Evening star., 1909-07-05
ROMANCE OF YONKERS
Legendary Associations of
Spuyten DuyviI Creek.
VAN CORLEAR'S DOING
Homes of Some Prominent New York
Families.
MANOR HOUSE OF PHILLIPSES
Daughters Hand Vainly Sought by
Washington-Estate Confiscated
Because of Fathers Toryism.
MANOR HOUSE OF PHILLIPSES
ES WILLIAM F.. CURTIS.

YONKERS, y. Y. July g. 1883
The mayor and city fathers of Yonkers
since 1868 have occupied the ancient Phil
lipse Manor House, the most famous and
interesting OF all the historic mansions on
the Hudson. But they will soon vacate
it and remove to a conspicuous and not
altogether lovely modern structure which
sits with offensive pretensions upon the
steep slope that overlooks the city and
the river. BY the munihcence Of Mrs.
Eva Smith Cochran of this city the manor
house becomes the property Of the state
and will be preserved forever as his
toric museum. Mrs. Cochran bought the
house for $4,000, and in her will left
5000 to restore it to it's original con-
| dition.
| Mrs. Cochran was the daughter of
| Alexander Smith, carpet manufacturer,
! who built up a large business here and
J accumulated a large fortune. Mr.. Coch-
j ran. her husband, was brought up in the
/! factory, and became member of the
| rirm. Upon the death of her father, about
eight years ago, she inherited the entire
property, and at her decease. in February
| last, she left an estate of more than
! s., ,0O0, 900. One of the items in her will
was a bequest of $1,000 each to $50 en-
ployes of the Smith carpet works. who
have been with the company twenty years
| or more.
| Her father divided half million dol
| lars among his employees in a similar
| manner, and the bequests were arranged
in a sliding scale, beginning with $1,000
| each to those who had been longest in the
factory and running down to 500 each
| to those who had been there but few
| years. regardless of the duties they per-
formed or their age or station. Among
| the legatees of Mrs Cochran who re-
| ceived their checks June ID were the
| stokers in the furnace room, truckmen
who drive the teams. women who work at
the looms and clerks in the bus ness Of
| flee. Nor were these the first gifts of
| this generous woman to the employees in
her factories. She inherited from her
father personal interest In their wei
fare, and no week ever passed without
some evidence of that fact.
Mrs. Cochran left four children to in
| herit the business and the estate, which
| are managed by her son. Alexander Smith
| Cochran. One of the heirs is the wife
of Thomas Ewing, son of the late Gen.
! Thomas Ewing, and a grandson Of Sena-
| tor Thomas Ewing of Ohio. Thomas
Ewing is also a nephew of Gen. and SEN
/ ator Sherman, and James G.. Blaine
| spent his boyhood years in. the home of
| his grandfather at Lancaster, Ohio. Mr..
/ Ewing practices law In the city of New
| York and is highly respected member
| Of this community.
| Mrs. Cochran was generous benefac-
| tor to Yonkers. She restored st. Johns
Episcopal Church, one of the oldest
| houses of worship i'm the valley of the
Hudson, which dates back to the Dutch
| period. She built Grace Church as
! memorial to her father: she founded
hospital for the poor, and did many other
things for the welfare OF the community.
Yonkers can now be reached from Wall
street in forty-five minutes by the SUBJ
| way for cents. The electric cars run
emerge into the open air after crossing
| the Spuyten Duyvil creek to Van Court
| landt Park, where passengers change to
an ordinary overhead trolley, which takes
| them to Yonkers along the old stage road
| between New York and Albany.
Story of Spuyten Duyvil.
| You will remember Washington Irving s
story of Spuyten Duyvil. which was told
by 'Deidrich knickerbocker" as follows:
! Anthony Van Corlear. the trumpeeter
OF Gov. Stuyvesant, was sent post-haste
upon the appearance of the ships of the
English Duke of York in the harbor, to
warn the farmers up the river and sum-
mon them to the defense of New Amster-
dam. He had reached this stream, where
there was then no bridge. The wind was
high. the elements in an uproar, and no
Charon could be found to ferry the ad-
venturous sounder of brass across the
water. For a short time he vapored like
| an intelligent ghost upon the brink. and
| then, bethinklng himself of the urgency
Of his errand Ito arouse the people to
| arms), he took hearty embrace of his
stone bottle, swore most valorously that
he would swim across in spite of the
devil ten spyt den duyveU, and daringly
plunged into the stream. Luckless An
| thony! Scarcely had he buffeted half
way over, when he was observed to strug-
gle violently, as II battling with the spirit
of the waters. Instinctively he put his
| trumpet TO his mouth. and, giving vehe-
ment blast, sank forever to the bottom!
| The clangor of his trumpet rang far and
wide through the country, alarming the
neishbors round, who hurried in amaze
ment to the spot. Here an old Dutch
| burgher. famed for his veracity and who
| had been witness of the fact, related to
them the melancholy affair, with the
| fearful addition Ito which / am slow in
giving belieD that he saw the duyvil, In
the shape of "A huge moss-bunker, seize
the sturdy Anthony by the leg and drag
| him beneath the waves. Certain 1t Is, the
place has been called Spuyten Duyvil ever
since
| Mr.. Benson j. Losing. the historian,
was once relating this legend when
sympathetic old lady inquired:
! Did the poor man leave a family?'
Homes of Prominent New Yorkers.
| Beyond Spuyten Duyvil, among groves
| of glorious trees, live many prominent
and active citizens of New York. Here
was the summer home of the late William
e. Dodge, the philanthropc merchant;
several of the Appletons of the publishing
house, the Colgates, bankers and soal
| manufacturers George w. Perkins, Tor
merly of Chicago, and now the partner of
| PierpOnt Morgan; S. -. Babcock the
banker, and others of equal business
fame.
In reaching Yonkers you pass the Van
iCourtlandt Manor House, which stands in
the center of Van Courtlandt Park, the
estate of one of the oldest of the kncker-
booker families, claiming descent from
the Russian dukes of Courtlandt, who fled
| from the prosecutions of the car, Ivan
the Terrible. to Holland. and then emf
grated to America. Van Courtlandt Park
Is one of the most popular resorts of the
and on every pleasant day it Is crowded
with young and old, great aud small. en-
gagged in every kind of at4aletic game
| from polo TO croquet. One of the police
men in charge told me that there are
| forty three base ball diamonds. and
thirty tennis courts. which are always
open to the public, and are always occu-
pied.
The old house, which was built In 1862,
has been perfectly restored. 1t belongs to
the city of New York. and the art COM
mission has filled it with colonial furni-
ture and revolutionary relics.
Origin Of Yonkers.
The history of Yonkers begins with the
arrival from Holland of Adriaen Van der
Donk, who came over in 164l as sheriff
or steward for the great Patroon Van
Rensselaer, at Albany. Van der Donk
was a man of enterprise and ability. He
accumulated money rapidly. and In 1862
obta inei what was known as the Nepper-
haem grant. which extended from Spuy-