Shonnard, Frederic, and W.W. Spooner. History of Westchester County, New York, from its Earliest Settlement to the Year 1900. New York: The New York History Company, 1900.

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 " …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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," …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 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 …

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," …

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 …

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 …

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 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 …

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 …

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 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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 " …

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 …

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 …

"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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

" 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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

" 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 …

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 …

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 …

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 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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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/' …

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 …

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 …

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 …

"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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 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 …

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 …

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 …