Historic Pelham

Tuesday, November 05, 2019

The Election of Pelham Patriot Philip Pell III to Congress in 1788 Over Alexander Hamilton and Others

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Today is town-wide election day in the Town of Pelham! All Pelham residents in both villages should exercise their right and privilege to vote today!

In honor of election day, today's Historic Pelham article will detail an important election held in the earliest days of our Republic. In that election, famed Pelham Revolutionary War hero Philip Pell III defeated Alexander Hamilton and others to be named one of five members of Congress to represent the State of New York as a delegate to the United States Congress "for one year, or until the new constitution shall be put into operation."

Philip Pell III

Philip Pell I of the Manor of Pelham was a son of Thomas Pell (referenced by members of the Pell family as "Third Lord of the Manor of Pelham) who died between December 21, 1751 and May 27, 1752. He married Hannah Mott.

Philip Pell I and Hannah Mott had a son they named Philip. Philip Pell II (b. 1732; d. 1788) married Gloria Tredwell and is believed to have built the original Pell farmhouse that forms a portion of the home that still stands at 45 Iden Avenue known as Pelhamdale, listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Philip Pell II and Gloria Tredwell had a son they also named Philip. Philip Pell III, often referenced in some records, confusingly, as Philip Pell, Jr. as is his father, occasionally), became an illustrious citizen of Pelham. He served as Deputy Judge Advocate General of the Continental Army. Some have claimed he served for a time, as Acting Judge Advocate General during the Revolutionary War. He rode triumphantly with George Washington into Manhattan on Evacuation Day at the close of the War. He served as a Delegate to the Continental Congress, a member of the New York State Assembly, a Regent of the University of the State of New York, and Surrogate of Westchester County. Philip Pell III lived in a home that he built near today's Colonial Avenue (the old Boston Post Road) and today's Cliff Avenue on a farm that encompassed much of today's Pelham Heights and the grounds of the Pelham Memorial High School.

Background of the Election

In late 1788, the nation was in an unusual state. The Articles of Confederation that preceded the United States Constitution were still in force. Although New Hampshire became the critical ninth State to ratify the new Constitution only months before on June 21, 1788. The new government under the new Constitution, however, was not scheduled to begin operations until March 4, 1789.

On December 15, 1788, the State Assembly of the State of New York began a multi-day session during which, among other things, it had to elect, with the New York Senate, a slate of men to serve as delegates to the United States Congress to represent the State of New York "for one year, or until the new constitution shall be put into operation."

The first order of business that day was for the Assembly to determine how many delegates should be sent to represent the State in Congress. There previously had been three such representatives. However, given transportation and other difficulties of the day, the State occasionally was left unrepresented at critical times because no one was able to attend. The Assembly (and later the State Senate), voted to expand the number it would send from three to five.

The following day (December 16, 1788), the Assembly considered and voted to choose five men from among eleven candidates to represent the State in Congress. Among those considered was Philip Pell III who, at the time, was an Anti-Federalist and resident of the newly-established Town of Pelham that had been created by the State Legislature only months before on March 7, 1788. Another candidate considered was ardent Federalist and American Patriot Alexander Hamilton. The final tally was:

Abraham Yates, Jr. 34
John Hathorn 31
Philip Pell 30
David Gelston 29
Samuel Jones 26
Leonard Gansevoort 23
Alexander Hamilton 22
Egbert Benson 21
Ezra L'Hommedieu 21
John Lawrence 17
Z. Platt 1

After the vote, members of the State Senate attended in the Assembly chamber for a joint session. When the Senate presented the five delegates it had chosen, all had been rejected by the Assembly. The five chosen by the Senate were: Alexander Hamilton, Ezra L'Hommedieu, John Lawrence, Egbert Benson, and Leonard Gansevoort.

After a little good old fashioned arm-twisting, a joint ballot of the Assembly and Senate was conducted. The final tally was:

Abraham Yates, jun. 39
David Gelston 37
John Hathorn 37
Philip Pell 37
Samuel Jones 36
Ezra L'Hommedieu 33
Alexander Hamilton 32
Egbert Benson 32
Leonard Gansevoort 32
John Lawrence 29
Thomas Tredwell 1

The joint session elected the same five men that the House originally chose: Abraham Yates, Jr.; David Gelston; John Hathorn; Philip Pell; and Samuel Jones. Those five were declared to be the duly elected delegates to represent New York in the United States in Congress assembled, "for one year, or until the new constitution shall be put into operation." The Town of Pelham's own Philip Pell III was among the five.

* * * * *

I have written on numerous occasions about famed American Patriot Philip Pell III. For examples, see:

Mon., Feb. 15, 2016: More on Revolutionary War Patriot Philip Pell, Jr. of the Manor of Pelham.

Tue., Mar. 07, 2017: Philip Pell of the Manor of Pelham Was a Commissioner to Partition Manor of Scarsdale Lands.

Fri., Jan. 30, 2015: Stained Glass Window Honoring Philip Pell of the Manor of Pelham in St. Paul's Chapel of Columbia University.

Mon., Jan. 27, 2014: What is that Memorial Tablet Next to Pelham Memorial High School and Who Was Col. Philip Pell?

Tue. Feb. 9, 2010: 1755 Census of Slaves Older than Fourteen in the "Mannour of Pelham."

Fri., Jan. 9, 2009: Another Brief Biography of Philip Pell of the Manor of Pelham.

Tue., Dec. 4, 2007: Philip Pell of Pelham Elected to Chair Meeting of Supporters of the New York Gubernatorial Candidacy of George Clinton in 1789.

Mon., Nov. 5, 2007: References to Philip Pell in the Minutes of the Commissioners for Detecting and Defeating Conspiracies in the State of New York.

Fri., Mar. 30, 2007: Biographical Information for Philip Pell Published in 1895.

Fri., Mar. 9, 2007: Abstract of Will of Philip Pell, Sr. of the Manor of Pelham Prepared in 1751 and Proved in 1752. [This is an abstract of the will of the father of Col. Philip Pell.]

Wed., Oct. 18, 2006: 18th Century Statutes Appointing Philip Pell, Sr. of Pelham To Collect Taxes on "Strong Liquors Retailed in This Colony." [This is the father of Col. Philip Pell.]

Thu., Aug. 24, 2006: Philip Pell of the Manor of Pelham: An Early Victim of the "Spoils System" in New York at the Turn of the 19th Century.

Mon., Jul. 17, 2006: 1780 Letter to George Clinton from American Patriot Philip Pell of Pelham Manor, Commissary of Prisoners of the State of New York.

Thu., Apr. 20, 2006: 1788 Campaign Broadside Urging Support for Candidate Opposing Philip Pell of Pelham Manor.

The Homestead of Colonel Philip Pell III that Once Stood

Near Today's Colonial Avenue (the old Boston Post Road)

and Today's Cliff Avenue. Source: Montgomery, William R.

& Montgomery, Frances E., Colonel Philip Pell (1753-1811)

Abridged from "The Pells of Pelham," The Pelham Sun, Oct.

21, 1938, pg. 11, col. 3. NOTE: Click on Image to Enlarge.

Granite and Bronze Memorial to Col. Philip Pell III on

Grounds of the Pelham Memorial High School. Source:

Photograph by the Author, 2004. NOTE: Click on Image

to Enlarge.

* * * * *

Below are two newspaper accounts describing the events that are the subject of today's Historic Pelham article. Each is followed by a citation and link to its source.

"American Intelligence.
-----

NEW-YORK, Dec. 26,
Proceedings of the Legislature.
HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY.

Monday, December 15, 1788.

THE fee bill was read a second time, and committed.

The bill for putting the constitution into operation, was also read a second time and committed.

A message was received from the Senate, non-concurring with the resolution for choosing only 3 members of Congress, and proposing 5 if they also sent another resolution, requiring the House to appoint a committee, to meet a committee from the Senate, to take into consideration the appointment of a State Printer.

On motion of Mr. Jones, the last resolution was agreed to, without opposition; and Messrs. Adgate, J. Van Rensellaer, Hoffman, B. Livingston, and Havens, were appointed on the part of the House. [The committee from the Senate are General Schuyler, Mr. Lawrence, and Mr. Tredwell.]

Mr. Harrison then moved to concur with the Senate in the resolution for appointing five delegates to Congress.

Mr. Speaker, said he, when that matter was before the House on Saturday, I remember that the principal argument for having only 3, was the additional expence. In matters of such infinite importance, the article of expence ought not to be principally attended to; it was also observed, that we had formerly been represented by three. Sir, the conduct of government for deviating from the number and electing 5, is a strong reason why we should agree with the proposition now before us; for, if there had not been cogent reasons for increasing the number, it certainly would not have been done. -- I believe the true reason was, that by appointing only three, the State was seldom represented. We may better prefer the certainty of a representation, to a trifling expence; and though the present delegation, it is true, is to be only for a short period, yet in this interval consequences may arise which may affect the latest posterity. Congress may enter into treaties, or other important negotiations that may highly interest our happiness and [illegible.] We ought not, therefore, to fac[illegible] safety to trifles. I hope, sir, we sha[illegible] with the Senate.

The question being taken, it was agreed to unanimously.

Mr. Jones moved for leave and brought in a bill for the relief of debtors with the respect to the imprisonment of their persons, which being read a first time was ordered a second reading.

Went into a committee on the Governor's speech.

Mr. Low in the chair.

After some time spent thereon, the committee rose and reported that they had agreed to a resolution for passing a bill to comply with the requisition of Congress for the year 1788. -- This resolution was adopted by the house, and the committee of ways and means directed to bring in the bill.

Adjourned.

Tuesday, December 16.

The bill for the relief of debtors, with respect to the imprisonment of their persons, was read a second time and committed.

The house then took up the day to nominate and appoint five delegates to Congress.

The following is a correct list of the votes:

A. Yates, jun. 34
J. Hathorn 31
Ph. Pell 30
D. Gelston 29
S. Jones 26
L. Gansevoort 23
Alex. Hamilton 22
Egbert Benson 21
E. L'Hommedieu 21
J. Lawrence 17
Z. Platt 1

Mr. Yates, Mr. Jones, Mr. Pell, Mr. Gelston, and Mr. Hathorn, having the greatest number of votes, the house resolved that, on the part of the assembly, they were nominated delegates to represent this State in Congress.

The Senate soon after attending in the assembly-chamber to compare the nominations of both houses, it appeared that they had differed wholly with the assembly, having nominated Mr. Hamilton, Mr. L'Hommedieu, Mr. Lawrence, Mr. Benson, and Mr. Gansevoort.

The two houses then proceeded to ballot for five delegates to Congress -- and the votes being collected, stood as follows:

Abraham Yates, jun. 39
David Gelston 37
John Hathorn 37
Philip Pell 37
Samuel Jones 36
Ezra L'Hommedieu 33
Alexander Hamilton 32
Egbert Benson 32
Leonard Gansevoort 32
John Lawrence 29
Thomas Tredwell 1

Mr. Yates, Mr. Gelston, Mr. Hathorn, Mr. Pell, and Mr. Jones, were then declared to be the duly elected delegates to represent this State in the United States in Congress assembled, for one year, or until the new constitution shall be put into operation.

The house then adjourned.

Wednesday, December 17.

The house then went into a committee on the bill for putting the new constitution into operation:

Mr. Havens in the chair.

The bill having been read, was then taken up by paragraphs.

When the first paragraph was read, which was in substance, that the Senators should be appointed in the mode prescribed by the constitution of this State for the election of members of Congress.

Mr. Harrison got up, and moved for the following clause to be substituted in lieu thereof:

'After which nomination the Senate and assembly shall meet together and compare the lists of the persons respectively nominated, and if the same person or persons is or are named on both lists, he or they shall be Senator or Senators for the united States; but if the said list shall agree only as to one of the persons therein named, and in all cafes where only one person is to be chosen and the two nominations disagree, then, one half of the persons named in such lists and not included in both, shall be chosen by the joint ballot of the Senators and members of assembly so met together as aforesaid, but if more than one person is to be chosen, and the lists shall not agree as to either of the persons named therein, then the members of the Senate shall at such meeting chuse by ballot one of the persons nominated as aforesaid by the assembly, and the members of the assembly shall in like manner chuse one of the persons nominated as aforesaid by the Senate, and the two persons so chosen shall be Senators for the United States.'

On this motion a very lengthy debate ensued.

The following, is a list of the votes on the question to agree to the amendments.

For the affirmative.

Mr. B. Livingston
Mr. Gilbert
Mr. Van Cortlandt
Mr. Seaman
Mr. Barker
Mr. Harrison
Mr. Hoffman
Mr. H. V. Rensellaer
Mr. Younglove
Mr. Watts
Mr. Ph. Livingston
Mr. Borton
Mr. Low
Mr. Bancker
Mr. Vandervoort
Mr. Rockwell
Mr. Verplank
Mr. Cornwell
Mr. Giles
Mr. Dongan.
-----20.

For the negative.

Mr. Jones
Mr. Carman
Mr. G. Livingston
Mr. Kortz
Mr. Yates
Mr. Frey
Mr. Staring
Mr. Speaker
Mr. Van Dyke
Mr. J. V. Rensellaer
Mr. Hardenbergh
Mr. Veeder
Mr. Winn
Mr. Duncan
Mr. Tearce
Mr. Savage
Mr. Webster
Mr. McCracken
Mr. Thomson
Mr. Bay
Mr. Schoonmaker
Mr. Tappen
Mr. Griffin
Mr. Carpenter
Mr. J. Smith
Mr. Dewitt
Mr. Wisher
Mr. Adgate
Mr. Harpur
Mr. Schenk
Mr. Akins.
-----31.

The question on the original paragraph was then put, and carried in the affirmative.

The committee then rose, and the house adjourned."

Source: American Intelligence, The Independent Gazeteer; or the Chronicle of Freedom [Philadelphia, PA], Jan. 2, 1789, Vol. VIII, No. 953, p. 1, col. 3 & p. 2, cols. 1-3 (Note: Paid subscription required to access via this link).

"POUGHKEEPSIE, Dec. 30.
-----
House of Assembly.

Monday, December 15.

THE Honorable the Senate having non concurred the resolution of this House, for electing three Delegates to represent this State in Congress; they offered for concurrence a resolution, in substance, that on Tuesday next, at 12 o'clock, both Houses proceed to nominate five Delegates to represent this State in the Congress of the United States for the present year. Which was agreed to.

Another resolution was received from the Hon. the Senate; That committees of both Houses be appointed to inquire into and report, what arrangements in the Printing Business of the State, may be proper for the Legislature to adopt.

Mr. Jones moved for leave and bro't in a bill, for the relief of debtors with respect to their persons; which was read the first time, and ordered a second reading.

Adjourned till to-morrow.

Tuesday, December 16.

The bill for the relief of insolvent debtors, &c. was read a second time, and committed to a committee of the whole.

The order of the day, for the nomination of Delegates to represent this State in Congress, being read, the House proceeded on that business, & the members present severally nominated five persons -- And Abraham Yates, jun., David Gelston, Philip Pell, John Hathorn, and Samuel Jones, Esquires, were nominated.

After which the Hon. the Senate attended in the Assembly chamber -- when on comparing the lists, it appeared that the Senate had nominated Ezra L'Hommedieu, Egbert Benson, Leonard Gansevoort, Alexander Hamilton, and John Lawrence, Esquires.

Whereupon both houses proceeded by joint ballot, to chuse five of the said ten persons, to be Delegates to represent this State in the Congress of the United States for the present year, or until the new Constitution shall be organized; and on counting the votes, it appeared that Abraham Yates, jun., David Gelston, Philip Pell, John Hathorn, and Samuel Jones, Esquires, were elected.

Adjourned till to morrow.

Wednesday, December 17.

Several petitions were read and com[illegible].

Mr. Havens, from the committee of the whole, on the bill, for carrying into effect, on the part of this State, the Constitution of the United States, reported further progress.

Mr. Jones moved for leave, & brought in a bill, for the further amendment of the law, which was read the first time, and ordered a second reading.

Adjourned till to morrow.

Thursday, December 18.

The bill last mentioned bill, was read a second time, and committed to a committee of the whole.

Mr. Jones, from the committee appointed to draft an address in answer to his Excellency the Governor's speech, reported, that they had prepared a draft, which he read in his place, and delivered in at the table, where it was again read, and committed to a committee of the whole.

Mr. Havens, from the committee of the whole, on the bill, for carrying into effect the new Constitution, reported further progress.

A message was received from the Honorable the Senate, with a bill, for regulating the manner of appointing Electors who are to elect a President and Vice-President of the United States of America, which was read the first time and ordered a second reading.

Adjourned till to morrow.

Friday, December 19.

The bill, for regulating the appointing electors, &c. was read a second time, and committed to a committee of the whole.

Several petitions were read, and committed.

Mr. Havens, from the committee of the whole, on the bill for carrying into effect the new Constitution, reported further progress.

Adjourned till to morrow.

Saturday, December 20.

Mr. Havens, from the committee of the whole, on the last mentioned bill, reported, that on coming to the blank in the bill where the allowance per day to the electors to nominate the President and Vice president was inserted, Mr. Speaker made a motion, that the words 'twenty shillings' should be inserted in the said blank; which was carried in the affirmative, on a division.

That the committee had gone through the bill and made amendments, which he was directed to report to the House; and he read the report in his place, and delivered the bill and amendments in at the table, where the same were again read, agreed to, and ordered to be engrossed.

Adjourned till Monday.

-----

The Honorable Philip Schuyler, and the Honorable Robert Yates, Esquires, are nominated by the Honorable, the Senate, to represent this State in the Senate of the United States."

Source:  POUGHKEEPSIE, Dec. 30 -- House of Assembly, ThoThe Country Journal, and Dutchess and Ulster County Farmer's Register [Poughkeepsie Journal] [Poughkeepsie, NY], Dec. 30, 1788, No. 178, p. 3, cols. 1-2 (Note: Paid subscription required to access via this link).

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Labels: 1788, 1789, Alexander Hamilton, Congress, Philip Pell III, Philip Pell Jr., United States Constitution

Friday, March 04, 2016

The First Native-Born American Saint, Elizabeth Ann Bayley Seton, Spent Time in Pelham

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During the late 1700s, Saint Elizabeth Ann Bayley Seton, the first native-born American canonized as a saint of the Roman Catholic Church, spent portions of her childhood in a lovely home that still stands at 145 Shore Road, partially in Pelham Manor and partially in New Rochelle. The 18th century colonial farmhouse has been expanded and incorporated into a larger residence that is located next to the service station at the intersection of Pelhamdale Avenue and Shore Road.

I have written before about Pelham's Saint Elizabeth Ann Bayley Seton. See Bell, Blake A., Saint Elizabeth Ann Bayley Seton's Time in Pelham, The Pelham Weekly, Vol. XIII, No. 30, July 30, 2004, p. 9, col. 1.

The Kemble House, 145 Shore Road, in 2005. Photograph

by the Author. The Wing on the Left of the Is Believed to be

Part of the Original Pell Structure Built in About 1750.

NOTE: Click on Image to Enlarge.

The Kemble House, 145 Shore Road, on April 7, 1923.

Photograph by William Montgomery Who Later Became

Pelham Town Historian. NOTE: Click on Image to Enlarge.

The original portion of what came to be known as the Kemble House was built before the Revolutionary War, likely in about 1750. It was the main farmhouse on a 102-acre farm owned by British Loyalist John Pell. John Pell's land included the mainland section off Hog Island (now known as Travers Island).

With the outbreak of the Revolutionary War, John Pell's loyalist estate was confiscated and, in the 1780s, was sold to William and Sarah Pell Bayley. (Local historian and Pelham Manor resident Mark Gaffney has done a great deal of research regarding the lands that comprised John Pell's 18th century farm.) William and Sarah Pell Bayley, it turns out, were the Aunt and Uncle of Elizabeth Ann Bayley who later became Saint Elizabeth Ann Bayley Seton.

Elizabeth Ann Bayley was born in New York City on August 28, 1774. Her father, Richard Bayley, became the first Professor of Anatomy at Columbia University. Her mother, Catharine Charlton, was the daughter of Rev. Richard Charlton, Rector of St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church on Staten Island.

Shortly after Elizabeth was born, her father left for England for advanced medical studies. He returned to America in the midst of the Revolutionary War as staff surgeon to British General Sir Carleton.

The family was Loyalist and maintained a residence in New York City during the War. Elizabeth’s mother died on May 8, 1777 when Elizabeth was not even three years old. According to those who have studied Elizabeth’s life, this cut “short her father’s career as an army surgeon”.

Two years later Richard Bayley remarried. He married Charlotte Amelia Barclay, daughter of Andrew Barclay and Helena Roosevelt whose father has been described as “the founder of the Roosevelt dynasty in America”. Elizabeth and her sister Mary, however, reportedly “suffered from their father’s frequent absences and the indifference of their step-mother”.

Perhaps as a consequence, at about this time, the two girls began spending time with Richard Bayley’s brother and sister-in-law, William and Sarah Pell Bayley, at the farmhouse known today as the Kemble House. According to one account, she spent an entire year in the home at the height of the War when she was eight years old and spent other long periods including many summers in the home. See Saunders, James B., ed., THE PELHAM MANOR STORY, p. 45 (Pelham Manor, NY: Privately Printed, 1991). See also Daughters of Charity Archives, Mother Seton’s Life in New York, undated typewritten manuscript, p. 1 (copy in the collection of The Office of The Historian of the Town of Pelham) (“She and her sister Mary spent long intervals at the farm of their Uncle William Bayley in New Rochelle. In fact, Elizabeth spent her entire eighth year of life there.”).

Later in her life, Elizabeth even wrote about her girlhood days in Pelham, recalling that in 1789 and 1790:

“I delighted to sit alone by the waterside, or wander for hours on the shore singing and gathering shells. Every little leaf and flower, or insect, animal, shades of clouds, or waving trees, were objects of vacant, unconnected thoughts of God and Heaven.”

Source: Daughters of Charity Archives, Mother Seton’s Life in New York, supra, p. 1 (citing “Remembrances” written by Elizabeth Ann Bayley Seton).

On January 25, 1794, at the age of nineteen, Elizabeth married a young New York financier named William Magee Seton, a member of a wealthy Scottish shipping family. For a time, she traveled in New York social circles and was the Belle of the Ball. During the fall of 1797, Elizabeth took on the cause of widows and orphans in New York City by helping to found the “The Society for the Relief of Poor Widows with Small Children.”

A short time later, however, Elizabeth’s happy life changed. Her father-in-law died, leaving her and her husband to care for her husband’s seven younger brothers and sisters as well as her own three children. Her husband’s business began a rapid decline until its bankruptcy in late 1800.

Elizabeth and Will Seton had two more children for a total of five. At about this time, Elizabeth and those with whom she worked for the poor of New York City were being referred to as the “Protestant Sisters of Charity”.

In December 1803 Elizabeth suffered a devastating personal loss. Her husband, Will, had contracted tuberculosis. On a trip to Leghorn, Italy intended to improve his health, Will died and was buried in Pisa. While in Italy, Elizabeth reportedly was profoundly affected by her exposure to the Roman Catholic faith. Upon her return to New York, she joined the Church of Rome, making her profession of faith in old St. Peter’s, Barclay Street, on Mar. 14, 1805.

Her conversion reportedly estranged her from friends and family who attempted to dissuade her from her new found faith. According to one of her many biographers:

“After several vain attempts to support herself in New York, in June 1808 she accepted an invitation to open a school for girls in Baltimore. Guided by the Sulpician Fathers at St. Mary’s Seminary, she conducted classes in a house on Paca Street, and there, in the spring of 1809, with four companions, formed the community which adopted the name ‘Sisters of St. Joseph.’ In the summer they moved to Emmitsburg [Maryland]. They adopted with some modifications, the rules of the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul, and after 1812 were known as the Sisters of Charity of St. Joseph. This first native religious community was destined to number more than ten thousand women and to conduct a nation-wide system of charitable and educational institutions, among them the country’s first Catholic orphanage, its first Catholic hospital, and its first maternity hospital.”

Source: Code, Joseph B., "Elizabeth Ann Bayley Seton" in DICTIONARY OF AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY, Base Set, American Council of Learned Societies, 1928-1936, Reproduced in History Resource Center (Farmington Hills, MI: Gale Group).

On March 25, 1809, Elizabeth took her first vows and received the title “Mother”, becoming the first superior of the Community. As such, Mother Seton prompted her sisters to open the earliest American parish school which they located in Philadelphia.

Portrait of Saint Elizabeth Ann Bayley Seton.

NOTE: Click on Image to Enlarge.

The process for the canonization of Mother Seton began on August 22, 1882 when James Cardinal Gibbons, Archbishop of Baltimore, “was inspired to initiate the Process for the Cause for Canonization”. The process ended on September 14, 1975 when she was canonized in Rome by Pope Paul VI. Among those who attended the ceremony in Rome from Pelham were the Rt. Rev. Msgr. Vincent W. Jeffers of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Mrs. Robert Cremins and her daughter, Patricia.

In short, Pelham has a Saint. She is Saint Elizabeth Ann Bayley Seton, a patron saint of: the death of children, in-law problems, loss of parents, opposition of church authorities, people ridiculed for their piety, widows and parochial schools.

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Labels: 145 Shore Road, 1789, 1790, John Pell III, Kemble House, Saint Elizabeth Ann Bayley Seton, Sarah Pell Bayley, William Bayley

Wednesday, October 22, 2014

Genealogical Information Regarding Benjamin Palmer, an 18th Century Owner of City Island in the Town of Pelham

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Benjamin Palmer was a son-in-law of Thomas Pell (referenced by members of the Pell Family as Third Lord of the Manor of Pelham). In 1761, Palmer purchased from his brother, Joseph, the island then known as Minneford's Island (today's City Island). Benjamin Palmer had grand plans to build a large port City on the Island (hence, "City Island") to rival the port of New York City as an international shipping hub. In 1763, Palmer announced that City Island lots had been laid out and were being offered for sale. On May 10, 1763, the first ferry was established between City Island and Rodman’s Neck. Throughout the 1760's many of those lots were bought and resold by land speculators.

Shortly before the onset of the Revolutionary War, Samuel Rodman Sr. and Benjamin Palmer successfully lobbied the New York Lieutenant Governor, the Council and the General Assembly to enact a statute authorizing them to build a free draw bridge between Rodman's Neck on the mainland and Minneford's Island (known today as City Island). The plans were part of Palmer's grand scheme to develop Minneford's Island into a major city seaport.

The onset of the Revolutionary War dashed these plans. The statute required that the bridge be built within seven years of its date of passage on April 3, 1775. The War raged for the next eight years. Thus, the bridge was never built and Palmer's grand plans for City Island were relegated to the trash bin of history.

I have written about Benjamin Palmer of City Island and the early history of City Island on many occasions. At the end of this posting are links to numerous such postings.

Today's posting to the Historic Pelham Blog transcribes the text of a brief genealogy of the Palmer family with information about the ancestry and descendants of Benjamin Palmer of City Island.

"ADDRESS

TO THE PALMERS OF WESTCHESTER CO., N. Y., BY PROFESSOR JOSEPH H. PALMER, OF YONKERS, N. Y.

Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen of the Palmer Re-Union:

Westchester County is a small part of the great territory of the Palmer family. It was so closely allied to the State of Connecticut that for many years it was impossible to determine a boundary line of separation; but now Westchester County contents herself, lying between the Hudson River and Long Island Sound,, and having for its southern boundary the great city of New York.

In population Westchester ranks as the ninth county in the State of New York. It contains the city of Yonkers and numerous villages, among them White Plains, Peekskill, Tarrytown and New Rochelle. From its proximity to New England and New York, and its beauty of situation, it is not surprising that the Palmers were among its first settlers.

The first settlement was made at the present village of Westchester in 1642, by John Throckmorton with thirty-five English families from New England, with the consent of the Dutch who had acquired title from the Indians. These, and others immediately following them, were refugees from New England persecution, and among them was William Palmer, who died in Westchester about 1670.

The Palmers were not only among the early settlers, but they were among the most active participants in the affairs both of Church and of State. As early as 1673 Joseph Palmer and Edward Waters were appointed the first magistrates of Westchester; and in 1692 John, Joseph and Samuel Palmer were appointed as commissioners for the repurchase of the land from the Indians. John Palmer was a vestryman of St. Peter's Church, Westchester; other Palmers were Baptists, Methodists, Independents and Quakers. Some shared the independent spirit of Ann Hutchinson, and deeply lamented her untimely [Page 105 / Page 106] and cruel death, which occurred near the creek which bears her name.

As the population increased and the settlements extended, we find the Palmers in the adjoining towns -- Pelham, New Rochelle and Mamaroneck, and in other parts of the county, and finally in other counties and other States.

City Island, originally called New City Island, in the town of Pelham, takes its name from an organized effort to make it a great trading port -- a great commercial city. The waters are deep and the tides from both extremities of the sound meet there.

Benjamin Palmer owned the island, consisting of 230 acres, and with his consent and co-operation it was granted to a company or corporation consisting of thirty persons, and laid out and mapped into city lots. The plans of the company were interrupted by the Revolutionary War. Benjamin Palmer, in the beginning of the war, at once took an active part in favor of independence. He was driven from the island, where he had retained an interest, and was a great sufferer during the entire war, losing almost everything for his attachment to the American cause.

In 1789 he set forth his grievances in a petition to Gen. Washington for redress, Aaron Burr being his advisor. The petition, among other things, stated 'That himself and his family were taken prisoners by the British who used us very ill, and then ordered us off my plantation, which I then had on said island, to New York, where I have continued with my family ever since.'

In order to give the original lines of the Palmers of Westchester, we must go still farther back, and begin with:

William Palmer, accompanied by his son William, a lad of nine years, came from Nottinghamshire, England, in the ship Fortune, in 1621 -- the second ship after the Mayflower -- landed at Plymouth, Mass., and settled at Duxbury, Mass., and thence to Scituate. It is supposed he died in 1637. His will was probated March 5, 1638. His wife, Frances, followed her husband to America in the vessel Anne, in 1623.* [Footnote * reads: '* See Palmer Records, Vol. I, p. 114.'] His son William it [Page 106 / Page 107] is supposed migrated into Westchester Country [sic], and died there in 1670. Children,, William, Joseph, Benjamin, Samuel, Obadiah and Thomas. Samuel settled in Mamaroneck, and became the propritor [sic] of Mangopson Neck. Children, Obadiah, Nehemiah, Sylvanus and Solomon. Obadiah died in 1747. Children, William, Samuel, Benjamin, David, Obadiah, Caleb and Mary Anne. Nehemiah died in 1760, leaving a son and a daughter. The son died, leaving Harrison, Drake, Aaron, Nathan, Benjamin, Nehemiah and Elihue. Sylvanus died in 1741. Children, Robert, Sylvanus, John, Marmaduke, Edward, Anne, Susannah, Charity and Mary.

John, son of Sylvanus, grandson of Samuel and great grandson of William, of Westchester, married Rebecca. Children, Joseph, Philip, Marcus, Lewis, Benjamin. The brothers Joseph and Benjamin became proprietors of City Island.

John Palmer of Rockland Coounty, N. Y., was probably a son of Josepoh and nephew of Benjamin, of City Island. He lived in Rockland County as early as 1750, and called his little settlement New City, from New City Island where his father had lived. The Palmer homestead is about one mile north of New City, which has long been the county-seat of Rockland County. I have been unable to trace with certainty the relation between Benjamin Palmer, of City Island, and John Palmer, of New City, but there are old deeds and other papers in possession of John Palmer's descendants which establish a connection between him and the City Island property; and the dates indicate that he was the son of Joseph. He married Martha Brown. Children, John, Joseph and Jonathan. Joseph never married. The descendants of John and Jonathan, with dates, are more fully given in 'Family Sketches,' by Rev. David Cole, D. D., Yonkers, N. Yl In these remarks I can only trace the Westchester branch from Rockland County back to Westchester.

Jonathan Palmer, born at New City, date unknown; married Elizabeth Wood, daughter of Sheriff Ebenezer Wood, born at Tappan, July 4, 1762, and died at Camillus, Onondaga County, N. Y., December 10, 1832. Children, Elizabeth, Jonathan [Page 107 / Page 108] Mary, John, Sarah, Benjamin, Jacob, Hannah, Ebenezer, Joseph and Daniel.

Benjamin Palmer, born at New City, April 1, 1793; married, December 8, 1814. Clarinda Frink, daughter of Isaac Frink and Phebe Pendleton; born at Cherry Valley, Otsego county, N. Y., July 28, 1795. The husband died July 20, 1857, and his wife, December 12, 1872. There were seven children, all born at Camillus, Onondaga County, N. Y., Phebe, Hannah Etta, Jane, Joseph H., George W., Warren W., and A. Judson.

Joseph Howard Palmer (myself), born at Camillus, Onondaga County, N. Y.,, September 16, 1824; married first, December 25, 1851, Hannah maria Van Cott, daughter of John G. Van Cott and Sarah Wyckoff; born at Bushwick, L. I., April 18, 1830, died at Yonkers,, N. Y., March 17, 1859. Married second, July 19, 1866, Frances A. Bingham, daughter of Horace B. Bingham and Emeline Jones; born at Coventay, Conn., March 31, 1835. Children of the first marriage:

Sarah Clarinda Palmer has the professorship of mathematics since September, 1876, in Wells' College, Aurora, Cayuga Lake, N. Y.

John Garrison Palmer is a partner in the Pure Gold Manufacturing Company, Fairport, Monroe County, N. Y.

Anna Maria Palmer has charge of a kindergarten in Allegheny, Pa.

Phebe Etta Palmer is a teacher in the Park Heights Seminary, Ocean Grove, N. J.

Children of the second marriage, Horace Bingham Palmer, Frank Howard Palmer, and Maria Whitney Palmer.

But few of this numerous race remained in Westchester. The enterprises of New York City and the surrounding country became inviting; and as westward the star of empire takes her course, thitherward from every eastern county and State went many of the Palmers to act their part among the first in peaceable possession, among the first in places of honor and trust, among the first in war, in peace, and in the hearts of their countrymen. In the wide stretch across the continent their dwell- [Page 108 / Page 109] ings ere found in almost every county, from Plymouth Rock to the Golden Gate. From every point of the compass on land and sea the Palmers rejoice over this Palmer Re-Union -- this reuniting of heart and home. The home in all ages has been the center of love and affection. Its surroundings and associations engage our earliest attention, and the words father and mother are the last of all things forgotten. The pictures of our old homes awaken commingled emotions of joy and sorrow, reminding us of the sunshine and shadows of the past.

The remembrances of kindred and friends are precious endearments. Art has been taxed to its uttermost to present in photography, in painting and in sculpture the forms so dear to us. These remembrances are sacred -- our penates, our household gods. And when these, like all earthly things, shall perish from the earth, the memory they faintly embodied, the story of virtue or valor and of useful lives, will be told to children's children. Yes, when all who now live, and their children's children, have been carried to their last resting-place, their successors throughout all time will read the story of Plymouth Rock and Stonington, Bunker Hill and Saratoga, Valley Forge and Yorktown.

If memory is so enduring, and the story of one's life so indestructible, then let our lives be lives of virtue and honor; let us be exemplary parents and citizens, known and blessed by doing good amoung our fellow-men."

Source: Palmer, Joseph H., Address to the Palmers of Westchester Co., N. Y., by Professor Joseph H. Palmer, of Yonkers, N. Y. in Supplement to Volume No. 1 of Palmer Records. Addresses + Poems + Proceedings of the Second Palmer Family Re-Union, Held at Stonington, Conn., August 10, 11 & 12, 1882, The Ancestral Home of Walter Palmer, the Pilgrim of 1629, Under the Auspices of the Palmer Re-Union Association, pp. 105-09 (Edited by Noyes F. Palmer, Recording Secretary, Jamaica, Long Island, NY: Privately Printed, 1882).