Additional Obituaries of Horace Dutton Taft, Founder of the Taft School for Boys in Pelham Manor

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Many in Pelham Manor drive by the two lovely homes that stand at 952 Pelhamdale Avenue and 964 Pelhamdale Avenue every day without giving either a second thought.  The two homes, however, once formed the school buildings of The Taft School for Boys founded in Pelham Manor in 1890 and, today, one of the nation's premier preparatory schools.  Today the school is located in Watertown, Connecticut.  (Interestingly, the Taft School for Boys took over the two homes from Mrs. Hazen's School for Girls who also used them as school buildings the prior year before moving the girls' school to buildings constructed on Esplanade at Boston Post Road.)

964 Pelhamdale Avenue, Once the Main School Building of

the Taft School for Boys in the Early 1890s.  Source:  Google

Maps.  NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

952 Pelhamdale Avenue, One of Two Adjacent Residences that Once Were

Part of The Taft School for Boys That Operated in Pelham Manor 1890 - 1893.

Photograph Taken in 2005 by the Author.  NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

Horace Dutton Taft founded the Taft School for Boys in Pelham Manor. Taft was a brother of William Howard Taft who served as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States and, in 1909, became the nation’s 27th President. 

Horace D. Taft had no training in school administration. Indeed, his only exposure to the teaching world reportedly involved tutoring Latin for three years at Yale, his alma mater. Horace Taft was, however, a friend of a prominent Pelham Manor resident – Mrs. Robert C. (Mary G. Witherbee) Black. Mrs. Black was the wife of a member of the internationally renowned jewelry firm of Black, Starr & Frost. The Blacks owned large tracts of land in Pelham Manor and had a palatial home known as “Dogwood” located almost directly across Pelhamdale Avenue from 952 and 964 Pelhamdale Avenue. The home faced the Esplanade on plots where homes located between 955 and 999 Pelhamdale Avenue stand today. 

Robert and Mary Black had two sons: R. Clifford Black, Jr. and Witherbee Black. Mrs. Black reportedly contacted family friend Horace Taft seeking a tutor for her boys. She convinced Taft to open a boarding school for boys in Pelham Manor. Mrs. Black reportedly named the new school “Mr. Taft’s School” although it quickly became known as The Taft School for Boys. 

The home that stands today at 964 Pelhamdale Avenue reportedly served as the main building for Mr. Taft’s School. According to a letter prepared in 1936 by one of the students who attended the school during its first year of operation, DeWitt Clinton Noyes, there were two homes that served as the grounds of the school when it opened in 1890 for the 1890/91 school year (see newspaper announcement of upcoming opening of the school transcribed below). The letter stated: “The main house belonged to Mrs. Robert C. Black and was directly behind her own on Pelhamdale Avenue. The second house was smaller and next door to the West.” The house that stands today “next door to the West” of 964 Pelhamdale is the home located at 952 Pelhamdale. After only three school years in Pelham Manor, Mr. Taft’s School moved to Watertown, Connecticut where it is located today. 

Another of Horace D. Taft's brothers was a New York City attorney who lived for many years in Pelham Manor. His name was Henry Waters Taft, an important early Pelham Manor resident. 

Horace Dutton Taft operated the Taft School for Boys as a for-profit boys' preparatory school for most of the years he served as its headmaster.  In 1926, Taft donated his majority ownership interest in the school to the Board of Trustees of the institution for them to run as a non-profit institution.  The Board reportedly "promptly elected him president of the board of trustees and headmaster."  He served in those roles until the late 1930s when he became headmaster emeritus.  He died on January 28, 1943 at the age of 81.  His death was reported in newspapers all over the country.

I have transcribed a few such obituaries before.  See Wed., Feb. 04, 2015:  Obituaries of Horace Dutton Taft, Founder of the Taft School for Boys in Pelham Manor.  Today's Historic Pelham article transcribes additional such obituaries (and a brief newspaper announcement of the planned opening of the school in 1890) immediately below.  Each is followed by a citation and link to its source.

Horace Dutton Taft in an Undated Portrait.
NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

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"PERSONAL AND POLITICAL. . . . 

-- Mr. Horace D. Taft, son of Judge Alphonso Taft, will open a boarding and day school for boys next September at Pelham Manor, Westchester county, New York.  The announcement says that, while the object is to prepare boys for college, nothing will be sacrificed for the sake of gaining time."

Source:  PERSONAL AND POLITICAL, The Buffalo Commercial [Buffalo, NY], May 23, 1890, p. 4, col. 4 (NOTE:  Paid subscription required to access via this link).  

"HORACE D. TAFT SUCCUMBS AT 81
-----
Brother of Late President Founded Taft School
-----

Watertown, Conn., Jan. 28 (AP). -- Horace D. Taft, 81, brother of the late President William Howard Taft, and founder and for many years headmaster of the Taft School for Boys at Watertown, died at his home tonight.

Starting out to be a lawyer, Taft changed his mind after a year's practice.  He spent three years as Latin tutor at Yale, and then started his own school in Pelham Manor with 10 pupils.  For the rest of his life he was its headmaster.

In later years, after it moved to Watertown, it grew to be one of the leading preparatory schools of the country.  And in 1926, he gave his majority holdings to the trustees for them to run as a non-profit institution.

They promptly elected him president of the board of trustees and headmaster, a post which he relinquished several years ago to become headmaster emeritus.

Born in Cincinnati, he was the son of Alphonso Taft, judge of the Ohio Supreme Court, who served in several administrations as the Secretary of War, as Attorney General and as U.S. Minister to Austria and Russia."

Source:  HORACE D. TAFT SUCCUMBS AT 81 -- Brother of Late President Founded Taft School, The Wilkes-Barre Record [Wilkes-Barre, PA], Jan. 29, 1943, p. 6, col. 1 (Note:  Paid subscription required to access via this link).  

"Horace D. Taft Died.

WATERTOWN, Conn., Jan. 28 (AP) -- Horace D. Taft, 81, brother of the late President William Howard Taft, and founder and for many years headmaster of the Taft School for Boys at Watertown, died at his home tonight.

Starting out to be a lawyer, Taft changed his mind after a year's practice.  He spent three years as Latin tutor at Yale, and then started on his own school in Pelham Manor with ten pupils.  For the rest of the his life he was its headmaster.

In later years, after it moved to Watertown, it grew to be one of the leading preparatory schools of the country.  And in 1926, he gave his majority holdings to the trustees for them to run as a non-profit institution."

Source:  Horace D. Taft Died, Standard Sentinel [Hazleton, PA], Jan. 29, 1943, Vol. 77, No. 23,670, p. 1, col. 6 (Note:  Paid subscription required to access via this link).

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I have written on numerous occasions about the Taft School for Boys as well as Horace Dutton Taft and his brother, Henry Waters Taft, who lived in Pelham Manor.  For a few examples, see:  

Mon., Apr. 24, 2017:  More on the World Famous Taft School for Boys that Began in Pelham Manor in 1890.

Wed., Feb. 04, 2015:  Obituaries of Horace Dutton Taft, Founder of the Taft School for Boys in Pelham Manor.

Mon., Jan. 15, 2007:  Brief Biographies of Henry Waters Taft and Horace Dutton Taft of Pelham Manor (and Other Family Members).

Tue., May 30, 2006:  A Biography Published in 1906 on the Life of Horace Dutton Taft, Founder of the Taft School for Boys in Pelham Manor.

Wed., Nov. 14, 2007:  1890 Advertisement for Taft's School for Boys in Pelham Manor.

Mon., Aug. 15, 2005:  952 Pelhamdale Served as a 19th Century School for Girls, Then a School for Boys.

Bell, Blake A., The Taft School in Pelham Manor, The Pelham Weekly, Vol. XIII, No. 23, Jun. 4, 2004, p. 12, col. 1.

Fri., Mar. 14, 2014:  “Life and Practice" of a Country Lawyer Living in Pelham Manor in the 1880s.

Tue., Feb. 14, 2006:  An Account of the Blizzard of 1888 by Pelham Manor Resident Henry W. Taft.

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Another Account of The Great Blizzard of 1888 that Raged in Pelham 129 Years Ago Yesterday and Today

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As Pelham awaits Stella, the Nor'easter threatening to overrun the region tonight and tomorrow, it seems appropriate to remember that one hundred twenty nine years ago yesterday and today, Pelham was overrun by "The Great White Hurricane," also known as the "Blizzard of 1888."  As one Pelham resident wrote more than fifty years later, it "became one of the times from which things were dated.'  The blizzard's fury reached its height on March 12, 1888.

One of the most colorful stories about Pelham residents during The Blizzard of 1888 is one that could have ended in tragedy but, happily, did not.  Like thousands of other working men and women who awoke to nearly 10 inches of snow early in the morning on Monday, March 12, two Pelham residents failed to grasp the magnitude of the massive storm and tried to reach the City for work early that day.  

The two residents, Henry W. Taft and Alfred L. Hammett, clambered aboard the tiny little Harlem River Branch Line train that left Pelham Manor Depot at 7:37 a.m. Monday morning.  Little did they know the life-threatening risk they were taking. 

The tiny little train on which they traveled was so small it was called “the little peanut train”.  It consisted of a steam locomotive, a fire tender and two passenger cars.  At that early date there reportedly was no steam heating system for the passenger cars, so “the cars were heated by a stove at the end of each car.” 

After leaving Pelham Manor, the little train passed Bartow Station and Baychester Station (and its bridge) and made it to Westchester Station.  Just past Westchester Station, however, the tracks passed through a “cut” that had filled with drifting snow.  The train plowed into the deep snow drift until it began "to labor" and after a few "convulsive" thrusts, stopped dead in its tracks, unable to proceed.  Shovels were quickly deployed to attempt to remove snow from the front of the train, but the effort was futile.  The train was hopelessly stuck just as the storm entered its most furious phase, stranding the crew and the few passengers on board like those of so many other trains in the region. 

The furious winds blew tiny particles of through every crack around every window where the snow melted inside and dampened everything.  Soon the passengers and crew had depleted all available fuel for the little stoves that heated the cars.  Next they began to break up and burn the seats of the cars for additional warmth. 

The poor engineer of the train began to suffer "an agony of rheumatic pain" as the terrible hours slowly passed.  According to one account, his groans of pain began to mingle with the whistling of the wind.  As the day wore on and it became devastatingly clear that the storm was not subsiding and no help was coming, the passengers and crew were faced with a terrible conundrum.  Should the exit the train and head into the storm on foot to find shelter, or should they remain on board the little peanut train?  Either choice risked freezing to death.

Late in the day on Monday, March 12, it became apparent that they were on their own.   Messrs. Taft and Hammett of Pelham Manor decided to take matters into their own hands, concluding that “their only escape lay in an attempt to get back on foot through the drifts.”  They decided to exit the train and attempt to make their way in the blinding snow and high snow drifts back to Pelham Manor.  

Only Known Image of The Little Peanut Train on the Branch

Line Stuck in the Snow Near Westchester Station.  Photograph

Taken Several Days After the March 12-13, 1888 Blizzard.

Photo Courtesy of The Office of The Historian of The Town of

Pelham.  Note:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

At about 4:00 in the afternoon, Taft and Hammett pried open the door of the train car and climbed into the snow.  The pair began trying to follow the train tracks hidden beneath snow and drifts that stood face-high in some places.  They had to push through banks of snow and, occasionally, could not make out where the train tracks were, so they found the barb wire fences that stood along the tracks and used the wire to guide themselves along.  

After hours of effort, the pair reached the railroad bridge over Eastchester Bay at the mouth of the Hutchinson River.  There the railroad tracks rested on short pilings across the waters of the Bay.  Completely exposed to the elements, the howling wind and piercing pellets of ice and snow had the "impact of shot from a gun."  The high winds risked blowing the pair into the water below to certain death.  All the men could do was to hold onto the planking and the railroad cross-ties and crawl across the trestle, holding on for dear life.  During any lull in the wind, the men would spring to their feet and try to sprint along the cross-ties to "make the best use of that always short interval."

After exhausting efforts, the pair made it across Eastchester Bay and bulled their way along the tracks through the snow to Bartow Station.  Night had fallen and an ink-black darkness descended.  

At Bartow residents helped the men warm up and offered a horse to help.  Recognizing that a horse would be useless in the high snow banks and drifts, Taft and Hammett declined.  The two men were anxious to return to their families to allay worries and to help them pass through the remainder of the storm safely.  The two never even removed their outer garments at Bartow.  They simply warmed themselves, then plunged back outside along the railroad tracks to return to Pelham Manor.  

According to one account, as the men made their way between Bartow Station and Pelham Manor:

"The snow was deep all along and the drifts frequent and formidable.  The darkness was so nearly utter and total that these would not be discovered until all of a sudden a white wall, apparently sheer and insurmountable, would rise within a few inches of their faces.  How best to flank or surmount them was then the question.  Sometimes there was resort to the fence, and a hand over hand progress was made through them despite the wounding of the iron barbs.  Again those constantly recurring barriers were overcome by lying down and rolling over them!"

Late that evening, Taft and Hammett noticed a light in the distance.  That guiding light came from within the Pelham Manor Station along the railroad tracks near their homes.  They quickened their pace and stumbled to the station, onto the station platform, and toward their homes near the station.  Taft left Hammett in front of Hammett's home and, luckily, did not depart immediately.  Hammett stumbled and fell in the snow in front of his home and did not get up.  Taft helped him up and into the home before continuing to his house.  Hammett insisted for years thereafter that had Taft not helped him at that moment, he would have frozen to death in front of his own home after nearly completing his ordeal.

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I have written about The Great White Hurricane of 1888 and its effects on Pelham.  See:

Tues., Apr. 22, 2014:  Another Story of the "Great White Hurricane" that Struck Pelham and Surrounding Regions in 1888.

Thu., Mar. 13, 2014:  The Great Blizzard of 1888 in Pelham: 126 Years Ago Yesterday and Today.

Tue., Feb. 14, 2006:  An Account of the Blizzard of 1888 by Pelham Manor Resident Henry W. Taft. 

Thu., February 20, 2014:  Pelham Manor in 1883 and in its Early Years - Recollections of An Early Pelham Manor Resident.

Bell, Blake A., The Blizzard of 1888: Pelham in the Midst Of the "Great White Hurricane," The Pelham Weekly, Vol. XIII, No. 34, Aug. 27, 2004, p. 9, col. 1.

Below is yet another account of the travails of Messrs. Taft and Hammett as they fled the little peanut train for their homes at the height of the Blizzard of 1888.  The account is reprinted from The New York Evangelist.  This strongly suggests that the account was written by John Henry Dey, a Pelham Manor resident and close friend of Messrs. Taft and Hammett, who served as Associate Editor of The New York Evangelist at the time.  The text appears immediately below, followed by a citation and link to its source.

"A TALE OF THE BLIZZARD.
-----
A Graphic Account of the New York Snow Storm.

The following is taken from the New York Evangelist concerning the snow storm.  In speaking of being caught out the writer says:  

The writer only escaped a similar or worse experience by missing a train on the branch road extending from New Rochelle to the Harlem river, and which was quite out of time on that furious morning.  Three of his neighbors were at the station, however, and as in the case of the early bird, caught the passing worm.  And this was a subject of much felicitati on, as we are assured, for the next fifteen minutes or so.  But just on the hither, side of the Westchester station, their train and themselves encountered 'the unkindest cut of all.'  They left that station on time and cheerful, but ere they were fairly under way the locomotive began to labor, and presently after a convulsive effort or two, there was no more progress.  Shovels were used for a little, thereby enacting Mrs. Partington's broom against the tide; but even the track made in coming, was quickly obliterated, and the snow banked behind as well as before the train.  There were only a few passengers, but several of these spent two nights just there.  And miserable nights just there.  And miserable nights they were -- as miserable nights they were -- as miserable as deficient warmth and covering and food and a temperature without close to zero, could make them.  The fine snow particles sifted in at every window, so that at last there was not a dry seat in the single car to which they were confined in order to economize the fuel.  The engineer of the train was of the number, and poor fellow, he was in an agony of rheumatic pain all those terrible hours.  His groans mingled constantly the last night with the whistling of the wind.

Several soon became impatient to learn how their wives and little ones were faring in the waxing storm.  With such preparation as they could make, which was but little, they crowed open the door of their car, and sallied forth a little after four o'clock, resolved to make the four or five miles they had traversed so speedily and gaily in the morning, and over the same route, as on the whole, the best and safest.  It was a struggle from the start.  A hat blew off, and was secured with difficulty.  Their course was nearly in the teeth of the storm, and they could only average about a mile an hour.  They were not very long in coming to a stage of their journey entirely exposed to the force of the wind, and it seemed to come down upon them at times with a full fifty-mile an hour sweep and momentum.  We refer to the salt meadows section between Timberson's and Bay Chester stations, the level reach of which extends well toward Mount Vernon on the west, and on the east to the Sound, which it finds between the uplands of Westchester on the south and Fort Schuyler on the north.  This great level area is, at intervals of perhaps two or three years, and under pressure of a long prevalent and powerful wind in the right quarter, quite overflowed from the piled-up waters of the Sound, and turbulent as an arm of the sea.  The railroad track hence rests upon short piles, and one needs to walk with some circumspection upon it at any time.  On this terrible day the wind and snow played upon this bare scaffolding with something of the impact of shot from a gun, and there was nothing for it but for our two friends to seize the planking or crossties [sic] and cling for dear life until the lull came, and then to spring to their feet and make the best use of that always short interval.  Had it not been that nature herself seemed to require a moment to recover her spent breath, their case would have been hopeless.

Arrived at Bartow a short halt was made, and there were offers of a horse or any other assistance of avail.  But the only progress possible was by foot and so the last half of the journey was begun, with a little rest, but without removing outer garments.  Fairly on the rails again, or rather over them, this was found to be the most 'laborious and dangerous' part of the adventure.  The stations here are far apart and the grade steadily rises, so that the charged wind -- as sometimes the engineers on this best stretch of the road -- rejoiced to run a race.  Toiling on for an hour, the situation grew forlorn and desperate.  The cold increased, also the wind and snow, and it became very dark.  There was not a star or friendly light to guide, and but for the wire fencing on either hand, and the driving snow which impinged constantly on the ice-laded [sic] face and ear, when progress was being made in the right direction, our friends would inevitably have lost their way.  

The snow was deep all along and the drifts frequent and formidable.  The darkness was so nearly utter and total that these would not be discovered until all of a sudden a white wall, apparently sheer and insurmountable, would rise within a few inches of their faces.  How best to flank or surmount them was then the question.  Sometimes there was resort to the fence, and a hand over hand progress was made through them despite the wounding of the iron barbs.  Again those constantly recurring barriers were overcome by lying down and rolling over them!  A blessed suggestion from the contrasted sunny days of youth coming to the rescue!  Finally, after long hours of this work, and when strength and resolution were sorely tried, if not quite spent, the welcome, thrice welcome light of the Pelham Manor station was discerned at only a little distance off!  

That such a genuine Dakotan adventure as we have here sketched could have occurred on the afternoon and evening of Monday week and within the bounds for the most part of one of our projected city parks, who would have believed possible."

Source:  A TALE OF THE BLIZZARD -- A Graphic Account of the New York Snow Storm, Randolph Register [Randolph, NY], Mar. 29, 1888, Vol. XXIII, No. 45, p. 8, cols. 1-2.  

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Program for Laying the Cornerstone of Today's Manor Club in 1921

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Late in the afternoon on June 28 1921, hundreds gathered to lay the cornerstone of today's Manor Club located at the intersection of Esplanade and Black Street.  The clubhouse was the club's second.  The cornerstone of the first clubhouse was laid on Thanksgiving Day, November 24, 1887.  See Mon., Feb. 08, 2016:  Laying of the Cornerstone of the First Manor Club Clubhouse on Thanksgiving Day in 1887.  

Photograph of the Manor Club's "Manor House" Published

in 1892.  Source:  Manor Club "Memory Book."  NOTE:

Click on Image to Enlarge.

By 1921, the Manor Club had 433 members and had outgrown its beautiful clubhouse designed by Pelham Manor architect F. Carles Merry.  On that early summer evening in 1921, members of the club gathered at the site to lay the cornerstone for the clubhouse that replaced the first one designed by Merry.  As with the cornerstone laying ceremony for the first clubhouse in 1887, we know much about the cornerstone laying ceremony for today's clubhouse in 1921.  

Significantly, Henry Waters Taft of Pelham Manor delivered the keynote address at the laying of both cornerstones in 1887 and in 1921.  Taft served as the first President of the Manor Club before the organization evolved into a women's club.  

Henry Waters Taft was a brother of William Howard Taft who served as 27th President of the United States.  Henry was an attorney who began his career in 1884 as a “salaried” associate with the New York City law firm of Simpson Thacher & Barnum, now known as Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP.  In 1889 he joined the law firm of Strong & Cadwalader, known today as Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft LLP.  Although late in life Taft had a residence in New York City, he lived for many years in Pelham Manor and even served on the Executive Committee of the Pelham Manor Protective Club during the 1880’s before the Village of Pelham Manor was incorporated.

Henry Waters Taft in 1908.  Source: Wikimedia Commons,

from the U.S. Library of Congress Division of Prints and

Photographs Under the Digital ID ggbain.03468.

NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

Famed Pelham Manor resident and Manor Club stalwart, Mrs. Robert C. Black, used the same silver trowel from the first cornerstone laying in 1887 to lay the cornerstone in 1921.

The program scheduled for the cornerstone laying on June 28, 1921 was as follows:

• Mrs. James F. ("Joan") Secor, president of the club, presided  
• The Gloria Trumpeters furnished some music
• Invocation by the Rev. Lewis Gaston Leary, minister of Huguenot Memorial Presbyterian Church
• Hymn:  "O Lord of Hosts" (Duke Street version) 
• Address, Henry W. Taft, first president of the Manor Club
• Vocal solo, Miss Rose Wirthlin 
• Laying of the cornerstone by Mrs. Robert C. Black
• Short salute by the Gloria Trumpeters and a moment of silence observed in memory of the departed members of the Manor Club listed as Robert C. Black, John H. Dey, James F. Secor, Sr., William K. Gillette, James M. Townsend, Mr. and Mrs. Charles F. Roper, William Allen Smith, Mr. and Mrs. G. Osmar Reynolds, Ezra T. Gililland, Charles H. Coffin, George Barnett and Charlotte Cowles
• Song:  Should Auld Acquaintance be Forgot  
• Address by Joseph C. Wilberding
• Benediction by the Rev. Herbert H. Haight, Rector of the Church of the Redeemer
• More music by the Gloria Trumpeters 

As one might expect, the program of the cornerstone laying ceremony in 1921 was very similar to the first ceremony in 1887.  The clubhouse built on the site following the 1921 ceremony stands today and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

"THE MANOR CLUB," an Architectural Rendering Prepared by

William H. Orchard, Architect, in 1921.  Source:  Manor Club National

Register of Historic Places File (Reference No. 14000207), Enhanced

with Adobe Photoshop.

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Below is the text of a brief article published in 1921 that describes the planned program for the laying of the cornerstone of the new Manor Club building later the same day.  It is followed by a citation and link to its source.  

"Pelham Manor
-----

Miss Helen Walker was the guest of Miss Cockle of the manor last week.

Witherbee Black was president of his class at the reunion held at Princeton University.  

Mr. and Mrs. J. Frank Duffy have returned from Asheville, N.C. where they spent one week.

Mr. and Mrs. Edgar H. Laing have as their guest Miss Emily Goldthwait, of Hanover, N.H.

Harris B. Fisher, Jr. has returned to his home on the Shore road for the summer vacation period.  

Dr. and Mrs. Percy Norman Williams have closed their home in Siwanoy place for the summer and gone to their summer home at Lake Cayuga.

Mrs. Robert C. Black and Mrs. James F. Secor attended the lecture given yesterday at Rye by Mrs. Morrill Hamlin on 'The Japanese Monroe Doctrine.'

Miss Marie Fenlon, of 167 Secor lane, sailed Saturday on the steamship Calamards to visit Miss Mercita Hornsby, whose father is the president of a trust company in Cuba.  Miss Fenlon will probably be away about six weeks.

Village president H. W. Nuckols attended the installation of Rowland Angell as President of Yale Universtiy last week in New Haven.  Mr. Nuckols was designated as the representative of Indiana State University, his alma mater, at the exercises.

Prior to her departure for Allenhurst, N.J., Mrs. George W. Grote gave a bridge party at her residence 554 Fowler avenue last Wednesday afternoon.  The friends present were Mrs. John Heck and Mrs. Edwin Romaine of Jersey City, Miss Hastings and Mrs. H. C. Dornhelm of Bronxville, Mrs. G. Hirsch, Miss Mirriam Harris and Mrs. Edna Horton, of Pelham Manor.

The corner stone of the new Manor club will be laid at 5:30 o'clock this afternoon with appropriate ceremonies.  The program will include an address by Henry W. Taft, brother of ex-President William Howard Taft, who was the first president of the Manor club.  The corner stone will be laid by Mrs. Robert C. Black, using the same silver trowel used by her at the laying of the corner stone of the old building on Thanksgiving Day, November 24, 1887.  There is also an unusual coincidence in connection with the ceremony.  At the first corner stone laying ceremony, it was intended originally to hold the program outdoors, but after the laying, the party repaired to the residence of one of the members, John H. Dey, and had them there.  The date of this year's ceremony, June 28, is the birthday anniversary of Mr. Dey.  The program will start promptly at the hour set and will begin with Mrs. James F. Secor, president of the club presiding.  The Gloria Trumpeters will first furnish some music, then will come the invocation by the Rev. Lewis Gaston Leary, minister of Huguenot Memorial church; Hymn, O Lord of Hosts (Duke street); address, Henry W. Taft, first president of the Manor club; vocal solo, Miss Rose Wirthlin; Laying of the Corner Stone by Mrs. Robert C. Black; song, Should Auld Acquaintance be Forgot; address, by Joseph C. Wilberding; benediction by the Rev. Herbert H. Haight, rector of the church of the Redeemer; music, by the Gloria Trumpeters.  Immediately after the laying of the corner stone, the Gloria Trumpeters will give a short salute and a moment of silence observed in respect to the memory of the departed members of the Manor club.  These are Robert C. Black, John H. Dey, James F. Secor, Sr., William K. Gillette, James M. Townsend, Mr. and Mrs. Charles F. Roper, William Allen Smith, Mr. and Mrs. G. Osmar Reynolds, Ezra T. Gililland, Charles H. Coffin, George Barnett and Charlotte Cowles.  The membership of the Manor club is at the present time composed of 433 women, the men joining the Pelham Country club."

Source:  Pelham Manor, The Daily Argus [Mount Vernon, NY], Jun. 28, 1921, p. 11, col. 3.

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I have written about the Manor Club and its history on a number of occasions.  See, e.g.:  

Bell, Blake A., Early History of the Manor Club, The Pelham Weekly, Vol. XIII, No. 20, May 14, 2004, p. 12, col. 2.

Tue., Dec. 13, 2005:  The Manor Club's First Clubhouse Built in 1887-1888. 

Wed., Dec. 28, 2005:  The Mystery of the "Manor Club Girl" That Set Pelham Tongues Wagging in 1913. 

Fri., Aug. 4, 2006:  Early Images of the Original and Current Clubhouse Structures of the Manor Club in the Village of Pelham Manor, New York.

Mon., Feb. 15, 2010:  Early History of the Manor Club in the Village of Pelham Manor.

Thu., Sep. 25, 2014:  The Manor Club's Celebration of its Golden Anniversary in 1932.

Mon., Feb. 08, 2016:  Laying of the Cornerstone of the First Manor Club Clubhouse on Thanksgiving Day in 1887.

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1887 Letter to Editor Details Tax Burdens Pelham Bore Due to the Creation of Pelham Bay Park

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I have written repeatedly, including recently, about the massive tax burden that the Town of Pelham faced beginning in the 1880s after New York City began acquiring lands within the Town of Pelham to create Pelham Bay Park.  Initially, much of Pelham embraced the initiative to create the giant park that would buffer the Town from the massive metropolis beginning to sprawl nearby.  

Soon, however, a judicial decision released by the New York Court of Appeals was construed as permitting New York City to own the lands without having to pay the Town of Pelham any property taxes on those lands.  Suddenly, Pelham taxpayers faced a major burden.  Although they remained responsible for maintenance of the roads and the provision of services such as constable protection, schools and the like for the area acquired by New York City, the costs of providing those services town-wide was being spread over a much smaller taxpayer base.  In addition, the smaller taxpayer base suddenly found itself responsible for discharging the entirety of the Town's bonded indebtedness that was incurred to provide infrastructure for much of the area acquired by New York City.  

Pelham residents made an impassioned plea to their elected officials to pass legislation to require New York City to pay property taxes to the Town.  One notable resident, Henry Waters Taft, wrote a letter to the editor of The Eastern State Journal with cogent arguments as to why such legislation, styled as an amendment to the Park Act of 1884, was necessary to right an injustice.

For more background regarding this significant period in Pelham's history, see:

Thu., Jun. 05, 2014:  Pelham Fights City Hall: Pelham Fights Creation of Pelham Bay Park During the 1880s.

 Tue., Jan. 19, 2010:  Pelham to New York City in 1888: "You Should Pay Taxes"!

Fri., Feb. 06, 2009:  More on Pelham's Displeasure with the Loss of Pelham Bay Park Lands from the Tax Rolls in the 19th Century.

Thu., Feb. 05, 2009:  New York City Corporation Counsel to Pelham in 1887: We Told You So!

Wed., Feb. 04, 2009:  Pelham Has Second Thoughts in 1887 About the Proposal To Create Pelham Bay Park.

Mon., Jan. 21, 2008:  Litigation Over Compensation for Pelham Property Owners Whose Lands Were Taken by New York City for the New Pelham Bay Park.

Fri., Sep. 23, 2005:  Pelham Tries To Kill the Plan to Create Pelham Bay Park: 1887.

Fri., May 20, 2005:  1888 - Pelham Fears Bankruptcy Due to the Creation of Pelham Bay Park.

 

Henry Waters Taft in 1908.

Source:   George Grantham Bain Collection, Library of Congress.

Below is a transcription of the letter to the editor written by Taft as it appeared in The Eastern State Journal published on February 26, 1887.

"TAXATION OF PARKS.
-----
PELHAM MANOR, Feb. 21, 1887.

To the Editor of the Eastern State Journal:

DEAR SIR:--A bill is pending in the assembly, effecting the interests of this county, which ought to be thoroughly understood.  I, therefore, take the liberty of sending you a statement of facts to use as you deem best.

The bill is one to amend the Park Act of 1884, by which Pelham Bay and other parks are being acquired by the city of New York.  The amendment consists in a provision making the lands in Westchester county thus taken, assessable for taxation after the title shall have become vested in the city.  Unless this proposed amendment becomes a law, the lands will be exempt from taxation under a recent decision of the court of appeals.

The town of Pelham presents a case [illustrating] the necessity of passing this amendment.  The park act appropriates in that town about 1,700 acres, assessed at $500,000.  The total area of the town is 3,000 acres, with an assessed valuation of $1,200,000.  There will thus remain 1,300 acres, with an assessed valuation of $700,000, which must the burden of taxation for the maintenance of the town organization, the roads and school districts for the entire 3,000 acres; they must also discharge the entire bonded indebtedness.

The town of Westchester is affected in the same way, but the territory taken is much smaller, and the burden, therefore, much lighter.

It is, of course, well known to residents of Westchester county that no part of Pelham Bay Park is within or even contiguous to the city limites.  The park act does not annex the territory to the city.  It remains a part of the town of Pelham in every sense of the word, the city enjoying all the benefits which any freehold resident enjoys; but it is subject to no taxes.  The roads -- Pelham Lane, Shore Road, City Island Road -- all running through the park, are specifically excepted by the park act from the land to be acquired; they remain liable for accidents and the chances of these will increase with the probable increase with the probable increase of travel.

The title to these lands becomes vested in the city of New York upon the confirmation of the report of the commissioners, which will probably be made next fall.  After that, and before the parks, as such, are laid out, the city is entitled to the entire revenue from the land and buildings.  The tenants of these lands paying rent to the city, may send their children to the schools and escape the expense of their education.  They may use the roads and claim the services of constables and justices, without directly or indirectly paying for them.  

The tax roll of the town amounts to $43,000.  Of this, $33,000 are for town taxes, and $10,000 for state and county taxes.  By a re-apportionment in the county this last item may be reduced fifty per cent.  The owners of the 1,300 acres outside of the park, therefore, must pay $38,000 of taxes upon property assessed at $700,000, making the rate about six per cent.  This the town cannot and ought not endure.  Would not the policy of thus doubling up taxes, extended to a logical result, enable the city of New York to take nine-tenths of any town in this county, exclude the roads and leave the remaining one-tenth of the territory to bear the entire burden of the town government, the roads and the schools?  If this one tenth were worth less than the bonded indebtedness, would there not follow repudiation and bankruptcy?  Our case is not so bad as this, which merely illustrates the injustice of the principle, but is is alarming enough to call for legislative relief.

New York already holds Hart's Island in the town of Pelham, free from taxation.  It contains possibly 100 acres and the employees and inmates of various city institutions make it quite populous.  Pelham furnishes constables, justices and school for its residents but receives no tax.  If a crime is committed on the Island, the county must bear the expense of prosecution.  So, too, it would be in the new parks.

Seeing these results the board of supervisors lately passed a resolution recommending to the assemblymen and senator of this county that they support and forward the measure.

Messrs. Burns and Conover have exhibited commendable zeal in their support of the bill, which is now in the hands of the cities committee awaiting their report; it has not yet been introduced in the senate.  

I hope you will see fit to give the measure the benefit of your valuable support.  Yours very truly,

HENRY W. TAFT."

Source:  TAXATION OF PARKS, The Eastern State Journal, Feb. 26, 1887, Vol. XLIL, No. 47, p. 2, col. 3. 

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“Life and Practice" of a Country Lawyer Living in Pelham Manor in the 1880's

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Henry Waters Taft was a brother of William Howard Taft who served as President of the United States.  Henry was an attorney who began his career as a “salaried” associate with the New York City law firm of Simpson Thacher & Barnum, now known as Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP.  In 1889 he joined the law firm of Strong & Cadwalader, known today as Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft LLP.  Although late in life Taft had a residence in New York City, he lived for many years during the 1880’s in Pellham Manor and even served on the Executive Committee of the Pelham Manor Protective Club during the 1880’s before the Village of Pelham Manor was incorporated.  For a more complete biography of Henry Waters Taft, see Henry Waters Taft, Wikipedia The Free Encyclopedia available at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Waters_Taft (visited Mar. 14, 2014). 

Henry Waters Taft in 1908.

Source:  Wikimedia Commons, from the U.S. Library of Congress Division of

Prints and Photographs Under the Digital ID ggbain.03468.

In 1941, The MacMillan Company published Taft’s career memoirs entitled “Legal Miscellanies:  Six Decades of Changes and Progress.”  In addition to the account of his adventures during the Great Blizzard of 1888 quoted in yesterday’s Historic Pelham Blog posting, the book contained a brief account of Taft’s “life and practice in the country” during the time he lived in the rural area known as Pelham Manor. 

“LIFE AND PRACTICE IN THE COUNTRY

On account of considerations of economy and a taste for the intimate contacts of a neighborhood life, I started my married and professional life in a small village of Westchester County, then twenty miles from the center of my professional activities in New York city, but, measured by the convenience of access, more than double that distance.  There were, perhaps, twenty houses in the village, and no stores.  All of the residents were commuters, and all governed by considerations of economy.  There were three or four lawyers, three clergymen, several small bankers, three or four merchants, several school teachers, a civil engineer, and one landowner who had developed the settlement.

There was also a railroad station agent, but he was so little occupied with the few trains on the remote branch road that he was able to furnish the little community with coal, and conduct a small livery stable with an equipment of one horse and a buggy.  Altogether, the community in its social life, and to a considerable extent in its business life, was rural in character.  Necessary supplies were delivered from a village two or three miles distant, whence also came our family doctor.  He came on horseback, and even when bringing our children into [Page 9 / Page 10] the world he officiated in his riding clothes.  At one limit of the township was a small railroad station where there was the so-called Town Hall, a brick building about twenty feet square, but amply large to accommodate as many citizens as wished to attend at political meetings to deal with local affairs.  New Rochelle, Pelhamville and Mount Vernon, were in a radius of about three miles; but the intervening territory was farm land, grazing fields or vacant spaces. 

The following tabulation shoes the growth in population during sixty years and the process of converting the entire region from scattered country villages into populous cities with suburban characteristics.  The comparison of population is made between 1880 and 1940, the latter date being taken from the census of that year.

Bronxville 1880 – 395  1940 – 6,888

Mount Vernon 1880 – 4,856  1940 – 67,362

New Rochelle 1880 – 5,276  1940 – 58,408

Pelham 1880 – 2,540 [6]  1940 – 12,272 [7]

[6] Includes the area of City Island and Pelham Bay Park section which was segregated in 1900 [sic] and made a part of the Borough of the Bronx, New York City.

[7] Includes Pelham, North Pelham and Pelham Manor.

White Plains was the county seat of Westchester County and was in every way a country town with a population of only 2,381 in 1880, which had increased in 1940 to 40,327.

These were the conditions that prevailed for the first ten years of my practice (1882-1892), and I conducted my professional life in the spirit and practice of a country lawyer.  I was, however, at the same time the sole employee in the New York office of a lawyer ten years my senior, where I was office boy, clerk, errand boy and [Page 10 / Page 11] copyist, at eight dollars a week.  Of course, all legal activities in the great County of Westchester, which extended for about thirty-seven miles north and south, and with a varying width extended from the Hudson River to the Sound, were closely related to White Plains, the county seat.  But except for a few near-by settlements, the only means of transportation was the New York & Harlem Railroad, and some lawyers traveled fifty miles to reach the county seat.  For me, it was a long journey.  At break of day there was first a buggy drive of 3 or 4 miles to Mount Vernon, whence a slow train took me to White Plains.  The journey occupied several hours. . . .”

Source:  Taft, Henry W., Legal Miscellanies:  Six Decades of Changes and Progress, pp. 9-10 (NY, NY:  The MacMillan Company 1941). 

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