Peter Corne (1722-1807)

He was a Master Mariner from Hull in the north of England. Coming to New York, he went into business with Anthony and Isaac Van Dam, trading between there and the West African coast. They bought slaves that they sold at Sint Eustatius in the Dutch Antilles and from there they filled their ships with sugar and rum for the North American market. He later became a privateer capturing French and Spanish cargo off the American coast in the 8-gun brigantine Nebuchadnezzer that he owned with Anthony Van Dam. He invested his wealth in property in New York City and Long Island. He inherited his father-in-law's country estate "Greenwich" (today's Greenwich Village in New York City) and land at King's Ferry near Peekskill where he established a farm and a grist mill. The Revolution put a temporary halt on his activities and as a Loyalist he moved with his family behind British lines in 1777 before returning to Peekskill in 1785.

In 1751, he married his first wife, Elizabeth, daughter and heiress of James Henderson of "Greenwich" who was granted 16,000-acres in the Mohawk Valley. They had three daughters, one of whom was the mother of Elizabeth (Kennedy) Dyckman who built "Boscobel" at Garrison overlooking the Hudson River. After she died, Corne transferred her property to their socially ambitious daughter, Margaret, wife of George Douglas. He then married the widow of his business partner, Isaac Van Dam, but they divorced in 1789.