i Class JHlS ^ Book_t~Bii5_W_6 Edition limited to two hundred and fifty numbered copies, of which this is number .\ — The Bar of Rye Township Westchester County New York An Historical and Biographical Record 1660-1918 Arthur Russell Wilcox " There is properly no history, only biography." Emerson 8 Copyright, 191 BY ARTHUR R. WILCOX 2^ / i-o Ubc "ftnicftctbocftcr press, tKz\o aoch TO MY MOTHER THIS VOLUME IS LOVINGLY AND .VFFECTIONATELY INSCRIBED — " Discourage litigation. Persuade your neighbors to compromise whenever you can. Point out to them how the nominal winner is often a real loser—in fees, expenses and waste of time. As a peacemaker, the lawyer has a superior opportunity of being a good man. Never stir up litigation. A worse man can scarcely be found than one who does this. Who can be more nearly a fiend than he who habitually overhauls the register of deeds in search of defects in titles, whereupon to stir up strife and put money in his pocket? A moral tone ought to be enforced in the profession which would drive such men out of it." Lincoln. Foreword This work, undertaken chiefly as a diversion, soon became a considerable task, but none the less a pleasant one. It is something which should have been done long since. The eminence of some of Rye's lawyers fully justifies it. It is far from complete. Indeed, at this late day it could not be otherwise; records have disappeared, recollections have become dim, and avenues of investigation are closed. Some names, perhaps, have been rescued from oblivion. Others must be forever lost. It is hoped the information here gathered will serve as an incentive to further investigation on the part of others. In the preparation of this volume, recourse has been had to Mr. J. Thomas Scharf 's History of West- chester County, and particularly to the admirable article therein entitled " The Bench and Bar of West- chester County," by Mr. Justice Isaac Newton Mills; to the exceedingly valuable and unique History oj Rye, by the Rev. Charles W. Baird, D.D.; to the History oj Westchester County, by the Rev. Robert Bolton; and to numerous other publications, such as state papers, civil lists, gazetteers, and the like, as well as to court records, documents, and other papers. Foreword Valuable assistance has been rendered by Mr, A. P. French, of Port Chester, an authority on historical and genealogical research. Kindly consideration has been accorded and much aid given by members of the Bar and others, and to all such the com- piler extends hearty thanks and makes grateful acknowledgment. Port Chester, N. Y. April, 1 91 8. vni — " But I say to you, and to our whole country, and to all the crowned heads and aristocratic powers and feudal systems that exist, that it is to self-government— the great principle of popular representation and administration—the system that lets in all to participate in the counsels that are to assign the good or evil to all —that we may owe what we are and what we hope to be." Daniel Webster. IX Contents List of Illustrations p JOH^ Jay Frontispiece County Court House at Bedford . Second County Court House at White Plains ...... Another View of the Second County Court House at White Plains Another View of the Second County Court House at White Plains, after it had Fallen into Disuse Third County Court House at White Plains, IN 1858 10 Third County Court House at White Plains, ABOUT Twenty Years ago . 12 Third County Court House at White Plains WITH New Supreme Court Building . 14 Present County Court House ... 16 Another View of the Present County Court House .... 18 xiii Illustrations PAGE Charles Washington Baird, D.D. 20 Square House, Rye .... 22 DeSoto House, Port Chester 24 Liberty Square, Port Chester, about Sixty Years ago .... 26 Final Sitting of the Westchester County Court of Sessions 28 Supreme Court Justice Martin Jerome Keogh 44 Surrogate William Allen Sawyer 50 Nehemiah Brown .... 80 Amherst Wight .... 86 William Patterson Van Rensselaer 90 Charles Thorne Cromwell . 92 Edward Pitkin Cowles . 98 Daniel Haight .... 106 Amherst Wight, Jr. no Samuel William Johnson 1x6 John Edward Parsons . 118 John Erving 126 Hanford Mead Henderson . 130 Illustrations The Bar of Rye Township The County of Westchester Westchester (formerly West Chester) County, prob- ably named after the town of West Chester, which presumably was named in honor of Chester, England, possesses the distinction of being one of the twelve original counties of the State of New York under the English rule, having been erected by an act of the general assembly passed November i, 1683, which was confirmed by a later act passed October, 1691. Its limits, as originally fixed, are still substantially the same, with the exception of its southern portion, which became part of the city of New York. The town of West Chester was selected as the county or shire town, and there, according to the records, the first court of sessions of the peace was held June 3, 1684. The records do not disclose the name of the presiding judge, but it is possible that it was John Pell, of Pelham, who, on August 25, 1688, was appointed judge of the court of common pleas of the county, with authority to associate with himself two or more justices of the peace. A court house was I I The Bar of Rye Township erected at West Chester, and courts continued to be held therein until February 4, 1758, when the build- ing was destroyed by fire. A court of sessions was also held at Eastchester, or East Chester. The last session of the court at West Chester was held No- vember 6, 1759. By an act of the assembly, passed December 16, 1758, a new site for a court house and an appropri- ation of one thousand pounds toward erecting the court house and a gaol, were authorized. The White Plains was selected as the place, and on November 7» 1759. the first session of the court of common pleas was held in the new court house. At that time The White Plains, as it was called, was a part of the town of Rye, as was also Harrison, then called Harrison's Purchase. To Dr. Robert Graham, who resided at The White Plains, is mainly due the credit of having the place of the county seat selected, and it was he who gave to the county the site upon which the court house was erected. In this movement he was ably assisted by John Thomas, who lived in Harrison's Purchase. It was not until 1788 that the towns of White Plains and Harrison were formed. Thus it will be seen that for a time, Rye was the town of the county seat. It may, furthermore, be as- serted that the town of Rye was really the birthplace of the State of New York, because it was at the court house at The White Plains, on the 9th day of July, 1776, that the Declaration of Independence was received by the provincial convention of New York State, then in session there, and the document read 2 THE COUNTY COURT HOUSE AT BEDFORD in which the first session of court was held January 28, 1788 The Bar of Rye Township in front of the building, the convention pledging its support to the Declaration and to the patriot cause. This convention, which had been in session in York City, New was compelled to adjourn its meeting elsewhere as that city was threatened by the British. This court house was located on the site now occupied by the armory on South Broadway, White Plains. This historic structure was set on fire by a detach- ment of Continental troops from New England on the night of November 5, 1776, shortly after the battle of White Plains, which occurred October 28th. Much controversy has been waged over this event, some claiming that it was a miHtary necessity in order to prevent the building from falling into the hands of the British and thereby providing them temporary shelter, others claiming that it was a wantonly unnecessary act. The latter contention is probably the correct one. Fortunately the records of the courts and the provincial convention were removed before the destruction of the court house took place. During the war, the courts were held in the Pres- byterian Church in Bedford, until the destruction of that edifice by the British in 1779. From then until November, 1784, they were held in the meeting house in Upper Salem. A legislative act of April 11, 1785, ordered them to be held in the Presbyterian meeting house at Bedford until the court house should be rebuilt. By an act of May i, 1786, the sum of eighteen 3 The Bar of Rye Township hundred pounds was appropriated for the erection of another court house at White Plains and also one at Bedford. In the Bedford court house the first session of the court was held January 28, 1788, while in the White Plains court house a session was held May 26th, following. Courts were held alternately at these places for many years. The second court house at White Plains, occupied the site of its pre- decessor. It is a matter of regret that this historic site was not preserved as the permanent site of the county court buildings. In 1854, the second court house ended its exist- ence, as such, and the construction of a third one on Railroad Avenue, now the site of the present court house, was commenced, which was completed in 1857.