416 HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF WESTCHESTER. 



Ferrerr, Ferries or Ferris, the first member of which (in England) was 

 Henry de Feriers, the son of Gualchelme de Feriers, master of the House 

 of the Duke of Normandy, who obtained of the Conquerer, large grants of 

 land in the counties of Staffordshire, Derbyshire and Leicestershire. 

 From Gualchelme de Feriers, descend, the Ferrers of Groby, who bore 

 for their paternal coat of arms " gu. seven mascles or. a canton erm ; 

 while their Westchester decendants carried, gu. a fleur de lis or., a can- 

 ton erm, with a crescent for difference. Jeffrey Ferriger or Ferris, of 

 Watertown, Massachusetts, was admitted a freeman, A.D. i635. & From 

 thence he removed to Weathersfield, in 1658, and must have been resid- 

 ing at Fairfield, in Connecticut, according to the following extract taken 

 from the Probate Records. — " Order of the Courts of Probate, Fairfield, 

 on estate of Jeffrey Fferris, relative to marriage contract with his de- 

 ceased wife Susanna, by which he agreed to pay certain legacies to child- 

 ren of Robert Lockwood, deceased," "according to the administration 

 entered in Courte, 20th October, 1658, &c. c At an early period, John 

 Ferris, removed hither from Fairfield, and became one of the ten pro- 

 prietors of Throckmorton "s neck. These lands he probably obtained 

 by purchase from Thomas Pell, formerly of Fairfield. John Ferris was 

 one of the first patentees of the town of Westchester, in 1667. He 

 lived to an advanced age, and died in 17 15. His will was proved 25th 

 of Feb., 1 715-16. He left five sons, viz : Samuel, one of the first as- 

 sistants and common council of the borough of Westchester j James, 

 proprietor of the homestead in 1746; Jonathan, John and Peter, of 

 Westchester. His grandson, James Ferris, possessed this estate in 1776, 

 when it was occupied by the British troops, under Gen. Lord Howe. 

 The family happened to be at breakfast, in the present house, on the 

 morning of the 12th of October, 1776, when a gun from the British 

 flag-ship announced the disembarkation of the troops ; this signal was 

 instantly answered by the enemies' shipping, which lay at anchor be- 

 tween City Island and Throckmorton's neck. On the next day Gen. 

 Lord Howe, supposing that he had been deceived by his guides and 

 landed upon an island, summoned them before a board of officers ; as 

 they entered, he struck the table violently with his sword, and demanded 

 in a threatening manner, how they could dare to deceive him ? d After 



a The arms of Gualchelme de Feriers, were ar. six horse shoes pierced sa. The ancient 

 armes of Ferrers, ki. six horse shoes, arg. three, two and one. The anna of Ferric l>es Ferris, 

 arms; Degneoles, a trois annelets d. or. Couronne de Comte, supports Deux Lions. In 

 1265, Robert Ferre, Ecuyer, til de Raunl ou, Kodolphe Ferre. Sec de Magny Nobilliare de 

 N'Hiuandie, Tome 2. 



b There was a Benjamin Ferris, of s tlem,in 1640,who might have been a brother of Jeffrey, 



c BWrfleld Prob. Rec., 1048— 1656, p. 67. 



d Blst S [itember, 1669. Nickolaa Bayley, of Westchester, carpententer, sells his house lot, 

 wliieh lws over against Mr. Pell's house, and adjoining to '.hat lot which was formerly mine x 

 and now is, John Ferrlsses, to John Winter, of Westchester, and the commonage thereunto 

 belonging, &c 



