Somers Historical Tidbits - Part II

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Drive Through Shenorock

Can’t We all Get Along

In the early 17th century, the Dutch and the Kitchawans got along. The native Americans fished and hunted, while the immigrants bartered beaver fur with their hosts. Unfortunately, the peaceful co-existence did not last and ended with the Tarrytown murder of an Indian in 1620. In turn, the Indians attacked first, and the Dutch followed in kind. So blood in the air, Chief Shanorocke amassed an army of 1500 and drove the Dutch back to New Amsterdam. Anne Hutchinson was among the massacred victims, and 15 other communities met the same end.  The upper hand did not last, though. Governor KIeft hired an English Indian fighter named John Underhill (as in the Shenorock road) and his raid in 1644 wiped out between 500 and 700 men, women and children. Near Dean's Bridge Road, the natives remained in the area for a while, but their abandonment was a matter of being lost in translation. The natives had a very different concept of ownership of land. So when selling to the Dutch, they didn’t realize it meant giving up total rights, and the original inhabitants were forced to navigate north.

Van Cortlandt Comes to Town

In 1677, Stephanus Van Cortlandt purchased 83,000 acres of land on the east side of the Hudson. The Indians were the sellers, and with the approval of the British governor, the tract included Yorktown, Somers and parts of North Salem, Lewisboro and Pound Ridge. Upon his death, the “Great Lots” was divided among his heirs, and they either sold or leased farms that encompassed about 230 acres each. Wheat was a big staple because of the plentiful streams and abundant grazing area gave rise to sheep and cattle business. Development on the upswing, Millers came to the area to run grist mills and following them were saddlers, blacksmiths, carpenters, inn keepers, teachers, artisans and other professionals.  By 1734, the New York State Legislature started dividing counties into towns, and the area we know as Somers was first dubbed Stephantown.

A Walk in the Park

The Van Cortlandt’s continued to rent land into the 20th century, but the family never lived in the area. That is until a great-great-great-great-great daughter of the founding lord moved just south of Route 35 in 1903. Her name was Margaret Voislawsky. She was the wife of an ear, nose and throat specialist, and they eventually donated the holding we now call Lasdon Park.

The Revolution will not be Televised

In the 1770s news did not travel fast, and most people in Somers weren’t very attuned to the revolutionary issues at hand. This especially since the taxes that were raising so much ire weren’t relevant to the townspeople. Nonetheless, Pierre Van Cortlandt was the representative of the Colonial General Assembly, and while he generally voted alongside the Whig party members, he hoped the disagreements could be worked out. His son Philip wasn’t so amenable. He was a county delegate of the Provincial Convention, which helped draft the Declaration of Independence, called to raise a national army and implored that New York raise four regiments. As a result, Somers residents were forced to pick a side and neighbors and families were divided. James Bailey of Route 138 angled for independence, and Levi and William Bailey chose to continue aligning with the crown. The outcome eventually had William Bailey leaving his children behind with Mrs. John Stedman, while he fled to Nova Scotia. The Cory, DeLancey, Parent, Golding, Weeks and Vail families also had family members who remained loyal to the crown and fled north, never to return.

Source : Somers - It's People and Places. 1988. The Somers Historical Society