Example of 1938 U.S. Commemorative Half Dollar that Honors Pelham History Sells at Auction for $3,600.00

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In April 1937, the Philadelphia Mint minted a small quantity of legal tender United States silver half dollar coins.  These coins, dated 1938, commemorated the 250th anniversary of Jacob Leisler's purchase from John Pell of the Manor of Pelham the lands that became New Rochelle and the subsequent settlement of those lands by Huguenot refugees, many fleeing persecution in La Rochelle, France.  Although Congress authorized the minting of 25,000 of the half dollar coins, only 15,266 were struck by the Philadelphia mint.  

The obverse of the coin depicts John Pell of the Manor of Pelham holding a rope tethered to the neck of the famed "fatt calfe" with which he is standing.  The image depicts Pell as he received the calf from Jacob Leisler in connection with the purchase of New Rochelle.  The September 20, 1689 contract of sale for those lands required Jacob Leisler, his heirs and assigns to deliver to John Pell, his heirs and assigns, every June 24 "forever (if demanded)" such a "fatt calfe.  Periodically, members of the Pell family make a ceremonial "demand" for delivery of such a fatt calfe from the City of New Rochelle in connection with family reunions and special celebrations.

The reverse of the coin depicts a conventional "fleur-de-lis," flower of France, that also appears on the coat-of-arms of old La Rochelle, in France, from which many of the early refugee settlers who settled New Rochelle fled.  It also appears on the seal of modern New Rochelle.  The sculptor who designed the coin was Gertrude K. Lathrop of Albany, New York who also designed the Albany Charter Half Dollar minted the same year.

I have written before about the 1938 commemorative silver half dollar that depicts John Pell of the Manor of Pelham receiving the famed "fatt calfe" from Jacob Leisler.  See:

Bell, Blake A., John Pell and the New Rochelle Commemorative Coin Dated 1938, The Pelham Weekly, Vol. XIII, No. 7, Feb. 13, 2004, p. 10, col. 1.

Fri., Mar. 23, 2018:  United States Commemorative Half Dollar Minted in 1937 Honored Pelham History.

Today's Historic Pelham article reports on an interesting auction of a fine example of one of these 1938 commemorative silver half dollars.  

December 13-14, 2018, Heritage Auctions held its last coin auction of the year.  On the first day of that auction, it offered one of the top known graded examples of the 1938 New Rochelle commemorative coin.  The example was in a sealed case reflecting a grading of MS68 by the Numismatic Guaranty Corporation.  Minimal oxidation had created a lovely rainbow of colors on portions of the coin, an effect often referenced as "toning" -- an effect for which many collectors of such coins are willing to pay a premium when the light patina of rainbow colors is considered to add beauty to the item.

Heritage Auctions described the coin as follows:

"1938 New Rochelle Half Dollar, MS68 Lively Luster, Spectacular Color 

1938 50C New Rochelle MS68 NGC. The New Rochelle half dollars of 1938 were actually struck in 1937, championed by the Westchester County Coin Club of New Rochelle to celebrate the town's 250th anniversary. The coins were handled with care, but few can match the quality of this spectacular MS68 representative. Lavender-toned centers merge with accents of blue, gold, and russet around the border areas. Lively luster percolates through the layers of color. Essentially pristine. Census: 20 in 68 (1 in 68+, 4 in 68 ★ , 1 in 68+★ ), 0 finer (10/18).(Registry values: N2998) (NGC ID# BYDX, PCGS# 9335) 

Weight: 12.50 grams 

Metal: 90% Silver, 10% Copper"

Source:  Lot # 3995:  1938 50C New Rochelle MS68 NGC, Heritage Auctions (visited Feb. 22, 2019).  

Heritage Auctions Image of the MS68 1938 New Rochelle

Commemorative Half Dollar.  NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

The coin is one of only 20 graded by Numismatic Guaranty Corporation that has received the high grade of MS68 (although there is a small handful of such coins that NGC has graded slightly higher).  

On the first day of the two-day Heritage Auctions event (December 13, 2018), the coin sold for $3,600.00.  According to an article later released by Coin World:  "Most of the original mintage of 15,266 survivors remain in higher Mint State grades and even ones graded MS-66 or MS-67 are frequently seen. The population thins in MS-68, but Heritage Auctions offered one in this grade certified by Numismatic Guaranty Corp. — one of twenty like-graded coins at NGC — at a December auction."  See Roach, Steve, "1938 New Rochelle Half Dollar is of Infrequently Seen Quality" in Coin World (Feb. 21, 2019) (online version visited Feb. 22, 2019).  

Uncirculated versions of this coin today graded as high as MS66 or MS67 can sell for up to $450.

Obverse of the Half-Dollar Commemorative Coin Depicting John

Pell Receiving the "Fatt Calfe"  NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

Reverse of the Half-Dollar Commemorative Coin Depicting

Fleur De Lis Representing La Rochelle and New Rochelle

NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

John Pell Who Is Depicted Receiving the Fatt Calfe on

the Obverse of the Commemorative Coin.  NOTE:

Click on Image to Enlarge.

*          *          *          *          *

I have written before about the United States half-dollar commemorative coin minted to commemorate the 250th anniversary of New Rochelle celebrated in 1938.  I also have written extensively about the delivery of the "fatt calfe" to John Pell known as the "Fatt Calfe Ceremony."  For examples, see, e.g.:

Bell, Blake A., John Pell and the New Rochelle Commemorative Coin Dated 1938, The Pelham Weekly, Vol. XIII, No. 7, Feb. 13, 2004, p. 10, col. 1.

Fri., Mar. 23, 2018:  United States Commemorative Half Dollar Minted in 1937 Honored Pelham History.

Bell, Blake A., Tradition of Demanding a New Rochelle "Fatt Calfe", The Pelham Weekly, Vol. XIII, No. 16, Apr. 16, 2004, p. 8, col. 2. 

Tue., May 16, 2017:  Who Today Has the "Right" to Receive the Famed Manor of Pelham Fatt Calfe from the City of New Rochelle?

Thu., Dec. 08, 2016:  Cancellation of 1909 Fatt Calfe Ceremony Due to "Sharp Lawyers" Prompted a Pell Family Feud.

Tue., Dec. 01, 2015:  Lean Roast Beef Is NOT a "Fatt Calfe" Though Pell Family Members Accepted it in 1956.

Thu., Sep. 10, 2009:  1909 Dispute Among Pell Family Members Over Who Would be the Rightful Recipient of the Fatt Calfe from New Rochelle. 

Fri., Mar. 04, 2005:  In 1909 Fear of "Sharp Lawyers" Prompted Cancellation of the Pell Family's "Fatt Calfe" Ceremony.

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How Extensive Did Thomas Pell Believe His Land Acquisition from Local Wiechquaeskecks To Be?

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For nearly 150 years, Pelham lore held that Thomas Pell's land purchase from local Natives on June 27, 1654 (old style Julian Calendar) involved 9,166 acres.  During the late 1980s, Pelham Town Historian Susan Swanson reviewed primary sources and demonstrated that Pelham lore was flatly wrong.  Pell's purchase involved up to roughly 50,000 acres of land in today's Bronx and lower Westchester County.  What lands, however, did Pell believe he acquired from local Wiechquaeskecks?

The agreement Pell signed with local Natives that day provides some evidence of the lands Pell believed he bought in 1654.  It describes the lands as follows:

"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 (Chemaqūanaock 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."

In his history of the Town of Pelham published in 1946, Lockwood Barr described the bounds of the purchase in modern terms, stating:

"This treaty [sic] 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 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."

Source:  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, pp. 12-13 (The Dietz Press, Inc. 1946).

A variety of conveyances of portions of the property by Thomas Pell (and by his legatee nephew and nephew's wife, John and Rachel Pell) as well as lawsuits over disputed boundaries of the land Pell purchased shed fascinating light on the extent of the lands that Pell believed he purchased from the Natives and demonstrates that Pell understood his purchase to encompass lands explicitly claimed by the Dutch on which the Dutch previously had planted settlers in 1643 and, perhaps, earlier.  

Pell clearly believed his purchase to extend from Long Island Sound (while including numerous islands off the shores of the mainland) westward to the Bronx River.  Clearly he also understood it to extend southwest of Eastchester Bay to encompass not only today's Throgg's Neck but also the entire mainland from Throgg's Neck to the Bronx River and extending all the way to the mouth of the Bronx River where it enters Long Island Sound (including Cornell's Neck, an area now known as Clason Point in the Bronx).  To the north, Pell clearly believed his land holdings extended into portions of today's Mamaroneck on the coast and even as far as an area slightly beyond the northwestern tip of today's City of New Rochelle.

This, indeed, was a vast swath of land nearly six times the size of the 9,166 acres of land that most historians claim Pell purchased.  See, e.g., Bolton, Jr., Robert, A History of the County of Westchester from its First Settlement to the Present Time, Vol. I, p. 513 (NY, NY: Alexander S. Gould, 1848) (noting that Pell's purchase "originally embraced nine thousand one hundred and sixty-six acres"). 

What evidence do have that Pell understood his purchase to be that large?  First, by November 14, 1654, only months after his purchase, Pell planted a group of English settlers in a settlement that became known as "West Chester" by the English and "Oostdorp" by the Dutch.  Indeed, it appears that on November 14, 1654 (old style; Julian calendar), Thomas Pell entered into some form of agreement selling the portion of his lands that became the little settlement of West Chester to the English settlers.  Before the settlers paid (or completed payment) for the lands, there arose "some troubles which hindered the underwriters possession". That trouble, of course, was the intervention of Dutch authorities who arrested and imprisoned many of the settlers claiming that they had settled on land owned by the Dutch. Ten years later, Pell seems to have "settled" this longstanding matter by obtaining written confirmation from the inhabitants of the Town of West Chester that he remained the owner of the land because they (or their predecessors) had not paid Pell for the land. At the same time, Pell affirmed in writing that the inhabitants could continue to "enjoy the present improvements of Their labors, Their home Lotts, and planting grounds with what meadowes were in times past laid out to each man's particular". In short, he affirmed that he would not evict them from the land.  For more, see Mon., Nov. 06, 2006:  The Source of Confusion Over the Date Thomas Pell Acquired the Lands That Became the Manor of Pelham. 

Next, on June 24, 1664, Thomas Pell sold lands between the Hutchinson River and the Bronx River to Phillip Pinckney and James Eustis from Fairfield, Connecticut who, in turn, arranged for ten Puritan families to come by boat in August of that year to settle on a portion of the land previously occupied by Anne Hutchinson before her murder by local Natives in 1643.  Those lands included today's Town of Eastchester, City of Mount Vernon, and portions of the Bronx.

Two years later, in 1666, Pell became embroiled in a significant lawsuit with Charles Bridges and Sarah Cornell Bridges disputing ownership of Cornell's Neck.  The map immediately below illustrates the location of Cornell's and its relationship to Pelham Neck, the settlement of Westchester, and Throgg's Neck. 

Map Showing Location of Cornell's Neck and its Relation to the

Settlement of Westchester, Throggs Neck, and Pelham Neck.

Source:  Cornell, John, Genealogy of the Cornell Family Being

an Account of the Descendants of Thomas Cornell of Portsmouth,

R. I., Opposite p. 21 (NY, NY:  Press of T. A. Wright, 1902).

NOTE: Click on Image to Enlarge.

Pell claimed ownership of the region including Cornell's Neck and argued, essentially, that the claims of Charles Bridges and Sarah Cornell Bridges to the land derived from a chain of title that began with an award of the land by Dutch Colonial authorities which, according to Pell, had no ownership of, or right and title to, the land.  Eventually the court rejected the positions taken by Pell.

Next, only two weeks before Thomas Pell died in late September, 1669, John Richbell of Mamaroneck started a lawsuit against him claiming that he "Doe unjustly detaine & keep from him a certain parcell of meadowe Ground lyeing & being neare unto or upon one of ye three necks of Land at Momoronock."  Pell claimed these lands as part of his original purchase.  Richbell also claimed the lands.

The death of Thomas Pell two weeks after John Richbell first demanded a hearing on the matter before the Court of Assizes seems to have brought the matter to a halt for quite some time.  In the interim, Thomas Pell's nephew, John Pell, became the principal legatee under Thomas Pell's will and succeeded to his estate including his large land interests.

Eventually, Francis Lovelace, Governor of the Province of New York, stepped into the matter and appointed a group of Commissioners to make recommendations regarding resolution of the dispute.  The Commissioners could not agree on a resolution. Interestingly, however, they reported to Governor that they had discovered a tree in the disputed meadow "markt on ye East side with J. R. [John Richbell] & on the West with T. P. [Thomas Pell]" from which, if a line were drawn from the tree directly toward Long Island Sound, would divide the meadow exactly in half.  Though the Commissioners did not resolve the dispute, Governor Lovelace ordered Pell and Richbell to consider the report and attempt to resolve the matter before a trial would be conducted.  On January 25, 1671/72, the men reportedly settled the matter and "agreed upon [the land] to bee divided equally between them, both Meadow & Vpland, quanity & quality alike."  Consequently, a portion of the lands originally claimed by Thomas Pell were confirmed as the property of John Richbell due to his purchase from "Cakoe," a local Native who sold the land to Richbell and likely was the "Cockho" who was among the local Natives who signed the Pell Deed in 1654.  See Tue., Oct. 24, 2006:  Thomas Pell's and John Pell's Land Dispute with John Richbell in the Late 1660s and Early 1670s.

Two decades after Thomas Pell's death, on September 20, 1689, Pell's principal legatee and nephew, John Pell, and John Pell's wife (Rachel) conveyed to Jacob Leisler of New York City 6,100 acres of land that had formed portions of the northeastern part of Thomas Pell's original land acquisition in 1654.  See Fri., Apr. 06, 2007:  The Deed Reflecting John Pell's Sale of the Lands that Became New Rochelle.  

Finally, of course, in 1895, New York City annexed a large part of the Town of Pelham including Pelham Bay Park, City Island, and other islands nearby.  All of these lands likewise were part of Pell's original purchase.  Out of roughly 50,000 acres that Pell believed comprised his original purchase from local Natives, only slightly less than 1,570 acres of remain within the boundaries of today's Town of Pelham.

During the 1980s, then Town Historian Sue Swanson reviewed material and crafted a map that serves as a powerful visual aid to understand the magnitude of the lands that Thomas Pell believed he bought from local Wichquaeskecks in 1654.  An image of the map appears immediately below.

Map of Pell's Purchase from the Indians and Pelham Today

by Susan Swanson, Former Town Historian of the Town of

Pelham.  NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

Another such map sheds similar light on the monumental scope of Pell's original purchase.  Although the map does not purport to depict the entire area acquired by Pell, it is an early map that helps understand the size of the purchase.  It is a map prepared in 1708 in connection with efforts begun in 1704 to have John Drake, Henry Fowler, Joseph Drake, Edmund Ward and Jeremiah Fowler act on behalf of the freeholders of the town of Eastchester in connection with procuring a patent for local lands as they sought to clarify a land dispute with the settlement of Westchester.  The map was entitled "A Draft of the Lands in Controversy Between the Inhabitants of East Chester Joynd with William Pear Tree & Surveyed & Laid Down 1st August - Graham Lell."  An image of a later copy of the map appears immediately below.

"A Draft of the Lands In Controversy Between the Inhabitants of

Westchester & the Inhabitants of East Chester Joynd with William

Pear Tree & Surveyed & Laid Down 1st August - Graham Lell" prepared

by Colonel William Peartree in 1708. NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

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Who Today Has the "Right" to Receive the Famed Manor of Pelham Fatt Calfe from the City of New Rochelle?

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The expectant crowd anxiously awaited on and along Fifth Avenue in front of Town Hall in the Village of North Pelham at 4:15 p.m. on Thursday, August 29, 1946.  Representatives of television broadcaster Columbia Broadcasting System were present with television cameras to record the event.  (Commercial television broadcasting, which had declined dramatically during World War II, was beginning to ramp up again.)  A gaggle of photographers from newspapers and news organizations throughout the region were waiting expectantly.  There was a large crowd of spectators despite threatening skies.  Everyone was excited.

That day and night, the Village of North Pelham was in the midst of its Golden Jubilee celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of its founding in 1896.  One of the many events that formed an important part of that celebration was so special that it was recorded by Columbia Broadcasting System (with an announcer) for a later nationwide broadcast on Sunday, September 1, 1946 from 8:15 to 8:30 p.m. on WCGW.  Moreover, CBS was not the only broadcaster present at the event.  A portion of the ceremony also was broadcast by radio station WFAS, 1230 on the am dial.  The special event that attracted so much attention was the presentation of a "fatt calfe" by the City of New Rochelle to the little Village of North Pelham.

I have written repeatedly not only of various fatt calfe ceremonies in Pelham's history, but also of the grand Golden Jubilee fiftieth anniversary celebration hosted by the Village of North Pelham on August 29, 1946.  See, e.g.:

Bell, Blake A., Tradition of Demanding a New Rochelle "Fatt Calfe", The Pelham Weekly, Vol. XIII, No. 16, Apr. 16, 2004, p. 8, col. 2. 

Thu., Dec. 08, 2016:  Cancellation of 1909 Fatt Calfe Ceremony Due to "Sharp Lawyers" Prompted a Pell Family Feud.

Tue., Dec. 01, 2015:  Lean Roast Beef Is NOT a "Fatt Calfe" Though Pell Family Members Accepted it in 1956.

Mon., Jan. 05, 2015:  The Village of North Pelham Celebrated the Golden Jubilee of its Incorporation During Festivities in 1946.

Thu., Sep. 10, 2009:  1909 Dispute Among Pell Family Members Over Who Would be the Rightful Recipient of the Fatt Calfe from New Rochelle. 

Fri., Mar. 04, 2005:  In 1909 Fear of "Sharp Lawyers" Prompted Cancellation of the Pell Family's "Fatt Calfe" Ceremony.

1938 New Rochelle U.S. Commemorative Silver Half Dollar (Obverse)

Depicting John Pell Receiving the "Fatt Calfe" in 1689. Photograph by

the Author.  NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

The "fatt calfe" ceremony that attracted so much attention on August 29, 1946 was an homage to a promise made by Jacob Leisler in 1689, as a representative of French Huguenots of New Rochelle, to John and Rachel Pell of the Manor of Pelham to deliver one such "calfe" annually "if demanded."  On September 20, 1689, John Pell, and his wife, Rachel, sold to Jacob Leisler of New York City 6,000 acres of Manor of Pelham land.  At the same time they gifted to Leisler another 100 acres for use as church grounds.  Leisler reportedly had been commissioned to acquire the land on behalf of French Huguenots seeking to relocate to North America, many of whom fled from La Rochelle in France.  The land became today’s New Rochelle, named in honor of La Rochelle from which many of the Huguenots fled religious persecution by the French Catholics. 

A condition of the sale in 1689 was that Jacob Leisler and his "heirs & Assigns" should deliver to “John Pell his heirs and assigns Lords of the said Manor of Pelham . . . as an Acknowledgment to the said Manor one fatt calfe on every fouer and twentieth day of June Yearly and Every Year forever (if demanded)” (spelling and punctuation as in original deed).  The June 24th date was not chosen randomly.  June 24 is the annual date of The Feast of St. John the Baptist when a "fatt calfe" would have been particularly welcome for the sort of feast and celebration that was so common on that date in those years.

Every few generations, it seems, there is a "rediscovery" of that ancient "fatt calfe" provision in the deed by which John and Rachel Pell transferred lands to Jacob Leisler.  With each such "rediscovery," members of the Pell family typically approach the City of New Rochelle and "demand" delivery of a "fatt calfe" to one or more members of the family as part of an important historic anniversary or a large family reunion celebration.  Rarely however, has such a "demand" been made by any of the Villages in Pelham or the Town of Pelham.  The North Pelham celebration in 1946 was an exception.

Though it may come as disappointing news to the many members of the Pell Family descended from John and Rachel Pell who are scattered throughout the nation, it would seem (at least from Pelham's perspective) that a meaningful argument can be made that the right to demand and receive the "fatt calfe" (to whatever unlikely extent it may still be labeled a "right") has devolved to the Town of Pelham and not to members of the Pell family or to today's Villages of Pelham and Pelham Manor.  

Under the original deed, the "right" to receive the "fatt calfe" belonged to John Pell and "his heirs and assigns Lords of the said Manor of Pelham."  The deed did NOT say the right belonged to the descendants of John Pell, only John Pell and his "heirs and assigns."

John Pell, of course, no longer is with us, having died in the first few years of the 18th century.  Thus, we are left to determine the meaning of "his heirs and assigns," a legal term of art in the real estate field.  We then must determine who meets this definition of "his heirs and assigns."

The phrase typically appears in a so-called habendum clause in a deed -- the clause that describes the estate that is being granted.  John Pell's "heirs" would have been those to whom his real estate was bequeathed or who otherwise inherited it.  His "assigns" would have included those who came into possession of his property through purchase, gift or some form of transfer from him, his heirs or anyone who inherited the property from him or any of his heirs.  

This suggests, of course, that an argument can be made that all who now own any of the lands that comprised the Manor of Pelham immediately after the sale to Leisler in 1689 (including those who live in today's Town of Pelham and on City Island) are among John Pell's "assigns" as referenced in the 1689 deed.  If such a theory is correct, there would now be tens of thousands of Lords of the Manor of Pelham -- those who own property that was owned by John and Rachel Pell in the Manor of Pelham immediately after the sale to Jacob Leisler on September 20, 1689.  

Now things get even a little more interesting.  The clause of the deed requiring delivery of a fatt calfe if demanded may arguably be deemed ambiguous.  It requires Jacob Leisler, his heirs and assigns to deliver to “John Pell his heirs and assigns Lords of the said Manor of Pelham . . . as an Acknowledgment to the said Manor one fatt calfe on every fouer and twentieth day of June Yearly and Every Year forever (if demanded).”  Does that mean Jacob Leisler and, subsequently all his heirs and assigns (arguably all landowners in today's City of New Rochelle) must each deliver one "fatt calfe" to each of the "heirs and assigns" of John Pell (arguably at least all the landowners in the Town of Pelham and on City Island) if demanded?  Alternatively, is the delivery of only one "fatt calfe" required to be delivered to all "heirs and assigns" of John Pell?

It would seem that it would be most reasonable to interpret the provision to require delivery of only "one fatt calfe" regardless of the number of "heirs and assigns" who may exist today.  But, who should deliver the fatt calfe?  Who should properly receive the fatt calfe?

Over the last century, members of the Pell Family seem implicitly to have recognized that the reference to John Pell's "heirs and assigns" in the deed does not include his descendants (i.e., members of the Pell Family).  Thus, they do not seem ever to have demanded that the descendants of Jacob Leisler deliver a fatt calfe to them.  This omission implicitly affirms that provision placed the obligation not on Leisler's descendants but on his "heirs & Assigns."  Of course, essentially the same phrase (i.e., "heirs and assigns") is used on the opposite side of the equation providing that John Pell and his "heirs and assigns" are entitled to receive the fatt calfe.  

In short the Pell family does not demand the "fatt calfe" from Leisler's descendants but, instead, from a municipal representative of his "heirs and assigns" -- the City of New Rochelle as the representative of all those within the City who own lands once owned by Jacob Leisler (Leisler's "Assigns").  Paradoxically, however, at the same time members of the Pell Family demand that the calf be delivered to them (or one of their own) as descendants of John Pell and NOT to a municipal representative of Pell's "heirs and assigns."  

Thus, one could argue, there are only two who today would have the joint authority, as the municipal representatives of John Pell's true "heirs and assigns" (i.e., the tens of thousands who now own land that was part of the Manor of Pelham immediately after the sale of land to Jacob Leisler on September 20, 1689) to demand delivery of the fatt calfe on June 24.  Those two would be the Town of Pelham (as landowner and representative of those who own land in Pelham) and the City of New York (as landowner and representative of those who own land on City Island and in Pelham Bay Park).

This author now has the temerity to assert that all previous deliveries of a "fatt calfe" to members of the Pell Family and to the Village of North Pelham are null and void and of no force and effect since those deliveries were not demanded by John Pell or any of his "heirs and assigns" -- only his descendants.  Since neither the Town of Pelham nor the City of New York demanded delivery of the fatt calfe in those instances, no such delivery was required.  The City of New Rochelle should be deemed simply to have gifted the fatt calfe on each such occasion rather than meeting any obligation under the deed issued to Jacob Leisler.  

What say you Pell Family members?  What say you landowners in New Rochelle?  What say you landowners on City Island?  And, indeed, since New York City owns today's Pelham Bay Park which was part of the Manor of Pelham on September 20, 1689, what say you New York City?

*          *          *          *          *

Below is a transcription of an article describing New Rochelle's delivery of the "fatt calfe" demanded by the Village of North Pelham in 1946.  Although, arguably, the Village was a representative of John Pell's "heirs and assigns" who lived within its boundaries, it was not the most appropriate representative to make such a demand.  At least the ceremony was performed in front of the Town Hall of the Town of Pelham. . . . . . 

"Presentation Of 'Ye Fatte Calf' [sic] Recalls Olden Tribute To John Pell, Lord of Manor

NORTH PELHAM -- One of the most colorful events of the Village's celebration yesterday on the 50th anniversary of its founding was the historic reenactment of the delivery of a fatted calf by Mayor Stanley W. Church of New Rochelle to Mayor Dominic Amato of North Pelham at 4:15 P. M.

The picturesque ceremony, which took place in front of Town Hall, was recorded by a battery of photographers as well as by the Columbia Broadcasting System television, when it will be shown over a nationwide broadcast Sunday over WCGW from 8:15 to 8:30 P. M.

George Usbeck, announcer, opened the ceremony:

'The year is 1689; on the shores of Long Island Sound a little band of French Huguenots had selected a site for their settlement.  That site was part of the landed properties of the Lord of the Manor of Pell.  And when the purchase contract was signed, it contained a provision in which the Huguenots agreed to 'forever yielding and paying unto John Pell, his heirs and assigns, one fatte calf [sic] on every four and twentieth day of June yearly and every year forever, if demanded * * *

'Two hundred and fifty-seven years have passed down the corridors of history since that agreement was signed, but today New Rochelle again delivers to its neighboring village, North Pelham, 'ye fatte calf.'

Neil Gibbons, who played the part of a mounted courier in Colonial costume, rode up Fifth Avenue from the Railroad Station to Town Hall, where he dismounted, handed the reins of his horse to a policeman, and unrolling a scroll, read greetings.

Mayor Church, holding the calf by the tethers, and assisted on each side by Miss Denise Velon and Miss Arline Gyllenhammer, dressed in colonial costumes, came down Fifth Avenue grinning broadly, and the calf tugged so hard he pulled the little procession along.  Miss Velon, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Henri Velon of 454 Fourth Avenue, was dressed in blue and rose, and Miss Gyllenhammer, daughter of Mrs. Harriet Gyllenhammer of 125 Second Avenue, wore a white flower-sprigged costume.

They stopped in front of Mayor Amato, and the battery of photographers had a field day as the two mayors shook hands and held the pose for a few minutes.

'It gives me great pleasure,' Mayor Church said, 'to present to your fine village today a token of our friendship in the form of the ancient fee for the site of New Rochelle.  I bring you the fatted calf to help make your day's celebration complete and, from the residents of New Rochelle, greetings as your reach your 50th birthday.  I want to congratulate you on the ceremony that will take place tonight when you burn the bonds to signify that at the ripe young age of 50, North Pelham is debt free.'

Mayor Amato receiving the calf for the residents of his village, thanked the New Rochelle Mayor and residents.

'The friendly relations, both business and social, between New Rochelle and the Pelhams are worth cherishing,' he said, 'and have their roots in the ceremony that we reenacted today, which began so many years ago.  I hope there will be many other occasions like this when our communities may get together for the mutual advancement of our section of Westchester.'

At the close of the exercises, a barbecued calf was carved into sandwiches and sold."

Source:  Presentation Of 'Ye Fatte Calf' Recalls Olden Tribute To John Pell, Lord of Manor, The Daily Argus [Mount Vernon, NY], Aug. 30, 1946, p. 10, cols. 3-7.  

"HISTORIC CUSTOM reenacted at North Pelham's celebration of its

50th anniversary yesterday.  Mayor Stanley Church of New Rochelle

(center) presents a 'fatte calf' [sic] to Mayor Dominic Amato, according

to the terms of an old deed.  Looking on are (second from left) Miss

Denise Velon of 545 Fourth Avenue, North Pelham, and Miss Arline

Gyllenhammer, of 125 Second Avenue, North Pelham, in Colonial

costumes."  Source:  Presentation Of 'Ye Fatte Calf' Recalls Olden

Tribute To John Pell, Lord of Manor, The Daily Argus [Mount Vernon, 

NY], Aug. 30, 1946, p. 10, cols. 3-7.  NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

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Cancellation of 1909 Fatt Calfe Ceremony Due to "Sharp Lawyers" Prompted a Pell Family Feud

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On September 20, 1689, John Pell, and his wife, Rachel, sold to Jacob Leisler of New York City 6,000 acres of Manor of Pelham land.  At the same time they gifted to Leisler another 100 acres for use as church grounds.  Leisler reportedly had been commissioned to acquire the land on behalf of French Huguenots seeking to relocate to North America, many of whom fled from La Rochelle in France.  The land became today’s New Rochelle, named in honor of La Rochelle from which many of the Huguenots fled religious persecution by the French Catholics. 

A condition of the sale in 1689 was that Jacob Leisler, his heirs and assigns should deliver to “John Pell his heirs and assigns Lords of the said Manor of Pelham . . . as an Acknowledgment to the said Manor one fatt calfe on every fouer and twentieth day of June Yearly and Every Year forever (if demanded).”  

Why was there a provision in the deed requiring delivery of a "fatt calfe" to Pell and his "heirs and assigns" on June 24 each year thereafter?  In addition to being an acknowledgment of Pell's largesse in providing the land in the first place, it was, in part, a symbol of good will between the Manor of Pelham and the new French Huguenot settlement of New Rochelle to encourage an annual celebration and feast among Pelhamites and the Huguenots.  June 24 is the Feast of St. John the Baptist celebrating the Nativity of St. John.  The celebration is considered one of the oldest festivals of the Christian Church listed as early as 506 C.E. by the Council of Agde as one of the principal festivals typically celebrated as a day of rest in preparation for the upcoming Christmas season.  A "fatt calfe," if demanded, provided a perfect opportunity for a celebratory feast and likely would have been "demanded" only after prior consultation and preparation for such an event.

1938 New Rochelle U.S. Commemorative Silver

Half Dollar (Obverse) Depicting John Pell Receiving

the "Fatt Calfe" in 1689. Photograph by the Author.

NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

Portrait of John Pell Who Sold Portion of

the Manor of Pelham to Jacob Leisler on

September 20, 1689.  NOTE:  Click on 

Image to Enlarge.

Every few generations, it seems, there is a "rediscovery" of that ancient provision in the deed by which John Pell transferred the lands to Jacob Leisler.  With each such "rediscovery," members of the Pell family approach the City of New Rochelle and "demand" delivery of a "fatt calfe" -- typically as part of an anniversary or family reunion celebration.  

In 1909, George H. Pell joined the long line of Pell family members who "rediscovered" the provision contained in the ancient deed.  He demanded delivery of the "fatt calfe."  New Rochelle officials agreed to participate.  In perhaps one of the oddest instances in the history of the famed "fatt calfe" ceremony, however, the ceremony was canceled at the last minute after more than 500 invitations had been issued due to a fear of "sharp lawyers."

What did New Rochelle fear?  It feared that lawyers would seize on the fact that New Rochelle agreed to pay the "Acknowledgment" after failing to pay for many previous years to argue that there were defects in the titles of all properties in New Rochelle.  Under such a "sharp" theory, sharp lawyers might argue that title to the thousands of properties would revert to members of the Pell family.  

I have written about this interesting incident before.  See Fri., Mar. 04, 2005:  In 1909 Fear of "Sharp Lawyers" Prompted Cancellation of the Pell Family's "Fatt Calfe" Ceremony.  

A fascinating dispute arose among two members of the Pell family after the event was canceled.  H. W. Pell of Rome, New York came forward and claimed that he was the rightful claimant entitled to receive the famed fatt calfe, not George H. Pell.  The dispute erupted into a series of newspaper articles about which I also have written before.  See Thu., Sep. 10, 2009:  1909 Dispute Among Pell Family Members Over Who Would be the Rightful Recipient of the Fatt Calfe from New Rochelle.  

Today's posting to the Historic Pelham Blog transcribes a different article published in 1909 regarding the Pell family dispute that arose over who would be the rightful recipient of the fatt calfe.  The article is fascinating because it discloses a portion of H. W. Pell's letter that claimed that since the time of John Pell, nephew and principal legatee of Peham founder Thomas Pell, a punch bowl that belonged to John Pell was passed from each purported "Lord" of the Manor of Pelham to the rightful successor entitled to receive the fatt calfe.

According to that letter, John Pell's punch bowl was made of lignum vitae, a trade wood from trees of the genus Guaiacum that are indigenous to the Caribbean and the northern coast of South America.  The wood was an important export to Europe since the beginning of the 16th century.  According to H. W. Pell, the wooden punch bowl was bound with silver hoops.  He claims to have played with the punch bowl as a child, but the silver hoops separated from the wood and "the bowl was broken and lost."  

H. W. Pell provided in his letter a detailed genealogy that, he claimed, demonstrated that he and not George H. Pell was entitled to receive the fatt calfe.  The dispute, it appears, was never resolved.

*           *          *          *           *

I have written about the requirement that the "heirs and assigns" of Jacob Leisler, as purchaser and recipient of the 6,100 acres that became today's City of New Rochelle, deliver a "fatt calfe" to Pell heirs each year "if demanded."  For examples, see:

Bell, Blake A., Tradition of Demanding a New Rochelle "Fatt Calfe", The Pelham Weekly, Vol. XIII, No. 16, Apr. 16, 2004, p. 8, col. 2.

John Pell and the New Rochelle Commemorative Coin Dated 1938, The Pelham Weekly, Vol. XIII, No. 7, Feb. 13, 2004, p. 10, col. 1.

Tue., Dec. 01, 2015:  Lean Roast Beef Is NOT a "Fatt Calfe" Though Pell Family Members Accepted it in 1956.

Thu., Sep. 10, 2009:  1909 Dispute Among Pell Family Members Over Who Would be the Rightful Recipient of the Fatt Calfe from New Rochelle.

Fri., Mar. 04, 2005:  In 1909 Fear of "Sharp Lawyers" Prompted Cancellation of the Pell Family's "Fatt Calfe" Ceremony.

*          *          *          *          *

"ANOTHER LORD OF THE MANOR
-----

Had Mayor Raymond presented the fatted calf and three peppercorns to George H. Pell, as seventh lord of the Manor of Pelham, as had been arranged recently, he would have hurt the feelings of another claimant to that title, H. W. Pell of Rome, N. Y.

In a letter of detailed explanation H. W. Pell states that he has read about the proposed presentation of the fatted calf and of the subsequent refusal on the part of Mayor Raymond to carry out the ceremony, also noting the statement that George H. Pell claims to be a true descendant of the lords of Pelham Manor.  

'There must be some mistake in that,' goes on the letter.  'My family records give the geneology [sic] of our family as follows:  Henry W. Pell, born June 23, 1835 (which is the writer of this); Thomas Pell, M.D., his father, born April 15, 1806, deed November 1, 1869; Thomas Pell, his father, born at Manor Pelham March 1, 1775; Thomas Pell, his father, owner of Pelham Manor, born 1774 [??].  He had but three children, Thomas, Helena and Margaret; Joseph Pell, lord of Pelham Manor, born 1701, his father; Thomas Pell, his father, second lord of Pelham Manor, born 1675; Sir John Pell, his father, born in London, 1643.  He came to America in 1671 [sic], and in 1685 was appointed by James II a Justice of the Peace for the county of Westchester, N. Y., and Judge in 1688.  1687, he was created lord of the Manor of Pelham, N. Y., by letters patent from the Crown.  He married Rachel Pinckney and was succeeded by his son.

'This is far enough to assure you that I a the only living and true descendant of Lord John Pell, of Pelham Manor.  I have the geneology [sic] back to the origin of the name.

'Lord Pell transmitted his punch bowl to his successor.  It came to my father and was of lignum vitae, bound with silver.  The hoops came off, after which the bowl was broken and lost.  I have played with it time and again, therefore I remember it perfectly.'"

Source:  ANOTHER LORD OF THE MANOR, The Bronxville Review, Jul. 23, 1909, p. 3, col. 2.  

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February 1, 1689 Order by Lieutenant Governor Jacob Leisler and His Council Directing Inventory of John Pell's Gunpowder

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On February 1, 1689, Lieutenant Governor Jacob Leisler and his Council issued an order directing an inventory of a rumored store of gunpowder on the property of John Pell of Pelham in Westchester County. This was about eight months before John and Rachel Pell sold a large part of the Manor of Pelham to Leisler for the benefit of Huguenot settlers who subsequently established New Rochelle. The text of the brief order appears below, followed by a citation to its source.

"BY THE LIEUT GOVERNOR & COUNCILL &c"

Whereas I am enformed that there is Severall Barrrells of gun powder in ye Custody of Mr John Pell of Pelham within Westchester County

These are to will & require you to make diligent Search and Enquiry for the same & what quantity you fin to make a report unto mee forthwith. Given &c february 1st 1689.

JACOB LEISLER"

Source: O'Callaghan, E.B., ed., Documentary History of the State of New-York. Arranged Under Direction of the Hon. Christopher Morgan, Secretary of State, Vol. II, p. 39 (Albany, NY: Weed, Parsons & Co., Public Printers 1850).

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The Deed Reflecting John Pell's Sale of the Lands that Became New Rochelle

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On September 20, 1689, John Pell and his wife, Rachel, conveyed to Jacob Leisler of New York City 6,100 acres of land that had formed the northeastern part of the Manor of Pelham acquired in 1654 by Thomas Pell, John Pell's uncle. The original deed is framed and maintained among the collections of the Thomas Paine Cottage in New Rochelle. An image of the deed appears immediately below, followed by a transcription of its contents.






"TO ALL CHRISTIAN PEOPLE To whom this present writing shall come John Pell proprietor of the Mannor of Pelham within the County of Westchester in the province of New York within the Domminion of New England Gentleman and Rachell his wife Sendeth Greeting in our Lord God Everlasting. Know Yee that the said John Pell & Rachell his wife for an in consideration of the sume of Sixteens hundred twenty & Five pounds sterling currant silver money of this province to him in hand paid & secured to be paid att & before the ensealing & delivery hereof by Jacob Leisler of the Citty of New York Marchant, the Receipt whereof they the said John Pell & Rachell his Wife doe hereby Acknowledg & themselves to be fully Sattisfied & contented & thereof & of every part & parcell thereof doe hereby freely & cleerly Acquitt exonerate & discharge the said Jacob Leisler his heirs Executors Administrators & every of them by these presents, HAVE Granted bargained & sold & by these Presents Doe grant Bargaind & sell unto the said Jacob Leisler his heirs & Assignes ALL that Tract of Land lyeing & being within the said Mannor of PELHAM containning Six thousand acres of Land And also One hundred Acres of Land more which the said John Pell & Rachell his Wife do freely Give & Grant for the French Church erected or to be erected by the Inhabitants of the said Tract of Land or by their Assignes BEING butted & bounded as herein is After expressed beginning att the west side of A certaine white Oak tree marked on all foure sides standing at high water mark & at the south end of Hog Neck by Shoals harbour & runs north westerly through the great & fresh Meadow lyeing between the Roade & the sound & from the north side of the said Meadow where the said line crosses the said Meadow to run from thence due north to Bronckeses River which is the west divission line between the said John Pell's Land and the aforesaid Tract bounded on the south Easterly by the sound & Salt water & to run east northerly to A certaine peice of Salt Meadow lyeing att the Salt Creek which Runneth up to Cedar Tree brook, or Gravilley, brook, and is the bounds to the southern. Bounded on the east by a line that runs from said Meadow north-westerly by marked trees to a certaine black Oak tree standing A little below the Roade marked on fouer Sides & from thence to run due north fouer miles and one halfe more or lesse AND from the north end of the said west line ending att BRONCKESES River, and from thence to run easterly till it meetes with a North end of the said easternmost bounds, together with all and Singuler the Islands & Isletts before the said tract of Land lyeing & being in the sound & Salt water with all the Harbours creeks Rivers Riveletts Runs Waters Lakes Meadows ponds Marches Salt & fresh swamps Soyles timber trees pastures feedings, Inclosures fields Quarryes, Mines mineralls, (Silver & gold Mines only excepted,) fishing hunting fowleing hawking AS Also the Messuages Houses tenements barnes Mills Milldams as they were at the time of the ensealing & delivery of the Articles of Aggreement of Sale for said Land bearing date the second day of July in the Yeare of our Lord one thousand six hundred eighty-seven, AS Relatôn being thereto had doth more fully and att large Appeare, AS allso the Reversion & reversions, Remainder & Remainders of a certaine Lott of Land & Meadow now in the tenure & occupâton of John Jefferd & Olive his wife being parts of the aforesaid six thousand Acres of Land with all the Privilidges belonging thereto or any wise appurtaineing or there with now used occupied & enjoyed; AS allso the Right title interest Reversion, Remainder, property claimd & demand whatsoever of in & to the same & every parte thereof as is hereafter expressed, TO HAVE & TO HOLD the Aforesaid Tract of Land with all other the Above granted premisses unto the said Jacob Leisler his heirs & Assigns for Ever to his & there own sole & proper use benefitt & behoofe for every YIELDING & paying unto the said John Pell his heirs & assignes Lords of the said Mannor of PELHAM or to the Assigns of him or them or their or either of them as an Acknowledgment to the Lord of the said Mannor one fatt calfe on every fouer & twentyth day of June YEARLY & Every Years forever (if demanded) AND the said John Pell & Rachell his Wife for themselves their heirs Executors & Administrators Respectively doe hereby covenant promisse & grant to and with the said Jacob Leisler his heirs & Assignes in mannor & formd following (that is to say,) that att the time of the ensealing hereof they the said John Pell & Rachell hi Wife doe Avouch themselves to be true Sole & lawfull owners of all the afore bargained premises and that they are lawfully seized of & in the same & every part thereof in their owne proper Right of a good & Indefinable estate of Inheritance in fee simple & have in themselves good Right full power & lawful Authority to sell & dispose of the same as Aforesaid AND the said Jacob Leisler his heirs & Assignes shall & may from henceforth & forever hereafter peaceably & Quiettly have hold occupy possesse & enjoye the Above Granted premises & every parte & parcell thereof, free & clear without any charge or Incumbrance caused made Suffered or granted by said John Pell & Rachell his Wife or either of them their or either of their heirs in Estate Right title interest in law or Equity trust charge or other Incumbrance whatsoever, AND the said John Pell & Rachell his Wife for themselves Respectively & for their Respective heires doe covenant promisse & grant to warrant & defend the Above Granted premisses with their appűrtenânces & every part & parcel thereof Unto the said Jacob Leisler his heirs & Assigns forever, Against the Lawfull claimes & demands whatsoever, IN WITNESSE whereof the said John Pell & Rachell his Wife have hereunto Sett their hands & Seales in New York & the twentyth day of September in the First years of the Reigne of our soveragne Lord & Lady William, & Mary, KING & QUEEN of England &c., and in the Years of our Lord One thousand Six hundred Eighty & Nine.


JOHN PELL.


the mark R
Rachell Pell"


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