The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1912-03-02
The Skeleton In
Old New York
BY EDWARD TEN EYCK

i0ndDle reSluentldl parts ol NEW iOrh
city faced the Battery. AS the city
grew the dwellings there became oc'
cupied for small shops, followed by
| skyscrapers. Recently the De Roode
dwelling was torn down to make
room for a tower Office rookery and
revealed a vault which had been orig,
lnally built to contain valuables. The
door was paneled like the rest of the
room and was only to be opened by
touching a spring. though this con
| trlvance was so rusty that 1t had
! doubtless not been available for many
! years. In the vault the workmen
| found a skeleton.
| The find was reported to the His
torical society, and one of the mem
bers interested In Old New York took
| it upon himself to learn IL there was
a record of any one missing in the
family to which the RACED house had
belonged. The De Roodes had return
ed to Holland when the English took
New Amsterdam, and the investigator
wrote them, reporting the find and
asking IL any information could be
furnished concerning it. The follow
ing is the reply he received:
Eat the time the British General
Howe occupied New York the man
sion in question was occupied by an
English family named Spencer. The
De Roode family still owned the prop
erty, renting 1t to the Spencers. After
the Revolution a De Roode came over
from Holland to sell 1t and while in
America heard of a mystery that had
occurred in the house during General
Howe's occupancy of the city.
alfred Spencer was a vigorous
Tory. He believed that the 'unholy
resistance to the king, as he called
the Revolution, would soon collapse
and the traitor Washington would
swing to gibbet He entertained the
officers of the British army of occu-
pancy, aiding and abetting them in
every way In his power.
During this time Able Spencer, his
daughter, was furnishing information
to the American forces under Aaron
Burr, located Just beyond the northern
end of Manhattan Island Another
matter unknown 10 her father was
that a Lieutenant Brayton in that ar
my was her lover, and 1t was TO him
that she was transmitting information
which on more than one occasion she
carried herself
"a Captain Woodbridge Of Howe's ar
my was in love with Miss Spencer and
encouraged by her father In order to
avoid suspicion as 10 her real status
she pretended TO listen to Captain /
Woodbridges suit. though more in def /
erenee to her fathers wishes than /
from inclination. Whether she took /
Woodbridge into her confidence and
revealed the fact that she loved an
other, but did not wish her father to I
know it. does not appear. The truth I
Is that Spencer was such tyrannical I
old curmudgeon of the pure British /
tvpe that If he had known of his
daughters contemplating marriage
with a detested rebel he would have
taken her back to England at once.
Able was understood TO be an honor.
able girl, and 1t is not likely that she
deceived Woodbridge as well as her
father.
when ii was learned that the Brit
ish forces were about to evacuate New
York, Spencer determined TO go with
them, or. rather, to sail for England.
As the Americans marched into town
the white wings that were bearing
Spencer and his family to England
would be seen entering the Narrows
Of New York bay.
There Is a note extant in the Brayton
family sent by Able Spencer-how is
lot known-to her lover telling him of
he expected evacuation and that her
'ather was about to take her to Eng
and. But she was intending to disap-
,ear just before the ship sailed. and he
would find her waiting for him when
he arrived. 9
"a packet sailed for England on the
lay the British left the city, carrying
number of Tory families who object
d to remaining to be under the rule of {
he Continental congress. Indeed, If l
hey remained 1t was probable that
heir property would be confiscated.
Asbe Spencer made no objection to go
ng. thus throwing her father off his
uard. She contrived TO elude him on !
lis way to the ship with the other
members of the family, she TO so with
riends in a separate boat. He got
board the ship, and she was casting 1
nchor before he was aware that Able
7as missing. When he discovered the !
act it was too late to return, for the
mericans were marching into the city
father than put himself in their pow
r he decided to go on his way without 4
Is daughter, for he knew she had rel y
tives in New York who would take
are of her till she could take the next
hip-that is, if she would. 8
"Abbe Spencer was not heard Of after
ne evacuation. When her lover arriv-
! he looked for her everywhere but j
ever found her. Her fate was explain
| in the skeleton found in the house
here she had lived. She bad hidden in
lie treasure vault and had been unable
} open the door after the family had y
# Was 1t merciful that her lover :
ever knew her terrible fate? He lived q
lifetime a prey to uncertainty with 4
gard 10 it, never marryine donhtless q