| SOMERS, NEW YORK HISTORY Home - Community - Local News - Photo Gallery - Restaurants - Theater - About - E-mail me Somers Museum - History Article Index - Elephant Hotel History - Timeline - Historical Society Articles HISTORY LINKS: Westchester County Virtual Archives - New York History Net - New York State Archives - |
| THE MANOR YEARS (excerpted from chapter 1, "Somers - Its People and Places") In 1677 Stephanus Van Cortlandt, an influential member of the colonial government, acquired a license from the British governor to buy land from the Indians on the east side of the River. In 1697 the Lordship and Manor of Cortlandt were established. These 83,000 acres of land included the areas covered by today's towns of Cortlandt, Yorktown, Somers and portions of North Salem, Pound Ridge and Lewisboro. Stephanus Van Cortlandt never lived on the Manor, merely visiting occasionally his fur-trading outpost at the mouth of the Croton River. This vast acreage that he owned was divided among his eleven sons and daughters or held in common among them. Ownership by so many heirs was not conducive to the development of the land. Most of the 91 inhabitants on the Manor in 1712 lived near the Hudson River and real settlement did not begin in the Somers area until after the formal partition among the heirs in 1734. The Manor was divided into "Great Lots" which, in turn, were divided into farms averaging about 230 acres. Some of these farms were sold outright while others were leased to tenant farmers. Both tenants and freeholders came from neighboring areas - those of Dutch descent from the shores of the Hudson River and those of English descent from Rye, White Plains, New York City, Dutchess County and New England. The French Hugenots came from New Rochelle and the majority of Quakers from Long Island. Mosts of these people were farmers. Millers were lured to the areas to satisfy the need for grist mills. They were followed by saddlers, blacksmiths, carpenters, inn keepers, teachers and other craftsmen, artisans and professionals. Roads were few and very rough and the homesteads were isolated. Thus each family had to be relatively self-sufficient. Sheep provided wool which was spun and woven by the women and flax was grown for weaving into linen. Wood was cut both for construction and fuel and in the fall grain was taken to the miller to be ground. Animals wer slaughtered, their meat preserved by smoking and salting, and seed for the spring planting was gathered and carefully stored. Life, however, was not all work. Fruit was raised not only to be eaten, but also for wine, brandy and hard cider. Families were large and gregarious and lines of commuication with the outside world were provided by itinerant preachers and peddlers. Education took place at home and, although books were scarce and expensive, almost every family had its Bible which was used both as a teaching tool and as a guide for the moral and religious upbringing of the children. Schools and churches were not established until after the Revolutionary War. |
| The website for the Somers Historical Society contains a brief history for the Town of Somers, as well as for a couple of historical institutions such as The Elephant Hotel and the Farmers and Drovers Bank. The official website of the Town of Somers also provides a well-written brief history of the town (click here). The Town of Somers celebrated its 200th year anniversary in 1988. At that time the Somers Historical Society published a very well-written and interesting history of the town, "Somers - Its People and Places." The Somers Library has several copies available. This page will contain excerpts from "Somers - Its People and Places," as well as other sources. Original articles will be accepted, as long as they are well-written and have a supporting bibliography. Use the e-mail address at the top of this page to send me submissions. The chronology of historical events can be found on the Timeline page. The information found on this page was excerpted from the "Somers - Its People and Places" timeline. Please click here to go to Timeline. |