• The Philipsburg Encampment of 1781

    Philipsburg Manor in Westchester County was home to many Yerks families, including Colleen's 6th great-grandparents. I grew up in Westchester County, knowing little about Westchester's role in the revolution. But through genealogy, I have learned that my children's ancestors were right there at ground zero and were known as Patriots of the cause. In

  • The Yerks Family’s of Neperhan / Unionville/ Hawthorne and Pleasantville in 1867

    By Published On: January 15th, 2022Categories: Maps, Surname: Yerks

    1 – A Yerks A Yerks > William Brook Yerks (Mary) > William Yerks (Catherine) Location: Rosedale Nursery, Saw Mill Road, Hawthorne, New York  Most likely, the site of the farmhouse that Catherine See & William Yerks (my wife’s 6th great grandparents) and their ancestors lived in while tending the 300-acre family farm in

  • The Saw Mill Parkway’s Path Over the Eastview Almshouse Cemetery

    By Published On: January 12th, 2022Categories: Maps, Places: Eastview

    A 1940 map of the Eastview area overlaid on a 1925 map of the same area show exactly how the Saw Mill Parkway was paved over the Eastview Almshouse Cemetery.   SAW MILL RIVER PARKWAY TRAFFIC ROLLS ON GRAVES OF PAUPER DEAD Only one headstone remains standing at County's Old Burial Ground at

  • The History of the Westchester County Almshouse in Eastview, New York

    By Published On: January 12th, 2022Categories: Church's and Cemeteries, Places: Eastview, UncategorizedTags: ,

    Before The Eastview Complex.... Typically, responsibility for the care of indigents, the insane, orphans, and abandoned children were held by the individual towns of Westchester County. But in the early 1800s, several towns recognized the need for something better and found that by sharing resources, they may be able to care for more people and

  • How Eastview, New York Looked in 1925

    In this aerial photograph, you can clearly see where the old Westchester County Almshouse Complex stood. In the overlaid picture, the two foremost buildings can be seen in the red circle. You can also see the Almshouse cemetery on the other side the old Putnam (Ole Put) railroad tracks before is was buried beneath

  • 1925 – 2022 Photo Comparison of Unionville (Hawthorne), New York

    By Published On: January 5th, 2022Categories: Maps

    Many historic things happened in this area during the revolutionary war. It is hard to appreciate it with the land have undergone so may signifiant infrastructure changes. But this overlay of a 1922 digital map of the area, overlaid on top of a 1925 arial photo of the area will help you understand better

  • Mahopac Railroad Through Somers

    By Published On: January 1st, 2022Categories: In History

  • Yerks Farm Overlay in Hawthorne with Modern Map – 1925-2021

    By Published On: December 15th, 2021Categories: Surname: YerksTags: , , ,

    The black and white photo of the Yerks farm was taken in 1925 as part of an aerial photographing project. The modern map comes from a screenshot of Apple Maps. The Apple map was then manipulated to match up certain landmarks that have survived the 100-year difference. What a difference a hundred years make!

  • 1925 – Catherine Yerks Farm in Hawthorne Revisited.

    By Published On: December 14th, 2021Categories: Surname: Yerks

    On December 6, 1785, the Commissioners of Forfeitures for the Southern District of New York awarded Catherine Yorkse (Yerks), widow of William Yerks, the 300-acre farm that her husband and her husbands family had been farming for many decades as tenant farmers of Philipsburg Manor. Philipsburg Manor was a large swath of central Westchester land