Newbold Property
The Newbold parcel is a 13 acre parcel at the north end of Marist College located between Route Nine and the Hudson River extending to the former Hudson River State Hospital grounds now called Quiet Cove. It begins just north of the Winslow parcel, along a stone wall visible from the south (see note 1). The college maintains the property as an arboretum.
Existing structures are the former Newbold carriage house, the caretaker’s house close to route nine, and the Reilly house (built in 1947 and still on Reilly heirs property). There are several former carriage trails through the property. The original gardener's cottage facing route nine is on a four acre site once owned by the Newbolds, but now owned by someone other than Marist College.
Owners before the Newbold Family
The parcel now in Marist ownership was once part of a 166 acre farm operated by John Pells. The farm straddled the Poughkeepsie-to-Hyde Park highway, with about 20 acres lying between the highway and the railroad bordering the Hudson River (see note 2). In 1855, after John Pells’ death, the heirs sold the parcel to Hannah and Cyrus Mason, who financed the purchase by a mortgage (see note 3). The Masons soon transferred the twenty acres of the 166 acre parcel lying between the highway and railroad to William and Helen Kent (see note 4). To do this the Masons needed to obtain a release from their own mortgage (see note 5).
Soon after purchasing the parcel, William Kent died. He and Helen Kent had arranged a separate mortgage for the property. The mortgage banks holding the mortgage forced a sale of the property at public auction. Thomas Newbold acquired the property with the high bid of $10,000 (see note 6).
The Pell families had extensive holdings in the Hyde Park area and it is difficult to trace back via the deeds when or how John Pells acquired the farm.
Newbold-Rhinelander Background
Both the Newbold and Rhinelander families were in the United State long before the Revolutionary War. The men were listed in the census records as occupation gentleman or lawyer and the women were listed as keeping house. In New York City persons of this level relied on income from real estate they owned, banking, shipping and trading. Lifestyles consisted of socializing with a limited circle of friendly families and visiting Europe. Place of business was usually lower Manhattan. By the first part of the eighteenth century, housing was mainly above Canal Street, moving slowly north of Washington Square along Fifth Avenue, up to Chelsea, then further north to as far as 42nd street. The houses were usually brownstone, 20’ along the street and 60’ back from the street. This was an outgrowth of the sense of democracy developed after the Revolutionary War, that all were equal and ought to have equal housing. But lacking official titles, the dominant economic group created its own social aristocracy.
The interior of the house might have opulent furnishings, but outwardly each house looked like its neighbors. Given this cramped living, it became natural for the wealthy families to develop estates outside New York City in New Jersey, Long Island and upstate New York. Our interest lies in the Dutchess County which saw many estates established (see note 7).
Edith Wharton pointed out that this closed society did not accept those who operated retail shops to their inner circle (see note 8).
Newbold family
The branch of the Newbold family which concerns us can be traced back to Handsworth, York, England. Michael Newbould (the “u” was dropped in succeeding generations) operated a farm there, but managed to acquire enough money to purchase land in New Jersey, near Bordentown NJ, directly across current day Levittown, and north of Philadelphia. He brought most of his thirteen children to the New World and settled on an island in the Delaware River, once called Biddle Island but changed by Michael to Newbold’s Island, which name it retains today (see note 9).
The direct line from Michael to Thomas Haines is known:
- I Michael Newbould (1623 – 1692) married Ann ???. He died in Burlington County NJ
- II Michael Newbold(York England bap 3 Oct 1667 died Burlington NJ 1 Dec 1721 ) married 24 Feb 1697 Rachel Cleayton
- III Thomas Newbold (born Burlington NJ 26 Feb 1701-02 - died Sept 1741) married (1724) Edith Coate (Sometshire England 12 Nov 1705 - )
- IV Caleb Newbold( NJ 27 Mar 1731 – died Burlington NJ March 1786) married 1754 or 1755) Sarah Haines
- V Thomas Newbold ( NJ 1773 - Philadelphia PA 1815) married (NYC 1812) Catherine LeRoy (NJ 1790 - died Paris France 1835)
- VI Thomas Haines Newbold (Westchester NY, 24 Sept 1814 –died Hyde Park NY 21 Mar 1869) married (NYC 23 Apr 1846) Mary Elizabeth Rhinelander(NYC 12 Dec 1826 - died Hyde Park NY 4 June 1897)
Thomas Haines Newbold was one of three children of Thomas and Catherine LeRoy Newbold. His grandfather Caleb fathered eleven children, which helps to explain how widespread the Newbold name became.
Our Thomas Haines Newbold had two siblings. His older brother Herman LeRoy Newbold was named after his mother’s family, Herman being the name of Catherine LeRoy’s father. Thomas’ younger sister was Hannah Cornell Newbold who married William Henry Morris. It was common to include the surnames of wives in the family as middle names, as we shall see when we look at the children of Thomas Haines Newbold and Mary Elizabeth Rhinelander (see note 10).
Rhinelander family
The Rhinelander family came from Obverwesel on Rhine, which was then a part of France.
- I Philip Jacob Rhinelander arrived in New York in 1686, emigrating to New Rochelle, NY where he died in 1737.
- II His son Bernard Rhinelander had three sons, but the one which interests us is
- III William Rhinelander born in New Rochelle in 1718 who married Magdalen Renaud, also of New Rochelle. This William Rhinelander moved to New York City where he died 1777. His son was born in New York, and the trail becomes more definite starting with
- IV William Rhinelander( NY 1753 - 1825) married 1785 Mary Elizabeth Robat (1755 - 1837) He was his father’s partner, investing in city realty. In 1790 he purchased the Cuyler sugar house in New York, which had been used as a British prison during the revolution. This couple had six children, of whom we mention three:
- Va Eliza Lucille Rhinelander married General Horatio Gates Stevens, son of Major General Ebenezer Stevens. a hero of the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812.
- Vb William Christopher Rhinelander (1790 – 1878) lived in the vicinity of Washington Square. He was very successful in real estate. One of his purchases extended from Fifth Avenue to the East River. His daughter Mary married Lespinard Stewart of another real estate family. The Stewarts came to America with a grant from King George II of a substantial Manhattan tract below Canal Street. They later purchased another tract stretching from Canal Street to Twenty-Third Street.
- Vc Frederick William Rhinelander (1798 – 1836) married Mary Lucretia Ann Stevens(1798-1877) twelfth and last child of Major General Ebenezer Stevens. Of their four children, we are interested in two:
- VIa Lucretia Stevens Rhinelander (1824 – 1901) who in 1843 married George Frederic Jones(1821-1882)
- VIb Mary Elizabeth Rhinelander (1826 – 1897) who in 1846 married Thomas Haines Newbold (1814 – 1869) (see note 11)
Mary and Lucretia’s father was not noted for his financial acumen, preferring books and literature. He died when the girls were ten and eight, and his estate was held in trust by Mary Lucretia’s brother-in-law. The arrangement worked poorly for the family but quite nicely for the brother-in-law. The family spent most of their time at the house General Ebenezer Stevens had built in Astoria NY overlooking the Hell Gate, a narrow and treacherous connection between the East River and Long Island Sound (see note 12).
All her life Lucretia Stevens remembered her “coming out” into society. She wore a homemade gown of white tarlatan and her mother’s old white satin slippers. Having larger feet, the slippers caused her great pain during the dancing. After she married, she became a clothes-a-holic, importing most of her clothes from Paris, which she had discovered on her honeymoon (see notes 13-14).
George Jones lived with his parents in Manhattan around east 81st Street on the East River. His parents disapproved of his courting Lucretia, so he was denied ownership of a sailboat which was common among the young men in his area. He circumvented this maneuver by using a rowboat, employing one oar as a mast and a bed quilt as a sail. In any event, the couple married when George was 21 and Lucretia 19. The couple set up housekeeping in Grammercy Park.
The couple had three children, Frederic, born 1846 and Henry called Harry in 1850. The third child was a girl, born in 1862, named Edith Newbold. Although the Jones lived west of Fifth Avenue around east 25th street, and attended Calvary Episcopal Church on 28th Street, Edith was baptized in Grace Church, considered the society church on Tenth Street and Broadway (see note 15). Edith’s godparents were Thomas and Mary Rhinelander Newbold.
In Edith’s autobiography, A Backward Glance, she tells this story about her mother:
“Once when I was a small child, my mother’s younger sister, Aunt Mary Newbold, asked me, with edifying interest :”What would you like to be when you grow up?” and on my replying in all good faith, and with a dutiful air: “The best-dressed woman in New York.” She uttered the horrified cry: ‘Oh, don’t say that, darling!’ to which I could only rejoin in wonder: “But, auntie, you know Mamma is” (see note 16).
Edith Newbold Jones
After the Civil War, many affluent families of Manhattan found it cheaper to rent their homes and country estates and move to Europe. The Jones family followed this pattern. So Edith Newbold Jones spent two thirds of her first twelve years in Europe, where she learned French, German and Italian. She became a great reader, and had a photographic memory of places she had visited which show up in her descriptions of fictional places in her later writings, as well as a keen memory for dialogue patterns. Her mother stressed proper English which she used in all her writings.
A young lady who preferred art and books to planning social events was considered unusual. Her mother Lucretia rushed her debut in unsuccessful hopes of correcting this abnormality. Eventually she was married to Edward Robbins Wharton of Boston at age 23. Readers will recognize her as Edith Wharton, first woman winner of the Pulitzer Prize for her 1920 novel The Age of Innocence.
Younger readers may remember class assignments for her short novel Ethan Frome, but I believe a more representative example would be The House of Mirth, which like The Age of Innocence described the difficult transition of closed society of the older rich who were being overwhelmed by the influx of wealthier nouveau riche, such as Vanderbilt, Rockefeller, Thomas Fortune Ryan, James Duke and Oliver Hazzard Payne (see note 17).
Edith’s marriage to Teddy Wharton is best described as unsuccessful. She left the United States for France in 1911 and divorced Teddy in 1913. Her two older brothers also died in France, Frederic in 1918 and Henry in 1922. Her mother Lucretia had moved to France in 1898 to be near her two sons. Lucretia died in 1901, having been in a coma for her last year.
Edith Wharton also died at her house Pavillion Columbe, France of a stroke on 11 Aug 1937 and was buried in the Cimitière des Gonards in Versailles. She willed her notes and research notes and correspondence to Yale University, which had awarded her an honorary degree in 1923, on condition that the works would not be available to researchers for thirty years. Since the files were opened in 1968 there has been a great revival of analysis of her literary work and as well as viewing her as the “modern woman.”
Although I was unable to find any written evidence of Edith’s visit to Fern Tor, several sources remark Mary Rhinelander Newbold was her favorite aunt. She probably visited her more often when both families lived in New York City Chelsea district, near Madison Square.
Another source indicates that when the New York opening of the drama The House of Mirth received poor reviews, the upset Edith traveled to Poughkeepsie to stay for a few days with Thomas Newbold (the son of Thomas Haines and Mary Newbold) who had decided to make his permanent home in Poughkeepsie.
Fern Tor Residents
Thomas Haines Newbold was no stranger to Dutchess County. His passport application indicated that he was born in Westchester County. His older brother, Herman LeRoy Newbold, is listed in the 1850 census as living on a farm in Westchester County (see note 18). Previous census records place the Newbold family at 12 West 28th Street, the Chelsea area of New York City that housed many of the Newbold and Rhinelander families.
But the 1860 federal census places the Newbold family in Dutchess County in the Mattewan area. near Beacon NY (see note 19). After the purchase of Fern Tor the couple maintained their New York City Chelsea residence as their primary home, and Fern Tor became their country home, available during the summers and occasional visits (see note 20).
I could find no photograph of the main house on Fern Tor. I had been told by college representatives that the main house had never been built. However on a visit to Mary Reilly in 2007 she led me out of her house and brought me to the foundations of the main house, and pointed out how the carriage trails wound below the house then turned up to the level of the house (see note 21).
Whoever came to the conclusion that the main house was never built probably mixed it up with the non-construction of the Bech house. The Newbold carriage house still exists, although modified and enlarged by Dr. George Way. There are two other substantial houses, the gardener’s house and the year-round property supervisor’s house. The former is located on the parcel retained by Charles Chlanda and later sold to Ted Vaniciotis. Behind this house, is the remainder of the windmill used to pump water to the street height to for the flowers and shrubs. The supervisor’s house was sold by Chlanda to private parties and is the first parcel purchased by Marist College (see note 22).
Thomas Haines Newbold was born in Westchester County NY on 24 September 1814. His primary family residence was on West 28th Street in New York City, just west of Fifth Avenue. The census records list him as ‘gentleman’ in the occupation column. He traveled to Europe on several occasions (both of his daughters were born in Europe). He died in Poughkeepsie 21 November 1869 and was buried in the family section of Greenwood Cemetery, Brooklyn NY.
Mary Rhinelander Newbold was born in New York City 12 December 1826. Her father died when she was about ten years old, and her mother, Mary Lucretia Ann Stevens, raised her family in New York, living mostly on the property owned by General Stevens called “the Mount” in Astoria NY along the Hell Gate opposite Wards Island a narrow passageway to Long Island Sound. She lived in New York City at 12 West 28th Street but stayed often at Fern Tor where she died 4 June 1897. She is buried with her husband in Greenwood Cemetery.
Thomas and Mary Newbold had four children: Catherine Augusta Newbold, Frederic Rhinelander Newbold, Thomas Newbold, and Edith Newbold.
Catherine Augusta Newbold was born in France 27 March 1847. Since Thomas and Mary were married 23 April 1846, it is safe to assume that the newly married couple did the grand tour of Europe, a customary practice for the affluent of New York City. Catherine did not marry. Catherine died in New York City 23 January 1921. In Federal Census records, she is listed several times at Fern Tor with her brother Frederic and her sister Edith. At the time of her death, she owned properties or held mortgages on several properties in New York City, including one-third the mortgage on 109 East 72nd Street east of Park Avenue, property along First Avenue near 92nd Street and a 3/16 interest on property at 115 Liberty Street (see note 23).
Frederic Rhinelander Newbold was born in New York City 1 December 1853. On 29 June 1882 he married Maud Spencer Ledyard of Washington DC. The marriage did not work out, and ended in divorce 1892. Maud moved to London to live with her mother Matilda Cass Ledyard. When Matilda died, she left $500,000 to Maud, who returned to the USA. Maud died in Los Angeles in 1947.
Frederic founded the New York Horticultural Society. On several occasions he invited members of the society to Poughkeepsie (using the Hudson River Day Liners), then transported them to Fern Tor where they might look out of the main house to view the four mile expanse of the Hudson River.
Frederick took annual vacations to Bermuda during the 1920s. He died at his summer cottage in Beverly Farms MA 30 June 1931. He left his estate to Edith, who was still alive. In the event Edith did not survive him his share of 14 East 93rd Street would have gone to his niece Mary Newbold Morgan. Frederic is buried in the family plot in Greenwood Cemetery, Brooklyn NY (see note 24).
Edith Newbold was also born in France 18 August 1856. She also did not marry, and is listed with her brother Frederic and sister Catherine in census records for Fern Tor. She died 3 April 1934. She left her entire estate to Frederic if he survived her. He did not. She left her share of Fern Tor to her nephew, Thomas Jefferson Newbold, and her real estate at 14 East 93rd St in New York City to her niece Mary Newbold Morgan. The remainder went in equal shares to T. Jefferson Newbold and her nieces Mary Newbold Morgan and Julia Appleton Cross. Edith is buried in the family plot in Greenwood Cemetery, Brooklyn NY.
Thomas Newbold (1849-1929) is the only child of Thomas Haines and Mary Newbold to have children. Born 19 May 1849 he is listed in the 1880 census as a lawyer living with his mother and siblings at Fern Tor together with his new wife Sarah Lawrence Coolidge whom he married in Boston MA on 2 June 1880. The Boston record of marriages lists Sarah’s parents as T. Jefferson and Hetty Coolidge of Somerset MA (see note 25).
Thomas and Sarah Newbold had three children: Mary Edith Newbold(1883-1969), Thomas Jefferson Newbold(1886-1936) and Julia Appleton Newbold (1891 – 1972)
Thomas and Sarah had a town house in New York City, but also purchased a country home in Hyde Park, known as Bellefield, and another place in Maine (see note 26).
Bellefield did not look like it does today in its location between Franklin Roosevelt’s home and Route 9. Thomas commissioned McKim, Mead and White to renovate the building and Beatrix Farrand to design the garden (see note 27).
For several years Thomas Newbold was a State Senator and after leaving the Senate sat on the state medical board. He died in New York City 11 November 1929.
Mary Edith Newbold (1883 – 1969) grew up in Manhattan and Hyde Park. She met and married William Gerald Dare Morgan (1879 – 1948). William (usually called Gerald) was the son of William (1838 – 1887) and Angelica ( 1846 – 1933) Morgan who lived at 26 Washington Square North in New York City, a few houses west of the Rhinelanders. His father was in the shipping business. His mother was Angelica Livingston Hoyt; she was born in the Ogden Mills building in Staatsburg but her main residence was Washington Square (see note 28).
Gerald Morgan traveled to France in 1916 as a war correspondent and wrote for several journals after the war. Mary Edith Newbold married Gerald Morgan in Hyde Park 3 June 1916. They had two children, Gerald Morgan Jr (1923 – 2011) who lived in Midlothian VA and Thomas Newbold Morgan (1928 – 1995) who lived in the house at 14 East 93rd street.
Mary inherited the house at 14 East 93rd Street in Carnegie Hill after Edith Newbold’s death, but Gerald and Mary are better known for inheriting Bellefield now on the National Park Service property; the building is now used for Park Service offices. In 1973, It was transferred to the National Park service by Mary and Gerald’s older son, Gerald Jr. Mary and Gerald Morgan are buried in the Morgan vault in Saint James Cemetery in Hyde Park. Both their sons were active in musical circles.
Thomas Jefferson Newbold(1886 – 1938) married Katherine Hubbard (1891 – 1978) in Boston MA in 1914. The couple remained in the Boston area for several years, with T J engaged in banking in the 1920 census. The 1930 census places the family in Santa Clara, Franklin, NY a small town between Saranac Lake and Tupper Lake in upstate New York, and T J is listed as a president of an electric company. Thomas and Katherine had five children: Thomas Jefferson Newbold Jr (1914 – 1916) who died in Saranac Lake, Thomas M Newbold (1915 – 2007) who died in Sacramento CA, Katherine Newbold Lowe (1917 - 2005 ), Sarah H Newbold Krashmer (1922 - ???) and Herman LeRoy Newbold (1924 – 2010). After Thomas Jefferson Newbold died, his widow and children returned to Massachusetts with address at 119 Marlboro Street, Boston MA (see note 28a). Katherine Hubbard later moved to Waltham MA and died there in 1978.
Julia Applegate Newbold Cross (1891 – 1972) married William Redmond Cross (1874 – 1960). The couple maintained a townhouse in New York City, but their main residence was in Bernardsville NJ, an affluent suburb which surfaced in recent years as the homes of Mike Tyson and Whitney Houston. After their marriage in 1913, Julia and William had five children: Emily Redmond Cross (10 Feb 1914- ?? ???), Richard James Cross (1915 – 2003), William Redmond Cross (1917 – 2002), Thomas Newbold Cross (1920 – 1996), and Mary Newbold Cross (1925 - ??).. The first four children were born in New York City, and the last in Massachusetts.
Mary Riley indicated to me that the grandchildren used to be taken for carriage rides along the trails of Fern Tor.
Owners after the Newbold Family
The Newbold family sold Fern Tor parcel to Charles Chlanda Jr (1907-1976), an executive with Central Hudson Gas & Electric (see notes 29-30). The latter used his knowledge of available parcels in Dutchess County to acquire several the parcels as personal investments. In the case of Fern Tor, it seems he wished to live on a part of the land.
Chlanda set out five parcels in the south part of Fern Tor for development as private homes. He sold the center parcel to William and Mary Reilly. The Reillys had lived on Bridge Street in the City of Poughkeepsie. They built a house on their Fern Tor parcel, and Mary lived in the house until her death in December 2010. The parcel and house remains with the heirs of the Reillys (see note 31).
Chlanda abandoned his plan for the other four parcels and took them off the market. There was a stone house on the Fern Tor used for the caretaker of the property when the Newbolds were in their New York City homes. Chlanda quickly sold this to Joseph & Carmen Bennett (see note 32). The Bennetts sold in 1955 to James E Hawkins, who sold the house and land in 1963 to Henry & Julia Fischbach. The Fischbachs sold the house to Marist College in 1990. Currently it is occupied by Brother Donald Kelly, who teaches at Marist College (see note 33).
Chlanda partitioned four acres at the northeast corner for his personal use. This encompasses a large house which was the gardener’s cottage and the remnants of a windmill which was used in pre electricity days to pump water from a pond below to the level of the gardener’s house. Chlanda lived in the gardener’s cottage.
In 1995 Chlanda’s son who lived in Massachusetts sold this parcel to Theodore Vanikiotis of Lagrangeville NY. I am told that Ted thought of the parcel for a diner (he owns, among others, the Palace Diner on Washington Street). However, the parcel lacks easily developable parking for a diner. So it remains in Vanikiotis ownership. Currently he rents the building to Marist College students (see note 34).
The remainder of the parcel, about 13 acres, remained in Chandla’s name until he sold it to Doctor George T. C. Way in 1975 (see note 35). Doctor Way was a well-known obstetrician in the Poughkeepsie medical community. Shortly after the purchase, Dr. Way divided the parcel into two parts, placing the two acres under the main house in his wife’s name (see note 36).
With their two adopted children, the couple moved into the Newbold carriage house, which they renovated extensively, including adding a three car carport, a swimming pool, and additions to the back of the carriage house to provide more office space. Dr. Way utilized many of the foundation stones from the original Newbold house. He also constructed a large shed within the footprint area of the Newbold main house.
Margaret Way died May 1983. Dr. Way later married Dee Stewart Way and transferred both sections of the parcel to Dee (see note 37). Dee Stuart was a horsewoman, and they constructed a stable just north of and below the level of the carriage house.
Horsemen and horsewomen could make use of the extensive trails developed during the Newbold ownership.
After the couple retired to Stuart FL, they sold their property in 1997 to Marist College (see note 38).
Marist College (1997 to the present)
The Newbold parcel begins just north of the Winslow parcel. When one drives from the Winslow area, the drive is uphill to a plain which is the highest elevation on the Marist campus west of Route 9. The terrain slopes quickly downward and then undulates until it meets the property of the former Hudson River State Hospital, now a park called Quiet Cove (see note 39). The Vanikiotis property maintains the level of route nine, which fact makes possible combinations of the two properties difficult.
It is likely that the suggestion to develop the site as an arboretum may have come from Franny Reese, a long time trustee and environmentalist.see note 40 About 2000 she led a group of Trustees (myself included) on a tour of the property. I was able to view an osprey nest on the property.
Marist college students enjoy walking the land along the trails and near the two Hudson River lookout spots. A walking path leads from the Gartland commons near the Gartland athletic complex onto some of the trails developed by the Newbolds.
The Way house – formerly the Newbold carriage house – is now used for academic and administrative purposes.
|
acquired |
owner |
disposed |
|
1997 |
Marist College |
|
|
|
↑ |
|
|
1974 |
George Way |
1997 |
|
|
↑ |
|
|
1946 |
Charles Chlanda |
1974 |
|
|
|
|
|
1990 |
Marist College |
|
|
1963 |
Henry & Julia Fischbach |
1990 |
|
1955 |
James & Virginia Hawkins |
1963 |
|
1946 |
Joseph & Carmen Bennett |
1955 |
|
1946 |
Charles Chlanda |
1946 |
|
|
|
|
|
1995 |
Theodore Vanikiotis |
|
|
|
↑ |
|
|
1946 |
Charles Chlanda |
1995 |
|
1947 |
Mary & William Riley |
|
|
|
↑ |
|
|
1946 |
Charles Chlanda |
1947 |
|
1946 |
Charles Chlanda |
1995 |
|
1861 |
Newbold family |
1946 |
|
1859 |
William & Helen Kent |
1861 |
|
1855 |
Hannah and Cyrus Mason |
1859 |
|
|
John Pells farm |
1855 |
Notes
Note 1. 1861 liber 120 page 3 Bankruptcy action vs. estate of William Kent to Thomas H Newbold. This describes a twenty acre parcel, but 4 acres at the northeast corner were sold by Charles Chlanda III to Theodore Vanikiotis in 1995. See 1995 liber 1970 page 309.
Note 2. The railroad went through lands north of Poughkeepsie from and after 1849. See deed liber 89 page 94 dated 24 April 1849 John Pells dec’d per executors to Hudson River RR Co
Note 3. 16 July 1855 liber 195 page 19 Estate of John Pells to Hannah and Cyrus Mason
Note 4. 28 September 1859 liber 114 page 509 Cyrus and Hannah Mason to William and Helen Kent
Note 5. 16 July 1855 John Pells & ors to Cyrus and Hannah P Mason
11 July 1855 Simon Pells & ors to Cyrus and Hannah P Mason
Note 6. 20 August 1861 liber 120 page 3 Estate of William Kent (by referee) to Thomas Newbold
Note 7. Examples are Locust Grove established by Samuel F B Morse, an estate by James Winslow along Beechwood Avenue, Wood Cliff, the Crosby estate situated on current Marist College Property later purchased by John F Winslow, Boardman estate south of Vassar College, part of which was purchased by IBM. Local businessmen followed suit, a prime example being Matthew Vassar who established Springside.
Note 8. Edith Wharton, A Backward Glance, Scribner’s Sons ©1933 reprinted 1964 385 pp. See page 11 Edith’s family on both father’s and mother’s side seem all to have belonged to the same prosperous class of merchants, bankers and lawyers. It was a society from which all dealers in retail business were excluded as a matter of course.”
Note 9. The name Newbold is a conjunction of new and bold. It means an occupant of a new stone house.
Note 10. The Newbold genealogy is derived mainly from Genealogical and Memorial History of the State of New Jersey edited by Francis Barley Lee available on the internet courtesy of Google. Search for Thomas Haines Newbold.
A more complete listing: of the Newbold family section of interest will be available at the Marist College Library Archives after this work is complete.
Note 11. I developed a more complete listing of the Rhinelander family which will be available at the Marist College library archives after this work is complete.
Note 12. General Stevens originally called his house/estate Mount Buonaparte. Stevens originally liked Napoleon because he restored order to France after the turmoil of the French Revolution, but the General became disenchanted with Napoleon when the latter dropped the ‘u’ from his name, and incensed when Napoleon crowned himself Emperor, as Stevens was a firm supporter of democratic government and saw the Emperor event leading away from democracy. He dropped the name Buonaparte from the estate and called it only The Mount. In later years, Edith Wharton used that name for the home she built in Lenox MA.
Note 13. This is one interpretation of the expression “keeping up with the Jones”, but it appeared in print only in 1914. The more common understanding was the example of two of George Jones’ grand-aunts Mary Mason Jones built her house very far north at 57th Street and Fifth Avenue, then considered the boondocks, and faced it with white marble rather than the common brownstone.. One pundit said she would wait for the rest of society to catch up with her. She did. She later added houses between 57th and 58th Street along Fifth Avenue. Earlier in her life she had built a home in south Manhattan which included a bathtub and indoor plumbing … both first for New York City.
The other grandaunt, Elizabeth Schermerhorn Jones built a county home in Rhinecliff NY with 24 rooms in gothic style. Originally named “Rhinecliffe” it was changed to “Wyndclyffe”. While still standing, it is in disrepair, and has received a protective fence around it from its current owner. Such a fate seems to be common with the many elaborate mansions built along the Hudson River in the nineteenth century. A later owner called it Linden Grove. The 1860 census for Wyndclyffe shows Elizabeth Jones and her nine servants.
Note 14. The story is told that George Jones always carried a $1,000 bill in his pocket, as Lucretia was an impulse buyer, and credit cards did not exist in that era.
Note 15. Broadway veers left around Tenth Street to cross Fifth Avenue near Madison Square. When I walked back to the Astor Place subway station from courses at New York University in the 1950s, the Grace Church became visible directly north of Broadway, as it stood at the bend of the road. Designed in French Gothic Revival style, it was the first major commission of James Renwick Jr., who designed among other churches Saint Patrick's Cathedral at Fifth Avenue and 49th Street in Manhattan.
Note 16. Edith Newbold, A Backward Glance, New York Charles Scribner’s Sons, copyright 1934 published 1885 385pp. Quotation on page 20.
Note 17 Having grown up in upper-class pre-World War one society, Wharton became one of its most astute critics, in such works as The House of Mirth and The Age of Innocence.
Note 18. See 1850_NY_Westchester census record for Herman LeRoy Newbold.
Note 19. See 1860 NY_Dutchess_Mattewan_Newbold census record. The cell for real estate is blank, leading us to believe that this was a rental property. Mattewan had several pleasant locations overlooking the Hudson River. The census record lists the four Newbold children, but indicates they all were born in New York. Catherine and Edith were born in France. The record also lists five servants with the Newbold family.
Note 20. A tor is a large, free-standing residual mass (rock outcrop) that rises abruptly from the surrounding smooth and gentle slopes of a rounded hill summit or ridge crest. In the South West of England, where the term originated, it is also a word used for the hills themselves. The lowland around the tor often had many ferns. The only reference to Fern Tor I could find via Google was for a site in South West England, but there were similar tors in Yorkshire, the origin of the Newbold families that emigrated to the United States. The Hudson river property resembles a tor, rising from the level ground of the Winslow and Barnard lands and dropping quickly beyond the initial hill (which is the highest point of Marist College west of route Nine). The vegetation north of the tor is marshy with a pond which supports ferns. If a viewer today imagines the hill without the tall trees and with the Newbold main stone house, there is a resemblance to a tor. Or perhaps they called it Fern Tor after what they remembered of Yorkshire.
Note 21. Mary Reilly also pointed to a spot on the Winslow parcel and told me she had watched Vincent Costanzi demolish the Winslow main house. The Costanzis were neighbors to the Reillys on North Bridge Street in Poughkeepsie.
Note 22. See the following deeds:
1946 liber 650 page 259 Charles Chlanda to Joseph and Carmen Bennett
1955 liber 897 page 529 John Bennett to James E Hawkins
1955 liber 899 page er20 James E Hawkins to James E and Virginia Hawkins
1967 liber 1109 page 763 James E and Virginia Hawkins to Henry and Julia Fischbach
1990 liber 1821 page 841 Henry and Julia Fischbach to Marist College.
Note 23. 115 Liberty Street is just below the World Trade Center in Manhattan. In June 2012, the apartment building across the street at 114 Liberty listed an eleven room condo apartment for sale at six million dollars, with monthly common charges of $2150 and monthly real estate taxes of $2848. It contained six bedrooms and six full baths. But in Catherine’s time 115 Liberty was more likely have been a commercial site.
Note 24. 14 East 93rd Street in New York City lies in the Carnegie Hill Historical District developed late in the 19th century after Andrew Carnegie built his residence at Fifth Avenue and 91st Street. It is considered a very fashionable residential district. Many of the homes built in the late 19th century and early 20th century have become schools or museums. The district consists of the area north of 86th Street and south of 96th street, stretching from Fifth Avenue to Third Avenue.
Note 25. Thomas Jefferson Coolidge (1831 – 1920) was a US diplomat who served as United States Minister to France from 1892 to 1893, succeeding Whitelaw Reid, during the administration of President Benjamin Harrison.(1889-1893). He married Mehitabel (Hetty) Appleton(1831-1901). He was also President of the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railroad companies. The census record for Sarah Coolidge shows the Coolidges living with William Applerton, whose real estate was listed at $434,000 and personal wealth at $325.000, while Thomas Jefferson Coolidge had personal wealth estimated at only $30,000. T Jefferson Coolidge’s father, Joseph Coolidge, visited Thomas Jefferson at Monticello, met, proposed to and married Jefferson’s granddaughter Ellen Wayles Randolph in Jefferson’s home at Monticello. . This explains the introduction of the Thomas Jefferson names to the distinctly English Newbold line.
Note 26. See deeds: 28 Apr 1885 liber 221 page 114 Archibald and Anne C Rogers to Thomas Newbold. This was a purchase of 15 acres out of the southeast corner of land owned by Rogers and north of the land owned by John Roosevelt. The sale was clarified in a deed 1 Sept 1886 liber 227 page 208 Charles Broom and Cornelia Broom to Thomas Newbold, that gave Newbold clear title to a small section of the Rogers purchase that had been designated as a sepulcher in 1772 by a Broom ancestor.. A later deed 9 July 1890 liber 251 page 269 added 4+ acres west of the original purchase. The county map dated 1891 shows the Newbold parcel cut from the southeast corner of the Rogers estate and north of the property of James Roosevelt. This map is available in the county records office on Market Street.
Note 27. Beatrix Jones Farrand (1872-1959) was the only daughter of Edith Wharton’s brother Frederic Jones and his first wife Minnie Cadwalader Rawle. Beatrix became a landscape designer operating out of her mother’s home on Eleventh Street in New York City. In 1912, she designed the walled residential garden Bellefield for Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Newbold in Hyde Park, New York. In addition to being the earliest extant example of her residential designs, this exquisite walled garden, now restored, is the only known pairing of works by the two most famous designers of that era--Farrand and the architects McKim, Mead & White. Her first notable work was to design the plantings around the National Cathedral in Washington DC. She received the commission from J. Pierpont Morgan to design the Morgan Library grounds in New York City, and continued as a consultant for thirty years (1913–1943).] Her most notable work was at the Dumbarton Oaks estate in the Georgetown district of Washington, D.C.
McKim, Mead and White started with a 1795 house then added wings to both the north and south sides, each wing as large as the original house. It is uncertain who the main architect was, as McKim died in 1909 and Stanford White in 1906. A likely architect within the firm would be Charles Lewis Bowman who was with the firm until 1922 and designed many country homes in the Hudson River valley.
Note 28 The 1935 map in the Dutchess County Records Office shows parcels belong to L Hoyt and A Morgan just north of the Margaret Lewis Norrie property in Staatsburg, New York. The parcel transfer to Angelica may have been part of the original Hoyt parcel willed to her. There is no record of a transfer to A. Morgan grantee in the deeds book.
Angelica Hoyt (1846-1933) was born in the Livingston house in Staatsburg NY that became the country home of Ogden L Mills and is now a historic site. She married William Dare Morgan(1838-1887) who engaged in the shipping business. The couple’s New York City home was at 26 Washington Square North. Their eldest child, Margaret Lewis Morgan (1870 – 1927) married A Gordon Norrie of Staatsburg (1868-1927) The couple had one son, Louis G Norrie, who was killed in an auto accident shortly after he graduated from Princeton. Gordon Norrie was active in banking. During World War I he spent a year with the Red Cross as Director of Military Affairs of the army, with headquarters in Milan, Italy. Mrs. Norrie was noted for her activities among women voters. She died at her home at 153 East 61st Street on 15 August 1927 after a four month illness. Sadly, her husband died ten days later. The couple is buried in the churchyard of St. James Episcopal Church in Hyde Park NY.
Ruth Morgan (1879 – 1933) did not marry, and lived many years with her mother. She developed the National Committee on the Cause and Cure of War, and fought for suffrage. She was active with the Red Cross during World War I, In New York City she served for many years as the president of the Colony Club. She is buried in Hyde Park.
Note 28a. Thomas J Newbold's family took a trip to Bermuda in 1940. Their addresses are all listed as 119 Marlboro Street, Boston MA, so they must have returned to MA from Santa Clara after the father died.. The ship manifest lists dates of birth for each of the children. Sarah (Sallie) Newbold was born 23 March 1922.
Note 29. recorded in 1946 but dated 15 Oct 1945 liber 649 page 380 Mary N. Morgan & ors to Charles Chlanda Jr
Note 30. By the social security death index, Charles Chlanda was born 26 December 1907 and died 30 April 1976. A retired coworker described him as “gracious and entrepreneurial”. He worked in the marketing division of Central Hudson.
Note 31. By the social security death index: William T Reilly was born 25 October 1911 and died in Poughkeepsie 24 September 1997. Mary H Reilly was born 28 January 1919 and died in her house 17 December 2010
Note 32 See deed 16 November 1946 liber 650 page 259 Charles Chlanda Jr to Joseph & Carmen Bennett.
Note 33. 1 September 1955 liber 897 page 529 John L Bennett to James E Hawkins
17 September 1955 liber 899 page 420 James E Hawkins to James E & Virginia Hawkins
18 September 1963 liber 1109 page 763 James E & Virginia Hawkins to Henry & Julia Fischbach
9 August 1990 liber 1871 page 849 Henry & Julia Fischbach to Marist College.
Note 34. See deed 3 November 1995 liber 1970 page 309 Charles Chlanda III to Theodore Vanikiotis
Note 35. See deed 28 March 1974 liber 1633 page 295 Charles Chlanda Jr to Carr Enterprises
Note 36. See deeds: 1975 1 November 1975 liber 1400 page 667 Carr Enterprises to Margaret A Way and. 1975 1 November 1975 liber 1418 page 635 Carr Enterprises to George T C Way
Note 37. See deeds 17 February 1986 liber 1706 page 173 George T C Way to Dee Stewart Way; and 1986 17 February 1986 liber 1706 page 603 George T C Way to Dee Stewart Way
Note 38. See deed: 1 December 1997 liber 2002 page 438 #9062 Dee Stewart Way to Marist College.
Note 39. There is an underpass under the railroad tracks marked 1912, which was the same year as the underpass provided by the railroad to the Marist Brothers. The river section of Quiet Cove contains the former Navy Boathouse as well as a newer boat house housing some high school rowing equipment.
Note 40. Social Security Death Index: Frances S Reese born 16 November 1917, died 2 July 2003. Franny is best known for successfully leading the opposition to a reservoir proposed by Consolidated Edison behind Storm King Mountain along the Hudson River. The suit set the precedent that concerned citizens have standing to sue for environmental protection. Frances Reese was a trustee of Marist College from 10 September 1984 until her death 2 July 2003.
Research on this project was conducted from January 2008 through August 2012 by Richard Foy, assisted by student assistants Paul Contarino and Kayla Benefield.
This is a list of deeds which are on file at the Dutchess County Office Building with the County Clerk (second floor). It was not thought useful to provide the full text here as it is readily available at the office of the County Clerk.
Deed Legend:
year=the year recorded with the clerk
date=date marked on the deed itself
liber=book in which deed is listed
page=page of the liber book
description=description of deed
grantor=individual or group originally holding deed
grantee=individual or group taking title to the deed
Deeds Prior to Purchase by Newbold in 1861
|
Liber |
Page |
Date |
Grantor |
Grantee |
|
12 |
338 |
1794 |
Ephraim C. DuBois |
Ephraim T. DuBois |
|
14 |
57 |
1796 |
E. Bogordus |
John Drake Jr. |
|
14 |
172 |
1796 |
Ephraim T. DuBois |
John Drake Jr. |
|
14 |
572 |
1797 |
Jane Knox |
Jacobus De Graff |
|
15 |
1 |
1797 |
Johnson Dakin |
Ares Vanderbilt |
|
15 |
5 |
1797 |
Jacobus De Graff |
Johnson Dakin |
|
36 |
392 |
1826 |
John Drake Jr. |
Ares Vanderbilt |
|
46 |
284 |
1831 |
Timothy Smith |
James Tallmadge |
|
46 |
286 |
1831 |
Ares Vanderbilt |
James Tallmadge |
|
55 |
279 |
1835 |
James Tallmadge |
Samuel Pine |
|
57 |
599 |
1835 |
Samuel Pine |
Henry Pine |
|
76 |
125 |
1843 |
Joseph Harris |
Moses Downing |
|
76 |
167 |
1843 |
Moses Downing |
George L. Downing |
|
76 |
436 |
1843 |
Amy Fonda |
Henry Pine |
|
88 |
341 |
1849 |
Per Lee Dine Spe Guard |
Henry Pine |
|
88 |
377 |
1849 |
Alpheus Green |
Hannah Teller |
|
100 |
621 |
1854 |
Hannah Teller |
Henry Pine |
|
102 |
294 |
1855 |
William Davies |
John W. Corlies |
|
102 |
303 |
1854 |
George L. Downing |
Boudwine LG Yelverton |
|
102 |
304 |
1854 |
Jno. Adriance |
Boudwine LG Yelverton |
|
103 |
385 |
1855 |
John W. Corlies |
Cyrus Mason |
|
103 |
642 |
1855 |
M. Johnson |
Cyrus Mason |
|
104 |
75 |
1855 |
Henry Pine |
William Davies |
|
104 |
94 |
1855 |
Elias Strenburgh |
Robert N. Palmer |
|
105 |
283 |
1855 |
Alpheus Green |
William Kent |
|
105 |
285 |
1855 |
Bridget Green |
William Kent |
|
108 |
110 |
1857 |
Boudwine LG Yelverton |
Robert N. Palmer |
|
114 |
508 |
1859 |
Robert N Palmer |
William Kent |
|
114 |
509 |
1859 |
William Kent |
Cyrus Mason |
|
120 |
3 |
1861 |
Cyrus Mason |
Thomas Newbold |
Deeds after Newbold Purchase and Sale of Property by the Newbolds
|
liber |
page |
year |
description |
grantor |
grantee |
|
221 |
114 |
1885 |
$5000 for 15+ acres in Hyde Park |
Archibald Rogers |
Thomas Newbold |
|
227 |
208 |
1886 |
$68 for "the old house lot" |
Charles Broom & Cornelia wf |
Thomas Newbold |
|
251 |
269 |
1890 |
4+ acres in Hyde Park |
Archibald Rogers |
Thomas Newbold |
|
348 |
230 |
1906 |
74.2 acres off Violet Avenue |
Charles Bahret |
Thomas Newbold |
|
349 |
230 |
1906 |
$2000 for two parcels totaling 184 acres |
Christian F Bahrat & Marie wf |
Thomas Newbold |
|
362 |
467 |
1909 |
90+ acres off Creek Road |
Penilla Simon dec'd by exrs |
Thomas Newbold |
|
365 |
49 |
1910 |
small parcel off Albany Post Road |
John M Hackett as Ref |
Thomas Newbold |
|
366 |
142 |
1910 |
small parcel |
Adelade Reilly & William |
Thomas Newbold |
|
521 |
55 |
1932 |
strip to widen Violet Avenue |
Gerald Morgan & ors |
County of Dutchess |
|
524 |
55 |
1932 |
|
T Jefferson Newbold exrs |
County of Dutchess |
|
543 |
124 |
1934 |
16+ acres in Hyde Park |
Anne C Rogers by exrs |
Mary N Morgan |
|
547 |
291 |
1934 |
cedes interest in 93rd street house |
T Jefferson Newbold & wife |
Mary Morgan & Julia Cross |
|
541 |
100 |
1935 |
|
Mary Morgan & Gerard Morgan trust |
Franklin D Roosevelt |
|
547 |
101 |
1935 |
74.2 acres Dumphy Farm along Violet Avenue |
T Jefferson Newbold |
Franklin Roosevelt |
|
547 |
291 |
1935 |
relinquish interest in fern tor estate |
Katherine H & T Jeff Newbold |
Mary N Morgan & ors |
|
564 |
255 |
1937 |
$21,000 2 Hyde Park parcels totaling 184 acres |
Mary Morgan & Gerard Morgan as trust |
Franklin D Roosevelt |
|
587 |
186 |
1940 |
appointed Katherine Newbold |
Gerard Morgan |
Katherine Newbold |
|
605 |
105 |
1942 |
$1550 for small parcel |
K & T Jeff & Thomas Newbold |
August Traudt |
|
647 |
265 |
1946 |
T Jefferson Newbold Will |
T Jefferson Newbold will |
|
|
672 |
612 |
1947 |
txfr 4 parcels to Crumwold Acres |
Second District Realty Corp |
Crumwold Acrfes Dev Corp |
|
703 |
608 |
1948 |
William R Cross Jr replaces Gerald Morgan |
Julia A Cross |
William R Cross Jr |
|
703 |
613 |
1948 |
appt Gerald Morgan Jr as trustee |
Julia A Cross |
Gerald Morgan Jr |
|
713 |
42 |
1949 |
Gerald Morgan's property |
Crumwold Acres Dev Corp |
Mary Newbold Morgan |
|
1355 |
811 |
1973 |
52 acres to FDR property |
Gerald Morgan Jr |
National Park Foundation |
|
1355 |
815 |
1973 |
0.12 acres along shoreline near crum elbow creek |
Gerald Morgan jr |
National Park Foundation |
|
1406 |
178 |
1975 |
23.41 acre to FDR |
Gerald Morgan Jr |
United States of America |
|
176 |
889 |
1987 |
agreement |
Gerald Morgan Jr |
John B & Carol A Schneider |
|
587 |
183 |
|
Deed of Appt |
Thomas Newbold by exrs |
Katherine H Newbold |
Deeds from Time of Sale of Fern Tor by the Newbold Family
|
liber |
page |
year |
description |
grantor |
grantee |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
647 |
265 |
1946 |
T Jefferson Newbold Will |
T Jefferson Newbold |
|
|
649 |
380 |
1946 |
sale of Newbold Estate |
Mary N Morgan & ors |
Charles Chlanda Jr |
|
650 |
259 |
1946 |
0.43 acres near Way parcel |
Charles Chandla Jr |
Joseph & Carmen Bennett |
|
664 |
399 |
1947 |
100 x 173 parcel within in center |
Charles Chandla Jr |
Wm & Mary Reilly |
|
682 |
563 |
1947 |
10' easement over Reilly property |
Central Hudson |
Wm & Mary Reilly |
|
682 |
564 |
1947 |
service for Reillys from pole 47159 |
Cemtral Hudson Gas & Electric |
Mary & William Reilly |
|
682 |
561 |
1948 |
10' easement for telephone Route 9 to Railroad |
Central Hudson Gas & Elec Co |
NY Telephone Co |
|
682 |
562 |
1948 |
right of way to furnish electricity to Reilly from pole |
Charles Chlanda Jr |
Central Hudson Gas & Elec |
|
897 |
529 |
1955 |
0.43 acre parcel |
John L Bennett |
James E Hawkins |
|
899 |
420 |
1955 |
0.43 acre parcel |
James E Hawkins |
James E & Virginia Hawkins |
|
1109 |
763 |
1963 |
0.43 acre parcel |
James E & Virginia Hawkins |
Henry & Julia Fischbach |
|
1380 |
190 |
1974 |
Newbold parcel to Carr |
Charles Chlanda Jr |
Carr Enterprises |
|
1400 |
667 |
1975 |
2.0+ acres under main building |
Carr Enterprises |
Margaret A Way |
|
1406 |
178 |
1975 |
|
Gerald Morgan Jr |
U S of America |
|
1418 |
635 |
1975 |
20- acres less 2+ under house |
Carr Enterprises |
George T C Way |
|
1633 |
295 |
1984 |
2+ acre parcel |
Margaret Way estate |
George T C Way |
|
1706 |
173 |
1986 |
2+ acre parcel |
George T C Way |
Dee Stewart Way |
|
1706 |
603 |
1986 |
20- acres less 2+ under house |
George T C Way |
Dee Stewart Way |
|
1711 |
555 |
1986 |
4 acre parcel along route 9 |
Charles Chlanda Jr |
Carmen & Charles Chlanda III |
|
176 |
889 |
1987 |
agreement |
Gerald Morgan Jr |
John B & Carol A Schneider |
|
1871 |
849 |
1990 |
5162 |
Henry & Julia Fischbach |
Marist College |
|
1871 |
849 |
1990 |
384 North Road parcel |
Henry Fischbach |
Marist College |
|
0 |
0 |
1995 |
4 acre parcel along route 9 |
Charles Chlanda III |
Theodore Vancitis |
|
2002 |
438 |
1997 |
9062 20 acres less exceptions |
Dee Stewart Way |
Marist College |
|
0 |
0 |
1998 |
title insurance Dee Way |
|
|
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