NYGenWeb
Westchester County, NY
Westchester County, NY
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Westchester County, NY |
This page was last updated: Thursday, 05-Apr-2012 09:38:48 MDT
"The facts in relation to the first settlement of the part of Westchester now included in Scarsdale township are very meagre. It appears, however, that the town was once part of a large tract ceded by the Indian owners to one John Richbell, a native of England, about whom little is known. This tract formed part of the Indian district of "Quaroppas," then occupied by the Mohegans or Mohicans. This was in the year 1660, and Richbell was probably the first white man to settle in the town. For this purchase Richbell received a grant and confirmation from Francis Lovelace, Governor of New York, in 1668, and it had already been confirmed by the government of New Netherlands in 1662. In his patent Richbell received possession of "the three necks bounded on the east by Mamaroneck River, and on the west by Stony Brook, together with the land lying north of these bounds, twenty miles into the woods." Hence, afterward, arose the question as to the ownership of Quaroppas, in the time of Colonel Heathcote. Thirty-six years after this, Richbell's widow, Anne, granted to Caleb Heathcote, of New York, the right to purchase portions of th eland included in the above mentioned purchase from the Indians. In 1701 the sale was concluded between Richbell's widow and Colonel Heathcote, the deed dating from March 30th of that year, and being signed by four Indians, -- Patthunck, Beaupo, Kohawney and Wapetuck, representing the Mohegan tribe, and by a corresponding number of witnesses." [Source: Chapter XV, written by Allan M. Butler, M.D., in Scharf's History of Westchester County,..., Volume 1, page 658.]
The Heathcote Manor of Scarsdale — Address Written for the Tenth Annual Meeting of the The New York Branch of The Order of Colonial Lords of Manors in America Held in the City of New York, April 27, 1922 by Hon. Charles B. Wheeler of the New York Supreme Court [Baltimore: Williams & Wilkens Company, 1923]
For more information at a county level, see the NYGenWeb Westchester County Resources page as well as the main site page.
For an index of naturalizations within the county, see the web pages of the Westchester County Archives.
The web page for the New York State Dept. of Health can be found at http://www.health.state.ny.us/nysdoh/consumer/vr.htm. Also, check out the following web pages: http://www.vitalchek.com/us/ny.html
Also, see if there is any additional information on the Vital Records page at this site.
Don't overlook the many resources held at the Westchester County Historical Society.
Carretta, Katherine A., compiler. A Guide to Listings of Old Cemetery Inscriptions and other Genealogical Aids for Westchester County, New York. [Westchester County Historical Society, 1977]
Horton, William P. Cemetery Inscriptions of Westchester County, NY. [Peekskill, NY: 1928] Copy available at New York Public Library's Genealogical & Local History Room.
Manville, Margaret. Revolutionary War Soldiers buried in Cemeteries in Westchester County, New York. [White Plains, NY: 1966] Copy available at New York Public Library's Genealogical & Local History Room.
Spies, Francis F. Inscriptions copied from gravestones in West Chester County yards with genealogical notes. Copy available at New York Public Library's Genealogical & Local History Room.
The Westchester County Historical Society also has extensive manuscripts giving inventories of many old cemeteries located throughout the County. Also check with the local historical society for information about the above cemeteries.
Have you looked at the cemetery listings here at the Westchester NYGenWeb site?
The Map Division of the New York Public Research Library holds the following:
Many town historical societies hold maps of their vicinities, including copies of the Sanborn insurance maps. Insurance maps were detailed to the point of showing each building on each street so that insurance companies knew what to pay the insurer in the event of fire or destruction. Be sure to inquire at such institutions as well as at local libraries.
See the Historical Society above for a map of Caleb Heathcote's original Scarsdale Manor.
If you have any more such information relating to this location, please contact the county coordinator for this web site.
The only NY State censuses which survived are for the years 1905, 1915, and 1925. Check at your local LDS Family History Center for these films.
Fuller, Elizabeth Griffen. Index to Westchester County Names in the Federal Censuses, 1790-1840 [Elmsford: Westchester Cty. Historical Society] 1994.
Some census information for Westchester county can be found at the Census page.
Turner's New York & Harlem Railroad Directory between New York City and Brewster for the Years 1891-1892; Published by E.F Turner & co. of 217 Elm St., Yonkers, N.Y.
The Scarsdale Public Library holds some city directories, yearbooks, newspapers, and obituary indexes.
Also see the City Directories page on this Westchester Site.
___. Historical Atlas of Scarsdale.
Fee, Julia B. Scarsdale: A Guide to the Area. [NJ: Ruby Press] c. 1992.
Fuller, Elizabeth Griffen. Index to Westchester County Names in the Federal Censuses, 1790-1840 [Elmsford: Westchester Cty. Historical Society] 1994.
Hansen, Harry. Scarsdale: From Colonial Manor to Modern Community. [NY: Harper, 1954]
Hultz, Helen Lorraine. Scarsdale Story: A Heritage History. [Morristown, NJ: Evans Pub. Co., 1987]
Lavis, Fred. Thirty Years in Scarsdale [New York, 1946]
Lederer, Richard M. More about Scarsdale....
Lederer, Richard M. Resources of Scarsdale History....
O'Connor, Carol A. A Sort of Utopia, Scarsdale, 1891-1981 [Albany, NY: State University of New York Press, 1983]
Pelletreau, William S., Am. M. Early Wills of Westchester County, New York 1664-1784 Pub. 1898. Cornell University Library has scanned this book and placed it on the web at the following address: http://moa.cit.cornell.edu/MOA/bookp.html
Reische, Diana. Of Colonists and Commuters: A History of Scarsdale. [Scarsdale, NY: Junior League of Scarsdale, 1976]
Rosa, R., et al. Description of Herdsdale Farms: Situated in the Towns of Scarsdale and New Rochelle, Westchester County, 16 Miles from Central Park, New York: Property of Lewis G. Morris
Scarsdale, NY. Old Town Records in Village Clerk's Office, Scarsdale...
For other books containing information related to this town but covering a county-wide level, see the County section of the Bibliography page.
If you have any such information relating to this location, please contact the county coordinator for this web site.
If you know of any notable residents from this town, please please contact the county coordinator for this web site.about adding them to this section and please identify when the person resided here as well as why you consider them to be notable.
The Westchester County Genealogical Society has been publishing a series of articles in their monthly newsletter for some time which gives an overview of each town within the county. This Focus on (town name) [WCGS Newsletter, ] series includes a brief history of the town, a listing of some houses of worship, some cemeteries and often a bibliography. See the information about ordering back issues of the newsletter.
You can now search the catalogs of the Family History Centers on the Internet at their web site: http://www.familysearch.org/ or visit their Family History Center in person at:
See the Military & War Links page for more information.
As we find information relating specifically to this town, we'll post it here. If you have any such information or know of other web pages to link to, please please contact the county coordinator for this web site.with particulars.
Have you a Loyalist in your family tree? If so, the Loyalist page may be of interest to you. If you have any specific information relating to this town and loyalists, please contact the county coordinator for this web site. about adding the information to this page.
If you have a scanned picture relating to any location within Westchester and would like to add it to this site, please please contact the county coordinator for this web site.with particulars.
See the Surname Web Pages for links to web pages of researchers in Westchester but not specifically associated with this town.
Rootsweb.com has Some Query boards where you can post a query for others to view. Or join the Westchester mailing list and correspond with other Westchester researchers.
Return to Westchester County's Town Index page.
Return to the main page for Westchester County at NYGenWeb.
Return to the NYGenWeb web site.
© 1996-2012 Cathy Horn. All rights reserved.
This web site was designed by and has been exclusively maintained since November 1996 by Cathy Horn.