Samuel Untermyer
By Mary Hoar, City of Yonkers Historian, President Emeritus Yonkers Historical Society, recipient of the 2004 Key to History, Yonkers Landmarks Preservation Board Member and President Untermyer Performing Arts Council
Monday, October 27th
October 27, 1776: American troops left Valentine Hill to join General Washington’s assembly of troops in White Plains.
October 27, 1919: The US Navy Department returned the steam lighter Bessie to the Ben Franklin Transportation Company!
The boat carried food and clothing to battle ships, transports, and other navy vessels lying off Brooklyn and Staten Island, day and night, including the winter of 1918 when the harbor was icebound. Before Bessie was mustered out, it worked every day for two years straight without a day off!
Built in 1892, Bessie was part of Ben Franklin for twenty years; during its time with the transportation company, it was captained by J. McFeeley, who remained with the boat while in the service of the government.
Tuesday, October 28th
October 28, 1776: Residents of Valentine’s Hill heard the surging of the Hessians as they advanced to attack American troops.
October 28, 1776: American Forces crossed Mile Square and Sprain Roads on their way to the Battle of White Plains.
October 28, 1947: Three Yonkers men were part of the group of men aboard the USS Antietam that held memorial services for returning World War II servicemen killed in action. The servicemen were Private First Class Thomas Carroll, USMC, of Portland Place; Seaman Second Class H. Berger, USN, of Bruce Avenue; and Seaman First Class F. J. Pietrantonio, USN, of Waverly Street.
Wednesday, October 29th
October 29, 1908: Several Yonkers High School students were suspended for an indefinite period because of a strike demanding the return to the school’s operating on the one-session plan.
Superintendent of schools Charles Gorton announced the two-shift plan would stand.
October 29, 1927: Because voter registration was so heavy in Yonkers, the city borrowed nine used voting machines to meet the needs of our people.
October 29, 1952: General Dwight D. Eisenhower visited Yonkers, making a campaign stop at Larkin Plaza.
Thursday, October 30th
October 30, 1666: Mr. and Mrs. O’Neale sold Colendonck to her brother Elias Doughty of Flushing. Mary Doughty van der Donck O’Neale was the widow of Adriaen van der Donck, after whom Yonkers is named, had won the right to claim the “Younckers land” just weeks earlier.
October 30, 1926: Samuel Untermyer, labeled as the “Sage of Greystone” by the Yonkers Statesman, urged support for Governor Alfred E. Smith in his campaign for reelection against Ogden Mills.
October 30, 1943: Cliffcrest at 523 Riverdale Avenue, once rented by Mark Twain and his family for a year, was formally dedicated as a home for seamen of the United Nations. The new unit, run by the Manhattan unit of the American Women’s Hospitals Reserve Corps (AWHRC), was named the Gloryhole. The historic house was converted into a modern country home to provide rest and recreation for seamen on sick leave or furlough. Major Rosalind Cowen, Director of the AWHRC, officiated at the ceremony; William Ruxton, former president of the British-American Ambulance Corps, was master of ceremonies.
Friday, October 31st
October 31, 1940: Yonkers Patrolman Frank Skowronski ignored his own safety and jumped between two men, stopping a shotgun duel on Chicken Island! Both men already were wounded when Skowronski arrived. Sweeney McIntyre (73) was fighting with John Mitchell (35). The pair had been drinking at a party when Mitchell asked McIntyre to tell his daughter to “leave him alone,” outraging McIntyre. McIntyre was friends with the daughter, but his romantic interests lay elsewhere.
Skowronski, patrolling Getty Square, heard shots and ran to the scene. Pulling out his service revolver, he stepped between the two men and ordered them to drop their guns. He arrested them, took their guns, and brought them to St. Joseph’s hospital in an ambulance.
October 31, 1945: A bit of role playing by a victim led to a bandit incriminating himself! Detectives William Harding and Louis Ligay caught William Holmes with a loaded revolver at the USO the day before. They told butcher shop owner Angelo Colacurcio to dress and act like a plainclothes policeman, walk into the Detective Division and hand Harding a typewritten paper, saying, “You left this downstairs.” Harding thanked him, calling him Tom. To everyone’s astonishment, Holmes shouted, “Cut out the comedy! His name ain’t Tom. He’s the guy we stuck up!”
Saturday, November 1st
November 1, 1914: Workmen began tearing down the old Eagle hat factory on the Flagg estate in Chicken Island. It was the first step to transform the area into a more upscale area for “business houses.”
November 1, 1944: Arthur Witte, Yonkers Public Schools War Activities Chairman, announced the monthly citywide Scrap Paper Days would be discontinued; instead, schools would designate which Tuesday would be their monthly pickup day.
Why was the system changed? There were not enough junk dealers in Yonkers to collect from all schools; dealers would finish collecting the next day. Scrap paper piles left overnight were looted; a large number of books and magazines were stolen. Looters made a mess, leaving loose papers all over schoolyards. Early the next morning, staff had to pick up and restack the paper.
Sunday, November 2nd
November 2, 1929: Yonkers resident and trans-Atlantic pilot Captain Lewis A. Yancey led a fleet of planes to Yonkers from Roosevelt Field to support Mayor John J. Fogarty’s election campaign. Yancey and his wife, the former Gertrude Civello, lived on Cornell Avenue.
November 2, 1934: Word reached Yonkers that a resolution had been introduced to the New York City Council to annex Yonkers. Yonkers residents were outraged and promised strong opposition.
Questions or comments on this column? Email YonkersHistory1646@gmail.com.
For information on the Yonkers Historical Society, Sherwood House and upcoming events, please visit its website www.yonkershistoricalsociety.org, call 914-961-8940 or email info@yonkershistoricalsociety.org.
