USA > New York > Westchester County > History of Westchester County, New York, from its earliest settlement to the year 1900 > Part 32
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The radicals in the court house. being left to themselves, put through the programme arranged for them with expedition and en- thusiasm. By a unanimous vote it was agreed to unite with the other counties in sending delegates to the proposed provincial convention, and eight delegates were accordingly chosen, as follows: Colonel Lewis Morris and Dr. Robert Graham, of Westchester; Stephen Ward, of Eastchester; Colonel James Holmes and Jonathan Platt, of Bedford; John Thomas, Jr., of Rye; and Samuel Drake and Philip Van Cort- landt, of the Manor of Cortlandt. Resolutions were adopted extend- ing thanks to " the virtuous minority of the general assembly of this province, and particularly to John Thomas and Pierre Van Cort- landt, Esquires, two of our representatives, for their firm attachment to and zeal for, on a late occasion, the preservation of the union of the colonies and the rights and liberties of America," and also thank- ing " the delegates who composed the late congress for the essential
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A FACSIMILE OF THE ONLY COPY KNOWN TO HAVE BEEN PRESERVED,
DRICAL SOCIETY OF PENNSYLVANIA.
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FROM JANUARY, 1775, TO JULY 9, 1776
services they have rendered to America." The meeting then adjourned with three cheers for the king.
The " friends of government," after leaving the court house, or- ganized an independent meeting and adopted the following decla- ration, to which all present signed their names:
We, the undersigned, frecholders and inhabitants of the County of Westchester, having assembled at the White Plains in consequence of certain advertisements, do now declare that we met here to express our honest abhorrence of all unlawful congresses and committees, and that we are determined at the hazard of our lives and properties to support the king and the constitution, and that we acknowledge no representatives but the general assembly, to whose wisdom and integrity we submit the guardianship of our rights and liberties.
There were in all three hundred and twelve signers to this docu- ment, headed by Frederick Philipse, Isaac Wilkins, the Rovs. Samuel Seabury and Luke Babcock, Judges Jonathan Fowler and Caleb Fow- ler, and several other prominent persons, including Mayor Nathaniel Underhill, of the Borough of Westchester, and Philip Poll, of Pelham Manor.
The patriotic meeting at White Plains was conducted with perfect decorum, and, in spite of the aggressive speech of Mr. Wilkins against "disorderly proceedings" and " unlawful committees and congresses," Colonel Morris and his adherents had the good taste to refrain from all violent or vindictive expressions or doings on that occasion. Also in his published report of the events of the day Colonel Morris abstained from language that could possibly give offense, confining himself to a dispassionate narrative of facts. But the " friends of government " were not so moderate. They caused an elaborate statement to be printed in the New York press, filled with animadversions of an ex- asperating nature. In this statement, which appeared in Rivington's paper on the 20th of April, the day after the battle of Lexington, it was charged that the meeting held at the court house had, by assum- ing to represent the true sentiment of Westchester County, imposed upon the world and insulted the " loyal County of Westchester " in a most barefaced manner"; that it was "the act of a few individuals unlawfully assembled," and that it was well known that at least two- thirds of the inhabitants of the county were " friends to order and government, and opposed to committees and all unlawful combina- tions." The ire of Colonel Morris was aroused by such reflections and allegations, and in a communication to the press published soon afterward he replied with great vigor and entting satire, also sub- jecting the list of signers to a merciless analysis. " I shall pass over," said he, " the many little embellishments with which the author's fancy has endeavored to decorate his narrative; nor is it necessary to call in question the reality of that loyal enthusiasm by which it
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HISTORY OF WESTCHESTER COUNTY
was said these good people were influenced; and I really wish it had been the fact, because when inconsistencies and fooleries result from inebriety or enthusiasm, they merit our pity and escape indig- nation and resentment. Much pains, I confess, were on that day taken to make temporary enthusiasts, and with other exhilarating spirit than the spirit of loyalty. To give the appearance of dignity to these curious and very orderly protestors, the author has been very mindful to annex every man's addition to his name, upon a pre- sumption perhaps that it would derive weight from the title of Mayor, Esquire, Captain, Lieutenant, Judge, etc. But it is not easy to con- ceive why the publisher should be less civil to the clergy than to the gentry or commonalty. Samuel Seabury and Luke Babcock cer- tainly ought not to have been sent into the world floating on a news- paper in that plain way. The one is the Rev. Mr. Samuel Seabury, rector of the united parishes of East and West Chester, and one of the missionaries for propagating the Gospel, and not politicks, in foreign parts, etc., etc .; the other is the Rev. Mr. Luke Babcock, who preaches and prays for Colonel Philipse and his tenants at Philipse- burgh." In his analysis of the signers of the protest he showed that no fewer than one hundred and seventy of the three hundred and twelve were persons not possessing the least pretensions to a vote, many of them being lads under age; while of the one hundred and forty-two who were freeholders many held lands at the will of Colonel Philipse, " so that," he concluded, " very few independent freeholders objected tothe appointment of deputies." Theaccuracy of this analysis was never challenged ; and it thus appears that with all the advant- ages of prestige enjoyed by the conservative leaders they were able to mister scarcely a hundred disinterested voters in opposition to a po. litical programme which they had announced to be "replete with ruin and misery." Moreover, several formal recantations of the pro- test by persons who had signed it followed, showing that, as in the case of the Rye protestants of the year before, varions individuals who had been drawn into support of Tory principles were speedily brought to a realizing sense of the odiousness of their behavior. Among the recanters was JJonathan Fowler, one of the judges of the Court of Common Pleas of the county, who, in a published card, declared that " upon mature deliberation and more full knowledge of the matter" he had come to the conclusion that the sentiments expressed in the protest were "not only injurions to our present cause, but likewise offensive to our fellow-colonists," and therefore repudiated and testified his abhorrence of them.
The New York provincial convention for the appointment of dele- gates to the congress at Philadelphia met in New York City on the
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20th of April. All the representatives for Westchester County se- lected by the meeting at White Plains were in attendance excepting Jonathan Platt and Colonel James Holmes. A delegation of twelve men-five from New York County and one each from Kings, Suffolk, Orange, Albany, Uster, Westchester, and Dutchess Counties-was chosen to represent the province. The delegate for Westchester County was Colonel Lewis Morris. John Jay was re-elected as a dele- gate for New York City. The convention adjourned on the 224.
On the morning of the next day, Sunday, April 23, 1775, the news of the battle of Lexington was received by the people of our county
THE NEWS OF LEXINGTON.
residing along the Boston Post Road from the express rider who had been dispatched to bear it as far as New York. Spread from month to mouth throughout the county, it everywhere intensified the pas- sions which had been stirred by the local political events of the pre- vions few weeks. Already incensed at the arrogant bearing of the conservative party, which had just been freshly illustrated by the injudicious narrative of the proceedings at White Plains that the leaders of that party had inserted in the New York newspapers, the patriotic element was aroused by this alarming intelligence to bit- terness and aggression. Numerous were the interviews hell with signers of the protest who were supposed to be open to persuasion,
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HISTORY OF WESTCHESTER COUNTY
and with all individuals of previously uncertain tendencies. A week later Judge Jonathan Fowler published his meek recantation, and even the bold spirit of Isaac Wilkins, the eloquent leader of the ma-
NEW-YORK, COMMITTEE-CHAMBER, WEDNESDAY, 26th April, 1775.
T HE Committeehaving taken into Confideration the Commotions occafioned by the fanguinary Meafures purfued by the Britith Miniftry, and that the Powers with which this Committee is invefted, refpect only the Affociation, are unanimoufly of Opinion, That a new Committee be elected by the Frecholders and Freemen of this City and County,, for the prefent unhappy Exigency of Affairs, as well as to obferve the Conduct of all Perfons touching the Affociation; That the faid Committee confift of 100 Perfons; that 33 be a Quorum, and that they diffolve within a Fortnight next after the End of the next Seffions of the Continental Congrefs. And that the Senfe of the Freeholders and Freemen of this City and County, upon this Subject, may be better procured and afcertained, the Committee are further unanimoufly of Opinion, That the Polls be taken on Friday Morning next, at 9 o'Clock, at the ufual Places of - Election in each Ward, under the Infpection of the two Veftrymen of each Ward, and two of this Committee, or any two of the four; and that at the faid Elections the Votes of the Freemen and Freeholders, be taken on the following Queftions, viz. Whether fuch New. Committee fhall be conftituted ; and if Yea, of whom it fhall confift. And this Committee is further unanimoufly of Opinion, That at the prefent alarming. Juncture, it is highly advifeable that a Provincial Congrefs be immediately fummoned; and that it be recommended to the Freeholders and Freemen of this City and County, to choofe at the fame Time that they vote for the New Committee aforefaid, Twenty Deputies to reprefent them at the faid Congrefs. And that a Letter be forthwith prepared and difpatched to all the Counties, requefting them to unite with us in forming a Provincial Congress, and to appoint their Deputies without Delay, to meet at New-York, on Monday the 22d of May next.
By Order of the Committee, ISAAC LOW, Chairman.
FACSIMILE OF NEW YORK COMMITTEE CIRCULAR AFTER THE BATTLE OF LEXINGTON.
jority in the provincial assembly, yielded itself to the inevitable. Against Wilkins partienlarly severe animosity was cherished. It was he who, at White Plains, had denounced the patriotic assem- blage as disorderly and unlawful, and common report attributed to
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FROM JANUARY, 1775, TO JULY 9, 1776
him the authorship of the protesting " narrative," with its offensive assumptions and impudent characterizations, The public resent- ment toward him was so deep, and was manifested with such activ- ity, that without delay he formed the resolution to leave the country. This was announced in an open letter addressed to " My Country- men," dated New York, May 3, 1775. The precipitation of his flight may be judged from his statement that he left behind " everything that is dear to me-my wife, my children, my friends, and my prop- orty." lle avowed that he was actuated not by fear or a conscious- ness of having done wrong, but by an unwillingness to become in- volved in the fratricidal strife that was impending. "I leave America, and every endearing connection," he concluded, " hecanse I will not raise my hand against my Sovereign, nor will I draw my sword against my Country; when I can conscientiously draw it in her favour, my life shall be chearfully devoted to her service."
In New York City, the center of political agitation and manage- ment, the thrilling news from Lexington evoked more energetic and aggressive measures than had yet been attempted. Although a pro- vincial convention had just been held, and a continental congress was about to meet, it was decided to summon a provincial congress; and a call was promptly issued for such a body to meet in New York City on the 22d of May and " deliberate upon and from time to time to direct such measures as may be expedient for our common safety." In the circular sent to the counties the gravity of the situation was pointed out in strong language, and for the first time the hint of war was given to the people of the colony. Westchester County re- sponded to this new appeal by holding a meeting at White Plains on the 8th of May, James Van Cortlandt, of the Borongh of West- chester, occupying the chair. It appointed a permanent county com- mitice of ninety persons, twenty of whom were empowered to act for the county, and to that committee was referred the authority to choose the delegates to the proposed congress. The delegates select- ed under this provision were Gouverneur Morris, Dr. Robert Graham, Colonel Lewis Graham, and Colonel James Van Cortlandt, all of the Town of Westchester; Stephen Ward and Joseph Drake, of East- chester; Major Philip Van Cortlandt, of Cortlandt Manor; Colonel James Holmes, of Bedford; John Thomas, Jr., of Rye; David Dayton, of North Castle; and William Paulding, of Philipseburgh Manor. It is noteworthy that among the results of this White Plains meeting two men whose names were destined to rank among the most im- portant in the annals of Westchester County obtained their first on- trance into public life-Gouverneur Morris and Jonathan G. Tomp- kins. The former headed the delegation to the provincial congress,
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HISTORY OF WESTCHESTER COUNTY
and the latter was one of the principal members of the committee of ninety which was created to take charge of affairs in the county.
Gouverneur Morris was the fourth son of Lewis Morris, Jr .. and a stepbrother of Colonel Lewis Morris. He was born in 1752, was grad- nated at Columbia College in 1768, studied law under the preceptor- ship of William Smith the younger (afterward royal chief justice), and was admitted to the bar in 1771, when only twenty years ofl. lle immediately espoused the cause of the anti-government party, al- though identifying himself, like day, with its more moderate advo- rates; and it was not until the die had been cast by the introduction of the Declaration of Independence in the continental congress that he took a pronounced position in support of radical doctrines. As a delegate from Westchester County to the provincial congress of 1775 and 1776 he attracted general attention by his abilities, and thenceforward his services were con- stantly employed in behalf of the nation. His mother was a lady of strong Loyalist prejudices, and Gon- vernenr's championship of the Revo- Intionary canse was a great disap- pointment to her. His sister, Isabella, married Isaac Wilkins, whose melan- choly farewell to his countrymen has just been noticed. Gouverneur Mor- ris, being his father's youngest son, did not inherit any portion of the Morrisania estate; but some years after the conclusion of peace with Great Britain he purchased from his brother, General Staats Long Morris, GOUVERNEUR MORRIS. of the British army, all that portion of the ancestral property lying east of Mill Brook. There he resided during the closing years of his life, and died on the 16th of November, 1816.
Jonathan G. Tompkins,1 of Scarsdale, the father of Governor and Vice-President Daniel D. Tompkins, was a prominent Westchester County figure throughout the Revolution and for many years after. Ilis ancestors emigrated from the north of England to Massachu-
' He was born Joshua Tompkins, being so named for his father, who removed to Sears- dale from Westchester Town. One of the family's neighbors in Scarsdale was ('aptain Jonathan Griffen, a well-to-do farmer, who, lwing childless, and taking a fancy 10 young
Joshua, adopted him and had him baptized by the name of Jonathan Griffen Tompkins. Cap- tain Griffen conveyed to him a farm of one hundred acres, Jonathan G. Tompkins mar- riedl a daughter of Caleb Hyatt, a respectable farmer in White Plains.
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FROM JANUARY, 1775, TO JULY 9, 1776
setts. Besides serving on the county committee, he was supervisor for the Manor of Scarsdale, and later was a member of the committee of safety, a delegate to two provincial congresses, member of the as- sembly and county judge under the State goverment, and one of the first regents of the State University. He lived to the venerable age of eighty-seven, dying in 1823.
The second continental congress began its sessions at Philadel- phia on the 10th of May. Accepting the proceedings at Lexington and their associated events as acts of war, it immediately began to lay plans for a general armed resistance. Steps were taken for the creation of an army by the enlistment of volunteers, Washington was appointed commander-in-chief, and the preliminary arrangements were made for meeting the expenses of the struggle.
When the New York provincial congress assembled on the 22d of May, the programme of revolution had already been well marked ont. This provincial body was equal to the emergency, being fully con- trolled by the patriotic element, although well balanced in its mem- bership. It entered at once upon the serious business of the hour. By the election of Peter Van Brugh Livingston, an extremist, as its presiding officer, it testified its complete readiness for co-operation with the sister colonies in radical action. Yet it took a firm stand in insisting upon the local autonomy of the Colony of New York, one of its earliest aets being the rejection of a resolution providing for implicit obedience to the continental congress in all matters except those of local police regulation. On the first day of the session pro- vision was made for effective organization in the several counties by the establishing of committees in sympathy with the general plans of the friends of liberty. A plan for a continental currency, sub- mitted and advocated with great ability by Gouverneur Morris, was recommended to the consideration of the continental congress. Final- Iv, detailed arrangements were adopted for putting the province in a state of military defense, for the levying of troops, and for active local administration and supervision in the interest of assuring full exercise of authority by the Revolutionary party and repressing dis- affection.
The British garrison in New York had given little trouble to the populace since the Golden Hill affray of January, 1770. During its brief stay in the city after the battle of Lexington it was not re- enforced. Although as yet no armed body of colonists had arisen to threaten the British soldiers, it was perfectly understood that the people, and not the garrison, were masters of the local situation, and that at the slightest manifestation of aggression on the part of the troops sanguinary events would be precipitated. The British com.
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mander had the good sense to abstain from anything of that nature, and, on the other hand, the populace made no attempt to interfere with him. But this forbearance was about the only instance of mod- eration displayed in the City of New York at that critical time. The people, under the leadership of the Sons of Liberty, committed overt arts which were in the line of open rebellion. A government store- house at Turtle Bay was seized, and about one hundred pieces of ordnance were carted to Kingsbridge, which, as the point of com- munication with the mainland, was instantly recognized as a prin- cipal strategic position, demanding intrenchment. Indeed, as early as the 4th of May the New York City committee ordered " that Cap- tain Sears, Captain Randall, and Captain Fleming be a committee io procure proper judges to go and view the ground at or near Kings- bridge, and report to this committee, with all convenient speed, whether it will answer for the purposes intended by it." Thus the very first warlike measure determined upon in this portion of the country had reference to a locality upon the borders of our county.
The supremacy of the popular power in New York was well evi- denced by the dietatorial authority assumed and successfully en- forced by the committee of one hundred upon the occasion of the departure of the garrison from the city. This event occurred carly in June, the frigate " Asia " having come into the harbor with orders to remove the soldiers to Boston. The committee gave its consent to the transaction, with the proviso, however, that the troops shoukl carry away with them no other arms than those upon their own persons. An attempt was made to violate the arbitrary order thus promulgated, and the first detachment that issued from the fort was accompanied by several vehicles loaded with stacks of arms. At the corner of Broad and Beaver Streets a single citizen, Marinus Wil- lett by name, emerged from the crowd, seized the horse of the leading vehicle by the bridle, and commanded the driver to turn back. An altercation now ensued, several prominent gentlemen expressing their opinions-among them Gouverneur Morris, who, consistently with the pacific attitude that he had taken, deprecated Willett's act. But the aggressive faction was represented by well-known spokesmen, having behind them overwhelming numbers of the Sons of Liberty, and they gave it to be understood that unless the arms were left in the city, in obedience to the directions of the committee, blood would flow. The judicions British officer in command yielded to these rep- resentations, and the citizens were permitted to appropriate the arms. After that triumphal termination of the matter, Willett mounted one of the carts and delivered an impassioned address to the mock soldiery, exhorting them to desist from the unnatural business of
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shedding the blood of their brethren, and promising protection to any of their number who should have the courage to leave the ranks and join the patriotie multitude. History records that one of the men deserted in response to this appeal. In all the preliminary events of the Revointion there is no more dramatic episode than this ex- ploit. of Marinus Willett. It is typical of the whole course of the people of New York from the earliest period of the troubles with the mother country-a course of unfaltering aggression, taking no thought of consequences. Willett subsequently became an officer in the American army, and, as we shall see, distinguished himself upon
EXPLOIT OF MARINUS WILLETT.
a notable occasion in repelling a British expedition near Peekskill, in our county.
The continental congress at Philadelphia, pursuing the Revolu- tionary programme which had been inaugurated at the beginning of its session, early turned its attention to the subject of preparing the Province of New York for defensive and offensive operations. In this connection the fortification of the passes at Kingsbridge and at the entrance to the Highlands, and plans for obstructing the navigation of the Hudson River in case of necessity, received chief consideration. On the 25th of May a number of resolutions pertaining to New York were adopted by the congress, including the following:
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