Did Boss Tweed and Tammany Hall Have Designs on Pelham and Plans to Annex It to New York City in 1870?

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By 1870, Tammany Hall had become an efficient and corrupt Democratic Party political machine that used patronage and graft to control New York City -- and some would argue New York State -- politics.  Its leader at that time was William M. "Boss" Tweed.  Boss Tweed was near the height of his power, though he was nearing the end of his corrupt career.  Indeed, shortly thereafter Tweed was arrested, tried, and convicted of corruption and was jailed in the Ludlow Street Jail.  Although he escaped at one point, he was recaptured and died in jail in 1878 at the age of 55.

William M. "Boss" Tweed in Photograph Believed To

Have Been Taken in 1869 or 1870.  Source:  WIKIPEDIA - 

The Free Encyclopedia:  William M. Tweed (visited Jan.

23, 2016).  NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge. 

In 1870, however, as Tweed neared the end of his reign, Tammany Hall was looking to expand its tentacles to encompass new public works to feed its voracious need for jobs, public contracts, and public funds to keep its graft and corruption scheme afloat.  Boss Tweed and Tammany Hall looked toward Pelham and lower Westchester County hoping to annex the region to fulfill its evil needs.  Indeed, the New York Times warned residents of Pelham and Westchester County to beware Boss Tweed's "Ring" and the graft it would bring, saying:  

"The fat 'jobs' on which they have thriven so lustily here for years past, will soon be exhausted.  There will be no more Courthouses to be built; no more streets or avenues to be 'opened,' 'widened,' or 'extended.'  The opportunities for combined speculations in real estate with the public money, are also diminishing here every day.  But in the green pastures of Westchester County, the 'Ring' sees fresh mines of future wealth, provided they are only worked on the New-York plan.  Once let those pastures be 'annexed,' and become a part of this City, and there will be such an upturning of Westchester soil as the plodding farmers of that region never dreamt of.  They will have 'grand boulevards' in place of corduroy roads; broad avenues will open through all their cow-yards; they will have macadamized drives and asphaltum walks; magnificent streets will traverse their waste places, laid out at right-angles, nicely graded, and paved with 'Nicolson,' 'Russ,' 'Belgian,' or 'Fiske concrete,' as one or another of those pavements shall furnish the most profitable 'job.'  The expense of all these improvements will be readily borne by the tax-payers of the old City of New-York, in return for the benefits to be derived from annexation and 'Ring' extension."

I have written before of plans by New York City to annex much of Westchester County including the Town of Pelham in 1870.  See:

Wed., Jan. 16, 2008:  Plans To Annex Pelham and Make It Part of New York City in 1870.

Thu., May 10, 2007:  Report That Pelham Favored Annexation of Much of Westchester County by New York City in 1870.

Wed., Apr. 6, 2005:  A Behemoth Looks to the Suburbs:  Talk of New York City Annexing Pelham As Early As 1870.

Plans to annex Pelham to New York City have been around for nearly two centuries.  See, e.g.:

Thu., Feb. 22, 2007:  An 1843 Plan To Annex Southern Portion of Pelham to Queens County?

It took more more than 25 years for the annexation issue to be settled.  Pelham gave up City Island and surrounding islands as well as properties on the mainland that now form today's Pelham Bay Park.

Today's posting to the Historic Pelham Blog transcribes the text of the New York Times article warning lower Westchester County about the tentacles of Tammany Hall and the designs the political machine had on Pelham and other Westchester towns.  I also have included a second article that provides a little additional background.  Each is followed by a citation and link to its source.

*          *          *          *          *

"Westchester County.

The people of Yonkers are beginning to get nervous over  project said to be on foot to annex the lower part of Westchester County to this City.  A bill for that purpose is reported to be already drawn up for presentation to the next Legislature.  The editor of the Yonkers Gazette, although unable to get a sight of the bill, is 'informed that it proposes to gobble up the towns of Yonkers, Morrisania, West Farms, Westchester, East Chester, New-Rochelle and Pelham.'  The editor of the Mount Vernon Chronicle has been more fortunate.  He was 'accorded the privilege of reading the bill, under the stipulation that none of the information thus obtained should be used until its authors see fit to make it public.'  The secrecy thus enjoined stamps the project, beyond question, as an emanation of the 'Ring.'  It is their way of doing business.  They have been very desirous for some time past of extending their dominion.  Manhattan Island is becoming too contracted a field for their enterprise.

The fat 'jobs' on which they have thriven so lustily here for years past, will soon be exhausted.  There will be no more Courthouses to be built; no more streets or avenues to be 'opened,' 'widened,' or 'extended.'  The opportunities for combined speculations in real estate with the public money, are also diminishing here every day.  But in the green pastures of Westchester County, the 'Ring' sees fresh mines of future wealth, provided they are only worked on the New-York plan.  Once let those pastures be 'annexed,' and become a part of this City, and there will be such an upturning of Westchester soil as the plodding farmers of that region never dreamt of.  They will have 'grand boulevards' in place of corduroy roads; broad avenues will open through all their cow-yards; they will have macadamized drives and asphaltum walks; magnificent streets will traverse their waste places, laid out at right-angles, nicely graded, and paved with 'Nicolson,' 'Russ,' 'Belgian,' or 'Fiske concrete,' as one or another of those pavements shall furnish the most profitable 'job.'  The expense of all these improvements will be readily borne by the tax-payers of the old City of New-York, in return for the benefits to be derived from annexation and 'Ring' extension.

As for the aristocratic denizens of Yonkers, we are surprised that they manifest any opposition to this annexation scheme, or think themselves entitled to be consulted in the matter.  Their local organ says the subject is one that should be 'thoroughly ventilated.'  This only shows what crude notions of government are entertained by people who have not had the benefit of 'Ring' rule.  The idea of 'ventilating' any of TWEEN and SWEENY'S acts or projects would be regarded as rank mutiny by their subjects here.  They may be whitewashed, but not 'ventilated.'  It will be time enough for the people of Yonkers to discuss this annexation question after the'Ring' have got their bill through the Legislature.  At present it is none of their business.  After they are annexed they will be entitled to a representative in our Board of Aldermen, and that ought to satisfy any reasonable ambition.  Perhaps, if they behave themselves and exhibit proper 'ancillary qualities,' some of our 'Ring' nabobs may one day build a 'palatial residence' in their midst, and introduce a little cultivated society there during the Summer months."

Source:  Westchester County, The New York Times, Dec. 11, 1870, p. 4, cols. 5-6 (NOTE:  Paid subscription required to access via link).  

"ANOTHER BIG JOB.
-----
Project to Enlarge the City of New York -- Portions of Westchester County to be Annexed -- A Grand Canal Contemplated -- Additional Suburban Improvements.

For some time past it has been well understood among certain influential political leaders in New York and Westchester county that a great annexation project, with other gigantic suburban improvements, are to be brought forward and pushed through at the next session of the Legislature.  The most important scheme affecting the interests of the taxpayers of Westchester county is the projected incorporation of the towns of Morrisania, West Farms, Westchester and the lower section of Yonkers with the city of New York.  It is understood that numerous residents of the towns named, not only favor the annexation of the sections indicated, but also the towns of East Chester, Pelham, New Rochelle, Mamaroneck, Scarsdale, White Plains and Greenburg, also the southern portions of Harrison and Rye, running

THE BOUNDARY LINE

from the Hudson river at Tarrytown, along the northern line of Greenburg and White Plains, thence in a direct line through the towns of Harrison and Rye to the Connecticut line at Porchester [sic].  Inducements are held out to the citizens of the towns named, by the projectors of the scheme, which will doubtless have the desired effect.  The convenience of a plentiful supply of Croton water (by the construction of an additional reservoir if necessary), and the protection of the Metropolitan Police and Fire departments, are promised, and a large proportion of the population would doubtless hail such an event with satisfaction.

ANOTHER PROJECT

determined upon is that of converting the Bronx river from its outlet in the East river, near West Farms and opposite Ricker's Island to White Plains, into a grand canal, one hundred feet wide and eight feet deep, with locks at such points as may be determined upon, so as to render it available at all times for the transportation in barges of lumber, coal and other heavy articles of merchandise.  It is also suggested that a canal be cut from the Bronx river at a point immediately south of Williamsbridge to Millbrook at Fordham, and thence widen and deepen that stream, and construct what locks may be necessary also along the same, so as to adapt it to the purposes of a canal, to its outlet in the Harlem river.  A portion of the Bronx river may by this arrangement be diverted from its present course to Millbrook, and thus greatly remedy the impurity of the latter stream."

Source:  ANOTHER BIG JOB -- Project to Enlarge the City of New York -- Portions of Westchester County to be Annexed -- A Grand Canal Contemplated -- Additional Suburban Improvements, N.Y. Herald, Aug. 12, 1870, p. 4, col. 6.  

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The Early Development of Pelham Schools in the Late 18th and Early 19th Centuries

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For years I have continued a quest to assemble research on the history of education in the Town of Pelham.  A small portion of that quest has involved research to identify the earliest schools in Pelham and to understand the context within which early Pelham schools developed.

Today's posting to the Historic Pelham Blog is an effort to summarize some of the current research on early efforts to educate the young people of Pelham.  Unlike most such postings, so as not to interrupt the flow, I have chosen to use "Endnotes" to document sources.

Undated Photograph of the One-Room Schoolhouse Built

in About 1838 in City Island on Land Now Thought To Be

the Current Playground of Public School 175 Located at

200 City Island Avenue, City Island, The Bronx, NY, 10464.

The Earliest Years of Schools in Pelham

The Duke of York’s Laws in the Province of New York included a decree implemented in 1665 that constitutes New York’s first compulsory education law.  It required that all children in New York receive instruction not only in “Matters of Religion and the Lawes of the Country,” but also in reading, writing, and arithmetic.”[i]  According to one authority on the subject, under the Duke of York’s decree: 

“The inhabitants were not obliged to send their children, and servants or apprentices to school, but they were required to ‘instruct or cause to be instructed’ all children in their care.  Instruction was given by parents, masters, older children, tutors, ministers and schoolmasters.” [ii]

There is no evidence that, during the late 17th and early 18th centuries, the handful of residents of the Manor of Pelham did anything other than to instruct their youngsters in the home and, later, in "Sunday School" for religious instruction in churches such as St. Paul's Church of Eastchester and Trinity Church of New Rochelle.  

The earliest school yet identified by this author as built on any of the lands acquired by Thomas Pell in 1654 is a school erected on lands that Pell sold to the ten families who settled in Eastchester.  According to Bolton:

“The first school-house was erected in 1683, for at a public meeting of the inhabitants, held on the 15^th of October of that year, it was ordered, ‘that a school-house be erected upon a site between the property of Richard Shute and William Haiden, and encouragement given to Mr. Morgan Jones to become the school-master.’

This building occupied the site of the present village school-house.  Thus the ground has been used for this purpose one hundred and sixty-four years.” [iii]

Although nearby communities began to develop schools during the eighteenth century, the Manor of Pelham remained in the hands of relatively few landowners who apparently saw no need for dedicated schools, continuing to teach their young people in the home or by sending them away to school.  After the Revolutionary War, however, on April 9, 1795, the State of New York undertook its first effort to create a system of common schools throughout the State.  It enacted “An Act for the Encouragement of Schools” which provided, in part:

“out of the annual revenue arising to this State from its stock and other funds, excepting so much thereof as shall be necessary for the support of government, the sum of twenty thousand pounds, shall be annually appropriated for the term of five years for the purpose of encouraging and maintaining schools in the several cities and towns in this State, in which the children of the inhabitants residing in this State shall be instructed in the English language or be taught English grammar, arithmetic, mathematics and such other branches of knowledge as are most useful and necessary to complete a good English education; which sum shall be distributed among the several counties”. [iv]

In April, 1795 when this statute was enacted, the Town Supervisor of the Town of Pelham was Philip Pell.  Philip Pell was among the members of the Board of Supervisors of the County who participated in the apportionment of State education funds under the statute to the various Towns of the County.  The extant records of the Town of Pelham begin in 1801, however.  Thus, no record of the apportionment of funds to the Town of Pelham in 1795 has yet been uncovered.  It seems rather likely, however, that some amount was apportioned to the Town of Pelham.  If so, this likely would have been the origin of public funding of public schools in Pelham.[v] 

It is clear, however, that by 1801 there was a school house in the Town of Pelham.  It is not known where that school house stood.  Given that the Town’s population at the time resided principally along the roadway known today as Shore Road, on Rodman’s Neck and nearby areas, and on City Island, it is possible that the school was near the shore on the mainland not far from City Island. 

Minutes of the Town Board of the Town of Pelham for the year 1801 reflect the following reference to “the school house in the town of Pelham”:

“At a town meeting held at the school house in the town of Pelham, on Tuesday the seventh day of April, 1801, for the purpose of electing town officers for the said town to serve the ensuing year, the following persons were appointed to the following offices and places . . .”[vi]

Additionally, the “Town Minute Book 1801 – 1851” for the Town of Pelham contains a list of the “Commissioners of Schools” for the Town of Pelham in 1801.  They were:  Philip Pell, John Bartow, Alexander Henderson, William Bayley, Esaie Guion, Rem Rapelyea [aka Rem Rapelje] , and John Williams.[vii]  

It is clear from the same records that at least as early as 1801 and apparently for each year thereafter until 1818, the annual town meeting during which town elections were held took place in a structure referred to as “the school house in the town of Pelham,” “the school house,” or “the schoolhouse in said Town.” [viii]

In short, it is likely that some arrangement for a public school in Pelham was made shortly after New York enacted a statute entitled "An Act for the Encouragement of Schools" on April 9, 1795.  It seems certain, however, that a school existed in Pelham at an as yet undetermined location as early as 1801 and during at least the first two decades of the 19th century.    

The Early “Common School” Years in Pelham

The records of the annual meetings of the Town of Pelham held from 1802 through 1813 reflect no elections for any “Commissioners of Schools.”  In 1814, however, the records reflect a significant change in the history of schools in Pelham.

The records of the annual meeting of the Town of Pelham for the year 1814 reflect that on April 5, 1814, town voters elected three men to serve as “Commissioners of Schools.”  They were Philip Pell, David J. Pell, and Augustine J. F. Prevost.[ix]  Voters, for the first time, also elected six men as “Inspectors of Schools.”  They were Augustine J. F. Prevost, David J. Pell, Caleb Pell, George Crawford, Nicholas Haight, and William Crawford.[x]  Most significantly, voters authorized the Town to raise a sum of money equal to the sum provided by the State of New York “for the support of common schools.”[xi]

The April 5, 1814 entry is significant.  As early as 1784 (four years before the Legislature created the Town of Pelham by statute), the Board of Regents and the Governor of New York began urging the Legislature to establish and fund a system of “common schools” throughout the State.  Finally, in 1795 (as noted above), New York enacted its law authorizing the expenditure of 20,000 pounds annually for five years to support schools with the state aid being augmented by a local tax.[xii]  Although the Legislature ended the program in 1800, it authorized use of funds from a statewide lottery to support the State’s “common schools.”[xiii]  Five years later the New York Legislature created a fund for support of the common schools and allocated to that fund “proceeds from state land sales and other assets.”[xiv] 

In 1812, New York enacted a landmark “common schools” law.  In 1814, New York amended the law to require local authorities to establish common school districts, a then-developing factor that seemed to prompt the votes at the annual town meeting of the Town of Pelham held on April 5, 1814.[xv]  As one authority on the subject has written:

“In 1812 a landmark law established a statewide system of common school districts and authorized distribution of interest from the Common School Fund.  Town and city officials were directed to lay out the districts holding school at least three months a year, according to population aged 5-15.  Revenue from the town/county property tax was used to match the state school aid.  While the 1812 act authorized local authorities to establish common school districts, an 1814 amendment required them to do so.  After 1814, if the cost of instruction exceeded the total of state aid plus local tax, as it generally did, the difference was made up by charing tuition, or ‘rates,’ itemized on ‘rate bills.’ . . . The typical district had a one- or two-room schoolhouse where children learned reading, writing, spelling, arithmetic, and geography.  The 1812 common school act shaped the future of public education in New York by establishing that 1) common schools are a state function under state control; 2) funding of public schools is a joint state-local responsibility; 3) the school district – not the county or the town – is the primary administrative unit for public education.”[xvi]

There seems to have been some form of technical irregularity in the election of the Commissioners of Schools and the Inspectors of Schools during the annual town meeting held on April 5, 1814.  Town records reflect that a special town meeting was held “at the Schoolhouse in the Town of Pelham” on June 18, 1814.  Minutes of the special meeting state:

“At a special Town Meeting held at the Schoolhouse in the Town of Pelham in the County of Westchester on Saturday the 18^th day of June 1814 for the purpose of electing two Commissioners and six Inspectors of Common Schools to serve the ensuing year They being choose [sic] the last annual Town Meeting but are not qualified therefore [sic] the law directs that they may be reelected by special Town Meeting when the following persons were elected to the following Ofices [sic] and places Viz: 

James Harvey

}  Commissioners of Common Schools

Joshua Huestis

Augustine J. F. Prevost

David J. Pell

Caleb Pell

                                          }  Inspectors of Schools

Nicholas Haight

William Crawford junr.

George Crawford

                                          David J. Pell, T. Clk.”[xvii]

It seems safe from the foregoing to infer that by 1814, the Town of Pelham had at least one school funded in part by the State and in part by the Town that operated at least three months a year.  It seems likely that the school was on the mainland because, as will be seen shortly, there are indications that City Island began educating children on the island during the 1830’s.

By 1821, there were only 65 school age children in the entire Town of Pelham.  According to a report filed by the Commissioners of Common Schools for the Town of Pelham with the State Superintendent of Common Schools in September, 1821, Pelham had a single school district with a single school overseen by a single instructor with an annual budget of $50.  The County of Westchester provided $15 toward the budget; the Town of Pelham raised the remaining $35 through Town taxes.  Thirty-five children attended the school for four months and twenty-one days during the year with plans that year not to operate the school during the winter season.  The textbooks used by the students were "Pickets’ American School Class Books."  Albert Picket (1771-1850) was the principal author of this series of textbooks first published in the early 19^th century with many subsequent editions that included works on spelling, reading, grammar, geography, and writing.[xviii]   

City Island Begins Schooling Its Children on the Island

By the 1830s, it would appear that Pelham residents who lived on City Island were beginning to agitate for arrangements to teach their school age children on the island.  (This, of course, further supports the earlier inference that Pelham's only school house in the early 19th century likely was located on the mainland, though likely near City Island.) 

Three of the earliest efforts to educate the young people of City Island were: (1) a teacher named Rachel S. Fordham who conducted classes in her home during some unspecified time in the 1830s; (2) the opening of the first City Island public school (a one-room schoolhouse) on June 3, 1839; and (3) the construction of a newer and larger school house on property purchased in 1860 at the corner of Orchard Street and Main Street (now City Island Avenue).

I have written extensively of the development of early schools on City Island and will not repeat that account here.  For details, see:  Mon., Apr. 07, 2014:  History of A Few of the Earliest Public Schools in the Town of Pelham.  

---

ENDNOTES

[i]  See Seybolt, Robert Francis, The Act of 1795 for the Encouragement of Schools and the Practice in Westchester County, p. 3 (Albany, NY:  The University of the State of New York, 1919). 

[ii]  Id., pp. 3-4.

[iii]  Bolton, Robert, History of the Several Towns, Manors, and Patents of the County of Westchester, From Its First Settlement to the Present Time, Carefully Revised by Its Author, Vol. II, p. 214 (NY, NY:  Chas. F. Roper, 1881) (Edited by Cornelius Winter Bolton).  Cf.  Barr, Lockwood Anderson, A Brief, But Most Complete & True Account of the Settlement of the Ancient Town of Pelham Westchester County, State of new York Known One Time Well & Favourably as the Lordshipp & Manour of Pelham Also The Story of the Three Modern Villages Called The Pelhams, p. 149 (Richmond, VA:  The Dietz Press, Inc. 1946) (“THE first mention of a school in that section of Westchester County, in the tract owned by Thomas Pell, is found under the date of August 13, 1683. This school was located in the tract which he sold to the "Ten Families," not far from Old St. Paul's Church in Eastchester. The school was under the jurisdiction of the Rector of the Congregation, according to Bolton's History of Westchester, Vol. II, p. 100.  [sic]”; hereinafter “Barr”).

[iv]  Laws of the State of New York, 1789-1796, Vol. 3, pp. 626-31 (Albany, NY:  1881) (amended Apr. 6, 1796, as reflected in id., p. 702). 

[v]  The establishment of a school in Pelham at about this time seems all the more likely when the records of nearby localities are reviewed.  There seems to have been a rush to establish schools in the region around Pelham following passage of the new statute in 1795.  See, e.g., Seybolt, Robert Francis, The Act of 1795 for the Encouragement of Schools and the Practice in Westchester County, p. 13 et al. (Albany, NY:  The University of the State of New York, 1919) (reflecting establishment of a school near Delanceys Bridge in the Town of Westchester, another school in the upper part of the Town of Westchester near the Widow Bartow’s property, another school on Throggs Neck, and another school near the property of Cornelius Leggett in the Village of West Farms).

[vi]  Town Minute Book 1801 – 1851, Town of Pelham, New York State American Revolution Bicentennial Commission Historical Records Microfilm Program, Microfilm p. 1 (microfilm held in collections of New York State Archives) (hereinafter “Pelham Town Minute Book 1801 – 1851”). 

[vii]  Id. 

[viii]  E.g., id., p. 5 (1802); p. 6 (1803), p. 8 (1804), p. 12 (1806), p. 17 (1807),  p. 19 (1808), p. 21 (1809), p. 23 (1810), p. 24 (1811), p. 26 (1811 – special meeting), p. 28 (1812); p. 30 (1813); p. 32 (1814); p. 35 (1815), p. 38 (1816); p. 40 (1817).  The annual meeting began to be held in the “house of George Berrian, an innkeeper” beginning in 1818.  See, e.g., id., pp. 42 (1818); 46 (1819); 48 (1820); 51 (1821); 57 (1822).  Annual town meetings then began to be held in the “house of William A. Berrian” [perhaps the same location] beginning in 1823.  See, id., pp. 59 (1823); 61 (1824); 62 (1825);

[ix]  Id., pp. 32-33.  These same three men were re-elected “Commissioners of Schools” in 1815.  Id., p. 35. 

[x]  Id., pp. 32-33.  These same six men were re-elected “Inspectors of Schools” in 1815.  Id., p. 35. 

[xi]  Id., p. 34 (“Voted at this meeting that there be a sum equal to the sum of money given by the State raised in the Town for the support of Common Schools.”). 

[xii]  Folts, James D., History of the University of the State of New York and the State Education Department 1784-1996 (electronic version of history originally published in paper format in Jun. 1996 by the New York State Education Department), visited Sep. 21, 2014   (hereinafter, “Folts”). 

[xiii]  Id. 

[xiv]  Id. 

[xv]  At the time, a “common school” in New York was an elementary school (kindergarten through eighth grade) and a “common school district” was a school district authorized to operate elementary schools but not high schools.  In 1853 the Legislature authorized the creation of “union free school districts.”  Such districts typically were the union of two or more “common school districts” (i.e., school districts that were not authorized to operate high schools) to create a new school district “free” from the restrictions that barred common school districts from operating high schools. 

[xvi]  Id. 

[xvii]  Pelham Town Minute Book 1801 – 1851, p. 37.  The same town records continue to show the annual election of “Commissioners of Common Schools” and “Inspectors of Common Schools” in each of the following years:  1816 (p. 37); 1817 (p. 41); 1818 (pp. 43 & 45); 1819 (pp. 46 & 47); 1820 (p. 49); 1821 (p. 51); 1822 (pp. 54 & 56); 1823 (p. 59); 1824 (p. 60); 1825 (p.

[xviii]  Town Minute Book 1801 – 1851, Town of Pelham, New York State American Revolution Bicentennial Commission Historical Records Microfilm Program, Microfilm, Entry for Sept. “th,” 1821 (microfilm held in collections of New York State Archives). 

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Yet Another Illegal Prize Fight in Pelham in 1887

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During the 19th century and early 20th century, Pelham was an important center for illegal prize fights.  The tiny little town was adjacent to New York City and, at the time, lacked a large, modern police force.  Additionally, the population of the town was small and vast portions of the town were unimproved, unpopulated, and desolate.  Yet, transportation to and from New York City was easy via two rail lines:  the main New Haven Line to Pelhamville and the New Haven Branch Line to Bartow Station and Pelham Manor.  Additionally, steamships and all sorts of marine traffic served the area via the East River and Long Island Sound.  Thus, Pelham was the perfect place for crowds to gather and bet on quietly-arranged illegal prize fights -- and then to disperse quickly before police authorities arrived.

I have written about illegal prize fighting in Pelham on numerous occasions.  For examples, see:  

Wed., Jan. 20, 2016:  Another Exciting Account of 1884 Pelham Prize Fight Between Jim Murray of New York and Tom Henry of England.

Wed., Nov. 04, 2015:  The Famous Nineteenth Century Prize Fighter Yankee Sullivan Fought in Pelham in 1842.

Thu., Jul. 10, 2014:  Illegal Prize Fight in Pelham in 1902.  

Wed., Feb. 12, 2014:  Pelham Was the Scene of Illegal Prize Fights During the Early Days of the "Sweet Science" of Boxing. 

Wed., Mar. 23, 2005:  Prize Fighting At Pelham Bridge in 1884. 

Tue., Oct. 04, 2005:  Front Page of the May 12, 1902 Issue of The Pelham Republican (describing the fight between Joe Gleacher and Joe Kerwin held in the spring of 1902; Gleacher was found in Mt. Vernon after the fight and was arrested, although Kerwin apparently escaped to Philadelphia before his arrest).

On May 3, 1887, yet another illegal prize fight was held in the Town of Pelham.  The fight was particularly fierce and brutal.  Newspapers throughout the United States reported the results of the hotly-contested battle.  It was a lightweight bout fought between experienced fighter Mike Breslin, a 19-year-old fighter who weighed 126 pounds and stood five feet six and one-half inches and 29-year-old newcomer "Hughey" Regan, fighting in his first prize fight, who weighed 132 pounds and stood five feet seven inches.

The precise location of the fight is unclear.  News accounts noted that it was fought in the dining room of an unidentified hotel "near Pelham Heights" in "West Chester County," New York.  The tiny little village of Pelham (known informally as "Pelham Heights") had not yet been incorporated and, indeed, was not yet even in development.  At about the time of the prize fight, however, Benjamin Fairchild was considering development of the area into a village site.  See Mon., Oct. 05, 2015:  A Brief History of the Founding of Pelham Heights, Once the Village of Pelham.  It is possible, therefore, that the area was referenced informally as "Pelham Heights" even as early as 1887.

Moreover, there was a hotel at Pelham Heights at one time.  It is likely that it existed in 1887, but that is not yet established with certainty.  It is certain that the hotel existed in 1893 when it was shown on a map published by Julius Bien & Co. as the "J.P. MARQUAND HOTEL" in Pelham Heights (see map detail below).  The question that cannot be answered with certainty now, however, is whether the hotel existed six years prior to that date and was the site of the Breslin-Regan prize fight on May 3, 1887.  We can only speculate for now.

Detail from 1893 Julius Bien & Co. Map Showing Area of

"PELHAM HEIGHTS" with "J. P. MARQUAND HOTEL"

Reflected in Lower Left of the Map Detail.  Source:  Bien,

Julius R., "Towns of Westchester and Pelham [with] Villages

of Westchester and Unionport [with] Village of Pelhamville" in

Atlas of Westchester County, New York, Prepared Under the

Direction of Joseph R. Bien, E.M., Civil and Topographical

Engineer from Original Surveys and Official Records, p. 3

(NY, NY:  Julius Bien & Co., 1893).  NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge. 

In any event, at daybreak on May 3, 1887, the two fighters, their handlers and, presumably, ever-present spectators gathered in the dining room of a local hotel near Pelham Heights for the illegal prize fight.  The fighters wore thin, un-padded kid gloves with the fingers cut off.  Each offered a $300 prize to the winner.  The fight was held under the Queensbury rules.

Poor newcomer Hughey Regan was outmatched from the start.  Breslin, according to one account, "did most of the fighting" and chased Regan all over the dining room.  In the first round, Breslin landed many "heavy blows" and knocked Regan down three times.  In the second round, Breslin knocked his opponent down twice and, once again, "drove him all over the room."  The fight ended in the third round.  According to one detailed account:

"The third round was almost a repetition of the first two.  Breslin drove his opponent all around the ring, getting in some heavy blows and finally landing a stinger on Regan's jaw, which sent him down in  heap senseless and bleeding.  He was unable to recover in the ten seconds allowed before calling time, and the fight was awarded to Breslin.  The latter received little or no punishment."

A Bare-Knuckled Prize Fight, Circa 1880's, Like Many

Prize Fights Held in Pelham. The Regan-Breslin Fight

on May 3, 1887, However, was Held with "Kid Gloves

with the Fingers Cut Off" Under the Queensbury Rules.

NOTE: Click on Image to Enlarge.

*          *          *          *          *

Below is the text of a series of newspaper articles, among many, many such articles, that appeared in newspapers throughout the United States after the Regan - Breslin prize fight in Pelham on May 3, 1887.  Each is followed by a citation and link to its source.

"KNOCKED OUT IN THREE ROUNDS.
-----
'Hughey' Regan's Unsuccessful Debut in the Pugilistic Arena.
-----

'Hughey' Regan and Mike Breslin, both of New York, fought a prize fight at daybreak this morning for a purse of $300.  Queensbury rules governed.  The men wore kid gloves with the fingers cut off.  The fight took place in the dining room of a hotel near Pelham Heights, Westchester County.  Regan is 29 years old and weighed 132 pounds.  He stands 5 feet 7 inches in height.  It was his first fight and he was clearly overmatched.  Breslin, who is but 19 years old, has figured in several encounters.  He was decidedly the better man and did most of the fighting.  He weighed 126 pounds, and stood 5 feet 6 1/2 inches in height.

In the first round Breslin rushed in and knocked Regan down three times in success with heavy blows.  Breslin in the second round again floored Regan twice and drove him all over the room.  Breslin gained first blood in the first round.  The third round was almost a repetition of the first two.  Breslin drove his opponent all around the ring, getting in some heavy blows and finally landing a stinger on Regan's jaw, which sent him down in  heap senseless and bleeding.  He was unable to recover in the ten seconds allowed before calling time, and the fight was awarded to Breslin.  The latter received little or no punishment."

Source:  KNOCKED OUT IN THREE ROUNDS -- "Hughey" Regan's Unsuccessful Debut in the Pugilistic Arena, The Brooklyn Daily Eagle, May 3, 1887, p. 6, col. 5 (NOTE:  Paid subscription required to access via this link.).  See also KNOCKED OUT IN THREE ROUNDS -- Hughey Regan and Mike Breslin Engage in aan Early Morning Fight, The Stark County Democrat [Canton, OH], May 5, 1887, Vol. 53, No. 50, p. 1, col. 2 (essentially the same text); A One-Sided Prize Fight of Short Duration, The Decatur Herald [Decatur, IL], May 4, 1887, Vol. VII, No. 182, p. 1, col. 2 (essentially the same text; NOTE:  Paid subscription required to access via this link.).  

"Knocked Out in Four Rounds.

NEW YORK, May 3. -- A fierce prize-fight took place early this morning in a hotel at Pelham Heights.  The contestants were Hughy Reagan of this city, who is 29 years old, weighs 132 pounds, and Mike Breslin, 19 years, 126 pounds.  The terms were to a finish, Queensberry [sic] rules, with skin-tight gloves, for $300.  Reagan was knocked senseless in the fourth round, and the purse was given to Breslin."

Source:  Knocked Out in Four Rounds, St. Louis Post-Dispatch [St. Louis, MO], May 3, 1887, p. 8, col. 4 (NOTE:  Paid subscription required to access via this link).  See also A KNOCK OUT -- Light Weights Have a Mill Near New York, The Wichita Beacon [Wichita, KS], May 3, 1887, Vol. 8, No. 32, p. 1, col. 4 (essentially the same text; NOTE:  Paid subscription required to access via this link); Prize Fight, Alexandria Gazette and Virginia Advertiser [Alexandria, VA], May 3, 1887, p. 2, col. 5 (essentially the same text; NOTE:  Paid subscription required to access via this link).

"A Fierce Prize Fight.

NEW YORK, May 3. -- A fierce prize fight took place early this morning in a hotel at Pelham Heights, West Chester county, between Hughy Regan, aged 29, and Mike Breslin, aged 19, for three hundred dollars.  Regan was knocked senseless in the fourth round and the fight given to Breslin."

Source:  A Fierce Prize Fight, The Evening Leader [Wilkes-Barre, PA], May 3, 1887, No. 2355, p. 1, col. 1 (NOTE:  Paid subscription required to access via this link).

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