USA > New York > Westchester County > Rye > Chronicle of a border town : history of Rye, Westchester county, New York, 1660-1870, including Harrison and the White Plains till 1788 > Part 39
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The population of our town, according to the census of 1870, is seven thousand one hundred and fifty-two.
CAPTAIN'S ISLAND, according to the act of the legislature of New York, March 7th, 1788, defining the limits of the towns in this State, belongs to the town of Ryc. It lies, however, at some distance to the east of the boundary between New York and Connecticut - about a mile and a half from the mouth of Byram River - and but little over a mile south of Horseneek Point, in the town of Greenwich, Conn. There are properly speaking three small islands included under this name. The largest of them - Great, or West Captain's Island - contains sixteen acres and a half; the second, containing two acres and a half, and the third containing half an acre, are called Little Captain's Islands. A boundary dispute in miniature has occurred in relation to these insignificant islets. On the third of September, 1761, John Ander- son presented a petition to the government of New York, praying that letters- patent might be issued to him for three small islands in the East River, near Byram River, the largest of which is known by the name of the Great Captain's Island, etc. (Land Papers in Office of Secretary of State, N. Y., vol. xvi. p. 87.) A return of survey was made, September 24, 1762 (Ibid. p. 123), and on the twenty-sixth of January, 1763,
1 Communicated.
376
LATER TOWN HISTORY: PORT CHESTER.
letters patent were given to Anderson for these islands, lying ' within our Province.' (Exemplification of Letters Patent to John Anderson, etc.) September 14, 1764, An- derson, then of Oyster Bay, L. I., was sued by Justice Bush and other inhabitants of Greenwich, Conn., for trespass in cutting timber on Great Captain's Island. (Eng- lish MSS. in Office of Secretary of State, N. Y., vol. xcii. p. 145.) By appeal, the suit came before the Superior Court in Fairfield, February 19, 1765. The parties were at issue on the plea that the island was in the Province of New York, and belonged to it. The jury found ' that the island whereon such facts were done was not at the time of doing the facts complained of, nor is within the Province of New York ;' and found a verdict of twenty shillings damages and costs for the plaintiffs. Pending this suit, Lieutenant-governor Colden, of New York, wrote to Governor Fitch, of Connecticut, February 12, 1765, proposing to submit the question of jurisdic- tion to his Majesty in his Privy Council. This he urged as a method ' attended with little or no expense,' and therefore ' better adapted to a Case in which the public In- terest in cither Colony is inconsiderable.' (Colden MSS., N. Y. Historical Society.) Governor Fitch replied, February 22, that he would lay the proposal before the Gen- eral Assembly : adding, ' I must observe a proposal to this government to submit a matter of jurisdiction which it has exercised without controversy for more than one hundred years, founded as we at least suppose on good and legal authority, was un- expected, and that after New York and Connecticut had settled the lines of govern- ment with so great precision and certainty, and Connecticut had made such great condescentions therein, I hoped they would have had no occasion to enter into fur- ther contests on that head.'
A committee of the Connecticut Assembly, to whom Governor Colden's letter was referred, reported in May, 1765, ' that altho' it relates to the jurisdiction of the gov- ernments, yet the estate in controversy appears to be so inconsiderable as scarcely to require or deserve the attention of the governments, or in any degree adequate to the expence which would unavoidably attend the mode of determination proposed by Governor Colden ; - and farther that the lines and boundaries between the two Colo- nies have been so effectually and finally settled by solemn agreements ratified and con- firmed by his Majesties royal predecessors that there appears no reasonable foundation for farther controversy relative thereto.'
The ground on which New York at that time claimed that Connecticut was not en- titled to these islands, is stated as follows : The south boundary of Connecticut was de- fined thus by the charter of 1662 : ' On the south by the sea, and in longitude as the line of the Massachusetts Colony running from cast to west, that is to say, from the said Narragansett Bay on the east to the south sea on the west part ; with the islands thereunto adjoining.' According to these terms it was urged, Connecticut could justly claim no lands other than such as were comprehended between the sonth bounds of Massachusetts and a line parallel thereto, running west. Such a line would be coincident with the sea-side for several miles west of Point Judith, until the shore bends in a direction south of a line parallel with the boundary of Massa- chusetts. The land south of such a line, and particularly the islands in the Sound, would then be cut off from the territory of Connecticut.1
Such a plea may remind us of the earlier controversy between the colonies, relative to the 'line north-northwest from the mouth of Mamaroneck River.' We can well believe that the argument taxed the ingenuity of the lawyers to an extraordinary degree. One of these, in 1769, was the celebrated John Jay, who had but lately been admitted to the bar, and already showed great skill in managing intricate cases. He and Benjamin Kissam, with whom he had studied law, were engaged on opposite sides upon ' the cause about Captain's Island.' Mr. Kissam writes to him, November
1 For the statements in this account relative to the action of the Connecticut government in the controversy, I am indebted to Charles J. Hoadly, Esq., Librarian of the Connecticut State Library, Hartford.
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CAPTAIN'S ISLANDS.
6, 1769, relative to this case, remarking playfully that he does not know ' where to find another into whose head the cause can be infused in the miraculous way of in- spiration ; ' and without this, he adds, 'it would be rather too intricate for any one to manage' without fuller information than he had received. (Life of John Jay, etc., vol. i. p. 22.)
The State of New York, as we have seen, adhered to the claim set up by the provin- cial government to these islands. In 1805, an ' Exemplification ' of the letters patent granted to John Anderson was obtained by parties interested, from the Secretary of State's Office. In 1815, Charles Field paid the arrears of quit rent on the patent for the islands. In 1827, they belonged to Jesse Park, junior, who sold them to Samuel Lyon of Greenwich. They are now owned by Captain Gilbert Lyon and his brothers, Port Chester.
In 1829, the United States obtained from Connectient a cession of jurisdiction of a part of Great Captain's Island, for the site of a light-house ; and a few years after a similar cession was obtained from New York. Three aeres, on the eastern end of this island, where the light-house now stands, belong to the United States,
The Commissioners appointed in 1856 to ascertain the boundary between New York and Connecticut, 'learned that there is also a controversy respecting the juris- diction over Captain's Island lying in the Sound, near the mouth of Byram River. ' As the extent of our powers in respect to this matter was quite uncertain, we en- tered,' they report, 'into no negotiation regarding it. We are, however, satisfied that some decision of the question is urgently required.' (Report, etc., Senate Docu- ment No. 165, State of New York : p. 32.)
CHAPTER XLIV.
LATER TOWN HISTORY : PORT CHESTER.
TN a former chapter we have related the humble beginnings of - the little settlement near the mouth of Byram River, whose founders were pleased to give it the name of SAW PIT. Despite that name, the place lived and prospered ; and in 1837, after the lapse of more than a hundred years, it took its present more ele- gant and not inappropriate title.1
This village has been of slow but steady growth since the close of the Revolution. For the first thirty or forty years of the present century, it possessed a considerable trade, as the port or market of a fine agricultural region. A large amount of produce was brought to this harbor from the farms of the interior, for transportation to the city. The situation of the place was very favorable for this trade. Roads comparatively direct and well graded led to Saw Pit from the hills of King Street, North Castle, and the Purchase. An 'easy descent' was accounted no small advantage by the farmers of those regions, with their heavily freighted wagons.
About the year 1798, Mr. Jared Peck, a man of uncommon energy and tact, came to Saw Pit and entered into business here. To his enterprise, undoubtedly, more than to any other cause, the place owed its development from that period. Mr. Peck engaged in the 'carrying trade,' buying up the grain and other crops brought in from the surrounding country, packing the pork and beef, and transporting these products to the New York market. The inducements which he offered for the sale of these commodi- ties drew an increasing traffic to this point. Four market sloops, running weekly to New York, besides other vessels occasionally employed, were engaged for many years in this trade.
The manufacturing interests of the place were also largely pro- moted by Mr. Peck's efforts. He became the proprietor of several mills on the Byram River, a stream which affords excellent facili- ties for this branch of industry. His grist-mill stood near the
1 Improvements now contemplated, at the mouth of Byram River, will greatly increase the commercial facilities of this place, and make it still more worthy of the name of the port of Westchester County.
379
EPISODE OF THE LAST WAR WITH ENGLAND.
present railroad bridge, crossing the river. As early as 1820 he was interested in a cotton factory at Glenville, three miles above Port Chester.1
Near the beginning of this century, Dr. Clark Sanford had established at Glenville his mill for grinding drugs. It continued in operation until 1830, when it was removed to Saw Pit, thence to New York, and finally to Stamford.2
In 1811, Dr. Timothy Dwight described this place as a ' decent village,' containing fifty or sixty houses, ' extended along Byram river.' ' The southern and principal part of this village,' lie states, ' is called the Saw-pit ; the northern is called Byram.' The latter name, doubtless, he understood to include the houses near and below Byram Bridge.
An episode of ' the last war' with England is remembered with interest by old inhabitants of Port Chester. Three British vessels lay anchored, on one occasion, off Manussing Island, in the middle of the Sound, stationed there for the purpose of intercepting market boats carrying provisions to New York. Several of these boats were taken and set on fire within sight of this place. One of them was a boat belonging to Mamaroneck. The vessels lay becalmed for about a week, during which time they destroyed a great quan- tity of produce. Meanwhile a number of gunboats, each carrying a swivel in the bow, were sent up from New York to capture the ships. Some men at work on Manussing Island witnessed the approach of these boats, and saw them exchange shot with the enemy. But before they could reach them, a stiff breeze sprung up, which favored the British vessels, and frustrated the design of the gunboats. The ships sailed up the Sound and were seen no more.
The following handbill, which was posted in the village and neighborhood, may have been occasioned by the fears which these vessels produced : -
' NOTICE
Is given that the Inhabitance are requested to meet on Tuesday next at 4 O'clock P. M. at the house of Willet Moseman to consult on some measures to pursue in defence of the village of Sawpitt and its vicinity in case of invasion.
' SAWPITT 16 June 1813.'
1 This establishment was destroyed by fire some years after, and its site is now occupied by a mill for rolling sheet lead.
2 On the site of Dr. Sanford's mill, there is now a large screw-bolt manufactory, employing several hundred hands, and owned by Messrs. Russell, Birdsell, and Ward. Another large factory, situated above Glenville, is that of Josiah Wilcox, for the manufacture of wagon fixtures.
.
380
LATER TOWN HISTORY : PORT CHESTER.
No injury was experienced by our inhabitants at this time. But the alarm was general. 'The people were afraid to leave their cattle near the shore,' lest the enemy should land and commit dep- redations.
' Saw Pit' was honored in 1824 by the presence of General LA FAYETTE, on his way from New York to New England. After dining at Penfield's Hotel, Rye, the illustrious guest proceeded to Mr. Moseman's (Port Chester), where ' he was received by a large party of gentlemen on horseback. Two masts were erected here, one on each side of the road, bearing a red and white pendant, and displaying the name of La Fayette over the road. The whole was handsomely decorated with evergreens. Having shaken hands with hundreds, young and old, and received their greetings, he passed on to Byram Bridge, the line of the State of New York, where the General was met by a Connecticut troop of horse. Here a salute was fired by the inhabitants, and the General with the united escort and a large cavalcade of ladies and gentlemen proceeded on to Putnam's Hill at Greenwich or Horseneck.'1 It is said that on this occasion La Fayette was introduced to the widow of General Thomas Thomas, the soldier of the Revolution, of whom frequent mention has been made in our pages, and who had died a few weeks before this. 'The interview took place on [Friday] the 20th August, 1824,' and the circumstance 'is commemorated by an inscription on a pane of glass, which may still be seen in the side light of the main entrance' to the hotel.2 Mrs. Thomas died a few months after this occurrence, aged seventy-nine years.
For some time previous to the year 1820, a steamboat ran from New Haven to Byram Cove, on the eastern side of Byram Point. Here passengers westward bound were obliged to land, and perform the remaining part of their journey overland. From Byram Cove stages ran to New York, passing through Saw Pit. This interrup- tion of travel was caused by the fact that the government of the State of New York had given to certain persons the exclusive right to navigate the waters of that State by steam. The act to this effect was passed originally, in 1798, in favor of Robert R. Living- ston ; the privilege conferred was afterwards extended to Robert Fulton ; and for some years after the death of the latter, in 1815, the restriction, which was manifestly unconstitutional, appears to have been continued in behalf of other parties. The inconven- ience to which travellers were put, by the necessity of leaving the
1 Niles's Register, August 28, 1824.
2 The Port Chester Monitor, James E. Beers, editor, October 21, 1865.
381
INCORPORATION OF THE VILLAGE.
steamboat for the stage, on reaching the State line, is vividly remembered by some of our old inhabitants. The steamboat United States is thought to have been the first that performed the trip between New Haven and Byram Cove.
About the year 1825, the 'steamboat landing,' at ' Rye Port,' between Saw Pit and Rye, became the place of embarkation. The John Marshall and the Governor Wolcot were the first that touched at this point. These were followed by the Citizen, and others. The mail stages between New York and Boston continued to run daily through Saw Pit until 1830 or 1835. But the steamboats were now superseding the slower conveyances by land, as well as the ' packet sloops ' on the Sound. The 'steamboat landing' was for a number of years the principal resort of our inhabitants, for communication with the city.
In 1837 Saw Pit became PORT CHESTER. The change was not effected without difficulty. No slight opposition was made to the measure by some, whose attachment to the preposterous name affords an amusing illustration of the power of habit and asso- ciation.
A change was also going on in the character of the place. The business of exporting the produce of the surrounding country was diminishing, for various reasons. Much of this trade had been diverted into other channels ; and with the growth of the village, a considerable part of the produce was needed for consumption here. It is well known too that the products of this region have decreased in quantity of late. The land in the lower part of Westchester County, owing to the proximity of the city, has proved valuable for other than agricultural uses; and as the West has become the great source of supply for the metropolis, our farmers, unable to compete with it, have raised much less for exportation than formerly. Port Chester, instead of sending away provisions to the New York market, now imports largely from the city, for the support of its thriving population.
By an act of the legislature passed on the fourteenth of May, 1868, Port Chester was incorporated as a village, with specified limits, within the town of Rye.1
1 The limits of the village are thus stated in the charter : 'All that part of the town of Rye, in the county of Westchester, contained in the following limits, to wit : Beginning at a rock at the easterly end of Byram bridge, on the boundary line be- tween the States of Connecticut and New York ; thenec, by said boundary line north 24 degrees and 15 minutes west, 16 chains and 97 links to the boundary line be- tween lands of E. L. Smith and the Misses Merritt; thence by said boundary line and across the land of said Merritts and by the boundary between Mrs. Bush and
382
LATER TOWN HISTORY : PORT CHESTER.
According to the returns of the census of 1870, the village now contains three thousand seven hundred and ninety-seven inhabitants, more than one half of the entire population of the town. For the last few years its growth has been rapid, and there are good reasons for believing that it is destined to be an important manufacturing and commercial town.
Port Chester possesses five churches,1 of which an account has been given elsewhere. The First National Bank of Port Chester was organized May 9, 1864. The Port Chester Savings' Bank was organized June 17, 1865. The principal manufacturing estab- lishment of the place is the Eagle Foundry, owned by Messrs. Abendroth Brothers. A weekly newspaper is now published in Port Chester.2
said Merritts, south 75 and 2 degrees west, 42 chains and 45 links, to the easterly line of King street ; thence by the same course, across said King street and lands of the estate of William Bush, Thomas Lyon, the estate of Nehemiah Brown, Alva Slater and E. B. Wesley, 48 chains and 45 links to the boundary line between lands of E. B. Wesley and Jethro Daggett ; thence by said boundary line and across lands of William Mathews, south 10 degrees and 10 minutes west, 20 chains and 95 links to the Purchase road ; thence, by the same course, across said Purchase road and through lands of Abraham Merritt, Thomas Lyon, Hannah M. Barton, the estate of Philip Duffy, deceased, Elizabeth Merritt, Samuel S. Bent, William P. Abendroth, and Charles T. Goodwin, 56 chains and 70 links to the centre of the road leading from the Boston post road to Ridge street ; thence through the centre of the said first mentioned road south 63 and 2 degrees east, 12 chains and 78 links, south 56 and a half degrees east, 3 chains and 24 links, and sonth 50 and 2 degrees east, 5 chains and 62 links, to the westerly line of the Boston post road ; thence across said road and through lands of Ezrahiah Wetmore and the estate of Gilbert Bush, deceased, sonth 61 degrees east, 39 chains and 20 links to the Grace church street road ; thence by the same course, across said road and through lands of the estate of William T. Provost, deceased, 24 chains and 75 links to the northerly end of Horse rock at high water mark ; thence by the same course through the harbor or bay to the Connecticut State line; thence northerly by said State line and Byram river to the place of begin- ning; shall be hereafter known and distinguished as the village of Port Chester.' (Charter, etc., Albany, 1868, pp. 3, 4.)
1 A sixth place of worship, a German Lutheran Church, is situated in East Port Chester, within the limits of the town of Greenwich, Conn. It was built in 1867.
2 The Port Chester Banner was the first newspaper published in this town. Its first number appeared on Saturday, October 4, 1844. The editor was Evans Hollis. The Banner was a small paper, in politics 'purely Democratic.' It was continued for a little more than one year ; the last number being issued at the close of the State elec- tion in the fall of 1845.
The next newspaper was the Nineteenth Century, edited and published by T. J. Sutherland. The first number was issued on the second of April, 1846. It was dis- continued in the fall of the same year.
The Experiment was the title of another paper started by Abraham G. Levy, August 12, 1848. ' Mr. Levy was not a practical printer, but by his industry, aptness and perseverance, he succeeded in getting up his miniature sheet [13×18 inches] without professional aid, setting the type and working the hand-press himself.' The Experiment was a success, and appeared in an enlarged form April 21, 1849. It ceased,
1
383
NEWSPAPERS.
however, with the issue of August 25th, in that year ; the proprietor having purchased the Hudson River Chronicle, and removed to Sing Sing.
The Port Chester Monitor appeared for the first time on the thirteenth of February, 1864, Messrs. James E. Beers and George W. Smith, editors. This paper was con- ducted with considerable ability, and continued to appear until August, 1867.
The Port Chester Journal, B. F. Ashley, editor and proprietor, commenced its carcer November 27th, 1868. It has now entered with fair prospects of success, upon its third year.
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CHAPTER XLV.
THE WAR FOR THE UNION.
TT is a pleasant part of our work to put on record the action of this town in the great emergency of our nation's experience, at the outbreak and during the progress of the war for the Union. What we have to say on this subject will not differ materially from that which might be said of many another town and village within our borders. But it may well afford satisfaction to the inhabitants of this place, that Rye, though among the least of the thousands that sent forth their sons to the defence of the country, performed her part nobly, and has her share of the honor that belongs to the loyal and patriotic people of our land.1
On the twelfth day of April, 1861, the first gun was fired upon Fort Sumter. President Lincoln's call for seventy-five thousand men, issued immediately after this event, met everywhere with a prompt and hearty response. In Rye, public notice was given forthwith of a meeting to be held on the twenty-ninth of April, to take action in the matter. But meanwhile, and without waiting for . any formalities, the business of obtaining recruits was commenced. Thomas Beal, senior, a resident of Port Chester, deserves honor- able mention here for his untiring exertions, from the earliest moment, to procure volunteers.2
The meeting called was duly held, in the public square in Port Chester, April 29th. Mr. Benjamin Loder presided, and made an
1 The facts upon which this account is based have been obtained from documents in the possession of the Secretary and the Treasurer of the Union Defence Committee ; and from a carefully prepared article which appeared in the Port Chester Monitor, February 13th, 1864, for the use of which I am indebted to James E. Beers, Esq., counsellor-at-law, New York, who was at that time editor of the Monitor.
2 Thomas Beal was born in Baltimore, and served in the war of 1812 as a volun- teer under a Captain Norman. He fought at Deep Creek, just before the landing of the British at North Point, Md. Afterwards he entered the regular service about the year 1815, and continued in the Fourth Regiment of Artillery, where he was orderly sergeant and quartermaster sergeant, for a period of fourteen years. He was dis- charged honorably by request of his captain, Joseph L. Gardner, and came to New York, where he lived till 1857. Since then he has lived in Port Chester. Mr. Beal had five sons in the war. Two of them - George and Peter - were living at Newark, and entered companies from that place. The other three belonged here.
385
UNION DEFENCE COMMITTEE.
address. Mr. James H. Titus offered resolutions expressive of the general feeling in view of the situation of affairs. And a com- mittee was appointed, to represent the citizens in the collection of funds and the transaction of such other business in aid of the movements of the government as the public interests might de- mand. This committee was named, 'The Union Defence Com- mittee of the Town of Rye.' Ten gentlemen were chosen to form this committee, with power to increase the number to fifteen. They were, Messrs.
James H. Titus,
George P. Titus,
Samuel K. Satterlee,
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