West Farms 391 



Then came the troublous times of the Revolution, and the 

 loyalty of the majority of the De Lanceys to the crown made 

 them the objects of particular attack on the part of the Whigs. 

 James, the son of "Peter of the Mills," and commander of 

 the Westchester Light Horse, did his duty faithfully, as he 

 saw it, to his king; and, as a result, lost his estates by confis- 

 cation. It is strange that his brother John, who also fought 

 on the side of King George, should have been unmolested in the 

 possession of his property. It does not seem that the De 

 Lanceys lost any sense of their own importance or were much 

 overawed by those who carried the king's commission; for it 

 is related that upon one occasion two of the younger members 

 of the family, James and his brother Oliver, had a quarrel 

 with Emmerick, whom they insulted and struck. Though 

 both were private gentlemen, they were tried by court-martial 

 and condemned to two months' imprisonment, as well as to 

 make a public apology to Emmerick at the head of his troops 

 at Kingsbridge. 



After the Revolution, one of the three stores in this section 

 was located at West Farms and was conducted by Daniel 

 Mapes. After the construction of Coles's Boston road, the 

 village became the most important place between New York 

 and New Rochelle, as the road passes through the village. 

 When the first extension of the surface-car service was made, 

 it was to West Farms. The country around about was devoted 

 to farming, but, later, many handsome estates were owned by 

 wealthy New York gentlemen and merchants. A few of these 

 still remain, but nearly all have been cut up into lots and 

 streets and are being rapidly built upon, as communication is 

 becoming easier and more rapid. This change has been more 

 marked since the completion of the subway, which has its 

 northerly terminal here; there are also numerous trolley lines 



