Philipse family

The Philipse family was a prominent Dutch-originate family associated with New Netherland and the later British Province of New York. Its wealth was built through commerce, landholding, milling, shipping, and participation in the colonial Atlantic economy. The family’s best-known founder was Frederick Philipse I (1636–1702), a merchant and carpenter who became one of the wealthiest men in colonial New York and the first lord of Philipsburg Manor. Frederick Philipse was of Bohemian family origin. According to the historical account cited on the family’s Wikipedia article, persecution in Europe led his ancestors to take refuge in the Netherlands before he emigrated to New Amsterdam. There he developed a substantial mercantile business. His Manhattan property included a residence, counting house, warehouses, and a bolting house used to process flour. The site stood near what are now Whitehall and Stone Streets in Lower Manhattan. He also acquired extensive lands north of New York City and received authority to establish Philipsburg Manor in Westchester County. The family’s principal estate, Philipsburg Manor, covered approximately 81 square miles, or 210 square kilometers, in lower Westchester County. Its operations included mills, agricultural land, leases, and other commercial activities. Frederick Philipse built manor houses at the Lower Mills and Upper Mills sections of the estate. The Upper Mills property, initially known as Philipse Castle, included defensive features, while the Lower Mills residence was later expanded into the principal country mansion of Frederick Philipse III. Frederick also financed and constructed a stone church now known as the Old Dutch Church of Sleepy Hollow, where he and several family members were buried. The Philipses were also involved in the enslavement and slave trade of Africans. The family owned more than 120 enslaved men, women, and children, a number far exceeding the one or two enslaved domestic workers held by many individual colonial New York households. This aspect of the family’s wealth and estate administration is a central part of its historical legacy and is documented by modern historic-site and public-history projects. A second major holding arose through Adolphus Philipse, Frederick’s second son. In 1697 Adolphus acquired a large tract from Dutch traders that received British royal confirmation as the Highland Patent. Later called the Philipse Patent, it covered roughly 250 square miles, or 650 square kilometers, extending eastward from the Hudson River toward Connecticut. The territory largely corresponds to present-day Putnam County and parts of Dutchess County, New York. Succession consolidated the family’s landed power for several generations. Because Philip Philipse, Frederick I’s eldest son, died before his father, the estate passed principally to Adolphus Philipse and Frederick Philipse II, Philip’s son. Adolphus died unmarried in 1749 or 1750, after which his holdings passed to Frederick Philipse II. Frederick II died in 1751, and his son Frederick Philipse III became the third and final lord of Philipsburg Manor. The Highland Patent was divided among Frederick II’s surviving children and their families, including Philip Philipse, Susanna Robinson, and Mary Morris. The family’s political position changed decisively during the American Revolution. Frederick Philipse III and other family members were Loyalists who supported the British Crown. The revolutionary government of New York confiscated the family’s American lands in 1779 and sold them through commissioners of forfeiture. Frederick Philipse III left New York for England in 1783. Although the family did not receive compensation from the revolutionary government, some members later obtained payments from the British government for their losses. The Philipse family’s direct economic and political dominance ended with confiscation and dispersal of its estates. Its name survives through historic buildings, place associations, genealogical connections, and descendants who participated in American, British, Australian, and European public life. Philipsburg Manor House and Philipse Manor Hall are now preserved as museums and historic sites, providing settings for interpreting both the family’s colonial prominence and its participation in slavery and the wider Atlantic economy.

The Philipse family traced its origins to Bohemia and later established itself in the Netherlands before Frederick Philipse I emigrated to New Amsterdam. Born in 1636, Frederick worked as a carpenter and became a major merchant. His commercial premises in Lower Manhattan combined residential, office, storage, and flour-processing functions, reflecting the integrated nature of colonial trade. He received a Manhattan lot from Peter Stuyvesant in 1658 and continued to live and conduct business there even after acquiring his Westchester estate. Frederick’s marriage to Margaret Hardenbroeck de Vries connected him to influential Dutch colonial families. They had eleven children. After Margaret’s death in 1691, Frederick married Catharine Van Cortlandt Derval, sister of Stephanus Van Cortlandt. Through adoption and marriage, the family also became connected to the Van Cortlandts and, in later generations, to John Jay and other prominent American families. In Westchester, Frederick assembled and developed Philipsburg Manor, an estate of approximately 81 square miles. The property incorporated mills, agricultural operations, leased lands, and manor residences. Frederick built houses at the Lower Mills and Upper Mills sections and established a stone church, now the Old Dutch Church of Sleepy Hollow. His estate depended in part on enslaved labor, and the family’s documented ownership of more than 120 enslaved people places it among the largest enslaving households in colonial New York. The family also engaged in the slave trade. Frederick’s descendants expanded and inherited the family’s landed interests. His son Adolphus acquired the Highland Patent in 1697. This tract, later called the Philipse Patent, extended from the Hudson River eastward toward Connecticut and covered approximately 250 square miles. When Adolphus died unmarried in 1749 or 1750, the property and other interests passed to Frederick Philipse II. Frederick II died in 1751, and his son Frederick Philipse III became the final lord of Philipsburg Manor. The Highland Patent was divided among Frederick II’s surviving children, including Philip Philipse, Susanna Robinson, and Mary Morris. The family’s wealth and authority were undermined by its Loyalism during the American Revolution. Frederick Philipse III supported the British Crown, leased much of his property to local residents, and ultimately left New York for England. In 1779 the revolutionary government confiscated and sold the family’s lands. Frederick III was later commemorated in Chester Cathedral as a Loyalist whose estate had been confiscated. Some members received compensation from the British government, but the family’s colonial estate system was not restored. The family’s Manhattan properties disappeared during nineteenth-century redevelopment. The Westchester manor houses survived and acquired new institutional uses. The Lower Mills manor became associated with Yonkers civic history before being preserved as Philipse Manor Hall State Historic Site. The Upper Mills manor house became a private residence and was later preserved as Philipsburg Manor House by Historic Hudson Valley. Today these sites interpret the Philipses’ architecture, commerce, landownership, family networks, Loyalism, and involvement in slavery. The family therefore remains historically significant not as a continuing business but as a case study in colonial wealth, power, dispossession, and contested memory.

• 1783

  Frederick Philipse III leaves New York

  [1]Philipse familyen.wikipedia.org

  The final lord of Philipsburg Manor departed New York for England after the Revolutionary War.

• 1779

  Revolutionary confiscation of Philipse lands

  [1]Philipse familyen.wikipedia.org

  New York’s revolutionary government confiscated the family’s estates because of its Loyalist allegiance and sold them through commissioners of forfeiture.

• 1751

  Frederick Philipse III becomes final lord of Philipsburg Manor

  [1]Philipse familyen.wikipedia.org

  After the death of Frederick Philipse II, his eldest son inherited the manor and title.

• 1702

  Death of Frederick Philipse I

  [1]Philipse familyen.wikipedia.org

  Frederick Philipse I died, and his will distributed the family’s manor and commercial interests among his descendants.

• 1697

  Adolphus Philipse acquires the Highland Patent

  [1]Philipse familyen.wikipedia.org

  Adolphus Philipse purchased a large tract later known as the Philipse Patent, covering much of present-day Putnam County and nearby areas.

• 1693

  Philipsburg Manor established

  [1]Philipse familyen.wikipedia.org

  Frederick Philipse received the lordship associated with Philipsburg Manor in Westchester County.

• 1658

  Frederick Philipse receives a Manhattan property

  [1]Philipse familyen.wikipedia.org

  Peter Stuyvesant granted Frederick Philipse a lot in New Amsterdam, where Philipse developed a residence and commercial premises.

A historical colonial family rather than a commercial consumer brand; its identity is associated with Dutch mercantile wealth, extensive New York landholdings, manor administration, and Loyalist politics.

• Colonial estate

  Philipsburg Manor

  The family’s principal Westchester estate, covering approximately 81 square miles and incorporating manor houses, mills, agricultural land, leases, and labor systems. The property was confiscated during the American Revolution. Its surviving Upper Mills residence is now interpreted as Philipsburg Manor House, a historic site operated by Historic Hudson Valley.

• Land patent · 1697

  Philipse Patent

  A roughly 250-square-mile tract acquired by Adolphus Philipse in 1697 and later known as the Philipse Patent. It extended eastward from the Hudson River toward Connecticut and corresponds broadly to present-day Putnam County and portions of Dutchess County, New York.

• Historic residence

  Philipse Manor Hall

  The Lower Mills manor house associated with Philipsburg Manor. After the family’s properties were confiscated, the building passed through different owners and later served as Yonkers City Hall. It is now preserved as a New York State historic site.

• Religious building

  Old Dutch Church of Sleepy Hollow

  A stone church financed and constructed by Frederick Philipse I in the Upper Mills area of Philipsburg Manor. Frederick, his wives, and many of his children were buried in a family crypt beneath the church.

• Participation in slavery and the slave trade

  The Philipse family participated in the slave trade and held more than 120 enslaved men, women, and children. This record is central to modern interpretation of the family’s wealth and colonial estates.

  Source

Read more

• 1779

  Confiscation of Loyalist estatesOther

  Background

  The Philipse family’s leading members supported the British Crown during the American Revolution, placing their New York holdings at risk after revolutionary authorities took control.

  Action taken

  New York’s revolutionary government confiscated the family’s lands and sold them through commissioners of forfeiture.

  Aftermath

  The family lost its principal American estates. Frederick Philipse III left for England, and some relatives later received British compensation for their losses.

  Source

1. 1Philipse familyen.wikipedia.org
2. 2People Not Property: Stories of Slavery in the Northpeoplenotproperty.hudsonvalley.org