History of Westchester county : New York, including Morrisania, Kings Bridge, and West Farms, which have been annexed to New York City, Vol. II, Part 57

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 57

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).

The changes to be made in the cottage, after the purchase, occupied a longer time, and cost more than Mr. Irving expected-a not uncommon experience. In Jnne, 1836, he wrote to his nephew : " The cottage is slowly approaching to a finish, but will take a few weeks yet. For such a small edifice it has a prodi- gions swallow, and reminds one of those little fairy changelings called Killcrops, which eat and eat, and are never the fatter." The few weeks, however, ran on until they became months, and it was not until October, 1836, that he was able to move in and occupy the building. About a month later he re- ceived here a visit from John Jacob Astor, who landed at Tarrytown, and hired a vehicle which brought him down to the cottage door. He spent two days with Mr. Irving, and promised to repeat his visit as soon as there should be good sleighing. It was here, too, in the following spring-that is, of 1837,-that Prince Louis Napoleon, afterwards Napoleon III., Emperor of the French, made a visit to Mr. Irving, accom- panied by a young French count, and escorted by Mr. Anthony Constant, of what was afterwards Hastings. Mr. Constant had previously announced to Mr. Irving his intention of bringing Louis Napoleon to breakfast. "Mr. Irving," says his nephew and biographer, " enjoyed the visit, and was much inter- ested in the peculiar position of his somewhat quiet guest, though little anticipating the dazzling career that awaited him."

It was during this sojourn of Louis Napoleon at Mr. Constant's that he expressed a desire to visit the famous State Prison at Sing Sing, and Mr. Constant drove lum np, with several others, in carriages to Sing Sing village. 1 The party passed, of course, through

1 The following fuller account of Louis Napoleon's visit to Sing Sing prison was published in the Christian Intelligencer, in New York City, in April, 1885 :

NAPOLEON III. ONCE IN SING-SING PRISON.

(Authentic). BY MIRS. E. T. BARRETT.

No person in modern history experienced greater reverses in fortune, or passed through more checkered scenes than did Charles Louis Napoleon Bonaparte, third son of Louis Bonaparte, King of Holland, and his Queeu Hortense, daughter of Josephine Beauharnais, the devoted wife of the first Emperor Napoleon.

Unlike the Queen of Scots, his misfortnues did not begin with his birth. On the contrary, that event, which took place in Paris, at the Palace of the Tuileries, April 20th, 1808, was celebrated with great rejoicings throughout France, as that of an heir born to the imperial throne. After the restoration of the Bourbons he went into exile with his mother and elder brother (who died in his early manhood), and devoted himself

Tarrytown, and it so happened that the late William A. Wildey was sitting on the stoop of his house, the old Wildey house, which stood where the house of the Rev. Edward C. Bull now stands, and was reading

to study. On the death of Napoleon II., Duke of Reichstadt, ouly son of the first emperor, which occurred July 22d, 1832, his ambitious hopes revived, and from that time forward his whole life, speculative and practical, was devoted to the realization of what now became his " fixed idea," that he would some day become the sovereign of France.

In 1836, believing that his time to strike had come, and relying upon the manifest attachment to his person and cause displayed by nearly all of the democratic party, but, more than all, trusting in the grandeur of those memories dear to the French nation that his name recalled, he, with a few associates, planned and made his famous attempt at a coup d' etat at Strasbourg. It was a ludicrous failure and caused many people to doubt the judgment and talent of Lonis Napoleon. He was taken prisoner under very humiliating circumstances and carried to Paris, but Louis Phillippe, who was a coward, was afraid to bring a Bonaparte to trial because he could not rely upon the impartiality of a French jury ; therefore the offender was shipped to America.

At that period (1836) the memory of the first emperor was compara- tively fresh iu the American mind, and the charm of his name was a passport sufficient to introduce the banished prince into the alluring circles of wealthy and cultured society. His varied accomplishments, with his superior attainments in literature and polished manners, made him a very agreeable gnest, and to the few who formed his ac- quaintance, his presence was very welcome. In company with a dozen other gentlemen, he was one day invited to dine with Mr. Constant, whose residence was a few miles north of Yonkers. Being in the neigh- borhood of Sing Sing, Lonis Napoleon expressed a wish to see the State Prison there. The hint was sufficient for his good-natured host ; he pro- posed that the whole party should visit the great " Keep " on the Hud- son. A ride of twelve miles along the American Rhine was delightful, and the party in gay spirits stepped from their carriages and entered the broad portal that forms the private entrance of the prison agent. That officer, whose name was H. 1'. Rowell, a very genial, urbane man, received them very courteously, and for their benefit cheerfully unfolded the ways and means that had been attended with the most successful and beneficial results in the government of the prison and the reform of its inmates. " By the way, " he said, addressing Louis Napoleon, who was a very attentive listener, " we have a convict here, a Frenchman, that is au old soldier; he claims to have fought at Waterloo, and had been in several other battles under Napoleon, the first emperor." Lonis Napoleon very naturally expressed a wish to see the veteran who had fought under his illustrious uncle.

The agent informed him that the convict was locked up in a dark cell for misconduct ; that it was contrary to prison rule to take him ont ; but as the gentlemen were going to inspect the "Hall," he would open the door of the prisoner in question ; his pretext, to show his visitors the appointments of the "dark cell."

This proposal satisfied all parties, and they followed Mr. Rowell down the entree stairs, across the key-room and narrow passage to the " Hall." He paused at the second cellou the right hand tier of the main galleries, unlocked and opened the door. Lonis Napoleon stepped inside. The agent, with a merry twinkle in his eye, turned the key and locked him In ; the opportunity was too good to be lost. The gentlemen were amused and brimming over with fun, when, after a momentary deten- tion, the door was opened and the noble Frenchman joined them once more.

They all enjoyed the joke immensely, except the subject of it. His sallow countenance reddened perceptibly, but he suppressed every un- pleasant emotion and joined in the laugh that was raised at his ex- pense.

What did he think of the old soldier ? Why, that he was a fraud, a liar and a vagabond ; that he had never hekl a place in the ranks of the French army.

Mr. Rowell lived many years and filled many offices of public trust in Westchester County, but he never forgot this little episode at the prison. When Louis Napoleon, after many vicissitudes and failures, was finally placed upon the throne of France, the former, a genial old man, toll the story with great eclat. He would surprise his friends with the almost incredible revelation that " he once had the Emperor of France locked up in a dark cell in the State Prison at Sing Sing."

SING SING, 1885.

at early Par

236

HISTORY OF WESTCHESTER COUNTY.

a newspaper just as the carriage containing Louis Napoleon went by. The prince's attention was ar- rested by what seemed to him the remarkable spee- taele, and he exclaimed, with evident surprise, in a tone so loud that Mr. Wildey distinctly heard him, "Why, there is a , farmer reading a newspaper." However surprising this might have seemed in some parts of Europe, it was not viewed as at all surprising here. This incident was communicated to the writer by the late Hon. Theodore H. Benedict, who had it directly from Mr. Wildey himself.

The external appearance of the cottage at Sunny- side has been rendered familiar by the pictures of it so generally known, but the best description of it is that given by the owner himself. He describes it in " Wolfert's Roost" as "a little, old-fashioned stone mansion, all made up of gable-ends, and as full of angles and corners as an old cocked hat. It is said, in fact, to have been modeled after the cocked hat of Peter the Headstrong, as the Escurial was modeled after the gridiron of the blessed St. Lawrence. Though bnt of small dimensions, yet, like many small people, it is of mighty spirit, and values itself greatly on its antiquity, being one of the oldest edifices for its size in the whole country. It claims to be an ancient seat of empire, I may rather say an empire in itself, and like all empires, great and small, has had its grand historical epochs."

Over the south entrance to it is a tablet, wrought into the wall, npon which is the following inseription, prepared by Mr. Irving and placed there by his order :

anno 1656

erbetra door

anno 7835

Ber Garber

Boumeester

Translated it is,-

Erected in the year 165ti, 1 Reconstructed by Washington Irving in the year 1835. Geo, Harvey, Architect .**

1 It will be noticed that in writing to his brother Peter, concerning the purchase, he says " the stone Patch cottage was built ahent a eru- tury since." Afterwards he gave the inte on the tablet as 1656. The

In regard to this tablet and his inscription, Mr. Irving wrote to his brother Ebenezer, in New York City, the following letter :

"TARRYTOWN, October 16, 1835. " My dear Brother :

"The porch is carried up and the workmen are in want of the in- scription stone, previous to removing the scaffold. I wish you would try to send it up by the Friday sloop or Satu day niorning steamboat.

" The Dutch for architect is Boumeester. I presume it may be abbre- viated Boumr or engraved in smaller letters (Geo. Harvey, Boumeester), whichever will be the most convenient.

" Your affectionate brother,

" W. I."

There is still growing on the walls of the cottage, and near the tablet, the ivy propagated from a slip of ivy brought from Melrose, Scotland, by Mrs. Ren- wiek, and planted with her own hand. Mrs. Ren- wiek was the subject of Burns' song, "The Blue Eyed Lassie." She was the daughter of the Rev. Andrew Jeffrey, of Lochmaben, in Dumfriesshire, and had often met the Scottish poet at her father's house. She early removed to New York, where she spent the greater part of her life, and she lived to see the ivy she had planted at Sunnyside growing in rich luxn- riance over its walls.

Mr. Irving was much disturbed in 1848 by the pro- ject of running a railroad directly by the side of his premises and near his house, on the eastern bank of the Hudson. It seemed an utter desecration of his quiet retreat, and he feared that the charm that had hitherto lingered about it would be forever destroyed. He hoped, for a while, that the project would fall through ; but, when it was finally decided, he made up his mind to meet the inevitable, and to bear it with the best grace he could. Although the road did not actually cross his grounds, it was disagreeably near to his door. In due time it was completed and the trains began to run. For a while he bore the screeching and whistling with manful endurance; but after a severe fit of illness, and when he was just recovering, the frequent blasts of the locomotives as they passed were like the last straw that broke the camel's back. He eould stand it no longer. Accordingly, he wrote a letter to his friend, Gouverneur Kemble, of Cold Spring (one of the directors of the road), which at this day, when everybody is so used to the sereeching and screaming of locomotives as not to mind it, seems ahnost ludicrous for its vehement dennnciations. He broke forth with a tremendous energy of utterance,

probability is that in the first case he wrote from a mere general im- pression, while in the second it was with better light obtained from a more careful investigation into a matter in which he now took a personal interest. The later statement would agree with " Brodhead's History " which represents permanent agricultural colonization to have been be- gun up the river as early as 1623. Near the same time the Walloons settled on Long Island. In 1626 the Dutch bought Manhattan of the Indians, though they had lived there for several years before. 1n 1639 the site of Yonkers was bought of the Indians, 1n 1650 Van Tienhoven describes Westchester us a tine region for agriculture. In 16f1 the Dutch were all scattered about the country, and their cattle were run- ning wild in the woods. This was De Vries' reason for not making war on the Wequaesqueck Indians from the fort in New York.

237

GREENBURGH.

which, for him, was quite remarkable. This was his letter,-

" My dear Kemble : " SUNNYSIDE, Angust 7, 1850.

"Excuso my not answering sooner your kind letter. It found mo in a terrible state of shattered nerves, having been startled ont of my first sleop at midnight, on Saturday night last, by tho infernal alarum of your railroad steam trumpet. It left me in a deplorable state of nervous agi- tation for upward of an hour. I remained sleepless until daybreak and miserable all the following day. It seemed to me almost as if doue on purpose, for the trains had ceased for several days to make their diabol- ical blasts opposite my house, They have not molested me in this way since, and have clearly shown, by the cantions and tempered manage- ment of their whistle, that these unearthly yells and howls and screams, indulged in for a mile on a stretch, and destructive to the quiet of whole neighborhoods, are carried to an unnecessary and unwarrantable excess. They form one of the greatest nuisances attending railroads, and I am surprised that, in the present stato of mechanical art, some signal less coarse and brutal could not be devised.

"You will laugh at all this, but to have one's family disturbed all day, and startled from sleep at night, by such horrific sounds amounts to a constant calamity."

Orders, however, were given to the railroad offi- cials, which put them on their good behavior, and Mr. Irving after that had no further reason to complain.

Here, in this cottage, Mr. Irving had his home for more than twenty-three years. Here he wrote his greatest work-the "Life of Washington "- which he left as his parting gift to his country and to the world. His blameless life and liis long career of successful literary labor won for him not only the rewards of love and fame, but also brought him a substantial revenue, which placed him beyond all anxiety in regard to his temporal support. During his lifetime he realized from his writings the large sum of $205,383.34, to say nothing of the revenue derived from them by his kindred and heirs subsequent to his decease (in 1859), which, down to September 30, 1863, amounted to $34,237.03, the two sums added together thus making a grand total of $239,620.37. Here, in this cottage, after a course of life so marked by purity and kindness of heart, and rendered so attractive by the gentle, Christian spirit that breathed through all his con- duet, he suddenly fell asleep at half-past ten o'clock on Monday evening, November 28, 1859. His funeral took place from Christ Church, Tarrytown, on Thurs- day, December 1st. It was a beautiful day, and a large concourse of people, among whom were many of the most eminent in the land, came together to pay their tribute to his memory. His remains were laid to rest by the side of his beloved mother, in a plot in the Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, which he had some years before chosen for that purpose himself. His simple grave-stone, standing between that of his mother on the right, toward the west, and that of his brother Ebenezer, who died after him, on the left, toward the east, faees the south, looking down over the old Dutch Church-yard, and the old Dutch Chureli, itself, and bears this modest inscription,-

" Washington Irving, Born April 3, 1783, Died Nov. 28, 1859."

George D. Morgan, Esq., a neighbor of Mr. Irving's, who was present at the closing scene of his life, has furnished, at the request of the writer, some reminis- cenees of Mr. Irving which it will gratify every lover of his memory to read. He says,-

" Mr. Irving was a regular worshipper at Christ Church, Tarrytown, of which church the Rev. William Creighton, D.D., was rector, re- ceiving only the thanks of his people for his services. Morning and af- ternoon, summer and winter, full services were held in the church, and sermons preached either by himself or his assistant. Mr. Irving rarely was absent from his pew at the morning service, and frequently in the afternoon I have walked with him the whole distance and back to attend the afternoon service. He was a devout and real believer. I had frequent conversations with him, and on two occasions very earnest talks. Ile accepted freely and gladly the great truths of the Bible, and guided his life by them. Ilis gentle ways, his simplicity and kindness of manner, his courtesy to all, and his frequent mingling with tho neighbors, who were made up of all sorts and conditions of men, women and children, made him very popular and much loved. He frequently attended children's parties, which were held at different houses in the afternoon of each week, for one winter. On one occasion, at the house of Mr. Henry Holdredge, after the little ones had danced themselve

MATHDIGTEN IRVEIG

....

EBENEZER.

APRIL 2

SARAH SANDERS

WILLIAM IRVING

WILIAM HAVING

464* 16 76413

5. S. I.

THIE IRVING FAMILY BURIAL PLOT IN THE OLD DUTCH CHURCH-YARD.

weary, Grace Wilson, then a sweet girl of but few summers, rushed up- to him and said, 'Oh, Washington Irving, I am as tired as a dog's hind- leg !' which greatly amused Mr. Irving. The school-meeting at which he presided was the occasion of much funny comment and criticism. Ho was a prudent man, favoring economy and simplicity in living, and fre- quently spoke earnestly on this subject, an example to all in quiet, modest living and worthy doing. His consideration of the poor and their wants was a marked trait in his character.

"On the 29th November, 1859, at about 9 o'clock in the evening, I was suddenly called to Sunnyside by the announcement of his gar- dener that Mr. Irving was very ill. I instantly hurried there, with my gardener, Mr. Herman Harms. We found him on the floor of his bed- room, surrounded by histwo nicces and bis nephew, Mr. Pierre M. Ir- ving, with whom he had passed the evening in his nsual health and spirits. His life wasextinct. Very soon all the members of the family left, bowed in the deepest grief. Mr. Harms, that night, prepared his body for the grave, and I, alone in his parlor, wrote to Mr. Bryant, of the Evening Post, of the circumstances of his departure and of the great loss the whole world had sustained. On the first day of winter, a day of won- derful beanty, warm, a cloudless sky, without anything to mar its heav - enly aspect, amid crowds of his fellow-countrymen and the neighbors who loved him, he was laid in his quiet grave in Sleepy Hollow, and the tears and sobs of many hearts mingled with the deep grief of those who. were his kindred and dearly loved members of bis home."

t.a.

n, 1

238

HISTORY OF WESTCHESTER COUNTY.

There are many anecdotes and unpublished memo- rials of Mr. Irving's life that throw a pleasant light upon his character and spirit, and show why it was that his presenec was always so welcome wherever he went. A letter of his, never before printed, which

board in honor of the American minister, and, according to the regulation on such occasions, Mr. Irving was expected to respond to a toast to himself. Professor Forsyth was one of the guests at the table. Just as the toast was about to be proposed he looked has been kindly furnished by Mr. Morgan, may be | up to where Mr. Irving had sat, but to his surprise taken as an example. It illustrates the genial play there was nobody there. Mr. Irving, with his settled aversion to speech-making, had suddenly vanished before the toast was given. As a prudent man, he foresaw the evil and hid himself. Professor Forsyth referred to the incident during his call, and he and Mr. Irving enjoyed a most hearty laugh over it, which was so contagious that the writer took a share himself. of his innocent humor and wit. The "Mr. IIoge" mentioned was the late William Hoge, the well-known banker, who then owned and occupied the place which was afterwards owned and occupied by the " New York Institution for the Instruction of the Deaf and Dumb." "The great sachem of Pokahoe" was General James Watson Webb, whose stone man- sion was in the wood about a mile or less north of the Pocantico Bridge, between Broadway and the river. " Pokahoe" was the name he gave his place, after an old Indian word, formerly used to designate the locality. Bolton says the name was of Algonquin origin, and kindred to Pocantico and Pokohantes. The following is the letter :

" SUNNYSIDE, July 4, 1856.

" Worthy and Dear Sir :

"We live in portentous times, and everything is full of direful omen. I paid a visit yesterday to my neighbor, Mr. Hoge, and forthwith a for- midable cudgel was presented to me, on the silver head of which was en- graved Fort Duquesne, being fabricated from the ruins of the stronghold of former days. I came home, and lo ! another weapou of the kind is put into my hands from your castle of Woodcliff. What does all this mean ? are we preparing for the contest of the cudgel? Is club-law to rule the land ? In the midst of all this a herald in hot haste hias sum- moued me to a feast to be given by the great sachem of l'ukahoe-doubt- less a war-feast, in honor of the hero of the Rocky Mountains.

" Now, Sir, Iam a peaceable man. I have declined the sachem's invi- tation to his feast. I accept the cane under condition that, if club-law is to be the order of the day, I be permitted to keep my cudgel quiet, and if I accompany you this morning to pay a visit to Colonel Fremont at the sachem's wigwam I shall certainly leave my cudgel at home. " Yours truly, but pacifically, WASHINGTON IRVING.

"George D. Morgan, Esq."

The writer of these lines, while taking tea at Mr. Hoge's, had the pleasure to meet Mr. Irving there and now recalls the amusing conversation. Mrs. Hoge, a bright and genial lady, was rallying Mr. Ir- ving on the subject of matrimony, "Oh, no, Mrs. Hoge," he replied, with moek gravity and determina- tion, "they will never subdue me under petticoat government." The writer, turning to Mr. Irving, said, " Why, Mr. Irving, you must be a believer in Sam Slick's philosophy." "What is that?" he inquired. The writer answered, "Sam Slick says ' the men hold the reins but the women tell 'em which way to drive.'" " Yes," said Mr. Irving, laughing and rub- bing his hands, "That's it, that's it."

On another occasion the writer accompanied the Rev. John Forsyth, D.D., professor in the Military Academy at West Point, who was then his guest, and desired while here to call on Mr. Irving at Sunnyside. It happened that Professor Forsyth had been a fel- low-passenger with Mr. Irving on the steamship, when the latter was returning from his post of service at Madrid, as Minister to Spain. The day before the steamer came into port a grand dinner was given on

On another occasion Mr. Irving, with his friend, the late Captain Jacob Storm, called on the writer at his home in the parsonage of the Second Reformed Church. He happened, however, to be out, and Mr. Irving asked the colored girl, who let them in, for a eard on which to write his name. She was a very peculiar individual, endowed with a remarkable genius for blundering. So she went up to the study, and taking from the table there a new, clean, white oblong blotting pad, that had never been used, carried it down to Mr. Irving. He wrote his name, Washington Ir- ving, with a pencil, in the centre of it, and left it as his card. One can readily imagine the look of fun that must have spread over his face as he did it. It is needless to add that Washington Irving's " card " is still preserved as a memento.

Mr. Irving sometimes laughed at the Irish wit of a domestic in the family of Captain Jacob Storm. He called there one day, and on being told by the girl that the captain was out, he said to her in his good- humored way, "Why, I thought you always had a storm here." As quick as a flash came the answer, " Indade we do, sir, but we niver have a timpest."

There are many interesting references to Tarry- town and the localities surrounding it in the " Life and Letters of Mr. Irving," but of only one of them can further mention be made in our story. While in Madrid as American minister, he wrote a letter to his niece, at Sunnyside, in which he contrasts the hap- pier lot of a Tarrytown maiden with the restraints and irksome responsibilities of "the poor little Queen" of Spain. It shows how vividly he retained the impres- sion of home associations. The Tarrytown choir, Sleepy Hollow, and shopping at Tommy Dean's called up pleasant ideas to his mind. Mr. Thomas Dean, a highly-respected citizen, kept for many years the store in the long, low building on the southwest corner of Broadway and Main Street, now kept by Mr. Homer R. Frost. In Mr. Dean's day, however, there was nothing under the sun that could not be found in that store, No matter what any one wanted, it was sure to be there. Mr. Irving remembered it in Madrid, and so, in writing from that city to his juvenile niece, on November 15, 1842, he said,-

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 57

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