History of Westchester county : New York, including Morrisania, Kings Bridge, and West Farms, which have been annexed to New York City, Vol. II, Part 103

Author: Scharf, J. Thomas (John Thomas), 1843-1898,
Publication date: 1886
Publisher: Philadelphia : L.E. Preston & Co.
Number of Pages: 1286

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. II > Part 103

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).

In 1788, on the occasion of " the Doctor's Mob," in New York, being mistaken for a medical student, he was in serious peril and very roughly handled until recognised by some of the crowd. After finishing his collegiate course he commeneed the study of law, en- tering the office of Alexander Hamilton, who had married the daughter of his kinsman, General Philip Schuyler. He often spoke in after years of the kind- ness shown him by Mrs. Hamilton. In 1801 he mar-

ried Catharine, the oldest child of George Clinton. She was the widow of Captain John Taylor, B.A., who died soon after their marriage, at Falmouth, Eng- land. They took up their abode in the Mansion House at Peekskill. Pierre, like his brother Philip, served his own town in many ways, acting as school commissioner, supervisor and road-master. Mrs. Van Cortlandt was energetic and vivacious and the old house was gay and cheerful. In 1811 she died, after a short illness.

Van Cortlandt was sent by his district to Congress in 1811-12. During his time of service his father-in- law, George Clinton, the vice-president, died in Wash- ington, attended with uuremitting devotion by his son-in-law. The tie between them had been a strong one and the letters of Clinton show that he loved him as his own child. In 1813 Pierre Van Cortlandt mar- ried at Albany, Ann, daughter of John Stevenson, an eminent merchant. Her mother, Magdalen Douw, was the daughter of Volckert Peter Douw, vice-presi- dent of the Provincial Congress, an associate of Philip Schuyler as Indian commissioner and the first judge of Albany County. Mrs. Van Cortlandt was a lineal descendant of David Pieterse Schuyler, the elder brother of Philip Pieterse Schuyler, from whom her husband was fifth in descent. Their winters were speut in Albany and in summer they returned to Peekskill. In 1815 their only child, Pierre, was born in Albany and there Mrs. Van Cortlandt died, in 1821.

In 1800 Van Cortlandt was a Jeffersonian elector, in 1840 a Harrisonian eleetor, in 1844 a candidate as a Clay eleetor. He served as major-general in the militia of his district, James Fenimore Cooper at one time acting as his aid. From 183? to 1848 he was President of the Westchester County Bank. When the States Prison was removed to Sing Sing, he was made one of the board of inspectors and faith- fully and carefully performed the duties of this office, serving most of the time as president of the board. 1Ie was warden of the Episcopal Church at Peekskill -and one of its most liberal benefactors. His loss was deeply felt when in July, 1848. after a very brief ill- ness, he died in the eighty-sixth year of his age. IIe, too, was laid to rest beside his parents in the old burial- ground.

His only child, Pierre, succeeded to the inherit- anee of his ancestors. In 1836 he married Catharine E., the daughter of T. Romeyn Beck, M.D., of Al- bany,1 and of Harriet, the daughter of James Cald- well. His youth was spent at Peekskill and for this home. he never lost his affection.

At the death of General Philip Van Cortlandt, his brother succeeding to the inheritance of the Manor House, he gave it to his son Pierre for his residence,

1 " Known over the civilized world as the author and founder of medi. cal jurisprudence, a science which he substantially created lle ranks, wherever law and justice are administered, with Blackstone and Bacon, Grotins and D'Aguessan."-How. A. W. Bradford.

ten

Oki

itis

tb =

rari-

436

HISTORY OF WESTCHESTER COUNTY.

and here, for forty-eight years, he lived, and here, on the 11th of July, 1884, he died. He filled no offices, and, save as one of the staff of Major-General Ward, rarely appeared in public life. He was a domestic man, delighting in the quiet of home and country pursuits. In his youth he was remarkably hand- some and was most stately and distinguished in his later years. Four sons preceded him to the grave, - ' Romeyn Beek and Philip, in their infancy, and Pierre and Theodrie Romeyn, in their manhood. Hle was laid to rest in the old family burial-ground, the last bearing the name of Pierre, a name that had existed in the family for one hundred and sixty-three years. His widow and three children survive him,- Catharine T. R., married to the Rev. John Ruther- ford Mathews, Chaplain United States Navy, James Stevenson and Aune Stevenson.

James Stevenson Van Cortlandt, at the age of eighteen, in 1862, was made aid-de-camp to General Corcoran, and served on his staff until that general's

PIERRE VAN CORTLANDT.

sudden death. He then returned to the regiment (the One Hundred and Fifty-fifth New York) in which he had been mustered, remaining in it for two years, during all the terrible battles of the Wilder- ness and in front of Petersburg, until 1864, when he was promoted and joined the Twenty-second New York Cavalry, being with that regiment during Sheridan's campaigns. He was minstered out in August, 1865, at the end of the war, with the full rank of captain, returning to his home at the Manor.

Colonel Van Cortlandt was a member of the Cin- cinnati Society, serving on the standing committee for many years. His death brought many proofs of the esteem in which he was held by neighbors and friends, and it was well and truly said of him, "re- siding during all his years, from boyhood to okl age,

in this town which bears his name, he died without an enemy."

'The Van Cortlandts have always been a loyal and patriotic family, and to few have been granted so honorable a record.

Catharine & band Cortlandt

CHAPTER VI.

YORKTOWN.

BY REV. WILLIAM J. CUMMING,

YORKTOWN is the second of the northern tier of towns of Westchester, beginning at the Hudson River and going eastward. It is bounded on the north by Putnam County, on the east by Somers and New Castle, on the south by New Castle and on the west by Cortlandt. The distance from White Plains to the centre of the town is about eighteen miles, and from New York by rail thirty-eight miles. It is rec- tangular in shape, the greatest dimension being from north to south. Its length is about ten miles, its width about four miles, and its area consequently about forty square miles. The surface is rolling, the ridges extending north and south. Several points attain a height of from six hundred to one thousand feet above tide-water. The town contains five lakes, four natural and one artificial. In the north-west corner is Lake Mohegan, with an area of about two hundred acres. It was once called Crooked Lake. Osceola Lake, near the north-eastern corner, is a pretty sheet of water covering about one hundred acres. It has borne, prior to its present name, the designations Round,' Hollow and Jefferson. In the centre are the two lakes now called Mohansic. In a deed 2 bearing date of March 20, 1686, conveying a tract of land called " Kechtawong," extending from the mouth of the Croton River, north along the Hudson River to the land already owned by Van Cortlandt, thence eastward to these lakes, thence along their outlet to the Croton and so on to its month, the name given is the Indian one "Keakates," written also Keakatis. Later on the map of "The Mannor of Cortlandt," bearing the date of 1734 they are called " Cedar Pond," from the cedar trees that abounded there. This name gave way to the Dutch one of "Crompond," which was the designation during the Revolutionary War, and later, though why so-called it is difficult to ex. plain, as they are not specially crooked, while Lake Mohegan was in early times well so. named from its shape. Croton Lake, in the southern portion of the town, is artificial, being formed by a dami constructed

) MISS. Survey by Robert Erskine. F. B. S. 177?).

" Dead quoled by Bollen, " History of Westchester County," Vol. i., 1. H (ukl ed).

437

YORKTOWN.

across the river of that name. It is about five miles long and extends into the town of Somers. It was constructed in 1841 for the water supply of New York City. The drainage of the northern portion of the towu reaches the Hudson through Annsville Creek, that of the centre through the Muscoot and Croton Rivers, and that of the lower through the latter. These rivers bear their present names on the manor- map of 1734. Previous to that time the Croton seems to have borne several names or, more probably, one spelled differently-Kitchawan, Kechtawong and Kighleivank.1

The original inhabitants of this town were the In- dian, the deer and the wild turkey. The Indians, on the east bank of the Hudson, were sub-divisions of the great Mohegan Tribe. In Yorktown, north of the Kitchewan (Croton River) were the Kitch- ewanks, while south of it were the Sints-Sinks and Tankitekes. The Kitche- wanks had a village, with a burial-ground, located at Lake Keakatis, if tra- dition be correct, at what was called Cedar Point, and the tract of land south of the Mothansie Lakes to the Croton, was called by their name, Kitchewau. The remain- der of the town to the north, has by some been included in what the In- dians called Appamagh- poghi, since, possibly, as Bolton thinks, corrupted into Amawalk, the name of the eastern-central dis- trict. Against this supposition ap- parently are boundaries given in an Indian conveyance. The last In- dian encampmeut was on what was called Indian Hill, just north of Osceola Lake.

The ownership of the land passed out of Indian hands into those of Stephanus Van Cortlandt, mer- chant of the city of New York. The earliest grant bears the date of August 24, 1683, covering certain districts in the town of Cortlandt. June 17, 1697, William III. of England, conferred on Stephanus Van Cortlandt what are really feudal rights and made him feudal lord over the district comprising, it is said, more than eighty thousand acres, composing what has been called the Manor of Cortlandt. It began on the north line of the Manor of Phillipsburg, ran due

AkStrung 2

east twenty miles to the Comecticut line, thence on that line north ten miles and then west twenty miles to the Hudson River at Anthony's Nose. He was given anthority to hold " one court-leet and one court baron," the patronage over all churches established or to be established, authority to levy taxes, and after twenty years to send one representative to the As- sembly of the province. Mines of silver and gold alone were assured to the crown. For these privileges he was to pay a yearly rental of forty shillings cur- rent money of the province. August 8, 1699, he se- cured a grant from the Indians of the same tract as nearly as water boundaries could designate it. The- Manor included about what are now the towns of Cortlandt, Yorktown, Somers, North Salem and a portion of Lewisboro.3

The town, as early as 1760, seems to have borne the name of Hanover, one undoubtedly derived from the reigning house of

England, but by whom given can not be ascer- tained. It appears in the ancient hog-skin record of the Presbyterian Church and was also found in the old town record (now lost) as quoted by Bolton in his history of the county. So far as the civil law was concerned, it was known simply as the Manor of Cortlandt. By an Act of the Legislature, date of March 7, 1788, the pres- ent town was erected and called Yorktown. ¡ The principal occupation of its inhabitants is agricul- ture and the products are wheat, rye, oats, corn, (largely for home consumption) potatoes, apples, milk and butter.

The partition of the manor of Cortlandt among the heirs took place in 1734, for which purpose the map of "The Mannor of Cortlandt" was prepared. This town passed into the possession of Andrew Miller, Gertruyde Beeksman, John Schuyler, Margaret Bay- ard, Philip Verplanck and others. It was after this date that sales of land were made. There were few, if any, white inhabitants by 1712, for the popu- lation of the entire manor was only ninety-onc, most of whom, doubtless, resided near the Hud- son River.

2 See sketch on the following page.

3 Tho boundaries as given here are taken from conveyances as quoted by Bolton, "History of County of Westchester," vol. i., (old edition ).

1 Possibly only the designation of the mouth of the river. "The map of the Manor of Cortlandt " (1734).

ii .- 40

---- - ---

---

438

HISTORY OF WESTCHESTER COUNTY.

The tide of immigration, when it did set in, came from Connecticut, and the lower portions of the county, especially from White Plains and Rye. The earliest settlers of whom we have any knowledge are the Mekeels, Strangs and Hortons. Uriah Mekeel came to New York from Amsterdam about 1690. He married Mary Tiebout, an English girl, and found his way to Pine's Bridge subsequently to 1718, at which date his son Michael was born at Yonkers. The lat- ter in 1765 purchased a farm of 231 acres, on which he had lived for a few years previous, from one of the heirs of the Van Cortlandts. He died in 1822 at the advanced age of one hundred and four years. His great-grandson, Jacob Mekeel, occupies a portion of the homestead situated half a mile east of Yorktown station.

The Strang family of Yorktown came of Hu- guenot stock. Daniel Strang, or, as he wrote his name, Streing, was born at Orleans, France. He was educated at least in part, at the Academy of Geneva, where in the matriculation book is found the signature " Daniel String Gena- bensis." He entered there as a student of philoso- phy July 29, 1672. His wife's name was Char- lotte Lemestre (Records of French Church, New York), and she was pro - bably of the Le Maistre family of Orleans. They were residents of Paris prior to the revocation of the Edict of Nantes. He fled from Paris to England, leaving his wife in possession of the property, and be- came lieutenant in the guards of James II. Friendless and desti- tute she attempted to escape to England, and succeeded only by lea. ving her two-year-old child as security for her return. She reached London and was re- cognized on the street by friends of her hus- band and brought to him March 21, 1688. They were naturalized in England and the same year came to this country and settled on North Street, New Rochelle. Their son Daniel first settled at White Plains, and probably removed to Yorktown in com- pany with Daniel Horton about 1728, loeating on the farm now owned and occupied by James Knapp. Mr.

Horton oceupied the one next on the north, now owned by Hickson Covert. The following is the genealogy of the branch of the family to which the subjects of the sketches given below belong:

Daniel Strang-Charlotte Lemestre.

Daniel Strang-l'hebe Purdy. 1

1. Daniel.

4. Gabriel.

Phebe.

2. Joseph.

5. Julın.

Eliza.

3. Francis.

6. llenry-Margaret Hazard.

1. Thomas (m. Elisa-

2. Ann.

8. Phebe.

beth Sammis).

3. Elisabeth.

9. Hannahı.

4. Sarahı.

10, llenry.

5. Ebenezer.

11. Margaret.

6. Daniel.

12. J In Hazard.

7. Nathaniel (m. Sarah

13. Martha.

William.

Caroline.

Jacob.

Martin L. Daniel (m. Sarah Jane Tompkins.)

Margaret.

Mary Jane.

Albert (M.D.) Ira D.

Henry Strang (m. Elis- abeth Regna). 1 Abraham R.

Lent).

Samuel F.

Amanda.

Edmund.

albert Shang

Abraham Requa Strang, son of Henry and Eliza- beth Requa (daughter of Abraham Requa and Be- thiah Hopkins), was born in Yorktown in what is now the tenant house of Daniel Strang, Novem- ber 21, 1812. He received his education in the dis- triet school and North Salem Academy. In his early manhood he lived one and a half years in Cayuga County, New York. With this excep- tion he has resided in Yorktown, on Crompond Street, on the place be- longing to the estate of the late Dr. Colgan, and on the farm now owned and occupied by him- self. The name of his first wife was Julia Par- dee, daughter of Joseph Pardee and the date of the marriage De- cember 8, 1834. She lived only about eigh- teen months. Decem- ber 8, 1846, he mar- ried Elisabeth, daughter of John and Elisabeth Hy- att, of Putnam Valley, Putnam Co., N. Y. There are no children by either marriage. Mr. Strang repre- sented his town in the Board of Supervisors in 1852- 1853. He was member of assembly for what was then the First District of Westchester Co., in 1856. From 1860-1872 he was county superintendent of the poor.

Daniel I'Mling

439

YORKTOWN.

Martin Luther Strang was born in Yorktown, Jan- uary 1, 1807. His parents were Nathaniel and Sarah Lent Strang. He was edneated in the district school and at the North Salem Academy. He has been twice married. The name of the first wife was Eliza Conklin, daughter of Jolin and Ann Conklin of Shrub Oak and the date of the marriage January 31, 1833. November 17, 1845, lie married Elizabeth Lent, daughter of David D. and Hester C. Lent of Cort- landt. The children by the first marriage are Saralı Ann (now Mrs. George Horton of Somers) ; Nathaniel C. of Yorktown ; John M. of Yorktown; by the second, Ami K. of Yorktown; Louise E. (now Mrs. Ida D Crane of Carmel, New York), and Mary H. Mr. Strang's occupation is that of a farmer and his resi- dence Crompond Street.

Daniel Strang was born on the farm now owned and occupied by his son, Albert Strang, M. D., March 13, 1810. The house stood to the east of the present one and across the road. His parents were Nathaniel and Sarah Lent Strang (danghter of Jacob and Philena Lent, of Somers.) His educa- tion, as that of many of his contemporaries, was received in the district school and at the North Salem Academy. His early life was spent on his father's farm. Later he purchased the place on Crompond Street which he now occupies. De- cember 20, 1837, he was nnited in marriage to Sarah Jane, daughter of Daniel B. and Deborah Hoag Tompkins, of York- town. The names of the children are,-Margaret Wood, Jr., of South Salem); Albert Strang, M.D., of Yorktown; Ira D. Strang, of Yorktown.

Martin I altrescas

(died in infancy); Mary Jane (wife of Ebenezer | pursue the avocation of a farmer.

Mr. Strang was a member of the Board of Super- visors for Yorktown in 1857.

Albert Strang, M.D., was born in Yorktown, October 13, 1843. He was the oldest son of Daniel and Sarah Jane Strang. His Englishi education was de- rived from the district school and College Hill, Poughkeepsie, N. Y. October, 1864, he entered Bellevue Hospital Medical College and began his professional studies under the preceptorship of Stephen Smith, M.D., professor of anatomy in that institution. He gradnated with the degree of M.D.

in 1867. He was junior assistant in Bellevue IIos- pital in 1866 ; senior assistant, October, 1867; house surgeon, 1867-68; assistant to the Chair of Deserip- tive and Surgical Anatomy in Bellevue Hospital Medical College, 1868-70; health inspector in the Health Department of New York City, 1869-71. From 1864-71 Dr. Strang resided in the city. Since 1872 he has practiced medicine with success in Yorktown. September 2, 1868, he married Kate Depew, danghter of Isaac and Martha M. Depew, of Peekskill, and sister of Hon. C. M. Depew. The issne of the marriage are Martha Depew, Elise Hageman and Mary Jane.

The Hortons were from White Plains or vicinity." Daniel Horton and Esther his wife settled here on the farm now owned and occupied by Hickson Co- vert, just south of Flor- enceville, not long after the Strangs. As their farmns adjoined and they were from White Plains they may have come hierc together. Their children numbered eight. It was Daniel, the second child, who was captured by the cow-boys and released by Elijah Lee and his friends. Most, if not all the Hor- tons here, the late Harry Horton, Elias Q. Horton and the latter's brothers and sisters are lineal de- scendants.

Elias Q. Horton is a son of Henry and Jane Q. Hor- ton, who resided at York- town. He was born at that place September 14, 1823, being the sixth of twelve children, seven of whom still survive. He divided his early years between the farm and district school, leaving school at the age of twenty to

He has taken an active part in local politics and is widely known and respected thronghout Westchester County. He carly connected himself with the Dem- ocratie party, and was elected in April, 1865, commis- sioner of highways for three years. In 1866, while still commissioner, he was elected to fill the office of justice of the peace, which he still holds. In 1868 he was elected supervisor and was re-elected thie fol- lowing year.

He is a stockholder in the Peekskill National Bank and largely acquainted in business circles in anel about that place. He married, March 1, 1848, Mary F. Tompkins, daughter of Samuel Tompkins. They

440

HISTORY OF WESTCHESTER COUNTY.

have three children-IIenry S., Ferdinand (formerly town clerk) and Annie A.

William James Horton, son of Hon. Frost Horton and Phebe Tompkins, and at present supervisor of the town of Yorktown, was born there December 10, 1828. Soon after his birth he accompanied the fam- ily to the adjoining town of Peekskill, where he at- tended the public school and also enjoyed a short term in the Peekskill Academy. In the spring of 1845 he entered the Drury Academy, at North Adams, Massachusetts, where he remained for three years, finishing his studies in 1848. He then entered as a clerk the carpet establishment of Benjamin Clinton, in New York City, remaining with the house till its failure, two years later, when he returned to Peekskill and was employed by his father in the manufac- ture of plows in his fac- tory. Here he continued till 1851, in which year he married Miss Leah B. Carpenter, daughter of William Carpenter, and removed to a farm which he had purchased at Yorktown. He has since resided there, attending to the duties of a farmer's life. He has interested himself deeply in local polities. He is a stanch supporter of the Demo- cratic party, and has served it with such efti- ciency as to reflect credit upon himself. He was elected in 1860 commis- sioner of highways, and was re-elected for three terms, serving altogether twelve years. In 1875 he was elected assessor of Yorktown, which office lie retained for six years. In 1881 he was elected supervisor.

E. 2, Herten

Mr. Horton is possessed of a genial disposition and has made for himself many warm friendships in the political and social life of the county. Ile has three children-Wright, Thomas V. and Georgine HI.

In 1738 there was sufficient population in what is now Yorktown and vicinity to call for the erection of a Presbyterian church at Crompond "by sundry inhabitants and neighbors." Joseph Lane thien occu- pied a farm of two hundred acres leased from Henry Beekman and Gertrude, his wife, of which the pres- ent church property forms part, and the deed thereof contains the names of John Hyatt, John Haight and David Travis as grantees in trust. The date of their

coming and locations of the Hyatts and Haights are not known.

David Travis settled south of Lake Mohanic. The only persons bearing the name are James C. and John, of Gomers Street. These persons evidently came from the lower part of the county. Between 1850 and 1860 there seems to have been a large influx of settlers. Perhaps the ancestors of most of the present inhabitants came in that decade. By 1760 we find on the church record the familiar names of Knapp, Lee, Forman, Whitney, Fowler, Bedell, Car- man and Conklin. Three brothers, Joseph, John and Thomas Lee came to Cortlandt Manor about 1750, from Amboy, New Jersey. They were sons of Joseph Lee, of Long Island, whose father, William, came from Nottingham, Eng- land, in 1675. The elder settled on the Hyatt place, now in the possession of David F. Lee, of Croni- pond. The second, John, located first on the Jacob Strang farm three miles to the west, in the town of Cortlandt, while Thomas occupied the farm ad- joining on the east. John afterwards purchased the farm now possessed by his grandson, R. M. Lee. Thomas returned to New Jersey. Joseph Lee had ten children, and among them the Hon. Elijah Lee (who held the offices of member of the Assembly, Jndge of the Court of Common Pleas and Super- visor), Joseph and Enos, David F. Lee, Enos Lee. Mrs. Abijah Lee, with their children, residing near Crompond, are des- cendants of Joseph. 1

Enos Lee was born at Yorktown, on the farm where he now resides, February 1, 1817. He is second son of Stephen Lee and Hannah Fowler. About 1750, Joseph and John Lee, grandsons of William Lee, who came from Nottingham, England, in 1675 and settled on the east end of Long Island, came to the Manor of Cortlandt, and the former settled at Crompond Corner. JOSEPH LEE.

1. Williant.

7. Hannah (wife of Jas. Brewer, MI D).

3. Abijah.

8. Phebre (wife of Daniel Horton).

4. Ilon. Elijah.

9. Elisabeth (wife of Joseph Ingersoll). 10. Sarahı.

5. Enos.

1 2. Elisabeth,

3. Fanny (wife of Jas. Teller).

1. Stephen.

1. David F. Lee.

2. Enos Lee. 3. Jane C. Lee (wife of Abijah Lee).

I See sketch on preceding page.

6. Anne (wife of Samnel llaight).

2 Joseph.

441

YORKTOWN.

Hannah Fowler, wife of Stephen Lee and mother of Enos, was the daughter of Jesse Fowler and Jane Covert, and granddaughter of Joseph Fowler, who came to Yorktown from North Castle about 1760.

Mr. Lee received his education in the distriet school and the North Salem Academy. With the ex- eeption of about three and a half years spent in New York City, his entire life has been passed upon the farm which he owns. February 4, 1852, he was united in marriage to Julian Franees Wildey. The issue of the marriage are Albert, of Yorktown ; Phebe, wife of Rev. A. S. Enemous, of Morrisville, Madison County, N. Y .; Hannah, wife of John L. Strang, of Yorktown; and Frederick. For some years Mr. Lee served as president of the Yorktown Agricultural Society.

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.

History of Westchester county : New York, including Morrisania, Kings Bridge, and West Farms, which have been annexed to New York City, Vol. II, Part 103

Author: Scharf, J. Thomas (John Thomas), 1843-1898, Publication date: 1886 Publisher: Philadelphia : L.E. Preston & Co. Number of Pages: 1286

Author: Scharf, J. Thomas (John Thomas), 1843-1898,
Publication date: 1886
Publisher: Philadelphia : L.E. Preston & Co.
Number of Pages: 1286