Peter Hatfield[1]

Male Abt 1683 -


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  • Name Peter Hatfield 
    Born Abt 1683  [2
    Gender Male 
    Baptism 31 Mar 1683  New York, New York Find all individuals with events at this location  [2
    Person ID I741  Szudy family
    Last Modified 18 Aug 2007 

    Family Elizabeth Travis,   d. Yes, date unknown 
    Married Abt 1710  [2
    Children 
     1. Joshua Hatfield,   b. 9 Apr 1716, White Plains, Westchester County, New York Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 15 Jul 1802, White Plains, Westchester County, New York Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 86 years)
    Last Modified 1 Jan 2019 
    Family ID F191  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  • Notes 
    • 4. Pieter (or Peter) Hatfield (Thomas) was born possibly in Mamaroneck, and was baptized in the Dutch Reformed Church in New York on March 31, 1683. He was married about 1710, to Elizabeth Travis, daughter of one of the original White Plains patentees. The will of her sister Martha (Travis) Lyon of Rye, shows that Elizabeth was sister to Robert and David Travis of Courtlandt, to Sarah, wife of Gabriel Lynch, Sr. of White Plains, and to Catherine, wife of Samuel Purdy.
      Peter Hatfield as the oldest son of his father, inherited his father's interest in the undivided lands of Mamaroneck, but not the home. In 1698, when the inhabitants of Mamaroneck took the Oath of Allegiance, there were no male Hatfields old enough to sign, so Peter could not then have reached the age of twenty-one. It was not required of him to sign the second deed obtained from the Indians in 1701, because his mother owned the home and she signed, but it is possible that he was not then quite of age. When, in 1706-7, the land was actually divided and the upper lots laid out, Peter Hatfield received an eighth share in the division, in the right of his father. His lot in the last division was No. 7 (see map) and extended from the Fresh Meadow lots, in possession of the inhabitants in his father's time, back to the present Scarsdale line. For some reason the Hatfield family did not remain in Mamaroneck (perhaps because their home had been sold) for in 1708, Peter Hatfield sold his "one full eighth part of all lands and meadows in Mamaroneck, divided and undivided" to John Disbrow, Mamaroneck, reserving to himself but one allotment of salt meadow. He had previously sold 7 acres to Arnold Bassett (who married the widow of Abraham Smith of White Plains), a certain parcel to Eleazer Gedney, and one acre of meadow to Samuel Hunt. The salt meadow allotment, he sold in 1726, and it was when making the sale that he described it as land inherited as the oldest son of his father Thomas Hatfield.
      Just when Peter Hatfield purchased his first land in the White Plains patent it is impossible to determine, but it was probably about the time he sold his Mamaroneck inheritance, and before the Rye people had settled their dispute with Caleb Heathcote over the possession of the White Plains land, which was decided after the death of Caleb Heathcote in 1720-21. Probably his wife also inherited, or was deeded, some of the Travis' land. As Peter Hatfield sold land next to his own in White Plains to his brother Thomas Hatfield, in 1716, which land had been originally laid out to Peter Disbrow of Rye, and as Peter Disbrow is said to have been father to Henry Disbrow, Sr., of Rye and Mamaroneck, it is presumed to have been an exchange of land between the Disbrows and Peter Hatfield. The land which Peter Hatfield purchased was in the middle of the patent and extended from the Scarsdale line on the (then called) South, across to the road of Mamaroneck. John Travis owned land in Fox Meadow in Scarsdale just over the boundary line in White Plains, west of which boundary line Peter Hatfield settled.
      Peter Hatfield built his house on the road to Eastchester very near the Scarsdale line. After his death, it passed into the possession of his son Peter, who occupied it with his family and his mother, who had a life interest. Probably the wife of Peter, Sr., died at about the time Peter, Jr. sold the entire tract and moved away. It was owned by John Bates, a loyalist for about ten years, but Bates forfeited all his lands during the Revolution. The Hon. Richard Hatfield (No. 39), Surrogate for Westchester Co., bought back a part of the lands of his grandfather after the Revolutionary War (that part lying on the road to Eastchester). The eastern part was purchased by Griffin Lynch. The house stood, until about fifty years ago, near the Scarsdale line. Another house north was occupied by Richard Hatfield's widow at the time of her death. This tract, owned by Richard Hatfield, contained about 175 acres and covered about half of the tract originally owned by his grandfather Peter Hatfield in White Plains.
      Peter Hatfield's oldest children were baptized in the Church at Tarrytown. The family of his wife Elizabeth (Travis) all moved to Courtlandt Manor and the Courtlandt people were many of them members of this church. In 1729 some of the inhabitants of White Plains and Rye (White Plains then belonging to Rye) petitioned for permission to form a Presbyterian church, and Peter Hatfield's name is on this list. The church was established at White Plains in 1729 and Peter Hatfield became an active member. He was one of the Trustees and he with Caleb Hyatt and John Turner received a quitclaim deed from Moses Owen to the land upon which the church was built in 1750. Moses Owen with Jeremiah Fowler and Peter Hatfield witnessed the will of William Fowler of Fox Meadow in Scarsdale in 1731. William Fowler of Fox Meadow in Scarsdale was neighbor to Peter Hatfield, his land lying on both sides of the road to Eastchester.
      Peter Hatfield was called as a witness at court on June 5, 1729, probably in a dispute over the bounds of his former property at Mamaroneck, which at this time had passed into the possession of Capt. Henry Fowler, (Jr.). Henry Disbrow, Jr., neighbor to Capt. Henry Fowler, Jr., brought suit against Capt. Henry Fowler, Jr., and the witnesses first sworn were Thomas Baxter and Peter Hatfield. "A survey of the division was read," and James Morgan and John Griffin were then sworn. James Morgan had owned the land, and had sold it to Capt. Henry Fowler, Jr., (then of Eastchester) in 1716. Two deeds were read for the defendant. Then Benjamin Griffin and Gerardus Drake and Mr. Clews were sworn. The Griffins owned the land next to the Fowlers, and Gerardus Drake was their (the Griffin's) brother-in-law. The court records are so meagre that it is quite impossible to obtain much information from them. In 1757, in the case of Caleb and Elisha Hyatt vs. David Ogden, receipts from Peter Hatfield to David Odgen [sic], and from Moses Knapp to Caleb Hyatt, were exhibited in court. This could imply that Peter Hatfield had once owned at least a part of the tract of land below his which later belonged to the Ogdens (see map of White Plains), and that Moses Knapp also owned land which he disposed of to Caleb Hyatt. Peter Hatfield was a carpenter and builder and probably invested more heavily at first in White Plains land than the records show, but his lands were all in one locality (see map).

  • Sources 
    1. [S41] Hatfields of Westchester, p. 22-26.

    2. [S41] Hatfields of Westchester, p. 22.