Sunday, January 15, 2006
“When the first Lord of the Manor died in 1702, he closed a career in which he may well have taken pride....It is a curious contrast of fate that the first Lord of the Manor, who was contumacious of the King's authority, died in possession of his estate, while the third Lord lost his because of loyalty to the King.”
According to Hall, “There was probably little luxury in the residences at Philipse's mills during the incumbency of the first Lord of the Manor…but with the advent of the second proprietor, the more settled condition of the country and greater security encouraged social life and gradually led to the Manor Hall becoming the centre of more social activity “
Mary Philipse, her wealth and beauty, coupled with a rumored marriage proposal from George Washington, became the intriguing subject of a romantic legend. Rumors of parties and hospitality to soldiers and visitors to the region became part of the folklore about their house, Manor Hall (and, later, Beverly House).
Another rumor concerned Susannah Philipse and Beverly Robinson. The latter came of a distinguished Virginian family, being the son of John Robinson who was President of the Colony of Virginia upon the retirement of Governor Gooch in 1734. He proposed to the 23-year old Susannah and their marriage about the year 1750 was one of the social events of the day.
Later, as we will see, however, the validity of the Philipse patent was challenged by the Wappinger Indians (perhaps under persuasion of Chinese politicians and the freemason societies), who believed that they were paying too much for their leases, especially after having served a stint in the American military, especially during the French and Indian War. But the court system, at that time, supported the legality of the Philipse's patent. Eventually, however, and after the Revolutionary War, the Philipses were deemed loyalists and lost all of their land except for the portion bequeathed to their children.
But were the Philipses ever real? A search in the records of vital statistics shows that a Susanna Philipse was born (in 1723) who died in the same year. Another Susanna Phillipse was born in 1727 and supposedly married Beverly Robinson, who took over her land possessions, but her trail seems to disappear after 1764 when leasers and Wappinger Indians revolted and ran Beverly Robinson off the land. A third puzzling piece of the puzzle comes in with the appearance of a Susannah Robinson, with the extra letter h on the end of her first name. Was she the same person as Susanna Robinson?
Copyright 2005 La Di La Dah.
