Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1914-04-03

the United States. President Adams
feared for the health of himself and
his family and fed north from the
disease.
He chose this house for his tenn
porary residence because it was the
summer home of his daughter, Abb
gall, and her husband. Colonel Will
lam Stephens Smith. There he wrote
several letters which have been pre-
served. Among them is one referring
to the propriety of calling Congress
to meet in New York city, in view
of the situation in Philadelphia.
President Adams announced his
arrival at the house to Timothy Pick
ering, secretary of state, in the fol-
lowing letter, dated October IL, 1897:
Il arrived here at Colonel Smith s
last night with my family. | shall
make this my home till we can &c
to Philadelphia with safety. =
If you address your letters to me al
| East Chester, and recommend them
to the care of Charles Adams. at New
York, l shall get them without much
| loss of time, but if a mail could be
made up for East Chester they might
come sooner. | know not whether
this can be done without appointing
IL postmaster at this place, and ]
know of no one to recommend l shall
divide my time between New York
and East Chester till the meeting of
/ Congress"
The room in which this letter and
others were written by President
Adams has fallen from it's high es-
tate as the temporary abode, of the
| head of the nation. With all the
others in the Vincent Halsey house II
has become a ruin. For some time
the place has been inhabited only by
a caretaker and his family.
Even if the decision had not beer
made to demolish the house and cut
up the remnant of the estate into
building lots. the house would have
| to come down soon. 1t is palpably
beyond repair; even IL any individual
/ or society We're sufficiently interested
in 1t to desire its preservation.
About the old mansion are several
| black walnut trees, some still in
bearing. Last fall there was a plentl-
ful crop of the nuts. One especially
big tree in front holds the visitors
attention when he learns that during
| the Revolution a British spy was
hanged from it. At least. so Ioca
| legend says.
This entire part of New York city
! it was Westchester county during the
Revolution, and for many years after
| wards rich in stories and legends
of Revolutionary days.
1t was in front of the Vincent-Hal.
sey house, or close by, that Gilbert
Vincent, member of the family
which lived in the house, was killed
| by French officer serving in Colone
Arnaud's legion in the American
army, because the American would
not desecrate the Sabbath.
Tho WinnnVNtG he 10
blacksmiths of East Chester One
Sunday a French officer-his name
| has not come down to us-ordereC
| Gilbert Vincent to shoe his horse The
young man refused and was killed
One account says that he was shot
! another that he was felled with 6
sword.
At any rate he was killed, and the
act so incensed his brother T. ijah
that he enlisted in the British army
| becoming a lieutenant. and a terror
to the countryside, with which he was
well acquainted. 1t is recorded that
| the Vincents were a highly respected
family in East Chester.
In the days of the Vincents the
house was not as large as it is now
| The older portion, evidently the wing
| toward the south, with it's slopine
roof and dormer windows. is the pre-
Revolutionary part of the mansion
! The other part is about seventy years
! old, and probably corresponds to the
| occupancy of the house by the Halsey
| family.
John Adams's son-in-law, who oc-
| cupied the estate with his family
| when the second President of the
! United States fled thither and thus
| made 1t the nations executive man
sion. was prominent figure in New
| York city a century or so ago. He
| was successful, prosperous anC
| popular says one account, and his
relationship to the President helped
him greatly.
President Adams, in his case al
| least, waived the scruples which some
| of the Presidents have felt against
| appointing their near relatives tc
J office, for he made his son-in-law sur
veyor of the port of New York.
Colonel Smith had had an active
| career in the Revolutionary army
had been aide e-camp to Washing
ton, and had been praised by tho
| latter as a brave and valuable Off
| GER" He was a graduate of Prince
| ton, and had studied law, had served
in the diplomatic service, and was
one of the founders and an officer OF
the Society of the Cincinnati.
Mrs. Smith was Miss Abigail
Adams, the only daughter of John
| Adams who lived beyond infancy
| The marriage of Colonel Smith and
! Miss Adams was celebrated in Lon
| don in 1886 with great ceremony, the
| Archbishop of Canterbury and the
Bishop of st. Asaph officiating.
Not far from the Vincent Halsey
| house is old st. Paul's Church, one OF
| the most interesting historical relics
| of Westminster county. 1t dates back
| to the eighteenth century, and was
used during the Revolutionary Wav
as a hospital by the British. There
! the Vincents, the Rhinelanders and
many other well-known families wor-
SHIPPED in the olden days.-New York
! Sun.