Historic Pelham

Presenting the rich history of Pelham, NY in Westchester County: current historical research, descriptions of how to research Pelham history online and genealogy discussions of Pelham families.

Friday, July 07, 2017

James Francis Secor, Builder of Union Monitors, Ironclads, and Drydocks During Civil War, Lived in Pelham


James Francis Secor was a son of Francis Secor (b. May 22, 1776, d. Aug. 23, 1863).  Francis Secor was a merchant, shipwright, and ship chandler who reportedly was associated with Robert Fulton in the construction of the first successful steam vessel.  Francis Secor was a son of Eli Secor (b. 1743, d. 1830) and Ann Gedney. He 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 about the notable Secor family and the Secor estate on a number of occasions.  For examples, see:

Mon., Mar. 27, 2017:  More on Francis Secor of Pelham, Father of James Francis Secor and Grandfather of James Frances Secor, Jr.

Tue., Aug. 25, 2015:  Joan Elizabeth Klink Secor, Known as Annie, Was a Notable Pelham Manor Resident and Town Historian.

Wed., Apr. 15, 2015:  The Secor Estate in the Village of Pelham Manor.

James Francis Secor was born in New York City in about 1814.  He and several of his brothers followed in the footsteps of their father, Francis Secor.  James and three of his brothers, Zeno, Henry, and Charles, formed the shipbuilding firm of Secor Brothers that operated out of Jersey City.  During the Civil War, Secor Brothers constructed at least five ironclads to the United States Government, including the Mahopac.  



Source:  U.S. National Archives Photograph, No.
NWDNS-111-B-409. NOTE: Click on Image to Enlarge.

According to obituaries published after his death, James Francis Secor's most notable accomplishments included the construction of the Mare Island Navy Yard in San Francisco, the Pensacola Navy Yard and "many of the monitors, ironclads and dry docks which contributed so largely toward putting an end to the civil war."  

The father of James Francis Secor, Francis Secor, died on August 23, 1864.  James 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.

James Francis Secor died at about the age of 90 on Tuesday, December 27, 1904.  According to an obituary, "until a few hours of his death retained the mental clearness and physical vigor which had been the marvel of his friends for many years."

Today's Historic Pelham posting transcribes the text of several obituaries of James F. Secor below and provides citations and links to their sources.

*          *          *          *          *

"FAMED NAVAL BUILDER, JAMES F. SECOR, IS DEAD
-----
Family at Bedside in Beautiful Pelham Manor Home
-----
HAD PASSED HIS 90TH YEAR
-----
He Built Navy Yards at Mare Island and Pensacola, Besides Monitors for Civil War.
-----

After a long and eventful business and social career, which had brought him into close relations with Daniel Webster, Admiral Farragut and hundreds of other men who a half century ago were prominent in shaping the destinies of the Nation.  James F. Secor, builder of the Mare Island Navy Yard in San Francisco, the Pensacola Navy Yard and many of the monitors, ironclads and dry docks which contributed so largely toward putting an end to the civil war, died suddenly in his handsome country home in Pelham Manor last evening.  He was 90 years old and until within a few hours of his death he retained the mental clearness and physical vigor which had been the marvel of hundreds of friends for many years.  

Mr. Secor complained yesterday morning of being ill and went to bed.  That was such an unusual thing physicians were summoned.  At first they did not think his condition serious, but when he continued to grow weaker they advised the family to summon his daughter, Mrs. Frank Dickerson of this city, at one time commander of the New York Yacht Club.

FAMILY AT BEDSIDE.

Mr. Secor's other children, James F. Secor, Jr., a New York business man; Mrs. Washington Cockle and Miss Anna Secor, were with their father when he was stricken, the handsome old manor house, which in Colonial days belonged to Lord Pelham [sic], being their home, too.  All day long they remained at the bedside watching the life that had been such a strong link between the past and the present slowly and peacefully come to an end.

When it became known in Pelham Manor that Mr. Secor was dead the expression of regret was general.  He not only was one of the wealthiest and most prominent men in that section, but his remarkable vitality, mental vigor, uniform good nature and acute interest in the development of the Pelham Manor district had served to make for him thousands of friends who never failed to grasp an opportunity to show their warm regard.

Only a few weeks ago Mr. Secor celebrated the ninetieth anniversary of his birth.  Hundreds called at the manor house to congratulate him upon having joined the ranks of the nonogenarians [sic], and many others sent flowers and other tokens of friendship.

LOVED OLD MANOR HOUSE.

One of the strong traits of Mr. Secor was affection for the old Colonial manor house in which he died.  It came into the possession of the Secor family several generations ago, and then passed from it.  After Mr. Secor had won wealth as a builder of navy yards, dry docks and warships he decided to dedicate part of his fortune to regaining possession of Lord Pelham's manor [sic].

About twenty years ago the opportunity presented itself and Mr. Secor seized it.  He converted the estate into one of the handsomest country places in Westchester County and went there to live.  Having more land than he needed, he decided to develop it, and it is upon land he sold that a large part of the town [sic] of Pelham Manor now stands.

Mr. Secor was born in New York city.  His father was a famous shipbuilder here in the early part of the last century.  Mr. Secor succeeded to this business and enlarged it to such an extent that before the civil war began his name had become known widely.  When the Federal Government wanted navy yards and dry docks on the Atlantic and Pacific coasts Mr. Secor built them, and when monitors and other armored craft were needed to assist in putting down the secession movement Mr. Secor received many of the construction contracts.  

It was when engaged in this work that he became known so well to Admiral Farragut and other men prominent in the struggle to preserve the Union.  Being an ardent supporter of the Union movement and an uncompromising Republican, Mr. Secor was in hearty accord with the purposes of these men and did everything possible to forward them.  His home became a social and political centre, although Mr. Secor never aspired to or held office.

INTERESTED IN RAILWAYS.

Several years after the close of the civil war he retired from active business life, although he retained large holdings in several of the big railroads in the country.  He devoted himself to the development of his handsome estate in Westchester, and it was one of the sights in Pelham Manor in recent years to see Mr. Secor, who was nearing his century mark, out in the grounds and gardens, engaged actively in supervising the work.

His accurate reminiscence of events in the last seventy years, his knowledge of the motives underlying many important historical movements and his facility in the recital of stories bearing on the political and social lives of men of national and international prominence with whom he had been intimate and whom he had outlived, made Mr. Secor the delight of hundreds of friends."

Source:  FAMED NAVAL BUILDER, JAMES F. SECOR, IS DEAD -- Family at Bedside in Beautiful Pelham Manor Home -- HAD PASSED HIS 90TH YEAR -- He Built Navy Yards at Mare Island and Pensacola, Besides Monitors for Civil War, The New York Press, Dec. 28, 1904, Vol. XVIII, No. 6,237, p. 2, col. 5.  

"AGED WARSHIP BUILDER DEAD.

New York, Dec. 28. -- James F. Secor, builder of the Mare Island navy yard in San Francisco, the Pensacola navy yard and many of the monitors, ironclads and dry docks which contributed so largely toward putting an end to the civil war, is dead at his country home in Pelham Manor.  He was 90 years old."

Source:  AGED WARSHIP BUILDER DEAD, The Minneapolis Journal, Dec. 28, 1904, p. 1, col. 7.  

"JAMES F. SECOR DEAD.
-----
Built Monitors, Ironclads and Drydocks During Civil War.

New York, Dec. 29. -- James F. Secor, builder of the Mare Island navy yard in San Francisco, the Pensacola navy yard and many of the monitors, ironclads and drydocks which contributed so largely toward putting an end to the Civil War, is dead at his country home in Pelham Manor.  He was ninety years old and until a few hours of his death retained the mental clearness and physical vigor which had been the marvel of his friends for many years."

Source:  JAMES F. SECOR DEAD -Built Monitors, Ironclads and Drydocks During Civil War, The Bemidji Daily Pioneer, Dec. 29, 1904, Vol. 2, No. 205, p. 1, col. 5

"James Francis Secor.

James Francis Secor, a well known  resident of Pelham Manor, died Tuesday night aged 90 years.  The funeral services will be held from the residence on Friday morning at 11 o'clock, and the interment will be made in Woodlawn cemetery."

Source:  James Francis Secor, The Daily Argus [Mount Vernon, NY], Dec. 28, 1904, p. 5, col. 6.  


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Wednesday, April 15, 2015

The Secor Estate in the Village of Pelham Manor


James Francis Secor was born on July 13, 1816.  He was a son of Francis Secor (b. 1776, d. 1863) and Hannah Carpenter (b. 1782, d. 1861).  In 1846 he married Anna Maria Ely who was born May 12, 1819 and was a daughter of Moses Benjamin Ely and Anna Lawrence.  James Francis Secor and Anna Maria Ely Secor lived for many years in a home in the fashionable Murray Hill section of Manhattan located at 5 West 38th Street.  Anna Maria Ely Secor died in the couple's residence in Pelham Manor, New York, on October 5, 1898.  James Francis Secor died in his residence at Pelham Manor on December 27, 1904.  

The couple had five children:

1.  James Francis Secor, Jr., born 1847, married Joan Elizabeth Klink in 1880.
2.  Thomas Ely, born 1848.
3.  Anna Amelia, born 1851.
4.  Clara Gonzalez, born 1853, married Frank Dickerson in 1877.
5.  Isla Virginia, born 1855.

See Vanderpel, George B., ed., The Ely Ancestry, p. 336 (NY, NY:  The Calumet Press, 1902).

The father of the elder James Francis Secor, Francis Secor (b. 1776, d. 1863), was a shipbuilder who reportedly was associated with Robert Fulton in the construction of the first steam vessel.  James Francis Secor followed in the footsteps of his father, Francis Secor, and became a prominent shipbuilder during the Civil War who built several naval vessels.

According to tradition, the Secors bought a 150-acre estate in Pelham Manor and built a grand summer home on the grounds.  The family 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.



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:
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,
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,
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.

During the 1930s, the Secor family intensified efforts to sell off portions of the Secor estate for development.  With the death of Secor matriarch Anna M. Secor in 1939, the end of an era was at hand.  The Secor family that once had controlled 150 acres of lovely rural land in the Village of Pelham Manor had ended its reign. 

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"OBITUARY. . . . 

James Francis Secor.

James Francis Secor, a well known resident of Pelham Manor, died Tuesday night aged 90 years.  The funeral services will be held from the residence on Friday morning at 11 o'clock, and the interment will be made in Woodlawn cemetery."

Source:  OBITUARY. . . . James Francis Secor, The Daily Argus [Mount Vernon, NY], Dec. 28, 1904, p. 5, col. 6. 

"MISS ANNA SECOR, OLD RESIDENT, DIED ON FRIDAY
-----

Miss Anna A. Secor, 87, member of one of Pelham Manor's oldest families died at her home No. 4577 Boston Post Road, on Friday afternoon after a short illness.  Miss Secor was one of the founder members of the Manor Club and was for many years actively associated with the Pelham Home for Children.  Miss Secor was born in the Eastchester section of Mount Vernon in the neighborhood of the old St. Paul's Church.  She was a descendant of Jacques Francois Sicquard, one of the original Huguenot settlers of Westchester County.  Her father was the fourth to carry the name of the early settler, which was changed to the English James Francis Secor.  Her mother was Anna M. Ely Secor.

James F. Secor Sr. was a prominent shipbuilder during the Civil War period and built several naval vessels.  Sixty years ago the family undertook the development of its extensive property in Pelham Manor in which is now known as Secor Hill.  The Secor homestead was at Wolf's Lane near the Boston Post Road, and is now the residence of Mrs. Julius Manager.  The family was prominent in the early affairs of the village.

Miss Secor was a member of the Huguenot Memorial Church and in its early days was prominent in its women's organization work.  In recent years Miss Secor made her home with her nieces, Miss Isla Cockle and Mrs. Enos Booth.

The funeral service was conducted at the Burr Davis Mortuary in Mount Vernon on Monday morning.  The Rev. Lewis Gaston Leary, former pastor of the Huguenot Memorial Churcch officiating.  Interment will be at Woodlawn.

Surviving are her sister, Mrs. Frank Dickerson, of Long Island, and several nieces and nephews."

Source:  MISS ANNA SECOR, OLD RESIDENT, DIED ON FRIDAY, The Pelham Sun, Apr. 14, 1939, Vol. 29, No. 2, p. 3, col. 6.

"THE LAST OF THE LINE.
-----

The death of Miss Anna Secor at the age of 83 marks the passing from Pelham Manor of a family inseparably bound up with the formative years of the growth and development of this village.  Descendants of Jacques Francois Sicquard, one of the original Huguenot settlers, who achieved fortune as a shipbuilder in the early days of American history, the Secors came to Pelham Manor and purchased a tract of 150 acres upon which they built a summer home, as apart from their New York establishment.  Subsequently a large part of the family fortune was lost during the period of Civil War and the Secors removed from the fashionable Murray Hill section of New York in which lived the merchant prince, Arnold Constable, and came to Pelham Manor.  When the Secor estate came into possession of the father of Miss Anna Secor its financial strength was ample to gain social leadership.  Then James F. Secor Jr. invested largely in the McAdoo tunnel, the first to pierce the terrain beneath the Hudson River.  An English contractor, Westman Pearson, afterward Lord Cowdray, who had successfully constructed the Blackwall Tunnel under the Thames River, was engaged for the larger operation under the Hudson River.  The capital of the construction company proved inadequate and the company failed.  It was successful after reorganization, but the Secor fortune was washed out during the process.  James Secor was a member of the Pelham Board of Education and a very familiar figure in the Pelhams until the late 1920's but it was to his wife, Mrs. Joan Secor, that Pelham owes much of its cultural development.  She was president of the Manor Club for 25 years.  A charming personality, she possessed excellent judgment and infinite tact.  She was a leader of great resourcefulness, amazing energy, and was beloved of every member of the Manor Club.  Subsequently she removed to California and passed away there.  On the walls of the Manor Club hangs her picture, a grand painting by George Brehm, but in the history of the Manor Club her name will forever be associated with its ideals of culture and her accomplishments will ever be inseparable with its success.  Joan Secor was beloved and wore her many honors with the dignity of a queen.

History turns it pages as time passes on, and the Secor name changes from an active, vital, living force for idealism among Pelham women to a gravure on a tombstone, a memory to be revered, a force for culture and integrity to be remembered well and truly.  To them all, requiescat in pace."

Source:  THE LAST OF THE LINE, The Pelham SunApr. 14, 1939, Vol. 29, No. 2, p. 2, col. 2.  


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Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Pelhamville Rejected Gas Lighting in 1895 Amid Allegations of Questionable Dealings


In the mid-1890s, efforts were underway to bring gas lines to certain areas of Pelham to permit the installation of gas lights.  At the time, Benjamin Corlies was trying to develop a large tract of land near the new train station that had been built in 1893.  When he tried to arrange for gas lines in the area, he ran into opposition. Charges flew amid allegations of questionable dealings involving Congressman-elect Benjamin Fairchild and James Secor of Pelham who wanted to force the Gas Company to buy a company in which the pair allegedly had an interest. The article below details the incident.

"THEY DON'T WANT LIGHT.
-----
Eastchester Gas Company Refused Permission to Lay Mains in Pelhamville.

The Eastchester Gas Light Company some while ago made a contract with Mr. Benjamin Corlies, who owns a large tract of land near the Pelhamville depot, which he is improving and laying out into villa plots, to lay a certain amount of supply mains.  The extension was to continue from the city line at Hutchinson's Bridge along the property owned by the Pelhamville Land Company and thence to the property of Mr. Corlies.

Pelhamville not being a city or village its highways are controlled by the Highway Commissioners in the town of Pelham.  Through the road which the company intended to lay its mains is a few hundred feet of gas mains, said to be the property of a company in which Congressman-elect Fairchild is interested, and which he wished to force the local gas company to buy at a high figure.  As the gas company had no use for this high priced plant, it refused to purchase.  Thereupon the Highway Commissioners, at the probable instigation of Messrs. Fairchild and Secor, the latter having some invisible interest in the sale of the old mains, refused to let the company proceed with the laying of its mains.  It is said an action may be brought restraining the Highway Commissioners from interfering with the work. -- Mt. Vernon News."

Source:  They Don't Want Light, New Rochelle Pioneer, Jan. 5, 1895, p. 4, col. 2.

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Monday, April 13, 2009

1909 Village Elections in Pelham


What follows is a brief but interesting account of the 1909 Village elections in Pelham. The account appeared in the March 17, 1909 issue of The New York Times.

"ELECTIONS IN WESTCHESTER.

-----

Reilly, 'the Village Blacksmith,' Wins In North Pelham for the Fourth Time.

The annual charter elections yesterday in the Westchester villages of North Pelham, Pelham, Pelham Manor, and Tuckahoe were especially interesting because of fights against the re-election of many of the nominees.

In North Pelham James Reilly, 'The Village Blacksmith,' again ran for President, after having held the office for three terms. He was elected by a vote of 155 to 88. The first time Reilly ran it was as an Independent and he was elected. He was re-elected on the same ticket, but last year he was nominated by the Republicans and elected, and this year they re-nominated him.

His opponent was Peter Cedar of Cedar Kennels, who opposed him the first time he ran. Reilly carried in with him the entire Republican ticket.

In Pelham Manor President Charles E. Pond, Republican, was re-elected for the fourth term, over James F. Secor, who ran on an Independent ticket.

In Pelham the fight was bitter, and resulted in the defeat of the present President of the village, Thomas L. Jacques, who had held the office for three years. He was beaten by A. N. White, the independent Republican candidate. The vote was 69 to 52.

In Tuckahoe, William Rubly, Democrat, won over William F. Thompson by a vote of 208 to 132."

Source: Elections in Westchester, N.Y. Times, Mar. 17, 1909, p. 4.

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Tuesday, April 03, 2007

The Birthplace of Scouting in Pelham: 305 Pelhamdale Avenue Where Pelham Scouting Began in 1910


Boy Scouts of America was founded on February 8, 1910. Within a matter of months, Pelham founded its own Boy Scout program as part of the movement.

There is a record of the founding of the Boy Scout program in Pelham. That record is an article that appeared in the October 29, 1910 issue of The Pelham Sun. The article describes the organization of a Boy Scout program in Pelham following a meeting that occurred two weeks earlier in the home that still stands at 305 Pelhamdale Avenue in Pelham Heights. A photograph of the home appears immediately below. The home is the birthplace of the Boy Scout program in Pelham.


Home at 305 Pelhamdale Avenue Where the Pelham Boy
Scout Program Began.  Photograph Taken by the Author
on April 1, 2007.  NOTE:  Click on Image To Enlarge.


Below is a transcription of the article describing the October 1910 meeting during which the Boy Scout program was organized in Pelham. A citation to the source of the article appears below the transcription.

"ORGANIZATION OF BOY SCOUTS
-----
INTENDED TO DEVELOP CHARACTER IN YOUTH AND MAKE FOR GOOD CITIZENSHIP. - ALL THE PELHAMS INVITED TO JOIN.
-----

At a meeting held two weeks ago at the residence of Mrs. Eugene G. Kremer, in Pelhamdale avenue, Pelham Heights, Mr. Robert Holmes presiding, a temporary organization of the Pelham Boy Scouts was effected by the appointment of a committee, with Mrs. James F. Secor as chairman.

A number of boys have joined in the movement and several representative citizens of the Heights have furnished a guaranty which assures the establishment of the Scouts and enables the committee to invite members from all the Pelhams. Mr. John Butler has consented to act as treasurer.

The School Board has appointed a committee to co-operate with the managing committee of the Pelham Boy Scouts and has made arrangements to alow [sic] the use of the Highbrook Avenue School House and to permit the installation therein of modern gymnastic apparatus. Active steps are being taken to secure the necessary funds for this purpose. Contributions may be sent to Mr. John Butler, Treasurer, Pelham Heights.

The leading objects of the Boy Scouts are: Recreation, camp fire camp life, self-government, woodcraft pursuits, honors by standards, personal decorations for personal achievements and a heroic ideal.

It gives physical health and development; it teaches energy, resourcefulness and handicrafts, it puts into the lad discipline, pluck, chivalry and patriotism; in a word, it develops 'character,' which is more essential than anything else to a lad making his way in life, and which is yet practically untaught in our schools.

The committee will welcome the assistance of all citizens of our beautiful villages in this movement to make the boys of the Pelhams capable men, good citizens and kind friends and brothers.

Applications for membership may be addressed to Mrs. John Byers, 246 Corona avenue, and Mrs. Eugene G. Kremer, 305 Pelhamdale avenue, Pelham."

Source: Organization of Boy Scouts, The Pelham Sun, Oct. 29, 1910, p. 1.

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