USA > New York > Bronx County > History of Bronx borough, city of New York : compiled for the North side news > Part 4
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Plan of Pews in St Paul's Church. 1790.
Fast Windows
Lawis Quier
Communion Table
James Morgan. Sr
Benjamin
36
39
02
Drake
Morgan
CranfordG
Rarevay X
William
Fowler
Israel
Honey ml
Charles Guin
Philip
No Benjamin
Y Morgan
No Elisha Shur
N Daniel
CZsuas Wird
Hay Don't
Minister's Pen-
Front
Door.
Middle Histe
Cards
John wright
. Hoses Hund
William to
Starten
Pasas Fonder
Deved
Huestice
.Herunder
Fowler
Lancaster to
walder kliandere
"Lemie Guion
Charles
a due'& food
Israel
william
1
18
@ Barton-
10
Anthony Barton-
Bananas
Steeste
Dor
While making a visit to these curiosities in the church the rector, who by the way, has been in charge ever since 1852. told me a characteristic story of the olden time, when the pulpit was directly opposite the side door, the reverse of its present arrangement. In those days it was a "triple-decker," the pulpi: proper being at the top, the reading desk below, while under- neath was the "clark's stall."
1
St. Paul's Church
lection of relies far up in the belfry, is enough to convince the most doubtful of its striking historie interest.
Perhaps the ancient bell (1758). the treasured Bible, printed in London in 1750, and the immense Prayer Book, printed :: 1 andon in 1715, are the greatest curiosities of all. In the te Ecare of the big safe in the vestry room are kept these two Litter. They have the distinction, all three of them, of having
20
24
00
William Print no
Thenas Bartos-
0
Minutertell
10
Philip Fell Esg
1
Stephan Hand, Buy
Port
15
HISTORY OF BRONX BOROUGH
It was a beautiful, warm, summer morning, the doors all leing thrown open to admit the slightest breeze. During the quietest part of the service, in strolled a great dog. Slowly he mounted the steps of the "triple-decker," to the amazement of the minister and the "clark." Finally he settled himself in the pulpit, looking down in dignified silence upon the minister, . D'ark and congregation below. Then from one of the pews me a young lady, who with a set expression followed the in- truder.
"Do not move or attempt to touch him!" she exclaimed to the minister as she climbed the steps. "He is our dog and he will lite all strangers." Then grasping the collar of the dog, she descended the steps and led the animal out of the church. Quiet and composure having been once more restored, the interrupted service went on again as usual.
In front of the old church, on the grassy lawn, may yet be seen a space between the row of giant locust trecs that lines the roadside. Here once stood the original wooden building, erected in 1608 and torn down by piecemeal, during the Revolution, by the British soldiers, who were using the present stone structure for a hospital and who sadly needed firewood. As a result the ashes of the carlier edifice are in the cellar of the newer one, where they were thrown by the English as the easiest means of getting them out of the way. The locust trees of which we have . been speaking still contain in their thick bark the deep marks where once were fastened the iron bands to which criminals were tied. years ago, to receive their punishment.
Before the first church building was erected active endeavors were made to establish a place of worship in the vicinity. In . 16;7. we read that a "house and land and forty pounds a year is determined upon for a minister settling in the town." while in 1692 several of the inhabitants "promised to contrybute unto Samuel Casting, he being chosen to Read the bibell and other good sermin books, and so to carion the Sabbath day Exercises as according to our Honorable Col. Heathcut's order unto us. Henry ffowler promises to give one Bushell of good winter wheat . .. and John Pinchey five pecks of Indian corn."
When the war was over, the solid structure of St. Paul's Church, which had seen far more service as a hospital than as a church, was utilized as a court of justice, and "that ro- mantic wrong-doer," Aaron Burr, then in the zenith of his power. ik on record as having pleaded a cause with this church as a forum. I have scen a legal paper, carefully framed. and signed by Aaron Burr and used in connection with one of these cases. Four years after the war the parish was organized. but it was not until 1795 that it was re-incorporated, then taking for the first time the name of St. Paul. About three years ago the old willow tree that stood for more than 100 years near the door- way of the church was found to be a thing of the past. It was planted by Mrs. Lancaster Underhill, the wife of an carly warden of the church. One of the first popular elections ever held in the United States took place on Eastchester Common, under 'he branches of this willow.
A well known tavern stood south of the old church, which itt 1728 was kept by William Baker, and during the Revolution 'y Charles Guion, who was descended from the Huguenot Gnion, one of the original settlers of New Rochelle. Tradition " !! s us that Washington was detained in this house by sickness "r several days, Mrs. Guion acting as his nurse. In return for er kindness, on leaving, he stooped down and kissed her on the beck. Her husband felt so honored that for a long time he ยท mild not allow hier to wash the place that had been kissed.
The Rev. Mr. Coffey tells us that "the tavern became wide- ly known by the exhibition in it of the petrified body, dis- covered in this condition on its removal from a city cemetery to St. Paul's churchyard directly opposite." All that now remains of this famous inn is the foundation wall.
On the Boston Road is situated the famous hostelry known for the past half century as "Odell's Tavern." The present building is comparatively modern, but the immense trees in front and the ancient, moss-grown barns are evidences of the early date at which the original inn was built.
Included in the list of rectors of St. Paul's from 1700 to the present time, are to be found the names of the most prominent men then in this part of the country. We may mention a few. such as the Rev. Joseph Morgan, whose salary was thirty pounds a year; the Rev. John Bartow, who was associated with the old Bartow family; the Rev. Samuel Seabury, the first Bishop of the Protestant Church in America, who made the long voy- age over to England in order to be ordained, and last, but not least, the Rev. William S. Coffey, who since 1852 has continu- ously held the rectorship.
A brief description may be made of the ancient burying ground surrounding St. Paul's Church, whose walls, by the way, are said to bear the bullet marks made by a band of Americans in a brave though ineffectual attempt to dislodge a company of Hessians who had made a firm stand in this minia- ture but secure fortress. The very oldest tombstone is roughly inscribed
M. V. D. FEB. THE 15 1704.
Another is :
R. S. DEC. 14 1701 Again we read: I. P. D. NOVE MBER THE FOURT ETH. DAY. 1724
Still another :
IDID N . 20 1 7 1 4
Again we find
MAJOR SAMUEL PELL, OB. 29. DECK. 1785 IN THE 32nd YEAR OF HIS AGE. THUS AFTER RETURNING VICTORIOUS, FROM THE FIELD OF MARS, HE. CHEERFULLY OBEYS THE SUMMONS FROM WHENCE THERE IS NO RETURN.
Among the further inscriptions we find the names of those foremost in the land. Drake. Pell. Odell. Reid. Valentine, Ward and Hunt. There is also the Comfort Sands-of Sands Point. Long Island-family vault, and once when I was strolling in the old burying-ground I noticed, among the scores of other quaint inscriptions, the following
"Afflictions sorc, long time she bore ; Physicians were in vain : Till God did please with death to seize: And case her from her pain."
As has been said, the side entrance of the old church was originally the front door, and in a book of the Town Minutes
16
HISTORY OF BRONX BOROUGH
are given the stings and names of the pew holders. I have been recently told that it is planned to restore this arrange- ment in place of the present manner in which the pews are placed.
To the south of old St. Paul's Church is a most curious gateway, the entrance to the ancient llalsey House, which in Revolutionary days was the property of the Vincents. The older portion. evidently the wing towards the south, with its sloping roof and quaint dormer windows, was undoubtedly the pre-revolutionary part, belonging to the Vincents.
A striking tale is told of these Vincents during the war for independence. It seems that they were the village smiths in Revolutionary times, and were highly respected. One day an impatient American officer demanded that his horse be shod on a Sunday. The Vincents firmly refused, and the angry officer struck one of them to the ground with his sword. His brother,
Vincent.Halsey House, Eastchester
Elijah Vincent, at once entered the ranks of the enemy, and as a result no one was a greater terror to the Americans than this man, who might have so strongly helped the patriot cause.
In an old issue of "Holden's Magazine" is a most exciting story, entitled "The Whispering Bell." It has for its foundation the fact that the prayerbook of St. Paul's Church, together with the Bible and the bell were buried for safekeeping near one of the trees that make the old Halsey inansion one of the most picturesque and secluded nooks in our borough.
Hunting bears, wolves and rattlesnakes were among the diversions of "good old Eastchester." Rattlesnake Brook, that fiows close by, still bears the title that recalls the early times of the "rattlers." The ancient forests were fairly alive with deer and wolves and the great quantity of arrow heads and spear head> that are found on all sides in this sparsely settled dis-
trict prove that. it was literally a hunting paradise for the dusky population, centuries ago. A friend told nie, a while ago, that he knew of a spot where any number of arrow heads might be picked up merely by stooping over and getting them in. So with a companion he started off, picturing in his mind's eye a. return with pockets filled to overflowing.
They found the quarry all right-but not a single-arrow head was there to greet them.
"You told us that there were piles on piles of arrow heads in your old quarry!" they cried in despair to the owner.
"Them sharp stones, do you mean?" came the unruffled reply. "Well, you're a day too late. I was just thinkin' I didn't want them lyin' round in the way, so yisterday I went and filled a lot o' barrels with 'em, an' dumped the whole lot in the river to git rid of 'em!"
If you turn sharp to the right at Eastchester and follow the windings of the shady and serpentine "Mill Lane" you will at last come to a most desolate spot where the road abruptly ceases, and nothing is left but a dreary and forbidding expanse of salt marsh. This was originally known as Sanders' Landing. and here, in 1739. Thomas Shute and Joseph Stanton erected a mill, known afterwards as "Bartow's" and lastly as "Reid's Mill." In Volume HI, of the Records at White Plains, pages 162 and 166, and L., page 42, is recorded that John Bartow sold this historic mill in 1790 to John Reid, father of Robert Reid, the last miller.
To this old wooden structure the farmers from the whole country around would bring their corn to be ground. Before the building yielded to the fierce gales of one winter. not long ago. I climbed all through it, examining its ancient shingled sides. It is too bad that it was not preserved as a relic of the past, for we have far too few of these mementoes remaining. Even the grinding of western grain was done in its interior. One can imagine the bustling activity of old Mill Creek and the flotilla of craft that once plied on the waters, all striving to reach the mill. What a change there is now in this region! Even the stout. hand-hewn timbers and sturdy beams at last have fallen a prey to the elements. "The quiet which now pervades this lo- cality is a commentary on the uncertainty of everything human, for here, if anywhere, was the promise of unfailing prosperity."
Just opposite is a decidedly ancient building, its huge sloping roof bearing evidence to its great age. We may imagine that this was the miller's house, so that he might be handy and ready to meet the demand of the early-rising residents. Soon this old house will follow the lead of the mill across the way, and leave the spot to its original solitude.
Tell any one that Reid's Mill was built seven years after Washington was born, and see them rack their brains to find out the date of its erection. Perhaps most of the readers of this book will have to turn back to the pages of history themselves, to ascertain the exact year !
CHAPTER VI
KINGSBRIDGE
Old King's Bridge-The Free Bridge-The Macomb Mansion-The "Cowboys" and "Skinners" -- The Neutral Ground-The Bloody Well-The Tippett House-The "Cowboys"" Oak
We are now entering upon a most interesting historical locality, widely extended, both in area and time limit, and the best way to begin is perhaps to quote from the pages of the journal of a woman who made the trip between the cities of
Old King's Bridge
Boston and New York in the depths of winter, during the far distant Colonial year of 1704.
To-day we think nothing of making the trip, in the casiest of cars in the almost incredible time of five hours. How about Madame Sarah Knight, who, on horseback, took a fortnight to accomplish the journey? We are vexed and annoyed at a de- lay of a few minutes. But just listen to the Madame's experi- ences :
Being compelled, on account of the bad condition of the roads, to travel on horseback, her returning route lay up the old King's Bridge Road in the upper part of Manhattan Island, thence across old King's Bridge itself. Here the two early roads branched. One of them, the Albany Post Road-erected in 1669 and perhaps the very oldest road in this part of the country -extended north along the east bank of the Hudson. For many miles it is known as the "Old Post Road," and in other places as "Broadway." At King's Bridge the "Boston Post Road"- built in 1672-branched towards the east, crossing the Bronx River at Williams Bridge and reaching New Rochelle by a winding and circuitous route.
It was this latter highway that Madame Knight traveled. Part of it is in existence yet, although known by a variety of names. Near Kingsbridge it is styled "Boston Avenue," and must not be confused with the present Boston Road that was laid out much later, and which, crossing the Harlem Bridge,
extends almost in a straight course nearly to New Rochelle, where it. meets the old Boston Post Road.
On her return, Madame Knight left New York, "with no little regrett." About five in the afternoon she reached "Spiting Devil, else King's Bridge, where they pay three pence for pass- ing over with a horse." Madame Knight also tells us that "be- ing come to Mr. Havens' I was very civilly received and courte- ously entertained. But I could get no sleep because of the clamor of some of the Town topers in the next Room. I se: my candle on the chest by the bedside, and setting up, com :- posed my resentment in the following manner :
"I ask thy Aid, O Potent Rum. To charm these wrangling Topers Dum. Thou hast their giddy Brains possest- The man confounded w'th the Beast- And I, poor I, can get no rest. Intoxicate them with thy fumes; O, still their Tongues till morning comes."
"And I know not but my wishes took effect, for the dis- pute soon ended with tother dram, and so good night."
Old King's Bridge itself is said to have stood just ess: .: the present structure, and to have been built in 1693. A nai. ing place was near by. Not to be daunted by the toffe in- posed on those that crossed King's Bridge, the people creste : another. about 1759, a little below, called variously, the Free. the Farmer's or Dyckman's Bridge. The rates of toll for the. King's Bridge were:
"J Penny for each head of neat cattel.
2 Pens for each mann or horse.
12 Pens for cach score of hoggs and sheep passing the 12 y Pens for every boat, vessell or canoo that shall pass the brige and cause the same to be drawn up."
Picturesquely hidden behind a forest of its own. one of Kingsbridge's oldest honses, the Macomb mansion. was the old tavern of Colonial days, at whose doors the car travelers halted for rest and refreshment. The King's Bel itself was styled the "barrier" and this old hostelry the "a :. tower" of Revolutionary times. Although many changes .... been made in its appearance as shown to me by the late waren. it is still the same old structure, built at an age when the !!! ... was the principal resident of this region, and is said to aste ler the Vam Cortlandt mansion itself. Speaking of the 1: 1 the traders used to complain that "the red alen We" .. known to hurry except when Satan himself was at the:
Over this old King's Bridge streamed bands of "Sh
18
HISTORY OF BRONX BOROUGH
and "Cowboys." "The 'Skinners' fought, or rather marauded," says Irving, "under the American, and the 'Cowboys' under the British banner. In the zeal of service both were apt to make blunders and confound the property of friend and foc. Neither of them, in the heat and hurry of a foray, had time to ascertain the politics of a horse or cow which they were driv. ing into captivity, nor when they were wringing the neck of a rooster did they trouble their heads whether he erowed for Congress or King George."
Following the line of the old Albany Post Road, we find we are traveling through the famous Neutral Ground, the scene of many depredations of by-gone days. . Numerous cases are
Free Bridge, Kingsbridge
related where the "Skinners" and "Cowboys" subjected defense- less persons to the most cruel tortures, in order to compel them to give up their money. It seemed a favorite pastime to hang a man until apparently dead, then restore him to consciousness, repeat the experiment and finally abandon him for dead!
A certain peaceable Quaker, living near Kingsbridge, was once visited by these misereants, who called for his money, and when they had got it demanded more. The old man de- elared he had no more. Thereupon they dragged him out- side and hanged him to a tree, cut him down and repeated the operation a second and even a third time, at last leaving him almost lifeless.
Standing in the lower part of the Neutral Ground was a well known tavern called the Old French Inn. It was once at- tacked by the "Cowboys" who received such a shower of bul- lets that they fled in the greatest haste, carrying with them one
of their number who had been wounded. While approaching Kingsbridge, it soon became apparent that their comrade could not last long. So, under the shade of an apple orchard, they stooped to rest, only to discover that he had died. Quietly pick- ing up the body again, they bore it to a well nearby, and letting it slip into the dark waters, continued on in their mad flight.
Next morning, imagine the surprise and dismay of the peo- ple to find the water of the well as red as blood! From that time the spot has been called "The Bloody Well," and the strangest sights and sounds are reported to have come there- from. But a comparatively short time ago, the remains of a man's body were removed from the depths of this well, and since then the mysterious apparitions have ceased, and the well is itself again.
To the west of the Macomb mansion is pointed out the Tip- pett House, solid and squarely built. After the Tippett family were named Tippett's Hill and Tippett's Brook, the outlet of Van Cortlandt Lake. They were mostly Tories, and one of them was arrested in 1776 by General Clinton for "practices and declarations inimical to American liberty." The "ear-mark" of George Tippett's stock, roaming through the woods, is said to have been "the cutting off of their cars so close that all other marks would be cut off by it."
"Don't talk to me," says Felix Oldboy's grandmother. "Don't talk to me, Felix, for I always felt as if it was flying in the face of Providence to use a tea-kettle to travel with. I am out of all patience with steamboats and locomotives. No. I am not going one step out of town this summer. There's all the coun- try I want this side of Spuyten Duyvil Creek, and I can get there without a sputtering tea-kettle to drag me."
A wildly magnificent primeval forest lines picturesque Riverdale Avenue as it winds its way northward from Kings- bridge. One of these immense trees, a gigantic white oak, said to be over three hundred years old, is called the "Cowboys' Oak." Just think, it must have been growing when Hendrick Iludson sailed up the Hudson and fought his battle with the
Indians near Spuyten Duyvil Creek! Whenever the "Cow- boys" were captured they were at once hurried to this place and strung up from the huge branches of this oak. Over thirty gentlemen of the Cowboy persuasion met death in this way, and even to-day people living in the vicinity have a strange dread of passing the tree after nightfall. When the moon is at the full, we are told that the ghostlike forms of the dead "Cow- boys" may be seen dangling from the mass of branches !
Sham Battle. Van Cortlandt Park
CHAPTER VII
SPUYTEN DUYVIL AND RIVERDALE
Spuyten Duyvil Parkway-Origin of the Name "Spuyten Duyvil " -- Canal Street Cottage-Old Hadley House - The Van Tassel House-Old Dutch House-Anecdotes
Situated at the southwestern corner of Spuyten Duyvil Heights near the western end of Spuyten Duyvil Parkway, was an American battery, erected in 1776. It commanded a fine view of the Hudson as well as of the "Cock Hill Fort" on Inwood Heights, on the other side of the creek. To the northeast stands the solid stone Berrian farmhouse, one of the very oldest landmarks in the neighborhood. Tippett's Hill and Berrian's Neck are other names for this same elevation. Close by were three American forts, built in 1776 and occupied by the
Old Berrian House, Spuyten Duyvil
British from 1776 to 1779. They were known as "British Forts Nos. One, Two and Threc."
Where Spuyten Duyvil Parkway crosses Riverdale Ave- nue. or very close to Thorn's Corners, was a "Yaeger Camp" from 1776 to 1781. A large, old-fashioned stone building on the picturesque and serpentine curve of Dash's Lane, is known by the name of the "Upper Cortlandt's" to distinguish it from the "Lower Cortlandt's," in the park below.
Many have wondered what the derivation of the name "Spuyten Duyvil" really was. Some have thought it came from the "outpour". from the guns of the "Half Moon," or from the gushing waters of "Cold Spring," under Cock Hill. Others sup- je it to be the same as "Spouting Devil," from strange out- firsts of water as the tide rushed over the cliff. The best ex- planation is in Irving's quaint legend of the "Doleful Disaster wi Anthony the Trumpeter." Anthony Van Corlear, be it Inown, was the trumpeter and right-hand man of Governor Stuyvesant. ".As he wished to defend his beloved New Amster .. dam. he commissioned Anthony to go forth and with the sound of his trumpet arouse all the yeomanry and warriors of the neighborhood, charging them to take up arms and come down to Manhattan.
"On reaching the brink of the creek, he swore he would swim across 'en spuyt den duyvil' (in spite of the devil.) Find- ing that the billows were about to overwhelm him, he blew a final blast, and sank to rise no morc." Irving further says that his restless ghost for years has haunted the neighborhood. and that his trumpet is often heard on a stormy night.
Snugly nestling among the woodland fastnesses of River- dale, and within a stone's throw of the Hudson River, stands one of the Bronx's quaintest cottages, with a real history attacke : to it. Many, many years ago, when an actual waterway existed in Canal Street. New York City, there stood fronting on this thoroughfare a small cottage. Then began its journeyings. On a canal boat it was carried to the Hudson, and so up to River- dale, where it "debarked" and was placed in its present position. A sort of a platform is built over the tracks of the New York Central Railroad, and front this vantage point can be seen an almost incredibly long stretch of river. On a clear day I was told that the range extended from Jersey City on the south. to the gray walls of Sing Sing Prison on the north. By spec'ai invitation I visited the interior of this cottage, and. much :> my surprise, found it to be one of the most luxuriously fur- nished homes I ever saw. Even in the midst of the advance of our modern civilization, this tiny abode has stood distant and untouched, guarded by Riverdale's magnificent forest trees as silent sentinels.
One has but to descend the almost precipitous hills of River- dale Lanc to the old Albany Post Road, and turn to the south. to come upon the Old Hadley House, one of the curiosities of the borough and almost facing the level stretch of Van Cort- landt Park's Parade Ground. As to its date, no one seems to know when it was built, except that it is stated to have ante- dated the old Van Cortlandt mansion.
"Isn't the owner proud of possessing such a fine old build- ing?" I once asked the residents. "No, indeed." they replied. "He has often said he wished it was destroyed and out of the way."
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