow remained in the house until her marriage with on one which was brought about by Dr. Ebenezer White. In th…

But there were other spies and guides of the Neutral Ground, unknown to general fame, whose faithfulness was equally conspicuous and whose deeds were hardly less meritorious. Of one of them, Elisha Holmes, who was bom in Bedford and died there about 1838, a most interesting story is told. Holmes enjoyed the implicit conhdence of Washington, who caused him to take a command under Sir Henry Clinton …

Washington, when he heard of the fact, was so much concerned that he wrote as follows to Major Tallmadge: it is to The loss of your papers was a most unlucky accident, and shows how dangerous I beg you will take care to guard against post. . at an advance of any consequence papers keep re tu . in fu the like wlio lives The person who is most endangered by the acquisition of your letter is one H., …

Culver, in his History of Somers, relates some incidents of his career. k* Luther Kinnicutt," he says, " was the compeer of Crosby in his dangerous work, and although it is not known that they worked together, the character of the novelist was evidently drawn from both these men. Kinnicutt frequented the town after the close of the war, and is remembered by some of our old residents as a tall, str…

On the 9th of December he was ordered to join the army in Xew Jersey with a portion of his troops, and went as far as Hackensack, but he was soon sent back, arriving in Peekskill on the 23d. The winter passed without any British movement being- attempted against him-- on the contrary he took the aggressive and boldly assailed the enemy at Kingsbridge in a siege of old Fort Independence and its sup…

The operations involved but slight losses, which wore abundantly compensated for by the actual damage done the enemy and by the excellent moral effect of so bold an enterprise as a sequence to the transactions of the main army in Xew Jersey. After Washington's magnificent return movement from across the Delaware, resulting in the battles of Trenton and Princeton, he went into winter quarters at Mo…

In March he transferred Heath from Peekskill to the command of the Eastern department, with headquarters at Boston, and soon afterward he instructed him to send on to Peekskill eight of the Massachusetts battalions, explaining that at Peekskill "they would be well placed to give support to any of the Eastern or Middle States, or to oppose the enemy should they design to penetrate the country up th…

Howe, being informed of the existence of large depots of stores at and near Peekskill, decided to destroy them, and on the 23d of March, the river having become freed of ice, sent iip Colonel Bird for that purpose with 500 troops and four light of the expedition McDougall, beingfield-pieces. Before the arrival informed of its coming, removed a portion of the stores to Ports Montgomery and Constitu…

Thus the first attempt on the American position about the Highlands, although made at a moment when our forces were ill prepared for it, and having in view only the destruction of stores, was a failure. In this same month of March, 1777, occurred the capture of the eminent Judge John Thomas, at his home in the " Rye Woods," by a British expeditionary force sent for that special purpose. Judge Thom…

The affair of March at Peekskill greatly agitated the State convention, which caused a portion of the militia of Orange, Dutchess, aud Westchester Counties to be called out, sent to the Highlands, and iThe Van Cortlandt mansion, near Peekskill, of the was built about 1770. In consequence Van Cortlandt. the of Pierre firm adhesion head of the family, to the patriot cause, the Manor House at Croton …

About the end of April several British transports advanced up the river, but came no farther than Dobbs Ferry. In May Washington dispatched Generals Greene and Knox to Peekskill, who, in conjunction with Generals McDougall, George Clinton, and Anthony Wayne, made a careful examination of the Highland situation and submitted a joint report, in which the importance of the chain was dwelt upon, but i…

On the 1st of August, 1776, the " Convention of Representatives of the State of New York v appointed a committee of thirteen (our Gouverneur Morris being one of its members) to prepare a kk form of government," and that body in turn delegated the task to John Jay. Mr. Jay set to work conscientiously to draft a State constitution, which, having been approved by the committee, was reported to the co…

The old State convention reserved to itself the authority to appoint the first judges, and designated as chief justice our John Jay, who opened the first session of the Supreme Court at Kingston in September, 1777. He held tin1 office, however, for only two years, being succeeded on the 23d of October, 1779, by Richard Morris, also a son of Westchester County.1 Chief Justice Morris remained at the…

Our county's members of the first assembly held under the State government were Thaddeus Crane, Samuel Drake, Robert Graham, Israel Honeywell, Jr., Zebadiah Mills, and Gouverneur Morris. The first county judge under the constitution was Lewis Morris (appointed by the State convention, May S. 1777); he was succeeded, the reFebruary 17, 177S, by Robert Graham, who served during Hatfield mainder of t…

Previously to the war these divisions, as represented in the board of supervisors, were the Manor of Cortlandt, Ryck's Patent [Peekskill], White Plains, Bedford, Rye, North Castle, Westchester Town, Mamaroneck, Poundridge, Philipseburgh Manor, Scarsdale Manor, Eastehester, Salem, Pelham, and New Rochelle. The board of supervisors had only a nominal existence during the Revolution. The spring of 17…

Positive news was received about this time of the descent of Burgoy ne's splendidly appointed host from Canada. Burgoyne, of course, would be dealt with by the Northern Army under Schuyler, assisted by the militia of the section through which he passed; but what were the intentions of Howe with his large New York command? Would he co-operate with Burgoyne by ascending the Hudson River? If so, woul…

He sent thither two brigades, commanded by Parsons and Yarinim, and later General Sullivan with his division, also ordering Generals George Clinton and Putnam to call out more militia; and meantime forwarded troops and artillery to re-enforce the Northern Army. From his own southern position in New Jersey he fell back to the Clove, a defile in the Highlands on the west side of the river, so as to …

This campaign included the battles of the Brandywine (September 11). and Germantown (October 4), and the fall of' Philadelphia, which Howe entered on the 25th offof toSeptember. PhiladelAfter Washington, resolving his doubts, marched phia, Putnam, commanding at Peekskill, was let alone by the British for two months. This did not suit the old lighter's temperament. He longed for action, and if the…

Sir Henry Clinton, whom Howe had left in upon mand at New York, hastily sent up a ship of war, from which, its arrival at Verplanck's Point, a message was forwarded to Putnam under a flag of truce, claiming Palmer as a lieutenant in the British made if harm befell service, and intimating that reprisal would be stic reply: him. Putnam returned the following characteri Headquarters, 7th August, 1777…

Gallows Putnam during his Peekskill adminAnother spy was executed bywho, when arrested, had on his person istration--one Daniel Strang, and dated a paper drawn by Colonel Rogers, of the Queen's Rangers, " Valentine's Hill, December 30, 177(5," which authorized the bearer to bring recruits for the British service. Strang also was tried by court-martial, condemned, and hanged, the sentence receiving…

Americ Queen's the for in number he or they shall bring man, which No more than forty shillings bounty is to be given to any during the serve to ries; necessa sing purcha toward applied is to be P™portmn their have will They present Rebellion, and no longer. his Majesty s of all rebel lands, and all privileges equal to any of manner they troops The officers are to be the best judges in what ise as…

It was the plan he heard British ministry, as Washington at once suspected when the of the northern invasion, for a co-operating expedition to ascend be far Hudson from New York about the time that Burgoyne should effect a enough advanced in his march to descend it, and thus to on Philnt moveme aneous simult Howe's with ed Combin junction. adelphia, which drew off Washington's army to the west, th…

That undertaking was the forcing of a passage up the Hudson River, which could be done only by reducing several forts splendidly situated for defense and supported by a considerable body of troops posted below for the protection of the mounNo one can inspect the ground at Peekskill and above passes tain without a vivid realization of the severity of the task which the expedition from New York had …

His re enforcements could not have been large-- could hardly have been worth waiting for, indeed,-- since he took with him only 3,000 men. It seems to us that an important contributing reason, if not the chief reason, for his delay was a discreet resolve to wait until Washington, battling against great odds around Philadelphia, should, by his emergent necessities, summon to his own army part of Pu…

On the 4th of October the expedition up the Hudson got under way. Its advance consisted of two ships-of-war, three tenders, and a large number of flatboals, and a second division followed comprising one large man-of-war, five topsail vessels, and numerous small craft. A stop was made at Tarrytown, where troops were landed and marched several miles into the country. But this maneuver, says Irving, …

Put before daybreak Sir Henry transported 2,000 of his force from Verplanck's Point to the wholly unprotected west shore, leaving 1,00(1 behind to keep up the appearance of a meditated movement on Putnam. Then, with his main body, he made the circuit of the Dunderberg, marched without experiencing the least detention through those mountain passes which Washington's board of generals in May had rep…

Governor Clinton was informed somewhat in advance of the coming of the enemy through the passes, and sent to Putnam for help, but his messenger never reached the doughty general. Irving says he turned traitor and deserted to the enemy. Putnam had been completely outmaneuvered. Although the crossing of a British force to the west side had been reported to him, he supposed this was only a detachment…

When the magazines were reached blew up with terrific explosions, which long reverberated among they mountains. the Continental Village, with its barracks, storehouses, and a number of loaded wagons, was burned on the 9th by a detachment under was not Major-General Trvon. Westchester County below Peekskill Putnam included in this Visitation, and before the end of October was back in Peekskill with…

This was the number. was only a small it that one of his schemes to mask the proceedings of nam firmly believed the American storehouses main body at King's Ferry All writers detachment to burn of a large an-ee "hat Putnam was informed betimes of on that side, and the appearance British fire near Stony Point shortly afterward conShe transportation of a part ofthethewest opinion. this in him firmed…

It was his dearly cherish appointed the was now that felt he and York, New capture to object a At this juncture Alexander Hamilton arrived at Peekskill on time chief orIns of name the in and dates, to gton Washin from mission dered Putnam to send on two continental brigades. lie then went to however, Albany and interviewed Gates. Getting little satisfaction, to forPutnam to express an sent he , fr…

WashClinton, now peremptorily commanded Putnam to dispatch to forces. ington all his continental regiments, retaining only his militia Hamilton was greatly enraged against PutThis order was obeyed. nam, and advised Washington to make an example of him, saying: But Washington was un- His blunders and caprices are endless." willing to too deeplv wound the sensibilities of the old general, and " I ca…

The WashFrench alliance was signed in Paris on the (5th of February. the inoton still at Vallev Forge (Pa.), was in position to attack te co-opera to fleet French a of British in Philadelphia, and the arrival EVENTS with him against that city was expected monthly. It became impracticable for the enemy to continue there, ami the evacuation of the place was decided on. Just previously to the event…

In the resulting correspondence between the two commanders it was resolved to begin at once joint operations against New York, and Washington forthwith broke up his New Jersey camp, crossed King's Ferry into our county, and descended to White Plains, where he spread his tents about the 20th day of July. From this place, whither he had retired from New York island under such perilous circumstances …

But it was not ordered •that the arrangement for the taking of New York, whose successful execution would doubtless have terminated the war, should be carried out. The French fleet sailed up to Sandy Hook. The British naval force in New York Bay at thai time comprised only six ships of the line, four 50-gun ships, and a number of frigates and smaller vessels. D'Estaing, however, was informed by pi…

Washington, at White Plains, feared an Point West the of on conditi ary the rlrghhamls, which, in the element eared an equally he but nce; resista for d prepare ill defenses, were In this uncertainty he proceeded as he expedition against Boston. waiting for Howe to unfold his while before year the done had troops at Peekskill and above, the rced He largely re-enfo projects s near West Point, meanb…

Donop's Hessian yagers, than a party of about a hundred of Captain Ferry and thev were in full maraud between Tarrytown and Dobbs and Butler, Richard Colonel under y infantr of when attachment by surprise, of cavalrv under Major Henry Lee, came upon them and eighteen killed ten of them on the spot, captured a lieutenant had not the whole the privates, and would have taken or distroyed the cavalry …

On The 20th of August the Indians attacked and drove down to Kingsbridge a force of the enemy under LieutenantColonel Emmerick. During the next few days they continued in the lower part of the Town of Yonkers. Here, on August 31, they were surrounded and surprised by the Queen's Rangers under Simcoe, the Chasseurs under Emmerick, de Lancey's 2d battalion, and the Legion Dragoons under Lieutenant-C…

He was one of the leaders of the patriot party in our county before the war, sat in the assembly in 1778 and in the State senate from 1780 to 1783, and was appointed county judge in 1784. His home, on the Tuckahoe Road, was the post for a detachment of Revolutionary troops dependent upon the " lines" above, and as such it was attacked several times. Upon one occasion the American force stationed i…

Luke Babcock, from whom it took its April, of o manifest Tory the signed who n clergyma was the same as 1775, and whom Colonel Lewis Morris scornfully characterized " the Reverend Mr. Luke Babcock, who preaches and prays for Colonel the Philips and his tenants at Philipsburg." Like his compatriots, oi Reverends Samuel Seabury, of Westchester; Epenetus Townsend, perwas Salem; and Ephraim Avery, of …

She at least did not discourage this devotion, and it has even been surmised that she reciprocated it; and the companion of her loneliness, Miss Williams, apparently regarded the romantic affair with a kindly interest. The ardent Colonel Gist, during his occasional warlike employments below the lines, made his rendezvous at the foot of Wild Boar Hill, opposite the parsonage; and here, with his lig…

Babcock, having stationed herself in one of the dormer windows of the parsonage, aided their escape, wherever they appeared, by the waving of a white handkerchief." Our salutations to the shade of the gentle, gracious, and (we doubt not) beauteous Mrs. Babcock! During the years 1777 and 1778 a very useful " whaleboat " service was organized and developed in the hamlets of our county along the Soun…

The capture of the British guardship " Schuldham " (1777) at the mouth of Eastchester Creek-- a very brilliant performancewas effected by some whaleboatmen from Darien, Conn., who first seized the market-sloop which plied regularly between Eastchester and New York, and then took her alongside the " Schuldham " on the pretense of desiring to sell some of their truck; whereupon a party of armed men,…

It was never safe for a rowboat from a British ship to venture to the shore; and even the war-vessels themselves had to keep steadfastly to the middle of the stream, else the wide-awake patriots were likely to improvise batteries and open on them with uncomfortable effect. The capture of Andre and the consequent foiling of Arnold's treason was made possible by no other contributing circumstance so…

Y- FROM SIMCOE'S JOURNAL). EVENTS City attempted nothing either against New England or the Highlands, Washington drew the army down from the northerly station where he had temporarily posted it, and distributed it in cantonments extending from Connecticut across Westchester County as far as Middlebrook, N. J. This was its situation throughout the winter of 1778-79. All expectation of early ass…

"Severe drills and vigorous inspections," says his charming biographer, Barton, " took the place of formal ones." Finding that many of the officers were hopelessly inefficient, he presently " took the bold step of ordering several of them home on the simple ground of their utter uselessness. If any gentleman, he told them, objected to his dismissal, he, Colonel Burr, held himself personally respon…

" Sir," he wrote to General McDougall, the commander at Peekskill, " till now I never wished for arbitrary power; I could gibbet half a dozen good Whigs with all the venom of an inveterate Tory." lie announced in the most emphatic manner that he purposed to protect all the peaceable inhabitants without reference to their politics; that all marauders would be punished with the utmost severity of mi…

Not another house was plundered, not another family was alarmed, while Colonel Burr commanded in the Westchester lines. The mystery and swiftness of the detection, the rigor and fairness with which the marauders wrere treated, overawed the men whom three campaigns of lawless warfare had corrupted, and restored confidence to the people wrho had passed their lives in terror.'' It came to be believed…

In order ento keep the enemy's spies at a distance, lie issued and rigidly the forced an order that nobody from below should personally pass line of posts on any pretext, all who had business above being required to first communicate with headquarters by some well known resident of the immediate country, especially designated for that service. On the other hand, he always had the most perfect know…

The crowning achievement of Burr's command was the destruction of a British fort and the capture of nearly all its garrison at de Lancey's Mills (West Farms) -- a feat performed, like Wayne's storming of Stony Point, without tiring a musket. This fort was a block structure, built by Colonel de Lancey to protect his outposts at Morrisania. Burr, resolving to take it, reconnoitered it carefully, not…

When it is remembered that West Farms is to the south of Kingsbridge, where thousands of the British were encamped, and that there were other posts of the enemy still farther above, the brilliant daring of this exploit will be well appreciated. in WestThe preceding brief account of Burr's memorable rCgimederives his chester County is digested from Parton, who, in turn, facts mainly from a most int…

During the whole of his command there was not a single desertion, not a single death by sickness, not one made prisoner by the enemy ; for Colonel Burr taught us that a soldier, with arms in his hands, ought never, in any circumstances, to surrender -- no matter if he was opposed by thousands it was his duty to fight. Richard Piatt, adjutant-general to General McDougall at Peekskill, has left the…

Selecting nights when he knew that he could safely absent himself from the lines, he left the headquarters at White Plains in his usual manner, as though going on a tour of the posts, attended by several of his men, upon whose secrecy he could depend. He rode across country to Tarrytown, where a boat was waiting. His men threw his horse, tied its legs together, and placed it in the boat. On the op…

Barton laments Burr's untimely retirement from the American army, and complains of Washington's cold treatment of him. He declares that Burr's military character was such-- especially as demonstrated by his services in the Neutral Ground-- that if his lot had been cast in the armies of France under the eye of Napoleon he would have become a marshal of the Empire. In a history of Westchester County…

The next summer occurred the most formidable and prolonged display our county's history. of armed force along the lines and above in splendid organization It can easily be believed that Burr, with his in full flower, would have acquitted himself right gloriously in that period of activity. The expedition of Governor Tryon above referred to was for the object <»f destroying the Revolutionary salt w…

Washington, whose headquarters were at Middlebrook, was not disturbed by these proceedings, well knowing that the British general would soon turn his attention northward. The work at West Point had now made tolerably satisfactory progress, but Washington was dissatisfied with the comparatively unprotected condition of the river below. He particularly desired to have the entrance to the narrow part…

The fleet, under the command of Admiral Sir George Collier, embraced about seventy vessels, great and small, and a hundred and fifty flatboats, and there was a land force of 5,000. The troops were landed in two divisions on the 31st. The principal division, under General Vaughan, debarked on the Westchester County side, seven or eight miles below Verplanck's Point, and the other, led by Sir Henry …

After the capture of the two promontories Sir Henry Clinton completed the works on Stony Point, fortified them in a powerful manner (especially with reference to the approach from the land side), and amply garrisoned both forts. Washington prudently refrained from any offensive demonstrations, retiring to the vicinity of West Point and bending all his energies toward the further development of the…

He intrusted the execution of it to Wayne, who accepted the commission with the greatest alacrity, signifying his willingness to storm hell itself for General Washing1 The following (furnished to the editor by liest intelligence of any collection of vessels the late Dr. Plagg, of Yonkers, who possessed or boats or embarkation of troops on the oppointeresting letter site shore. The enemy are now ma…

JANUARY, 1779, SEPTEMBER, ton. We borrow the following description of Stony Point, as it then was, from Irving: It was a rocky promontory advancing far into the Hudson, which washed three sides of it. A deep morass, covered at high water, separated it from the mainland, but at low tide might be traversed by a narrow causeway and bridge. The promontory was crowned by strong works furnished with …

The heroic Wayne, leading one of the columns, received a wound on the head, and, thinking he was dying, said: "Carry me into the fort and let me die at the head of my column." In his report to Washington he used these noble words: " The humanity of our brave soldiery, who scorned to take the lives of a vanquished foe when calling for mercy, reflects the highest honor on them and accounts for the f…

On the other hand, whilst the recollection of this prodigious HISTORY WESTCHESTER COUNTY deed of valor was still fresh in men's minds, Major Andre, who was to be the next central object of sentimental attention, found it fitting to select Wayne, of all American generals, as the hero of his Hudibrasian poem, "The Cow Chace." Wayne happened to be distinguished for unconthness of general demeanor…

It was estimated that a garrison of 1,500 would be required for it, which could not be spared from the army. So after transporting the cannon and stores to West Point, the works were demolished.1 The loss of Stony Point caused Sir Henry Clinton to give up his design against New London, and that place was spared until September of 1781, when the traitor Arnold was sent against it and the Fort Grisw…

York merchant put $20,000 into the enterprise, until took large commissions The speculator the hopes of the stockholders failed and the Nothing may be seen there now work ceased. (1876) but the ruins of the works so begun, At that point a bateau at the water's edge. was sunk by a shot from the "Vulture" while conveying the captured iron cannon from Stony the victory by after Point Point to West Th…

Clinton retained Fort Lafayette, and also resumed possession of Stony Point, reconstructed its works, and fortified it with a more powerful armament than before. But Washington still declined to bring his army down from its Highland position, and Clinton was too prudent to undertake anything Consequently there was no further emformal against West Point. ployment for the British general on the Huds…

It seems to have been Clinton's principal plan for the campaign of 1771) to force Washington down from the Highlands by a series of aggressions, of which the seizure As the capture of the King's Ferry route was the most important. of the two Points did not bring about the desired result, he withdrew temporarily and carried fire and sword into Connecticut, expecting The by this process to entice Wa…

The British occupation of the fort on Verplanck's Point lasted from the 1st of June until the 21st of October, a period of nearly live months. Clinton's return in force to the northwestern section of Westchester County after Wayne's recapture of Stony Point was made by way of the " Xew Bridge " at the mouth of the Croton River; and it was by the same route that Clinton fell back to Kingsbridge aft…

A body of about ninety American cavalry, under Colonel Elisha Sheldon, was quartered at Poundridge in and around the house of Major Ebenezer Lockwood, one of the most noted patriots of Westchester County,1 and in the same locality was a militia force of 120 men, commanded by Major Leavenworth. Tarleton, then encamped at the Mile Square near Yonkers, was ordered to make a sudden night march to Poun…

An American spy named Luther Kinnicutt gave notice to Sheldon of but without being able to say on what day it the intended' attack, would occur. This timely information enabled Lockwood to escape. Tarleton chose a very rainy night, and in consequence the Americans were not well on their guard. He moved from the Mile Square about half-past eleven on the night of July 1, with a mixed force of horse …

"I proposed to the militia terms," he says, " that if they would not fire shots from buildings I would not burn. They interpreted my mild proposal wrong, imputing it to fear. They persisted in firing till the fired." But torch stopped their progress, after which not a shot was according to accounts left by residents of Bedford the burning of the place was a quite wanton deed. The Presbyterian Chur…

It is curious that the responsibility for Tarleton's deed was by manv of the Bedford people charged to Colonel James Holmes, their 1 Bolton (rev. ed., ii., 115) relates the follow- which hit his cap and perforated the scalp on who the side of his head without further injury, "John Buckhout, ing amusing incident: happened to be in the rear of Sheldon's regi- ' There.' says the dragoon. ' you damned…

He served in the French and Indian War, and, as related in a previous chapter, was an active patriot partisan at the beginning of hostilities between America and Great Britain, being a member of the New York provincial convention, one of the committee which made the first inspection of the heights at Kingsbridge with a view to their fortification, and colonel of one of the first four regiments rai…

It is but just to say that Colonel James Holmes was a type of the unfortunate rather than the bloody-minded Westchester County Tories who ultimately took up arms against their country. Just previously to his raid on Poundridge and Bedford, Tarleton, in conjunction with Simcoe's Bangers, successfully attacked an American militia force at Crompond, in the present Town of Yorktown. This was on the 21…

Isaac Martlingh. the incident of the inhuman killing of Sergeant troop from bech's Emmeri With man. ed one-arm a Martlinoli was of Yonkers, vicinity the of ll, Underhi el Nathani certain a low came Martlingh ■I T«»ry who it is said, harbored bitter animosity against Martlingh arrest. his caused had latter the n occasio one because on about just was and water, of pail a had been to a nearby spring …

" She imprudently appeared at parties hostile two when on, hat man's a with house her of door The were near each other, and was killed by mistake for an enemy. yager fired without orders, and Emmerick made an apology, being much mortified at the occurrence." passing Another incident of the summer of 1779 which deserves of mention was a notable running fight between Captain Hopkins, body larger muc…

Hopkins conducted himself with great credit m end.1 the at ully successf engagement, retiring Although most of the fighting in our county during the summer and fall of rhis year occurred in the northern and central sections, as the result of British aggressions, the Americans attempted occasional counter-strokes in the territory of the present Borough of On The 5th of the Bronx, two of which are d…

August " about oue hundred horse, of Sheldon's, Moylan's, and of the militia, and about forty infantry of Glover's brigade, passed by de Lancey's Mills to the neighborhood of Morrisania, where they took twelve or fourteen prisoners, some stock, etc. The enemy collected and a skirmish ensued, in which the enemy had a number of men killed and wounded; our loss, two killed and two wounded." And on th…

About the same time that Sir Henry Clinton definitively abandoned his schemes on the Hudson he also withdrew the large command which, since the winter of 1770, had been in occupation of Rhode Island. One of his reasons for this move, as well as for his withdrawal of the garrisons from Verplanck's and Stony Points, was his apprehension that the French fleet of d'Estaing, which had sailed from the W…

Not only the whole North River, but much of New York Bay, was frozen solid,1 and if the army under Washington had been in any condition to assume the aggressive New York, with its relatively small garrison, must probably have succumbed. But never was Washington's army in a more deplorable plight than during that terrible winter. It was encamped in two divisions, one 1 General Heath relates in his …

This house, owned by Joseph Youngs, was situated about four miles east of Tarrytown and about the same distance northwest of White Plains, at the intersection of an east and west road from Tarrytown and a north and south road from Unionville; and the locality was hence called " The Four Corners.'' As a result of the conflict there the dwelling was burned, and during the remainder of the war the pl…

His orders were " to move between Croton River and the White Plains, Hudson's River and Bedford; never to remain long at any one place, that the enemy might not be able to learn their manner of doing duty or form a plan for striking .them in any particular situation." During this winter, with 250 men, he took a position at the Youngs House, and, contrary to instructions, stopped there so long that…

In consequence of this unfortunate affair, all attempt by the Americans to hold the country south of the Croton River was abandoned, and from that time until the restoration of peace our lines .lid not extend below Pine's Bridge and Bedford. In September, 1780 (eight months after the Youngs House disaster), when Major Andre was taken at Tarrytown, his captors had to travel a distance of more than …

Several British were killed, the quarters were burned, and Hat field, three other officers, and eleven men were taken prisoners. Another raid on Morrisania, on a larger scale and much more effective, was made in May. It was led by Captain dishing, of the Massachusetts line, with one hundred infantry. More than forty of de Lancey's troopers were killed or made prisoners. The object of the expeditio…

The fleet was commanded by Admiral de Ternay, and the land force (5,000) by the Count de Rochambeau, the instructions of the latter being to act subject to the orders of Washington as commander-in-chief. Three days later Clinton, at New York, was re-enforced by the fleet of Admiral Craves, which gave him a naval superiority. He now decided to attack the French at Newport, and as a preparatory meas…

Atproject and returned to Manhattan Island. considered his Newport It was supposed at the time that his erratic action was occasioned partly by the delay in the arrival of his transports, partly by Washington's sudden move, and partly by information which he had received of the strengthening of the French troops by large bodies of militia. But the principal cause was undoubtedly the change in the …

In 17S0 a change was needed in the command at West Point. General "Robert Howe, then in command, was thought to be inefficient. Having knowledge of this fact, General Benedict Arnold (who had for several months been in traitorous correspondence with Sir Henry Clinton, the commander-in-chief of the British forces in America) resolved to solicit the appointment to the command to this post in order t…

n-chief, him if any place had been assigned to him. The commander-i who was a warm admirer of Arnold for his skill and bravery in the northern campaigns, replied that he was to take command of the left wing of the army. This was the post of honor, but still Arnold did not seem satisfied, and Washington, perceiving it, promised to meet him at his headquarters at the Birdsall house, Peekskill, and c…

Monday, September 11, at twelve o'clock noon, near Dobbs Ferry, was the time and place fixed. On the afternoon of the day before, Arnold went down the river in his barge to the western landing of King's Ferry (Stony Point) and stayed overnight at the house of Smith had Joshua Hett Smith,' about two miles above llaverstraw. and recombeen introduced by General Howe to General Arnold, mended as a man…

Y.) for Hartford (Conn.), to hold a conference with Count Rochambeau (the commander-in-chief of the French allies, lately arrived), Arnold wrote to Andre on the 15th, agreeing to send a person to meet him at Dobbs Ferry on the 20th, and to conduct hini to a place of safety where he could confer with him. ()u the 17th Arnold and his aide-de-camp, Colonel Richard Varick, came to Peekskill, went to S…

Frost estate!, Croton, saw a barge tilled with men from the "Vulture" approaching the shore. They seized their gnus, which they had taken with them to their work, ran to the river, concealed themselves behind some rocks, and as the barge approached Peterson tired, and great confusion ensued. A second shot from Sherwood compelled the barge to return to the " Vulture." The British returned the fire,…

Arnold rode through Peekskill to Verplanck's Point on the morning of the 21st, and Colonel Livingston handed him the letter which he had just received from Andre. Arnold then crossed the river and went to Joshua Ilett Smith's house. Prom Stony Point he dispatched an officer in his own barge up the river to Peekskill Creek, and thence to Canopus Creek, with orders to bring down a row-boat from that…

The negotiations not having been completed, they, in the gray of early morn, rode through Haverstraw to Smith's house, three miles distant, Andre expecting to return to the " Vulture" on the next night. Smith, his servant, and the boatmen returned by water. Andre had scarcely entered the house when booming of cannon was heard, causing him considerable uneasiness, and with reason. The Americans at …

One of the shots from the "Vulture" lodged in an oak tree, where it remained for more than half a century, when the oak tree, which had become decayed, was cut down, the ball removed and presented by William Underbill to George J. Fisher, M.D., of Sing Sing. Andre had watched the cannonade with anxious eye from an upper window of Smith's house, and after the " Vulture " had been obliged to shift h…

The approach of the British was to be announced by signals, and the American forces were to be so distributed that they could be easily captured, and at the proper moment Arnold was to surrender the works with all the troops, 3,000 in number. Andre was furnished by Arnold with plans of the works and explanatory papers, which, at Arnold's request, he placed between his stockings and his feet, promi…

Upon landing at Verplanck's, Smith called the coxswain into Welsh's hut near the ferry landing and gave him an eight dollar continental bill, and then went to Colonel Livingston's tent. a short distance from the road, and talked with him a few minutes, but declined his invitation to take some liquor, and said that he was going to General Arnold's headquarters. They mounted their horses, rode over …

I asked him who he was ; he told me his name was Joshua Smith and that he had a pass from General Arnold to pass all guards. I asked him where he lived ; he told me. I asked him what time he crossed the ferry ; he said "about dusk." I asked where he was bound for ; he told me that he intended to go that night as far as Major (Joseph) Strang's. I told him Strang was not at home, and he spoke someth…

I then asked him to tell me something of his business ; he made answer that he had no objections to my knowing it ; he told me that he was a brother of (Chief Justice) William Smith in Xew York, though very different in principle, and that he was employed by General Arnold to go with that gentleman, meaning the person who was with him, to get intelligence from the enemy ; that they expected to mee…

He examined their passes, and, beingsatisfied, they proceeded on tluur journey eastward about half a mile, until they reached the road southerly to Tine's Bridge over the Croton. Taking that road, they proceeded to the house of Isaac Underbill, where they took breakfast of corn meal mush and milk. They journeyed no farther together. Smith returned to Peekskill, and then went to Fishkill, where his…

In order to cheek the prosecution of this practice, small scouting parties were frequently sent out beyond the American posts to reconnoiter the country between the posts and those of the enemy. As the cattle taken from the Cowboys, unless stolen and reclaimed, were by legislative enactment held to be " prize of war," small volunteer parties were occasionally formed by the young men attached to th…

In the afternoon they proceeded southward with their muskets over their shoulders. After walking about a mile they met David Williams, who joined them. The party now consisted of eight, all of whom were devotedly attached to the American cause, and most, if not all, of whom had been in the American army. All but Sergeant Dean, however, were privates. After walking about fifteen miles, they found q…

During the first half hour several persons whom they knew passed, then Van Wart, who was standing guard while Paulding and Williams played cards, discovered, at about nine o'clock, on the rising ground directly opposite to where the Tarrytown Academy now stands, slowly riding toward them, a man on a black horse. He said to Williams and Paulding, k' Here's a horseman coming! We must stop him." At t…

He then dismounted and said, " Gentlemen, you had better let me go, or you will bring yourselves into trouble." Paulding then told him that he hoped he would not be offended, as they did not mean to take anything from him, that there were a great many bad people going the road, and they did not know but he might be one, and then asked him if he had any letters about him; to which Andre answered "N…

I then asked if he would give up his horse, saddle, bridle, watch, and one hundred guineas; he said yes. I asked him if he would not give more, and he said he would give any quantity of dry goods, or any sum of money, and bring it to any place we might pitch on so that we might get it." Upon which Paulding answered: " No, by God, if you would give us ten thousand guineas you shall not stir one ste…

Franks, when the messenger from Jameson arrived (it being about 0 a.m.), opened the letter, read it carefully, folded it, put it in his pocket, finished the remark which was on his lips when the messenger arrived, and excused himself to those at the table, saying that it was necessary for him to go immediately to West Point, and for the aides to inform General Washington on his arrival, which was …

Then priming his pistols, he ordered them to hurry down the river, stating to them that he had to go with a ilag of truce to the kk Vulture," and must hasten back to meet Washington. He tied a white handkerchief to a cane and waved it as he passed Colonel Livingston at Verplanck's Point, and that officer, recognizing the barge, allowed it to pass. In a short time he was safely on board the " Vultu…

After years of bitter disappointment, cares, and embarrassments his nervous system failed him, sleep became a stranger to his eyes, and at London, on Juno II, 1801, he died, " unwept, unhonored, and unsung." Not long after Arnold left the Robinson house Washington arrived, and on being informed that Arnold had gone to West Point took breakfast at about twelve o'clock and passed over with Generals …

After dinner Washington took Generals Lafayette and Knox into his confidence, and with choking voice and tears rolling down HISTORY WESTCHESTER COUNTY his cheeks revealed to them the dark conspiracy. " Arnold is a traitor and has flown to the British. Whom can we trust now?" wore the words of the great commander. At seven o'clock he wrote to Colonel Jameson to use every precaution to prevent A…

Welde and Jonathan Currey, down Grey's Hill, and into the Peekskill Hollow Road, and from thence southerly to the then public house at the junction of the Albany Post Road and the Peekskill Hollow Road (now owned by Gardner Z. Hollman), where a halt was made for a few minutes. They then proceeded over Gallows Hill, where the spy Edmund Palmer was hanged three years before by Putnam, through Contin…

There, on September 29, he was tried before a board of fourteen general officers: Major-Generals Stirling, Lafayette, Robert Howe, Steuben, and Saint Clair, and BrigadierGenerals Parsons, James Clinton, Knox, (Hover, Patterson, Hand, Huntington, and Stark, Major-General Greene presiding, and upon his own free and voluntary confession was unanimously found guilty of being a spy, and that in their o…

On his arrival at the gallows he was led to the wagon under it, raised himself into it, and said to those near by, " Gentlemen, I pray you to bear witness that I meet my fate as a brave man." He then took the noose from the hands of the hangman, removed his hat and snow-white neckcloth, pushed down the collar of his shirt, and, opening the noose, put it over his head and around his neck, drawing t…

His death was regretted even by his enemies, but there was nothing in the execution that was not consistent with the rules of war, and his sacrifice was necessary for the public safety. Washington, writing to the president of the continental congress from the Robinson house, September 2(3, 1780, says: " I don't know the party who took Andre, but it is said it consisted only of a few militiamen, wh…

Whereas, Congress have received information that John Paulding, David Williams, and Isaac Van Wart, three young volunteer militiamen of the State of New York, did on the 23d of September last intercept Major John Andre, adjutantgeneral of the British army, on his return from the American lines in the character of a spy ; and notwithstanding the large bribes offered them for his release, nobly disd…

Paulding, Williams, and Van Wart were invited to meet General rs, on which ocWashington at Verplanck's Point at his headquarte casion the medals were presented to them with ceremony, and they had the honor of dining with him. The State of New York also gave a farm to each of the captors. ^~^UZsiA^£CtsUt (^^r-^x^ CAPTURE ANDRE To the foregoing succinct narrative of the capture of Andre a varie…

It was an ill-starred enterprise from beginning to end, the only lucky feature connected with it being the final escape of Arnold from Washington's vengeance. From the 12th of September, after Arnold's return from his first before the secattempt to meet Andre, a period of nine days elapsed ond and successful endeavor. It is noteworthy that Andre came up through our county by land as far as Dobbs …

Originally Arnold had no other intention than to return Andre by boat to the " Vulture." If, during his night conference with Andre, he had foreseen the necessity of sending him back overland, through numerous American posts and a wide strip of neutral territory patrolled by vigilant American bands, he certainly would have managed to bring the traitorous transactions to an end before daylight. The…

Rut on leaving Smith's house for his hazardous journey he carefully disguised himself, took off his uniform, and put on an under-coat belonging to Smith and a dark oreat-coat with ik a wide cape and buttoned close to the neck." The sufficiency of his disguise was soon to be put to a startling test. Scarce had he left the post at Verplanck's Point when he came face to face with Colonel Webb of our …

Abbatt shows that it consisted of eight, whose names are accurately given by Mr. Couch. Mr. Abbatt says that "the party was actually under the direction of one of their number, who was a veteran," and that " he alone of the party was not a private " -- Sergeant John Dean. The part of Dean in the affair is overlooked, or only very inadequately referred to, in most accounts of tin1 capture of Andre.…

At the age of twenty John Dean served as private in Colonel Holmes's regiment in the Montgomery campaign against Canada; he was next on Long Island under Colonel Putnam, and was at the battle of White Plains; promoted to sergeant, he served (1777-79) in the company of Westchester County Rangers commanded by his uncle, Captain Gilbert Dean.1 He was quartermaster of Colonel Graham's regiment (during…

Wli ite I 'lains His con lpany of Rang! ■i's was placed " under the inn uedia te comma ind of the committee of safety." In a short time Dean was at the bend of a picked troop of horse which included the best of the local militia, and for his subordinates were several of the famous " guides " of the Neutral Ground. As a test of the character of the troops, it may be uoted that the company was reta…

WillPaulding, when prisoner the of charge took Dean that shows iams, and Van Wart brought him to the top of the hill, that Dean exercised commendable discretion in delivering him with the least possible loss of time at Jameson's headquarters, and that when the question of responsibility and reward for the capture was brought up it was ho who reported to Jameson the names of the three captors. The …

Neutral the m which, company a Rangers-- Dean's Gilbert officer of Ground, was as active in the patriot interests as were the Rangers of Colonel de Lancey in those of the enemy-- he was brought in close relation with the predatory movements of the Tories and British, it Thus appears possible that in the preparation for the memorable states, definite informascouting party Dean had had. as tradition…

That John Dean did not figure more prominently in the accounts of the capture is due to several reasons. In the first place, he himself CAPTURE ANDRE reported to Jameson that Paulding, Williams, and Van Wart were alone directly responsible for the capture; in the second place, it appears that Dean regarded the taking of a spy as of the nature of hangman's work, with which few people should care…

From the first tendency the men were not apt to refer to John Dean, a man who himself did not want to be associated with the capture of a spy, and from the second they were most apt to ignore the claims of the one who might, had he been so disposed, have given them in his report the credit that they wished. The fact seems to be that Dean had a golden opportunity of advancing himself, and knowingly…

All this is leaving out of account the question as to whether the actual placing of the captors had been the work of Sergeant Dean. Dad he been disposed to press his claims he could certainly have brought forward a strong case, none the less so that he was a man of considerable education for his day and was supported by his excellent record as a subaltern. And there is no doubt that in this event …

Thus Arnold, in his zeal, did not content himself with betraying his own post, but was fain to communicate to the enemy all the vital intelligence in his possession. As related by Mr. Conch, the capturing party took Andre to the nearest American post, in the Town of North Castle, where Lieutenant-Colonel Jameson was in command. This officer, though brave and honest, seems to have possessed none to…

This was accordingly done early on the morning of the 24th, Tallmadge being in command of the escort; and indeed from that day until Andre was hung he remained with the prisoner. Arrived at Lower Salem, the supposed Anderson was installed in "Squire" Gilbert's farmhous< -- a dwelling which was torn down about a quarter of a century ago, unsuccessful efforts having been made by the late Hon. .John …

I told him that was needless, for a change was at his service, which he accepted. We were close pent up in a bed-room with a guard at the door and window. There was a spacious yard before the door which he desired he might be permitted to walk in with me. I accordingly disposed of my guard in such a manner as to prevent escape." Andre's mind was ill at ease, especially when informed that the docum…

He instructs Washington as to the hitter's appropriate duty in these words: "The request I have to make to your Excellency, and I am conscious I address myself well, is that in any rigor policy may dictate, a decency of conduct toward me may mark that, though unfortunate, I am branded with nothing dishonorable." Then lie proceeds to display tin loftiness of his nature by this threat: " I beg the l…

FLis grandfather, Joseph Paulding, owned a large tract of land east of Tarrytown (where John was born), and had four sons, all of whom were patriot soldiers in the Revolution. John received a common school education, and then worked for farmers in different parts of our county. He was a magnificent specimen of manhood, over six feet tall and well proportioned. Espousing the patriot cause like all …

Peter Huggeford, a Loyalist. He disposed of it after some years, and removed to a farm near Lake Mohegan (Yorktown), where he died on the 18th of February, 1818, He lies buried in the cemetery of Saint Peter's Episcopal Church1 near Peekskill, and oyer his grave is a monument with an elaborate inscription, erected " As a memorial sacred to public gratitude " by the corporation of the City of New Y…

I was then obliged to take what employment 1 could meet with for my support, chopping, grubbing, and all such work -- living about twenty miles from my house and family.'' He was a volunteer in Captain Daniel Martling's Tarrytown company, served under General Montgomery in the expedition to Canada, and took an active part in the contests of the Neutral Ground. He received from the State, June 16, …

The date of Isaac's birth is uncertain, but he was christened on the 25th of October, 1758. The Van Warts were a patriotic family, residing in the present Town of Green1 It is of interest that one of the principal benefactors of Saint Peter's Church was the Tory son-in-law of the third Frederick Philipse, Beverly Robinson, who was on the " Vulture " with Andre on the night of Septeniber 21, 1780. …

He was an esteemed member of the old Greenburgh Church of Elmsford, this county, in whose churchyard his remains lie, marked by a marble monument elaborately inscribed, which was dedicated June 11, 1829. One of his sons, Rev. Alexander Van Wart, delivered the prayer at the dedication of the new Tarrytown monument to Andre's captors, September 23. 1880. For nearly forty years after the capture of M…

Among other circumstances, he stated that when Major Andre's boots were taken off by them it was to search for plunder, and not to detect treason. These persons, indeed, he said, were of that class of people who passed between both armies, as often in one camp as the other, and whom, he said, if he had met with them, he should probably have as soon apprehended as Major Andre, as he had always made…

The major, he said, told him that the captors took him into the bushes and drew off his boots in the act of plundering him, and there, between his stockings and feet, they found the papers; that they asked him what he would give them to let him go; that he offered them his watcli and money, and promised them a considerable sum besides -- but that the difficulty was in his not being able to secure …

The last offer he made its was ten thousand guineas and as many dry goods as we should ask for, and he would give us his order on Sir Henry Clinton, chief commander of New York, if we would only consent to let him escape after the money and dry goods, or anything else we should please to name, should be received. We said his offers were of no use, we were resolved to do our duty to our country." O…

We further certify that the said Paulding and William- are not now resident anion- us', but that Isaac Van Wart is a respectable Freeholder of the Town of .Mount Pleasant ; that we an- well acquainted with him; and we do not hesitate to declare our belief that there is not an individual in the Count) of Westchester acquainted with Isaac Van Wart who would hesitate to describe him as a man whose in…

He had a vast deal to say regarding his sensitive honor -- that is all th.it is positively known on the subject, excepting certain circumstances of his behavior which were inconsistent with the sounding profession. ( >n t he 7t li of Sept ember, while devising ways and means to meet Arnold under some plausible pretext, he wrote to Colonel Sheldon, of the American army, n very artfully contrived le…

Franklin's books and other property -- conduct contrasting with that of the mercenary General Knyphausen, who, in taking his departure from his quarters in the house of General Cadwallader, " sent for the agent of the latter, gave him an inventory which he had caused his steward to make out on his first taking possession, told him he would find everything iu proper order, even to some bottles of w…

These individuals were not Andre's equals; they were poor unlettered peasant boys, utterly beneath any subsequent private allusion on his part except that of magnanimity, naturally duo from a superior soul. Knowing full well that they had saved the very liberties of their country, he must have been aware that this fact was a thing of tremendous importance to them personally; and if he could have s…

There is not a scintilla of testimony, direct or circumstantial, except Andre's, to suggest even a suspicion that the young men, when they found that a questionable character had fallen into their hands, wrere ruled by speculative considerations. They were by the roadside on guard in the American interest, to do whatever chance might put in their way as patriotic inhabitants of the Neutral Ground.…

The cleverness with which they questioned him in the first place shows that they were men of alert perceptions and not dull country hinds. At least they could not doubt that here was a decidedly promisingchance for a splendid financial speculation, without the least risk. His proposal that two of them should hold him hostage while the third should go to New York and get the ransom was capable of e…

This fact was highly honorable to them; but there is not the least reason for thinking that it, or any other consideration except their incorruptible patriotic integrity, was instrumental in determining their decision. The simple honesty of these country boys, as well as their freedom 1 It is presumed that Andre was questioned »nd searched by the throe captors only. But the throe wore still an int…

In possessing themselves of Andre's money and valuable personal property they took only lawful prize, and Washington, whose scrupulous courtesy to the prisoner in all respects was conspicuous, found no impropriety in this conduct, and did not cause them to make resti!p tution. Moreover, the three captors magnanimously shared the bootv with their comrades who had no part in the arrest. All were ent…

The British soldiers and American Tories stole cows from the Whigs; the Whigs had no remedy but to steal them back again. ... It is evident they were not thieves for gain, else would they have taken the price which Andre ottered for his ransom, which was more than would have sufficed to purchase the whole stock of cows, sheep, and oxen which belonged to Job when he was in the land of Uz. . . . Eve…

He loved a fair lady, Honora Sneyd, who loved and married another. That was in 1773. As a matter of fact she rejected him as early as 1771, and he then entered the army. There was no reason for her rejection except that it did not please her to love him back, but did please her to love someone else; for Andre was a person of good fortune and family, though without title -- and Honora did not marry…

He had all their usual charming qualities in somewhat more than the average degree -- but no original parts of any important interest that very searching inquiry has ever disclosed. His sole claim to distinction -- aside from his part in an infamous transaction -- is that he was put to one of the most righteous and exemplary deaths ever administered, in a highly dramatic conjunction of circumstanc…

The resulting monument, consisting of a base and shaft of conventional pattern, was < nt from Sing Sing marble, material and labor being I ho uift of the officials of the State Prison. The inscription was written by the lion. James Iv. Paulding, ex-secretary of the navy and the intimate friend of Washington Irving. On the 7th of October, 1853, the monument was dedicated. Governor Horatio Seymour a…

From all that vast multitude assembled on yonder heights to see him die arose no word of exultation; no breath of taunt or triumph broke the sereneness of the surrounding air; melancholy music gave voice to melancholy thoughts ; tears dimmed the eyes and wet the cheeks of the peasant soldiers by whom he was surrounded; and so profound was the impress of the scene upon their patriot hearts that lon…

No consoling word, no pitying or respectful look, cheered the dark hour of his doom. He was met with insult at every turn. The sacred consolations of the minister of Cod were denied him; his Bible was taken from him; with an excess of barbarity hard to be paralleled in civilized war his dying letters of farewell to his mother and sister were destroyed in his presence; and, uncheered by sympathy, m…

It was one of the most characteristic efforts of that distinguished son of our county. The crowd in attendance was estimated at seventy thousand. There was an imposing procession. General James W. Hasted, of Peekskill, acting as grand marshal. The inscriptions on the Tarrytown monument are as follows: [Inscription on the south side.~\ On this Spot, the 23d day of September, 1780, the Spy, Major Jo…

The inscription on Major Andre's memorial in Westminster Abbey is in t liese words: Sacred to the memory of Major John Andre, who, raised by his merit, at an early period of life, to the rank of Adjutant-General of the British forces in America, and, employed in an important but hazardous enterprise, fell a sacrifice to bis zeal for bis King and Country, on the 2d of October, 1780, aged twenty-nin…

An inscription was engraved upon it, written by the noted Dean Stanley, reciting' that the stone was placed there " not to perpetuate the record of strife, bur in token of those better feelings which have since united two nations, one in race, one in language, and one in religion, with the hope that this friendly union will never be broken." This memorial has had a troubled history, having several…

Indeed, it was not an unusual thing to have our sentinels fired on from parties who would crawl up in the darkness of night and then disappear." But during this period, and indeed throughout the winter of 1780-81, there were few engagements or surprises in our county on any important scale. It was mostly a petty border warfare. The only movement of more than ordinary consequence was a foraging exp…

The year 1781, which was to terminate the armed struggle for in- HISTORY WESTCHESTER COUNTY dependence, opened with an event not less appalling in its way than had been the disasters of the preceding year in the South and the Arnold treason. On the 1st day of January the whole Pennsylvania line, 2,000 strong, mutinied and marched off from the Morristown camp toward Philadelphia to seek a redre…

A smaller mutiny in the same month by the New Jersey line was summarily ended by hanging its chief promoters. Toward the end of January a bold and successful raid was made by Lieutenant-Colonel Hull from the Westchester lines upon de Lancey's corps at Morrisania. A number of tin1 British were killed and fifty were captured, some of their huts were burned, and the pontoon bridge across the Harlem R…

All that was required was for the Americans to prove themselves worthy of this assistance by respectably matching it with forces of their own; whereas they appeared almost unequal to the task of maintaining any army at all! Moreover, the situation at the South was weekly becoming more desperate. In December Clinton sent Arnold to Virginia with a large expedition, and in the spring Oornwallis also …

It was to this plan and its steadfast pursuance with every manifestation of soberest earnestness that the conquest of American liberties at Yorktown was undividedly due. And it is the proud boast of our County of Westchester that here, on our soil -- entirely on our soil -- the grand programme was inaugurated, developed, prosecuted, and brought to the threshold of assured success. At the opening o…

Greene was an officer of notable courage, address, and proficiency; brilliant, generous, and noble; a great favorite of Washington's and indeed one of the ornaments of the American army. A citizen of Rhode Island, he entered the service1 at the beginning of the war, was with Arnold in Canada, and during the operations on the Delaware in the fall of 1777 was intrusted by Washington with the defense…

In the same bedroom with him wore Major Flagg (also a gallant officer) and a young lieutenant, and the men were quartered in tents around the dwelling. De Lancey's party crossed the ford unobserved and quickly surrounded the house1. The young lieutenant, aroused by the commotion, sprang to tin1 window and discharged two pistols at the approaching Refugees. This deed of rashness infuriated the assa…

He was placed on a horse and compelled to ride off with the ruffianly victors. After going about three-quarters of a mile they perceived he could travel no farther, removed him from his horse, and pitched him into some bushes by the roadside, where he presently expired. He was buried, with Major Flagg, in the churchyard at Crompond.1 The American loss in this ghastly affair in killed, wounded, and…

On the basis of this news Washington and Rochambeau met at Weathersfield, Conn., on the L'LM of May, and subscribed to the following understanding: The enemy, by several detachments from New York, having reduced their force at that post to less than half the number which they had at the time of the former conference at Hartford in September last, it is thought advisable to form a junction of the F…

It was decided with all possible dispatch to effect a union of Washington's and Rochambeau's forces and " move down in the vicinity of New York," there to " take advantage of any opportunity which the weakness of the enemy may afford.'' But whither the licet was to conic was not definitely indicated; and manifestly it was intended thai the ultimate campaign of the armies should be determined by th…

To which point would de Grasse come? or, rather, to -which point should the two generals advise him to come? -- for there was, of course, time to communicate with him before his departure from the West Indies, and that indeed was indispensable. It will be remembered I hat in 1778, when the first French expedition under d'Estaing reached our shores, it proceeded, at Washington's suggestion, to Sand…

Washington, on the other hand, deemed a New York campaign of first and supremest importance -- not because he considered American interests less needful of his personal employment in the South than in the North, but for the precisely contrary reason that the proposed move against New York was the one essential instrumentality by which to relieve the stress at the South. At Weathersfield he urged t…

W this was not Washington's exact mental attitude from start to finish -- clearly formulated at the beginning and never modified by special conditions later -- then his whole course of conduct and expression was purely accidental, a thing not to be believed of him. Again and again he was besought to leave the army at the North and take the command in Virginia; and uniformly he replied that he was …

York or a withdrawal of the (enemy's) troops from Virginia.1' On the 4th of June, previously to the junction of the American and French armies in Westchester County, he wrote from his headquarters at New Windsor these most significant words to the Count de Eochambeau: " 1 could wish that the march of the [French] troops might now be hurried as much as possible. ... I know of no measure which will …

But if at Woathersliold Rochambeau conceived the Virginia campaign, it was certainly not a conception based upon the plan of a formidable preliminary New York campaign. Without the preliminary New York campaign, conducted with the utmost sagacity, there would have been no triumphant Virginia campaign. This digression from the straightforward progress of our narrative seems necessary to a proper un…

Rochambeau began his march from Newport on the 10th of June, leaving at that place a sufficient garrison, its harbor being still occupied by French ships of war. Washington assembled his troops from their different encampments on the west side of the Hudson, brought them across King's Ferry, and ou the 2(>th established his headquarters at the Van Cortlandt house north of Peekskill. lie at once pr…

The Kingsbridge enterprise was to be under the charge of General Lincoln, of the American army, who was to drop down the river under cover of night, reconnoiter the works at the northern end of Manhattan Island, and, if he found them not too strongly defended, attack Kingsbridge. At the same time the Duke de Lauzun, of the French army, was to come down to Morrisania from Connecticut by a forced ma…

General Lincoln crossed to the west bank, and from the Palisades reconnoitered the Manhattan Island forts. To his disappointment he discovered that a large body of the enemy was encamped there. Thus his intended surprise of Kingsbridge was made impracticable. He returned to his boats and remained in them till before dawn of the 3d, when he landed his men and guns and advanced to a height opposite …

There were only two halts -- one at Croton Bridge and the other beside the Sleepy Hollow Church near Tarrytown. Valentine's Hill (Yonkers), four miles above Kingsbridge, was reached by sunrise of the 3d. and there Washington stopped to await the result of the movements below. At the same time the French army was on t lie way from < Connecticut. This well-planned and in all its parts perfectly well…

Yet during all that period lie had his army drawn up or disposed in New Jersey, the Highlands, or Westchester County, within easy striking distance of New York; and, moreover, the recapture of New York was the grand goal of the lie volution. He did not attempt it because it would have been a simply mad thing to do with the forces at his disposal. When, finally, with the assistance of the French, h…

The latter lay in two lines, resting on the Hudson at Dobbs Ferry, covered by batteries, and extending toward the Nepperhan River; while their allies were in a single line on the hills farther east, reaching to the Bronx. The left of the French position was at Chattel-ton's Hill, the scene of the battle of October 28, 1776. A very pleasing description of the united encampment is given by Irving in…

Some of these were the Baron Viomenil, commanding the Bourbonnais. the oldest regiment of France; the Count de Viomenil, his brother; the Chevalier de Chastelleux; the Count do Custine and the Duke de Lauzun, both of whom fell under the guillotine; Berthier, at the time aide-decamp to Rochambeau and later one of Napoleon's field marshals; and the Count de Fersen, who distinguished himself at Yorkt…

On the evening of the 15th of July there was a spirited engagement with the enemy at Tarrytown, occasioned by an attempt of several British ships of war to capture or destroy American vessels that had come down the river with ordnance and supplies. This affair is known as " the action at Tarrytown," and in commemoration of it a historical tablet was placed on the Tarrytown railroad station, July 1…

Captain Hurlbut, who was on board one of the latter with twelve men, armed only with pistols and swords, waited until the British were alongside and kk gave them a lire, which they returned, and killed one of his men." The Americans now jumped into the water and swam ashore. After setting fire to the vessels the British quickly retired under a deadly musketry attack from the Dragoons and French on…

The largest of the ships was set on fire by a bursting shelf, and in consternation a number of the men jumped overboard. Some of them were drowned, and three or four who reached the shore were made prisoners. After these creditable transactions with the enemy's ships, Washington entered vigorously upon his arrangements for threatening New York. About this time he crossed with Rochambeau to the oth…

The roads were very bad, and the artillery had difficulty in following. Nevertheless, the two armies marched in perfect order, observing the strictest silence." The troops were disposed so as to cover the proceedings of the two generals, who, with the greatest deliberation, attended by a corps of engineers, traversed the country in front of the British position from river to Sound, noting every pl…

His self-possession now returned, and, ashamed at having given way to an impulse of fear, he at once pricked back with all the rapidity to which he could urge his horse, and resumed his place in tin1 order of march; while the commanding officers, with good-natured peals of laughter, welcomed him back and commended his courage."1 " This reconnoisance," says a French writer, " was made with all the …

It is known; but this great man is a thousand times greater "and more noble at the head of his army than at any other time.'' J This was no sensational parade before the enemy's position to make a plausible showing of offensive designs, but an elaborate, scientific preparation for a siege. It is said that Washington and Rochambeau were in their saddles twenty-four consecutive hours. Rochambeau rel…

They brought us two little boats, in which we embarked, with the saddles and trappings of the horses; then they sent back two American dragoons, who drew by the bridle two horses, good swimmers, these were followed by all the rest, urged on by the the boats. lashes of some dragoons remaining on the other shore, and for whom we sentwasbackunnoticed by This maneuver consumed less than an hour, but h…

There is an abundance of proof that the reconnoissance of New n's part, and York was a perfectly sincere proceeding on Washingto that at the time he fully intended to follow it up with a regular siege in the case that the fleet of de Orasse should make its appearance in New York Bay. Moreover, he earnestly desired that de Orasse should come there. Previously to the junction of the armies at Dobbs …

On July 21 -- the day when he set out to reconnoiter New York -- he addressed the following autograph letter (whose original is now in the possession of the editor of this History) to Brigadier-General David Forman1 at Monmouth X. J. : Head Quarters, Dobbs Ferry, 21st July, 1781. Dear Sir:-- When I request your particular Care of the enclosed, it is necessary that 1 should inform you in the fulles…

You will be so good as to give me by the return of this, or in the chain which you shall establish, the present situation, number, strength, and station of the Enemy's Ships -- and as particular information of this kind may lie very useful and consequential to me and to our French Allies -- 1 beg you will continue to keep me informed from time to time of any alterations which take place, either re…

His younger brother, Colonel Jonathan Forman, was at the head of a regiment in the New Jersey line, and after the war became the first president of the Order of the Cincinnati in New Jersey. Both were animated by the loftiest spirit of patriotism, served throughout the Revolution, ai in at l>< ai C< of ife ofOf G >r the w inotln in was Fornn Histor Itidenrehi of Was] niian s daug id a siste Fre…

Cornwallis, finding his position perilous in the interior of thai State, was retreating to Yorktown, with the intention of intrenching himself there. At this juncture, should de Grasse enter the Chesapeake instead of New York Harbor, Cornwallis would be .aught between the American fleet and the Southern American land forces, in which eventuality it would probecome highly expedient for Washington a…

On July 2(5 he wrote to Cornwallis to have three regiments dispatched to New York from the Carol inas, saying: - 1 shall probably want them, as well as the troops \jou man be able to spare me from the Chesapeake, for such, offensive or defensive operations as may offer in this quarter." The order was countermanded after the coming of the 3,000 Hessians, but it shows how promptly the presence of th…

While perhaps in the general opinion my force is equal to the commencement of operations against New York, my conduct must appear, if not blamable, highly mysterious at least. Our allies, who were made to expect a very considerable augmentation of force by this time, instead of seeing a prospect of advancing must conjecture upon good grounds that the campaign will waste fruitlessly away." This let…

I am very fearfull that you have met with more Trouble in establishing the Chain of expresses than you expected -- as I have not had the Pleasure of hearing from you since your first Favor of 2.3d inst. -- -and I am informed from N. York that a fleet with part of the Army of Lord Cornwallis from Virginia arrived at that Place last Tuesday. My Anxiety to be early and well informed of the Enemy's mo…

If the latter, they will immediately send in a light ship, or one will come out to them." In this letter he also expressed apprehension that Forman's expresses from Monmouth might be intercepted by small parties of the enemy, and directed that ;i new and less exposed route for them be established. It is well known that Washington, as soon as he decided on the move to Virginia, took pains to have c…

Conclusive proof on this point is also afforded by the following item in his "Accounts with the United States," dated August, 1781: "To Cash advand Cap Pobbs & other Pilots, to carry them to Monmouth City to await the arrival of the French Fleet -- hourly expected, £18 13s Id [lawful currency]." As he relates in his Journal, under date of August 1, Washington, while encamped at Dobbs Ferry, made a…

These hills have very few interstices or breaks in them, but are more prominent in some places than others. The Sawmill River and the Sprain Branch occasion an entire separation of the hills above Philipse's from those below, commonly called Valentine's Hills. A strong position might be taken with the Sawmill (by the Widow Babcock's) in front and on the left flank, and this position may be extende…

During the three weeks which had elapsed since the grand reconnaissance ofXew York, it was not alone Clinton who felt uneasiness and perplexity at Washington's apparent hesitation. The Americans and French themselves were at a loss to account for it; for not a whisper of the real considerations which were influencing the American commander was permitted to get abroad. The letters of the Abbe Robin…

Besides beginning to build ovens in the vicinity of Staten Island, he had a large camp marked out there and much fuel collected, lie caused the Westchester County roads leading down to Kingsbridge to be cleared by pioneers, as if preliminary to a march in that direction, lie also adopted the familiar ruse of misleading dispatches, which were intrusted to ingenious scouts, who fell in with parties …

"The inhabitants of the country," says the Abbe Robin, " were greatly surprised to see us returning by the same road, so poor, and the Tories, with a malicious sneer, demanded if we were going to rest from our labors/' By the 2Cth both armies had completed their movement across King'?. Ferry. The advance through the eastern part of New Jersey was made so as to have it appear that Staten Island was…

He directed Heath to have promineutly in view at all times the defense of the Highlands and the Hudson River. Secondarily he was to "cover" the country below, but " without hazarding the safety of the posts in the Highlands." Finally, Washington recommended that the position of the American forces should not be pushed farther down than the "north side of the Proton, ** and, consistently with this …

General Washington often spoke of the affair, and it was reported all over Europe, to show the utility of the bayonet and that a small party of infantry thus armed may successfully resist a strong body of cavalry." After the third charge the Americans fired with good effect, and the incident ended with the discomfiture of the British. At the end of January, 17S2, an expedition of fifty men left Pe…

The first of these expeditions (March 4) was led by Captain Hunnewell, with a body of volunteer horse backed by infantry under the command of Major Woodbridge. The party assaulted the cantonment just before sunrise, taking the enemy completely by surprise, killing and wounding many, and carrying away twenty prisoners. During the retreat Abraham Dyckman, the heroic Kingsbridge guide, was mortally w…

De Grasse's fleet returned the West Indies, where" in April, 1782, it was totally defeated to by the British Admiral Rodney, de Grasse himself being made prisoner. Washington resumed the chief command of the army in the Highlands at the (Mid of March, 1782, making his headquarters at Newburgh. Rumors of British desires and preparatory measures for peace now began to arrive. Sir Henry Clinton was r…

In this uncertain posture of affairs, and amid the general regret excited by the news of the French disasters at sea, Washington received intimations that Carleton was preparing to dispatch a large portion of his New York command to the West Indies for the purpose of conquering several of the French islands. He thereupon advised Rochambeau (still in Virginia) to march to the Hudson and again effec…

The remainder of the army marched down land." by The ceremonies and amenities attending the second junction of the French and American armies in our county are thus described by Thacher in his valuable Journal: The whole army was paraded under arms this morning in order to honor September 14. his Excellency Count Rochambeau on his arrival from the southward. The troops were all formed in two lines…

These troops are Prussians." Several of the officers of the French army who have seen troops of the different European nations have bestowed the highest encomium and applause on our army, and declare that they had seen none superior to the Americans. The last of the French troops arrived on the 18th of September. The army of Rochambeau made its encampment at and about the on Verplanck's village o…

September 27, according to Heath, " General Washington, covered by the Dragoons and light infantry, reconnoitered the grounds on the east side of the river below the White Plains." Record of this enterprise appears also in Washington's "Accounts with the United States," as follows: "September, 1782.-- To the Expences of a Reconnoitre as low as Philipsburg & thence across from Dobbs's ferry to ye S…

An officer in the army, he had repeatedly, during the progress of the Revolution, sought opportunity to come to America and fight under Washington, but to his intense clisgusi had been denied that privilege. Finally, in the spring of 1782, he was commissioned lieutenant-colonel in the regiment of the Soisonnais, then with Rochambeau in Virginia; and he also was intrusted by his father, the ministe…

An amusing incident of local interest, which occurred just as the French were making ready to leave, is thus related by Segur: At the moment of our quitting the camp of Crampont (sic), as M. de Rochambeau was proceeding, at the head of our columns, surrounded by his brilliant staff, an American approached him, tapped him slightly on the shoulder, and, shewing him a paper he held in his hand, said …

The American then withdrew; and the general and Ins army, who had thus been arrested by a constable, continued their march. A judgment of arbitration was afterwards pronounced, fixing two thousand francs, that is to say. a sum less than the general had offered, as the amount of damages due to this unjust proprietor, who had claimed fifteen thousand, and he was even condemned to pay costs. 1 The Ma…

New York was then the only place in the United States still occupied by a British force. In April Sir Guy Carleton commenced to arrange the preliminaries necessary to be observed before withdrawing his command. The chief thing to be provided for was the conveyance of the Tory refugees out of the United States to the British dominion.1 As the refugees were many thousands in number, and all of them …

Lamb, mortgages, and contracts before the evacua" overwhelmed the Loyalists. New York City tion of the city should take place, for they presented a scene of distress not easily de- were penniless. The complications were insurscribed. Men who had joined the British army mountable, and nothing was accomplished in and had exhibited the utmost valor in battle that direction. Angry lamentations filled …

Local tradition also identified the Livingston house as the place where Washington and Rochambeau met upon the junction of the allied armies in July, 1781, and where they planned the Yorktown campaign upon receiving the news from de Grasse's fleet in August of the same year. Reposing confidence in the accuracy of the published statements and prevailing beliefs regarding the venerable house, some m…

It is unnecessary to go into the particulars of the matter here, and indeed we fear that even the brief allusion to it Avhich we have permitted ourselves may wound the sensibilities of some of our readers. It is proper to add that the originators of the monument at Dobbs Ferry acted in entire good faith and with very praiseworthy motives, upon grounds deemed sufficient at the time. 1 The inscripti…

May G, 1783, Washington and Sir Guy ■ The following entry appears in WashlngCarleton arranged for the evacuation of Amer- ton's •< Accounts with the United States," writ" To Expenditures upon ten in his own hand: lean soil by the British And opposite this point, May 8, 17S3, a Brit- an Interview with Sir Guy Carleton at Orange ish sloop-of-war fired 17 guns in honor of the Town exclusive of what w…

As the great day approached, Washington made his arrangements for taking possession of the city in conjunction with The constituted authorities of the State of New York. lie dispatched from West Point, through our county, a force sufficient for the occupation of Kingsbridge and other outlying posts as they should bo surrendered. And (hen, attended by his staff and joined by Governor Clinton, Lieut…

Frydav morning [21st] we rode in company with the Commanderin-Chief as far as the Widow Day's, at Harlem where we held a council.1 at a fter Sir Guy Carleton m 1 Irving sa tifled Washi ys tli 1 of the time when the diffe it would be pleasing to believ QgtO] of Eastchester was the plac .■Hi posts w ould be v acated, Governor Clinto nil official arrangements wer men ibers of the State counc " summon…

White Plains, which had been the county seat since 1759, ceased to be adapted for that purpose, partly because of the burning of the court house on the night of the 5th of November, 1776, and partly because of the exposed situation of the village between the lines of the two armies. Upon the destruction of the court house the village of Bedford was made the seat of the county meeting-house of Bedg…

Plains court house of 1787 1 occupied the same site as the first, oil Broadway, and continued in use until 1857, when the present fine building on Railroad Avenue was finished. The Bedford court house, also erected in 1787, is still in existence, being now used as a town hall. After the Revolution the board of supervisors, which had had but a meager membership during the war, resumed at once its c…

In addition to the localities represented in this list was Ryck's Patent -- the present Peekskill and its vicinity, -- which had always retained an identity distinct from that of the Manor of Cortlandt, and even previously to the Revolution had been represented in the board of supervisors. No reconstruction of the civil divisions of the county having as \i'\ been effected under the State governmen…

al regret second the gene, • Plains, whii Whit ice to rn struct raging t<> the igether w lh tin adjoini ig pr< perty bel< pi county, passed into the hands of private parties several years ago, ami the building was torn down, carried off. anil passed into the unknown. The remembrance is all of the bistoric structure that remains.-- Smith's Manual of Westchester County. 2 Upper Salem was also known …

We have shown in a previous chapter (see p. 41 S) that there was an increase of only 2,258 in the population of the county from the time of the last colonial census, taken in 1771, to that of the first federal enumeration, made in 1790, and that the meagerness of this growth during nineteen years (including seven years of peace) is even more significant when it is remembered that many thousand acr…

In due time provision was made d by the legislature to sell to private persons all the confiscate lands in the State (with the exception of certain properties which were re end commisserved for gifts to particular individuals), and to that sioners of forfeiture were appointed for the four districts into which the State was divided-- the Eastern, Western, Middle, and Southern. General Philip Van Co…

Peter Forshee Jacob Smith Joseph Oakley John Browne. . . Andrew Bostwick Total ... ... 155| ... Eleazer Hart Isaac Odell Robert Reid Elisha Barton Dennis Post Nicholas Underbill Caleb Smith Dennis Lent John Devoe Abigail Sherwood Frederick Underbill Hon. Richard Morris (estimated) Henry Brown Parsonage Lot Elnatban Taylor Frederick Van Cortlandt (about) Margery Rich John Gnerino William Hyatt…

Low, whose name appears in the foregoing list, was the Manor Hall property. Low was a Xew York merchant. Lie bought the Manor Hall property and three hundred and twenty acres of land for £14,520. lie never occupied it, but on May 12, 178G, sold it to William Constable, also a Xew York merchant. From the foregoing record it appears that in 1785 'the Yonkers,' as now bounded, was owned by between si…

was the hostess of the Van Cortlandt house near Peekskill during the Revolution, and whose stern reply to an insolent soldier on a perilous occasion is celebrated (see p. 427). Mrs. Beekman died in 1S47 at the age of ninety-four. Besides Philipseburgh Manor, various (states of Tories scattered through the county were confiscated. All of these, however, were conproperties of but moderate dimensions…

The subdivision of the county into townships was made by an act of the legislature passed March 7, 1788. By this important statute twenty-one " towns " were erected, as follows: Westchester, Morris ania, Yonkers, Greenburgh. Mount Pleasant, Eastchester, Pelham, Now Rochelle, Scarsdale, Mamaroneck, White Plains, Harrison, Rye, North Castle, Bedford, Poundridge, Salem. North Salem, Cortlandt, Yorkto…

Greenburgh lias always retained the limits fixed tor it by the act of 1788. Its northern boundary, as described in that measure, was "a line beginning on the east side of Hudson's River at the southwest corner of the land lately conveyed by the commissioners of forfeiture for the southern district to Gerard G. Beekman, Jr., and running from thence along the southerly and easterly bounds thereof to…

the road leadhounds of the said farm of the said William David to in*, to the White Plains, and then easterly along the same road to the of Bronx River." To Mount Pleasant was assigned the remainder of Town new the cted constru was y territor the manor. Out of its Ossining by an act passed May .2, 1845. ster The bounds fixed for the Town of Eastchester were Westche north, at the south, the Bronx R…

The township named Salem has long been popularly known as Lower Salem. By an act of April 6, 1806, its name was officially changed to South" Salem, and by a further act, February 13, 1840, to the present style of Lewisboro. The name of Lewisboro was given it in honor of John Lewis,1 a liberal benefactor of the public schools and donor of the glebe lands of Saint John's Protestant Episcopal Church …

His fat her was i mary imec Ri soldier, wh o remove' Ollltll out t o Sol it li Salem i die son n iado in 1808. '] mrsuits ii large fort niir in mo rcantile if t York . He was ono Eounders <i N< of the • Now Free Academy in New York, and in 1840 save $10,000 to the support of the common schools in the .,t township now called ,i;,„l his T.owisboro homo by onhis thename.1st Ho of GENERAL COUNTY H…

The smallest of the original towns were Pelham (3,200 acres), Mamaroneck (3,900 acres*, Scarsdale (3,900 acres), and New Rochelle (5,200 acres). The first federal census was taken in 1790, two years after the organization of our county into towns. The following were the totals for the various political divisions then existing: TOWNS POPULATION North Castle (including New Castle). . 2,47<S Bedfor…

For example, Bedford, lying in the northern central part of the county, remote from New York City, peopled exclusively by farmers, and from its natural conditions incapable of any development other than agricultural, had nearly as many inhabitants as Westchester and Yonkers combined, although the united area of Westchester and Yonkers was some 1,500 acres greater than that of Bedford. Poundridge, …

The purely agricultural character of Westchester County at the end of the eighteenth century is perfectly demonstrated by these In truth, there was at that time no single village census returns. displaying circumstances of local activity from which the prospect The existence of any substantial ultimate growth might be deduced. of the foundations of such thriving communities as Yonkers, Dobbs Ferry…

There were hours of the day when the roads, it is said, were fairly blocked by the heavy traffic upon them, and eyewitnesses declare that at night even the floors of the bar and sitting-rooms of the taverns were spread over with the sleepers tarrying to rest themselves and their teams for a few hours on the way." To the national convention at Philadelphia which framed the constitution of the Unite…

In the last continental congress held under the old confederation of the State, that of 1788-89, Philip Pell, of our county, had the honor of being one of the representatives from the State of New York. Daring the eight years of Washington's administration as president the Federalist party usually enjoyed the preponderance in AYestchester County. With the incoming of Jefferson, however, the anti-F…

In such a work as this, which makes no pretensions except as a narrative history of the county, it is impossible to note, progressively, the names and services of the various incumbents of the many offices, legislative, judicial, county, and local, elected or appointed from time to time. Such an exact record does not come within the scope of a general history. An exhaustive Manual and Civil List o…

He was appointed He accompanied the Marquis de Lafayette in lieutenant-colonel in the continental army, and his tour of the United States in 1824, and remained in active duty until the end of the entertained him at the Manor House. He died war, retiring with the rank of brigadier-gen- November 21. 1831. oral. He rendered very distinguished services -The Halsey house was owned at that time on many …

From 1802 to 1807 the distinguished John Watts, Jr., occupied the position of kk first judge" of our county court, lie was the son of The John Watts, Sr., and Ann, daughter of Stephen de Lancey. father was a member of the king's council and a stanch adherent of the 3*&! crown; his magnificent estate on Manhattan Island was confiscated, and lie died, an impoverished exile, in Wales. The son was the…

A notable statue of Judge Watts stands in Trinity Churchyard, New York, erected by his grandson, General J. Watts de Peyster. In 1807 Daniel I). Tompkins, a native of our county, son of the eminent patriot, Jonathan Griffon Tompkins, was elected governor of the State of New York, an office in which he continued to serve until 1817, when he resigned it to become vice-president of the United States.…

In 1802 he was elected to the assembly, and in 1S04 he was chosen a member of congress, but resigned that office to accept an appointment as justice of the Supreme Court of the State. He resigned the justiceship when elected governor. His career as chief magistrate was distinguished especially by his great services to the country during the War of 1812-15. lie was elected to the vice-presidency, a…

Hugh Hastings, Historian of the State of New York: He was fully alive at all times to the dangers which menaced this State during the war [of 1812], and his energy and enterprise were n<> less surprising than the knowledge which lie displayed, though he had never acquired any experience as a military man, regarding the care, transportation, equipment, and welfare of the troops he sent to the field…

He created our common school system, and suggested carrying into effect the law of 1805, which created the common school fund, whose interest was to be distributed among the schools of the State. . . . One of his last acts as governor of the State, the special message which he sent to the legislature February 24, 1817 -- the day he resigned as governor,-- carried the recommendation for the aboliti…

This was the passage up the stream, on its trial trip to Albany, of Robert Fulton's steamboat, the " Clermont." It came almost unheralded on the afternoon of September 11, and to most beholders must have been an had been to object quite as astonishing as Hudson's "Half-Moon" the Indian aborigines two hundred years before. Although it was known to specially well informed people that some surprising…

In these first days of steam naviTHE "CLERMONT. gation on the Hudson intense prejudice was h a r b o r e d against the " Clermont " by the owners of trading sloops, who feared that the successful operation of steamboats would render their property worthless; and it is recorded that attempts were repeatedly made to sink or disable her, which caused the legislature to pass an act prohibiting such pr…

In 1810, as determined by the federal census, the population of Westchester County was 30,272; but according to an enumeration made in 1811 it had declined in the latter year to 20,307, a shrinkage of nearly 4,000. This loss is easily accounted for. Our county responded with especial alacrity to the calls of the national and State governments for troops to serve in the second war with England. The…

It is observable that during the twenty years from 1790 to 1810 there was, so far as can be discovered from the census figures, no change in the distinguishing aspect of population in Westchester County. Although the increases in several of the towns were considerable, clearly indicating the rise of hamlets, in no case was the growth large enough to promise any extensive development. Of the townsh…

The wording of the act of incorporation is as follows: The district of country in the Town of Mount Pleasant, contained within the following limits, that is to say : Beginning at the Hudson River, where a run of water, hetween the lands of Daniel Delavan and Albert Orser, empties into the said Hudson River, north of Sing Sing, from thence eastwardly on a straight line to the house occupied by Char…

The first village election of Sing Sing was hold on the first Tuesday of May, 1813, when " seven discreet freeholders " were elected trustees. Their names are not preserved, all the early records of the village having been destroyed by fire. In 1813 the celebrated authorization was made to Robert Macomb, from which resulted the construction of " Macomb's Dam " and the consequent complete obstructi…

Thereupon he erected a four-story gristmill extending out over the creek, whose power was supplied by the alternate ebb and flow of the tide against its undershot wheels.1 Alexander was succeeded in his property rights by his son Robert, who, not satisfied with the supply of water for the mill, procured a grant to build a dam across the Harlem River from Bussing's Point, oi) the Harlem side, to De…

The utter obstruction to the navigation of the river thus introduced continued until 1838, when, as we shall see, it was forcibly removed by the enterprise and courage of a number of citizens of Westchester, and the mischievous and unwarranted interference with tin1 natural function of the Harlem River as a public waterway was brought to an end. Macomb's Dam was the only absolute barrier to the pr…

This structure continued in use until about 1855, when it was replaced by the (old) Third Avenue Bridge. Previously to the construction of Coles's Bridge there were two bridges connecting Manhattan Island with the main land, both being across Spuyten Duyvil Creek -- the King's Bridge, erected in 1G94 by Frederick Philipse, who, with his successors, collected tolls from all using it, and the Farmer…

Mount Pleasant, with its village of Sing Sing, still led, having 3,684 inhabitants; Cortlandt was second, with 3,121; Bedford third, with 2,432; Westchester fourth, with 2.10)2; and Greenburgh fifth, with 2,001. The population of Yonkers was 1,580, being exceeded by that of Yorktown and Seniors, in addition to the towns above named. In the year 1824 this county was the scene of enthusiastic recept…

By an act passed March 7, 1824, the construction of a new State prison was authorized in the 1st and 2d senatorial districts, and the SingSing site was selected on account of its marble quarries -- which afforded a means for the advantageous employment of convict labor. -- its accessibility by water, and its salubrity. At that time there Mere only two State prisons in existence, one in New York Ci…

These cells are seven feet in depth, seven in height, and forty-two inches wide, which gives but one hundred and seventy-one cubic feet of space for each convict." The institution was long officially known as the "Mount Pleasant State Prison." and the substitution of the style of the "Sing Sing Prison " was distasteful to the citizens of the village. In consequence various attempts were made to cr…

Isaac Coutant was the first keeper of the almshouse, receiving a salary of $300 per annum. The institution has always since been maintained at the original location. The village of IVekskill, whose incorporation was authorized in 1816 but was not effected under the original act, received a new charter from the legislature on the 9th of April, 1827, and shortly afterward trustees were elected as fo…

A visitor to the present village in 1781 described it as consisting of some twenty houses, quite close together. This considerable growth in population of the Town of Cortlandt, as evidenced by the census returns, between 1700 and 1820, was largely contributed by Peekskill village. According to the author of the article on the Town of Cortlandt in Scharfs History, iron industry of Peekskill dates …

An earnest laborer in the cause of freedom for the negroes, and the first president of the old New York society for the manumission of slaves, his closing years had been marked by much interest in the rising movement of the times, and two years before his death he had had the great satisfaction of witnessing the permanent abolition of slavery in the State of New York, accomplished on the 4th of Ju…

Peter Augustus Jay resided for most of his life in New York City, where lie was a prominent lawyer and citizen, lie tilled various importa.nt public positions, was a leading anti-slavery advocate, and was president of the New York Historical Society. In 1821 he was a delegate from Westchester County to the State constitutional convention. William day (born June 1<>, 1780; died October 11, 1858) in…

tion of population in the county. In 1825 the total inhabitants were 33,131, and in 1830, 36,456. Mount Pleasant and Cortlandt continued far in the lead of all the other towns. Yonkers had a population of only 1,761. No new village was incorporated between 1830 and 1810. .This decade is memorable for the projection of the first railway enterprise in which Westchester County was interested, ami the…

On the 17th of April, 1832, another company was incorporated, the New7 York and Albany, whose line was to start at a point on Manhattan Island where the present Fourth Avenue terminates, cross the Harlem River, and proceed through the center of Westchester County. (At that period the Hudson River route was not seriously thought of,1 and indeed it was not chartered until 1846.) Owing to the great p…

By that time "the capital had been swollen to $1,1)50,000, and stili another increase of 81,000,000 was needed to carry the road through the county." The railway was constructed and in operation to Fordham by October, 1841, but had not been extended to White Plains until late in 1844, and it was not until June, 1847, that it was opened through to Croton Falls. Thus from the time when the first cha…

The grade was required to correspond with the regulation of the streets, which had required much deep cutting and some high embankment. About four miles of the road are now in use. upon which pleasure cars are constantly run. for the accommodation of those who desire to get out of the city for a short time. When completed, there will be a tunnel of some length through a rock, at Yorkville, after w…

On November 10, 1832, the joint committee on tire and water of the New York City common council engaged Colonel De Witt Clinton, a competent engineer, to examine the various sources and routes of water supply which had been suggested up to that time, and to make a careful report on the subject. Colonel Clinton recommended the Croton watershed as the source of supply, and demonstrated by unanswerab…

It is of interest that in July, 1774, a proposal made by Christopher Colics to erect a reservoir, pump water into it from wells, and convey the water through the several streets of the city in pipes, Avas adopted by the authorities of New York; ami that land for the purpose of a reservoir on Great George Street, owned by Augustus Van Cortlandt and Erederick Van Cortlandt, of the Van Cortlandt fami…

Brown's plan was to dam the Bronx about half a mile below Williams's Bridge. Calculating, however, that the elevation the Bronx at that point was not sufficient to admit of drawing the of water to the city by natural fall, he proposed that it should be raised to the requisite height by pumping machinery. Mr. Weston fully indorsed the Bronx project, but thought that " the Bronx is sufficiently elev…

Moreover, various eminent citizens, among whom was Alexander Hamilton, were skeptical as to the practicability of raising the money necessary for the Bronx enterprise as a public policy. The movement ended in the organization of the so-called k' Manhattan Company,'' in which the city vested the sole right of procuring and furnishing an additional water supply. This company was empowered to draw wa…

A committee of the fire department, made a searching examination of the merits of the old proposal to utilize the Bronx water, and submitted a favorable report, which was approved by the common council ; and the latter body, in January, 1832, applied to the legislature for authority to borrow |2,000,000, the sum estimated as necessary to accomplish the object resolved upon. But the legislature dis…

The public mind shrank from such a tremendous and seemingly fantastic proceeding as the construction of an aqueduct from the far distant Croton; whereas the Bronx, running straight down into the Harlem River, seemed to have been appointed by nature for the exact emergency. Previously to the sending out of Colonel Clinton, the only thought bestowed upon the Croton in this connection had been with r…

But if it were necessary, more than 7,000 acres could be ponded, and the water raised from six to sixteen feet; and also other supplies could be obtained, as I have before stated, in alluding to the Sharon Canal route and the East Branch of the Croton River/' He favored the conveying of the water to New York in an open canal, and calculated that the total cost of the work, including the means of d…

They marked out a route from Macomb's Dam to the Bronx River, which they declared to be the proper one for the long desired supply, and added: "The Croton cannot be brought in by this route, and cannot ever be needed, seeing that the quantity which can be obtained at a moderate cost through the valley of the Bronx will be sufficient for all city purposes." At the same time an analysis of the Bronx…

be necessary to arrive at a right conclusion in the premises.'' This bill was passed by the legislature on the 26th of February, 1833, and the governor appointed as water commissioners, for the period of on*1 year, Stephen Allen, B. M. Brown, S. Dusenberry, S. Alley, and William W. Fox.1 The commissioners engaged two engineers, Mr. Canvass White and Major Douglass, formerly professor of engineerin…

imaginary, and heeding not at all the efforts still to cause the Bronx to be preferred, held fast to the Oroton." Major Douglass disposed forever of the Bronx proposal by demonstrating thai it was impossible, by whatever expedients, to procure from the Bronx a supply which for any considerable period would be satisfactorily large. Regarding the quality of the Oroton water, he made the following in…

Specimens were taken up both in the high and low state of the river, and have been analyzed by Mr. Chilton, and the results obtained fully corroborate these statements. It appears from his report annexed that the quantity of saline matter, probably the salts of lime and magnesia, does not exceed two and eight-tenths grains in the gallon; a quantity, he observes, so small that a considerable quanti…

They made a thorough re-examination of the matter, concluding with the opinion that "the whole [Croton] river can be brought to Murray Hill in a close aqueduct of masonry, at an expense of $4, 250,000, " and that the revenue accruing from water-rates would " overpay the interest on the cost of the work." The plan was referred to the people of the city for ratification, and at an election held in A…

Much trouble was experienced in satisfying the land owners along the line of the proposed aqueduct, who made vexations demands, among them the extraordinary one (expressed in a memorial to the legislature) that the legal possession and use of the land should remain with the original proprietors, notwithstanding the circumstance of its having been paid for by the city. A measure to conciliate the W…

Apprehension having been harbored by the citizens of Westchester County that disorder and malicious destruction of property would result from the employment of the thousands of laborers, the contractors were required not to " give or sell any ardent spirits to their workmen," or to permit any such spirits to be given or sold, or even brought, upon the line; and that any trespasses committed by wor…

The old plan to bring the Bronx water into New York had been hampered by the fact that the Bronx River did not have a sufficient elevation at any point of its lower course to admit through the process of natural flow of the reception of its water in New York at a height suitable for distribution to the upper sections of the city; and to overcome this difficulty it had been coolly proposed to build…

This circumstance that the Bronx scheme involved, as one of its essential features, the conversion of the Harlem River into a mere producer of water power -- and that in perpetuity -- strikingly illustrates how contemptuously the Harlem and Spuyten Duyvil waterway was rated. When it became certain, in 1831, that the water-supply problem was to find its solution in a continuous aqueduct from the Cr…

land-owners held a meeting at Christopher Walton's store, at Fordham Corners, and appointed a committee to memorialize the legislature against the proposed low bridge, and also to ascertain the best method of removing the existing obstructions in the Harlem River. The committee, acting on the advice of counsel, decided to proceed against Macomb's Dam as a nuisance and to clear a passage-way for ve…

Some Hat boats which had heeii provided had on hoard a band of one hundred men ; and Feeks not opening the draw, Mr. Morris with his men forcibly removed a portion of the dam, so that the " Nonpariel " floated across. From that time a draw was always kept in the bridge, but for many years the passage was very difficult, the tide being so strong that it was only possible to pass at slack water. Th…

In such circumstances it is highly improbable that any change in the plan for the aqueduct bridge would have been made if the people of Westchester had not compelled itby their aggressive acts. ( >n the 3d of May, 1839, the legislature passed the following law: The water commissioners shall construct an aqueduct over the Harlem River with arches and piers ; the arches in the channel of said river …

" hydraulic stone masonry, connected with an earthen embankment," the embankment being two hundred and fifty feet long, sixty-five feet high at its extreme height, two hundred and fifty feet wide at the base, and fifty-five feet wide at the top, " protected on its lower side by a heavy protection wall twenty feet wide at base." On the night of the 7th of January, 1841, in consequence of a sudden a…

A boat called the 4k Croton Maid," carrying four persons, was placed in the aqueduct, to be floated down by the stream. The water, with the boat, arrived at the Harlem River during the night of the 23d. On the 27th it was allowed to enter the receiving reservoir at Yorkville, and on the 4th of July the distributing reservoir on Murray Hill,1 both events being observed with great ceremony. The publ…

But within thirty years even this amount was found inadequate; and by permitting the water to rise in the aqueduct to within twelve and one-half inches of the crown of the arch -- thirty-two inches higher than had been originally intended-- a daily supply of 05,000,000 gallons was forced, which, in turn, was found so far from meeting requirements that two new sup1 This was the old Forty-second Str…

At the termination of the Revolution what is now the City of Yonkers at the mouth of the Xepperhan was represented by a very tew buildings, most of them widely separated. There were the Manor House of the Pliilipses, Saint John's Episcopal Church and parsonage, the immemorial mill, and some scattered farmhouses. The Manor House, with three hundred and twenty acres of land adjacent to it, as has be…

He was seldom induced to sell or even to lease any of it, but he was not particularly averse to settlers ami would offer now and then to build a house on his property for them as tenants." "Of the twenty-six buildings of all kinds," he adds, "including barns, sheds, and little shops, then [1813] on the three hundred ami twenty acres of land, about twelve could have been utilized as dwellings, five…

At the time of the death of Mr. Wells, says Allison, Yonkers was " a hamlet of one hundred people -- more or less -- and a little more than a score of houses/' Meanwhile, however, there had been a gradual accession of valuable citizens in the sections bordering the manor property -- some of them land purchasers of substantial means, and others men of enterprising traits, all realizing the natural …

In 1828 William 0. Waring and Hezekiah Nichols began to manufacture bodies for wool hats. This was the first introduction of the hat industry -- now so .important-- in Yonkers, and it was also the first appearance of the name of Waring. The Warings were from Putnam County. -John T. Waring came some years later. Rut our space does not admit of any attempt to recapitulate the names of the founders o…

His heirs were numerous, including his widow, three brothers, and their children. The estate was partitioned in 1843. the principal representative of the heirs being Lemuel W. AYells, familiarly known in Yonkers (where he lived until his death in 1861) as " Farmer" Wells. From this event dates the t of Yonkers. "Released from beginning of the serious developmen the hand that had so long kept it ou…

Among the new citizens acquired by Yonkers through the partition of the Wells estate was Ethan Flagg, one of the heirs, who bore an exceedingly important part in the building up of the Thus at the period at which we place. have arrived in our general narrative, Yonkers, destined to a position of unquestioned supremacy among the municipalities ofWestchester County, was just preparing to emerge from…

avenues, reserving portions of it for parks; but lot purchasers did not appear, and after a year or two the undertaking was abandoned with heavy loss. Thereupon John Henry, one of the chief members of the syndicate, acquired substantially the whole of the Point, and proceeded to organize the brick-making industry which has since become so extensive at Verplanck's. lie was tolerably successful from…

Apples and other fruit, butter, potatoes, cattle, sheep, calves, live pigs, and dressed pork were the principal articles of shipment, and were received in such quantities as to give employment at one time, when this commerce was at its height, to six market-sloops, while three passenger steamboats also shared in the business." The early days on the river, when it furnished almost the only avenue o…

The losses occasioned by the cutting of rates resulted in some of the stockholders in the " Water-Witch " losing courage, and the wily Commodore was enabled to buy a controlling interest in her. After that the rivalry ceased. The " Water-Witch " was but one of several boats owned at different times by similar associations, all of which brought loss to the stockholders. June 6, 1831, the " General …

The present wellknown Ben Franklin Transportation Line of Yonkers took its name from a sloop of fifty-seven tons, launched July 4, 1831, which was for the exclusive service of the people of Yonkers and vicinity; and even the original " Ben Franklin " had several predecessors devoted to the local interests of Yonkers. The organic law of the State of New York, as established by the constitution of 1…

From 1821 to 1816 this comity belonged to the 2d senatorial district, embracing also Dutchess, Putnam, Rockland, Orauge, Sullivan, Ulster, Queens, and Suffolk. Westchester County's representatives in the assembly, at first six in number, were reduced successively to five, four, three, and finally (May 23, 1836) to two. The number was again increased, in 1857, to three, at which figure it has since…

The moneys were distributed by school commissioners specially selected. But the present system of school commissioners dates from the legislative act of 1819.' Ever since colonial times, the people of this county had always been rated as exceptionally intelligent, with but a small percentage of illiteracy. The New York newspapers enjoyed a very considerable patronage among our citizens before the …

In 1810 the population of Westchester County was just about double that attained in 1790. During the half century there had been an average growth every ten years of slightly more than 1,000. The original character of the population had not yet been materially modified. Men engaged in active daily business in New York had not become regular inhabitants, although there was an increasing tendency to…

By purchasing the rights of his brother, General Staats Long Morris, of the British army, he became possessed of all the Morrisania estate east of Mill Brook. He did not, however, abandon his residence in Philadelphia, and in 1787 he was elected a delegate from Pennsylvania to the federal constitutional convention. He spent the next ten years in Europe, and during the most violent period of the Fr…

He passed the remainder of his life at Morrisania. ' An ample fortune, numerous friends, a charming retreat, and a tranquil home were the elements of his happiness and filled up the measure of his hopes.' " x The leisure of his closing years was devoted to study, literary pursuits, and the advocacy of 1 This citation well indicates the tastes and temperament of the man. He possessed a very lovable…

He died at Morrisania on the 6th of November, L816, in the sixtyfifth year of his age. " His remains were buried where Saint Anne's Church now stands, the east aisle covering their original restingplace. They were afterward transferred to the family vault, which is the first one east of the church. His wife caused a marble slab to be placed over the temporary tomb, and that still remains." Several…

Many of his poems were written while musing by the side of the Bronx. His career was cut short by consumption at the early age of twenty-five. He died on the 21st of September, 1820. His grave and the simple monument which marks it long ago fell into extreme neglect. In the present march of city improvements in the Borough of the Bronx the plans adopted for street extensions involve the complete e…

In a letter to his sister in 1832 he wrote: 11 I am more and more in the notion of having that, little cottage below Oscar's house, and wish you to tell him to endeavor to get it for me." This cottage was a small stone Dutch dwelling, the identical "Wolfert's Roost" of his well-known sketch, built in early times by a member of the Acker family, and at the period of the Revolution occupied by Jacob…

There are sufficient reasons for believing that the house was not built until many years later. Irving always inclined to the opinion that Tarrytown was settled previously to 1650, and he even concluded that some of the graves in the Sleepy Hollow cemetery went back to that year. But Irving was entirely unacquainted with the early chronology of Westchester County. His historical studies, confined …

The record of the marriage, preserved in the register of the old Dutch Church of New York, describes him as " a young man of Midwout " [Long Island], and adds that both he and his spouse were at the time " on Frederick Philips land," and were •' married on Frederick Philips land." (See Raymond's " Souvenir of the RevolutionarySoldiers' Monument Dedication at Tarrytown." p. 101.) This is conclusive…

His gentle ways, his simplicity and kindness of manner, his courtesy to all, and his frequent mingling with the neighbors, who made up all sorts and conditions of men, women, and children, made him very popular and much loved." He died at Sunnyside suddenly and peacefully on the 28th of November, 1859. His funeral was an event never to be forgotten by the people of Tarrytown. The whole village was…

Though his genius was recognized and lie had many sincere friends, he did not attain substantial success in New York City. It is related that his principal regular employment after coming there was as a writer for the Evening Mirror, on a salary of ten dollars a week. While living in New York he wrote the " Raven." In the spring of 1846 lie removed to Fordham, renting for a hundred dollars a year …

Even while they were living in Philadelphia she kt could not bear the slightest exposure, and needed the utmost care; and all those conveniences as to apartments and surroundings which are so important in the case of an invalid were almost matters of life and death to her. And yet the room where she lay for weeks [in Philadelphia], hardly able to breathe, except as she was fanned, was a little pla…

On the first visit she was sitting in the sun on the little porch of the cottage, wrapped in what appeared to be a counterpane, her husband on one side of her and her mother on the other. At the next visit she was on a couch covered with a man's overcoat, for the weather was chilly and the house was cold. The recollection of her appearance is still vivid as of a picture of a saint seen long ago in…

He accomplished little literary work of importance, and when the winter of 1847 came on the family was in great destitution. " Mrs. Gove, hearing of this, visited the family, and found the dying wife with only sheets and a coverlet on the bed, wrapped in her husband's coat. She appealed to Mrs. Maria Louise Shaw, who immediately relieved the necessities of the family and raised a subscription of 8…

His literary ductions assignable to the period of his Fordham abode are mostly of the hack variety, although interspersed among them are such gems as " Annabel Lee," " The Pells," the " Cask of Amontillado," the " Domain of Arnheim," and "Lander's Cottage." Also "Eureka" and " Ulalume " were written at Fordham. lie died at Baltimore on the 7th of October, pr< 1819, aged thirty-eight. The Poe Cotta…

Thomas Scharf, in his History of Westchester County, dovotes a separate chapter to the literati identified by birth, residence, or otherwise with our county. Among the names which we have not previously mentioned, belonging to the first half of the nineteenth century, are those of William Leggett, the able journalist, a descendant of Gabriel Leggett, of West Farms, and a resident of New Rochelle, …

The early operation of this first railway in Westchester County was naturally conducted in very imperfect fashion, but its completion through the whole extent of the county was an event of great importance, not only to the people residing along the route, but to those of all other sections, stage communication with the various stations being immediately established from villages east and west as t…

In a sober official report it was declared that the chief value of a river route would be its " novelty," whereas the already chartered road "leading from the City of New York through the heart of Westchester County, at nearly equal distances from the waters of the Hudson on the one hand and of the East River and Long Island Sound on the other, and extending from thence through the upper valley of…

John B. Jervis, the engineer of the Croton Aqueduct, being employed as chief engineer. Work was begun toward the middle of 1847, the entire line being placed under contract by sections, and the work was prosecuted so diligently that by the 29th of September, 1840, passenger travel was commenced between New York and Peekskill. " The average number of passengers per day for the first month (October)…

The following advertisement was published in the New York Herald: "Passenger trains will commence to run between New York and Peekskill on Saturday, the 29th instant (September, 1849), stopping at the following places and at the rate of fare respectively stated, viz.: Manhattan ville, twelve and one-half cents ; Yonkers, twenty-five cents, etc. Omnibuses will be provided at the junction of Chamber…

Day, 1818, and the next day the road was opened for business. " It was at first a single track road. . . . The numerous curves on the road were caused by the restricted financial condition, making it necessary, as far as possible, to avoid cuttings and embankments. The desire had been to build the road in a substantial and permanent manner, but it was found difficult to complete it in any shape. .…

The present New York and Putnam Railroad at its inception (1871) was designed to run from High Bridge to Brewsters, and there connect with the so-called New York and Boston. This road was not finished until 1881. It was long styled the Now York and Northern. Its complete development was effected by the extension of the line from High Bridge to the terminus of the Elevated Railway at One Hundred an…

Two new townships were erected -- Ossining (1845) and West Farms (1840), and the territorial dimensions of four others were somewhat changed by the annexation of a portion of North Salem to Lewisboro in 1844, ami of a portion of Seniors to New Castle in 1840. From 1810 until 1845 Mount Pleasant, embracing the village of Sing Sing, had been the most populous township of the county. The federal enum…

We arc told that the word ossin, in the Chippeway language, signifies 'a stone'; that ossinee or ossineen is the plural for 'stones.' This etymology was accepted, and in May, 1845, when our town was taken from Mount Pleasant, it received the name of ' Ossm-sing/ In March, 1846, it was changed (by dropping the third s) and made to read k Ossiii-ing,1 and still later omitted." hyphenin was the Inclu…

The three component pans of West Farms Township, being much more accessible to New York City than Westchester proper, had increased far more rapidly in population, and as they were separated from the parent town by a broad line of natural division, the Bronx River, it was esteemed very proper to organize them into a distinct political unit. West Farms Village, as has been noticed in the previous c…

At the State census of 1845 -- the last enumeration taken before the railways came into operation -- Westchester County had 47,394 inhabitants, some 1,300 fewer than the number awarded the county by the federal census of 1840. The greater population of 1840 was probably due to the inclusion in the census at that time of the numerous workmen employed on the Croton Aqueduct. As classified by occupat…

Bedford Cortlandt Eastehester . . . . Greenburgh . . . . Harrison Lewisboro Mamaroneck. . . . Morrisania 1 . . . Mount Pleasant. New Castle New Rochelle.. North Castle . . . llation for 1845 included 8,468 4,715 6,435 1,271 1,775 3,205 1,039 1,541 1,068 2,778 1,495 1,977 Westehest* 1 Mr. Scrugham also had the honor of being the first citizen of Westchester County elected to the office of justi…

In former times, before railways existed, the local gains in population had invariably been without special reference to nearness to New York. A journey to the business sections of the city, even from Morrisania or Fordham, then involved a ride by carriage or stage of protracted duration; and thus for persons having daily business in New York, regular residence in any section of Westchester Comity…

aspects or ill relation to its later developments, was unquestionably the foundation of the Village -- now the prosperous and handsome City -- of Mount Vernon. Unlike any other considerable community of Westchester County, Mount Vernon owes its very existence to the railroad. Yonkers, Tarrytown, Sing Sing, Peekskill. New Kochelle, Mamaroneck, Rye, and Port Chester, with White Plains, Bedford, and …

The total population of the township in the same year was 1,709. There was also a settlement of some size at Tuckahoe, resulting from the opening of marble quarries there about 1823. and Tuckahoe was consequently one of the original stations of the Harlem Railroad. In 1850 there was organized in New York City an association called the " New York Industrial Home Association No. 1," composed mostly …

It is said that the selection of the site for the desired village was determined by a suggestion from Gouverneur Morris (son of the statesman of the same name), who, commenting on the extensive growth attained by Morrisania, observed that the next large settlement should naturally be at a point near the intersection of the New York and Harlem and the Now York and New Haven Railroads. Some one hund…

On the 12th of November, 1850, the site was visited by a large number of members of the association and practically dedicated to the uses of the new village, Mr. Greeley making an address in which he spoke in complimentary terms of tin1 wisdom displayed in the choice of locality and predicted rapid growth for the community about to be established. In the spring of 1851 the village was laid out int…

The lots not improved, as so required, were, however, in a few years relieved from this incumbrance by releases freely given." 1 By the fall of 1853 the settlement of the place had been so satisfactorily accomplished, and its preparation in other respects for organized government so far advanced, that its people were ready to consider the question of its incorporation as a village. This plan was a…

This also was begun under the auspices of an association organized on principles of economy-- the Teutonic Homestead Association, composed, as its name indicates, mostly of Germans. The number of the Teutonic associates was five hundred, and The land which they bought consisted of about one hundred ami thirty-one acres. Subsequently a third settlement, Central .Mount Vernon, was built up between t…

On the other hand, it is undeniable that the peculiar character given the community at the beginning operated continuously to attract to it, in the succeeding years, citizens of the same general spirit, aims, and conditions of life as the original associators -- men chiefly of moderate means, but of providence, thrift, foresight, and energetic traits. For many years few men of large wealth, either…

Getty erected the Getty House at a cost of between |40,000 and f50,000, and other public-spirited citizens were active in promoting the general good. Meantime several new settlements were founded in the Township of Yonkers. In 1852 Elias Johnson, David B. Fox, and Joseph R. Fuller, of Troy, N. Y., purchased land near Spuyten Duyvil inlet and had surveys and plans made for a village, which it was a…

Its average breadth was eight-tenths of a mile. Edward F. Shonnard's farm was on the north and Thomas W. Ludlow's on the south. The area of the incorporated village was about 4^ ^ r,„ °« ABOVE Pasture R , V£ WVEBEKCEAv-OeENE I? Fiji* Sr ' §P^ 4^ ■•';. ">V ^ s'.^ ,_7r> i.,^ SH<wvncM,M*QRMU, KNO THi LOWER P IVRT OF SMMMHA SMOwmcMftWfcMU,KN0TMt\-OVgERPlUVr0f$hWN TME1 RWEJS.WITH MaBuiLDINQS…

New Rochelle would naturally have drawn to itself a very considerable element of the large numbers of New York people who sought homes in Westchester County after the completion of the railways, had it not been for the organization of the new village, which offered superior advantages to most persons of that class. Thus the immediate progress of New Rochelle was effectually retarded. The growth of…

The village, from its organization in 1858, endured until 1899, when the present City of New Rochelle was instituted. It is noteworthy that the three cities of Westchester County -- Yonkers, Mount Vernon, and New Rochelle -- all had their birth as incorporated villages in the decade 1850-60. In this decade also the Township of Morrisania -- now the most populous portion of the old County of Westch…

Its east boundary was Union Avenue, continued to the head of Bungay Creek, and thence to Harlem Kills, and its south and west boundaries the Harlem River and Kills/' The first supervisor of the town was Gouverneur Morris, son of the famous statesman. Morrisania Milage was incorporated in 1801, when the town was divided into four wards, in each of which three trustees were elected. The history of W…

The son studied medicine in England, but did not practice that profession. In 1830, at the age of thirty-two, he engaged in farming pursuits at Bronxville in the Town of Eastchester, and ever afterward he was a citizen of our county. He lived at various times in New Rochelle. Tarrvtown, Bedford, Lewisboro, and Pelham. For many years he conducted select schools, but later was ordained a clergyman i…

His labors also included " personal visitation of every spot of interest and nearly every person of advanced age.'' In addition to his History of the county, he published a " Guide to New Kochelle " and a " History of the Protestant Episcopal Church in Westchester County." At the time of his death he had nearly completed a revision of his History of the county, which was issued under the editorshi…

On the spot where Major Andre was captured by Paulding, Williams, and Van Wart, September 23, 1780, a monument in commemoration of that event was unveiled with much ceremony, the governor of the State and other distinguished guests being in attendance. In a previous chapter the particulars of this event and also of the dedication of the " new " monument on the same spot in 1880 have been given (se…

from to the " Clay " being slightly in advance. As she passed Yonkers, moving at a high speed, smoke was seen issuing from her sides. She was at once headed for the dock at Riverdale, but meantime the flames had burst forth and it was necessary to beach her with all the haste possible. " Mr. Edwin Forrest, the actor, who lived near, was there, and soon others came. It was an awful sight. The ste…

The year 1857 witnessed the completion and occupation of the The commispresent court house of the county at White Plains. ktand jail were sioners in charge of the construction of the court house Supervisors Abraham Hatfield, of Westchester; States Barton, of New Kochelle; Daniel Hunt, of Lewisboro; William Marshall, Jr., of Somers; and George C. Finch, of North Salem. R. G. Hatfield was architect …

The further political history of the county to I860 includes nothing of importance, aside from the party struggles on the great questions of the times. The presidential votes of W7estchester County from 1S48 to I860, inclusive, were as follows; 1848.-- Lewis Cass (Dem.), 2,146; Zachary Taylor (Whig), 4,312; Martin Van Buren (Free Soil), 1,312. 1852.-- Franklin Pierce (Dem.), 5,283; Winfield Scott …

party, organized on the issue of non-extension of slavery, made its first appearance, with John C. Fremont1 as its candidate. Fremont received less than thirty per cent, of the total vote. In I860, despite the great distractions from which the conservative forces suffered, they still rallied a united vote some 1,300 larger than that cast for Lincoln.2 1 General Fremont resided at one time at Mount…

The total population of Westchester County in 1860 was 99,497 -- all but reaching the hundred thousand mark. So far in our narrative, whilst progressively noticing the principal aspects of local change and development, we have not devoted any formal attention to the minuter facts of conditions in the townships and their numerous localities severally; and as the year 1800 is a convenient one for su…

Mount Kisco, a station on the Harlem Railroad; contained 200 5. Whitlockville, « a station on the Harlem Railroad near the north border." inhabitants. Cortlandt.-- Population, 10,074. Local particulars :-- 1 . Peekskill ; an incorporated village ; population, 3,538; contained ten churches, the Peekskill Academy, four boarding schools, a bank, newspaper office, six iron foundries (chiefly engaged i…

The Westchester County delegates to the ih, m w Od Democratic Stale convention were Thomas larve\ Torter, the ml Jo] of Smith, Gilherl S. Lyon, and Abraham Hyatt. ,', fro -embly Iw; m .it li in esti J. v distil. and William Radford, of Yonkers, was a contesting Roche lie. )ssi yra the Ml of if cle ( , fro district delegate from the nth congressional district the : ai i.sembly and (embracing Westch…

Washington ville, are described as " suburban villages, inhabited principally by mechanics and men doing business in New York." 7. Bronxville; a railroad station; contained a manufactory of carriage axles. 8. Tuckahoe; a railroad station near the marble quarries. 9. Fleetwood, and 10. Jacksonville, places projected by building associations. Greenburgh. -- Population, 8,929. Local particulars: -- 1…

The only locality mentioned by French in this town is Purchase (Harrison p. o.), a hamlet in the northern part, containing two Friends' meeting houses. Lewisboro. -- Population, 1,885. Local particulars: -- 1. South Salem; a scattered village, containing a church and fifteen houses. 2. Cross River; contained two churches, several manufactories, and twenty houses. 3. Golden's Bridge; a station on t…

Port Morris; 3 prominent for its harbor, sixty feet deep, where it was "proposed to land vessels that draw too much water to enter New York Harbor"; connected with Melrose by a branch of the Harlem Railroad two and one-half miles long. 4. Wilton, 5. Old Morrisania, 6. East Morrisania, 7. West Morrisania, 8. South Melrose, 9. East Melrose, 10. Eltona, 11. Woodstock, 12. Claremont, and 13. High Brid…

New Rochelle; an incorporated village; population, about 2,000; contained six churches and several private schools; a portion of the village and the lands surrounding it were " occupied by elegant villas and country residences of persons doing business in New York " ; the steamboat landing was " half a mile southwest of the village, on a small island connected with the main land by a stone causewa…

Sing Sing; an incorporated village; population, about 5,300; contained four churches, the Mount Pleasant Academy, a female seminary, and several other popular female schools. 2. Prospect Hill;8 a scattered settlement on the southern border. 3. Spring Valley and 4. Sparta were hamlets. Pelham. -- Population, 1,025. Local particulars: -- 1. Pelhamville; a newly surveyed village and station on the Ne…

Port Chester; population, 1,695; a railroad station, containing five churches, several private seminaries, and ex> For,,, rrly callei 1 Mamarone ck Point, Great Neck, :u id de Lan cry's Neck. -' X.-U1H' (1 for .Ton I.ni L. Mott, principal founder of th< ■ iron win ks. call ed Morns].. >rt. Named ; Solni" times for Gouvern eur Morri: 3, the princi pal owner. .rinorly F< ■' Fi irmerly irmorly ,; F<…

Sclmylerville; population, about 300; a scattered village on Throgg's Neck. 4. Integrity; near Bronxdale; had a tape factory. 5. Connersville, 6. Wakefield,°7. Centreville, and 8. Unionport, were "modern villages." Fort Schuyler, at the extremity of Throgg's Neck, wasmenbegun the United States government in 1833, and was built to accommodate 1,250 and by to mount 318 cannon. West Farms. -- Populat…

Spuyten Duyvil; the seat of several large foundries; inhabited chiefly by operatives. 3. Tuckahoe; a station on the Harlem Railroad; Hodgman's rubber goods manufactory employed about seventy -five hands. 4. Kingsbridge. 5. Riverdale; "a group of villas, and a railroad station." 6. South Yonkers ; a postoffice. Yorktown. -- Population, 2,231. Local particulars: -- 1. Crompond (Yorktown p. o.), 2. J…

It was a spirit conspicuously manifest in the editorial conduct of very able newspapers in New York City, which gave nearly thirty thousand majority against Lincoln. The dominant political party of the metropolis had always been the dominant political party of Westchester County; and opinions which had been insisted on and stood the test of popular 1 This institution of the Roman Catholic 2 Former…

Haskin, had been elected mainly by Republican votes. Mr. Raskin's position was unique. First chosen to congress as a Democrat in 1850, he became disaffected toward the administration on account of President Buchanan's extreme pro-slavery bias in dealing with questions arising out of the organization of local government in Kansas. Consequently, when up for re-election in 1S5S, the regular Democrati…

The explanation given was preparation for self-defense in the unprotected neighborhood in Washington in which Mr. Haskin resided, in which much lawlessness prevailed. Many years have passed since this incident, but, taken in connection with the Rebellion which soon followed, and the tragic and dastardly scenes in it, it illustrates the dangers in public life at the time and the unflinching determi…

The legislature immediately passed an act providing not only for furnishing that number from the State HIRAM PAULDING.1 militia to the government, but for the enlistment of 30,000 volunteers more, to serve for two years; these 30,000 to be " in addition to the present military organization of the State, and as a part of the militia thereof," and to be "liable at all on the times' to be turned over…

>f John rauldhu See p. 485. one of the captors of Andre. from to of various amounts. Mr. Waring therefore pledged his word that this aid should be forthcoming, a pledge which he faithfully kept. He was subsequently reimbursed by the town. The company left Yonkers on the 25th of April, and was incorporated in the Westchester Chasseurs. Its original officers were: captain, Charles IT. Smith; lie…

Marshall, a prominent Democrat, was treasurer, having for its object to raise sufficient money to forward the men to camp and to make weekly payments to such of their families as required help during their absence. The 17th Infantry, or Westchester Chasseurs, to which both these first companies of Yonkers and Port Chester (together witn the volunteers from Westchester County) belonged, was a mixed…

Frederick Wkittaker, author of the article on the Civil War in Scharfs History, after giving the particulars of the organization of the Port Chester company (he docs not mention the Yonkers company), says: The Town of Cortlandt, almost at the same time, sent out sixty men, raised by Mr. Benjamin R. Simpkins. For the want of the money that kept the Port Chester company together, tins tine body of y…

Yorktown also lost a great their°captain number of men in the same way, no mention of them being found in the official records of the two years' volunteers; and of other towns there is still less trace in any documents by which whole history of the two years' volunteers, official proof can be furnished of the facts. Thetheir services on the government, which seemed in Westchester County, is one of…

The 5th Independent Battery, mustered in November 8, 1861, included several privates from Yonkers, Mount Vernon, and Peekskill, and in the 1st Regiment Mounted Pities, mustered in all the way from August 31, 1861, to September 0, 1862, there were volunteers from Tarrytown, Mount Pleasant, and Harrison. "This," says Mr. Whittaker, ''concludes the three years' volunteers in Westchester County as org…

the 8th senatorial district -- then comprising the Counties of Westchester, Rockland, and Putnam -- which proceeded to raise the troops required to make up the quota of the district. " It began its work by promptly effecting the organization of an infantry regiment of ten full companies of more than one hundred men each, enlisted to serve for three years, which was designated by the authorities of…

Company K. (Nyack, Rockland County): Captain Wilson Defendorf, Lieutenants John Davidson and Frederic Shonnard, of Yonkers. The villages mentioned in this list were the places where the various companies were raised. Absolutely every township of the county, and probably every hamlet, was represented among the volunteers. It was distinctively a Westchester County regiment. Yonkers was the headquar…

COUNTY States volunteers. To General Morris belongs the honor of having attained the highest rank awarded to any citizen of Westchester County during the War of the Rebellion. The appointment of lieutenant-colonel ofthe regiment was given to Captain Ralph E. Prime, then of White Plains, now of Yonkers, a gallant officer of the 5th New York Volunteers. But for various reasons Captain Prime did not…

On and after Degex. wm. h. morris, cember 26, 1862, the regiment was sent to Harper's Ferry in detachments. . . . After six months or more of very varied service in the Shenandoah Valley with other troops, guarding the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, performing skirmishing, scouting, and general outpost duties, the regiment formally joined the Army of the Potomac during the Gettysburg campaign, becom…

The remainder, with a battalion of the 10th New York Artillery, became the consolidated 6th New York Artillery." * About a year before the termination of its period of enlistment the regiment unanimously tendered its services to the government for another term of three years. This offer was declined on the ground that the men would probably not be needed. The 6th New York Heavy Artillery is recogn…

A previous writer on this phase of the comity's history stales that in entering upon his undertaking -- which specially involved the satisfaction of local readers -- he had it in view to make a complete compilation, but found that impracticable, ik while an incomplete one might give just offense to men whose names would be unavoidably left out from lack of information." ~ In a comprehensive histor…

" In accordance with a resolution adopted at a town meeting held on September 23, 1803, a system of mutual insurance, as it were, agaiust draft, was established, which provided that every person enrolled as liable to military service who should pay into a common fund the sum of $30 should be entitled, if drafted, to receive from the town the sum of $300 to procure a substitute or pay the governmen…

Culver finds thirty-five records of enlistment.'' Mr. George Thatcher Smith, in his contribution to Scharfs History on the Town of Poundridge, presents a variety of interesting particulars. At the election of 1860 there were only 328 votes cast in the township, yvt " before the close of the war 94 residents had enlisted in the army and three in the navy," there being also ten reenlistments; and in…

Of these, 126 were residents of the town and wore volunteers under the first call; 138 enlisted under Governor Morgan's proclamation of August 13, 1802; one man was drafted; forty-one substitutes were provided, and forty-five recruits obtained. The town responded promptly to every call made for troops, either by national or by State government, and provided bountifully for the families of those wh…

In so doing it has evidently been their purpose to consolidate a party by the aid of whose opposition and influence they might prevent enlistments and retard the successful prosecution of the war. The grand jurors therefore invoke the attention of the district attorney of this county to the prosecution of the editors and proprietors named if hereafter, after this public notice of their evil course…

On the 14th of July -- the second day of the New York riots -- " crowds visited the enrolling offices of Morrisania and West Farms, tore up the enrolling lists, destroyed the telegraph offices at Williams's Bridge and Melrose, ripped up some rails on the New Haven and Harlem roads near the Bronx River, had pickets on both roads as far as Mount Vernon to signal when a general attempt to tear up tra…

On the evening of the 15th a large public meeting was held in the town hall at Tremont. It was under the auspices mainly of influential citizens of Democratic antecedents, who, whilst deprecating violence, were strongly opposed to the draft on grounds of public policy, and hence were in position to make their recommendations respected by the excited populace. The principal speaker was Mr. John B. …

In 1805 the total number of people living in the portion of the county which now constitutes the Borough of the Bronx was about 20,000. The Village of White Plains was incorporated by an act passed April 3, 1800. The first officers of the village were: president, John Swinburne; clerk, John M. Rowell; trustees, Gilbert S. Lyon, Edward Sleath, II. P. Kowell, J. P. Jenkins, J. W. Mills, and Harvey G…

Depew, born in Peekskill in 1834, began the practice of law in his native village in 1859, and in 1801 was elected member of the assembly on the Union Republican ticket from the 3d assembly district. He was re-elected in 1802, and in 1803 was elected secretary of state. In 1807 he was appointed county clerk of Westchester County to fill a vacancy, but declined the office. His career since then has…

" He was first elected a member of the assembly in 1869, to represent the 3d assembly district of this county, and he continued being elected and re-elected to the latter office up to and including the year of his death [1892]; serving from 1869 to 1878 from this county, 1879-80 from Rockland County, and again in 1881 and 1883 to 1892 from this county. He ■ ;,>" was speaker of the assembly in th…

It was unfortunate for him that his career in the executive office was coincident with the Tweed Ring exposures, which involved much criticism of his political affiliations with Tammany. Upon the completion of his second term he retired from public life. He died on the 24th of March, 1888. Eighteen hundred and seventy was the last census year in which Westchester County retained the bounds establi…

By this measure the whole of the former Township of Yonkers, excepting a strip at its southern extremity, was incorporated in the new city. The southern strip excluded from the city limits extended from Spuyten Duyvil Creek to a point on the Hudson beginning at " the northerly line of the land belonging to the Sisters of Charity, known as Mount Saint Vincent de Paul," which line was continued east…

"When the city was incorporated," says Allison, tk it had no asphalt avenues and streets, no waterworks to supply water for domestic use, for power, and for extinguishing fires, no system of sewers, no firebells, no electric fire-alarm, and no electric lights. There were no steam cars running to Getty Square, no street cars." Prom the 1 Mayors of the City of Yonkers to the present time: 1872-74, J…

In the summer of 1850 he lived with his family on the Todd Bailey estate in the Town of North Salem.1 We have seen that during the same year he took a very prominent part in the steps which led to the settlement of Mount Vernon. In 1851 he purchased a farm of seventy-five acres at Chappaqua in the Town of New Castle. Unlike most other prominent New Yorkers who came to Westchester County to live, M…

The sober down-hill of life dispels many illusions, while it develops or strengthens within us the attachment, perhaps long smothered or overlaid, for ' that dear hut, our home.' And so I, in the sober afternoon of life, when its sun, if not high, is still warm, have bought a few acres of land in the broad, still country, and, bearing thither my household treasures, have resolved to steal from the…

" It was his custom," says Barrett, in his History of the Town of New Castle, "always to vote, both at general and local elections, and it was usual for him to spend the whole day at the polls when the election was important, discussing public questions with those who would gather about him for that purpose." He retired to his farm toward the close of the presidential canvass, and there, worn out …

Morrisania, however, received in that year a village charter, which " conferred upon the trustees nearly all the powers of a city corporation without the incidental expenses; and this act enabled the town authorities topioneer annexation by proceeding to make such improvements in streets and highways as were demanded by an increasing population flowing in from below the Harlem River." About the sa…

I had the honor at the time of representing, among other localities, the Westchester towns in the State senate, and regarding it as an act of discourtesy that such a move should have been made without consultation, and without the request of my immediate constituents, on the spur of the moment I arose in my place in the senate and gave notice that I would, at some future time, present a ' bill to …

On December 1(5, 1872, a further step in the same direction was taken by the erection of the excised strip into a new ''town" called Kingsbridge. Meantime the annexation enterprise had been fairly launched. In the autumn of 1872 some of the principal property-owners of Morrisania and West Farms held conferences, which resulted in the preparation of an annexation bill by Samuel E. Lyon, a well-know…

This ended the struggle between the rival departments, so far as the annexation bill was concerned, and it became a law."' It provided for submitting the annexation question to the decision of the people of New York City and also of Westchester County at the next ensuing election, in November, 1873. Fortunately the momentous issue was determined by the people on its exact merits, no partisan influ…

In the words of the act, Morrisania, West Farms, and Kingsbridge were " annexed to, merged in, and made part of the City of New York, subject to the same laws, ordinances, regulations, obligations, and liabilities, and entitled to the same rights, privileges, franchises, and immunities, in every respect, and to the same extent, as if such territory had been included within said City of New York at…

It continued under the administrative care of the department of public parks until 1891, when the law creating a special department of public works for the 23d and 24th wards came into operation. Up to that time, and until 1895, there was no further annexation from our county to New York City, Westchester County still retaining the Township of Wrestchester. In 1874 occurred the incorporation of th…

One of his last public appearance's was on the occasion of the dedication of the new monument to the captors of Andre at Tarry town, September 23, 1880. He was the presiding officer. His Greystone estate is now the property of Mr. Samuel Unterinyer, the prominent .dt^SSR^fc. New York lawyer. Westchester JP" County gave Mr. Tilden, at the elecw~ tiou of 1870, 12,050 votes, a majority ^0 igj of 2,17…

It is noteworthy that four of these places belonged to the Town of Greenburgh, while a fifth was located on its borders. Population of Westchester County in 1880: POPULATION towns Bedford Mount Kisco Village Cortlandt 12>664 Peekskill Village Eastchester ^ 8'737 M93 Mount Vernon Milage Greenburgh Tarrytown Village Harrison Lewisboro ^ 8,934 4,686 3>731 3,025 1,494 l,bl- HISTORY WESTCHE…

Garfield to the presidency in 1880, Judge William II. Robertson, of our county, was a Republican s figure." The conspicuouconvention which faction thethe between by e Garfield a compromisof was nomination national Roscot of leadership the under which, that and Blaine Mr. favored Colliding, urged a third term for General Grant. At the Republican State convention held to select delegates to the nati…

Hence resulted the bitter feeling which first caused a lunatic to assassinate the president, and subsequently brought the WILLIAM H. ROBERTSON. the Democratic party back to power. Judge Robertson's part inwith political strife of those memorable times has been reviewed great fairness and discrimination in a public address by the Hon. Chauncey M. Depew.1 In theVear 1880 works for increasing New…

On the 1st of June, 1883. the legislature authorized the construction of the necessary works, and on the 21th of June, 1891, the second aqueduct was finished and turned over to the department of public works of New York City. Since 1888 the building of subsidiary basins and reservoirs in Westchester and Putnam Counties has been steadily prosecuted. It was originally proposed to construct the new C…

Takings, under provisions of Chapter 490 of the Laws of 1883, were commenced in the years 1892, 1891, 1895, and 1897. " Many attractive residence localities in the territory taken will soon be, if not so already, among the things of the past. What was known as the Village of Katonah, in the Town of Bedford, has become extinct, and is now only a matter of history; its buildings, appraised and sold …

The Huntersville section of the Town of Cortlandt, well known to sportsmen, as it is famous for its excellent trout brooks; the Quaker Meeting House locality, in the Town of New Castle, the Wiremill Bridge, iu the Town of Cortlandt, and other localities of historic interest, are among the places that will be extinguished and k go under with the Hood.' « To give some idea of the amount of property …

The old highways on the condemned land, taken by the city, have been left open for public travel until such time as the city shall substitute others, which right the city is now endeavoring to obtain from property-owners." 1 The daily delivering capacities of the three aqueducts leading through Westchester to New York City are, according to Wegman: Old Croton Aqueduct, 95,000,000 gallons; Bronx Ri…

According to a report submitted to Controller Coler in May, 1900, embodying \ a careful study of the whole matter, the present supply will safely meet all demands for live years to come, and if proper measures are taken to curtail the excessive waste of water \ i now prevalent, a period of ten years of abundance can reasonably be calculated on; but SCKNE IN PEEKSKILL DURING BLIZZARD OF 1888. in ei…

of establishing an annual encampment for the national guard had been impressed upon the attention of the authorities for several years, but no definite action had been taken. In March, 1882, Governor Cornell appointed a commission with instructions to make a thorough investigation. Mr. James T. button, a public-spirited citizen of Peekskill, at once entered into communication with this body, and a…

We have already noticed the purchase of the Philipse Manor House by the municipal authorities in 18G8, and its use as the seat of the local government. In 1877, during the mayoralty of the Hon. William A. Gibson, resolutions (offered by Frederic Shonnard) were adopted by the board of aldermen providing for the appointment of a permanent " committee on history and historical relics," among whose me…

David Cole.1 In 1883 proceedings were begun on behalf of the City of New York for the acquisition of land for new public parks in the " annexed district," and also in territory at that time still belonging to Westchester County. Up to that year the city had been very deficient in park area, not fewer than five cities in the United States exceeding i The Soldiers' Monument in front of Manor Hall…

Cortlandt Park was constructed mainly out of the ancient Van CortThe city's purchase included landt estate of the Lower Yonkers. the historic mansion (erected by Frederick Van Cortlandt in 1748), which was placed in the custody of the Colonial Dames of the State Van of New York, and by them converted into a historical museum. Bronx Park Cortlandt Park is now utilized for military reviews. and Pelh…

Ferry Village " I™^on Tarrytown "" Part of White Plains " rT . Harrison Lewisboro Part of Katonah Village Mamaroneck 15,139 . '' w . jj<° bd2 ft r„a J^TO l.olo 1 ,. aciri iU>8dU „ .Rr, ^jj v>'29g 3,562 9„„ l,4o.) 1 4.1 7 ^ . ±(> 14b HISTORY WESTCHESTER COUNTY POPULATION TOWNS 5,847 Mount Pleasant 3.179 2,110 Part of Mount Kisco " i:v,\ 9,057 New North Castle Pelhani Rochelle V…

At the first city election, held in the succeeding May, Dr. Edward P. Brush was chosen mayor.1 By the organization of the city the old Town of Eastchester was dismembered-- in fact, divided into two remotely separated parts, with Mount Vernon lying betwixt them. The lower part of Eastchester Town lias since been annexed to New York City. The development of Mount Vernon in all municipal regards has…

Mayor Weller, finding it impossible to deal otherwise with the problem than summarily, and believing the dams to be a public nuisance which should be abated by arbitrary methods in the absence of other It was a courageous act, remedy, caused them to be torn down. similar to the one of the citizens of Westchester in Macomb's In the legal processes that resulted the mayor and city governiiiciii were…

straight line drawn from the point where the northerly line of the City of New York meets the center line of the Bronx River, to the middle of the channel between Hunter's and Glen Islands, in LongIsland Sound, and all that territory lying within the incorporated limits of the Village of Wakefield, which lies northerly of said line, with the inhabitants and estates therein." The additional territo…

The large adverse majority in Mount Vernon caused the advocates of the Greater New York programme to omit that city from their calculations; but notwithstanding a majority of one against consolidation in Westchester Town, there was no hesitation in preparing to annex the other three localities interested. The present City of New York, with its five Boroughs of Manhattan, the Bronx, Richmond, Brook…

owners' associations in behalf of such a reform, and in 1889 a bill was submitted to the legislature which provided for the creation of tk a department of street improvements of the 23d and 21th wards of the City of New York." This measure did not pass, but the State senate appointed a committee to make an investigation and report as to the necessity of the proposed department. The reasons in favo…

With the inauguration of the department of public improvements a new order of things obtained soin the North Side, and it presently began to be realized that the styled " annexed district " was something more than an outlying integral locality, and was in process of rapid transformation into an of part of the metropolis. When it is considered that the portion nearly River Bronx the of west Bronx t…

One of the most valuable improvements of the last ten years, apparent to anybody who makes a trip out of the city over the Harlem road, is the depression of the tracks of that railway, so that from the Harlem River to above Bedford Park it nowhere crosses a public thoroughfare at grade. Magnificent avenues and parkways have been opened, and there is now in process of construction a grand concourse…

At the time of the opening of the canal, in 1895, 550.000 tons of rock had been removed, 102,000 cubic yards of earth excavated, 1,000,000 cubic yards of earth and mud dredged, 5,000 cubic yards of retaining walls built, and 2,000,000 tons of dynamite exploded. The canal follows the course of the Harlem River to near Kingsbridge, where it leaves the natural waterway and passes through an open cut …

The following striking facts of progress in the Borough of the Bronx are taken from a recent statement by Mr. James L. Wells : "The fact should be realized that in point of population the 23d and 24th wards constitute the fourth largest city in the State, leaving New York out, of course, and that, with the rapid transit road to aid in development, it will be but a very few years until that section…

With the newly annexed territory the portion of the city above the Harlem River is double the size of that below, and if you can put two millions on Manhattan Island, there is surely ample room for a million and a half in twice as much space. -In 1874, when the original 2:5(1 and 24th wards were annexed to New York, the total assessed value of the property was about $23,05. 000,000. The total asse…

A potent factor of the general improvement in this section has been the introduction of trolley roads, affording quick transit and a practically universal " transfer " system. In 1894 the elevated railway established a uniform fare of five cents from the Battery to the end of its suburban line at Tremont. This produced a vast increase in the trans-Harlem traffic: in 1893, while the ten-cent fare s…

The trolley is likewise exercising a peculiar developing influence in the Hudson River municipalities, where the steepness of the ascent from the railway and from the village centers to many of the residence localities has always been a hindrance to diversified progress. Two trolley routes now cross the county: one from Yonkers through Mount Vernon to New Rochelle, the other from Tarrytown through…

White Plains (Town of White' Plains) Port Chester (Town of Rye) Tarrytown (Town of Greenbnrgh) North Tarrytown (Town of Mount Pleasant) Mamaroneck (Towns of Mamaroneck and Rye) Dobbs Ferry (Town of Greenbnrgh) Irving-ton (Town of Greenbnrgh) Hastings (Town of Greenbnrgh) Mount Kisco (Towns of Bedford and New Castle) 7,363 7>25 ' 4,674 4,011 3,729 2,840 2,013 1,712 1,374 Croton (Town of Cortlandt…

officers chosen being: treasurer, J. Arthur Huntington; police justice, John A. Van Zelm; assessors, Augustine Smith. P. B. Brady, and II. \Y. Tassler; aldermen at large, Henry C. Kuchler, Jacob Ilollwegs, John Stephenson, John Kress, and Frank Holler; aldermen, William II. Neilson, Robert C. Archer, John Grab, Ulric X. Griffen, II. A. Siebrecht, Sr., and Peter Cunneen; supervisors, George II. Cra…

Cortlandt's Ridge, 37. 442: the Babeoek's House affair, 443: Burr's capture of the West Farms blockhouse, 4)\; storming of Stony Point, 452: Tarleton's raid on ['oundridge, 456; British atompond, 458; Hopkins's fight with (59: American descents on MorrisSastchester (17791. 459, 460; the .use affair, 461; American attacks ia (early in 1780), 462; Hull's raid on January, 1781), 198; the surprise of …

Gerard G. (Cornelia Van 427. 527. 530. lliani. of the Youkers Land. 144. rvey. sec Crosby, Enoch onei. Expedition by. against Peek louse. 427. ■k Tract. The. 156. •ok, 11. 124. Irian. 59. the British snips on in.,.Mo„„,..,^ ...„., Bolton's first blood of the Island, 346; battle ofin Long 344; Revolution Westchester County, 348: battle 5N5. . Everardus, ••History of 88. Westchester Count…

officers chosen being: treasurer, J Arthur Huntington; police justice, John A. Van Zelm; assessors, Augustine Smith. P. B. Brady, and II. \V. Tassler; aldermen at large, Henry C. Kuchler, Jacob Hollwegs, John Stephenson, John Kress, and Franh Holler; aldermen, William II. Neilson, Robert C. Archer, John Grab, Ulric X. Griffen, II. A. Siebrecht, Si-., and Peter Cunneen; supervisors, George 11. Craw…

Acker house. The. 56S. Action al Tarrytown, The, 507. and Montgomery, 433: rout of Donop's yagers, 440; the Ward's House affair, 442: ambuscade of the Stockbridge Indians at Alexander, James, 241. 244. 24s. Alipconr-k, 25. Allison, C E. (Rev.), 261, 329. 528, 53s. 559, 582, 5S7, 606. Cortlandfs Ridge, 37. 442: the Babcock's House affair, 443: Burr's capture of the West Farms blockhouse, 44S;…

to New York city. 608, 621. Ann-Hoock, 27. 92, 115. Anthony's Nose. 2. 4. 8, 5.",. 310, 341. 415. Orser's (January. 1782), 517; American attacks on Morrisania (17s2i. 518. Bayard, Nicholas. 168, 204, 205. Bedford (township ami village), included in Appleby Island. 532. Aqueducts, 0. 11. 548, 013. Archaeology of Westchester County. 20. Archer. John. 13s. 144. Captain Nathaniel Turner's purchas…

Th dians by Captain John Underbill in Bedford Blind Brook, 101; battle of Golden Hill. 2S0; affair of the tire 11. 121. Block Adrian. 59. ships. 341; attack by the American -alleys oi dns. Everardus, the British ships off Tarrytown (August 4. 1770) •ster County Bogai l's "History of 344: battle of Long Island. 340: first bl 1 of tin West Bolto Revolution in Westchester County. 348; battle 585. 229…

Bronx River, 5. 11. 550. 551. 553, 502, 567. 89, 2. 89. 95, 603, 623. 625, Manor, Kingsbridge, ,-ni(l West Farms. 373, 3SS. 389. Bronx River Pipe Line. 11. 548, 014. Bronxville (incorporated village), Budd, John, of Bye. 124. 506, 590. Cortlandtville, Cortlandt's 415. Ridge, Battle at. 37. 442. 549. Couch. Franklin, 4i'.4. County commit! .f 1775, .-.05. County convention of 1774. 293…

River, 9, 107. 350. 399, 500. 550, 552. Charles P.. 16, 424, 600. dimming, William J. (Rev.), 197, 599. 1 tankers. Jasper, 73, 158. Chatterton's Hill. 388, 389, 393. 395. 506, 550. Chenowith, Alexander C, 21. 42. 51. Chevaux de frise at Port Washington, 351, 361, 373. Christiansen, Henry, 59. City Island, 6. 174, 352, 532, 620, 621. (Mason's Point, 5. "Clermont," The, 538. Clinton, De Witt (Colo…

Cortlandt (township), created a town by the act of 1788. 532: the town and its villages in 1860, 589; population at various periods, 533, 539, 542, 577, 589, 605, 611, 619; Other references, 170, 269, 614. Cortlandt Manor. 157. 168, 226. 268. 305. 338, 527. Cortlandt own. 466. Davenport's Neck, 5, 37*. David's Island. 6. Davids. William. 424. Dawson. Henry I!.. 287, 317, 319, 323, 324, 310, 315, …

Dobbs Perry (incorporated village), occupation by Howe's army. 400; junction of the American and French armies. 506; battery at (1781), 50S; the departure for the Yorktown campaign, 516; concerning the meeting of Washington and Sir Guy Carleton, 522; the village in 1860, 590: incorporation. Oil : various references. 3, 25. 156, 160, 344, 351, 403, 410. 428. 440. 450, 465. 466, 477. 510, 514. 519, …

lolden's Bridge, 122. 590, 614. ; rahain, Robert (Dr.), 335, 429. Iravelly P.i k. 113. 129. 141. Ireeley. Horace, 579, 607. ireonburgh (township), created a town by ■ act of 17ss. 531: the town and its villages I860, 590; population at various periods. 533, '. 512. 577. 590, 605, Oil. 619; other references, . 459.■H599. a (irei ne. Christopher (Colonel), 500. (irei ne. Nathaniel (General), 405. (C…

Eastchester i ownshipi. purchase of lands by Connecticut mi n from Thomas Pell. 139; support given to L •isler. 2ns: designated as a parish. 233: the el .,-tion on the green (1733), 243: created a town by the act of 1788, 532; settlelUellt of Menu 620; annexation of the City of Mi unt Vernon. a portion to N •w York. 621; population at various periods. 2 26. 533, 539. 577, 590. 605. 611, 619; ■es. …

Fort Lafavette, 415. 410. 451. 156. Heath. General, 351. 353. 365, 375, 381, 395. 401. Fort Lee. 310, 4H7. 107. 409, 415. 425. 452. 455. 400. 101. 402. 500, 517. 520. Fort Lookout, 415. Heathcote, Caleb. 130, 17s. 217. 230, 231. 354. Fort Montgomery, 410. 431. Heathcote Hill. 181. Fort Schuyler, 5. 592. Heermans, Augustine, 158. Fort Washington, 31a. 351. 372, 386, 400, 4n4. Hellgate, 4. 59, 6S. F…

Hudson River, 2. 310, 357. 361, 538. 503. Huggeford, Peter (Dr.), 327, 531. Huguenots. 174. Hull, William. 393, 117, 151. 498. Hunt, Josiah, of Westchester, 230. Hunt. Thomas, of West Farms. 150. Hunter's Island. 6. Hunt's Point. 5. Hurlbut, George (Captain), 508. Hasted. James W. (General), 495. 603. Hutchinson, Anne, 89. Hutchinson River. 5. 11. 89, 140. 376. incorporated villages, 540. 542. 544…

Lafayette, .Marquis de, 474. 497. 535, 542. Lake Mahopac, 9. Lake Mohegau, 13, 485. Lake Waccabuc, 12. Larchmonl (incorporated village), 130, 027. Larchmonl Harbor, 6. La slier. Colonel. 381, 3S6. Lauzun, Duke de, 504. Charle * (General), 323, 371 , 385, 387, 401, 7. 439. 453,. Fat ms, 150. Leggett. Ha briel, of West Leggett, Jol n. 229. ilia in. 572. Leggett, W Leisler, Jac ib, 174. 204. 229. Len…

Kidd, William. 212. 454. Kingsbridge (village ami former townshipl, fortification of. 308, 309, 341, 351: spiking of the guns, 323; General Knyphausen encamps at, Washington tegic importance, 412; Heath's siege of Fort In425: Washington's purposed attack dependence, on (17S1), 504; Macomb's tide mill, 541; set off from Yonkers as a town, 606; annexed to New York, 609; various references. 5. 74, …

Mohawk Indians, 21. Mohican Indians. 21. Mompesson, Roger, 221. Montgomery, Richard (General), 321. Morris. Fordham. 232. 351. 540, 556. 597. Morris, Gouverneur, 254. 305, 306, 307, 308, 311, 327, 336, 337, 429. 534. 566. Morris. Lewis, of Barbadoes, 150. Morris. Lewis (Chief-Justice), 151. 154. 230, 235. Morris. Lewis. Jr. (son of the chief-justice), 230, 253. Morris, Lewis, signer of the Declara…

Mount Kisco (incorporated village), 589. 591. 611. 619. 620. 627. Mount Pleasant (township), created a town by the act of 1788, 532: Ossining set off from, 575: the town and its villages in 1860, 591: population at various periods, 533, 539. 542. 577, 591, 605, 612. 620: other references, 160. 544, 599. Mount Saint Vincent. 6, 582. Mount Vernon, sett lenient. 579: village incorporation, 581: The v…

Norse Theory. The. 51. North Castle (township). North Castle Indian tirem'ent to the North Castle Hills. 397: General Lee's encampment, 401, 4t)7; burning of houses by Tarleton. 457: created a town by the act of 1788, 532: New Castle set off from (1791). 532; population at various periods, 533, 539, 577, 591. 605, 612. 620; various references. 87, 125. 214, 305, 472, 482. 516. 527. North Pelham …

Paine, Thomas. 531. Palisades. 4. 13. Papirinemen. 25. 113. 145, 146. 156. 157. (534 Parks GENERAL in the Annexed Parsons, Samuel Districts. 617. H. (General), 389, 420. 474. Patents (see also Purchases and Settlements) :-- to John Throckmorton, 92; to Thomas Cornell. 93; to Adrian Van der Donck, 106; to Hush O'Neale and wife, 113: to John Richbell, 129: to Westchester Town. 138, 228. 229; t…

Peekskill (incorporated village), occupation by General Heath after the battle of White Plains. 401; Geueral Lee's demands on General Heath, 409; Strategic importance, 413. 426; defensive works, etc., 415; General McDougall takes command, 426: Colonel Bird's expedition against, 426; General Putnam supersedes McDougall, 428; Sir Henry Clinton's expedition against the Highland forts. 434: McDougall …

Philip, 275. 301. 535. Pell, Thomas. 92, 115, 138, 141. Poningo Neck, 124. Penn, William, 153. Philipse, Adolph, 160, 256. Philipse. Catherina (wife of Frederick 1st). 159, 163. 256. Philipse. Eva landt). 160. (wife of Jacobus Van Cort- 1st. 144, 156, 204. Philipse, Frederick Philipse, Frederick 2d. 160, 241, 243, 260. Philipse. Frederick. 3d. 289. 293. 297, 299, 301, 3d, 289, 293, 297, 29< …

Purchases (see also Patents and Settlements):--of Keskeskeck. 84; of lands running to the Norwalk River, 84: of Connitelsock, 85; of the Toquams, x7: of lands by Daniel Patrick. 87; of Bronxland by Jonas Bronck, SS: of Colon Donck by Adrian Van der Donck, 106; of Weckquaesgeck by Stuyvesant, 114: of lands by Thomas Pell, 115; Turner's purchase, 115; of Rye and adjacent lands by Peter Disbrow and o…

Putnam, Israel (General), 401, 429, 431, 432, 43."). 436, 438, 418. Putnam, Rufus (Colonel), 310. 380, 415. Quaker Bridge, 614. Quakers, 124. 151, 153. 217. 224. 244. Quaroppas Tract. The 177. Queen's Rangers, The, 379, 382, 411. 432, 442. 44:'., 45,>. Rahl, Colonel, 3S9. Kail ways. 546. 573. Randall's Island. 4. 34S. 352. 425, 509. Raymond, Henry J.. 494. Raymond, M. I>.. 159. 56S. Reekgawawancs,…

Rye (township and unincorporated village), settlement of. 124: claims to the White Plains tract. 177 : I lie Rye Rebellion, 201, 213; ferry to Oyster Bay, 218; the Rye fair. 229: parish of, 233: attitude of citizens on the question of resistance to Great Britain. 2:':,. 294; the whale44!: engagement near Merrill's Tavern boats, (1781), 317: created a town by the act of 1788, tion at various period…

Settlements (see also Patents and Pur chases):-- of Manhattan Island. 71; of Bronxland by Jonas Bronck, 87; of Anne Hutchinson at Pelham, 89: of Throgg's Neck by John Throckmorton, 92: of Cornell's Neck by Thomas Cornel!, 93: of Colen Donck (Yonkers, etc.) by Adrian Van der Donck, 106; of Westchester Town by Thomas Pell's settlers, 116; of Rye by Peter Disbrow and others. 124: of Eastchester by Ph…

Smith. George Thatcher, 225, 600. Smith. Henry T. Manual of Westchester County, 335. 527, 535, 5S0. 587. Smith. Joshua Hett, 465, 467. 469. Smith, William. 241. 244. 248. Snakapins, The. 93. Solomon, Captain. 36. Somers (township), this name substituted for Steplientown (1808), 533: population at various periods. 5.33, 539, 578. 592, 605, 612. 620; various references to, 16. 170. 269. 424, 597, 60…

Lieutenant-Colonel, 442, 443. 450. 458. Tarrytown (incorporated village), British warships ascend to, 311: the attack by the Clinton's feint (October, 1777). 134; incidents of the military campaign of 1779. 458, 459; capture of Andre, 470: the monument to the captors of Andre. 493; the action at. July 15. 1781, 507: Irving's residence near, 508; the village in 1860, 590: incorporation, 611; variou…

Tilden, Samuel J.. 495, 611. Tilghman, Tench (Lieutenant-Colonel), Letters on the military situation, 359. 309. 370, 379. Tippett, George, of tin- Yonkers Land, 144. Titicus River, 9. Tompkins, Jonathan G., 305, 300, 314, 325, 336, 348, 487, 536, 542, 564. Tooker, William Wallace, 23, 25, 45, 127. Toquams. The, 26, 87. Tories, The. 312, 325, 326, 338. 361, 370, 3S2, 400, 446, 443, 522. Townsend, E…

Van Cortlandt Mansion near Peekskill, 427. Van Cortlandt Park. 160, 171. 619. Van Dam, Hip, 239. Vanderbilt, Cornelius, 563. Van der Donck, Adrian. 38. 39, 42, 45, 105. Van der Donck's planting field, 144. Van Dyck, Hendrick, 97. Van Blslandt, Claes, 117. Van Rensselaer, Kiliaen, 168. Van Tassel, Daniel, 523. Van Tienhoven. Cornelius, 84, 118. Van Wart. Alexander (Rev.), 461, 480. Van Wart, Isaac.…

Washington, George, on the patriotic services of the Mohican Indians. 37: passes through Westchester County to take command of the army. 312: orders the removal of Frederick Philips.'. 329; on the fireships affair. 340: Washington and Mary Philipse, 349: remarks on the militia. 355: the White Plains campaign, 358396; address to the army after Howe's landing on Throgg's Neck, 371; his headquarters …

Purchase, Weckquaesgeck 150. The, Tract. k Weckquaesgec Weckquaesgeck*, an Indian tribe. 2». 9,. Wegmann, Edward, 5-18, 015. Wells, James P.. 025. Wells, Lemuel, 559. The. 595. Chasseurs, Westchester Westchester County. Creation of, 19,. Historical Society, 396, County Westchester 305. Creek.The.5. 11: ' Westchester 505. battle of. 353. Westchester a 1654, of. purchase Pell's Town. Westchester 115…

West P.. int. 415. 438. 401. Whaleboats, The, 444. White, Henry. 274. While Oak Address. The. 299. White Plains (township ami village), early proprietary disputes, 177, 219: settlemve^ Westchester ('utility convention of 1774. 293; caucus of March 28, 1775, 298; meetings of the rival factions, April 11. 1775. 299; meeting of May 8, 1775. 305; tin' proclamation of the Declaration of Independence an…

Woodworth, Samuel, 572. Wright's Mills. Six. Yelks. J, dm, 470. Yoiikers (township, village, ami city), origin of the nana'. 107: the Philips.- purchase. 150: the Philipse. 329; Washington's arrest of Frederick headquarters at the Valentine house. 383; the Babcock's House affair, 443: purchasers ofactforof feited lands, 52s: created a town by the 17S8 531- beginnings of the village, 559: incorpor…

sponse to Lincoln's .'all for troops. 594; Kings- Yorktown (township), the movement at Crornbridge set oft', 606; incorporation of the pond. 501; of the French army at 606; water system, 616; the Manor House city, eel,- Crompond encampment (1782), 520; created a town l»v the act 1. ration. 017; removal of milldams, 621: popula- of 17SS. 532: population at various periods, 533, tion at various peri…