Sir Henry Clinton, British Commander-in-Chief during the American Revolution
Some may not know that Clinton and the British used Philipse Manor during the Revolutionary War, and the Philpse family was loyal to the Crown.
By Mary Hoar, City of Yonkers Historian, President Emeritus Yonkers Historical Society, recipient of the 2004 Key to History, Yonkers Landmarks Preservation Board Member, Revolutionary Yonkers 250 Chair and President Untermyer Performing Arts Council
Monday, May 26th
May 26, 1945: Jackson Street’s Amelia Abott received a telegram about her son Thomas, who had been reported killed in action two weeks earlier. Not only was he alive, he had returned to duty. A letter from General James Ulio confirmed the news; Abbott was released from the hospital two weeks earlier and serving with his unit. General Ulio apologized for the anguish caused by the Army’s error.
May 26, 1945: Brigadier General Joseph Smith, Twentieth Bomber Command in India, awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross to Saratoga Avenue’s Captain Edmond Mitchell. He received the award for “meritorious achievement while participating in operational and combat flights from 20th Bomber Command bases in India and China.” Mitchell, a 1938 Gorton graduate, also wore the Air Medal with one Cluster and the Asiatic Campaign Ribbon with four Bronze Battle Stars.
He grew up on Glenwood Avenue.
Tuesday, May 27th
May 27, 1941: Campbell Hat Company, 117 Stanley Avenue, received a $67,000 contract from the Army Quartermaster’s depot in Philadelphia to manufacture 24,000 olive drab hats. It was the company’s fifth defense contract; its defense contracts totaled $350,000.
May 27, 1942: Yonkers High graduate and cargo ship Captain Edward Richmond arrived safely in Barbados after his ship was destroyed by a torpedo attack. Lifeboats were launched within four minutes; after searching for survivors, thirty survivors in four boats headed for shore. Three arrived in Barbados; the fourth landed in Trinidad.
Wednesday, May 28th
May 28, 1928: The Paris exhibition of more than 40 oil and water-color paintings, drawings and engravings by Warburton Avenue artist Bertha Fanning Taylor was held at the Lyceum Club de France.
According to the Paris edition of the Herald Tribune, she was “a perfect artist in each of these mediums.” Mrs. Taylor had other works on display in the Salon of the Societe Nationale des Beaux –Arts at the Grand Palais and the American Women’s Club.
She was one of the few American artists who competed in the 1936 German Olympic Art competitions. Other artists boycotted the Olympics because of Germany’s discriminatory practices against Jews and other marginalized groups.
Taylor returned to the States when World War II broke out.
May 28, 1945: The scroll honoring the 32 Yonkers Boy Scouts who died in the service of their country was updated and hung in Scout Headquarters.
Thursday, May 29th
May 29, 1779: Sir Henry Clinton made his headquarters in the (Philipse) Manor House to plan attacks on Verplank and Stony Point
May 29, 1953: Sheriff John Hoy’s Criminal Investigation Division used a new tactic in their anti-gambling crusade; for the first time, a woman took part in a stationery store raid at 39 Main Street!
Deputy Sheriff Theresa Klinger didn’t wear her uniform. Dressed in plain clothes, she was easily mistaken for a woman shopping at the store. The team arrested proprietor Peter Cossifos, whose wife promptly fainted. He was uncooperative, refused to be processed at Headquarters and would not give a statement to police. He had $359.16 in his pocket when arrested.
Friday, May 30th
May 30, 1902: Veterans from Meagher’s Civil War Brigade visited St. Joseph’s Church, attending a memorial service for comrades who passed away. St. Joseph’s Assistant Pastor Reverend Bernard Brady was official Chaplain of the Brigade; he spoke of the heroism of the men during the many battles of the Civil War.
Each veteran wore a sprig commemorating the battle of Fredericksburg. Before this deadly battle, each man picked a sprig of boxwood from a nearby bush, placed it in his hat and rushed into battle. At the end of the battle, the man closest to the Confederate fortifications was a soldier… a soldier with a sprig of green in his hat.
Later that day, St. Joseph’s Yonkers Men’s Catholic Association entertained the veterans that afternoon at Saw Mill River Park.
May 30, 1903: Driving a Waltham Buckboard car, Dr. Gerald Gould won the silver cup in one of the first automobile races held in this country! Three hundred people came to see the race at Empire Racetrack. Throughout the race two cars were neck and neck as they zoomed toward the finish line. The other driver turned to look at Dr. Gould; at that moment, with a big burst of speed, Gould swept ahead to win by five yards. The race took two minutes and five seconds, with an average winning speed of an amazing 28 miles per hour!
Saturday, May 31st
May 31, 1921: The remains of twelve Yonkers men, killed in France during World War I, were returned to our city for burial after being exhumed from overseas graves. Yonkers War Veterans joined the grieving families receiving their loved ones and held a ceremony commemorating the loss of these Yonkers men.
May 31, 1924: Alan L. Benson, Hawley Terrace, sailed to Europe to study labor conditions; on returning to the States, he wrote a series of articles on what he found. Benson was the first Yonkers resident to run for President of the United States; he ran as the Socialist Party candidate.
Sunday, June 1st
June 1, 1916: Actors with the Yonkers Stock Company at the Warburton Theater were leaders of the Actors’ Equity Society who voted to affiliate with the AFL. Better-known Yonkers leaders were Wade Hampton, Robert Allen, Margaret Brainerd and stage manager John Wray.
June 1, 1928: Andrew MacKinley, crewmember of the Smith, a destroyer that rescued more than 300 survivors from the President Lincoln, was elected an honorary member of the President Lincoln Club.
Club members were sailors on the Lincoln when it was torpedoed by a German submarine 500 miles off the coast of France; it sank 20 minutes later. Of the 715 people on the Lincoln, 26 were lost; all Yonkers and Westchester men on the Lincoln were saved.
Questions or comments on this column? Email YonkersHistory1646@gmail.com.
For information on the Yonkers Historical Society, Sherwood House and upcoming events, please visit our website www.yonkershistoricalsociety.org, call 914-961-8940 or email info@yonkershistoricalsociety.org.
