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 40
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Augustus Van Amringe,
William P. Abendroth, Noah Tompkins,
John E. Marshall,
William B. Halsted, and
Augustus Wiggin,
Josiah H. Macy.
To these, Messrs. Edward J. Swords, Ephraim Sours, George L. Cornell, William H. Smith, and Augustus M. Halsted were added. Subsequently, Messrs. Macy and Smith, being residents of Harrison, resigned, and Mr. William L. Bush and Mr. John W. Lounsbury were appointed in their place. The Supervisor of the town, Mr. James D. Halsted, united in action with the com- mittee during the war.
The committee met on the next day, and were organized, ap- pointing James H. Titus chairman, George P. Titus secretary, and John E. Marshall treasurer. The following sub-committees were also appointed : -
On Finances : John E. Marshall, Edw. J. Swords, Wm. B. Halsted.
Military Committee : S. K. Satterlee, G. P. Titus, A. Wig- gin, A. Van Amringe, W. L. Bush, A. M. Halsted.
Relief Committee : W. P. Abendroth, E. Sours, G. L. Cornell, J. H. Titus, N. Tompkins, J. W. Lounsbury.
At this meeting the following resolution was adopted : -
' Resolved, That this committee be authorized to collect funds, to obtain and fit out volunteers, to relieve their families, and also to transaet such other business in aid of the movements of the gov- ernment as the public interests may require.'
This resolution formed the groundwork of the subsequent action of the committee. The fund, which had been commeneed on the previous night, was increased by voluntary subscriptions to about five thousand dollars ; and from this fund relief was granted dur- ing the year to all the families who enlisted from the town of Rye. The number of families thus relieved was at one time fifty. The
25
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THE WAR FOR THE UNION.
number of volunteers who were sent to the field, prior to any en- rolment by State authority, was upwards of two hundred ; of which number one hundred and twenty-six were persons from the town of Rye.
In the early part of the year 1862, and when the voluntary fund thus raised in the town was nearly expended, the legislature of the State of New York passed an act authorizing the county to issue bonds to the amount of fifty thousand dollars, for the relief of the families of volunteers. By this act, the Town Auditors were alone authorized to apply the moneys thus provided; and the Defence Committee, supposing their labors were ended, prepared to dissolve.
But on the thirteenth day of Angust, 1862, Governor Morgan issued a call for additional volunteers, under a new proclamation of the President; and the several towns were directed to fill up the quotas which were assigned to them. In this aspect of affairs, the Defence Committee, in the spirit of their first resolution, deter- mined to continue their efforts, and proceeded to make arrange- ments for the filling up of the quota of this town, which was one hundred and thirty-eight men.
They then resolved to procure the signatures of a majority of the tax-paying inhabitants of Rye, authorizing the Supervisor to borrow upon the credit of the town a sum sufficient for the pay- ment of a bounty of one hundred dollars to each recruit, and also for the expenses of recruiting. The sum of $14,500 was thus raised by the committee, and by an act passed in 1863 this meas- ure was declared legal by the State. Town bonds, payable in one, two, three, four, and five years, were issued in pursuance of the provisions of this act ; and in this manner provision was made for the payment of the sum required. Bonds for this amount were accordingly issued. The bonds for the first year were for two thousand five hundred dollars. Those for subsequent years were for three thousand dollars each.
The action of the Union Defence Committee did not stop here. Shortly, an order came for drafting men into the service for the war. The quota of this town was fixed at eighty men. The committee determined to furnish a bounty of three hundred dol- lars to every man drafted who should go to the war, and also to pay three hundred dollars for each substitute provided. A special town meeting was called, and authority was given to the Super- visor to borrow upon the credit of the town the farther sum of $12,600, and to apply the money thus raised to the payment of
387
NUMBER OF MEN FURNISHED BY RYE.
bounty money, and for substitutes. The result of the draft was that forty-two residents of this town were held to perform military service. All of these, but one, were provided with substitutes at three hundred dollars each.
Soon after came the call for three hundred thousand additional troops. The quota of the town of Rye under this last call was forty-five. Again the Defence Committee took the lead, and by their prompt action the funds were raised for filling up this last quota. The sum of $14,625 was borrowed from various individ- uals, upon the credit of the town. With this fund the committee procured the necessary number of recruits, paying for each recruit the sum of three hundred and twenty-five dollars, which included the expense of recruiting. This quota was filled and completed on the thirtieth of December, 1863; and the statement was made, by authority of the Provost Marshal, that the town of Rye was the first town in this Congressional district that filled its quota under the call for three hundred thousand men.
Rye furnished from the opening of the Rebellion about three hundred and fifty men for the war. Of these, one hundred and twenty-six were residents of the town, and were volunteers under the first call ; one hundred and thirty-eight enlisted under Gov- ernor Morgan's proclamation of August 13th, 1862: one man was drafted, forty-one substitutes were provided, and forty-five recruits obtained. The town responded promptly to every call made for troops either by National or by State government, and provided bountifully for the families of those that went forth to sustain the honor of the country. It is supposed that in addition to the numbers already stated, as many as fifty persons from this town enlisted in Connecticut regiments.
The work of the Union Defence Committee was admirably done. Their consultations were always marked with harmony and zealous cooperation. Their names should be held in grateful remembrance.
Having thus recounted the measures taken in our town to raise troops for the war, we proceed to give the honorable list of the men who went from Rye to the great conflict.
On the thirtieth of April, 1861, Captain Nelson B. Bartram left the town with the first company of volunteers. They were duly mustered into the service of the United States in the city of New York, as Company B, Seventeenth Regiment New York Volun-
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THE WAR FOR THE UNION.
teers. In this company forty-four men, who were residents of this town, served. Their names were -
Nelson B. Bartram,
John Beal,
John Murty, Thomas McKay,
Charles Hilbert,
James Fox,
Thomas Beal, jun.,
Frederick Cross, Thomas Donahue, Benjamin Glawson, Conrad Graff,
James Worden, Anthony Warner,
Augustus Dittman,
Charles Gedney,
Theodore Miller,
Seaman V. Morrell,
Joseph Hibberd,
Joseph H. Beal,
William Hennessy,
Ulric Ersigner, John Fay, Daniel Mahon,
Robert Magee, Augustus Adams,
William Baker, Jacob Lender,
Richard Aylman,
Andrew Burns,
William H. Lee,
Timothy Bulkley,
Edward Bowen,
William Lee,
Jerry O'Donald.1
George W. Bulkley, John Murphy,
This company did good service, and bore a very high character throughout the war.
Immediately after its departure, Captain Charles H. Palmer commenced to recruit at his expense a company in this town, which when filled was mustered into the service, in the city of New York, as Company C, Forty-ninth Regiment New York Volun- teers. Twenty of its members were residents of Rye, namely : - Charles H. Palmer, George Fish, John Fisher, Jacob Adams, Wm. H. Hutchins,
Augustus Smith,
Gabriel Burger, Joseph Sterry,
Leander Burns,
William H. Tyler, John Mead,
J. Wright,
Benjamin Sherwood, Levi Strayer,
Frederick C. Lord,
Bloomer Churchill, Gilbert Miller,
I. Wight.
Calvin Churchill, William Howard,
When Captain Palmer's company was nearly filled, Captain 1 Captain Bartram was promoted, December 5, 1861, to be major.
Charles Hilbert, second lieutenant, was promoted, December 20, to be captain. John Vickers, first lieutenant, was transferred, Angust 3, to Company F.
Thomas Beal, jr., sergeant till October 4; first sergeant till August 30, 1862; was wounded in the battle of Bull Run, and promoted to be second lieutenant from that date.
Robert Magee, corporal till October 4; sergeant till March 1, 1863; was first ser- geant from that date.
Joseph Beal, corporal. John Beal, corporal from August 10, 1862; was sergeant from March 1, 1863.
Silas Downs was corporal from October 4, 1861.
James Fox was promoted to be sergeant-major, October 4, 1862.
Benj. Glawson was corporal from March 1, 1863.
John Vickers,
Darius Butterfield, James Cunningham,
Lafayette Merritt, Henri Siltz,
Louis Neelling,
William Whelpley,
Wm. A. Crothers,
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COMPANIES FROM RYE.
Thomas Beal 1 commenced to recruit a company in Rye, sending the men, as fast as they were recruited, to Staten Island, where they were mustered into the service. Thirty-eight of these men were residents of the town, namely : - Theodore P. Butler, Jeremialı Sheridan, Edwin A. Rogers, William H. Voorhies, John H. Hopper, William Keys, Lucius Miller, Edw. L. Lee,
Adam Iler,
James Shaw,
Floyd Pugsley,
John Williams,
Milton Wing,
John Rockett,
James Anderson,
Emmet M. Hoyt,
William Cleveland,
- Allemer,
Lawrence Fitzgerald, Albert Burrows,
Knotz, George W. Floyd,
Joseph Hines,
George H. Summers, John P. Whitehouse, Richard Pierson,
Silas Weed, William Walton, John C. Faulkner,
John Ready, Martin Davidson,
James Moines,
Stephen S. Sutton,
John C. O'Neal,
John M'Cormick.
Samuel C. Ingersoll, Patrick McArdle,
In addition to the recruits thus sent out, there were enlisted and mustered into the service, in different regiments of New York and Brooklyn, twenty-three men, residents of this town, whose names were as follows : - E. D. Richman, Charles Riddle, - Dodge,
Henry S. Green, Edward Stiles, Geo. E. Waring, jr.,
David E. Daniels, Edw. W. Thompson, Joseph Crank,
David C. Banks, John Townley, Joseph Bird,
Joseph Harrison,
James Thomson, Martin Stahalen,
Philip Angel,
Ambr. W. Thomson, James Waring,
George Hillman, John Kaufman, John Waring.
John Hillman, John Fisher,
When the call came in 1862 for three hundred thousand men, Captain Palmer resigned his position, and returned to Port Chester to organize another company. It was mustered into the service at Yonkers, on the second of September, 1862, as the Thirteenth New York Volunteers. It was transferred to the Sixth New York Heavy Artillery, on the second of October, 1862. The following members of this company were residents of the town of Rye : -
Charles H. Palmer, captain, wounded at Mechanicsville, May 3, 1864, while in command of the first battalion, promoted in Feb-
1 Captain Beal, after faithful and untiring efforts to reernit men for the army, was seriously injured and disabled for life while on duty with his company at a point between Williamsport and the Virginia shore, where he had been stationed to convey across the Potomac the Union refugees from that State. He is now residing in the village of Port Chester.
Hiram Brundage,
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THE WAR FOR THE UNION.
ruary, 1865, to be major, and shortly after commissioned as colonel, but not mustered in; Charles M'Intosh, first sergeant, wounded May 30, 1864; James Reynolds, sergeant ; Cephas Peck, ser- geant ; John L. Little, sergeant ; Gabriel S. Burger, sergeant ; George E. Rood, corporal ; Henry C. Fox, corporal ; Frank Kelly ; John Hughes, wounded June 19, 1864 ; Jeremiah L. Butterfield, killed May 30, 1864 ; Michael Madigan ; Joseph H. Morrell ; John A. Billington ; John S. St. John, corporal, taken prisoner May 27, 1864 ; Jacob Lender; William Reynolds ; Wm. H. Mosier ; Jacob Scheile ; Wm. H. Romer, sen. ; William Asliby ; John Riley ; Wm. H. Romer, jr. ; Peter Butterfield ; Walter L. Rood ; Owen Duffy, wounded July 12, 1864 ; Edward Billington ; Thomas T. Halpin ; William H. Hees ; William E. Briggs ; William S. Morse ; Henry Lowrey, died April 5, 1863; T. W. Johnson, wounded May 30, 1864 ; Thos. M. Smith ; Luke Gaffney ; John S. Merritt ; B. McDonnell ; Geo. W. P. Bouton ; T. M. Swift ; Thos. Golden, wounded June 18, 1864; Thomas Conlin ; Thos. Colvin ; John Townsend ; Sidney Smith; James Taylor; John Miller ; S. Waterbury.
Thirty-seven volunteers from this town enlisted and were enrolled in other regiments of New York and Brooklyn, subse- quent to July 2, 1862. They were -
Edward Ireland ; Clinton Summers ; Joseph Smith ; Michael M'Grath ; Henry Loomis ; Jeremiah Summers ; Robert Bennett ; Andrew Johns; Lewis Sours ; William Davison ; Augustus John- son ; Walter Andrews ; Andrew St. John; William H. Miles ; Henry C. Brown ; Philemon A. Paris ; Francis H. Minnett ; Edward C. Tompkins ; 1 Thos. Murphy ; Wm. E. Thorne ; John S. Kraft ; Alexander S. Merritt ; John Glynn ; John H. Haines, Thirteenth Cavalry ; William Ennis ; Peter Devil ; David Nichol ;
1 EDWARD C. TOMPKINS enlisted, August 14, 1862, in Company D, Fifth N. Y. Volunteers, - known as Colonel Duryea's Zouaves, -and remained with them until their discharge in May, 1863, when he was transferred to the One Hundred and Forty- sixth N. Y. Volunteers, Company I. He received an appointment on duty with the Chief Engineer at Headquarters, Army of the Potomac, in June, 1864, and remained in that position until discharged at the elose of the war, June 15, 1865. He partici- pated in the battles of
Antietam, September 16 to 18, 1862. Shepardstown, September 20, 1862. Fredericksburg, December 16, 1862. Chancellorsville, May 1 to 6, 1863. Gettysburg, July 1 to 3, 1863.
Rappahannock, November 6, 1863. Mine Run, November 26 to 30, 1863. Wilderness, May 5 to 7, 1864.
Spottsylvania, May 8 to 20, 1864.
North Anna, May 23 to 26, 1864.
Tolopotomie Creek, May 31, 1864. Cold Harbor, June 2 to 11, 1864.
Siege of Petersburg, June 16, to April 3, 1865. Mine Explosion, July 30, 1864.
Yellow Tavern, August 18 to 22, 1864.
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OTHER VOLUNTEERS.
Edward Parker, Thirteenth Cavalry ; Albert Fuller ; Andrew M'Laurie ; William Brown ; Edward Murtagh ; William H. Prior; James Power ; Julius Schmidt; G. W. Howard ; Thos. Smith.
The following persons from this town were mustered into Con- necticut regiments : -
Thomas Miley, Frank Middlebrook, Abram Van Houghten,
Michael Cain, John Rearden, Edwin Field,
Peter O'Brien, Martin Fitzpatrick, Chas. M'Gill,
Charles Down,
Washburn, Stephen P. Wesley,
Francis Elliott, Wash burn, Charles Lowden.
Others, who are not named in the foregoing lists, went into the army from this place, and did good service, at different periods in the course of the war. Among them were Mr. (now Rev.) Peter A. Jay, Dr. John C. Jay, jr., Mr. Arthur W. Parsons, and Mr. Kiliaen Van Rensselaer.
CHAPTER XLVI.
CONCLUSION.
TTHE land is very good, and near the City ; so, consequently, will in time be a great settlement.'
Thus wrote Colonel Heathcote, in the year 1705, concerning Rye Parish, and the adjacent parts. "The City ' of New York at that time contained about seven hundred and fifty dwellings, and had a population of four thousand five hundred white, and seven hundred and fifty black inhabitants. The shrewd London mer- chant might well prognosticate the growth of a place so favorably situated for a seat of commerce ; but we must credit him with more than common foresight, to have anticipated the time when the lower part of Westchester County would come to ' be a great settlement.'
After the lapse of a century and a half, however, the prophecy began to have a visible fulfilment. Within twenty years past, our suburban towns have become easy of access from the city, and have gained largely in wealth and strength from its overflowing popula- tion. Rye, among the rest, has become the home of many fami- lies who have been drawn hither by the beauty and healthifulness of the spot, and by its proximity to New York. There can be no doubt that, with other localities of like situation, it is destined to increase in size, and to improve in many of the features that con- stitute a desirable country home.
It is perhaps worthy of consideration, by what a slow and pain- ful process of improvement the manifold advantages possessed by the residents of such a locality as this, have been reached. The security of life, the convenience of travel, the means of education, the civil rights, the blessings of religion, enjoyed in our quiet, rural neighborhoods, as in crowded cities, have been gained by degrees and with effort, through successive generations. It may lead us to prize these advantages more highly, and strive more diligently to preserve and perpetuate then, that we have seen how, step by step, under a providential guidance, they have been attained.
393
CONCLUSION.
Our history may be said to illustrate, within these narrow lim- its, the progress of our land and people during these two cen- turies, in all the conditions of physical and moral well-being. In the presence of evils and abuses distinctive of our own times, we are tempted to say, ' What is the cause that the former days were better than these ?' We have seen under what abuses the com- munity once suffered, almost without hope of remedy, where we are now living. There is perhaps no respect in which, if we ' enquire wisely concerning this,' we shall not find abundant proof that the course of society has been onward. There is less of mis- rule, of corruption, of unrighteous exaction,1 of vice, of poverty, of ignorance, than there was, in any of ' the former days,' which often appear, in a dim retrospect, so much better than these.
We may learn from these records of the past, to appreciate the blessings of peace. We dwell in a region which again and again has been the scene of turmoil and conflict ; first, during the prim- itive days of peril from the Indian ; next, during the dispute be- tween the two colonies relative to the possession of this border territory ; then, during the agitations that long preceded the Rev- olution, dividing neighborhoods and families with bitter feuds ; and lastly, during the Revolution itself. And if throughout this
1 A relic of old colonial times has just come under our notice. It is a warrant to the collector of the town of Mamaroneck, for gathering a tax upon slaves. A similar warrant was doubtless issued for this town. The document reads as follows : -
' Westchester County ss. To the Collector of Mamaroneck Greeting.
'You are hereby required forthwith to Gather and Collect from every Owner or possessor of any slave or slaves within your Town one shilling a head for every slave male or female from fourteen to fifty years of Age & the same to pay unto ye Treas- urer of ye County abovesd on or before ye twenty fifth day of March next Ensuing retaining in your hands ninepence on ye ponnd for Collecting & paying thereof and at the same time to deliver unto ye Said Treasurer upon your oath or affirmation a true & exact List of ye Name & Names of ye Owners or Possessors of ye Said slaves and in case such Owner or Possessor of such slave or slaves shall deny neglect or refuse to pay the Said Tax on Demand Then to Distrain him her or them by his her or their Goods & Chattels and ye Distress to keep at the Charge of the Owner four days & not being redeemed in that time to make sale thereof at publick Vendue to ye highest bidder & out of the prodnee to dednet the Said Tax & Charges & return the Over-plus (if any be) immediately to ye Owner and ye County Treasurer is to pay the Said Tax unto ye Treasurer of this Colony for ye time being on or before ye first day of May next retaining thereont Six pence on ye pound for his trouble in receiving & paying the Same Given under our hands & seals at Westchester this twenty sixth day of October in ye twelfth Year of his Majesty's Reign Annoq Dom : 1738
JOHN THOMAS JOHN WARD (?) THIOS HLADDEN'
394
CONCLUSION.
period, the interests of morality and religion suffered, the churches remaining feeble and sickly, and the community torpid, it was un- doubtedly owing in no small degree to the protracted disturbance of public and social feeling ; to the want of that continued and well-established tranquillity which is so essential to progress.
FAMILIES OF RYE.
I. THE EARLY SETTLERS -1660 TO 1700 - AND THEIR DESCEND- ANTS.
A LLING. The name of Samuell Alling appears among the signa- tures attached to the declaration of the settlers of Hasting, July 26, 1662. In the following year, April 28, 1663, 'Samuel Allen,' according to Bolton, was one of the planters to whom the four pur- chasers conveyed the island and mainland. The name does not occur again in our records. (The date 1672 is doubtless a misprint for 1662, in Bolton's history, p. 23, the list of proprietors being the same as on page 20.) Several persons of this name are mentioned by Sav- age, as among the first settlers of New England. Alling probably left our settlement at an early day.
APPLEBE. The name of ' Thomas Aplebe' occurs in the same con- nection with that of Alling, and like it disappears from our records. He or another of the same name was one of the early settlers of Woodbury, Conn. Savage says, 'perhaps died 1690, at Woodbury.'
BANKS. I. John 1 was one of the first settlers of Windsor, Conn. Soon after 1643 he removed to Fairfield, of which town he was repre- sentative for several years. In 1670, ' John Banks, senior, of Fairfield, Conn.' (Rye Records) owned a home-lot at Rye, on the Plains. He was a leading man in the colony, active in public affairs, and frequently appointed on important business. It is not likely that he actually resided here at any time. He was deputy to the General Court from Fairfield as late as October 11, 1683. In 1680 he is mentioned in our records as 'John Banks of Fairfield.' In that year he sold two parcels of land at Rye, one of forty-six acres on Manussing Island, the other a house-lot on the main, ' with the frame of a house on it.' Ile appears as representative for Rye nearly every year from 1670 to 1680 - some- times for Fairfield and Rye in the same year. Died January, 1685. Children : John, Samuel, Obadiah, Benjamin, Susanna Sturges ; Ilan- nah, wife of Daniel Burr ; Mary Taylor.
II. 1. John,2 oldest son, settled in Greenwich, near the border of Rye. About 1681 he is said, with Thomas Lyon, to have received ' a large grant of land, - four hundred acres, -' situated in the angle made by the Armonck or Byram river and the Westchester path.' (History of Greenwich, Conn., by D. M. Mcad, p. 68.) The houses of John Banks and Thomas Lyon are still standing, on the eastern bank
396
FAMILIES OF RYE.
of Byram River, near the Boston Road. They were probably half- brothers. The family tradition places their coming to this spot forty years earlier, in 1640 ; but this is a palpable mistake. John married Abigail, and died July 14, 1699. (Savage.) He had a son Jolin, and perhaps another, Joseph.
2. Samuel,2 second son, was a resident of Rye, and one of the eight- een proprietors of Peningo Neck. He lived, 1682-1701, near Gunn Brook Plain, or below Port Chester. Died about 1719. In that year ' his nephews' John Banks and John Lyon petitioned the governor of New York, for letters of administration upon his estate. (N. Y. Col. MSS., lxi. 156.) Samuel, mentioned later, was perhaps his son.
Of the younger brothers, Obadiah and Benjamin, we know nothing.
III. 1. John,3 son of John,2 owned land in 1718 on Byram River. He was probably of Greenwich.
2. Joseph,3 perhaps his brother, was 'of Greenwich' in 1707, when he bought one of the Byram Ridge lots. He died in or before 1713.
3. Samuel,8 perhaps the son of Samuel,2 in 1737 purchased from John Lyon three hundred acres of land in the Middle Patent, or North Castle. The families of this name in that region may be descended from him.
After this date, the name seldom occurs in our records.
BARTON. Roger was a considerable landed proprietor under the Dutch in New Netherland as early as 1642. It was probably his son who gave the name of Barton's Neck to a part of Rye. In 1667 he signs a deed as witness, and in 1701 he is mentioned as former owner of a tract of land in Rye. In 1688, Roger, senior, aged sixty, made a deposition relative to a riot in the town of Westchester. (Co. Rec., A, 269.) A third Roger was sheriff of the county in 1706 and 1734.
John is mentioned in 1671; Thomas in 1743. Phoebe, about the beginning of this century, lived opposite the house now Mr. Webb's.
BASSET. John, in 1673, lived in Mamaroneck, where, when the Dutch recovered New Netherland, he was appointed one of the Schep- ens. Before 1689 he had removed to Rye, his name then occurring in a list of soldiers ' for ye Expedition to Albany ' against the French and Indians. Unlike some of his comrades, he lived to return, and was here in 1691.
Arnold, in 1685, bought a house-lot at Rye, and was here in 1709.
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