ing and management of his children during minority, &c., and from the moneys in England due to her the sum of £100 to be paid to her annually. Item. To his eldest son Gilbert he devises his dwelling house at Mamaroneck, together with the neck of land called Mamaroneck east neck, and all mills, &c., and rights of streams within the limits of Mamaroneck township, known by the name of the Two Miles Bounds, and also all my lands lying on the east side of Mamaroneck river; and the lands I bought from Anne Richbell, within the county of Westchester aforesaid, running eighteen miles in length into the woods, I hereby give and bequeath unto my said son Gilbert Heathcote, one thousand acres, to be laid out by my wife, &c. "Item. Out of the legacy lately left me by my brother, William Heathcote, in England, I hereby give and devise to my son Gilbert, £2500 sterling. To my son William Heathcote the same; and to my four daughters, Anne, Mary, Martha and Elizabeth £4000 each. "His two brothers in-law, Col. Henry Smith and Major Wi!liam Smith, he constitutes and appoints executors of this his last will and testament.a The last will of his wife, Martha Heathcote, bears date 13th of August, 1736, by which she bequeaths to her daughter Anne, the wife of James de Lancey, the sum of £1000, also a pair of silver candlesticks, silver snuffers and snuff dish, together with my silver tea pot, silver tankard, and my large coffer. To her daughter Martha Johnston she bequeaths the like sum of £1000, and to her daughters Anne and Martha all her wearing apparel, &c. The sons of Col. Caleb Heathcote died in their minority, upon which the manor of Scarsdale, with other possessions, descended to Anne and Martha, their surviving sisters and heiresses. Anne, the eldest, married the Honorable James de Lancey, lieutenant governor of the province. The children of Anne and the Honorable James de Lancey were first Captain James de Lancey, who greatly distinguished himself as the aide of General Aber VOL. II. A Surrogate's Office, N. Y. lib. viii. 234. crombie at the celebrated siege of Fort Ticonderoga, father of the present Lieutenant Colonel James de Lancey, of Somerset, England, the eldest heir male of the De Lancey family. The youngest son was Major John Peter de Lancey of Heathcote Hill, Mamaroneck, who married Elizabeth, daughter of Colonel Richard Floyd, of Floyd's neck, Long Island. This individual ultimately became possessor of the Scarsdale estates. John Peter de Lancey, by his last will and testament, bearing date 28th of January, 1823, bequeathed his property amongst his surviving children; namely, William Heathcote, Elizabeth Caroline, Martha Arabella, Anne Charlotte, and Susannah Augusta de Lancey. Under the Heathcotes and De Lanceys, the Angevines held the farm bearing their name for four generations, whilst the Secor family rented the Hickories. By a survey and division of Heathcote's lands lying in Scarsdale manor on the 11th of August, A. D. 1774, in the county of Westchester, the property of Caleb Heathcote in his lifetime, and which remain unsold by his descendants since his death, &c. No. 1, in north division, contained twenty-one lots, and likewise two small lots in the possession of William Barker. Lots Nos. 16 and 17 were controverted lands in this division. Upon the west side of the manor the proprietors appear to have been the Crawfords, Devauxs, Vailes, Gedneys, Angevines, Tompkinses and Townsends. On the east side, the Griffens, Fishers, Vails, Underhills, Gedneys and Cromwells. On the south-west, the Griffens and Barkers. The surface of this town is undulating and hilly; soil, sandy and clay loam; drained, south by the Bronx river, which bounds it on the west. Two small streams called the Hutchinson and Sheldrake, rise in Scarsdale, and flow southerly into the sound. The latter is a tributary of the Mamaroneck river. They are well supplied with all kinds of fresh water fish. The most prominent features of Scarsdale, however, are the extensive tracts of woodland which completely cover its wild and romantic hills on the west, displaying themselves to great advantage from every part of the surrounding country. The Saxton forest which forms a large portion of this woody district, abounds with foxes, rabbits and other wild game, and retains much of its ancient grandeur. At the fox meadows, Scarsdale, was born on the 21st of June, 1774, that distinguished individual Daniel D. Tompkins, Vice President of the United States. He was the seventh son of the Hon. Jonathan G. Tompkins, by his wife Sarah Hyatt, and grandson of Stephen Tompkins, whose ancestors emigrated originally from the north of England, (during the time of the religious persecution in that country,) and landed at Plymouth, in the colony of Massachusetts;b from Plymouth they removed to Concord. John Tompkins of that place, had John born there in 1642, and a daughter, Ruth, in 1640. The Tompkins family subsequently emigrated to Fairfield, in Connecticut. In 1649, we find John Tompkins proprietor of lands in Fairfield. From Fairfield, the family removed to Eastchester, Westchester Co. The name of Nathaniel Tompkins occurs among a list of the first proprietors of Eastchester, in 1665. Of this family was Micah Tompkins of Milford, Connecticut, who secreted King Charles' judges when they fled to Milford. "The regicides Whalley and Goffe, (says Mr. Lambert) lived in the town from the 20th of August, 1661, for more than two years, till they went to Hadley. Here they were secreted by Mr. Tompkins, in the basement story of a shop standing near his dwelling. It is related that Mr. Tompkins's daughters often spun in the shop, and sometimes would sing some poetry which was composed about that time, concerning the martyrdom of King Charles, (in which they are mentioned) which much amused the judges. The girls were of course acquainted with their concealment. After remaining in Eastchester a short time, the sons of Nathaniel and John Tompkins removed to Scarsdale and Greenburgh, where they purchased lands and permanently settled. "The father of Daniel D. Tompkins was a member of the state convention, which adopted the Declaration of Independence and the first constitution of the state. He was a member of The fox meadow estate originally belonged to the Griffin family, and passed from Jonathan Griffin to his adopted son, Jonathan Griffin Tompkins, b Herring's Nat. Portrait Gallery. • Shattucks' Hist. of Concord. d Lambert's Hist. of New Haven, 144. |