The Pelham Heights Police Force: A Little History

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Though difficult to imagine, the neighborhood of Pelham Heights once was a village of its own.  Though barely a square mile in size, New York passed special legislation to permit incorporation of the tiny village in 1896.

Formally named the Village of Pelham, it had no police force during its first six or so years.  The neighborhood relied on Town of Pelham Constables for its policing at the time.  

According to one account, Pelham Heights hired its first uniformed police officer in 1903.  His name was John Smith.  The same account noted:  "He had to buy his own uniform, but since there were no clocks to punch or alarms to ring in those days, duties were on the informal side."  In 1903, one of John Smith's principal policing duties was to meet each train that arrived at Pelham station during the evenings and nights and "walk the residents home."

By about 1905, it was time for Pelham Heights to appoint a Police Chief to oversee the work of the tiny department that was responsible for the tiniest incorporated village in the State of New York.  The village opted to appoint Village of Pelham Manor Police Chief Raphael H. Marks also to serve at the same time as Village of Pelham Police Chief.  He served in that capacity from 1905 until 1910.

Village of North Pelham Historian J. Gardner Minard recalled the succession of Village of Pelham Police Chiefs from the beginnings of the Department until the 1950s slightly differently.  He recalled the line of succession as follows:

John Smith 
Fred Quick
George Sundquist
Raphael H. Marks
George Holden
Joseph McGuire
George Duff
Arthur Burrows (Served as Chief from 1951 until his death on March 30, 1962)
John Keppel (Acting Chief) 

The first Village of Pelham Police Station was located in the storefront at 103 Wolfs Lane where it remained until 1923.

103 Wolfs Lane Where the First Village of Pelham
Police Station was Located Until 1923.  Source:
Google Maps.  NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

In 1923, the Village of Pelham Police Station moved to larger space within the Village of Pelham Village Hall in a residence that once was located at 198 Sparks Avenue, across the street from today's Village Hall.  In 1940,  the Village of Pelham moved its Village Hall (and its police station) across the street to the residential structure at 195 Sparks Avenue that serves today as Village of Pelham Village Hall.  

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Below is the text of an article published in 1963 that provides much of the information that forms the basis of today's Historic Pelham article.  It is followed by a citation and link to its source. 

"Westchester Today!
-----
Pelham Village Police:  Once Shared A Chief

The police department of the village of Pelham can claim 3-1/2 ways in which its history may be different from the police departments of North Pelham and Pelham Manor.

Pelham was the first department to have a uniformed policeman.  He was John Smith, appointed in 1903.  He had to buy his own uniform, but since there were no clocks to punch or alarms to ring in those days, duties were on the informal side.  A principal one was to meet the night trains and to walk the residents home.

Pelham was the only department in Pelham Town to have captains as head of the department -- Joseph McGuire and George Duff.

A third point is having an unsolved murder.  The victim was Julius Rosenheimer.  J. Gardner Minard, village historian of North Pelham, is the authority for details on that case and on the lines of succession of the Pelham Police.

The remaining half point difference is that Pelham and Pelham Manor once shared the same police chief.  He was Chief Raphael H. Marks of Pelham Manor, who served from 1905 to 1910.

Starting with John Smith in 1903, the line of succession was Fred Quick, George Sundquist, Chief Marks, George Holden, Joseph McGuire, and George Duff.  In 1951, the late Arthur Burrows, brother of Chief George Burrows of North Pelham, was appointed chief.  He directed the affairs of the department until his death last March 30.

Acting Chief John Keppel is now head of the department.  Headquarters is at village hall, a converted residence that retains a quaint Colonial charm.

The first station was located in a store at 103 Wolf's Lane.  It remained there until 1923 when headquarters was moved to 198 Sparks Ave., across from its present location.  It's been at 195 Sparks Ave. since 1940.

Pelham's most famous criminal case was the unsolved murder of Julius Rosenheimer.

Mr. Rosenheimer was the proprietor of the London Needle Corp. of New York.  His house was located on the present site of the Pelham Picture House at 175 Wolf's Lane.

On election night, Nov. 6, 1905, as Mr. Minard remembers it, he was sitting in the home of the newly elected Supervisor Louis C. Young (1905-07) discussing the returns when word came, there was a murder on the Rosenheimer place.  

Earlier Mr. Rosenheimer had told his wife he thought he saw someone in the garden near the creek.  The Rosenheimer property ran down to the Hutchinson River and as far south as the Boulevard.  Saying he was going to investigate, Mr. Rosenheimer left Mrs. Rosenheimer.

A moment later Mr. Rosenheimer was heard to cry:  'Mother, They're killing me!'  Mrs. Rosenheimer screamed and fainted. Her son, Edward, and Kid Everett, a fight trainer friend ran out.  When they reached Mr. Rosenheimer they found him stretched on the ground.  He had been bludgeoned to death.

The Village of Pelham comprises one square mile of territory and has a population of 2,106 persons, according to the recent police department census.  There are 1,227 adults, 879 children and 171 dogs.  Six hundred and one families live in 495 private homes and six apartment houses.  There are 70 stores and offices.

To police this community Chief Koppel directs a force of three sergeants, 10 patrolmen and two civilian crossing guards.  Equipment is modern consisting of two patrol cars with first aid kits, oxygen units, fire extinguishers, blankets and radios."

Source:  Westchester Today! -- Pelham Village Police:  Once Shared A Chief, The Herald Statesman [Yonkers, NY], Feb. 22, 1963, p. 23, cols. 1-4.

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Lean Roast Beef Is NOT a "Fatt Calfe" Though Pell Family Members Accepted it in 1956

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

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

1938 New Rochelle U.S. Commemorative Silver Half Dollar

(Obverse) Depicting John Pell Receiving the "Fatt

Calfe" in 1689.  Photograph by the Author.

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

During the 1950s, future United States Senator Claiborne Pell (who served as a Senator representing Rhode Island from 1961 to 1997) served as chairman of the Pell Family Association.  Claiborne Pell was particularly active in pushing the City of New Rochelle to honor its purported obligation annually during much of that time.   

Beginning anew in 1950, the Pell Family Association began requesting annually that the City of New Rochelle deliver the famed fatt calfe on June 24.  Although the City obliged, soon its elected officials and taxpayers tired of the annual ritual as a calf had to be located, transported, symbolically "delivered" and returned.

New Rochelle mayoral candidate George Vergara even made a campaign promise in the mid-1950s to rid the city and its taxpayers of payment of an annual tribute to Pell family members.  After his election, Mayor Vergara broached the topic in a letter to then-chairman of the Pell Family Association, future United States Senator Claiborne Pell.  Vergara suggested in the letter that the entire tribute be "called off." 

Claiborne Pell was direct in his response.  Without regard to whether the City of New Rochelle could be considered an heir and assign for owners of land in New Rochelle, Claiborne Pell responded by warning that if New Rochelle abrogated the agreement "it would seem to me that the whole assignment to Jacob Leisler of the land on which New Rochelle now stands is null and void."

Mayor Vergara relented on the condition that the "fatt calfe" be delivered in the form of a steak dinner rather than a live calf.  Moreover, proceeds from the dinner were to be for the benefit of the New Rochelle Hospital.  Nearly three hundred people including 26 Pell family members attended the dinner that year.

Within a few short years, however, the annual tribute lapsed.  The demand was honored in 1963 on the occasion of New Rochelle's 275th anniversary, but not again until 1966.  At that time, for whatever reason, the tribute had reverted to the symbolic "delivery" of a live calf.  Two Pell family members, dressed in period garb that would have been worn by John Pell and Rachel Pinckney Pell at the time of the sale to Jacob Leisler, accepted a live calf in payment of the tribute.  

The tradition has continued and has been honored as recently as 2004 at the time of Pelham's 350th anniversary celebration -- a tradition that, hopefully, will continue for at least another 350 years . . . . 

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I have written about the requirement that the "heirs and assigns" of Jacob Leisler, as purchaser and recipient of the 6,100 acres that became today's City of New Rochelle.  For examples, see:

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

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

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

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Below are transcriptions of the text of several articles addressing the delivery of the "fatt calfe" to Pell family members during the 1950s and 1960s.  Each is followed by a citation and link to its source.  

"Mayor Conditionally Breaks Campaign Promise

NEW ROCHELLE, May 15 UPI -- The mayor today broke a campaign promise and gave in to the Pell family's historic annual tribute of one 'fatt calfe' -- but on condition that it is served at the dinner table.

The tradition of the well-fed calf goes back to 1689, when John Pell sold the land on which New Rochelle now stands to Jacob Leisler.  Pell stipulated that his heirs should be paid a 'fat calfe' on the 24th of June each year in perpetuity.

For a long time the Pells forgot but one Pell revived the custom about the calf that was due them six years ago.  New Rochelle has been paying the tribute since then.  

The present mayor, George Vergara , promised during his campaign to rid the city of the tribute, and early this month wrote to a representative of the Pell family suggesting they call the whole thing off.

But Mayor Vergara got a letter a few days later from Claiborne Pell of Washington, D.C., chairman of the Pell Family Assn., warning that if New Rochelle abrogated the agreement 'it would seem to me that the whole assignment to Jacob Leisler of the land on which New Rochelle now stands is null and void. . . '"

Source:  Mayor Conditionally Breaks Campaign Promise, Plattsburgh Press-Republican [Plattsburgh, NY], May 16, 1956, p. 15, cols. 2-3.  

"Pell Family Gets Its 'Fatt Calfe"

NEW ROCHELLE, June 24 UPI -- The Pell family - 26 members strong - got its 'fatt calfe' from the City of New Rochelle tonight, only it was lean roast beef.

And it wasn't on the hoof, but on plates at a banquet.  Thus did the city pay off its 269 year-old obligation to the Pell family to pay over one fatt calfe each year forever and ever.

And thus did the Pells and the city fathers inaugurate a new method of payment -- a dinner to which all the Pells and the citizens of New Rochelle are invited.  The proceeds go to the support of the New Rochelle Hospital.

Ancient Contract

The annual fatt calfe was in return for a deed to much of the land on which the city of 60,000 now stands.  

The Pells demanded -- and got -- a fat calf on the hoof in 1953, and each year since.  The 1953 calfe recently gave birth to twins.  

This year Mayor George Vergara decided to pay the old debt by 'doing something useful,' and broached the matter to Claiborne Pell of Washington, D.C., chairman of the Pell Family Assn.

Pell Replies

Pell replied 'if the self-respect of your city fathers would be better served by this year having the Pells partake of the calf at such a meal on Sunday, June 24th, rather than leading it away, such an arrangement would be agreeable to me.'

Altogether, 300 persons attended the dinner, including representatives of four foreign governments.  

The British representative was invited because the Pell family has a little obligation of its own -- payment of 20 shillings to the crown for some bygone privilege.

The others were asked as a neighborly gesture."

Source:  Pell Family Gets Its "Fatt Calfe", Plattsburgh Press-Republican, Jun. 25, 1956, p. 5, cols. 4-5.  

"OUT OF THE PAST

NEW ROCHELLE -- Demand for payment of a 269-year old debt of 'one fatt calfe' incurred by the Huguenot founders of New Rochelle in 1689, is again presenting a problem for Mayor George Vergara and members of the municipal government.  Claiborne Pell III of Washington, D.C., has requested satisfaction of the ancient agreement 'on behalf of the heirs and assigns' of John Pell, second lord of Pelham Manor, and in accordance with the covenant of Sept. 20, 1689 between him and Jacob Leisler.  Thomas A. Hoctor, city historian, has been named general chairman of a committee to plan a 'fatt calfe' dinner for June 20 here."

Source:  OUT OF THE PAST, New Castle Tribune, May 15, 1958, p. 8, col. 3.  

"WANTS FATT CALFE

NEW ROCHELLE -- Today is the 4th and 20th day of June and the city barn is empty.  According to an agreement made in 1688, the city is to give the Pell family, who once owned the and, a 'fatt calfe.'  But last March, Claiborne Pell of Maryland told the city their [sic] would be no demand this year.  Today, Duncan Pell of Walnut Creek, Calif., filed a demand for the calfe.  But Mayor George Vergara said he would recognize only Claiborne as head of the family."

Source: WANTS FATT CALFE, New Castle Tribune [Chappaqua, NY], Jun. 25, 1959, p. 17, col. 4.  

"Rodman Pell Receiving New Rochelle's 'Fatt Calfe'"

Source:  Rodman Pell Receiving New Rochelle's 'Fatt Calfe',

The Long Island Traveler, Mattituck Watchman [Southold,

NY], Jul. 7, 1966, p. 1, cols. 2-4 & p. 3, cols. 4-5.  

"Rodman Pell Receiving New Rochelle's 'Fatt Calfe'

New Rochelle Mayor Ruskin, (left) William Rodman Pell II and Miss Florence Secor are shown above as on June 24 the city of New Rochelle once again paid the unique debt incurred by its Huguenot founder 177 years ago.  The Huguenots, who had fled from La Rochelle, France, contracted in 1689 with Sir John Pell, Lord of the Manor of Pelham, for the land which was to become the city of New Rochelle.  The price for the 6000 acres was 1,625 pounds sterling and the payment, whenever demanded, of 'one fatt calfe' on June 24th yearly and forever to the heirs of John Pell.  The last demand was honored in 1963 and was tendered to a member of the Pell family on the oc- (Cont. on Page 3)

'Fatt Calfe' 
(Continued From Page 1)

casion of the 275th anniversary of New Rochelle.

This year the demand was received by Mayor Alvin R. Ruskin from William Rodman Pell II, President General of the Pell Family Association, and a direct heir of Sir John Pell and fourteenth claimant to the Lordship and Manor of Pelham.  Mr. Pell resides at 214 Atlantic Avenue, Greenport.  

City officials presented the calf at City Hall at 4:30 P.M. on June 24th to several members of the Pell Family Association.  Speakers were Mayor Ruskin, Senator Claiborn Pell (Democrat, Rhode Island), and William Rodman Pell II.  The latter, and Miss Fllorence Secor, a granddaughter of Samuel Treadwell [sic] Pell were dressed as the Lord and Landy of the Manor of Pelham.  Following the ceremony a dinner was held at the Bartow-Pell mansion in the Bronx.

Upon accepting the 'Fatt Calfe,' Mr. Pell spoke as follows:

'As the fourteenth successor of Sir John Pell who made the sale and grant of the rolling hils and dales of Pelham to Jacob Leisler to harbor a persecuted people, the Huguenots of France, I accept the 'fatt Calfe,' from your Honor, representing what has grown from a humble settlement in the wilderness into a proud city, New Rochelle, I have by my side my cousin, Miss Florence Romola Secor.  She is taking the place of Lady Rachel Pinckney Pell, and together we speak, in commemorating this historic occasion, for a Pell family united in an Association, and whose President, Mr. Clarence Pell, is also by my side.

'The Pell family has a long history and it has many proud moments in it, but perhaps the prodest when, a century before the founding of our American Republic, Sir John Pell offered his acres to men and women and children fleeing tyranny and helped them by every means at his command to found a new home, where they could worship as they chose and live untrammeled as free men.  Sir John looked far into the future.  But he would have been astonished -- pleasantly -- if his vision could have projected to this scene today, marking nearly three centuries of close association between the Pell family and New Rochelle in a setting where men of many faiths and origins live and work and learn side by side and dream of an ever more radiant future for the generations to come.

'The Pell family through me, as President General, accepts the calf from New Rochelle as a symbol of our long association and friendship.  Moreover, following the precedent which has now been established, it will mark the occasion by joining with New Rochelle in the support of the Wildcrest Museum for Children.  We consider it a privilege through this participation to play our part in the progressive community of New Rochelle, and we are confident that this privilege will be ours for years to come.  

'Thank you, Mr. Mayor.  Thank you, citizens of New Rochelle for reconsecration with us in 1966 this noble bond, in the spirit in which it was entered into by Sir John Pell in 1689.'"

Source:  Rodman Pell Receiving New Rochelle's 'Fatt Calfe', The Long Island Traveler, Mattituck Watchman [Southold, NY], Jul. 7, 1966, p. 1, cols. 2-4 & p. 3, cols. 4-5.  

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The Ghostly Gardener of Bolton Priory: A Pelham Apparition

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Another year has passed and another Halloween will be upon us this Saturday.  Given the Town of Pelham's rich tradition of ghostly legends and the many stories of ghosts and goblins that prowl our region, the Historic Pelham Blog will publish five new Pelham ghost articles this week.  The second, which appears below, involves the "Ghostly Gardener of Bolton Priory."

Bolton Priory, also known as the Priory and Pelham Priory, is a historic home built in 1838 in Pelham Manor by the Reverend Robert Bolton and his family.  It still stands and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.  Robert Bolton designed the home in the Romantic idiom, making it appear as if it had been constructed over a lengthy period of time.  Stone was used in one section and brick in another.   The main section of the home is a two-story block intersected by a gabled two-story wing with a crenellated four-story octagonal tower at the northern angle of that junction and a crenellated three-story square brick tower at the southwestern end of the main block.  The home evokes a Gothic Revival style and resembles an ancient residence deep in the English countryside.  Each evening, as the sun sets, the towers of the home appear almost defensive; the silhouette of the structure seems spooky.  

The Priory in 1948.  Image Courtesy of

The Office of The Historian of the Town of Pelham.

NOTE:  Click Image to Enlarge.

For many decades, Jules Martin served as the caretaker and gardener of the Priory and its grounds.  Martin was a surprisingly patrician, white-haired man with a hearty laugh and a twinkle in his eye.  He was French and spoke perfect English with a strong French accent.  

Growing up in Pelham Manor in the early 1960s, a young Pelham resident named Peter Tonks got to know Jules Martin, a friend of his mother.  "Mister Martin," as young Peter knew him, had been the caretaker and gardener of the Priory for more than thirty years (at least since the Priory was owned by Frederick Hobbes Allen and Adele Livingston Stevens Allen in the 1930s).  

Mister Martin often regaled young Peter with entertaining stories of the Priory and its occupants.  Jules Martin was the Priory caretaker who telephoned the fire alarm to the Pelham Manor Fire Department when the Priory burned in 1932.  See Fire Rages Through Upper Story Of Historic Bolton Priory; Loss May Total $100,000; Will Be Rebuilt, The Pelham Sun, Jul. 22, 1932, Vol. 23, No. 18, p. 1, cols. 3-5 & p. 8, cols. 6-7.  He confronted a prowler on the estate on one occasion and had a knife pulled on him before he led police to the man who was jailed for the incident.  See Negro Prowler At Bolton Priory Gets 15-Day Jail Term, The Pelham Sun, May 3, 1935, Vol. 26, No. 4, p. 1, col. 3.  Jules Martin also led tours of the estate and answered questions about its history during events hosted at the Priory.  See Christ's Church Guild Holds Charming Tea at Bolton Priory, The Pelham Sun, Jun. 5, 1931, p. 5, cols. 5-7.  

As a youngster, Peter Tonks was inspired by the Priory.  It was massive, ancient-looking, and labyrinthine.  He enjoyed accompanying his mother to the castle-like chateau to visit Mr. Martin.  Mr. Martin was a strong man, though white-haired and elderly at the time.  Young Peter particularly enjoyed Mr. Martin's hearty welcomes and the overstuffed sofas in his tiny servant's apartment in one wing of the mansion.  

To this day Peter Tonks cherishes warm memories of those days in his youth when he would ride his bicycle to Four Corners to buy a newspaper for Mr. Martin and then pedal nearly to the end of Pelhamdale Avenue to deliver the paper to his friend in his apartment at the Priory.  Jules Martin was always happy to see young Peter and to receive a Sunday paper.  Young Peter enjoyed delivering a paper to Jules Martin not only because he was so fond of the old fellow, but also because he enjoyed visiting Bolton Priory.  Once Mr. Martin gave young Peter a Swiss Army Knife.  More than fifty years later, Peter Tonks still has that knife, a special reminder of Jules Martin and the pleasant days Peter spent visiting the Priory.

During the spring of 1963, however, Jules Martin suffered a heart attack and died.  Young Peter was saddened by the loss of his mentor.  His mother, saddened by the loss of her friend, drove to the funeral service for Jules Martin held in the Village of North Pelham.  Not to be denied the opportunity to say his own goodbye to Mr. Martin, young Peter Tonks walked all the way to North Pelham and attended the funeral, an open casket service.  

At the service, young Peter peered into the casket to say his goodbyes to Mr. Martin.  He stepped back quickly.  He thought, for a moment, that he had seen Jules Martin wink at him from the confines of the casket.  Then, only a few days later, Peter's mother was sitting up late when she heard the distinctive voice of Jules Martin call her name.

Young Peter, of course, grew into an adult.  His life took him to Denver, Colorado where he settled.  He never forgot Jules Martin, the Priory, or those pleasant days of his youth in Pelham when he rode his bicycle to visit Mr. Martin in his apartment at the Priory to bring him a Sunday newspaper.  He also never forgot the wink he had seen, nor the story his mother told of Jules Martin calling her name after his death. . . .  

In late 1979, Peter Tonks traveled to New York City and to Pelham from his home in Denver.  He was invited to a New Years Eve party hosted by Columbia Records at Bolton Priory in Pelham.  Peter had not been there since Jules Martin died sixteen years before.

A host of the party led a handful of party-goers including Peter Tonks on a tour of the mansion.  The host opened a door and led the group inside a room.  Peter was surprised.  He recognized the room as a familiar space.  It was the old apartment in which the gardener and caretaker of the estate, Jules Martin, once had lived.  Peter recognized the apartment immediately.  The comfortable overstuffed sofas were gone, but waves of fond memories of Jules Martin instantly washed over Peter.

Late in the evening, as revelers celebrated the New Year in the Priory, Peter took a break from the celebrations.  He wandered down a dimly lit hallway searching for one of the exceptionally large bathrooms he had seen on the earlier tour of the Priory.  As he walked down the hall, he froze in his tracks.  Shimmering near the end of the hallway in front of him was a luminous apparition of a man looking directly at him.  The glimmering specter did not linger long, but there was no doubt in Peter's mind that a ghostly spirit was present.  Indeed, Peter was so struck with a sense of awe and felt such a profound sense of comfort when he saw the apparition that he advanced toward the specter as it vanished in front of him.  It was then that Peter realized that the entrance to the apartment in which Jules Martin once had lived was only a step or so beyond where the apparition vanished before his very eyes.  

One might wonder now, even if it causes a little chill to run up the spine:  did the shimmering apparition at the end of that long, dim hallway on that celebratory night seem to wink before it vanished?

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A special thanks to Peter Tonks of Denver, Colorado who provided this colorful story to me by email and who granted his magnanimous permission to permit me to craft today's article from the story he conveyed to me via email.  Thank you, Peter, on behalf of the Town of Pelham, your former home!

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I have collected ghost legends relating to the Town of Pelham for more than fifteen years.  To read more examples that now total in the dozens, see: 

Bell, Blake A., Pelham's Ghosts, Goblins and Legends, The Pelham Weekly, Oct. 25, 2002, p. 1, col. 1. 

Bell, Blake A., More Ghosts, Goblins of Pelham, The Pelham Weekly, Vol. XIII, No. 43, Oct. 29, 2004, p. 12, col. 1. 

Bell, Blake A., Archive of HistoricPelham.com Web Site:  Pelham's Ghosts, Goblins and Legends (Oct. 2002). 

Bell, Blake A., Bibliography of Pelham's Ghost Stories and Legends (Oct. 2002).

Mon., Oct. 26, 2015:  The Ghostly Matron of the Manor Club:  Even a Ghost Whisperer's Nightmare!

Fri., Oct. 31, 2014:  Ghosts in Pelham! Yet Another of Many Accounts of the Haunted Cedar Knoll.

Mon., Sep. 08, 2014:  In 1888, The "Ghost of City Island" Upset the Town of Pelham.

Fri., Jan. 17, 2014: The Phantom Bell Ringer of Christ Church in Pelham Manor.

Fri., Jan. 30, 2009:  Article Published in 1901 Detailed Ghost Stories and Legends of Pelham.

Mon., Feb. 19, 2007:  Another Manor of Pelham Ghost Story: The Whispering Bell.

Fri., Aug. 18, 2006:  The Ghost Gunship of Pelham: A Revolutionary War Ghost Story.

Wed., May 03, 2006:  Another Pelham, New York Ghost Story.

Thu., Oct. 13, 2005:  Two More Pelham Ghost Stories.  

Wed., Oct. 14, 2009:  1879 News Account Provides Additional Basis for Some Facts Underlying Ghost Story of Old Stone House in Pelhamville.

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Brief History of Huguenot Memorial Presbyterian Church in Pelham Manor Published in 1963

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The Huguenot Memorial Presbyterian Church is a magnificent cut field stone Gothic architectural complex that stands at Four Corners in Pelham Manor.  The complex is the successor to the famed "Little Red Church" that stood on the site from 1876 until early 1917 when the structure was sold and moved across Pelhamdale Avenue to a site on Boston Post Road just past the CVS Pharmacy that stands near Four Corners today (once called "Red Church Corner").  The cornerstone of the present sanctuary was laid on Children's Day, June 10, 1917.  

The history of the Huguenot Memorial Presbyterian Church is integrally intertwined with the history of the Village of Pelham Manor.  Accordingly, today's posting to the Historic Pelham Blog transcribes a brief history of the church that was published in 1963.  The text is followed by a citation to its source, as well as a list of (and links to) previous postings regarding the history of the Church.

Post Card View of "Huguenot Memorial Church Pelham Manor, N.Y."

Postmarked August 10, 1951.  

"Westchester Today!

Huguenot Memorial Church:  Beauty in Pelham

Visitors and passersby admire the beauty of 'The Huguenot Memorial Church In The Town Of Pelham,' as the edifice at the corner of Boston Post Road and Pelhamdale Avenue in Pelham Manor is officially known.

The cut field stone and the Gothic architecture seem to symbolize the eternal values for which the church stands.  The spreading wings of the church house and the interestingly broken roof lines suggest the building was always there and just grew out of the ground.

This is an architectural illusion.  For many years the church which today numbers 1,650 members grew slowly.  Today the staff consists of a pastor, Rev. Dr. William C. Schram, 2 assistants, a full time secretary, two part-time secretaries, a full-time assistant treasurer, an organist and director of music, three full-time sextons and a part-time assistant to the pastor in Christian Education.  

There are four buildings, the Church or Sanctuary, the Church House or education and cultural center containing classrooms, a kitchen, library and nursery, and two manses.  

The Church's start was humble.  In 1689, Huguenot refugees assembled in New York and sought land on which to settle.  On their behalf Jacob Leisler, a businessman, bought 6,000 acres of Sir John Pell's land for 1,675 pounds sterling silver and one fat calf to be delivered each year.  The purchase price was the equivalent of about $1.40 an acre.  The Huguenots named this tract New Rochelle in memory of La Rochelle, France.

Lord Pell also gave acreage for a French church, which eventually became the First Presbyterian Church of New Rochelle.  

For nearly 200 years New Rochelle remained a small, quiet village, and what is now the Town of Pelham was still virgin forest, except for the tiny settlement of Pelhamville (North Pelham) and a few farms in the southerly portion (Pelham Manor) where Christ Church was built in 1843.

In 1873 a group including Silas H. Witherbee, formed the Pelham Manor and Huguenot Heights Association.  It planned to develop the Roosevelt Farm and adjacent properties as a residential suburb of New York City.  

At the center of the community it decided to erect a church.  The name was fixed as a commemoration of the Huguenot settlement.

On Oct. 30, 1874, the Association drew up Eight Articles relating to 'the character of this church enterprise, its estimated cost, and the services of the originator of the Huguenot Memorial Forest Church.  Rev. C. E. Lord, D.D.'

Although the articles stipulate that the new church should be Presbyterian, its charter members came from other denominations.  The present membership is drawn from more than a score of denominations.  

The new church seems to have been called 'The Centenary and Huguenot Memorial Forest First Presbyterian Church in the Town of Pelham, New York.'

The first service was held Sunday, July 9, 1876, the Sunday following the 100th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

Devotional exercises were led by the Rev. Mr. Roosevelt of Pelham Manor and the Rev. Prof. E. P. Thwing of Brooklyn.  Dr. Lord made an address on 'The Religious History of the Huguenots of the United States and Reasons for the erection of the Huguenot Memorial Church.'  

The following Sunday, July 16, the first session of the Sunday school was held, with Dr. Lord as superintendent.

On October 3, 1876, the Presbytery of Westchester approved a petition for the organization of the new church in accordance with Presbyterian usage.

Joseph Johnson was elected ruling elder, and his son, Joseph H. Johnson, deacon.  The later [sic] died in 1924 at the age of 82.  

The official minutes say the church was incorporated Sept. 29, 1877, R. M. Mitchill, E. E. Hitchcock and R. C. Black were the first trustees.

Dr. Lord remained with the church for about a year.  In 1877 the Rev. Henry Randall Waite was installed as the first regular pastor, and served until 1881, when he was succeeded by the Rev. Daniel N. Freeland.  

The Rev. Harris Ely Adriance was pastor from 1890 to 1895; the Rev. Joseph Haswell Robinson from 1896 to 1902.  During 1903 the pulpit was filled by the Rev. Charles E. Robinson.

From 1904 to 1907 the Rev. Dr. George William Knox, a professor in the Union Theological Seminary, served.  He and his family lived in the Manor.  The Rev. Dr. Lewis Gaston Leary was installed Oct. 24, 1907 and served until 1927.  In 1928 Rev. Dr. Willard P. Soper succeeded him.  He held the pastorate for a quarter of a century.  He was succeeded by the Rev. Dr. George E. Sweazey.

The cornerstone of the building costing $101,363, was laid June 1917, by the Senior elder, A. L. Hammett, and the youngest scholar of the Sunday School, Bruce Currie.  In 1918 the corporate name of the church was changed to 'The Huguenot Memorial Church in the Town of Pelham, New York.'  

In 1920 the manse adjoining the church was purchased for $25,000.  

In 1929 the vestibule was added to the church at a cost of $26,250.  This enlarged the seating capacity to 450.  An acre of land south of the church property and fronting on Pelhamdale Avenue was purchased for $35,000 in 1929 and the manse was moved to its present position.

Despite the depression of 1931, it was decided to erect a building to house the expanded Sunday School.  The cost was $215,000 and it was dedicated in September 1931.

Huguenot Memorial Church is still growing.  A $35,000 rebuilding of the organ has been completed and plans for a $325,000 fund raising drive have been approved for the spring."

Source:  Westchester Today!  Huguenot Memorial Church:  Beauty in Pelham, The Herald Statesman [Yonkers, NY], Jan. 22, 1963, p. 25, cols. 2-5.  

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Periodically I have posted items to the Historic Pelham Blog regarding the fascinating history of the church known today as Huguenot Memorial Presbyterian Church in Pelham Manor.  For a few of many such examples, see: 

Thu., Mar. 06, 2014:  An Account of the Dedication of the Little Red Church at Four Corners on July 9, 1876.

Fri., Feb. 28, 2014:  Brief History of the Role Churches Played in the Growth of the Pelhams Published in 1926. 

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

Fri., Aug. 31, 2007:  Announcement of the First Services Held in the Little Red Church of the Huguenot Memorial Presbyterian Church on July 9, 1876. 

Thu., Aug. 16, 2007:  Biographical Data About Rev. Charles EliphaletLord Who Served as Acting Pastor of Huguenot Memorial Presbyterian Church,1874-79. 

Tue., Jun. 19, 2007:  A Brazen Burglary at The Little Red Church in 1904. 

Mon., Jan. 1, 2007:  Dating an Undated Glass Lantern Slide Showing the Little Red Church (Huguenot Memorial Presbyterian Church). 

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

Thur., Jun. 29, 2006:  A Biography of Lewis Gaston Leary, Early 20th Century Pastor of Huguenot Memorial Presbyterian Church in Pelham. 

Thu., Mar. 2, 2006:  A Lecture in 1877 to Raise Money for the New Huguenot Memorial Church in Pelham Manor. 

Fri., Jan. 27, 2006:  Lectures to Raise Money to Build the"Huguenot Memorial Forest Church" Building in Pelham Manor. 

Mon., Jul. 25, 2005: The Columbarium at Huguenot Memorial Church in Pelham Manor.

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