1892 Obituary of 85-Year-Old Jane Eliza Roosevelt of Pelham Manor

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There is a handful of ancient families who have had important influences on the history of the Town of Pelham.  Among them is the Roosevelt family, a line related (as one might expect) to the 26th President of the United States, Theodore Roosevelt, and to the 32nd President of the United States, Franklin Delano Roosevelt.  

One member of the Roosevelt family of Pelham Manor was Jane Eliza Roosevelt.  She was a daughter of Elbert Cornelius Roosevelt, an early 19th century owner of lands near Long Island Sound in today's Pelham Manor.  She was born October 13, 1807 in New York City in the family mansion on South Street.  

Elbert Cornelius Roosevelt was born October 9, 1767 in New York City.  He was a son of Cornelius and Margaret [Haering] Roosevelt.  On December 29, 1794 he married Jane Curtenius, a daughter of Peter Theobaldus Curtenius and Catharine [Goelet] Curtenius.  Peter Theobaldus Curtenius served as Commissary General and rose to the rank of Colonel in the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War. 

According to one source, the couple had at least eight children including Jane Eliza Roosevelt, the subject of today's posting to the Historic Pelham Blog: 

"The children of Mr. and Mrs. Roosevelt were: 

400 PETER CURTENIUS, b. Sept. 30, 1795; d. unmarried, Dec. 29, 1891. 
401 ELBERT JONES, b. Sept. 12, 1797; d. unmarried, June 7, 1885. 
402 HENRY, b. Aug. 18, 1800; m. July 29, 1828, Eliza Louisa Champlin. No. 622. No issue; daughter of W. O. and Elizabeth S. (De Peyster) Champlin. No. 311; d. Nov. 6, 1848. 
403+WASHINGTON, b. Nov. 14, 1802; m. 1st, Mary A. Swift; 2d, Jane M. Young. 
404 CLINTON, b. Nov. 3, 1804; d. unmarried, Aug. 1, 1898. 
405 JANE ELIZA, b. Oct. 13, 1807; d. unmarried, Dec. 4, 1892. 
406 MARY, b. July 10, 1810; d. June 13, 1822. 
407 ISAAC, b. Nov. 27, 1812; d. Sept. 30, 1856." 

Source: Whittelsey, Charles Barney, The Roosevelt Genealogy, 1649-1902, pp. 41-42 (Hartford, CT: C. B. Whittelsey 1902) (126 pp. with "Addenda," six leaves inserted at end).

I have written about Elbert Cornelius Roosevelt and other members of the Roosevelt family in Pelham Manor before.  For examples, see:

Fri., Oct. 16, 2015:  An Obituary of Charles Henry Roosevelt of Pelham Manor.

Thu., Aug. 21, 2014:  Biographical Sketches of Two Members of the 1887-88 Westchester County Board of Supervisors With Pelham Connections.

Tue., May 13, 2014:  Elbert Roosevelt, An Early Settler of the Manor of Pelham, and Other Members of His Family.

Mon., Apr. 05, 2010:  Obituary of Noted Pelham Manor Resident C. H. Roosevelt Published in 1901. 

Thu., Jan. 01, 2009:  A Brief History of Pelham Bridge. 

Wed., Jan. 29, 2008:  Brief Obituary of Rev. Washington Roosevelt of Pelham Published February 13, 1884. 

Mon., Nov. 19, 2007:  1901 Obituary of Charles Henry Roosevelt, Grandson of Elbert Roosevelt, One of the Early Settlers of Pelham Manor. 

Mon., Dec. 18, 2006:  What May Be The Earliest Patent Awarded to a Resident of Pelham: Patent Issued to Elbert J. Roosevelt on May 29, 1866. 

Wed., Dec. 13, 2006:  More About Isaac Roosevelt of Pelham Who Carved His Name on a Glacial Boulder in 1833. 

Mon., Nov. 13, 2006: The Isaac Roosevelt Stone Carved in 1833. 

Wed., Sep. 20, 2006:  Brief Biographical Data About Elbert Roosevelt of the Manor of Pelham.

Fri., Jan. 06, 2006: Pelham Loses its Right To Use the Town Dock in the Early 1900s.

Jane Eliza Roosevelt was a daughter of Elbert Cornelius Roosevelt and Margaret Haering Roosevelt.  Born in New York City in 1807, as noted above, she never married.  

She moved with her family to Pelham Manor as a young girl.  She was active in the community throughout her life.  She was, for many years, an active member of the American Tract Society, an evangelical organization founded on May 11, 1825 in New York City to publish and disseminate Christian literature.  At one point Roosevelt served as Treasurer of the New Rochelle branch of the American Tract Society.

Jane Eliza Roosevelt died in her home in Pelham on December 14, 1892 at the age of 85.  Her obituary appeared the next day in The Sun, published in New York City.  That obituary is transcribed below, followed by a citation and link to its source.

"OBITUARY.
-----

Jane Eliza Roosevelt, daughter of the late Elbert Roosevelt, died yesterday at her house in Pelham, after an illness of more than a year.  She was 85 years old and a spinster.  Miss Roosevelt was born Oct. 13, 1807, in the old Roosevelt mansion on South street, which stood at that time in an orchard of peach trees that stretched almost to the East River.  Her youth was passed between this city and Pelham, where her father owned the land on which the present town [sic] of Pelham Manor is built.  For some years she had lived entirely in Pelham.  Her mother was a member of the old Curtenius family, and her grandfather, Peter Theobaldus Curtenius, was a Commisary in the Revolutionary army under Washington.  During the hardships of the winter of 1783, spent by Washington and the troops at Newburgh, Curtenius sold his residence at the corner of Broadway and Liberty street to aid the army.  He was afterward repaid in Continental money, which is still in the possession of the family.  Miss Roosevelt came of a family which enjoys unusual longevity.  Her father lived to the age of ninety-one years.  One of her brothers, Peter Curtenius Roosevelt, died in December, 1891, aged ninety-eight, and another, Elbert J., died in his eighty-ninth year.  Both were bachelors.  One brother, eighty-eight years old, survives her, and is unmarried.  Miss Roosevelt was endeared throughout the region where she lived by her charities and gentleness of character.  The funeral will take place on Saturday morning, in the Presbyterian Church at New Rochelle.  The body will be interred in Beachwood [sic] Cemetery."

Source:  OBITUARY -- Jane Eliza Roosevelt, The Sun [NY, NY], Dec. 15, 1892, p. 7, col. 4.

Detail from 1881 Bromley Map Showing Location of Various Parcels

of Land Held by Roosevelt Family. Source: "Town of Pelham (With) Pelham-

Manor From Actual Surveys and Official Records by G. W. Bromley

& Co., Civil Engineers. Published by Geo. W. & Walter S.

Bromley, 1881" in Atlas of Westchester County, New York, From

Actual Surveys and Official Records by G. W. Bromley & Co., Civil

Engineers, pp. 56-57 (NY, NY: Geo. W. & Walter S. Bromley, 1881).

NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

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1807 Offer to Lease Alexander Henderson's Farm on Henderson Island in the Town of Pelham

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An island named "Henderson's Island" once was part of the Town of Pelham.  Known today as Hunter's Island in Pelham Bay Park in the City of New York, the island once was owned by Alexander Henderson, a native of Charleston, South Carolina, who moved to the Town of Pelham and lived on Henderson's Island.  He died on December 26, 1804.  One account of Henderson's life by the Reverend William Hague related:

"a few well-remembered facts, outlining his [Alexander Henderson's] life course, were recently rehearsed to me by Elbert Roosevelt, Esq., whose life long residence in Pelham, near the Island, suggest [sic] a series of memories related to the whole vicinity, extending over two-thirds of a century.  These conversational statements supply what was lacking to give a desired unity to the story. 

Mr. Henderson, born in South Carolina, was of Scotch origin; was educated at the University of Edinburgh, and then took rank as a Surgeon in the English Army.  Thus he was brought into communication with the British Ambassador in India, and was by him introduced to the Court of the reigning Prince, who engaged the Surgeon's professional services in behalf of his favorite wife, then seriously ill.  The treatment was a success, and the delighted Prince honored Mr. Henderson, in his own way, by the presentation of a beautiful Circassian slave girl, about thirteen years of age.  This present the Army Surgeon did not bring away with him from India; 'but, after establishing his home at the Island, said Mr. Roosevelt, 'he commissioned your father (Captain James Hague, of Pelham, commanding a ship in the India trade) to look after this princely gift, and bring with him the young Circassian as a passenger on his return voyage from Calcutta.  With her, accordingly, Captain Hague sought an interview, but found her so well pleased with her position in the household of a British officer that she could not be induced to leave her new protector. Nevertheless, the Captain was accompanied with an Indian lad, the Surgeon's protégé, who was welcomed, treated as an adopted son, and bore the name of William Henderson.  The lad survived the retired Surgeon eight years, and was buried by his side in the old French Burial Ground at New Rochelle.  The two graves are surrounded by a well-wrought iron fence, and the smaller marble headstone bears this brief inscription: 'In memory of William Henderson, who died January 19, 1812, in the 25th year of his age.' 

In his last sickness the young man was most kindly attended by Dr. Rogers, through whose influence or advice he bequeathed the sum of twelve hundred dollars, appropriated to the erection of a town house, 'for the use and convenience' of the people of New Rochelle. With the recognition of this gift the townspeople of our time generally associate the name of the owner of the Island Home; it is, however, the East India youth's memorial."

Source:  Old Pelham and New Rochelle by Rev. William Hague in Scharf, J. Thomas, History of Westchester County, New York, Including Morrisania, Kings Bridge, and West Farms, Which Have Been Annexed to New York City, Vol. I, pp. 711-12 (Philadelphia, PA: L. E. Preston & Co. 1886).

Not long after Alexander Henderson's death on December 26, 1804, Henderson's Island was offered for lease.  Immediately below is an advertisement offering the island for lease.  It is followed by a transcription of its text to facilitate search and a citation and link to its source.  

1807 Offering Henderson's Island, Known Today as Hunter's

Island, for Lease After the Death of Owner Alexander Henderson.

Text of Advertisement is Transcribed Below to Facilitate Search.

Source:  TO LET [Advertisement], The Evening Post [NY, NY],

Jan. 16, 1807, p. 1, col. 1 (NOTE:  Paid subscription required

to access via this link).  (NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge).

"TO LET, from the 1st of April next, a FARM in the town of Pelham, and county of West Chester, 19 miles from the City of New York, lately the residence of Alexander Henderson, Esq. deceased -- containing 250 Acres of Land.  On the premises is an excellent two story House (in the best repair) commanding one of the most extensive, beautiful and variegated prospect on the Sound.  Also, all the necessary Offices, with a good Garden and Orchard.  For terms enquire of Mr. John S. McKnight, No. 62 Courtland-street, New-York, or of Robert Ross, East Chester.

Jan. 5     1m*"

Source:  TO LET [Advertisement], The Evening Post [NY, NY], Jan. 16, 1807, p. 1, col. 1 (NOTE:  Paid subscription required to access via this link).  

This brief advertisement is fascinating for a host of reasons.  For example, the advertisement references "an excellent two story house (in the best repair)".  It seems likely that the "excellent two story house" to which reference is made is the one depicted in the image immediately below.

Undated Photograph of the Old Stone House on Hunter's

Island. Photograph Courtesy of The Office of The Historian

of the Town of Pelham.  NOTE: Click on Image to Enlarge.

I have written previously about this two-story "Old Stone House on Hunter's Island" before.  See  Tue., May 12, 2015:  The Old Stone House That Stood on Hunter's Island Near John Hunter's Mansion.  According to local tradition, a portion of the Old Stone House may have been built as early as the seventeenth century.  Also according to tradition, the Old Stone House (or at least a portion of it) served as the residence of successive owners of the island including John Pugsley, Alexander Henderson, William Henderson and even John Hunter who reportedly lived in it while his famous mansion was being built only steps away in the early nineteenth century.  If this tradition is accurate, then the photograph above likely depicts the home referenced in the 1807 advertisement transcribed above.

Detail from Only Known Period Map Showing "Henderson Isl."

Source:  Copy of Surveyor's Map Entitled "Town of Pelham West

Chester County Scale Twenty Chains to an Inch James

Davenport. Surveyor. 22nd February 1798." New York State

Archives Digital Collections.  (NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge).

It appears that the Old Stone House stood near the site where John Hunter built his mansion.  Hunter's Mansion stood at the very top of the knoll near the center of the island.  The Old Stone House seems to have stood near, but not on, the top of the same knoll. The map detail below, from a topographical map prepared in about 1905, appears to show the Old Stone House near Hunter's Mansion.

Detail from 1905 Map of Pelham Bay Park. Source: Office of the

President of the Borough of the Bronx Topographical Bureau,

Topographical Survey Sheets of the Borough of the Bronx Easterly

of the Bronx River, Sheet 29 "Map of OPelham Bay Park City of New

York Forming Sheet 29 of the Topographical Atlas of the Territory

East of the Bronx River" (1905) (Lionel Pincus and Princess Firyal

Map Division, The New York Public Library). NOTE: Click Image to Enlarge.

A different map published in 1868 also seems to show the Old Stone House.  It is difficult to decipher the reference on the map which may be a reference to "Farm H." (perhaps Farm House?) or Farm II (as in Roman Numeral "II"?).  In any event, the map detail below seems clearly to show the structure not far from John Hunter's Mansion.

Detail of 1868 Map of Pelham Showing Hunter's Island. Source:

Beers, F.W., Atlas of New York and Vicinity from Actual

Surveys By and Under the Direction of F.W. Beers, Assisted By

A.B. Prindle & Others, pg. 35 (NY, NY: Beers, Ellis & Soule,

1868) (Detail from Page 35 Map Entitled "Town of Pelham,

Westchester Co., N.Y. (With) City Island").  NOTE: Click Image to Enlarge.

It seems quite likely that the photograph of the "Old Stone House" on Hunter's Island depicts Alexander Henderson's residence that is referenced in the 1807 advertisement offering Henderson's Island for lease.

*          *          *          *          *

I have written about Alexander Henderson and Hunter's Island when it was known as "Henderson's Island" on a number of occasions.  See, e.g.:

Tue., May 12, 2015:  The Old Stone House That Stood on Hunter's Island Near John Hunter's Mansion.

Fri., Aug. 17, 2007:   Advertisement Offering Alexander Henderson's Island Estate To Let Published in 1807.

Thu., Apr. 6, 2006:  Alexander Bampfield Henderson: "Lone Lord of the Isle".

Fri., Mar. 31, 2006:  Text of 1804 Will of Alexander Henderson, Owner of the Island Later Known as Hunter's Island.

Fri., Feb. 24, 2006:  Notice of Settlement of the Estate of Alexander Henderson of Pelham in 1805.

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Hidden Treasure that Once Belonged to the Father of John Hunter of Hunter's Island in Pelham Found in a Discarded Chest in the 19th Century

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There are a surprising number of treasure stories -- some true and some apocryphal -- in the history of the little Town of Pelham.  I have written about a number of such treasure stories in the past.  For examples, see:

Mon., May 16, 2005:  The Discovery of a Gold and Silver Treasure in the Backyard of a Pelham Home in 1889.

Wed., Jun. 11, 2014:  Buried Treasure Off the Shores of Pelham: The Legend of Pirate's Treasure.

Mon., May 01, 2006:  The Legend of the Recovery of Pirate's Treasure on an Island Off Pelham. 

Throughout our region, which was known as the "Neutral Ground" during the Revolutionary War, Patriots and Tories alike buried their family treasures in an effort to hide them from the depredations of the so-called Cowboys and Skinners who roamed the region and tormented any who remained.  Even St. Paul's Church in Eastchester buried treasure -- later recovered -- to protect it against thievery.  See Mon., Apr. 06, 2009:  Paper Recounts Burial of the Bell of St. Paul's Church in Eastchester To Save it from the British During the Revolutionary War.  One can only wonder if there remain buried treasures never recovered by their Patriot or Tory owners in and around Pelham.

Today's posting to the Historic Pelham Blog transcribes an article describing the discovery of a fabulous treasure -- a chest of Spanish silver coins -- by John Hunter of Hunter's Island.  After discovering the coins in a forgotten chest that once belonged to his father, Robert Hunter, John Hunter had the coins melted and smithed into a fabulous silver service that he used to entertain guests in his luxurious mansion in Pelham and in his home in New York City.  

John Hunter was born August 4, 1778 and died in his home on Hunter's Island on September 12, 1852.  He was a son of Robert Hunter (born ca. 1735, died 1800) and Ruth Hunter (born ca. 1757, died 1840).  He graduated from Columbia College in 1799 and married a wealthy heiress, Elizabeth Desbrosses who died in 1839.  He was a New York City businessman and a politician who served for eight years in the New York State Senate representing the Second District.  He also served as a member of the Constitutional Convention that revised the New York State Constitution in 1846. Before 1812, Hunter bought an island in the Town of Pelham known as "Appleby's Island," afterward known as Hunter's Island.  His mansion became an historic showplace in the Town of Pelham.

Immediately below is the text of the article about discovery of the silver service.

"HIDDEN TREASURE.
-----
Better Than Captain Kidd's -- It was Found in a Discarded Chest.

One of New York City's most famous hosts in the early days of this century was John Hunter, of Hunter's Island, which is now part of Pelham Bay Park.  In the fine old mansion still standing on it, which he built, in 1807, for a country home, and in his town house at 7 State street, he entertained in a lavish and splendid manner, gathering often as many as forty guests at a time around his table.  The silver that helped to make these banquets princely was as famous in its day as the owner's good sheer [sic], and there yas [sic] a story connected with it, too.

When John Hunter's father, Robert Hunter, who was a nephew of the Colonial Governor of that name, and a man of wealth, came to this country, he brought with him among his baggage an old iron strong box, which he kept in the State street house.  At his death, his son, John Hunter, knowing nothing about it, and considering it too clumsy an article to be given house room any longer, packed it off to a storage warehouse with a lot of other stuff.  It lay there for years forgotten, till finally the storage-keeper, taking a fancy to it, asked Mr. Hunter if he might have it.  Mr. Hunter consented, but decided to have a look inside of it first.  The key to it was not forthcoming, and a locksmith was sent for to force it open.  Within were rows of canvas bags.  Mr. Hunter picked up one of them; it fell to pieces, and Spanish silver dollars rolled over the floor.  The chest was full of silver pieces.  Mr. Hunter sent them to a silversmith and had them made into the service that is still to-day one of the finest in the country.  There was a plateau for the middle of the table 7 feet long, and every guest seated about it was served exclusively from silver dishes. -- New York Commercial Advertiser."

Source:  HIDDEN TREASURE -- Better Than Captain Kidd's -- It Was Found in a Discarded Chest, The Farmer Review [Farmer, Seneca County, NY], May 7, 1898, Vol. XI, No. 42, p. 3, col. 2.  

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John Bartow Offers His Pelham Farm for Sale in Advertisement Published in 1807

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In 1807 John Bartow offered his Pelham farm for sale. It adjoined the lands of Herman Le Roy and looked out over Long Island Sound essentially in the area where today's Bartow-Pell Mansion stands. The text of the advertisement is transcribed below, followed by a citation to its source.

"At Private Sale,

A Farm of excellent Land, at Pellham, pleasantly situated on the East river, and adjoining the seat of Herman Le Roy, eighteen miles from New York, containing one hundred acres (or more may be added if wanted) On said farm is a new commodious dwelling house, barn and other out buildings. This place has a sufficiency of wood and water, a never failing spring by the kitchen door. A great quantity of English hay may be cut annually -- there are plenty of peaches cherries and other fruits in their season. Fort further particulars enquire of Griffen and Glass at their auction room, or the subscriber, on the premises, who will give an indisputable title for the same.

JOHN BARTOW"

Source: At Private Sale, Morning Chronicle, No. 1352, Apr. 14, 1807, p. 3, col. 5.

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Advertisement Offering Alexander Henderson's Island Estate To Let Published in 1807

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Alexander Henderson once owned the island that later became known as Hunter's Island (now connected to the mainland by the Orchard Beach parking lot in Pelham Bay Park). I have posted quite a number of items to the Historic Pelham Blog about Alexander Bampfield Henderson. For a few examples, see:

Thursday, April 6, 2006: Alexander Bampfield Henderson: "Lone Lord of the Isle"

Friday, March 31, 2006: Text of 1804 Will of Alexander Henderson, Owner of the Island Later Known as Hunter's Island

Friday, February 24, 2006: Notice of Settlement of the Estate of Alexander Henderson of Pelham in 1805

Tuesday, August 8, 2006: The "Old Stone House" on Hunter's Island

Alexander Henderson died in 1805. Two years later, his island estate was offered for rent in advertisements published in local newspapers. One such advertisement appears immediately below. Interestingly, the advertisement references "an excellent two story House (in the best repair" on the premises. The house, I believe, is the one about which I wrote on August 8, 2006 in my posting entitled "The 'Old Stone House' on Hunter's Island". I have included a photograph of that house following the quotation of the real estate advertisement below. The house was razed in the 1930s.

"TO LET, from the 1st of April next, a FARM in the town of Pelham, and county of West Chester, 19 miles from the City of New-York, lately the residence of Alexander Henderson, Esq. deceased -- containing 250 Acres of Land. On the premises is an excellent two story House (in the best repair) commanding one of the most extensive, beautiful, and variegated prospect on the Sound. Also, all the necessary Offices, with a good Garden and Orchard. For terms enquire of Mr. John S. McKnight, No. 62 Courtland-street, New-York, or of Robert Ross, Eas Chester [sic]. Jan. 5 1m*"

Source: To Let, The New-York Evening Post, Jan. 6, 1807, Issue 1584, p. 2, col. 2.

Below is a photograph of what I believe is the house referenced in the above-quoted advertisement.





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