of treason, and his large property confiscated." "At the evacuation in 1783, he went to England, and died at Beverly, Yorkshire in 1785, aged sixty-eight. His body is interred in the choir of the Minster, while a mouument standing near the transept records his services." "His son, Oliver de Lancey, jr., was educated in Europe; put early in the 17th Light Dragoons; was a captain at the commencement of the Revolution; became Major in 1776, a Lieutenant Colonel a year or two later, and succeeded André as Adjutant General of the British army in America. On his return to Europe, he was made Deputy Adjutant General of England; as a Major General he got the Colonelcy of the 17th Light Dragoons; was subsequently made Barrack Master General of the British empire; rose through the grade of Lieutenant General to that of General, and died, some six or eight and twenty years since, nearly at the head of the English Army list. This branch of the family is now extinct in the male line; its last man having been killed at Waterloo, in the person of Sir William Heathcote de Lancey, the Quarter-master General of Wellington's army." Peter de Lancey, youngest son of the Huguenot, to whom his father devised the mills, was a man of wealth and of considerable influence in the colony. His wife was Alice, daughter of Cadwallader Colden, lieutenant governor of the Province of New York in 1761. His children were John, father of Mrs. Yates, relict of Governor Yates, and Lt. Col. James de Lancey, a distinguished military officer. "James was for a considerable time sheriff of Westchester county. He took a battalion in the brigade of his uncle Oliver de Lancey, called the Loyalist Rangers, or DE a The command of the Loyalist Rangers afforded Colonel de Lancey facilities for communicating with his old associates in this section of country, and was the means of inducing some of the landed gentry to take an active part in the contest. This was particularly the case with Samuel Kip, Esq., of a family which from the first settlement by the Dutch had possessed a grant of land at Kip's Bay, and in other parts of New York island. Members of this family were named as officers under the Crown in the royal charter granted when the British first took possession of the colony in 1664, and in that given thirty years later. Having been always associated with the government, and from their landed interest wielding an influence in its affairs, they were naturally predisposed to espouse the royal cause. In addition to this, Mr. Kip's estate was near that of Col. de Lancey, and a close intimacy had always existed between them. He was, therefore, easily induced to accept a cap LANCEY'S HORSE. In consequence of his familiarity with the county, Lt. Col. James de Lancey was stationed much of his time in Westchester, to keep open the means of procuring supplies. His corps made free with the cattle of that part of the country, and got the soubriquet of "Cow Boys," in revenge for their knowledge in the article of beef." The colonel finally fixed his residence in Nova Scotia, and in 1797, was sworn in as a member of the council of that colony. He died at Annapolis, N. S., about the year 1809. Martha Tippett, his widow, also died there in 1827, aged 73, and where his sons are still living. Oliver de Lancey, third son of Peter and Alice, threw up his commission in the British service at the commencement of the Revolutionary war. His children are resident in the town. Peter, the fourth son, and Lt. Col. Warren de Lancey, besides four daughters.a By an indenture bearing date the 29th of July, 1774, the trustees of Westchester for divers considerations, sold to James and Oliver de Lancey, and their heirs and assignees, the ground under the water of Broncks's river, and all such lands as had been granted or appointed by the town, for the use of the mills, &c.a The present proprietor, Philip M. Lydig, Esq., holds by conveyance from under Oliver de Lancey, Esq. The dwelling house which once served as the head-quarters of Washington, was destroyed by fire a few years since. The grounds, which display all the elegance of modern gardening, rise in a succession of terraces from the water's edge. Near the old mansion stands a majestic pine tree, a noble relic of contest. taiu's commission from the royal government and embark all his interests in this He raised a company of cavalry, principally from his own tenants, joined the British army with the colonel, and from his intimate knowledge of the country was enabled to gain the reputation of an active and daring partisan officer. For this reason he was for a time assigned to a command in the Loyalist Rangers. In one of the severe skirmishes which took place in Westchester county in 1781, Capt. Kip, while charging a body of American troops, had his horse killed under him, and received a severe bayonet wound. He survived, however, several years after the war, though, like his friend De Lancey, a heavy pecuniary sufferer from the cause he had espoused. For many of the above particulars we are indebted to Mr. Cooper's correspondence in the Home Journal of 1848. Rec. of Trustees, pp. 88, 89. the past. "The following appropriate lines were written by a gentleman, after a visit paid to this beautiful spot, the former residence of the De Lancey family. De Lancey Mills, Westchester, the head quarters of Lt. Col. James de Lancey. From the original picture in the possession of Dr. Bayard of West Farms. DE LANCEY'S ANCIENT PINE. Where gentle Bronx clear winding flows, Where blossomed bell or wilding rose Memorial of the fallen great, There once at early dawn arrayed The gallant master of the glade, Bedecked his eager steed. And once the lightfoot maiden came In loveliness divine, To sculpture with the dearest name, De Lancey's ancient pine. But now the stranger's foot explores De Lancey's wide domain, And scarce one kindred heart restores, His memory to the plain : And just like one in age alone, Bends sadly where the waters moan, De Lancey's ancient pine. Oh, victim of misguided zeal To tell thy former fame! Who bids the fretted stone reveal Wo ho! the satiate traveller stays At a short distance from Lydig's mills, on the property of Mr. Leonard Mapes, may be seen the ruins of an old chateau, since the residence of Lewis H. Guerlain. The following inscription upon a marble monument hard by, so touchingly records the history of its former inmates, that any further account would be needless. A. D. 1798, sacred to the memory of virtue, merit and beauty; to Sarah Guerlain, the beloved consort of Lewis H. Guerlain. Alas! 'tis in vain! the spirit has fled! Sarah has sunk in the tomb, The beauty of nature lies mix'd with the dead Gods! how severe is the doom: As a delicate lily that blows in the vale, That springs to perfection and dies, So she bloomed, and then sickened; but, shall we bewail? The grave of the pure is the path to the skies. ETERNITY HOW LONG! In 1798, 7th March, Sarah died in the West Indies, in the 20th year of her age, in the passage from St. Croix to St. Christopher's and was brought back by her disconsolate husband to this peaceful mansion, the place of their union, the 4th of October, 1795, Immediately north of the village of West Farms, lies Bronx dale, the sides of which present a most romantic appearance. In this neighborhood, is a small settlement, containing two public houses, two stores and about twenty dwellings, also the extensive bleach factory of Mr. James Bolton, and the snuff mills of Mr. Peter Lorillard. The beautiful seat of the latter gentleman is rendered particularly attractive, from the contiguity of over hanging woods, and its due vicinity to the river. The low ground east of Bronx dule, is called Bear swamp. The general "surface of Westchester is rolling, and in some places hilly; soil, clay loam, mostly susceptible of high cultivation." "The lands produce all kinds of grain, but they are best adapted to grass and pasturage. Almost every variety of fruit trees flourish here. The principal growth of wood is oak of all sorts, chesnut and hickory, &c. It is freely watered in every part by springs and rivulets." |