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The Homestead 
 
 of a 
 Colonial Dame 
 
 A Monograph 
 
 nv.-.o 
 
 By Alice Crary Sutcliffe 
 
 Author of 
 
 "Robert Fulton and The Clermont" 
 
 Press of The A. V. Haight Company 
 
 Poughkeepsie, New York 
 
 1909 
 

 Copyright 1909 
 by Alice Crary Sutcliffe 
 
 All rights reserved 
 
 ©CU252857 
 
This Monograph is Dedicated 
 
 with affection and honor 
 
 To my Mother, 
 
 Mrs. Robert Fulton Crary, 
 
 (nee Agnes Boyd Van Kleeck) 
 
 the Colonial Dame 
 
 who owns, and adorns 
 
 by her presence, 
 
 The Homestead of her Grandmother, 
 
 of the fifth generation. 
 
 Madam Brett. 
 
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 PAfiE 
 
 The Homestead Frontispiece 
 
 (From a Painting by Rev. Robert Fulton Crary, D.D.) 
 
 The Hall. New Stairway at Left lO 
 
 (From a Painting by Rev. Robert Fulton Crary, D.D.) 
 
 The Parlor i6 
 
 (From a Photograph.) 
 
 Map of the Rombout Precinct 23 
 
 (From Original owned by Wm: E. V'erplanck, Esq.) 
 
 The Original Front View of the Homestead ... 26 
 
 (From a Painting by Rev. Robert Fulton Crary, D.D.) 
 
 The Library, formerly The Spinning Room .... 28 
 
 (From a Photograph.) 
 
 The Dining Room (Portrait of Isaac de Peyster in alcove) 30 
 
 (From a Painting by Rev. Robert Fulton Crary, D.D.) 
 
 Memorial Tablet to Madam Brett, with Brett Coat of Arms 34 
 
 (From Original Plate owned by Everett James Brett, Esq. ) 
 
 Silhouette of Mrs. Isaac de Peyster Teller, 
 
 nee Alice Schenck 36 
 
 (From Original owned by Mrs. Robert Fulton Crary.) 
 
 The Hon. Isaac Teller, Member of Congress ... 38 
 
 (From old Photograph.) 
 
 Miniatureof Rev. Robert Boyd Van Kleeck, D.D. . . 40 
 
 (From Original owned by Mrs. Robert Fulton Crary.) 
 
 Miniature of Mrs. Robert Boyd Van Kleeck, 
 
 nee Margaret Schenck Teller 42 
 
 (From Original owned by Mrs. Thomas R. Harris.) 
 
 Silhouette of Rev. Robert Boyd Van Kleeck, Preaching 44 
 
 (From Original owned by Ven. Archdeacon Van Kleeck.) 
 
 The Homestead, with View of Mount Beacon, 1909 . 46 
 
 (From a Painting by Rev. Robert Fulton Crary, D.D.) 
 
 O 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 A strange coincidence of historical significance 
 places midway in the annals of time the record of 
 the homestead built by a pioneer settler, Madam 
 Brett, the first white woman to establish her home in 
 the highlands of Hudson's river, exactly one hundred 
 years after its discovery and nearly a century before 
 that river provided the historic scene for the successful 
 application of steam to navigation. 
 
 The names of the discoverer and the inventor have 
 been associated by a grateful populace for worthy re- 
 membrance. We venture to add a link to the interest- 
 ing chain, assuming that the hardy explorer and the 
 indefatigable inventor would gladly share their abun- 
 dant honor. 
 
 1609 1709 1807 
 
 HUDSON. BRETT. FULTON. 
 
 So we group them and are glad of the trio of 
 worthies, so generous in their contributions to the river 
 settlers of this generation. 
 
 Two other felicitous circumstances blend in this 
 harmony of history: 
 
 First: Tradition says that Sir Roeloffe Schenck, 
 whose descendant. Major Henry Schenck, occupied the 
 homestead during the days of the Revolution, sailed 
 from Amsterdam as Super Cargo with Henry Hudson 
 in the Half Moon. 
 
 7 
 
Second: The eldest grandson of Robert Fulton 
 and bearer of his name, the Reverend Robert Fulton 
 Crary, D.D., now lives in the old mansion which, 
 through the inheritance of several generations, has be- 
 come the property of his wife, a descendant of Madam 
 Brett. 
 
 Rarely does history so gracefully weave the branches 
 of any one family tree. Here, united in significant 
 harmony, they plead the excuse for this slight volume 
 of recital and recollection. 
 
 I gratefully acknowledge my indebtedness to Miss 
 Florence Guernsey, Miss McKinnon, Mrs. Schuyler 
 Van Rensselaer, Wm. E. Verplanck, Esq., and the 
 Reverend Cornelius Brett, D.D., for original data here 
 presented. 
 
THE HALL. NEW STAIRWAY AT LEFT 
 (From a Painting by Rev. Robert Fulton Crary, D.D.) 
 
HOSPITALITY. 
 
 The open door, — the out-stretched hand 
 Of welcome to the dear home land. 
 
 The flowing bowl, — the loaf of bread, — 
 The pillow for the weary head: 
 
 The open hearth where flaming fires 
 Awake the heart to new desires: 
 
 These are the gentle gifts of home 
 In trust for you if you will come. 
 
 Alice Crary. 
 {Reprint from Good Housekeeping.) 
 
THE HOMESTEAD OF A COLONIAL DAME. 
 
 To-day I walked in Madam Brett's garden. Blue- 
 birds were nesting in the apple tree and black briar 
 was in early berry; squirrels frisked among the trum- 
 pet vines; and "seven-sister" roses, scattering fresh 
 fragrance, promised constancy to the end of time. 
 
 In this place lingers the happiness of the past; con- 
 tentment is a present condition; it can be truly said 
 "the lot has fallen in a fair ground, and we have a 
 goodly heritage." So shall its story be told to the 
 generation of this Twentieth Century, — the story of 
 the Homestead of a Colonial Dame, made worthy to 
 be a twice-told tale, because two hundred years have 
 borne witness to her wise provision. 
 
 To know Madam Brett's reason for building her 
 homestead in the then wilderness of the Fish Kill, we 
 must consider her inheritance from her father, Francis 
 Rombout, born In the town of Hasselt In the Province 
 of Flanders, a good man and true. He was a Hugue- 
 not, who In 1654 sailed as super cargo to the new 
 world. This nautical position Involved the superin- 
 tendence of the commercial business of the ship; It was 
 an honorable appointment of responsibility and trust. 
 In good faith Rombout had qualified and accepted the 
 service, but after his arrival he was obliged to sue the 
 captain for his wages, a courageous undertaking for a 
 mere stripling In a strange land. 
 
 Having determined to settle here, he is said to have 
 
 11 
 
brought with him some articles of furniture, among 
 which was the Dutch Cass of ebony and rosewood, 
 for years an attractive feature in the lower west 
 room of the homestead. He also introduced the first 
 table linen ever used in America, another personal im- 
 portation. Prospering as a merchant trader he 
 acquired a valuable property on De Heeres Street, now 
 Broadway. On it he built a fine stone house, sur- 
 rounded it with an orchard and garden, and it became 
 a worthy home to which he successively brought to 
 wife: 
 
 ist: Aeltje Wessels, on the 31st of May, 1665. 
 
 2nd: Anna Elisabeth Maschop, widow of War- 
 nart Wessels, on August 8th, 1675. 
 
 3rd: Helena Teller Van Ball, eldest daughter of 
 William Teller, on September 8th, 1683. 
 
 The persevering bridegroom was an elder In the 
 Dutch Church and generously supported It with con- 
 tributions of beaver skins. There he brought his four 
 children for Christening: 
 
 Johannis, by the first wife; baptized August 12th, 
 1666, who probably died early. By his second union 
 there were no children, and by his third, theie were 
 duly brought to the Christian font : 
 
 Jannetje, baptized Sept. 5th, 1684. 
 
 Catheryna, baptized May 25th, 1687. 
 
 Johannis, baptized June 12th, 1689. 
 
 Of these children only one survived, our heroine, 
 Catheryna, whose strong personality and characteristic 
 record of achievement have provided a favorite theme 
 for historians of the Hudson river. 
 
 Rombout's third wife, Helena,* had already matched 
 his startling record of matrimonial alliances. As she 
 
 *Helena Rombout's father, William Teller, the rich fur trader, had sailed from 
 Amsterdam in the good ship "Brindle Cow" — which probably tossed more than her 
 horns- had gone to Albany as Corporal at Fort Orange, and later settled at Beaver 
 Wyck where he became Watchmaester. Thence he led an expedition against 
 threatening Indians of the Mohawk, and subsequently was one of the four original 
 Patentees of Schenectady. 
 
 12 
 
was his third wife, so he was her third husband, for 
 she had previously been widowed; first, of Cornelius 
 Bogardus, son of Dominie Everardus Bogardus and the 
 famous Anneke Jans; and, second, of Jan Hendricksen 
 Van Ball. 
 
 Rombout soon became a man of prominence in New 
 Amsterdam and was unafraid to enter the political 
 arena of the day. Successively he served as Schepen 
 under the Dutch rule, a judicial duty with an attached 
 salary of 250 guilders; and as Alderman under the 
 English rule, which appointment he received seven 
 times. In 1665 the Dutch Court of the Schout, Bur- 
 gomasters and Schepens had become the Mayor's 
 Court of the City of New York under the revocation 
 of the first and proclamation of the second, by Gover- 
 nor Nicolls, who bravely proclaimed the new organiza- 
 tion to consist of "Mayor, Alderman and Sheriff, 
 according to the custom of England in other of His 
 Majesty's Corporations." 
 
 In 1673, at the time of the recapture of the city 
 by the Dutch under Captain Anthony Colve, Rom- 
 bout was serving as Alderman and was one of the 
 number nominated by the Burghers for election in 
 compliance WMth an order issued by the Council of 
 War, dated New Orange, August 15th, 1673: "That 
 the community should assemble at the City Hall and 
 nominate six persons as Burgomasters and fifteen as 
 Schepen, to wit, from the wealthiest inhabitants and 
 those only w^ho are of the Reformed Christian Re- 
 ligion." 
 
 At an earl'er date he had served as lieutenant under 
 Captain Beekman, in an expedition against the Swedes 
 who threatened to invade the Dutch property rights. 
 This was possibly the explo't of September 5th, 1656, 
 when "after the sermon" on a fair Sunday morning the 
 venturesome party set sail for Delaware Bay and by a 
 
 13 
 
brief and bloodless war removed the flag of Sweden 
 from the American continent. 
 
 Apparently Rombout changed his political views as 
 became a settler in a new land, and so successfully did 
 he serve the public that in 1679 he was appointed 
 Mayor of the city. 
 
 Two years before he accepted this important office 
 his predecessor, Mayor Stephanus Van Cortlandt, in 
 contemplation of the already recognized problem of 
 water supply for the city, had wisely ordered the dig- 
 ging of six wells for supplementary service to the first 
 public well at the gateway of the fort. The six pools 
 were known respectively by the names of the property 
 owners, whose houses were in nearest proximity: and 
 that which was opened at Broadway and Exchange 
 Place was called "Mr. Rombout's well." 
 
 It is said that the water in all these wells was brack- 
 ish and undesirable except as a protection against fire, 
 when the department, the old-time bucket brigade, 
 ranged themselves at the nearest source of supply and 
 caught up their leathern buckets. Citizens were fined 
 who did not assemble for work when they heard the 
 Fire Cry, "Val ! Val!" 
 
 Struggles of the "powers that were" seemed as rife 
 then as in modern civics; on Long Island riotous meet- 
 ings were held in resistance to the collection of the 
 excise-tax, and in the now phenomenally placid village 
 of Esopus, the Dutch and French held "undue and 
 unlawful gatherings." Insubordination to law was 
 widespread, and finally at a regular session of the 
 Court of Assizes it was ordered that as several persons 
 had presumed to exhibit "causeless and vexatious accu- 
 sations and indictments" against magistrates and other 
 public officials, they should not thereafter offer such accu- 
 sation unless the grounds had been previously examined 
 and pronounced sufficient by two justices of the peace. 
 
 14 
 
The first lightning from this thunderous cloud fell 
 upon Francis Rombout, who in 1683 was charged by 
 the grand jury that he had when in office with his 
 associates "as a false traitor" to His Majesty, plotted 
 and practised innovations in government and the sub- 
 version of the known and fundamental laws of the 
 realm of England, denying trial by jury to John Tudor, 
 a born subject of the king, and an attorney living in 
 the city. Rombout postponed the evil day of enquiry, 
 and petitioned that his trial be referred to the next 
 session. At that date he pleaded the insufficiency of 
 the indictment, saying that it was founded on a judg- 
 ment given against Tudor in the Mayor's Court, of 
 which he was but a single member. Ultimately he 
 was acquitted and his decision against the troublesome 
 British subject was upheld. This Tudor, — John by 
 name, — seems to have been a pestilent fellow, and it 
 further appeared that the reason for his arrest and trial 
 before Mayor Rombout had been to compel the resto- 
 ration of the money he got at play of Abraham Smith. 
 The equitable Court furthermore decided that Rom- 
 bout's act was "not treason or any crime, but justice 
 done to the party concerned therein."* 
 
 There were plenty of treasons, stratagems and 
 spoils; small wonder when an honest man became un- 
 warily enmeshed In a net of political intrigue. 
 
 Another Interesting anecdote of the official perplexi- 
 ties of Mayor Rombout Is narrated In Jasper Cank- 
 er's and Peter Slayter's "Journal of a Voyage to New 
 York, 1679-1680." 
 
 These men of Friesland, Preaching Brothers of the 
 Labadlst Order, were secretly prospecting for the estab- 
 lishment of a Colony of their sect, which they ulti- 
 mately formed In Maryland. 
 
 Danker, who was scribe, related that they were sum- 
 
 *See "History of the City of New York," Mrs. Schuyler Van Rensselaer. 
 
 15 
 
moned by order of the Governor, to appear at Mayor 
 Rombout's house to give account of themselves. Ac- 
 companied by the woman with whom they lodged, they 
 obeyed the summons with surprise. Magistrates were 
 in attendance when Rombout addressed the men. 
 "Friends," he said, "we have summoned you here not 
 because we hav^e anything to say to you, or have any 
 debt to claim, or because any one has sought of us to 
 demand of you any such thing, or to summon you." 
 He further explained that It was because they had been 
 so long In the country without having reported their 
 names, professions, or purposes. 
 
 The strangers answered that there was no law or 
 order which required such report, — that the treatment 
 struck them as strange. 
 
 Rombout replied, "You know well it is the custom 
 In Europe." 
 
 They pleaded that It was only so required upon the 
 frontiers. 
 
 To this he answered, "We are no frontier, but a 
 capitol, and it must and shall be so in the future." 
 
 Dankers explained that he was a wine-racker (one 
 who put wine In casks), and his companion a theolog- 
 ian who had studied at Leyden : that both lived near 
 Leeuwarden in Friesland of the Netherlands. 
 
 Rombout then subjected them to further enquiry: 
 why did they come; what was their purpose and in- 
 tention? 
 
 They answered vaguely that they had come to look 
 at the country. 
 
 "How to look at the country?" he asked, and to ex- 
 plain his brusque questioning, he added, "Some come to 
 look at the cities, other at the fortifications; some to 
 learn the mode of government and policy, others the 
 manner of regulating the militia; others again to learn 
 the climate and times and seasons, — and you run and 
 
 16 
 
travel through the country without giving any notion 
 why!" 
 
 They tried to explain their visit by expressing inter- 
 est in the nature and fertility of the soil, and further 
 nonchalantly stated "we may perhaps go around morn- 
 ings and evenings." 
 
 At this Mayor Rombout, reaching an important 
 point, enquired whether they wished to be regarded as 
 citizens or foreigners. 
 
 "As foreigners," they decided. 
 
 "Well then," he declared, "you are forbidden to 
 carry on trade, particularly with the inhabitants, — that 
 is, to sell anything to private persons, but you may 
 dispose of it to merchants who sell to private indi- 
 viduals." He told them that the privilege or "burgher 
 right" must be paid for by beavers; each beaver to be 
 reckoned at five guilders in Holland money or twenty- 
 five guilders in zeewan, the Dutch term for wampum. 
 This privilege of trade, he said, was prohibited to all 
 persons non-resident of the city, and they must be 
 treated like others. Finally they were allowed to go 
 in peace, having promised to cheerfully comply with 
 the law, and Rombout commanded them to travel no- 
 where, particularly to Albany, without permission from 
 the Governor, which permission they promised to ask. 
 
 Probably this interview with the Preaching Broth- 
 ers reflects more personal light upon the character of 
 Francis Rombout than is elsewhere contained; other 
 references are but statements of his many public oflices. 
 He is here shown to be a man of stern, yet kindly 
 presence, and of wise sagacity and discrimination. 
 
 As early as 1667 Rombout was associated In busi- 
 ness with Gulyne Ver Planck, a trader, whose similarity 
 of Interests, political and commercial, led the men to 
 a firm friendship. Verplanck had also served the 
 
 17 
 
town as Schepen and Alderman, and his residence and 
 warehouse were on "The Strant," now Pearl Street. 
 
 In that year the two men jointly applied for an 
 attachment on goods in their hands, belonging to 
 Francis Young, "at present in Virginia." Again in 
 1668, Rombout alone sued Balthazar D'Haut for a 
 parcel of Rye sold and delivered. Rombout showed 
 his books, and won the case against the verbal state- 
 ments of the defendant. 
 
 Other minor suits reveal the mutual activity of Ver- 
 planck and Rombout, and in 1672 they instituted pro- 
 ceedings against one Francis Gibbons, master of the 
 ship "Hopewell," for non-delivery of goods shipped 
 in due season to Barbadoes. 
 
 In September, 1690, Rombout was appointed by 
 Lieutenant Governor Jacob Leisler, one of the Board 
 of Admiralty for the confiscation of vessels taken from 
 the French. He continued in this position, and is said 
 later to have been Judge of the Admiralty. 
 
 During January, 1691, he appeared before a notary, 
 Wm. Bogardus, to acknowledge his last will and testa- 
 ment, and ratified an anti-nuptial agreement with his 
 wife, Helena, entered upon September 20th, 1683. 
 Instead of the agreed 1500 guilders, he bequeathed to 
 her at this later date 4000 guilders, Holland money, 
 and the whole interest and income of the common 
 estate, "until she marries again," — a natural assump- 
 tion of thought for a third husband. 
 
 This fact shows that Rombout had prospered beyond 
 his early expectation ; but he qualified the legacy by the 
 alternative "or to the time the testator's daughter, 
 Catheryna Rombout, gotten by said wife, shall come to 
 marriage or her age." He also stated that he had 
 given tp his daughter "his land in the Wappins." 
 
 In affectionate fatherly thought for his child, then 
 only four years of age, he appointed four persons to 
 
 18 
 
serve as guardians of his daughter's education and 
 estate, "in case of the death or marriage of his widow." 
 
 These guardians were Wm. Teller, Peter de lay Noy, 
 the Mayor of New York; Doctor Samuel Staats, a 
 New Yorker by birth, who had studied medicine in 
 Holland; and Paul Richards, a rich wine merchant, 
 who had vineyards on Long Island. 
 
 Probably Rombout had knowledge, through ill- 
 health, of his approaching demise, for he died soon 
 after the will was drawn. It was translated by Peter 
 de la Noy, proved before the Court, April 21, 1691, 
 and the following year Helena, the widow, filed an 
 inventory of the effects of the late Francis Rombout. 
 
 Twelve years later, in 1703, the widow was still 
 living in the West ward, and the name Roger* Brett, 
 "gentleman," appears among the residents of the East 
 ward. Brett was of Somersetshire, England, a brave 
 Lieutenant of the British Navy. He soon won the 
 heart of his fair young bride, Catheryna Rombout, and 
 November 25th, 1703, Lord Cornbury granted them 
 a marriage license. Late that year Brett was listed as 
 "A Master of Family in the City of New York," a 
 term for a married man. 
 
 It is said that when Queen Anne sent out her erratic 
 young cousin. Lord Cornbury, to be Governor of the 
 Province, Roger Brett was among the English gentle- 
 men who followed. For the three subsequent years, 
 1 703-1 706, his name appears as a vestryman of Trinity 
 Church, New York, and letters are extant* to show 
 
 *An interesting letter from Lord Cornbury is appended as indicative of the 
 post and travelling facilities of primitive days: ,.,.,„„ 
 
 New York, July 14, 1709. 
 
 Yesterday sending my boy to the Post house to see if the Pensilvania Post 
 had brought me any letters, at his return he told me there was a letter for you at the 
 Post house, I sent for it not knowing but it might be of consequence to. you and send 
 it here inclosed there is noe news of the arrivall of the fleet at Boston yet but 
 from Barbados there is an account that a packet boat arrived these say that the 
 fleet was sailed soe they may be expected every hour. On Sunday morning last 
 my Daughter sailed out of the hook with a fair wind; she gave her service to Mrs. 
 Brett,and yourself, I intreat you to give my respects to Mrs. Brett and believe that 
 
 1 am ^'^> 
 
 Your most humble servant, 
 Mr. Brett.— 1 V (Signed) Cornbury 
 
 19 
 
that the Lieutenant was a firm friend of the new Pro- 
 vincial Governor. 
 
 In 1707, Rombout's widow departed this life and 
 Edward, Viscount Cornbury, under the impression that 
 she died intestate, appointed Roger Brett administra- 
 tor of her estate. But the previous year Madam Rom- 
 bout had made a will, and this was duly found and 
 admitted to probate. Evidently she had tried to do 
 justice in varying scale to her several children. To 
 the oldest son by her first marriage, Cornelius Bogar- 
 dus, she bequeathed five pounds, current money, "hav- 
 ing before that time paid considerable sums of money 
 to him and for his use." To her youngest daughter, 
 Catheryna, wife of Roger Brett, "the sum of nine 
 pence, current money." No explanation apparentlv 
 accompanied this tiny legacy, but the "land in the 
 Wappins" and the ownership of the De Heeres Street 
 property probably were the unnamed considerations 
 which balanced the apparent inequality. 
 
 The remainder of her estate, real or personal, she 
 bequeathed to the children of her second marriage; to 
 her son, Henry Van Ball; her daughter, Maria, wife 
 of Isaac de Peyster; Margaret, wife of Nicholas 
 Evertson; Helena, wife of Gualthemus Du Bois; and 
 Rachel, wife of Petrus Bayard; provided that they do 
 invest one-sixth part of the estate for the use of her 
 daughter Hannah, during her life. 
 
 Roger Brett arose to the occasion of necessity and 
 prayed Lord Cornbury not to permit the executors of 
 the estate, Henry Van Ball, and the sons-in-law pre- 
 viously mentioned, to enter into their duties, until they 
 shall have given security for the due performance of 
 them. Six months later they were granted powers of 
 administration. 
 
 Inborn in Madam Brett's veins was the love of the 
 forest and the hardihood of the pioneer settler. She 
 
 20 
 
and her husband had, apparently, been living in the 
 home of her father, the late Mayor Rombout, but with 
 a brave determination to conquer the wilderness which 
 lay in virgin purity upon the banks of the Hudson 
 river, they decided to build a country house. To this 
 end, on June 8th, 1708, Roger Brett, gentleman, and 
 Catheryna, his wife, mortgaged to James Emott the 
 dwelling house, etc., built by Francis Rombout, de- 
 ceased, and now occupied by the said Roger Brett and 
 Catheryna, his wife, which they described "being situ- 
 ated on the Broadway which leads from the English 
 Church down to the Fort Anne, upon the west side of 
 Broadway, for 240 pounds current money." 
 
 To understand the strength of their desire and their 
 justification in leaving the attractions of New York, we 
 must now return to trace the several steps in a trans- 
 action of extreme importance achieved by Catheryna's 
 father, the redoubtable Francis Rombout. 
 
 In the year 1682 Rombout and his partner, Gulyne 
 Verplanck, had filed a petition for a grant of land, and 
 were thereby licensed to purchase from the Indians, 
 the Wappingers and other local tribes, the fertile and 
 fair tract now known as the Rombout Precinct. The 
 transaction was peaceably accomplished. A legend is 
 extant that Rombout bargained with the Indians for 
 "all the land that he could see" and this being conceded, 
 he craftily climbed to the top of Mt. Beacon to expand 
 his vision. Family tradition states that the Patentees 
 sat at a table (one cannot but wonder, where placed?) 
 and opposite sat the delegation of Indian chiefs. A 
 goodly sum of Royalls (coins) was placed before them, 
 and repeatedly the Indians pushed them back, saying, 
 "More, More." Finally the proportion was estab- 
 lished to the content of the keen-eyed warriors and 
 their Indian Deed of Sale, on record in 1683, was 
 drawn and witnessed. A copy of this very interest- 
 
 21 
 
ing document is appended to this narrative page 52. 
 So diplomatic were the relations established between 
 the Patentees and Indians in this remarkable trans- 
 action, that there was never a hostile break upon the 
 peaceable and quiet possession, — a great tribute, not 
 only to the wise establishment of the white men, but 
 also to the justice and proper feeling of the dispossessed 
 Indians. 
 
 On the 8th day of February, 1682, the license for 
 the Rombout Patent was given by Governor Thomas 
 Dongan, Commander in Chief of the Province of New 
 York; this is stated upon the original Exemplification 
 now in possession of the present owner of the Home- 
 stead.* This grant must have been amon^ the first 
 public acts of the newly appointed Governor, for Don- 
 gan's own commission was dated during the same 
 month. He was a younger son of an Irish baronet 
 of distinction. Sir John Dongan, and has been de- 
 scribed "an active and prudent governor" and "a man 
 of integrity, moderation and genteel manners." Upon 
 his arrival in New York in August, 1683, ^ grand 
 banquet at the City Hall emphasized his welcome, and 
 it is on record that he "received large and plentiful 
 entertainment." 
 
 The application for the Rombout Patent was made 
 during the reign of Charles the Second, signed by his 
 newly appointed Governor Dongan, in England, and 
 later ratified in the first year of the reign of King James 
 II, former Duke of York. It is interesting to note 
 that Rombout and Verplanck had chosen a timely sea- 
 son to make their application, for within a month after 
 his elevation to the throne, James the Second wrote to 
 Governor Dongan directing him to proclaim the acces- 
 sion and to make to the people of New York "certain 
 gracious promises." This vague yet generous predic- 
 
 *See Appendix, page 47 
 
 22 
 
tion seems to have been fulfilled by Dongan's speedy 
 renewal of Manorial Grants of Land, the Rombout 
 Patent, the Patroonship "Rensselaerwyck," and the 
 subsequent grant of the Manor of Livingston In 1686, 
 having been notable Illustrations of British bounty. 
 
 The Rombout Patent Included 85,000 acres In the 
 highlands of the Hudson, the land extending from the 
 FIshklll mountains nearly to the present line of Pough- 
 keepsie and half way to the Connecticut line. Ver- 
 planck died before the exemplification of the patent, 
 and Jacobus KIpp, who married his widow, substituted 
 as representative for the Interests of Verplanck's chil- 
 dren. Stephanus Van Cortlandt, who was of kin to 
 Madam Brett, by this time had been admitted a co- 
 partner, so the original grant of the 85,000 acres was 
 to be divided among three partners. 
 
 KIpp was a rich brewer and extensive land owner. 
 He and his wife, the former widow Verplanck, con- 
 tinued to live In New York, later upon Long Island, 
 and never took up residence upon the newly granted 
 land, leaving this honor for Verplanck's son. Van 
 Cortlandt also died, leaving by will his third to his 
 widow, Gertrude Van Cortlandt. 
 
 In 1707, or as the old record states, "in the sixth 
 year of the reign of Queen Anne," Roger Brett and 
 Catheryna, his wife. Instituted proceedings in the Su- 
 preme Court to effect a division of the property. Ulti- 
 mately, Sheriff Noxon, with the aid of twelve men in 
 the partition, divided the immense tract Into three long 
 narrow parcels, each containing a stretch of river front, 
 and water privileges by adjointure to the two creeks, 
 the Fish Kill and Wapplngers. Roger Brett and his 
 wife obtained Lot Number One, consisting of the 
 southerly portion on the river and Lot Number One 
 at the mouth of the Wapplnger creek. Verplanck's 
 heirs received Lot Number Two, on the river and "In 
 
 24 
 
the Middle" on the Wappinger creek, and the Van 
 Cortlandt heirs obtained Lot Number Three, on the 
 river and the head on the Wappinger creek. 
 
 Madam Brett and her husband had no cause to 
 complain of the division : they found themselves pos- 
 sessed of the fertile valley of the Fishkill creek, a 
 goodly stretch of land upon the river front, and the 
 north side of the Wappinger's creek from its mouth 
 to beyond the present site of Wappinger's Falls. 
 Peaceable Indians dwelt upon some portions of the 
 land, but apparently never transgressed the quiet laws 
 of friendship. In the Verplanck family an interest- 
 ing Map of the Rombout Precinct is preserved, made 
 by John Holwell, April, 1689.* 
 
 So much for the division of the famous territory. 
 The partition having been effected, and the mortgage 
 secured upon the De Heeres Street property, which was 
 subsequently (in 17 13-17 16) sold in two parcels to 
 Thomas George of New York, Roger Brett and his 
 young wife moved into the wilderness to make their 
 home. Why did they choose the exact location occu- 
 pied by the homestead? It is hard to determine, for 
 many another fairer sight might have been equally 
 well adapted to their needs. 
 
 It is easy now for Madam Brett's descendants, even 
 in their moments of regret that she provided for them 
 no river view, to rejoice that she had the wisdom to 
 select a site upon the trolley-line, and within such 
 a convenient walk to the Post Office, but obviously 
 these advantages were not then potent. Perhaps the 
 river front would have been deemed unsafe because 
 the Indians were inclined to follow the fishing banks; 
 perhaps a storm had helped to clear the virgin forest 
 growth from this particular stretch of lowland, where 
 springs were a-plenty, and crops would be shielded 
 
 •Reproduced by permission of the owner, Wm. E . Verplanck, Esq. 
 
 25 
 
from a too great exposure. The adjacent Fish Kill 
 provided a valuable water power for the mill which 
 they reared, — some of these reasons, perhaps all, helped 
 to fix their choice. 
 
 The Homestead was securely fashioned, and was a 
 large and roomy structure for primitive days. The 
 foundations of native stone are well laid; the beams of 
 immense hand-hewn timber, and the scalloped red cedar 
 shingles, hand cut and secured by hand-wrought nails, 
 are graceful in simplicity and lasting in quality. Many 
 changes have been made within the home since the 
 days of 1709. The kitchen wing was undoubtedly 
 added at a later date, and the upper story, unfinished 
 for a time, provided lodgings for servants and slaves. 
 In the list of 17 14 Roger Brett was recorded the owner 
 of nine slaves. The present front of the house was 
 then the rear, and the original staircase, remembered 
 by one of ripe memory, Mrs. Louisa Benson (a descen- 
 dant of Madam Brett), ran in quite another direction 
 from the staircase of to-day, or from that second stair- 
 way, steep and dark, which was displaced by the pres- 
 ent means of ascent. 
 
 The foundations show that originally there was a 
 corner fireplace in the northwest room, now the library, 
 and that a steep flight of stairs connected this room 
 with the rear cellar. 
 
 In the parlor, a Dutch tiled fireplace was removed 
 more than a hundred years ago to make place for the 
 present charming hand carved wooden mantel which 
 has since encircled the hearthstone of three genera- 
 tions. The northwest room, now the library, was 
 in later days known as "the far-away room," and 
 here the looms were set for spinning.* No door con- 
 nected the spinning-room with the present parlor, nor 
 
 *A silver cup was awarded to the Misses Teller in 1821, for the best spinning 
 of linen flax; it is now owned by the author. 
 
 26 
 
THE ORIGINAL FRONT VIEW OF THE HOMESTEAD 
 
 (From a Painting by Rev. Robert Fulton Crary, D.D.) 
 
was there a door from the hall into the down-stairs 
 bedroom; both of these were opened in 1907, when the 
 present owner made the alterations which brought to the 
 old house the modern comforts of today's civilization. 
 It is said that Roger Brett and his wife, upon their 
 arrival by sloop up the Hudson river, first landed at 
 the mouth of the Matteawan creek, where a temporary 
 shelter was built near the chosen mill site. For this famous 
 first mill, it is thought that Madam Brett imported 
 grindstones from England, but one writer* avers that 
 they may have been obtained from Esopus, where a 
 substantial quarry had been opened by Huguenot set- 
 tlers. The mill occupied a picturesque and beautiful 
 spot, — perhaps the fairest at that early date along the 
 river. The wheel caught the waters from the race- 
 way which led from a cascade at the return of the 
 united streams surrounding "Fairy Isle." Its building 
 was a wise enterprise, and won speedy patronage. 
 
 Its completion enabled the owner to avail herself 
 of a power which, unclaimed for centuries, did its 
 beneficent work without grumbling — and was of more 
 value than the service of fifty slaves. 
 
 The primitive custom' of pounding corn was slow 
 and arduous. The Indians and other early settlers 
 had formerly hollowed the stump of a large tree, pol- 
 ished it smooth and round, and above it suspended, 
 from an elastic sapling, a round stone, which when 
 sprung up and down, pounded the kernels. 
 
 It is probable that Madam Brett's mill was built in 
 1708 with the money acquired by the mortgage upon 
 the De Heeres Street property. The following year, 
 April 9th, 1709, "Roger Brett of the Fishkills in the 
 County of Dutchess, Gentleman, and Catheryna, his 
 wife, sole daughter and heir of Francis Rumbout, late 
 of the City of New York, deceased, conveyed to Wm. 
 
 ♦Old Copy of The Fishkill Standard. 
 
 27 
 
Peartrie, merchant of the said city," all that Messauge 
 (English term for Manor House) or tenement and 
 300 acres of land adjoining, situated in Dutchess 
 County, on the east side of Hudson's river, just above 
 the highlands, and also that Grist Mill standing near 
 said tenement, all of which being on the north side of 
 a certain creek, called the Fishkill." 
 
 This was duly acknowledged before Ebenezer Wil- 
 son, Mayor. But Madam Brett, speedily regretting 
 the relinquishment of this profitable enterprise, allowed 
 herself the feminine privilege of a "change of mind." 
 The following year she re-acquired it, and continued 
 to supervise its commercial values until 1743, when she 
 sold it to Abraham De Peyster, a kinsman. The in- 
 habitants of Dutchess and Orange Counties for many 
 years depended solely upon this mill for their daily 
 bread. I here quote an interesting article from the 
 Fishkill Standard: 
 
 "Madam Brett's mill was the central point where 
 the roads from the interior converged on their way to 
 the river. They ran to this place from Hackensack, 
 from Wappingers, and from Wiccopee, formed by 
 grading, widening and bridging the Indian trail into 
 a wagon road. The Indians, after the sale of their 
 lands, had retired beyond Fishkill plains, where they 
 had a village of huts made of stakes overlaid with 
 bark, with a castle consisting of a square, surrounded 
 with palisades, used as an asylum for the old men, 
 women and children, when they went out hunting or 
 on warlike expeditions. At the request of the chiefs, 
 with whom Madam Brett was a great favorite, she 
 visited them in their villages. Until they removed 
 over the mountains and joined the Mohegan nation, of 
 whom they were a tribe, they were in the habit of 
 coming down to the mill with corn, beans and peltries 
 (skins) to exchange for meal, and for years after- 
 
 28 
 
wards their young men crossed the mountain and con- 
 tinued their visits, to shoot pennies from between a split 
 stick with their bow and arrow, at a distance of twelve 
 or fourteen yards, which they would strike nineteen 
 times out of twenty, much to the amusement of persons 
 waiting for their grists." 
 
 In 1709, upon the sale of the Messauge, or Manor 
 House, Roger Brett and his wife erected the homestead, 
 later known as the Teller homestead, — a strange re- 
 turn of name in a later generation to that of Madam 
 Brett's mother's maiden name, — for it will be remem- 
 bereti that she was Helena Teller. 
 
 The old saying, "All roads lead to Rome," might 
 have been translated "All roads lead to Madam Brett's 
 Mill"; far and wide it was quoted "From Hackensack 
 to Madam Brett's Mill," "From Wiccopee to Madam 
 Brett's Mill," and so, in varying terms, as roads multi- 
 plied. The following description, narrated by an old 
 resident of Orange County, is of interest : 
 
 "The neighbors and settlers for miles would come 
 with a bag of grain securely fastened upon the back of 
 a horse. When they had all arrived the horses were 
 tied to each other's tails and, mounting the foremost 
 one, he wended his way to the river. With an Indian 
 canoe he w^ould carry over the grain and when ground, 
 return home again in the same fashion." 
 
 Three sons were born to Lieutenant and Madam 
 Brett — Francis, named for her father, Mayor Rom- 
 bout; Robert, and Rivery — the latter so called because 
 born upon the Hudson river when his parents were re- 
 turning from New York, by sloop, to their home. 
 
 Rivery died at the age of seventeen years, and the 
 mother must have deeply mourned the death of her 
 youngest lad as he w^as laid to rest in the forest. 
 
 In 1726 she met a tragic sorrow, when her husband, 
 Roger Brett, accompanied by his servant Samuel, re- 
 
 29 
 
turning from New York upon his sailing vessel, was 
 knocked overboard by the boom of the sloop as it 
 entered the mouth of the Fishkill Creek. His body 
 was recovered and is said to have been interred in the 
 burying ground, which still belongs to the family 
 estate. 
 
 His untimely death necessitated the widow, already 
 beloved by the Indians and other settlers, to further 
 develop the property, aided by her young sons. 
 
 Eleven years later, October 5th, 1737, Francis Brett, 
 her first born, procured a marriage license to wed 
 Catharine Margaret Van Wyck, daughter of General 
 Abraham Van Wyck. The bride had been reared in 
 the famous Van Wyck Homestead at Fishkill Village, 
 immortalized in James Fenimore Cooper's novel, "The 
 
 Spy." 
 
 Francis and his wife had a good old-fashioned family 
 of eight children, whose coming and delightful influence 
 in the homestead must have greatly cheered Madam 
 Brett. Robert, her other surviving son, married 
 Catheryna Du Bois and took up his residence elsewhere 
 upon the family lands. The homestead plot later be- 
 came the inheritance of the children of the elder son. 
 
 It is said that Madam Brett galloped daily on horse- 
 back over her broad acres, superintending her many 
 affairs. The development of the grain industry upon 
 her many farms necessitated the establishment of allied 
 enterprises, — a storehouse and a freighting depot. 
 
 The Frankfort Storehouse, established in 1743, be- 
 came the commercial centre for the county farmers. 
 The original account book, which contains preliminary 
 terms of agreement and the individual payments of the 
 twenty-two partners, is owned by Miss McKinnon, a 
 descendant of Madam Brett. 
 
 The account is headed by Catheryna Brett, who paid 
 her full share, although the land described "on the east 
 
 30 
 
side of Hudson's river" was purchased from Francis 
 Brett, her son, to whom she had doubtless previously 
 conveyed it. 7'he house, it appears, was divided into 
 twenty separate rooms, or divisions, equal to the rights 
 and numbers of whole shares. The lots were said to 
 have been "fairly drawn" and there fell unto the 
 proper share of Catherina Brett, the room or division 
 No. 2. 
 
 As .debtor. Madam Brett was charged "fifty-seven 
 pounds to her one-twentieth share of Frankfort Store- 
 house, land and improvements calculated." 
 
 Apparently she did not pay all this indebtedness in 
 specie; she probably set her slaves to work upon the 
 building, for to her later credit is acknowledged "By 
 labour had done at sundry times at Frankfort Store- 
 house two pounds fourteen shillings." Again, she paid 
 a carpenter, James Titus, six pounds three shillings, — 
 and for the liberty of getting timber from her lands was 
 allowed five pounds five shillings. For the same car- 
 penters she appears to have furnished food and to have 
 had her young son carry it to them, for the entry, "To 
 Robert 13 shillings six pence" precedes the statement 
 "By boarding the carpenters." It will be noted that 
 there is no mention of their provisions of bedding; they 
 probably slept under shelter at the scene of their work 
 for the old phrase "To bed and board" is here but 
 half charged. 
 
 She also paid, in 1743, "By the consideration money 
 for land purchased in ComY. 28 pounds, thirteen shil- 
 lings, nine pence," and that she loaned further moneys 
 than those charged to her account is shown by her 
 credit of "interest Money Due on fifteen pounds at 7 
 per cent, for i 1-3 months." 
 
 These are indications that Madam Brett was blessed 
 with business ability long before the era of its alleged 
 dawn in feminine minds. 
 
 31 
 
About the year 17 lo, forty-one Palatines (German 
 refugees) settled at Newburgh, and their Lutheran 
 minister established the first Church on the Bay. 
 Thither Lieutenant Brett (former Vestryman of Trin- 
 ity Parish), and his wife (daughter of the one-time 
 Llder of the "Reformed Christian Religion"), were 
 wont to cross in a canoe for Divine Service — an early 
 and excellent example of Church Unity. 
 
 Notwithstanding this fact, when in 1731, a group 
 of godly-minded people petitioned His Excellency John 
 Montgomery "that the members of said congregation 
 have agreed among themselves to erect and build a 
 convenient Church to the public worship of God, nigh 
 the said Fish Creek," Madam Brett returned to the 
 faith of her fathers. One record states that Madam 
 Brett gave the land to the congregation — another that 
 seven and a half acres were purchased from her — this 
 land comprising a part of the larger glebe which sur- 
 rounded the building. The historic Dutch Church 
 reared thereon was the first religious edifice built in 
 the Rombout Precinct. It became dear to the heart 
 of the lady of the Manor, and before her death in 
 1764, she gave "225 pounds lawful currency," which 
 was termed by the congregation "Mistress Brett's 
 legacy." 
 
 Henry D. B. Bailey, author of Local Tales and 
 Sketches, published in 1874, recounts the attendance 
 of Madam Brett at the marriage ceremony of the 
 Dutch pastor. Rev. Mr. Van Nist, who conjointly 
 served the two congregations of Fishkill and Pough- 
 keepsie : 
 
 "As the hour of twelve drew near, the excitement 
 became intense and what added more to the enthusiasm 
 Avas the appearance of Madam Brett, in her coach 
 drawn by four horses, coming down Main Street 
 (Poughkeepsie) with tM^o negroes on the front seat 
 
 32 
 
and one on the rear of the coach, whose business was 
 to open the door." 
 
 Well we may love to dwell In fancy upon the cour- 
 ageous personality, the dignified labors, gracious diplo- 
 macy and honest enterprise of Madam Brett, whose 
 character outlined in strength and sweetness is the only 
 portrait which exists of Fishkill's first hostess and 
 earliest benefactor. 
 
 " Where she found a stranger, — there she left a friend." 
 
 When it is remembered that the dark-skinned In- 
 dians, as well as the pioneer settlers of her own race, 
 accorded love and honor to her name, we do well to 
 call it again in mind and gather joyously in her home- 
 stead. 
 
 By her will, drawn March 14, 1763, she made wise 
 division of her property, prefaced by these pious 
 words : 
 
 "In the name of God, Amen. I, Catheryna Brett 
 of FishKill in Dutchess County and in the Province 
 of New York, Widow, being aged and infirm in body 
 but of sound and disposing mind memory and under- 
 standing, — thanks be given to Almighty God for the 
 same, and calling to mind the certainty of death and 
 the uncertain time thereof do make and declare this my 
 last Will and Testament in manner and form follow- 
 ing, that is to say, first and principally I recommend 
 my precious and Immortal Soul into the Hands of 
 Almighty God who gave It, and my Body to the earth 
 to be decently interred at the discretion of my Execu- 
 tors hereafter named in hope of a Glorious Resurrec- 
 tion and as to such Worldly estate wherewith It hath 
 pleased God to bless me with I give, devise and dis- 
 pose thereof in manner In form following." 
 
 Francis Brett, the eldest son, inherited the share 
 in the Frankfort Storehouse, 100 pounds Current 
 
 33 
 
Money, the Negro wench Molly, five farms, and one- 
 half of all the estate, — the other half passed to the 
 children of Robert Brett, who had previously died. She 
 further devised to her son Robert's children "the 
 wench called Coban, and if sold she to have the liberty 
 of Chusing her own master, I also order that if my 
 wench Molly should be sold that she have the liberty 
 of Chusing her own Master with whom she will live." 
 
 We can picture the death of the aged and infirm 
 body, attended in respectful sorrow from the beloved 
 earthly home by her son and grandchildren, her col- 
 ored maids, Molly and Coban, and a grieving populace. 
 
 She was buried in the glebe, so near to the Church 
 that when it was subsequently enlarged, her grave was 
 overshadowed by the pulpit; a worthy resting place 
 of hallowed sanctity for the brave Lady Bountiful. 
 The Brett descendants have reared a tablet to her 
 memory, which is here reproduced. 
 
 Upon Francis Brett's second daughter, Hannah, 
 depends the next chapter of the occupancy of the 
 homestead. On April 6, 1763, attired in a striped 
 silk wedding gown (a fragment of which is preserved 
 by the present owner of the homestead), she gave her 
 hand and heart to young Henry Schenck, son of Judge 
 Abraham Schenck and Elsie Vandervoort, his wife. 
 The Judge had served for five sessions in the Court 
 of Common Pleas of King's County, Long Island, and 
 was representative of that County in the Colonial 
 Legislature. 
 
 An interesting and timely discovery, made by Miss 
 Florence Guernsey, has brought to light a letter writ- 
 ten to her mother, the late Mrs. Egbert Guernsey, by 
 a cousin, George E. Schenck, which relates a tradition 
 we may well emphasize in this year of the Hudson- 
 Fulton celebration. 
 
 The President of the Dutch East India Company 
 
 34 
 
In 60cmoriam 
 
 fl^abame Cattjarpna prett, 
 
 ILieutenant Eoger IBtett, E,J13., 
 and dauffbter of 
 
 jFrancig iaombout, 
 
 a grantee of tf)e Eombout Patent, 
 
 Born in t!)e Citp of il3eto gorli, 1687. 
 
 SDied in Eombout Precinct ■- fi^W^i = 1764. 
 
 ^0 tW ct)urc|) 0|)e toaai a liberal contributor 
 
 and underneath it0 pulpit lier bodp i0 interred. 
 
 ZW Cablet 
 
 toass erected bp ^er descendants 
 
 and others interested in tl)e 
 Colonial I)j0torp of JFisftkill, 
 
in 1609 was Admiral \'an Schenck of the Navy of 
 Holland. Believing in the importance of Henry- 
 Hudson's quest for the Northwest passage to India, 
 the Admiral allowed his son, Sir Roeloffe Schenck, as 
 super cargo, to embark with Henry Hudson and accom- 
 pany the famous expedition of the Half Moon. Young 
 Schenck participated in the thrilling adventures which 
 marked the discovery of our river, and accompanied 
 Hudson upon the return voyage. They landed at Dart- 
 mouth, England, says this letter, and so aroused the 
 jealousv of the English East India Company, by the 
 recital of their discovery, that the members influenced 
 Hudson to re-enter their employ. But the "Super 
 Cargo," Roeloffe Schenck, carried to Holland the news 
 of the voyage — although it Is averred that the Half 
 Moon was detained from Its return to Holland until 
 Hudson had sailed thence In an English ship, upon 
 his final voyage In 1610. 
 
 The glowing account of the newly discovered land, 
 as related bv Sir Roeloffe to his father, Admiral Van 
 Schenck, enabled him to inspire seventeen business men 
 of Amsterdam to form a trading Company for the 
 traflfic in furs with the American Indians. An expedi- 
 tion, numbering sixty natives of Holland, led by Roeloffe 
 Schenck, sailed in 16 10 for America, and established 
 a trading post in Boswyck (now Bushwick) Creek, and 
 Flockland (now Flatland), Long Island. 
 
 Mr. George Schenck further alleged that in 1852 
 the ruins of the old mill, established by these settlers, 
 were visible; and in the old burying ground some two 
 hundred and fifty descendants of Roeloffe Schenck were 
 interred. Among the signatures of persons who. In 
 response to Governor Nicoll's edict, took an oath of 
 allegiance during 1678, to the Crown of England, In 
 Boswyck and Flatland, appear the names "Roeloffe 
 Martin Schenck, Jr., 47 years; Jan Martins Schenck, 
 
 35 
 
37 years; Jacob Schenck, 23 years, — possibly sons of 
 the sturdy Roeloffe, Super Cargo of the Half Moon. 
 
 Johannes Schenck, who emigrated from Holland to 
 America in 1683, is recorded in Flatbush as Town 
 Clerk in 1694, and in 17 12 he purchased the mill prop- 
 erty at Bushwick, doubtless the same building set up 
 by his enterprising kinsman. Sir Roeloffe. It was Jo- 
 hannes' great-grandson, Henry, born 1745, who com- 
 ing forth from the ancestral home at Bushwick, wooed 
 and won fair Hannah Brett in the homestead of her 
 grandmother. 
 
 Again to the Manor born, came a numerous genera- 
 tion, — the children of Henry Schenck and Hannah, 
 nine in all, — sturdy girls and boys of the third genera- 
 tion within these walls. Henry Schenck's inheritance 
 of intellect and courage were soon to be tried and 
 tested, for in 1775 Fishkill saw the portentous fore- 
 shadowings of the War of the Revolution. 
 
 The Account Book of Frankfort Storehouse states 
 that no meetings were held from 1776 until 178 1 "On 
 account of hostilities." Poor Hannah Brett, wedded 
 to a soldier in war time, must have passed many an 
 anxious hour when in 1775 she learned that her hus- 
 band had been appointed Major of Colonel Swart- 
 out's regiment. He brought home his commission 
 dated October 17th, and from that time she helped 
 buckle on his sword for the right cause which was dear 
 to all hearts. 
 
 The battle of Lexington had aroused the country to 
 action and the men of Fish Kill were eager and ready 
 for organization. At the meeting of the Provincial 
 Congress means were devised for general safety. 
 Henry Schenck was one of a Committee of Observa- 
 tion, which met on July 13th. Already Washington 
 had been appointed Commander of the Army. From 
 that time the movements of the Committee are on rec- 
 
 36 
 
SILHOUETTE OF MRS. ISAAC DE PEYSTER TELLER 
 (nee ALICE SCHENCK) 
 
 (From Original owned by Mrs. Robert Fulton Crary) 
 
ord, and are copiously quoted in an early history of 
 Fishkill by T. Van Wyck Brinckerhoff. The meet- 
 ings took place at the house of Captain Jacob Griffin, 
 on the Hopewell Turnpike, and on August i8, 1775, 
 Henry Schenck and William Van Wyck were ordered 
 to purchase arms for Captain Beedle's company. Sub- 
 sequently the homestead became the scene for many 
 brave interviews of uniformed soldiers, and its hos- 
 pitable doors were swung open to every friend of lib- 
 erty. An old paper written by the late Miss Hannah 
 Teller (who was a sincere student of local history of 
 her own and earlier times), states that George Wash- 
 ington and Abraham Yates, Jr., while presiding over 
 the Fishkill Convention, were entertained by Major 
 Schenck, and that Washington came from his head- 
 quarters at Newburgh and received royal welcome 
 from the social Major and his hospitable wife. The 
 Marquis La Fayette and Baron Steuben were also here 
 entertained; no wonder that the walls to-day breathe 
 the spirit of peace for which those early patriots 
 planned and wrought. 
 
 Major Schenck was appointed Quartermaster for 
 the troops, and rations for the hungry army were 
 stored in the ample cellar of the Homestead. Here 
 were sheltered a relay of men who ranged in rows on 
 the floor of the east room, now known as the "long 
 room," slept off their fatigue. 
 
 The wife of the gallant Major must have had her 
 hands full during these stirring days, for her troop of 
 little children claimed her first attention. Her second 
 daughter, Alice, born in 1765, who became the owner 
 of the Homestead In later years, was ten years old in 
 war time. Strange sights and sounds must have con- 
 tributed to her wondering mind as she watched her 
 father don his uniform and saw her mother clinging 
 
 37 
 
to him, whisper words of hope and encouragement, 
 as he fared forth to join his troop. 
 
 Alice Schenck's childish copybook is in the posses- 
 sion of the author, a quaint book filled with careful 
 penmanship and high resolves. She was a pupil at 
 Peter Van Steen Bergh's School at Hopewell, and after 
 she had "set the alphabet" on July yth, 1778, and 
 transcribed 
 
 "Your Delight and your Care Should be to Write 
 Fair." 
 
 her pages present a brave array of pleasantries and 
 pious sentiments. In February she wrote : 
 
 "Now Jack and Joan may tell a merry tale 
 Close by the fire with a mug of ale; 
 Pancakes and fritters now in season are. 
 And young men they for Valentines prepare." 
 
 But she also inscribed less hopeful mottoes, — "Each 
 moment should Remind us of our End," and "Our 
 Life here Is but a journey to the Next World," per- 
 chance In recognition of the horrors of war, for an- 
 other page bears the amicable inscription, 
 
 "Triumph Not over Enemies," and again, with 
 reluctant note : 
 
 "Our British Merchants Foreign Trades pursue, — 
 They vend our goods and Bring us Riches too." 
 
 When national peace descended upon the land., Henry 
 Schenck took up some personal problems. The fol- 
 lowing letter,* which he sent to his wife from New 
 
 ♦Original in possession of Charles Mayer Van Kleeck, Esq 
 
 38 
 
THE HOX. ISAAC TELLER 
 Member of Congress 
 (From old Photograph) 
 
York by Captain Hunt "with sundry articles," reveals 
 two perplexities : 
 
 New York, Sept. 9, 1785. 
 
 Dear Hannah, 
 
 the Tryal which is the Cause of my Being here is 
 as yet not Come on, and it seems Rather uncertain 
 when it will Come to pass, so that I shall be under 
 the Necessity of Staying till some time next week. 
 Genii. Courtlandt and a son of Mr. John Cortlandt, 
 who Claim Lands against us in the Gore will be at 
 our house the Latter End of Next week in Order to 
 settle the Dispute subsisting between us, there will be 
 no Opportunity for me to Come up with the Sloop, 
 which will Cause me to Come with the Stage. I have 
 sent you the Little articles you sent for. I am, 
 Dear Llannah yours &c. 
 
 (signed) Henry Schenck. 
 
 On April 12, 1790, another bride was won in the 
 homestead, when Alice Schenck became the wife of 
 Isaac de Peyster Teller, fifth in descent from that same 
 William Teller, proprietor of Schenectady. 
 
 His father, Isaac, was a son of Oliver Teller and 
 Cornelia De Peyster, whose marriage, solemnized 
 in 17 1 2, brought three interesting heirlooms to the 
 possession of the present owner of the homestead, — 
 the silver wedding tankard inscribed in primitive mark- 
 ing with the Initials of the bride and groom, O. & C. T. ; 
 the resplendent yellow and white brocade wedding 
 gown of the fair Cornelia; also her engagement 
 ring of diamonds set In a true-lover's knot. The 
 portrait of the bride's father, Isaac De Peyster, now 
 adorns the dining-room of the homestead. Isaac had 
 married Maria Van Ball, half sister of Madam Brett, 
 
 39 
 
by Helena Teller's second marriage before she was 
 espoused by Mayor Rombout. 
 
 Evidently beguiled by the descriptions of the pioneer 
 settlers, the De Peysters had followed the Bretts to 
 FIshkill and had purchased in 1743 the mill property 
 from Madam Brett. In 1775 the said Abraham De 
 Peyster, purchaser of the mill, bequeathed this prop- 
 erty to his nephews, Oliver and Isaac de Peyster Teller. 
 The bride of the latter, Alice Schenck, therefore began 
 her housekeeping during 1790 in the old mill house, 
 now known as the Newlin House, at the mouth of 
 the creek, where for many years she and her husband 
 resided. 
 
 In 1 79 1 Major Henry Schenck served as Member 
 of the Assembly, and there are reasons to believe he 
 was in every way a useful and respected citizen. He 
 died during 1799 and was buried in the Reformed 
 Churchyard near Fishkill Landing. In the settlement 
 of his estate the homestead property was purchased 
 from the widow, or "doweress" as she was called, by 
 Isaac De Peyster Teller, son-in-law. The deed, dated 
 December 23rd, 1800, described the tract of one hun- 
 dred and eighty-six acres (and 120 acres on the moun- 
 tain) as part of the "old farm" — and there is also 
 mention of the "old farm mansion." It is interesting 
 to note that one hundred and nine years ago the house 
 was considered old. Major Schenck's widow, who 
 survived him until 1825, made her home with her 
 daughter, Mrs. Teller, whose husband,* with the 
 genius of wise farming, developed the property until 
 it became locally renowned for its grain and other 
 farm products. 
 
 Again a numerous flock of children arrived to bless 
 the Homestead: Hannah, the eldest daughter, a 
 
 ♦Isaac De Peyster Teller was appointed Sergeant Major of Lt. Col. Hasbrouck's 
 Jlegiment of Militia, Sept. 23, 1808. 
 
 40 
 
MINIATURE OF REV. ROBERT BOYD VAN KLEECK, D.D. 
 
 (From Original owned by Mrs. Robert Fulton Crary) 
 
woman of forceful character, who died unmarried, 
 October 6, 1857; Henry B. Teller, who married 
 Catherine Storm of Stormvillc; Caroline, Isaac, Maria, 
 Ann Eliza and Louisa — all are Teller names which 
 survive in the memories of old-time residents. One 
 other dau .ter, Margaret Schenck Teller, born in 
 1808 (the next to the youngest of the many daugh- 
 ters), was the only one to give her hand in marriage — 
 the other five sisters and their brother Isaac remained 
 so happy in their home life that they never exchanged 
 or altered it. 
 
 Isaac became a member of Congress and as a Coun- 
 try Esquire and gentleman, was much respected and 
 beloved. His generous nature allowed many privi- 
 leges for the poor people who dwelt upon the family 
 mountain lands, and to this day their descendants re- 
 late his bounty: — "he never charged us nothin' for 
 wood, and he'd pay us money for the cuttin' of it." 
 
 He was a great admirer of Henry Clay, and his 
 white horse which lived to a good old age, and was 
 finally buried in the glen, bore the name of this great 
 statesman. This horse, harnessed to the old-time 
 buggy, in which the Hon. Isaac Teller was wont to 
 drive over his farm land, one day grazed quietly in a 
 grain field, so long idle that a farm hand came to see 
 why the master tarried. He had died of heart disease 
 in the carriage, and his sorrowing family and friends 
 grieved greatly at his loss. 
 
 During the residence of the Teller family in the 
 homestead, the main street of the village had gained 
 prominence and it was decided to reverse the entrance 
 so the former rear became the front. Mrs. Teller put 
 her name upon the brass knocker which still announces 
 the many welcome guests. It may be interesting to 
 note that in the first two years of the present owner's 
 residence, no fewer than twelve hundred callers and 
 
 41 
 
visitors have passed over that threshold. Who says 
 that caUIng has gone out of fashion? 
 
 Throughout this generation and those preceding 
 It, there was no Episcopal Church nearer than 
 Fishklll Village. In 1832 Miss Hannah Teller, 
 aided by her sisters, established a Sunday School, 
 which met each week In the long room of the 
 house, and from this missionary effort arose the 
 Inception of a local parish. The Hon. Isaac Teller, 
 In order to procure a minister of the Episcopal Faith, 
 drove to West Point upon the Ice to bring back the 
 Rev. Mr. Hackley, Chaplain of the Post, who con- 
 ducted Divine Service In a subsequently rented room 
 In Matteawan. 
 
 Later the Teller family gave a plot of land at the 
 corner* of their orchard, upon which a building known 
 as St. Anna's Church was reared. The name was a 
 discreet departure from the original suggestion of Mr. 
 John PIntard, of New York, who wished to name It 
 for Miss Hannah Teller, — she suggested the alterna- 
 tive. 
 
 To the charge of this Interesting congregation a 
 young clergyman was called, the Rev. Robert Boyd 
 Van Kleeck, son of Dr. Baltus Livingston Van 
 Kleeck,t a prominent physician of Newburgh. A 
 graduate of Columbia University, he was a devout and 
 sympathetic preacher, adviser and friend. The influ- 
 
 *This plot was later sold to the Methodist congregation for their present edifice. 
 tBaltus Livingston Van Kleeck's ancestor, Captain Van Kleeck, who com- 
 manded a company of horse-men in 1775 had received the following orders from the 
 Commanding General: 
 
 Headquarters 
 
 Valley Forge, 
 
 March 10th, 1778. 
 
 Sir; 
 
 Extend your picket across the bridge with a patrol on the Morristown Road as 
 far as the King of Prussia Tavern, with orders to bring in all strangers unable to give 
 a good account cf themselves, also all persons found loitering near the lines, such 
 arrests to be immediately reported to Gen'l Varnum. 
 
 (signed) Go. Washington, 
 Commg. 
 To 
 
 Captn. Van Kleeck. 
 
 (Original letter owned 1909 by 'Ven. Archdeacon Van Kleeck.) 
 
 42 
 
MINIATURE OF MRS. ROBERT BOYD VAN KLEECK 
 
 N6e Margaret Schenck Teller 
 
 (From Original owned by Mrs. Thomas R. Harris), 
 
ence of his life is still potent. When he came as Lay 
 Reader to take up the first work in the new parish, 
 he was welcomed at the Homestead and learned to 
 know the young teacher of the Sunday School infant 
 class, Miss Margaret Schenck I'eller, sister of Miss 
 Hannah. It is not surprising therefore, to note their 
 marriage in the parlor of the Homestead, on June 
 9th, 1834, when with Bishop Onderdonk of New 
 York as officiant, the ceremony was made the occasion 
 of family and friendly happiness. The fair bride was 
 attired in a dotted white silk gown which is still pre- 
 served in the Homestead, and one would have to go 
 far to find a handsomer man than the young minister, 
 who is remembered by old-time residents. One recently 
 told a descendant of the pair, that she had never "seen 
 a prettier minister in any pulpit!"* 
 
 Hospitality abounded in "Teller's Villa," as it was 
 then termed, and old-time letters throw light upon a 
 life of happy serenity. When Mrs. Teller died in 
 1845 her son Isaac and the five unmarried daughters 
 lived in the old home until, one by one, they were called 
 to their rest. Finally the house came Into the posses- 
 sion of the last surviving daughter, Mrs. Van Kleeck, 
 who loved Its charm and returned to it as often as her 
 husband could be spared from the parochial duties of 
 his several parishes. Upon his retirement from his 
 last charge, Hyde Park, Massachusetts, they made it 
 their permanent home. 
 
 Happy memories here abound: vacation days of child- 
 hood spent with fun-loving companions of kinship 
 under the Colonial roof-tree. From a Canton jar 
 upon the shelf of the "back pantry"t arose the fra- 
 grant scent of ginger nuts, — always and forever they 
 
 *Dr. Van Kleeck later became Rector of St. George's, Flushing, and St. Paul's 
 Church, Troy, N. Y. 
 
 tRemoved to make room for the present stair-case. 
 
 43 
 
abounded in that unfailing cruse. Harvest apples of 
 the orchard ripened in August and their red cheeked 
 globes formed many a hammock feast. 
 
 Harry Clay, in the serene comfort of old age, 
 jogged, along the country roads and carried a load of 
 happy-hearted children. There is to-day in the attic 
 the little, carpet covered stool upon which the youngest 
 child perched, between the sheltering knees of an elder. 
 Driving the cows home from the far-away pasture up 
 Teller Avenue was a pastime for late afternoons — 
 feeding the chickens was one for early mornings. Well 
 do I remember throwing India china plate and all to 
 the hungry, crowding hens who frightened it from my 
 grasp, for every day we ate from the old blue plates 
 which now only come forth on Sundays. On rainy 
 days we played checkers, and on Sunday evenings sang 
 hymns in the parlor, — old and young joining heartily 
 in the ministry of song. One child would be esconced 
 in the green velvet swinging chair, which creaked an 
 accompaniment, delightful to an untutored ear. The 
 logs dropped upon the hearth, the embers faded, but 
 the light of memory will forever cherish the vision of 
 faces which were strong in faith, honest in purpose, and 
 calm in resignation. These treasured recollections are 
 not mine alone, — they jointly belong to a generation 
 of children who happily trooped to visit their grand- 
 parents. 
 
 44 
 
SILHOUETTE OF REV. ROBERT BOYD VAN KLEECK, PREACHING 
 
 (From Original owned by Ven. Archdeacon Van Kleeck) 
 
GRANDMOTHER'S GARDEN. 
 
 I can see long back in fancy, in kaleidoscopic view, 
 'Mid the circling disks of time-rings my mind is gazing 
 
 through, 
 A fairy land of beauty which my early childhood knew. 
 Where the purest, sweetest flowers and the softest 
 
 mosses grew. 
 
 The paths were stiffly outlined with a bordering of box, 
 The flower-beds flashed brightly with marigold and 
 
 phlox. 
 While the grapevines grew precisely in a fashion 
 
 orthodox, 
 To evade the crafty cunning of each spoiling two- 
 
 legg'd fox. 
 
 I can see the drooping pear tree stooping low to touch 
 
 the ground 
 To deposit ripened sweetness where it soonest could be 
 
 found, 
 While the honey-bees grew heavy, as they circled 
 
 round and round. 
 And clapped their wings in soft applause, with hazy, 
 
 happy sound. 
 
 The currants flashed to crimson 'neath the brightness 
 
 of the sun. 
 Until, — all red and rosy, — they shook their heads for 
 
 fun, 
 
 45 
 
And tumbled off demurely, in the green grass one by 
 
 one, 
 To wait until the children should down the pathway run. 
 
 And then, the very best of all, the merry little brook 
 That dashed along and splashed along with circling 
 
 curve and crook. 
 Yet held its little mirrors where the lilies bent to look 
 And gave us tiny concerts from a natural music book. 
 
 As I tell myself the story, my heart is all aglow 
 With reverberating pleasures that from the memory 
 
 grow, 
 So I write down glimpses of it, that others too may 
 
 know. 
 The sweetness and completeness of the distant long ago. 
 
 Alice Crary. 
 {Reprint from the Ladies' Home Journal.) 
 
 46 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 EXEMPLIFICATION OF FRANC^ RUM- 
 BOUT'S PATENT.* 
 
 Dated 17th Ocf. 1685. 
 RuMBOUT Patent 
 
 dated February 8, 1682, given to Francis Rumbout 
 and Gulyne Verplanke. It was given when Thomas 
 Dongan was Lieut. Governor and Vice-Admiral under 
 his Majesty James II, King of England, Scotland, 
 France and Ireland. 
 
 The People of the State of New York, By the Grace of 
 God Free and Independent. To all to whom these 
 presents shall come send Greeting. Know Ye That 
 in our Records in our Secretary's Office of our said 
 State we have seen certain Letters Patent In the words 
 following to wit. ''Thomas Dongan, Lieut. Gover- 
 nor and Vice Admiral under his Majesty James the 
 Second By the Grace of God King of England, Scot- 
 land, France and Ireland, Defender of the Faith &a 
 Supream Lord and Proprietor of the Colony and 
 Province of New Yorke&its Dependencyes in America, 
 &c. To all to whom these presents shall come Sendeth 
 Greeting. Whereas Francis Rumbouts and Gulyne 
 Verplanke of the Citty of New Yorke, Merchants by 
 virtue of and in pursuance of an order and lysence of 
 the Commander in Chiefe and Council of the said 
 Province of New Yorke bearing date the twenty-eight 
 day of February in the Yeare of our Lord one thousand 
 
 ♦From original, owned by Mrs. Robert Fulton Crary. 
 
 47 
 
six hundred eighty two, Have according to the Law 
 and practice of the said Province for a valuable con- 
 sideration purchased of the natives and Indian Own- 
 ers, their right title interest claime and demand of in 
 and to all that certaine Tract or parcell of land herein 
 after mentioned and expressed for their owne proper 
 use as by the Indian Deed of Sale thereof bearing 
 date the eighth Day of August in the Yeare of our 
 Lord one thousand six hundred eighty three remain- 
 ing upon record in the Secretary's Office of the said 
 Province may more fully and att large appeare. And 
 whereas the said Gulyne Verplanke is since deceased 
 butt before his decease made his last will and testament 
 in writing and therein and thereby made constituted 
 and appointed Henrita his widdow and relict his whole 
 and sole Executrix who hath since the decease of the 
 said Gulyne Verplanke proved the said Will and taken 
 upon her the burthen of Executrix and hath since inter- 
 maried with Jacobus Kipp of the City of New Yorke 
 aforesaid Mercht., by virtue of which Will and the 
 intermariage as aforesaid, hee, the said Jacobus Kipp 
 Is become Interested in and Intitled to such share title 
 and interest as the said Gulyne Verplanke att the time 
 of his decease had in the said Tract or parcell of land 
 hereafter mentioned by virtue of the said purchase as 
 aforesaid. And whereas in the life time of the said 
 Gulyne Verplanke it was agreed between the said Fran- 
 cis Rumbouts and the said Gulyne Verplanke & Stepha- 
 nus Van Courtlandt of the Citty of New Yorke afore- 
 said Merchants, that he, the said Stephanus Van Court- 
 landt paying the full third parte of the charge of the 
 purchase aforesaid made by them the said Francis 
 Rumbouts and Gulyne Verplanke as aforesaid should 
 have conveyed and assured to him the one full third 
 parte of all their right title and interest of in and to 
 the said Tract or parcel of land hereafter mentioned 
 
 48 
 

 Pi 
 
 &< 
 
 b 
 
 Q 
 < 
 
 H 
 
 o 
 w 
 
by virtue of and pursuant to which agreemt. they the 
 said Francis Rumbouts, Jacobus Kipp and the said 
 Henrita his Wife have since the decease of the said 
 Gulyne Verplanke conveyed and assured unto the said 
 Stephanus Van Courtland, his Heirs and assigns for 
 ever, one full third parte of all their right title and 
 Interest of in and to the said Tract or parcell of land 
 hereafter mentioned as in and by their certaine write- 
 ing or conveyance bearing date the fifth day of Sep- 
 tember instant may more fully and at large appeare. 
 Now Know Ye That by virtue of the Commission and 
 authority unto me given for and in consideration of the 
 yearly rent herein after mentioned and reserved and 
 for divers other causes and considerations me thereunto 
 moving I have granted ratified and confirmed and by 
 these presents Doe grant rattifie and confirme unto the 
 said Francis Rumbouts, Jacobus Kipp and Stephanus 
 Van Courtland all that Tract or parcell of land situate 
 lying and being on the east side of Hudsons River att 
 the north side of the highlands Begining from the 
 south side of a creeke called the Fishkill and by the 
 Indians Matteawan and from thence northward along 
 said Hudsons River five hundred rodd beyond the 
 greate Wappins Kill called by the Indians Mawenawa- 
 sigh being the northerly bounds and from thence into 
 the woods foure houres goeing, that is to say sixteene 
 English miles, always keeping five hundred rodd dis- 
 tant from the north side of said greate Wappingers 
 Creek however it runns as also from the said Fish- 
 kill or creeke called Matteawan along the said Fish 
 Creek into the Woods att the foott of the said high 
 hills including all the read or low lands att the South 
 side of said Creek with an easterly line four bowers 
 goeing, that is to say sixteen english miles into the 
 Woods and from thence northerly to the end of the 
 foure bowers going towitt sixteen English miles or 
 
 49 
 
line drawne att the north side of the five hundred Rodd 
 beyond the greate Wappingar Creeke or Kill called 
 Mawenawasigh together with all and all manner of 
 Rivers, Rivolets, Runns, Streams and liberty to build 
 erect and make any Mill or Mills thereon feedings 
 pastures woods underwoods Trees waters water courses 
 ponds pooles pitts swamps moores marshes meadows 
 easiements proffiitts and commoditys fishing fowling 
 hunting hawking mines mineralls Quarrayes Royall 
 Mines excepted Royalties franchises and apurtenances 
 whatsoever to the said Tract or parcell of land within 
 the Bounds and lymitts aforesaid belonging or in any 
 wise appurtaineing To have and to hold the said 
 Tract or parcell of land and all and singular other the 
 premisses with their and every of their appurtenences 
 untO' the said Francis Rumbouts, Jacobus Kipp and 
 Stephanus Van Courtland, their Heires and Assignes 
 forever unto the only proper use and behoofe of them 
 the said Francis Rumbouts Jacobus Kipp and Stepha- 
 nus Van Courtland their heirs and assigns forever. 
 Yielding and paying therefore Yearly and every Year 
 for the use of our Soverigne Lord James the second 
 by the Grace of God of England Scottland France and 
 Ireland King Defender of the faith &c his heires or 
 Successors or such Officers as by him or them shall 
 be from time to time appointed to receive the same 
 six bushells of good merchantable winter Wheate on 
 every twenty-fifth days of March att the Citty of New 
 Yorke aforesaid 
 
 In Witnessee whereof I have signed these Presents 
 with my hand & caused the publique Scale of the said 
 Province to be hereunto affixed and these presents to 
 be entered upon Record in the Secretary's Office of the 
 said Province this 17th Day of October in the first 
 Yeare of his said Maties. Reigne and in the Yeare of 
 our Lord i68i; Thomas Dongan." 
 
 50 
 
In Testimony whereof We have caused the said Let- 
 ters Patent, to be herein and hereby exemphfied, and 
 the Great Seal of our said State to be to these presents 
 affixed. 
 
 Witness our trusty and well beloved George Clinton, 
 Esquire, Governor of our said State General and Com- 
 mander in Chief of all the Militia and Admiral of the 
 Navy of the same, this twenty fifth day of June in the 
 eighth Year of our Independence, and in the year of 
 our Lord one thousand seven hundred and eighty four. 
 
 (Signed) George Clinton. 
 
 Passed the Secretary's office (the word (and) be- 
 tween fourth and fifth line, the word (and) between 
 twenty-first and twenty-second line of first page and the 
 word (winter) between tenth and eleventh line of 
 page the second all interlined) this twenty-fifth day 
 of June one thousand seven hundred and eighty-four, 
 (signed) Lewis A. Scott D Secry. 
 
 51 
 
BOOK OF PATENTS, VOL. 5, PAGE 72. 
 
 Albany, New York. 
 The following Indian Deed of Sale, Recorded for 
 Mr. ffrancis Rumbout and Gulyne Ver Planke, the 14th 
 day of August, 1683: 
 
 To All CHRISTIAN PEOPLE To Whom This 
 Present Writeing Shall Come, Sackoraghkigh for 
 himselfe, and in the name of Megriesken, Sachem of 
 the Wappinger Indians, Queghsjehapaein, Niessja- 
 wejahos, Queghout, Asotews, Wappegereck, Nathin- 
 deaeniw, Wappappee, Ketaghkainis, Meakhaghogh- 
 kan, Mierham, Peapightapeieuw, Queghitaeuw, Min- 
 esawogh, Katariogh, Kightapiuhogh, Rearowogh, 
 Meggrek, Sejay, Wienangeck, Maenemanew, and 
 Ginghstyerem, true and Lawful Owners and Indian 
 Proprietors of the Land herein Menchoned, send 
 Greeting, KNOW YEE — that for and in Considera- 
 con of a Certain Sume or Quantity of Money, Wam- 
 pum, and diverse other Goods in a ScheduU hereunto 
 Annexed Perticularly Menconed and Expresed to them 
 the said Indians, in Hand Payed by Mr. ffrancis Rum- 
 bouts and Gulyne Ver Planke, both of the Citty of 
 New Yorke, Merchants, the Receipt whereof they, the 
 said Indians, Doe hereby Acknowledge, and therewith 
 ownes themselves to be fully payed, Contented and 
 Sattisfied, and thereof and of every Parte and Parcell 
 Doe hereby Acquitt, Exonerate and Discharge them, 
 the said ffrancis Rumbouts and Gulyne V. Planke, their 
 Heirs and Assignes, have Given, Granted, Bargained, 
 
 52 
 
Sold, Aliened, Enfeoffd, and Confirmed, and by these 
 Presents Doe fully Cleerly and Absolutely Give, Grant, 
 Bargaine, Sell, and Alien, Enfeofte, and Confirme unto 
 the said ffrancis Ruinbout and Gulyne Ver Planke, All 
 that Tract or Parcell of Land Scituate, Lyeing and 
 being on the East side of Hudson's River, at the north 
 side of the High Lands, Beginning from the South 
 side of A Creek Called the fresh Kill, and by the In- 
 dians Matteawan, and from thence Northward along 
 said Hudson's River five hund'^ Rodd bejond the Great 
 Wappins Kill, called by the Lidians Mawenawasigh, 
 being the Northerly Bounds, and from thence into the 
 Woods fouer Houers goeing, alwayes Keeping five 
 hund'' Rodd Distant from the North side of said Wap- 
 Inges Creeke, however it Runns, as alsoe from the 
 said fresh Kill or Creeke called Matteawan, along the 
 said fresh Creeke into the Woods att the foot of the 
 said High Hills, including all the Reed or Low Lands 
 at the South side of the said Creeke, with an Easterly 
 Line fouer Houers going into the Woods, and from 
 thence Northerly to the end of fouer Houers Goeing 
 or Line Drawne att the North side of the five hund** 
 Rodd Bejoyand the Greate Wappinger Creek or Kill 
 called Mawenawasigh, together with all the Lands, 
 Soyles, Meadows, both fresh and Salt Pastures, Com- 
 mons, Wood Land, Marshes, Rivers, Rivoletts, 
 Streams, Creekes, Waters, Lakes, and whatsoever else 
 to the said Tract or Parcell of Land within the Bounds 
 and Limitts aforesaid is Belonging, or any wise Appur- 
 teinlng, without any Resevacon of Herbage, Trees, or 
 any other thing Growing or Being thereupon. To have 
 and to hold the said Tract or Parcell of Land, Mea- 
 dow, Ground, and Primisses, with their and every of 
 their Appurtennces, and all the Estate, Right, Title, 
 Interest, Clayme, and Demand of them the said Indian 
 Proprietors, and each and every of them, of, in, and 
 
 53 
 
to, the same, and Every Parte thereof, unto them the 
 said ffrancis Rumbout and Gulyne Ver Planke, their 
 Heires and Assignes, to the Sole and only Proper use, 
 Benefitt and Behoofe of them, the said ffrancis Rum- 
 bout and Gulyne Ver Planke, their Heires and As- 
 signes for Ever, And they the said Indians Doe for 
 themselves and their Heires and every of them Cove- 
 nant, Promise, and Engage that the said ffrancis Rum- 
 bout and Gulyne Ver Planke, their Heires and As- 
 signs, shall and may from henceforth for ever Law- 
 fully, Peaceably, and Quiettly have, hold, Possesse, 
 and Enjoye the said Tract or Parcell of Land, and all 
 and Singuler other the Primisses, with their Apper- 
 tences without any Lett, Hindrance, or Interrupcon 
 whatsoever of or by them, the said Indians, Proprie- 
 ters or their Heires, or of any other Person or Per- 
 sons, whatsoever clayming or that hereafter shall or 
 may Clayme, by, from or under them, or Either of 
 them. And that they shall and will, upon the reason- 
 able Request and Demand made by the said Francis 
 Rumbouts and Gulyne Ver Planke, Give and Deliver 
 Peaceably and Quiettly Possession of the said Tract or 
 Parcell of Land and Primisses, or of some Parte 
 thereof, for and in the Name of the whole, unto such 
 Person or Persons as by the said ffrancis Rumbout and 
 Gulyne Ver Planke, shall be Appointed to Receive the 
 same. In JFitness whereof, the said Sackoraghkigh, 
 for himselfe and in the Name of Megriskar, Sachem 
 of Wappinger Indians, Queghsjehapeieuw, Niessja- 
 wejhos, Queghout, Asotewas, Wappegereck, Nathin- 
 daew, Wappape, Ketaghkanns, Meakaghoghkan, Mier- 
 ham, Peapightapaeuw, Queghhitaeuw, Memesawogh, 
 Katariogh, Kightapinkog, Rearawogh, Meggiech, Se- 
 jay, Wienangeck, Maenemaeuw, Guighstierm, the In- 
 dian Owners and Proprietors afores'', have hereunto 
 sett their Hands and Seales in N. Yorke, the Eighth 
 
 54 
 
day of August, in the 35th Yeare of his Ma'"^ Reigne, 
 
 Anno Dom, 1683. 
 
 The marke of £ Sakoraghuck, (L. S) 
 The marke of X Queghsjehapaeiw, (L. S.) 
 
 Signed Sealed and Delivered 
 in the psen of us 
 Antho: Brockholls, 
 P. V. Courtlandt, 
 John West. 
 
 The marke of Claes the Indian X Inter, (verite.) 
 The marke of a Merham, (L. S.) 
 The marke of & Peapightapaew, (L. S.) 
 The marke of 7 QuEGiiiiiTAEMW, (L. S.) 
 The marke of 8 Meinesawogh, (L. S.) 
 The marke of o KoTARiOGH, (L. S.) 
 The marke of O Kightapinkojii, (L. S.) 
 The marke of ^w Rearowogh, (L. S.) 
 The marke of 9 Meggenksejay, (L. S.) 
 The marke of qj Wienargeck, (L. S.) 
 The marke of o Maenemanew, (L. S.) 
 The marke of 2 Guighstjerem, (L. S.) 
 The marke of (- Ketaghkannes, (L. S.) 
 The marke of V Meakhajh, (L. S.) 
 The marke of O Oghkan, (L. S.) 
 The marke of X NiESSjAWEAjAHOS, (L. S.) 
 The marke of X QuEjiiOUT, (L. S.) 
 The marke of X SjOTEWES, (L. S.) 
 The marke of X Wappegereck, (L. S.) 
 The marke of X Nathindaeuw, (L. S.) 
 The marke of X Wappape, (L. S.) 
 
 55 
 
A scheduU or Pertlculer of Money, Wampum and 
 other goods Paid by ffrancis Rumbout and Gulyne Ver 
 Planke for the purchase of the Land in the Deed 
 hereunto annexed. 
 
 One hund*^ Royalls, 
 
 One hund Pound Powder, 
 
 Two hund fathom of White Wampum, 
 
 One hund Barrs of Lead, 
 
 One hundred fathom of black Wampum, 
 
 thirty tobacco boxes ten holl adges, 
 
 thirty Gunns, twenty Blankets, 
 
 forty fathom of Duffills, 
 
 twenty fathom of stroudwater Cloth. 
 
 thirty Kittles, forty Hatchets. 
 
 forty Homes, forty Shirts. 
 
 forty p stockings, twelve coates of R. B. & b. C. 
 
 ten Drawing Knives. 
 
 forty earthen Juggs. 
 
 forty Bottles. 
 
 forty Knives, fouer ankers rum. 
 
 ten halfe, fatts Beere. 
 
 two hund tobacco Pipes, &c. 
 
 Eighty Pound Tobacco. 
 
 New York, August the 8th, 1683. 
 The above Perticulers were Delivered to the Indians 
 in the Bill of Sale Menconed in the psence of us 
 
 (Signed) Antho : Brockhalls, 
 (Signed) P. V. Courtlandt, 
 (Signed) John West. 
 
 I do hereby certify the aforegoing to be a true copy 
 of the Original Record, compared therewith by me. 
 (Signed) Lew^is A. Scott, Secretary. 
 
 56 
 
NOTE: FROM THE HISTORY OF THE 
 VER PLANCK FAMILY. 
 
 Bv William Edward Ver Planck, 
 
 A Rovall or ryal was a coin formerly current in 
 England, and equal to a half sovereign, or about $2.50. 
 Duffills or duffle, was coarse flannel. Wampum, the 
 currency of the Indians, was adopted by the Dutch 
 through necessity, for specie was scarce. It consisted 
 of certain kinds of shells strung together. Governor 
 Stuyvesant made several ineffectual attempts to fix its 
 value, and to drive out the rough or inferior wampum 
 brought into New Netherland by the New Englanders. 
 Thus, about 1648, a fathom of bluck wampum was 
 fixed by ordinance to be worth four guilders, or $1.60. 
 In 1662 twenty-four beads of white or twelve beads 
 of black wampum were made equal in value to one 
 stiver, or two cents. The value, however, continued 
 to decline so that by 1683, the date of the Indian'deed, 
 a fathom of black wampum was probably worth about 
 seventy-five cents. The other items in the schedule are 
 obscure onlv by reason of their peculiar spelling: 
 
 "Hatches" for hatchets, "Howes" for hoes, "Fatts" 
 for vats, etc. It has been estimated that the total 
 xplue of the articles was about $1,250. 
 
DEC 111909 
 
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The Homestead 
 
 of a 
 Colonial Dame 
 
 By Alice Crary Sutcliffe 
 
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