1856 Notice Regarding Sale of James Hay's Lands in Pelham and Eastchester

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There is a lovely historic home located at 45 Iden Avenue in the Village of Pelham Manor.  It is known as "Pelhamdale."  Portions of the home including the rear basement with entrance and massive fireplace are believed to pre-date the Revolutionary War.  The home once was owned by American Patriot David Jones Pell.  The structure is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The home has been significantly altered since the eighteenth century.

The home, known also as the Old Pell Place and the Old Pell Home is located today on a triangular tract bounded by Carol Place, Iden Avenue, and the Hutchinson River Parkway.  The plot on which the home sits was part of a large 18th and 19th century farm that once was bounded by today's Colonial Avenue (the Old Boston Post Road), the Lane that became known as Wolf's Lane, today's Boston Post Road, and the Hutchinson River.  

Col. Philip Pell III (1753-1811) owned an adjacent farm, the farmhouse of which once stood at the intersection of today's Cliff and Colonial Avenues.  Col. Pell was a son of Philip Pell II who, in turn, was son of Philip Pell who was a son of Thomas Pell (so-called Third Lord of the Manor of Pellham).  The original farm cottage that forms a portion of today's "Pelhamdale" at 45 Iden Avenue was built by Philip Pell II around 1750-60.

Philip Pell II was the father of Col. Philip Pell III (often referenced, oddly, as Philip Pell, Jr.) and David Jones Pell.  Both the sons were American Patriots.  After the death of the elder Pell, his son David Jones Pell became owner of "Pelhamdale."  David Jones Pell's brother, Philip Pell III, built his adjacent farm and farmhouse.  That farm included the land on which today's Pelham Memorial High School stands.  A memorial marker and date stone of the home built by Col. Philip Pell III stand next to the front entrance of the high school.

After the death of David Jones Pell in 1823, Pell's widow sold the farm to James Hay who owned it until his own death in the 1850s.  Hay extensively expanded and renovated the home, giving it an appearance similar to the home's appearance today.  Apparently during the expansion of the home, James Hay embedded in the north wall of the home a large block of sandstone on which is carved in relief the Hay family coat-of-arms.

James Hay assembled extensive plots of land in the Towns of Pelham and Eastchester.  He died intestate (without a will) before disposing of those properties.  After his death, Hay's wife was appointed an Administratrix of his estate (together with a group of Administrators).  Mrs. Hay and the Administrators worked for years to try to sell all of the land Hay owned, holding multiple estate auctions between 1856 and at least 1860.

Today's Historic Pelham article transcribes notice of one such public auction published on August 1, 1856.  The notice indicated that on September 3, 1856, the estate would attempt to auction six parcels of land in Pelham and Eastchester including much of the Pelhamdale farm.  The notice, transcribed below, provides interesting insight into the holdings of James Hay, a wealthy 19th century Pelhamite. 

View of Pelhamdale from Iden Avenue on September 3, 2014.

Source: "Pelhamdale" in Wikipedia -- The Free Encyclopedia (visited

May 7, 2016). NOTE: Click on Image to Enlarge.

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"WESTCHESTER COUNTY SURROGATE COURT. -- In the matter of the application of the Administrators, &c., of JAMES HAY, deceased, for authority to sell the real estate of intestate, &c.

Notice is hereby given, pursuant to an order of the Surrogate of Westchester County, made in the above matter on the 10th day of September, 1855, that the undersigned, the Administratrix and Administrators of James Hay, late of the town of Pelham, said in county, deceased, intestate, will sell at public vendue, on the premises, in the towns of Pelham and East Chester, is said County of Westchester, on the third day of September next, at 12 o'clock at noon of that day, the following pieces or parcels of land, situate in the said county of Westchester:

PARCEL 1 -- All that certain piece or parcel of land situate in the town of East Chester, country of Westchester, and State of New York, bounded as follows:  Beginning at a corner of a stone wall now or late of Stephen Jones, thence running northerly with the line of the land of said Jones to the centre of a ditch adjoining the salt meadow now of James Hay, formerly of one Stephen S. Pell; thence easterly with said ditch to East Chester Creek, (so called); thence with said creek to the salt meadow land now (or late) of Isaac Sherwood; thence westerly with said meadow land of said Sherwood to the place of beginning -- containing two acres, be the same more or less -- being one of the pieces or parcels of land which were conveyed by John W. Fowt, of East Chester, and Susan C. his wife, to Alfred H. Duncombe, by deed dated the 20th day of March, 1846, recorded in Westchester County Clerk's Office, in Liber 115 of Deeds, page 214, &c.

PARCEL 2 -- All that certain piece or parcel of salt meadow land situate lying and being in the town of East Chester, in said county of Westchester, bounded northerly by salt meadow land late of Gloriansen Franklin (now of Alfred H. Duncombe); easterly by East Chester Creek; southerly by land of heirs of Philip Pell, deceased; and westerly by land of heirs of widow Roberts -- containing five acres, three roods, and eight perches, be the same more or less -- being the same premises conveyed to the said James Hay, deceased, by Isaac Sherwood and Harriet his wife, by deed bearing date 7th of May, 1850.

PARCEL 3 -- All those certain six lots of land in the town of Pelham, said county of Westchester, known as lots Nos. 8, 156, 170, 212, 286, and 381, on a map entitled 'Map of Pelhamville, Westchester County, New York,' dated August 4th, 1851, surveyed by William Bryson, and filed in Westchester County Clerk's Office, bounded and containing, according to said map as follows:  North lot number 8 -- bounded north by lot No. 91, seventy-five feet; south-east by land of said James Hay, one hundred and fifteen feet; south by lot No. 74, twenty-five feet; and west by lot No. 75, one hundred feet.  Middle lot No. 8 -- Bounded north by lot No. 52, about ninety feet; south-east by land of said James Hay, one hundred and twenty feet; south by lot No. 33, twenty-two feet; west by lot No. 34, one hundred feet.  South lot No. 8 -- Bounded north by lot No. 33, sixty-five feet; south-east by land of said James Hay, one hundred and twenty feet; and west by Fifth avenue, about one hundred feet.  Lot No. 156 -- Bounded north by Fourth street; east by First avenue, three hundred feet; south by lot marked L; and west by Hutchinson's River.  Lot No. 170 -- Bounded north by lot No. 172, one hundred feet; east by Eight avenue, one hundred feet; south by lot No. 142, one hundred feet; and west by lot No. 169, one hundred feet.  Lot No. 212 -- Bounded north by lot No. 234, one hundred feet; east by lot No. 213, one hundred feet; south by lot No. 208, one hundred feet; and west by Third avenue, one hundred feet.  Lot No. 286 -- Bounded north by lot No. 293, one hundred feet; east by Second avenue, one hundred feet; south by lot No. 264, one hundred feet; and west by lot No. 267, one hundred feet.  And lot No. 331 -- Bounded on the North by lot No. 384, one hundred feet; on the est by lot 380, one hundred feet; on the south by lot No. 364, one hundred feet; and on the wet in front by River place, one hundred feet.

PARCEL 4 -- All that certain piece, parcel, or tract of land situate lying an being in the township of Pelham, in the said county of Westchester, being part of the farm late of David J. Pell, deceased, bounded and described as follows, to wit:  Beginning at a stone set at the end of the salt meadow adjoining the easterly side of the East Chester Creek on said farm late of David J. Pell, deceased, marked X; from thence running in a line easterly, as said fence now stands, until it comes to the westerly side of the road ledaing through the farm last mentioned from the Old Boston Post Road to the New Turnpike Road leading to Boston; from thence running northerly five feet, or thereabouts to a stone set in the ground against a stone fence marked X; from thence running in line easterly to the line fence between the said farm of David J. Pell, deceased, and the farm late of Philip Pell, deceased, at a stone set in the ground, marked X; from thence running in a line northerly along the fence last mentioned till it comes to the Old Boston Post Road, above mentioned, to a stone set in the ground marked X; from thence westerly by and with the said road till it comes to the bridge commonly called Pell's Bridge; from thence southerly by and with Hutchinson's River, or East Chester Creek, to the place of beginning -- containing ninety acres, be the same more or less.  Also, all that other piece, parcel or tract of land, or salt medow, lying and being in the town of East Chester, in the said county, bounded as follows:  On the North by the Old Boston Post Road; westerly by the land of Jesse Lyon; south by the land of widow Franklin, deceased; east by East Chester Creek -- containing about seven acres, be the same more or less.

PARCEL 5 -- All that certain dwelling house and lot of land situate in the town of East Chester, in said county of Westchester, known and described as follows, to wit:  Bounded on the west and north by the Old Boston Post Road, leading from East Chester aforesaid to New Rochelle; easterly by a salt meadow belonging to James Hay; southerly by land of Stephen Jones; and containing in the above bounds about six and a half acres, be the same more or less -- being the same premises conveyed to the said James Hay, deceased, by George Faile, Administrator, &c., of Abraham Simmonds, deceased, by deed bearing date the 19th day of January, 1836.

PARCEL 6 -- All the right, title, and interest which the said intestate, at the time of his decease, had in and to the following premises, viz:  All that certain piece, parcel, tract, or farm of land situate in the town of Pelham aforesaid, and bounded northerly by the Old Boston Post Road; westerly by land of Francis Secor and the said James Hay; southerly by the East Chester turnpike road; and easterly by land of Henry Grenzebeck [sic] -- containing about one hundred and fourteen acres of land -- subject to the privilege heretofore conveyed to Daniel Sherwood, of taking from the spring of water on the above described premises, (opposite the dwelling house,) for the necessary use of the said Daniel Sherwood, so far as the said privilege is conveyed to the said Sherwood, in a certain deed to him from Robert S. Hart, Master in Chancery -- being the same premises conveyed to the said James Hay, deceased, by Mary Pell, by deed bearing date the 9th day of January, 1846. -- Dated July 16, 1856.

REBECCA HAY, Administratrix,
WILLIAM S. POPHAM,              }
SAMUEL T. CAREY,                  }     Administrators of James Hay, deceased.
SAMUEL E. LYON,                    }

ROBERT COCHRAN, Proctor for Petitioners.     10w7"

Source:  WESTCHESTER COUNTY SURROGATE COURT. -- In the matter of the application of the Administrators, &c., of JAMES HAY, deceased, for authority to sell the real estate of intestate, &c. [Legal Notice], Eastern State Journal [White Plains, NY], Aug. 1, 1856, Vol. XII, No. 12, p. 4, col. 6.

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I have written about James Hay and his lovely historic home known as "Pelhamdale" (and "Pelham Dale") on numerous occasions.  For a few of many examples, see:

Wed., Nov. 30, 2016:  Article on the History of Pelhamdale Published in 1925 After Tragic Fire.

Thu., Nov. 03, 2016:  1860 Auction Offering Pelhamdale Lots from the Estate of James Hay.

Thu., Oct. 20, 2016:  Fears in 1934 and 1935 that the Historic Home Known as Pelhamdale Would Be Razed.

Fri, May 13, 2016 1851:  Advertisement Offering Farm and Mansion Known as Pelhamdale for Lease.

Fri., Sep. 04, 2015:  Sale of the Pre-Revolutionary War Home Known as Pelhamdale in 1948.

Tue., Jun. 24, 2014:  Story of Pelhamdale, the Old Stone House by the Bridge, Once Owned by David J. Pell.

Thu., Jan. 03, 2008:  Charges in 1808 Against Lieutenant-Colonel David J. Pell of Pelham that He "Indulges in Inebriety and Habitual Drunkeness." 

Thu., Oct. 26, 2006:  Genealogical Data Regarding David Jones Pell of the Manor of Pelham, Revolutionary War Officer. 

Mon., Oct 15, 2007:  Town Proclamation Recognizes Celebration of the 250th Anniversary of Pelhamdale at 45 Iden Avenue. 

Wed., Nov. 02, 2005:  Engraving by P.M. Pirnie Showing Pelhamdale in 1861. 

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

Mon., Sep. 19, 2005:  The Long-Hidden Pastoral Mural Uncovered in Pelhamdale, a Pre-Revolutionary War Home. 

Mon., Apr. 11, 2005:  More From the William R. Montgomery Glass Negative Collection (includes photograph of fire at Pelhamdale on February 28, 1925). 

Tue., Mar. 22, 2005:  The 1790 U.S. Census Information for the Township of Pelham.

Archive of the Historic Pelham Web Site.
Home Page of the Historic Pelham Blog
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More on Francis Secor of Pelham, Father of James Francis Secor and Grandfather of James Frances Secor, Jr.

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Home Page of the Historic Pelham Blog.

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For more than two centuries, virtually every American schoolchild has learned about Robert Fulton who is credited with the creation of the earliest commercially-successful steamboat.  Few, if any, of those schoolchildren, however, learned of the important involvement of Pelhamite Francis Secor in that venture.  Today's Historic Pelham article documents a little of the life of Francis Secor and his reported involvement with Robert Fulton's first commercially-successful steamboat.  

Francis Secor (b. May 22, 1776, d. Aug. 23, 1863), was a merchant, shipwright, and ship chandler who reportedly was associated with Robert Fulton in the construction of the first successful steam vessel.  Secor was a son of Eli Secor (b. 1743, d. 1830) and Ann Gedney.

Secor bought a 150-acre estate in Pelham Manor and built a grand summer home on the grounds.  The family first alternated between their fashionable Murray Hill residence and their grand summer home in Pelham Manor until they suffered a major financial setback and lost a large portion of the family fortune.  At that time, they gave up their New York City residence and moved to the Pelham Manor home where they lived thereafter.

I have written before about Francis Secor and his large estate and home in Pelham Manor.  See Wed., Apr. 15, 2015:  The Secor Estate in the Village of Pelham Manor.

The beautiful Secor family home stood at Wolf's Lane near the Boston Post Road.  The extensive property of the Secor estate was known as "Secor Hill."  With the death of the last Secor family member living in Pelham, Anna M. Secor, in 1939, the final remainders of the estate were carved up into smaller lots and sold for residential construction.

Detail from Photograph Showing the Main Secor

Residence in 1915. NOTE: Click Image to Enlarge.

Photograph Showing an Interior View of the Main House

on the Secor Estate in 1915. NOTE: Click Image to Enlarge.

Detail from 1867 Map Showing Location of the Home of "F. Seacor,"

the Secor Home Near the Intersection of Wolf's Lane and the Boston

Post Road.  Source:  "Plan of East Chester, Pelham and New Rochelle,

Westchester Co., N. Y." in Beers, Frederick W., Atlas of New York

and Vicinity From Actual Surveys by and Under the Direction of F. W.

Beers, p. 7 (Philadelphia, PA: 1867). NOTE: Click Image to Enlarge.

Detail from 1868 Map Showing Location of "F. Secor Est."

Near Intersection of Wolfs Lane and Boston Post Road.

Source: Beers, Frederick W., "City Island, Pelham Township,

Westchester Co., N.Y. (with) Town of Pelham, Westchester

Co., N. Y." in Atlas of New York and Vicinity from Actual Surveys

by and Under the Direction of F. W. Beers, Assisted by A. B.

Prindle & Others, p. 35 (Philadelphia, PA: 1868).

NOTE: Click Image to Enlarge.

Detail from 1881 Map Showing the "F. Secor Est." Source:

Bromley, George W., "Town of Pelham, (with) Pelham-Manor.

(From Actual Surveys and Official Records)" in Atlas of Westchester

County, New York. From Actual Surveys and Official Records by

G. W. Bromley & Co., Civil Engineers, pp. 56-57 (Washington, D.C.:

G. W. Bromley & Co., 1881). NOTE: Click Image to Enlarge.

Detail from 1914 Map Showing "Anna M. Secor Est." and

Location of Main House and Service Buildings and Also Showing

Beginning of Development of Portions of the Estate. Source:

Bromley, George W., "Pelham Manor" in Atlas of Westchester

County, N. Y. Pocket, Desk and Automobile Edition, Vol. 1, pp.

128-29 (NY, NY: G.W. Bromley & Co., 1914).

NOTE: Click Image To Enlarge.

Francis Secor married Hannah Carpenter (b. 1782, d. 1861).  Hannah was a daughter of Daniel Carpenter and Sarah Merritt.  According to family tradition, Francis Secor was a friend of noted American author James Fenimore Cooper -- who is known to have written of Pelham in various of his works including "The Spy" -- and of John Jay, founding father and first Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court.  

Though Francis Secor made his fortune as a merchant, a shipwright, and a ship chandler, a number of sources indicate that he served either as "superintendent" or "foreman" of the construction of Robert Fulton's steamboat.  Most importantly, Secor seems to have invented an important part of the steamboat system.  During early tests of the Fulton Steamboat known as the North River Steamboat (or the North River), the paddle wheel showered passengers and crew with water.  According to family tradition, Francis Secor designed the "box that was used to cover" the paddle wheel of subsequent steamboats that was used for many years thereafter.

  

1909 Replica of the North River Steamboat Designed by

Robert Fulton for Which Francis Secor Reportedly Served

as Foreman or Superintendent During its Construction.

Note the Uncovered Paddlewheel that Showered Passengers

and Crew with Water as the Steamboat Moved Under Steam

Power.  Source:  "North River Steamboat" in Wikipedia - The

Free Encyclopedia (visited Feb. 22, 2017).  NOTE:  Click on

Image to Enlarge.

Francis Secor and his wife, Hannah Carpenter Secor had a number of children, including:

Zeno Carpenter Secor (b. 1799, d. 1875)
Henry Reynolds Secor (b. 1805, d. 1877)
Sarah Ann Secor (b. 1814)
James Francis Secor (b. 1816)
Charles A. Secor
Thorn Secor (Thorn Secor died young.)  

For a time Francis Secor operated "Francis Secor & Son," ship carpenters and proprietors of a marine railway at 103 Washington Street in New York City.  The son with whom he worked at the time was Henry Secor.  (At the time, according to one account, "West Street was not continued out so far north, and Washington at that point was open to the river.")  This concern was operating as early as 1827 and, likely, earlier.

It appears that for a time in the early to mid-1830s, Francis Secor formed a "Ship Chandlery" co-partnership with Frederick E. Gibert while still operating his shipwright and spar making business.  The pair apparently operated the ship chandlery business also at 103 Washington Street.  On January 24, 1835, an announcement appeared in a New York City newspaper indicating that the ship chandlery co-partnership was being dissolved and that the business would continue to operate at 103 Washington run by Francis Secor.  The notice read in full:

"DISSOLUTION. -- The Copartnership heretofore existing between the subscribers, under the firm of Gibert & Secor, was dissolved on the 19th inst. by mutual consent.  Frederick E. Gibert and Zeno Secor are authorized to settle the concerns of the late firm,
FRED'K E. GIBERT.
FRANCIS SECOR.
January 24, 1835.
-----
NOTICE.  -- The Ship Chandlery business will be continued at the same place on his own account, by
FRANCIS SECOR, 
103 Washington street
jy24 2w"

Source:  DISSOLUTION, The Evening Post [NY, NY], Jan. 26, 1835, p. 3, col. 3.

During this time Secor, a Democrat, was an active member of Tammany Hall.  His name appears in a number of newspaper accounts of Tammany Hall meetings, occasionally designated as a "Vice President."

Francis Secor's sons, Zeno, Henry, Charles, and James Francis Secor, followed in their father's footsteps.  They formed the shipbuilding firm of Secor Brothers that operated out of Jersey City.  During the Civil War, Secor Brothers constructed at least five ironclads for the U.S. Government and delivered one, the Mahopac, to the government only a week or so before their father's death.  

The Monitor Mahopac on the Appomattox River, 1864.

Source:  U.S. National Archives Photograph, No.

NWDNS-111-B-409.  NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

During the 1840s, Francis Secor attempted to purchase and add to his estate a large section of land that once belonged to Philip Pell I, then Philip Pell II, then David Jones Pell from various heirs of the widow of David Jones Pell.  He purchased the land at auction, but the sale was not completed and the heirs sold the land to James Hay of Pelhamdale fame.  Francis Secor filed a lawsuit in Chancery Court in 1846 in an effort to unwind that sale and to complete sale of the land to him.  The record of that lawsuit contains a wealth of information regarding Pelham in the mid-19th century and is more than four hundred pages long.  See SUPREME COURT (LATE IN CHANCERY) -- FRANCIS SECOR VS. MARY PELL, et al. (NY, NY:  Banks, Gould & Co., Law Publishers, 1854).  Although it took more than nine years to resolve the action, Secor eventually lost the lawsuit.  James Hay retained the lands that formed his Pelhamdale estate.

Francis Secor was infirm and in poor health in the last years of his life.  On June 7, 1862, he executed his last will and testament in the offices of his lawyer, Thomas C. Fields of New York City.  Unable to sign his name, Secor's attorney guided his hand to make the mark of an "X" on the document and then signed Secor's name to the will also indicating that the X was his mark.  At the end of the will, the attorney included the following statement:  "Thos. C. Fields Bloomingdale Road and 117th street in the City of New York who signed the name of the Testator at his special request."  This later led to a very extensive probate hearing by the Surrogate who took extensive testimony from witnesses regarding the execution of the will, the records of which are quite extensive.

Francis Secor died on August 23, 1864.  He was buried in the Eleazor Gedney Burial Ground in Mamaroneck.  A photograph of his gravestone appears below.  Images of the pages of his will, with the text transcribed, also appear below.

James Francis Secor, a son of Francis Secor, succeeded to the Secor home on Secor Hill after his father's death.  Like Francis Secor, James Francis Secor and his son James Francis Secor, Jr. and his daughter, Anna M. Secor, became notable Pelham residents who shaped the early Village of Pelham Manor and various of its important institutions including the Manor Club.  

Gravestone of Francis Secor Reflecting His Burial

in the Eleazor Gedney Burial Ground, Mamaroneck,

Westchester County, New York.  NOTE:  Click on

Image to Enlarge.

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1827 Advertisement for Francis Secor & Son Shipwrights and

Spar Making with Locations on Washington Street in Manhattan

and on the Beach at Brooklyn.  Source:  SHIPWRIGHTS & SPAR

MAKING [Advertisement], The Evening Post [NY, NY], May 26,

1827, p. 3, col. 1.  NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

Transcription of Text Immediately Below.

"SHIPWRIGHTS & SPAR MAKING. -- The subscriber respectfully informs his friends and the public that he still continues the Shipwright and Spar making business at his old establishment, between Carslile [sic] and Rector streets, North river:  and in addition he has established the same business at Brooklyn, below the old ferry, where he has a convenient beach for laying vessels ashore to grave and repair -- and all kinds of materials suitable to do the same; and, also, he has erected a railway for hauling up vessels, where a vessel may be hauled up and graved in three hours and launched again; and it may be further understood that a vessel having a private leak may be hauled up with water enough in her to discover the same as she stands on even keel. --

For further particulars inquire of Francis Secor, No. 106 Washington street, or
HENRY SECOR, at Brooklyn.
m262n+"  

"PELHAM.

DEATH OF FRANCIS SECOR.  --  This venerable merchant and citizen, who has resided for many years at Pelham, in this county, died on Tuesday, the 23d inst., at his late residence, in the 89th year of his age.

Mr. Secor was in the ship-chandler's business, in the ship-chandler's business, in the City of New-York, for nearly half a century.  He was widely known and greatly esteemed.

Mr. Secor's sons, Henry, Zeno, Charles A., and James F. Secor, compose the firm of Secor Brothers, the great ship builders of Jersey City.  They have constructed five of the new monitors for the Government, the last one, the Mahopac, having been delivered only about a week ago."

Source:  PELHAM.  DEATH OF FRANCIS SECOR, The Statesman [Yonkers, NY], Sep. 1, 1864, Vol. IX, No. 446, p. 8, col. 2.  

"The following biographical sketch was written in 1875 by Thomas Ely Secor for his Harvard Class of 1875 ClassBook, and rewritten by his younger sister Anna Amelia Secor. Underlined names are direct-line ancestors of William Wright Conklin. 

FRANCIS SECOR 1776-1864 

'Francis Secor (my grandfather) married Hannah Carpenter whose father, Daniel Carpenter married Sarah Merritt, and he owned Byron Point' 

'Francis Secor’s father Eli Secor married Ann Hadden.  She was surrounded during the Revolutionary War by Skinners for not telling where her husband was hidden.  Was shot in the shoulder and walked three miles to a doctor to have her wound dressed.  The man who shot her was afterwards shot for cruelty to a man by hanging him and then letting him down, and he vowed to shoot the skinner, and when he did the jury exonerated him' 

'My grandfather Francis knew Fennimore Cooper also John Jay who lived near him in Rye.  I think John Jay was our first ambassador to England.' 

'Grandfather Francis Secor superintended building the first steamboat and went on trial trips.  The paddlewheel showered them with water and grandfather designed the box that was used to cover the paddlewheel, which was used on steamboats for many years.  He went in business in the ships chandlery business (sold ropes and supplies to sailing vessels and these vessels came in at a dock on West Street near grandfathers store.)   Many men of note used to wait in his office.  I think Uncle Charles, Zeno and father carried on the business after their father gave up on account of failing eyesight.  Grandfather lived near his place of business.' 

'Francis Secor and Hannah Carpenter ran away and got married; she only 14 years old.  They had twelve children, among them Thorn, Henry, Zeno, Sarah Ann, Charles A. and James F. Secor survived.  They, my father’s mother and father formed the Baptist Church, McDougal St., N.Y.  Spencer H. Cone was the minister.  Spencer H. Cone was an actor and after his theatre burned down he was converted and studied for the ministry.  Was one of the most noted ministers of his time.' 

Grandmother was a sincere Christian woman, well educated for her time, and used to entertain visiting ministers and even had a Catholic priest for a friend.  Father said, ‘Those ministers had wonderful appetites’.'"

Source:  Francis Secor 1776-1864, "Written by grandson Thomas Ely Secor and granddaughter Anna Amelia Secor," Ancestry.com (visited Feb. 20, 2017; paid subscription required to access via this link).  

"OTHER DEATHS.
-----
CHARLES FREDRICK SECOR.

Charles Fredrick Secor, esteemed one of the finest practical authorities in the science of metallurgy and mining engineering, died suddenly on Tuesday at the residence of his father, Charles A. Secor, No. 62 West Fifty-fifth-street, at the age of 47.  Mr. Secore was a native of this City.  His grandfather, Francis Secor, was the foreman of Robert Fulton in the construction of his celebrated experimental steam-boat.  He was also the the inventor of the dry-dock system now in use in this City.  The grandson at an early age became interested in metallurgical studies and was accordingly sent to the Freiberg School of Mines, in Germany, where he was graduated with distinction.  From Freiberg he went to Paris and studied for several years at the Ecole Polytechnique.  On his return to America he settled in San Franisco, and was soon spoken of as one of the best practical authorities on the Pacific slope.  He was one of the discoverers and original promoters of the famous Comstock lode.  He remained in California and Nevada for 17 years, and only returned to his native City after his health had been permanently impaired.  The immediate cause was the bursting of a retort in his laboratory, and the consequent exposure to the fumes of quicksilver -- an accident from the effects of which he never recovered.  On Tuesday, about 12 o'clock, Mr. Secor was in his usual health.  A few minutes later he fainted, and was removed to his room insensible.  Death supervened before a physician could be summoned, probably from a stroke of apoplexy.  Mr. Secor was the inventor of an amalgamator, which is now being successfully introduced in the mining regions, and had amassed a comfortable competence.  The funeral services will take place at the residence of his father at 10 o'clock this morning, the Rev. Dr. Tiffany officiating."

Source:  OTHER DEATHS -- CHARLES FREDRICK SECOR, N.Y. Times, Mar. 10, 1881, p. 5, col. 5.

"Supreme Court -- General Term.
BEFORE JUSTICES BROWN, STRONG AND ROCKWELL.

Francis Secor vs. Mary Pell and others.  --  This cause was argued on the 10th and 11th instant.  Suit was commenced in 1846, for the specific performance of a contract to sell a farm in Westchester.  It appears that in October, 1845, the farm was sold at auction by E. H. Ludlow & Co., at the Merchants' Exchange in New York. -- Mr. Secor attended the sale, and the premises were struck off to him.

Subsequently the counsel of the seller met the counsel of purchaser but they could not agree as to the title, and although the purchaser's counsel offered to submit the questions discussed to other counsel, the offer was rejected, and the premises were afterwards sold to another purchaser.  A bill was then filed to compel the seller to perform the contract and give a title.

F. R. Tillow and P. T. Cutler for the plaintiff W. Silliman and Samuel Lyon for defendants.

The Court adjourned yesterday afternoon, having heard arguments in the cases on the calendar to 39, inclusive.

The decisions pronounced in cases heretofore argued, we will publish on Monday."

Source:  Supreme Court -- General Term. BEFORE JUSTICES BROWN, STRONG AND ROCKWELL. Francis Secor vs. Mary Pell and others, The Brooklyn Daily Eagle, Jan. 13, 1855, p. 2, col. 4.  See also Decisions made at a General Term of the Supreme Court for the Second Judicial District at the City of Brooklyn, July 21, 1855, The Brooklyn Daily Eagle, Jul. 25, 1855, p. 2, col. 4 ("Francis Secor against Mary Pell and others. -- The decree of judgment of the special term affirmed but without costs.").  

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Below is the text, followed by images of the pages, of the last will and testament of Francis Secor.  Each is followed by a citation and link to its source.

"[Page 1]

In the name of God Amen -- I Francis Secor of the County of Westchester and State of New York, Shipwright, do make, publish and declare this to be my last Will and Testament, hereby declaring to be null and void any other last Will and Testament heretofore made by me -- 

First I give, devise, and bequeath to my grand-daughter Matilda McCord the daughter of my deceased son Thorn Secor and wife of George McCord, the sum of Five hundred dollars which sum I hereby direct my executors to pay to the said Matilda within two years from my decease -- out of any personal Estate of which I may die possessed -- 

This sum I consider a proper amount to bequeath to her for the reason that I supported her mother and herself from the decease of her Father till her marriage --

Second one fifth part of the rest, residue, and remainder of my estate real, personal and mixed I give devise and bequeath to Lydia S. Secor wife of my son Charles A. Secor to have and to hold the same unto her the said Lydia S. Secor her heirs, executors, administrators, and assigns for ever -- 

Third -- One fifth of my estate after paying the above legacy of five hundred dollars I do hereby give, bequeath, and devise unto

[Page 2]

Anna Mariah Secor wife of my son James F. Secor to have and to hold the same unto her the said Anna Mariah, her heirs, executors, administrators and assigns for ever --

Fourth  I do hereby give, bequeath, and devise one fifth of all my estate after paying the above mentioned legacy of five hundred dollars to Mary Ann Secor wife of my son Zeno Secor to have and to hold the same unto her the said Mary Ann Secor her heirs, executors, administrators and assigns for ever -- 

Fifth -- I do hereby give, devise, and bequeath unto Martha Mariah Secor wife of my son Henry R. Secor, one fifth of my estate real, personal, and mixed, after paying the above mentioned legacy of five hundred dollars to have and to hold the same to her the said Martha Mariah Secor for and during her natural life and at her decease it is my wish and I so direct that the share or portion of the said Martha Mariah Secor be divided equally between the children of my said son Henry R. Secor as follows -- Theodore Secor, H. Alonzo Secor, Charlotte A. Secor, Eviline Secor and Malvina Secor, share and share alike -- 

Sixth  I do hereby give, devise, and bequeath unto my daughter Sarah Ann now the wife of John G. Merrell, one fifth of my estate real, personal and mixed, after paying the above 

[Page 3]

mentioned legacy of five hundred dollars and after deducting from said one fifth hereby devised to her the sum of Two thousand dollars to have and to hold the same to her and to her heirs, executors, administrators and assigns for ever -- 

Seventh.  One thousand of the two thousand dollars hereby directed to be deducted from the share of my daughter Sarah Ann, I hereby give and bequeath unto Martha Mariah Secor wife of my son Henry R. Secor.  The other one thousand dollars of said two thousand above mentioned, I hereby give and bequeath unto Anna Mariah Secor wife of my son James F. Secor in consideration for the care and attention she has bestowed upon me -- The reason I direct this deduction of Two thousand dollars from the share of my daughter Sarah Ann is that I have heretofore loaned her husband, John G. Merrell sums of money which with the interest thereon I consider equal to this sum.

Eighth I do hereby nominate, constitute and appoint my son James F. Secor and my son Zeno Secor Executors of this my last Will and Testament -- In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal this seventh day of June in the year of our Lord One Thousand Eight Hundred and Sixty Two -- 

Francis Secor
X  his Mark

[Seal] 

Signed, seaed, published and declared by the testator as and 

[Page 4] 

for his last Will and Testament in our presence, who in his presence, in presence of each other and at his request have signed our names hereto as witnesses --

Charles R. Truex
83rd St. & 3rd Avenue
City of New York

Thos. C. Fields Bloomingdale Road and 117th street in the City of New York who signed the name of the Testator at his special request."

Page 1 of Last Will and Testament of Francis Secor.  Source:

New York Wills and Probate Records, 1659-1999:  New York,

New York Probated Jun. 8, 1865, Proceedings, 1865 (Available

via Ancestry.com; Note:  paid subscription required to access via

this link).  NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

Page 2 of Last Will and Testament of Francis Secor.  Source:

New York Wills and Probate Records, 1659-1999:  New York,

New York Probated Jun. 8, 1865, Proceedings, 1865 (Available

via Ancestry.com; Note:  paid subscription required to access via

this link).  NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

Page 3 of Last Will and Testament of Francis Secor.  Source:

New York Wills and Probate Records, 1659-1999:  New York,

New York Probated Jun. 8, 1865, Proceedings, 1865 (Available

via Ancestry.com; Note:  paid subscription required to access via

this link).  NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

Page 4 of Last Will and Testament of Francis Secor.  Source:

New York Wills and Probate Records, 1659-1999:  New York,

New York Probated Jun. 8, 1865, Proceedings, 1865 (Available

via Ancestry.com; Note:  paid subscription required to access via

this link).  NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

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Ogden Philip Pell, a Grandson of David Jones Pell of Pelham Manor

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Ogden Philip Pell was a son of Stephen Sneden Pell and a grandson of Revolutionary War hero David Jones Pell who once owned the Pell farmhouse now incorporated into the home known today as Pelhamdale at 45 Iden Avenue and listed on the National Register of Historic Places.  He spent his youth in Pelham, but left and became a very successful man.  Today he would be described as a venture capitalist and start up specialist.  He was involved in a fascinating array of successful ventures including partnering with George Chorpenning in one of the earliest Pony Express mail lines, constructing the eastern end of the Panama Canal, building railroads, establishing the first subway line in New York City, the creation of the first successful steamship line between New York and Galveston, Texas to run from the end of the Civil War blockade of Galveston, and much more.

Ogden Philip Pell was born in what was known as as the old Ogden House that once stood on what once was part of the Secor estate near Boston Post Road and Wolfs Lane.  The Ogdens sold their farm to to Francis Secor in 1836, a year after Ogden was born.  The family later lived in the old homestead of James Pell nearby.  

At the age of seventeen, Ogden Pell left Pelham abruptly.  According to one account, he left due to a personal "tragedy."  

It seems that as a teenager, Ogden Pell fell in love with young "Jennett Hay," a daughter of James Hay who had purchased, and lived in, Pelhamdale -- once owned by Ogden's grandfather, David Jones Pell.  Ogden Pell spent several years "in the company of Jennett Hay."  The pair, in fact, had a special place where they spent time together.  It was the lake that once stood on the Henry Iden, Jr. property on Wolfs Lane.  I have written before of that lovely lake.  See Wed., Jul. 15, 2015:  The Henry Iden, Jr. Property on Wolfs Lane -- An Ice Skating Paradise.  The pair loved the lake and strolled its grounds, where children sailed their model boats during warm months and skated on the pond ice in the winter.

Jennett Hay, it seems, fell in love with another.  According to an account told in the 1920s, she married a member of the Lord family of Lord & Taylor fame.  According to a story purportedly told by Ogden Pell himself, the day Jennett Hay married, Ogden left Pelham for the South.  Soon, according to one account, he:  "prospered, and developed cotton plantations in Louisiana, owning at the time of President Lincoln's famous "Proclamation of Emancipation' over one thousand slaves.  After which event the slaves refused to work and his plantations were ruined."  This account, however, may be apocryphal.  According to another account:

"At the age of 22, Mr. Pell began his business career with the old house of Treadwell & Co. who supplied all sorts of goods to southern planters during the early prosperous days of the South.  In 1862, Mr. Pell succeeded the firm of Treadwell & Pell, who conducted the business of machinery and other supplies of that character until the close of the war, the affairs of the firm being liquidated in 1867."

Even before the liquidation of Treadwell & Pell in 1867, Ogden Pell started the business of H. Blagg & Co. in 1865.  The business involved transportation of goods between Texas and New York.  According to a brief biography of Pell:  

"They loaded the first vessel that entered the port of Galveston when that port was still under blockade at the close of the war.  The business proving highly successful was followed up by establishing the Pioneer Merchant Steamship Company between New York and Galveston, now the Mallory line."

In about 1879, Ogden Pell joined with a group to organize the Mining Exchange, later known as "the Consolidated of New York."  He became Secretary of the New York Mining Exchange.  He also:

"promoted with the Slavens of San Francisco, Cal., the American Contracting & Dredging Company, which company built the eastern end of the Panama Canal between Colon and the mountains, and later, in the year 1889, he became and is still largely interested in promoting and building railroads and other public improvements  in the island of San Domingo."  

At the age of 84, Ogden Pell moved to the "Home for Old Men and Aged Couples," also known as the "Episcopal Home" located at 112th Street and Amsterdam Avenue.  He lived there for nine years.  While living there on October 18, 1927, fewer than five months before his death, Ogden Pell was honored as the grandson of David Jones Pell when a historic marker for his grandfather's home known today as "Pelhamdale" was placed on the Hutchinson River Parkway near the home located at 45 Iden Avenue.  See:

Wed., Feb. 01, 2017:  Pelham Historic Marker Placed on Hutchinson River Parkway in 1927.  

Tue., Jun. 24, 2014:  Story of Pelhamdale, the Old Stone House by the Bridge, Once Owned by David J. Pell.

On March 1, 1928, Ogden Philip Pell suffered a devastating stroke.  Though he rallied briefly, he suffered a second stroke and died on Monday, March 12.  The Manor of Pelham had lost another native son. . . .

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Below is the text of news stories, obituaries, and a brief biography of Ogden Philip Pell, as well as an image of him.  Each is followed by a citation and link to its source.

"OGDEN P. PELL.  Secretary N. Y. Mining Exchange."

Source:  Paton, Thomas B., ed., "The New York Mining Exchange"

in The Banking Law Journal, Vol. XIII, No. 2, pp. 117-18 (NY, NY:

February, 1896).  NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

"Ogden Philip Pell, secretary of the New York Mining Exchange, was born in the year 1835 in Pelham, Westchester county, New York.  The Pells were one of the first English families who settled in the state in the state of New York, locating, as early as 1864 [sic], in that portion of Westchester county which, at that time, comprised the towns of New Rochelle, Eastchester, and what is known now as Pelham Manor, 'Pelham being a Saxon word -- 'Pell,' family; 'Ham,' remote.  At the age of 22, Mr. Pell began his business career with the old house of Treadwell & Co. who supplied all sorts of goods to southern planters during the early prosperous days of the South.  In 1862, Mr. Pell succeeded the firm of Treadwell & Pell, who conducted the business of machinery and other supplies of that character until the close of the war, the affairs of the firm being liquidated in 1867.  In 1865, Mr. Pell started the house of H. Blagg & Co.  He was the special of the firm, and resident partner in New York.  Their business was the Texas market.  They loaded the first vessel that entered the port of Galveston when that port was still under blockade at the close of the war.  The business proving highly successful was followed up by establishing the Pioneer Merchant Steamship Company between New York and Galveston, now the Mallory line, and about the year 1879, Mr. Pell was instrumental, with others, in organizing the Mining Exchange, now the Consolidated of New York.  Following this, Mr. Pell promoted with the Slavens of San Francisco, Cal., the American Contracting & Dredging Company, which company built the eastern end of the Panama Canal between Colon and the mountains, and later, in the year 1889, he became and is still largely interested in promoting and building railroads and other public improvements  in the island of San Domingo.  As will be seen, a large part of Mr. Pell's business career has been devoted to the promoting of large enterprises, both in the form of business firms and incorporated companies, and most of his undertakings in that line have proved successful ventures to himself and associates, and his last undertaking in connection with the Mining Exchange will doubtless prove equally successful.  

In 1875 Mr. Pell advocated the Rapid Transit Underground system, known as the depressed movement, to connect the City Hall with the Grand Central Depot by a route through Fourth avenue, via Lafayette Place, paralleling Broadway, to City Hall.  This system is the one advocated and commended by ex-Mayor Hewitt as the most practical solution of the rapid transit problem."

Source:  Paton, Thomas B., ed., "The New York Mining Exchange" in The Banking Law Journal, Vol. XIII, No. 2, pp. 117-18 (NY, NY:  February, 1896).  

"HONEST!  THIS MILLIONAIRE LIVES ON 50 CENTS A DAY
-----
Wall Street Wonders How Ogden P. Pell Does It, but He Hasn't Lived 78 Years for Nothing -- System Simple; He Just Signs Checks.
-----

All the men of the Wall street district who have known Ogden P. Pell ever since they were kids are chuckling over the notoriety which has come to the seventy-eight-year-old youngster since he made the statement in supplementary proceedings Friday that all he needs to live on is 50 cents a day, and that borrowed money.

Mr. Pell is a well known man of affairs, a member of the prominent New York family of that name, a lineal descendant of Lord Pell, who married an Indian Princess [sic].  At the age of twenty two he began an eventful career by inheriting $1,500,000.  The pamphleteers of that period spoke of him as the richest young man in the United States.

For many years he and Roger Foster, the lawyer, have been close friends.  Some time ago Foster represented Pell in legal proceedings and the two men of wit couldn't agree on the value of services rendered.  They have been having a friendly controversy over it, and as both are vigorous fighters the claim finally reached the courts.  Foster himself put Pell through the usual questions and forced him to admit that he could live on 50 cents a day, and that he even had to borrow that.

How Does He Do It?

And then the word was passed around that Ogden P. Pell, one of the best-known brokers in New street, member of the Belle Harbor Club, honorary member of the Society of the Cincinnati and leading citizen of Richmond Hill, was living on fifty cents per day.  Because of the present agitation over the high cost of living everybody wanted to know how Pell could do it.  In order to avoid inquiries Pell could do it.  In order to avoid inquiries Pell took to his private yacht, the Queen City, and remained out of town over Sunday.  

A World reporter called on him yesterday at his office to learn how to manage living expenses.  Mr. Pell laughed and said:

'If I didn't like Roger Foster and didn't need him in some pretty important litigation I'd get his goat for giving out this yarn.

'But,' he continued, 'If you want to see how I do it come with me.'

Mr. Pell then became the host in a prominent restaurant  of the 'street,' and with the vigor of a college student set the following menu before his guest:

Some Bronx Cocktails and then some.
Bismarck Herring.
Little Neck Clams. 
Green Turtle Soup.     Imperial Brut (plenty).
Broiled Bonefish with Butter Sauce.
Sliced Tomatoes.
Porterhouse Steak with Mushrooms.
Potatoes au Gratin.     Fresh Asparagus.
Fried Eggplant.
Escarole Salad.  Peaches with Ice Cream.
Yellow Chartreuse.
Cigars imported for private use.

Simply Signs Check.

'You see,' said Mr. Pell after he signed the check.  'I haven't spent a cent yet.'

Mr. Pell admitted during the conversation that he had accomplished a few things in his reckless career of seventy-eight years.  He has built a few railroads and signed a $35,000,000 contract with Dr. Lesseps over the luncheon table in the Palace Hotel in San Francisco which involved digging the section of the Panama Canal from Colon to Gatun.  Mr. Pell's company was going right ahead with the canal when the bottom fell out of the old French canal company.  It was a subsidiary company which changed the course of the Chagres River.

'I have never been sick a day in my life,' he said, 'and the only time I ever needed a doctor was when I had a boil on my neck two years ago.  After the doctor fixed it up he told me I was good for twenty-five years more.'"

Source:  HONEST!  THIS MILLIONAIRE LIVES ON 50 CENTS A DAY -- Wall Street Wonders How Ogden P. Pell Does It, but He Hasn't Lived 78 Years for Nothing -- System Simple; He Just Signs Checks, The New York World, Thrice-A-Week Edition, Jul. 12, 1911, Vol. LII, No. 6138, p. 3, cols. 6-7.

"Pioneer In Pony Express Dies at 93

New York, March 13 (AP).  --  Ogden Pell, 93, a partner in one of the earliest pony expresses to carry mail across the continent, and an organizer of the first steamship company to operate boats between New York and Galveston; died Monday in a home for the aged where he had lived for nine years.

He was born in Pelham where his grandfather had been one of the founders of the settlement, now one of the most exclusive in the metropolitan area, and left there as a young man to begin a varied and colorful career.

He was associated with a man named Chopenning [sic; George Chorpenning] in organizing a pony express, and was once connected with a New York banking firm which obtained land concessions from the government of Liberia.  These lands are now controlled by the Firestone Rubber company."

Source:  Pioneer In Pony Express Dies at 83, El Paso Herald, Mar. 13, 1928, p. 8, cols. 7-8 (Note:  Paid subscription required to access via this link).   

"Pony Express Pioneer Dies in New York City
-----

NEW YORK, March 12 (AP). -- Ogden Pell, 93, a partner in one of the earliest pony expresses to carry mail across the continent, and an organizer of the first steamship company to operate boats between New York and Galveston, died today in a home for the aged where he had lived for nine years.

He was born in Pelham, where his grandfather had been a founder of the settlement, now one of the most exclusive in the metropolitan area."

Source:  Pony Express Pioneer Dies in New York City, Schenectady Gazette, Mar. 13, 1928, p. 8, col. 4.  

"Died in Poverty

New York, Mar. 14 -- Ogden Pell, grandson of one of the first settlers of Pelham, organizer of the first steamship line to Galveston, partner in the first pony express, one of the promoters of the first subway, and winner of the first land concession from the government of Liberia, is dead without funds, as an inmate of the Home for Old Men and Aged Couples."

Source:  Died in Poverty, Rochester Times-Union, Mar. 14, 1928, p. 5, col. 5.  

"OGDEN PHILIP PELL
1835 -- 1928
By William R. Montgomery
-----

Pelham lost its oldest son, when Ogden P. Pell passed away in his ninety-fourth year on Monday, March 12, 1928, at the 'Home for Old Men and Aged Couples' in New York.  This institution though termed 'home' is in reality a club with all the comforts and conveniences of a rich man's residence.

Mr. Pell suffered a stroke on March 1st.  He rallied, but succumbed to a second attack on Monday.  Funeral services were held yesterday.

Mr. Pell was born February 20, 1835, in the old Ogden House, that once stood directly in front of the well on the lawn of Mr. Julius Manger's estate at Boston Post road and Wolf's Lane, formerly the property of the Secors.  Later he lived in the old homestead of James Pell nearby, when the Ogdens sold their farm to Francis Secor in 1836.

Mr. Pell left Pelham about 1852 and had not returned until October 17th of last year, when the D. A. R., Bronx Chapter, unveiled the New York State marker on the Hutchinson Parkway at Iden avenue.

This tablet marks the old homestead of Mr. Ogden P. Pell's grandfather, Colonel David J. Pell, and the birthplace of his father, Stephen S. Pell.

There is rather an interesting story, though a tragedy connected with Mr. Pell's sudden departure from Pelham.  When he approached 'Pelhamdale' last October he anxiously inquired about the brook and the pond.  The pond that he was interest in was, in those days, a beautiful lake, near Wolf's Lane and Colonial avenue, now covered by a dozen or more homes.  On this lake the children sailed their boats in the summer time, and skated in the winter.  It was here that he spent several years in the company of Jennett Hay, the daughter of James Hay, who had purchased Mr. Pell's grandfather's place, 'Pelhamdale' in 1827, now the property of Mr. and Mrs. H. E. Wagner.

He told the story himself, of his love for Jennett, and of her promise, and of the day he left Pelham, for it was on that day Jennett Hay married Mr. Lord, one of the founders of the firm of Lord & Taylor.

Ogden Pell went South, prospered, and developed cotton plantations in Louisiana, owning at the time of President Lincoln's famous "Proclamation of Emancipation' over one thousand slaves.  After which event the slaves refused to work and his plantations were ruined.

Later, he opened up various steamship lines for the transportation of cotton.  He developed a line of steamships that became known as the Mallory Line."

Source:  Montgomery, William R., OGDEN PHILIP PELL -- 1835 -- 1928, The Pelham Sun, Mar. 16, 1928, p. 3, cols. 4-5.  

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