Earliest Known Use of "Pelhamite" to Reference Residents of Pelham, New York

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Recently, Historic Pelham asked (and attempted to answer) the following:

"Why are we called Pelhamites? Why not "Pelhamanians," "Pelhamians" or "Pelhamers?" Perhaps even "Pelhamaniacs!" How long have we been known as "Pelhamites?" Actually, just what is a Pelhamite? What do the residents of such communities as Pelham, New Hampshire and Pelham, Georgia call themselves? Will we ever really know the answers to such earth-shaking questions as these?"

Source:  Mon., Jul. 13, 2015:  What is a "Pelhamite" and For How Long Have We Been Called That?

That article documented the then-earliest-known use of "Pelhamite" to reference residents of our little town of Pelham, New York. It noted that on October 8, 1910, The Pelham Sun used the term as follows:

"The Town of Pelham, although one of the smallest in the county, did itself proud, for a Pelhamite, Col. F. J. Hoyle, of Pelham Manor, was made permanent chairman of the [Westchester County Democratic] convention, and later our Supervisor, Edgar C. Beecroft, was unanimously chosen as the candidate for District Attorney amid thunderous applause." 

Source: THE COUNTY DEMOCRATS SELECT A GRAND TICKET, The Pelham Sun, Oct. 8, 1910, Vol. 1, No. 27, p. 1, cols. 1-2 (emphasis supplied)

Clearly Pelhamites of Pelham, New York have referred to themselves as such for more than a century. In doing so, however, we may not be as special and unique as we otherwise might have believed. Virtually every other community in the world named "Pelham" also seems to use the demonym "Pelhamite" for its citizens. It seems, therefore, that the term may originate simply from the ease with which it flows as a shorthand reference to someone from Pelham. Indeed, the term certainly seems to flow from the tongue more easily than "Pelhamaniacs."

We now can say with certainty that the earliest use of the term Pelhamite to reference Pelham, New York citizens can be moved back more than thirty years earlier to December 5, 1877.  Indeed, sharp-eyed students of Pelham history may already have noticed this fact.  

In the most recent Historic Pelham article published on Friday, April 6 about the formal installation of Rev. Dr. Henry Randall Waite as the first permanent pastor of the Huguenot Memorial Presbyterian Church, a newspaper report about the event published that date noted that after the installation ceremony clergymen and other "visitors were entertained by the hospitable Pelhamites at their homes."  See  A HUGUENOT INSTALLATION -- THE NEW CHURCH THAT HAS BEEN ERECTED AT PELHAM MANOR, N. Y. Herald, Dec. 5, 1877, No. 15,080, p. 4, col. 4.

It appears, dear Pelhamites, that we have been referred to as Pelhamites for at least 140 years and likely much longer than that.  Hopefully additional research will push that date back even more!

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Installation of Huguenot Memorial Presbyterian Church's First Permanent Pastor in 1877

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Rev. Dr. Henry Randall Waite was the first permanent pastor of Huguenot Memorial Presbyterian Church.  (Rev. Charles Eliphalet Lord served as an acting pastor from the time the church opened until Rev. Waite became the first full-time pastor.) 

Huguenot Memorial was founded as the nation's only "Centennial Church" and, thus, opened its doors for its first service on the Sunday after the nation celebrated its July 4, 1876 Centennial.  Reverend Waite began service as the pastor of the Church in 1877 and was formally installed in that post on the afternoon of Tuesday, December 4, 1877.

Rev. Waite served as pastor of Huguenot Memorial Presbyterian Church for a little less than three years.  He resigned the pastorate in November, 1880.   A few years later he founded the tiny little Church of the Covenant at Pelhamville, and was its minister without salary from 1887 to 1889. 

Reverend Waite was a fascinating man. While serving as minister of the Church of the Covenant at Pelhamville, he also served as Secretary and Treasurer of the Julien Electric Company, which operated the first street cars propelled by storage battery in the United States. He also was a man of letters. He edited a host of important publications of his day.

I have written about Rev. Dr. Henry Randall Waite before.  See, e.g.: 

Thu., Sep. 29, 2005:  A Brief Biography of Henry Randall Waite, 19th Century Clergyman in Pelham.  

Wed., Oct. 25, 2006:  A Biography of the Rev. Henry Randall Waite, Ph. D., a 19th Century Pastor of Huguenot Memorial Presbyterian Church.

Tue., Sep. 18, 2007:  Installation of the First Full-Time Pastor of Huguenot Memorial Presbyterian Church in Pelham Manor in 1877.

The installation of Rev. Waite as pastor of Huguenot Memorial Presbyterian Church on December 4, 1877 was, of course, a seminal event in the history of the little church.  The installation services were conducted in the afternoon of that day.  Members of the clergy from throughout the Westchester Presbytery and elsewhere attended the services in the tiny little wooden sanctuary that stood where today's magnificent stone sanctuary stands.  The little church was painted red and became a famous landmark because it stood on Boston Post Road, then the principal thoroughfare between New York City and New England.  The red church gave the name "Red Church Corner" to the intersection of Boston Post Road and Pelhamdale Avenue where it stood.

Among the clergy present for the installation services that day were:  Rev. Washington Roosevelt and Rev. Charles Higbee, both of Pelham Manor; Rev. Dr. Baird of Rye; Rev. Dr. William J. Tucker and Rev. Dr. Lewellyn Bevan, both of New York City; Rev. Robert A. Davison, Moderator of Westchester Presbytery; Rev. Dr. Wilson Phraner of Sing Sing, Rev. Dr. Rollin A. Sawyer of Irvington, Rev. Hiram H. Waite (father of Henry Randall Waite); and Rev. L. Francis of Greenpoint, Long Island.

Rev. Davison, Moderator of the Westchester Presbytery, propounded the constitutional question to Rev. Waite.  Rev. Phraner gave the charge to the new pastor.  Rev. Sawyer gave the charge to the people of the congregation.  Rev. Dr. William J. Tucker of New York City delivered the sermon.  According to one newspaper account:

"Dr. Tucker, of this city, preached an admirable sermon on what he called the inspiration of faith, which, he argued, always preceded the inspiration of writing.  So that before Moses or David, Isaiah or Paul could write, they must have believed.  And had they not been obedient as well as believing, God could not have developed His truth in them with sufficient clearness and power for them to have written it."  

Three vocalists ("Miss Phillips and Messrs. O'Brien and Grover") from New Rochelle celebrated the installation with music.  Rev. Waite's father, Rev. Hiram H. Waite, delivered the closing prayer.  Following the services, the clergy dispersed to the homes of various residents of Pelham Manor and were "entertained by the hospitable Pelhamites at their homes."

A Glass Lantern Slide Created by Pelham Town Historian

William Montgomery Between December 10, 1916 and June

10, 1917. It Depicts the "Little Red Church," the Predecessor

Building to Today's Huguenot Memorial Presbyterian Church

Sanctuary. The Little Red Church was a "Centenary Church"

Opened in July 1876 in Part to Commemorate the Centennial

of the Signing of the Declaration of Independence.

NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

*           *          *          *          *

"WESTCHESTER COUNTY. . . .

A special meeting of the Westchester Presbytery will be held in the Huguenot Memorial Church, at Pelham Manor, on Tuesday afternoon next, for the purpose of installing the new Pastor of the church, Rev. Henry Randall Waite, Ph. D.  Among the prominent clergymen who will take part in the exercises are Rev. Washington Roosevelt, Rev. Llewellyn Bevan, Rev. T. Ralston Smith, Rev. William J. Tucker, Rev. Wilson Phraner, Rev. Rollin A. Sawyer, and Rev. Hiram H. Waite."

Source:  WESTCHESTER COUNTY, N.Y. Times, Dec. 2, 1877, p. 2, col. 5.  

"A HUGUENOT INSTALLATION.
-----
THE NEW CHURCH THAT HAS BEEN ERECTED AT PELHAM MANOR.

The Huguenots were an important factor in the morals and politics of Westchester county, N. Y., a century ago, though their history is still unwritten save in sketches.  The old Pelham Manor having been laid out in village plots by an association composed largely of New England descendants of the Huguenots a few years ago, they resolved to plant a church there which should be a memorial to their persecuted ancestors.  They have built one of the plainest and prettiest country churches anywhere within an hours' [sic] ride of New York, and yesterday the edifice was filled with persons from the city and the villages adjacent between this and Sing Sing to witness the installation of the Rev. Henry Randall Waite, Ph. D., as pastor.  Mr. Waite was formerly pastor of the American Chapel in Rome, but has been back about a year.  The little Huguenot church was opened for worship on the first Sabbath of the second centenary of American independence, and is therefore properly named the Huguenot Centenary Memorial Church of Pelham Manor.  It is the only Huguenot church in the land.  Being within the bounds of the Westchester Presbytery a large representation of that body was present at the installation services yesterday afternoon.  The exercises were participated in by the Rev. Washington Roosevelt and the Rev. Charles Higbee, of Pelham Manor, the later rector of the Episcopal Church there; by the Rev. Dr. Baird of Rye; Rev. Drs. W. J. Tucker and L. Bevan, of this city; Rev. Robert A. Davison, moderator of Presbytery, who propounded the constitutional question to the new pastor; by Dr. Phraner, of Sing Sing, who gave the charge to the pastor, and Dr. Sawyer, of Irvington, N. Y., who charged the people.  The Rev. H. H. Waite, father of the Huguenot pastor, is engaged in the same relation with the Second Congregational Church in Jersey City.  He was present yesterday at the installation of his son and made the closing prayer, and the Rev. L. Francis of the First Reformed Church, Greenpoint, L. I., also took part.  Dr. Tucker, of this city, preached an admirable sermon on what he called the inspiration of faith, which, he argued, always preceded the inspiration of writing.  So that before Moses or David, Isaiah or Paul could write, they must have believed.  And had they not been obedient as well as believing, God could not have developed His truth in them with sufficient clearness and power for them to have written it.  Dr. Sawyer's charge to the people was a model of its kind.  It was delivered extempore and related to their reception of the new pastor as a man and as a minister.  As a man, he was theirs; as a minister, they were to be him.  The first meant that they should provide adequate support for him; the second that they should hear the Word of God from his mouth, not in a perfunctory manner, but as if Christ, whose ambassador he is, stood before them.  A trio from New Rochelle -- Miss Phillips and Messrs. O'Brien and Grover -- furnished the vocal music, and the visitors were entertained by the hospitable Pelhamites at their homes."

Source:  A HUGUENOT INSTALLATION -- THE NEW CHURCH THAT HAS BEEN ERECTED AT PELHAM MANOR, N. Y. Herald, Dec. 5, 1877, No. 15,080, p. 4, col. 4.  

"Dedication of a Huguenot Church.

The Huguenots were an important factor in the morals and politics of this county a century ago, though their history is still unwritten save in sketches.  The old Pelham Manor having been laid out in village plots by an association composed largely of New England descendants of the Huguenots a few years ago, they resolved to plant a church there which should be a memorial to their persecuted ancestors.  They have built a plain but handsome edifice, which was filled with people on the 4th inst. to witness the installation of Rev. Henry Randall Waite, Ph. D., as pastor.  This is the only Huguenot Church in the land.  Being with the bounds of the Westchester Presbytery a large representation of that body was present at the installation services.  The exercises were participated in by the Rev. Washington Roosevelt and the Rev. Charles Higbee, of Pelham Manor, the latter rector of the Episcopal Church there; by the Rev. Dr. Baird, of Rye; Rev. Drs. W. J. Tucker and L. Bevan, of New York city; Rev. Robert A. Davison, Moderator of the Presbytery, who propounded the constitutional question to the new pastor; by Dr. Phraner, of Sing Sing, who gave the charge to the pastor, and Dr. Sawyer, of Irvington, who charged the people.  A trio from New Rochelle -- Miss Phillips and Messrs. O'Brien and Grover -- furnished the vocal music, and the visitors were entertained by the hospital [sic] Pelhamites at their homes."

Source:  Dedication of a Huguenot Church, Eastern State Journal, Dec. 14, 1877, Vol. XXXIII, No. 35, p. 3, col. 3.

"COUNTY JOTTINGS. -- Interesting Items of Happenings in all Parts of this County. . . . 

Rev. Henry Randall Waite has resigned the pastorate of the Presbyterian Church at Pelham Manor. . . ."

Source:  COUNTY JOTTINGS. -- Interesting Items of Happenings in all Parts of this County, Eastern State Journal [White Plains, NY], Nov. 12, 1880, p. 3, col. 3.  

"Westchester County. . . . 

Rev. Henry Randall Waite has resigned the pastorate of the Presbyterian Church at Pelham Manor. . . ."

Source:  Westchester County, The Port Chester Journal [Port Chester, NY], Nov. 25, 1880, Vol. XIII, No. 627, p. 4, col. 2.

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An Historic Fiftieth Anniversary in Pelham During 1922

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A Golden Wedding Anniversary is a grand and glorious event, though rarely an historic event.  Yet, one such anniversary celebrated on Tuesday, November 14, 1922 rose to the level of an historic event in the little Town of Pelham.

That day, "anyone who was anyone" in the Town of Pelham attended a grand celebration of the Golden Wedding Anniversary of Isaac Carpenter Hill and Emma Jane Lovecraft Hill who were married in what was then the tiny little village of Mount Vernon on November 13, 1872.

Isaac C. Hill was one of the most significant and transformative public education figures in the early history of the Town of Pelham.  At the time of his marriage to Emma Jane Lovecraft in 1872, he was a school teacher in White Plains.  His new wife was a school teacher in Mount Vernon.  After the pair wedded, Isaac Hill moved to Mount Vernon.

In 1877, Isaac Hill became the "Principal" of the old Prospect Hill School on Split Rock Road.  Although he was designated the Principal, the tiny school was a one-room schoolhouse.  He was the only teacher.  

Prospect Hill Schoolhouse in an Undated Photograph.

Image Courtesy of the Office of the Historian of the Town of Pelham.

982 Split Rock Road Which Incorporates the Old Prospect

Hill Schoolhouse. Photograph by the Author, 2004.

I have written about Isaac C. Hill and his career in education before.  See, e.g.:

Tue., Sep. 27, 2005:  Isaac C. Hill's Reminiscences of Early Public Schools in Pelham. 

Tue., Mar. 28, 2006:  More Reminiscences of Isaac C. Hill of Early Public Schools in Pelham. 

Mon., Aug. 11, 2014:  Excerpts of January 8, 1889 Remarks Dedicating a New School Building in Pelhamville.

Mon., Jan. 12, 2015:  Isaac C. Hill, Involved with Pelham Education for Forty-Five Years, Retired in 1922.

On Tuesday, November 14, 1922, more than one hundred guests gathered at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Isaac C. Hill to celebrate the 50th wedding anniversary of the couple.  The gathering grew so large that an adjacent neighbor opened a nearby home to receive many of the guests who could not fit into the home of the Hills on Third Avenue in the Village of North Pelham.  

The celebration lasted from the early hours of the morning until the evening.  Rev. Herbert Haight Brown, pastor of the Church of the Redeemer in the Village of North Pelham, read the original marriage certificate of the couple to the crowd.  The couple also exhibited original wedding invitations from their ceremony in 1872 as well as a beautiful locket that contained "miniatures" of the couple at the time of their marriage.  The organist of the Church of the Redeemer played the wedding march from Richard Wagner's 1850 opera "Lohengrin."

Supper was served to nearly one hundred guests.  Isaac and Emma Jane Hill entertained the guests with a beautiful and remarkable duet "When You and I Were Young, Maggie," with Mrs. Hill playing the accompaniment on the piano.  According to The Pelham Sun "The steadiness of their voices was remarkable.  Despite their fifty years of married life and their advancing years, neither of them could be called old.  The passing years have only added maturity."

The Pelham Sun posted a lengthy list of the many astounding gifts that the couple received as well as a lengthy list of many of the guests who attended the grand celebration.  

Yes, because the celebration honored Isaac C. Hill, a beloved figure who devoted forty-five years of his life to public education service in the Town of Pelham, the event was indeed an historic one now part of the history of our little Town of Pelham.

"MR. AND MRS. ISAAC C. HILL

Pelham couple who celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of their wedding

at their Third avenue home last Monday.  They were married in the

Village of Mount Vernon in 1872.  Source:  Many Congratulations For

Pelham Couple At Their Golden Wedding -- Mr. and Mrs. Isaac Hill of

Third Avenue Marked Completion of Fifty Years of Wedded Life With

Celebration Attended By Scores of Friends -- Were Married In the

Village of Mount Vernon In 1872, The Pelham Sun, Nov. 17, 1922, Vol.

13, No. 38, p. 1, cols. 3-4.  NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

*          *          *          *          *

"Many Congratulations For Pelham Couple At Their Golden Wedding
-----
Mr. and Mrs. Isaac Hill of Third Avenue Marked Completion of Fifty Years of Wedded Life With Celebration Attended By Scores of Friends -- Were Married In the Village of Mount Vernon In 1872.
-----

It is seldom that a golden wedding anniversary is celebrated in the Pelhams, and still more seldom that such a celebration is attended with such unusual outpourings of affection and esteem as characterized the commemoration of fifty years of wedded life last Tuesday by Mr. and Mrs. Isaac Carpenter Hill of Third avenue, North Pelham.  From early morning hours until late in the evening visitors paid their respects to the happy couple, telegrams poured in from out of town friends.  Tokens of affection in wonderful array were brought and sent by their friends and the attendance at the reception held in the evening was such that the home of a neighbor was thrown open to receive some of the guests.  The home on Third avenue was beautifully decorated, being a veritable bower of chrysanthemums, roses, asters and autumn foliage mingled with artistic embellishments which made it a fairyland.

Features of the evening reception were the reading by Rev. H. H. Brown of the original marriage certificate, the exhibiting of the original wedding invitations and a locket containing miniatures of Mr. and Mrs. Hill at the time of their marriage.  Miss Peterson of Pelhamwood, organist of the Church of the Redeemer, played the wedding march from 'Lohen-

Continued on page 4

Golden Wedding Celebration
-----
Mr. and Mrs. Isaac Hill Celebrated Fiftieth Wedding Anniversary Last Tuesday
-----
Continued from page 1

grin'

Supper was served to almost one hundred guests, the tables being hosted by Mr. and Mrs. David Lyon, Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Ward, Mrs. Oscar Strieffler, and the Misses Iona, Helen and [illegible] Lyon, nieces of Mr. and Mrs. David Lyon.

Mr. and Mrs. Isaac Hill were married on November 13, 1872, by Rev. Charles Seymour, rector, at Trinity Church in the then village of Mount Vernon.  At that time Mr. Hill was a teacher in the public schools in White Plains and Mrs. Hill, then Miss Emma Jane Lovecraft, officiated in like manner in the Mount Vernon schools.

Five years after their marriage, Mr. Hill came from Mount Vernon to become principal of the old Prospect School at Pelham Manor.  For forty-five years he has been identified with the educational system of The Pelhams, recently retiring from membership of the Board of Education, having closed his work as principal of Hutchinson School in 1914.  He has been a member of the vestry of the Church of the Redeemer for forty-[illegible] years and is now clerk of that body.  Mrs. Hill was for fourteen years organist of the same church and is still actively identified with the work of the parish as a member of the Parish Guild.  Both are beloved by members of the congregation.  

An interesting feature of the celebration was the singing by Mr. and Mrs. Hill of a duet 'When You and I Were Young, Maggie,' Mrs. Hill playing the accompaniment on the piano.  The steadiness of their voices was remarkable.  Despite their fifty years of married life and their advancing years, neither of them could be called old.  The passing years have only added maturity.

An interesting guest at the ceremonies was Mr. and Mrs. Charles Doad Hill of White Plains, who also celebrated their golden wedding [anniversary] on September 29th of this year.  Charles Hill is Isaac Hill's brother.

Among the list of gifts which were displayed in three rooms, owing to their great number, were the following:

Flowers, Parish Guild of the Church of the Redeemer; gold mounted cane, Vestry of the Church of the Redeemer; Tiffany-topaz brooch, Parish Guild of the Church of the Redeemer; $10 gold piece, Mr. and Mrs. C. D. Hill; gold and white dresser set, Mr. and Mrs. Eugene Lyon; gold match box and cameo brooch, Mr. and Mrs. John T. Brook; gold tea tile, Mr. and Mrs. Matthew Herman; gold and glass cracker and cheese dish, Mrs. R. Hewitt; gold thimble, Mr. and Mrs. W. B. Lyon; flowers, Mr. and Mrs. Herman Sobel; gold pepper and salts, Mrs. M. Calderwood; gold dish, Mr. and Mrs. H. Hacker; two gold mounted fountain pens, Mr. and Mrs. A. Anderson; gold scarf pin, M. J. Lynch; gold bar pin, Miss Mary Lynch; old gold boudoir lamp, Mr. and Mrs. J. Lyon; oil painting, Mr. and Mrs. J. M. Shinn; gold thermos bottle, Mr. and Mrs. S. E. Lyon; embroidered pillow cases, the Misses Hewitt; gold and glass syrup pitcher, Mrs. W. Lyon and Mrs. Vander-Roest; gold and glass vase, Judge and Mrs. I. B. Louis; gold and glass dish, Rev. and Mrs. E. B. Rice; flowers, Wm. Edinger; gold dish, Harry A. Anderson; Ovington cup and saucer, Mrs. and Miss Offinger; Ovington cup and saucer, Mr. and Mrs. M. Offinger; $5 gold piece, Prof. and Mrs. A. B. Davis; embroidered pillow cases, E. Merritt; flowers, Miss Agnes Ward; gold and glass dish, F. Case; gold piece, $2.50, Mrs. McGalliard; book, Mr. and Mrs. Jacob Wirth; thermos bottle, Mrs. J. Brengel; cigars, J. Brengel; cigars, Mrs. Eugene Meyer; Japanese tray, Mr. and Mrs. O. Strieffler; gold bon-bon dish, Mr. and Mrs. Walter Barker; flowers, the Misses Aspenleiter; gold and glass dish, Miss Ellen Freshney; flowers, Mrs. John B. Clegg; gold and glass dish, Mr. and Mrs. Wm. Dobbs; filet lace scarf, Mrs. John Lowery; gold thimble, Mr. and Mrs. G. I. Karback; Tatting handkerchief; Mrs. H. I. Jones, gold tie clasp, Geo. Busteed; gold vanity pins, Mrs. Geo. Busteed; cigars, K. S. Durham; gold and glass mayonnaise bowl, Mrs. K. S. Durham; gold and glass dish, Mrs. MacCloud, Mrs. Rigg; gold and glass dish, Mrs. Hatch; box chocolates, Mr. and Mrs. Warren Hazen; hand painted mayonnaise bowl, Mr. and Mrs. J. Mollenhagen; flowers, Mrs. Godfrey Oden; bronze placque, Mr. and Mrs. J. Gulatsi; towel set, Mr. and Mrs. Monroe; peppers and salts, Mrs. Merz, and daughter; flowers, Mrs. Kate Mulligan; gold fish, the little Brengels; basket of flowers, Mr. and Mrs. B. Dick; peppers and salts, Mr. and Mrs. Fitzpatrick; flowers, Mrs. E. Semmons; cut glass vase and flowers, Mr. and Mrs. R. Scott; guest book, Rev. and Mrs. F. Anderson; peppers and salts, Mr. and Mrs. H. Blakeloke; bottle wine, Mr. and Mrs. D. A. Kennedy; flowers, Mrs. Merz; gold dish, Dr. and Mrs. Bryer; condiment set, Mr. and Mrs. J. Heisser; flowers, Mr. and Mrs. T. James; flowers, Mr. and Mrs. Wm. Griffin; flowers, Mr. and Mrs. Wm. Griffin; flowers, Mr. and Mrs. John Norman; flowers, Mr. and Miss Louis Kurtz; Pickard china gold plate, Mrs. Mary Dickinson; gold syrup jug and plate, Congressman and Mrs. Ben L. Fairchild.

One of the first to offer congratulations was Mrs. Hatch, who made Mrs. Hill's wedding gown fifty years ago.

Among those who attended the ceremonies and tendered personal congratulations were:  Prof. and Mrs. A. B. Davis, Rev. and Mrs. E. B. Rice, Mr. and Mrs. Robert Scott, Mr. and Mrs. J. Brengel, Mrs. Mary Offinger, Miss J. Offinger, of Mt. Vernon; Miss Florence Busteel, of Bronxville; Mrs. Fannie Hatch of New York City, Mr. and Mrs. O. Strieffler, Mr. William Ernst, Mrs. Wm. Barry, Miss Agnes Ward, of New York City; Mr. and Mrs. MacCloud, Mrs. Riggs, Mr. and Mrs. C. D. Hill of Mt. Kisco; Mrs. A. F. Kitchel of Sound Beach, Mr. and Mrs. A. R. Van de Water, Mrs. George Lawrence, Mrs. Wm. Twells Tiers, Mr. and Mrs. L. B. Wardrop, Mr. and Mrs. Jas. Harper, Mrs. Frederick Davies, H. J. Bickford, Judge A. N. Menkel, D. A. Kennedy, E. O. Bartlett, Mr. and Mrs. John T. Brook, Mrs. H. J. Carell, Miss Peterson, Mr. and Mrs. H. Chase, Miss Chae, Mrs. H. I. Jones, Mr. and Mrs. W. B. Hoff, Rev. H. H. Brown, Mr. and Mrs. J. Ward, Mr. Edgar Merritt, Mr. and Mrs. J. M. Shinn, Mrs. Robert Hewitt, Mr. and Mrs. M. Fitzpatrick, Mr. and Mrs. Alex. Anderson, Harry Anderson, J. Rolus, Jr., Mrs. Walter Barker, Mr. and Mrs. Walter Barker, Mr. and Mrs. Henry Hacker, Miss Helen Hewitt, the Misses Aspenleiter, Mr. and Mrs. Mm. Dobbs, Mrs. Ernest Mann, Mrs. F. Semmons, Mr. and Mrs. H. Blakelock, Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Ryan, Mrs. E. McGalliard, Mr. and Mrs. John Clegg, Mrs. Edward Temple, Miss Susan Singer, Mrs. Vander Roest, Mrs. Grace Lyones, Judge and Mrs. I. B. Louis, Thomas M. Kennett, Miss Ione Lyon, Mr. and Mrs. Herman Zoebel, Mrs. Matthew Herman, Mrs. M. Calderwood, Miss Helen Lyon, Mr. M. J. Lynch, Miss Mary Lynch, Mr. and Mrs. H. Playle, Mrs. Carew, Mrs. W. B. Lyon and little Eleanor, Mr. and Mrs. Adolph Fassler, Miss Anita Lyon, Mr. and Mrs. J. Buchanan, Mr. and Mrs. J. Gulatsi, Mr. John Lowery, Mr. and Mrs. Eugene Lyon, Mr. and Mrs. Martin Offinger, Mrs. G. I. Karback, Mrs. Loretta Cook, Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Lyon, Mr. and Mrs. Young, Mr. and Mrs. J. Mollenhagen, Rev. Dr. Louis G. Leary, Mrs. Godfrey Oden, Mrs. Kate Mulligan, Miss Mulligan, Mr. and Mrs. A. Monroe, Mrs. Merz, Miss Emma Merz, Miss L. Merz, Mr. Wm. Edinger, Mrs. Augusta Keller, Mrs. Thomas Barker, Miss Caroline Barker, Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Barker, Mrs. Harriet Barker, Mrs. Mary Dickinson.

Over a hundred telegrams and letters were received.  From Congressman and Mrs. Ben L. Fairchild at Washington came hearty congratulations; others arrived from Kansas City, Rochester, N. Y., Syracuse, Danbury, Ct., North Hero, Vt., and other places.

Mr. and Mrs. Hill wish to take this opportunity of thanking all their many friends for their wonderful expressions of good will."

Source:  Many Congratulations For Pelham Couple At Their Golden Wedding -- Mr. and Mrs. Isaac Hill of Third Avenue Marked Completion of Fifty Years of Wedded Life With Celebration Attended By Scores of Friends -- Were Married In the Village of Mount Vernon In 1872, The Pelham Sun, Nov. 17, 1922, Vol. 13, No. 38, p. 1, cols. 3-4 & p. 4, cols. 1-4.

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Evidence of Friction Between Pelham and New York City in 1885 Over Riotous Hart Island "Paupers"

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From the time New York City first leased Hart Island from John Hunter, Jr. during the Civil War, and thereafter purchased it outright in 1868, and through the next several decades, the Island and its inhabitants were a constant source of friction between the Town of Pelham and New York City.  Though the island was within the Town of Pelham, it was owned by New York City.  

The examples of such friction are legion.  Confederate prisoners of war held on the island during the Civil War escaped and made their way through Pelham.  There were allegations that temporary residents of Hart Island voted fraudulently in Town of Pelham elections.  Long after the war, non-military prisoners held on the island escaped on foot and fled onto City Island and the mainland when the local waters froze over during brutal winter months.  Pelham residents were horrified when New York City quarantined yellow fever patients on the island in 1870, among many other such frictions.  Many other such incidents strained the relations between Pelham and New York City when it came to Hart Island.

By 1885 Pelham essentially had had enough of New York City's stewardship of Hart Island.  By then, a major portion of the island was used as New York City's "potter's field" cemetery for paupers.  Paupers, prisoners, and others resided on the island and were used as workers to bury the dead on the island.  

Because Hart Island was still part of the Town of Pelham, when such residents of the island misbehaved -- which was fairly frequently -- Pelham authorities, including the Town Constable based on City Island, were called to handle the situations, arrest those who broke the law, and haul them into Town Court in the Town of Pelham, all at the expense of the Town of Pelham with no reimbursement of expenses by New York City.

1884 Nautical Chart Depicting Hart Island and City Island at

About the Time Friction Between the Town of Pelham and New

York City Came to a Head in 1885.  Source:  "CITY ISLAND

HARBOR LONG ISLAND SOUND NEW YORK Scale 1/15000

1884," NOAA's Office of Coast Survey Historical Map & Chart

Collection (Available via Wikipedia).  NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

In January, 1885, an "indignation meeting" was scheduled on City Island in the Town of Pelham.  The meeting was scheduled "to protest against the conveying of riotous paupers from Hart Island to City Island to be tried simply because the first-named is legally part of the town of Pelham."

Pelham calculated that each time its Town Court had to try any such prisoner it cost $15 per prisoner.  As of January 28, 1885, there already had been sixteen such recent trials for a total expense of $240 (about $8,300 in today's dollars).  Pelhamites feared the financial impact of recidivism since nearly all the trials resulted in mere 30-day jail terms in the County Jail at White Plains.  Thus, the entire Town became concerned that it would become necessary for the Town to issue bonds and incur debt to fund the costs of handling unruly Hart Island residents placed there by New York City, the owner of the island.

According to one published report in late January, 1885, "A committee will be appointed to confer with the Commissioners of Emigration of New York city to provide some other method of dealing with the unfortunate denizens of Hart's Island, all of whom legally belong to the metropolis and should not be allowed to inflct special expenses upon the law-abiding citizens of City Island."

Pelham became so incensed that the clamor to force New York City to annex Hart Island grew.  In the following few weeks, a local newspaper reported that a bill was pending "before the Legislature" to force New York City to annex Hart Island, further noting that the criminal reformatory on the island was a significant part of the problem.  The report further noted that "The island is small and but of little use . . .  The citizens of the town of Pelham are anxious to have the Island annexed to New York City from the fact, as they say, that they have to foot the bills of the criminal expenses of the Island and the latter returns them no revenue at all."

Lithograph Depicting "VIEW OF THE CONVALESCENT HOSPITAL ON

HART'S ISLAND" Published Mar. 5, 1877.  Source:  Wikipedia (citing "Mid-

Manhattan Picture Collection / New York City -- Hospitals -- 1899 & Earlier").

NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

Eventually, New York City annexed Hart Island -- as well as City Island, other surrounding islands, and the lands that form today's Pelham Bay Park -- thus, ending a portion of the frictions that long had plagued its relationship with its little neighbor on its northeast boundary known as the Town of Pelham.  

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"Too Close to New York.

An indignation meeting is to be held at City Island to protest against the conveying of riotous paupers from Hart Island to City Island to be tried simply because the first-named is legally part of the town of Pelham.  The City Island people object to trying such criminals, for it involves a cost of $15 per prisoner, and as sixteen have already been tried and sent to White Plains Jail for thirty days only, the natives are afraid that if the paupers keep on being unruly and the City Island constable is daily called in to make arrests, it will be necessary to bond the town to pay the cost of the arrests and trials.  A committee will be appointed to confer with the Commissioners of Emigration of New York city to provide some other method of dealing with the unfortunate denizens of Hart's Island, all of whom legally belong to the metropolis and should not be allowed to inflict special expenses upon the law-abiding citizens of City Island."

Source:  Too Close to New York, The Evening Telegram [NY, NY], Jan. 28, 1885, Vol. XVIII, No. 6,032, p. 3, col. 4.  

"PELHAM AND CITY ISLAND. . . .

A bill is before the Legislature, to annex Hart's Island to the City of New York.  At the present time, while the island belongs to this county, still New York controls it, having got possession for the purpose of erecting a reformatory thereon for its criminal classes.  The island is small and but of little use to this county; but if New York city wants full control of it, let her compensate this county for it.  The citizens of the town of Pelham are anxious to have the Island annexed to New York City from the fact, as they say, that they have to foot the bills of the criminal expenses of the Island and the latter returns them no revenue at all. . . ."

Source:  PELHAM AND CITY ISLAND, The Chronicle [Mount Vernon, NY], Mar. 20, 1885, Vol. XVI, No. 809, p. 3, col. 4.

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The Ghost of Captain Kidd Guards His Treasure on an Island Off Pelham

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It is terrifying to imagine.  Not once; not twice; but, several times treasure hunters on an island off the shores of Pelham and New Rochelle have been confronted by the ghost of William Kidd.  Today Historic Pelham tells the story of the Ghost of Captain Kidd who continues, to this day, to guard his treasure on an island in Long Island Sound off the shores of Pelham.

It is doubtless that the infamous 17th century pirate William Kidd, known as Captain Kidd, prowled the waters of Long Island Sound near Pelham.  Moreover, ancient Pelham lore holds that Captain Kidd buried treasure on an island off the shores of our town.  See:

Thu., Jun. 08, 2017:  More 19th Century Reports of Captain Kidd's Treasure Buried Off Pelham Shores.

Wed., Feb. 15, 2017:  Captain Kidd's Treasure: Buried on High Island in the Town of Pelham.

Fri., Jan. 22, 2016:  Did the Notorious Captain Kidd Bury Treasure on an Island Off the Shores of Pelham?

The story of the ghost of Captain Kidd is nearly always the same.  Those who have stumbled into the ghost's lair have told their terrifying tales, but have never revealed which Pelham island is inhabited by Kidd's ghost because, of course, to reveal the ghost's lair would reveal the location of Kidd's buried treasure.  The terrifying tale goes something like this.

Bitten long ago by the gold bug, during the 1870s a bedraggled old treasure hunter hopped from island to island off Pelham shores in search of the storied pirate's treasure of Captain Kidd.  He and others of his ilk (and greed) tore up nearly every nearby island in Long Island Sound.  They explored and dug up virtually every inch of Huckleberry Island, High Island, Rat Island, The Blauzes, Goose Island, South No Nations, East No Nations, Twin Islands, Middle Reef Island, Cuban Ledge, Big Tom, Green Flats, Hunter's Island, Davids Island, and many, many others.

One particular day, the bedraggled old treasure hunter was tired from searching.  The sun began to sink.  Daylight began to fade.  But, the old man refused to give up his search for treasure.  With the fading light, he squinted as he poked among rocks and boulders on the island.  His bronzed face was deeply etched with the wrinkles of a long and hard life.  His tattered clothing was speckled with patches, some of which were worn through and in need of patching themselves.  His unkempt gray hair waved in a light breeze as he used an old bent shovel with a weathered and cracked handle to poke at the island rocks and boulders.  Occasionally the old fellow spoke, though there was no one on the island to listen to his rants.

Though easy to dismiss such an old codger, there was something fascinating about him.  It could be seen in his eyes (had there been anyone there to stare into them).  He had brilliant blue eyes that flashed brightly as they searched for treasure.  These were not the vacant, unfocused eyes of a demented old man.  These were the clear eyes of a younger man burning with greed.  They darted back and forth, up and down.  No crevice, rock, boulder, stone, or even speck of ground escaped their searching gaze when the old man was on the prowl.

That evening, the old man's bright blue eyes locked onto an oddity among the boulders and stones of the island he was searching.  Two large boulders rested against one another, but seemed odd.  Though they were separate boulders, they rested together with such a perfect, matched fit that it did not seem possible that even a sheet of paper would fit between them anywhere from top to bottom.

The bedraggled old man tried to stick the blade of his shovel between the two stones.  Only a fraction of an inch of the blade made it.  The boulders seemed fitted together.

Like a predator circling its prey, the old fellow began walking around the two boulders.  On the opposite side there was a cascade of large stones resting against the two boulders.  It looked as though an ancient rock slide had piled the stones in that spot.  Something, however, was amiss.  There was nothing above the two large boulders from which such stones could have slid.

The old man had a hunch.  He leaped onto the pile of stones and began tossing them aside.  They were large and heavy.  That made no difference.  A surge of strength electrified him as he shoved, pushed, and threw aside the stones from top to bottom until . . . . . 

There it was!

Beneath the pile of stones was a large flat stone nearly three feet square.  Clearly it covered something.

The old man scrambled to remove the flat stone.  It also was heavy.  He pried at it with the blade of his shovel as the sun finally rested on the western horizon momentarily, before beginning to sink below.  With Herculean effort, the frenzied treasure hunter pried the stone up enough to get a grip on it.  He dragged it away.  Beneath was a dark hole that seemed to extend downward several feet and underneath the two giant boulders.  

The old man had no light -- no matches or candles.  Sweat beads dribbled down his forehead and into his eyes.  He licked his lips and started down into the blackness of the hole.  

He could sense there was a fairly large open area under the two boulders above him.  His bright eyes darted back and forth, but could see little until they adjusted to the darkness.  Indeed, it was a race against time.  While his eyes were adjusting to the darkness, the light outside was growing dimmer and dimmer, offering little hope that the old man could explore the cave-like area.  

As his eyes searched, he thought he could make out a stack of something in the darkness.  He could not see what it was when he looked directly at it, but when he glanced to the side, his peripheral vision perceived something -- a stack of something.  

The old man stepped forward slowly, sliding his feet on the dirt floor and holding his hands in front of himself to feel his way in the dark.  He approached the stack and stumbled into it.  He felt with his hands all over the stack.  Old wooden boxes!  Heavy old wooden boxes!  Was this what he had sought for years? Was it Captain Kidd's treasure?

As the old man's brain swirled, a flash of light illuminated the room.  He spun around and there before him -- between him and the only way out -- was a large, luminous spirit.  The luminescence lit the cave.  The old man now could see that the area was small and was filled with a stack of wooden boxes, some of which at the base of the stack had rotted and were crushed by the weight of the ones above.  The glint of gold and silver could be seen amidst the rotted debris of the boxes at the base that had rotted and settled under the weight of the crates stacked on top.

 The bedraggled old treasure hunter knew in an instant he had found Captain Kidd's treasure.  He was torn between exhilaration and terror.  His attention instantaneously returned to the apparition.  Though the spirit made no sound, it began to float around the old man, circling his prey.  The spirit seemed to be dressed in 17th century seaman's clothing that, like the clothing of the old man, was bedraggled and torn.  

The old man turned slowly with the spirit as the apparition slowly circled him.  The old man never let the spirit get behind him and never turned his back on the ghastly ghost.  As the spirit circled, it soon was between the treasure and the old man.  That meant the ghost no longer floated between the old man and the only exit.

The old treasurer hunter began backing up toward the exit.  As he did, the ghost became agitated, then enraged.  In a flash the spirit pulled from somewhere a giant luminous and ghastly saber that flashed as though made of real steel.  The ghost darted forward and slashed at the old man with the giant blade.

Before the ghost could slash again, the old man scrambled out of the hole and ran for his life.  He left his old shovel and never looked back as he stumbled over the rough ground in the dim twilight toward his ancient rowboat on the island's shore.  There he leaped into the vessel and took off for the mainland.  As he looked back, he could see the luminous ghost of Captain Kidd floating above the shore of the island.  It held the flashing saber over its head triumphantly.  Occasionally it pointed the tip of the saber directly at the old man rowing away as if to threaten him.  The old man rowed for his life, never to return to the island again.

Had the old man returned to the island even as early as the following day, he would have seen that everything was exactly as it had been the day before as though nothing had ever happened at the site.  The flat stone was back in place, covered with a large pile of large stones at the back of the two boulders.  The only thing that would have seemed out of place on the island was an old bent shovel with a weathered and cracked handle that was broken into pieces lying on the shore of the island from which the old man had fled.

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Below is an example of an article published in the 1870s that mentions the ghost of Captain Kidd guarding Kidd's treasure on an island off the shores of Pelham and New Rochelle.  It is followed by a citation and link to its source.

"THE HUGUENOTS.
-----
The Settlement and History of New Rochelle.
-----
Special Correspondence of the Cincinnati Times.

NEW ROCHELLE, December 22.

We took the New Haven road for Rochelle, which is one of the handsomest and aristocratic suburbs of New York, about eighteen miles . . . distant from the city.

The history of this town is very interesting.  It was settled by the French Huguenots, who fled from Old Rochelle, in France.  That heroic city which had sheltered the survivors of St. Bartholomew, and for seventy years withstood the power of France, at length only succumbed when conquered by the fiendish ingenuity of Cardinal Richelieu, who erected a mole across their harbor, closing the mouth of their channel, which moles was made impregnable by men and cannon.  The Rochellese defended themselves until their number was reduced from twenty-seven thousand to five thousand, and they were reduced almost to skeletons by starvation.

Their surrender was followed by unheard of cruelties.  Men and women were condemned to the galleys; sent to the French Provinces in America; sold as slaves, and this was done, accompanied by other atrocities hard to believe even in that age.  Many of them fled to England, and finally, came to America.  The charity of Trinity Church, New Rochelle, specified that its members fled from France in 1681.  They were a part of the fifty thousand Huguenots who had found refuge in England.  

Settling here near Long Island Sound, their industry, ingenuity and courtesy soon made their colony a favorite resort.

Nothing could exceed the devotion of these French Huguenots to their God and their religion.  They must attend service on the Sabbath.  The nearest church was the old Church St. Esprit, in Pine street, New York, twenty-three miles distant by the road.  Every Sunday morning, they left their children in the care of friends, put their shoes and stockings in their pockets and men and women began their march to St. Esprit, always singing as they went along, one of Clement Marot's hymns; he who was the favorite and friend of Margaret of Valais, Duchess of Alencon.

Reaching a pond on the edge of New York city, they stopped, washed their feet, and put on their shoes and stockings, preparatory to entering the house of worship.  Their religious duties performed, they divested themselves of their shoes and started for home, generally reaching there late Sunday evening.  Even after their church was erected, they continued to do this at intervals, to partake of the communion, until the breaking out of the Revolution, when the country became too unsettled for such travel.

The French Bible used by these people, also a prayer book and catechism, are still in existence.  One of the prayers read:

'Oraison Du Fidele Detenu En Captivite.'

The Church of New Rochelle, like the great old Church of Rochelle, France, was destroyed by fire.  The present edifice was erected on the ground it occupied.  It has in the belfry the bell which formerly swung in the tower of the French Church du St. Esprit, New York City, and which was presented by Sir Henry Amherst.  On it is inscribed --

'Samuel Newton made me -- 1706.'

On the communion chalice and poten, is engraved,

'The Queen's chalice and poten, presented A. D. 1706.'

This was the gift of Queen Anne of England.

THOMAS PAINE.

Here, in New Rochelle, is the monument erected by his friends, to Thomas Paine.  Transplanted under the auspices of Benjamin Franklin, from a garret in London to America, Thomas Paine moved in the best society of Philadelphia and New York, and did good work in the cause of independence by writing his 'Common Sense.'  This was followed by his 'Crisis,' and for the service done the cause by these books the State of New York presented him with a farm at New Rochelle.

His subsequent career is well known.  His return to Europe, his connection with Robespierre, his escape from the dungeons of Paris, and his return to this country, and his settling on his farm.  Grant Thorburn tells the following story of Mr. Paine's escape from the guillotine, as told him by Paine himself;

'Paine was in the dungeon, and his name was on the list with 23 others to be executed next morning.  It was customary for the clerk of the tribunal to go through the cells at midnight and put a cross with chalk on the back of the door of such as were to be guillotined.  In the morning, when the executioner came with his guard, wherever they found a chalk the victim was brought out.  There was a long passage in the cellar of this Bastile, having a row of cells on each side, containing prisoners.  The passage was secured at each end, but the doors of the cells were left open through the day, and the prisoners were allowed to step into each others' rooms to converse.  Paine had gone into the next cell, leaving his door open back against the wall of the passage.  Just then came the chalkers, and probably being drunk, crossed Paine's door on the inside, which was out.  Next morning the guards came with an order to bring out twenty-four victims.  They could find only twenty-three, (Paine being in bed and his door being shut,) so they took another prisoner from the other end of the passage, and made up the number.'

In 1809 Thomas Paine died; his remains were interred on his farm.  In 1810, William Cobbett, who had lately become one of Paine's disciples, visited this country, went to New Rochelle, disinterred and carried his remains away by night, and conveyed them to England.  When Mr. Cobbett died, among his household goods and chattels was found a box of bones, which has caused many to doubt if Paine's remains were ever interred again.  If they were, I am under the impression Cobbet made no mention of the fact or the place of interment.

Some thirty or thirty-five years ago, the friends and admirers of Paine, purchased the site of his grave and erected a handsome monument there.  On this monument is a medallion likeness of him, and under it the inscription:

THOMAS PAINE, 
Author of
COMMON SENSE.

From out the empty grave near by a hickory tree has grown and spread its branches.

For two generations the French of New Rochelle kept their language in all its parity, and many youths were sent here to learn it.  John Jay and Phillip Schuyler of Revolutionary memory were educated here, as was also later Washington Irving; an ivy covering a house is pointed out as having been planted by the latter.

CAPTAIN KIDD.

The harbors of the sound here and on Long Island, were frequented by the notorious pirate, Captain Kidd.  He was employed in 1690 to suppress the 'buccaneers,' from the knowledge he possessed of their numbers, strength and places of resort.  It is said he was unable to govern such a horde of men under no pay, as composed his crew, and therefore he was in a measure compelled to engage in the very business he was employed to suppress.  This, however, is more than doubtful.

After a short but desperate career of a few years, he was captured at Boston, and sent to England, where he was executed in 1701.

He usually provisioned his vessel in this vicinity, and many men of desperate fortunes from the neighborhood flocked to him, hoping by so doing to secure great treasures.  It was reported that he had buried great treasures in the islands in the sound and the shores around, and consequently almost every part of land and island has at some time or other been dug up by infatuated treasure seekers.

Every few years this mania is revived, and we hear of those that are in search of the pirate's hidden gold, but, as yet, I believe none has been discovered.

Huckleberry Island was a favorite resort of the renowned freebooter -- almost every inch of the soil of which has been turned up.  Kidd's Point, on the opposite shore of Long Island, has also received attention in this way, much time and labor having been expended there.

The superstitious firmly believe that Kidd's ghost guard's his treasures to this day, and many amusing stories are told of the adventures of those who have essayed to rob him.  Men have declared that they have reached, and would have secured the golden harvest but for the sudden apparition of Kidd himself seated on his boxes, guarding them with a drawn sword.

M. M. T."

Source:  THE HUGUENOTS-- The Settlement and History of New Rochelle, The Weekly Kansas Chief [Troy, KS], Jan. 18, 1877, Vol. XX, No. 31, p. 1, cols. 4-5.

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