Christopher Billopp

Christopher Billopp or Billop ( – 1725) was an English officer of the Royal Navy in the seventeenth century who commanded various ships of the line, including in the Battle of Bantry Bay. He is noted as part of the "Staten Island Legend", a likely apocryphal story which describes Billopp's circumnavigation of Staten Island in a sailing race to claim it for New York. Though the legend has survived in oral tradition and popular culture since at least the 19th century, there is no concrete evidence that such a race actually occurred. Government service In 1709, Billopp received a charter to operate the Perth Amboy Ferry, part of an important overland route between New York and Philadelphia. Staten Island legend The legend describes Billopp's alleged role in securing Staten Island for New York. To settle a territorial dispute between New York and New Jersey, the Duke of York was said to have come up with a novel solution: he declared that all islands in New York Harbor that could be circumnavigated in 24 hours would belong to New York, and if such a voyage took longer than that, they would belong to New Jersey. At this time, Billopp was just across the waterway from Staten Island at Perth Amboy, New Jersey aboard a small two-gun vessel called the Bentley. Billopp was selected for the duke's challenge. While struggling to figure out how to complete the more than voyage within the duke's time frame of 24 hours, Billopp reasoned that if he packed the deck of his ship with empty barrels, the extra surface area could harness some more wind giving his ship a slight boost in speed. Thus equipped, Billopp completed the circumnavigation in just over 23 hours and secured Staten Island for New York. In recognition of his achievement, the duke awarded Billopp a total of of land located in what is now the Tottenville section of Staten Island. On this land, Billopp built his house, which he named the Manor of Bentley in honor of his ship.