Who Today Has the "Right" to Receive the Famed Manor of Pelham Fatt Calfe from the City of New Rochelle?

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The expectant crowd anxiously awaited on and along Fifth Avenue in front of Town Hall in the Village of North Pelham at 4:15 p.m. on Thursday, August 29, 1946.  Representatives of television broadcaster Columbia Broadcasting System were present with television cameras to record the event.  (Commercial television broadcasting, which had declined dramatically during World War II, was beginning to ramp up again.)  A gaggle of photographers from newspapers and news organizations throughout the region were waiting expectantly.  There was a large crowd of spectators despite threatening skies.  Everyone was excited.

That day and night, the Village of North Pelham was in the midst of its Golden Jubilee celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of its founding in 1896.  One of the many events that formed an important part of that celebration was so special that it was recorded by Columbia Broadcasting System (with an announcer) for a later nationwide broadcast on Sunday, September 1, 1946 from 8:15 to 8:30 p.m. on WCGW.  Moreover, CBS was not the only broadcaster present at the event.  A portion of the ceremony also was broadcast by radio station WFAS, 1230 on the am dial.  The special event that attracted so much attention was the presentation of a "fatt calfe" by the City of New Rochelle to the little Village of North Pelham.

I have written repeatedly not only of various fatt calfe ceremonies in Pelham's history, but also of the grand Golden Jubilee fiftieth anniversary celebration hosted by the Village of North Pelham on August 29, 1946.  See, e.g.:

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

Thu., Dec. 08, 2016:  Cancellation of 1909 Fatt Calfe Ceremony Due to "Sharp Lawyers" Prompted a Pell Family Feud.

Tue., Dec. 01, 2015:  Lean Roast Beef Is NOT a "Fatt Calfe" Though Pell Family Members Accepted it in 1956.

Mon., Jan. 05, 2015:  The Village of North Pelham Celebrated the Golden Jubilee of its Incorporation During Festivities in 1946.

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

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

1938 New Rochelle U.S. Commemorative Silver Half Dollar (Obverse)

Depicting John Pell Receiving the "Fatt Calfe" in 1689. Photograph by

the Author.  NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

The "fatt calfe" ceremony that attracted so much attention on August 29, 1946 was an homage to a promise made by Jacob Leisler in 1689, as a representative of French Huguenots of New Rochelle, to John and Rachel Pell of the Manor of Pelham to deliver one such "calfe" annually "if demanded."  On September 20, 1689, John Pell, and his wife, Rachel, sold to Jacob Leisler of New York City 6,000 acres of Manor of Pelham land.  At the same time they gifted to Leisler another 100 acres for use as church grounds.  Leisler reportedly had been commissioned to acquire the land on behalf of French Huguenots seeking to relocate to North America, many of whom fled from La Rochelle in France.  The land became today’s New Rochelle, named in honor of La Rochelle from which many of the Huguenots fled religious persecution by the French Catholics. 

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

Every few generations, it seems, there is a "rediscovery" of that ancient "fatt calfe" provision in the deed by which John and Rachel Pell transferred lands to Jacob Leisler.  With each such "rediscovery," members of the Pell family typically approach the City of New Rochelle and "demand" delivery of a "fatt calfe" to one or more members of the family as part of an important historic anniversary or a large family reunion celebration.  Rarely however, has such a "demand" been made by any of the Villages in Pelham or the Town of Pelham.  The North Pelham celebration in 1946 was an exception.

Though it may come as disappointing news to the many members of the Pell Family descended from John and Rachel Pell who are scattered throughout the nation, it would seem (at least from Pelham's perspective) that a meaningful argument can be made that the right to demand and receive the "fatt calfe" (to whatever unlikely extent it may still be labeled a "right") has devolved to the Town of Pelham and not to members of the Pell family or to today's Villages of Pelham and Pelham Manor.  

Under the original deed, the "right" to receive the "fatt calfe" belonged to John Pell and "his heirs and assigns Lords of the said Manor of Pelham."  The deed did NOT say the right belonged to the descendants of John Pell, only John Pell and his "heirs and assigns."

John Pell, of course, no longer is with us, having died in the first few years of the 18th century.  Thus, we are left to determine the meaning of "his heirs and assigns," a legal term of art in the real estate field.  We then must determine who meets this definition of "his heirs and assigns."

The phrase typically appears in a so-called habendum clause in a deed -- the clause that describes the estate that is being granted.  John Pell's "heirs" would have been those to whom his real estate was bequeathed or who otherwise inherited it.  His "assigns" would have included those who came into possession of his property through purchase, gift or some form of transfer from him, his heirs or anyone who inherited the property from him or any of his heirs.  

This suggests, of course, that an argument can be made that all who now own any of the lands that comprised the Manor of Pelham immediately after the sale to Leisler in 1689 (including those who live in today's Town of Pelham and on City Island) are among John Pell's "assigns" as referenced in the 1689 deed.  If such a theory is correct, there would now be tens of thousands of Lords of the Manor of Pelham -- those who own property that was owned by John and Rachel Pell in the Manor of Pelham immediately after the sale to Jacob Leisler on September 20, 1689.  

Now things get even a little more interesting.  The clause of the deed requiring delivery of a fatt calfe if demanded may arguably be deemed ambiguous.  It requires Jacob Leisler, his heirs and assigns to deliver to “John Pell his heirs and assigns Lords of the said Manor of Pelham . . . as an Acknowledgment to the said Manor one fatt calfe on every fouer and twentieth day of June Yearly and Every Year forever (if demanded).”  Does that mean Jacob Leisler and, subsequently all his heirs and assigns (arguably all landowners in today's City of New Rochelle) must each deliver one "fatt calfe" to each of the "heirs and assigns" of John Pell (arguably at least all the landowners in the Town of Pelham and on City Island) if demanded?  Alternatively, is the delivery of only one "fatt calfe" required to be delivered to all "heirs and assigns" of John Pell?

It would seem that it would be most reasonable to interpret the provision to require delivery of only "one fatt calfe" regardless of the number of "heirs and assigns" who may exist today.  But, who should deliver the fatt calfe?  Who should properly receive the fatt calfe?

Over the last century, members of the Pell Family seem implicitly to have recognized that the reference to John Pell's "heirs and assigns" in the deed does not include his descendants (i.e., members of the Pell Family).  Thus, they do not seem ever to have demanded that the descendants of Jacob Leisler deliver a fatt calfe to them.  This omission implicitly affirms that provision placed the obligation not on Leisler's descendants but on his "heirs & Assigns."  Of course, essentially the same phrase (i.e., "heirs and assigns") is used on the opposite side of the equation providing that John Pell and his "heirs and assigns" are entitled to receive the fatt calfe.  

In short the Pell family does not demand the "fatt calfe" from Leisler's descendants but, instead, from a municipal representative of his "heirs and assigns" -- the City of New Rochelle as the representative of all those within the City who own lands once owned by Jacob Leisler (Leisler's "Assigns").  Paradoxically, however, at the same time members of the Pell Family demand that the calf be delivered to them (or one of their own) as descendants of John Pell and NOT to a municipal representative of Pell's "heirs and assigns."  

Thus, one could argue, there are only two who today would have the joint authority, as the municipal representatives of John Pell's true "heirs and assigns" (i.e., the tens of thousands who now own land that was part of the Manor of Pelham immediately after the sale of land to Jacob Leisler on September 20, 1689) to demand delivery of the fatt calfe on June 24.  Those two would be the Town of Pelham (as landowner and representative of those who own land in Pelham) and the City of New York (as landowner and representative of those who own land on City Island and in Pelham Bay Park).

This author now has the temerity to assert that all previous deliveries of a "fatt calfe" to members of the Pell Family and to the Village of North Pelham are null and void and of no force and effect since those deliveries were not demanded by John Pell or any of his "heirs and assigns" -- only his descendants.  Since neither the Town of Pelham nor the City of New York demanded delivery of the fatt calfe in those instances, no such delivery was required.  The City of New Rochelle should be deemed simply to have gifted the fatt calfe on each such occasion rather than meeting any obligation under the deed issued to Jacob Leisler.  

What say you Pell Family members?  What say you landowners in New Rochelle?  What say you landowners on City Island?  And, indeed, since New York City owns today's Pelham Bay Park which was part of the Manor of Pelham on September 20, 1689, what say you New York City?

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Below is a transcription of an article describing New Rochelle's delivery of the "fatt calfe" demanded by the Village of North Pelham in 1946.  Although, arguably, the Village was a representative of John Pell's "heirs and assigns" who lived within its boundaries, it was not the most appropriate representative to make such a demand.  At least the ceremony was performed in front of the Town Hall of the Town of Pelham. . . . . . 

"Presentation Of 'Ye Fatte Calf' [sic] Recalls Olden Tribute To John Pell, Lord of Manor

NORTH PELHAM -- One of the most colorful events of the Village's celebration yesterday on the 50th anniversary of its founding was the historic reenactment of the delivery of a fatted calf by Mayor Stanley W. Church of New Rochelle to Mayor Dominic Amato of North Pelham at 4:15 P. M.

The picturesque ceremony, which took place in front of Town Hall, was recorded by a battery of photographers as well as by the Columbia Broadcasting System television, when it will be shown over a nationwide broadcast Sunday over WCGW from 8:15 to 8:30 P. M.

George Usbeck, announcer, opened the ceremony:

'The year is 1689; on the shores of Long Island Sound a little band of French Huguenots had selected a site for their settlement.  That site was part of the landed properties of the Lord of the Manor of Pell.  And when the purchase contract was signed, it contained a provision in which the Huguenots agreed to 'forever yielding and paying unto John Pell, his heirs and assigns, one fatte calf [sic] on every four and twentieth day of June yearly and every year forever, if demanded * * *

'Two hundred and fifty-seven years have passed down the corridors of history since that agreement was signed, but today New Rochelle again delivers to its neighboring village, North Pelham, 'ye fatte calf.'

Neil Gibbons, who played the part of a mounted courier in Colonial costume, rode up Fifth Avenue from the Railroad Station to Town Hall, where he dismounted, handed the reins of his horse to a policeman, and unrolling a scroll, read greetings.

Mayor Church, holding the calf by the tethers, and assisted on each side by Miss Denise Velon and Miss Arline Gyllenhammer, dressed in colonial costumes, came down Fifth Avenue grinning broadly, and the calf tugged so hard he pulled the little procession along.  Miss Velon, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Henri Velon of 454 Fourth Avenue, was dressed in blue and rose, and Miss Gyllenhammer, daughter of Mrs. Harriet Gyllenhammer of 125 Second Avenue, wore a white flower-sprigged costume.

They stopped in front of Mayor Amato, and the battery of photographers had a field day as the two mayors shook hands and held the pose for a few minutes.

'It gives me great pleasure,' Mayor Church said, 'to present to your fine village today a token of our friendship in the form of the ancient fee for the site of New Rochelle.  I bring you the fatted calf to help make your day's celebration complete and, from the residents of New Rochelle, greetings as your reach your 50th birthday.  I want to congratulate you on the ceremony that will take place tonight when you burn the bonds to signify that at the ripe young age of 50, North Pelham is debt free.'

Mayor Amato receiving the calf for the residents of his village, thanked the New Rochelle Mayor and residents.

'The friendly relations, both business and social, between New Rochelle and the Pelhams are worth cherishing,' he said, 'and have their roots in the ceremony that we reenacted today, which began so many years ago.  I hope there will be many other occasions like this when our communities may get together for the mutual advancement of our section of Westchester.'

At the close of the exercises, a barbecued calf was carved into sandwiches and sold."

Source:  Presentation Of 'Ye Fatte Calf' Recalls Olden Tribute To John Pell, Lord of Manor, The Daily Argus [Mount Vernon, NY], Aug. 30, 1946, p. 10, cols. 3-7.  

"HISTORIC CUSTOM reenacted at North Pelham's celebration of its

50th anniversary yesterday.  Mayor Stanley Church of New Rochelle

(center) presents a 'fatte calf' [sic] to Mayor Dominic Amato, according

to the terms of an old deed.  Looking on are (second from left) Miss

Denise Velon of 545 Fourth Avenue, North Pelham, and Miss Arline

Gyllenhammer, of 125 Second Avenue, North Pelham, in Colonial

costumes."  Source:  Presentation Of 'Ye Fatte Calf' Recalls Olden

Tribute To John Pell, Lord of Manor, The Daily Argus [Mount Vernon, 

NY], Aug. 30, 1946, p. 10, cols. 3-7.  NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

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John Pell, Nephew and Principal Legatee of Pelham Founder Thomas Pell, Was a Server in Ordinary to the English King

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Shortly before coming to America in the autumn of 1670 to accept the bequest of the Manor of Pelham from his uncle, Thomas Pell, John Pell was a "server in ordinary" to English King Charles II.  What, you may ask, is a server in ordinary?  That, of course, is the topic of today's Historic Pelham article.  

Thomas Pell, who originally acquired the lands that became the Manor of Pelham on June 27, 1654, died the last week of September, 1669 "without issue."  Thus, he left the bulk of his estate to his nephew John Pell "of ould England," son of his brother, the famed English mathematician also named John Pell.  

When word arrived in "ould England" in 1670 that John Pell was the principal legatee under the will of Thomas Pell and would receive thousands of acres of land in America, the news must have brought a sense of relief to the Pell family.  As a youngster and a young man, John Pell appears to have been quite the trouble maker.  There are suggestions in the correspondence of his father, mathematician John Pell, that he was neither a dedicated, nor a particularly talented student.  

Moreover, in 1669 John Pell, Jr. nearly killed a man named William Gouldingham during a brutal assault.  In September 1669, the same month his uncle Thomas Pell died in Fairfield, Colony of Connecticut in America, John Pell, Jr. was indicted and arrested for "grievous bodily harm."  According to the indictment, Pell beat Gouldingham "with a stick, wounded him, and maltreated him to such an extent that his life was utterly despaired of, and committed other outrages against the same William Gouldingham."

Though the disposition of the matter are not recorded, some have speculated that young Pell was sent to work as a server in ordinary in the household of English King Charles II.  See Malcolm, Noel & Stedall, Jacqueline, John Pell (1611-1685) and His Correspondence with Sir Charles Cavendish:  The Mental World of an Early Modern Mathematician, p. 213 (Oxford, England:  Oxford University Press, 2005) (footnotes omitted) (saying "It seems that, in an attempt to prevent Pell's son from getting into even more trouble in Essex (and, at the same time, to oblige him to earn some wages), a junior post was now arranged for him in the royal household:  in the following year, a document would describe him as 'a Server in ordinary to the King'.").

Members of the Pell family claim that John Pell, Jr. became a server in ordinary in the household of the English King in 1665 and later was promoted to the more important role of a "Groom of the Bed-Chamber."  There appears, however, to be no evidence to support such claims.  Indeed, one of the only known documents referencing John Pell, Jr.'s service in the household of King Charles II is dated June 22, 1670.  It is a letter that referenced Pell as a "Gentleman" who "is a Server in ordinary to the King."  (A transcription of letter in its entirety appears below.  Apparently due to misreading the handwriting of the author of this letter, Pell frequently is described erroneously as having been a "Sewer" in ordinary.) 

Also according to Pell family tradition, in 1670 when news arrived at the household of King Charles that John Pell, Jr. had inherited the vast lands owned by his deceased uncle, Thomas Pell, the King called young John Pell, Jr. before him, had him kneel and knighted him on the spot.  There appears to be no evidence to support this assertion.  It seems, from the evidence, that all that can be said about John Pell, Jr.'s service in the King's household was that he served as a server in ordinary at some point in 1670.  

All this begs the question, however.  What is a server in ordinary?  The phrase often appears in 17th century documents as "servant in ordinary."  John Pell, Jr. was a Gentleman who served as a servant in the household of the King.

According to those who study such matters, there were two classes of servers in ordinary:  (1) "servant in ordinary above stairs" and (2) "servant in ordinary below stairs."  John Pell, Jr. was a server (servant) in ordinary below stairs, a relatively junior position in the royal household.  According to one pair of scholars:

"Those who held the most prestigious offices above stairs, such as the Grooms of the Bed-Chamber and Gentlemen Ushers of the Privy-Chamber, were members of the most prominent noble and gentry families of England, and John Pell Jr. would have been completely out of place among them.  He did have the status of 'gentleman', however, thanks to his father's ordination; and there were other, more junior, positions for which he might have qualified, such as that of a messenger.  In a list of the 'below stairs' jobs one also finds a few reserved for gentlemen -- for example, one such job in the cellar, and another in the buttery.  So perhaps John Pell Jr. had one of those."

Id., p. 214.  

The best that can be said regarding what we know about John Pell, Jr.'s service to the English King is that at least in 1670 he held a junior post as a servant in the household performing unknown duties such as working in the royal cellar or the royal buttery.  Clearly his lot in life transformed with the news he received in 1670 that he had inherited the bulk of his uncle's estate and would take over the thousands of acres of land that became known as the Manor of Pelham.

King Charles II, Painted Between 1660 and 1665

by John Michael Wright.  Source:  "Charles II of

England" in Wikipedia -- The Free Encyclopedia

(visited May 14, 2017).  NOTE:  Click on Image

to Enlarge.

John Pell, Jr., Who Worked as a Server in Ordinary

in the Royal Household of King Charles II of England

in at Least 1670 and Who Inherited the Manor of Pelham

from His Uncle, Thomas Pell.  NOTE:  Click on Image

to Enlarge.

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Transcribed below is the text of a number of items that form the basis for today's Historic Pelham article.  All are followed by citations, with some followed by links to the source.  

"WHITEHALL, 22 Jun. '70.

MY VERY WORTHY FRIEND, -- The unfrequency of our Correspondence must not in the least detract from our kindness.  I usually answer your letters with the first conueniency after I receiue them.  I doubt not of your continuing your industrious enquiries, though of a long while wee haue had no account of them from you.  The bearer will acquaint you with occurences here & so giues me ground of excuse for the breuity of my letter, but you do not measure my friendship by the number of my lines.  I will be glad of any oppertunity to make it appear by the highest kinde of demonstration you can put me to .  And to shew you I have a firm confidence of yours, I do most earnestly recommend to your fauor the bearer Mr. John Pell, whose worthy father Dr. Pell you know we value highly.  The Gentleman is a Server in ordinary to the King; & I do firmly expect & certainly promise my self you will use him as you might expect I would a friend of yours vpon your serious recommendation, and indeed I will account your kindness to him as a singular testimony of your friendship to, 

My worthy friend, your reall servant,

R. MORAY.

(Indorsed) Sr. Robert Moray to Govr. W. 1670."

Source:  Correspondence of Hartlib, Haak, Oldenburg, and Others of the Founders of The Royal Society, with Governor Winthrop of Connecticut.  1661 -- 1672.  With an Introduction and Notes by Robert C. Winthrop, LL.D., President of the Massachusetts Historical Society, pp. 44-45 (Boston, MA:  Press of John Wilson and Son, 1878).

"The problems caused by Pell's son [John Pell, Jr.] were going from bad to worse.  The threat of arraignment for debt had been averted (though Pell may still have been paying off that debt during his first months in London); but in September 1669 John Pell Jr. was arrested for grievous bodily harm.  According to the official indictment, he had assaulted William Gouldingham, a peaceful inhabitant of Great Burstead:  'he beat him with a stick, wounded him, and maltreated him to such an extent that his life was utterly despaired of, and committed other outrages against the same William Gouldingham.'  Further details of the case are not recorded; if a fine was levied, it must have been a peculiarly unwelcome extra imposition on Pell's finances.  It seems that, in an attempt to prevent Pell's son from getting into even more trouble in Essex (and, at the same time, to oblige him to earn some wages), a junior post was now arranged for him in the royal household:  in the following year, a document would describe him as 'a Server in ordinary to the King'.  There were two categories of such officials:  'above stairs'm, and 'below stairs'.  Those who held the most prestigious offices above stairs, such as the Grooms of the Bed-Chamber and Gentlemen Ushers of the Privy-Chamber, were members of the most prominent noble and gentry families of England, and John Pell Jr. would have been completely out of place among them.  He did have the status of 'gentleman', however, thanks to his father's ordination; and there were other, more junior, positions for which he might have qualified, such as that of a messenger.  In a list of the 'below stairs' jobs one also finds a few reserved for gentlemen -- for example, one such job in the cellar, and another in the buttery.  So perhaps John Pell Jr. had one of those.

If he did, he held it only briefly.  Some time in the witner of 1669-70, news arrived that would transform John Pell Jr.'s situation:  Pell's brother Thomas, who had emigrated to America in 1635 and had become a rich landowner there, had died childless (probably in September 1669), and had left everything to his nephew. . . ."

Source:  Malcolm, Noel & Stedall, Jacqueline, John Pell (1611-1685) and His Correspondence with Sir Charles Cavendish:  The Mental World of an Early Modern Mathematician, pp. 213-14 (Oxford, England:  Oxford University Press, 2005) (footnotes omitted).

"Robert Pell states that John Pell Jr. was a server in ordinary from 1665, and was promoted to Groom of the Bedchamber in 1669 ('Sir John Pell, Second Lord of the Manor of Pelham', Pelliana, N.s., 1, no. 2 (1963), pp. 49-67, here p. 49); the latter claim is contradicted by Chamberlayne's list for that year, and he gives no evidence for the former."

Source:  Id., p. 214 n.8.


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1675 Sale of Horses Located in Norwalk by John Pell of "Ann Hook's Neck"

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I have run across a record of an odd transaction involving John Pell, the nephew and principal legatee of Thomas Pell who acquired from Native Americans the lands that became the Manor of Pelham.  On March 5, 1675, John Pell "proprietor of the Manor of Ann Hook's Neck" sold to Ralph Warner, a blacksmith in Norwalk, all his "horses, mares, colts and horse kinds that are now being or belonging to Norwalk bounds".  The complete record is transcribed below, followed by a citation to its source.

"[T]he following [is an] as yet unexplained transaction, in which one of the partners was John Pell, nephew and heir of Thomas Pell, 'Gentleman of the bedchamber to King Charles I, and first lord and Proprietor of the Manor of Pelham,' is recorded in Norwalk Town Records, Vol. I, and reads thus:

'A true copy of a deed of sale between John Pell unto Ralph Warner, recorded this 10th of May, 1675.'

'TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN, that I, John Pell, proprietor of the Manor of Ann Hook's Neck, have sold unto Ralph Warner, Blacksmith, all those my horses, mares, colts and horse kinds that are now being or belonging to Norwalk bounds, in the County of Fairfield and the colony of Connecticut, he, the said Warner, paying all charges that have been out recordings and markings the said horses, and does hereby acknowledge the satisfaction received, and does hereby acquitt, discharge and quit-claim all my right and the interest I might or ought to have unto the said horses of Norwalk aforesaid.'

'IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand, this fifth day of March, 1675.'

JOHN PELL'

'Signed and delivered in presence of
SWESSELL SWESSELL,
CHARLES RAVEN.'

John Pell, whose livery was located in ancient Norwalk, was a grandson of 'John Pell, Esq., Master of the King's cup and Lord Mayor of Lyme Regis,' whose memoria sacrum is erected at the end of the south aisle of St. Nicholas Church, Derringham, England.  The New England John Pell's mother -- Mary Holland -- was of royal descent.  He was an acquaintance of Ludlow, but how and why Norwalk was selected as the seat of his stock establishment is a matter upon which light may yet be thrown."

Source:  Selleck, Charles M., Norwalk, Vol. I, p. 103 (Norwalk, CT:  Harry M. Gardner, Printer 1896).

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More Evidence that John Pell Died Well After 1702 or 1703 When Some Say He Died in a Boating Accident on Long Island Sound

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As I have noted before, there long has been confusion regarding the date of death of John Pell, the nephew of Thomas Pell of Fairfield, who inherited the Manor of Pelham following the death of his uncle in late September, 1669.  Pell family members long have claimed that John Pell drowned in a boating accident during a storm on Long Island Sound in 1702 or 1703.  See, e.g., Pell, Robert T., Pelliana:  Pell of Pelham, p. 25 (Privately Printed, 1934).  For more on the issue, see: 

Wed., November 7, 2007:  A Secondary Source To Follow Up On Regarding When John Pell, Nephew of Thomas Pell, Died.

I have located one of the resources that I recalled but could not locate at the time of my November 7, 2007 posting referenced above.  The resource contains two pertinent abstracts of Westchester County deeds reflecting conveyances of property by John Pell, Sr. in the Manor of Pelham after 1702-03.  The abstracts are quoted below, each followed by a citation to its source.

"P. 17:  John Pell, Senr., of the Manor of Pelham, Proprietor of ye same, to son Thomas Pell, land in ye Manor aforesaid, May 3, 1712." 

Source:  Bristol, Theresa Hall, ed., Westchester County, N.Y., Miscellanea in The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record, Vol. LII, p. 74 (NY, NY:  The New York Genealogical and Biographical Society 1921) (citing p. 17, Liber E, Land Records, Westchester Co., N.Y.).

"P. 210:  John Pell, Senr., Esq., of Peham Manor, to son Thomas Pell; 1719."

Id., p. 78 (citing p. 210, Liber E, Land Records, Westchester Co., N.Y.).

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Article Published in 1901 Detailed Ghost Stories and Legends of Pelham

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An article appeared in the December 15, 1901 issue of the New-York Daily Tribune entitled "Legends of Pelham". It detailed ghost stories and legends about the area. Perhaps most significantly, it included a series of wonderful photographs showing, among other things, Split Rock and the Pell Treaty Oak.

None of the stories is new. All previously have been reported on the Historic Pelham Blog. However, there are a few interesting twists and additional details included in these renditions of the stories. Thus, below is the text of the lengthy article, followed by the photographs that accompanied the story.

"LEGENDS OF PELHAM.

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THE SAD FATE OF ANN MARBURY HUTCHINSON -- DANCES OF HEADLESS INDIAN GHOSTS -- A PHANTOM FIRE SHIP.

The red spectres of long departed Indian braves and the white ghosts of massacred Englishwomen and children, victims of Indian cruelty, haunt the lands which a few hundred years ago were a part of the manor of Lord Thomas Pell, and on which practical people of to-day and recent yesterdays have built the attractive village of Pelham. Even the devil has left his footprints in the immediate vicinity, and Manitou, the god of the Indians, has a stone rocking horse on the neighboring shore ready and waiting to carry him in triumph when he finally comes to end all things. And if all this is not enough, there is a phantom fire ship, which sails up and down the Sound with the heavy winter storms.

There are not many people in Pelham to-day who have seen these ghosts and phantoms. Indeed, most of the villagers believe that they ceased active duty a long time ago. There are others, however, who say they have seen these wonders with their own eyes, and that they can still be seen and heard if one watches in the proper spirit on the right sort of night; and to this faithful few belongs the credit of preserving the details of the traditions of Pelham. The scoffers know not the names of the tribes which fought on Haunted Cedar Knoll, and have never even heard of their predecessors -- the wolfmen of the stone age. For this they are to be pitied.

It was to Pelham that Ann Marbury Hutchinson came when the Puritans had driven her from Boston and again from Rhode Island, for her expounding of the truth of simple living. She came into the wilderness without fear, owing to her trust in a power greater than any wielded by mere man, but not without danger. The Dutch in Manhattan did not look with favor on the approach of the English, even though they were exiles, and Puritan hatred was ready to follow this devoted woman, did follow her in fact, through cruel Indian allies. Crossing from Flushing with her family of fatherless children and a few devoted followers, she had her house built on the rising ground back of Split Rock, so-called from a fissure in the centre of its huge bulk, through which a tree had slowly forced its way. She continued to expound her peculiar faith with characteristic force, and there were many among the scattered neighbors who believed in her teachings.

Among others who came to her meetings was big John Underhill, captain by virtue of his powers as an Indian fighter. He cared not so much for her teaching as he did for her handsome self. She liked the big, careless fellow, but she was severe with him.

'What have you done since you were here last that you should have left undone?' she would ask when he came to the meeting.

And under her stern glance, John would tremble and confess to the 'crimes' of a fortnight. Drinking rum or daning with a maid at the tavern were the usual sins.

'Will you never become good?' she would say with a sigh, and then to one of the faithful, 'Bring me the foll's cap.'

She would place the long peaked cap upon his curly head, and he would take his seat before the others and do penance. Yet as soon as he was away from her he was the same roistering good fellow.

One morning an Indian came to the Hutchinson cabin, and his friendly greeting gained him entrance. They were English, and the Indians made war only against the hated Dutch. Ann did not fear him, and fed him well on cakes and fresh bread and clams from the shore.

'Where all the men?' asked the Indian, as he ate the food she prepared for him.

'There are no men here,' she said, and, pointing to her oldest son, 'this is the only man I have.'

'Ugh!' exclaimed the Indian. 'Him no man; only little boy.'

He went his way with a smile on his face, after promising to bring the woman some game the next time he came that way. He came again, all too soon, and the game was an Indian game. The same night the redskins came in force, surrounded the house and set fire to it from several sides. When the frightened woman tried to rush out she was driven back into the flames. The son escaped, only to be burned at the stake in front of Split Rock, it is said. The little sister, whom he had carried from the house, was taken by the Indians, and lived among them so long that she hated to return with the white men who found her after many years.

John Underhill was in a tavern when a man came in with the news of the massacre. He dashed a mug of ale from his lips and swore a mighty oath to be revenged on the Indians. Many men were ready to help him, and a large, well armed company was soon on the trail. It led straight back to Connecticut, and at Stamford the revenging party was not far behind. The Indians encamped near Bradford, and to that point Underhill tracked them through the snow. They were on the edge of a high bluff, and, throwing his men around the approachable sides of the camp, the trap was made complete. Hardly an Indian escaped, and their bodies were thrown over the bluff. To this day the spot is known as the Indian burying ground.

When the work of revenge was ended John Underhill stood on the edge of the bluff. He gazed at the blood stained snow and the ruins of the camp. He looked at the bodies below.

'I have done my best,' he said, taking off his cap and looking up to the sky, 'but if we had killed a thousand more of the red devils, it would not have paid for a single drop of Ann Hutchinson's blood!'

Then he shook his fist in the direction of Boston, where lived her Puritan persecutors, for he knew they would rejoice when they learned of her fate. And he was right, for rejoice they did, and made sermons about it in which 'the just hand of God smiting the unrighteous' played a part.

The site on which Ann Hutchinson's house stood is as yet unmarked. A short time ago it was definitely place, and a movement is under way to put a suitable table on the spot. A creek in the vicinity is named after her, and Mrs. J. C. Hazen has named one of her school buildings Marbury Hall, in honor of the woman who founded the first woman's club in America, and did so much for the people of her time.

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'If you want to see the most awful ghosts you can possibly imagine,' advised an old woman, who has lived all her life in Pelham, 'you must wait until the moon is full and then hide yourself near Haunted Cedar Knoll.'

She was not the kind of woman who would give a stranger wrong directions for the fun of it, and her manner was as serious as it had been a few moments before, when she told me of the death of her only son.

'And where is this haunted place?' she was asked.

'You know the Boston Post road - the one that runs from Pelham to New-Rochelle, and how much further I don't know, but I guess clean through to old Boston? Well, the Pelham Priory is on that road; you can't miss it, for it's the finest old house hereabouts. And just across from the priory is a knoll covered with rocks and cedar trees. That's the place.'

'Have you seen ghosts there?' asked the stranger, 'or did some one tell you about them?'

'Sure, certain, I seen them,' she said, shaking her head wisely. 'Do you think I'd believe what people told me? You do as I told you, and you can see them for yourself. I don't ask any one to believe me.'

'But the moon won't be full for days yet, and I cannot wait that long. Suppose you tell me about them.'

'I was a young girl when I saw them,' she began, 'and that was a long time ago.' She smiled. 'It was so frightful that I never dared go back again. They were Indian ghosts, you see, and their cries and yells just made your blood stop running.'

'The wind was blowing. I suppose?' interrupted the listener.

'Well, there was some wind, but I know what sort of noises the wind can make. Nothing like those I heard. There were more than a score of them, and they had no heads, unless you count the heads which they were carrying in their hands, which couldn't have been of much use to them. They formed in a big ring, and began to dance. First, each headless ghost danced by himself. Then, they threw the heads in the centre of the ring and danced around them. After they got tired they picked up the heads again (I've always wondered if by chance some of them might have picked up the wrong heads), and in a minute they were gone. All that I saw myself.

'My grandmother told me how the Indians came to haunt the cedars, but I can't swear as it's the true story. Once there were two tribes that were very good friends -- the Siwanoys and the Laaphawachkins -- least that is what the names sounded like. One of the 'Si's' killed one of the 'Laapshaws' in a quarrel, and the 'Laapshaws' robbed some of the 'Si's' graves in revenge. So there was a blood feud. They fought a deadly battle on the knoll, and the 'Laapshaws' were all dead. The others cut off their heads and left them there for their squaws to bury, and that is the whole story.'

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Pelham is not the only place on Long Island Sound where one hears of the Phantom Fire Ship. It is said to have been seen at various places from Hell Gate to Gardiner's Island, and even beyond. Unlike the Flying Dutchman, this phantom of the sea cannot be seen from other vessels, but only from the shore. The Pelham account is as thrilling as any of the others. Here it is:

When the buccaneers infested the Sound they captured a ship, and because the cargo was not worth their trouble and the loss of a few bold pirates they killed the crew. Having no use for a big white horse which was on board they tied him to the foot of the foremast. Then they set fire to the ship and sailed away. The ship caught fire quickly, and was soon all in flames, but, strange to say, the fire burned without smoke and without destroying anything. It burned life into the murdered crew and enabled them to move about the decks. The horse alone was frightened, and sparks flew as he pawed at the foremast.

When the fiercest storms blow this pyrotechnic craft blows here and there with the wind, leaving behind a trail of sparks. Even the waves dash back from her redhot sides with a hiss of pain, and for the moment are turned to flame. The fiery sailors run about the decks and even climb into the rigging, which is the color of molten iron. At least, the fire phantom did all this when the old residenters were boys, according to their own story. That the newcomers have never been able to see it proves nothing. Perhaps they did not look at the right time.

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When those who lived a hundred years or more ago found the prints of huge human feet on rocks at various places they decided that they had been left by the devil in his flight through the country. The first print was discovered in East Chester, and another, pointing in the same direction, was near Fort Schuyler. Across the Sound, on Long Island, they found the third footprint in solid rock, and there the trail was lost. Long Islanders have said that if the devil could jump from East Chester across Pelham to Fort Schyler, a distance of nine miles, he would not find it difficult to step across the island into the sea. In Pelham they hint that perhaps the devil liked Long Island and stayed there. Anyway, when they found the footprints the imagination of the residents was called upon to furnish an explanation for the devil's flight, and as a result, two traditions have been handed down. The good people of Connecticut had been casting devils out of witches a little while before the discovery, and it is only natural that they accepted that explanation.

The other story is more elaborate, and goes back further - even as far as the Stone Age. In that time the people who lived here were like wolves, and the hand of the devil was heavy upon them. They tried in every way to rid themselves of their oppressor. Some thought that if they could only cut off his tail the devil would feel the disgrace and leave them. Accordingly, two of the strongest men, famous wielders of great stone axes, were appointed to perform the task. They waited many days before they found him asleep. Great was they dismay when they found that he slept with his tail tucked under his body. They decided to cut off his cloven hoofs. When the devil awoke from his long slumber he found that a human foot had grown on the stump of his right leg and that he had neither foot nor hoof on the other. Accordingly he made haste to leave the country by a series of mighty jumps.

The redeeming feature of this tale is that it explains the absence of cloven hoof, and the fact that all of the prints are those of the right foot. The footprints are really there, and are as plain to-day as they ever were.

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Near what is known as 'The Old Pell House,' which stands just over the brow of Prospect Hill, in full view of the Boston Post Road, are the remains of 'Treaty Oak,' under which Thomas Pell, first lord of the manor, signed the treaty with the Indians for the manor lands. He came from Connecticut in 1654, and had little trouble persuading Maminepoe, Annhoock and the other sachems to sign away their land. He began to look about for a dwelling site, and chose Pelham Neck because the fishhawks nested in the oaks and chestnut trees. A belief which he brought from England convinced him that good fortune came to a farm on which fishhawks nested. Luck was with Lord Pell, and before he died he found himself in secure possession of his manor in spite of the protests of the Dutch.

His nephew, John Pell, became the second lord of the manor, and was sadly afflicted until he found a new cure for rheumatism. He had not left his bed for years, so the story goes, when one day a slave came running into the room shouting that a mad dog was running into the room shouting that a mad dog was running about the lower floor. The effect on John was magical. He jumped from the bed and climbed the stairs to the second story without a sign of pain. The cure was permanent, even though he afterward learned that the mad dog story was nothing but a hoax to scare the faithful slave."

Source: Legends of Pelham, New-York Daily Tribune, Dec. 15, 1901, Part II, p. 2, col. 1.

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Biographical Data About Thomas Pell, His brother, John, and His Nephew, John Pell of the Manor of Pelham

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A multi-volume work published in 1912 included biographical information regarding Thomas Pell who acquired the lands that later became Pelham and surrounding areas, and his nephew, John Pell (often referenced as "Second Lord of the Manor of Pelham"). The biographical information is excerpted below, followed by a citation to its source.

"John Pell.

The Pell family in America traces its descent from Walter de Pelham, who held the lordship of Pelham in Hertfordshire, England, in 1294, the twenty-first year of the reign of Edward the First. His son William settled at Walter Willingsley, Lincolnshire, in 1328. At the beginning of the sixteenth century the representative of the family was the Rev. John Pell, rector of Southwick, Essex, and grandson of Sir Richard Pell, Knight, of Dymblesbye, Lincolnshire. He married Mary Holland of Haklen, Kent, a descendant of Joan Plantagenet, known as the Fair Maid of Kent. He had two sons, Thomas, born in 1608, and John, born in 1610. Thomas was a gentleman of the bed-chamber to King Charles the First, and on the fall of that sovereign he was one of the early settlers of New England in the company of the Rev. John Warham, which settled at Dorchester, Massachusetts, in 1630, and afterwards, in 1635, at Windsor, Connecticut. Later in the same year he was associated with Roger Ludlow in the formation of a plantation with ten families at Unquowa, the Indian name for the present town of Fairfield, Connecticut. In 1642 he was a resident of New Haven. He engaged in commerce, and in 1647 had several vessels plying between New Haven and Virginia. In that year he married Lucy, the widow of Francis Brewster. In 1654 he purchase a tract of land in Westchester County from the sachems Maminepoc, and Annhoock or Wampage, and five other Indians. It included the land on what is now Pelham Neck owned by the unfortunate Madam Anne Hutchinson. This tract he erected into the manor of Pelham. It was confirmed to him by a patent from Governor Richard Nicolls, October 8, 1666. In 1653 he made extensive purchases in Fairfield, and in 1662 was made a freeman of the town. He represented it in the General Court in 1665. His wife died in 1668, and he survived her but a year, dying in September, 1669. By his will he made 'my nephew John Pell, living in ould England, the sonne of my only brother John Pell, Doctor of Divinity, which he had by his first wife, my whole and sole heire of all my lands and houses in any part of New England or in ye territoryes of the Duke of York.'

The Rev. Dr. John Pell was three years younger than his brother. He was educated under the supervision of his mother, -- for his father had died when he was only five years old, -- and then proceeded to Trinity, Cambridge, when only thirteen years old. After taking the [Page 233 / Page 234] degree of master of arts he went to Oxford to complete his studies. He is said to have been proficient in Arabic, French, Dutch, and Hebrew, as well as in Latin and Greek. He was an especially fine mathematician, and held the professorship of mathematics at Amsterdam, Holland, from 1643 to 1646. He then, at the request of the Prince of Orange, became professor of mathematics at the new University of Breda. In 1652 he returned to England, and in 1654 was made by Oliver Cromwell, resident minister to the Protestant Cantons of Switzerland. He lived principally at Zurich until recalled in May, 1658, and arrived in England in August, three weeks before the death of the Lord Protector, September 3. He was ordained in 1661, and was given the crown living of Fobing in Essex, to which the Bishop of London added, in 1663, the rectory of Laindon. He married July 3, 1632, a daughter of Henry Reginolles, or Reynolds in modernized spelling. Her Christian name appears in different documents as Tehamaria, Tamar, or Anthamar. They had four sons and four daughters. Dr. Pell died December 12, 1685. The eldest surviving son, John, was born in London, England, February 3, 1643. He arrived in Boston in the fall of 1670, and brought with him a letter of introduction to Governor Winthrop of Connecticut from Lord Brereton. A certificate of recognition was issued to him by the governor and assistants assembled in Hartford, December 9, 1670, which was confirmed by Governor Lovelace for New York. The new lord of the manor improved and developed his inheritance. Upon October 20, 1687, a new patent for the lordship and manor of Pelham was issued by Governor Thomas Dongan to John Pell, Gentleman. In 1688 he was made judge of the court of common pleas for the county of Westchester. In 1691 he represented the county of Westchester in the Provincial Assembly. He married in 1684 Rachel, a daughter of Philip Pinckney, one of the ten proprietors of the town of East Chester, and a descendant of the Pinckneys of Pinckney Manor, Norfolkshire, England. They had two sons and two daughters."

Source: Lowndes, Arthur, ed., Archives of the General Convention Edited by Order of The Commission of Archives by Arthur Lowndes Doctor of Divinity Volume IV The Correspondence of John Henry Hobart September 27, 1804 to August, 1805, pp. 233-34 (NY, NY: Privately Printed 1912).

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Abstract of 1773 Will of John Pell of the Manor of Pelham

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The following is an abstract of yet another early will prepared by an 18th century resident of the Manor of Pelham. It is an abstract of the will of John Pell prepared on February 19, 1773 and proved March 1, 1773. Beneath the abstract is a citation to its source.

"ABSTRACTS OF WILLS - LIBER 28. . . . .

Page 426. -- In the name of God, Amen. I, JOHN PELL, Esq., of the Manor of Pelham, in Westchester County, being indisposed in body, this February 19, 1773. I leave to my grandson Joseph Pell, the only son of my eldest son, Thomas Pell, deceased, all my lands and tenements in the Manor of Pelham, where I now live, and he is to pay all legacies, when of age. I leave to my granddaughter, Rebecca Tidd, the north end of my dwelling house, and the use of 50 acres of land, and part of my orchard and fresh and salt meadows, to bring up her children. My grandson, Joseph Pell, shall pay to my son, John Pell, Jr., £100, when of age, and he is also to pay my executors £100. My funeral charges and just debts to be paid out of my movable estate, and the rest I leave to my daughters, Rachel Tidd, Abigail Sutton, and Phebe Dawson. I make my sons, John and Josiah, and my cousin, Philip Pell, executors.

Witnesses, George Cornwell, Samuel Hitchcock, Joseph Cox. Proved, March 1, 1773."

Source: Pelletreau, William S., Abstracts of Wills on File in the Surrogate's Office, City of New York - LIBER 28 Continued in Collections of The New-York Historical Society For the Year 1899, pp. 103-04 (NY, NY: New-York Historical Society 1900).

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