THE TOWN OF YORKTOWN. 663 



The following receipts for rent prove the Purdys to have been tenants 

 in common, long prior to the above release. They also established the 

 early names of the town : — 



" Rec'd, Hanover, May ye 10th, 1760, by ye hand of Abraham 

 Purely, three pound in part for his farm rent and for the use of Col. 

 Henry Beeckman, Esq., per me, 



^3 o o John Bryan." 



" Received at Crompond, 16th Nov'r, 1786, per Mr. Elvan Purdy, 

 one pound \t> s - in part of rent. 



Stephen van Cortlandt." 



"Received at Yorktown, Nov. 7th, 1789, of Mr. Elvan Purdy, £2, 

 igs. gd. in full of rent due. 



Stephen van Cortlandt." 



The Purdy's, who were among the first tenants of the Van Cortlandt's 

 in this town, are descended from Francis Purdy, who died at Fairfield, 

 Conn., in 1658. His three sons — John, Joseph and Francis — were among 

 the early settlers of Rye in this county. Joseph is first mentioned as 

 residing in that town in 1677. " He was a leading member of the com- 

 munity, being Supervisor of the town in 1707-1708; Justice of the 

 Peace in 1702, and after, representative of the county for several years 

 in the Assembly; and one of the chief promoters of the Church, writes 

 the Rev. James Wetmore, many years later. With Colonel Caleb Heath- 

 cote and others, in 1701, he purchased lands in New Castle, where 

 some of his decendants settled. His will is dated Oct. 5th, 1709. He 

 had seven sons, Joseph, Daniel, Samuel, David, Jonathan, John, (called 

 still John), and Francis."* 1 Daniel, the second son, was one of the 

 patentees of Budd's neck, in 1720, and held a thousand acres in Cort- 

 landt's manor. He had three sons — Hackaliah, Joshua and Daniel. 

 The latter was the father of Abraham, who was born on 10th of Oct, 

 1 7 16 ; married Phoebe, daughter of Daniel Strong, and died at Yorktown, 

 17th of April, 1778. His eldest son was Abraham Purdy, Esq., for 

 many years a lieutenant of Militia for the manor of Cortlandt, whose 

 son, the late Alvan Purdy, Esq., erected the family homestead at Crom- 

 pond, in 1775, and held a Lieutenancy in Captain Haddy's company of 

 militia, belonging to the regiment of Col. Samuel Drake. The sons of 

 Alvan Purdy, were the late Abraham, of Goshen Co., N. Y. ; James of 

 Yorktown ; and Alvan, late proprietor of the homestead. 



The Lees, too, were among the early tenantry of the manor, and are 

 supposed to have been a younger branch of the Lees of Lee — Magna, 



a Baird's Hist, of Rye, pp. 344, 435. 



