If m m liiilii ill 'f.i'J ill hIIjIJIi'' Bk)jmm»)'.ii,;;iitlih!i!i CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY F 144E58°S83 ""'""'" ""'""^^ ^°*l llllSii iimfli'mn?!' .''y Adaline W. Sterlin olin 3 1924 028 828 858 Overs XI Cornell University Library The original of this book is in the Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924028828858 THE BOOK OF ENGLEWOOD The Book of Endewood By ADALINE W. STERLING Together with Matter on the World War by other writers from official sources. Published by authority of THE MAYOR AND COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF ENGLEWOOD, N. J. 1922 M Committee on the History of Englewood PETER S. DURYEE, Chairman LANCE M. PARSONS, Treasurer CHARLES H. MAY, Secretary Harris E. Adriance John B. Allison Howard Barton Clinton H. Blakf., Jr. MEMBERS Floyd R. DuBois Peter S. Duryee Allan C. Hoffman Charles H. May Lance M. Paesons Dan F. Platt Joseph H. Tillotson Byron G. Van Horne In March, 1921, Mayor McKcnna asked the Common Coun- cil to appoint a committee to undertake the production of a his- tory of Englewood, to be a souvenir of Eiiglewood's semi-centen- nial as a separate municipal unit. The committee has been fortu- nate in enlisting the services of Miss Adaline W. Sterling in the writing of the book. To her, and to those others who have con- tributed to the portion of the book that deals with the war, the committee takes this opportunity of extending its deep appre- ciation. For the Committee, Peter S. Duryee, Ch lainiian. HmI s Copyright, 1922. by the Committee on the History of Englewood. / , . II PREFACE O THE mind of the writer, the story of Englewood has presented itself as akin to that of the building of a house, of simple, substantial plan at first, upon a foundation of solid construction. Then as years went by, and generation succeeded generation, the house was increased in dimension, strengthened and beautified, but always in con- sonance with the basic design. The pioneers of '59 placed our house on a foundation al- ready prepared of Dutch thrift, industry and religious faith. Their children and children's children, in like manner, added story to story, strong and beautiful, until Englewood stands to- day a fair edifice, harmonious in detail, into which have been built the faith, truth and ideals of the men and women of the past and of the present day as well. There may have been at times diversity of opinion about the need or style of the addi- tion, or a temporary questioning as to the cost involved, but in the end the work was always accomplished. It has been and still is the feeling of general participation in this our building, which made and makes Englewood so beloved of the dwellers therein. The plan as detailed is one thing, the presentation in inter- esting fashion is another. But there is a homely adage, applica- ble to all undertakings, that may be used as the determining test in this instance. Much of the early history of Englewood, though of great interest, is not of official record, and could be obtained only from private sources. In this connection grateful mention is made of the invaluable assistance rendered by the late Dr. Byron G. Van Home, former president of the Bergen County Historical Society. Dr. Van Home's interest in this present work was very great, the facts he furnished were most valuable, and through him permission was obtained to use several illustrations belonging to the Historical Society. Thanks are also due to Mr. Nelson K. Vanderbeek for facts relative to the Liberty Pole Tavern; to Mr. Thomas William ■X Lydecker for genealogical data of the Lydecker family; to Mrs. Isabella Hart for furnishing interesting incidents connected with the first church and the first school; and to Messrs. William O. Allison, Augustus Floyd, Charles J. Stagg, John M. FoUey, Edward Gruber, and Patrick Powers for helpful infor- mation concerning the early settlers. The aid given by Mr. Joseph H. Tillotson in placing at the writer's disposal news- paper files of forty years is gratefully recognized. To Mr. Floyd R. DuBois, who' has been in charge of the material for part second of this book, grateful acknowledgment is given for im- portant and valuable help. For the attractive presentation of the story in book form, we are indebted to Mr. A. A. Hopkins, of the "Scientific Amer- ican," New York, and to our townsman, Mr. Dexter B. Dawes. Mr. Hopkins has given invaluable aid in planning all the de- tails which belong to fine bookmaking, and has been generous in time and service to accomplish this end. The artistic design of the inner cover is the work of Mr. Dawes as his offering to the story of his birthplace. ^ , Adaline W. Sterling. December, 1922 vni CONTENTS PART I. CHAPTEP. ■ PACE I How the Dutch Came to Bergen 1 II Enghsh Neighborhood 9 III The Passing of Liberty Pole 23 IV Pioneer Years, 1859-1861 41 V Civil War Times 61 VI Hackensack Township Days 73 VII Home Seekers and Builders 81 VIII The Old Township's Last Days, 1868-1871 ... 95 IX Englewood Township: The First Decade .... 107 X Half a Decade Onward 119 XI Community Progress 131 XII The Township's Wane 151 XIII Incorporation and the First City Administration, 1895-1898 167 XIV Elbert A. Brinckerhoff Becomes Mayor . . . .189 XV Mayor Currie's Second Term 207 XVI The Administration of Mayor Piatt, 1904-1905 . . 221 XVII The Administrations of Mayor Mackay, 1906-1909 .235 XVIII The Administration of Mayors Johnson and Birt- whistle 259 XIX The Two Terms of Mayor Munroe, 1912-1915 . . 277 XX TheAdministrationsof Mayor Blake, 1916-1918 . . 299 XXI Administrations of David J. McKenna, 1919-1921 .319 PART II. Foreword 347 Englewood's Part in the War 349 Englewood's Roll of Honor 363 History of Englewood Military Company 383 The Drives 393 PAGE American Red Cross 401 Committee of Public Safety 405 Englewood Motor Battery Rifle Association 405 Englewood Home Guard 409 American Protective League 411 War Camp Community Service 412 Englewood Draft Board 413 The Boy Scouts 417 Y. W. C. A. Hostess Houses 418 Entertainment and Welfare for Soldiers 420 Community Garden 421 Home Canning 422 The Englewood War Savings Society 423 The Girls' Patriotic League 424 The Influenza Epidemic of 1918 425 Record of Civilian Service, National in Character .... 427 Roster of Service Men and Women 431 Index 493 Revolutionary Military Map, 1776-77 Insert THE BOOK OF ENGLEWOOD Part I. THE BOOK OF ENGLEWOOD HOW THE DUTCH CAIslE TO BERGEN I N GATHERING material for the story of Englewood, it soon became very evident that the arrival of the "new- comers" oi: 1858 could not serve as a starting point. The very first acts of these "newcomers" were arguments in support of this opinion. For they, then representing the Present, im- mediately identified themselves with the Past bv purchasing ancestral acres on which to build their village. Then, as local tradition relates, they further committed themselves to recognition of days past by evolving from the over a century and a half title borne by "English Neighborhood," a name for the village still on paper; and the old settlement wondered, to the day it departed this life, how the feat was accomplished. In view of this concession of relationship between the Present and Past, it was determined to follow the example thus set and to treat the founding and development of Englewood as the latest his- torical milestone on the road which leads back to the dunes of Hol- land; not overlooking two other stones on the same road, English Neighborhood and Bergen, the oldest and most Dutch of all. At this point, therefore, we propose to revert briefly to some past his- tory, which tells why and how the Dutch came to the New World and what kind of folks they were. At the beginning of the 17th century there was a lull in the inces- sant wars in which royal quarrels and jealousies had disturbed the whole of Europe. It was a welcome interruption, although only a breathing-time in which to think up new grievances. One of these long-drawn-out wars was that waged by Spain to regain her mastery over the Seven Provinces of Holland, which had shown their objec- THE BOOK OF ENGLEWOOD tion to foreign control by taking up arms and holding out doggedly, through forty years of intermittent fighting. Spain had not attained her purpose and it was so very evident that hers was a forlorn hope, that Spanish diplomats arranged matters to save roval pride and offered a truce of twelve years. There ^^-ere the usual delays and solemn diplomatic pow-wows. The matter ended in the acceptance of a truce which acknowledged the independence of the L^nited Prov- inces of the Netherlands and yielded Spain's monopoly of the India trade, which the Dutch had already secured. There was no lack of patriotism on the part of the Netherlands in accepting the truce; the years' long defence of the home land proves the contrary. But the growth of the Netherlands lay outside the sand dunes and lagoons which made up its limited territory. A golden chance had come in this year, 1609, in Hudson's discovery in the ser- vice of the Dutch East India' Company. In spite of the long war, the new republic was in a prosperous condition. Her resources far exceeded her liabilities and her great fleet of ships, manned by the best and hardiest sailors of the day, established the Dutch power on the sea. The greatest asset of the republic was its people, with their inborn love of liberty, religious faith, courage, enterprise and thrift. Another advantage was the fact that at a time when, in other Euro- pean countries, an acquaintance with the three R's was a genteel accomplishment, in the Netherlands there was scarcely a man, woman or child who could not read, write and cipher, and no one who de- sired it need lack higher educatio.n. Of course, the Netherlanders had their faults; they were born traders and their acquisitiveness must have been at times very trying to the other parties to a bargain. Moreover, those misguided persons who assumed that deliberate speech betokened sluggish mind, probably met with convincing evi- dence to the contrary. Now a word about the government. The Netherlands was not a republic, as we understand the term, although it was a wide depar- ture from the accepted form of hereditary government. In reality, it was a confederation of the seven northern provinces, representatives from each province forming the governing body, which Avas styled the States General. There was no personal head to this body politic. Holland, by virtue of its size and its larger contribution to the general budget, exercised great but not full authority. The first act of this body, outside its immediate domain, was the announcement of owner- ship of the territory discovered by Hudson. Claims of this kind were, of course, not based on metes and bounds, but were sufficiently com- [2] THE BOOK OF ENGLEWOOD prehensive in including everything in sight, with hberal allowance for everything out of sight. After the first private A-entures westward had established the value of fur trading with the Indians, the business was taken over by companies formed for the special purpose. The Dutch had a genius for organization and ■\^'hate\'er they undertook was carried out systematically. Just as there were no "jerry-built" houses in Holland, they put equally good work into the construction of their corporations, for that is what the trading companies really were. The companies were formed by associations of merchants who com- posed the directorate, and members or stockholders, who subscribed to the funds of the undertaking in lesser sums than the directors. Charters were granted by the States General for a definite period and for specific purposes. The New Netherland Company was the first in the field and, during the four years of its existence, strength- ened the settlement on Manhattan Island, and established a trading station up the river, near the present site of Albany, placing a factor in charge to barter for furs with "up-state" Indians. While this charter was still in force and during a succeeding interval, while independent voyages were made, the States General were working out a comprehensive plan for the American possessions. The territory was attracting attention, outsiders were straggling in. There must be something more than a settlement on the island and a few trading posts along the river to indicate Dutch property. Thereupon the possessions were formally erected into the Province of New Netherland and the administration of its affairs was entrusted to a new company, rivalling in wealth and importance the older Dutch East India Company. This corporation was the Dutch West India Company, and the place of business, from which its affairs were directed, was the West India House, Haarlemme Straat, Am- sterdam. The charter granted to the Company conferred unusual powers and privileges. To the directorate was given the right to appoint a governor and council, the authority to build a fort and provide a garrison of regular soldiers, and to carry into effect a carefully devised plan of colonization. This plan, immigration in family groups, was put into operation in 1623, when the ship New Netherland, equipped by the Company, transported thirty families with their cherished household possessions. Place was waiting for these colonists, especially those of the agricultural class, for the patroon system formed part of the immigration plan. This feature provided that any member of the Company could obtain a large [3] THE BOOK OF ENGLEWOOD grant of land in any part of New Netherland, except Manhattan Island, on condition of establishing thereon, Avithin a specified time, a colony of fifty adults. As soon as a colony was formed, the owner of the tract was formally recognized as the patroon or feudal chief of his community. The dimensions of the colony were liberal; so also were the privileges and rights of the patroon. The tenant colonists were bound to a definite term of service in return for the transportation of themselves and their families from the Netherlands. After that obligation had been met, they might obtain farms of their own. The immigrant who came at his own expense and had some- thing over and above his passage money, received, as a gift, as much land as he could improve. The plan of colonization, whatever its defects, certainly insured workers wherever a colony was established. It was a business propo- sition and no idlers, criminals or riffraff generally came over at the expense of the Company. The directors sent their agents over to obtain land patents as their personal investments. The stockholders were slower in seizing the opportunity of the patroon system, and friction was the necessary consequence. This dissatisfaction increased after Peter Minuit, the third governor, bought all the outstanding land on Manhattan from the Indians, for the benefit of these same directors in their indi^'idual capacity. The price paid for the land was sixty guilders, not in cash, but in beads, trinkets, blankets and assorted stuff which appealed to the savage taste. Twenty-four dollars, in 1626, evidently had great purchasing power. There was not much opportunity for the small investor or the tardy stockholder. The attractive spots in New Amsterdam were already pre-empted. Houses occupied the banks of the two canals, Bever Gracht (Beaver street) and Hecrc Gracht (Broad street). The best places on the East river front were taken up, so that a movement was started in the direction of Schcyichhi, as the Indians called New Jersey. The objective of the migrants from Manhattan was what was afterward known as Bergen. To the Dutch, accus- tomed to water as a feature of the landscape, the location was ideal. There was an extended shore line; two streams, called later the Hackensack and the Overpeck, and marshes galore, gave a home- like touch. The flat land brought back memories of another country, and, rising above the low ground, was a ridge increasing in height as it extended northward. This was Bergen — "the hill" — the van- tage point so dearly prized in the home-land. Very little had been done toward the development of this part of the Dutch possessions. [4] THE BOOK OF ENGLEWOOD A small settlement had been made in 1618, in the time of the New Netherland Company. This probably consisted of a few rude houses, placed close together for protection, the dwelling places of planters who cultivated outlying farms. The growth of New Amsterdam was based on its fur trade, especially in beaver skins, and a reminder of this particular pelt appears today in the beaver, which figures in the coat of arms of the city of New York. The development of Bergen and the northern part of New Jersey may be traced to land originally acquired for agricultural purposes. When the west side of the Hudson came into the market, one of the first to take advantage of the opening was Michael Pauw, Burgomaster of Amsterdam and a director of the West India Company. Through his business connection, Pauw ob- tained a patent to land extending from Communipaw to Weehawken, running back as far as it could be used. The claims of the native owners were satisfied in a formal deed, in which the Indian names were given to the places described in the document, and there was careful mention of receipt of an adequate consideration, the nature of which was not stated, but which was the usual merchandise. The deed was duly signed by the representative of the Company and the Indians affixed whatever served them as signatures. The condition of founding a colony within four years was, of course, attached to the patent. But the burgomaster was an absentee proprietor whose interests were more intimately connected with his lordship "of Achtienhoven, near Utrecht." From this or other cause, he neglected his unimproved property in New Netherland and his agent, Jan Evertse Bout, did not reach New Amsterdam before the time-limit expired. Thus the most valuable water front on the west side of the Hudson was bought in by the Company. Though Mynheer Pauw faded from the scene, he left a reminder of his transitory ownership. Latinizing a name, susceptible of the process, was a learned practice in Holland. Pauw is the Dutch equivalent of the Latin " pavo" — a peacock; so, by classic aid, Pavonia was evolved as the name of the burgomaster's purchase. For years after, this name was applied to the locality, now Jersey City, and is still perpetuated in Pavonia avenue and Pavonia ferry. The West India Company wisely divided the patent after it came into its possession. The lower end of the tract, where there was a colony of some thirteen persons, was placed in charge of Michael Paulusson, who administered affairs until 1638, when the property, known then and until long after the Revolution as Paulus Hook, was [5] THE BOOK OF ENGLEWOOD sold to Abraham Isaacsen Planck, one of the "Twelve Men" chosen as counselors of the then Governor, Kieft. Another part of the patent, Ashasimus, the Company's farm on the upland (now Jersey City Heights), was granted to Jan Evertse Bout, to be "plowed, sowed and tilled." Jan Evertse, although he arrived too late to save Pauw's possessions, managed his own property so well in the eighteen years of his occupancy, that he was able to sell the farm at a good profit and retire from agricultural pursuits. To aid in the de\-elopment of Bergen, the Company built a few houses, one at Communipaw, one at Ashasimus, and two in Pavonia. A farmhouse, with a brewery attached and a "bouwerie cleared for planting," became the property of Aert Teunissen Van Putten. An- other brewer as well as land o>\-ner in Bergen was Balthasar Bayard, whose name suggests remote kinship ^^-ith "the knight without fear and without reproach." Balthasar probably possessed similar qual- ities. He Avas a gooil citizen, held the office of magistrate, and represented Bergen in the first and second General Assembly of New Jersev in 1668; and there is no record of reproach as to the output of his brewery. As time went on, \\'ealthy burghers in New Amster- dam acquired tracts of land in Bergen, which were called plantations. Lanil grants were also given by Governor Stuyvesant. One of the most important of these patents was that of "Hobuk" to Nicholas ^'arlet, a "great burgher" of Manliattan and a person of consequence. In 1651, Bergen, by reason of its growth, was dignified by the establishment of a Eower Court of Justice, by ordinance of Governor Stuyvesant. The officers, appointed by the directors of the Company, were 1 iehiian Van Vleck, an Amsterdam lawyer, who was named sclioiil (sheriff), and Harmanius Smecman and Casparus Stuymets, who were designated sclu'pciis (magistrates). The great event of 1658 -was the purchase of Bergen Township from the Indians and the lading out of a fortified village on Bergen — "the hill." The village M'as in the form of a square, with two streets crossing at right angles. The whole was surrounded by a stout stockade, pierced with con\-enient musket-holes. No sooner was the village under way, than a subscription was started for building a church. A medal, struck in 1910, in commemoration of the two hundred and fiftieth anniver- sary of the founding of the \-illage of Bergen, shows the division of the town into quarters by the intersecting streets, with the original church inside the protecting stockade. This first house of worship was a round building with a steep-pitched octagonal roof, from whose center the steeple rose. .\ successor of the first Bergen church stands [6] THE BOOK OF ENGLEWOOD today on Jersey City Heights, from whose pulpit the teaching of the Reformed Faith is dehvered to the present-day adherents. Two years after- the completion of the church, the Governor gave Bergen its first schoolmaster, Englebert Steenhuysen, a tailor by trade, who was newly arrived from Westphalia. Following this provision for the spiritual and educational needs of the Bergen community, a notable public improvement was intro- duced by the establishment of the first ferry at Communipaw, owned by Willem Jansen, licensed ferryman. The means of transportation to New Amsterdam was an open row-boat for usual occasions; at other times, when there were a number of passengers to be carried or cattle were to be transported, a periague, or flat-bottomed sloop was used. Soon complaints arose that Jansen's charges were too high and a rate war began. Willem stuck to his prices and declared that, as some travelers did not pay their fare, he must make up the deficit from those who did. Both sides took the case to court. The decision was unique: the sherift was required to see that Jansen did not discriminate as to passengers and must also help the ferryman collect his fare. Whether the sheriff performed his latter duty on the "pay as you enter" plan, or whether he made the trip back and forth, does not appear. But we shall leave Bergen for a while to its farms. Its ferry troubles, and its gossip about the "contrariness" of the governor and turn to an event ■\^'hich made possible — English Neighborhood. [7] II. ENGLISH NEIGHBORHOOD HREADING the course of our story, we must, as a matter of historical sequence, refer briefly to the English occupa- tion of New Netherland. This does not signify that Eng- lish Neighborhood was deeply concerned in the event. At this time there were but few farmhouses outside the limits of Bergen and nothing which deserved the name of settlement. But events were shaping themselves in such fashion that a change was imminent in the Dutch province. When the year 1664 opened. New Amsterdam was in a flourish- ing condition. Governor Stuyvesant had ruled the province for fourteen years, in which time he had settled the Indian troubles, had checked the encroachments of the Swedes on the Delaware, and, by negotiation, had adjusted the dispute over boundary lines with the New England colonies. Though the Governor was irascible, obstinate and self-willed, he administered the business of his oflice conscientiously and provided for the welfare of his people, according to his understanding of what was good for them. Though he had absolutely no sympathy with the growing idea that the people should have voice in their own government, he had been astute enough to recognize the sentiment by raising New Amsterdam to the rank of a city. But the burgomaster and officials were of his own choosing. Satisfied that he had made a tremendous concession, the Governor meddled and interfered with his ofiicials in the execution of their limited duties and fully impressed upon them that the "best mind" to be consulted on all occasions was the mind of Peter Stuyvesant. The City Fathers accepted the dictum, gave diligent and faithful service and found compensation for too much peremptory direction in the weekly procession to the church in the Fort. Decked in the insignia of office and preceded by bell-ringers to announce their coming, they made an impression upon the congregation almost as great as that of the Governor himself. Times were very good; there were peace and plenty; trade was THE BOOK OF ENGLKWOOD never better; coasting ships and ocean vessels came and went on their commercial enterprises without molestation. The people were reaping the fruits of their industry; they were proud of their city and they loved it. As prosperity increased, affection for the mother country weakened. But while the Dutch were in this satisfied state of mind, there was a scheme on foot, across the water, very inimical to a continuance of the self-satisfaction of New Amsterdam. The plan then in the making was as simple as it was unjustifiable. Charles IL, the Stuart King of I'ngland, and his Council decided upon a war with Holland as a means of increasing the prestige of the govern- ment. There was no particular ground for going to Avar, but a reason could be found and preparations for fighting were started. But in the meanwhile, before a formal declaration of war, there was a valuable Dutch possession which could be acquired without difficulty. Reports had reached England of the exceeding prosperity of New Netherland, which, it was well known, was inadequately guarded against attack. The pretended grievance to suit this particular plan was alleged loss of revenue, suffered by the New England colonies through the smuggling practices of the Dutch. The next step in this forehanded plan was the king's gift to his brother, the Duke of York, of a patent of land in America which ingeniously included all the Dutch possessions. The culmination of the plan was the despatch of a fleet of armed ships to collect the gift. So it came about on a late August day of 1664, while Stuyvesant was away on official business, news came to New Amsterdam that an English fleet lay inside Sandy Hook. The Governor returned and began preparations for resistance. Then the result of paternal gov- ernment and loss of national spirit manifested itself. Officials and people were of one mind that resistance would be futile and were decidedly averse to making a fight. Stuyvesant raged and stormed and went on with his preparations. After a few days, with a favoring wind, the ships sailed through the Narrows and came to anchor with their guns covering the fort. Even then the old soldier was makmg ready to fire on the invaders, but was restrained by Dominie Megapolensis. Colonel Nicoll, the commander of the expedition, came ashore and presented the terms of surrender. He suavely pointed out that the question itself was not debatable ; that his ships carried sixty guns of the heaviest calibre then known, while the guns of the fort, but twenty-two in number, were decidedly out of date. Advising the Governor to think the matter over, he went back to the fleet. The logic of the heavier guns was backed by the clamor [ 10] THE BOOK OF ENGLEWOOD of the people against useless sacrifice of life. Old Petrus exhausted his extensive vocabulary of expletives in expressing his opinion of cowards and traitors; he shook his fist and stamped the floor with his timber leg; but the clamor increased. Then he permitted the surrender flag to be raised, turned his back on New Amsterdam and stumped oft' to his home on the Boiiiverie. On September 7th, the Dutch garrison marched out of the fort and took ship, at Whitehall, for Holland, and the English soldiers marched in. There was an THE SMITH OR McMICHAEL HOUSE ENGLISH NEIGHBORHOOD ROAD exchange of flags and an exchange of names. The royal standard of England floated over Fort James, now the guardian of the Duke's city of New York. The burghers may have been for a few days uncertain as to possible results of the change; but when they dis- covered that they were not deprived of a single right or privilege, they pledged allegiance to the king. On the west side of the river, the same course was followed. The settlers were even more content than ever, when they learned of the transfer of their part of New Netherland to Sir George Carteret and Lord John Berkeley, and that their land was now the Province of New Jersey. They had a governor of their own, when Philip Carteret arrived. There was no difiiculty about title to [11] THE BOOK OF ENGLEWOOD property acquired under Dutch rule; patents thus granted were con- firmed by Carteret and new grants were made to incomers who agreed to "settle and plant." A section, extending from what is now Fairview to the center of our city, was now brought into notice. This tract lay on the east side of the Overpeck creek. While the rush of the Enghsh patentees was toward the west side of the Hackensack, the Dutch preferred to "follow the water," along the lesser stream. The creek was navigable for small boats, it flowed into the Hackensack, and the Dutch, with their inherited knowledge of river craft, appreciated the advantage of the waterways. There is scanty record of Robert Earle, a pioneer settler of Bergen, who obtained, as early as 1650, a large tract of land running from the Hudson to the Hackensack, and settled in the present Ridgefield township. It is said that, as there were no white inhabitants near by, he gave several acres of woodland to some white families, with the view of forming a settle- ment. His only descendant, of whom there is knowledge, was a son Robert, who married a Mary Smith and settled in the township. To settlers who must raise their own food supplies, a gift of woodland may not have presented as much of an appeal as meadow land near the water, so that this may have been one of several settlements which failed to become permanent. Robert Earle, son of the pioneer, had a large family. One of his sons, Edward by name, born in 1775, was a deacon, for many years, in the Ridgefield church. One of the first immigrants of record was Epke Jacob Banta, from West Friesland, who arrived in New Amsterdam about 1659, and settled on the lower part of the Neighborhood tract. He was the head of the numerous Banta family of New Jersey. The next name that appears is that of John De Groot, of a French Huguenot family. The Huguenot element was further represented by Matthias De Mott, a settler in 1685. Some of the descendants of this Mat- thias were connected with early Englewood. There had not been a marked influx of English settlers before Samuel Edsall appeared upon the scene. This Englishman was a remarkable man in his day. Born in Reading about 1630, he came to New Amsterdam at the age of eighteen, where he was listed among the new arrivals as "a bever maker," or hatter. His industry, and possibly his marriage with Jannetje Wessels, whose mother owned a famous tavern on Pearl street, furnished the reason for his next appearance on record as a small burgher, owning property in his mother-in-law's neighborhood. After the surrender of New Amster- [12] X M M > Z a w z 1-^ z w o o a: o o a ss o > G THE BOOK OF ENGLEWOOD dam, Edsall found abundant opportunity to engage in buying and selling land. The transaction which interests us particularly was the purchase of a tract of nearly two thousand acres, with a frontage of almost two and a half miles on the Hudson, extending northward from Bull's ferry and stretching back to the Overpeck creek and the Hackensack river. Samuel EdsalTs own particular farm was near what is now Palisades Park. From time to time he sold or leased other parts of the estate. Thereby the settlement known as English Neighborhood obtained local name and fame. A man of such energy and business ability as Edsall displayed, probably could not settle down to the routine of farm life. This supposition is supported by the following historical instance: In 1639, one Jonas Bronck, who is described as "a pious, peaceful and patient Dutchman," bought from the Indians a tract of five hundred acres, north of the Harlem river, and made the first white settlement in that locality. He called his purchase "Emmaus" and, in his religious fervor, hoped to abide there in the spirit of his divine Master. But his virtues did not save him from death at the hands of treacherous savages. After his murder, in 1642, and the dispersion of the few settlers, the tract passed through the hands of successive Dutch traders until 1664, when it came into the possession of Samuel Edsall, who held it until 1670, when he sold it to Captain Richard Morris and Colonel Eewis Morris, former officers in Cromwell's army and, at the time of pur- chase, merchants of Barbadoes. Four years later. Colonel Morris obtained a royal patent to Bronck's Land, which afterward became the Manor of Morrisania, the second I,ewis, son of Captain Richard, exercising, as manor lord, proprietory right. Ele was also head of the family which, in every subsequent generation, has given distin- guished service to the country. Samuel Edsall's energy was not confined solely to the buying anci selling of land: he was a man of affairs. As member of Governor Carteret's council, he rendered constructive service during the change of government from Dutch to English procedure, and his advice was sought in matters of moment. At one time he was president of the "Court of Judicature" in Bergen; at another time he was associated with William Sandford in a special term of the Court of Oyer and Terminer. Samuel Edsall must also have possessed qualities which met with feminine appreciation, for he was thrice married, the first time, as already related, to Jannetje Wessels; Naomi, widow of Samuel Moore, of Barbadoes, immigrant ancestor of the Moore family of English Neighborhood, was the second helpmeet; Ruth [ H] THE BOOK OF ENGLEWOOD Woodhull, whose name suggests Long Island ancestory, completes the list. Names of this period and later, when additional settlers came in, were — Dutch: Brinkerhoft, Paulison, Lydecker, Bensen and Durie (Duryea) ; French Huguenot: Lashier (Le Sueur), Montanye, Bour- dette and Demarest; English: Moore, Lawrence, Day and Cole. Fwo Germans settled on Bull's F'erry Hill: Conrade Sedore, who came with his wife Althea from New York State, before the Revo- EEPRODUCTION OF A DUTCH KITCHEN lution; and Andrew Engle, who settled in 1779. Both were blessed with large families. Their descendants of the first and second genera- tions were actively interested in the organization of the First Baptist Church of English Neighborhood. The old houses still standing along the former English Neigh- borhood road add their chapter to local history, for they are of Dutch architecture and Dutch construction. Nearly all Dutch houses of early date were built of red sandstone, for the Dutch liked things solid. The stone was easily obtained from the fields and convenience as well as preference prompted its use. The houses faced south, no matter how the adjacent lane or road might run. A hall ran midway from the front to the rear of the house, the roof sloping abruptly [15] THE BOOK OF ENGLEWOOD until near the eaves and extending in curved fashion several feet beyond the wall. An ell was added to the main structure which contained the kitchen in all its glory. The broad fireplace, piled with seasoned logs, performed a double service. It provided warmth and, when the iron crane with suspended pots and kettles was swung across the opening, the blaze did the family cooking. In the rear of many large houses were the slave quarters, negro slavery being an accepted institution in colonial days. Before the beginning of the troubles which led to the Revolu- tionary War, life went on in simple fashion in the Neighborhood. New settlers had come in, new farm lands had been cleared and THE LAST LIBERTY POLE TAVEKN planted and local conditions and growth occupied the attention of the settlement. But while peace reigned in this particular region, conditions had not been so favorable in the frontier colonies, farther north. The "Seven Years' War" had been transferred to America and its last phase was fought out on New World soil as the French and Indian War. By the Peace of Paris, in 1763, the French Cana- dian possessions were ceded to England. But that was not the end of the matter. Up to our own day, every European Avar has sown the seeds of a succeeding conliict. In this case, the crop of the sowing was the Revolutionary War. England claimed, and with right, that she had assisted the col- onists with regular troops, and had paid the bills. The colonists had contributed men and money, as their thirteen separate and distinct [16] THE BOOK OF ENGLEWOOD legislatures had deemed necessary, not always as promptly or gen- erously as the occasion demanded. The home government deciding that other methods must be employed to raise funds for frontier defence, took the matter into its own hands. The colonists, while acknowledging allegiance to the King, did not include Parliament in their pledge of loyalty; that body, in their eyes, was a purely English institution; they had their own assemblies and their own way of making grants and resented outside interference. Neither King, royal ministers nor Parliament understood the American colonists, and taxes were imposed by Parliamentary authority. The Stamp Act failed, owing to the resistance led by Massachusetts and Virginia; its repeal was hailed with popular rejoicing. In New York, the Sons of Liberty erected a Liberty Pole on the Common. Possibly this may have encouraged the landlord of the wayside inn at the head of the Neighborhood road to adorn his premises with a similar pole. Parliament, in repealing the Stamp Act, reserved to itself the right of levying other imposts, which were successively tried and abandoned. Finally it put into operation the king's pet idea of "three pence a pound tax on tea." For three years, the tea caddy was the centre of stormy discussion. The patriot women wouldn't buy the taxed product; they brewed, from herbs and leaves, fearful mncoc- tions which even patriot intent failed to render ^ ^^ie. Patriot men stood by the principle, although they did not go to the extent of drinking "near" tea. Matters were now reaching an acute state, and sentiment was beginning to divide in English Neighborhood. The Dutch residents generally looked upon this land as their home; here they had built their homes and had prospered through their own labor. The English were not as many generations removed from the mother country; to them the king represented duly consecrated authority and their contact with royalist New York strengthened their traditions. Pamphlets and broadsides from New England stimulated the cause of the patriot colonists; chance travelers along the Neighbor- hood Road stopped for rest and refreshment at the Liberty Pole Tavern and brought the latest news gathered from the reports of the various "committees of correspondence" throughout the colonies. Soon Bergen County decided to form a committee of correspondence. The freeholders called a meeting at the Court House in June, 1774, and, after expressing in preamble their allegiance to George the Third under their constitutional rights and privileges, the assembly stated clearly its home rule idea about tax levy. The committee appointed [17] THE BOOK OF ENGI.EWOOD at this meeting consisted of fi\-e men, all bearing Dutch names. To them was given authorit)- to act with similar committees in the other counties in choosing delegates to a general gathering from all the American colonies at the First Continental Congress in Philadelphia. When British headquarters were established in New York in August, 1776, there were trying tiines and experiences in English Neighborhood. Tories, ^^■ho had been quiescent up to that time, became outspoken in proclaiming their English allegiance. They turned against their neighbors and friends and inflicted not only annoyance but personal injur)'. Families, too, were divided in some instances. Thomas Moore, Mho adhered to the patriot cause, though he had held the ofHce of justice, b\' royal commission, died a prisoner in the Old Sugar House, New York, a martyr to his faith, at the very time his own brother Mas in linglish service in the same city. Dominie Garret Lydecker, of the English Neighborhood Church, felt it his Christian duty to forsake his congregation, and betake himself to lingland, incidentally carrying with him all the church records. Another Garret Eydecker, of distant kin, served his country faithfully as a captain in the Bergen County militia. Reference to the military map of 1778 will give a clear idea of the roads and the locations of the farms and names of their owners, in the vicinity of English Neighborhood, concerned M'ith the early part of the Revolutionary ^Yar. The repetition of the name "Dema- ree," a corruption of the name "Des iMarais," indicates the abiding places of the descendants of David Des Marais (Demarest). This David, the immigrant ancestor of all of the name in New Jersey, obtained a large tract of land in 1677, knoM'n as the French Patent, along the eastern bank of the Hackensack, and built his own home and a small French church on the road betM-een Schraalenbergh and Old Bridge. At his death, in 1693, the tract mms divided among his immediate descendants. The family tendency toward rearing patriarchal families had already made the name prominent in the county. In November, 1776, the interest of English Neighborhood was centered on the field fort just completed at Fort Eee. For two months the patriot army had been retreating slowly northward along the east bank of the Hudson. It Avas known that a stand had been made at Fort Washington, Mhere Colonel Magaw had an insufficient garrison of regulars and militia. General Greene was in command at Fort Eee; the situation Mas doubtful. Washington, on his last visit, left explicit instructions that, should Colonel Magaw be de- [18] THE BOOK OF ENGLEWOOD feated, the earthworks on the Jersey side were to be evacuated at once. On November 16th, the threatened attack was made and, though Magaw made a brave defense, treachery within the garrison compelled surrender. On the same evening, Cornwallis transported a large force by bateaux across the river and effected a landing at Closter, where a narroAV pathway zigzagged to the top of the cliff. There was delay, caused by the necessity of widening the road, so that the cannon could be hauled to the summit. This interval afforded sufHcient time to abandon Fort Lee. On the morning of November 18th, the retreat was under way. The greater part of the Continentals followed the Neighborhood Road to Liberty Pole I'avern, thence to Old Bridge, crossing the Hackensack at that point. Others went across the marshes to a ferry over the river. The retreat continued for two days, the fugi- tive soldiers receiving food and comfort at several farmhouses. At the fork of the road where the tavern stood, refreshment was given them on their weary way. The name of the landlord has vanished from memory, but tradition relates that Washington was a guest at the tavern a few days before the retreat, while on his return to Hackensack to complete arrangements for the march through the Jerseys. Though English Neighborhood was ne\-er the scene of a battle during the war, it was the objective point of many raids. The first of these occurred immediately after the evacuation of Fort Lee. Many families, in anticipation of this event, packed what valuables they could find space for in farm wagons, after the families had been provided for, and drove away to some more secure locality, until the foragers had departed. In the absence of their owners, the farms were despoiled of livestock, stores of grain, everything eatable and drinkable left in the cupboards, and any light articles which appealed to soldier fancy. Houses and outbuildings met with inci- dental damage, but there Avas not the wanton destruction which char- acterized later raids made with Tory assistance farther up the road. The Hessians once marched through English Neighborhood, but at a surprisingly quick pace; behind them in hot pursuit was a detach- ment of Bergen County militia, led by Captain John Outwater and some Continental soldiers. The Hessians had started out to make a daybreak attack upon a battalion of Pennsylvania Continentals at Paramus. Passing through Hackensack on their way, the Hessians lightened the tedium of the march by burning the Court House and two near-by dwellings, and by a little chance plundering. This [19] THE BOOK OF ENGLEWOOD roused the militia company, quartered in barns in the vicinity; a messenger was despatched to Paramus, and in a short time a pro- cession was organized, with the Hessians in advance, "stepping lively" over the twelve miles to the shelter of Bergen Woods, losing many killed and wounded on the way. On the American side, the casualties were two wounded. When the war was over, the Neighborhood adjusted itself to changed conditions; the men who had been in service returned to the farms, but not to dull routine; many of them, in the course of the next years, served on the Board of Freeholders or on township com- mittees, and later still were representatives in the state legislature. Some of the refugees came back and meekly took their places in the community, but Sam Cole, who had been a specially virulent Tory, was received with the freedom of a rope's end. That was the last echo of war; the Hghting spirit found expression in church differences on doctrinal points, but the shots fired were merely verbal. During the three decades following the war, growth was slow; but, as an- cestral estates were divided through marriage settlements and occa- sional sales, a few new houses were built. No marked additions were made to prevailing Neighborhood names through marriages; the county families were not so very numerous; men did not go far afield to seek their life partners, and the women did not travel at all; so in course of time all these families were related in some degree. The period mentioned saw the passing of the old Liberty Pole Tavern, which after years of disuse and changes In ownership came, in 1813, into the possession of Teunis Cooper. The new owner, later on, tore down the greater part of the old stone building and erected a frame structure in its place, to which additions were sub- sequently made. The property remained in the hands of Teunis Cooper and his heirs for many years and was known as the Cooper homestead. The original building was probably owned by Samuel Campbell, born in Schraalenbergh in 1745; he may have been a brother of David Campbell, a Revolutionary soldier, who is buried in the churchyard of the Old South Church. Samuel Campbell Is known to have given a mortgage on the property. In 1785, to John G. Benson. From Campbell, the next owner seems to have been John Westervelt, though there is no deed recorded. The following owner of record is Peter Christie, in February, 1807; from Christie ownership passed in December, 1813, to Teunis Cooper. The Cooper house, much changed by alterations, with the stone wall of its easterly wing the only remnant of the original building, is now the residence [20] THE BOOK OF ENGLEWOOD of Dr. Valentine Ruch, and the oldest surviving descendant of Teunis Cooper, is his daughter, Rachel, widow of David I. Bogert. [Mrs. Bogert has passed away since these lines were written.] While the old building was still standing, but unused, a second Liberty Pole Tavern was built, directly opposite its predecessor, at the juncture of three roads — English Neighborhood, the Tenafly lane, and "the road that leads to Teaneck," now Lafayette Avenue. The builder of this second tavern was John Vanderbeek, born at TEUNIS COOPER HOUSE Built on the site of the original Liberty Pole Tavern Schraalenbergh, February 20th, 1780, son of Jacob Vanderbeek and Margrietje Berdan. The property of twenty acres, on which the tavern was located, was bought by young Vanderbeek from John S. Banta, who in his turn had purchased this and two other parcels of land from Samuel Campbell, in 1802. The inn was built of stone in a rambling style of architecture. Here John Vanderbeek and Jane, his wife, daughter of Samuel Campbell, set up housekeeping and hotel-keeping in 1804. From an article written some years since by Nelson K. Vanderbeek on "The Liberty Pole Tavern," we quote a description of the attractive arrangement of the inn presided over by John and Jane Vanderbeek: "The barroom occupied the entire easterly front of the main build- ing, on the first story, and that was entered through a Dutch door at [21] THE BOOK OF ENGLEWOOD the level of the outside grade, and also through a hallway from the north end. A spacious kitchen occupied an entire wing at the south end of the building. This kitchen, and the good wife who presided o\'er it, were known far and wide for the quantity and quality of the good things which came out of the large Dutch oven and spacious tire- place, at the celebration of some public or social event. The bai-- room, with its sanded floor, beamed ceiling and great fireplace, had no terrors for the simple country folk of those days, for it was kept in a quiet and orderly manner. Directly o\-er the barroom was the parlor or best room of the house, used for spinning parties, quilting parties and other gatherings of the ladies." Thus it appears that the landlord of a well-regulated tavern conducted a business approved and needed by the community and was himself a respected member of society. In 1835, this building was entirely destroyed by fire and was replaced the same year by a more modern frame structure, erected on the same site. Of this building we shall speak in the chapter following. RACHEL BOGERT [22] III. THE PASSING OF LIBERTY POLE HE rebuildingof the tavern was accomplished in a very short time, with the aid of friendly neighbors who were masters of their craft. This helping-hand spirit showed the kindli- ness of old neighborhood days and also expressed apprecia- tion of the important place the inn occupied in community life. There was no architectural pretension about the new structure but it had some compensating modern touches. The first story now stood above grade and a short flight of steps led to a roofed piazza, extending across the front and south end of the building. Ventilation Avas greatly improved by means of a central hall running through the building, from the front to the rear entrance, and, when both doors were opened, a thorough airing was assured. The Dutch oven prob- ably remained a feature of the kitchen but there is warrant for the belief that a cooking stove supplanted the fireplace. It is related that this was the first building in the vicinity in whose construction mill-sawn lumber was used. When the house was ready for opening, the Liberty Pole, which had been somewhat damaged in the former fire, now completely repaired and resplendent in a coat of fresh paint, displayed Old Glory at the mast-head. 7 his pole had a bit of history of its own. John Vanderbeek, as became his Dutch blood, liked to have things solid. So, when he erecteci the flagstaff, he chose a chestnut pole, sixteen inches in diameter at the base, hewn in octagon shape and rising seventy feet from the ground to a mast extending some twenty feet from this point. Surrounding the mast was a liberty cap, carved out of white oak. To insure stability, the butt of the pole was im- bedded in eight feet of solid masonry. The pole was originally erected in commemoration of the election of Andrew Jackson to the Presidency of the United States. Bergen was straight Democratic in those days, and, as the tavern, at that time and for many years thereafter, was the sole polling-place of the township, "Old Hickory" undoubtedly received the whole vote. As a symbol of local partisan- THE BOOK OF ENGLEWOOD ship, a bushel of hickory-nuts was buried at the base of the pole. At least, so rumor has it. Election day then was. In truth, a protracted meeting, though not by reason of the size of the vote or of complications in counting the ballot. Each voter announced his choice of candidates by word of mouth, and his preference was recorded by the inspectors, so there LIBERTY UNION SCHOOL as at present could be no subsequent questioning of "the intention of the voter." The day Itself, outside the performance of civic duty, was a sort of annual reunion of residents of the township who came from near and far, by wagon or on horseback. The mere act of voting did not consume much time, so there was ample opportunity to gather In groups and to discuss township affairs, crops, neighborhood news, and, perhaps, to retail a bit of social gossip until the dinner-bell rang. This was a gladsome sound, for the landlord and his wife served a bounteous meal at moderate cost and there were no tiresome restric- tions as to beverages accompanying the dinner. In the afternoon, there were outdoor sports for the younger men. The crowning event. In which old and young participated, either as spectators or per- formers, was the amateur horse race on a half-mile stretch of Tenafly Road. There were other gatherings in the Immediate neighborhood, not hmited to a single day in the year. Situated just back of the two elm trees, shown In the illustration of the third tavern, was the stone schoolhouse, erected in 1818 to replace a building of primitive type. This later school was built by a corporation known as the Liberty Union School Company. The actual construction was done by Peter Westervelt, Jr., a prominent builder of the day, assisted by Andrew [24] THE BOOK OF ENGLEWOOD Demarest, John Westervelt, Abraham Sciver and John Banta. A record of 1829 names Peter Westervelt, Jr., Peter J. Cole, Garret Westervelt, Garret Lydecker and Jacob De Mott as trustees. This was the neighborhood school where the boys and girls received the beginning and sometimes the whole of their education. The school roll of January, 1830, is a sort of directory of the names of Liberty Pole residents, though it does not signify that children of the same surname belonged to one family. At the time mentioned, the scholars JOHN VAN BRUNT One of the projectors and incorporators of the Northern Railroad VAN BRUNT STORE climbing the hill of knowledge were — of the Westervelt family, Henry D., Henry G., and Rachael; the Demarest representatives were Jemima, James, David, Jacob and John; the Brinckerhoffs were Henry, Cornelius, and Hetty; David and Jane Vanderbeek probably came from the family which kept the inn; James and John Lydecker belonged to the English Neighborhood family, and Sally Cole, John J. Durie, Jacob De Mott, and Katherine Van Buskirk were the single representatives of other famihes. Teaching was not a highly lucrative profession in those days, as two receipts for salary show. The first, of Feb. 17, 1830, signed by Moses Hall, acknowledges the receipt of "$30 in part payment of the third quarter of the present year, which ended the thirteenth of last Januarv: balance due, $58." The second bears the signature [25] THE BOOK OF ENGLEWOOD ot Joseph B. Miller, who received $47.24 and $6.75 for teaching." As the future "Squire" Miller forgot to date the receipt, we shall never know whether payment was "in full to date." For over three decades the schoolhouse served the educational needs of Liberty Pole. Its usefulness in this locality ended about 185rj, ^\'hen the building was torn down and the stones and other material were carted to Highwood and reassembled in a schoolhouse still standing in the new locality. Among the teachers in charge in the course of years was Miss Ellen S\^■ett. There are today many Highwood residents who recall their schooling under her energetic direction. Before the removal of the school building, Liberty Pole Tav- ern acquired new importance as the starting point of a stage line, consisting of one vehicle, between Liberty Pole and Hoboken. This was an event in the career of the inn and ranked as a most progres- sive un(iertaking. Up to the be- ginning of this enterprise, the only way of reaching the ferry to New lork was by private conveyance, a lift on a farm wagon, or by the coach which ran from Hackensack to Hoboken. To use the last- named means of travel implied walking or driving to Hackensack or to the half-way station at John Meyer's hotel at Leonia. Who backed this enterprise does not appear, but probably the Vanderbeek landlord of the day had a financial interest in the plan. On each week-day morning the stage started from the tavern at seven o'clock, sometimes with a few passengers, sometimes with none. Li either case, as the stage proceeded on its way, the driver announced its approach with blasts on a not too melodious horn. Here and there, mtendmg travelers, waiting at a crossroad or in front of their homes, would be picked up, and the stage was usually pretty well filled. The route lay through the English Neighborhood Road and continued in a southerly direction until the "Three Pidgeons," a roadside inn, was THOMAS W. DEMAREST One of the Incorporators oT the Northern Raihoad [26] THE BOOK OF ENGLEWOOD reached, where a short halt was made. Then the journey was re- sumed through Bergen \yood, past the turning at Weehawken lead- ing to the river, and along the heights to the road sloping down to Hoboken ferry. The return was made at four o'clock. The trip took three hours each way. This mode of travel continued for several years and served the needs of local travelers but contributed in no way to the development and building up of the vicinity. The situation might have continued to the end of the then generation, had it not been for the enterprise of certain residents of English Neighborhood, who conferred together anci originated the plan of a railroad through the Northern Valley. Among this group of promoters, the two men most prominently identifieci with the enterprise whose energy brought the plan to a successful culmination were John Van Brunt and Thomas W. Demarest. Mr. Van Brunt came of an old Dutch family, being a lineal descendant of Rutger Joesten \'an Brunt, the immigrant who settled in New Utrecht, Long Island, in 1653. Inheriting the energy of this distant ancestor, Mr. Van Brunt's whole life was a scene of recurring activities. Before coming to English Neighborhood, Mr. Van Brunt had carried on a successful business in New York. His interest in New Jersey began with his marriage to Margaret, daughter of Peter Westervelt, jr., a well-known builder. In 1834, four years after his marriage, he disposed of his New York affairs and settled with his wife on a large farm on the Neighborhood Road, where his father-in-law had built a large house for the Van Brunts. The farm was well managed and was a source of profit. Mr. Van Brunt's executive ability enabled him to engage in the work of improving the schools in the township and to serve for twenty years as Town Superintendent of Education. Moreover, he was owner of a general store of the real country sort, served two terms as State Senator, was the first Township treasurer, promoted the building of the Northern railroad, was later the secretary and treasurer of the road, and was indefatigable in aiding in the development of Englewood. Thomas W. Demarest, co-worker with John Van Brunt in the railroad venture, was a descendant of many generations of David Des Marais, the Huguenot immigrant and patentee of Bergen County. Mr. Demarest's father was the Rev. Cornelius T. Dema- rest, a well-known minister of the True Reformed Dutch Church. The son was therefore well educated, possessed of ability, lived on an ancestral farm, and followed his father's example by marrying [27] THE BOOK OF ENGLEWOOD into the Lydecker family. Though an adherent of the Dutch Re- formed faith, he departed from the paternal path and, instead of entering the ministry, entered into politics, served in the Assembly, as County Clerk and on the Township Committee, and promoted the railroad. The task of the promoters of the railroad was not an easy one. First of all they had to overcome the prejudice of the residents of the Northern Valley against a change of any kind in the manner of life which had satisfied their fathers and grandfathers. The argu- VAN BRUNT HOMESTEAD AS AT PRESENT ments for building new houses, selling land to outsiders and bringing in new people, fell upon unsympathetic ears. Nevertheless, the pro- jectors set out to obtain capital, if they could, and rights of way from the most conservative of conservatives, the land owners of Dutch descent on the line of the proposed railroad. On February 9th, 1854, the road was incorporated by act of the Legislature, the in- corporators named in the act being John Van Brunt, Thomas W. Demarest, Samuel R. Demarest, Thomas H. Herring, John Van Buskirk, Nicholas C. Durie, Charles Hasbrouck, Stephen Martling and Ralph S. Demarest. The capital stock was declared to be one million dollars, divided into shares of one hundred dollars each. The financing and construction of railroads was not an advanced art in those days. Progress was slow and more than one contractor [29] J. WYMAN JONES THE BOOK OF ENGLEWOOD failed before the work was completed. But in all the difficulties and delays the promoters never lost heart and backed their faith Mith their own resources. Here again the tavern proved to be a helpful factor. The chief engineer put up at the inn on his regular visits of supervision and inspection. Section foremen had their temporary home in the same place. Workmen brought from the outside found accommodation along the line, except during the last year, when Robert Pratt took care of a number in the house he had just built on the corner of what was later Engle street and Demarest avenue. The inn was, more than ever before, an evening meeting place. As there was no- where else to go, there were always numbers of railroad men on hand at these nightly gatherings. As a matter of course they talked about their present job, compared it with former undertakings, told how towns had sprung up in the wake of railroads they had helped to build and how property had doubled in value. The neighbors heard these things again and again and prob- ably pondered these sayings in their hearts, for sentiment changed, interest in the coming railroad quickened, and the good old days of yore began to move up-stage. One evening in the early summer of 185 8, when the completion of the road was in sight, the engineer-in-chief brought a friend out with him from New York. Outsiders had been in the habit of appearing frequently on business of the road, but this particular visitor was something out of the ordinary and rather puzzling to the neighboring public. The guest was a fine-looking man in the middle thirties, courteous in manner but singularly uncommunicative concerning the purpose of his visit. All the information which re- warded strenuous effort was that the stranger was J. Wyman Jones and that he came from New York. But if the residents learned nothing, Mr. Jones was more fortunate in his tour of inspection with HENRY D. VAN BRUNT [31] THE BOOK OF ENGLEWOOD his friend, along the line of the railroad and over the country slop- ing down from the Palisades. The visitor was a transplanted native of New Hampshire, a law- yer by profession, successful in practice, but now, in obedience to medical advice, seeking to combine, with outdoor life, an occupation which would call into play his energy, executive ability and knowl- edge of human nature. The occupation and opportunity presented themselves in this little old-time settlement. A second visit followed, and at the Van Brunt homestead where he stayed Mr. Jones met LYDECKER HOMESTEAD. BUILT IN 18 GRAND AVENUE men interested in the railroad and in the development of the locality. Fully impressed with the natural beauty and advantages of this part of the county, and equally convinced of the possibility of creating a village of homes out of farms and fields, Mr. Jones began at once to secure property rights from the original owners. By the fall of 1858, he had obtained control of nearly all the land comprising the original village of Englewood. The land thus acquired consisted of six farms, two on the south side of Palisade Avenue, then a rough wood-road, and the other four on the north side of the same road. These farms were long and narrow and stretched from the valley to the Hudson River. These farms, which formed the nucleus of the future village, were part of the original patent granted by Queen Anne of England in the early part of the eighteenth century to Gerrit Lydecker, son [32] THE BOOK OF ENGLEWOOD of Ryck Lydecker, founder of the family in America. Of Ryck Lydecker, it is recorded that he emigrated from Holland in 1660 and was one of the first settlers of Bushwick, Long Island. He was chosen magistrate of the settlement, and, in the Indian troubles of 1663, was appointed captain of the local militia by Governor Stuy- vesant. Gerrit, the patentee, eld- est son of Captain Ryck, was born in Holland in 1650, married Neel- tie, daughter of Cornelius Corne- lisen, in the Dutch Church of New York in 1682. Between 1691 and 1696, he moved with his family to New Jersey and settled in English Neighborhood. The New Jersey Lydeckers are all descended from the patentee. The early Lydecker families were large. In almost every gen- eration there was a Garret, as the name was written later, in the fam- ily. Indeed there were sometimes two of the name, if the first Garret did not tarry long in this troubled world. This arose from a custom of Colonial days of bestowing upon a succeeding male child of the family the baptismal name of a brother who had died in infancy, a practice somewhat puzzling to the future genealogist. Of the numerous Garrets, the third of the name was a captain in Colonel Theunis Dey's regiment of Bergen County militia, during the Revolution. After the war, he served in the State legisla- ture. The son of the Revolutionary soldier, the second Garret of this family, as a lad of fifteen, did a man's part when the British descended upon English Neighborhood after the evacuation of Fort Lee by General Greene. The Lydecker farm was on the route of the maraud- ders and it was necessary for the family to seek safety by flight. So the boy Garret drove one of the farm wagons, containing household treasures, to New Bridge and crossed the river in the wake of the retreating Continental troops. The farm was despoiled of its live stock while occupied by the enemy, but the farm house and out- buildings were unharmed. This youth succeeded in after years to the ownership of the farm, and in 1803 built, in place of the old [33] GARRET A. LYDECKER THE BOOK OF ENGLEWOOD farm house, the substantial stone homestead still standing on Grand Avenue. The succeeding generations continued in the path of their for- bears. The men as a rule engaged in agricultural pursuits and were useful and respected members of the community. At various times they served on township committees, on the Board of Freeholders, and also in the State legislature. Garret A. Lydecker, born in 1811, was intimately associated with the beginning of Englewood. From THOMAS WILLIAM LYDECKER JOHN LYDECKER Mr. Lydecker and his brother-in-law, Thomas W. Demarest, most of the options on ancestral acres were procured. Garret A. Lydecker was a committeeman of both Hackensack and Englewood townships, also serving as freeholder for the former township for three years. His farm, inherited by bequest of his grandfather, the fourth Garret, was the center of the original tract on which the 1803 house stands. The lineal descendants of the ninth generation from Ryck Lydecker of Bushwick, residing in Englewood today, are Thomas William Lydecker, the present occupant and owner of the home- stead on Grand Avenue, Ralph Demarest Lydecker, brother of the preceding, John Lydecker, of Chester Place, a retired builder, and Mrs. Stanley Parsons, Miss Elizabeth Lydecker and Miss Kate [34] THE BOOK OF ENGLEWOOD Lydecker, daughters of the late Hon. CorneHus Lydecker, residing on part of the Garret J. Lydecker farm on Grand Avenue. The original Lydecker patent covered almost the whole of what is now Englewood, approximately from Demarest Avenue on the north to Van Nostrand Avenue on the south and extending to the Hudson River. In the course of years, through marriage settlements or sale, the grant was divided into several farms. One of these, a tract of over three hundred acres, extending north to Demarest Avenue, west to the brook on what is now West Palisade Avenue, and stretching eastward over the Palisades to the Hudson, was the dowry which Margaret Lydecker brought to her husband. Dominie THE WESTERVELT HOUSE, GRAND AVENUE Built in 1808 by Peter Westervelt Cornelius T. Demarest, a noted clergyman of the Dutch Church, who held charges in Ridgefield, English Neighborhood and in New York, and who was a militant leader in the movement originating in differences in doctrine which resulted in the formation of the True Dutch Reformed Church. This tract was known as "the Dominie Demarest farm," though the wife furnished the acres. The farm house, which was standing at the time of the founding of Englewood, was a frame building painted white, with green shutters, and was perched on an elevation on the corner of what is now Palisade Avenue and Engle Street, the present site of the Lyceum. Of the other farms on the southern tract was one of one hundred acres owned by Martha Lydecker, wife of John Van Nostrand. This is marked by Van Nostrand Avenue. Nearby was the farm of an older sister who married Thomas W. Demarest. The stone house fronting on Grand Avenue, on this farm, was built in 1811, and after [35] THE BOOK OF ENGLEWOOD the death of Mr. Demarest was occupied for many years by the late Miss Mary C. Bancker. The sections north of the Thomas W. Demarest farm were called the John \'an Brunt and Westervelt farms. The Van Brunt home- stead was built about 1834 by Peter Westervelt, Jr., for his daughter who had married John Van Brunt. In its day the farm, with its spacious house and well-kept barns and outbuildings, was the show OLD SAWMILL, NORTH END OF BOOTH'S POND place of the township. Now there remains but the memory of its palmy days and of John Van Brunt's stalwart sons. Only one son, the eldest, Henry D. Van Brunt, is still living in Englewood. The Westervelt house is close at hand and stands facing south on an ele- vation on the east side of Grand Avenue. This building was erected, in 1808, by Henry De Mott for his daughter, the wife of Peter Westervelt. It is now occupied and owned by Miss Margaretta Westervelt. Both the house and the surrounding grounds are kept with scrupulous care. It must be remembered that all the farm houses were built near to English Neighborhood road, which was the one and only thoroughfare, and the farm lands themselves stretched [36] THE BOOK OF ENGLEWOOD away from the high road. Both the Garret A. and Garret J. farms have been mentioned. North of the Garret A. Lydecker farm was a tract of between one hundred and two hundred acres, which was owned by John Lydecker, the brother of Garret who built the 1803 house. A smaller tract, owned by Garret A. Lydecker and others, was sold by acreage and plots. Between this last and the Dominie OLD BRINKEEHOFF HOUSE, TEANECK EGAD Demarest farm was the Benson farm, which came into the posses- sion of Johannes Benson (or Bense) through marriage with Eliza- beth Lydecker, May 3, 1724. Their descendants built the old stone house standing on the west side of Grand Avenue, just below Engle- wood Avenue. Durinp- the fall of 1858 and through the winter, when the weather permitted, the work of surveying the property was begun and con- tinued, so that, by the early summer of 1859, the village was laid out on paper, building sites were plotted, streets were named and a map was filed in the clerk's office of Bergen County. The map was filed in August, and Mr. Jones, who had brought his family out in the spring and taken up residence at the Van Brunt home, had been working indefatigably to make actual the roads shown on the plan and to start vital improvements. Though there were trees in abund- ance on the Palisades, there was scarcely a tree on the land on which [37] THE BOOK OF ENGLEWOOD the village was laid out. There was not a road worthy of the name, and outside the houses already mentioned there were only a few scattered farm houses. It seemed as if the founder must possess YOUNG LADIES' SEMINARY, ]860 Built on the Dominie Deniarest Farm. The farmhouse on the extreme right the power of a wizard to conjure up a village out of rough fields and farms. But there was one enterprising man who did not wait for the village to be established before he built his house. That man was James Wasson Deuel. He arrived in 1858 and started the building of a house, partly for a dwelling and partly for a school for the village to be. This probably led to the important step of choosing a name for the village still in anticipation. A meeting was called at Van Brunt and Waters' carpenter shop in the rear of John Van Brunt's store. It was largely attended by the residents of English Neighborhood and by those interested with Mr. Jones in his venture. We tread softly just here. We are on the sacred ground of tradition and have no disposition to enter into an unsettled controversy. Names were suggested and laughed out of court. At last an acceptable name was offered. Some said the proposition came from J. Wyman Jones, others declared it was the inspiration of Joseph B. Miller. As to derivation, some said it was taken from English Neighborhood, and others declared it was a combination of the name of the Engle fam- ily, who lived at New Durham, and the woods on the Palisades. So far as historical testimony is concerned, it is a moot question, though there is no difference of opinion as to the attractiveness of the name. [38] THE BOOK OF ENGLEWOOD With choice of name accompHshed and the opening of the rail- road only a question of weeks, the awakening of the Northern Valley was at hand. Liberty Pole Tavern realized that its prestige had departed. Its lease of life still had years to run, but it could glory no longer in its role as community centre, and the days were growing near when its Revolutionary traditions would be dimmed in the actualities of a greater war. v^ ■_.-! 1 '..MNMitt.1^ ijn&. ^ ^^S^^^^^^^^^^K^^^^^M ff'^'^SKBSM ■iSvl B Wt sPpPWhH PI P \ \ ^gg^^^H^^gg^ 1- V 1 Ik ■v SECOND PASSENGER STATION AT ENGLEWOOD [39] ftl IV. PIONEER YEARS, 1859-'61 HE summons which roused the Northern Valley from peace- ful repose was not the sonorous blast of a trumpet but the equally effective, high-pitched tooting of a locomotive whistle. The twenty-sixth day of May, 1859, was the date of the awakening. The scene was the terminus at Piermont, the occa- sion, the formal opening of the Northern Valley Railroad. At an early morning hour the train, carrying officials and invited guests, got under way, with whistle tooting and bell clanging. Persons from the vicinity were on hand to witness the departure. As the start was made, public sentiment concerning the undertaking found expression in varied form. Small boys whooped with delight as the wheels went round; young men cheered and young women waved their handker- chiefs; but the elders, regarding the expedition as a distinct flying into the face of Providence, shook their heads mournfully until the train disappeared from sight. The train rolled southward, stopping at "stations" to take up additional guests. Then, with smoke pouring from the funnel-shaped stack, it clattered over the rails to Jersey City. While awaiting in the yard the New York contingent of travellers, the tender was refreshed with a supply of short length hickory logs and the engine took a drink at the water tank. A direct run was made to Piermont without untoward incident, a luncheon was served, speeches were made, and at the close of the celebration the train conveyed the guests to their respective stations. Though the road was now formally opened, a single passenger train of two cars, running once a day each way, supplied the needs of the limited travelling public. The interval between the morning and evening trains was employed in transporting lumber and other materials in flat cars from the Jersey City lumber yards to places on the line, where stations were to be built, and to supply carpenter shops which were springing up in anticipation of building operations. In the fall of the year, when the first residents began to appear, railroad service was increased to three trains daily each way, except THE BOOK OF ENGLEWOOD Sundays. A thoughtful provision was that of a "stop on signal" shed at Van Brunt's, a short mile south of the Englewood station. This was a con\ cnience appreciated by summer boarders at the \'an Brunt farm, and by prospective residents, who had found temporary accommodation in near-bv farm houses. The time table indicated a decided preference for early hours. 1 here was no coming out late from New York when the last train left at 5 :50 P. M. ; going in to town late was attended ^vlth similar difficulty. Sixty odd years ago people kept earlier hours, for one thing, and, where country roads EXCURSION TICKET, V o n o p i: N I N o o k i - 1-: u ration ", 1- B .>. .^ C« r; es ''* o p C K • t-3 < ^ « ^ ii X Ccl 2 2 W ^ ^ w - -K, c H r ^ f5 P^ ' o - ^ " Z a j o " 'L-~ &^1 ■::. /, ■c -o "^ ^ ri '^- "! ~ o '-"' "^ ^ "CO '! ■-' ■" "". ^~ ro cj -^ a ;zi £i - ■o ' •' -T -rr ^-^ ^^ -:? -rr -r "^ en ■'- '•■' r^ -^ ? ~ • --■» • ■ ^^ iMf ^^^^** Pll FISHERMAN'S HOUSE UNDER THE CLIFF with appropriate sentiment, was stretched beneath the flag on the open side of the shed. A young man, who was engaged in painting Dr. Wise's new house, had offered his services to letter the sentence on the streamer. As he plied his brush and the slogan — "The Union must and shall be preserved" — appeared on the canvas, the painter received his call to duty. When the streamer was in its place, William C. Davies was among the first recruits of Company I , and some other man finished the job on Dr. Wise's house. The officers of Company I were Thomas W. Swennarton, cap- tain; Joseph A. Blauvelt, first lieutenant; David C. Blauvelt, second lieutenant. The men from Englewood, according to the list obtain- able, were: William C. Davies, Adriance Van Brunt, Aleck Orser, Charles Barr, Jr., Darius M. Bearss, David Green, John E. Jones, John S. Townsend, Cornelius Meyers, Adam McLean, H. G. Parker, Robert W. Smith, William E. Smith and Edward Ackerman. On the regimental staff were Major Abraham G. Demarest, of Tenafly, [65] THE BOOK OF ENGLEWOOD and Assistant Surgeon Samuel A. Jones, of Englewood. Captain Swennarton drilled his men faithfully in the manual of arms and rifle practice. When the regiment was mustered into service on September 22, 1862, no company made a better showing than the stalwart boys of our side of the county. The regiment was at first assigned to guard duty in the vicinity of Washington. It was subsequently trans- ferred to the First Army Corps and saw service in the battle of Chancellorsville, Va. We may now return to matters of village development. The new residents, who came during war-time, were comparatively few in number, but were, as a rule, those who could afi^ord to build sub- stantial homes. Among the first arrivals of 1861 were Mr. and Mrs. William B. Dana, who came from Utica, N. Y., through the influence of J. Wyman Jones, Mr. Dana's brother-in-law. Mr. Dana bought a tract of land on the Palisades, overlooking the Hudson, a part of one of the old Lydecker farms, and began building a large house of native stone, also an entrance lodge, barn and other outbuildings of the same material. As soon as the house was completed, the Danas took up their residence on the Palisades. Both Mr. and Mrs. Dana were persons of culture, given to good works in quiet, unassuming manner. Mr. Dana was a brother of Prof. James D. Dana, of Yale College, and was himself editor of the Financial Chronicle, the standard authority on business conditions throughout the country. Mrs. Dana was a daughter of John G. Floyd, a prominent lawyer of Utica, twice member of Congress from that district. She was a woman of fine intellect, literary ability, and of a deeply religious trend of mind, which manifested itself in her published works. Under the clifl^, at this time, there was a settlement of families of native stock, descendants of those who made their homes along the river bank in the early days of Bergen county. There were also some families living on top of the cliff at Coytesville. Those living under the clift were, for the most part, fishermen, owners of small sailing craft. Their environment between the river and the wall of the Palisades had limited outside intercourse and deprive'd the families of many advantages. Mrs. Dana made personal acquaintance with her neighbors under and on top of the clift'; she established Sunday school and church services which were held every Sunday in her drawmg room. From this beginning grew a mission of the Dutch Reformed Church at Coytesville. In later years, through the assist- ance of Mr. and Mrs. Dana, "The Church of the Palisades" was [66] THE BOOK OF ENGLEWOOD built at this place, for a congregation organized by the Classis of Bergen. Another house of this period was built by Francis Howland, on his tract east of Engle street, which extended from Chestnut street to Spring lane. At that time Church street was not named and was really only a country lane, though it figured on the map as a continu- ation of Demarest avenue. The house that Mr. Howland built still stands on the north-east corner of Church street and Winthrop place. The Howlands occupied it themselves until 1868, when the whole property was sold to Judge Cowan, of Washington, D. C. Brooklyn made a contribution to Englewood in the latter part of this year in the persons of Mr. and Mrs. Frank B. Nichols, who made their home on Chestnut street. Both were closely identified with the Presbyterian church; Mrs. Nichols was the contralto of the first church choir. Associated with her were Miss Prindle, soprano, George S. Gray, tenor, and J. Wyman Jones, bass. Mr. Nichols afterwards served as one of the elders. Jacob S. Wetmore and his wife, who was Mary Leonard Lovejoy, from Brooklyn, led the van of new-comers in 1862. They occupied at first the Demarest home, on the corner of Tenafly road and Jane street, then moving to the Jones cottage on Brayton street. Later, Mr. Wetmore took up large real estate holdings independently and also in connection with William Walter Phelps. When Mr. Wetmore built, the site he chose for his stone house was then considered "way in the woods." Indeed, the tract, on Chestnut street, was heavily wooded, the house standing well back from the road. But the village not only grew up to the location in a few years, but passed by, in its ascent to the Pahsades. The house is now occupied by Mr. LeRoy Clark. The Rev. Dr. Daniel Wise, who came in the early spring of this year, not only built a house for himself, but was largely instru- mental in building a church. As soon as his residence on Dwight place was under way, Dr. Wise began making acquaintance with the village, according to a habit of many years. He was a preacher of the Methodist Episcopal church, holding no charge but serving as secretary of the Sunday School Union of his denomination. He found, in his intercourse with the residents of the village, a group of the followers of the Wesleys which, for over two years, had held weekly prayer and experience meetings under the direction of John Westervelt, class leader. The other members of the group were Mrs. Maria Westervelt, David and Martha Green, John and Sarah Knott, George and Sarah Taylor, William and Elizabeth Chapman, Fred- [67] THE BOOK OF ENGLEWOOD erick and Ann Norman, Hannah Sanderson, I'eresa Tray, and John Q. Townson. Dr. Wise had the nucleus of a congregation. The only things lacking were a site and a church. The doctor knew exactly how to meet the situation. He became chairman of the committee on site, and shortly afterward a lot on Grand avenue was donated by IVIessrs. Jones, Howland and Smith Homans, Jr. A church or- ganization was effected and Dr. Wise became president and treasurer of the board of trustees. There remained lacking only a building fund. That took more time, for people were beginning to feel the pinch of war days. Dr. Wise gave of his own means, the church people worked, the women especially, and at last the church was completed and dedicated on December 22, 1863, by Bishop Edmund C. Janes, with Dr. Wise assisting in the service. In January follow- ing, the Rev. E. Hewitt was installed as pastor and the church entered upon its work of usefulness. It may seem to the reader of today that much mention is made in this story of Englewood of church association. But it must be remembered that church affiliation was an important factor in life in the days when Englewood was "a-building." Every church erected in Englewood has been a foundation-stone of our city, in which we take pride. Jaines Otis Morse brought to the village, in 1863, a store of knowledge which he had acquired by years of study and practice as consulting engineer. As president of the board of trustees, he gave valuable advice when a church building replaced the Presbyterian chapel, and he was equallv generous wherever his counsel was sought. Mr. Morse chose a site for his house on Tenafly road, at the head of Demarest avenue, not on account of picturesque location, but because of sandy soil without underlying rock. The residence erected thereon was as four square and solid as its owner. There was no architectural pretension, but everything in the way of comfort and convenience. The library was the indoor feature and the garden the outside feature of the Morse home. The garden was Mrs. Morse's kingdom and her subjects were the Bowers which bloomed In profusion from the daffodils of spring to the dahlias of late autumn. To make room for the Morse house, an earlier building was removed to a plot on Demarest avenue, east of the A. D. Bogert property, where it still stands In somewhat altered form. This old building stood much nearer the roadway than Its successor, and this fact gave point to a tale long current. "Solly" Banta, one-time owner of the old house, is said to have [68] THE BOOK OF ENGLEWOOD been of the type which applies its own moral yard-stick to measure the doings of others. He utterly disapproved of horse-racing, even in the form of a harmless brush on the road. There was no race track in the neighborhood, but there was a stretch of level road, running past the Banta house, from the Liberty Pole Tavern to the stone schoolhouse at Highwood. The young Dutch farmers were wont to race their horses along this stretch, in friendly contest, of a DAVID HOADLEY JAMES O. WORSE summer Sunday afternoon. Now "Solly" liked to sit on his front porch of a Sunday afternoon. He declared publicly that this iniqui- tous speeding of presumably sedate farm horses deprived him of an innocent pleasure and forced him to stay indoors, with close-shuttered windows. It was noted after a while that Mr. Banta seemed to know with certainty the exact time when it was safe to throw open the shutters and resume his seat on the porch. When the house was moved, in each end of the building, looking north and south, a good- sized peephole had been bored, so that the owner, outwardly true to his principles, caught the races coming and going. On the site of the Banta house and its successor, now stands the handsome Metho- dist Episcopal church, and the speeders of today are regulated by the traffic policeman. [69] THE BOOK OF ENGLKWOOD Teaneck was LMitcring the field as an attraction to new-comers. Among the first houses built, in a section which Avas soon to be noted as the home of a genial community, was that of Lebbeus Chapman, Jr., a New York lawyer. Mr. Chapman was a cheery, energetic man, who came with his wife Jerseyward in the third year of the war. Broad-minded, keen of wit, with the faculty of making friends wherever he went, Mr. Chapman was successful in all his undertak- ings, whether it was as superintendent of the Teaneck Sunday School, as church trustee, or as one of the organizers and first treasurer of the Protection Society. Mrs. Chapman was an accomplished musi- cian and organized the first musical society in Engle\A-ood. Her skill in water-color painting was, in later years, of great assistance to her distinguished son, Frank M. Chapman, in the presentation of his studies in natural history. In the Palisade section of the village, Daniel Drake Smith, in taking up residence and building a home, came to the county in which his Traphagen Dutch Huguenot ancestors settled in 1745. The Drake Smith house still occupies its command- ing position on the rise of ground between Hillside avenue and Lydecker street, but of those who made the life of the house but one remains. Mr. Drake Smith was a man of affairs, the head of a large insurance company, a director in many corporations, but in his library, m which he found his relaxation, he was a student of mediaeval philosophy. As his children grew up, each one was active in some phase of Fmglewood life. The year 1864 was e\'erywhere marked by business depression, except in war industries. Gold had entirely disappeared froni circu- lation, silver coinage was taking the same route, and in place thereof appeared a government issue of small paper notes, popularly known as "shin-plasters," in five, ten, twenty-five and fifty cent denominations. These, with postage stamps, made up small change. Our soldier boys who had returned the previous year, found lack of work except on farms. Some went back into the ranks, others became farmers. Among the few arrivals of this year was David Floadley, member of an old Connecticut family and graduate of Phillips F^xeter, de- terred, by reason of health, from entering college. When he came with his family to Englewood, Mr. Hoadley had just completed a long term as president of the Panama Railroad, and was lessenin"- his activities as head of a large drug corporation. Instead of build- ing, Mr. Hoadley bought the large stone house and extensive grounds on the south side of Palisade avenue, opposite the "Swiss" dwelling built by Byron Murray, Jr. "Rosenvyk," as the Hoadley estate was [70] THE BOOK OF ENGLEWOOD known, was noted for its beautiful grounds and for the rose gardens whicfi rivalled the Morse display on Tenafly road. Mr. and Mrs. Hoadley were deeply interested in church work and in the interests of the village as well. The daughters of the family, when they attained womanhood, became a part of the social and literary life which characterized Englewood in the '70s and '80s. The New England element entered the village when the Hon. CuUen Sawtelle and his family became residents in 1864. Mr. Saw- LEBBEUS CHAPMAN, .JR. DANIEL DRAKE SMITH telle was a thorough New Englander, with the dignity and reserve of manner characteristic of those born in that favored section of the country. He was a native of Maine, a graduate of Bowdoin College, and had represented his state in Congress from 1848 to 1852. The Sawtelle home was built on the east side of Engle street, between Spring lane and what is now Church street; it is now the residence of Captain Edmund M. Sawtelle. Mr. and Mrs. Sawtelle and their two daughters, then in early womanhood, were deeply interested in the Episcopal congregation, recently organized in Englewood, and in war relief work. At the breaking out of the war the son, First Lieutenant Charles G. Sawtelle, 6th Infantry, U. S. A., was appointed Captain and Assistant Quartermaster in forwarding troops and sup- [71] TH]^ BOOK Ol^ EN(jLJ:,WOOD plies to the Army of the Potomac. He served throughout the Re- bellion in the Quartermaster's department and was frequently brevetted for "faithful and meritorious service." He continued in the same department after the war, retiring from active service Feb- ruary 16, 1897, with the rank of Brigadier General, after forty- seven years of army lite. At the top of Spring lane, about the end of the war, Edmund S. Munroe, of New England extrac- tion, built a home whose grounds extended to Engle street, adjoining the Sawtelle property. The two families were drawn into friendly relations through neighborly and church association and a closer tic was established later, by the mar- riage of Bvt. Brigadier General Sawtelle and Miss Alice Cliester Munroe. Of those who came later in 1865 we shall speak in another chapter, for their activities belong in the after-war time. Before passing to that period, it seems opportune to consider the form of gov- ernment under which l^nglewood li\-cd and moved and had its being. HON. CTJLLEN S '\WTF,1,I.I'; [7: s VI. HACKENSACK TOWNSHIP DAYS URING the first years of the development ot Englewood, the promoters of the enterprise were largely occupied in selling building plots on tracts of land already acquired, and in securing additional property before the price ad- vanced. Those who bought for their own use were engaged in build- ing homes and laying out lawns and gardens. Interest, therefore, was so centered that it is a question whether promoters or home builders gave even a passing thought to the form of existing local government. Nevertheless, the system which regulated local affairs was of respect- able age, for its origin dated back a century and a half before Pvlr. Jones and his associates appeared upon the scene. In December, 1682, by act of the General Assembly, the province of East Jersey was divided mto four counties, namely: Bergen, Essex, Middlesex and Monmouth. Bergen county, which is our particular concern, included at this time all the settlements and territory between the Hackensack and Hudson rivers, from Paulus Hook to the line of the pro\'ince of New York. In 1693, the counties were divided into townships. Ber- gen county already contained one township, the old township of Ber- gen, constituted in 165 8, which composed the southern part of Bergen county. The remainder of the territory, considered formerly as "out- lying plantations," was now formed into the township of Hackensack. The boundaries of this second township were, north, the province line of New York; south, the corporation line of Bergen; east, the Hudson riv'er; west, the Hackensack river. At this time, the village of Hackensack was not included in Hackensack township, since it was a part of Essex county. On the accession of Queen Anne, in 1702, East and West Jersey were consolidateti under a royal governor. Changes were made in the boundary line of the county at the same time, through which Bergen gained territory from Essex county on the west side of the Hackensack river. Hackensack village thus became a part of Bergen county and, on account of its advantageous location and size, was made the county seat. In the beginning, township government was entrusted to a small THE BOOK OF ENGLEWOOD group called selectmen or overseers, who exercised a very limited authority over the affairs of the township or plantation. Their judicial functions were confined to the trial of "small causes." Their other functions were the granting of licenses to sell liquor and to keep "ordinaries" or taverns, and to supervise roads and bridges. Later on, townships were represented in county affairs by a board, com- posed of elected freeholders and justices. These officials appear to have acted together in criminal cases, as evidenced in the minutes of the justices and freeholders of the county of Bergen in 1735, 1741 and 1769. The offenders in these particular instances were slaves and the warrants for the execution of the sentences were signed by the justices and freeholders, before whom the cases were tried. In 1794, the justices ceased to act in the board with the freeholders, the latter henceforth devoting their attention to the purely civic affairs of the county. The minutes of the board of justices and freeholders, preserved in the clerk's office at Elackensack, from 1715, the earhest date, to 1769, do not, as a rule, list the representatives with their respective townships. But Hackensack township was represented from 1770 to 1776 by Matthias Roulse; Jacob De Mott was freeholder, 1769 to 1773; John Benson, from 1773 to 1776. On May 15th, 1776, there was entered on the minute book, "Ordered that this book be kept in charge of William Serrell, clerk," and William Serrell well merited the trust, having served as clerk from May 10, 1769. During the early part of the Revolutionary War, Bergen County Avas de- batable ground, the scene of many disastrous raids and minor engage- ments, and the board of freeholders did not meet at all in 1777. The following year, however, the board met at Paramus, Hacken- sack not being available. In the interval a great change had taken place. Royal authority had been superseded when the provincial congress, on July 18th, 1776, changed its name and style to the "Convention of the State of New Jersey." The first entry made in the minute book of the meeting of the board of freeholders, on May 13th, 1778, was "State of New Jersey," followed by the date, all penned in William Serrell's best style. With county rule well established, township government devel- oped m scope and, from its long continuance, seems to have met the wants of the community embraced in Hackensack township. When the losses caused by the war had been retrieved, the inhabitants of Dutch and French Huguenot extraction and the lesser number of English descent, settled down to farm life, getting not only a liveli- [74] THE BOOK OF EXGLEWOOD hood, but something handsome in addition, out of a soil which repaid kibor and care. As years went on and tracts of land, acquired by grant in colonial days, were divided, addition was made to the num- ber of farmhouses and commodious barns built of field stone, which dotted the stretch from the "Sloat" (Piermont) to Bergen township line. A church, here and there, ministered to the religious needs and social requirements, as well, of the scattered community, ^'isiting before and between the Sunday services was the refreshing feature of the week. The administration of affairs was not complicated in a farming neighborhood and the township fathers Mere not confronted bv bond issues for improvements. Farm ^■alues must have been comparatively stable, so the assessor was subject to no arduous work and the col- lector had no anxietv about the payment of the tax bills. When the farmers added market gardens to the raising of staple crops, roadway improvement became of importance. This necessitated the appoint- ment of overseers of highways. Animals would take their walks abroad, hence poundkeepers. There were small cases to settle and legal acknowledgments to be taken, and the justice of the peace took over one of the original functions of the "selectmen." the constable following in the wake to uphold the dignity of the court. Somewhat in this fashion township government was developed, with the township committee as the substantial basis of the whole structure. In 1S62, though Englewood had superseded English Neighbor- hood in name and was a going concern in the matter of new residents and new houses, it was in other respects a rural community. Old customs prevailed among the native-born dwellers, among ^^'hich was included the administration of toAvnship matters. From the oldest minute book of Hackensack township obtainable, we learn that the spring election of 1S62 was held on April 14th, at the hotel of John \'anderbeek at Libertv Pole. The officers elected at this time were: Moderator, Thomas E. Demarest; Township Clerk, Alexander Cass; Assessor, Francis F. Hill; Collector, John Y. H. Terhune; Free- holders, Peter Bogert, Jr., Samuel De Groot; Commissioners of Appeal, George Huyler, John R. Paulison: Surveyors of Highways, Albert A. Terhune, Samuel S. Demarest: Overseer of the Poor, John y. Zabriskie: Town Superintendent of Schools, John A'an Brunt; Township Committee, David F Westervelt, Henrv J. Anderson, James Wragg, Tr.. Peter P. Bogert, Cornelius D. Blauvelt. In addi- tion, there were eight constables elected, twelve poundkeepers, and overseers of highwavs for the thirtv-tive road districts of the township. r ■> ] THE BOOK OF ENGLEWOOD But one name on the list suggested the new-comer, that of Nathan T. Johnson, who was chosen overseer of road district No. 31. The appropriations made at this annual meeting are interesting: "for township purposes and support of the poor, one thousand, two hundred dollars to be raised by taxation; for manure for the poor farm, fifty dollars to be raised and expended; for the maintenance of the highways for the present year, the sum of three thousand dollars; for the maintenance of the 'Peter Baker road,' the sum of four hundred and forty-seven dollars." An assessment of three thousand dollars against the township, for the purchase of the Fort Lee turnpike, was provided for in a resolution to pay the same by a yearly installment of two hundred dollars. For school purposes, the interest of surplus revenue was appropriated, and also the amount raised by a tax of two dollars per child on all children in the township, between the ages of five and eighteen. Another tax levy was t-vventy-five cents on the first dog owned by any person, and fifty cents for each additional dog. The expenditures authorized at the meeting amounted to forty dollars, twenty-five dollars to retain counsel in legal matters and fifteen dollars for making a map of the road districts. At the next meeting of this year, it was decided to pay a bounty of one hundred and twenty-five dollars to volunteers who enlisted from the township in Jersey regiments, and to grant an additional six dollars a month to such of these volunteers as had dependent families. Township committees were always prone to expenditure of time in their deliberations, therefore it is quite understandable that it took two meetings to define, beyond question, what constituted a dependent family. The ccmclusion reached was that the term com- prehended wife, children or widowed mother relying on her son for support. This was confirmed by the board of freeholders as applying to volunteers who were residents of the township before August 2Sth, 1862. The obligation assumed was honorably met, with only the delay Incidental to securing and filing necessary data. There was a feature or custom, as one will, attending township committee meetings, possibly of the nature of an entailed inheritance, for it appears regularly over a long stretch of years. The township committee had no official abiding place, therefore It met "around"; at first at the Liberty Pole hotel, as the old tavern was then called, the polling place of the township. Later, meetings were held at Stagg's or Ackerman's hotel, the same house, for Joseph W. Stagg was the owner of the building, which was leased to John Ackerman. Once [76] THE BOOK OF ENGLEWOOD in a while, the Palisade House was the meeting place. The localities were all convenient of access and their respective landlords vied with one another in the excellence of the dinners they served. The sessions of the committee began at nine or ten o'clock in the morning and, though the business before the meeting appears not to have been great in volume, it evidently required lengthy consideration, which extended late into the afternoon. Therefore a noon intermission was always taken, of duration sufficient to do full justice to a hearty meal, for the wildest imagination could not picture a township father bringing a basket lunch with him. This is the inherited feature men- tioned at the beginning of this paragraph, and is carried on the minutes, year after year, as "dinners," "suppers," or else "refresh- ments." It was probably considered a legitimate expense, not being questioned until years after, when a certain counsel to the township committee of the day delivered a lengthy opinion against the custom, just at the time that he could not find the law applicable to an official short in his accounts. Surely no one at this late date grudges the township worthies their honest enjoyment and we mention it only because of the ingenuous entries in the minutes. There was not a variety of subjects presented at township meet- ings, but two topics in reserve offered opportunity for extensive and extended discussion when business became slack. These topics were the poorhouse and the road districts. The latter came in for much consideration. As each overseer hired his own men, that meant the checking of as many accounts as there were districts. Then the boundaries of the districts were not always sharply defined, and there would be neglected spots and then argument as to responsibility for the same. Complaints were made about the distribution of the high- ways appropriation, a standard bone of contention. Unsolicited ad- vice was proffered as to the building of roads by those least qualified. The appropriation was not large enough for the surface over which it must be spread, but the township committee did its best. The mem- bers knew the sentiment of the constituency on the question of taxes, they probably had some sympathetic opinions of their own, and road matters had to work out their own salvation when the sum allotted was exhausted. The care of the poor was the other fruitful topic. The depend- ent part of the community at that time was cared for at the poor- house and farm. The steward in charge of the almshouse was per- mitted to employ the male inmates as farm workers and to assign the women to household duties. In return, this official was to care for [77] THl-: B(X)K OF ENGLiaVOOl) and feed those reo;uhu-ly committed to his charge, the proper execu- tion of the phm naturally depending upon the integrity of the second party to the contract. There came a time when the ofHcial in charge proved to be an unjust steward, who did not feed his charges as he ought, or provide fuel enough to keep them warm in winter weather. Something had to be done about it, and the township committee of 1865 held a special meeting, with the usual noon intermission for dinner, discussed the matter thoroughly and came to the unanimous decision to discipline the offender by docking his salary, if he did not forthwith mend his ways. With a view, perhaps, to smoothing the path of repentance, the committee paid the salary then due the steward, lliis persuasive treatment failed to turn the oftemler from his course, and the committee met again, deliberateil after the usual course, and effectually settled the recalcitrant steward by deducting twenty dollars from the salary which had accrued, completing the process by immediate dismissal from office. The ousted ste\^-ard tried to get back at the committee by rendering a bill "for eleven weeks' board and seven days' sickness for an inmate of the poorhouse," the amount exceeding by several dollars the deduction imposed. The plan failed, for investigation showed the person in question had been adjudged a "legal pauper," who at the end of the "seven days' sick- ness" had obligingly departed this life. The township fathers there- upon granted an allowance of "three dollars for digging a grave and burying said pauper," and then let the farm to another and pre- sumably more satisfactory applicant. On the minutes of this meeting appears an item, "To John Ackerman, for refreshments, $9.0(1." The first business, after the annual election of 1866, when David D. Blauvelt became chairman and Cornelius Christie clerk of the township committee, was the di^-ision of the township into two polling places. This was done in pursuance of an act of the legislature, limit- ing an election district to eight hundred \'Oters. 'llie committee designated Herman Eicks' public house, in what was afterward Ridgefield township, as the southern polling place, and Stagg's hotel as the northern polling place. A board of registry met in each district before the fall election, forty dollars being added to township ex- penses for room hire and for "refreshments" for the two boards. No other compensation for the latter was mentioned. Since Hackensack township had achieved the distinction of two polling places, the indication of growth, ami the prospect as well of increasing township expenses, the committee appointed one of its members, John Van Brunt, to serve as treasurer. Heretofore the [78] THE BOOK OF ENGLEWOOD clerk appears to have acted both as treasurer and chronicler of town- ship affairs. The change was a distinct advance in business methods and became a growing m.unicipahty. The new treasurer was immedi- ately authorized to procure and have printed copies of an act of the legislature "to prevent Horses. Mules, Goats, Sheep and Swine from running at large in the townships of Harrington and Hackensack." These copies were issued to the township poundkeepers and overseers of the highways, without further instructions from the committee. If these officials read the act, thev probablv ascertained the nature of the pound of cure in case the ounce of prevention failed. It may be a mere coincidence that Englewood secured a resident constable this year. His name was Eugene Sanderson. In 1869, Englewood had exceeded in growth the other parts of Hackensack township. Each new arrival brought others in his wake. The charm of the country still exercised its spell, but there was a growing sentiment that the present township was too diverse in its interests to progress as a whole. Perhaps the idea prevailed more largelv among the new-comers than among the old residents, but the seed of discontent was planted and the first shoots were showing above the surface. Samuel S. Demarest was chairman of the town- ship committee this vear. Ralph I. Demarest was clerk. The road appropriation was considerably increased, but the system of road building remained the same and the prospect of good roads, under such conditions, was not encouraging. Perhaps there was lack of understanding on the part of the new-comers as to the limited powers of the township committee and. on the other hand, was the old Dutch conservative spirit handed down for generations. There was never vet a community- which hailed, with pure joy, the prospect of increase of taxation. And there was never yet a community' which did not possess an element hard to convince that municipal improvement had direct influence on the prosperir\- of village, town or city. The Hack- ensack township committeemen performed their dut>- as best they could. If thev were slow, thev eventually arrived, and no one will question that thev were honest men and true. The time was near at hand when Hackensack township was to become a thing of the past. We shall have opportunity- to note the length of time which elapsed before Englewood outgrew the township system. [79] VVll.LI AM A. I'.llll'I'll <'(ll,, lir.NKV W HANK WII-IJAM iri'lAVAItT IJI]IM;|I'I'Y (iiMM.h::: ii, vva'iioiiiiiiii v VII. HOME SEEKERS AND BUILDERS ElE \illaL!,e experienced inereasiiio- prosperity for a nuniber ot years after the war. The influx of new residents Avas lollo\\ed b\' actnMt\ in building operations. There was now no lack ot Avork and this brought ne^- craftsmen to town. Englewood did not enter into any phenomenal growth. That was never the habit of the village. Progress was steadv and sure and along the line which lias ah\a\'s made for good citizenship. Though n;oney \\ as plentiful in the community, the township committee was not led into any extra\agance iit the matter of appro- priations. Fhe same sum A\as allotted yearh- "for township purposes, support of the poor, and fertilizer for the poorhouse farm." There Mas some increase in the appropriation for high\\'a\'s and the rate for "refreshments" was maintained at the standard figure. On the prin- ciple of selection, many of the new people gra\"itated to neighbor- hoods where friends \\ere already resident. In this manner Palisade a\-enue. Chestnut and l-.ngle streets became objective points, and Dwight place was sought for the additional reason that it was near the Presbvterlan church. AVhere there was no such impelling reason, other new arrivals considered the relative merits of the village, east and west of the railroad, so tiiat TenaHy road and Teaneck received additions to the resident population. In narrating Englewood's growth at this time, the school has the preferred place. Flie Grav school on Grand a\-enue had become the Kursteiner school, through the retirement of Mr. Gray. Dr. August Kursteiner, the new head, an American of Swiss descent, was a man of broatl education, ranking high in musical art, as indicated in his degree, doctor of music. He transferred the teaching department of the school to the armorv on ^'an Brunt street, after Company I Avas mustered out of service. A'N'ithin a vear or less after the war, he erected a boarding residence and school building on Liberty road, for college preparation or ad\-anced education of boys. The school became well known for its high standing. Among Dr. Kursteiner's many pupils were Dana and Dwight Jones, Oliver and Barstow Drake THE BOOK OF ENGLEWOOD Smith, Edward P. Coe, John E. Miller, William O. Allison, J'^mes O. Morse, Ti".. and William Walker Green, who profited by the professor's instruction and also by trenchant criticism, when recita- tions fell below standard. During Dr. Kursteiner's occupancy, the armory had been used by a group of church people, not then large enough in number to organize as a congregation. Among these were the Chester, Cooke, Ancfrews, Drake Smith, Lyell, King and Sawtelle families. x\t the time, the THE KURSTEINER SCHOOL FOR BOYS Rev. O. W. Whitaker was taking a well-deserved rest at the home of his brother-in-law, Charles T. Chester. Forgetful of personal need, Mr. Whitaker devoted himself to the service of those of his own creed, and inspired the incorporation, in 1865, of a church, under the style of "The Rector, Wardens and Vestrymen of St. Paul's Church." The congregation of some thirty persons, who had held services under the ministrations of a lay reader, could supply wardens and vestrymen, but it had neither rector nor church. How- ever, the movement to erect a church enlisted general support, not only of the congregation itself, but of members of other denomina- tions. In October of this same year, Mr. Whitaker was induced to remain in the east and to accept the rectorship of the new parish. The church, a modest building of brown sandstone, built from plans drawn by Adriance Van Brunt, occupied the site on Engle street where the second St. Paul's church now stands. There were only thirty [82] ST, PAUL'S (First Church, 1S65) THE BOOK OF ENGLEWOOD pews in the church and these were deemed sufficient for immediate need and future growth. Before the building was completed, a Sun- day school was organized. At the opening session of this school there were four teachers and three pupils present, the latter of the infant class age. Among the teachers were Mrs. Chester and Miss Hen- rietta Drake Smith. The pupils were Anna King, Mary Roberts Chester and Laura Drake Smith. The school grew beyond expecta- tion and bade fair to outnumber the congregation, until all the par- ents of the children were gathered into the church fold and the bal- ance was restored. The first wardens were John EL Lyell and Charles T. Chester; vestrymen, Elerbert B. Turner, Richard K. Cooke, E. W. Andrews, William King, A. C. Davis, Captain Ransom, and Cullen Sawtelle. The first child baptized in the church was Thornton Floyd Turner, who was destined to grow in grace and knowledge so that in manhood he was the architect of the Parish House and the present St. Paul's church. Mr. Whitaker's charge continued until 1867, when he returned to missionary work in the west. He afterward became missionary bishop of Nevada and bishop of Pennsylvania. In succession to Mr. Whitaker came the Rev. W. H. Benjamin and the Rev. J. H. Elliott, whose combined terms of service extended until May, 1868. They were followed by the Rev. W. S. Langford, D.D. The rectorate of the last named was from July, 1868, to Octo- ber, 1870, during which time there was increase in membership and added support, which enabled the vestry to build a rectory on the plot adjoining the church. The further growth of the church, which came with the installation of the Rev. John William Payne, in 187U, belongs in a subsequent record of e\'ents. The year after the building of St. Paul's, provision was made for another congregation of worshippers on the west side of the village, by the building of St. Cecilia's church on Waldo place. Previous to this time, the nearest Catholic church was at Fort Lee, and many devout worshippers walked the distance of five miles and back in order to attend mass. During 186.3—64, mission services were held by Father Coardley and by the Rev. D. Corrigan, of St. Mary's, Hoboken. Father EL A. Brann, who followed in 1865, was an enthusiastic and energetic young priest, through his efforts the first Catholic church, St. Cecilia's, was built. The church was an unpre- tentious frame building, which soon became too small to accommo- date the rapidly increasing congregation. I'nder Father A. J. Smits the building was enlarged and improved in 1868. Soon thereafter, a parochial school was established under the care of sisters of charity [84] THE BOOK OF ENGLEWOOD from the Mother House, Madison, N. J. The priests in charge of St. Cecilia's belong to the Carmelite Order and, by the rules of the order, do not remain uninterruptedly in one parish, so Father Smits came and went during the period of his connection with the Engle- wood church. He was beloved by his parishioners and greatly re- spected by the entire community for his work in promoting the wel- fare of the village. THE ORIGINAL ST. CECILIA'S The two churches whose building has been described represented new trends of thought in the community, new viewpoints on many subjects, and were the beginning of the spirit of toleration and respect for one another's opinions, which has made life in Englewood worth living. From buildings, we pass to the very live individuals who made Englewood their home in the period directly following the war. Among these was William Walter Phelps, who came to Teaneck in the early part of 1865. Mr. Phelps, the only son of John Jay Phelps, a wealthy merchant of New York, was born in that city in 1839, was educated at Yale, and graduated from that institution with honor in 1860. Soon after leaving college, he married Miss Ellen Sheffield, daughter of Joseph E'.. Sheffield, founder of the Sheffield scientific school, an auxiliary department of Yale. After a year spent abroad, he entered Columbia law school, received his LL.B. degree in 1863 [85] nil-: lUHMv i~>l I'M,.! I'W'OCH') .iiii.i imincdiatch lK-!j,.m ilu' |M-.u'tu\' ol Ins [ii'i'U'ssu'n. As ,i suiniiu'i' rcsitk'iiLC was Jisii-.il'K', Mr. 1*1k"1|is bcu^lit tlu' l.unh link l.irm m Icanock ami i\'nuHli.lli.\l tlu' oKl niitcli sloiu' I a iinluuisc into a thaian- ino- n.'suli,'iK\'. I Ik' death nt his latluT, in ISdS, And the can- iinohcil m the settlement ol a hii\i;e estate, ohliL^eil Mr. Phelps to !_;i\e up his \\ 1 1,1,1 \!\i w A i,'i'|,:i; I'll ra.r.'.; law praetlee aiul make Imi^U'w ood his permaneiit home. In the eoiiise ol years the larm expanded into an estate ol some t\\ent\-miu' liiin- tlred aeri's, extendmi^ I rom the liaikensaek to the lliidson ri\er. I he ori;;inal stoiu- house with its low rainlillno addition, kiun\ ii as I eaneek (daiioe, hee.ime the adjuiiet (d a modern stoiu- st met iin-, harmonioLis in design. In de\elopinn his o\\ n piopeil\, Mr. I'lielps benelited the \illai;e h\' the maead.im roads t ra \ (.■rsiiii; the estate, wlileh \\ere Iree to the piiMie, and h\ opening; to lo\ ers of nature a \\oodland trael