Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography/De Lancey, Étienne

by Edward F. De Lancey

DE LANCEY, Étienne (Stephen), merchant, b. in Caen, France, 24 Oct., 1663; d. in the city of New York, 18 Nov., 1741. Having been compelled, as a Protestant, to leave France on the revocation of the Edict of Nantes (18 Oct., 1685), he escaped into Holland. Deciding to become a British subject and to emigrate to America, he crossed to England and took the oath of allegiance to James II. He landed in New York, 7 June, 1686. His mother had given him, on his departure from Caen, a portion of the family jewels. He sold them for £300, became a merchant, and amassed a fortune of £100,000. He married Anne, second daughter of Stephanus van Cortlandt, 23 Jan., 1700. He took a prominent part in public affairs, representing the fourth ward of New York as alderman in 1691-'3, and was a member of assembly for twenty-four years. While sitting in the latter body he gave his salary, during one session, to purchase the first town-clock erected in New York; and with the aid of his partner imported and presented to the city the first fire-engine that had been brought into the province. Mr. De Lancey was buried in the family vault in Trinity church. New York. The three of his sons that left descendants are mentioned below. His eldest daughter married Sir Peter Warren, K. C. B. The De Lancey house, which is now (1887) the oldest building in the city of New York, was erected in 1700 by Étienne, upon a piece of land given to him by his father-in-law. Mr. De Lancey resided there until he erected a larger house in Broadway, just above Trinity church, which was removed about 1792 to build the City hotel. The site is now occupied by the “Boreel Building.” The old house was then converted into a store. At Stephen de Lancey's death, in 1741, it passed to his youngest son, Col. Oliver de Lancey (the Brig.-Gen. De Lancey of the Revolution). Retiring from mercantile life, Oliver de Lancey sold it to Samuel Fraunces (or Francis, as commonly spelled), a mulatto of French origin, who bought it to establish a tavern, which he named the “Queen's Head,” in honor of the new Queen Charlotte. Five years later Fraunces transferred it to John Jones, who only remained till 1767, when Bolton and Sigell succeeded and kept it till February, 1770. Bolton remained alone till May, 1770, when Samuel Fraunces (or “Black Sam,” as he was usually styled) resumed possession of his property and kept it in the best style till some time after the Revolution. During all this period the house was the headquarters for all societies and clubs, being used for public and private dinners and social gatherings. There it was, in the long room, originally Mrs. De Lancey's drawing-room, with its five windows front, that, in 1783, Washington bade farewell to the officers of the Army of the Revolution. Since 1776 many centennial celebrations have been held in the old hostelry. Originally it had two stories, with a hip-roof, and raised cornice and balustrade, the upper stories being a modern addition. It is of small Holland brick, with heavy timbers, in the old Dutch style. — James, chief justice and lieutenant-governor of the province of New York, eldest son of the preceding, b. in New York city, 27 Nov., 1703; d. there, 30 July, 1760. He was graduated at Cambridge, England, and subsequently studied law in the Inner Temple, London. Having been admitted to the bar, he returned to New York toward the close of 1725, and soon became prominent in public life. He was made a member of the council in 1729, and in 1731 was appointed second judge of the supreme court. The year previous he had been placed at the head of a commission to frame a new charter for the city of New York. The instrument then prepared, known as “the Montgomery charter,” was mainly the work of Judge De Lancey, who, for his services, was presented with the freedom of the city, he being the first person upon whom that honor was conferred. In 1733, on the removal of Chief-Justice Lewis Morris, Judge De Lancey was appointed in his stead, and he retained the office during the remainder of his life. In 1746 occurred a contest between Gov. Clinton and the assembly regarding the former's salary. As the chief justice espoused the popular side in the controversy, he gained the ill-will of the governor, which soon developed into active hostility on the occasion of the latter's receiving a commission from the king bearing date 27 Oct., 1747, appointing De Lancey lieutenant-governor. Instead of delivering it to him as ordered, Clinton pocketed it and wrote an urgent letter to the ministry not only advising its withdrawal, but demanding De Lancey's removal from the chief justiceship. With neither of these requests did the home government comply; but Clinton maintained his hostile attitude, and it was only after his own supersedure, and the death by suicide of his successor, that he finally delivered the delayed commission (October, 1753). On 19 June, 1754, Gov. De Lancey convened and presided over the first congress ever held in America, a congress of delegates from all the colonies, held by direction of the English government for the purpose of a common defence and conciliating the Indians. It was at this congress that Benjamin Franklin proposed a plan for the union of the colonies by act of parliament. On 31 Oct., 1754, Gov. De Lancey granted the charter of King's (now Columbia) college; but so great was the opposition of the Presbyterians that he kept it in his possession until May of the following year before delivering it to the new corporation. About the same time he attended a council of the governors of the different colonies, held at Alexandria, Va., to concert measures with Gen. Braddock against the French. In September of the same year (1755) Sir Charles Hardy arrived and assumed the functions of governor, the lieutenant-governor returning to the bench. Twenty-two months later, however, Sir Charles, who was an admiral in the English navy, having asked for active employment, sailed (2 July, 1757) from New York in command of an expedition against Louisburg, leaving De Lancey again the ruler of the province, which he remained till his death, three years later. Gov. De Lancey was a man of great learning as a jurist and almost unbounded personal influence, and was undoubtedly one of the ablest of the provincial rulers of New York. Unfortunately, he did not escape the criticisms of his contemporaries. Gov. De Lancey left three sons, two of whom are mentioned below. Of his four daughters, one, Anne, married Judge Thomas Jones, the historian. — James, soldier and political leader, eldest son of the preceding, b. in New York city in 1732; d. in Bath, England, in 1800. He was educated at Eton and Cambridge, and he entered the army on his return to New York at the beginning of the French war. He served in the Niagara campaign of 1755, under Sir William Johnson, and commanded the detachment that, aided by a small re-enforcement under Col. Massey, defeated the French force sent to succor Fort Niagara, and compelled the surrender of that work the day following. He also served as aide-de-camp to Gen. Abercrombie in the expedition against Ticonderoga in 1758. On succeeding to his father's estate in 1760, and thus becoming the richest man in America, he took a prominent part in public affairs. He was a member of the assembly in 1768-'75, and assumed the leadership of the conservative party, refusing a seat in the council lost it might hamper his freedom of action. He was the author of the resolution (adopted 25 March, 1775) ordering that a petition be sent to the king, a memorial to the lords, and a remonstrance to the commons, demanding redress of the grievances of the colonists. These were subsequently presented by Edmund Burke, but contemptuously refused and voted down. The remonstrance to the commons was drafted by James de Lancey. In May, 1775, he sailed for England to urge the views of the assembly of New York on the home government. But he was unsuccessful, and, as hostilities had meantime begun, he decided to remain abroad, and in the following year sent for his family. He never returned to this country. His immense estates were confiscated and he was banished, for voting against the resolutions of the congress of 1774. When, in 1788, parliament finally passed an act partially compensating the loyalists for their losses, De Lancey was chosen by those from New York to act as their representative in the board of agents, and he became, after Sir William Pepperell, its most active member. Of his live children, his two sons (one of whom was in the British navy, the other in the army) died bachelors. His eldest daughter married Sir Jukes Granville Clifton, Bart. — John Peter, soldier, brother of the preceding, b. in New York city, 15 July, 1753; d. in Mamaroneck, N. Y., 30 Jan., 1828. He was educated in England, entered the British army in 1771 as ensign, and was promoted to be captain of the 18th regiment of foot. During a portion of the Revolutionary war he served, by special permission, as major of the regiment of Pennsylvania loyalists, and was present at the battles of the Brandywine and Germantown, and at the capture of Pensacola. At the close of the war he returned to his regiment, and was successively stationed in the island of Jersey and at Gibraltar. Resigning from the army, he returned to the United States in 1789, and resided until his death at Mamaroneck. —

William Heathcote, bishop of western New York, son of the preceding, b. in Mamaroneck, N. Y., 8 Oct., 1797; d. in Geneva, N. Y., 5 April, 1865. His education, beginning at the village schools in Mamaroneck, and carried on at the academy of New Rochelle under Messrs. Waite and Staples, was continued at the private school of the Rev. Seth Hart, at Hempstead, L. I., and at that of the Rev. Dr. Lewis Ernest Eigenbrodt, at Jamaica, L. I., by whom he was fitted for Yale, where he was graduated in 1817. He studied divinity under the Rt. Rev. John Henry Hobart, then bishop of New York, and was ordained deacon on 28 Dec., 1819, and priest, 6 March, 1822. As deacon he was chosen by the vestry of Grace church, N. Y., in the spring of 1820, to take temporary charge of that parish, and served till January, 1821, when the Rev. Dr. Wainwright was elected rector. Mr. De Lancey was immediately chosen by the vestry of Trinity church, N. Y., for three months, to fill the vacancy caused by 1 Dr. Wainwright's acceptance of the rectorship of Grace. In 1821 he was called to St. Thomas's church, Mamaroneck, a parish he had founded while in Yale, with the aid of his father and Peter Jay Munro, and served it for ten months without salary, also aiding in securing the erection of a church edifice. In March, 1822, as soon as he was ordained priest, Mr. De Lancey went to Philadelphia, on the invitation of the venerable Bishop White, at the suggestion of Bishop Hobart, to become the former's personal assistant in the three united churches of Christ church, St. Peter's, and St. James's. Thus began that intimate friendship with Bishop White which was only terminated by the death of the latter in the summer of 1836, a friendship so marked that Bishop White called him his adopted son, and consulted with him privately on all matters of importance. No man had the confidence of that venerable prelate to so great an extent as he, and no man knew directly from the bishop so many of the details of the history of the inception and progress of the Protestant Episcopal church from the close of the Revolutionary war to the year 1836 as did Mr. De Lancey. In March, 1823, he was unanimously elected by the vestry of the three united churches in Philadelphia one of the assistant ministers of the parish, the other two being the Rev. James Abercrombie, D. D., and the Rev. Jackson Kemper, D. D. In May, 1823, he was chosen secretary of the Convention of the diocese of Pennsylvania, and was annually re-elected till 1830, when he declined further re-election. In the same year (1823) he was chosen secretary to the house of bishops, and re-elected by them to the office in 1826. In 1827 he was called to St. Thomas's church, New York, the wardens coming to Philadelphia to deliver the call in person. But he deemed it his duty to remain where he was. In the same year, though not quite thirty years of age, Mr. De Lancey was unanimously elected provost of the University of Pennsylvania,, which had somewhat, declined. At the request of Bishop White and Horace Binney, Mr. De Lancey though he much preferred to continue in his chosen profession, accepted the office. This was that old “college in Philadelphia” founded by Benjamin Franklin, Chief-Justice Allen, and other noted men of that day. He also received (in 1827) the degree of D. D. from his alma mater, being the youngest person upon whom, up to that time, that honor had been conferred. He remained provost five years, and, having brought the university back to a prosperous condition (taking it with 21 students and leaving it with 125), resigned, to resume his profession. In 1833 he was elected (the three united churches being separated that year) assistant minister of St. Peter's church, Philadelphia, with the reversion of the rectorship upon the death of Bishop White, who was continued rector of all three. That event occurred in 1836, and Dr. De Lancey continued rector of St. Peter's until 1839, when, upon the division of the diocese of New York, then embracing the whole state, he was elected bishop of western New York, that half of the state west of a north-and-south line just east of the city of Utica. He was consecrated at Auburn in the new diocese on 9 May, 1839, Bishop Griswold, of Massachusetts, being the consecrator, assisted by Bishop George W. Doane, of New Jersey, and Bishops Henry R. Onderdonk and Benjamin T. Onderdonk, of Pennsylvania and New York respectively. Bishop De Lancey removed to Geneva, N. Y., nearly the centre of the new diocese, and the seat of Geneva college, where he resided during his episcopate. At that date, 1839, there was not a railroad in the state of New York west of Utica, except a horse-line with wooden rails between Syracuse and Auburn, nor did a railroad reach Geneva until late in 1841. His labors, therefore, in travelling continually over so large a territory, by horse-power only, during the earlier part of his term of office, were extremely arduous. In 1852 Bishop De Lancey and the bishop of Michigan were sent by the house of bishops as delegates to the celebration in London of the 150th anniversary of the Society for the propagation of the gospel in foreign parts, in response to an invitation from the Archbishop of Canterbury. This was the first time the American church was ever represented officially in England, and the first time that American bishops took part officially with Anglican bishops in the public services in St. Paul's cathedral and Westminster Abbey. On this occasion the degree of D. C. L. was conferred by the University of Oxford upon Bishop De Lancey. He had previously spent a year (1835-'6) in Europe, and in 1859 he again went there on account of his wife's health, and travelled extensively. During this visit he was invited by the Archbishop of Canterbury to assist as a consecrator in the consecration of an English bishop for British Columbia, in Westminster Abbey, the first time an American bishop ever united in the consecration of an English bishop. The legislation of the American church during the twenty-six years of his episcopate, and her institutions as a whole, notably that of the General theological seminary, bear the impress of his judgment, his foresight, his influence, and his firm and decided, yet always courteous, character. He first proposed the adoption of the provincial system in the American church, and the change in the organization of the General theological seminary, which, though it did not occur till nearly twenty years after his death, has resulted, though in a slightly different manner, in making it practically a diocesan institution. To him western New York owes the existence of Geneva (now Hobart) college, the endowment that saved it from extinction being the result of his personal influence and labor with the vestry of Trinity church, and also the founding of De Veaux college at Niagara, and the Training-school at Geneva, the former through his influence with and his advice to his personal friend, Judge De Veaux, and the latter to his individual exertions in raising the funds, in the grounds of the latter stands a fine stone church, erected after his death by friends in Philadelphia and in western New York, as his monument. He was nearly six feet high, of graceful mien and commanding presence, united with the most courteous manners and great vivacity, and was one of the most agreeable of men. He was a most eloquent and forcible speaker, and few clergymen could read the service so well and so impressively. In debate he was most skilful, and as a parliamentarian unequalled among his professional brethren. He married, 22 Nov., 1820, Frances, second daughter of Peter Jay Munro, of Mamaroneck, N. Y., and left three sons and one daughter. Besides his various charges, official sermons, and addresses, and a few miscellaneous pamphlets, Bishop De Lancey published no other works. — Edward Floyd, lawyer, eldest son of William Heathcote, b. in Mamaroneck, N. Y., 23 Oct., 1821, was educated at the University of Pennsylvania and at Hobart college, being graduated at the latter institution in 1843. He attended the law-school of Harvard in 1844-'5, and was admitted to the bar in December, 1846, beginning to practise in the city of New York, where he has since resided. He has travelled extensively in Europe, Egypt, and Asia Minor, and also the British American provinces. Mr. Delancey early evinced a talent for historical research. He has been president of the New York genealogical and biographical society (1873-'7), of the Westchester county historical society (1874-'9), and of the St. Nicholas society (1880-'1). In 1879 he was elected domestic corresponding secretary of the New York historical society, which office he still holds. He has edited Jones's “History of New York during the Revolutionary War” (New York, 1879), and the “Secret Correspondence of Sir Henry Clinton” (“Magazine of American History,” October, 1883, to August, 1884). He is the author of “Memoir of the Hon. James De Lancey, Lieutenant-Governor of the Province of New York” (Albany, 1851), and in vol. iv., “Documentary History of New York” (1851); “The Capture of Fort Washington the Result of Treason” (New York, 1877); “Memoir of James W. Beckman” (New York, 1879); “Memoir of William Allen, Chief Justice of Pennsylvania” (Philadelphia, 1879); “Origin and History of Manors in the Province of New York” (New York, 1886); and “History of Mamaroneck, N. Y.” (New York, 1886). — Peter, member of assembly, second son of Étienne, b. in New York city, 26 Aug., 1705; d. in West Farms, Westchester co., N. Y., 17 Oct., 1770. He was a man of great wealth and influence, and sat in the New York assembly for Westchester county from 1750 till 1768, when he declined re-election in favor of his second son, John. He had six sons, several of whom are mentioned below. Of his five daughters, Alice married Ralph Izard, the South Carolina senator, and Susan became the wife of Col. Thomas Barclay, the first British consul appointed in New York after the peace of 1783. — Stephen, lawyer and loyalist, son of the preceding, b. in the city of New York about 1740; d. in Annapolis, Nova Scotia, in 1801. In 1765 he was commissioned clerk of the city and county of Albany, which latter then comprised all of the province west of Hudson river and north of Ulster county. Later he was also recorder of the same city, and several times served as a commissioner to treat with the Indians. He was a member of the Albany committee of safety in 1775. On 4 June, 1776, he was dining with the mayor and a number of loyalists in celebration of the king's birthday, when he and others were seized by the Revolutionary party and thrown into prison. A few days later they were taken to Hartford, Conn., where they remained in confinement, on a charge of “disaffection,” until liberated, on 26 Dec., by order of Gov. Trumbull. De Lancey did not take up arms, but remained in New York until 1783, when he removed to Annapolis, Nova Scotia, where in 1786 he was made a member of the council. — John, lawyer, brother of the preceding, b. in the city of New York about 1741; d. there in 1829. He was high sheriff of Westchester county in 1769, and succeeded his father as member of assembly for that borough, serving from 1768 till 1772, and being re-elected from 1793 till 1795. He was also a member of the general committee of one hundred (May, 1776), and of the first provincial council for the city of New York in 1775-'6. He was not attainted of treason, nor was his property confiscated. — James, soldier, brother of the preceding, b. in West Farms, Westchester co., N. Y., about 1750; d. near Annapolis, Nova Scotia, in 1809. He succeeded his brother, John, as high sheriff of his native county in 1770, and served till 1776. He took no part in the Revolution till 1777, when Gov. Tryon commissioned him captain of a troop of light-horse of fifty men. called by that official “the élite of the county,” and selected from the Westchester militia regiment, then commanded by Col. Hewlett. At their head he began those rapid and successful raids within the enemy's lines in Westchester and Connecticut that made him famous. He succeeded Hewlett as colonel of the regiment (or “Refugees,” as they were commonly called) in 1780, after the members of his troop had been nearly all killed or captured. The latter, from their seizures of cattle, had earned the sobriquet of “Cowboys,” a designation afterward applied to marauders who, without commissions or military organization, robbed friend and foe alike. Col. De Lancey never served outside of Westchester county and its borders, or held a commission in either of “De Lancey's battalions” commanded by his uncle, Oliver, as has been erroneously said. He was twice taken prisoner by stratagem, but the troop itself was never captured. Many plans to this end were laid by Washington and his generals; but the alertness, dash, and courage of its leader always served to bring them to naught. At the close of the war he retired to Nova Scotia, having been attainted and his estate confiscated by the act of 1779. After his arrival in Nova Scotia, he was appointed member of the council, in which body he sat for several years. By many biographical writers (notably Sabine) he has been confounded with his cousin, James, son of Lieut.-Gov. De Lancey. — Warren, soldier and loyalist, brother of the preceding, d. in Madison county, N. Y., in 1855. He was the youngest son of Peter, ran away from home to join the British army, and received a commission as cornet of horse in reward for his gallantry at the battle of White Plains, N. Y. After the war he resided in the city of New York and in Poughkeepsie, subsequently removing to Madison county. — Oliver, soldier, youngest son of Etienne, b. in New York city, 16 Sept., 1708: d. in Beverley, Yorkshire, England, 27 Nov., 1785. He was originally a merchant, being a member of the firm founded by his father. He early took an active part in public affairs, and was noted for his decision of character and his personal popularity. He represented the city of New York in the assembly in 1756-'60, and served as alderman of the out-ward from 1754 till 1757. He was active in military affairs during the entire French war, and, in 1755, obtained leave from Connecticut to raise men there for service in New York, for which he received the thanks of the assembly of his own province. In March, 1758, he was appointed to the command of the forces then being collected for the expedition against Crown Point, and succeeded in raising the entire New York city regiment within ten days. He was placed at the head of the New York contingent, under Gen. Abercrombie (about 5,000 strong), as colonel-in-chief. In the attack on Fort Ticonderoga, 8 July, 1758, he supported Lord Howe, and was near that officer when he fell mortally wounded. In November of the same year the assembly of New York again voted him its thanks “for his great service and singular care of the troops of the colony while under his command.” In 1760 he was appointed a member of the provincial council, retaining his seat until 1776. In 1763 he was made receiver-general, and, in 1773, colonel-in-chief of the southern military district of the province. “In June, 1776,” says the historian Jones, “he joined Gen. Howe on Staten Island; and, had that officer profited by his honest advice, the American war, I will be bold to say, would have ended in a very different manner from what it did.” In September of that year he raised three regiments of loyalists, largely at his own expense. of 500 men each, known as “ De Lancey's battalions.” Of these regiments a brigade was formed, and Col. De Lancey was commissioned brigadier-general, becoming the senior brigadier-general in the loyalist service. He was assigned to the command of Long Island, where he remained during the war. One of his battalions served in the south with great credit under his son-in-law, Col. John Harris Cruger, doing effective service in the defence of Fort Ninety-Six against Gen. Greene. In November, 1777, his country-seat at Bloomingdale, on the Hudson, was robbed and burned at night by a party of Americans from the water-guard at Tarrytown, his wife and daughters being driven from the house in their night-dresses and compelled to spend the night in the fields, now the Central Park. Having been attainted, and his immense estates in New York and New Jersey confiscated, Gen. De Lancey retired to England, where he resided in Beverley, until his death. Of his four daughters, Susanna married Sir William Draper, while Charlotte became the wife of Sir David Dundas, K. C. B., who succeeded the Duke of York as commander-in-chief of the British army. — Stephen, lawyer and soldier, eldest son of the preceding, b. in New York city about 1740; d. in Portsmouth, N. H., Dec. 1798. He was educated in England, and practised law in New York before the Revolutionary war, during which he served as lieutenant-colonel and colonel of the “De Lancey's” second battalion. After the war he was appointed chief justice of the Bahama islands, and subsequently was made governor of Tobago and its dependencies. His health becoming impaired while he held the latter office, he sailed for England to rejoin his family. But he grew rapidly worse on the voyage, and, at his own request, was transferred to an American vessel bound for Portsmouth, N. H., where he died and was buried a few days after his arrival. — Sir William Howe, soldier, only son of the preceding, b. in New York about 1781; d. in June, 1815, in consequence of wounds received at the battle of Waterloo. He was educated in England, and early entered the British army. He served with great distinction under Wellington in Spain, and was several times honorably mentioned in his despatches. At the close of the war he was made a Knight of the Bath. When Napoleon landed from Elba, Wellington, in forming his staff, insisted on having De Lancey appointed as his quartermaster-general. The officer really entitled to the promotion was Sir William's brother-in-law, Sir Hudson Lowe; but, as Wellington had conceived a dislike for him, he refused to accept that officer in that capacity. The military authorities, however, insisted on his appointment, and it was only when Wellington made the promotion of De Lancey a sine qua non of his acceptance of the supreme command that the former yielded. Six weeks before the battle of Waterloo, Sir William married the daughter of Sir James Hall, of Dunglass, the Scotch scientist. His bride accompanied him on the continent. On the second day of the battle Sir William was knocked from his horse by a spent cannon-ball, and it was at first supposed that he had been instantly killed. Thirty-six hours afterward he was discovered still alive and in his senses, but incapable of motion, although without any visible wound. Notwithstanding the skill of the surgeons, and the tender care of his wife, he succumbed to his injuries nine days after the battle. — Oliver, Jr., soldier, brother of the preceding, b. in New York city in 1752; d. in Edinburgh, Scotland, 3 Sept., 1822. He was educated in England, and entered the 14th dragoons, as cornet, in 1766. In May, 1773, he was appointed captain in the 17th light dragoons, in which he remained for forty-nine years, rising through every grade, and succeeding the first Duke of Newcastle as its colonel, 20 May, 1795. In 1774 he was sent to America with despatches for the commander-in-chief, and orders to provide accommodation and remount horses for the regiment. Having discharged his commissions, he joined his comrades on their arrival at Boston, 24 May, 1775, and in the following month witnessed the engagement on Bunker Hill. On the landing of Howe at Gravesend bay in August, Capt. De Lancey, with a detachment of the 17th, captured an American patrol, and seized the pass through the Long Island hills, which enabled the British general to turn the American left and win the battle of Long Island. On the evening of the 28th of the same month Sir William Erskine, with the 17th light dragoons and the 71st foot, about 700 men in all, surprised and seized at Carpenter's house, Jamaica, L. I., Gen. Woodhull and many of his men. The general, who tried to escape under cover of the night, being discovered by the sentries getting over a board fence, was cut down, severely wounded in the head and arm, and only saved from instant death by the interference of Capt. De Lancey. He, however, died of the injuries then received, in spite of careful nursing, on the 20th of the following month. In an affidavit made by Lieut. Robert Troup, 17 Jan., 1776, before the committee of the New York convention, it is declared that Woodhull said he surrendered to Oliver De Lancey, and that after the delivery of his sword the latter struck him; and that others of the party, following his example, cut and hacked him “in the manner he then was.” On this sole authority rests the charge against De Lancey, first made public in 1846. On the other hand, William Warne swore before the New York committee of safety, fourteen days after the occurrence, that “one of the light-horsemen told him that he had taken Gen. Woodhull in the dark in a barn, and that before he would answer, when he spoke to the general, he had cut him on the head and both arms.” These are the only statements made under oath that refer to the matter, while the weight of all the other testimony is to the effect that De Lancey, by his interference, saved Woodhull's life. The two families were related, and one of the great-great-grandsons of the American general to-day bears the Christian name of De Lancey. In 1777-'8 De Lancey served with his regiment in Pennsylvania, and New Jersey, being promoted major, 3 June, 1778, and deputy quartermaster-general in the South Carolina expedition. He was present at the siege of Charleston. In 1781 he was commissioned lieutenant-colonel, and appointed adjutant-general in America, in 1780, to succeed Maj. André. After the conclusion of hostilities he was made the head of a commission to settle the accounts of the war. In 1794 he was promoted to be lieutenant-colonel of his regiment, and subsequently colonel. After serving as deputy-adjutant-general, he was appointed barrack-master-general, an office which he held for ten years. On 3 Oct., 1794, he was named major-general, in 1801 lieutenant-general, and in 1812 general. He sat for many years in parliament as a representative of Maidstone. Gen. De Lancey never married. He died while on a visit to his sister, Lady Dundas.