New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1854-06-22
PURLiC MEETINGS.
,y,xo ri, CORNER STONE on A NEW

,,,ei r,ssiy COMPANY hNm Gotham 10 tho ferry 10 ,akc
ra,, In the interesting ccrrmcn,cr,
Tho otto at tho chuNh Ia upon the summit OF lofty
Hill which e,olcchs The FERRY AMI the Palisades Tappan
Zee aud magnificent panorama Of mountain aud valley
,h,ush which the msjcac i'o.cn clcs,cs hcr way No
better site could have been found for cddcc for the
wcrhir oi Almighty uod than this which prcscns to the
eve a, one Wow sc much Of hia beautiful handwork.
Near the spot selected for the new church. rude Gov
c,va pulpit, crctcd and around s alargc mum
her Of hcnchca we'll allied with ladies and gcncmcn. thc
former rsp,ouinating Al enc sidc woro tho Sunday
School chlrn, neatly atcd and blooming with r"~""'"
health while their cycs fairly danced with delight q" the
novelty vi wcshpping beneath the broad sky In front
Of them was banner inscribed The Summarized NJ t.
SUNDAY School pobbs Ferry Suhcr Lttic Children
Ito comb unto mo- and forbid them not for of such is
the kiurtcm Of Heaven. Altogether the
ono which is rarely bclcld and forgotten. The
crci.cs were commenced with address from the Rev
: Marsindaie presiding Eldcr, which was characterized
by much hee.smy OF sen.r", Gu, nsve r, geIaf
apracn, di,crstcs cf opinion and faith. the Christian
churches throughout the world constituent parts Of
N, great Church Of Josus Christ.
A hymn was sung in which the whole OF the audience
Joined. il commcncodw with
This o thee n VIC lsy
This tcmrlo, Lord, to thee raise"
The Rev. Mr. BROWN of Yonkcrs followed in APP
prcpriaie and impressive prayer.
The Rev. Mr.. w.SrLrr next addressed the audience.
He said
Auspcious the day and joyful the occasion tina, has
summoned together We have met i'll Cod great cathe
drul. in natures magnificent temple 10 lay the corner
stone Of new house of worship which, when completed
will be dedicated the worship of the great Head of the
Church There many historical associations that
cluster around this place that give such peculiar interest
that You will be surprised if dwell upon ii a short
time Romantic is the place grand and picturesque the
scenery by which surrounded do not wonder that
Washington Irving sad, some time since :" thank God
IL. e,l L,.1, a. fI,,Ic >
From this elevated position what magnificent view. Yon
der is the noble Hudson rolling on IN majesty towards the
ocean. Yonder the Palisades Heavens great wal,
higher and stronger than the great wall of China.
Wonder are the beautiful mountains-nature monu-
mens Here beautiful gens and charming daes, that
give variety and enchantmon TO the Yonder is
The old Vantassel House erected in 1850 Sunny Sde
the residence of the author of the Sketch Book Yon
der is Sleepy Hollow, where the celebrated lchabod
Crane taught school, and where the wonderful de-
scrbed by Washington Irving said TO have taken place.
Yonder is Tarrytown, where Major Andre was taken
prisoner by those noble young men, Pauldng Vanwar and
Williams who Low I'd their country better than goldwhose
patriotism stronger than their love for filthy lucre
We tread upon classic SOIL that has been with the
and stained by the blood Of patriots Peculiar the loca
tion of Weschester County The Hudson rolls on its west
while the eastern shore washed by the East River and
Long Island Sound In its bosom is the Croton lake,
formed IL The Croton River which has been diverted from
rs channel and made to pierce the mountain and to bridge
the gulf carrying into the City of NewYork its health
fu stream purifying the City and adding to the health and
comfort of the inhabitants Let notice the history Of
the place. Greenburgh, Granburgh literally, signifies
cran.town. When discovered by the Dutch in 1914 1t
formed part of the Indian territory of Wkasyl There
was Indian town here, called Weckqueskeck, snfying
the place of the bark kettle. This the name of pow
erful tribe Of indians who had large village at the mouth
of the beautiful stream which descends through
the present village and flows into the Hudson, at
the upper landing called by the English, Wikers Creek
Another Indian village occupied the site of rarrytown
called Annebikong place of leaves or rioh foliage
Schoolcraft saws "a place of ems. From the bark Of
the white elm the Indian manufactured his light canoe
As early 64i there three enrenched castles be-
sfiura If h,la
was remaining in 1863 and garTsOned with 20 warriors
The between the Dutch and Indians were very
part of their lands TO Pstrus Stuyvesan in 1919 The
next great sale Of lands made by the saches of this tribe
TO Frederick Philips, formerly of Holland, then of
NewAmserdsm. This purchase embraced the northeast
part of this town ond part of Mount Pleasant He also
made several other purchases of the Indians, which
not only covered the present town of Grecnbush and
subsequently, formed part of Phllipsburg Manor.
These lands remained in the Phillips family unit
1873, when they forfeited to the State. Under
the Vantasses Vanwarts, Odels, Lawrences, Posts,
Arckers DykemaDds Requas and Others former tenants
of the manor. Many of their children, and ohdrens
children, still reside here and their familiar
you household words. The wars between the Dutch
and Indians frequent and awuy severe, and many
of this tribe cut off. Many treaties made and
broken After many years of murder and bloodshed
the 3Oh Of August l6i5 the chiefs ofsevera tribes and Of
the tribe residing here seated Themselves silent and grave
in front OF Fort Amsterdam before the Drector-GeDera
and his council and the whole community, and having
gously smoked concluded in the presence of the and
ocean solemn and durable peace with the Dutch But
why was this place called Dobbs Ferry! We answer il
derives lis from the ancient family Of the Dobbss
who had long been settled here and also from the fact
that they the early feymen. As early 1893 there
was living here Jeremiah Dobbs and his wife Abigail,
both members Of the church at Sleepy Hollow. Thomas
their son, born the manor in l7l2 Jeremiah
Dobbs former proprietor of the ferry left several chill
dren two daughters and two sons Jeremiah and Peter
Several descendants of the latter said TO be still v
inc here Dobhs Ferry not only distinguished fer its
anqaity for It's Indan tribe that resided here for its
early settlement for its ancient and important ferry, but
Us the scene of early and active military operations during
the Revolutionary War. lts is identified with that
fearful struggle that tried mems souls. Very early fort
was built here which of much service during the war
In l776 skirmsh took place in Edgarslane between
body of Hessians and troop OF horse under COL Shell
den The Hessans sustained terrible defeat but
left 10 tell the tale. lie fed TO Yonkers wounded and
unarmed. To this fort, October g. l776, Gen. Heath
dered Colonel Sargent with 300 infantry 40 light horse,
and Captain Horton of the artillery with l2poundere, TO
watch the emonts Of the enemy up the river. To
this place the British retired after the battle Of White
Plains closely followed by accommodating parties Of Anne
rcans. On the a9h February l'17 General Lincoln d.
vision Of the Continental army ordered to Dobbs
Ferry. Dohbs Ferry selected BY Benedict Arnold.
the traitor and Major Andre the spy as the place OF their
fret meeting where they were to consuuimnte plan for
the rpln of our country but this they strangely
thwarted Arnold wrote letter from Dcbbs Ferry to
General Washington assigning false roasons for his
ing down tie river and thus managing 10 deceive the
General and not to wake any suspicious as to ms real m
held between General Robinson OF the British army,
deputed by Sir Henry Clinton, and General Green,
deputed by General Washington. The object OF me
former was 10 prove the innocence of Major Andre
and TO efec, his liberation The plan did not sue
coed. After this unsuccessful interview Gen Robinson
wrote letter 70 Gen. Washington 70 secure his liberty
but the letter did avail at all Mao Andre w& exc
cu,ed the same day at Tappan l2 clock Oct l7so
After this the night of the Sd OF August l1,l, at II
o'clock the British and American guardboats met in The
river of Dobbs Ferry, where there was considerable
IL, - - The Anna sara