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52-640: Philipse bought the roughly 250 sq mi (650 km) tract from two Dutch traders who had purchased it from "Wiccopee chiefs" of the Wappinger native American people. The parcel received a land patent from the British Crown on 13 August 1702. Originally known as the Highland Patent , it spanned from the Hudson to the then Connecticut Colony along today's northern Westchester County border. In 1731 it

104-586: A 1.81-mile-wide (2.91 km) strip of land known as the "Oblong" running northwards from Ridgefield, Connecticut to the Massachusetts border, alongside the New York counties of Westchester , Putnam , and Dutchess . New York was also given undisputed claim to Rye, New York . 41°07′01″N 73°29′56″W  /  41.117°N 73.499°W  / 41.117; -73.499  ( Connecticut Pandhandle ) This Connecticut state location article

156-583: A British court decided that the inheritance rights of heirs to property that was confiscated by the Americans during the American Revolution was recoverable. Under this decision, John Jacob Astor I purchased the reversionary rights to the Philipse lands in 1809 from the heirs of Roger Morris (husband of Mary Philipse) for £20,000. After Mary Philipse Morris died in 1825, Astor attempted to collect rents on

208-549: A Wappinger Confederacy, as did anthropologist James Mooney in 1910, Ives Goddard contests their view. He writes that no evidence supports this idea. The suggested bands of the Wappinger, headed by sachems , have been described as including: The Wappinger are the namesake of several areas in New York, including: Broadway in New York City also follows their ancient trail. The Oblong The Connecticut panhandle

260-518: A Wappinger people living along the lower Hudson River near today's New York City, were among the first to be recorded encountering European adventurers and traders when Henry Hudson's Half Moon appeared in 1609. Long after their original settlements had been decimated by wars with the colonists, wars with other Indian tribes, questionable land sales, waves of diseases brought by the Europeans, and absorption into other tribes, their last sachem and

312-635: A black ring around their eyes." As the Dutch began to settle in the area, they pressured the Connecticut Wappinger to sell their lands and seek refuge with other Algonquian-speaking tribes. The western bands, however, stood their ground amid rising tensions. Following the Pavonia massacre by colonists, during Kieft's War in 1643, the remaining Wappinger bands united against the Dutch, attacking settlements throughout New Netherland . The Dutch responded with

364-501: A group of their heavily dwindled people were residing at the "prayer town" sanctuary of Stockbridge, Massachusetts . A stalwart spokesman for Native American concerns and valiant soldier, Daniel Nimham had traveled to Great Britain in the 1760s to argue for a return of tribal lands, and served in both the French and Indian Wars (on behalf of the English) and American Revolution (in support of

416-638: A land patent from the Governor, instead, in 1697 they sold their deed (as signed by native leaders) to Adolphus Philipse , a wealthy merchant, who subsequently settled the land. Adolphus was the second son of Frederick Philipse , the first Lord of the Manor of Philipsborough , a Dutch immigrant to North America of Bohemian heritage who had risen to become one of the greatest landholders in New Netherland . Shortly after purchasing it, Adolphus Philipse, whose residence

468-794: A license... in October [of] 1687 permitting their purchase of a deed from the Native Americans then living in what is now Philipstown ." Eventually, on July 15, 1691, Dortlandt and Sybrant secured from the local Wapppinger leaders a deed to a 15,000-acre tract of the "low lands" along the eastern bank of the Hudson River from the peak on Anthony's Nose to Pollepel Island , and east to a marked tree. The original boundaries of this tract appear to contain roughly half of modern-day Phillipstown, NY , including Garrison , Cold Spring , and Nelsonville . However, Dortlandt and Sybrant did not then themselves obtain

520-497: A particular settler the right to negotiate land transactions with natives over a determined land area. Ideally, only upon securing a deed from the land with the consent of local natives would the settlers be granted a land patent to the property. On December 2, 1680, Dutch traders Lambert Dorlandt and Jan Sybrant (Seberinge) applied to the New York colonial government for a license to purchase land in present-day Putnam County. According to local historians, Dortlandt and Sybrant "obtained

572-782: A very small portion north of the Hudson Highlands by the mouth of Fishkill Creek was split off from Philipstown (which had been established in 1788 out of the westernmost three and part of a fourth parcel of the Philipse Patent) and given to the Town of Fishkill . In 1812, the balance of the Philipse Patent was separated from Dutchess County and became today's Putnam County . Wappinger The Wappinger ( / ˈ w ɒ p ɪ n dʒ ər / WOP -in-jər ) were an Eastern Algonquian Munsee-speaking Native American people from what

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624-497: Is full of great and tall oakes. This day [September 5, 1609] many of the people came aboord, some in mantles of feathers, and some in skinnes of divers sorts of good furres. Some women also came to us with hempe. They had red copper tabacco pipes and other things of copper they did wear about their neckes. At night they went on land againe, so wee rode very quite, but durst not trust them" (Juet 1959:28). Dutch navigator and colonist David Pieterz De Vries recorded another description of

676-488: Is now southern New York and western Connecticut . At the time of first contact in the 17th century they were primarily based in what is now Dutchess County, New York , but their territory included the east bank of the Hudson in what became both Putnam and Westchester counties south to the western Bronx and northern Manhattan Island . To the east they reached to the Connecticut River Valley , and to

728-649: Is the result of territorial disputes in the late 17th century between the British colonies of New York and Connecticut. In an agreement on November 28, 1683, that established the New York–Connecticut border as 20 miles (32 km) east of the Hudson River, New York gave up its claim to this area of 61,660 acres (249.5 km ) east of the Byram River , whose residents considered themselves part of Connecticut. In exchange, New York received an equivalent area consisting of

780-601: Is the southwestern appendage of Connecticut , where it abuts New York State . It is contained entirely in Fairfield County and the Western Connecticut Planning Region , and includes all of Greenwich , Stamford , New Canaan , and Darien , as well as parts of Norwalk and Wilton . It has some of the most expensive residential real estate in the United States . The irregularity in the boundary

832-797: The Half Moon . The total population of the Wappinger people at that time has been estimated at between 3,000 and 13,200 individuals. Robert Juet, an officer on the Half Moon , provides an account in his journal of some of the lower Hudson Valley Native Americans. In his entries for September 4 and 5, 1609, he says: "This day the people of the country came aboord of us, seeming very glad of our comming, and brought greene tobacco , and gave us of it for knives and beads. They goe in deere skins loose, well dressed. They have yellow copper. They desire cloathes, and are very civill ... They have great store of maize or Indian wheate whereof they make good bread. The country

884-670: The Battle of Kingsbridge in the Bronx on August 30, 1778. It proved an irrevocable blow to the tribe, which had also been decimated by European diseases. Following the American Revolutionary War, what was left of a combined Mohican and Wappinger community in Stockbridge, Massachusetts left for Oneida County in western New York to join the Oneida people there. There they were joined by

936-728: The Munsee , a large subgroup of the Lenape people . All three were among the Eastern Algonquian -speaking subgroup of the Algonquian peoples . They spoke using very similar Lenape languages , with the Wappinger dialect most closely related to the Munsee language . Their nearest allies were the Mohican to the north, the Montaukett to the southeast on Long Island, and the remaining New England tribes to

988-423: The Munsee language -word wápinkw , used by the Lenape and meaning " opossum ", might be related to the name Wappinger. No evidence supports the folk etymology of the name coming from a word meaning "easterner," as suggested by Edward Manning Ruttenber in 1906 and John Reed Swanton in 1952. Others suggest that Wappinger is anglicized from the Dutch word wapendragers , meaning "weapon-bearers", alluding to

1040-731: The "prayer town" Stockbridge, Massachusetts in the western part of the colony, where Natives had settled who had converted to Christianity. In 1765, the remaining Wappinger in Dutchess County sued the Philipse family for control of the Philipse Patent land but lost. In the aftermath the Philipses raised rents on the European-American tenant farmers , sparking colonist riots across the region. In 1766 Daniel Nimham , last sachem of

1092-612: The Colonists). He died with his son Abraham in a slaughter of the Stockbridge Militia at the Battle of Kingsbridge in 1778. Following the war, what was left of a combined Mohican and Wappinger community in Stockbridge, Massachusetts left for Oneida County in western New York to join the Oneida people there. There they were joined by the remnants of the Munsee , forming the Stockbridge-Munsee tribe. From that time,

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1144-465: The Hudson. He argued before the royal Lords of Trade , who were generally sympathetic to his claims, but did not arrange for the Wappinger to regain any land after he returned to North America. The Lords of Trade reported that there was sufficient cause to investigate "frauds and abuses of Indian lands...complained of in the American colonies, and in this colony in particular." And that, "the conduct of

1196-687: The Indians would set an adverse precedent regarding other similar disputes. Nimham did not give up the cause. When the opportunity to serve with the Continental Army in the American Revolution arose, he chose it over the British in the hopes of receiving fairer treatment by the American government in its aftermath. It was not to be. Many Wappinger served in the Stockbridge Militia during the American Revolution . Nimham, his son and heir Abraham, and some forty warriors were killed or mortally wounded in

1248-505: The Manor went to his son Frederick Philipse III , while the Patent was divided among four of Frederick II's offspring: son Philip , and daughters, Susannah (wife of Beverley Robinson ), Mary (wife of Col. Roger Morris ), and Margaret , who died intestate. By terms of her father's will Margaret's portion was then equally divided among her brother and sisters. Based upon a 1751 survey, the tract

1300-596: The March 1644 slaughter of between 500 and 700 members of Wappinger bands in the Pound Ridge Massacre , most burned alive in a surprise attack upon their sacred wintering ground. It was a severe blow to the tribe. Allied with their trading partners, the powerful Mohawk of the Iroquois nations in central and western New York, the Dutch defeated the Wappinger by 1645. The Mohawk and Dutch killed more than 1500 Wappinger during

1352-524: The Wappinger ceased to have an independent name in history, and their people intermarried with others. Their descendants were subsequently relocated to a Stockbridge-Munsee reservation in Shawano County, Wisconsin . The tribe operates a casino there, and in 2010 was awarded two tiny parcels suitable for casinos in New York State in return for dropping larger land claims there. The totem (or emblem) of

1404-588: The Wappinger was the "enchanted wolf," with the right paw raised defiantly. By one account, they shared this totem with the Mohicans. The origin of the name Wappinger is unknown. While the present-day spelling was used as early as 1643, countless alternate phonetic spellings were also used by early European settlers well into the late 19th century. Each linguistic group tended to transliterate Native American names according to their own languages. Among these spellings and terms are: Anthropologist Ives Goddard suggests

1456-401: The Wappinger who resided around Fort Amsterdam: "The Indians about here are tolerably stout, have black hair with a long, lock which they let hang on one side of the head. Their hair is shorn on the top of the head like a cock's comb. Their clothing is a coat of beaver skins over the body, with the fur inside in winter and outside in summer; they have, also, sometimes a bear's hide, or a coat of

1508-559: The Wappinger, was part of a delegation that traveled to London to petition the British Crown for land rights and better treatment by the American colonists . Britain had controlled former "Dutch" lands in New York since 1664. Nimham was then living in Stockbridge, but he was originally from the Wappinger settlement of Wiccopee, New York , near the Dutch-founded settlement of Fishkill on

1560-701: The Wappingers' earliest recorded European contact, their settlements included camps along the major rivers between the Hudson and Housatonic , with larger villages located at the river mouths. Settlements near fresh water and arable land could remain in one location for about 20 years, until the people moved to another place some miles away. Despite many references to their villages and other site types by early European explorers and settlers, few contact-period sites have been identified in southeastern New York. The Wappinger first came into contact with Europeans in 1609, when Henry Hudson's expedition reached this territory on

1612-473: The bulk of today's lower Westchester County . The title and balance of the lands passed to his nephew, Frederick Philipse II , whose father Philip, elder brother of Adolphus, had predeceased Frederick I. Adolphus Philipse died in 1750 (Smith, 1749), with his share of the Manor and the Highland Patent he had acquired on his own passing to Frederick II, his only heir-at-law. Upon Frederick II's death in 1751,

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1664-413: The buyers intended to acquire the right to exclude the native sellers from all access to the land. As a result of disagreements, and at times violence, arising from differences between the way Dutch settlers and local indigenous tribes in present-day New York understood their relationship with land and subsequent rights of ownership, the local Dutch government required settlers to obtain a license, granting

1716-553: The citizenry than punishment. Frederick was a Loyalist during the American Revolution . As such, he was attained by the Provincial Congress of New York in 1779 and his Manor and other lands in today's Westchester County were seized. Several months later their sale was ordered. Philipse family holdings belonging to other members, principally the Highland Patent, were also seized by the Commissioners of Forfeitures. Sale

1768-440: The early 1760s. This reached a peak in 1766, when a tenant in the northeast of Mary Philipse's center parcel, William Prendergast, fomented a small army of 2,000 men to forcibly wrest freedom from paying rent on the lands they occupied. It marched on New York City, where it petitioned the colonial Governor Sir Henry Moore to intercede, who refused, and – seemingly – defused the unrest. The landlords, however, incited by

1820-502: The early 19th century, the Stockbridge-Munsee in New York were forced to remove to Wisconsin . Today, members of the federally recognized Stockbridge-Munsee Nation reside mostly there on a reservation, where they operate a casino. In 2010 the tribe was awarded two tiny parcels suitable for casinos in New York State in return for dropping larger land claims there. While Edward Manning Ruttenber suggested in 1872 that there had been

1872-492: The east. Like the Lenape, the Wappinger were highly decentralized as a people. They formed approximately 18 loosely associated bands that had established geographic territories. The Wappinger had summer and winter camps. As agriculturists, they cultivated maize, beans, and various species of squash. They also hunted game, fished the rivers and streams, collected shellfish, and gathered fruits, flowers, seeds, roots, and nuts. By 1609,

1924-436: The enormous sum raised – the better part of a quarter of a million pounds Sterling – New York's Provisional Congress reneged and no compensation was forthcoming. Several thousand acres of the Philipse estate went to the tenant farmers who worked on the land. In all, the lands were divided up into almost 200 different parcels, with the bulk of the holdings going to Dutch New York businessman Henry Beekman . In 1787,

1976-532: The establishment of the border between the provinces of New York and the Connecticut Colony resulted in a portion of a disputed tract known as The Oblong spanning the entire eastern border of the Patent. The proper boundaries were not resolved until a land swap between the then U.S. states late in the 18th century. Upon Frederick's death in 1702, Adolphus inherited a partial share of the Manor's lands, which then amounted to over 80 square miles and encompassed

2028-458: The lands, but the new “owners,” who had purchased from the lands from the Commission of Forfeiture, refused to pay, and Astor tried to evict them. A compromise was reached in 1828 when New York State compensated Astor for the reversionary rights in the amount of $ 500,000. The Highland Patent had been incorporated into Dutchess County in 1737, where it was known as the "South Precinct". In 1806,

2080-448: The lieutenant-governor and the council...does carry with it the colour of great prejudice and partiality, and of an intention to intimidate these Indians from prosecuting their claims." Upon a second hearing before New York Provincial Governor Sir Henry Moore and the council, John Morin Scott argued that legal title to the land was only a secondary concern. He said that returning the land to

2132-516: The north the Roeliff Jansen Kill in southernmost Columbia County, New York , marked the end of their territory. Their nearest allies were the Mohican to the north, the Montaukett to the southeast on Long Island, and the remaining New England tribes to the east. Like the Lenape, the Wappinger were highly decentralized as a people. They formed numerous loosely associated bands that had established geographic territories. The Wequaesgeek ,

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2184-541: The remnants of the Munsee , forming the Stockbridge-Munsee tribe. From that time the Wappinger ceased to have an independent name in history, and their people intermarried with others. A few scattered remnants still remained. As late as 1811, a small band was recorded as having a settlement on a low tract of land by the side of a brook, under a high hill in the northern part of the Town of Kent in Putnam County . Later in

2236-494: The skins of wild cats, or hefspanen [probably raccoon], which is an animal most as hairy as a wild cat, and is also very good to eat. They also wear coats of turkey feathers, which they know how to put together. Their pride is to paint their faces strangely with red or black lead, so that they look like fiends. Some of the women are very well featured, having long countenances. Their hair hangs loose from their head; they are very foul and dirty; they sometimes paint their faces, and draw

2288-448: The two years of the war. This was a devastating toll for the Wappinger. The Wappinger faced the Dutch again in the 1655 Peach War , a three-day engagement that left an estimated 100 settlers and 60 Wappinger dead, and strained relations further between the two groups. After the war, the confederation broke apart, and many of the surviving Wappinger left their native lands for the protection of neighboring tribes, settling in particular in

2340-628: The uprising, pressured Moore to dispatch 300 soldiers north to restore order, defeat the rebels, and capture their leader. Royal grenadiers were dispatched from Poughkeepsie , and, after skirmishes en route, resulting in several dead on each side, engaged Prendergast and 50 of his men at the Oblong Meeting House in the Gore, earning their surrender. Ultimately, Prendergast was tried in New York City, convicted of treason, and sentenced to be hanged. He

2392-462: The warring relationship between the Dutch and the Wappinger. Such reference would correspond to a first appearance in 1643. This was thirty-four years after the Dutch aboard Hudson's Half Moon may have learned the name the people called themselves. The 1643 date reflects a period of great conflict with the natives, including the preemptive Pavonia massacre by the Dutch, which precipitated Kieft's War . The Wappinger were most closely related to

2444-451: Was geographically divided on the 7th of Feb 1754 into nine Lots as seen in the preserved undated pen and ink map: three on the river, three in the interior, and three on the eastern border abutting The Oblong . Each of the three heirs inherited a lot in each division. Tenants in the Philipse Patent joined others throughout the Province of New York in rising against their landlords beginning in

2496-586: Was incorporated into Dutchess County , and divided in 1754 among three Philipse heirs. It remained in the Loyalist Philipse family until seized in 1779 during the Revolution . The Commissioners of Forfeiture of the Revolutionary Province of New York auctioned it in parcels, without compensation to its prior owners. In spite of a provision requiring restitution in the 1783 Treaty of Paris , it never

2548-521: Was made. In 1812, the southern part of Dutchess County, including all of what had been the Phillipse Patent, was spun off into a newly created Putnam County . The first step to establishing rights to real estate at the time was to apply to the colonial government for a license to purchase a tract of land from local Native American inhabitants. Natives typically had notions of communal sharing of land resources and did not understand that by such sales

2600-497: Was the Castle Philipse near North Tarrytown (now, Sleepy Hollow, New York), and who maintained only a bachelor shooting lodge on Lake Mahopac in the Highland Patent, opened the tract to tenant settlers. Thus began a policy that lasted throughout his lifetime and his heirs' so long as they owned the land, to rent rather than sell, a practice which led to stunted growth for two and a half centuries to come. A surveying error during

2652-399: Was to be executed on September 28, 1766. However, with the aid of the presiding judge, Chief Justice Daniel Horsmanden, Pendergast's wife, Mehetibel Wing Pendergast, was able to persuade Governor Moore to seek a king's pardon. It was granted by His Majesty George III, in the belief that clemency would have a more beneficial effect in quelling the dispute and restoring respect for authority among

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2704-458: Was withheld during the war, as its outcome was uncertain, confiscated lands had been pledged as collateral against monies borrowed by the provisional government to finance the conflict, and tenants lobbied for the right of preemptive purchase of leased land. The sale proceeded after the Revolution ended. In spite of assurances of restitution in the 1783 Treaty of Paris signed with the British, and

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