History Of Eastchester's Founding Families Explored For 350th Anniversary

EASTCHESTER, N.Y. – The Anne Hutchinson-Bronxville Chapter National Society Daughters of the American Revolution (NSDAR) hosted an Oct. 24 lecture at the Bronxville Public Library on the history of the founding families of Eastchester in honor of the town’s 350th anniversary.

Image of The 1665 Eastchester Covenant Signed by Virginia Kathryn Fish Reynolds Hefti's Ancestor, Henry Fowler.
Photo Credit: *File*

Nicole Briggs

10/31/2014 1:30 p.m.

Town historian Richard Forliano built his lecture, “The Fowlers: A Living Legacy,” around DAR member Virginia Heft’s ancestors, the Fowlers, who, according to Forliano, remain "arguably the most influential family in the history of the town."

Forliano shared with the audience the fact that in addition to signing the Eastchester Covenant – an historic 17th century document still held in the town archives – Henry Fowler and his descendants stood up to the British monarchy long before the Declaration of Independence was written, served bravely in the American Revolution, on the judiciary and as town supervisor for a cumulative 24 years, a record rivaled only by the family of the current Town Supervisor Anthony Colavita.

Along with Hefti, Fowler descendants Susan Bartlett, Anne Hutchinson-Bronxville Chapter DAR Treasurer, and Pieter Jacques, husband of Mary Heming’s descendant and former DAR Regent Edna Bolling Jacques, were also introduced to the audience prior to the public lecture.

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