tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-107046222009-11-04T04:27:00.190-05:00Historic PelhamPresenting the rich history of Pelham, NY in Westchester County: current historical research, descriptions of how to research Pelham history online and genealogy discussions of Pelham families.Blake A. Bellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06183891320236126637noreply@blogger.comBlogger912125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10704622.post-12168139116539110312009-11-04T04:27:00.023-05:002009-11-04T04:27:00.306-05:00Results of Pelham Town Election in March, 1875Please Visit the Historic Pelham Web Site
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With yesterday's Election Day now over, it somehow seems appropriate on the Historic Pelham Blog to provide the election results from Pelham's Town election held in March 1875. Of the sixteen Town officials elected on that occasion, 15 were Democrats. Below Blake A. Bellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06183891320236126637noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10704622.post-80604952035509121622009-11-03T04:44:00.002-05:002009-11-03T07:14:11.563-05:00Pelham Students Help Civil War Soldiers on Davids' Island in 1864Please Visit the Historic Pelham Web Site
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The United States Government leased Davids' Island off the coasts of Pelham and New Rochelle in April, 1862 for use as a hospital complex during the Civil War. The Government erected structures that eventually housed thousands of wounded soldiers.
I Blake A. Bellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06183891320236126637noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10704622.post-80888547643302047522009-11-02T04:49:00.002-05:002009-11-02T06:58:09.803-05:00The Wealthy Gardener of Bolton PrioryPlease Visit the Historic Pelham Web Site
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Bolton Priory is a lovely residence on the National Register of Historic Places located in Pelham Manor. There are many wonderful stories and unusual facts regarding the structure. One of the most unusual involves one of its gardeners who died in 1900. TheBlake A. Bellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06183891320236126637noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10704622.post-8534719998089039772009-10-30T05:07:00.023-04:002009-10-30T08:28:24.965-04:00Preparations for Annual Country Club Race Ball Held in Pelham in 1887Please Visit the Historic Pelham Web Site
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The Country Club that opened in Pelham in 1884 was the site of many Steeplechase and other horse races. Members of the Club held an annual "Race Ball" that formed the centerpiece of a region-wide celebration of the opening of the Races at the Country Club. Blake A. Bellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06183891320236126637noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10704622.post-62257799779612523952009-10-29T05:08:00.040-04:002009-10-29T08:31:32.897-04:00Books of Town Supervisor "Honest John Shinn" Turned Up Short in 1906Please Visit the Historic Pelham Web Site
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More than a century ago, the outgoing Supervisor of the Town of Pelham, John M. Shinn, was embroiled in a nasty dispute that eventually led to litigation. Questions arose over the Town accounts during his tenure. Ironically, the Republican Town leader was knownBlake A. Bellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06183891320236126637noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10704622.post-71105199315605680802009-10-28T05:20:00.000-04:002009-10-28T07:42:36.776-04:00Article About the June 10, 1888 Opening of Travers Island Facility of the New York Athletic ClubPlease Visit the Historic Pelham Web Site
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The New York Athletic Club opened its Travers Island facility in Pelham Manor on June 10, 1888. A brief article about the opening appeared in the magazine "Outing". The article is transcribed below, followed by a citation to its source.
"ATHLETES' SUMMER HOME.
Blake A. Bellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06183891320236126637noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10704622.post-82297853951622854062009-10-27T04:44:00.004-04:002009-10-27T07:01:04.461-04:00Mystery "Touring Car" Crash on Pelhamdale Road in Pelham Manor in 1904Please Visit the Historic Pelham Web Site.
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An odd and mysterious accident occurred on Pelhamdale Avenue in Pelham Manor in 1904. A number of articles about the accident appeared in New York City newspapers. One such article appeared in the November 18, 1904 issue of the New-York Daily Tribune. The Blake A. Bellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06183891320236126637noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10704622.post-81268851057817384222009-10-26T04:30:00.070-04:002009-10-26T08:34:11.465-04:00Pelham Was a Principal Station on the Stage Coach Route of Dorance, Recide & Co. Which Carried Mail Between New York and BostonPlease Visit the Historic Pelham Web Site.
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It seems hard to grasp in this Internet age of instant communication, but mail between New York City and Boston once traveled by stage coach. In the 1830s, stage coaches of Dorance, Recide & Co. ran the line which included a station stop in Pelham. A long Blake A. Bellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06183891320236126637noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10704622.post-78762465964417686612009-10-23T05:32:00.003-04:002009-10-23T07:41:05.404-04:00Trumbull Farm in Pelham Sold To Satisfy Foreclosure Judgment in 1880Please Visit the Historic Pelham Web Site.
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I can recall researching and considering the location of the Trumbull Farm in Pelham. Last night I ran across a brief item published in 1880 about the sale of the farm to satisfy a foreclosure judgment. I have not yet been able to locate my research on the Blake A. Bellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06183891320236126637noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10704622.post-27505615196861850302009-10-22T05:10:00.003-04:002009-10-22T08:32:37.166-04:00Dynamite Explosion in 1890 Breaks Windows and Shakes Residents of Bartow-on-the-Sound in PelhamPlease Visit the Historic Pelham Web Site
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On April 5, 1890, a massive explosion at a dynamite works in Baychester killed two workers and shook the countryside. In nearby Bartow-on-the-Sound, a hamlet located in Pelham, windows were broken and residents were shaken. A brief article about the event Blake A. Bellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06183891320236126637noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10704622.post-5074921623485986142009-10-21T05:10:00.003-04:002009-10-21T07:23:22.974-04:00Apparent Effort in 1884 to Develop Portions of Pelham Neck as "Villa Sites"Please Visit the Historic Pelham Web Site
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Shortly before efforts increased to develop a new "Pelham Bay Park" using lands located within the Town of Pelham in the 1880s, there were a number of initiatives to develop residential hamlets in the area. Perhaps the best-know such area was Bartow-on-the-SoundBlake A. Bellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06183891320236126637noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10704622.post-80109794173791382402009-10-20T04:34:00.003-04:002009-10-20T08:16:59.899-04:00Manager of Pelham Manor Golf Links Committed Suicide Over Debt to Club in 1899Please Visit the Historic Pelham Web Site
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A sad article appeared in the December 7, 1899 issue of The New York Times. It recounted the suicide of Frederick B. Russell, manager of the Pelham Manor Links. It is somewhat unclear as to whether the reference to "Pelham Manor Links" is a reference to "The Blake A. Bellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06183891320236126637noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10704622.post-17238574064986369692009-10-19T04:54:00.029-04:002009-10-19T08:16:52.875-04:00Polo at the Country Club in Pelham in 1887Please Visit the Historic Pelham Web Site
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Regular readers of the Historic Pelham Blog know that during the 1880s, New York City and Westchester County residents developed the "Country Club" in Pelham near the hamlet known as "Bartow-on-the-Sound". There, the affluent enjoyed steeplechase races, tennis, Blake A. Bellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06183891320236126637noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10704622.post-73020931304041490802009-10-16T05:14:00.051-04:002009-10-16T07:39:11.866-04:00The Famed "California Ramblers" and the "Ramblers Inn" that Once Stood on Shore RoadPlease Visit the Historic Pelham Web Site
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Yesterday I received an inquiry regarding the location of the "Ramblers Inn" that once stood along Shore Road inside Pelham Bay Park just beyond Pelham's border with the Bronx. The inquiry prompted me to jot a note summarizing some of what I have learned about Blake A. Bellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06183891320236126637noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10704622.post-19261213732868688592009-10-15T04:59:00.090-04:002009-10-15T08:11:34.291-04:0019th and Early 20th Century Newspaper Notices Relating to the Prospect Hill Village AssociationPlease Visit the Historic Pelham Web Site
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Prospect Hill Village was one of the two principal real estate developments from which today's Village of Pelham Manor evolved. The other, of course, was the Pelham Manor & Huguenot Heights Association organized on June 3, 1873 by Silas H. Witherbee, Henry C. Blake A. Bellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06183891320236126637noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10704622.post-45120123168192636982009-10-14T05:06:00.011-04:002009-10-14T08:11:24.073-04:001879 News Account Provides Additional Basis for Some Facts Underlying Ghost Story of Old Stone House in PelhamvillePlease Visit the Historic Pelham Web Site.
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With another Halloween approaching, it is time to turn to legends of ghosts and goblins in Historic Pelham. Today's Blog posting raises a spooky possibility. There seems to be a hint of truth to at least part of the legend surrounding the ghost of Mrs. Blake A. Bellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06183891320236126637noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10704622.post-48102042607884026702009-10-13T04:48:00.048-04:002009-10-13T09:26:01.959-04:00Film of the Westchester Model Club, Inc.'s Model Railroad in the Pelham Manor Depot Before its DemolitionPlease Visit the Historic Pelham Web Site
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During the 1920s, six men in New Rochelle whose spouses objected to their model train sets taking up too much space formed the Westchester Model Club.They pooled their equipment in one of their member's attics, but soon ran out of space. They moved to a loft butBlake A. Bellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06183891320236126637noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10704622.post-15704441772034035462009-10-12T16:54:00.039-04:002009-10-13T14:18:41.659-04:00More Evidence that John Pell Died Well After 1702 or 1703 When Some Say He Died in a Boating Accident on Long Island SoundPlease Visit the Historic Pelham Web Site
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As I have noted before, there long has been confusion regarding the date of death of John Pell, the nephew of Thomas Pell of Fairfield, who inherited the Manor of Pelham following the death of his uncle in late September, 1669. Pell family members long have Blake A. Bellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06183891320236126637noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10704622.post-76369962592463069072009-10-09T05:17:00.000-04:002009-10-19T08:26:50.604-04:00Eight Illustrations Showing Views Of Pelham During the 1880sPlease Visit the Historic Pelham Web Site
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In 1887, John Mullaly published a book on the new parks being developed beyond the Harlem including the park known as Pelham Bay Park. The lands in that area were, at the time, still within the Town of Pelham. Mullaly's book included eight illustrations showingBlake A. Bellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06183891320236126637noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10704622.post-86495624182754428242009-10-08T05:19:00.044-04:002009-10-15T08:40:05.559-04:00Firefighting Units on City Island in Pelham During the Early 1890sPlease Visit the Historic Pelham Web Site
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For decades, Pelham's Town Historians have confined their research on the development of fire fighting units in Pelham to those units that evolved in Pelhamville and in Pelham Manor. However, a number of volunteer fire fighting units arose in the early 1890s onBlake A. Bellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06183891320236126637noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10704622.post-16367479557166331412009-10-07T04:58:00.000-04:002009-10-19T08:28:45.942-04:001656 Native American Deed for Fairfield, Connecticut Lands Signed by Thomas Pell as a Witness
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On March 20, 1656, almost two years after purchasing from Native Americans the lands that became Pelham and surrounding areas, Thomas Pell signed a different deed with Native Americans by which he witnessed a purchase by settlers of Fairfield, Connecticut of Blake A. Bellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06183891320236126637noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10704622.post-83641456561297866752009-10-06T04:29:00.011-04:002009-10-19T08:46:03.194-04:00Death of the Captain of William B. Astor's Yacht in Pelham on October 8, 1888Please Visit the Historic Pelham Web Site
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William B. Astor, Jr. (July 12, 1830 - April 25, 1897) was a grandson of John Jacob Astor. He inherited a substantial portion of the family fortune. During the 1880s he had a steam yacht named the Nourmahal. The Captain of that yacht for a time was Samuel Blake A. Bellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06183891320236126637noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10704622.post-53525222098858514152009-10-05T04:38:00.017-04:002009-10-21T07:40:28.919-04:001878 Account of Results of Sloop Race Held Off the Pelham ShoresPlease Visit the Historic Pelham Web Site
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Few in Pelham today realize how strong a maritime tradition Pelham once had. Situated on Long Island Sound with City Island once an important part of the Town, Pelham was the site of yacht races, yacht building, oystering, recreational fishing and much more.
Blake A. Bellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06183891320236126637noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10704622.post-31756806967522158552009-10-02T04:47:00.012-04:002009-10-21T08:02:21.156-04:00Failed Efforts in 1900 to Build a Golf Course on Hunter's Island Rather than in Pelham Bay ParkPlease Visit the Historic Pelham Web Site
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Today's Pelham Split Rock Golf Club, consisting of the Pelham Bay Golf Course and the Split Rock Golf Course, sits on land that once was part of the Town of Pelham before annexation by New York City in 1896. The narrow, tree-lined Split Rock Golf Course Blake A. Bellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06183891320236126637noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10704622.post-40055128096968913302009-10-01T05:25:00.026-04:002009-10-27T07:45:35.552-04:00Pelham Country Club Secures Land for New Golf Course in 1904Please Visit the Historic Pelham Web Site.
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There was another "Pelham Country Club" that pre-dated the club now known by that name. The first Pelham Country Club was organized during a meeting held on May 12, 2898. It subsequently evolved into The Wykagyl Country Club.
In 1904, the Pelham Country ClubBlake A. Bellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06183891320236126637noreply@blogger.com0