Brief Obituary of Maria Rapelje of Pelham Who Died in 1803, a Daughter of Pelham's Rem Rapelje and Helen (Hardenbrook) Rapelje

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The obituary was brief; only twenty two words.  It marked the end of a brief life, that of Miss Maria Rapelje of Pelham.  She was the beloved daughter of Pelhamite Rem Rapelje and his wife, Helen (Hardenbrook) Rapelje.  Maria was only twenty years old at the time of her death on July 20, 1803.

Historic Pelham has published a host of articles on the Rapelje family, early Pelham pioneers.  See, e.g.:

Fri., Mar. 03, 2017:  The Will of Rem Rapelje of Pelham, Probated on November 20, 1805.

Thu., Mar. 02, 2017:  1805 Advertisement Reveals Much About the Pelham Farm of Rem Rapelje. 

Fri., Jan. 08, 2016:  Pelhamite Rem Rapelje, a Loyalist, Was "Rode on Rails" During the Revolutionary War. 

Wed., Oct. 03, 2007:  Book by George Rapelje, Pelham Resident Along With His Father, Rem Rapelje, Published in 1834. 

Mon., Feb. 27, 2006:  Another Description of the Farm of Rem Rapelje of Pelham Published in 1806. 

Wed., Aug. 24, 2005:  1807 Advertisement for Sale of Property of Rem Rapelje in Pelham.

Maria Rapelje is buried in the cemetery of Saint Paul's Church National Historic Site located at today's address of 897 S. Columbus Avenue, Mount Vernon, New York.  The beautiful church, construction of which began in 1765 to replace an earlier wooden structure, stands within what once was the Village of Eastchester.  A section of the Eastchester Village Green remains in front of the church today.  The church was one of several in the wider region that served Pelham families in the 18th and early 19th centuries.

The Rapelje family was closely aligned with Saint Paul's Church.  Indeed, the magnificent pump organ located in the loft of the church that was crafted by Henry Erben of New York City was commissioned by George Rapelje, an original pew holder in Saint Paul's Church, at a cost of $800 in 1833 (about $36,500 in today's dollars).  The organ "remains one of the oldest working organs in the United States" according to the site.

The obituary of young Maria Rapelje appeared in the July 30, 1803 issue of The Spectator published in New York City ten days after her death.  The brief obituary is transcribed below, followed by a citation and link to its source.

Detail of Map Prepared in 1853 Showing Pelham Neck and Lands Owned

by the Rapelje Family. 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). NOTE: Click on Image to Enlarge.

*          *          *          *          *

"DIED.

On Wednesday the 20th inst. at the Manor of Pelham, Eastchester, Miss MARIA RAPELJE, in the 20th year of her age."

Source:  DIED, The Spectator [NY, NY], Jul. 30, 1803, Vol. VI, No. 625, p. 3, col. 3.

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The Will of Rem Rapelje of Pelham, Probated on November 20, 1805

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Yesterday's Historic Pelham Article provided information about the large farm that Rem Rapelje and, later, his son George Rapelje, maintained on Pelham Neck during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries.  See Thu., Mar. 02, 2017:  1805 Advertisement Reveals Much About the Pelham Farm of Rem Rapelje.  Today's article provides images of Rem Rapelje, the records reflecting Rem Rapelje's will probated in 1805 and also a transcription of the will's text and an analysis of its significance.

Rem Rapelje was born in Brooklyn, New York on August 3, 1728.  He lost his father as a young child.  His mother remarried but his relationship with his stepfather was quite poor and, according to his son, George Rapelje, Rem "sought for friendly aid elsewhere."  As a young man, Rem Rapelje hustled for his living.  As a very, very young man, he was a ship owner.  He also dealt in general merchandise and kept a store on Maiden Lane in New York City "directly in rear of his dwelling."  An uncle who was in the "corn, grain, and flour business" and owned a store for the business took him into the store "which was at the fork of Maiden Lane and Crown Street."  Soon, on behalf of the business, he was sent in a schooner to Curacao.  He became a successful and wealthy merchant and ship owner.

Rem Rapelje was a Loyalist, but he remained in the New York region after the Revolutionary War.  When the war ended, he purchased a farm known as "Glass House Farm" located along the Hudson River about three miles from New York City. 

Rem Rapelje married Neeltje Hardenbroek (whom he called "Nelly"), a daughter of Abel Hardenbroek and Elizabeth Remson.  The couple had at least four children:  George Rapalje, Abel Hardenbroek Rapalje, Rem Rapalje, Jr., and Johannis Rapalje.  Rem Rapelje's namesake son, Rem, became a faithful and dedicated vestryman at St. Paul's Church in Eastchester and, in 1833, donated the beautiful pipe organ that still is in working condition in the church building.  

By 1790, according to both the 1790 U.S. Census and a plan of pews for St. Paul's Church in Eastchester, Rem Rapelje had moved to Pelham.  See Wed., Aug. 15, 2007:  Plan of Pews in St. Paul's Church 1790.  He purchased a massive 350 acre farm on Pelham Neck and the surrounding region.  He had a brother-in-law named John Hardenbrook who also resided in Pelham.  He and his family lived in Pelham on that farm until his death on June 16, 1805.  He is buried in the cemetery of St. Paul's Church at Eastchester.

Rem Rapelje, Jr., a Son of Rem Rapelje, by Asher Durand. 
NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

I have written about Rem Rapelje, his son George (who succeeded to his father's Pelham Neck Estate), and the Rapelje farm on Pelham Neck a number of times.  See, e.g.:

Thu., Mar. 02, 2017:  1805 Advertisement Reveals Much About the Pelham Farm of Rem Rapelje.  

Fri., Jan. 08, 2016:  Pelhamite Rem Rapelje, a Loyalist, Was "Rode on Rails" During the Revolutionary War.

Wed., Oct. 03, 2007:  Book by George Rapelje, Pelham Resident Along With His Father, Rem Rapelje, Published in 1834. 

Mon., Feb. 27, 2006:  Another Description of the Farm of Rem Rapelje of Pelham Published in 1806. 

Wed., Aug. 24, 2005:  1807 Advertisement for Sale of Property of Rem Rapelje in Pelham.

Rem Rapelje executed his will on July 8, 1795.  At that time he owned two farms:  the thirty-acre "Glass House Farm" that he purchased shortly after the Revolutionary War located along the Hudson River about three miles from New York City; and the 350-acre farm on Pelham Neck (today's Rodman's Neck) that he purchased from Thomas Pell of the town of Pelham.  

One of the most significant aspects of Rapelje's will is that Rapelje bequeaths to his wife, "Nelly" Rapelje, the use of one slave named Jacob during her lifetime.  Specifically, the will states:  "I give and bequeath unto my said wife . . . the Use of my Negro named Jacob for and during her natural life."  The will further provides that "All the Rest, Residue and Remainder of my real and personal Estate whatsoever and wheresoever I give and Bequeath unto my Son George Rapelje," thus providing for George Rapelje to inherit the "Negro named Jacob" after the death of Nelly Rapelje.

For years I have been piecing together some of the tragic history regarding slavery in the early years of Pelham's history.  Indeed, on June 8, 2007 I presented an academic paper on the topic to the 28th Annual Conference on New York State History.  The paper was entitled "Slavery in the Manor of Pelham and the Town of Pelham During the Eighteenth and Early Nineteenth Centuries." 

Immediately below is a bibliographic list of prior writings I have prepared on the topic including the 2008 conference paper. 

Bell, Blake A., Slavery in the Manor of Pelham and the Town of Pelham During the Eighteenth and Early Nineteenth Centuries (paper prepared for and presented to the 28th Annual Conference on New York State History on June 8, 2007). 

Thu., Jan. 07, 2016:  The 1790 U.S. Census and What It Reveals About Slavery in Pelham.

Wed., Dec. 16, 2015:  The Will of Joshua Pell Sr. of the Manor of Pelham Dated March 1, 1758.

Wed., Apr. 12, 2006:  1712 Census of Westchester County Documents Slave Ownership in Pelham. 

Mon., Apr. 03, 2006:  1805 Will of William Bayley of Pelham Included Disposition of Slaves. 

Fri., Feb. 17, 2006:  Runaway Slave Notice Published by John Pell in 1748 Comes to Light.

Wed., Jul. 19, 2006:  Pelham Manor Runaway Slave Notice in June 30, 1777 Issue of The New-York Gazette; And The Weekly Mercury.

Mon., Jul. 18, 2005: Pelham Manor Runaway Slave Notice in August 29, 1789 Issue of The New-York Packet 

Bell, Blake A., Records of Slavery and Slave Manumissions in 18th and 19th Century Pelham, The Pelham Weekly, Vol. XIII, No. 27, Jul. 9, 2004.

Jacob, the man Rem Rapalje enslaved, does not seem to appear in the 1790 U.S. Census.  Indeed, until research revealed Rem Rapelje's will, there was no record of a slave named Jacob owned by Rem Rapelje previously known to this author.  Though the will does not indicate where Jacob worked, it is virtually certain that he worked, at least at times, on Rem Rapelje's farm in Pelham.  

Rem Rapelje named his son, George, an Executor and his wife, "Nelly," an Executrix under the will.  Rapelje bequeathed a life interest in the Glass House Farm to his wife, as well as "the use" of household furniture, farming utensils, livestock, and other such property during her life.  He further bequeathed three thousand pounds to his wife with any remainder at the time of her death due to the couple's son, George.

Rapelje's will further bequeathed an annual payment of "two hundred pounds current money of New York" to his granddaughter Maria Rapelje, a daughter of Rem Rapelje's deceased son Abel Rapelje.  The money was to be paid to her "out of the Rent Income or Profits" of the 350-acre farm on Pelham Neck.  Maria Rapelje died in 1817 and is buried in the cemetery of St. Paul's Church of Eastchester.

The remainder of Rem Rapelje's real estate and other property went to his son, George Rapelje, including the large farm in Pelham.  George Rapelje, who married Susan Elizabeth Provoost (a daughter of Samuel Provoost and Maria Bousfield), lived on that farm for many years thereafter.

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Below is the text of Rem Rapelje's last will and testament.  Thereafter are images of the record of that will with each followed by a citation and link to its source.

"173

The People of the State of New York by the grace of God Free and Independent.  To all to whom these presents shall come or may concern send greeting

Know Ye that at the Town of White Plains in the County of Westchester on the twentieth -- day of November in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and five before Edward Thomas Esquire Surrogate of our said county the last will and testament of Rem Rapalje deceased (a copy whereof is hereunto annexed) was proved and is now approved and allowed by us; and the said deceased having whilst he lived and at the time of his death goods, chattels or credits within this State by means whereof the proving and registering the said will and the granting administration of all and singular the said goods, chattels and credits and also the auditing, allowing and final discharging the account thereof now belong unto us:  the administration of all and singular the goods, chattels and credits of the said deceased and any way concerning his will is granted unto George Rapelje as Executor in the said will named he being first duly sworn well and faithfully to administer the same and to make and exhibit a true and perfect inventory of all and singular the said goods, chattels, and credits and also to render a just and true account thereof when thereunto required -- In Testimony whereof we have caused the Seal of Office of our said Surrogate to be hereunto affixed.  Witness Edward Thomas Esquire Surrogate of the said county at White Plains in the said county the twenty third day of November in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and five and of our Independence the thirtieth.  

Edward Thomas Surrogate."

"174

In the name of God Amen.  I Rem Rapelje of the Seventh Ward of the City of New York in the State of New York in North America being of sound and disposing mind, memory and understanding Thanks be to Almight God for the same and considering the uncertainty of life do make this my Last Will and Testament in manner and form following that is to say First I recommend my Soul to Almighty God who gave it to me and my Body to the Earth to be intered in a Christian like manner and as touching such worldly Estate whereof I am possessed I give and dispose thereof in manner as follows  First I will 
and direct that all my just Debts and funeral charges be truly paid and satisfied within some convenience time after my decease.  Item  I give and bequeath unto my dearly beloved wife Nelly Rapelje the Farm I now live on which I bought of William W. Adams 
containing about thirty acres Land and which is called and know [sic] by the name of the Glass House Farm with the Land thereunto adjoining which I bought of the Heirs of one Manderville and others containing on or about thirty acres to have and to hold to her for and during her natural Life.

Item  I give and bequeath unto my said wife the use of all my Household Furniture, farming utensils, Horses, Cows, Waggon, [illegible] Slay Chare and also the Use of my Negro named Jacob for and during her natural life --

Item  I give and bequeath unto my said loving wife the interest of three thousand Pounds which is to be set apart out of my Bonds or money out of my Estate which together with the beforesaid real and personal Estate is for and in lieu of her Dower for and during her natural Life and at her Death I give the said real and personal Estate with the three thousand pounds unto my son George Rapelje to Have and to Hold to him, his Heirs and assigns for ever --

Item  I give and bequeath unto my Grand Daughter Maria Rapelje Daughter of my Son Abel Rapelje deceas'd the Sum of two hundred pounds current money of New York annually and to be set apart and to be paid to her out"

"175

out [sic] of the Rent Income or Profits of the Farm I bought of Thomas Pell on the Manor of Pelham Every Year during her natural life and at her Death to revert to my Son George Rapelje his Heirs and assigns for ever -- And I hereby nominate and appoint my son George Rapelje trustee well and truly to perform my Bequeath to my Grand Daughter Maria Rapelje

Item  All the Rest, Residue and Remainder of my real and personal Estate whatsoever and wheresoever I give and Bequeath unto my Son George Rapelje to Have and to Hold to him, his Heirs and assigns for ever.  Lastly I hereby nominate and appoint my loving Wife Nelly Executrix and my Son George Executor of this my last Will and Testament hereby revoking and disannulling all former Wills by me heretofore made.  In Witness whereof I have hereunto set my Hand and Seal this Eight day of July in the Year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and ninety five.  Rem Rapelje LS [LS Appears within indication of seal at this point]  Signed, Sealed and delivered by the said Rem Rapelje as his last Will and Testament in the presence of us.  The word and in the 6th Line first erased & the word pounds between 23 & 24 Line first interlined.  Mangle Minthorne, Joseph Stringham, Frank Child. -- 

Westchester County  ss.  Be it Remembered that on this twentieth day of November in the Year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and five personally appeared before me Edward Thomas Surrogate of the said County of Westchester, Mangle Minthorne Esquire -- who being duly sworn upon his Oath declared that he did see Rem Rapelje sign and seal the preceding written instrument purporting to be the will of the said Rem Rapelje bearing date the Eighth day of July in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and ninety five and heard him publish and declare the same as and for his last Will"

"176

and Testament that at the Time thereof he the said Rem Rapelje was of sound and disposing mind and memory to the Best of the Knowledge and Belief of him the Deponent and that Joseph Stringham, Frank Child and the Deponent severally subscribed the said will as witnesses thereto in the Testator's presence.

23d November 1805.  I delivered to George Rapelje the original will of his father Rem Rapelje of which the preceding is a Copy.  It was delivered to him at Harlem Bridge with Receipt for same -- 

Edward Thomas --"

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Below are images of the record of Rem Rapelje's will, the text of which appears immediately above.  Each image below is followed by a citation and link to its source.

Page 1 of Will of Rem Rapelje.  Source:

New York Wills and Probate Records - Vol.

D-F, 1803-1815, p. 173 (available via Ancestry.com;

paid subscription required to access via this link).

NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

Page 2 of Will of Rem Rapelje.  Source:

New York Wills and Probate Records - Vol.

D-F, 1803-1815, p. 174 (available via Ancestry.com;

paid subscription required to access via this link).

NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

Page 3 of Will of Rem Rapelje.  Source:

New York Wills and Probate Records - Vol.

D-F, 1803-1815, p. 175 (available via Ancestry.com;

paid subscription required to access via this link).

NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

Page 4 of Will of Rem Rapelje.  Source:

New York Wills and Probate Records - Vol.

D-F, 1803-1815, p. 176 (available via Ancestry.com;

paid subscription required to access via this link).

NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

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1805 Advertisement Reveals Much About the Pelham Farm of Rem Rapelje

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Rem Rapelje was born in Brooklyn, New York during the mid-1700s.  He lost his father as a young child.  His mother remarried but his relationship with his stepfather was quite poor and, according to his son, George Rapelje, Rem "sought for friendly aid elsewhere."  As a young man, Rem Rapelje hustled for his living.  As a very, very young man, he was a ship owner.  He also dealt in general merchandise and kept a store on Maiden Lane in New York City "directly in rear of his dwelling."  An uncle who was in the "corn, grain, and flour business" and owned a store for the business took him into the store "which was at the fork of Maiden Lane and Crown Street."  Soon, on behalf of the business, he was sent in a schooner to Curacao. 

Rem Rapelje was a Loyalist, but he remained in the New York region after the Revolutionary War.  When the war ended, he purchased a farm known as "Glass House Farm" located along the Hudson River about three miles from New York City. 

By 1790, according to both the 1790 U.S. Census and a plan of pews for St. Paul's Church in Eastchester, Rem Rapelje had moved to Pelham.  See Wed., Aug. 15, 2007:  Plan of Pews in St. Paul's Church 1790.  He purchased a massive 300 acre farm on Pelham Neck and the surrounding region.  He had a brother-in-law named John Hardenbrook who also resided in Pelham.  He lived in Pelham on that farm until his death in about 1805.

I have written about Rem Rapelje, his son George, and the Rapelje farm on Pelham Neck a number of times.  See, e.g.:

Fri., Jan. 08, 2016:  Pelhamite Rem Rapelje, a Loyalist, Was "Rode on Rails" During the Revolutionary War.

Wed., Oct. 03, 2007:  Book by George Rapelje, Pelham Resident Along With His Father, Rem Rapelje, Published in 1834. 

Mon., Feb. 27, 2006:  Another Description of the Farm of Rem Rapelje of Pelham Published in 1806. 

Wed., Aug. 24, 2005:  1807 Advertisement for Sale of Property of Rem Rapelje in Pelham.

A very interesting and detailed advertisement offering Rem Rapelje's Pelham farm for sale was published in early January, 1805, shortly before Raelje's death.  The advertisement sheds fascinating light on the farm, its layout, its farmhouse (and the layout of that home), outbuildings and more.

According to the advertisement, the Rapelje farm contained 350 acres, "70 of wood, 60 of salt meadow, 50 of fresh meadow, 30 of arable land, and 40 of pasture."  The advertisement touts the farm's 60 acres of salt meadow.  During the colonial era, proximity to salt marshes was considered important because the salt hay grass that grew there was harvested for bedding and fodder for farm animals and for use as garden mulch.  Additionally, in those days ordinary hay was much less likely to be bailed and stored under cover.  Consequently, when the hay stacks were left in the fields, salt hay grass was used to top the hay stacks to help protect the underlying hay from the elements.

The farm included extensive apple and peach orchards.  According to the advertisement, there were three "young" apple orchards containg about 450 trees "of the best grafted fruit."  Additionally there was "a large peach orchard, and large garden, filled with every kind of fruit in its season of the most delicate sort."  There also was an orchard nursery grafted the previous year (1804) containing "500 apple trees, fit to be transplanted."  

The main home on the farm was described in detail in the advertisement.  It was described as "commodious" with a cellar and two stories with a garret (small attic) above.  There were four rooms on the ground floor and "several rooms" on the second floor.  

The outbuildings were surprisingly numerous and extensive.  There was a kitchen with a servant's room.  There was a bake house.  The farm also included a dairy house and an overseer's house that had "several rooms and kitchen, and dairy room."  There also was a "large" barn that was 105 feet long, "with every convenience for hay and cattle."  In addition there was a "large coach house and stable" as well as a wagon house, a cart house, a work shop, a fowl house, a corn crib, a granery and "other out houses."  In short, in addition to the main house, there were more than a dozen outbuildings on the extensive Rapelje farm.  

The advertisement touted the farm as perfect for the farmer or a gentleman.  As the ad put it:  "The farm altogether has a superior advantage to most others, either for the farmer or gentleman, being surrounded with fish and game."  The ad also offered for sale the stock, the farming utensils, and "part" of the household furniture in exchange for a "fair valuation."  

In short, the advertisement published on January 8, 1805 sheds fascinating light on a large Pelham farm constructed over the period from roughly 1790 -- only two years after the Town of Pelham was formed by statute -- to about 1805.   

1805 Advertisement Offering Rem Rapelje Farm in Pelham

for Sale.  Source:  FOR SALE, The Evening Post [NY, NY],

Jan. 8, 1805, p. 4, col. 2 (Note:  Paid subscription required to access

via this link).  Text of Advertisement is Transcribed Immediately Below

to Facilitate Search.  NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

"FOR SALE, the Farm of the subscriber at Pelham, West Chester county, 19 miles from New-York, and 2 miles from the Boston post road, nearly surrounded by water, East Chester Bay on the southerly side, and New Rochelle Bay on the northerly and easterly side.  The Farm contains about 350 acres, 70 of wood, 60 of salt meadow, 50 of fresh meadow, 30 of arable land, and 40 of pasture.  The land is superior to most in the state, wanting no manure.  There are 3 young bearing apple orchards, containing about 450 trees of the best grafted fruit; also, a large peach orchard, and large garden, filled with every kind of fruit in its season of the most delicate sort.  There is also a nursery, grafted a year ago, of 500 apple trees, fit to be transplanted.  On the premises is a commodious dwelling, containing 4 rooms on the lower floor, a cellar underneath, several rooms upstairs, and a garret above; also, a kitchen and servants room, a bake house and dairy house, an overseer's house, with several rooms and kitchen, and dairy room, a large barn, 105 feet long, with every convenience for hay and cattle, and a large coach house and stable, a waggon house, cart house, work shop, corn crib, fowl house, granery, and other out houses -- The farm altogether has a superior advantage to most others, either for the farmer or gentleman, being surrounded with fish and game.  Any person purchasing, may have the stock and farming utensils, and part of the household furniture at a fair valuation.  A small part of the purchase money to be paid on delivery of the deeds, the residue secured by bond and mortgage.  Apply to

REM. RAPELJE,
On the premises, or
GEORGE RAPELJE,
13 Hudson-st head of Jay-st. New-York.

Who has also for sale,

A full blooded three years old stud HORSE, 18 hands high, the largest horse of his age ever seen in America.  For pedigree and terms apply as above.

Also, to Rent, from the first of April nexxt, the Country Seat where the subscriber formerly resided at Greenwich, joining the North-river, about a mile above the state prison, occupied last summer by Mr. Gilbert Robertson.

Also to Rent, joining the above, about 16 acres of Land, with house and barn, occupied several years past by a gardener.  They will be let separate or together.  Apply as above, to 

G. RAPELJE.
Jan. 3 cad 2w"

Source:  FOR SALE, The Evening Post [NY, NY], Jan. 8, 1805, p. 4, col. 2 (Note:  Paid subscription required to access via this link).  

Detail of Map Prepared in 1853 Showing Pelham Neck and Lands

Owned by the Rapelje Family. 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). NOTE: Click on Image to Enlarge.

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Pelhamite Rem Rapelje, a Loyalist, Was "Rode on Rails" During the Revolutionary War

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A prevalent extrajudicial punishment by mob during colonial times was known as "riding the rail" or being "run out of town on a rail."  A victim of such punishment was forced to straddle a rail, usually with his hands tied behind his back.  A group then lifted the rail to their shoulders and paraded the victim, who often also was tarred and feathered, throughout the community.  Although the treatment was quite painful, it also was intended to humiliate the victim and force him to conform to the mob's demands -- or leave the community.  

American patriots during the Revolutionary War used the mob punishment against Loyalists in their midst.  One such Loyalist who lived in Brooklyn at the time, but later became an important landowner in, and resident of, the Town of Pelham was Rem Rapelje.

I have written of Rem Rapelje and the Rapelje family in Pelham before.  For a few examples, see:

Wed., Oct. 03, 2007:  Book by George Rapelje, Pelham Resident Along With His Father, Rem Rapelje, Published in 1834.  

Mon., Feb. 27, 2006:  Another Description of the Farm of Rem Rapelje of Pelham Published in 1806.  

Wed., Aug. 24, 2005:  1807 Advertisement for Sale of Property of Rem Rapelje in Pelham.

Rem Rapelje was born in Brooklyn, New York during the mid-1700s.  He lost his father as a young child.  His mother remarried but his relationship with his stepfather was quite poor and, according to his son, George Rapelje, Rem "sought for friendly aid elsewhere."  As a young man, Rem Rapelje hustled for his living.  As a very, very young man, he was a ship owner.  He also dealt in general merchandise and kept a store on Maiden Lane in New York City "directly in rear of his dwelling."  An uncle who was in the "corn, grain, and flour business" and owned a store for the business took him into the store "which was at the fork of Maiden Lane and Crown Street."  Soon, on behalf of the business, he was sent in a schooner to Curacao.

Rem Rapelje was a Loyalist, but he remained in the New York region after the Revolutionary War.  When the war ended, he purchased a farm known as "Glass House Farm" located along the Hudson River about three miles from New York City.

By 1790, according to both the 1790 U.S. Census and a plan of pews for St. Paul's Church in Eastchester, Rem Rapelje had moved to Pelham.  See Wed., Aug. 15, 2007:  Plan of Pews in St. Paul's Church 1790.  He purchased a massive 300 acre farm on Pelham Neck and the surrounding region.  He had a brother-in-law named John Hardenbrook who also resided in Pelham.  He lived in Pelham on that farm until his death in about 1805.

Notice Published After Rem Rapelje's Death in the November

30, 1805 Issue of The Evening Post.  [Text Transcribed

Immediately Below].  Source:  TAKE NOTICE [Advertisement],

The Evening Post, Nov. 30, 1805, p. 2, col. 2 (NOTE:  Paid

subscription required to access link.)  NOTE:  Click on Image

to Enlarge.

"TAKE NOTICE. . . . . All persons having just or legal demands against the estate of REM RAPELJE, late of the town of Pelham, in Westchester County, and formerly of the city of New York, merchant, deceased, are requested to present their accounts well authenticate for instant payment; and those indebted to said estate to make payment to GEORGE RAPLJE, Executor, 14 Vesey street.  Nov. 29 1m"

Before Rem Rapelje's death, his son, George Rapelje, moved to Pelham and lived for a time with his father.  Thereafter, George Rapelje sold the farm in Pelham and moved to New York City.  (As a source for much of this background information, see Rapelje, George, A Narrative of Excursions, Voyages, and Travels, Performed at Different Periods in America, Europe, Asia, and Africa, pp. 2, 3, 11, 56-57 (NY, NY: West & Trow, 1834).

As a Loyalist during the Revolutionary War, Rem Rapelje found himself subject to  humiliation by a mob of American Patriots, at least according to a letter found in the collections of The New-York Historical Society.  That letter, dated "Staten Island, August 17, 1776," states:

"The persecution of the loyalists continues unremitted.  Donald McLean, Theophilus Hardenbrook, young Fueter, the silversmith, and Rem Rapelje of Brooklyn have been cruelly rode on rails, a practice most painful, dangerous, and, till now, peculiar to the humane republicans of New England."

[For a full citation to the letter and a published version of it, see the end of today's posting.]

Image Depicting a Colonial Mob Riding a Poor Victim

Who Has Been Tarred and Feathered on a Rail.

NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

Detail of Map Prepared in 1853 Showing Pelham Neck and Lands

Owned by the Rapelje Family. 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).  NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

*          *          *          *          *

"In the 'Upcott Collection' in the New York Historical Society Library, Vol. IV., p. 288, is a letter dated 'Staten Island, August 17, 1776,' which says:

'The persecution of the loyalists continues unremitted.  Donald McLean, Theophilus Hardenbrook, young Fueter, the silversmith, and Rem Rapelje of Brooklyn have been cruelly rode on rails, a practice most painful, dangerous, and, till now, peculiar to the humane republicans of New England.'"

Source:  De Lancey, Edward Floyd, ed., History of New York During the Revolutionary War and of the Leading Events in the Other Colonies at that Period, by Thomas Jones, Justice of the Supreme Court of the Province, Vol. I, p. 597 (NY, NY:  Trow's Printing & Bookbinding Co., Printed for the New York Historical Society, 1879) (New York Historical Society -- The John D. Jones Fund Series of Histories and Memoirs).  

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Abel Deveau, An American Skirmisher on Rodman's Neck as British and Germans Landed Before the Battle of Pelham

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Early on the morning of October 18, 1776, Col. John Glover stood on a hill overlooking the Hutchinson River near today's Memorial Field in Mount Vernon, New York.  He looked across the rolling hills and what he saw caused a chill up his spine.  Thousands of British and German troops were landing on the western shore of Pell's Point (today's Rodman's Neck) from ships anchored in Eastchester Bay 

The story of Col. John Glover and the few hundred men that he led that day in a successful effort to slow the advance of the British and German troops in their effort to cut off the withdrawal of George Washington's army toward White Plains is well known.  Surprisingly little, however, is known about the details of the battle with only a couple of brief eyewitness accounts known to exist. 

As luck would have it, we now know a little about the American skirmishers who first met the British and German troops as they landed on Pell's Point.  A local resident named Abel Deveau was among the group of skirmishers located on Pell's Point charged with the task of slowing the British advance along Rodman's Neck and alerting the distant American troops that a battle likely was imminent.

Detail from Map by Charles Blaskowitz Depicting

the Landing Area of the British and German Troops

Before the Battle of Pelham on October 18, 1776.

Source:  Blaskowitz, Charles, A Survey of Frog's Neck
and the Rout[e] of the British Army to the 24th of October
1776, Under the Command of His Excellency the Honorable
William Howe, General and Commander in Chief of His
Majesty's Forces, Manuscript (1776) (Library of Congress
Geography and Map Division Washington, D.C.; Library
of Congress Catalog No. gm71000648; Library of Congress
Digital ID g3802t ar115200 http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.gmd/g3802t.ar115200

Typically, skirmishers are infantry or cavalry placed ahead of, or alongside, a larger body of friendly troops. They are usually placed in a skirmish line to harass and slow the advance of the enemy as the main body of friendly troops prepares to meet the enemy.  Often skirmishers will harass the enemy troops as they fall back to their own main line of troops to join the fight.

In the nineteenth century, a local resident named Abel Deveau often related stories of how he and others served as skirmishers who met the mass of 4,000 British and German troops as they landed on today's Rodman's Neck in advance of the Battle of Pelham on October 18, 1776.  Robert Bolton included a brief reference to Deveau's account of his exploits in his two volume revised history of Westchester County published in 1881, shortly after Bolton's death.  The brief reference is quoted immediately below, followed by a citation to its source.

“Deveau town is a small scattered hamlet in this vicinity, so named after Abel Deveau, an old whig of the Revolution, and proprietor of a small estate. This individual was proud of relating how he and others were deployed as skirmishes [sic] to way-lay the British near the causeway, after their landing on Pelham Neck, in 1776, firing behind the rock near Rapelye’s and retiring, as they advanced, towards Eastchester. The late Abel Deveau, of Pelham, was his son; and one of his grandsons is the present Richard Deveau, of New Rochelle.” 

Source: Bolton, Robert, History of the Several Towns, Manors, and Patents of the County of Westchester, From Its First Settlement to the Present Time, Carefully Revised by Its Author, Vol. II, p. 100 (NY, NY: Chas. F. Roper, 1881) (Edited by Cornelius Winter Bolton).

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Book by George Rapelje, Pelham Resident Along With His Father, Rem Rapelje, Published in 1834

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Google Books continues to be a wonderful source of information about the history of Pelham. For example, during an unrelated search I ran across a wonderful book published in 1834 entitled "A Narrative of Excursions, Voyages, and Travels, Performed at Different Periods in America, Europe, Asia, and Africa". The book was written by George Rapelje, an attorney who lived for many years in Pelham and inherited the estate of his father, Rem Rapelje, located on Pelham Neck. He sold that estate and moved to New York City shortly after his father's death.

The book, which provides a wealth of information regarding two early residents of Pelham, includes a number of insteresting references to the Rapelje farm in Pelham. Below are a couple of examples of such references.

"When I returned to New-York [in the early years of the 19th century], I found my father had moved to Pelham, Westchester county, and also his brother-in-law, John Hardenbrook, Esq. He had a noble farm there of three hundred acres. The water of the Sound and Eastchester Bay laved the shores of his farm, and furnished most excellent fishing, which we enjoyed; often bringing home fine black-fish and sheep-heads, the latter not unfrequently weighing from ten to fifteen pounds." [Page 56]

"I built a house and resided on the banks of the Hudson, about two miles from the city of New-York, for six years. After this, I resided at Pelham until my father's death, when I sold my farm and came to live in the city of New-York." [Page 57]

As one would expect, the book also provides a wealth of information about these two early Pelham residents. Below is an example:

""I shall indulge myself in giving a few particulars of my life.

I was born on the 9th of August, 1771, in a three story brick house, on the north side of Liberty-street, at that time called Crown-street; the house was a few doors from the corner of William-street. My father's name was Rem Rapelje, and at that time, before business was so distinctly divided as it now is, was a ship owner, dealt in general merchandise, and kept a store in Maiden-lane, directly in rear of his dwelling- [Page 2 / Page 3] house. He was a native of Brooklyn, Long Island. He lost his father when a child, and his mother having contracted a second marriage, he felt all the chilling influence of a step-father, and sought for friendly aid elsewhere. He fortunately had an uncle, in the corn, grain, and flour business, a thrifty, intelligent man, who took him into his store, which was at the fork of Maiden-lane and Crown-street. Here, after a few years of industrious labor, during which he supported the character of an intelligent, honest young man, he was sent in a schooner, as supercargo, to the island of Curacoa [sic], in the West indies, and although but twenty-one years of age, had other vessels consigned to him. His personal appearance, his honesty, his amenity of manners, as well as his intelligence, made him a popular young man. . . . [Page 11]

At the close of the American war, my father purchased the glass-house farm, three miles and an half from the city, as it then was, but now in it, on the North river. It received its name from an unsuccessful attempt to make glass bottles there. It was little north of a country seat called Content, a delightful place, the summer residence of a Mrs. McAdam, sister to a Mrs. Shaw, whose daughter had married Sir Richard Wheat, and after his death, admiral Lord Cochran, who, if living, now resides in Scotland. My father resided at the glass-house farm thirteen years, when he removed to a much larger farm, at Pelham, West Chester country, where he resided until his death, which happened at the age of seventy-six years and ten months; my mother survived him several years."

Source: Rapelje, George, A Narrative of Excursions, Voyages, and Travels, Performed at Different Periods in America, Europe, Asia, and Africa, pp. 2, 3, 11, 56-57 (NY, NY: West & Trow, 1834).

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