USA > New York > Westchester County > Rye > The bar of Rye Township, Westchester County, New York; an historical and biographical record, 1660-1918 > Part 1
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Gc 974.701 W52w 1146145
REYNOLDS HISTORICAL GENEALOGY COLLECTION
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 01150 1555
Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2015
https://archive.org/details/barofryetownship00wilc_0
Par AT
JOHN JAY
The
Bar of Rye Township
Westchester County
New York
0
RY
WESTC
N
CO
HESTER
An Historical and Biographical Record 1660-1918
Arthur Russell Wilcox
" There is properly no history, only biography."-Emerson
974.701 W52W
COPYRIGHT, 1918 BY ARTHUR R. WILCOX
The Knickerbocker Press, new Work
1146145
TO MY MOTHER THIS VOLUME IS LOVINGLY AND AFFECTIONATELY INSCRIBED
0 0 Canna $ 20.00
iii
" Discourage litigation. Persuade your neighbors to compromise whenever you can. Point out to them how the nominal winner is often a real loser-in fees, expenses and waste of time. As a peacemaker, the lawyer has a superior opportunity of being a good man. Never stir up litigation. A worse man can scarcely be found than one who does this. Who can be more nearly a fiend than he who habitually overhauls the register of deeds in search of defects in titles, whereupon to stir up strife and put money in his pocket? A moral tone ought to be enforced in the profession which would drive such men out of it."-LINCOLN.
V
Foreword
This work, undertaken chiefly as a diversion, soon became a considerable task, but none the less a pleasant one. It is something which should have been done long since. The eminence of some of Rye's lawyers fully justifies it. It is far from complete. Indeed, at this late day it could not be otherwise; records have disappeared, recollections have become dim, and avenues of investigation are closed. Some names, perhaps, have been rescued from oblivion. Others must be forever lost. It is hoped the information here gathered will serve as an incentive to further investigation on the part of others.
In the preparation of this volume, recourse has been had to Mr. J. Thomas Scharf's History of West- chester County, and particularly to the admirable article therein entitled "The Bench and Bar of West- chester County," by Mr. Justice Isaac Newton Mills; to the exceedingly valuable and unique History of Rye, by the Rev. Charles W. Baird, D.D .; to the History of Westchester County, by the Rev. Robert Bolton; and to numerous other publications, such as state papers, civil lists, gazetteers, and the like, as well as to court records, documents, and other papers.
vii
Foreword
Valuable assistance has been rendered by Mr. A. P. French, of Port Chester, an authority on historical and genealogical research. Kindly consideration has been accorded and much aid given by members of the Bar and others, and to all such the com- piler extends hearty thanks and makes grateful acknowledgment.
Port Chester, N. Y. April, 1918.
viii
"But I say to you, and to our whole country, and to all the crowned heads and aristocratic powers and feudal systems that exist, that it is to self-government-the great principle of popular representation and administration-the system that lets in all to participate in the counsels that are to assign the good or evil to all -- that we may owe what we are and what we hope to be."-DANIEL WEBSTER.
ix
Contents
PAGE
FOREWORD
· vii
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS .
xiii
THE COUNTY OF WESTCHESTER .
·
I
THE TOWN OF RYE
. 7
THE COURTS .
26
BIOGRAPHIES OF THE JUDICIARY AND DECEASED
LAWYERS .
33
BIOGRAPHIES OF LIVING LAWYERS . 172
APPENDIX
· 33I
INDEX OF BIOGRAPHIES
·
·
· 343
X1
List of Illustrations
PAGE
JOHN JAY .
. Frontispiece
COUNTY COURT HOUSE AT BEDFORD .
2
SECOND COUNTY COURT
HOUSE
AT
WHITE
PLAINS .
.
4
ANOTHER VIEW OF THE SECOND COUNTY COURT
HOUSE AT WHITE PLAINS
6
ANOTHER VIEW OF THE SECOND COUNTY COURT HOUSE AT WHITE PLAINS, AFTER IT HAD FALLEN INTO DISUSE
.
8
THIRD COUNTY COURT HOUSE AT WHITE PLAINS,
IN 1858
.
IO
THIRD COUNTY COURT HOUSE AT WHITE PLAINS,
ABOUT TWENTY YEARS AGO
.
I2
.
THIRD COUNTY COURT HOUSE AT WHITE PLAINS
WITH NEW SUPREME COURT BUILDING
14
PRESENT COUNTY COURT HOUSE
16
ANOTHER VIEW OF THE
PRESENT COUNTY COURT HOUSE ·
I8
X111
Illustrations
PAGE
CHARLES WASHINGTON BAIRD, D.D.
20
SQUARE HOUSE, RYE
.
22
DESOTO HOUSE, PORT CHESTER
24
LIBERTY SQUARE, PORT CHESTER, ABOUT SIXTY
YEARS AGO
26
FINAL SITTING OF THE WESTCHESTER COUNTY
COURT OF SESSIONS
28
SUPREME
COURT
JUSTICE
MARTIN
JEROME
KEOGH .
44
SURROGATE WILLIAM ALLEN SAWYER
·
50
NEHEMIAH BROWN
·
80
AMHERST WIGHT
.
·
86
WILLIAM PATTERSON VAN RENSSELAER
·
90
CHARLES THORNE CROMWELL
.
92
EDWARD PITKIN COWLES .
.
98
DANIEL HAIGHT
.
I06
AMHERST WIGHT, JR.
.
IIO
SAMUEL WILLIAM JOHNSON
II6
JOHN EDWARD PARSONS
·
.
I18
JOHN ERVING .
C
I26
HANFORD MEAD HENDERSON
xiv
130
Illustrations
PAGE
MAURICE DILLON
140
CORNELIUS EUGENE KENE
· 148
EDWARD BOIES COWLES
. 150
ALONZO DRAPER
.
154
ERNEST PECK . . .
. 164
XV
The Bar of Rye Township
The County of Westchester
Westchester (formerly West Chester) County, prob- ably named after the town of West Chester, which presumably was named in honor of Chester, England, possesses the distinction of being one of the twelve original counties of the State of New York under the English rule, having been erected by an act of the general assembly passed November 1, 1683, which was confirmed by a later act passed October, 1691. Its limits, as originally fixed, are still substantially the same, with the exception of its southern portion, which became part of the city of New York. The town of West Chester was selected as the county or shire town, and there, according to the records, the first court of sessions of the peace was held June 3, 1684. The records do not disclose the name of the presiding judge, but it is possible that it was John Pell, of Pelham, who, on August 25, 1688, was appointed judge of the court of common pleas of the county, with authority to associate with himself two or more justices of the peace. A court house was
I
I
The Bar of Rye Township
erected at West Chester, and courts continued to be held therein until February 4, 1758, when the build- ing was destroyed by fire. A court of sessions was also held at Eastchester, or East Chester. The last session of the court at West Chester was held No- vember 6, 1759.
By an act of the assembly, passed December 16, 1758, a new site for a court house and an appropri- ation of one thousand pounds toward erecting the court house and a gaol, were authorized. The White Plains was selected as the place, and on November 7, 1759, the first session of the court of common pleas was held in the new court house. At that time The White Plains, as it was called, was a part of the town of Rye, as was also Harrison, then called Harrison's Purchase. To Dr. Robert Graham, who resided at The White Plains, is mainly due the credit of having the place of the county seat selected, and it was he who gave to the county the site upon which the court house was erected. In this movement he was ably assisted by John Thomas, who lived in Harrison's Purchase. It was not until 1788 that the towns of White Plains and Harrison were formed. Thus it will be seen that for a time, Rye was the town of the county seat. It may, furthermore, be as- serted that the town of Rye was really the birthplace of the State of New York, because it was at the court house at The White Plains, on the 9th day of July, 1776, that the Declaration of Independence was received by the provincial convention of New York State, then in session there, and the document read
2
THE COUNTY COURT HOUSE AT BEDFORD in which the first session of court was held January 28, 1788
Μακιούρι
The Bar of Rye Township
in front of the building, the convention pledging its support to the Declaration and to the patriot cause. This convention, which had been in session in New York City, was compelled to adjourn its meeting elsewhere as that city was threatened by the British. This court house was located on the site now occupied by the armory on South Broadway, White Plains.
This historic structure was set on fire by a detach- ment of Continental troops from New England on the night of November 5, 1776, shortly after the battle of White Plains, which occurred October 28th. Much controversy has been waged over this event, some claiming that it was a military necessity in order to prevent the building from falling into the hands of the British and thereby providing them temporary shelter, others claiming that it was a wantonly unnecessary act. The latter contention is probably the correct one. Fortunately the records of the courts and the provincial convention were removed before the destruction of the court house took place.
During the war, the courts were held in the Pres- byterian Church in Bedford, until the destruction of that edifice by the British in 1779. From then until November, 1784, they were held in the meeting house in Upper Salem. A legislative act of April II, 1785, ordered them to be held in the Presbyterian meeting house at Bedford until the court house should be rebuilt.
By an act of May 1, 1786, the sum of eighteen
3
The Bar of Rye Township
hundred pounds was appropriated for the erection of another court house at White Plains and also one at Bedford. In the Bedford court house the first session of the court was held January 28, 1788, while in the White Plains court house a session was held May 26th, following. Courts were held alternately at these places for many years. The second court house at White Plains, occupied the site of its pre- decessor. It is a matter of regret that this historic site was not preserved as the permanent site of the county court buildings.
In 1854, the second court house ended its exist- ence, as such, and the construction of a third one on Railroad Avenue, now the site of the present court house, was commenced, which was completed in 1857. The amount appropriated to cover the cost of this building was $120,000. A Hall of Records, which is still standing, was erected as a wing in 1894. In 1907, an extension to this hall of records, as well as a large wing in the rear, opposite, called the Supreme Court Build- ing, was erected, at a total cost, with equipment, of some $700,000. These buildings are also still standing.
The holding of court at Bedford was discontinued by Chapter 550 of the laws of 1870. The fifth county court house gave way, in 1915, for the seventh (counting the Supreme Court Building) and present court house. This last, constructed and furnished at an expense of about $600,000, stands on the site of its predecessor. Mr. Justice Mills, who delivered
4
THE SECOND COUNTY COURT HOUSE AT WHITE PLAINS in which the first session of court was held May 26, 1788 (By courtesy of Mr. John Rosch)
-
The Bar of Rye Township
the address on the occasion of laying the corner stone of this building, said:
"If we could and should strike those events from the history of our state and country without possi- bility of duplication elsewhere, then indeed would it be true that we would to-day have no State of New York and no nation of these United States of America."
In referring to the fifth court house, now gone forever, he said:
"Whatever others may think, from the day when, in October, 1876, a young law student just admitted to the Bar, I first turned eyes upon it from the street in front of it, until when, last May, I beheld it for the last time, I have always thought it, espe- cially in front, to be of great architectural beauty, with perfect appropriateness to its setting. The solidity and the soundness of the structure have recently been illustrated in the fruitless attempts to tear it down by ordinary means. I confess a feeling of sorrow and pain that in these new plans the Commission and the Board of Supervisors have not found it possible to retain that front. For thirty years and more I toiled at my profession at the Bar and upon the Bench within those old, grim, gray walls, and I love them to-day, as I ever shall, at least in memory, 'from turret to foundation stone.'"
The population of Westchester County, in 1698, was 1063; in 1723, 4409; in 1771, 21,745; in 1800, 27,373; in 1850, 58,263; in 1900, 183,375; and in 1915, 321,713.
5
The Bar of Rye Township
The first lawyer of whom any record can be obtained, who practiced in the county, was Samuel Clowes, of Queens County. Moving to Westchester County, he appears to have been the leading lawyer there from 1717 to 1744, and doubtless was the first prosecuting attorney of the county.
Westchester County is included in the second judicial department of which there are four within the State, and in the ninth judicial district, of which there are nine. The justices of the Supreme Court of the ninth judicial district are Isaac N. Mills, Mount Vernon; Joseph Morschauser, Poughkeepsie; Arthur S. Tompkins, Nyack; Martin J. Keogh, New Rochelle; J. Addison Young, New Rochelle; William P. Platt, White Plains; and Alfred H. F. Seeger, Newburgh. William A. Sawyer, of Port Chester, is Surrogate of the county, while Frank L. Young, of Ossining, is County Judge. Other county officers are Daniel J. Cashin, County Clerk, James K. Apgar, Register, and Charles E. Nossiter, Sheriff. The twenty-fourth and twenty-fifth Congressional dis- tricts include portions of Westchester County. Benjamin L. Fairchild, of Pelham, represents the former, and James W. Husted, of Peekskill, the latter. George A. Slater, of Port Chester, is State Senator, representing the twenty-fourth Senatorial district, which comprises all of Westchester County. Mem- bers of the assembly from the districts included in the county are William J. Fallon, Michael Trahan, Jr., George Blakely, R. G. Burnett, and William Belknap.
6
Another View of THE SECOND COUNTY COURT HOUSE AT WHITE PLAINS
1
The Town of Rye
What is now the town of Rye, so often referred to as "The Border Town," was called by the Indians Peningo, with an island on the east called Manussing, now Manursing. The country lying between the Hudson and Byram Rivers was claimed by a part of the Mohegan tribe. The date of settlement takes us back to the time when the Dutch were still in possession of the province they called New Nether- land. Half a century had elapsed since these shores were discovered by Hendrik Hudson. It was in the last days of the Dutch rule on this continent that a little company of New England men from the neighboring town of Greenwich ventured to establish themselves here.
On the 3rd day of January, 1660, we find Peter Disbrow in treaty with the Indians of Peningo Neck, for the purchase of that tract of land. East of Pe- ningo Neck lay the island (about a mile in length) called Manussing, for the purchase of which on June 29, 1660, we find that Peter Disbrow, with John Coe and Thomas Stedwell, concluded a treaty with the Indian proprietors. Our settlers thus acquired the lower half of the present territory of the town be- tween Blind Brook and the Sound, or Byram River,
7
The Bar of Rye Township
together with the adjoining island of Manussing. By deed dated May 22, 1661, they bought the land lying farther north between the same streams. These three purchases completed the territory of Rye on the east side of Blind Brook, and also took in a part of the town of Greenwich. Within little more than a year after the last purchase, our planters bought from the Indians the lands on the west side of Blind Brook extending to Mamaroneck River and indefinitely beyond, upon which the town of Rye subsequently founded its claim to the territory now known as Rye Neck and to the present town- ships of Harrison and White Plains. In these lat- ter transactions John Budd takes the lead instead of Peter Disbrow. His first treaty with the Indians, dated November 8, 1661, secured him the tract of land called by the Indians, Apawamis, and by the white men, Budd's Neck, bounded on the east by Blind Brook and west by the little stream whose Indian name was Pockcotessewake, since known as Stony Brook or Beaver Meadow Brook. North- ward it extended as far as the Westchester Path, and southward to the sea. This land now con- stitutes the southwestern part of the town. The Westchester Path was originally an Indian trail that led from Manhattan island to a "wading place" not far from the present Byram bridge, and thence into Connecticut. A second deed exe- cuted a few days later related to the islands known as Hen and Pine Islands and The Scotch Caps. This transaction was followed in a few days
8
Another View of THE SECOND COUNTY COURT HOUSE AT WHITE PLAINS after it had fallen into disuse
The Bar of Rye Township
by the purchase of the West Neck or the tract of land adjoining Budd's Neck proper, and lying between Stony Brook and Mamaroneck River. The last of these purchases, made June 2, 1662, by Budd with the three other purchasers, is the first occasion upon which these four names appear together. The settlers then bought the tract of land above the Westchester Path and west of Blind Brook or directly north of Budd's Neck, the territory of the present town of Harrison. Four years after, the Indians confirmed the tract to Budd alone as included in the grant which they had already made to him individu- ally, November 8, 1661, of a tract of land extending "northward into the country," sixteen miles from the Westchester Path. Thus by three distinct grants from the Indians our early settlers were secured in possession of the territory which was afterward given to Harrison and his associates.
These Indian purchases occupied, it appears, a period of two and one-half years. Meanwhile the three purchasers who were living in Greenwich when the first two treaties were made, had come down with some others to the island of Manussing and were already preparing to cross over to the main. By the several purchases above recorded, the found- ers of this town acquired title to a very considerable territory. The southern part of it alone comprised the tract of land between Byram River and Mamaro- neck River, while to the north it extended twenty miles, and to the northwest an indefinite distance. These boundaries included, besides the area now
9
The Bar of Rye Township
covered by the towns of Rye and Harrison, much of the towns of North Castle and Bedford, in New York, and of Greenwich, in Connecticut, whilst in a northwesterly direction the territory claimed was absolutely without a fixed limit. Except along the seaboard, the country was almost unknown.
It was probably in the summer or fall of the year 1660 when the settlement on Manussing Island was commenced. Disbrow and his companions were all living at Greenwich and undoubtedly came in boats. An Indian village had formerly stood on the southerly part of the island. The settlers gave the island village the name of Hastings, unquestion- ably after the seaport on the English Channel, and it is fair to infer that someone at least of the settlers came from Hastings, in Sussex, England. Part of the mainland received this appellation together with the island. For two or three years the planters confined themselves to their insular home. They were soon joined, if not accompanied at the outset, by other adventurers. The inhabitants of Hastings before long took steps to place themselves under the protection of the colony of Connecticut, and seek the rights and privileges of a fully constituted town. Richard Vowles was chosen to go to Fairfield and there he qualified as "constable" for the plan- tation. On October 8, 1663, upon petition of the settlers, the general court at Hartford appointed John Budd commissioner for the town of Hastings, investing him with "magistraticall" power within the limits of that town. Connecticut at the same
IO
/
THE THIRD COUNTY COURT HOUSE AT WHITE PLAINS in 1858, shortly after its erection (By courtesy of Mr. John Rosch)
-.-
---
The Bar of Rye Township
time re-asserted its claim to the territory west of this place, the general court declaring that "all the land between West Chester and Stamford doth belong to the Colony of Connecticut." The little village now rejoiced in something like a well ordered social state. It had a magistrate "commissioned to grant warrants" and also, in case of need, "to marry persons." About the year 1664, the colony was joined by several new families. There was no room for them on the island, as fourteen or fifteen families already occupied its narrow limits. The new comers were therefore appointed their home lots on the coast.
Thus by the year 1665, there had sprung up two infant settlements within the bounds of Hastings, one on the island and the other on the shore of Peningo Neck, stretching across to Blind Brook. The latter we find had begun to be known by the name of Rye. It is supposed that this name was given in honor of two prominent members of the colony, Thomas and Hachaliah Browne. They were sons of Mr. Thomas Browne, a gentleman of good family from Rye, in Sussex, England, who removed to this country in 1632, and settled at Cambridge, Massa- chusetts. On May II, 1665, the general court of Connecticut passed an act merging these two settle- ments under the name which the town has borne ever since. Within the next five or six years the village on Manussing Island ceased to be. Most of the planters who had remained there until now, came over and united with their new associates in building
II
The Bar of Rye Township
up the present site of the village. - Still, as late as 1720, the island had a population sufficiently large to erect a pound.
From now on the town grew, but far from rapidly, and its progress was fraught with difficulties, trou- bles, and probably at times jealousies. In 1720, King George granted patents for Peningo Neck and Budd's Neck. These are recorded in the book of patents, Albany, No. 8, at pages 391 and 375, respectively.
Many of the inhabitants, in the early days, possibly not unlike those of to-day, aspired to public office, and there seems to have been an unusual number of offices within the gift of the people, because we find the inhabitants, in about 1700, when there were some sixty persons paying county rents, making choice of the following officers: a Supervisor; five Townsmen or Selectmen; a Constable; a Town Clerk or Recorder; two Assessors; two Listers; two Pound- ers; two Fence-viewers; three Sheep-masters; and a Collector. With a Justice of the Peace, besides two Deputies to the General Court, and any number of "layers out" of public lands and roads, to say nothing of the captain, lieutenants, ensigns, and sergeants of the "train-bands, " there seems to have been official business of some sort or other for nearly every member of the little commonwealth.
The town clerk was perhaps the most important of these village worthies. Only two persons filled the office during the first three quarters of a century. John Brondige was probably chosen to this office in the early days of the settlement. Of him we find
12
THE THIRD COUNTY COURT HOUSE as it appeared about twenty years ago (By courtesy of Mr. I. N. Boyce)
1
The Bar of Rye Township
mention as town clerk in 1678. He remained in office probably till the time of his death, in 1697, and was succeeded by Samuel Lane, who was town clerk until 1736.
Town meetings were held from time to time, and on these occasions selectmen presided. As early as 1705, the town chose trustees or overseers of the town. Justice was administered by a magistrate known at first as the commissioner. In 1697-98, the general court of Connecticut substituted for this office that of justice of the peace. The first com- missioner appointed for Hastings at Rye, in 1663 and 1664, was John Budd. He was followed by Lieutenant Joseph Horton, in 1678, and in 1698, pending the return of the town to Connecticut, the general court appointed to the office of justice of the peace, then newly created, Deliverence Brown, who was continued in office by the provincial government of New York and remained justice until 1716.
It is said that the early settlers of New England towns were fond of litigation, and it is presumed that Rye was not free from this weakness. Several suits of the date of 1678 and after are referred to in the records as having been tried at the county court, Fairfield. Execution is granted to sundry persons and levied by Lieutenant Joseph Horton or by the constable. Robert Bloomer appears as defendant in most of these cases, but in his turn enters a complaint for defamation. Also there appears an occasional entry making known the connubial infelicities that prevailed in some dwellings, the community being
I3
The Bar of Rye Township
warned not to "sell, barter, or trade, directly or indirectly," with the wife of the signer. The town, in 1739, and two subsequent years, elected a "public whipper." Thomas Rickey and Samuel Bumpas were the persons chosen to this office.
November 28, 1683, Rye was ceded to the province of New York. During the twenty years of their connection with the colony of Connecticut, from 1664 to 1683, the inhabitants sent one of their number, and sometimes two, to the legislature each year. John Banks, Peter Disbrow, and Timothy Knap served most frequently as deputies.
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