Quinby, Josiah
John M. McDonald interview — 1848-10-25
Josiah Quinby (1763-1852) was a member of the Society of Friends. He recounts an incident when a group of Loyalists from DeLancey’s Refugees encamped at Dark Hollow in New Castle and raided Middle Patent in North Castle the following day. En route to Middle Patent, the party fought a skirmish near the home of Benjamin Hopkins. Quinby believes that there may have been some fighting when Major Samuel Lyon was taken prisoner, and notes that the French army encamped southeast of Wampus Pond near present-day Armonk. He concludes by recalling that George Washington once passed through the Chappaqua area with two aides to examine the ground.
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Transcription
can aid your enterprise, I will not fail to communicate it to you.
October 25th Josiah Quinby, of New Castle, aged 85: "I was born in this house in 1763. Once towards the latter part of the war, thirty or forty Refugees horse came up and staid all night at Dark Hollow or Valley, near here, at the head of the Bronx and of the Kisco, where they fed their horses with the meadow grass and went on next morning to Middle Patent where they killed wounded and took several. Samuel Miller, I think, at this time, was wounded, and a man was killed. This party were all horsemen. They returned by
71.
another road. I don't know who commanded them. It is likely that Samuel Knapp commanded. They left here very early in the morning and had a skirmish near Samuel Smith's Tavern before they got to Mid=dle Patent. They dispersed an Ame=rican guard, near Smith's, or rather at Ben. Hopkins's who then owned Smith's place which was burnt during the Revolutionary war.
I think there was some fighting when Major Lyon was taken at Middle Patent. (See Rivington's account)
The French army once lay South east of Wampus Pond on lands be=longing to Job Coce and Marston Grundage where they built ovens. I think the French were there a week or two.
General Washington once passed here with two aids. They were examining the ground with spy glasses, &c