Historic Shrines of America Part 8

During the weeks when the mansion remained Was.h.i.+ngton's headquarters the curious early flag of the colonists waved above it. In the s.p.a.ce now given to the stars was the British Union Jack, while the thirteen red and white stripes that were to become so familiar completed the design. This flag the English called "the Rebellious Stripes."

On November 16, 1776, Was.h.i.+ngton was at Fort Lee, on the New Jersey sh.o.r.e, opposite the present 160th Street. Desiring to view from the Heights the British operations in their attack on Fort Was.h.i.+ngton, he crossed over to the Morris house. Fifteen minutes after he left the Heights to return to New Jersey, fourteen thousand British and Hessian troops took possession of the Heights, the Morris Mansion, and Fort Was.h.i.+ngton.

The period of British occupation continued, at intervals, until near the close of the war. Since the owner was a Loyalist, the British Government paid rent for it.

After the Revolution the property was confiscated, as appears from an entry in Was.h.i.+ngton's diary, dated July 10, 1790:

"Having formed a Party consisting of the Vice-President, his lady, Son & Miss Smith; the Secretaries of State, Treasury, & War, and the ladies of the two latter; with all the Gentlemen of my family, Mrs. Lear & the two Children, we visited the old position of Fort Was.h.i.+ngton, and afterwards dined on a dinner provided by a Mr. Mariner at the House lately Colo.

Roger Morris, but confiscated and in the occupation of a common Farmer."

For nearly thirty years after the Revolution the stately old house was occupied as a farmhouse or as a tavern. In 1810 it became the home of Stephen Jumel, a wealthy New York merchant, whose widow, Madam Jumel, later gave such wonderful entertainments in the house that the whole city talked about her. After many years of life alone in the mansion, in July, 1833, she married Aaron Burr. He was then seventy-two years old, while she was fifty-nine.

Madam Jumel-Burr lived until July 16, 1865. During her last years she was demented and did many strange things. For a time she maintained an armed garrison in the house, and she rode daily about the grounds at the head of fifteen or twenty men.

The mansion pa.s.sed through a number of hands until, in 1903, t.i.tle to it was taken by the City of New York, on payment of $235,000.

For three years the vacant house was at the mercy of souvenir hunters, but when, in 1906, it was turned over to the Daughters of the American Revolution, to be used as a Revolutionary Museum, twelve thousand dollars were appropriated for repairs and restoration. This amount was woefully inadequate, but it is hoped that further appropriation will make complete restoration possible.

The s.p.a.cious grounds that once belonged to the mansion have been sold for building lots, but the house looks down proudly as ever from its lofty site almost opposite the intersection of Tenth Avenue and One Hundred and Sixty-first Street with St. Nicholas Avenue. The corner of its original dooryard is now Roger Morris Park.

[Ill.u.s.tration: PHILIPSE MANOR HOUSE, YONKERS, N. Y.

_Photo by A. V. Card, Yonkers_ See page 91]

XVIII

THE PHILIPSE MANOR HOUSE, YONKERS, NEW YORK

THE HOME OF MARY PHILIPSE, IN WHOM GEORGE WAs.h.i.+NGTON WAS INTERESTED

At first glance one would not think that the name Yonkers was derived very directly from the name of the first settlers of the region, de Jonkheer Adriaen Van der Donck. When, in 1646, he secured a large tract of land bounded by the Hudson, the Bronx, and Spuyten Duyvil Creek, this was called "Colen Donck" (Donck's Colony) or "De Jonkheer's" (the Young Lord's). As the Dutch "j" is p.r.o.nounced "y,"

the transition from Jonkheers to Yonkers was easy.

On September 29, 1672, after the death of the original owner, 7,708 acres of the princely estate were sold to three men, of whom Frederick Philipse (originally Ffreric Vlypse) was one. A few years later Philipse bought out the heirs of the other two purchasers, and added to his holdings by further purchases from his countrymen and from the Indians. On June 12, 1693, he was permitted to call himself lord of the Manor of Philipsburgh. From that day the carpenter from Friesland, who had grown so rich that he was called "the Dutch millionaire,"

lived in state in the house he had begun in 1682.

This lord of the manor became still more important in consequence of the acceptance of his offer to build a bridge over Spuyt-den-duyvil, or "Spiting Devil" Creek, when the city declined to do so for lack of funds. The deed given to him stated that he had "power and authority to erect a bridge over the water or river commonly called Spiten devil ferry or Paparimeno, and to receive toll from all pa.s.sengers and drovers of cattle that shall pa.s.s thereon, according to rates hereinafter mentioned." This bridge, which was called Kingsbridge, was a great source of revenue until 1713, when it was removed to the present site. Then tolls were charged until 1759, or, nominally, until 1779.

Part of the Manor House was used as a trading post. Everything Philipse handled seemed to turn into gold. All his ventures prospered.

It was whispered that some of these ventures were more than a little shady, that he had dealings with pirates and shared in their ill-gotten gains, and that he even went into partners.h.i.+p with Captain Kidd when that once honest man became the prince of the very pirates whom the Government had commissioned him to apprehend. And Philipse, as a member of the Governor's Council, had recommended this Kidd as the best man for the job! It is not strange that the lord of the manor felt constrained to resign his seat in the council because of the popular belief in the statement made by the Governor, that "Kidd's missing treasures could be readily found if the coffers of Frederick Philipse were searched."

Colonel Frederick Philipse, the great-grandson of Captain Kidd's partner, enlarged the Manor House to its present proportions and appearance. He also was prominent in the affairs of the Colony. He was a member of the Provincial a.s.sembly, and was chairman of a meeting called on August 20, 1774, to select delegates to the county convention which was to select a representative to the First Continental Congress. Thus, ostensibly, he was taking his place with those who were crying out for the redress of grievances suffered at the hands of Great Britain. Yet it was not long until it was evident that he was openly arrayed with those who declined to turn from their allegiance to the king.

The most famous event that took place in the Philipse Manor was the marriage, on January 28, 1758, of the celebrated beauty, Mary Philipse, to Colonel Roger Morris. A letter from Joseph Chew to George Was.h.i.+ngton, dated July 13, 1757, shows that--in the opinion of the writer, at least--the young Virginian soldier was especially interested in Mary Philipse. In this letter, which he wrote after his return from a visit to Mrs. Beverly Robinson in New York, the sister of Mary Philipse, he said:

"I often had the Pleasure of Breakfasting with the Charming Polly, Roger Morris was there (Don't be startled) but not always, you know him he is a Lady's man, always something to say, the Town talk't of it as a sure & settled Affair. I can't say I think so and that I much doubt it, but a.s.sure you had Little Acquaintance with Mr. Morris and only slightly hinted it to Miss Polly, but how can you be Excused to Continue so long in Phila. I think I should have made a kind of Flying March of it if it had been only to have seen whether the Works were sufficient to withstand a Vigorous Attack, you a soldier and a Lover, mind I have been arguing for my own Interest now for had you taken this method then I should have had the Pleasure of seeing you--my Paper is almost full and I am Convinced you will be heartily tyred in Reading it--however will just add that I intend to set out to-morrow for New York where I will not be wanting to let Miss Polly know the Sincere Regard a Friend of mine has for her--and I am sure if she had my Eyes to see thro would Prefer him to all others."

While it is true that George Was.h.i.+ngton went to New York to see the charming Polly, there is no evidence that he was especially interested in her.

Colonel Morris later built for his bride the Morris-Jumel Mansion, which is still standing near 160th Street. Mrs. Morris frequently visited at the home of her girlhood. The last visit was paid there during Christmas week of 1776. Her father, who had been taken to Middletown, Connecticut, because of his activities on the side of the king, was allowed to go to his home on parole.

In 1779 the Manor House and lands were declared forfeited because the owner refused to take the oath of allegiance to the Colonies, and Frederick Philipse, III, went to England.

The property was sold in 1785. Until 1868 it was in the hands of various purchasers. To-day the Manor House is preserved as a relic of the days when Was.h.i.+ngton visited the house, when loyalists were driven from the doors, and when it was the centre of some of the important movements against the British troops.

XIX

ST. PAUL'S CHAPEL, NEW YORK CITY

WHERE WAs.h.i.+NGTON ATTENDED SERVICE ON HIS FIRST INAUGURATION DAY

In the New York _Gazette_ of May 14, 1764, appeared this notice concerning St. Paul's Chapel:

"We are told that the Foundation Stone of the third English Church which is about erecting in this City, is to be laid this day. The church is to be 112 by 72 feet."

For two years those who pa.s.sed the corner of Broadway and Part.i.tion (Fulton) Street watched the progress of the building. On October 30, 1766, it was ready for the first service.

On the opening day there was no steeple, no organ, and no stove. But those who entered the doors were abundantly satisfied with the work of the architect, who is said to have been a Scotchman named McBean, a pupil of Gibbs, the designer of St. Martins-in-the-Fields, London, to which church the interior of St. Paul's Chapel bears a marked resemblance. In the account of the opening the New York _Journal and General Advertiser_ said that the new church was "one of the most elegant edifices on the Continent."

Between April 13, 1776, when Was.h.i.+ngton arrived in New York, and September 15, 1776, when Lord Howe occupied the city, the church was closed, since the rector did not see his way to omit from the service the prayers for the king. But when the British took possession of New York the doors were opened once more. Until the city was evacuated, November 25, 1783, Lord Howe and many of his officers were regular attendants at St. Paul's.

Six days after the beginning of the British occupation the church had a narrow escape from destruction. A fire, which Howe declared was of incendiary origin, burned four hundred of the four thousand homes in New York. St. Paul's Chapel was in the centre of the burnt district.

Trinity Church was destroyed, and St. Paul's was saved by the efforts of its rector, Dr. Inglis. This was the first of five such narrow escapes. The steeple was actually aflame during the conflagration of 1797, but the building was saved. Three times during the nineteenth century, in 1820, 1848, and 1865, fire approached or pa.s.sed by the chapel.

Immediately after the first inauguration of Was.h.i.+ngton, at the City Hall, he walked to St. Paul's to ask G.o.d's blessing on the country and his administration. During his residence in New York, until Trinity Church was rebuilt, he was a regular attendant at the services. From 1789 to 1791 his diary records the fact many times, "Went to St.

Paul's Chappel in the forenoon." At first he used the pew built for the Governor of New York, but later, when a President's pew was built, he moved to this. Canopies covered both pews, while they were further marked by the arms of the United States and of New York.

Dr. Morgan Dix, in his address at the Centennial anniversary of the completion of the building, told of an old man who had said to him that when he was a boy he used to sit with other school-boys in the north gallery, and from there he would watch the arrival of the General and "Lady Was.h.i.+ngton" as they came up Fair Street to the church, in a coach and four.

In the same address Dr. Dix said: "The church remains, substantially, such as it was in the first days; alterations have been made in it, but they have not changed its general appearance. For justness of proportion and elegance of style, it still holds a leading place among our city churches, and must be regarded as a fine specimen of its particular school of architecture. When it was built, the western end commanded an uninterrupted view of the river and the Jersey sh.o.r.e, for the waters of the Hudson then flowed up to the line of Greenwich Street, all beyond is made land."

In the portico of the old church is a monument to General Montgomery, a member of St. Paul's parish, who fell at Quebec, and is buried in the chapel. This monument, which was sent from France by Benjamin Franklin, had an adventurous career. The vessel in which it was s.h.i.+pped was captured by the British, and some time elapsed before it reached its destined place.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FRAUNCES' TAVERN, NEW YORK CITY _Photo by Frank Cousins Art Company_ See page 97]

XX

FRAUNCES' TAVERN, NEW YORK CITY

WHERE WAs.h.i.+NGTON TOOK LEAVE OF HIS SOLDIERS

The subscribers of the _Pennsylvania Packet_, on the morning of December 2, 1783, read the following pleasing despatch from New York City, which was dated November 26, 1783:

"Yesterday in the morning the American troops marched from Haerlem, to the Bowery lanes. They remained there until about one o'clock, when the British troops left the fort in the Bowery, and the American troops marched in and took possession of the city.--After the troops had taken possession of the city, the GENERAL and GOVERNOR made their public entry in the following manner:--Their excellencies the general and governor with their suites on horseback. The lieutenant governor, and the members of the council for the temporary government of the southern district, four a-breast.--Major-general Knox, and the officers of the army, eight a-breast.--Citizens on horseback, eight a-breast.--The speaker of the a.s.sembly and citizens, on foot, eight a-breast.

"Their excellencies the governor and commander-in-chief were escorted by a body of West Chester light horse, under the command of Captain Delavan. The procession proceeded down Queen [now Pearl] Street, and through the Broad-way to Cape's Tavern. The governor gave a public dinner at Fraunces'