New York Governor Thomas Dongan Addresses Licenses to Henry Cuyler and John Pell to Purchase Land from Indians in 1686

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In 1686, Governor of the Province of New York Thomas Dongan licensed John Pell to purchase from local Native Americans "all that tract or tracts" of land lying within the bounds of his Patent that were "not yet purchased of the said Indyan natives."  Below is the

John Pell Takes Oath of John Clarke of West Chester on May 15, 1676

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During the 1670s, John Pell served as a Justice in Westchester.  Among his duties was the taking of oaths.  Such an occasion occurred on May 15, 1676 when John Clarke "of West Chester" appeared before him to swear an oath regarding something that was said to him

Featured Condtion/Disease: Asthma

We are featuring a childhood/infant disease or condition informational post every other Friday.  Today's topic is Asthma.

Defintion

Asthma is a respiratory (the breathing system including the lungs, mouth and nose) disease. An asthma attack happens when something blocks the flow of air into the child's lungs. Asthma is different from other types of breathing problems because the block allowing air to enter the lungs is reversible. (It can be fixed.) Asthma is the most common disease in children and the leading cause of children missing school and children being admitted to hospitals.

Symptons

The most common symptoms (signs) of asthma are problems breathing, like wheezing, coughing and/or shortness of breath. Your child may start out feeling a tightness in the chest and be unable to play or exercise normally. Then he or she may start wheezing or having heavy breathing and shortness of breath. Other signs of asthma are shortness of breath or coughing when exercising and coughing at night even without shortness of breath. The symptoms can range from mild to severe. Most problems with asthma are worse at night. They also seem to be more severe in boys and in children under 5 years old.  

More Information

To get more information about Asthma, click here. 

*Most of the information provided here is from the Teach More/Love More site, click here to visit their site.

The Announcement of President Abraham Lincoln's Assassination in Pelham, NY on April 15, 1865

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Hart Island, near City Island, once was part of the Town of Pelham.  During the latter part of the Civil War, Hart Island was used to house Confederate Prisoners of War.  There is an interesting published account of the announcement made to the Confederate prisoners

Description of Early Baseball Game Played at Pelham Bridge in 1878

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I long have been intrigued by early references to baseball being played in Pelham.  At the end of this posting is a long list of earlier postings on the subject.

I have located yet another very early reference to baseball being played in Pelham.  In fact, it

Obituary of Charles J. Stephens of the Pelham Manor & Huguenot Heights Association

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Regular readers know that for years I have researched the Pelham Manor & Huguenot Heights Association and its involvement in the development that became much of the Village of Pelham Manor.  See the end of this post for a listing of recent postings on the topic.

1874 Newspaper Advertisement Touting Pelham Manor and Huguenot Heights Association Real Estate

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Today's posting to the Historic Pelham Blog presents an image, and transcribes the text, of an advertisement published in a New York City newspaper in 1874 touting the benefits of purchasing lots from the new development in lower Westchester County being

Jessup Family Members Tried in 1909 to Take Back Some of the Lands Conveyed to Form the Lands Developed by the Pelham Manor and Huguenot Heights Association

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I have written before about the Pelham Manor & Huguenot Heights Association formed to develop lands that became much of the Village of Pelham Manor.  For examples of such postings, see the listing with links at the end of today's posting.

Today's posting to

1885 Article on Alleged Failure to Develop Pelham Manor Said the Development "At Best Resembles the Collapse of a Wild Cat Land Scheme"

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I have written much about the Pelham Manor & Huguenot Heights Association. Regular readers may recall that I have published quite a number of blog postings on the topic, including:

Wed., November 11, 2009:  1874 Evening Telegram Advertisement for Pelham Manor

More on the Early History of the Pelham and City Island Horse Railroad

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For quite some time I have been working on the history of the "horse railroad" that once ran in the Town of Pelham from Bartow Station to the end of City Island.  Today's post adds additional research to the collection I have assembled so far.  At the end of

Upcoming Job Fair

Career Central is offering a Medical Field Career Fair on Friday May 14th from 9am to noon. Employers from the medical field will be available to tell you about job openings.

The Career Central office is located at

4440 Grand Blvd.
New Port Richey, FL 34652

For more information call: (727) 484-3400 or go to their website

http://www.careercentral.jobs

Fire Partly Destroyed Pelham Town Hall in 1908

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Shortly after a large Republican rally in the building, a "mysterious" fire partly destroyed Pelham's Town Hall in the early morning hours of October 24, 1908.  This was the predecessor to today's Town Hall.

A brief article about the fire appeared in the

Mystery Solved - Pelham Town Hall That Once Stood On Shore Road Was Used as a School

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For years I have struggled to resolve a mystery surrounding Pelham's Town Hall that once stood on Shore Road.  An engraving showing that little brick building with its tower appears below.


Many secondary authorities referenced the building as school.  Reliable

1675 Sale of Horses Located in Norwalk by John Pell of "Ann Hook's Neck"

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I have run across a record of an odd transaction involving John Pell, the nephew and principal legatee of Thomas Pell who acquired from Native Americans the lands that became the Manor of Pelham.  On March 5, 1675, John Pell "proprietor of the Manor of Ann

Featured Condtion/Disease: Whooping Cough

This is the second post in our ongoing series about childhood/infant diseases or conditions on every other Friday.  Today's topic is Whooping Cough.

Defintion

Pertussis (whooping cough) is very contagious and can cause serious illness―especially in infants who are too young to be fully vaccinated. Make sure your young children get their recommended five shots.

Symptoms

Pertussis can cause serious illness in children and adults. The disease starts like the common cold, with runny nose or congestion, sneezing, and maybe mild cough or fever. But after 1–2 weeks, severe coughing begins. Children with the disease cough violently and rapidly, over and over, until the air is gone from their lungs and they're forced to inhale with a loud "whooping" sound. Pertussis is worse for very young children; more than half of infants less than 1 year of age who get the disease must be hospitalized. About 1 in 10 children with pertussis get pneumonia (lung infection), and about 1 in 50 will have convulsions.

More Information

To get more information about Whooping Cough, go here.

*Most of the information provided here is from the CDC site, click here to visit their site.

U.S. Health Care Reform

Curious about the new health care laws recently enacted by President Obama?  Below is a break down by year from the myfloridacfo site, located here.

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• 2010
  People with health insurance

  • Insurers may not arbitrarily cancel your coverage when you get sick, except in cases of fraud. (effective September 23, 2010)
  • Insurers may not impose lifetime coverage limits and, until 2014, may only set restricted annual limits for essential health benefits.(effective September 23, 2010)
  • Insurers must cover preventive services with no co-payments or deductibles.(effective September 23, 2010)

  
  

  Children

  • Children who don't get health care coverage from their employers may stay on their parents' plans until age 26. (effective September 23, 2010)
  • Insurers may not deny coverage to a dependent child under age 19 because of preexisting conditions. The same will be true for adults and dependent children age 19 and older beginning in 2014. (effective September 23, 2010)

  
  

  Medicare beneficiaries

  • Eligible beneficiaries with Part D coverage who enter the "donut hole" in 2010 can receive a one-time $250 rebate to pay for prescription drugs that were purchased while in the donut hole. The rebate will be less for individuals earning more than $85,000 per year and for couples earning more than $170,000. The donut hole is the period of time during which some Medicare prescription drug plans won’t contribute anything toward your prescription costs. (began January 1, 2010)

  
  

  Uninsured

  • Individuals who have been without coverage for at least six months and who have a preexisting conditions may obtain coverage through a high-risk health insurance pool to be run by the state, the federal government, or a nonprofit. The risk pools are temporary until exchanges become effective in 2014. (effective July 2010)
  • A website set up by the federal government is scheduled to be available by July 1 to help consumers shop for coverage.

  
  

  Small businesses

  • Businesses with 25 or fewer full-time employees that pay for at least 50 percent of premiums and pay average annual wages below $50,000 may be eligible for a tax credit of up to 35 percent (25 percent for nonprofits) of the premiums the business pays. The credits increase in 2014. (began January 1, 2010)

  
  
• 2011
  Insurance companies

  • For small group and individual plans, insurers must spend at least 80 percent of revenue from premiums on medical services and programs directly related to improving health care quality. The amount increases to 85 percent for large group plans. Insurers that fail to meet the minimum payment requirements must provide refunds to enrollees.

  
  

  Medicare beneficiaries

  • Seniors with Part D coverage in the donut hole will begin receiving a 50 percent discount on brand-name drugs.
  • Co-payments and deductibles for preventive services will be eliminated.

  
  
• 2013
  Wealthier individuals and families

  • For individuals earning more than $200,000 per year and couples earning more than $250,000 per year, Medicare payroll taxes will increase.

  
  
• 2014
  Uninsured

  • Health care coverage will be required for U.S. citizens and legal residents. The tax penalty will be $95 or 1 percent of taxable income in 2014; $325 or 2 percent of taxable income in 2015; $695 or 2.5 percent of taxable income in 2016; and adjusted according to income every year after. There are exceptions for religious objectors, those who can't afford coverage, individuals below the tax-filing threshold, and various others.
  • States or the federal government will create insurance marketplaces, known as "exchanges," for individuals and small businesses to buy coverage. U.S. citizens and legal residents who are not incarcerated would qualify to buy coverage in an exchange. States can expand their exchanges to provide coverage for large employers in 2017.
  • Premium subsidies will be available for individuals and families with incomes between 133 percent ($14,404 for individuals and $29,326 for a family of four) and 400 percent ($43,320 for individual or $88,200 for a family) of the federal poverty level.
  • States will be required to expand Medicaid to individuals under age 65 (children, pregnant women, parents, and adults without dependent children) who are up to 133 percent of the federal poverty level. There is an option for states to expand Medicaid in 2011.

  
  

  People with health insurance

  • Insurers may not deny you coverage because of preexisting conditions. Similar provisions prohibiting insurers from denying coverage to children with preexisting conditions begin in 2010.
  • Insurers must accept everyone who applies for coverage when they apply during a defined enrollment period.
  • Insurers can only base premiums on age, tobacco use, geographic area, and whether coverage is for an individual or a family.
  • Insurers may not deny coverage because of a person's health status, medical condition, claims experience, medication history, genetic information, or disability.

  
  

  Businesses

  • Large employers who don't offer employee health care coverage will pay $2,000 for each full-time worker who receives a tax credit for health insurance through a state exchange.
  • Tax credits for small employers increase to 50 percent (35 percent for nonprofits) of the health care premiums the business pays.
  • Businesses with more than 200 employees must automatically enroll employees in a health insurance plan. Employees can opt out.

  
  
• 2020
  Medicare beneficiaries with Part D coverage

  • The donut hole is eliminated.

Image of Hawkswood Published in 1831

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I previously have written about Elisha W. King and his estate known as "Hawkswood".  See

Wednesday, April 5, 2006: "Hawkswood", Later Known as the Marshall Mansion on Rodman's Neck in Pelham.

Thursday, June 28, 2007:  19th Century Notice of Executor's Sale of

Consolidation Involving Pelham Has Been Discussed Since at Least 1824

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During the mid-1970s, the Village of Pelham and the Village of North Pelham were consolidated to form today's Village of Pelham.  From the 1920s to the present, residents of Pelham have debated the pros and cons of consolidating various of the villages.  Others

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In 1922, lawmakers floated a plan to consolidate a large number of Westchester communities including the three villages of the Pelhams and the Town of Pelham to create a Westchester City.  Known as the "City Plan in Westchester," the proposal faced intense

Questions Regarding the Trolley Franchise from Bartow Station to the Tip of City Island Arose in 1915

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Yesterday I wrote about the dissatisfaction of City Islanders with the transportation service they had used for years from Bartow Station to the tip of City Island.  (A link to that posting and other related postings appears at the end of this brief article.) 

Immunizations - F.A.Q.s & Facts

Immunizations - Frequently Asked Questions & Answers

Here's some frequently asked questions from the CDC about immunizations.

I heard that some vaccines can cause autism. Is this true?
No. Scientific studies and reviews have found no relationship between vaccines and autism. Groups of experts, including the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Institute of Medicine (IOM), also agree that vaccines are not responsible for the number of children now recognized to have autism.

Don't infants have natural immunity?
Babies get some temporary immunity (protection) from mom during the last few weeks of pregnancy—but only for the diseases mom is immune to. These antibodies do not last long, leaving the infant vulnerable to disease.

To see a full list of questions, go to the CDC site here.

Immunization Recommendations by Age

To see a chart of immunizations recommended for ages birth through 6 years old, click here.

To see a chart of immunizations recommended for ages seven years to 18 years old, click here.

Efforts to Reorganize the Operators of the City Island Horse Railroad and Monorail in 1914

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By 1914, City Islanders were fed up with the Pelham Park Railroad Company and the City Island Railway Company.  They believed that the horse railroad service and the monorail service that for years had transported them from Bartow Station to the tip of City