History of Westchester county : New York, including Morrisania, Kings Bridge, and West Farms, which have been annexed to New York City, Vol. II, Part 157

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 157

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butehered, and his captors set forth on a new maraud- ing tour, taking him with them as guide. They took their course northward in the direction of the White Plains, but finding little spoil, erossed over into the town of Rye, and concealed themselves in the Great Swamp, which still existed, between Regent and Ridge Streets. Kniffen was ordered to go to some of the neighboring houses and find out where they could obtain food. He went to the house of Caleb Sniffen, on the old road near Mr. Peyton's, told the family what his errand was, and who were hiding in the swamp, and then starting across the fields toward the Ameriean lines, ran for his life to Byram Bridge, where he went into eamp, and told his story, and en- listed in the army. Just then whale-boats were being fitted out for service on the Sound. Kniffen engaged as a whale-boat man, and served through the war in this eapacity. He eruised most of the time along the coast from "Horseneck " to Throg's Point, making oc- casional dashes across to Long Island, or annoying the British boats and vessels in the Sound. In this sort of warfare not a few of the inhabitants of Rye were likewise engaged ; but little is known at present of their exploits.

Sniffen's Hill, according to our old inhabitants, was the place where an American force encamped in Rye, at various times in the course of the war. The more modern name of the locality is Bloomer's Hill. It overlooks the village of Port Chester and eon- mands an extensive view of the surrounding country. It was probably on this hill that the Connecticut troops were encamped from the early part of October, 1776, till the following spring. The commanding officers date their letters sometimes from Saw Pit and sometimes from Rye Neck. The latter name was commonly given at that time to Peningo Neck rather than to the portion of the town which fies west of it, toward Mamaroneck. Probably the same spot was meant by both designations.

In the summer of 1778 Washington was again for several weeks at the White Plains. The British after the battle of Monmouth had retreated to New York, and the Americans, from their former post on the hills of Westchester, awaited further movements on the enemy's part. Washington also attempted to co- operate with a French fleet, which had just arrived, in an attempt to capture New York. The plan for various reasons failed, but the army remained at White Plains and Rye from the 20th of July until the 15th of September. So many and such illustrious summer visitors Rye never had before and has never had since. The generals with their attendants were lodged in the best houses. Lord Stirling occupied the Anderson mansion, in Harrison. General Greene's quarters were on Purchase Street, below Rye Pond. General Lee was at Saw Pit.

During part of the war a detachment of French troops, it is said, was stationed near Saw Pit. The spot pointed out as their camping-ground is on the

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west side of King Street, opposite the Misses Merrit's house.

The American force, under General Heath, which, in October, 1776, had been stationed " near the head of Rye Pond," in the northern part of Rye, was ordered, in January, 1777, to move down, with a con- siderable force, toward New York, as if he had a de- sign on that city. The movement from Rye was be- gun on the 8th of January. On the night of the 17th the American forces, in three divisions, began to move towards Kingsbridge, but, on the 29th, the operations were concluded and the troops fell back. A cordon of troops was formed, on the 31st, from Dobbs Ferry to Mamaroneck. A number of Loyalists, from Rye and Mamaroneck, were now with the British army in New York, but their families remained within the American lines. General Wooster announced his in- tention to require these families to remove from the place and "go below," unless the men returned and pledged themselves to stay quietly at home, in which case they should be protected and not disturbed nor imprisoned. Commissioners were also appointed to seize the per- sonal property of those inhabit- ants of Westchester County who had gone over to the enemy, and dispose of it at public sale. This measure was executed in some instances with so much rigor that great suffering resulted, and it was found necessary to caution the commissioners to proceed with less harshness. Soon after the with- drawal of the American army from New York great numbers of poor persons were sent into Westchester County from the poorhouse of that city and from elsewhere. Rye, Mamaroneck and New Ro- chelle were the places appointed for their reception. Judge Thomas distributed them as well as he could in the several districts of the county. Among the accounts sent in to the Commit- tec of Safety for the support of these indigent people was that of Ezekiel Halsted, who provided for fifty- one of them. The sum of £21 168. 4d. was allowed him for this service. The presence of so many help- less persons must have added to the trials of the al- rcady overburdened inhabitants. The sufferings of the people of Rye and all the lower part of West- chester County excited deep sympathy. The frequent calls for the services of the militia greatly distressed them, as it took the husbandman from his occupation and prevented the gathering of his crops. In March, 1777, Colonel Humphreys was directed to proceed, with all the men he had raised, immediately to West- chester County for the protection of the well-affected ; and, if the troops proved insufficient, to raise volun- ii .- 60

teers, not exceeding three hundred in number. . 1 committee of three was also appointed by the Provin- cial Congress to devise ways and means for the per- manent defense of the inhabitants from the ravages of the enemy. Little was done for them, however, ex- cept to express sympathy and promise help. It was not, in fact, the design of the American generals to keep a strong military force in this region. Washing- ton had held, at an earlier stage of the war, that, for military reasons, the whole of the southern portion of Westchester County ought to be desolated, and the army stationed in the Highlands east of the Hudson. At present the chief anxiety was to remove all forage and stores that might fall into the hands of the en- emy. A number of teamsters were employed in the spring of 1777 for this purpose, as well as for the re- moval of "well-affected inhabitants." Among the teamsters were Daniel Horton, Stephen Field, Jolm Cromwell and others, of Rye.

SNIFFEN'S HILL.

Every week now brought stories of inroad- by par- ties from the British lines penetrating far into the interior of the country. In one of these raids, March 22, 1777, the British succeeded in capturing a person whom they had long been seeking to take, Judge Thomas, of Rye. They seized him at his house in " Rye Woods," and hurried him off to prison in New York.

A Mr. Miller, probably William Miller, deputy chairman of the Westchester Committee of Safety, was captured at the same time. Judge Thomas died in New York soon after his arrest, and was buried in Trinity Church-yard.

It was in the spring of 1777 that the daughter of Jonathan Kniffin, of Rye, was fired upon and killed by some Cowboys concealed behind a wall. Her dead body was plundered of its clothing, and one of her fingers was cut nearly off in the effort to secure a

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ring. Her corpse was left exposed in the highway. The murder is said to have occurred on the post road, a short distance above the village of Rye, near the entrance to Mr. Hunt's late residence.

Rye was one of the points, on the northern shore of the Sound, from which boats,-generally whale- boats, propelled with oars,-put forth from time to time to annoy the enemy. They would dart across the Sound under cover of the night, and run into the inlets of the Long Island shore, landing near the house of a Tory family, sometimes to plunder and sometimes to take prisoners. Small British vessels cruising in the Sound were occasionally captured. Market-sloops, loaded with provisions for the British army, were favorite prey. Great quantities of forage and other stores belonging to the enemy were de- stroyed. The whale-boat service was pursued with greatest activity in 1780 and 1781. The Loyalist refugees on Long Island would often retaliate with similar whale-boat expeditions, directed against the inhabitants of the opposite shore, including, doubt- less, those of Rye.

On Wednesday, October 7, 1778, the " Queen's Rangers," now commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Simcoe, visited Rye and captured, on King Street, " six light dragoons belonging to Sheldon's Regiment," at the same time burning a store with a considerable quantity of merchandise. But on Friday, November 13th, a more important seizure took place. The house of Colonel Thomas, at " Rye Woods," was again sur- prised, this time by a party of the Rangers under Simcoe. Colonel Thomas, the son of Judge Thomas, who had been captured in the same way the year be- fore, was, like his father, very active and fearless in his support of the American cause, and was bitterly hated by the enemy. The Rangers marched all night, and surrounded the house by daybreak. As the party approached the house, a shot was fired from a window, killing a man by Simcoe's side. The house was immediately forced, and the person who fired the shot was killed. This person was James Brundage, a son of Gilbert Brundage, of Rye, a young man of fine character and high promise. He was killed " while on his knees, begging for his life." Thomas Carpenter, another young man who was also in the house at the time, came near losing his life. being stabbed in many places by the soldiers' bayo- nets, while hidden under a bed. Colonel Thomas leaped out of a window, and came near escaping, but was taken by one of the hussars. The British cay- alry proceeded to the American picket, about a mile farther, hoping to surprise a party of horse who were stationed there. Bnt the sound of musketry had alarmed them, and after firing their carbines and wounding one of the enemy, they retreated.

house. It was near Merritt's Tavern, at the upper end of King Street, that, on December 2, 1781, a de- tachment of New York infantry levies under Captain Saekett was attacked by a party of De Lancey's ref- ugee cavalry. Sackett was captured while apart from his men, and the command devolved on Lieutenant Mosher. There was a sharp engagement, in which the cavalry were repulsed three times with the bayo- net, not a shot being fired by the Americans. After the third attack, however, the Americans were or- dered to fire on the retiring troops, which they did, killing one man and dangerously wounding eight others, among them Captain Kipp. Mosher's men, taking advantage of the discomfiture of their assail- ants, escaped to a neighboring piece of woods, not having a man even wounded. This is said to have been the most astonishing feat, on the part of both the officers and men, that was enacted during the whole war. General Washington often spoke of the affair, and it was reported all over Europe, to show the utility of the bayonet, and that a small party of infantry thus armed may successfully resist a strong body of cavalry.

Several engagements took place in 1779 and 1780 below Rye, at Sherwood's Bridge (Glenville) and at Byram Bridge. On Thursday night, February 27, 1779, a small party sent from the American lines at Horseneek or Greenwich towards New York, discov- ered a British force at New Rochelle advancing to- ward Rye. The party, composed of a captain and thirty men, retired before them undiscovered as far as Rye Neck ; but here, as it was growing light, the en- emy perceived and attacked them. They defended themselves as best they could, but were soon defeated by superior numbers and several were killed. The party now scattered ; some of them were driven by the enemy from the post road down into Milton, where they managed to keep away from their pur- suers, crossing the heads of the creeks and hiding in the swamps; while others made their way to Saw Pit, where they took advantage of an elevated piece of ground and made some stand; but the superior force of the enemy compelled them to retire over Byram Bridge, which they took up, and by this means were enabled to reach Ilorseneck in safety. The British troops, consisting of several regiments, a body of dra- goons and a detachment of artillery, were on their way to Greenwich for the purpose of destroying the salt-works at that place. This they accomplished, while General Putnam, who had observed their ap- proach, went to Stamford to collect a body of militia and other troops which were there. Upon his return the enemy retreated, and "got over Byram river be- fore dusk, the rebels," by a Tory paper's account, "annoying the rear with a considerable fire." Ac- cording to Putnam's report, a number of prisoners were taken and two of the enemy's baggage and am- munition wagons were captured. In May and June

Early in 1780 nearly three hundred Continental troops were stationed in Rye, the main body being encamped probably near the intersection of King Street and the road running east from the meeting- | of the same year parties of British troops dashed

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through the town on their way to the Connecticut border.

Besides the British soldicry and the Cowboys, their humble allies, there was a class of men during the war whom the people dreaded perhaps equally or more- lawless characters, who, as it commonly happens in snch times, would take advantage of the troubled state of the community to plunder, outrage and mur- der the peaceable part of the population without mercy, on their own account. One such individual there was, among others, in Rye, whose very name was a constant terror. Shubael Merritt was neither Cowboy nor Skinner; but he was a man whom every- body feared ; one who, as it was said, " would shoot a man for the pleasure of it." He was killed some time after the close of the war by a young man whose father he had murdered.

The alarms and sufferings produced by the frequent forays among the people may be faintly imagined. But tradition re- presents the state of things in Rye as one which could scarcely be made worse by any new infliction. The inhabitants, say our old men, "were pillaged on both sides. Very many had moved away ; those who stayed had to be milk-and-water men." The place was considered particu- larly unsafe, because " the scouting parties would generally go as near as they could to the lines " of either army. "The fences were all down. The farmers could not cultivate the lands." Many of the owners of pro- perty were killed, or were never heard from, and in some cases the lands for this reason became lost to the families who had a right to them. The opinion prevails among those who cherish recollections of the old times, that there was no part of the Neutral Ground where the inhabitants suffered more than in the town of Rye.

FROM THE CLOSE OF THE REVOLUTION TO THE PRESENT TIME .- For two years after the virtual ter- mination of the war with the surrender of Corn wallis, at Yorktown, New York remained in the hands of the British. The British occupation ceased, however, on the 23d of November, 1783. In the meantime great changes were going on in the population of the surrounding country, including Rye. Families that had fled from their homes throngh fear of the British began to return, and those who had rendered them- selves obnoxious to the new powers hastened to re- move from the place. Numbers of the Tory inhabit- ants of Rye sought new homes in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia ; some returned after a few months of absence, others remained for the balance of their lives. The town records show a blank from April 7,

1772, to April 1, 1783. This long interruption, for the space of eleven years, is explained by the following statement which preeedes the record of the first town- meeting after the close of the war:

" It may be thought strange why a Town-Meeting in the Town of Rye has not been held for so many years. The war coming on and put the Town in such great confusion, and Many of the principal People left their Habitations, that no Law could take Place amongst them untill this time."

At this first meeting John Thomas was chosen su- pervisor.

The people of Rye had held that part of their lands known as Peningo Neck-or the tract between Blind Broek and Byram River-by a charter from the British crown, granted in the year 1720. For this tract, estimated at four thousand five hundred acres, they were required, according to the terms of the charter, to pay a Quit-Rent of 2s. 6d. per hundred acres, every year to the State. In 1787 the arrears of

BYRAM BRIDGE.

this rent, which were claimed by the government of New York, were paid by Mr. Jesse Hunt, supervisor of the town, to the public receiver. They amounted to £99 3s. 5d. The whole system of quit-rents was soon after abolished.

The territory of Rye was reduced to its present size by an act of the Legislature, March 7, 1788. White Plains and Harrison, which had formed a part of Rye as " precincts" or districts of the town, were then con- stituted distinct towns. The act provided "that all that part of the said county of Westchester bounded southerly by the Sound, easterly by Connecticut, and westerly by the town of Harrison and Mamaro- neck River, including Captain's Island and all the islands in the Sound lying south of the said bounds, shall be, and hereby is erected into a town by the name of Rye."

In point of population the town remained station- ary for a long series of years. At the close of the last

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century it contained 986 inhabitants, of whom 154 were qualified eleetors and 123 were slaves. In 1810 the population was 1278, of whom 225 were subject to taxation. The taxable property of the town was then valued at $319,871. In 1820 the population had only increased to 1342 and the taxable property was valued at $444,619. At that time there were in the town of Rye 177 persons employed in agriculture, 80 in manufactures and 35 in commerce. There were but eight foreigners not naturalized. There were 126 free blaeks and 14 slaves. The eleetors numbered 283. The town contained 5892 aeres of improved land, 981 cattle, 203 horses and 394 sheep. There were six grist-mills and one saw-mill; and during the year 12,939 yards of cloth were manufactured in the town.

Dr. Dwight, in a deseription of Rye in 1811, says,-

"Rye borders upon Mamaroneck eastward, and hasa much handsomer surface and a still better soil. On an elevation not far from its western limit stands the mansion-house of the late Mr. Jay, father of the Hon. John Jay. It is now the property of Mr. Peter Jay, the youngest son of the original proprietor. . . . There are two villages, one of which is customarily called Rye, consisting of perhaps twenty houses, built on the border of a small mill-stream."

In 1815 or 1816 Rye was visited by Joseph Bona- parte, ex-King of Spain, in search of a location for his proposed American home. He is said to have been much pleased with Theall's Hill, on the post road, about a mile below the village of Rye, but was unable to obtain sufficient land in one body for a park.

Between the years 1820 and 1830 the increased fa- cilities of communication with New York City afford- ed by steamboat service opened a new era in the hist- ory of Rye. Property rose in valuie, and as early as 1825 there were schemes for disposing of land in building lots at high prices. Forty years ago, how- ever, Rye was still a secluded village, separated by a journey of several hours from the stir and thrift of the city. "The houses number about thirty-five or forty. The Boston mail passes through daily. A steamboat touches every week-day at Rye Port, to and from New York. The boats now running are the ' Nimrod,' Captain John Brooks, and the ' Croton,' Cap- tain Charles Peck; Sloops (Milton and New York), the 'John Jay,' Captain Leander Bishop, (Port Chester and New York ) the 'Sarah Adee,' Captain Bird, and the 'New York,' Captain Gilbert Lyon. Rye is much resorted to in summer by citizens of New York. There is no regular hotel or place of entertainment. The post-office is kept by Daniel H. Mead, in the 'Square House,' -one of the oldest houses in the place-formerly owned by the Penfield family. It stands on the post road in the village, at the com- mencement of the Purchase road, near the twenty-six milestone. The population of the town of Rye [in 1841] is about one thousand eight hundred and twenty."

The construction of the New Haven Railroad in 1847-49 brought the town into eloser contact with the

outside world. Before this for several years stages had been running from Mamaroneck to Williams' Bridge, where passengers were enabled to take the cars of the Harlem River Railroad. In 1870 the popu- lation of the town, according to the United States Census of that vear, had increased to seven thousand one hundred and fifty two, and in 1880 had deereased to 6576.

During the late Civil War the town of Rye eon- tributed freely to the success of the Union eause. Soon after the appearance of President Lincoln's call for seventy-five thousand volunteers, publie notice was given in Rye of a meeting to be held on the 29th of April, 1861, to take action in the matter. Meanwhile, without waiting for formalities, the business of obtaining recruits was commenced. Thomas Beal, Sr., a native of Baltimore and a vol- unteer of the War of 1812, but then a resident of Port Chester, deserves particular mention for his untiring efforts from the earliest moment to obtain volunteers. The public meeting was held on the 29th of April, in the public square at Port Chester. Benjamin Loder presided and made an address. James H. Titus offered resolutions, which were adopted, express- ing the general sense of the meeting. A committee to collect funds and to aid the work of the Federal gov- ernment was appointed. It was named "The Union Defense Committee of the town of Rye," and consisted originally of ten persons,-James H. Titus, Samuel K. Satterlee, Wm. P. Abendroth, John E. Marshall, Augustus Wiggin, George P. Titus, Augustus Van Amringe, Noah Tompkins, Wm. B. Halsted and Josiah H. Maey. To these were afterwards added Ed- ward J. Swords, Ephraim Sours, Geo. L. Cornell, W'm. HI. Smith and Augustus M. Halsted. Subsequently, Messrs. Maey and Smith, being residents of Harrison, resigned, and Wm. L. Bush and John W. Lounsbury were appointed in their place. The supervisor of the town, James D. Halsted, united in action with the committee during the war. James H. Titu- was chosen chairman of the committee; George P. Titus, secretary ; and John E. Marshall, treasurer. The fal- lowing sub-committees were appointed : On finances, John E. Marshall, Edward J. Swords, Wm. B. Ilal- stead ; military committee, S. K. Satterlee, G. P. Titus, A. Wiggin, A. Van Amringe, W. L. Bush, A. M. Halsted ; relief committee, W. P. Abendroth. E. Sours, G. L. Cornell, J. Il. Titus, N. Tompkins, J. W. Lounsbury.

A relief fund of five thousand dollars was soon raised, and from this fund relief was extended during the year to the families of those who enlisted from the town of Rye. The number of families thus aided was, at one time, fifty. The number of volunteers who were sent to the field, prior to any enrollment by State authority, was upwards of two hundred, of which munber one hundred and twenty-six were persons from the town of Rye. In the early part of 1862, when the voluntary fund thus raised in the

RESIDENCE OF W. J. TINGUE, PORT CHESTER, N. Y.

HAWTHORNE WOOLEN MILLS, GLENVILLE, NEAR PORT CHESTER, N. Y. PROPERTY OF W. J. TINGUE.

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town was nearly expended, the Legislature of the State of New York passed an act authorizing the county to issue bonds to the amount of fifty thousand dollars, for the relief of the families of volunteers. By this act the town auditors were alone authorized to apply the moneys thus provided; and the Defense Committee, supposing their labors were ended, pre- pared to dissolve. But on the 13th day of Aug- ust, 1862, Governor Morgan issued a call for additional volunteers, under a new proclamation of the Presi- dent, and the several towns were directed to fill up the quotas which were assigned to them. In this as- pect of affairs, the Defense Committee, in the spirit of their first resolution, determined to continue their ef- forts, and proceeded to make arrangements for the fill- ing up of the quota of this town, which was one hun- dred and thirty-eight men. They then resolved to procure the signatures of a majority of the tax-paying inhabitants of Ryc, authorizing the supervisor to borrow upon the credit of the town a sum sufficient for the payment of a bounty of one hundred dollars to each recruit, and also for the expenses of recruiting. The sum of fourteen thousand five hundred dollars was thus raised by the committee, and by an act passed in 1863 this measure was declared legal by the State. Town bonds, payable in one, two, three, four and five years, were issued in pursuance of the provisions of this act ; and in this manner provision was made for the payment of the sum required. Bonds for this amount were accordingly issued. The bonds for the first year were for two thousand five hundred dollars. Those for subsequent years were for three thousand dollars each.

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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. II, Part 157

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