USA > New York > Putnam County > History of Putnam County, New York : with biographical sketches of its prominent men > Part 9
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71
77
GENERAL HISTORY.
the lands were fairly sold. It seems that at the time of this re- port, 1766, there were "four Indian men and three women " in England and that others had been there the previous year.
On the 22d of December, 1766, Governor Moore reported that the Indians had been " forcibly putting some poor people out of possession of their houses," and had a second time been committing disorders. This probably refers to some difficulties with tenants who held land under the title of the Philipse family. When he inquired of the Indians why they had gone to England, they replied that "they were persuaded by some people to take the voyage, it was no project of their own." The governor also reported that " Munroe, their guardian had been guilty of many misdemeanors, and had broke out of Gaol, and is, by all accounts I can obtain, as infamous a person as can be found in this Colony." It is evident that in his opinion it was time a check was put upon affairs of this kind, "to which the Indians were incited by white people living near."
There are still extant the briefs of both parties to these pro- ceedings and many miscellaneous papers incidentally furnish- ing data upon the settlement of the county. For example, among the witnesses whom Nimham stated could testify in re- gard to his claims were John Van Tassel "of Philipse Upper Patent; " Elijah Tompkins, "East end and opposite of Philipse Patent; " Samuel Field, "on the Oblong"; John Tompkins, "on Philipse Patent;" David Paddock, " ditto; " Henry Fer- nander, " upper part of gore joining Fishkill;" Peter Ange- vine, "about middle of Philipse Patent;" Richard Curry, William Hill, Jacobus Terbush, "commonly styled Judge Bush, at the Fishkill; " James Dickenson, Esq., "East end of Pat- ent; " James Philipse, "living about the middle of Cortlandts Manor." On the Philipse side there was filed the affidavit, which we quote :
"City of New York, ss .:
"Timothy Shaw of Dutchess County being duly sworn de- poseth and saith that he formerly was a Tenant under Adolph Philipse, deceased within the Patent commonly called the Up- per Patent in the County aforesaid being the Lands now claimed by Roger Morris Philip Philipse and Beverly Robinson Under the said Adolph Philipse as this Deponent has understood. That he this Deponent has now no Interest in any Lands in the said Upper Patent having disposed of all his Interest therein upwards of seven Years ago. That he this Deponent is very
78
HISTORY OF PUTNAM COUNTY.
well acquainted with all the Settlements that have been made within the Bounds of the said Upper Patent and has been ac- quainted with all the Settlements within the Same about or near twenty-five Years last past. £ That at the Time this Deponent first became acquainted with the said Upper Patent the following Persons were either settled thereon or held as he understood from them as Tenants under Adolph Philipse to wit: Philip Minthorne Elisha Tomkins John Tomkins Wil- liam Hunt Daniel Townsend John Dickenson James Dicken- son John Sprague William Sturdivant One Hill Moses Nor- throp Senior Thomas Philipse George Hughson James Mc- Cready Samuel Fields Amos Dickenson Hezekiah Wright, Jeremiah Calkins John Calkins Joseph Porter Ichabod Vic- kerey Ebenezer King Samuel Jones James Paddock Peter Paddock David Paddock John Barley Caleb Brundige Wil- liam Brandekey John Eagleston Two Brothers of the name of Bircham One Kire William Kabelay Thomas Kirkam Na- thaniel Robinson One Cole William Smith John Smith Na- thaniel Underhill Edward Stevens One Bartwo John Reynolds and as this Deponent verily believes several others whose names he does not now recollect. That since the Time of his Settle- ment on the said Upper Patent a great Number of other Per- sons many of whose names this Deponent could repeat were it necessary have also settled themselves as Tenants of the Philipse Family within the said Upper Patent and this Deponent verily believes that of such Tenants there were upwards of three hun- dred settled on the said Patent beyond the distance of three Miles from Hudson's River before the Year one thousand seven hundred and fifty six. That either two or three years ago in the Winter Season the said Philip Philipse was at the House of Uriah Lawrance one of the Tenants of the said Upper Patent where Daniel Nimham the Indian together with at least three hundred Persons chiefly Tenants of the said Patent under the Philipse Family were assembled. That the said Philip Philipse then and there in the Hearing of this Deponent and as many of the said Persons there assembled as could conveniently crowd near enongh to hear what passed asked the said Nimham where the Lands were which He claimed whereupon the said Nimham said that he had no Lands upon which the said Philip Philipse asked the said Nimham why he made such a Rout among the Tenants to which the said Nimham answered that he was told to do so by Stephen Cowenham and one Pound two other Indi- ans That the said Nimham never to this Deponent's Knowl- edge lived within the Bounds of the said Patent and that all the Indians who formerly lived in the said Patent had aband- oned it long before the Year one thousand seven hundred and fifty six and went and settled themselves as this Deponent has been informed beyond Minisink near Delaware and further this Deponent saith not
79
GENERAL HISTORY.
"Sworn this 6th day of March, 1767,
his
" Before me
"TIMOTHY X SHAW mark
"DANL HORSMANDEN."
And, keeping in mind the object and naturally one-sided char- acter of the documents, the briefs are scarcely less valuable. From that filed on behalf of Nimham the following extracts are taken:
" A Brief Statement of a Controversy subsisting between Daniel Nimham a native Indian and an acknowledged Sachem or King of a Certain Tribe of Indians known and called by the name of the Wappinger Tribe of Indians and others of the same Tribe Petitioners in behalf of themselves and the rest of the said Tribe and the heirs and legal Representatives of Mr. Adolph Philipse, late of the City and Province of New York, de- ceased, * * *
" This Tribe formerly were numerous, at present consists of about Two Hundred and Twenty seven Persons; they have al- ways had a Sachem or Indian King, whom they have acknowl- edged to be the head of said Tribe and to whose Government they have submitted; and by a Line of Succession the said Government descended to the said present Sachem, they have for more than a Century been distinguished for their steady friendship and firm alliance with the English, and their subjec- tion to the Crown of Great Britain; * * *
"Their Claim to that part of the above described premises hath been uninterrupted and a Considerable part thereof for many Years been under actual improvement and occupation by them and their Tenants; and they the said Tribe actually did inhabit and improve 0 said Land by leases on B rents and for their hunt- ing Ground &cª agree- able to their manner of Life until the Com- The land mencement of the late War; at which time they Controversy entered in the Service of the British Crown, were conducted forth into the wars by their pre- sent Sachem, who then Hudson's RIVER The land conveyed being in the Prime and To Torpant & Seabrant le Vigor of Life went in Capacity of Captain in defence of the British Crown taking under his Command all the Males of said Tribe, that were then able and any suitable for said service they first having re- moved their Wives, Children and aged Persons to a Place
80
HISTORY OF PUTNAM COUNTY.
called Stockbridge, that they might the more easily be provided for & better accommodated during their absence, and the said Captain with his Company aforesaid, continued in the service aforesaid during the whole Term of the late War and behaved valliantly and was eminently serviceable in the Reduction of * Canady to the British Crown. * *
"The late war being Ended the said Tribe returned home, when to their great surprise they found snch Encroachments on their Improvements, and such destruction on their hunting Grounds, that they were obliged to seek for Refuge elsewhere. The said now Sachem sometime afterwards having received some Intelligence of his Majesty's proclamation respecting Indian Claims again however took Courage and having first upon ad- vice and by and with the approbation of the Chief Judge of the Court of Common Pleas and one other Justice of the Peace for said County of Dutchess Chosen Mr. Samuel Munroe for his Guardian: he with said Guardian again Leased out sundry farms on said Land in Controversy, not in the least doubting his right so to do. Whereupon (the said Frederick Philipse being dead) Mr. Beverly Robinson of sd. New York having married one of the Daughters of Frederick Philipse deceased & pretending to be interested in the Lands in Controversy after having in a. forcible manner attempted to oust the said Tenants who held under said Tribe and after much of his disrespectful Conduct both toward his King and Country, as appears by the exhibits M. N. O. brought cases of Ejectment against fifteen of the said Indian Tenants and they being chiefly poor people, unitedly agreed to stand Trial in only one of them, and having raised a sum of Money for that purpose, the Defendant in that particu- lar suit made application for Council to assist him therein but upon Enquiry (to his great surprise) found that every Attorney at Law in that whole Province was previously retained on the other side; whereupon (being destitute of assistance) at the time of trial he motioned the Court for Liberty to speak for himself; which being Granted he began to offer something in Vindication of his Cause but had scarsely nttered one single sentence, when one of the Lawyers rose up and (interrupting him) with an air of Confidence declared he was liable to be committed for pre- tending to offer a word in Vindication of a claim to those Lands in opposition to a Grant of the Crown, which struck such a sudden Damp upon the spirits of the poor Man, that he was unable further to Conduct his Cause with any manner of prop- riety, or so much as to tell his plain honest story, which might have shew perhaps the Justice of his cause and prevented a Recovery. But without further delay or any further Enquiry into the Matter, Judgment was forthwith rendered in said Cause and in the rest of said cases against all the said fifteen Defend- ants without any opportunity of a fair Trial, and thereupon writs of possession Granted out against them all, and the whole
81
GENERAL HISTORY.
number of fifteen Tenants aforesaid, some of which had been on said Lands Thirty and some Forty Years, holding under said Tribe turned off therefrom and their Buildings and other Im- provements together with the Crops of Grain &c they had been growing on said Lands and all the fruits of their Labour & Industry taken from them without any manner of allowance therefor. Whereupon the said now Sachem together with some other principal men of said Tribe finding, that said Robinson and the rest of the heirs and legal representatives of the said Mr. Frederick Philipse deceased were determined to continue their molestations and to use all possible endeavors surrepti- tiously to defraud them of their native right to said Lands pre- ferred their petition to the Honorable Cadwallader Colden Esgre Lieutenant Governour and the Commander in Chief of said Province of New York and his Council dated the first day of March Anno Domini one thousand seven hundred and sixty-five, as per Exhibit No. F. and on the sixth of the same March afore- said, the Petitioners aforesaid together with said Guardian, were permitted to appear and did personally appear before said Lieut. Governour & Council, in order to be heard in the Matters prayed for in their said Petition respecting said Lands and the Encroachments thereon made as aforesaid and (not able to get any assistance of any attorney at Law in the whole province aforesaid) then and there laid in their Claim to said Land in Controversy themselves and then and there stood ready to offer sufficient Evidence in support of their said Claim and then and there expected to have had opportunity therefor: But instead thereof no more was then and there done in the premises, than as follows, viz .:
"The Petitioners being asked by one of the Gentlemen of the Council then and there present, what they had to offer in sup- port of their Claim aforesaid ? the said now Sachem who spoke for himself and Interpreted what the rest said, informed the said Lieut. Governour & Council, that they the said petitioners in behalf of themselves and the rest of the said Wappinger Tribe claimed the Lands. in Controversy under their ancestors, in whom was the native right and that neither they nor their an- cestors nor any of said Tribe had ever sold, nor made any legal Conveyance of said Land in Controversy. The said Mr. Robin- son then produced an Instrument said to be an Indian Deed, bearing date the thirteenth day of August one thousand seven hundred and two, which (if authentic) covered all the Lands in Controversy. But as this was the first Time that such Instru- ment was ever heard of the Petitioners and said Guardian de- sired to look at said Instrument and having got the same into his hand was about to point out some marks of fraud attending it, but before he had time to make one single remark about it, it was by a Gentleman of the Council taken out of his hands. and thereupon the said Gentleman of the Council told the Peti-
82
HISTORY OF PUTNAM COUNTY.
tioners they had better go home about their business and quiet themselves and the rest of said Tribe and give them no further Trouble for (said he) Mr. Robinson has a Deed of all the Lands in Controversy, to which the said now Sachem replyed, that he chose to hear those words from the Lieutenant Governour's own mouth first: whereupon the said Lieut. Governonr after a short Pause said that the said Mr. Robinson had a Deed of the Land in Controversy and that the Petitioners must therefore go home and make themselves and the rest of their Tribe easy and quiet and not give the said Governour and Council any further Trouble in the premises, (having first asked an old Indian, one of the Peti- tioners, whether he ever knew any of those Indians whose names were subscribed to said pretended Deed, who replyed that he did, but that he never knew nor heard of their selling or making any Conveyance of said Lands, neither did he believe that they or either of them ever signed or executed said Instru- ment) whereupon the Petitioners (tho' very much. dissatisfied on account of the rough Treatment they met with, as well as on account of their not being permitted a fair Chance or oppor- tunity to Vindicate their Cause) returned home." * * * *
"Finally it seems that such a notable Transaction could not have been performed in the Dark nor have been so soon forgotten by the Indians, especially considering that they depend wholly upon Tradition for the Record (if it may be so called) of all their proceedings, and are therein so extremely careful, as that they do thereby retain among them for many Centuries together, the knowledge or remembrance of matters of much less Importance- From all of which Circumstances the said Tribe of Wappingers do firmly believe the said Instrument of one thousand seven hundred & Two to be spurions and not by any means Genuine and humbly imagine said Lands (if at all included in said Patent) were Granted to said Mr. Adolph Philipse by the letters patent aforesaid thro' mistake or by means of some misrepre- sentation; and therefore hope with great Humility, that their Honest Cause will gain the Royal Attention and powerful In- terposition and Protection; and that they may be again restored to their said Lands, whereupon they are unjustly expelled.
"The foregoing Brief or State of the Case of the Wappinger Tribe of Indians was made on the 30th day of October Anno Domini one thousand seven hundred and sixty-five."
From the brief submitted by the Philipse representatives is taken the following:
" A Summary of the Reasons humbly offered to his Excel- lency Sir Henry Moore Baronet Captain General & Governour in Chief in & over the province of New York & the Territories thereon depending in America, &c., &c., &c., and to the Hon- ourable his Majesty's Council for the said province by Roger Morris Beverly Robinson & Philip Philipse * * in answer
83
GENERAL HISTORY.
to a certain Memorial or Complaint of Daniel Nimham, an Indian, * * * *
*
*
*
*
"The said Roger Morris, Beverly Robinson and Philip Philipse, tho' they firmly rely on their indisputable title to the sd. lands as derived by them Under the said Letters Patent Think it nevertheless their Duty however repeatedly called upon to satisfy the Governm't of the Integrity not only of their own Conduct but also of the Conduct of those under whom they Claim, as well as in obtaining the said Letters Patent for the said Tract of Land as in possessing the same by Virtue of such Letters patent.
* *
* * * * *
*
"The patent appears to be grounded on a petition of Adolph Philipse wherein the Fraud (if any had been perpetrated in ob- taining the patent) would naturally be found But this petition which is still lodged in the Secretary's office speaks in plain Terms and sets forth a purchase made by him of Jan Seabringh and Lambert Dorlandt of part of the Lands contained within the Bounds of the afsd Patent (a part of which the said Me- morial & Complaint admits to have been granted by the In- dians to the said Seabringh & Dorlandt) to wit for an Extent from the River Eastward as far as the Land of Coll Cortlandt & Company (meaning the patent commonly called Rombouts Patent) which was known to the Govt. to extend only sixteen Miles from the River And the Colony Line was also known to the Governm't to be at the Distance of 20 Miles from the River. So that the petitioner having set forth nothing more than the purchase aforesaid and so framed his petition as clearly to Shew a Vacancy between that purchase & the Colony Line for which he did not pretend to have made an Indian purchase the Crown could not be deceived in the Grant of the said Let- ters Patent & therefore no Reason can be assigned why they should be at this late day impeached or Questioned: And that the more especiall because:
"2dly. The Letters Patent themselves contain no recitals or suggestions of matters of fact as urged on the part of the pe- titioner to the Govt. to induce the Crown to grant them; But appear to have issued simply on the petition of Patentee praying a Grant of the Lands without any matters of fact urged by hini to induce such Grant. Wherefore * *
* the Letters Patent above mentioned issued in favor of the said Adolph Philipse without the least Colour or Ground for supposing a Deceit on the Crown in the obtaining the same* the title in the sd Roger Morris Beverly Robinson and Philip Philipse must be conclusive. * *
* and if anything in Equity is now due the Indians the Crown stands bound to satisfy them*
"3dly. The said Adolph Philipse tho he might have relied on his patent,* made a purchase of all the Lands included with- in the Bounds of this patent of them on the 13th Angt. 1702
84
HISTORY OF PUTNAM COUNTY.
and to prevent Every suspicion that Fraud, or Art was used to obtain this Deed, It will be sufficient to observe that Besides three Indians who were Witnesses to it this Transaction was at- tested by Jacobus Van Cortlandt a Man of Rank & Character, William Sharpas the Then Town Clerk of the City of New York -a person of known probity, Philip Van Cortlandt then one of his Majesty's Council of this Province & Blandina Bayard an Indian Interpretress. Some of these witnesses are personally known & the handwriting of one of them subscribed to this Deed was familiar to several of the Members of this Board * the Rank & Characters of the witnesses are sufficient to remove all suspicion that it was illegally Fraudulently & surreptiti- ously obtained. * * * *
" 4thly. * * Those who were acquainted with the Indians their principles and practices know that tho' theywill very rarely suffer themselves to be defrauded of their Lands; yet in most instances they compel bona fide purchasers by Repitition of their Claims to make repeated payments to them; beyond the original Consideration Money
"5thly. (Here follow references to papers, including the affi- davit of Timothy Shaw.)
"From All which Considerations * * * it must clearly ap- pear That the patent to Adolph Philipse was not uufairly obtained nor the Said Deeds executed to him by. the Indians, procured illegally, fraudulently & surreptitiously, nor the Lands possessed by the Indians until 1756. Nor the possession of them then wrongfully gained by the said Beverly Robinson Philip Philipse and Roger Morris while the Indians were gone into his Majesty's Service * But on the contrary the said Patent was fairly obtained without any Imposition on the Govt. That the Indian Deed was procured by the said Adolph Philipse lawfully, honestly & openly before Witnesses of the first Char- * acter * * & that the said Adolph Philipse & his family so far from suffering their Title to Lands in Question to become Stale and suspicious by Non, occupancy proceeded in due time to the settlement & Cultivation of these Lands, which were popu- lously inhabited by Tenants under them many Years since & and which were long ago abandoned by the Indians who were con- scious that they had not the least Right or Title to them."
In the Revolution Nimham and his warriors took an active part. Some sixty of them, expert marksmen and skilled in war, joined the American forces and fought with a bravery and valor worthy of their ancient race, in the days of their glory. Active in the campaigns of 1777, they joined Washington again in the spring of the following year, and were detached with the forces under La Fayette, to check the depredations of the British army on its retreat from Philadelphia, and they were afterward trans-
85
GENERAL HISTORY.
ferred to Westchester county, the scene of some of the most hotly contested struggles of the war.
It was on the 30th of August, 1778, that Nimham and his warrior band went forth to the field of their last battle. On that day they met with a scouting party of British under Colo- nel Emerick, and after a fierce engagement compelled them to retreat. On the following morning the whole of the British force at Kings Bridge was ordered out and the larger part was placed in an ambuscade, while Emerick was sent forward to de- coy his assailants of the previous day. In the extreme northern part of the annexed portion of the city of New York, is a high elevation of land, known as Cortlandt's Ridge. Winding through the valleys and emptying into the Harlem River, near Kings Bridge, is a stream that has borne from the earliest times the name of Tippets Brook. The wooded heights and the banks of the stream were the scenes of a most sanguinary con- flict. The attempt to draw the Indians into the ambuscade failed, and upon their advance the British troops had scarcely time to fall into rank. The Indians lined the fences and com- menced firing upon the forces under Colonel Emerick. The Queen's Rangers moved rapidly to gain the heights, and Tarle- ton advanced with the Hussars and his famous Legion of Cav- alry. This being reported to Lieutenant-Colonel Simcoe, he directed Major Ross to conduct his corps on the heights, and advancing to the road arrived within ten yards of Nimham and his men. Up to this time they had been intent on the attack upon Colonel Emerick. They now gave a yell and fired on the advancing enemy and wounded five, including Colonel Simcoe.
They were driven from the fence, and Tarleton rushed upon them with his cavalry and pursued them down Cortlandt's Ridge. Here Tarleton himself had a narrow escape. Striking at one of the fugitives, he lost his balance and fell from his horse. Fortunately for him the Indian had no bayonet and his musket was discharged. A captain of a company of American soldiers was taken prisoner with some of his men, and a company under Major Stewart, who afterwards distinguished himself at the storming of Stony Point, left the Indians and fled. The en. gagement was renewed with the fiercest vigor. The cavalry charged the ridge with overwhelming numbers, but were bravely resisted. As the cavalry rode them down, the Indians seizing their foes, dragged them from their horses, to join them in death.
86
HISTORY OF PUTNAM COUNTY.
In a swamp, not far from the brook, Nimham made his last stand. When he saw the Grenadiers closing upon him and all hope of successful resistance gone, he called out to his people to flee, but as for himself, " I am an aged tree, I will die here." Being attacked by Simcoe he wounded that officer, but was shot and killed by Wright, his orderly Hussar. In this fearful fray the power of the tribe was forever broken. More than forty of the Indians were killed or desperately wounded in the fight, and when the next morning dawned, there, still and cold in death, on the field he had defended so bravely, lay the last sachem of the Wappingers.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.