New York. The sale made July 16th, 1784, was recorded in the
following memorandum :
"Sold to Thomas Me Farren of the City of New York, Mer-
chant, for the sum of four thousand six hundred and ninety-
five' pounds Lawf nil Money of the said state All that certain
Tract or parcel of Land situate Lying and being in the County
of Richmond and Manor of Bently, Bounded Southerly by the
Bay or water called Princes Bay, westerly by the river that runs
between the said Land and Amboy Northerly partly by the Land
of Jacob Reckhow and partly by the road and Easterly partly by
the road and partly by the Bay, Containing Eight hundred and
fifty acres and half an acre and which said Tract is divided into
the several following Farms and Lots of Land three hundred
and seventy three acres thereof in the possession of Samuel
Ward Two hundred Acres in the possession of Albert Ryck-
man, Fifty acres in the possession of John Manner Fifty acres
in the possession of Edmund Wood Fifty acres in the posses-
sion of Andrew Prior Twenty five Acres in the possession of
James Churchward, sixtyseven acres and an half acre in the
possession of Benjamin Drake Twenty three acres and an half
acre in the possession of Joseph Totten Eleven acres and an
half acre in the possession of Jacob Reckhow Together with
all the Buildings and Improvements thereon Erected and made
Forfeited to and Vested in the People of this state by the At-
tainder of Christopher Billop Late of the County of Richmond
Esquire."
The historic house is still standing. It occupies a beautiful
site overlooking the river or Staten Island sound, with Amboy
HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY.
Ill
in view on the opposite shore and the Jersey landscapes fading
in the distance.
The old mansion was built of stone its walls three feet thick
and bears the marks of former affluence and elegance. Like
most buildings of the " olden time," it has its ghost and other
roman,tic stories. " There," said the person who now occupies
the house, as we entered one of
the upper story front rooms, ''that
spot on the floor we have never
been able to wash out. It is sup-
posed to be blood, and a murder
is said to have been perpetrated
here. This, too, is the ghost room,
mm^m
THE OLD BILLOP HOUSE, TOTTESVILLE.
but I have never been disturbed by
such visitors, and believe neither of
these stories." A person had visited
an adjoining apartment last winter,
searching for hidden treasure. He had
been told by some mesmerist or for-
tune-teller of New York that money was to be found concealed
in one of the walls of this room, and absolutely picked with
hammer and chisel a large opening,but finally gave over the
search as hopeless. This strange credulity was here exhibited
in the winter of 1844.
In the cellar of the building there is a brick vault thirty feet
112 HIST RICH3I-: :-TT.
. and about thirteen wide, finely arched, and may have
been used as a place of retreat, or the receptacle for valuable
articles in cases of emergency.
The interior of the house presents nothing remarkable in ap-
pearance. The hall and staircase are extremely plain. In fact
there is no decoration to I - - here. The rooms have
been undersized in a manner approaching meanness.
As Billop was a well known and a military char-
. - . his house m \s rd many an interview of
such men as Lord E -^neral Kniphausen. Colonel Simcoe
and other officers of rank in the Br:\-.. - rvice who had
mand a: - s p - on the island. ImmediarT the
:e battle on L . - r.d. Lord Howe sent a communica-
tion _ ssem '-led in Philadelphia, soliciting that
a committee from tr_ - - : him. to confer on the
difficult: - sea the nation- 7 this purpose. Ben-
- Franklin. John Adams and Edward Eutlei_- rere ap-
:ed. The interview took place in this house, and tl -
noble, patriotic. American s\ - ledined every propos!
for peace that would not acknowledge the independen - :
their beloved country.
This conference took place in the room at the nortL west : ner
of the house on the main floor. This momentous interview
regarde-i with extre - ::ude by the people of both the old
I and the ne* ^
jrandeur of a ^r^ barrle point and monument of -
The interview was t r - - ao reconcili-
Independejice was maintained. The result was limned
_e hand of God. and is seen ia the progess of a condnent
and the achievements of a all over the world,
-re is a beautiful lawn before the hou-
-. - : 3m the mansion ar^ -s
tens rich in'natural beauties. Direcrly io fron:
- _boy bay the :. :>- ".: a ad the Ra-
^hich LT'T -xpanding into the general ly :
- ^e wh^^ sf*m flows onward to the mighty Atk
vrd rh^f - a more remote di~ r - . the
mountains of Monmouth and the bold summi'- S - Sink.
upon whose lofty highlands, the beacon-fires of 1776 blazed to
alarm the country upon the rx Approach of the err _
.at a blessing is peace ! How changed the scene : Upon
HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 113
these very heights now glisten nightly the cheering rays of the
light-house, welcoming the traveller of every nation to our land
of freedom and happiness ! Where once was heard the deafen-
ing drum and clarion of war, here now the anvil rings, the
merry wheel dances, and the carol of the peaceful plow-boy re-
sounds, while he traces the enriching and silent furrow !
We shall now turn our attention to the Dongan patent and
the persons connected with it. This brought into direct and
intimate association with the island one of the most prominent
of the colonial governors, and one whose acts have been mor
conspicuously brought before a wide range of interests, people
and times than perhaps any other.
At the time of Dongan's arrival, there dwelt in the city of
New York a gentleman named John Palmer, by profession a
lawyer, who, at the time of the separation of Staten Island from
the Long Island towns, was appointed "ranger" for Staten
Island. He had formerly lived on the island of Barbadoes,
and had emigrated thence to New York. In 1683 he lived on
Staten Island, and was appointed by Dongan one of the two
first judges of the New York court of oyer and terminer. He
was also a member of the council, and generally an active and
prominent man in the affairs of the province. To this man Don-
gan executed a patent, known in the island history as the
Palmer or Dongan .patent. The small brook which forms a
part of the boundary between the towns of Castleton and
Northtield, and which runs to the mill pond, is still known by
the name of " Palmer's Run," because it also formed a part 'of
the boundary of the land conveyed by the patent.
An attempt seems to have been previously made by Dongan
to gain possession of this large property, but for reasons which
will appear the transaction was repeated in the manner above
stated. The first transaction of which we find any record is
dated January 14. 1684-5, when Governor Dongan purchased of
John Palmer of Staten Island and Sarah his wife, for the sum
of twelve hundred pounds, "All that their Capitall Messuage
or dwelling house with the Appurtenances situate lyeiug and
being on the north side of Staten Island Aforesaid within Con-
stables hooke neere the Mill Creeke late in the Occupacion and
possession of the said John Palmer, And All that Certaine Par-
cell or tract of Land thereunto belonging being upon the north
side of Staten Island aforesaid within Constables Hooke lyeing
8
114 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY.
between the two runues att the mill creeke beginning with A
narrow point And Running up wider into the Island Containing
the quantity of three hundred forty and two Acres with meadow
Ground to belaid out proportionably." The conveyance also
includes other parcels, the title to which had been obtained as
recited in their specifications in substance as follows : Ninety-
six acres to the east of Mill creek, with the mill, which was
granted to Palmer by Governor Andros in 1677, upon which had
also been built by Palmer two windmills and a sawmill ; eighty
acres which had been conveyed to Palmer by Francis Barber
who had a grant from Sir Edmund Andros ; ninety acres, with
eight acres of meadow, which had been granted by Andros in
1680 to Jacob Cornells, and by him conveyed to Palmer; another
like tract of ninety acres with eight acres of meadow,
granted to James Gyles, by Andros, and by Gyles conveyed to
Palmer; and a tract of four thousand five hundred acres of land
lying in a body in the middle part of the island, with an island
of meadow near Fresh kill, "All which Said Last mentioned
tract or parcell of Land And Island of meadow were Granted
unto the Said John Palmer," by Governor Dongan by patent
dated May 2, 1684. Thus it will be seen the premises purchased
by Dongan had been obtained in small parcels, through differ-
ent channels and under grants of different dates. It was desir-
able that they should be consolidated, and treated as a unit,
and that some manorial privileges should be associated with
their proprietorship.
The early provincial governors having shown some disposi-
tion to appropriate too much land to themselves, they had been
restricted by an order in council, to evade which the plan was
devised of granting a patent to Palmer for this laud, and then
having a transfer made from Palmer to Dongan. The patent to
Palmer was approved at a council held March 31, 1687, at which
were present Governor Dongan, Anthony Brockholst, Frederick
Phillips, Stephanus Van Cortlandt and Nicholas Bayard. The
instrument bears date as above, and begins as follows:
" Whereas John Palmer of the City of New York Esqr. as
well by virtue of Several deeds and Patients to him or them
under whome he claymes made by the former Governors of this
Province as by virtue of a certain Pattent or Confirmation under
my hand, and seale of the province, bearing date the second
day of May, 1684: stands Lawfully and Rightfully Seized of &
HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 115
in all that Tract or parcell of Land Beginning at a cove on Kill
Van Cull, on the east bounds of the lands of Garret Cruise
[Cruser] and so running in the woods by the said Kill to a
marked tree, and thence by a line of marked trees according to
the natiiral position of the poles, south and by east two degrees
and thirty minutes southerly according to the compass south,
there being eight degrees and forty five minutes variation ffrom
the north westward, and from thence by the reare of the land of
Garret Cruise & Peter Johnson, east & by north two degrees
and thirty minutes to the line of Peter Johnson's wood lott, &
by his line south and by east two degrees and thirty minutes
south sixty-one chains, and thence by the reare of the aforesaid
lott & the lott of John Vincent northeast & by east one degree
northerly to the southeast corner of the land of John Vincent
thirty three chains & a halfe, from thence by his east line south
& by west two degrees thirty minutes northerly to a white oak
tree marked with three notches, bearing northwest from the
ffresh pond, from thence to a young chestnutt tree the south-
west corner of the land of Phillip Wells & so by a line of
marked trees east nine degrees & fifteen minutes southerly by
south side of a small ffresh meadow to the north & to the north
of the ffresh pond including the pond to the land of Mr. An-
drew Norwood & so by his land as it runs to the reare of the
land of Mary Brittaine & so by the reare of the Old Town lotts
to the land of Isaac Bellew & Thomas Stilwell & from thence
upon the Iron Hills, to the land of William Stilwell & by his
land to the land of George Cummins & ffrom his northeast cor-
ner, to the southeast corner of the land of Mr. James Hubbard
at the head of the ffresh kills & so round by his land to the
reare lotts at Karles neck & so by the lotts to the highway left
by Jacob pullion & the great swamp to the land of John ffitz
Garrett including the great swamp, thence by the soldier's lotts
and the reare lotts of Cornelis Cnrsen & company to the south-
west corner of theire ffront lotts & so by the runne which is
theire bounds to the mill pond including the mill pond to the
sound or Kill Van Cull & so by the sound to the cove where
ffirst begun. Containing with all the hills, valleys, ffresh
meadows & swamps within the above specified bounds five thou-
sand one hundred acres be the same more or less. Also a
great island of salt meadow lying near the ffresh kills & over
against long neck not yet appropriated and all the messuages,
116 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY.
tenements, fencings, orchards, gardens, pastures, meadows,
marshes, woods, underwoods, trees, timber, quarries, rivers,
brooks, ponds, lakes, streams, creeks, harbors, beaches, flashing,
hawking and ffowling, mines, minerals (silver and gold mines
only excepted) mills, mill dams," etc.
By the patent it was also constituted one lordship or manor
" to be called the Lordship and manor of Cassiltowne." It was
subject to an annual quit-rent of one lamb and eight bushels of
winter wheat, to be paid if demanded on the 25th of March in
each year.
On the 29th of September, 1677, Governor Andros executed a
patent to Garret Croosen (Cruser) for one hundred and sixty
acres of land on the north side of Staten Island, which is
bounded on the west by "a small runn of water." It is diffi-
cult, if not impossible, at this day to trace the boundaries of
some of the old patents, but we assume that the "runn of
water" mentioned in the patent is the stream issuing out of the
"boiling spring" on the Bement estate, as that spring was
formerly called the "Cruser spring," and in conveyances of
even recent date the "runn" is called the "Cruser Spring
brook." The land conveyed was one hundred and seventeen
rods in breadth, which would reach nearly or quite to the Pel-
ton estate. This estate once belonged to one of the Cruser fam-
ily, but probably it was by a subsequent purchase The Palmer
patent begins at a cove on " Kill Van Cull," on the east bounds
of the lands of Garret Cruser ; probably the word east is a cler-
ical error, and should have been west, but even on that sup-
position the boundaries described in the latter patent would
embrace Lovelace's property. If we assume "the cove" to be
that next west of and adjoining the Pelton estate, the bound-
aries would embrace the properties both of Lovelace and Cruser.
The natural outlet of the Cruser spring brook was at or near
the place where the surplus water from the works of the New
York Dyeing and Printing Establishment now enters the kills.
The pond of this establishment is an artificial structure, made
nearly a century ago for the use of a mill which stood on the
"Factory Dock." The main stream which supplies this pond
is also an artificial canal ; the natural outlet of the water which
now supplies the pond was through Bodine's pond into the
kills. In Governor Dongan's days, these waters supplied a
pond in the rear of the reservoir of the gas company on the
HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 117
south side of Post avenue, for the use of his mill, which we
have elsewhere alluded to as the mill in which guns were said
to have been concealed at the time of the papist panic.
On the 16th day of April, 1687, John Palmer and Sarah, his
wife, conveyed the territory described above to Thomas Dongan,
" for a competent sumnie of lawfull money," after an owner-
ship of about a fortnight.
It is now quite impossible to trace the lines described in the
patent, as the most of the land-marks mentioned therein have
disappeared. If by the terms "great swamp" is meant that
extending from Graniteville to New Springville, and which is.
so designated in a variety of other ancient documents ; and if
by " ffresh kills" is meant the waters now known by that
name, and which are also frequently alluded to by that name
in similar documents, it is evident that the territory conveyed
embraced not only the greater part of the present towns of
Castleton and Middletown, but a large proportion of North-
h'eld also.
Dunlap says that Governor Dongan, having doubts about
Staten Island belonging to New York, and in order to be
doubly sure, procured a patent in 1687 for the same land from
the proprietors of East Jersey.
In the following year, 1688, Governor Dongan erected his
manor house, which remained until the present decade, and
though externally modernized in some degree the oak frame,
hewn out of the adjacent forest, was the identical one erected
by him, the date of its erection having been marked upon one
of the timbers with white paint. The house alluded to stood
in the middle of the square bounded by the shore road on the
north, Cedar street on the south, Dongan street on the east, and
Bodine street on the west, at West New Brighton. There is
now a gradual descent of the surface of the land from the site
to the shore road ; but, originally, the earth was as high on the
southerly side of the road as it now is at the place where the
house stood, forming a sand hill between the house and the
road, and which entirely concealed the house from view when
standing in the road in front of it. When this sand bank was
removed, several skeletons, evidently of Indians, besides nu-
merous other Indian relics, were unearthed, indicating this
spot as having been one of their burial places. This time-
honored relic was at last destroyed by lire. A large barn,
118 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY.
standing on the mill road which was also built during the early
years of the proprietorship of Governor Dongan, was burned
on the 18th of July, 1862. Through this extensive domain a
road was opened at an early period toward the village of Rich-
mond, and this early road still bears the name of Manor road.
A tide mill stood until a recent date on the causeway across
Palmer's run. The old Dongan mill stood farther south, on
an old road which ran around the head of the pond, the course
of which in part has been followed by the construction of Post
avenue in West New Brighton. After the construction of the
causeway the old road, which before had been the only way of
passing between the localities of West New Brighton and
Port Richmond, ceased to be used until the opening of
Post avenue. The pond which is alluded to in the Palmer
patent received the tide, and boats at high water could reach
the door of the old mill. This mill was largely patronized by
the people of Bergen Point and its vicinity, as well as by the
people of the island.
When the present avenue was constructed, the foundation
stones, and some of the decayed oak timbers of the old mill,
were unearthed, but no cannon. In the latter part of the last
century, a flouring mill was built on the present steamboat wharf
at West New Brighton, and the most of the water which had
propelled the old mill, was diverted from its natural course by
a canal which led it into the large pond at the foot of the pres-
ent Water street, which pond was then constructed to hold the
water in reserve for the use of the new mill ; this was built by
a McVickar, though it subsequently passed into the hands of
the Van Buskirk family, and was better known as Van Bus-
kirk's mill. This mill was burned a few years ago, and the
wharf, the pond and the canal for more than half a century
have belonged to the New York Dyeing & Printing Establish-
ment. After the construction of the causeway, and the divert-
ing of the water, the pond has gradually filled up, until now it
can scarcely be utilized for the purpose to which it was once
devoted.
In a review of the life and acts of one so intimately asso-
ciated with the island as Col. Thomas Dongan was it is proper
to give some notice to his antecedents and the stock whence he
came. We find Governor Dongan associated with the nobility
of England and Ireland. In a list of the baronets of Ireland,
HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY. 119
with a list of their creations, we find the name of Walter Don-
gan, of Castletown, in the county of Kildare, to which is at-
tached the date 1623. Castletown park is in the northeast corner
of the county of Kildare, about ten miles southwest of the city
of Dublin. Sir Walter Dongan, who was made baronet October
23, 1623, belonged to a family who were pronounced " valiant,
active and faithful." They were in 1646 and later on connected
with the army, and in recognition of their faithfulness and de-
votion to their king, William, a brother was promoted to the
dignity of viscount of Claine, county of Kildare, in 1661. In
1685 he was made earl of Limerick. At the battle of theBoyne
he lost an only son, who was killed by a cannon ball. The son
was buried at Castletown, the seat of his father, Lord Dongan,
earl of Limerick. The estate of Lord Dongan was forfeited, he
being attainted April 16, 1691, but was restored again by act of
parliament, December 15, 1699. In " Burke' s Encyclopedia of
Heraldry" appears the following description of the Dongan
coat of arms :
" Quarterly first and fourth, gu. three lions pass, or, holding
in the dexter paw a close helmet argent garnished or the
second ; second and third azure six plates on a chief or a demi
lion rampant gules. Crest A lion passant or, supporting with
the dexter foot a close helmet argent garnished of the first."
To this noble family Col. Thomas Dongan belonged, though
what his relationship was to the Earl of Limerick we have not
the means of determining. Some claim that he was a brother
Colonel Dongan having a commission as governor, arrived in
Xew York August 27, 1683. His commission was dated Sep-
tember 30, 1682. To him the present state is indebted for many
of its existing records and laws. He was a firm believer in the
religious and political faith of James II, except, perhaps, that
Dongan was far more tolerant, and hated the French, under
whom he had once served as a military officer. Though a pro-
fessed papist, he was a decided enemy to the French, whose
schemes of aggrandizement on the northern frontier he per-
sistently opposed, even against the expressed wishes of his
master, the Duke of York, afterward James II. The people
of the province, and especially of the island, where he resided,
lived in constant dread of his religion. Later on he was or-
dered to proclaim James II king, to assist at the conference
between Lord Effingham and the Five Nations, and in causing
120 HISTORY OF RICHMOND COUNTY.
ihe king's arms to be set up through all their villages and to
place arms in their hands.
Colonel Dongan had the Indian affairs very much at heart,
and had gained the respect and esteem of the Five Na-
tions. He was deeply interested in the intercourse of the French
and English with them, and jealous of the action of the former.
In carrying forward this work in which he was so much in-
terested, he was obliged to mortgage his property to Robert
Livingston to secure the payment of the expenses of the ex-
pedition to Albany in 1689. This mortgage is dated May 1,
1689, the sum which was secured by it was 2,172, 6s, 2|d,
which Livingston had, by Dongan' s order, laid out for eight
month's provisions for the troops and presents for the In-
dians. The term of the mortgage was live years. It covered
not only the manor of Castletown, but other parcels which
Dongan had bought on the island. These were one hundred
and eighty acres at Old Town, bought of Mary Britton, another
parcel at Old Town, bought of Peter None, and another, on
the south side, bought of James Largie.
Besides these possessions on Staten Island, Governor Dongan
had a large tract on the Hudson river, extending from Haver-
straw to Murderer's creek, a tract of four hundred acres in
Queens county given him by the people of Hempstead town for
renewing their patent, and another tract on Martha's Vineyard,
besides property in the city of New York. On Staten Island he
had a "hunting lodge." The city records contain an account
of a meeting of the council at which Governor Dongan was ab-
sent "being engaged at his hunting lodge on Staten Island,
killing bears." At the time of the papist panic in 1689 it was
suspected that Colonel Dongan was in sympathy with the plot,
and his mill was searched, and four guns were found in it.
These it is said were secreted under some bags and blankets.
Leisler issued orders for his arrest, but we do not know that it%
was accomplished.
After his release from office Colonel Dongan retired to his pos-
sessions on Staten Island, where he remained till the spring of
1691, if not longer. Later, but at what time is not known, he
retired to his native country, Ireland, where it is said he finally