USA > New York > Bronx County > The Bronx and its people; a history, 1609-1927, Volume II > Part 5
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).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45
Bronx Welcomes its Soldiers Home-On June 8, 1919, the men, 623 of them, who went from Kingsbridge, Fieldston, Marble Hill, Mount St. Vincent, Riverdale, and Spuyten Duyvil, were welcomed back by the people of The Bronx when their ships came down the bay. They were paraded and feasted when the 27th Division and the 77th Division captured New York City, but on this day, the home folks, the people who lived in The Bronx and who sent the boys away, gave them a wel- come home. The welcome was a rousing one. "Why," as the oldest resident might have remarked, if he hadn't been so busy cheering and shining up his G. A. R. badge, "it beat anything the section' ever saw or heard or even dreamed about. First there was the parade-plenty of music. Then there was the dinner-plenty of eats-stacks of it, you might say. And at night when the lawns of Horace Mann High School should have been dark and still, they were streaked with light from the school's gymnasium, they rang with laughter, while with the prettiest
470
THE BRONX AND ITS PEOPLE
partners the neighborhood boasted of as an incentive, the returned soldiers danced a distance beyond any number of miles they covered in their hikes through France."
The dwellers of The Bronx for some months previous had been plan- ning for the fete, and a committee had been working for weeks in prep- aration. Headed by George W. Perkins, and with Miss Giulia Moro- sini, Mrs Edward Carse, Archibald Douglas, and Major Ivy Lee helping out, the committee enlisted the aid of every resident, had conferences with Captain Matthew McKeown, who is the police authority up there, and finally announced a day. At two o'clock the parade, with nearly 200 of the returned men in line, and a couple of thousand of others there also, formed at Broadway and 225th Street. The thoroughfare on both sides was banked by a crowd that was extremely enthusiastic, for every man, woman and child had a relative or a friend in the line. They did not stand and watch. They cheered and then cheered some more.
On through Kingsbridge to the Riverdale quarter, and then down the tree-shaded streets, past the wide green lawns of the Morosini es- tate, the Perkins estate, the Dodge estate-all holding their capacity in spectators,-down to the Horace Mann High School, past a review- ing stand erected at the tennis courts. A police detail under Captain Mckeown rode ahead. Then came the big service flag with its 622 stars, then detachments from the 8th Coast Defense Command, then Boy Scouts, Campfire Girls, and delegations from fraternal and religious organizations.
On one stand were Archibald Douglas, chairman of the committee that arranged the demonstration; Miss Emily Perkins, chairman of the Executive Committee of the Riverdale Chapter of the Red Cross; E. C. Delafield, Miss Jane Johnson, Frank S. Hackett, Mrs. George Wyeth, Mrs. J. B. Carse, Miss Giulia Morosini, Supreme Court Justice Leonard A. Giegerich, Cleveland H. Dodge, Sheriff James F. Donnelly, Thomas W. Whittle, former Park Commissioner, Mrs. Mortimer Boile, wife of Lieutenant-Colonel Boile of the 82nd Division, the Rev. Father Michael J. Murray, the Rev. Dr. Robert Mackenzie, Congressman Richard F. McKinery, the Rev. John Campbell, and Edward Gallagher.
As the ranks came even with the Fieldston Club the column halted. While the cheers were hushed and the crowd waited, a little group of twenty-seven mothers, whose sons had made the supreme sacrifice, formed, facing the club. Across the lawn came Brigadier-General Brice P. Disque, and upon the waist of each of the mothers he pinned a gold star. As the last token of honor was affixed, the bands of the Eighth and Ninth Coast Defense commands broke into the Star Spangled Ban- ner, and while the former soldiers stood at attention, the crowd paid
471
THE WORLD WAR
a silent tribute to the mothers. Then at the last bar of the anthem the Kingsbridge Fife and Drum Corps burst into a stirring marching tune, and the parade moved on to the high school, where the ranks were broken. While the marchers and the spectators grouped themselves about the athletic field, big Matt McGrath, holding the hammer throw- ing championship of the world, tossed the big iron almost as far as he did the day he captured the record. Then came refreshments served by the Van Cortlandt Chapter of the Red Cross, which looked like a tactical blunder almost, because the ice cream and cake were so good that the soldier contestants in the athletic games that followed, hated to leave the refreshments. But they did, and forty prizes, donated by residents of the vicinity, were distributed among them.
The speakers at the dinner, who were introduced by Mr. Douglas, were George M. S. Schulz, Surrogate of Bronx County; Mr. Perkins, Mr. Dodge, and Mayor Wilbur T. Wright. Dr. Mackenzie, pastor of the Presbyterian Church of Riverdale, offered prayer. Speaking of the way America had assembled her citizenry for the war, Judge Schulz declared that it had been the American ideal that had enabled the coun- try so quickly to turn men of all walks of life into good soldiers. He paid high tribute to the way the men had fought. Mr. Perkins told the men how proud their home folks were of their deeds in the war and spoke enthusiastically of the way the residents of The Bronx had turned out to do honor to their soldiers. In dwelling on this phase Mr. Per- kins suggested that a permanent organization, a sort of community circle, should be evolved out of the gathering. He said that the com- munity organization should include all classes, and that it would have a harmonizing influence on the social life of The Bronx. After the march and the games the men were hungry and it did not take them long to finish the dinner prepared for them. To the big gymnasium the soldiers next made their way for the dance which closed the day's festivities.
Three-day Celebration-A week later, on the 14th of June, the people of The Bronx began a three-day celebration to honor the soldiers left behind and to welcome the recent arrivals home. On the first day back of a service flag with 615 gold stars in memory of The Bronx sol- diers who died in their country's service about twenty-five thousand persons marched along the Grand Concourse from 161st Street to Kings- bridge Road. On the second day of the celebration, which was Sunday, memorial services were preached in all the churches of The Bronx, while on the third day the men were theatre guests of the committee that arranged the programme.
The parade, which included militiamen, civilians, war workers, Boy Scouts, fraternal and patriotic organizations, was received with cheers
472
THE BRONX AND ITS PEOPLE
the entire way. At 161st Street and the Concourse the marchers were reviewed by Major-General John F. O'Ryan, members of the Board of Estimate, and Bronx County and Borough officials. Mayor Hylan was to have been in the stand, but just as the head of the column came op- posite the reviewers a telegram was received which stated that the Mayor had gone to Atlantic City for the week-end. A special section of the stand was reserved for the mothers of the dead soldiers. Wounded men had a place in the line, and those who were unable to march were carried in motor cars. Forty bands, floats and trophies added to the spectacle.
Colonel Elmore F. Austin, of the 57th Artillery, led the service di- vision, while Henry Bruckner, Borough President, marched ahead of the civilian contingent. The Bronx County Chapter of the Red Cross followed the division of the wounded heroes. The 15th Infantry, negroes, received an ovation all along the line of march, while the cheers were just as great for at least 10,000 school children, who added to the line of the marchers. The American Legion, led by Major Wilbur T. Wright, was represented by a large number of members, as were the organizations of veterans of other wars. It required two and a half hours for the parade to pass. At the close of the parade The Bronx Welcome Home Committee was tendered a dinner at the Elks Lodge in The Bronx. Surrogate George M. S. Schulz presided and addresses were made by President Robert Moran of the Board of Aldermen, Bor- ough President Bruckner, Albert Goldman, Major George A. Daly, Charles E. Reid, secretary of The Bronx Board of Trade, and others. On Sunday there was a public service in the Morris High School, at which the Rev. Francis P. Duffy, chaplain of the 165th Infantry, spoke.
It is an interesting fact that The Bronx has the largest military armory in the world. This is the armory of the 258th Field Artillery, a regiment of the New York National Guard. The armory is situated at Jerome Avenue and Kingsbridge Road. The regiment at present consists of 860 officers and men, whose six batteries serve 155 machine- guns. The original organization, from which this regiment came, was a company of artillery organized on May 1, 1784, by Captain Jacob Sebring. The company formed part of the original guard of honor for Washington on the occasion of his inauguration as first President. As a result of this honorable service the company adopted the distinctive name of Washington Greys, a title which is still used by the regiment and is shown on its coat of arms-the arms of Washington in grey, on a field of artillery red. Through a reorganization of the National Guard in 1893 the regiment was reduced to a battalion, but in 1896 it again became a regiment. In 1906 a further reduction of the New York National Guard personnel made it necessary to return to the status
473
THE WORLD WAR
of a battalion, but in 1908 it was again reorganized, and immediately thereafter was designated a coast artillery regiment, with the title of "8th Artillery District." This title was changed in 1914 to the Eighth Coast Defense Command and it thus was known until after the World War, when the regiment was changed, on May 2, 1921, from the Coast Artillery to Field Artillery. The number 193rd was assigned the regi- ment. Later in that year the regiment was renumbered to become the 258th Field Artillery, its official name today.
For the World War, the regiment was mustered in on July 22, 1917, and assigned to stations at Forts Schuyler, Totten, and Wadsworth, of the New York Harbor Defenses. Later, most of the personnel served overseas, in the 58th United States Artillery, in a defensive sector in Lorraine. The record and honors of the 58th United States Artillery have been conferred upon the 258th, and the World War streamer car- ried upon the regimental color of the latter organization bears the title "Lorraine;" such streamer having been placed there by authority of the War Department.
.
CHAPTER XIII COURTS AND LAWYERS
When the later annexations of the territory of The Bronx took place and what had been parts of Westchester County became parts of New York City, portions of the borough in the matter of congressional, senate, assembly, and judicial representation remained at first attached to Westchester County, though later there was separation. The borough was erected as the eighteenth congressional district. There were eight aldermanic districts and four local board districts, each having its own board. The borough was allowed two municipal courts where civil cases might be tried in which the value in controversy did not exceed two hundred and fifty dollars. There were also erected two police magistrate's courts for the settlement of minor cases of crimes and misdemeanors and for preliminary hearings in cases of felony. For police protection the borough was divided into nine precincts with seven hundred and fifty-six men.
So much for part of the quite recent history of that former portion of the county of Westchester to which at the close of the last century was given the title of the Borough of The Bronx. Westchester County itself has had an established bench for about a hundred and fifty years, and an established bar for nearly if not quite that length of time. The legal history of the territory north of the Harlem began in the year 1688, when John Pell was appointed its first judge. His commission was given to him in these words: "James the Second, by the grace of God, King of England, Scotland, France, Ireland, etc., to all to whom these presents shall come, greeting: know ye that we have assigned, con- stituted and appointed, and by these presents do assign, constitute and appoint, our trusty and well-beloved subject, John Pell, Esq., to be judge of our inferior Court of Common Pleas, to be holden in our county of Westchester, in our territory and dominion of New England, with authority to use and exercise all power and jurisdiction belonging to said court, and to do that which to justice doth appertain, according to the laws, customs and statutes of our kingdom of England, and this our territory and dominion, and the said John Pell, assisted with two or more justices of the peace in our said county, to hear, try and deter- mine all causes and matters civil by law cognizable in the said county, and to award execution thereon, accordingly, in testimony whereof we have caused the great seal of our said territory to be hereunto affixed. Witness, Sir Edmund Andros, Knt., our Captain-general and Governor-
476
THE BRONX AND ITS PEOPLE
in-Chief of our territory and dominion aforesaid, this 25th day of Au- gust, in the fourth year of our reign, A. D. 1688." The first Court of Sessions, shown by the court records, was held on June 3, 1684, the year following that which saw the establishment of the county. The record does not show who presided, or who sat as associate judges. It is possible therefore that some one may have been appointed, or may have acted, as judge, of the county before Judge Pell; or it may be that he had been appointed and had acted prior to the appointment the official record of which is contained in the commission.
The Pell family were concerned in the founding of Pelham and it was in accordance with the fitness of things that John Pell should be its first judge. Caleb Heathcote was the next judge of the Court of Com- mon Pleas, holding that office from the year 1693 to the year 1720. He was the sixth son of Gilbert Heathcote, of Chesterfield, England, who had fought with distinction in the Parliament army during the civil war which cost Charles I his head.
Heathcote was succeeded as judge of the Court of Common Pleas in 1721 by William Willett, who was the son of Colonel Thomas Wil- lett, of Flushing, Long Island, and the grandson of Thomas Willett, first mayor of New York. The descendants of Thomas Willett occupied prominent positions in the province, such as high sheriffs, judges and mayors. Frederick Phillips was judge of the Court of Common Pleas from 1732 to 1734. Israel Honeywell, one of the earliest settlers of the town of Westchester, where he had a number of local offices, was judge of the same court from 1734 to 1737, and again from 1740 to 1743. Samuel Purdy was also judge of that court in 1734-37 and again from 1740 to 1752. John Thomas was judge of the Court of Common Pleas in 1737-39, and again from 1765 to 1776. Judge Thomas was the son of the Rev. John Thomas, a missionary of the Honorable Propagation Society of Philadelphia, and first rector of St. George's Church, Hemp- stead, Long Island, in 1704. Judge Thomes espoused the patriotic side in the Revolution, and his influence was greatly felt in its behalf. In 1777 a party of British troops, making one of their frequent raids into the interior of the county, seized Judge Thomas at his house in "Rye Woods." He was particularly obnoxious to the British, who had long been seeking to effect his capture. He was taken to New York, and cast into prison where he died soon after. John Ward, one of the judges of the Common Pleas in 1737-39 and 1752-54, was from East- chester. He died in 1754. Lewis Morris, Jr., of Morristown, sat on the bench of that court in 1738-39. William Leggett, of West Farms, then part of the town of Westchester, was judge of the same court in 1752- 54. He was the third son of Gabriel Leggett, of Essex County, Eng- land, who emigrated to this country in 1661 and in right of his wife, Elizabeth Richardson, daughter and co-heiress of John Richardson, one
477
COURTS AND LAWYERS
of the joint partners, became possessed of a large portion of the (Plant- ing) Neck. Judge Leggett was mayor of the borough of Westchester, in 1734.
Nathaniel Underhill, judge from 1755 to 1774, was the great-grand- son of Captain John- Underhill, a soldier under Maurice of Nassau, Prince of Orange, in the Low Countries, who went to New England in 1630, and so distinguished himself in that quarter that he was appointed one of the first deputies from Boston to the General Court, and one of the earliest officers of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery. Na- thaniel Underhill was elected mayor of the borough of Westchester in 1775. He filled various other offices and died in 1784. Jonathan Fowler was judge in 1769-71 and 1773-75. No positive data are to be found concerning this personage. In all likelihood he was the son of Caleb Fowler, county judge during the intervening year 1772 and until 1776. Caleb Fowler was a resident of the West Patent of North Castle, where he owned a good deal of property. He was sur- rogate in 1761-66. His son Jonathan, one of twelve children, was appointed one of the executors of his will, which instrument, dated in the year 1760, was offered for probate September 14, 1784. The in- dividuals mentioned appear by the court records to have been the pre- siding judges of the County Court of Common Pleas during the Colonial period and at the times given. The list differs somewhat from that given in the "New York Civil List" or in Bolton's "History," but is believed to be substantially correct.
Court of Common Pleas-The Court of Common Pleas from May, 1776, to May, 1778, held no session in Westchester County. After the latter date there was a principal or "first" judge, as he was called, in this court, and a number of associate judges. Sometimes there were as many as five associate judges at one time. Robert Graham, of White Plains, was the first to fill this office of "first" judge. Stephen Ward, of Eastchester, appointed in 1784, was for many years "first" judge of the County Court of Common Pleas. He was the son of Edmund Ward, of Eastchester, for a long time a member of the Co- lonial Assembly, and grandson of Edmund Ward, of Fairfield, Con- necticut, who removed to Eastchester about the latter period of the seventeenth century. Stephen Ward was an ardent patriot, and was pro- scribed at an early period of the Revolution by the Loyalist party and a price set upon his head. "Ward's house" was the scene of several engagements between the Americans and the British, and was finally burned down by the latter in 1778. Ebenezer Lockwood, of Poundridge, was the next "first" judge, 1791-94. Judge Lockood was known as "Major" Lockwood through the Revolutionary War, he having been a major in the regiment of Westchester County Militia, commanded by
I
478
THE BRONX AND ITS PEOPLE
Colonel Thomas Thomas, and engaged in active service during most of the campaign of 1776. From 1776 to 1783 he filled several public offices. He was a member of the Provincial Congress, member of the Committee of Safety, member of the Provincial Convention for forming a Constitution of Government for the State, and was returned a member of the Legislature for several years after the close of the war. Judge Lockwood was born in Stamford, Connecticut, and was the fourth son of Joseph Lockwood, who emigrated to Poundridge in 1743.
Jonathan G. Tompkins of Scarsdale, father of Vice-President Daniel D. Tompkins, was first judge from 1794 to 1797. He was a member of the State Convention which adopted the Declaration of Independence and the first constitution of the State. He was elected to the Legislature and remained in that capacity during the whole period of the Revolu- tion, and on the institution of the University was appointed one of the regents, which situation he held until his resignation of it, in 1808. Judge Tompkins was the son of Stephen Tompkins, whose ancestors emigrated originally from the north of England and landed at Plymouth, Massachusetts. Jonathan was adopted by Jonathan Griffin, from whom he received his middle name, Griffin. Judge Tompkins died in 1823, aged eighty-seven years. Ebenezer Purdy sat on the Westchester bench, 1797-1802. The Purdys are numerous and the only Ebenezer we find among them is put down by Bolton as the son of Abraham Purdy, of Yonkers, born 1754.
John Watts, who was the "first judge" of the Court of Common Pleas in Westchester County from 1802 to 1807, was born in New York, of which city his father, also named John, was a prominent citizen and a member of the King's Council. Judge Watts received a legal education and was eminently qualified for the bench. At twenty- five years of age he was appointed royal recorder of the city of New York, 1774, and was the last to hold the position. From 1791 to 1794 he was Speaker of the Assembly of New York, and afterwards he be- came a member of Congress. His home was at No. 3 Broadway, New York. He was one of the wealthiest men in New York City, and owned much property not only there, but also throughout the State.
Caleb Tompkins, son of Jonathan G. Tompkins, and eldest brother of Vice-President Daniel D. Tompkins, was the first judge of the County Court of Common Pleas from 1808 to 1820, and again from 1823 to 1864. He died on January 1, 1846, aged eighty-six years and nine days. He was buried in White Plains. Mr. Tompkins was a learned jurist and a man of great abilities. He possessed in a fine degree the gifts and virtues for which the Tompkins family was noted. Nehemiah Brown, who served for two years as county judge, was a lineal descendant of Peter Brown, whose name is inscribed on the Pilgrim's Monument at Plymouth, Massachusetts. He was born at Rye,
479
COURTS AND LAWYERS
on November 29, 1775, and until his death on November 1, 1855, occu- pied the lands on which he was born, and which had been held by his family since the early settlement of the town. Few men were better known in his county or held in higher esteem. Of sound judgment, inflexible integrity, withal genial and given to hospitality, his counsel was widely sought and valued. He received a captain's commission in the War of 1812, but, as far as is now remembered, was not engaged in the field, being detailed to assist in the fortifications of Throgg's Neck and other points in the vicinity of New York. He served as a member of the Legislature in 1824 and two terms as county judge, occupying the bench with Judges William Jay, Constant and others. Judge Brown's first wife was Mary, daughter of Major Seymour, of Green- wich, Connecticut. The second was Pamela, daughter of Dr. Clark San- ford, of Petersburg, Virginia. The third and surviving wife was Abby Jane, daughter of David Brown.
County Seats and Courthouses-The county of Westchester had its seat in the town of Westchester prior to November 6, 1759, on which day was held there the last session of the Court of Common Pleas. On February 4, 1758, the courthouse at Westchester was destroyed by fire. On December 16, 1758, the New York State Assembly passed an act empowering the justices of the peace and the aldermen of Westchester Borough to fix the place for the erection of a courthouse and jail for the county and to raise by taxation a sum not exceeding one thousand pounds towards defraying the cost of the erection. White Plains was chosen as the new county seat, and the Court of Common Pleas held its first session in the courthouse which had been built in the town. From that time on White Plains became the centre of affairs of West- chester County. In 1776 fame came to the courthouse by reason of the assembling there of the provincial convention of New York State. The city of New York being invested by the British while the delegates to the convention were in session in that city, July 2, 1776, the body decided to adjourn the gathering to White Plains. On July 9, 1776, at the White Plains Courthouse, the convention received the Declaration of Independence and pledged its support to the principles contained in that epoch-making instrument and to the cause of which it was the chief verbal expression. This famous building, the birthplace of the State of New York, was destroyed by fire set by a detachment of Con- tinental troops as a war measure, but to the everlasting regret of a majority of the army and the people. The records of the court and the provincial convention had previously been removed to a place of safety. Thereafter the county courts were held in meeting-houses at Bedford and Upper Salem until the building of courthouses in both Bedford and White Plains, which were occupied on January 28, 1788, and May 26,
480
THE BRONX AND ITS PEOPLE
1788, respectively. In 1845 the second courthouse was superseded by a third courthouse and jail, built at a cost of $120,000. Above the judges' bench in the courtroom of that portion of the third courthouse, which was not destroyed but is still in use as the county courtroom and cham- bers, hangs a portrait of Judge William Jay, whose surname came to be a celebrated symbol in the legal proceedings of the neighborhood north of the Harlem. In 1907 the fourth courthouse was built, this being demanded by the remarkable growth of the county and its at- tendant business. In 1905 the Board of Supervisors took up the work and decided to make additions to the fifty-year-old courthouse at a cost not to exceed $150,000.
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.