408 The Story of The Bronx 



sively engaged with, or at least interested in, the contraband 

 trade. 



The house consists of two parts, the living part of two stories 

 and a single storied part which constitutes the kitchen, where 

 the great brick fireplace with its Dutch ovens still remains. 

 Back of the low-ceiled dining-room is a large room partly 

 underground, which is the cellar for the storage of vegetables 

 and food, probably the milk room of the ancient farmstead. 

 The chief interest in the house, however, lies in the second 

 story, where, back of the immense chimney, a hole in the floor 

 gives access to a subterranean vault, or room, of which ab- 

 solutely no indication is given on the lower floor. The flooring 

 is very wide, not less than twelve inches; and upon the visit 

 of the author, the occupant of the house obligingly removed 

 the trap-door in order that he might see into the dark depths 

 below. Local tradition says there is a passage under the 

 creek towards Cornell's Neck; but such an engineering 

 feat as this would have been almost impossible in colonial 

 days. 



It was within this vault in 1776, before the British obtained 

 possession of this section of Westchester County, that the 

 three loyalist clergymen, Dr. Myles Cooper, President of 

 King's College, Dr. Chandler of Elizabeth, New Jersey, and 

 Dr. Samuel Seabury, Rector of Westchester, hid themselves 

 for some time while awaiting an opportunity to escape to Long 

 Island. Notwithstanding the fact that this whole section 

 was patrolled by the troops of Heath's command, and that the 

 house was frequently searched for fleeing loyalists, so in- 

 geniously contrived is the hiding-place that the reverend 

 gentlemen escaped detection and were able finally to get away 

 safely to the other side of the Sound. It is not unlikely that 

 the house harbored less distinguished visitors than the three 



