History of Westchester county : New York, including Morrisania, Kings Bridge, and West Farms, which have been annexed to New York City, Vol. II, Part 74

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 74

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HISTORY OF WESTCHESTER COUNTY.

" WENT. POINT, JrTY 25, 1779.

Nir, All the white Ink I now have-indeed all that there is any pros- peel of gelting soon-is sent in phial No. 1, by Colo. Webb. The liquid in No. 2 is the counterpart, and brings to light what is wrote by the first, by wetting [the Paper] with a tine hair brush. These you will send to (' -- Jun' as soon as possible, & I beg that no mention may erer be made of your having received such liquids from me, or any one else. In all cases & al all limes, this prudence & circumspection is neces- sary ; It it is indispensably so now, as I am informed that Governor Tryon has a preparacion of The same kind, or something similar lo it, which may lead to a detection if it is ever known that a matter of the sort has passed through my hands.

1 beg that you will use every possible exertion Through ( -- and other channels, to ascertain with a degree of precision the enemys Corps, and how they are disposed of. I wish to know where every Regiment lyes, in order [that I may ] regulale my own movements with more propriety. To learn with certainty what Corps are on Slaten Island -- Long Island, and on what parl of il. The City of York. Between the City & the bridge -- at Philips's or Mile square, &c., would be extremely useful to me at all times, but more so at this.

I am informed that in the afternoon of the 21st, 10 Sail of Vessels passed Eastward by Norwalk. I have also received advice That a number of Troops imbarked al Dobbs's Ferry, & fell down the River on the 22nd. In short, that General Clinton & Sir George Collier were with this Fleel. Bul These things not being delivered with certainly, rather perplexes han informs the judgment. I have heard nothing further of either of these Fleets-nor do I know whether The one in the Sound had Troops on board or not. Lel me hear from you soon on The subject of this letter.

" I nm Sir, " Ve most obedt Serv., " (;º. Washinglon. " Maj" Talmadge, 2od Regt. L. Dragoons."

The passages in brackets are interlined in the original letter.

Who was C. referred to as a " channel " of infor- mation ? Could it have been Enoch Crosby the Westchester spy, of whom Cooper has written under the name of Harvey Birch ? The initial would answer for him, certainly.

MANUFACTORIES.

There are three manufactories in North Tarrytown, which following the order of the time when they were established, are: 1. " The Pocantico Tool and Ma- chine Works; " 2. "The George W. Cross Blank Book Association, Limited;" and 3. "The Rand Drill Company."

THE POCANTICO TOOL AND MACHINE WORKS,- The proprietor of the Pocantico Tool and Machine Works is Mr. Charles Brombacher. The oldest of the two or three buildings connected with his estab- lishment was used in 1858 as a bone factory for the preparation of fertilizers, but in 1868 Mr. Brombacher bought the place of Mr. Walter Lister, who, up to that time, had for a number of years been its owner. The works are situated directly north of Messrs. S. J. Sackett & Co.'s marble yard, about one-eighth of a mile up the Pocantico from the bridge, below the okl Dutch Church of Sleepy Hollow. Mr. Brombacher's residence is in a romantic spot, east of the stream, where the valley of the Pocantico widens out a little, with high bluffs on either side, and abundance of trees, very near to where the old lehabod Crane Bridge originally stood, and where the okl Revolu- tionary road crossed the Pocantico river. On the

west side, toward the cemetery, a little farther north, are the two large brick shops where the tools and machinery are manufactured. They are reached by a rural, shaded bridge, which at this point spans the narrow river.

The articles produced here consist of all kinds of tools and machinery that are used in making tin and sheet metal goods of every variety. They are sent all over the United States, Mexico, South America, and almost all over the world. There are said to be only two establishments of the kind, besides this, in the country. This employs about thirty men, who are ren- dered equal to about one hundred by the perfection of the machinery. The employees are principally Ger- man and French. For about ten months in the year the machinery is driven by water, equal to sixty horse- power, and for two months, especially in the dry sea- son, by steam. The capital invested is about seventy- five thousand dollars, and the business amounts to abont one hundred thousand dollars per year.

THE GEORGE W. CROSS BLANK BOOK ASSOCIA- TION .- The George W. Cross Blank Book Associa- tion, Limited, is situated on the east side of Wash- ington Street, between Chestnut Street and Beekman Avenue. The building is forty-five by two hundred feet in dimensions, and two stories high. The estab- lishment began its operations in June, 1885, making a specialty of blank books. It has a trade extending to every State in the Union, and even to Sonth America. It employs about forty hands, for the most part girls, and its business amounts in value to about sixty thousand dollars per year. The works are owned and operated under the direction of a stock company. The manager in charge is Mr. George W. Cross, and the treasurer, Mr. Warren Chapin.

THE RAND DRILL COMPANY .- The works of the Rand Drill Company are situated within the corpor- ate limits of North Tarrytown, on the south shore of the cove or bay formed where the Pocantico empties into the Hudson, and directly on the river bank. The headquarters and principal manufactory have hitherto been in Forty-seventh Street, New York City, with a branch office in Thirty-fourth Street, but it is now con- templated to remove the establishment to North Tarry- town. The company began to build in April, 18&3, and at the present time (in April, 1886) has a large building completed, of the dimensions of two hun- dred by sixty feet, with temporary buildings near it for boilers, machinery, ete.

The Rand Drill Company make what is called the Percussion Rock Drill. The machine that does the drilling, and thus supersedes the old-fashioned drill- ing by hand, is run by steam if the work is on the open surface, and by compressed air if in a mine or any other subterranean excavation. The Rand drill differs from the Diamond Drill in the respect that while the Rand Drill is used for blasting and drills a hole only ten or twelve feet deep for a charge of powder or other explosives, the Diamond Drill is

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used in prospecting for mines, and not only drills to a far greater depth, but brings up with it, for exam- ination as to its quality, the rock, carthi and sand into which it penetrates. It is said that about sixty per cent. of the drills used in constructing the new Croton Aqueduct are of the Raud pattern.

The Rand Works belong to a stock company, of which Mr. Addison C. Rand is president, Mr. J. R. Rand secretary and treasurer, and Mr. N. W. Horton superintendent. A short railroad track has been laid through the sand-hill, southwestward from the Hud- son River Railroad, to facilitate the transportation of freight by the cars to and from the manufactory.

TARRYTOWN HEIGHTS .- Tarrytown Heights is the name of a hanlet in the township of Mount Pleasant, on the old Bedford road, and of a station on the New York City and Northern Railroad, about two miles north of the Tarrytown Station and twenty-thrce miles from One Hundred and Fifty-fifth Street, New York City. Streets have been laid out and a few buildings crected near the station, forming the nu- clens of a village. There is also a commodions and pleasant summer hotel about half a mile from the railroad. The place is well-situated upon the western slope of the ridge known as Buttermilk Hill, which just there forms a small plateau, with higher ground around it. Up to 1860 it was almost entirely a farm- ing district, sometimes spoken of as "the Kaakout neighborhood." But, between 1860 and 1870, several farms were sold for high prices, and tlicre seemed a tendency, among wealthy people from the city, to purchase here and to make for themselves homes. The late James E. Mallory (afterwards killed in a terrible railroad accident while going to Long Branch) may be said to have given the first impulse to the development of the place. Mr. Louis Roberts also was prominent and enterprising in the cffort. The Tarrytown Land Company was formed to advance the undertaking, but the financial collapse in business circles, and the heavy fall in the market value of land, defeated its aims and the com- pany failed. The locality has mauy attractions as a summer resort to those who desire the quiet of the country and at the same time wish to have facilities for easy communication with the city. The popula- tion at present is small, not over one hundred and fifty altogether ; but it is not unlikely, judging from all indications, that in a few years it will be much increased.

When the railroad was first constructed (then called the New York and Montreal Railroad) the plan was to approach the Heights over a somewhat long trestle-work, about eighty feet high; and the lateral valley, setting in westward from the Nepperhan or Saw-Mill River toward the eastern border of Tarry- town, was actually bridged over at great cost and a railroad track prepared. But it was a frightful-look- ing structure, more suggestive of broken bones than of safety, and, the railroad having passed into other

hands, the company so changed the direction of its track as to make it sweep westward around the south- cri side of the basin toward Tarrytown, and then gradually to ascend the extreme western and northern sides by a comparatively easy grade to Tarrytown Heights. The high trestle-bridge, which had for some time stood as a tete noir or monstrum horrendum to all spectators, was then torn down.

The trains on the New York City and Northern Railroad began to run over what is called the " Tar- rytown Loop," in November, 1881, and stages were soon provided to convey all passengers between the station and Tarrytown village, either going or com- ing, free of charge.

The higher clevations around Tarrytown Heights are said to be about five hundred feet above the level of the Hudson. Already a number of fine residences are found in the neighborhood, among which may be mentioned that of Chief Justice Noah Davis, Grosve- nor P. Lowery, Esq., a prominent lawyer, who bought the old Andrew See placc ; Colonel Church. of the Army and Navy Gazette ; Mr. Lewis Roberts, Colonel Charles Stone, and that of the late John B. Sardy.

Further on toward Tarrytown, on the Bedford Road, arc the attractive places of Mr. J. H. Dig- gles, and of George W. Parsons, Esq., and Stephen D. Law, Esq., the two latter well-known lawyers, hav- ing their offices in New York.

Mr. Parsons bought the old Abraham D. Stephens place in the summer of 1866, and has improved the house and premises at large cost and with excellent taste. His grounds are quite extensive, and the view from the elevation on which the house is built is par- ticularly fine. Within the enclosure of the grounds belonging to Mr. W. B. Wadsworth, scath of Mr. Parsons' house and between the two railroad sta- tions of Tarrytown Heights and of Tarrytown, is the striking well-known eminence that received from the old Dutch settlers the name of " Kijkuit," but which afterward became corrupted into " Kaa- kout." The name was derived from the Hollandish noun " Kijk, look or peep," related to the verb "Kij- ken, to look or to peep," and the preposition " Uit, out of or from," the whole meaning "Lookout," a name similar to that of Lookout Mountain, in Ten- nessee, where Hooker fought his battle above the clouds, or to that of "Cape Lookout," the high point one hundred feet above the sea, on the coast of North Carolina. Kaakout is said to be by measurement four hundred and ninety-eight feet above the level of the Hudson River, and next to the highest hill in the county. It was used by those engaged in the United States Coast Survey in making their observa- tions. The pilots of the Lower Hudson are also said to have been accustomed to stcer their course in to the Tarrytown dock by keeping Kaakout as a land- mark in their eye. The view from this hill is mag- nificent.

Mr. Laws' place, known as "Glen Loch," is on the

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opposite side of the Bedford Road in a northwest direction from Mr. Parsons'. His grounds also are quite large, extending about one thousand one hundred feet along the Bedford Road, and thenee down to the old Sleepy Hollow road, along which thev extend about one thousand seven hundred feet. They command many fine views up and down the Valley of the Hudson. Mr. Law purchased his place of Mr. John W. Patterson, of New York, in 1869. The house was an old one when he took it, but he has made great improvements in it, that have added vastly to the convenience and comfort of its occu- pants. It is believed that the old school house, in

which Ichabod Crane, of " Headless Horseman " memory, taught the youngsters of his day, was situ- ated on the western limit of this place, along the Sleepy Hollow Road, which bounds it. Mrs. Eliza Ann See, mother of the late James S. See, Esq., who died November 15, 1883, at the advanced age of 92 years, frequently stated, in giving reminiscences of former days, that the ohl school house stood on the east side of the Sleepy Hollow Road, just north of where is now the gate of entrance to Mr. Law's

premises from the west. Mrs. See said the house was built into the bank behind it, the earth forming the baek or rear wall, so to speak, of the building, and the sides and front being constructed of logs. Mrs. See spoke from a personal knowledge of the situation, for, as she stated, she attended school in that old school house herself.

West of the Sleepy Hollow road is the high hill, known as Prospeet Hill, which rises abruptly from the vale, having its eastern sides adorned with a profusion of small but singularly regular and plume-like cedars.

This hill extends as a high ridge between Sleepy Hollow and the Poeantico Brook, or River. It is one

SLEEPY HOLLOW BRIDGE.1

of the highest points indeed within the corporate lim- its of North Tarrytown and reaches, by measurement, an elevation of three hundred and thirty-seven feet above the level of the river. The summit of the hill is nearly in the centre of lands, amounting to about forty aeres, belonging to the beautiful country-seat of Henry L. Douglas, Esq., which bears the name of " Long View." From many points, but especially from the observatory erected on the top of the hill southeast of the mansion, the view of the Hudson River and the whole adjacent country, including Sleepy Hollow on the east, and the Pocantico on the west, are superb. Mr. Douglas has taken great pains to render his home and its surroundings in every way pleasant and attractive.

The land here, like all the rest in this region, be- longed to the old manor of Philipsburgh, which was forfeited to the State when its proprietor, Frederick

1 From Hudson River Illustrated, copyright, 1875, by D. Appleton & Co.

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Philipse, went over to the euemy during the Revolu- tion. While the war was going on, this hill, now called Prospect Hill, was much resorted to as a point of observation, and Washington himself frequently repaired to it to make reconuoisances of the British ships of war as they moved up and down the river. There are indications, also, that the Indians had uscd it for some similar purpose long prior to the settle- ment of the Dutch.

Adjoining Mr. Douglas's premises on the north, are the lands of George S. Rice, Esq., of New York City. His estate, comprising something more than one hundred aeres alto- gether, werc formerly the property of the late James Bayles, of Thomas H. Purdy, of John W. Patterson and of Isaac R. and Gabriel Mead, and passed into the possession of Mr. Rice by purchase from 1866 to 1872. The place is situated in a scene of great rural beauty.

Touching the premises of Mr. Rice at its eastern end, is the high stone viaduct erected to make a way for the old Croton Aqueduct across the Pocautico River. The building of this viaduct is connected with an amusing anecdote concerning the late George Law and Washing- ton Irving. During the progress of the work, under Mr. Law's supervi- sion as contractor, Mr. Irving was a frequent visitor, and seemed to watch its successive advances with great interest. In this way he had frequent and prolonged couversa- tious with Mr. Law as manager. Each found the other a very intel- ligent and agreeable person, but neither one knew who the other was.

Mr. Law immediately said, "I wish you would point out Mr. Irving to me. I have a great admira- tion for him and his writings, and have always had a desire to see him." "Why, what do you mean ?" said the captain. " I saw you sitting there and talking with Mr. Irving nearly all the way up the river."

Then for the first time, Mr. Law discovered that his agreeable and intelligent companion on the aqueduct was Washington Irving, whose delightful descriptions of Sleepy Hollow and the Pocantico have made this region famous and classical for all time.

On the southern slope of Prospect Hill is the pleas- ant home of Mr. Stephen II. Thayer, who has lately given to the world a volume of pocius entitled " Songs of Sleepy Hollow, and other Poems," and also that of Mr. H. Andrews. Farther down, but west of Jones Ave- nue, is " Anderson Park," with its fine brick mansion

One day they happened to be on the steamboat together coming up from New York to Tarrytown, and CROTON AQUEDUCT BRIDGE ACROSS THE POCANTICO. had another talk on the Pocantico viaduct, and on other topics that arose. While they | and well-kept grounds. The house was built and, for were passing by Sunnyside at full speed, the steamer's a time, occupied by the late John Anderson, " the millionaire tobacconist." He was a great friend of Garibaldi, the Italiau patriot and commander, and did much to assist and encourage him. He also gave Penikese Island to Professor Louis Agassiz for his School of Natural History, and fifty thousand dollars to endow it. bell began to ring. Mr. Law, jumping up, hastened to the captain aud inquired, what the bell was ringing for there. The captain answered it was to let Mr. Ir- ving's coachman know that Mr. Irving was on board so that he might drive up in the carriage to meet him at the Tarrytown landing, and carry him to his home.

It is one of the privileges and duties of the historian to keep in remembrance and to transmit to later gen- erations the names of those who have been the bene- factors of their race and have deserved the praise of their fellow-men ; and as a self-made man, as an ex- ample to the youth of our country who have lofty

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ains, as a friend of human freedom and a willing and efficient helper to the noble men who risked both life and liberty in its cause, and as an enlightened sup- porter of the higher education which secks to pene- trate the deeper mysteries of nature and her works- in all of these John Anderson was a man worthy alike of praise and emulation.

William Anderson, his father, came from England under the auspices of Robert Fulton. In the second war with Great Britain he took an active part as an officer, and fell in battle in the year 1812. His son, who was born shortly after the father's death, was thus deprived of paternal carc, and early in life began the career which soon led to fortune and gave him an honorable name among the merchants and manufac- turers of the country. Ile was doubly blessed, not only in the increase of his pecuniary resources, but in being endowed with that frame of mind which willingly employs wealth in the interests of patriotism, science, art and humanity. The year 1860, which was for our nation ushered in by clouds which were destined to bring forth the storm of war, is noted also as the era that brought to modern Italy a freedom and a glory worthy of ancient Rome in her palmiest days. The future liberator of Italy had been the acquaint- ance and the friend of Mr. Anderson while an exile from his native land and earning his daily bread by his daily labor. The news of the grand uprising was music to the ears of Garibaldi, and he was quickly upon the ocean on his voyage to the land which he hoped to free. His fellow-patriot, Avezzana, com- pelled by want of means and the "hostages to for- tune," in the shape of his wife and children, to remain in this, to him, a foreign land, was, through the lib- eral aid of Mr. Anderson, enabled to join his chief, and with him to fight and win in the great struggle for Italian freedom. The sympathy of our nation was freely shown by the immense meeting of our citi- zens ; and an address to the people of Italy, which was prepared under the direct supervision of the friend of Garibaldi and Avezzana, sent a thrill through the hearts of the lovers of freedom throughout the known world.

The heart that could so willingly contribute to the canse of liberty in a foreign land would not be likely to be unmindful of the call of his native country, when armed rebellion raised its hand to destroy the Union, for which his father fought and died. In the early days of the war, when it was believed that this State lacked the legal authority to raise a bonded fund for the support of the familes of drafted men, it was Mr. Anderson who headed the subscription for a spe- cial loan of half a million; the influence of his ex- ample was instantly felt, and the loan was speedily raised. And when Jersey City could not legally pro- vide for putting its contingent into the field, a gift of sixty thousand dollars, forwarded to the mayor. sent them on their way. In 1870, Mr. Anderson, relieved from business cares, resolved on foreign travel with

his wife, the ever active sympathizer with his plans. Together they trod the shores of Italy, now made free, visited Avezzana in Florence, and were the guests of Garibaldi in his island home.

After his return to his native land he purchased a tract of land at Tarrytown, and commenced the erec- tion of the splendid mansion which was to become his home. It was at this time that the event occurred which must ever link his name with that of one of the greatest natural philosophers of modern times. In 1873 Prof. Louis Agassiz asked the Legislature of Massachusetts for aid in establishing a school for the instruction of teachers in natural history. The appeal was in vain. When the daily papers brought the news Mr. Anderson resolved at once to give the aid which the State refused to grant. The beautiful island of Penikese, with a sum of fifty thousand dol- lars as an endowment, was placed at the service of the great philosopher, and the institution was estab- lished which justly bore the name of the " Anderson School of Natural History."

In the fall of 1880 he resolved to go once more to Europe and visit his old friend, the liberator of Italy. Shortly after his arrival in Paris he was seized with a sudden illness, which terminated his useful life on the 22d of November. His remains were brought home to his native land, and laid to rest in his family tomb at Greenwood.

Mr. Anderson was twice married. By the first mar- riage there were six children-John C .; Fannie, wife of Judge George G. Barnard ; Mary, wife of - Carr; Amanda, wife of C. O'Brian ; and Laura, wife of - Appleton.

Mrs. Kate Anderson, his second wife, was the widow of James Conner, Esq., and daughter of Henry T. Irving, of Boston, a descendant of the same family as the famed author, Washington Irving, and on her mother's side is related to many of the noble families of Europe. Mrs. Anderson, by her former marriage, has one son, Stanley Conner, a sculptor of rising fame, and now in Europe devoted to his art. .

Mr. Anderson had his peculiarities, but with them were connected many chivalric and generous dispo- sitions. His benefactions to the Roman Catholic Church and to the Methodist Episcopal Church, both of North Tarrytown, are alluded to elsewhere. The writer had occasion to know something of these traits himself. Oneday when he was passing Mr. Anderson's place, on the way to a house where a poor man had just died,-leaving his wife and child literally penni- less,-in order to arrange for the funeral, he met Mr. Anderson standing at his gate. In the brief conver- sation that ensued, he invited the writer into his house, but he excused himself as being in some haste, and, in reply to Mr. Anderson's inquiry, explained the reason. The errand, and the need of help to bury the dead man, were thus incidentally disclosed. Mr. Anderson at once, without waiting to be asked, said, "I will give something toward that," and, draw-

John Anderson

Ambrose Go Kingsland

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ing from his vest pocket a roll of bills, he placed in the writer's hand the sum of twenty-five dollars.

" Anderson Park " is now owned and occupied by John Webber, Esq., who was Mr. Anderson's friend and executor.

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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 74

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