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.

Thursday, October 26, 2017

The Cow Rustler Ghosts of Pelham Road


Introduction

Halloween soon will overshadow Pelham.  In the ghoulish spirit of the time, for the next few days Historic Pelham will recount previously untold Pelham ghost stories (and provide new twists on old Pelham legends).

Perhaps no other town the size of our little Pelham (population 12,000) has more ghost stories, more haunted territory, or more ghoulish legends.  That is no surprise.  Pelham is an ancient hamlet, with European settlement as early as 1654 and Native American settlement extending back thousands of years before that.  

Nearly four dozen different ghost stories arising from the old Manor of Pelham have been documented so far, with many more, undoubtedly, yet to be uncovered.  Today Historic Pelham recounts the tale of "The Cow Rustler Ghosts of Pelham Road."

The Haunted Spy Oak

Its gnarled limbs once stretched silently above Pelham Road, reaching as though each limb sought to grab horses, riders, or others who passed.  All who passed and knew its lore hurried a little more quickly as they passed the ancient tree.  It was the Haunted Spy Oak of Pelham Road.

For nearly 250 years, the story has been told of the local wanderings of the ghost of a British spy hung during the Revolutionary War from a massive limb of the giant, ancient Haunted Spy Oak of Pelham Road.  See, e.g., Fri., Sep. 16, 2005:  The Legend of the Spy Oak on Pelham Road.

The Spy Oak on Pelham Road once stood not far from the Village of Westchester (today's Westchester Square in the Bronx, part of the original Manor of Pelham).  During the early years of the 20th century, the ancient tree was a massive, spreading tree.  It was more than twenty-two feet in circumference at its base.  It was more than one hundred feet high, about the height of a ten-story building.  It had a massive limb that extended directly over Pelham Road.  From that limb, according to legend, a British spy (some say two) reputedly was hung during the Revolutionary War.  The limb was about twenty feet above the roadway and nearly a foot in thickness where the limb joined the trunk of the old tree.  The limb had an ominous name.  It was known by all as "Gallows Limb."



Undated Photograph of the Ancient Spy Oak Adjacent
to Pelham Road.  NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

Few today know that the British spy was not the first to be hung from the massive limb of the tree that came to be known as the Haunted Spy Oak.  Indeed, seven Englishmen who rustled a local cow were hung from the same limb before the British Spy was killed there.  For many, many years, the ghosts of these Englishmen were seen among the limbs of the ancient tree and beneath its giant boughs.  Some say that the ghosts of the seven rustlers as well as that of the British spy still wander Pelham Road, far and wide.

In 1912, Girard Post "Pop" Doty, a descendant of Mayflower passenger Edward Doty, was 79 years old and living with his nephew, Warren Doty, in a home on Pelham Road about a half mile from the Haunted Spy Oak.  Pop Doty's family had owned and populated the area for more than a century.  Indeed, at the time of the American Revolution, Pop Doty's ancestors owned much of the land between the settlement of Westchester and Throggs Neck.  As Pop Doty often said, he had played beneath the branches of what he called the "Haunted Oak" as a child, just like his mother and her mother had.

Pop Doty's maternal grandmother, whom he called "Grandmother Baxter Stuyvesant," was 105 years old when she died.  According to Pop Doty, she knew the story of the "Haunted Oak" better than anyone since she lived much of her life in a home just "across the way" from the tree.  Grandmother Baxter Stuyvesant often told a chilling story about the Haunted Oak that went something like this.

 The Cow Rustler Ghosts of Pelham Road

When she was a young girl, Grandmother Baxter Stuyvesant's father and her brothers fought with General George Washington during the American Revolution.  At about the time of the Battle at Westchester Creek and the Battle of Pelham that followed almost a week later on October 18, 1776, the area was overrun with British.  Some were said to be deserters from the British army.  Others were said to be British sympathizers who wandered the region, up to no good.  Indeed, it was the very beginning of the so-called "Neutral Ground" period during which so-called "Cowboys and Skinners" marauded throughout the region during the years of the War, decimating the Manor of Pelham and other parts of the region.  

A group of seven hungry "Englishmen" who remained in the area after the Battle of Westchester Creek decided to rustle the Stuyvesants' family cow.  In the absence of the Stuyvesant men who were off fighting with General Washington, the seven Englishmen stole the cow, brazenly, from the matriarch of the family -- the mother of Grandmother Baxter Stuyvesant.  They butchered the cow and feasted on its remains.  Among those who participated in the theft was a young fellow -- a young Englishman Grandmother Baxter Stuyvesant would never forget.

As fate would have it, the very evening of the theft, the matriarch's husband and two of his sons -- the father and brothers of Grandmother Baxter Stuyvesant -- stopped by the home to check on their family.  When they learned the family had been accosted and a cow had been stolen, the three men organized neighbors and went after the rustlers.  They captured all seven in short order.

Though she was a young girl at the time, in her later years Grandmother Baxter Stuyvesant recalled that the seven captured Englishmen were dragged to the foot of the giant oak near her home and told they would be hanged.  The youngest fellow of the lot broke down and asked for paper and pencil to write a final letter -- to whom we'll never know.  He sat forlornly under the giant oak, gathering his thoughts, and writing his last words, knowing that soon he would meet his maker.  

The Americans then strung up all seven Englishmen and hung them from the giant limb, forever known thereafter as Gallows Limb, until they were dead.  Grandmother Baxter Stuyvesant would never forget the young English fellow seated beneath the tree writing what most assuredly was a despondent letter in the last few minutes of his brief life.

Not much later, Americans hung a British spy -- some say two -- from the same Gallows Limb.  Thereafter, Grandmother Baxter Stuyvesant and others in the neighborhood began seeing strange things at the giant oak, particularly during exceptionally dark nights with little or no moonlight.  They plainly saw spirits of seven ghosts on the limbs of the tree at night.  Indeed, it certainly was not just Grandmother Baxter Stuyvesant who saw the seven ghosts.  There were plenty of old folks who admitted they had seen the same sight.

One moonless night as she passed the great oak, Grandmother Baxter Stuyvesant had the fright of her life.  There, seated beneath its branches was the luminous ghostly spirit of the young English fellow, writing his despondent letter all over again.  The luminous spirit looked exactly as she remembered so many years before, writing his letter just before he was hung.

The Haunted Spy Oak long since has died and been removed.  To this day, however, the spirits of seven Englishmen and a British Spy wander the region, back and forth along Pelham Road, forever tied to the place where each of their lives ended.  One of those spirits, however, can still be seen, flitting from tree to tree on particularly dark nights.  It is the luminous spirit of a young fellow, carrying a paper and pencil, searching endlessly for the missing Haunted Spy Oak beneath which he hopes to write his last letter.


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"'POP' DOTY  THE SPY OAK.  ARROW INDICATES WHERE
GALLOWS LIMB WAS CUT OFF."  Source:  Cut Off "Gallows' Limb"
The Evening Telegram [NY, NY], Sep. 16, 1912, p. 4, cols. 3-5.  NOTE:
Click on Image to Enlarge.

"Cut Off 'Gallows' Limb' of Westchester's Noted Spy Oak
-----
'Pop' Doty Says Grandmother Baxter Stuyvesant Predicted Loss Seventy Years Ago.
-----
HANGED 7 ENGLISHMEN FROM BOUGH FOR KILLING COW
-----
Children Feared the Weather Beaten Trunk, Which Was Said To Be Inhabited by Ghosts.
-----

Of course it was not news to 'Pop' Doty that the gallows limb of Westchester's Spy Oak would have to be cut off.  He told the men who did the work that he had been expecting it for some time, as Grandmother Baxter Stuyvesant had seen a red squirrel gnawing the limb near the trunk of the old tree and she knew that the bough should be trimmed off near the wound.  This was seventy years ago, but even if there had been some delay her idea about saving the old landmark was right.  The limb has been taken off just where she said it should and 'Pop' is happy, because he always wanted the limb cut off anyway.

'Sort of like losing an old friend,' said 'Pop' as he watched the workmen sawing off the gallows limb.  'That tree seems about the only old timer in Westchester besides myself.  My mother played under the tree, and her mother before her.  The folks here in Westchester call it the Spy Oak, but when I was a youngster we just used to call it the haunted tree, and Grandmother Baxter Stuyvesant used to tell us children of the ghosts that came out on its limbs at night and whose ghosts they were.  I never saw the ghosts myself, but there were plenty of old folks who asserted they had, although maybe they were just trying to make us children keep indoor after dark.
-----
Hanged Seven Englishmen.

'Grandmother Stuyvesant was my mother's mother.  She died a good many years ago and was 105 years old when she left us.  She knew the history of this old oak tree just as well as any one, for her home was just across the way from it, and it was through the killing of her mother's cow that the first men were hung on the limb the men have just cut off.

'Grandmother's father and her brothers were fighting with General Washington when the cow was killed.  Only a few days before the General himself had crossed over from Long Island and passed the house.  That was just before the battle near White Plains.  There were a lot of deserters and others left from the British army who remained in our village after the battle, and one day when they got hungry they decided to kill my great grandmother's cow.  They killed it all right, but that night my great grandfather and two of his sons came home.  Grandmother saw them go out and get the neighbors together and they caught seven of the Englishmen and strung them all up from the limb that these men are cutting off.
-----
Ghosts of Cow Killers.

'After that they hung two British spies from the same limb.  It was always supposed that the ghosts the old folks talked of, who were said to wander around the tree, were the spirits of the seven cow killers the farmers lynched.  Grandmother Stuyvesant said she saw the ghost of the youngest of the lot writing a letter under the tree one night just the same as she had seen him do before they hung him.'

'Pop' Doty is seventy-nine years old.  He is a bachelor and does not look within thirty years of his age.  He now lives with his nephew, Warren  Doty, in Pelham road, about half a mile from the famous old oak tree.  The tree stands to the west of Pelham road, just below Appleton avenue, Westchester.  'Pop's' real name is Girard Post Doty, and he is a descendant of Edward Doty, who came to this country on board the Mayflower.  Prior to the Revolution his family owned nearly all the land between Westchester Village and Throgg's Neck.  He is a veteran of the civil war, having served in the Thirty-ninth New York Volunteers.

'Grandmother Stuyvesant always said that the gallows' limb gave her the creeps and wished they would cut it down.  It's too bad she isn't alive to-day to see them doing it,' said 'Pop.'

The Spy Oak is a great, spreading tree.  It is more than twenty-two feet in circumference at the base and about one hundred feet in height.  The gallows' limb that has had to be cut off was itself more than a foot in thickness where it joined the trunk of the old tree."

Source:  Cut Off "Gallows' Limb" of Westchester's Noted Spy Oak -- "Pop" Doty Says Grandmother Baxter Stuyvesant Predicted Loss Seventy Years Ago -- HANGED 7 ENGLISHMEN FROM BOUGH FOR KILLING COW -- Children Feared the Weather Beaten Trunk, Which Was Said To Be Inhabited by Ghosts, The Evening Telegram [NY, NY], Sep. 16, 1912, p. 4, cols. 3-5.  

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

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

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

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

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

Mon., Oct. 31, 2016:  Pelham Was Overrun by Ghosts for a Few Months in the Winter of 1887-1888.

Fri., Oct. 28, 2016:  The Old Stone House Has At Least One More Ghost -- The Ghost of Mrs. Parrish is Not Alone.

Thu., Oct. 27, 2016:  Did Google Maps Camera Capture the Ghost of the Elegant Lady of the Old Stone House at 463 First Avenue?

Wed., Oct. 26, 2016:  The Ghost of the Murdered Traveler Who Wanders the Bartow-Pell Grounds.

Tue., Oct. 25, 2016:  The Suicidal Specter of Manger Circle.

Mon., Oct. 24, 2016:  The Fiery-Eyed Phantom of Pelham Heights.

Mon., Sep. 19, 2016:  The Dark Spirit of the Devil and His Stepping Stones: A Pelham Legend.

Fri., Oct. 30, 2015:  The Shrieking Ghosts of Execution Rocks: Yet Another Pelham Ghost Story.

Thu., Oct. 29, 2015:  The Apparition of Wolfs Lane:  Another Pelham Ghost Story.

Wed., Oct. 28, 2015:  The Shadowy Specter of James Street:  A Pelham Manor Ghost Story.

Tue., Oct. 27, 2015:  The Ghostly Gardener of Bolton Priory:  A Pelham Apparition.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Fri., Sep. 16, 2005:  The Legend of the Spy Oak on Pelham Road.

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


Archive of the Historic Pelham Web Site.
Home Page of the Historic Pelham Blog.
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Friday, August 19, 2016

More on the Battle Over Widening Shore Road Waged in 1927


For much of the 19th and early 20th centuries, Shore Road was a major thoroughfare for traffic headed along Long Island Sound.  Consequently, portions of the roadway in and around Pelham were widened on at least two occasions:  once in1869 and, later, in 1927.  I have written about such widening projects before.  See:

Mon., May 14, 2007:  Plans to Widen Shore Road in the Town of Pelham in 1869.

Wed., Jun. 15, 2005:  The New York Athletic Club Saved a Portion of the Kemble House Property on Shore Road in the 1920s.  

Efforts by New Rochelle to widen the road during the late 1920s led to a monumental battle between Pelham and New Rochelle.  The City of New Rochelle decided to widen Pelham Road (known as Shore Road within the Town of Pelham).  To widen the road, Westchester County and New Rochelle decided to arrange the exercise of eminent domain to take a large strip of land in front of the Kemble House, one of Pelham Manor's only two pre-Revolutionary War homes that still stand. 

A portion of the Kemble House -- so-called because it long was owned by members of the Kemble family in the 19th and 20th centuries -- was a Pell family farmhouse built in about 1760 along Long Island Sound.  The home and the property on which it sits lies half in Pelham and half in New Rochelle.  

The Kemble House is located at 145 Shore Road in Pelham Manor. It stands adjacent to, and immediately north of, the gasoline and service station near the intersection of Pelhamdale Avenue and Shore Road.  The decision to take land from in front of the home caused an outcry among historically-minded citizens of Pelham.  A fight ensued.  Finally, the New York Athletic Club (which owned land on the opposite side of the roadway across from the Kemble house) stepped forward to quell the outcry.  It donated a strip of realty on the east side of the roadway to save the land belonging to the Kemble House. 

Today's Historic Pelham Blog posting sets forth a few additional newspaper articles that appeared at the time describing developments related to the matter.



Photograph of the Kemble House at 145 Shore Road Taken
By William R. Montgomery in 1923 and Painting by John M.
Shinn Based on the Photograph.  NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

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"Manor Residents Protest Against Disturbing Of Historic Landmark
-----
New Rochelle Proposes to Cut a Path Across Historic Kemble Property in Plan to Eliminate Curve on Shore Road.  Property Famed for Many Indian Legends.  Was Once Home of Joseph Pell.
-----

Unwilling to sacrifice ground cherished for its historical sentiment, in payment for street improvement, residents of Pelham Manor have entered protest against the widening of Shore Road in New Rochelle and have appealed to the Pelham Manor trustees to refuse to carry out the program planned for their village.  The plan as proposed would mean the sacrifice of the major portion of the ground at the Kemble residence, one of the oldest buildings in the village.  It was at one time the home of Joseph Pell, fourth Lord of the Manor of Pelham.

Plans have been approved by the City of New Rochelle for the widening of the Shore road in front of the Kemble residence.  The present proposal is to condemn a large part of the property in order that a curve in the roadway way be eliminated.  The measure is blocked however by the failure of the Village of Pelham Manor to agree to continue the roadway from the New Rochelle line, which divides the Kemble property.  Under the plan the highway would be within three feet of the historic building.  

Announcement of such a plan has aroused deep sentiment among the older residents of Pelham Manor who feel that the historic landmark should not be disturbed.

Village Attorney Edgar C. Beecroft in a communication to the Mayor of New Rochelle suggests a substitute plan of taking property from the opposite side of the road.  

His letter follows:

'Hon. Benjamin B. Badeau,
Mayor of the City of New Rochelle,
City Hall, New Rochelle, N.Y.

Dear Mr. Mayor:

Our Village Engineer has drawn my attention to the application of one of your Departments for co-operation by the Village of Pelham Manor in the widening of Pelham (Shore) Road.

(Continued on page 8)

Protest Against Disturbing Of Historic Landmark
-----
(Continued from page 1)

The proposition as submitted to me, seems entirely without justification and I write to advise you that I shall certainly do my utmost to prevent this Village co-operating in the proposed plan.

Your widening contemplates the destruction of one of the historic landmarks in the Town of Pelham, which taking and destruction are wholly without justification for two reasons.  First because of the great additional expense thereof, and secondly, because in my opinion these old pre-revolutionary landmarks should not be disturbed if there is any practical way of avoiding same.  

In the present instance there is a very practical way of avoiding the damage to this landmark and that is by taking the property on the opposite side of the road.  This property is undeveloped and can be acquired on a square foot basis without the payment of any consequential damages.

The Board of Trustees of the Village of Pelham Manor has not formally passed on this matter.  I am, nevertheless, writing to advise you that I shall do my utmost to prevent the trustees co-operating with your present plan, for the very simple reason that the widening can be effected by taking the property on the opposite side of the street at a very much less cost than will be incurred in the taking of the proposed property, and at the same time we will be able to preserve this old Pell homestead.

I trust your Common Council will reconsider the matter and in so far as the widening at this particular point is concerned, will arrange to take the property on the opposite side of the street.

Very truly yours,
EDGAR C. BEECROFT,
Village Attorney.'

The Kemble residence was built many years before the Revolutionary War.  It was planned as a home for Joseph Pell when he became Lord of the Manor.  After his death his son, Joseph Pell Jr., lived there.  At his death it was left to Sarah Pell his daughter who married William Bayley.  At this time the estate extended almost to Split Rock Road.

In the early part of the Nineteenth century Elbert Roosevelt owned the property on which the house stands.  Later there is a record of it being transferred to the Emmett family.  It remained the Emmett home until 1889 when Lydia H. Emmett sold it to Sophia M. Burrill, the mother of the present owner Mrs. R. L. Kemble.

On the grounds stands one of the two famous rocking stones.  The other is on the Bolton Priory property a short distance away.  There are many Indian legends connected with these rocking stones.  The best known tells of the God of War who crossed Long Island Sound with a large boulder in each hand in pursuit of the warring tribes from Wappinger's Falls, who had for many years molested the Siwanoy Indians.  The stones were left near the camps of the Siwanoys as warnings to the marauding tribes that the God of War would return.

There are many other interesting stories told about the place and it is these coupled with the living history of the Manor of Pelham that the villagers are reluctant to sacrifice that modern motorists may not be slightly hampered in their progress along the highway."

Source:  Manor Residents Protest Against Disturbing Of Historic Landmark -- New Rochelle Proposes to Cut a Path Across Historic Kemble Property in Plan to Eliminate Curve on Shore Road.  Property Famed for Many Indian Legends.  Was Once Home of Joseph Pell, The Pelham Sun, Jun. 17, 1927, Vol. 18, No. 17, p. 1, cols. 4-7 & p. 8, cols. 5-7.  

"Manor Trustees Will Block Sacrifice Of Historic Property
-----
President House Will Refuse to Entertain Proposal of City of New Rochelle in Shore Road Widening
-----

The Pelham Manor Village Trustees will not entertain any proposal to sacrifice the historic Kemble property in the widening of the Shore road.  Village President Elliott C. House assured The Pelham Sun this week that the plan of the City of New Rochelle does not meet with favor in his eyes and all effort would be devoted to block the move.  With the Village of Pelham Manor refusing to join in the plan, there is little likelihood that New Rochelle will go ahead with the original program.

The Rev. J. McVickar Haight, rector of Christ's Church has joined those who have voted strenuous protest against any disturbance of the Kemble property.  

'Revolutionary houses are fast disappearing before the onrush of modern improvements' said Mr. Haight.  'Every time that such a house is demolished there is taken from us one more visible link with the past history of our country.

'There are times when it seems necessary that the old should yield to the new, but when the old may easily be retained it is a crime against the past to destroy wantonly an old dwelling with its associations of a century or more.

'The old Pell mansion, situated on Pelham road on the western boundary of New Rochelle is one of the quaintest buildings of pre-revolutionary days in our community, and is still in a wonderful state of preservation.  Yet it is seriously proposed to destroy the beauty of this house in order that Pelham road may be widened.

'It is necessar to widen that road, and I heartily approve of doing so, and it can be done without in any way injuring the old dwelling if the unimproved land across the road from it be cut into.

'Let all those who revere the past unite and rise up in protest against the proposed mutilation of this charming old house.'

The city of New Rochelle has made no additional proposals to the Village of Pelham Manor after Village Attorney Edgar C. Beecroft made his first protest in a communication to Mayor Benjamin B. Badeau."

Source:  Manor Trustees Will Block Sacrifice Of Historic Property -- President House Will Refuse to Entertain Proposal of City of New Rochelle in Shore Road Widening, The Pelham Sun, Jun. 24, 1927, Vol. 18, No. 18, p. 1, col. 5.  


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Tuesday, December 22, 2015

Before There Were Car Crashes in Pelham There Were . . . Horse-Drawn Sleigh Crashes!!?


The unusually-warm weather these days makes it hard to think of Pelham as a winter wonderland.  During the nineteenth century, however, when snow covered Pelham, residents of our town hitched their horses to sleighs and went sleigh riding to enjoy the local winter wonderland.  There are many newspaper accounts that describe the joys of sleigh riding in Pelham, often along "Pelham Road" known today as Shore Road in Pelham Bay Park.

On Monday, February 11, 1895, Pelham was covered in snow.  Two men, W. L. Specht and Albert New, decided to enjoy a sleigh ride in Pelham.  They hitched up a "very spirited" horse to their sleigh and took off along Pelham Road toward New Rochelle.  The horse became "extra frisky in the sharp bracing air" and galloped at a lively pace that became "unmanageable."

As the sleigh headed toward New Rochelle and approached the little settlement of Bartow along the way, it met another horse-drawn sleigh on the roadway. . . . head-on.  The horse and sleigh in which Messrs. Specht and New were riding collided with the oncoming horse and sleigh upsetting their sleigh and throwing the two men out of the sleigh.  As Mr. Specht fell to the ground, the sleigh passed over his face "knocking out eight of his teeth, and cutting his face and head very badly."  Albert New, in contrast, escaped without a scratch.  The occupants of the other sleigh were unhurt as well.  Mr. Specht was carried to his home where a local physician tended to his wounds.

Within a few short years after this sleigh mishap, Pelham Road became a popular destination for the new-fangled automobiles that were beginning to choke the roads of Pelham.  Soon car crashes replaced sleigh crashes along that roadway!

It seems likely that it has been more than eighty years since a horse-drawn sleigh has traveled the roads and countryside within the Town of Pelham.  The story of Messrs. Specht and New, however, reminds us of a simpler time when the words of the song "Jingle Bells" described what it was like to dash through the snow in a one-horse open sleigh on the roads of Pelham!



19th Century Sleigh Ride Scene.
NOTE:  Click Image To Enlarge.

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Below is the brief news account of the sleigh mishap described above.  It is followed by a citation and link to its source.

"BAD RUNAWAY. -- Mr. W. L. Specht and Albert New were out sleigh riding Monday.  They had a very spirited animal which felt extra frisky in the sharp bracing air.  When near Bartow the animal became unmanageable and started on a lively pace toward New Rochelle.  A horse and sleigh was coming toward Bartow.  Mr. Specht's horse and sleigh collided with it.  Mr. Specht and Mr. New were thrown out and the sleigh was upset.  In the fall Mr. Specht's sleigh passed over his face knocking out eight of his teeth, and cutting his face and head very badly.  Mr. New escaped without a scratch.  The wrecked sleigh and horse was brought to New Rochelle and Mr. Specht was taken to his home where Dr. Tefft dressed his wounds.  The horse and sleigh and its occupants that was collided with were unhurt."

Source:  BAD RUNAWAY, New Rochelle Pioneer, Feb. 16, 1895, p. 5, col. 3.  

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Wednesday, September 24, 2014

Where Was the Bolton Family Cottage Where Stained Glass Windows Were Created?


William Jay Bolton was a son of the Reverend Robert Bolton, founder of Christ Church and owner of the Bolton Priory, built in 1838.  The Bolton Priory, in Pelham Manor, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.  

William Jay Bolton was an exceptional artist eventually admitted to the National Academy of Design.  He taught himself the art of stained glass by creating a few small panels for the windows of the Priory.



"WILLIAM JAY BOLTON, A. N. A. 1816-1884"

Assisted by his brother, John Bolton, William Jay Bolton created a masterpiece of stained glass art for Christ Church.  The masterpiece, entitled "Adoration of the Magi," is America's first figured stained glass window.  The window may still be seen in today's Christ Church.



"Adoration of the Magi," America's First Figural Stained
Glass Window.  Created by William Jay Bolton for
Christ Church, Pelham Manor, NY.


William Jay Bolton's stained glass window work was so exceptional that he parlayed it into a business that he pursued for many years here and, later, in England.  Bolton created a small stained glass art studio in a cottage on the east side of Shore Road (known as Pelham Road in New Rochelle) a few hundred yards north of Shore Road's intersection with Pelhamdale Avenue.  He and his brother, John, created forty spectacular stained glass windows for Holy Trinity in Brooklyn Heights.  

The cottage studio has long since been razed.  The photograph of the cottage below was taken before 1930.  It shows a tiny little two story cottage with a fireplace and a lean-to section that appears to have been added, at some point, in the rear of the structure.



Bolton Cottage Used by William Jay Bolton as a Stained Glass Studio
During the Mid-19th Century, Since Razed.  Source:  Courtesy of the
Office of the Historian of the Town of Pelham.

For many, many years after the cottage was razed, bits of colored glass could still be found in the area where the structure once stood.  Precisely where it stood, however, has been the subject of some debate in recent years.  

A map of the area prepared in 1853, however, seems to resolve the issue.  A detail from the map appears immediately below.



Detail of Map Prepared in 1853 Showing the Priory and Christ
Church in the Lower Left with Shore Road Proceeding Toward
the Upper Right.  In the Upper Right, Across from Neptune
Island Off the Shore of New Rochelle is a Reference to the
Bolton Cottage.  Source:  Dripps, Matthew & Conner, R.F.O.,
Southern Part of West-Chester County N. Y. (1853) (Museum
of the City of New York, No. 29.100.2628).

Careful analysis of the map detail suggests that the cottage was located roughly at the northwest corner of today's intersection of Pelham Road and "Glen Island Approach" (the roadway that crosses Neptune Island and leads to Glen Island).  Apartment buildings and small multi-family dwellings exist in the area today.

It is difficult to imagine today, but some of the most exceptional and beautiful American stained glass windows of the 19th century were created in the little Bolton cottage that once stood at this location.


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Thursday, July 17, 2014

Sabotage Brought Down the 70-Ton Draw Span of Pelham Bridge in 1908 and Delayed its Opening


February 2, 1908 was a sleepy Sunday at the new Pelham Bridge.  The old bridge that long had stood on the site still stood, but its replacement was nearly complete.  In fact, by contract the two companies responsible for constructing the new Pelham Bridge were obligated to complete the work by May 30, 1908.  The grand opening of the new Pelham Bridge already was scheduled for June 1, 1908.

Officials responsible for completion of the new Pelham Bridge were under increasing pressure to complete the work on time.  There recently had been labor problems at the site.  Some felt the labor problems had slowed construction and feared that it could continue to cause difficulty at the site.

The new bridge was a grand engineering feat with a massive "jackknife draw" in its center to allow marine traffic to pass the bridge.  Late the evening before, on Saturday, February 1, laborers constructing the bridge broke for the week and left the site to enjoy a Sunday of leisure.  Before leaving, one of the two spans was raised and intentionally left open -- presumably to allow marine traffic to pass with no one there except a single watchman to ensure the security of the construction site.

Early on Sunday, the watchman was in his shanty at the bridge.  He heard a tremendous crash that shook the bridge and his shanty.  When he ran outside, the seventy-ton jackknife draw span that had been standing upright was gone.  It had pitched over and fallen into fifty feet of mud and water in Eastchester Bay below, almost obscured from view.

At first, it was believed that a strong gust of wind brought the span down.  Close inspection, however, soon revealed that the bridge had been sabotaged.  Giant bolts and clips to which anchoring cables were attached had been removed, allowing the span to fall downward without anchorage, snapping the base of the span away from the rest of the bridge when it came down in a "rush."  Although little else was known about the incident at the time, one thing was clear.  "No one but a man skilled in bridge construction would have known how to go about loosening these bolts."

The sabotage delayed the opening of the the new Pelham Bridge.  Indeed, the June 1 bridge opening ceremonies were delayed by more than four months.  The new Pelham Bridge opened on Thursday, October 15, 1908.  (See text of October 16, 1908 article at the end of today's posting.)

I have written about histories of the various Pelham Bridges that have spanned Eastchester Bay for the last two centuries.  For examples, see the list with links at the end of this posting.

Today's posting to the Historic Pelham Blog transcribes the text of two articles about the sabotage of the new Pelham Bridge as well as the text of a third article describing the opening of the bridge four months late on October 15, 1908.

"70-TON BRIDGE SPAN WRECKED BY SKILLED WORKER
-----
Expert Hand Loosened Bolts That Dropped Draw at Pelham Bay.
-----

Detectives employed by the American Bridge Company are trying to discover who loosened certain material bolts and clips which allowed a seventy-ton draw span of the new Pelham Bay Bridge in the Bronx to drop into the mud of East Chester Bay yesterday.  The officials of the Bridge Company admit they have had some trouble with workmen on the bridge, but refuse to make any definite charges, although they are satisfied that the mischief was accomplished by some one having knowledge of the way to go about it.

The bridge was almost completed.  It is designed to take the place of the old Pelham Bay Bridge, which connects Eastern Boulevard with Pelham road.

The draw is of the 'jackknife' pattern.  Instead of a draw span swinging around in a circle on a pier in the middle of the bridge, the draw is drawn upward from the centre on each side by cables.

The south draw is fifty feet long and 30 feet high.  It had been placed and tested, and when the workmen left Saturday night was folded up against the southerly pier to allow free passage on the water.  The cables holding it were fastened by strong bolts and clips to an anchorage at the bottom of the pier.

Early yesterday morning the watchman on the bridge was in his shanty when he heard a crash that shook the structure.  He ran out and found the south draw span half hidden in the mud of the bay.  

Investigation showed that the steel cables has [sic] been loosened at the anchorage by the removal of the bolts and clips.  This allowed the draw to drop with a rush, and the force of the fall snapped it from its fastenings at the hinged end.  

John G. Theban, the supervising engineer for the Department of Bridges made an examination.  He was disposed at first glance to believe that the draw had been blown down by the force of the wind, but further investigation proved that the bolts sustaining the cables had been loosened by persons having proper tools.  No one but a man skilled in bridge construction would have known how to go about loosening these bolts.

Powerful derricks on wrecking tugs were sent to the scene of the accident to-day.  It will be necessary to raise the span and send it back to the American Bridge Company at Trenton, N. J., for repairs.  The bridge, which was to have been opened for traffic on June 1, will be delayed two months or more."

Source:  70-TON BRIDGE SPAN WRECKED BY SKILLED WORKER, The Evening World [NY NY], Feb. 3, 1908, p. 14, col. 3.  

"SPAN OF NEW BRIDGE FALLS.
-----
Bolts Were Tampered With, Contractors Think -- Labor Troubles.

A seventy ton 'jackknife draw' span on the new bridge being constructed across East Chester Bay to connect Eastern Boulevard, The Bronx, with Pelham road, fell yesterday afternoon into fifty feet of mud and water.  Representatives of the construction companies who investigated the break after the accident said yesterday afternoon that the draw could not have fallen if the bolts at its base had not been tampered with.

The bridge is being constructed by the American Bridge Company and the Goodwin Construction Company, under the supervision of John G. Theban, the engineer representing the city.  It is designed to replace the old Pelham Bay bridge which stands just above the new structure.  May 30 was the contract date for its completion, but because of constant labor troubles the contractors recently announced their inability to complete the job by that time.

The draw spans in the centre of the bridge, two in number, swing upward instead of around as in the old style draw bridges.  One of these 'jackknife draw' spans on the south side of the middle water way had already been completed and the other was nearing completion.  The completed span was 50 feet long and about 30 feet in height.  

When the workmen quit on Saturday this span was left standing with its nose in the air.  It had been fully completed and tested.  Nobody was seen on the new structure yesterday, when without any evident cause this span pitched off its buttresses and dropped almost out of sight in the water and mud.

Mr. Theban and officers of the construction company made a close examination of the place where the span had stood, after which the construction people announced definitely that they believed that the span had been caused to fall by some one drawing bolts in the supporting mechanism.  Mr. Theban said that the circumstances were suspicious, but that he could not make any charge of wilful mischief until he had made further investigation."

Source:  SPAN OF NEW BRIDGE FALLS, The Sun [NY, NY], Feb. 3, 1908, Vol. LXXV, No. 156, p. 1, col. 4.



"NEW PELHAM PARK BRIDGE OVER EAST CHESTER BAY.
Formally opened yesterday.
Source:  NEW BRIDGE OPENED, New-York Daily Tribune
Oct. 16, 1908, p. 12, cols. 2-3.

"NEW BRIDGE OPENED
-----
Big Automobile Parade in Celebration of Four Cities.

More than two hundred automobiles and as many carriages were in the parade yesterday which celebrated the formal opening of the new bridge over East Chester Bay, known as the Pelham Park Bridge, because it connects the halves of that park.  The bridge is on the famous old Pelham Road through Bronx Park and Pelham Park, which is a favorite for automobilists going to New Rochelle and Connecticut towns.

At 9 o'clock yesterday morning the formal reception to the three Mayors of New Rochelle, Mount Vernon and Yonkers and other officials and citizens of the three municipalities bordering on The Bronx began.  Fifty-four automobiles were drawn up in the square at the intersection of Third, Lincoln and Morris avenues and 138th street.

Starting from the headquarters of the Board of Trade, the procession wound its way to St. Jerome's Church, 138th street and Alexander avenue, where the children of the church sang songs of welcome.  Taking a course that included every point of interest in The Bronx, the constantly increasing line of automobiles finally arrived at Pelham Bay Park, where the new bridge was to be declared open by Mayor McClellan.

This structure is said to be one of the finest examples of engineering art within the city limits.  It was erected by the Godwin Construction Company after designs drawn by the regular engineering force of the Bridge Department.  It has been the object of the architects to make the bridge harmonize with the system of beautiful parkways of which it will form an important link.  The bridge consists of two series of three arches built of reinforced concrete, connected in the centre by a double leaf bascule, or lift bridge, to permit of the passage of vessels.  It allows a road space for four lines of vehicles, and in addition there are two broad walks for foot passengers.  

The hour set for the opening was 2 o'clock in the afternoon, and at that hour Mayor McClellan, accompanied by Bridge Commissioner James W. Stevenson, H. A. La Chicotte, principal assistant engineer, and other men prominent in the city administration, arrived in automobiles.  After formally declaring the bridge open for traffic, Mayor McClellan stood in the centre of the draw, where he was joined by Mayors George Gillespie Raymond of New Rochelle, Benjamin Howe of Mount Vernon and Nathan A. Warren of Yonkers.  Here the Mayor of New York clasped hands with his three brother officials.  

After the exercises Mayor McClellan hurried back to the city, while the North Side Board of Trade and its guests continued on their tour of inspection.  At the old Van Cortlandt mansion, in Van Cortlandt Park, the visitors were welcomed by a body of citizens who composed a guard of honor from the 1st Battalion of Minute Men.  The next stopping place was New York University, where the visitors were escorted into the Hall of Fame and addressed there by Chancellor MacCracken.

A quick run down Jerome avenue brought the cavalcade to Huber's Casino, at 162d street and Jerome avenue, where tables were laid for over two hundred guests.  This closed the celebration."

Source:  NEW BRIDGE OPENED, New-York Daily Tribune, Oct. 16, 1908, p. 12, col. 3.

*           *          *           *          *

Below are examples of previous postings that address the histories of the various Pelham Bridges that have spanned Eastchester Bay for the last two centuries. 

Tue., Jun. 10, 2014:  Construction of the Concrete Arch Pelham Bridge.

Mon., May 12, 2014:  The March 6, 1812 New York Statute Authorizing Construction of the Pelham Bridge.

Tue., Sep. 22, 2009:  Names of Early "Keepers of Pelham Bridge" Appointed by Westchester County.   

Thu., Jan. 08, 2009:  Another Brief History of The Pelham Bridge

Thu., Jan. 1, 2009:  A Brief History of Pelham Bridge

Wed., Jan. 2, 2008:  New York State Senate Report on Petition by Inhabitants of Westchester to Allow Construction of Toll Bridge Across Eastchester Creek in 1834

Tue., Aug. 28, 2007:  The Laying Out of Pelham Avenue From Fordham to Pelham Bridge in 1869

Wed., Jul. 4, 2007:  1857 Real Estate Advertisement for Sale of the Pelham Bridge

Fri., Jul. 22, 2007:  1857 Real Estate Advertisement for Sale of "Country Seat" at Pelham Bridge

Fri., May 18, 2007:   Celebration at Pelham Bridge in 1872

Wed., May 16, 2007:  Board of Supervisors of Westchester County Vote to Build New Iron Bridge to Replace Pelham Bridge in 1869

Tue., May 15, 2007:  The Owner of the Pelham Bridge Hotel Sold it for the Princely Sum of $22,000 in 1869

Mon., May 14, 2007:  Plans to Widen Shore Road in the Town of Pelham in 1869

Fri., May 11, 2007:  A Sad Attempted Suicide at Pelham Bridge in 1869

Thu., Dec. 08, 2005:  The First Stone Bridge Built Across Eastchester Creek in Pelham, 1814-1815

Thu., Aug. 18, 2005:  The Opening of the New Iron "Pelham Bridge" in 1871

Tue., Aug. 9, 2005:  Cock Fighting at Pelham Bridge in the 19th Century

Thu., Jul. 21, 2005:  Today's Remnants of the Bartow Station on the Branch Line Near City Island

Tue., Jun. 28, 2005:  The Hotel and Bar Room at Pelham Bridge

Thu., Mar. 24, 2005:  The Bartow Area of Pelham in the 19th Century: Where Was It? 

Wed., Mar. 23, 2005:  Prize Fighting at Pelham Bridge in 1884

For more about the Pelham Bridge and its history, see Pelham Bridge, Wikipedia The Free Encyclopedia, available at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pelham_Bridge (visited May 6, 2014). 


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