History of Westchester county : New York, including Morrisania, Kings Bridge, and West Farms, which have been annexed to New York City, Vol. I, Part 177

Author: Scharf, J. Thomas (John Thomas), 1843-1898, ed
Publication date: 1886
Publisher: Philadelphia : L.E. Preston & Co.
Number of Pages: 1354

USA > New York > Westchester County > History of Westchester county : New York, including Morrisania, Kings Bridge, and West Farms, which have been annexed to New York City, Vol. I > Part 177

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There are two persons still living, one in Pelham who witnessed and the other in New Rochelle1 who

1 The Sound opposite New Rochelle and Pelham is a ticklish place, even

in New York City. At a later period, his attainder was reversed, and his estates restored to his family by Net of Parliament. The general verdict of history at the present time is, that he was innocent of the crime for which he was condemned anel executed .- (See Bolton's, Ban- croft's and Bryant's Ilistories. )

706

HISTORY OF WESTCHESTER COUNTY.

heard the sound of the cannonade between the Brit- ish men-of-war and the American gun-boats, which took place off New Rochelle and Pelham in the month of August, 1814. After the British had bom- barded Stonington (August 9th), two of their vessels, a frigate and a sloop-of war, made their appearance near Mamaroneck. The government, or perhaps the people of New York, had prepared a fleet of thirteen gun-boats, each armed with a thirty-two-pounder gun, for the protection of the harbors along the Sound. One sultry morning in August the ships of war moved down the Sound and attacked these gun- boats, which had been ordered to rendezvous near Huckleberry Island and along the shores of Long Island. The action continued at long range for about an hour, and was very exciting to the inhabitants in the vicinity. The militia of two or three of the towns had been ordered out, and every height and headland was thronged with spectators. It soon became evi- dent that the gun-boats were no match for the men- of war. Probably all that saved them from being sunk or captured was the superior familiarity of the Americans with the navigation of the Sound. Among so many rocks and reefs, the heavy war-vessels of the British were afraid to venture, and after a sharp but distant cannonade, in which but little damage was inflicted, the gun-boats withdrew iu the direction of New York, and the ships of war returned to New London. It was in connection with this bloodless naval engagement that the panic broke out among the mili- tia on Davenport's Neck, an account of whichis given in the history of New Rochelle. The Rev. Lewis J. Cou- tant,1 then a boy often or twelve years, distinctly remem" bered to have heard the echoes of the cannonade up- on that sultry August morning, rolling and reverber- ating among the hills back of the town of New Ro- chelle. Mr. Peter Roosevelt, of Pelham, now in his ninety-second year, is understood to have witnessed the engagement from some convenient hill near the shore

Hunter's Island, now the property of Mr. Iselin was, in the year 1800, owned by a gentleman named Henderson, a Scotchman and a surgcou in the British army. It has changed hands many times and is

for navigators well acquainted with the obstructions above and below the surface. It is related that some years ago one of the Le Counts, who lived upon the shore in New Rochelle, near the Pelham line, and had been familiar with the navigation of the Sound in that vicinity from his youth, took a party of friends out for a sail. The day was finc, the wind fair, and the passengers werc delighted until the boat, under full sail, ran plump upon a large flat rock about a foot nuder water, near the mouth of Echo Bay. As the tide was falling, it became evident that their sail for the day was over. " Captain," was the indignant remon- strance of the party, " I thought you knew every rock in this Sound." " I do," replied Captain L. C., "and this here is one of the worst."

One of the Schuylers a'so, residing at Pelham, is said to have been this upset while sailing in his boat near City Island. But, more lucky than the Pell who was drowned in the same manner, he was picked up by a passing vessch while calmly floating, seated upon the bottom of his boat, and smoking his pipe, which he had managed in some way to keep lighted. Incredible as this may seem, it is nevertheless a fart, as I have heen assured, and old General Schnyler himself never did a cooler thing. Mr. Coutant has died since the above was written.

probably, upon the whole, the most desirable situa- tion for a residence along the shores of the Sound. It is sufficiently secluded, yet within easy reach of sev- eral railway stations. The land, about two hundred and fifty acres, is fertile and well timbered ; the fish- ing and bathing in the vicinity are excellent, and the view from the south side unsurpassed. The man- sion, constructed of stone, and supposed to have been erected by Mr. Hunter, is still a very fine one. If that ancient worthy, Thomas Pell, Esq., the original owner of this spot, had been informed by some pro- phetic revelation, that, in the year 1885, the city of New York would conclude to take possession of the whole of that part of Pelham "lying and being upou the waters of Long Island Sound," for a city park, propos- ing to issue bonds, run in debt and tax the inhabit- ants of both town and county to pay for the same, it may be safely presumed that he would have been an unbelieving Thomas. Yet it is well known, not only that such a plan has been devised, and that a bill for its accomplishment has passed the Legislature of the State of New York, but that there is a strong probability that the entire sea-front of Pelham will, in a few years, be within the corporate limits of the city.2

The Pelham Bridge, over the mouth of East Ches- ter Creek, has long been famous for the size and quality of the fish taken in and around the waters of the bay aud river. The fishing, it is true, is not now what it used to be, either there or in other parts of the Sound, having declined from causes which may be known to those who have made themselves familiar with the subject. Still, within the past twenty years, bass of large size and weighing fromn fifty to sixty pounds, have been taken with the hook in this vicinity. Black fish are still numerous around the rocks and reefs along the shore. But old fisher- men are unanimous in the assertion that there has been a steady falling off in both the number and size of the fish taken during the period of time men- tioned above.3

2 The bill contemplates the appropriation of about four thousand acres of land in Westchester County for the crection of three parks: the Pel- haut Bay Park, the Bronx River Park and the Van Cortlandt Park. The l'elham Park is to consist of about seventeen hundred acres.

3 What the character of the fishing about Pelham Bay was in the olden time may be gathered from the following little poem, taken by Mr. Bolton from " Wilson's American Ornithology," and well worthy of being preserved for its originality and beanty :

" FISHERMAN'S HYMN.

" The osprey sails above the Sound ; The gecse are gone, the gulls arc flying ;

The lierring shoals swarm thick around ; The nets are launched, the boats are plying.

Yo ho, muy hearts ! let's seek the deep, Raise high the song, and checrly wish her, Still as the bending net we swecp, God bless the fish hawk and thic fisher.

" She brings ns fish, she brings us Spring, Good times, fair weather, warmth and plenty ; Fine store of shad, tront, herrings, ling, Sheepshead and drum, and old wives dainty

707

PELHAM.

The wooden structure which once connected the Neck with the Westchester shore, and which was a toll-bridge, has been replaced by one of iron, which is free. It is said to have eost sixty thousand dollars. The ancient oak-tree under which the Indian sachems made the transfer of the Pelliam Manor property to Thomas Pell, and a piece of which is in the writer's possession, stood until within twenty or thirty years past on the Bartow estate. The Indians received, it is said, as an equivalent for their deed of the land, sundry hogsheads of Jamaica rum. There is not far from this spot a singular freak of nature-a split rock, with a tree growing out of the crevice. This was a surprise to the writer, when, for the first time, he visited this region, nearly forty years ago. It stands on the cross-road between the Pelham and New York roads, and the oldest inhabitant has never seen it otherwise than it looks to-day. In the year 1790 the population of Pelliam was as follows :

Free white males 45

Under sixteen years of age 31

Females 84

Slaves 38

Total 1981

The interests of education in Pelham were greatly advanced when the school board of the town, a few years ago, erected in the First School District a new

Yo hio, my hearts ! let's seek the deep, Ply every oar and cheerly wish her, Still as the beuding net we sweep, God bless the fish hawk and the fisher.

" She rears her young in yonder tree, She leaves her faithful mate to mind 'em ; Like ns, for fish she sails the sea, And plunging, shows ns where to find 'em.

Yo ho, my hearts, let's seek the deep, Ply every oar and cheerly wish her, While the slow bending uet wesweep, God bless the fish hawk and the fisher."

The man who wrote this hymn (whoever he was) was a close observer and lover of nature. lle had music in his heart, und, it is to be hoped, fish in his basket, and could his name be discovered, deserves to have this Fisher's llymn inscribed ou his monument.

I 'The writer, having been urged to introduce some observations in this place upon certain Indian graves iu Pelham, made an attempt to fiud them, but failed to do so. Nor was he able to discover any public bury- ing-place at all in Pelham. The longevity of many of the ancient in- habitants was remarkable. The late Alhert Roosevelt was alert and active until past his ninetieth year. His son Peter is now living in Pelham with unimpaired mental powers, in his ninety-second year. The Rev. Dr. William llagne, the distinguished author of the article upon Old Pel- ham and New Rochelle, subjoined to this chapter, appears like a sprightly geutlemau of sixty years or thereabouts, whereas, if the records of history can be depended npon, he must be in the neighbor- hood of seventy-five or eighty.

* The Indian hurying-ground is said to have been situated upon the northwest side of Pell's Neck, hut very few vestiges of it can now be seen. This is not wonderful, however, when we consider the changes which time produces, even among the living. There is scarcely a family of the ancient residents of l'elham which maintains its ancestral place and possessions. The P'ells have long been gone. The Schuylers have re- moved to another part of the town. The Roosevelt family have retained their hold upou the property near Ilunter's Island for almost ninety years hut must soon yieldl to the advancing tide, which Nows not from the waters of the Sound, but from New York City.

building at an expense of four thousand dollars. The architect was Mr. G. K. Radford, of New York City.' and the old school-house, which is still standing, bears testimony to the very decided improvement. The new edifice, as well as the one recently built in New Rochelle, is considered by competent judges a very fine structure, and both are among the best in the county in their interior arrangements and archi- tectural style and finish. For nearly forty years the Pelham Priory was a marked feature of the town. It is not too much to say that for a very long period. this institution was among the foremost in this coun- try in the work of female education. The site eliosen for the school by the Rev. Robert Bolton was unex- celled for beauty. It was an elevation commanding a wide view of Long Island Sound and the many islands adjacent to the Pelham shore. During the life-time of Miss Bolton it was justly celebrated for tlie thorough intellectual and moral training bestowed upon the young ladies who attended it, coming from every part of the United States and sometimes from foreign countries. Miss Nannette Anne Bolton was herself an enthusiast in the cause of Christian educa- tion. Under her wateliful eare nearly a thousand young girls were edueated in such a manner as to prepare them thoroughly for the higher as well as for the ordinary duties of life. While by no means sec- tarian, the influence of the Priory was always decid- edly religious, and made itself felt, not only in the town of Pelham, but throughout a wide extent of the surrounding country. The deeline of such a school, through the death of its principal founder and teacher, is much to be lamented. It is a loss to the county and State not entirely overestimated, and the more so that nothing has since arisen in the town or vicinity to take its place.

Besides the Priory, Pelham is indebted to the Bol- ton family for the first, and for many years the only, Episcopal Church within its bounds-namely, Christ Church, of which the Rev. Charles Higbee is the present rector, and from whom the information con- tained in this sketch, with regard to the churches of the town, is derived. It is safe to say that without the persistent labors and sacrifices of this family, neither of these institutions-the church or the priory, both so potent for good to Pelham and the whole region around it-would ever have existed. 2

From this church two others have since sprung- Grace Church, on City Island, of which the Rev. Mr. Winsor is the present rector, and the Church of the Redeemer, at Pelliamville, whose rector is the Rev. Cornelius Winter Bolton, a son of the founder of the parent church and the Priory in Pelham.

2 No candid historian of the county of Westchester can fail to ac- knowledge his obligations to the labors of Mr. Robert Bolton in this field. Notwithstanding, his history has grave faults. It is as full of ec- clesiastical bigotry as of research, aud ought to be eutitled, " A History of Episcopacy in the County of Westchester." More than ten times the space accorded to all other denominations is given to this one, and the matter introduced is often tediously minute, dry and uninteresting.

708

HISTORY OF WESTCHESTER COUNTY.

It is to be hoped that the great debt which the towu of Pelham owes and must forever owe to the members of the Bolton family will never be forgotten. Their names ought to be cherished along with that of the father and founder of the manor itself.

The Pelham Mauor and Huguenot Heights Asso- ciation is an incorporated company, formed about the year 1875, for the improvement of that part of the town lying between the station of the Harlem Branch of the New York aud New Haven Railroad and the Boston turnpike road. The new village thus formed has grown rapidly, and is for many reasons a very de- sirable place of residence. It is easily accessible from the Pelhamville Station of the New Haven Railroad, so that a large number of trains upon both roads are available daily, and alınost hourly.

The Huguenot Memorial Chapel, a pretty Presby- terian Church, was built to accommodate the resi- dents of that denomination. It was opened for wor- ship on the 9th of July, 1876, under the pastoral care of the Rev. Charles E. Lord. The Rev. Daniel N. Freeland is the present pastor.

As a place of residence, this part of Westchester County presents decided claims to public regard. The rapid growth of the city of New York, the rise of rents there aud the pressure of the population ou this account into the surrounding country, render it certain that the suburban towns and villages must ultimately and indeed speedily share in its prosperity. Several of them have already been absorbed withiu the city limits, and others must shortly follow. The valuc of land has increased enormously within a few years, both upon the North and East River sides of the county, and there is also a steady growth in popu- lation. As an example of this increased value, land in the towns of New Rochelle and Pelliam, which, in the year 1850, could be readily purchased for three hundred dollars per acre, cannot now be bought for ten times that sun. In such large towns as Yonkers the advance in price is proportionally greater. There is uot probably in the entire country a section better adapted for improvement than the lower part of Westchester County. The soil is good, the scenery romantic, the climate salubrious, and the old historic associations are such as to lend an added interest to these material advantages.

Some of the finest sites in the world for country- seats are to be found around the shores of Pelham Bay, the islands that dot the Sound, and, in fact, throughout the whole shore-line from Hell Gate to Connecticut. The same is true, to a greater or less extent, of the bays and headlands of the opposite Long Island shore.

The enhanced valuc of the real estate in Pelham since the year 1800 may be inferred from a brief his- tory of one of the oldest residences in the town- that owned and occupied by the late Albert Roosevelt, merchant of New York, and his family.

In the above-mentioned year Mr. Roosevelt pur-

chased of Mr. Bailey a tract of two hundred and fifty acres of land upon the main shore, opposite Hunter's Island, and of which the Pelham Priory then formed a part, for twenty-five dollars an acre.

Bailey had bought at the close of the war three hundred acres of land confiscated by the government because the owner had taken part with the British in the war. For this tract he paid five dollars and twenty cents an acre. Of this, he sold two hundred and fifty acres to Mr. Roosevelt at the above-mentioned price, twenty-five dollars. The Roosevelt place is one of those proposed to be taken for the new Pelham Bay Park. But the commissioners will find that the price has advanced considerably since the year 1800. The dwelling was erected in 1802.

The Pelham Industry was established by Mrs. W S. Hoyt, daughter of the late Chief Justice Chase, and other ladies of Pelham, and was in successful operation for over two years. Its object, a benevo- lent onc, was to afford to young persons of botlı sexes instruction in the decorative and industrial arts. Teaclicrs were provided for the various depart- ments of drawing, decoration, designing, carviug in wood, embroidery, tapestry, upholstery, carpentry, and joiner-work and working in metals. A depot was provided in the building for receiving orders for work and for the sale of articles manufactured. 1

The Country Club is one of the notable institutions of Pelham. In looking about for a suitable place for its establishment, the gentlemen who organized it made choice of one situated directly upon the Sound, and which was owued and occupied for many years by the family of the late Dr. Richard Morris. The grounds and the view to be seen from them are ad- mirably adapted to the purposes of such a club. It has a membership of about two hundred and fifty persons, and is in a flourishing condition.

In the ample grounds and well-equipped club- house every means is provided for the comfort, con- venience and amusemeut of the members ; various athletic games and field sports are engaged in, while fishing, bathing and boating are afforded by the wa- ters of the Sound adjacent, and which wash the pict- uresque shores of the place.

At David's Island religious services are held every Sunday evening at the military post, which is one of the depots of recruits for the United States army. It should seem that it is a position of sufficient im- portance to secure the services of an army chaplain, as large numbers of soldiers are frequently gathered there, to be dispersed from time to time, as the needs of the government may demaud, to all parts of the country. The Rev. Mr. Higbee, of Pelham, has for years conducted occasional services tliere. In the ab- sence of any clergyman, they are conducted by the surgeon of the station, Major A. A. Woodhull, or by Captain (now Colouel) Trotter.

1 This institution, after a very successful beginning, is, for various reasons, temporarily suspended.

709

PELHAM.

In elosing this sketch of the history of Pelham, I am permitted, by the kindness of my friend, the Rev. Dr. William Hague, one of the most eminent minis- ters of the Baptist denomination in this country and a native of the town of Pelham, to subjoin his very interesting article, published in the American Maga- zine of History, and entitled "Old Pelham and New Rochelle."

"OLD PELHAM AND NEW ROCHELLE."

BY REV. WILLIAM HAGUE.

" It was my fortune to revisit, recently, after a long interval of absence, two homes of my childhood, the birth home at Pelham, West- chester County, in the vicinity of New York, and the church home at New Rochelle, the town adjoining, originally a part of Pelham, com- prised within the area of the manor by the royal charter of 1666, in the reign of Charles H1. That charter was granted to Thomas l'ell, Esq., ' Gentleman of the bed-chinmber to King Charles I.,' and afterwards, in 1687, was granted anew and confirmed to his legally recognized heir, the only son of his brother, the first resident proprietor, 'Lord John Pell,' according to the usage of address hereabonts in the seventeenth century.

"The first object of interest that won attention within view from the railway station, two or three minutes' walk westward along the old his- toric 'King's Highway,' was tho beautiful church edifice of stone, designated 'Trinity Church, of New Rochelle,' presenting itself to the eye of tho inquiring visitor as the successor of the old 'French Church,' that hallowed that surrounding in the reign of Queen Ann. Having noticed, in a mnsing mood, the contrast between tho showing of the rude, small, stony structure that I had first known in childbood as a house of worship, and that of the finely proportioned modern temple whose graceful spire now casts its shadow over the old site, I turned my steps toward the church burial-ground, seeking the graves of my grandparents. Long-slumbering memories wero aroused, first of all, by the sight of the marble that marked the grave of my grandmother- Sarah Pell, widow of Captain| William Bayley-whose funeral service, ministered in the church-yard by her aged relative, the rector, Rev. Theodosius Bartow, I had attended with a large family gathering in the month of March, 1819, being then eleven years of age. The form of the venerable clergyman in his official robes at tho grave, his bald head un- covered, despite the chill of a heavy snow-fall, is vividly remembered now as if it had figured in a scene of yesterday.

" Meanwhile, however, memory had let ship the date of my grand. father's departure, and I was desirous to regain it from the chiselled record at the head of the grave nearly adjoining. What a bewilder- ment 1 I could scarcely believe my eyes, as I read, 'Died March 3, 1811.' It seemed altogether abnormal, that such minnte remembrances of him as had been familiar to me, scores of particulars pertaining to his individuality, even the tones of his voice and bis baudicraft in making toys for my amusement, should have been thus long kept within the brain as in a photographic or phonogruphic cabinet. Yet tbus it innst have been, despite all seemings to the contrary, I said, soliloquizing in the presence of the facts : at the age of three and a half, bereabouts, be- gau my outlook npon the world. Ilere I approximate the starting point of conscious thought ; and this outlook over the life area of ' three-score and ten " discloses its varied scenes of light and shadow, from infancy to age, as one broad panoramic unity.

"Child memories, no doubt, are effective factors in shaping 'the make-up' of any personality. The image of my grandfather, associated as it is with the old homestead, and with his flow of talk while occupy- iug his casy-chair upon the piazza, where he was wont to enjoy one of the finest of landscapes, taking within its scope Hunter's Islaud, Pelham Creek, the expanse of Long Island Sound, has never become dim; 80 that he has ever represented to me the ideal 'grandpa' of poetry or soug, of fiction or graphic art, as pictured by Sir Walter Scott or ' Peter Parley.' Thus has he ever been to me in thought 'a living presence,'

although the obtruding question as to the possibilities of a baby brain will put itself over and over again like a mocking puzzle.

" Despite the puzzle, the fact asserts itself. From the view-point oc- cupied at the time of this writing, March, 1882, looking back to the last sickness and to the funeral services at Pelham and New Rochelle, the succession of years und order of events are clearly tracod by memory and substantiated ns a personal history. There is uo break in the outline, although many things, thoughts, words, deeds may be missed from 'the filling up.'

" But now, while occupying the old church-yard as a retrospective view-point, it seems noteworthy that the first advent of death into the household, and this first funeral that shadowed the path of my young life, cannot be described without the joining of two old town nurmes, French and English, New Rochelle and Pelham. Thus, too, looking upon the head-stones that memorialize the many graves in this 'God's Acres,' as the old English called the conscerated burial-ground, we notice the alterations or intermingling of English und French surnames, denoting the quick fusion of English und French blood in the homes of the early settlers nearly two centuries ago. On the tomb-stones of the dead and on the door-signs of the living, the same old names present themselves, -l'ells, Bayleys, Bartows, Pinckneys, Sands, Hunts, Gnions, Le Counts, Allaires, Leroys, Coutants, Secors, Badeans, Flandreans, De Peysters, De Lanceys and others, signalizing the spontaneons nnion of Saxon and celtic elements in the historic home-life and church-life of the colonial days.

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History of Westchester county : New York, including Morrisania, Kings Bridge, and West Farms, which have been annexed to New York City, Vol. I, Part 177

Author: Scharf, J. Thomas (John Thomas), 1843-1898, ed Publication date: 1886 Publisher: Philadelphia : L.E. Preston & Co. Number of Pages: 1354

Author: Scharf, J. Thomas (John Thomas), 1843-1898, ed
Publication date: 1886
Publisher: Philadelphia : L.E. Preston & Co.
Number of Pages: 1354