The Haunted Mansion of Hunts Point

1859 “Whitlock’s Folly” near Southern

Boulevard “Cradle of Cuban

Liberty.”Hommock Manor, the country seat of B. M. Whitlock, Esq., is situated in West Farms Township, on the East river, or Sound, about 3 miles from Harlem. The estate contains several hundred acres; but that part on which the dwelling is situated, is, as its name implies, a complete Hommock of about 20 acres - which at high tides is nearly surrounded by water - and is approached from the main part of the estate by a causeway. --"The Horticulturist, And Journal Of Rural Art And Rural Taste", by P. Barry, A. J. Downing, J. Jay Smith, Peter B. Mead, F. W. Woodward, Henry T. Williams.

Local Kids Said the House Was Haunted

“Haunted” Mansion of Hunts Point

Saturday, November 16, 2013

http://chestofbooks.com/gardening-horticulture/Journal-1/Seats-And-Chairs.html

http://chestofbooks.com/gardening-horticulture/Journal-1/Seats-And-Chairs.html

http://chestofbooks.com/gardening-horticulture/Journal-4/The-Farm-The-Farmer-s-Companion.html

http://chestofbooks.com/gardening-horticulture/Journal-4/The-Farm-The-Farmer-s-Companion.html

http://chestofbooks.com/gardening-horticulture/Journal-4/Washington-Irving-Water.html

http://chestofbooks.com/gardening-horticulture/Journal-4/Washington-Irving-Water.html

http://chestofbooks.com/gardening-horticulture/Journal-13/index.html




Artifacts from present day Soundview, Bronx

The land is purchased from IndiansThis may certify whom it may

concerne that we Shonearoekite, Wapomoe, Tuckorre,

Whawhapenucke, Capahase, Quannaco, Shaquiski,

Passachahenne, Harrawooke, have aleined and sold unto Edward

Jessup and John Richardson, both of the place above said, a certain Tract

of land bounded on the east by the River Aquehung or Bronxkx... -from

original deed with native signers 1664

Similar deed signed by native sachem’s for Rye 1661


Arent van Curler, later van Corlaer, (1619, Nijkerk, Gelderland - 1667) He was born in Nijkerk, Netherlands. In 1643, Van Curler married the widow of Jonas Bronck, Teuntie Joriaens, aka Antonia Slaaghboom

Joanas Broncx Signs Treaty with the Indians in 1642.

Joanas Broncx Established a Farmalong the Harlem RiverWilliam Kieft

governor of New Amsterdam 1638-1647


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nijkerk


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gelderland

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gelderland



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Netherlands

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Netherlands

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonas_Bronck

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonas_Bronck

FerrisGrove Farm

Hunt

Leggett

Hunts Point

The first landholders on Hunts Point were Edward Jessup and John Richardson. They bought the land from Native Americans. The land was inherited by both Gabriel Leggett (1637-1700) who married Elizabeth Richardson daughter of John Richardson, and Thomas Hunt of Grove Farm, who married Jessup’s daughter also named Elizabeth.

1666 land grant for Hunts Point from King Charles II of England

John Throckmorton arrives from Rhode Island about 1642

1664

Morris 1671Broncx 1644

Hutchinson Massacre 1643


Old Morrisania seat of the manor built on the site of Jonas Bronck’s original settlement 1671 now rail yards

Lewis MorrisFirst lord of the manor of Morrisania

(15 October 1671 – 21 May 1746)


“Debatable Lands.”

debatable land

Richardson & Jessup

Lewis Morris

by marriage land passed to Hunt and Leggett


Historic Places and Features Overlaid on a 1921 map

Leggett claim

Morris claim Hunt Cemetery

Debatable Land


First Lord of the Manor of Morrisania Lewis Morris gives “part of the Manor of Morrissania,” land “by the sound that divides Long Island and the Islands of Nassau from the Continent.” to his father-in-law James Graham who is also an influential politician.The deed claims the land known as the “debatable land” for Morris who then transfers it to Graham.

“Wigwam Brook. But by some falsely called Sakrahunck...”

“by the House of Gabriel Legget...”

“Including the same Jeafards neck with the Hammock Meadows and Marshes thereunto...”

Deed circa 1738-1746

1671-1746


Westchester Road (Avenue) is cut through Morris land 1808-1814

Thomas Leggett 1755-1843

Gouverneur Morris 1752-1816

Bronx Accent: A Literary and Pictorial History of the Borough edited by Lloyd Ultan, Barbara Unge

Gouverneur Morris Battles Thomas Leggett

The Leggett and Morris families battle over access to Morrissania for 150 years.

Map showing Leggett’s Creek as Wigwam Brook


Hunts Tavern established 1730s

Dickey estate Last estate

in Hunts Point

Paul Spofford estate

Dennison mansion 1850

Faile mansion

Francis Barretto

Julia Coster

Bath House 1910

P.S. 48

Leggett estate 1890

Thomas Leggett Jr. 1755-1843

Direct descendant of Gabriel Leggett

Corpus Christy Monastery

Rose Bank is seat of the Leggett estate by the 19th

century

Waddington Mansion 1808-1828 sold to Francis Barretto

Fox Estate

Hoe Estate 1856

Whitlock/Casanova mansion 1859

The land becomes the site of country estates

for NYC’s rich


Thomas B. Leggett (son of WIlliam) sold this land to

Benjamin M. Whitlock...Whitlock’s wife sold it to

Inocencio Casanova in 1867.-Steven Jenkins

East River

East River

Thomas B. Leggett1823-1895


view of the East River from Hunts Point on a 1864 real estate map

south views north views


Benjamin Morris Whitlock was born on January 31, 1815. On May 5, 1851 he married Amelia Mott Wilson. Whitlock’s sister Josephine married William L. McDonald who would figure in the 1864 Confederate plot to burn 13 hotels in NYC retaliating for Southern setbacks during the Civil War.

1857 Whitlock built an ornate manor costing $350,000 or $10 million today


1857 Wealth of the World

net worth of $2,000,000 in 1857 = $60,000,000 today

Vesey and Dey St. in 1857

Ann St. Broadway 1857

Outspoken against succession and for slavery. The Civil War would bankrupt Whitlock

Benjamin Morris Whitlock


tea water pump in Chatham Square

Chatham Square near Bayard and Bowery

B.M. Whitlock’s humble roots. The son of a school teacher.

“There is no good water to be met with in the town itself; but at a little distance there is

a large spring of good water, which the inhabitants take for their tea and for the uses

of the kitchen.” Professor Kalm

1782

1812

1748

Thaddeus Whitlock is living in the 10th Ward in the 1820 census


WHITE, BENJAMIN (1755-1841), merchant.

Benjamin and Mary (Morris) White of Shrewsbury, NJ are the

maternal grandparents of Benjamin M. Whitlock. Benjamin White, a Quaker served in the

American Revolution under General Daniel Morgan.

Daniel Morgan

Shrewsbury Monmouth County


Thaddeus Whitlock is Benjamin Whitlock’s fatherJosephine is Benjamin’s sister

Franklin Market, foot of William St., New York City, 1820.


Benjamin M Whitlock,"United States Census, 1850"He resides in the 18th Ward with a household of family members and servants

Name: Benjamin M WhitlockEvent Type: Census

Event Date: 1850Event Place: New York City,

ward 18, New York,

NY, United StatesGender: Male

Age: 29Marital Status:

Race (Original):Race:

Birthplace: New YorkBirth Year (Estimated): 1821

Household Gender Age BirthplaceBenjamin M Whitlock M 29 New York

Sarah L Whitlock F 2 New York

Mary Whitlock F 64 New Jersey

Caroline Whitlock F 21 New York

Edward Whitlock M 28 New York

Josephine Whitlock F 19 New York

Susan Wright F 32 New Jersey

Bridget Heslen F 17 Ireland

Mary Ann Heslen F 18 Ireland

Mary Murray F 16 Ireland

Mary Mcguire F 19 Ireland

Margaret Mcgown F 13 New York

S Arthur Ferris M 28 Connecticut

26th

14th

Servants?


https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/V5PX-FCY




https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/V5PX-FCB

https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/V5PX-FCB

https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/V5P6-T32

https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/V5P6-T32

https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/V5PX-FC1










https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/V5PX-FZM





https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/V5PX-FTL

https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/V5PX-FTL

https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/V5P6-T3L

https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/V5P6-T3L

https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/V5PX-FTG

https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/V5PX-FTG

https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/V5PX-FTP

https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/V5PX-FTP

https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/V5PX-FT5

https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/V5PX-FT5

https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/V5P6-T3G

https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/V5P6-T3G

https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/V5PX-FTR

https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/V5PX-FTR

real estate map of 84 Front St. in 1860s

Edward A. Whitlock, Benjamin’s brother, is employed by James B. Wilson, a prominent NYC merchant whose daughter Amelia

marries Benjamin M. Whitlock in May 1851.

Benjamin started his business at 84 Front St.

near the waterfront

81-83 Front street 1927

MCNY

1848


Whitlock traded in tobacco, wines and

cotton. This is a bottle of his Ambrosia.

Whitlock Avenue is the former name of the street now known as Bruckner Boulevard in the Bronx. The street was cut through property that belonged to the Leggett family and sold to a wealthy merchant and real estate speculator named Benjamin M. Whitlock. His father Thaddeus was a school teacher in lower Manhattan near the area known as Five Points. He came to New York from Connecticut. Whitlock’s specialty was tobacco (segars), wine and cotton. His business was based in the south and Whitlock was known as a southern sympathizer. Whitlock’s home Hommock Park in the Hunts Point section of the Bronx (also known as Waddington, Leggett and Oak point) was an ornate mansion and one of the largest private residences the United States.


Whitlock’s fine wines and cigars


13 Beekman St.

Whitlock’s business address moves from 84 Front St. to a new location at 13 Beekman Street near City Hall

The company goes through

changes of style under Benjamin

Whitlock’s direction


SLAVERY


A major force in New York society and politics Whitlock cautioned his southern clients against secession, but when the Civil War broke out he was soon bankrupted, dying before the end of the conflict. In the years leading up to the war Whitlock participated in schemes to annex Cuba as a slave state, he supported a pro-slavery constitution for Kansas and angrily opposed John Brown’s raid on Harper’s Ferry. Whitlock was well connected by marriage and business to the most prominent merchant families in New York. He was admired by many, apparently including his

political enemies for his success and wealth.

1856

B.M. & E.A. Whitlock & Co...

Whitlock’s Beekman Street address is known as the “Southern Headquarters”


George M. Nichols was a resident of Louisiana and did extensive business with the independent Republic of Texas government before Texas became a state.

A letter written by George M. Nichols to the Republic of Texas asking for funds to be sent to him in care of

Whitlock, Nichols & Co. 84 Front St.

Texas Library and Archives Commission

Until 1856 George M. Nichols partnered with the Whitlock brothers. Nichols represented the firm in Texas

Records in the Texas archives show that agents of Benjamin M. Whitlock’s firm travelled widely in the south. Apparently Whitlock’s business connections reached down into Texas when the the Lone Star state was an independent country.


MAJOR B. F. JONES

representative of B.M. Whitlock is aConfederate advisor and soldier

Major Jones was born in Gwinett county, Georgia, on the 20th of June, 1831, and in the common schools acquired his education, after which he entered upon his business career as clerk in a country store near his home. With a young man's desire to see something of the world and seek a wider sphere of usefulness and activity, he left home at the age of 20 years and went to New York City. With most commendatory letters he carried with him he found no difficulty in obtaining employment, securing a situation in a dry-goods and carpet house on Cortlandt street. A year later he entered the service of Whitlock, Nichols & Company, a noted grocery firm, which was afterward succeeded by B. M. & E. A. Whitlock & Company. In the service of this house he traveled all over the south and was its representative at the time of the breaking out of the civil war.


BF. Jones advises at a meeting of the Confederate Congress

He utilized the information and experience that he had acquired through travel and business knowledge to the advantage of the newly organized Confederate government... He was a southern man by birth and training, and, true to the principles and teaching in which he had always been trained, when the war was inaugurated he hastened to Rome, Georgia, and in April, 1862, joined the Cherokee artillery... he was made quartermaster

Confederate States CapitolRichmond, Va


In 1874 Jones became the superintendent of the National Water-works Company. He was born in the State of Georgia, his ancestors on his father's side coming originally from Scotland. His mother was a descendant of an old Dutch family, and Scottish sagacity and thrift, together with Dutch tenacity, thoroughness and equable disposition combined, are leading characteristics of this gentleman. His first business experience was gained at his birthplace, among his friends and neighbors ;

but, finding this field too small for his ambitious efforts, he sought and found a wider one in New York, where he remained until the commencement of the "late unpleasantness," when he enlisted as a private in the Cherokee Artillery, at Rome, Ga. He remained in the army during the continuance of the strife, and at the close of the war, by the sheer force of inherent merit, he had risen from the ranks to the important post of Inspector General of the War Department, at Richmond, Va.

Cherokee Artillery


Mr. Jones has been vice-president of the American Water-works Association for many years; and at the recent meeting of the association in Denver he was elected its president. The methods and system devised and originated by himself are so complete and comprehensive,yet so eminently concise and simple, that they are adopted by nearly every new company, and are fast coming into universal use.

Benjamin F. Jones superintendent of the National Water-works Company in Kansas City, KS - 1874

Jones headed the private firm that took over Kansas City’s water treatment plans as the Missouri River became polluted

The world’s oldest and largest Association of Public Water Systems


Kansas City, Missouri: Its History and Its People 1808-1908,

April 21, 1894 NYTimes

Kansas City, Mo


NYPLFeb. 1859

36th St. & Park Avenue in 1944 with JP Morgan Library in the background

Park Ave. looking toward old Grand Central Terminal

The Park Avenue Tunnel runs beneath the avenue between 33rd and 40th Streets. It was built in 1834 as an open cut for the New York & Harlem Railroad (NY&H) which ran both steam engines and horsecars, and the cut was bridged over in the 1850s, creating the tunnel — one of NYC’s oldest, if not the very oldest. The tunnel has carried trolley tracks, two-way traffic, and now northbound auto traffic.

http://forgotten-ny.com/2012/12/park-avenue-tunnel/

Whitlock’s Sells Murray Hill and Names Park Avenue




Investigation by the state superintendent

-Insurance Department, Albany, September 12, 1860

Whitlock Real Estate Speculation Continues Along Park Avenue

A $3,000 ($90,000*) investment on East 55th St. in 1851 worth $12,000 ($400,000*) in 1860.*2013 value

Jones Woods on the upper east side of Manhattan was a

forested area in this 1851 image


American Eyes Turn Toward Cuba & Central America


NY Herald February 10, 1858

One of the original Cuban flags waved in Cardenas by filibuster led by Gen. Narciso Lopez in 1850, Later became the national flag.

Filibusters make war on countries at peace with their home country.

Newspaper editors saw Cuba as ripe for annexation to the USA


Theodore O'Hara (February 11, 1820 June 6, 1867) led the Kentucky volunteers with Lopez in 1851- was a poet and an officer for the United States Army in the Mexican-American War, and a Confederate colonel in the American Civil War. He is best known for the poems The Bivouac of the Dead,which is quoted in many cemeteries, and The Old Pioneer.

Cirilo Villaverde secretary to Lopez escaped to NYC publishing a pro-independence newspaper married Emilia Casanova who founded Las Hijas de Cuba (Daughters of Cuba) living in the Whitlock Mansion after 1868

Cecilia Valdes is arguably the most important novel of 19th century Cuba. Originally published in New York City in 1882, Cirilo Villaverde's novel has fascinated readers inside and outside Cuba.

Filibusters

Col. Henry T. Titus founder of Titusville Florida organized northern Florida volunteers to join Lopez in Cuba. Titus fought with pro slavery forces based in Lecompton, Kansas. He was captured after a fight with Kansas free staters and later released. He fought for the confederates in the Civil War.

Titus captured by free staters at his “Fort Titus” in Kansas.

despite John Brown’s demand Titus be shot

he was eventually exchanged for free

state prisoners.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poet

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poet

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Army




http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexican-American_War

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexican-American_War

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confederate_States_of_America

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confederate_States_of_America

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colonel

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colonel

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Civil_War




http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bivouac_of_the_Dead

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bivouac_of_the_Dead

A scheme to extend U.S. control to Cuban slave plantations

Whitlock sat on many political committees

including this one to annex Cuba as a slave state

Fillibusterers were adventurers who aimed to conquer Cuba as a slave state with private backing

“The Truth” with a map of Cuba


Cirilo Villaverde secretary to Lopez escaped to NYC publishing a pro-independence newspaper married Emilia Casanova who founded Las Hijas de Cuba (Daughters of Cuba) living in the Whitlock Mansion after 1868Narciso Lopez raises Cuban national flag 1850

Battle of Cardenas 1850

The Sun a NYC newspaper that fanned the flames of intervention

Colonel William Logan Crittenden while leading a filibuster expedition of Kentucky volunteers in Cuba 1851

First Cuban flag flies in Cardenas, Cuba 1850


1854: Emilia Casanova 22 years old disembarks at Philadelphia, She will marry Cirilio Villaverde and become a leader of the “Daughters of Cuba” a movement to free Cuba from Spanish colonialism

Passenger manifest


Filibusters Seize Nicaragua

William Walker

Walker executed in Honduras 1860

Walker was heroic to many Americans


Ostend Manifesto

three American diplomats (Pierre Soule, James Mason and James Buchanan -- U.S. ambassadors to France, Spain and Great Britain and all pro-slavery Democrats) held a meeting in Ostend, Belgium, on October 9, 10 and 11, 1854, where they drew up a manifesto that stated in part: "Our past history forbids that we should acquire the island of Cuba without the consent of Spain unless justified by the great law of self-preservation… After we shall have offered Spain a price for Cuba, far beyond its present value, it will be time to consider the question; 'Does Cuba in the possession of Spain seriously endanger peace and our cherished Union?' Should this question be answered in the affirmative, then by every law, human and divine, we shall be justified in wresting it from Spain…

The same year three pro-slavery politicians make it clear their objective to either purchase or outright

seize Cuba to extend the slaveholding south.

James Mason, author of the Fugitive Slave Act 1850 making it a crime to help slaves

escape

James Buchanan, 15th President of the United States

1857-1861

Pierre Soulé, wrote the Ostend

Manifesto in an attempt to annex

Cuba.


Whitlock Supports the pro-Slavery Lecompton Constitution in Kansas 1858

NYT March 5, 1858

The Lecompton Constitution was the second of four proposed constitutions for the state of Kansas. The document was written in response to the anti-slavery position of the 1855 Topeka Constitution. The territorial legislature, consisting mostly of slave-owners, met at the designated capital of Lecompton in September 1857 to produce a rival document. Free-state supporters, who comprised a large majority of actual settlers, boycotted the vote. A vocal supporter of slaveholder rights, President Buchanan endorsed the Lecompton Constitution before Congress.On 4 January 1858, Kansas voters, having the opportunity to reject the constitution altogether in the referendum, overwhelmingly rejected the Lecompton proposal by a vote of 10,226 to 138. And in Washington, the Lecompton constitution was defeated by the federal House of Representatives in 1858. Though soundly defeated, debate over the proposed constitution had ripped apart the Democratic party. Kansas was admitted to the Union as a free state in 1861.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitution

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitution

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kansas

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kansas

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slavery

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slavery

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lecompton,_Kansas

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lecompton,_Kansas

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Buchanan




http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lecompton_Constitution#cite_note-Miller-4

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lecompton_Constitution#cite_note-Miller-4

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._House_of_Representatives




BASE OF OPERATIONS

NY TIMES OCTOBER 5, 1905


A country-seat“3 miles from Harlem on several hundred acres, the dwelling sits a complete Hommock of about 20 acres - which at high tides is nearly surrounded by water - and is approached... by a causeway”

“...the Hommock is devoted to an ornamental pleasure ground.”

“... stables accommodate 40 horses, and the carriage house about half that number of carriages.”

“... rises a bell tower of three stories, the lower one is fitted as a lecture and a school room”

“... fitted up with numerous gas burners. The gas for lighting... is supplied from a highly architectural and ornamental gas-house... filled from the retorts in a building adjoining.”

“A beautiful... curved drive skirts the base of the Hommock, on the north is... the bathing-rooms, boat-house... while statuary, and seats of various kinds embellish the grounds.”

“...[Whitlock] commenced operations by removing to his grounds, from a distance of two or three miles, forest trees of large size... where they are now flourishing... for the most part Elms

and Maples

The Horticulturist of Rural Art and Rural Taste, Volume 13, Plan for a Rose-House, William Webster 1858


B.M. & E.A. Whitlock’s store at 13 Beekman St. near Nassau and Broadway. Nearby the old Brick Church was used as a hospital during

the American revolution. In 1857 the Church was ripped down and replaced by the first New York Times building.*

*B.M. Whitlock was an early investor in Murray Hill Real Estate where the Brick

Church relocated

Whitlock building

old Brick Church

City Hall Park

1870

1856


Demolition of Old Brick Church 1857

Published: April 22, 1853Copyright © The New York Times

Ny Times 1853

1856

B. M. WHITLOCK's ROSE-HOUSE AND CONSERVATORY. One great object in publishing this plan, is to show how advantageously old materials may be worked into a house of this kind; for all the circular-headed windows, with a corresponding number of square ones, belonged to the old Brick Church in Beekman Street, which was pulled down to make room for stores; so that the plan had to be got up to meet the material, and not, as is usually the case, the materials to suit the plan. - Horticulturist And Journal of Rural Art and Rural Taste

The Brick Church, demolished in 1857, across from Whitlock’s business on Beekman Street. The ruins are used by Whitlock to build a rose house.


Built with Windows from the old Brick Church

“All the circular-headed windows, with a corresponding number of square ones, belonged to the old Brick Church in Beekman Street, which was pulled down to make room for stores; so that the plan had to be got up to meet the material, and not, as is usually the case, the materials to suit the plan. ” -- NY Times


“Decorations were intended to depict Louis's grandeur and understandably omit any mention of French losses and defeats.” Wikipedia entry on Louis XIV King of France "Louis XIV, by the Grace of God, King of France and of Navarre" 1643-1715 (Wikipedia entry)

Published: December 8, 1901Copyright © The New York Times

Bedroom of Louis XIV - Versailles

Soyez le Bienvenue A room fit for a New York merchant prince

Louis XIV room Versailles

Louis XIV King of France


National Academy home on Broadway from 1859 to 1865

Records of the National Academy of Fine Arts show Whitlock purchased this painting.

P. 178 Waldo & Jewett1845 Address: 1 Cortlandt Street82. Portrait of a Gentleman B.M.WHITLOCK

l New York Historical Society - Vo I. 77

American Academy of Fine Arts and American Art Union ...Exhibition Record

P.137. Fowler, Trevor Thomas (Active 1829-1860)1849 Address: Not Given319. Chi Idren at the Fountain. 36x29 TwoGirls, one with a paiI, and the other with a qourddipper. To A. WHITLOCK, New York

P.313. Rossiter, Thomas Pritchard (1818-1871)1848 Address: New York435. Shylock and Jessica. To GEORGE WHITLOCK, New York

P.395. White, Edwin (1617-1877)1848 Address: New York249. The Studio and PupiI. To BENJAMIN M. WHITLOCK, New York.

I I Counci I of Appointment~of the State of New York 1783-1821

42P.2174 - Montgomery County 1820Peter Lampon, captain, vice Snel I, resigned; Peter P. Smith, first lieutenant, viceLampman. promoted; Aaron C. WHITLOCK, second lieutenant, vice Smith promoted.

P. 1913 - New York County 1818 - Eleventh regiment of arti Ilery:Second lieutenants;...EPHRAIM L. WHITLOCK, vice Wyman, declined

P.1961 - New York County 1818 - Ninth regiment of ArtiIlery...; EPHRAIM L. WHITLOCK, first lieutenant, vice Daniel, promoted;

P.1480 - Montgomery County 1814 - Nineteenth Regiment...; HENRY WHITLOCK, junior, ensign

P. 1367 - Orange County 1812 - One Hundred & Forty-eighth Regiment...: JOEL WHITLOCK, ensign, vice Clark, promoted;

P.1471 - Orange County 1814 - 148th Regiment...: JOEL WHITLOCK, LIEUTENANT, VICE H. Clark, promoted;

P. 1903 - Orange County 1818 - 148th Regiment...vice WHITLOCK, resigned.

P. 1152 - Westchester County 1810 - For the Brigade

Purchaser


Whitlock spoke at this angry pro-slavery meeting “[against]The treasonable raid of John Brown and his followers...” December 19, 1859

John Brown raid on the Federal Arsenal at Harper’s Ferry Va. October 16, 1859 helped start the Civil WarHarper’s Ferry


Great Union MeetingA reaction to John Brown’s raid

"...chiefly to promote southern trade," and to express "sympathy for the slave owners of the south, for the men who buy, or are to be coaxed to buy A.T. Stewart's silks and Ben Whitlock's brandy." -A sometime friend and fellow-laborer in the old Whig cause to James W. Beekman in Tribune Dec. 9, 1859

Academy of Music corner of Irving Place and 14th St.


Benjamin M. Whitlock 1860

His long interest in the abolition of slavery led Dr. Houghton to found the first black Sunday school in New York City and to harbor runaway slaves as part of the Underground Railway, one stop on which was the basement of the church's rectory. During the Civil War Blacks were burned, hanged, and mutilated during the Draft Riots of July 1863... Angry mobs trying to get at those who had found sanctuary within the church twice thronged the gates of the churchyard... George Houghton lifted the processional cross from its place in the church, walked out to face the rioters, held it before them, and said, "Stand back, you white devils; in the name of Christ, stand back!" With such courageous words, George Houghton held off the unruly mob, and those in the church remained safe for several more days, until the mob had been quelled and dispersed.

George Hendric Houghton

Henry Ward Beecher

Henry Ward Beecher held mock “auctions” at which the congregation purchased the freedom of real slaves. The most famous of these former slaves was a young girl named Pinky, auctioned during a regular Sunday worship service at Plymouth on February 5, 1860

William Lloyd Garrison

Lewis Tappan


About 4 o'clock the visitors again embarked, and proceeded up the River through Hurl (Hells) Gate, about twelve miles, to the suburban villa of B.M. WHITLOCK, Esq., in Westchester County, on the banks of the river... After being photographed in line on the lawn in front of Mr. WHITLOCK's fine new brown-stone mansion, taking a look at his sixty blood horses, and extensive repository of carriages, imbibing a timely drink, and viewing the grounds, the company was invited to a collation spread for three hundred in a shady grove near one of the residences. -- NY Times July 23, 1860

“...the bronze doors, with their elegant coat of arms and the inviting inscription, "Soyez le Bienvenue," were never thrown open with greater cordiality than when an entire regiment from Georgia was being entertained, the officers lodged in the rooms and the men encamped on the lawns.” -Valentine’s Manual of Old New York

Southern Militiamen known as Savannah Republican Blues Visit Whitlock promoting reconciliation on the eve of Civil War


A Southern Woman's War Time Reminiscences:The Seventh Regiment entertained the Savannah Republican-Blues and the brothers B. and B. M. Whitlock gave a grand entertainment to them up the Hudson, where my "lovely Nell" and I were in attendance. In a letter home I used this language: "It seems to me as if our people were military-mad, and had rushed together for a last fraternal embrace, to separate and fight like maddened devils; so violent do altercations and argument come when the questions of slavery, free soil, etc., are discussed." And when I went South some of my friends dubbed me the "bloody prophet." -Mrs. Elizabeth Lyle Saxon

Mrs. Elizabeth Lyle Saxon Involved in woman's suffrage and social reform issues in Memphis and New Orleans.

1832-1915

N.Y. 7th Regiment (scene in what is today Washington Square Park) took on the Savannah Republican Blues in a “friendly” drill competition in 1860.

A Bloody prophecy


Benjamin M. Whitlock was a major player in The Homestead Insurance Company until regulators shuttered the company. Operating from Whitlock’s office building Homestead was

actually worth $50,000 not the advertised $150,000.Investigation by the state superintendent -Insurance Department, Albany, September 12, 1860

Whitlock’s Empire Crumbles

1835 Great FireFire’s were an ever present danger in NYC NYC volunteer

fireman


A DAUGHTER’S DEATH"WHITLOCK -- In Hommock Park, on Sunday, Oct. 21, after a brief illness, ADELINE WILSON, daughter of Benjamin M. and Amelia Whitlock, aged 6 years and 9 months.The friends of the family are respectfully invited to attend her funeral, from the residence of her parents, Hommock Park, Westchester County, this (Tuesday) afternoon, at 3 1/2 o'clock, without further notice. Carriages will meet at Mott-Haven, the Harlem train leaving 26th-st. at 2:30 P.M.

NY Times October 1860

Whitlock Family Plot Green Wood Brooklyn


Whitlock begged his southern clients to stay in the union

NY Historical Society


Mayor Fernando Wood’s Recommendation of the Secession of New York CityMayor WoodJanuary 06, 1861

“Then it may be said, why should not New York city, instead of supporting by her contributions in revenue two—thirds of the expenses of the United States, become also equally independent? As a free city, with but nominal duty on imports, her local Government could be supported without taxation upon her people. Thus we could live free from taxes, and have cheap goods nearly duty free. In this she would have the whole and united support of the Southern States, as well as all the other States to whose interests and rights under the Constitution she has always been true.”

Time for compromise between North & South was running out


LINCOLN ELECTED

Lincoln speaks at Cooper Union before his electionSaturday, November 16, 2013

A YEAR LATER TO THE DAY AFTER HIS DAUGHTER WHITLOCK’S MOTHER DIES -THE FUNERAL IS HELD AT THE DUTCH REFORMED

CHURCH A STATION ON THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD

NY Times October 1861Saturday, November 16, 2013

Mourners Arrive on the Harlem River Rail Road

1861

They cross the Harlem River Bridge

Before the Civil War (1861–1864), Mott Haven was the site of two stations on the Underground Railroad — the villa of Charles Van Doren, which stood at East 145th Street and Third Avenue, and the Mott Haven Dutch Reformed Church, which still stands on East 146th Street.


...A good many merchants, in order to avoid catastrophe were, the correspondents added, already abandoning their Establishments in New York and were preparing to set up business in "some city of the Confederate States" Charleston Mercury March 21,1861 ...the extensive grocery house of B.A. & E.A. WHITLOCK... had already completed negotiations for “going to Savannah.” Philip Foner 1941

The Civil War brought profound changes to the New York region. At the beginning of the war, the loss of trade with the South and disruptions caused by military activity and Southern privateering forced a number of banks and mercantile houses into bankruptcy. Most New York banks were forced to suspend payments and the building trades shut down operations.

B.M. & E.A. Whitlock goes out of business March 1862.

In 2004 his creditor bank merges into


Bloody street fighting in New York City

Draft Riots

July 1863 New York erupts into rioting against military conscription.

Burning the Abolitionist homes

Lynchings


-- Benjamin M. Whitlock, Esq., formerly one of the prominent wholesale grocers of this City, died on Wednesday last at his residence in Westchester County, after a very brief illness. Mr. Whitlock, in consequence of the present troubles, lost overwhelmingly, because of the failure of his Southern customers to meet their engagements, and was compelled to relinquish his business, which had before been one of the most profitable in the City. He was a man of finest business capacity, and of noble, generous impulses. His hospitality was lavish, and he was noted especially for keeping one of the finest studs in the country, his stock and stables being the centre of admiration and interest. These and the remainder of his property he sacrificed when misfortune overtook him, in order honorably to meet his sudden embarrassments.

Benjamin Whitlock’s Obituary

death on August 15, 1863 Descended of a horse owned by Whitlock


Benjamin M. Whitlock’s Grave The Green-Wood Cemetery Brooklyn


Whitlock Family Plot


October 1864

Foreclosure

Moses Taylor1806-1882

Edward Haight1817- 1885

Whitlock’s Hommock Auctionedto pay off his “sudden embarrassments”


February 8, 1865

A NAWARK REBEL.WILLIAM LAWRENCE MCDONALD, who figures in the papers as the rebel agent in Canada, and the leading spirit in the Chesapeake, St. Albans, and New-York hotel-burning affairs... In 1860, he associated with Mr. B.M. WHITLOCK, (his brother-in-law,) in the carriage business... "GUS" MCDONALD, a brother of the above, who also lived in Orange, but recently a resident of New-York, is in custody on a charge of harboring the incendiaries while they were in that city. -- Newark Advertiser.

The man who tried to burn New York

November 25, 1864

Southern Gentleman (about to Fire the Hotel), Harper's Weekly.


Married to Benjamin Whitlock’s sister Josephine Whitlock, McDonald does extensive business with the south

15 Beekman is directly adjacent to B.M. &E.A. Whitlock

William “Larry” McDonald 1821-1895Merchant, Sutler, Spy, Conspirator


WILLIAM LARRY MCDONALDSUTLER: a person who followed an army and sold provisions to the soldiers.

Having become heavily indebted to Mr. GREEN, carriage-maker in this city, "Larry," as he is familiarly called, tendered his services to him to pay his obligations, and on the former gentleman being appointed sutler to the Twenty-sixth Regiment, he accompanied him to Virginia. After the first stock of goods had been sold, LARRY came North and purchased $2,000 worth of goods for Mr. GREEN, and, on his return to Virginia, deliberately drove them into the rebel lines, where they were, of course, confiscated.

Outbreak of Civil War makes McDonald: “A most bitter and consistent partisan of the rebels.”

McDonald fakes his capture by the rebels in Virginia


LARRY: FROM SUTLER TO SPYWhile in Richmond, as is since ascertained, he lived in luxury, affiliating with all the rebel leaders, giving them information as to the number and position of our forces, and other valuable facts. He was then released on a pretended parole, and came to this city, and while visiting his wife at Westchester, New-York, learned that his exploits had been divulged to the War Department, and detectives were after him. He immediately shipped as a sailor on a schooner for New-Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and succeeded in eluding the vigilance of the authorities.

-A Nawark Rebel, New York Times January 8, 1865

McDonald, now a POW is “paroled” to New York and then

“released” in February 1863


“a vast and fiendish plot”

P.T. Barnum’s Museum

St. James Hotel

Metropolitan Hotel

United States Hotel

Lafarge HotelAstor Hotel

St. Nicholas Hotel

Tammany Hall

November 25, 1864 Conspirators set fires in New York Hotels


COPS VS. CONSPIRATORS

John Alexander Kennedy superintendent of police

for New York City 1860-70

Jacob Thompson apparently leader of Confederate Secret Service operations in Canada.

Robert Cobb KennedyConfederate Agent- Hanged March 25, 1865For Setting New York Fires(picture taken two days before execution)


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_City

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_City

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confederate_Secret_Service




McDonald, his brother “Gus” and niece Katie named in an investigation into the plot but never charged in the crime despite Larry’s confession to an

undercover New York City police detective..

WILLIAM L. MCDONALD, the rebel agent in Canada, was in 1860 proprietor of the "Southern Carriage Repository," in this city, at No. 514 Broadway. His trade, which had been almost exclusively with the South, having been shut off by the war, he became one of the most bitter and consistent partisans of the South anywhere to be found in the North.

NY Times Feb. 6, 1865


Queen’s Hotel in Toronto where the conspirators hid

after the attempt to burn New York

“Gus” McDonald (brother of “Larry”) is arrested when detectives raid his piano store on Franklin St. The plotters

had been meeting there. Martin was a Confederate agent.


“Gus” McDonald is part of the conspiracy with niece

Katie McDonald

Katie’s father William L McDonald, brother to Gus was Whitlock’s brother-in-law. He rented a hideout

Confederate Operations in Canada and New York -Headley New York Times, November 26, 1864


BURIAL PLACE OF WILLIAM L. & JOSEPHINE MCDONALD

A peaceful end in the burial groundChrist Church - built 1769 Shrewsbury,

Monmouth County, New Jersey

Josephine Whitlock McDonaldBirth: unknownDeath: Nov. 20, 1892

Inscription:wife of William L. McDonald - dau of Thaddeus and Mary Whitlock

Note: died in Eatontown, sister of Benjamin M. Whitlock

William L McDonald

Birth: Jan. 12, 1821Death: Apr. 5, 1895

Inscription:born in Quebec, Canada

Note: implicated in the 1864 plot to burn New York City


AppomattoxUnited States Civil War ends April 9, 1865


Edward A. Whitlock Son of Thaddeus and Mary Whitlock was born Jan. 7th 1819 in the City of New York died May 27th 1865 aged 46 years

Abraham Lincoln assassinated April 14, 1865

The Green-Wood cemetery Brooklyn, NY


NY Times

After the death of Mr (Benjamin M.) Whitlock it was transferred by deed from his widow to Innocencio Casanova a Cuban patriot under date of November 1, 1867 for a consideration of

$150,000 The first struggle for Cuban independence was then in progress and the house became a rendezvous for the supporters of Cuba Libre It is stated that its great cellars became storehouses for powder rifles and other munitions of war which were smuggled

aboard the vessels which stole in and out of the creeks contiguous to the house and which sailed away on secret filibustering expeditions to the Ever Faithful Isle. It is also said that the ill fated Virginius took on board her unfortunate crew here With the downfall of the rebellion the visits of the dark skinned mysterious looking men ceased and the house was deserted while whispers of murdered Spanish spies and of ghosts and strange and unaccountable

noises in the vacant house filled the neighborhood. Stephen Jenkins


Underground Passages

A tunnel under the mansion.

The secret tunnel came out in the river at Duck Island

Bronx Historical Society

Historians entered the abandoned mansion in the early 20th century shortly before it was razed and photographed tunnels that apparently led to the inlet of Leggetts

Creek at a small rock called Duck Island. Both are now below Tiffany street.


“MAN OF MYSTERY”

NYTimes January 2, 1922Saturday, November 16, 2013

1871

The Casanova family was deeply involved in the struggle

for Cuba’s independence

On a trip to Cuba Casanova learns about a threat to his life from the Spanish government

“I am under my flag! Viva Washington!” - Inocencio

Casanova to Spanish officials from the deck of the American steamer “Columbia.” February 25, 1871


Casanova’s Plantation “La Armonia” was located outside city of Cardenas. Despite uprisings slavery was legal in Cuba until

October 7, 1886 Casanova’s home

Slave life on Armonia sugar plantation


Inocencio Casanova’s sons run the families sugar plantation from Cardenas. They fear for their lives from the Cuban government.

JOSE N. CASANOVA. Mr. Casanova was appointed and confirmed as American Consul, March 1, 1859, as from New York. He was born in France, and established a prominent family in Guayaquil; apparently he continued in the position of American Consul until 1861.

Brief History Of The American Consulate General At Guayaquil, Ecuador By FREDERIC WEBSTER J. CODINGGUAYAQUIL1920

His son Jose was imprisoned in Cuba. Jose had been American Consul in Guayaquil, Ecuador.


Casanova’s daughter Emilia organizes the Daughters of Cuba to support

independence fighters.

One hotbed of militant activity was an old mansion in what is now the Hunts Point area of the Bronx. There, the activist Emilia Casanova (daughter of Inocencio) and her husband, exiled author Cirilo Villaverde, worked in support of the Cuban rebels, and are said to have collected arms and ammunition for smuggling out to Long Island Sound and shipment south to Cuba. -Museo del Barrio

Emilia Casanova de Villaverde Cirilo Villaverde

Cuba’s Ten Years’ War, 1868-78On the grounds of his own small estate Carlos Manuel Cespedes sounded the work-bell of his sugar mill to assemble his slaves and their gave them their freedom. On the following day he read a declaration, known as the Manifiesto de la Junta Revolucionaria de Cuba setting forth the right to self-government of the protesters.


http://www.cubaheritage.org/subs.asp?lID=1&sID=25


http://www.cubaheritage.org/subsubs.asp?lID=1&ssID=166

http://www.cubaheritage.org/subsubs.asp?lID=1&ssID=166



Emilia Casanova de Villaverde

Cardenas, CubaLatinas in the United States: A Historical Encyclopedia edited by Vicki Lynn Ruiz

Raffles to raise funds for weapons


Letters of Emilia Casanova excerpts

To benefit the next game of illustrious general Quesada I write you these lines.The disasters and reverses that have undergone expeditions of men and the ammunition of war , because of the ineptitude and stupidity of the ones in charge of their organization and handling, have produced deep misfortune, causing desperation to those Cubans who see clearly the origin of the evil...

At this time I don't want to speak on misfortunes and discords between you, but you must count on the devotion of all Cubans and to distinguish between the sincere patriot and the weak speculator in patriotism.

Carlos Manuel de Céspedes del Castillo a Cuban planter who freed his slaves, and made the declaration of Cuban independence in 1868 which started the Ten Years' War.

General Manuel de Quesada elected as of the Cuban rebels’ Chief of the Armed Forces April 12, 1869.

--Emilia Casanova de Villaverde

...the purpose I write is to inform you that the next shipment of arms and ammunition has been

sent by the “League of Daughters of Cuba”


Virginius leaves NYC bound for Cuba

Thee Virginius was a Confederate blockade runner outfitted to smuggle arms to Cuba’s revolutionaries during the 10 years war between 1868 and 1878.

“...the purpose I write is to inform you that the next shipment of arms and ammunition has been sent by the League of Daughters of Cuba”-Emilia Casanova de Villaverde

October 4, 1870


NYC waterfront 1877 potential target of a

Spanish ironclad

John Roach, Maritime Entrepreneur By Leonard Alexander Swann


Execution of the Virginius crew who apparently sailed

from the Mansion on October 4, 1870 to supply

arms to Cuban rebels.


In this letter Miguel de Aldama, from New York, writes to José González Curbelo. He explains that there is not much he can do about the abuses committed by Emilia Casanova de Villaverde,among others, that have a detriment effect to Cuba's independence efforts. He goes on to say that this behavior will continue so long as they keep receiving support from people with candid intentions.

Miguel de Aldama letter to José González Curbelo complaining about Emilia Casanova de Villaverde, June 19, 1874

CurbeloAldama

Cuban newspapers attack Casanova as a “witch” using

her wealth to back the insurgents. Who she rivaled in

commitment and militancy.

Here she’s portrayed as the selling insurgent flags “wholesale or retail.” Emilia’s home town of Cardenas was where Narciso Lopez first flew the

Cuban flag.


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“I wouldn’t change my casita del oeste not even for Mrs. Grant’s Blue Room in the White House. No, not even my dining room, which is more dear [to me] than all the dining rooms in the palaces of Washington.”

“I want nothing more than this. (for the U.S. to express support for abolition of slavery, encourage commerce, oppose oppression of Cubans, property, freedom) and basta! (enough), it’s late and my eyes and arms hurt me. Adios! loving son of my soul.” Washington, February 2, 1872

http://depthome.brooklyn.cuny.edu/latinashistory

Mi Querido Hijo:

There are ladies here who beg to be with

me with the idea of going to places where

entry is forbidden to the common public.

And I don’t doubt that being Americans they

are surprised like that lady in Montreal

when we went to see Victoria Bridge, of the

easy way doors are opened for me. People

offer me their respect. They are smothering

me so much it bothers me instead of giving

me pride. I don’t need formal entry to the

wives of senators, ministers and other

persons in Washington. In this, Enrique

played a big role especially in the hotel,

well he is so adorable and lively he attracts

attention and people come to me to

aca r i c i a r l o (hug , pe t , o r exp ress

endearments) and hear him speak in

English and Spanish so well. People are

anxious to serve me, bring me the paper,

especially where there is news of Cuba.

This is all great praise, but for someone

else: not me. I wouldn’t change my casita

del oeste not even for Mrs. Grant’s Blue

Room in the White House. No, not even my

dining room, which is more dear [to me]

than all the dining rooms in the palaces of

Washington. One cup of coffee there tastes

better than [the] dozens of exquisite and

costly plates that I’m served in Arlington.

I have to edit the talk I’m giving Congress in

the name of Las Hijas. (goes on to ask

Congress to support rights of belligerence. )

Assure your father I want nothing more

than this. (for the U.S. to express support

for aboli t ion of slavery, encourage

commerce, oppose oppression of Cubans,

property, freedom) and basta! (enough), it’s

late and my eyes and arms hurt me. Adios!

loving son of my soul. Don’t forget my

advice to be loved and respected by all.

Recibe el cariño y bendición de tu madre,

Emilia

Washington, February 2, 1872




Massive wrought-iron chandeliers adorned halls and chambers. On my visit I found bell-pulls in the immense apartments, which I vigorously rang, causing mysterious ringings in distant rooms below with true ghostlike effect —but never a servant appeared. Chance led us into the strangest place of all, the secret chamber containing the great safe, itself as big as a room.The entrance was by a hidden door. The place was lighted by opaque oval panels that exactly resembled the surrounding woodwork. High up beneath the lofty roof was a mysterious place, but whether it was an elaborate chapel or an immense ballroom we never learned. -Valentine’s Manual of Old New York

A MYSTERIOUS MANSION’S LAST DAYS


A local child named Eulia McVay ran to the roof of the mansion and climbed the flag pole. The view of the East River is what she saw from the top.

--photos by Albert E. Lickman 1902


The Oak Point Bathing beach and Pavilion in 1887Hunts Point public bath 1910

Casanova’s waterfront becomes an entertainment area

William M. Allen1814-1878

landownerAllen’s wife Catherine Leggett

1817-1890


Casanova estate is sold to the East Bay Land Improvement Company and English investors looking to host the 1893 Colombian Exposition

Gen. Egbert Viele founder

of the East Bay Land

Improvement Company

New York loses the Fair to Chicago

NYTimes 1890


NY & Harlem RR YardsThe railroad yards of the NY & Harlem are established to the south west of William Leggett’s land. Bungay Creek on this map is now the course of 149th Street. Eventually named the Oak Point yards the railroad would expand to encompass the lands to the east of the former “debatable lands” that figured in the legal battles between Leggett and Morris holdings that began in the 17th century.1888


Demolition of the Casanova Mansion

1905


Evening Telegram 1906

Church E. Gates lumber yard, NYPL

National Gypsum Co. 1952

C.E. Gates lumber yard and National Gypsum previously known as Rock Plaster Co.


Graft and Pollution in 1909Louis M. Haffen first Bronx Borough President


NY Times 1922

Casanova site 2012Saturday, November 16, 2013

The Haunted Mansion of Hunts Point

Education

Transcript of The Haunted Mansion of Hunts Point