1845, the Seigniory of Lacolle passed to the two sons and the grandson
Gabriel, of the Reverend James Tunstall, of Montreal. Portraits of
General Christie, his wife, his son Napier, two of his brothers, and two
of his children, are in the Château. The good old Tunstall family,
representatives of the Christies, remained the _Seigneurs propriétaires_
of Lacolle until its sale in 1902 to the Credit Foncier. Mrs. Hoyle,
represented by her husband, early entered into dealings about the
Seigniory affairs, they being residents within its limits. One of their
Terrier books begins in 1843. After the Tunstalls became
_Seigneurs-propriétaires_, they found it convenient to continue the
arrangement, since they lived in Montreal. The arrangement consisted in
one of the singular transactions of which the old feudal laws present
examples. There were various kinds of _Seigneurs_. In this case the
_Seigneurs-propriétaires_, for a large cash sum advanced to them, gave
up to Mr. Hoyle (who as we saw really acted for his wife) the entire
possession of the seigniorial rights, with even the honors, _avec les
droits honorifiques_, as _Seigneur usufruitier_. A few years afterwards
one sixth of the ownership was also added, making the Hoyles
_co-Seineurs propriétaires_. (Since the moneys more strictly belonged to
the Schuyler heirs, it may be said that equitably they were the real
Seigneurs). Thus the matter continued for generations, the old house
being the annual scene of the quaint visits of the censitaires, until
the recent sale to the Credit Foncier. In the latter sale, the then
co-seigneur, Henry Hoyle III, reserved his own lands _en seigneurie_,
with the title of "Seigneur of Lacolle" and the permanent designation of
the house as "The Manor House of Lacolle", but of course these were
merely points of sentiment. The demesne estate at one time comprised
about 2500 arpents. Up to recently they still comprised about 1300, but
are now only about 600 or 700. The Manor, "Rockcliff Wood", was a
treasure house of old furniture, silver, china, and relics of the past,