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Barr, Settlement of the Ancient Town of Pelham (1946)Historic Pelham is pleased to present below the complete text of the principal (and popular book) on the History of Pelham published by Lockwood Anderson Barr in 1946. The book has now entered the public domain, has recently been reprinted by one publisher and is presented as a text file below. Please note that the file is very large and can take several minutes to load over a slow connection.
Ancient Town of Pelham [Reproduction of Oval Portrait of Lieutenant Colonel John Pell IV with caption beneath that reads:] LIEUT. COLONEL JOHN PELL IV, 1643-1700, SECOND LORD OF THE MANOR OF PELHAM From a portrait by Sir Godfrey Kneller in the possession of Robert T. Pell. Esq. A brief, but most complete & true Account ANCIENT TOWN of PELHAM Known one Time well & favourably as ALSO THE STORY OF THE THREE MODERN VILLAGES * Compiled by -------------------------------------------- Anno Domini MCMXLVI. Printed for The Dietz Press, Inc., by August Dietz and
his
COPYRIGHTED BY Lockwood Barr IN THE YEAR 1946, ------------ Printed in the United States of America. [Blank Page] Dedication. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Girls and boys reared in the TOWN OF PELHAM, have a right to know the history, the traditions, and the romance of this ancient place. It is their natural heritage . . . theirs to perpetuate by passing it along to their children. No one book condenses this story of the Pelhams; and few people have the time or the inclination to read ancient reference works--even if these books were available to everyone--which they are not. And so this account of the TOWN OF PELHAM compiled from those books, is dedicated to the young people of this community--also their eldersmin the hope that there will be found in it something of interest which will not only increase the natural pride in their home town . . . but, in the years to come, provide them with the background for the pleasant memories of their youth.
L.B.
September 1946. F O R E W O R D. THE Manor of Pelham was established by Thomas Pell and his nephew, Sir John, who had held high offices in the royal household of Kings of England. The inimitable Samuel Pepys of London did an estimable job of recording in his famous Diary, the doings and the goings on of the great and the near-great of that period. It is passing strange that the exploits of these two Pell gentlemen in the English court, and later in the New England Colonies, escaped entirely any comment by Pepys. Here are a few entries as Pepys might have recorded them in his Diary--but didn't! * * * 1649--30 Jan. At Break of dawn, my wife and I arose to see a mighty fine spectacle--with all its pomp and circumstance--the King lose his head on the Block. Heard someone say that nothing in his life so became Charles as leaving it. Truly, to the end he carried himself King and Gentleman. After the ceremony, Sir W and--his fair Lady invited us to sup at the Bull's Head Tavern. Had little appetite, but I ate a barrel of pickled oysters and drank some ale. And so to bed. * * * 1654--5 Jan. Five years ago come the thirtieth of this month, Anniversary of the King losing his head. Capt. P---, just back from a voyage to the Virglnias, reports that Thomas Pell--onetime Gentleman of the Bedchamber of Charles I, do prosper mightily in New England, where he has been a soldier of fortune--his sword for sale. He has a residence in Fairfield, Connectlcut--and has just come into possession of a plantation of 9,000 acres near Manhattan, viii. F O R E W O R D. bought for a song from the Indians. It is said he fled from England in
I635, to save his neck--he being caught making love to Mrs. ---, then a
favorite of the King. * * * 1661--30 July. His Majesty, King Charles II, is paying off some obligations. He has named to a good living from the Church, the famous mathematician, the Rev. & Rt. Hon. John Pell, D.D., who was the personal representative on the Continent of Oliver Cromwell, and Ambassador for England to the Swiss Cantons, 1654-58. It is said that the Doctor befriended the King when he was in Exile on the Continent, and also rendered valuable services to the Church. P.S.--Wonders never cease! The King also appointed his son, Sir John Pell, Jr., Sewer in Ordinary to the Royal Household. * * * 1670--15 Jan. Letters from New England tell of the death last September, of Mr. Thomas Pell, Esq., of Fairfield in Connecticut--leaving large plantations and great estates to his nephew, Sir John, a great favorite at the Court of the King. * * * 1688--4 Feb. Reports from New York say that on 20 October, last year, Sir Thos. Dongan, Governor, issued a royal patent to Sir John Pell, confirming his inheritance from his uncle, Thos. and naming him First Lord of the Manner of Pelham. * * * It is indeed unfortunate that these members of the Pell family--whom Pepys must have known well and intimately--escaped his editorial notice, since what he might have written would have made rare reading. TABLE OF CONTENTS.
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x. T A B L
E O F C O N T E N T S.
L I S T O F I L L U S T R A T I O N S. Lieut. Colonel John Pell IV, 1643-1700, Second Lord of the Manor of
Pelham Frontispiece Thomas Pell's Treaty with the Indians in 1654--Plate I, facing 13. Chart Showing Pedigree of Pell Family--Plate XIV, facing 36. Colonel Philip Pell, Memorial Tablet--Plate XV, facing 44. The Bartow Mansion in Pelham Bay Park-East Elevation and Garden--Plate XVII, between 44-45. The Bartow Mansion--Front Elevation--Plate XVII, between 44-45. Chart Showing Pedigree of Bartow Family--Plate XVIII, facing 45. Signature, John Pell of Pelham, 1697--54 Signature, Rachel Pinckney Pell, March 19, 1697--54. Pinckney Coat-of-Arms--54. Town of Pelham Official Seal--79. Hon. John Hunter, 2nd, Esquire (1788-1852) of Hunter's Island, Town of Pelham, Westchester County, New York--Plate XX, between 92-93. Hon. John Hunter, 2nd, Esquire (1788-1852) of Hunter's Island, Silhouette--Plate XXI, between 92-93. Hunter's Island Mansion--General View--Plate XXII, facing 93. Signature of Hon. John Hunter, Esq., of Hunter's Island--105. Coat-of-Arms of the Hay Family--Plate XXV, facing 172. The Little Red Church--Plate XXVI, between 172-173. Old St. Paul's Church--East Chester--Plate XXVII, between 172-173. Pedigree of Schuyler of PelhamDPlste XXVIII, facing 173. The Homestead of Colonel Philip Pell. Erectecl 1750--154. L I S T O F M A P S. Map of Pelham in the Year 1853--Endsheet, Left. Town of Pelham--Endsheet, Right. Copy of Map of Land in Eastchester Granted to William Peartree and Associates by Queen Anne in 1708---Plate II, between 28-29. Map 1798, Town of Pelham by James Davenport, Showing Captain Bond's Boundary Line (1710) between Pelham and New Rochelle--Plate III, between 28-29. Map from a Survey of the Roads of the United States of America by Christopher Colles, 1789--Plate IV, between 28-29. Map of the Southern Part of West Chester County, New York--Plate V, between 28-29. Map of the Country in the Vicinity of the Anne Hutchinson Settlement--Plate VI, between 28-29. Map 1851, Pelhamville--an Extension into Pelham Heights--Plate VII, between 28-29. Map 1867 Town of Pelham from Beer's Atlas 1868--Plate VIII, between 28-29. Pelhamville and New Rochelle from Beer's Atlas 1868--Plate IX, between 28-29. Town of Pelham and City Island from Beer's Atlas 1868--Plate X, between 28-29. Town of Pelham and Pelham Manor from Bromley's Atlas 1881--Plate XI, between 28-29. Town of Pelam and Pelham Manor from Bromley's Altlas 1881--Plate XII, between 28-29. Maps 1888 of Bartow Estate made by New York City, showing tracts in the Bartow Estate acquired by City for future park development--now included in Pelham Bay Park--Plate XIII-A, between 28-29. Map of Bartow 1874--Now Part of Pelham Bay Park. Proposed Real Estate Development at the Bartow Station, Harlem Branch, New Haven Railroad--Plate XIII-B, between 28-29. Village of New Rochelle from Bromley's Atlas x88I--PIate XIX, facing 52. Map 1873, Pelham Manor & Huguenot Heights Association, shown in prospectus--owned by New York Historical Society--Plate XXIII, facing 116. Town of Pelham (1899) Atlas of Mt. Vernon and Town of Pelham by John F.
Fairchild--Plate XXIV, facing 124. INTRODUCTION. THE Town of Pelham has been a residential community continuously for nearly three centuries; and is one of the earliest English settlements in Westchester County, being the second Royal Patent granted by the English Throne. The story of Pelham is told in part in many ancient books--monumental works seldom now to be found, outside public libraries. Members of the Pell family publish Pelliana--a series of booklets, privately printed in limited editions--being genealogical studies of the Pell family. Scharf's History of Westchester is excellent, and the ancient history of Pelham is told in Bolton's History of Westchester, which is quite an amazing piece of exhaustive research. It was published originally in 1848 by Robert Bolton, and reissued in 1881 by his brother, C. W. Bolton. The authors were sons of the Rev. Robert Bolton, who built Christ Church in Pelham, and the Priory. Pelham is indebted to members of the Bolton family for many contributions of inestimable and lasting value; and not the least of these is this History of Westchester. It is passing strange that no one has written the Dynasty of the Pells--a real biography relating the lives of the several Lords of the Manor of Pelham. The chronicles contain sufficient fact, genealogical data, and information about these Lords of the Manor, which, if judiciously mixed with a bit of imagination and a pinch of romance, would make a readable story. xiv. I N T R O D U C T I O N. Such a biography would bring the record down to the era following the American Revolution, when Westchester County in 1788 was divided into Townships--among them being the Town of Pelham. The history of the Town--since the Revolution--is buried in the archives, but it is there for those with the patience to dig deep. Descendants of Thomas Pell, 3rd Lord, sold large pieces of land to settlers, and just after the Civil War these large tracts began to be broken up into smaller tracts. Subsequently, these sections were subdivided by streets and into small residential building plots, to attract business men who wanted their families to live in the country, while they commuted daily to the City. Pelham remained just country on the outskirts of New York, until
the turn of this century, where nothing of interest could possibly occur,
worthy of being noted in the New York papers. Fortunately, however, to
help fill the gaps in the narrative, there exist the memories of old
residents, a series of ancient maps, county and town records, and finally,
booklets and monographs issued at times of anniversary celebrations and
other events, from which sections of the story have been gleaned. "When 'Omer smote 'is bloomin' Lyre I N T R O D U C T I O N. xv. My appreciation is herewith expressed to those who interested themselves in my behalf--especially several who did exhaustive research for me. Without the encouragement of these people this undertaking, I fear, would never have progressed to the present stage. If what I have compiled accomplishes no other purpose than to inspire someone to write the lives of the Lords of the Manor--and tell the real story of Pelham--then my labors will have served some useful end.
LOCKWOOD BARR.
Pelham Manor, N. Y. [BLANK PAGE] CHAPTER I. THE Pelhams--consisting of Pelham Manor, Pelham Heights, North
Pelham--are three separate residential commuting villages. They form the
Town of Pelham, located on the main line of the New York, New Haven &
Hartford Rail Road--about 15 miles north and east of Grand Central
Terminal, at 42nd Street and Vanderbilt Avenue--the heart of New York
City. Most residents of Westchester County think these names are Thomas Pell was descended from the de Pelle family of France, which migrated to England soon after the Conquest, according to genealogical research, conducted by the Pell family in recent years. The word ham was early English for home--so Pelham came to mean the home of the Pells, in the English Colony of America. Although sometimes referred to as the Ist Lord of the Manor of Pelham, Thomas Pell is described in the archives as "Mr. Thomas Pell, Esq., of Ann Hooks Neck"--or as the first Proprietor. Nowhere in the 2 History of the Ancient Town of Pelham original grant of October 8, 1666, issued to Thomas Pell by Richard Nicholls, the first English Governor of New York, is to be found "... the lordshipp and manner of Pelham." That designation first appeared in the patent of October 20, 1687, issued by Governor Thomas Dongan, confirming the inheritance of Sir John Pell, from Thomas Pell, his uncle. While John, the nephew of Thomas, was the 2nd generation of Pells, and was the 2nd Proprietor, actually, under the royal grant, he was the Ist Lord of the Manor of Pelham. Therefore, to prevent confusion and to conform to the practice common to histories of Westchester County, the following designations will be used: Ist generation--Thomas, Ist Proprietor (or Ist Lord). John Pell, 2nd Lord, was usually referred to as Sir John Pell, or as Lord John Pell of the Manor of Pelham. He signed himself "John Pell of Pelham." The County of Westchester was divided into Towns on March 7, 1788, and the Manor of Pelham was designated officially as the Town of Pelham. Such it has remained until this date. One of the earliest references to the Town, found in the archives, was: "At a town meeting held at the School House in the Town of Pelham on Tuesday, the 7th day of April 1801. . ." The Rt. Rev. Treadwell Onderdonk, Bishop, made a report to the Episcopal Diocesan Convention from which the following is quoted: "Friday, 28 April 1843, Origin of the Name of Pelham. 3 laid, on the Rev. Robert Bolton's estate, the cornerstone of Christ Church at Pelham . . . the first building devoted to religious worship ever commenced in the town of Pelham. . ." Rev. Robert BoRon, Rector of Christ Church, gave the land on which the Church was built. On September 15, 1843, he relinquished all right in the property, in a document quoted in part as follows: "I, Robert Bolton, of the Town of Pelham, County of Westchester and State of New York, having by the good providence of Almighty God, erected in said town a house of public worship, etc. . ." Many similar references may be cited to prove that soon after the
Town of Pelham was erected, the term, the Manor of Pelham went out of
usage--and was not [Image of Pell Coat-of-Arms, 1594] CHAPTER II. Anne Hutchinson Massacred. TO get a perspective of where the Pelhams fit into other early settlements in the Colonies, remember that James Town, in the Virginias, was established in 1607; that Henry Hudson sailed into the Lower New York Bay in 1609; that the Pilgrim Fathers landed at Plymouth, Massachusetts in 1620; that the Dutch bought Manhattan Island from the Indians in 1626; that the Swedes in 1638, sailed up the Delaware to Wilmington; and in 1639, one Jonas Bronck bought from the Indians, the tract between the Harlem and the Bronx Rivers. Anne Hutchinson was scalped by the Indians in 1643--and Thomas Pell made his Treaty with the Indians in 1654. The shores along the Sound from Hell Gate to Connecticut, and the
adjacent islands, were dotted with permanent villages of the Indians. An
important tribe was the Siwanoys, and in the territory which Thomas Pell
acquired one of their principal chieftains was the terrible Wampage, later
known as Anhooke. His village was on the point of land east of the mouth
of Hutchinson River, long known as Ann Hooks Neck, Anne Hutchinson Massacred. 5 some indication of his importance among his people. For nearly a century, when the story has been printed of the massacre of Anne Hutchinson and her little band of faithful followers, the site of her settlement has been stated as being in Pelham, not far from Split Rock, near a big spring on the old Indians Trail which ran from Pell's Point up the Hutchinson River Valley. That site was first named in print in Robert Bolton's History of Westchester County, published in 1848. In the revised edition of 1881, edited by C. W. Bolton, that story was again told. In various books and publications, the legend of the site of the settlement by Anne Hutchinson, has been repeated. Research now fixes the site of Anne Hutchinson's settlement as
being on the west side of the Hutchinson River, in Eastchester, just south
of the present Boston Post Road. This research is embodied in two books--Anne
Hutchinson and Other Papers, being Vol. VII of the publications of the
Westchester Historical Society, printed in 1929. Otto Hufeland made a
complete transcription of the town records of Eastchester and patiently
pieced together the boundaries of the lots owned by the Ten
Families---which required years of patient search. The second book is A
Woman Misunderstood, by Reginald Pelham Bolton, published privately in
1931. For those who would delve deep into Bolton's History of Westchester County, Vol. I, p. 515, published in 1848, states: ". . . the residence of Anne Hutchinson appears to have been Ann's Hoeck, literally Ann's point or neck--Hoeck being a Dutch 6 History of the Ancient Town of Pelham. name for neck or point. . ." Bolton quotes Chandler's American Criminal Trials, published 1844, which states: ". . . the whole family of Hutchinsons removed from New Haven to Eastchester in the territory of the Dutch. . ." These two statements contradict each other. The second edition of Bolton's History, published in 1881, edited by C. W. Bolton, brother of Robert, in Vol. II, p. 32, locates the site of Anne Hutchinson's settlement as definitely being on the Provost Farm near Split Rock, in the Town of Pelham. The territory originally in the Town of Pelham--along old Split
Rock Road, from the Pelham Home for Children, down to the Sound--was the
site of many Indian Villages. The logical places Anne Hutchinson might
have tried to start her colony, have been excavated by many amateur
archeologists and Indian artifacts have been discovered. Several
foundations of early houses--which might have been Anne Hutchinson's--have
Anne Hutchinson was born in 1591 in England. With her husband, their children and some of his relatives, she arrived in Boston in 1634. Because of her radical religious teachings among the women of the colony, she was banished from Massachusetts in 1637-38. She found temporary refuge in Rhode Island, where her husband died in 1642. Late that year, Anne Anne Hutchinson Massacred. 7 Hutchinson, with some of her children and a few faithful followers--among them several men--came down the Sound, to the mouth of the Hutchinson River. There were sixteen persons in her party. She selected as the site for her colony what became known as the Eastchester Planting Ground, an ideal spot, "extending half a mile back from the path that came up from Westchester (settlement). It bordered the Hutchinson Meadow, which was between it and the Hutchinson River. It is a gentle slope, rising sixty or seventy feet in the half mile, watered on each side by a large fresh water brook, so the upland was high and dry. The spot is protected from cold winds by higher ground. In front of it lies a half mile of the Hutchinson salt meadows, traversed by two broad creeks navigable for small boats--that come practically up to the farmland. . . There was no better site for a settlement for miles around, borne out by its choice as a home for the Ten Families. . ." This is a quotation from Anne Hutchinson and Other Papers, published as Vol. VII in 1929 by the Westchester County Historical Society. There was a Captain James Sands, who subsequently lived on Block
Island. Captain Sands married Katherine Walker, granddaughter of Edward
Hutchinson, brother of Anne's husband William. There is an account of how
Capt. Sands helped build Anne's house--presumably told by Capt. Sands. In
the Collection of the Massachusetts Historical Society, 3rd series, Vol.
VI, published 1837, is printed: Niles, History 8 History of the Ancient Town of Pelham. a brief account of remarkable passages relating to Mrs. Hutchinson . . . the Court (Church) ordered her to depart out of the Government of Massachusetts. She accordingly removed to Rhode Island, but making no long stay there, she went further westward to a place called Eastchester, now in the eastern part of the province of New York, where she prepared to settle herself; but not to the good liking of the Indians that lived back in the woods, as the sequel proves. In order to pursue her purpose, she agreed with Captain James Sands, then a young man, to build her house, and he took a partner with him in the business. . . there came a company of Indians to the frame where he was at work, and made a great shout and sat down. After some time, they gathered up his tools, put his broad axe on his shoulders and his other tools into his hands, and made signs for him to go away. But he seemed to take no notice of them, but continued in his work." This account tells that the Indians repeated this friendly gesture several times but to no avail. Obviously, Captain Sands had completed his task and was not in the neighborhood when the Indians lost patience and took extreme measures. A few months after Anne Hutchinson, another dissenter, John Throckmorton, arrived from New England, with a company of thirty-five souls, and chose as his site, what became known as Throg's Neck--not far southwest of the Hutchinson settlement. According to A Woman Misunderstood, by Reginald Pelham
Bolton, the Indians, on August 20, 1643, attacked Throckrnorton's and Anne
Hutchinson's settlements Anne Hutchinson Massacred. 9 ter of Anne, escaped, she being taken prisoner by the The terrible Wampage led the war party, and he is said to have boasted that he personally had scalped Anne Hutchinson. It was customary among the Indians, when they murdered some important personage, to add the name of their victim to their own name--and so Wampage took the name of Anne Hutchinson, which became Anhooke. The territory where he had his village became known in the archives as the Land of Ann Hook, spelled in various ways. On June 24, 1664 Thomas Pell made the following grant: "Know all men that I, Thomas Pell, have granted unto James Eustis and Philip Pinckney for themselves and their associates to the number of Ten Families, to settle down at Hutchinson's, that is where the house stood, at the meadows and uplands to Hutchinson's River. . ." The Ten Families drew up articles of agreement in 1665, for their future government, the first paragraph reading: "Imprimis: that we by the grace of God, settle down on the tract of land lying between Hutchinson's Brook, where the house was, until it comes unto the River that cometh in at the head of the meadow. . ." Richard Nicholls, the first of the English Governors, under a royal grant dated March 9, 1666, described this tract as: ". . . bounded to the east and ye north east by a certain river commonly called Hutchinson River, which runs in at ye head of ye meadow, and is ye west bounds of Mr. Pell's patent, to ye south east, including ye meadows heretofore called Hutchinson's Meadow and ye uplands, to ye now known common path coming up from Westchester, to take in also upland between 10 History of the Ancient Town of Pelham. Hutchinson's and Rattlesnake Brook, from said path to ye extent of half mile north west from ye path--more over I do hereby grant and confirm unto ye said patenties--That their plantation shall continue and retain ye name of Eastchester." Here is further evidence as to the site of Anne Hutchinson's
settlement. "On a map dated August 1, 1708 , filed in the Office of the
Secretary of State, Albany--the earliest known map of Eastchester on
record--the path coming up from West Chester (town) is shown passing near
the edge of the meadow and what is apparently the "half a mile northwest"
is indicated by a line running from Hutchinson's Brook to Rattlesnake
Brook, agreeing with the royal grant confirmed by Governor Nicholls in
1666 thereby furnishing a quite definite location of a small piece of land
containing about 300 acres of upland, which Thomas PelI gave to the Ten
Families in 1664: ". . . to settle down at Anne Hutchinson settled in the territory late in 1642 and was massacred on August 20, 1643. Living there less than a year, she must have been some personage--or the massacre must have been horrible in its gory details--to have so impressed her personality upon the early settlers, that her name was given to Hutchinson Anne Hutchinson Massacred. 11 River, Hutchinson's Bay and to the Settlement at Hutchinson's. These designations appear in the very earliest records of Eastchester. For those who cherish the tradition that Anne Hutchinson settled in Pelham, and was there scalped by the Indians, there is this consolation. Eleven years after the massacre--when Thomas Pell signed his treaty with the Indians in 1654, he gained possession of some land west of the Hutchinson River, as well as all the land east of the Hutchinson River up to Mamaroneck. Technically speaking, therefore, Anne Hutchinson was massacred on a spot which subsequently was included in Thomas Pell's grant. When Thomas Pell died in 1669, and left his property to his nephew, Sir John Pell, 2nd Lord, the property west of the River, where Anne had settled, was then part of Eastchester; and so was never technically a part of the Lordship and Manor of Pelham proper which was not established until the royal patent of October 2o, 1687 was issued by Governor Dongan. * * * "POST SCRIPT "ANNE HUTCHINSON STAYS BANISHED "Boston, Feb. 28, 1945 (AP)--Anne (Marbury) Hutchinson will .have to remain banished from Massachusetts after all. By voice vote, and without debate, the Senate today refused to reverse the action of the General Court of 1637 which ordered Mrs. Hutchinson to leave the State because of her religious beliefs." CHAPTER III. Thomas Pell Buys the Pelhams. THE English Colony in Connecticut claimed the territory as far west as the present site of Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania. The claims of the English in Connecticut and the Dutch in New York City, to the Shores between New York City and Norwalk, Connecticut, therefore were overlapping. The Connecticut Colony, was instrumental in having "Mr. Thomas Pell, Esq. of Fairfield" make the Treaty with the Indians, on November 14, 1654, for it blocked the Dutch. No map has been found on which there has been accurately plotted the exact boundaries of this land which Thomas Pell purchased from the Indians. However, there is an old map reproduced on page 721, of Scharf's History of Westchester, showing the west boundary, north from "the Wading Place" in the Hutchinson (where Colonial Avenue now crosses the River) up to the Bronx River--namely the spot ". . . eight miles north from the point at Ann Hook's Neck. . ." This treaty conveyed to Thomas Pell the lands east of Hutchinson River to Mamaroneck, including City Island, Hunter's Island, Travers Island and all the others, large and small, bordering the Shore. On the mainland, the tract included Pells Point, all the *12-A [Blank, Unnumbered Page Which Is the Back of Plate I] [Facsimile of Handwritten Treaty, With Caption Set Forth Below] THOMAS PELL'S TREATY WITH THE INDIANS IN 1654 The original has disappeared. This copy in Pell's writing, he sent to his relations in England, where it was discovered in recent years. It is copied with permission of S.H.P. Pell of Fort Ticonderoga, from Pelliana, Vol. I, No. 6, May 1941. PLATE I [CLOSE INSPECTION OF THE HANDWRITTEN FACSIMILE REVEALS THE TEXT SET FORTH IMMEDIATELY BELOW.] ["Know all men by this present yt we Shawanarockqúot: poquorum: Anhõõke: Wawhãmkus: Mehumõw: Beinge ye true owners & ye only Lawffull Heyres & proprietors off a piece of land Bounded by ye Sea to ye South wth yt Tract off land Called by ye English Longe Island; to ye west & west & by South wth ye bay & River & River Diawockinge Acqueonunge (Chemaquanaock to ye East) wth all ye Islands yt are in ye salt water to ye South South East & South West Against yt Tract off Land wch is Beffore expresd; wh all trees medowes & all Land wh in ye tract off Land wch is Beffore Expressed: doo sell & deliver to Thos Pell now inhabitinge in Fayrffield his heyres & assignse to hould injoy improove plant as hee shall see cause to his Best to be improved ffor & to him & his heyres fforever wh out any molestation on our pt And doo herby ingage our Selves to make good our selves against all Claymes intayled either by Dutch or Indyans wt ever & doo deliver it into ye posession off ye sayd Thos Pell & his Assignes: markinge ye bounds to ye mayne Land wch is & shalbe ye present bounds to ye mayne Land: only Liberty is ffreely graunt ffor ffeedinge offe cattle & Cuttinge off timber beyound those Bounds; & wee doo Acknowledge to have Reseved in full for it ye trou valew & just Satisfaction Accordinge to our Estimate to wch we sett our hands beffore these wittnesses off English & Indyans this twenty seaventh off June 1654. English Wittnesses Saggamores (Markes) Articles of Agreement We also as lovinge neighbours & ffriends doo mutually ingage our Selves to send too men off Each yr one Day in ye Springe every yeare to marke ye Bounds of ye Land yt a Right Knowledge may be kept wh out injury to Either side yt Mutuall peace & love may be mayntayned 2nd Wee allso doo promise Each to other if any plotts on either Side yt may be to hurt off Either yt we Seasonably Discover ym as Lovinge Neighbours & friends yt peace & love may be mutually preserved Indyan Wittnesses This wrightinge was signed & wittnessed Beffore A great multitude off Indyans & many English we who are under written do testify mark This is A True Coppy off ye originall written Thos Pell"] Thomas Pell Buys the Pelham 13 Pelhams, and New Rochelle. West of the River it included the Town of East Chester, part of Mt. Vernon, and a portion of the Bronx--in all, some 9,160 acres more or less. The original Treaty disappeared, but fortunately, Thomas Pell made a copy and sent it to his English relatives--where it was discovered in recent years. A reproduction of this copy of the Treaty appeared in Pelliana--Vol. I, No. 6. What Thomas Pell paid for these lands is not recorded in the Treaty with the Indians; and the price has not been discovered. However, Thomas Pell testified in Court on September 29, 1665: "... that he bought the land in question in 1654, of the Natives, and paid them for it. . ." Tradition says that every one in Anne Hutchinson's Company perished in the massacre--save one little girl who became the wife of an Indian Chief, residing in a settlement near the Split Rock. That territory was long known as the "Land of Ann Hook." Tradition says that Thomas Pell--the 3rd Lord of the Manor, married an Indian Princess--a descendant of this Hutchinson girl, and Anhooke. Orders of the Court dated October 13, 1669, instructing that an inventory be taken of the estate of Thomas Pell deceased, described him as "Mr. Thomas Pell of Ann Hook's Neck." And further in the Connecticut archives, as late as 1675, his nephew is described as "John Pell of Ann Hook's Neck." Cornelius Van Thienhoven, the Fiscal of the Province of New Netherlands, served a protest against Thomas Pell on April 19, 1655, for having settled at Vreelant (East Chester)--claiming that lawful title 14 History of the Ancient Town of Pelham. had been taken by the Dutch to that land from the Indians. The Court Messenger who delivered the Protest to the Magistrates of the new Village, brought back the answer: ". . . Why doth not the Fiscal write in English? then could we answer in writing? We expect a settlement of the boundary between Holland and England; until then, we abide under the State of England." The English took over New Amsterdam on September 18, 1664, renaming the settlement New York. After the surrender by the Dutch to the English, certain residents in West Chester, in 1664, surrendered to Thomas Pell, all rights to a tract of land Pell had claimed, west of the Hutchinson River. Thomas Pell, on 24 June 1664, granted the right ". . . to James Eustis, Philip Pinckney, for themselves and associates, to the number of Ten Families, to settle down at Hutchinson, that is where the house stood at the meadow and uplands, to Hutchinson River." The number of acres sold is not stated in the archives. In 1666 Governor Richard Nicholls issued the royal "patent of East Chester and described it as: ". . . which said plantation is commonly known and called by ye name of The Ten Farms or East Chester. . ." OLD ST. PAUL'S, EAST CHESTER--The congregation of Old St. Paul's in East Chester, dates back to the settlement by the Ten Families from Fairfield. Thomas Pell is not recorded as a member of the Congregation, and his nephew John, the 2nd Lord, was interested in Trinity Church in New Rochelle. On the site of the existing building of Old St. Paul's have been previous church structures, but the present Thomas Pell Buys The Pelhams. 15 structure was erected 1765 or before. The old church was restored in 1942 to all its original glory. During the American Revolution, the Church was used as a British hospital. The history of St. Paul's Church is closely interwoven with that of the Pelhams. Not only were many of its parishioners residents of the Pelhams, but its outstanding minister was Rev. Robert Bolton, in charge from 1837 to 1843. THOMAS PELL'S HOME.--Some historians claim that Thomas Pell did not build a home, in Pelham. Other accounts relate that his wife refused to leave the society she found in Fairfield. Bolton, in his History of Westchester, Vol. II, page 71, edition of 1881, records that a portion of the southern extremity of the Town was formerly Ann Hook's Neck, subsequently called Pell's Point and later Rodman Neck, and that ". . . Pelham Neck is terminated by the property of the late Gilbert Bowne. On the site of the dwelling house, stood the residence of Thomas Pell, Esq. History of Westchester by J. Thomas Scharf, Vol. I, page 520, edition of 1886, states in part: ". . . Pelham Neck is now the site of many handsome residences, chief among which, for its historic interest, is the Bowne dwelling, which stands on the spot once occupied by the manor house of Thomas Pell." Now just a few hours pleasant motor trip from Fairfield to Pelham, meant days or weeks of tedious travel for Thomas Pell. Doubtless he made the trip by sailing down the Sound. Business then was transacted personally, man to man--the only alternative being communi- 16 History of the Ancient Town of Pelham. cations sent by personal couriers or by agents. To have managed his large properties in Fairfield and Pelham, he must have had lieutenants. Yet, no references to any men or group associated with him in his enterprises, have been found. Thomas Pell must have been a very busy man, with his large and scattered interests, and he could not have spent a great deal of time in Pelham --if the accounts of his comings and goings made necessary by the personal supervision of his enterprises, are substantially correct. * * * Thomas PelI was born in England in 1613, son of a distinguished preacher and teacher, Rev. John Pell, D.D. When a young lad, he began to serve at Court as a Page to Prince Charles, and later became a Gentleman of the Bedchamber of Charles I, King of England, who was beheaded in 1649. Accounts do not agree in all particulars; however, there seems to be no question but that Thomas Pell arrived in the Colonies in 1635. Pelliana, Vol. I, No. 3, May 1935, states: ". . . a Thos. Pell, Carpenter, aged 25 years, accompanied by Marie Pell, aged 26, and infant Marie Pell, aged one year, took passage for New England on the ship Planter on April 5, 1635. However, for some reason, the passage was cancelled so late that these Pells are not included in the passenger list--but are ruled out with a pen. A few weeks later, a Thos. Pell, this time giving our Thomas' correct age of 22 years (he was born 1613)--engaged passage on the ship Speedwell. He called himself a tailor." Original Lists of Persons of Quality from Great Britain to the American Colonies, compiled by John C. Thomas Pell Buys The Pelhams. 17 Hotten, includes the Pell family of three on the ship Planter, as noted by Pelliana. However, this same book lists but one trip for the ship Speedwell, and that passage as of May 28, 1635, from London to the Virginias--not to New England. Thos. Pell was not listed as a passenger on that voyage of the Speedwell. Founders of New England by Samuel G. Drake, shows the Hopewell, Wm. Burdock, Master, April 1635, bound for New England. Among the passengers there was a Thos. Pell, aged 22, listed as "A Taylor." If Thomas Pell--the "Carpenter" and Thomas Pell the "Taylor" were one and the same person--then the question is still open as to what became of Marie, and the infant? Research has been made by the authors contributing to Pelliana, without result--so that story may never be told. When Thomas Pell arrived in the Colonies to start life anew at the age of 22 years, he began by doing various and sundry things--living in many different places. He settled first in Dorchester, Massachusetts and was one of the early company of Windsor, Connecticut. At some period he traveled extensively through Virginia and Delaware--which raises the question of whether or not he first landed in Virginia and then worked his way up into New England. He served in the Pequot War in 1637 under Captain Mason, and was with Lion Gardner before 1639 at Fort Saybrook, Connecticut. In New Haven, Connecticut, where he lived for a while, Thomas Pell married in 1647, Lucy French--widow of Frances Brewster; and in June of that year, located in Fairfield, Connecticut. There he made his 18 History of the Ancient Town of Pelham. principal place of residence to the end of his days. He never returned to England. Thomas Pell purchased land in Fairfield on February 9, 1653 from Philip Pinckney, one of the "Ten Founders" that settled East Chester. On November 14, 1654 Pell made his treaty with the Indians for the purchase of the Pelhams. In 1662 he was made a freeman of Fairfield, and in 1665 elected a Representative to the General Court. Richard Nicholls, the first English Governor of New York confirmed Pell's treaty with the Indians on October 8, 1666, by issuing to him a royal patent--being the first and only official recognition Thomas Pell received either from Connecticut or from the Throne--for his daring and successful mission against the Dutch---namely his settlement of Pelham. Thomas Pell died at the end of September or the beginning of October 1669 in Fairfield, and is there buried. His wife had died in 1667-68. If Thomas Pell had any children by the marriage with the Widow Brewster, he did not mention them in his will, dated September 21, 1669. He named his nephew Sir John Pell, his sole heir. Thomas Pell, having left property in Connecticut and New York, two separate Inventories were taken--both cover sheet after sheet of paper. They read like the inventory of a general merchandising establishment of olden days. Many items are most amusing. It must be remembered that Thomas Pell had to carry in stock all the goods and supplies needed by the people on his estates, for almost everything had to be imported from England and the Continent, since the colonists in the beginning had to devote most of their efforts to hunting Thomas Pell Buys The Pelhams. 19 and farming to put food on their tables---so had little time to manufacture anything except urgent necessities. The itemized appraisal of the New York estate of Mr. Thomas Pell, Esq. of Ann Hook's Neck. . . dated October 20, 1669, is given in Bolton's History of Westchester. In Pelliana is shown in detail, the Connecticut Inventory. The total of the Inventory was 1,294. pounds--for New York alone--quite a tidy estate! Here are two entries of interest to property owners in the Pelhams: "The howsing, lands, barnes, islands, adjoyning--from Hutchinson's
River westward and so far eastward as were Mr. Tho. Pell's inst. and
lawful right . . . . . . . . . . . £ 500-0-0 The grant of 9,160 acres of land, the houses, buildings, etc., were appraised at the equivalent of $3,100--less than 40 cents an acre for the land. This appraisal proves that up to the time of his death, Thomas Pell still owned property on the west side of Hutchinson River, as well as the tract east of the River. The Inventory filed in Connecticut January 2, 1670, of Thomas Pell's property in Fairfield, was as long and detailed as that filed in New York. While the total value was not given, it clearly exceeded the estate in New York. Among the items listed in Fairfield were: "To a silver tanked--a silver salt seller--a silver bole--2 wine
cups--a poringer--& a drinking cup--all silver. . . £ 20-0-0. The great rapier and the silver tankard--both of which doubtless Thomas had brought with him originally, from London, were handed down through the Pell family for several generations. Sometime around 20 History of the Ancient Town of Pelham. 1760, they were stolen from Joseph Pell (1740-1776) the 4th Lord--supposedly by a relative of the family--and pawned in New York City, where they vanished. THOMAS PELL--WHAT MANNER OF MAN WAS HE? No portrait of Thomas PelI exists, but it is not difficult to create in the mind's eye, an imaginary image of this attractive young swashbuckler. A small expectant company of men and women gathered upon the wharf--that early summer morning of 1635, to welcome the newcomers on the ship Hopewell, from London--for a ship was an event in those days. Of course, no one did so--but pretend a member of that band did write a letter describing the occasion. That imaginary letter might well have read: ". . . When the fog lifted we saw a tall broad-shouldered passenger standing aloof from his fellow voyagers. . . He carried himself as if to the manner born. There was a flutter of excitement among the fair sex, & we all were consumed with curiosity as to the identity of the distinguished gentleman. Evidently he had arrayed himself in his best, & had taken time & pains with his toilette. He wore the full-length powdered wig which formed a frame for his pleasing countenance & emphasized the large deep-set blue eyes, his strong mouth, & the firm set of his jaw. . . "His suit of light blue velvet piped in silver braid was cut in the latest fashion. A long circular cloak lined with silk of a lighter hue, was thrown back over one shoulder with a studied carelessness--the effect of which was not lost upon us. Under his arm was a low-crowned, wide-brimmed beaver hat--from which flowed a great white plume. The shirt of sheerest linen, had ruffs of fine lace at the throat & wrists. . . "From the sword belt swung a great rapier--weapon of self-defense essential to any Gentleman who might venture forth day or night, in the streets of London. . ." Thomas Pell Buys The Pelhams. 21 Unfortunately, this testimony of an eye witness is purely imaginary. No reference exists in the archives, of Thomas Pell's arrival. Shakespeare created his characters by what he made them do--by what he made them say--and by what he made others say about them. Since there is no authentic likeness of Thomas Pell, there is no way now to portray his actual personal appearance. However, from the hardships he was to endure in after years, he must have been physically fit to have given such a good account of himself. None of his letters to his family and his associates--or their replies--have been found. The early archives shed little light upon his character and personality. But, even in the absence of all of these essential indices, Thomas Pell stands up head and shoulders. He must have been a gifted diplomat, and had a way of getting what he wanted from others. His successes show he was an able executive with boundless energy, absolute courage and integrity. The positions of trust, to which he was elected by his fellow men, mark the esteem in which he was held in the Connecticut Colony. Thomas Pell had been a privileged member of the royal household of Charles I, King of England. When he came to the Massachusetts Colony he had turned his back upon the life of ease of a courtier, and at the age of 22 years had chosen to become a soldier of fortune, an adventurer and pioneer in the unknown wilderness of the New World. During the first twenty years in the land of his adoption, Thomas Pell's experience paralleled that of many other Englishmen of rank and social position. However, approaching middle-age, he put over a coup 22 History of the Ancient Town of Pelham. for England which, for its effectiveness, its bravado or sheer effrontery, has few equals and no superior in the annals of this country. Yet he received no recognition from his fellow-compatriots or from the Throne. The importance of what he did for the cause of England has now so faded that it is mentioned in but few histories. The Dutch were masters of the high seas. They were intrepid explorers and shrewd traders. They had fleets of merchant vessels backed up with well-trained armed forces. Having bought Manhattan Island from the Indians in 1626, fortified the place and made good their claims, the Dutch had taken possession of the lands along the Sound as far east as the Hutchinson River, and up the Valley of the Hudson to Albany, also on the south shore of Long Island. They were beginning to reach over into what later became Westchester, claiming to have bought from the Indians rights to all the lands lying along the Shore up to Connecticut. The story from the Dutch viewpoint is told in Old Dirck's Book, a history of the Storm Family, by Raymond W. Storm of Pelham Manor, New York, a portion of which is here quoted: "When Thomas Pell made his treaty with the Indians, he defied old Petrus Stuyvesant and the whole Dutch West India Company, owners of Nieuw Amsterdam Colony. He pressed deep into Dutch country, close under the guns of Fort Amsterdam--in fact less than 20 miles away--risking his life and fortune in the territory of the enemy. . . "The Dutch people chartered the West India Company especially for the purpose of colonizing the great valley of the Hudson. In 1629 the Company (not the Dutch Government) made the first Thomas Pell Buys The Pelhams. 23 feeble attempt to found a colony on the island of the Manhattes, bought three years before from the Indians by Peter Minuit. "The English had come from Massachusetts down to Connecticut, and had also dug in at Southampton on Long Island. There was a grandiose scheme concocted in London, to consolidate all the English settlements along the Atlantic--but the Dutch were still masters of the seas--so the English had to bide their time. That is where Thomas Pell came on the scene. The English, no doubt, needed an 'incident,' as it would be called today, to precipitate an argument with the Dutch. If Pell could establish a settlement along the southern reaches of the Sound, close enough to Nieuw Amsterdam, that might furnish the cause for the English. "An armed neutrality existed between the two nations, in spite of the frequent battles between their fleets. The military and naval support Thomas Pell needed for his mission, England could not well furnish without going to war before they were ready. And England was not ready. . . "Thomas Pell bought 9,000 acres from the Indians (which they had already sold to the Dutch) with the tacit 'approval' of the New England Governor and the powers-that-be in London. Imagine! The English 'approved' the purchase! Of course they did. They needed the colony of Nieuw Amsterdam, and this was the first step towards taking it. . . "They sought to seduce the Burgomaster of the post, and subsequently did, but the 'incident,' which they sought to create through the instrumentality of Thomas Pell, failed for want of resistance. The Dutch wanted peace, but most of all, they wanted more time to develop their holdings up the Hudson Valley and entrench in the settlements they had started. "The Dutch and the English had fought twelve great naval engagements, and in most of them the Dutch had won. But in 1664, the English fleet sailed up into the Lower Bay and in September of that year the Dutch Burgomaster--who tradition says had been 'fixed'--turned over the City with little resistance. The Dutch raged, but were powerless. The two navies continued to fight upon the high seas, whenever one could jockey the other into a disadvantageous position. "Charles II made his nephew, the Duke of York, the Admiral of 24 History of the Ancient Town of Pelham. the English Navy. He was a real sailor. In 1665, riding high on the wave of his successes, the English met and defeated the main Dutch fleet, and a year later won again in a four-day engagement. That did it! The naval power of the Netherlands was broken-- almost! "Three years went by. The English were lulled into false security, and then a strange event occured. At anchor in their stronghold at Chatham, the main English fleet was surprised by the remnant of the Dutch Navy, and was sunk to a ship, while still riding at anchor. The Dutch, however, could not recoup, though they did retake and hold New York for a turn of two years, sometime later on. "In the meanwhile the English were not slow in following up the advantage which Thomas Pell's bold stroke had given them. With New York City in their possession, and already strongly entrenched in Connecticut, they wasted no time in establishing themselves in Westchester and Long Island, which gave them undisputed possession of the shores along the Sound. . ." * * * When the English first tried to settle on Long Island and over in Jersey, they had made little headway, because of the hostility of the Indian tribes. The massacre of Anne Hutchinson and her little band of settlers at East Chester in 1643 is cited as an example of what too often happened to colonists who intruded. Thomas Pell must have known the frightful fate of Anne Hutchinson and her followers. Nevertheless, just eleven years after her massacre, not far from the scene, under a great oak tree on the shore near the present Bartow Mansion, Thomas Pell signed his treaty with the Indian chieftains of that territory--among them being the terrible Wampage--who boasted that he personally scalped Ann Hutchinson with his own hands! What spell of magic did Thomas Pell work on those Indians--as well as the Dutch? He was not in command of well-armed foot soldiers from Connecticut, Thomas Pell Buys The Pelhams. 25 and he did not have a fleet of English warships at his back to stand off the Dutch while he made his treaty. There is no mention of his being accompanied by any company of men. There were but three white witnesses to the treaty: one a magistrate, and the other two, perhaps his body servants, for their names do not appear subsequently in any important connection. It now seems inconceivable that alone and single-handed, Pell could have had the audacity to conduct those negotiations and carry them to their successful conclusion, which he did. To buy from the Indians and to colonize the tract now known as the Pelhams was an awful enterprise-- and the adjective awful is used advisedly in its original meaning. History now records how this complex business finally turned out for the Pell Family--but the two principal actors in the drama, Thomas, and his heir and nephew, Sir John, could not foresee that result. They had to live through each uneasy day in fear of some mess that tomorrow might hatch forth and deposit on their door steps. This bold stroke by Thomas PelI drove in a wedge for the English, blocking effectively the Dutch in what became Westchester. Thomas Pell did it, and made it stick, without striking a blow, firing a shot or losing his scalp. Believe it or not! Truly it must have required courage for Thomas Pell to have planted his colony right under the guns of the Dutch. There is no record of him having built a fortification, so that his little band, settled on the tract, was vulnerable from both land or sea. He even had the temerity to build for himself some kind of a home on the shore, on Ann Hook's Neck, the extreme tip of 26 History of the Ancient Town of Pelham. his tract, where he occasionally resided when not in Fairfield. The Dutch at any time could have sailed up the Sound, landed a force in Pelham Bay, and wiped out him and his colony. The territory was alive with roaming bands of savages which maintained villages along the Sound. There is no record of the Indians repudiating their treaty with Thomas Pell by uprising against his settlement--of itself unbelievable, but a fact. While Thomas Pell was establishing himself as one of the leaders of Fairfield, he could not have been ignorant of the uncertainty of the future of the English settlements in the Colony. Though advices by mail were slow, and new arrivals from England were few and far between, he must have kept informed upon the political situation in Europe and the upheaval brewing in England, which resulted in the beheading, in 1649, of Charles I, King of England, his onetime patron saint--the coming of the Cromwells, and the restoration to the Throne of Charles II, in 1660, and the unrest which followed. When he made his treaty with the Indians in 1654, Thomas Pell must have known he could expect no help from the mother country, and little from Connecticut. As things turned out he was able to stand off the Dutch and the savages for nearly ten years--since it was not until September 18, 1664, when the Dutch handed New York City over to the English. How he did it, nobody knows! The first English Governor of New York--Richard Nicholls--on October 8, 1666, confirmed Pell's treaty with the Indians by issuing a royal patent. Other than that, so far as is known, neither the Crown nor the Thomas Pell Buys The Pelhams. 27 Connecticut Colony issued to Thomas Pell any official recognition of what he had accomplished for the cause of England and the Colonies. Thomas Pell lived only fifteen years after he signed the treaty with the Indians, and only five years after the English took over New York. Personally he did not reap the benefits of his great gamble. It paid off, however, with amazing dividends, for his nephew Sir John and his descendants. During the succeeding century, the Pell family established in the virgin forests along the shores of the Sound, a bit of old England, long known well and favourably as the Lordshipp and Manner of Pelham. Pause and ponder why Thomas Pell, when he had arrived at an age when most successful men want to take it easy, should have deliberately planned such a gamble? He was one of the principal men of Fairfield in property and position. Surely he had already acquired ample competence for all his personal wants, and he had no children for whom he needed to build up a great future estate. He could not then have been planning a career for his sole heir, his young nephew Sir John, an eleven-year-old schoolboy residing in England. Could it have .been that Thomas Pell had been made some tempting offer of a position of great consequence by the political powers then on the ascendancy in England, if he would undertake this mission against the Dutch? Might have been! If so, it was a long shot with heavy odds against him. To have risked his life and fortune to gain a doubtful title to some 9,000 acres of unproven value--surely that alone was not enough of a capital prize to have 28 History of the Ancient Town of Pelham. induced Thomas Pell to take the risks involved. Whatever the promised award--and it must have been large--there is nothing to indicate that it was conferred upon him. There must have been some deeper, more significant reasons that influenced Thomas Pell-- reasons which still lie buried beneath the accumulated dust of ages--a story which may never be uncovered. ------------------- THOMAS PELL PHYSICIAN AND CHIRURGEON The archives of New Haven. Saybrook and Fairfield often refer to Thomas Pell as "physician and chirurgeon", and Lt. Governor Lion Gardiner in his account of an expedltion from Ft. Saybrook against the Pequot Indians says that he ". . . sent Mr. Pell the surgeon with them. . .". In the tradltlons of Saybrook it is related that "Thomas Pell Chirurgeon of Saybrook Fort . . . taught Lady Alice Fenwick the use of herbs she raised in her garden . . . wherein there grew everyrthing for medical and household use . . . until she knew how to care for the sick etc. etc. . .". There is no proof that Thomas Pell had studied medicine or surgery in England or that he served an apprenticeship under any recognized physician alter coming to the Colonies. However, in the Inventory of his Estate 1669 there were listed Surgeon's Tools, Medicine Chest, drugs, etc.--indicating that he followed the art until his death. *28-A A COLLECTION OF MAPS FROM THE BEGINNING OF THE MANNOUR TO THE PRESENT DAY [Unnumbered Page Introducing Subsequent Plates] *28-B [Blank Page Facing Plate II] [ZZZMust Review Original Plate for Text] Copy Of Map Of Land In Eastchester Granted To William
Peartree Original in Secretary of State's Office, Albany, N.Y. PLATE II [ZZZMust Review Original Plate for Text] Map 1798, Town Of Pelham By James Davenport, Showing
Captain Bond's Note the "Boston Post Road"--now Colonial Avenue, the
Road to "New PLATE III [ZZZMust Review Original Plate for Text] Map From A Survey Of The Roads Of The United States Of
America PLATE IV [ZZZMust Review Original Plate for Text] Map Of The Southern Part Of West Chester County, New York Published 1853 by M. Dripps, 103 Fulton St., N.Y.
Surveyed by R.F.O. PLATE V [ZZZMust Review Original Plate for Text] Map Of The Country In The Vicinity Of The Anne Hutchinson Settlement From Anne Hutchinson & Other Papers published by
Westchester County PLATE VI [Map of proposed development on the property of John R. Coppinger showing a proposed extension of Pelhamville into what is now Pelham Heights; bounded to the north by the New York and New Haven Rail Road track; bounded to the west by what is labeled "Fifth Avenue"; bounded to the south by two plots of land including W.W. McClellan's land; bounded to the east by ZZZ_____ land] [In Upper Right Hand Corner:] Map Of [In Lower Right Hand Corner:] Surveyed & Laid out by WILLIAM BRYSON Architect & Civil Engineer NEW ROCHELLE Oct. 11th 1851.
Map 1851, Pelhamville--An Extension Into Pelham Heights PLATE VII [Map of East Chester, Pelham and New Rochelle] [In Upper Left Hand Corner:] Plans of EAST CHESTER, [Caption at Bottom of Plate VIII:] Map of 1867 Town of Pelham From Beer's Atlas 1868 PLATE VIII [Map of Town of New Rochelle With an Inset of Pelhamville, Plate 36 from Beer's Atlas 1868] [Near Upper Right Hand Corner of Page:] Town Of
[Near Upper Right Hand Corner of Pelhamville Inset:] PELHAMVILLE [Caption at Bottom of Plate IX:] Pelhamville And New Rochelle From Beer's Atlas 1868 PLATE IX [Map of Town of Pelham Including Inset of City Island; Plate 35 from Beer's Atlas 1868] [Near Upper Left Hand Corner of Page:] Town Of [Near Upper Right Hand Corner of Page:] City [Caption at Bottom of Plate X] Town Of Pelham And City Island From Beer's Atlas 1868 PLATE X [Map of Pelham and Pelham Manor] [Near Lower Left Hand Corner of Page:] Town Of [Caption at Bottom of Plate XI:] Map Of Town Of Pelham And Pelham Manor From Bromley's Atlas 1881 PLATE XI [Map of Town of Pelham With Inset Of "Pelham-Manor"] [Near Upper Right Hand Corner of Page, Inside Inset:] PELHAM-MANOR [Caption at Bottom of Plate XII:] Map Of Town Of Pelham And Pelham Manor From Bromley's Atlas 1881 PLATE XII [Map of Portion of Bartow Estate] [Near Lower Right Hand Corner of Page:] Map "A" Detailed Survey of Plots Located in Proposed Pelham Bay Park Designated by Commissioners Numbers and Owned by the Bartow Estate [Caption at Bottom of Plate XIII-A:] Maps 1888 Of Bartow Estate Made By New York City,
Showing Tracts In PLATE XIII-A [Map of Portion of Bartow Estate] [Near Right Margin of Page:] Map "B" Detailed Survey of Plots Located in Proposed Pelham Bay Park Designated by Commissioners Numbers and Owned by the Bartow Estate [Caption at Bottom of Plate XIII-B:] Map Of Bartow 1874. Now Part Of Pelham Bay Park.
Proposed Real Estate Development At PLATE XIII-B *BLANK PAGE [Blank Page Before Text Begins Again] CHAPTER IV. Sir John Pell--2rnd Lord of the Manor. FOR generations the Pells had been ". . . a family of education, culture and high social position. . ." (For a pedigree of the family, see Bolton's History, Vol. II, pages 39-42, and the several issues of Pelliana.) The Rev. John Pell, D.D., after a long and useful life, died in England in 1616, leaving two sons: 1--Thomas (1608-1669), who is described in early London records as being ". . . Gentleman of the bed chamber of Charles I, King of England. . ."--and subsequently the first Proprietor or Lord of the Manor of Pelham. Just why Thomas Pell, at the age of 22 years, should have relinquished a sinecure and life of ease at Court, to seek his fortune in the wilderness of a new world, will doubtless remain an enigma. 2--Rev. John Pell, D.D. (1611-1685) a professor of mathematics on the Continent, and the author of several volumes on subjects pertaining to that science. Persona grata with both Charles I and Charles II, he was sent by Oliver Cromwell as Minister to Switzerland. He returned to England to live, just before the death of Cromwell. In 1661 he was ordained Deacon by the Bishop of London and subsequently given the living of the Rectory of Fobbing in Essex. (See Pelliana, Vol. I, No. 2, issue 1935, pps. 11-45 for his biography.) Dr. John Pell for a while appeared to prosper. However, in the political turmoil that followed his lucky star descended rapidly, so much so that when he died, in 1685, he was in actual want. Sir John, the son of Rev. John Pell, D.D., sole heir 30 History of the Ancient Town of Pelham. to his uncle, Thomas of Fairfield, Connecticut and Pelham, New York, was born in England, February 3, 1643. In the English records he is designated as "Sewer in ordinary to his Majesty Charles II, King of England." This meant an officer of the royal household, master of ceremonies or superintendent of formal banquets and state dinners. The word "sewer," derived from the French, meant a table attendant who placed and removed dishes from the table. "In ordinary" meant in actual constant service or statedly attending and serving. What a contrast frontier life in the Colonies must have been to Thomas Pell and his nephew John, compared to their life of luxury in the service of the royal households of the English sovereign! John Richbell, on June 8, 1661, made a treaty with the Indians, by which he became the principal proprietor of Mamaroneck. John Richbell and Thomas Pell were in dispute over the ownership of ". . . a certain parcel of meadow ground set upon one of the three necks at Mamaroneck." On September 13, 1669 a special warrant was served on Thomas Pell, citing him to appear in the next court of assizes. However, Thomas Pell died at that time, and Sir John came to an agreement with Richbell over the property on January 18, 1671. Subsequently the two men were associates in several undertakings. Sir John Pell had arrived in the Colonies in the fall of 1670, for he carried among his credentials and letters of introduction, one dated June 23, 1670, from his friend, Lord William Brereton of London, addressed to Governor John Winthrop of Hartford. Lord Brere- Sir John Pell--2nd Lord of the Manor. 31 ton had been a pupil of Dr. John Pell, D.D., the father of Sir John Pell. Arriving in Hartford, John Pell met the Governor of Connecticut, John Winthrop (Jr.), on December 9, 1670, and presented his letters and papers. The Certificate of Recognition dated December 15, 1670, reads in part as follows: ". . . that the Governor hath received from persons of honor in England (letters and testimonies) that the bearer of them, Sir John Pell, sewer in ordinary to his Majesty, and son of Dr. Pell of London, is undoubtedly the nephew of Mr. Thomas Pell of Fairfield. . ." and consequently was entitled to his inheritance of the Pelhams and also the properties in Connecticut. Soon thereafter, John Pell was settled in Pelham, for in 1671, he and John Richbell were appointed to lay out the new Road to New England, through East Chester. Philip Pinckney, one of the original Ten Proprietors of East Chester, on October 30, 1677, was appointed by his fellow townsmen ". . . to go to our Governor to meet Mr. Justice Pell, Esq. (John, 2nd Lord), where it is intended that our Governor is to decide any differences that may arise betwixt us concerning the bounds of our patent."--(Bolton, Vol. I, p. 208.) Sir John Pell--2nd Lord--married Rachel, daughter of Philip Pinckney. Record of this marriage has not been found in the archives. It must have taken place in 1674-75 , since Thomas--the 3rd Lord--was born of this marriage in 1675, according to Pelliana. Soon after his marriage Sir John Pell erected his Mansion House on the shores of the Sound, near where now stands the Bartow Mansion in Pelham Bay Park. 32. History of the Ancient Town of Pelham. Governor Thomas Dongan, on October 20, 1687, issued to Sir John Pell a royal patent quoted in part as follows: ". . . the tract of land, islands and premises aforesaid are by these present, erected and constituted to be one lordship and manner, and the same shall from henceforth be called the lordship and manner of Pelham. . ." This patent, quoted in full in Bolton, Vol. II, page 57, is well worth reading. Colonized by Thomas Pell soon after he purchased the tract in 1654 from the Indians, it was one of the first of the English settlements in Westchester. It also bears the distinction of being the second early royal patent in Westchester, the first being Fordham, November 1671. The third was Philipsborough, June 1693; the fourth, Morrisania, May 1697; the fifth, Cortlandt, June 1697; and the sixth and last, Scarsdale, March 1701. Incidentally, these Manors were all made Townships when Westchester County was divided into townships in 1788. Sir John Pell was drowned off City Island. The exact date is not known. A stone erected to his memory in the Pell private burying ground at Bartow Mansion dates his death as 1700. There are references to him in Westchester archives, however, indicating that he was alive as late as 1719, for up to that date he was executing deeds to properties. Here are extracts from two letters which shed some light upon Sir John Pell, the 2nd Lord. In the days of Oliver Cromwell, French was the official language of the Court, and diplomatic communications were usually in Latin. England being a maritime nation, its life blood was foreign commerce, so it was essential that businessmen and those in government service have com- Sir John Pell--2nd Lord of the .Manor. 33 mand of many languages. It is recorded that Dr. Pell was not only an eminent mathematician, but a great linguist, reading and writing ten tongues. While serving Cromwell as his Minister to the Swiss, Dr. Pell's family resided in England. His daughter was to marry, and under the date of April 14, 1656, he wrote his wife, asking that she instruct young John--then 13 years of age--to write him a long letter: ". . . in English describing the marriage, time, place, Company &c. &c. . . . I would see what he can doe by his own wit, in his Mother tongue. . ." From which it would appear that the young Gentleman wrote in several languages. And here is the second quotation. While teaching on the Continent, one of Dr. Pell's pupils was the famous Lord Brereton. When Sir John Pell, Jr. sailed, in 1670, for the Connecticut Colony to claim his inheritance from his uncle Thomas, among his letters of identification was one from Lord Brereton to Governor John Winthrop, Jr., from which the following is quoted: " . . . I hope he will prove Sober & an Industrious man, for which the great Obligation I have to his Father (Dr. Pell) doe make me the more concerned. . ." From which it might be inferred that the young man's conduct at the Court of Charles II did not give promise of his future good behavior. So far as the record goes, it would seem that Sir John led an exemplary life to the end of his days in the land of his adoption. * * * New York State Library, Albany, N. Y. To the Honble John Nanfan Esqr Lieut Govr (of the) . . . Province of New York & the Honble Councell (of the) . . . Same-- 34 History of the Ancient Town of Pelham. The Humble Peticon of Cragamavot Pethin Henhoots Indians in the behalfe of themselves & other Indians of their nation-- Humbly Sheweth/ That some of their nation having Sold Several Pecells of Land to John Pell Esqe & Mr Risbell deceased for wch they neve received the Satisfaction Promised them altho for these many Years they have looked for ye Same but the Said Persons have & do refuse to Satisfie yor honos Petitionrs & have more land . . . than ever was sold unto them (Yoe Honos) . . . Petitionrs therefore humbly . . .
Yoe Honos for redress & relief in the pemisses & most humbly Pray that ye
Said John Pell & the heires of said Risbell may be ordered to Satisfy Yoe
Petitionrs & that they may have no more land than was actually sold unto
them And Yoe Petition s as in Duty The mark of Cragamavot Aug. 1699 (?) In behalf of his nation (Endorsed on the back): The Indians Petition There is no further record of this petition. The children of Sir John Pell and Rachel Pinckney, were as follows--all born at the Manor House in the Manor of Pelham: Thomas*--(1675-1752) 3rd Lord. ------------ *Married Aeltje Beeks--according to the Dutch--or Anna, the daughter of the reigning Indian Chieftain of Westchester--according to Pell family tradition . . . a descendant of the Hutchinson child, who escaped the massacre, and Wampage, alias Anhooke. Sir John Pell--2nd Lord of the Manor. 35 Mary--married Samuel Rodman of Rodman Neck, owner of Bowne place, where had stood the mansion of Thomas Pell--1st Proprietor of the Manor. The children of Thomas Pell, 3rd Lord and Ann, his Indian Princess, were: Ann Joseph ---------------- *"Bathsheba Pall married Theophilus Bartow, the parents of John Bartow of Barrow Mansion. The will of Thomas Pell (1675-1752) was dated September 3, 1739, and proven August 18, 1752. In his will he mentions his wife Ann and his children, as named in the foregoing. The line of descent of .the title of Lord of the Manor of Pelham is as follows: Generation Name Dates Title (a) Thomas Pell, the 1st Proprietor, had no children, so he named as his sole heir, Sir John Pell, the son of his brother. (b) Sir John Pell was the 1st Lord--according to the royal patents--but because he was the 2nd owner of the Manor, he is generally designated as the 2nd Lord. His will dated Dec. 11, 1685; but the date it was probated is not in the records. (c) Bolton's History, Vol. II, p. 60 states, Sir John married 36 History of the Ancient Town of Pelham. Rachel Pinclmey in 1684-85, and that Thomas, the eldest son, was born 1686. For the pedigree of the Pinckney family, see Bohon Vol. I, p. 248. The record of the marriage has not been uncovered in the archives, but evidence indicates the marriage was 1674-75, and that Thomas, the first child, was born 1675. Thomas died 1752, although Pelliana, Vol. I, No. 1, says he died in 1754. Will of Thomas, dated Sept. 3, 1739, shown in Bolton, pp. 63-64, was filed Aug. 18, 1752, Surrogate Office, New York Record of Wills, Vol. X, ong. pp. 155-156, dated 1751-54. (d) Will of Joseph I, son of Thomas, dated Aug. 1, 1752, proven Sept. 25, 1752. See Bolton, pp. 64-65. Joseph I, evidently died before his father, Thomas, and so did not inherit title of Lord. Title of Lord of the Manor was passed on to his son, Joseph II, who became the 4th Lord of the Manor, and the last. (e) English rule of primogeniture, by which the eldest son inherited the family estate, abolished by Thomas, 3rd Lord, who divided this estate among all his children. As a result that part of the estate on which had stood the Manor House of Sir John, passed to Thomas, brother of Joseph II, the 4th Lord. (f) The Pell wills filed in Westchester County, as shown in the records of the New York Historical Society, follows: Dated Probated |