Nathaniel's
sister Hannah (1751-1836) [Wygant #155, p 90], reputedly a
"spirited" lass, not yet 17, was, pressured in 1768 by
her father into marrying the family's neighbor, a
wealthy, aristocrat landowner, Stephen De Lancey
(40). When the revolution commenced, Hannah's
brother Nathaniel became (secretly) head of
intelligence for Washington, and Hannah's
husband, a dedicated Tory, filled a similar position
for George III. Their neighboring estates were
in the bitterly contested "no-man's-land" of
Westchester, New York. Harriet's heart was with
the Patriots (and with her brother), so after
presiding at dinners in the De
Lancey home with
British offices as frequent guests, she'd ride to her
ancestral home and report all she'd heard at the
table. Whenever she was stopped by a patrol, she
would ascertain which side they were on, and then
expostulate with offended dignity: "How DARE you
question the [if the patrol was British] wife of Stephen
De Lancey.... [or, if Colonial] "....
the daughter of Rev William Sackett!".
Subsequently, Hannah divorced Delancy, who fled to
England, and 1779 married Major Isaac Baldwin, a
patriot.
