Heathcote, Caleb

Heathcote, Caleb (hēth`kōt), 1666–1721, merchant and public official in colonial New York, b. England. He arrived in New York in 1692. He became a member of the governor's council and, in Westchester co., a colonel of militia, county judge, and after 1696 mayor of Westchester borough town. Later he held the offices of mayor of New York City (1711–13) and surveyor general of customs for all northern colonies. He engaged in contracting, milling, and land speculation in large tracts in Westchester, Dutchess, and Ulster counties. In 1701 he received the manor of Scarsdale (Westchester co.), the last manor to be granted in the British colonies. His enthusiasm for the Anglican church led him to take five missionary journeys into Connecticut, and both there and in Westchester he established new congregations.

Bibliography

See D. R. Fox, Caleb Heathcote, Gentleman Colonist (1926).