ClaremontTTheview of the Hudson, on a fine day, to a person looking northward from Claremont is one of the best on the river. Being on a high point that juts out somewhat into the stream, the spectator appreciates the river’s breadth. In former days the site of Claremont was remarkable for its magnificent trees, pine, oak and tulip, of extraordinary girth, height and spread, but the building of the railroad (which spoiled so many country seats) sounded its death knell in respect to its being a place of residence with appropriate surroundings. What is now known as Claremont appears at an early period to have been composed of two properties, the upper or northerly one being called “Strawberry Hill,” or “Claremont,” and the lower or southerly, one “Monte Alto.” Some of the early deeds were not recorded and the writer has not ascertained when or how the division was made.A tract of land including that on which the house stands was conveyed in 1774 to Nicholas de Peyster, and in August, 1776, was sold by him to George Pollock, an Irish linen merchant.Pollock endeavored to improve the place by clearing and cultivation, as is shown by the statement in a lettermentioned below, in which he says: “I have long considered those grounds as of my own creation, having selected them when wild, and brought the place to its present form.” He named the place “Strawberry Hill.” After living there for some years and after the loss of a child (said to have occurred by drowning) he withdrew to England.Almost everyone who has visited Grant’s Tomb remembers the marble funereal monument in the form of an urn inclosed within an iron railing near the top of the hill. The inscription, much blurred by time, reads: “Erected to the memory of an amiable child, St. Claire Pollock, died 15th. July 1797 in the 5 year of his age.” Then follow some lines of verse. In a letter written from England by Mr. Pollock to Mrs. Gulian Verplanck, who had become the owner of that or the adjoining place, dated July 18, 1800, he writes: “There is a small enclosure near your boundary fence within which lie the remains of a favorite child, covered by a marble monument.... The surrounding ground will fall into the hands of I know not whom, whose prejudice or better taste may remove the monument and lay the enclosure open. You will confer a peculiar and interesting favor upon me by allowing me to convey the enclosure to you, so that you will consider it a part of your own estate, keeping it however always enclosed and sacred. There is a white marble funereal urn to place on the monument which will not lessen its beauty. I have long considered those grounds as of my own creation,having selected them when wild, and brought the place to its present form. Having so long and so delightfully resided there, I feel an interest in it that I cannot get rid of by time.”32In July, 1803, a tract of over thirty-one acres was conveyed by John B. Prevost, former Recorder of the city, to Joseph Alston, of South Carolina, planter. Alston33seems to have held the property about three years and then to have sold it to John Marsden Pintard. This deed conveys the tract known as “Monte Alto.” In November, 1808, a release was recorded, executed by Theodosia Burr Alston in favor of Michael Hogan, gentleman, Hogan having bought Monte Alto from Pintard.34There is no record of any conveyance of Claremont,by Gulian Verplanck or his executors, to Hogan,35but a deed made by Robert Lenox, Jacob Stout, and John Wells, trustees, to Michael Hogan, dated July 21, 1819, reconveys to him all property not disposed of in the execution of their trust, which is referred to as havingbeen imposed bytwoprevious deeds of assignment or conveyance dated July 25, 1811. It is here that it is generally thought a vagueness and uncertainty as to the true owner exists. It was about this time that Claremont was occupied by a rather mysterious individual, an Englishman named Courtenay, who, it is said, in after years, inherited the title of the Earl of Devon.Mr. Haswell,36in his “Reminiscences of an Octogenarian,” says, page 25: “West of Broadway, between Eleventh and Twelfth avenues and One Hundred and Twenty-third Street, there was a large country residence occupied by an Englishman, a Mr. Courtenay, with but one man servant and a cook. He lived so retired as never to be seen in company with anyone outside of his household and very rarely in public.“There was, as a consequence, many opinions given as to the occasion of such exclusiveness. The one generally and finally accepted was that he had been a gay companion of royalty in his youth, and that his leaving England was more the result of expediency with him than choice.” Lossing’s37account differs somewhat from this. He says: “When the War of 1812 broke out he (Courtenay) returned thither (to England) leaving his furniture and plate, which were sold at auction.... Courtenay was a great lion in New York, for he was a handsome bachelor, with title, fortune, and reputation—a combination of excellencies calculated tocaptivate the heart desires of the opposite sex. Claremont was the residence for a while of Joseph Bonaparte, ex-King of Spain, when he first took refuge in the United States, after the battle of Waterloo and the downfall of the Napoleon dynasty. Here too Francis James Jackson, the successor of Mr. Erskine, the British Minister at Washington, at the opening of the War of 1812, resided a short time.... He was politically and socially unpopular, and presented a strong contrast to the polished Courtenay.” Courtenay disappeared at the time of the war between this country and Great Britain, after having greatly embellished the place. It has always been a tradition in the Post family (who owned the property for nearly fifty years) that Courtenay built the present house. In March, 1812, Hogan joined with the above-named trustees in conveying the property “commonly called Claremont” to Herman Le Roy, William Bayard, and James McEvers, trustees. By some it has been supposed that while the legal title was in trustees, there may have been an unrecorded declaration of trust, by which Courtenay became the equitable owner. The grantees38in the last-mentioned deed first leased Claremont and several years later sold it to Joel Post, February 12, 1821. Later, Mr. Post (brother of the distinguished physician of the last century, Dr. Wright Post, who also resided at Claremont)purchased the property adjoining on the south, Monte Alto, and united the ownership of the two places, although Monte Alto was for many years occupied as a country seat by the McEvers family.39In 1868 the house and a portion of the place were acquired by the city from the heirs of Mr. Post.It seems to have been pretty well shown that the battle of Harlem Heights was not fought in this locality. It is only in recent years that Morningside Heights have been spoken of as Harlem Heights. In conveying Claremont it is described as in Bloomingdale and according to the map (Mrs. Lamb’s “History of the City of New York,” vol. II, p. 129) the westerly line of Harlem excluded all Morningside Heights except a few feet at the base of the high ground at Manhattanville. The high ground was known as Vandewater Heights, and if the battle had taken place there it would have been known by that name. It is more probable that most of the fighting (which was widespread) took place at the base of the Point of Rocks, south of the Convent of the Sacred Heart, and also along the high ground to the west and north. Day’s Tavern stood a little to the northeast of the Point of Rocks, and there Knowlton and the Connecticut troops were stationed.Major Lewis Morris, Jr., wrote to his father on September 28th: “Monday morning an advanced party, Colonel Knowlton’s regiment, was attacked on a height a little to the southwest of Day’s Tavern.”Morningside Heights would have been considerably more than “a little” to the southwest of Day’s Tavern. The detachment sent out before daylight under Knowlton by General Washington was not his regiment but a small body, probably a single company, and was sent to make a diversion upon the enemy’s rear. It is probable that they followed the river’s edge as far south as Ninety-fourth Street, much below Claremont and Morningside Heights. The actual battle did not begin until late in the day. The resolution of Congress passed October 17, 1776, was “Resolved, That General Lee be directed to repair to the camp on the Heights of Harlem with leave,” etc.Washington had no camp on Morningside Heights. His camp was on the high ground between the Point of Rocks and the Harlem River.Finally “nowhere on Manhattan Island, to my knowledge, beyond the limit of the city, have there been found the remains of so many English and Hessian soldiers, as shown by buttons, cross-belt buckles, bayonets, and portions of other arms, as have been excavated, from time to time, in the neighborhood of Trinity Cemetery. There could have been no fight at this point unless it was at the battle of Harlem, while the neighborhood about Columbia University, where it is claimed the battle was fought, has been particularly free from all such evidence.”40Claremont is now apublic restaurant.41The adding of the huge inclosed piazzas has produced an effect that is nondescript.
T
Theview of the Hudson, on a fine day, to a person looking northward from Claremont is one of the best on the river. Being on a high point that juts out somewhat into the stream, the spectator appreciates the river’s breadth. In former days the site of Claremont was remarkable for its magnificent trees, pine, oak and tulip, of extraordinary girth, height and spread, but the building of the railroad (which spoiled so many country seats) sounded its death knell in respect to its being a place of residence with appropriate surroundings. What is now known as Claremont appears at an early period to have been composed of two properties, the upper or northerly one being called “Strawberry Hill,” or “Claremont,” and the lower or southerly, one “Monte Alto.” Some of the early deeds were not recorded and the writer has not ascertained when or how the division was made.
A tract of land including that on which the house stands was conveyed in 1774 to Nicholas de Peyster, and in August, 1776, was sold by him to George Pollock, an Irish linen merchant.
Pollock endeavored to improve the place by clearing and cultivation, as is shown by the statement in a lettermentioned below, in which he says: “I have long considered those grounds as of my own creation, having selected them when wild, and brought the place to its present form.” He named the place “Strawberry Hill.” After living there for some years and after the loss of a child (said to have occurred by drowning) he withdrew to England.
Almost everyone who has visited Grant’s Tomb remembers the marble funereal monument in the form of an urn inclosed within an iron railing near the top of the hill. The inscription, much blurred by time, reads: “Erected to the memory of an amiable child, St. Claire Pollock, died 15th. July 1797 in the 5 year of his age.” Then follow some lines of verse. In a letter written from England by Mr. Pollock to Mrs. Gulian Verplanck, who had become the owner of that or the adjoining place, dated July 18, 1800, he writes: “There is a small enclosure near your boundary fence within which lie the remains of a favorite child, covered by a marble monument.... The surrounding ground will fall into the hands of I know not whom, whose prejudice or better taste may remove the monument and lay the enclosure open. You will confer a peculiar and interesting favor upon me by allowing me to convey the enclosure to you, so that you will consider it a part of your own estate, keeping it however always enclosed and sacred. There is a white marble funereal urn to place on the monument which will not lessen its beauty. I have long considered those grounds as of my own creation,having selected them when wild, and brought the place to its present form. Having so long and so delightfully resided there, I feel an interest in it that I cannot get rid of by time.”32
In July, 1803, a tract of over thirty-one acres was conveyed by John B. Prevost, former Recorder of the city, to Joseph Alston, of South Carolina, planter. Alston33seems to have held the property about three years and then to have sold it to John Marsden Pintard. This deed conveys the tract known as “Monte Alto.” In November, 1808, a release was recorded, executed by Theodosia Burr Alston in favor of Michael Hogan, gentleman, Hogan having bought Monte Alto from Pintard.34
There is no record of any conveyance of Claremont,by Gulian Verplanck or his executors, to Hogan,35but a deed made by Robert Lenox, Jacob Stout, and John Wells, trustees, to Michael Hogan, dated July 21, 1819, reconveys to him all property not disposed of in the execution of their trust, which is referred to as havingbeen imposed bytwoprevious deeds of assignment or conveyance dated July 25, 1811. It is here that it is generally thought a vagueness and uncertainty as to the true owner exists. It was about this time that Claremont was occupied by a rather mysterious individual, an Englishman named Courtenay, who, it is said, in after years, inherited the title of the Earl of Devon.
Mr. Haswell,36in his “Reminiscences of an Octogenarian,” says, page 25: “West of Broadway, between Eleventh and Twelfth avenues and One Hundred and Twenty-third Street, there was a large country residence occupied by an Englishman, a Mr. Courtenay, with but one man servant and a cook. He lived so retired as never to be seen in company with anyone outside of his household and very rarely in public.
“There was, as a consequence, many opinions given as to the occasion of such exclusiveness. The one generally and finally accepted was that he had been a gay companion of royalty in his youth, and that his leaving England was more the result of expediency with him than choice.” Lossing’s37account differs somewhat from this. He says: “When the War of 1812 broke out he (Courtenay) returned thither (to England) leaving his furniture and plate, which were sold at auction.... Courtenay was a great lion in New York, for he was a handsome bachelor, with title, fortune, and reputation—a combination of excellencies calculated tocaptivate the heart desires of the opposite sex. Claremont was the residence for a while of Joseph Bonaparte, ex-King of Spain, when he first took refuge in the United States, after the battle of Waterloo and the downfall of the Napoleon dynasty. Here too Francis James Jackson, the successor of Mr. Erskine, the British Minister at Washington, at the opening of the War of 1812, resided a short time.... He was politically and socially unpopular, and presented a strong contrast to the polished Courtenay.” Courtenay disappeared at the time of the war between this country and Great Britain, after having greatly embellished the place. It has always been a tradition in the Post family (who owned the property for nearly fifty years) that Courtenay built the present house. In March, 1812, Hogan joined with the above-named trustees in conveying the property “commonly called Claremont” to Herman Le Roy, William Bayard, and James McEvers, trustees. By some it has been supposed that while the legal title was in trustees, there may have been an unrecorded declaration of trust, by which Courtenay became the equitable owner. The grantees38in the last-mentioned deed first leased Claremont and several years later sold it to Joel Post, February 12, 1821. Later, Mr. Post (brother of the distinguished physician of the last century, Dr. Wright Post, who also resided at Claremont)purchased the property adjoining on the south, Monte Alto, and united the ownership of the two places, although Monte Alto was for many years occupied as a country seat by the McEvers family.39In 1868 the house and a portion of the place were acquired by the city from the heirs of Mr. Post.
It seems to have been pretty well shown that the battle of Harlem Heights was not fought in this locality. It is only in recent years that Morningside Heights have been spoken of as Harlem Heights. In conveying Claremont it is described as in Bloomingdale and according to the map (Mrs. Lamb’s “History of the City of New York,” vol. II, p. 129) the westerly line of Harlem excluded all Morningside Heights except a few feet at the base of the high ground at Manhattanville. The high ground was known as Vandewater Heights, and if the battle had taken place there it would have been known by that name. It is more probable that most of the fighting (which was widespread) took place at the base of the Point of Rocks, south of the Convent of the Sacred Heart, and also along the high ground to the west and north. Day’s Tavern stood a little to the northeast of the Point of Rocks, and there Knowlton and the Connecticut troops were stationed.
Major Lewis Morris, Jr., wrote to his father on September 28th: “Monday morning an advanced party, Colonel Knowlton’s regiment, was attacked on a height a little to the southwest of Day’s Tavern.”
Morningside Heights would have been considerably more than “a little” to the southwest of Day’s Tavern. The detachment sent out before daylight under Knowlton by General Washington was not his regiment but a small body, probably a single company, and was sent to make a diversion upon the enemy’s rear. It is probable that they followed the river’s edge as far south as Ninety-fourth Street, much below Claremont and Morningside Heights. The actual battle did not begin until late in the day. The resolution of Congress passed October 17, 1776, was “Resolved, That General Lee be directed to repair to the camp on the Heights of Harlem with leave,” etc.
Washington had no camp on Morningside Heights. His camp was on the high ground between the Point of Rocks and the Harlem River.
Finally “nowhere on Manhattan Island, to my knowledge, beyond the limit of the city, have there been found the remains of so many English and Hessian soldiers, as shown by buttons, cross-belt buckles, bayonets, and portions of other arms, as have been excavated, from time to time, in the neighborhood of Trinity Cemetery. There could have been no fight at this point unless it was at the battle of Harlem, while the neighborhood about Columbia University, where it is claimed the battle was fought, has been particularly free from all such evidence.”40Claremont is now apublic restaurant.41The adding of the huge inclosed piazzas has produced an effect that is nondescript.