^yi <J:®.^Q:^:^»>es»:©i^>tQ:^:®:^:®!^:@:^:@!^ :®^^^ 
 
 ^^©^^ 
 
 f/^l^ m>^':Sf.tyMW^J&W.&?tmS 9!^^ 
 
 ESS|CD.t 
 
 I WITH felLLUSTRivrmsl 
 
 Wm^ji 1882 
 
HUNTINGTON FREE LIBRARY 
 AND READING ROOM 
 
 MUSEUM OF THE AMERICAN INDIAN 
 HEYE FOUNDATION 
 
 Huntington Free Library 
 
 Native American 
 Collection 
 
 CORNELL UNIVERSITY 
 LIBRARY 
 
Al 
 
 Cornell University 
 Library 
 
 The original of this book is in 
 the Cornell University Library. 
 
 There are no known copyright restrictions in 
 the United States on the use of the text. 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924100747272 
 
illllilii|lllllli1l|i|Alii|ii||{lllllll1illliilllllalllllnililliillllili{|illr{ 
 
 XV V, 
 
 
 ^>i^' 
 
^^^= ■ ' ' ■»- 
 
 jir'" ■ ^^- . -'^ — '•^i 
 
 iSs 
 
 1683 
 
 ^VSTOi^^ 
 
 -OF- 
 
 uchcss Ot^ottntw, 
 
 NEW YORK. 
 
 f-^^WITH^3-5 
 
 SOME OF ITS PROMINENT MEN AND PIONEERS. 
 
 By JAMES H. SMITH, 
 
 ASSISTED BY HUME H. CALE AND WILLIAM E. ROSCOE. 
 
 Published by D. MASON & CO., 
 
 SYRACUSE, N. Y. 
 
 Y^' ■ - ... . 
 
 — 1882 — 
 
 
SYRACUSE, N. Y.: 
 
 TRUAIR, SMITH & BRUCE, 
 
 PRINTERS AND BINDERS. 
 
 1882. 
 
 
 
Introduction, 
 
 In the preparation of the History of the County treated of in this volume, the authors have endeavored 
 to confine themselves to a concise and truthful statement of facts, leaving deductions and moralisms, 
 except where such were necessary to a proper elucidation of the subject, to the individual reader; and in 
 gleaning these facts they have laid under contribution every available source of information, in the eifort 
 to arrive at correct data. This, however, has not always been possible, for much is given that rests for 
 its authority entirely upon verbal statements, which, even among the best informed, are subject to the 
 lapses of memory. When conflicting statements have been observed, an honest effort has been made to 
 reconcile them and make them conform to the probable fact. To this end, records have been consulted 
 where such existed and were accessible, both to supplement and estabhsh a verbal fact, and as an original 
 source of information. These, however, though enabling us to correct many errors in statements of facts 
 made by other writers, were often fragmentary, sometimes entirely wanting, and while their incompleteness 
 was perplexing, their frequent indefiniteness was even more so, so that it was often necessary to supple- 
 ment them by verbal information. 
 
 The materials for such a work were widely scattered. They lay mainly in the imperfect town, county, 
 church, school, society and private records, and in the vague and faded memories of individuals. Much time, 
 labor, diligent research and patient inquiry have been required to gather these materials and collate them 
 into systematic order. Every town has been visited, and its records and well-informed citizens have been 
 consulted. In addition to these, the files of local and other papers have been scrutinized, and the works 
 of numerous authors laid, under contribution ; but as the latter have generally been referred to in the text 
 especially when quoted, we do not deem it necessary to enumerate them here. A few local gleaners of 
 acknowledged ability in this field of historic inquiry have rescued from oblivion much that has served to 
 embellish the annals of Duchess.- The fruit of their labors was kindly placed at our disposal. 
 
 We fully appreciated the onerous task assumed when we undertook to gather and compress within the 
 limited time and space allotted us, the abundant materials which make up the annals of a County of such 
 historic importance as Duchess. Much more might have been given, enough to swell the volume to twice 
 its present size, by the amplification of subjects and the multiphcation of details which some would regard 
 with interest and others as unimportant. Indeed, it was found necessary to eliminate much that was 
 prepared and to omit still more that was gathered in order to bring the materials within the scope of the 
 work. In discarding matter we have aimed to retain that which seemed most important — most worthy 
 of preservation. 
 
 An earUer preparation of the work would have lessened the labor and produced more satisfactory results, 
 as it would have given access to the personal experience and relations of many of the immediate descend- 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 ants of the first settlers, with whom have died facts and incidents which are now beyond recall. But few 
 of this sacred remnant are left with us, and fewer still retain their faculties sufficiently to relate coherently 
 and positively the interesting incidents of that early period. It must, therefore, be obvious that the time 
 for the publication of this work had fully come, and that a longer delay would only have added to the 
 obscurity of the facts and the difficulty of their acquisition. 
 
 The history of Duchess County dates back to the period when the Hudson was discovered by the 
 English navigator whose name it bears, though actual settlement was not commenced until three-quarters, 
 of a century later. The first settlers were Dutch, though no settlement was made under the Dutch regime, 
 and for fully half a century after it was begun it progressed but slowly. From the middle of the eighteenth 
 century, however, its growth was rapid^ and not until then did it approximate a primal importance. The 
 development of its varied industries and institutions is succinctly stated in the succeeding chapters. 
 
 Though this County is not as rich in historical incidents fraught with tragic interest as the counties 
 which bordered on the confines of civilization during the French and Indian wars, the sanguinary struggle 
 of the Revolution, and the more recent but memorable war with the mother country, which etched in 
 lines of blood the history of these eventful scenes, it witnessed many of the most pathetic and memorable 
 incidents of the Revolutionary struggle, and though no battle was fonght within its precincts, its soil is 
 not unhallowed by blood shed to establish those principles which, eighty-two years later, its sons fought so 
 nobly to perpetuate. Around the Revolutionary period cluster its most endearing associations. It has, 
 too, a pacific history, to which many will recur with interest, — yea, with reverence. 
 
 We are aware that in adopting an orthography in the name of this County differing from that which 
 usage has sanctioned since its organization, we enter upon debated ground, and a reason for this step may 
 seem to be due to those who diifer with us in opinion. We adopt this orthography in deference to that 
 progressive spirit which seeks to simplify and purify our language by purging it of its redundancies and 
 philological anomaUes, believing that the public mind will ere long demand official recognition of ortho- 
 graphic changes in this word corresponding with those to which philologists, etymologists, orthoepists and 
 lexicographers have long since subjected that from which it is derived. 
 
 This County was named in compliment to the Duchess of York, whose title, like that of all wives of 
 Dukes, is derived from the French word duchesse, which was authoratively spelled with a /until 1755, 
 when Dr. Johnson, the English lexicographer, omitted the t, and likewise the final e. The example thus 
 set has been followed by others, including Webster. It cannot be denied that the popular and official 
 form of the word has the sanction of precedent and long established usage ; but the same may be urged 
 with respect to its original, and analogy would suggest a conformity of the derivative to it. It may, how- 
 ever, be fairly questioned whether it is the legitimate province of the historian, whose duty it is to record 
 things as he finds them, to introduce such innovations, without subjecting himself to the charge of icono- 
 clasm, if not of sciolism. Highly respected local writers, however, agree with us in advocating this change. 
 
 In conclusion, the authors take this opportunity to tender their grateful acknowledgments to the many 
 who, in various ways, have so kindly aided them in this laborious work, and to testify to the uniform 
 courtesy which was extended to them, and the cordiality with which their labors were seconded by the 
 hosts from whom it became their duty to solicit information. 
 
Contents. 
 
 CHAPTER I. —Aborigines — Pre-Historio Period- 
 Antiquity of America — Ancient Civiliza- 
 tions — Obscurity of the Origin of the 
 North American Indians — Indian Tradi- 
 tions Bespecting It— Migrations of the 
 Lenni Leuapes — The Mahicang a Branch 
 of the Lenape Family — Extent and Loca- 
 tion of their Dominions 11 
 
 CHAPTER II.— The Iroquois Family— The Algon- 
 kin Family — The Delawares — Relative 
 Bank of the Three Tribes of the Dela- 
 wares — Their Organization and Govern- 
 ment — Duties and Powers of the Chief — 
 Organization and Government of the Ma- 
 hicans — Method of Declaring War — Of- 
 fensive and Defensive Weapons 16 
 
 CHAPTER III.— Aborigines of Duchess County- 
 Divisions of the Mahicans— Their Terri- 
 torial Possessions — The Wappingers — 
 Conflicting Statements Respecting their 
 Location — Chieftaincies of the Wappin- 
 gers — The Head Chieftaincy Located in 
 Duchess County — Villages of the Wappin- 
 gers — Traditional Indian Villages 19 
 
 CHAPTER IV. — Contemporaneous Emigration of 
 Delawares and Iroquois from the West — 
 Wars Between the Delawares and Iro- 
 quois — Differing Views Respecting the 
 Subjugation of the Delawares by the Iro- 
 quois — Wars Between the Iroquois and 
 Mahicans — The Mahicans Unsubdued— 
 Their Subjugation Asserted by Various 
 Historians — These Statements Refuted by 
 Documentary Proof —Traditional Reverses 
 of the Mahicans — Their Losses and Dis- 
 persion — War of 1755 — The Delawares in 
 the Revolutionary War 23 
 
 CHAPTER V. — The Moravians — Moravian Mission 
 at Shekomeko — Christian Henry Ranch 
 Establishes the First Successful Moravian 
 Mission in North America at Shekomeko — 
 Joined by Buettner— Joseph Shaw sent to 
 Shekomeko as Schoolmaster — The Mis- 
 sionaries Pyrlsaus, Senseman and Post 
 join the Mission — Mission at Pachgatgoch 
 Broken (Jp — Persecutions of the Mission- 
 
 CHAPTER v.— (Continued.) page. 
 aries and their Indian Converts — Death of 
 Buettner — Indians Driven from Shekome- 
 ko and Wechquaduaoh — Interest in She- 
 komeko and Wechquadnach Revived af- 
 ter the Lapse of a Century — Their Sites 
 Identified — Monuments Erected Thereon 
 to the Memory of the Missionaries Buett- 
 ner, Bruce, and Powell 28 
 
 CHAPTER VI.— Hudson's Discovery and Explora- 
 tion of the North River — Diverse Claims 
 of the English, French and Dutch — Char- 
 acter of the Dutch Colonists of New Neth- 
 erlands — The United New Netherland 
 Company — The Dutch West India Com- 
 pany — Dutch Colonization — The Esopus 
 Wars — The Destruction of Wiltwyok — 
 Expedition to Red Hook during the Sec- 
 ond Esopus War — Friendly offices of 
 Wappingers — Indian Treaty of 1664 — 
 Supersedure of the Dutch by the English. 40 
 
 .CHAPTER VII. — Titles to the Soil— Extinguish- 
 ment of the Indian Title — Land Patents 
 — Rombout Patent — Schuyler's Patent- 
 Great or Lower Nine Partners Patent — 
 Poughkeepsie Patent — Rhinebeck Patent 
 — Beekman Patent — Little or Upper Nine 
 Partners Tract — Oblong Patent — Dis- 
 puted Boundary Line Between New York 
 and Connecticut— The Oblong Granted 
 to English and American Patentees — De- 
 fective Titles — Anti-Bent Difficulties 47 
 
 CHAPTER VIII.— First Settlements — Traditions 
 Respecting Them — Projected Settlement 
 of New Englanders at the Mouth of Wap- 
 pingers Creek — NicholasEmigh Supposed 
 to be the First Settler — Settlements at 
 Poughkeepsie and Bhinebeck — The Pala- 
 tines—Huguenot Settlers — First Census 
 of Duchess County, 1714 — Freeholders in 
 Duchess County in 1740 — Descriptions of 
 the County in 1756 and 1813— Population 
 of County at Different Periods from 1714 
 to 1880— Present Status of the County- 
 Enrollment of Quakers in 1755 — Slaves in 
 Duchess County in 1755 — Early Civil Pro- 
 cesses—Oaths of Abjuration and Fealty 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER Vin.— (Continued.) page. 
 in 1760— Observations on Duchess Coun- 
 ty in 1780-'82, by the Marquis DeChastel- 
 hix 55 
 
 CHAPTER IX.— Early Civil Divisions— Duchess 
 County Divided Into Wards, Precincts 
 and Towns — Topography of County — Its 
 Mountains and Streams — Climate — Tem- 
 perature— Rain-FaU — Snow-Fail— Direc- 
 tion and Prevalence of Winds — Mortality 
 of Duchess as Compared with other Coun- 
 ties in the State — Soils — Agriculture — 
 Staple Productions — Manufactures 69 
 
 CHAPTER X.— Geology — Underlying Rocks of 
 Duchess County — Rocks of the Cham- 
 plain Division — Rocks of the Hudson Riv- 
 er Group — Grit and Slate Rocks — Utica 
 Slate Group — Trenton Limestone Gtroup — 
 Black River Limestone — Calciferous 
 Group — Barnegat Limestone — Roofing 
 Slate — The Taconic System — Metamor- 
 phic Rocks ^ — Dolomitic and Granular 
 Limestone — Duchess County Marble — The 
 "Stone Church"— Steatite— Iron Ore- 
 Galena — Copper — Silver — Gold — Prima- 
 rj- Rocks — Granite — Hornblende — Sienite 
 — Gneiss — Mica Slate — Augite Rock — 
 Greenstone — Alluvial Deposits — Shell 
 M.irl— Peat— Sink Holes— "Spook Hole" 
 — Clay Balls and Calcareous Concretions 
 — Mineral Springs — Gas Springs — Sub- 
 terranean Streams— Inflammable Gas — 
 Sulphate of Iron — Bog Ore — Manufactur- 
 ers of Bricks — Topographical Changes — 
 Drift Deposits — Smoothed and Scratched 
 Surfaces of Rocks — What they Indicate... 78 
 
 CHAPTER XI. — Internal Improvements — Routes 
 by which the Pioneers Reached their Wil- 
 derness Homes — Early Roads — Early Ex- 
 periments in Steam Navigation at DeKov- 
 en's Bay — Early Railroad Enterprises in 
 Duchess County — Duchess Railroad Co. — 
 Poughkeepsie and Eastern Railroad Co. — 
 Poughkeepsie, Hartford <fe Boston Rail- 
 road Co. — Duchess & Columbia Railroad 
 Co. — Newburgh, Duchess & Connecticut 
 Railroad Co. — Hudson River Railroad 
 Co. — New York & Harlem Railroad Co. — 
 Boston, Hartford <fc Erie Extension Rail- 
 road Co. — New York & New England 
 Railroad Co. — Other Railroad Projects — 
 Clove Branch Railroad Co. — Rhinebeck &, 
 Connecticut Railroad Co. — Projected and 
 Abandoned Enterprises — The Poughkeep- 
 sie Bridge Co 96 
 
 CHAPTER XIL— County Societies— Duchess Coun- 
 ty Medical Society — Homeopathic Medi- 
 cal Society of Duchess County — Duchess 
 County Mutual Insurance Company 103 
 
 CHAPTER XIII.— Early Courts- Courts First Au- 
 thorized in Duchess County— First Court 
 House and iTail in Duchess County— As- 
 
 CHAPTER XIII.— (Continued.) page. 
 ^ sessments of Wards and Precincts at Dif- 
 ferent Periods — Subsequent County Build- 
 ings — Jail Limits — County Poor House — 
 Duchess County Civil List — Miscellaneous 
 Appointments to Distinguished Positions 
 — Delegates to State Constitutional Con- 
 ventions — State Senators — Members of As- 
 sembly—First and County Judges — Sur- 
 rogates — District Attorneys — Sheriffs — 
 County Clerks — County Treasurei s — 
 County Superintendents of Common 
 Schools — School Commissioners — Presi- 
 dential Electcrs— Senators and Represen- 
 tatives in Congress 118 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. —Military History of Duchess Coun- 
 ty — French and English Colonial Wars — 
 War of the Revolution — Military Organi- 
 zations in Duchess— Provincial Congress 
 — Measures for the FoHnation of a State 
 Government — Continental Ship Yard at 
 Poughkeepsie — Chain Across the Hudson 
 — Sir Henry Clinton's Expedition up the 
 Hudson — The Duchess Invinoibles — Sur- 
 render of Burgoyne and March of his 
 Army Through Duchess County as Pris- 
 oners of War — Fishkill a Depot of Sup- 
 plies for the Continental Army— Historic 
 Associations of Fishkill — Enoch Crosby — 
 Revolutionary Incidents in Pawling — 
 Adoption of the State Constitution — 
 Printed in Fishkill — State Government 
 Removed to Poughkeepsie — Tories At- 
 tempt the Seizure of Notable Men — Arti- 
 cles of Confederation Ratified by the Leg- 
 islature in Poughkeepsie — The Conven- 
 tion to Consider the Revised Federal 
 Constitution Meet in Poughkeepsie —War 
 of 1812 129 
 
 CHAPTER XV — Duchess County in the War of the 
 Rebellion — Early Measures to Suppress 
 Rebellion — Prompt and Generous Re- 
 sponse of Duchess County — ^Additional 
 Troops Called For — Some of tfie Organi- 
 zations with which the Early Volunteers 
 United— Call of July 2d, 1862— Military 
 Districts Formed — Regimental Camp at 
 Tivoli— Changed to Hudson— A District 
 Regiment Authorized— Town Quotas Un- 
 der the Call of July 2d, — Call of 
 August 4, 1862— Efforts to Promote En- 
 listments—The 128th Regiment— Its Or- 
 ganization and Services 142 
 
 CHAPTER XVI,— Duchess County in the War of 
 the Rebellion— Measures Instituted for 
 the Raising of a Duchess County Regi- 
 ment—Regimental Camp at Poughkeepsie 
 Authorized— War Meetings and Measures 
 to Promote Enlistments— Camp Duchess 
 —Muster and Departure of the l.^Oth for 
 the Seat of War— Arrival of the Regiment 
 at Baltimore— Joins the Army of the Po- 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER XVI.— (CoMTiNUED.) page. 
 
 tomao — ^Participates in the Battle of Get- 
 tysbiirg — Transferred to the Army of the 
 Cumberland — The Atlanta Campaign — 
 Sherman's March to the Sea^ — Toilsome 
 and Perilous March Through the Carolinas 
 — Last Battle of the il50th — March 
 Through Richmond to Washington — The 
 Return — Muster out and Welcome Home. 155 
 
 CHAPTER XVII.— Duchess County in the War of 
 the Rebellion — Third District Regiment — 
 Fails to Complete its Organization — Prep- 
 arations for the Draft— Suspension of the 
 Draft — Services of the 21st Militia Regi- 
 ment Tendered and Accepted — Departure 
 For the Seat of War — Return and Wel- 
 come Home — The Draft in Duchess Coun- 
 ty—Aid of the Military Invoked— Call of 
 October 17, 1863 — Recruiting Agents Ap- 
 pointed—Enlistments of Colored Men — 
 Call of February 1, 1864— Call of March 
 15, 1864— Call of July 18, 1864— Progress 
 of Enlistments — Third Draft in Duchess — 
 Statement of Bounties Paid — Call of De- 
 cember 19, 1864 — Fourth and Last Draft 
 in Duchess— Close of the War — Woman's 
 Work in the War 165 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII.— History of the Town of Red 
 
 , Hook 172 
 
 CHAPTER XIX.— History of the Town of Milan... . 214 
 CHAPTER XX.— History of the Town of Pine Plains 220 
 CHAPTER XXI.— History of the Town of North East 238 
 CHAPTERXXII.— History of the Town of Rhine- 
 beck 252 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII.— History of the Town of Clinton 284 
 CHAPTER XXIV.— History of the Town of Stanford 291 
 CHAPTER XXV. ^History of the Town of Hyde Park 299 
 CHAPTER XXVI)- History of the Town of Pleasant 
 
 Valley 311 
 
 CHAPTER XXVIL— History of the Town of Wash- 
 ington 320 
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII. —History of the Town of Amenia 334 
 CHAPTER XXIX.— History of the Town of Pough- 
 keepsie — Topography of the Town — De- 
 rivation and Signification of^ Name — 
 Streams — Soil — Population — Area — 
 — Schools — First Settlement-^Early Land 
 Transfers Affecting the Town and City of 
 Poughkeepsie — Tax list of Poughkeepsie 
 Precinct in 1771 — Wappingers Falls 
 (Channingville) — New Hamburgh — Roch- 
 dale — Manchester — East Poughkeepsie — 
 Clinton Point — Milton Ferry — Van Wag- 
 ner's — Locust Glen — The War of the Re- 
 bellion 357 
 
 CHAPTER XXX. —History of the City of Pough- 
 keepsie — Poughkeepsie in 1799 — Tax 
 Lists of 1805, 1849 and 1880 Compared— 
 Poughkeepsie in 1812 and 1824 — LaFay- 
 ette's Visit — Poughkeepsie as Seen 
 
 CHAPTER XXX.— (Continued.) page. 
 Through Gordon's Eyes in 1836— The 
 " Improvement Party "—Poughkeepsie in 
 1841 — Dieturnell's Description of Pough- 
 keepsie in 1842 — Electric Telegraph First 
 Introduced Into Poughkeepsie — Popula- 
 tion of Poughkeepsie at Different Periods 
 — Village and City Officers from the Date 
 of Incorporation — First. Settlement 373 
 
 CHAPTER XXXI.— Poughkeepsie's Mercantile In- 
 terests 381 
 
 CHAPTER XXXII.— Poughkeepsie's Commerce and 
 Water Transportation — The Poughkeep- 
 sie Transportation Company — The Pough- 
 keepsie & Highland Ferry Co. Limited — 
 The Express Business in Poughkeepsie... 385 
 CHAPTERXXXIIL— Poughkeepsie's Manufactures 387 
 
 Banks of Poughkeepsie 396 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIV.— The Press of Poughkeepsie... 399 
 CHAPTER XXXV. —Educational Measures and In- 
 stitutions in Poughkeepsie — The Public 
 Library of Poughkeepsie — Private Schools 
 of Poughkeepsie — Duchess County Acad- 
 emy — Poughkeepsie Female Academy — 
 Poughkeepsie Collegiate School — River- 
 view Academy — Cottage Hill Seminary — 
 The College Preparatory School — Cook's 
 Collegiate Institute for Young Ladies — 
 Eastman Business College — Vassar Col- 
 lege — Bishop's Select School for Boys — 
 Dr. Warring's Boarding School — Pelham 
 Institute — Bockfie's School for Young La- 
 dies — The Home Institute — Literary Soci- 
 eties and Institutions of Poughkeepsie — 
 The Poughkeepsie Lyceum of Literature 
 Science and Mechanic Arts — The Pough- 
 keepsie Literary Club — The Poughkeep- 
 sie Society of Natural Science — Vassar 
 
 Brothers' Institute 405 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVI.— Churches of Poughkeepsie... . 418 
 CHAPTER XXXVII.— Auxiliary Religious, Benevo- 
 lent and Charitable Institutions — Young 
 Men's Christian Association — Hudson 
 River State Hospital — Old Ladies' Home 
 — Vassar Brothers' Home for Aged Men — 
 St. Barnabas Hospital — House of Indus- 
 try — Charity Organization Society — 
 Poughkeepsie Orphan House and Home 
 
 for the Friendless 430 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVIII.— City Water Works — Fire 
 Department — Fraternities — Poughkeepsie 
 Gas Light Co. — Citizens Gas Co.— City 
 
 Railroad Co.— Hotels and Taverns 432 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIX.— Poughkeepsie in the Rebellion 439 
 CHAPTER XL.— History of the Town of LaGrange 467 
 CHAPTER XLI,— History of the Town of Union 
 
 Vale 474 
 
 CHAPTER XLH.— History of the Town of Dover... 480 
 CHAPTER XLIII.— Histoiyof the Town of Wappin- 
 
 ger 491 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 CHAPTEB XLIV.— History of the Town of Fish- 
 
 kiU 605 
 
 CHAPTER XLV. —History of the Town of East Fish- 
 kill 536 
 
 CHAPTER XLVI.— History of the Town of Beek- 
 
 man 544 
 
 CHAPTER XLVII.— History of the Town of Pawl- 
 ing 550 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 Akin Hon. Albert J., Pawling, portrait, (steel) 
 
 „ ....facing 560 
 
 "Ankony," residence of William B'ergh Kip, Rhino- 
 beck between 262-263 
 
 Ayrault George, La Grange, portrait, (steel) 
 
 between 472-473 
 
 "Ayrault Place," residence of George Ayrault, 
 
 LaGrange between 472-473 
 
 Bartow Mrs. Ehzabeth D., East Fishkill,view of resi- 
 dence between 540-541 
 
 Blair Robert, Fishkill, portrait facing 536 
 
 Bentley Col. Gilbert, Clinton, portrait (steel). ..facing 289 
 
 Bisbee Otis, Poughkeepsie, portrait facing 458 
 
 " Bois Dor6," residence of R, P. Huntington, Rhine- 
 beck facing 272 
 
 BoWne James, Poughkeepsie, portrait facing 445 
 
 Bi-iuckerhoff James B. Jr., Fishkill, view of resi- 
 dence facing 633 
 
 Brown Samuel, Beekman, portrait facing 549 
 
 Carpenter Hon. B. Piatt, Poughkeepsie, portrait, 
 
 (steel) between 442-443 
 
 Carpenter Hon. B. Piatt, Poughkeepsie, view of resi- 
 dence facing 443 
 
 Carpenter Hon. Morgan, Poughkeepsie, portrait 
 
 (steel) between 442-443 
 
 Carpenter Hon. Isaac S., Stanford, portrait, (steel) 
 
 facing 299 
 
 Carpenter Hon. Jacob B., Washington, portrait, facing 333 
 
 Carpenter Hon. Jacob B., Washington, view of sum- 
 mer residence between 322-323 
 
 ' ' Callendar House,"residence of Johnston Livingston, 
 
 Red Hook 213 
 
 Cairo Adam, Poughkeepsie, view of pottery and 
 
 sewer pipe manufactory facing 392 
 
 Campbell Cornelius N., M. D., Poughkeepsie, portrait 457 
 "Cedar Hill," residence of R. M. Taggart, Pough- 
 keepsie between 450-451 
 
 "Cedar Hill," view of entrance and grounds. ..facing 460 
 
 " Cedar HiU," view of barn between 450-461 
 
 Central Pawling Baptist Church 566 
 
 Clark Colonel Henry F., Poughkeepsie, portrait 
 
 between 444-445 
 
 Clark Colonel H. F., Poughkeepsie, view of medals 
 
 awarded between 444-445 
 
 " CliffSale," residence of Mrs. Cordelia E. Boardman, 
 
 Poughkeepsie between 440-441 
 
 "Cliffdale," view of the lake between 440-441 
 
 "Chateau of Tivoli," residence of Colonel 3. L. 
 
 dePeyster, Red Hook 212 
 
 " Cliffdale," view of the entrance 441 
 
 Congdon Jarvis, Washington, portrait 330 
 
 Cooper John R., M. D., Poughkeepsie, portrait 461 
 
 Davies Wm. A., Poughkeepsie, view of the Hudson 
 
 river from the farm of facing 364 
 
 Dibble House, Fishkill 525 
 
 DePeyster Major General J. Watts, Red Hook, por- 
 trait, (steel) facing 204 
 
 Butcher House, Pawling ....between 552-568 
 
 Dutcher Hon. J. B., Pawling, view of residence, 
 
 between 564-555 
 
 Eastman Place, Poughkeepsie 411 
 
 Eastman Place, South Avenue approach 411 
 
 Eastman National Business College, Poughkeepsie, 
 
 view of ,. "138 
 
 "Eden Hill," residence of John P. Adriance, Pough- 
 keepsie facing 388 
 
 Elting Captain L., Poughkeepsie, view of the Hudson 
 river and Catskill mountains from residence, 
 
 between 406-407 
 
 Eno Wm. S., Pine Plains, view of residence. ..facing 287 
 "Ferncliff," residence of Wm. Astor, Rhinebeck, 
 
 view of the lawn facing 264 
 
 "Ferncliff," view of the race stables... between 264-265 
 
 "Ferncliff," view of the cattle barns between 264-265 
 
 "Ferncliff," view of farm entrance and coach house 
 
 facing 265 
 
 "Ferncliff," view of conservatories, the approach 
 
 to the mansion, and park view facing 281 
 
 " Ferncliff," view of lawn and river, and of the Cats- 
 kills facing 282 
 
 "Ferncliff," view of the entrance and lodge 281 
 
 "Ferncliff," view of residence, from the lawn front 
 
 ...between 282-283 
 
 "Ferncliff, view of residence, from the river front, 
 
 between 282-283 
 
 "Ferncliff," The Ambassadress, N. Y. Y. C, at 
 
 anchor v.. .facing 283 
 
 Friends Brick Meeting House at Nine Partners, 
 
 facing 327 
 
 FaBkill Ironworks, Poughkeepsie between 388-389 
 
 First American Flag Hoisted over Richmond, April 
 
 3d, 1865 209 
 
 GiUender Theophilus, Rhinebeck, portrait 280 
 
 "Hemlock Farm," former homestead of Alexander 
 
 H. Cofan, Union Vale 479 
 
 "Homestead," residence of William H. Taber, Pawl- 
 ing facing 561 
 
 Hooker James, Poughkeepsie, portrait, (steel) facing 460 
 
 Howard Hon. James, LaGrange, portrait facing 467 
 
 Innis George, Poughkeepsie, view of residence, ' 
 
 ' facing 373 
 
 Ketoham Hon. John H., Dover, portrait facing 484 
 
 Lamoree George, Pleasant Valley , portrait facing 316 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 "Lawn Brook," residence of Dr. D. Guernsey, 
 
 Amenia between 356-357 
 
 "Leacote,'' residence of Douglas Merritt, Khine- 
 
 beck facing 25.5 
 
 Lossing Benson J., view of birth-place, Beekman, 547 
 " Marienruh,"residence of Louis A.Ehlers,Khinebeck, 
 
 facing 28+ 
 
 Martin Homestead, Bed Hook, property of Edward 
 
 Martin, view of facing 186 
 
 Merritt Wm. T., Poughkeepsie, portrait facing 447 
 
 Mizzen-Top Summer Hotel, Pawling between 558-559 
 
 Nine Partners Boarding School, from a sketch by 
 
 Alex. H. Coffin in 1820 facing 327 
 
 Nichols Thomas G., Poughkeepsie, portrait 459 
 
 Odell Luman B. , Beekman, portrait self and wife, 
 
 between 548-549 
 
 O'Brien John, Bhinebeck, view of residence, facing 268 
 
 "Old Store Building" in Mechanic facing 328 
 
 "Kose Lawn," residence of Edgar M. Vanderburgh, 
 
 Washington between 334-335 
 
 "Eose Hill," residence of Major General J. Watts 
 
 dePeyster, Bed Hook 210 
 
 " Eose Hill," view of tower and library, . 211 
 
 Eiverview Military Academy, Poughkeepsie... facing 409 
 Eossevelt James, Hyde Park, view of Hudson Eiver 
 
 from residence facing 302 
 
 St. Paul's Church, Eed Hook 193 
 
 St. Paul's Church, Red Hook, view from the South, 195 
 St. Paul's Church, Eed Hook, view from the West, 196 
 
 St. John's Church, Pawling 557 
 
 Storm John V., Fishkill, portrait facing 506 
 
 Sohell Augustn8,NewXork City, portrait (steel) facing 455 
 Shear John C. and A. , La Grange, view of residence 
 
 between 468-469 
 
 Shear John C, La Grange, portrait, (steel'). ..facing 471 
 
 Skidmore Peter Akin, Beekman, portrait 549 
 
 Sleight Peter E., La Grange, portrait facing 473 
 
 Tallman John P. H., Poughkeepsie, portrait (steel) 
 
 facing 452 
 
 Taber William H., Pawling, view of residence, 
 
 facing 561 
 
 Taber WiUiam H., Pawling, portrait < 561 
 
 "The Locusts," residence of Wm. B.Dinsmore, Hyde 
 
 Park between 300-301 
 
 " The Locusts," view of the lawn in front of resi- 
 dence between 302-303 
 
 "The Locusts," view of the flower garden and 
 
 conservatories between 304-305 
 
 " The Locusts," view of the lodge and carriage house 
 
 facing 306 
 
 " The Locusts," view of farm yard, bam and 
 
 stables between 306-307 
 
 "The Locusts," view of the carriage house. ..facing 307 
 
 " The Locusts," view of the garden facing 309 
 
 " The Locusts," view of avenue from the post-road 309 
 " The Locusts," view up the Hudson river from the 
 
 landing facing 310 
 
 "The Locusts," Initial 310 
 
 "The Locusts," view of residence from the river 
 
 between 310-311 
 
 Thompson Hon. John, Poughkeepsie, portrait, (steel) 
 
 facing 448 
 
 Thome Jonathan, New York City, portrait, (steel) 
 
 facing 329 
 
 " Thorndale," residence of Edwin Thome, Washing- 
 ton, view of lodge and entrance 331 
 
 "Thorndale," view of residence facing 332 
 
 " Thorndale," view of the farm bams and training 
 
 stables between 332-333 
 
 Thorne, old homestead of Samuel, and birth-place of 
 
 Jonathan, Washington, facing 328 
 
 Tower Albert, view of summer residence, Beekman, 
 
 facing 547 
 
 Tuthill Samuel, M. D., Poughkeepsie, portrait 451 
 
 Vassar Matthew, Poughkeepsie, view of birth-place, 412 
 Vassar Matthew, Poughkeepsie, view of first resi- 
 dence in Poughkeepsie 413 
 
 Vassar Matthew, Poughkeepsie, view of last residence, 413 
 Van Voorhis Major WiUiam Eoe, Fishkill, portrait, 
 
 (steel) ' facing 534 
 
 Van Voorhis Major William Eoe, Fishkill, view of 
 
 homestead 535 
 
 Van Voorhees Johannes Coerte, view of homestead 535 
 Wheeler Francis B., M.D., Poughkeepsie, portrait... 462 
 Whitehouse, residence of the late Hon. John 0., 
 
 Poughkeepsie facing 404 
 
 Whitehouse Hon. John 0., Poughkeepsie, por- 
 trait facing 454 
 
 Whitehouse John O., Poughkeepsie, view of boot 
 
 and shoe factory facing 387 
 
 Willets Jacob, portrait, Washington, 329 
 
 Willets Deborah, portrait, Washington...; 329 
 
 " Wood-Cliff," residence of John F. Winslow, Pough- 
 
 lie between 380-381 
 
 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 
 
 Akin Hon. Albert J. Pawling 560 
 
 Ayrault George, LaGrange 472 
 
 " Ayrault Place," LaGrange 473 
 
 Brown Samuel, Beekman 549 
 
 Bentley Col. Gilbert, Clinton 289 
 
 Bisbee Otis, Poughkeepsie 457 
 
 Bowne James, Poughkeepsie 445 
 
 Bockfie Family, Poughkeepsie 442 
 
 Blair Eobert, Fishkill 536 
 
 Booth George, Poughkeepsie 463 
 
 " Callendar House," residence of J. Livingston, Eed 
 
 Hook 213 
 
 Campbell Cornelius N., M. D., Poughkeepsie 457 
 
 Carpenter Hon. Isaac S., Stanford 299 
 
 Carpenter Hon. Morgan, Poughkeepsie 442 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 Carpenter Hon. B. Piatt, Poughkeepsie 443 
 
 Carpenter Hon. Jacob B., Washington 333 
 
 "Cedar Hill," residence of B. M. Taggart, Pough- 
 keepsie 460 
 
 "Cliffdale" residence of Mrs. C. E. Boardman 
 
 Poughkeepsie 441 
 
 Clark Henry P., Poughkeepsie., 444 
 
 Coffin Family, Union Vale 479 
 
 Congdon Jarvis, Washington 330 
 
 Cooper John K. , M. D., Poughkeepsie 461 
 
 DePeyster Family, Bed Hook 204 
 
 EnoWm. S., Pine Plains 237 
 
 "Perncliff," residence of William Astor, Ehine- 
 
 beck 281 
 
 Friends Brick Meeting House, Washington 327 
 
 Gillender Theophilus, Ehinebeck 280 
 
 Guernsey Desault, Amenia 3.56 
 
 Howard Hon. James, LaGrange facing 467 
 
 Hooker James, Poughkeepsie 460 
 
 Ketcham Hon. John H., Dover facing 484 
 
 Lamoree George, Pleasant Valley facing 316 
 
 Lossing Benson J., Dover., 488 
 
 "Marienruh," residence of Louis A. Ehlers, Bhine- 
 beok 283 
 
 Members of the Poughkeepsie Bar 463 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 Merritt Wm. T., Poughkeepsie 447 
 
 Medical Prof ession of Poughkeepsie 466 
 
 Nine Partners Boarding School 326 
 
 Nichols Thomas G. , Poughkeepsie 459 
 
 Odell Luman B., Beekman 548 
 
 Skidmore Peter Akin, Beekman 549 
 
 Schell Augustus, New York City 455 
 
 Shear John C., LaGrange 471 
 
 Sleight Peter B., LaGrange 473 
 
 Swan Cyrus, Poughkeepsie 451 
 
 Storm John V. , Fishkill facing 506 
 
 TaberWm. H., Pawling 561 
 
 Tallman John P. H.. Poughkeepsie 452 
 
 "The Locusts," residence of Wm. B. Dinsmore, 
 
 Hyde Park 310 
 
 The Old Store Building in Mechanic, Nine Partners, 328 
 
 Thompson Hon. John, Poughkeepsie 448 
 
 " Thomdale," residence of Edwin Thome, Washing- 
 ton facing 330 
 
 Tuthill Samuel, M. D. , Poughkeepsie 451 
 
 Vanderburgh Edgar M. , Washington 334 
 
 VanVoorhis Family, Fisl^^ill 534 
 
 Willets Jacob and Deborah, Washington 329 
 
 Wheeler Francis B., D. D., Poughkeepsie 462 
 
 Whitehouse Hon. JohnO., Poughkeepsie 454 
 
HISTORY 
 
 OF 
 
 Duchess County 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Aborigines — Pre-Historic Period — Antiquity 
 OF America — Ancient Civilizations — Theo- 
 ries Regarding their Origin — Obscurity of 
 THE Origin of the North American Indians — 
 Analysis of Theories Respecting It — Indian 
 Traditions Respecting It — Migrations of 
 the Lenni Lenapes — The Mahicans a Branch 
 of the Lenape Family — Extent and Loca- 
 tion of their Dominions. 
 
 ' ' ^ X 7" HAT we usually term the begin- 
 V V "^'"g of history," says Humboldt's 
 Cosmos, "is only the period when the later genera- 
 tions awoke to self-consciousness." The historic 
 period for the region of country the history of 
 which it is the purpose of this volume to give, 
 may be said to date from the advent of European 
 explorers to its contiguous shores — more specifi- 
 cally of that English discoverer, whose name has 
 been given to the noble river which washes its 
 western border — for their reports give us the 
 first as well as the most exact and comprehen- 
 sive account we have of the people who then 
 inhabited it. These people are classed under the 
 generic term Indians — a name which obtains 
 from the fact that when this continent was discov- 
 ered by Columbus and others who succeeded him 
 in search of a western passage to the East Indies, 
 it was supposed to be the eastern shore of the con- 
 tinent of India.* Their history prior to their inti- 
 
 * Indians of North A merica, I, 3. 
 
 mate association with civilized people is shrouded 
 in obscurity, and is transmitted to us in the form 
 of vague and fragmentary legends. The Indians 
 were a barbaric race and have left no written his- 
 tory, except that we occasionally discover traces of 
 their rude paintings and still ruder engravings. 
 But these are pronounced merely the totems of the 
 Indians by Catlin, who says, " I have been unable 
 to find anything like a system of hieroglyphic writ- 
 ing amongst them."* Heckewelder, however, 
 says, that, although they "do not possess our 
 art of writing," and " have no alphabets, nor any 
 mode of representing to the eye the sounds of 
 words spoken, yet they have certain hieroglyphics, 
 by which they describe facts in so plain a manner, 
 that those who are conversant with those marks 
 can understand them with the greatest ease, as 
 easily, indeed, as we can understand a piece of 
 writing."! But these records were of so perishable 
 a nature as to be almost valueless for historical pur- 
 poses. They were made upon fragments of bark, 
 or upon the smooth surface of trees from which the 
 bark had been removed for that purpose. This 
 absence of a connected written history is, however, 
 compensated in a measure by the less enduring 
 reUcs, consisting of the implements of husbandry, 
 the chase and war, which the plow and other means 
 of excavation have numerously disclosed. Their 
 fortified villages and places of burial are rich also 
 in suggestive incidents. 
 
 *Catlin's North American Indians^ II, 246. 
 
 \ Historical Account of the Indian Nations^ in Transactions of the 
 American Philosophical Society, Philadelphia, 117. 
 
HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 Who were the aborigines of this country is a 
 subject of much learned inquiry. It is pretty gen- 
 erally believed that the races who occupied it on 
 the advent of the Europeans, were preceded by 
 one more numerous and more highly cultured, 
 though- the evidence that such is the fact is meager 
 and unsatisfactory. De Witt Clinton points to the 
 numerous mural remains which existed throughout 
 the northern, central and western parts of this 
 State, and to the more remarkable ones bordering 
 the Ohio and Mississippi rivers and their branches 
 as evidence of the fact ;* while more recent authors, 
 reasoning from more exact data, ascribe the origin 
 of the former works to a much more recent date, 
 and to a different race of people than the latter.f 
 The evidences referring to a pre-historic period 
 within this State are rare, though the celebrated 
 Pompey stone X may be cited as an instance of 
 this character, without, however, furnishing neces- 
 sarily conclusive proof. 
 
 That the nations of the eastern hemisphere had 
 knowledge of the existence of the American conti- 
 nent long before its discovery by Columbus, their 
 literature gives abundant evidence ; and that its 
 aboriginal inhabitants were descended from eastern 
 peoples is generally conceded, though the theory 
 that American antiquity ante-dates that of Asia, is 
 not without its advocates. 
 
 Humboldt, from his observations of the remains 
 of the civiUzations of Mexico and Central America, 
 was convinced that communication had existed 
 between the eastern and western continents, evi- 
 dence of which he found in the religious symbols, 
 the architecture, the hieroglyphics, and the social 
 customs made manifest by these ruins ; and the 
 Abbe? Brasseur de Bourbourg shows that the sym- 
 bols of phallic worship, once so prevalent, and still, 
 to some extent, practiced in the East, were de- 
 
 * CoUectioMS oftlie New York Historical Society for 1814, 89, 
 t Says E. A. Squier, M. A., " * * * none of the ancient works of this 
 State, (New York, ) of which traces remain, displajing any considerable 
 degree of regularity, can lay claim to high antiquity. All of them may be 
 referred, with certainty, to the period succeeding the commencement of 
 European intercourse." — Antiguiiies of New York and the ]Vesi, 9. 
 
 X This is a small boulder about thirteen inches long and twelve inches 
 wide, bearing a most remarkable inscription and figures, which, if genu- 
 ine, and correctly interpreted, furnishes what is supposed to be the ear- 
 liest evidences of the presence of Europeans in North America. It dates 
 back to a period earlier than the discovery of New England, New York 
 or Virginia, a hundred years earlier than the-founding of Plymouth colony, 
 and within twenty-three years of the discovery of the new continent by 
 Cabot. It has been reasonably conjectured by the author of Clark's 
 Onondaga to be a sepulchral monument, erected, possibly, by a party of 
 Spaniards, who, stimulated by the love of adventure, allured by the love 
 of gold, or driven by some rude blast of misfortune, may have visited that 
 region and lost one of their number by death. This stone was found some 
 sixty years ago at Watervale, in the town of Pompey, in Onondaga 
 county, which town, says Dr. Henry S. Holmes, Librarian of the State 
 Library at Albany, " has yielded up more relics of the aborigines than 
 any other place in this State." 
 
 scribed by the Spanish writers at the time of the 
 conquest. " These," says Baldwin, "with the ser- 
 pent devices, the sun worship, and the remarkable 
 knowledge of astronomy that existed in connection 
 with them, show a system of religion,'' of which, 
 with the social institutions it consecrated, "Asia," 
 says the Abb^," " appears to have been the cradle." 
 " The traditions of these countries," says the same 
 author, " are still more explicit. Their uniform 
 testimony is, that the ancient American civiliza- 
 tion came originally from the East across the 
 ocean." * 
 
 The origin of the barbarous Indians of North 
 America is buried in even greater obscurity than 
 that of the probable aborigines of this continent. 
 Our information regarding it is almost wholly tra- 
 ditional and conjectural. Eiforts have been made 
 to connect them with the Mound-builders as their 
 progenitors, and there are able .advocates of the 
 theory which supposes the unity of the races ; but, 
 says Foster,! ^ broad chasm is to be spanned before 
 we can link the two, who, he says, " were essen- 
 tially different in their forms of government, their 
 habits and their daily pursuits." The former, 
 " since known to the white man, has spurned the 
 restraints of a sedentary life, which attacfl to agri- 
 culture, and whose requirements, in his view, are 
 ignoble. He was never known to erect structures 
 which should survive the lapse of a generation." 
 " The Mound-builders," he adds, "cultivated the 
 soil in a methodical manner, far different from the 
 mode presented by the present Indians," and he 
 cites as evidence "the vestiges of ancient garden- 
 beds" left by them. Baldwin says, referring to the 
 savage tribes, or wild Indians, their barbarism was 
 " original ;" there was nothing to indicate that they 
 or their ancestors, near or remote, had ever been 
 civilized, " even to the extent of becoming capable 
 of settled life or organized industry."| He adds, 
 "the constant traditions of these Indians, sup- 
 ported by concurring circumstantial evidence, ap- 
 pears to warrant the belief that they came to this 
 part of the continent originally from the west, or 
 north-west, at a period too late to connect them in 
 this way with the Mound-builders." After referring 
 to the skill of the Mound-builders in the ceramic 
 and other arts, he asks, "who can imagine the 
 Iroquois or Algonquins working the copper mines 
 vi'ith such intelligence and skill, and such a com- 
 bination of systematic and persistent industry! 
 
 * Pre-Historic Nations^ by John D. Baldwin, A. M., 391-395. 
 t Pre-Historic Races of the United States, 347. 
 i Ancient America, 59. 
 
PROBABLE ORIGIN OF THE AMERICAN INDIANS. 
 
 13 
 
 They had no tradition of such a condition of life, 
 no trace of it. It is absurd to suppose a rela- 
 tionship, or a connection of any kind, between 
 the original barbarism of these Indians and the 
 civilization of the Mound-builders. The two 
 peoples were entirely distinct and separate from 
 each other. If they really belonged to the same 
 race, which is extremely doubtful, we must go back 
 through unnumbered ages to find their common 
 origin and the date of their separation."* Says 
 Bancroft, " It has been asked if our Indians are 
 not the wrecks of more civilized nations." He 
 answers : " Their language refutes the hypothesis, 
 every one of its forms is a witness that their ances- 
 tors were, like themselves, not yet disenthralled 
 from nature."! 
 
 Charlevoix and other later writers have entered 
 into elaborate disquisitions on the probable origin 
 of the American Indian, and the curious reader 
 will find much to interest, if not to instruct him on 
 this vexed question. The theory of a northwest- 
 ern immigration by the barbarous hordes of Asia 
 has long been advocated and has gained credence 
 among modern authors generally. John de Laet, 
 a Flemish writer, was an early advocate of this 
 theory and among the first to remark 3, resem- 
 blance in the features, complexion and manners of 
 the Scythians, Tartars and Samoeides and those of 
 the American Indians. "Ledyard," says Bancroft, 
 "whose curiosity filled him with the passion to 
 circumnavigate the globe and cross its continents, 
 as he stood in Siberia, with men of the Mongolian 
 race before him, and compared them with the 
 Indians who had been his old playfellows and 
 schoolmates at Dartmouth writes deliberately that, 
 universally and circumstantially, they resemble the 
 aborigines of America. On the Connecticut and 
 the Obi, he saw but one race." "The American 
 and Mongolian races of men, on the two sides of 
 the Pacific," adds the latter author, "have a near 
 resemblance. Both are alike strongly and defi- 
 nitely marked by the more capacious palatine 
 foBsa, of which the dimensions are so much larger 
 that a careful observer could, out of a heap of 
 skulls, readily separate the Mongolian and Ameri- 
 can from the Caucasian, but could not distinguish 
 them from each other. Both have the orbit of the 
 eye quadrangular, rather than oval; both, especial- 
 ly the American, have comparatively a narrow- 
 ness of the forehead ; the facial angle in both, 
 but especially in the American, is comparatively 
 
 * Ancient America, 59-61. 
 
 t History of the United States, II, 4i7' 
 
 small; in both, the bones of the nose are flatter 
 and broader than in the Caucasian, and in so 
 equal a degree, and with apertures so similar, that, 
 on indiscriminate selections of specimens from 
 the two, an observer could not, from this feature, 
 discriminate which of them belonged to the old 
 continent ; both, but especially the Americans, are 
 characterized by a prominence of the jaws. The 
 elongated occiput is common to the American and 
 the Asiatic; and there is to each very nearly the 
 same obliquity of the face. Between the Mon- 
 golian of Southern Asia and of Northern Asia 
 there is a greater difference than between the 
 Mongolian Tartar and the North American. The 
 Iroquois is more unlike the Peruvian than he is 
 unlike the wanderer on the steppes of Siberia. 
 Physiology has not succeeded in defining the quali- 
 ties which belong to every well-formed Mongolian, 
 and which never belong to an indigenous Ameri- 
 can; still less can geographical science draw a 
 boundary line between the races."* Priest's obser- 
 vations led him to the conclusion that " Asia and 
 America were peopled by similar races of men."t 
 The traditions of the Lenni Lenape % or Dela- 
 wares as they are called by the English, say that they 
 " resided many hundred years ago in a very distant 
 country in the western part of the American conti- 
 nent." They resolved to migrate eastward, and hav- 
 ing reached the Mississippi, then fell in with the 
 Mengwe, (Iroquois,) who had likewise emigrated 
 from a distant country and struck upon this river 
 somewhat higher up. The Iroquois, like the Dela- 
 wares, were preceding eastward. The country east 
 of the Mississippi was inhabited by the Alligewi,§ a 
 
 * History of the United States, II., 460,461. 
 
 t A merican A^quitifS. 
 
 X Lenni Lenape, says Heckewelder, who spent forty years among the 
 Indians as a Moravian missionary, is the national and proper name of the 
 people we call Delawares. It signifies ^^ *■ original people,' a race of 
 human beings who are the same that they were in the beginning, ««- 
 changed and unmixed?' The Lenape are known and called, he says, 
 by all the western, northern, and some of the southern nations, by the 
 name of Wapanachki, which, among them, is a generic name, signifying 
 " 'people at the rising of the sun,' or as we would say, Eastlanders" 
 and which the Europeans corrupted into Abenaki, Openagi, Ahenaguis 
 and Abe7takis.-~(Introduction to Jlisiorical Account of the Indian 
 Nations, 25-26.) '* The term Lenape," says Schoolcraft, '^ appears to 
 carry the same meaning as inaba, ainale, and the word was probably 
 used nationally, and with emphasis in the sense of men." Loskiel 
 defines the name *'' Lennilenape," as meaning ** Indian tnen,^' and ^ays 
 '^ the name Delawares was undoubtedly first given them by the Euro- 
 peans." — {History of the Mission of the Uftiied Brethren among tlie 
 Indians in North America, hy George Kehrv Loskiel, Part I., Chap. 
 I., i.) 
 
 § " It is generally believed," says Yates and Moulton^ (History of New 
 York,) "that the Allegewi, QxAUeghans, were of Welch origin. Priest" 
 (American Antiguities,) traces the A liegewi from the lake country to 
 the "vale of Mexico, where they finally and permanently rested," and 
 there assumed the name of Aziecas, or people ofvthe lakes. The course 
 pursued in their migration is marked by the mounds where they rested, 
 or dwelt temporarily. Schoolcraft says, ** they occupied a large portion 
 of the western area of the State of New York, comprising the valley cif 
 the Alleghany river to its utmost source, and extendingeastwardly an un- 
 defined distance." "The Alleghany river and mountains," says Hecke- 
 welder, have " indubitably been named after them." — (Historical Ac- 
 count of the Indian Nations, 30.) 
 
14 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 powerful nation, of great physical development, 
 who had many large towns and regular fortifica- 
 tions of earth on the great rivers flowing through 
 their lands. They denied the Leuape the privilege 
 of settling in their neighborhood, but gave them 
 permission to pass through their country to the 
 eastward ; when, however, they observed the great 
 numbers of the latter they were alarmed and treach- 
 erously attacked with great fury those who had 
 crossed the river, . threatening the others with 
 destruction if they persisted in crossing. The 
 Lenape, being too weak to force a passage against 
 so powerful an enemy, made common cause with 
 the Iroquois, and after a series of sanguinary 
 battles, continuing through many years, and in 
 volving immense losses on either side, the AUigewi, 
 to avoid destruction, abandoned their country and 
 fled down the Mississippi, whence they never re- 
 turned.* 
 
 These traditions agree substantially with those 
 of the Mahicans,t who inhabited the country 
 immediately east of the Hudson, and were, says 
 Heckewelder, a branch of the Lenape family. 
 
 The Lenape and Iroquois lived peaceably in the 
 conquered territory of the AUigewi for a long 
 period — "some say many hundred years" — and 
 rapidly increased in numbers. Eventually some 
 of the more enterprising Lenape hunters and 
 warriors crossed the mountains to the Atlantic and 
 discovered the Susquehanna and Delaware rivers 
 and subsequently the Hudson. After a long 
 
 * Heckewelder's Historical Account of the Indian Nations^ 29-32. 
 
 t Joannes De Laet, who published his Mieuwe Wereld\ or description 
 of the West Indies, as the country was then denominated, sixteen years 
 after Hudson's discovery, designates them by this name ; also in his 
 map of Nova Anglia Novem Belgium et Virginia, (in Novus Orbis.) 
 According to Messrs. Dr. Barton and Heckewelder, ( Yates and Moui- 
 ton^s History of New York^ za6,) the Mankikani imd Mahikans of 
 DeLafit ; the Mahiccanders (Joost Hartger's work, printed in Amster- 
 dam, in 1651,) Mohicanders (Barton) and Nahikanders, (Benson's 
 Memoir,) of the Dutch ; the ManhikaTis, Mahikans or Mokegans, ac- 
 cording to Prof. Ebeling, and the Mohegans or Mahhekanew, the 
 original name of the Mohegans, (Gov. Clinton Dis. 2 N. Y. : H. Col. 
 41,) according to the English, (See Edwards on the Mohegan language :) 
 the Mokiccans, Mahiccon^ (Ch. Thompson, Esq.,) and lastly the Mahic- 
 cans and Mahicanni-, ( Barton and Heckewelder,) were aU one people, 
 originally a branch of the Delaware nation. The name, as adopted by 
 the early French writers, and given by La Houtan in the old Algonkin, is 
 Mahingan- (Ruttenber, 51.) Heckewelder says he-is unacquainted with the 
 origin of the name — Mahicanni — ( Ms Communication to Dr. Miller, 1801, 
 in Library of the New York Hist. Soc ) Its equivalent — the word Mohe- 
 gan — says Schoolcraft is not the true Indian term, having been shorn of a 
 part of its true sound by the early French, Dutch and English writers. 
 "It was a phrase to denote an enchanted wolf, or a wolf of supernatural 
 power "—the wolf being "the prevailing totem of all the Hudson River 
 cantons." The modern Mohegans called themselves Muhhekaniew^ a 
 term correspondiuR, apparently, with that (Muhheakunnuk) used by 
 Capt. Hendrick, the Mohawk Chieftain, in his^radition of the Mahicans, 
 which simifies "great waters or sea, which are constantly in motion, 
 either ebbing or flowing,"' and which, being the place of their nativity, 
 was not resembled by any stream in their migrations towards the east 
 until they reached the Hudson. [.Indian Tribes of Hudson^ s River^ 50, 
 51. Coll- Mass. Hist. Soc, IX , loi.) 
 
 absence they returned, and gave so favorable an 
 account of the newly discovered country as to 
 induce the belief among their brethren that it was 
 "destined for them by the Great Spirit." They 
 emigrated thither, at first in small numbers, till 
 the great body of the nation had made it their 
 place of abode, with their central possessions on 
 the Delaware. Here they divided themselves into 
 three tribes. The Turtle, the Turkey, and the 
 Wolf — calling themselves respectively, the Unamis, 
 the Unalachtgos, and the Minsis. The former two 
 chose for their place of settlement the country 
 lying nearest to the seaj while the Minsis, who 
 were considered the most warlike and active, 
 located to the northward, between them and the 
 Iroquois, who lived in the vicinity of the great 
 lakes and on their tributary streams. 
 
 The Minsis' territory extended originally from 
 the head-waters of the Delaware and Susque- 
 hanna south to the mountainous regions of New 
 Jersey and Pennsylvania, and from the Hudson 
 west and south-west far beyond the Susquehanna. 
 Their council fire was located at Minnisink. 
 
 These tribes, says Heckewelder, multiplied and 
 separated into distinct branches, taking the names 
 of "simple natural objects," or of "something 
 striking or extraordinary," and settling in distant 
 localities; until, he says, nearlyforty tribes honored 
 them with the title oi grandfather, "a title which," 
 says Ruttenber, " some of them continue to apply 
 to the present day."* " This was the case with the 
 Mahicanni or Mahicans, in the east, a people who 
 by intermarriage had become a detached body, 
 mixing two languages together, and forming out 
 of the two a dialect of their own : choosing to live 
 by themselves, they had crossed the Hudson River, 
 naming it Mahicannituck River after their assumed 
 name, and spread themselves over all that country 
 which now composes the eastern states." f This 
 statement of Heckewelder's warrants the assump- 
 tion that the Mahicans, who inhabited the coun- 
 try east of the Hudson, were the progenitors of the 
 Pequots and Mohegans, who inhabited Connecticut 
 and the country north of it, and were believed by Dr. 
 Trumbull to be one tribe, taking their names "from 
 
 * Indian Tribes of Hudsot^s River, 47. 
 
 " The Delawares call all Tuitions, (except the Uengwa, as they, or 
 ' Maqua,' as the Mahicanni term the Five Nations or Iroquois, and 
 except the Wyandots or Hurons,) this side of the Mississippi, and even 
 beyond it : all the southern nations, all the eastern, and those of the 
 Canadas (except as above,) 'iV<7(7fAwwjai,' that is, ' my grandchild- 
 ren ;,' and these all acknowledge the Delawares their ' Mochomes,'ita.i 
 is, 'their grandfather.' "—Yates and Moulton's History of New 
 York, 217. 
 
 Schoolcraft bears equally strong testimony to this fact. 
 
 ^Heckeweldet's Historical Account of the IncUan Nations, 26 35. 
 
EARLIEST ACCOUNTS OF THE MAHICANS. 
 
 IS 
 
 the place of their situation."* "The Pequot country 
 proper," says Ruttenber, was principally within the 
 three towns of New London, Groton and Stoning- 
 ton ;"t and that author, as well us Gallatin J and 
 DeForrest,§ assumes the identity as to race of the 
 Mahicans, Pequots and Mohegans, though he as- 
 serts a distinct tribal organization. || Elsewhere 
 Heckewelder quotes authorities IT supposing the 
 identity of the Mahicans and Pequots.** 
 
 The Mahicans, who, says O'Callaghan, ("the 
 Mahicanders or River Indians,") lined the Hud- 
 son on either side to its mouth,tt '^^.d, according 
 to Heckewelder's account, been confined to the 
 east bank of the river at the time of Hudson's 
 advent in 1609. Heckewelder's information " of 
 the extent of country the Mahicanni inhabited," 
 (the best he could obtain,) " was from an aged and 
 intelligent man of this nation, whose grandfather 
 had been a noted chief." He said the western 
 boundary was the Mahicanniltuck, (the Hudson or 
 North River ;) and that their " settlement extended 
 on the east side of this river froni Thuphane or Tup- 
 hanne, (a Delaware word for cold stream, from 
 which the whites have derived the name Tappan,) 
 to the extent of tide water up this river; here was 
 the uppermost town. From thence our towns were 
 scattered throughout the country on the smaller 
 rivers and creeks." " Our nearest neighbors on 
 the east," continues the narrative, " were Warapano. 
 These inhabited the Connecticut river Jf down- 
 wards, and had their largest town where the sea 
 runs a great way into the land, and where the white 
 people have since built a town, which they call New 
 Haven. These (the Wampano) were in possession 
 of an island, which the white people call Rhode 
 Island. Adjoining the Wampano, east, were the 
 Munachkcanni ; next to these the Paamnakto ; then 
 the Patuchtinnau ; then the Wawidchtenno, and the 
 Machtitschwdnnau. These latter lived at or near 
 a place on the sea, where there were a number of 
 islands together, through which a strong current 
 ran, wherefore they were called by this name, 
 which signifieth the same. All these nations were 
 with the Mahicanni Hke one, and assisted their 
 grandfather, the Delawares, in carrying on the war 
 
 * History of Connecticut. 
 
 t Indian Tribes of Hudson^s River., 4J, (note.) 
 
 X Gallatin. II , 34- 
 
 § History of the Indians of Connecticut. 
 > 11 Indian Tribes of Hudson^ s River-, 44. 
 
 H Coll. Mass. His. Soc. IX, 77. Trumbull^s History of Connecticut, 
 I, 28. 
 
 ** Historical Account of the Indian Nations, 78. 
 
 tt His.ory of New Netherland, I., 47. 
 
 %\ Connecticoota, meaning Long River, was the Indian name.— Judge 
 Benson's Memoir. 
 
 against the common enemy the Maqua, until the 
 white people had come into their country. Our 
 grandfather (the Delawares,) owned and inhabited 
 all the country from the extent of tide-water above 
 Gdschtenick* to the extent of tide-water, in a river 
 far to the south, where a place was called Pathd- 
 mook or Pate-ham-inok.\ Clean across this extent 
 of country (viz, from Albany to the Potomac,) our 
 grandfather had a long house, with a door at each 
 end, one door being z.X Pate-ham-mok, and the oth- 
 er at Gdschtenick ; which doors were always open 
 to all the nations united with them. To this house 
 the nations from ever so far off used to resort, 
 and smoke the pipe of peace with their grandfather. 
 The white people coming over the great water, un- 
 fortunately landed at each end of this long house 
 of our grandfathers, and it was not long before they 
 began to pull the same down at both ends. Our 
 grandfather still kept repairing the same, though 
 obUged to make it from time to time shorter, until 
 at length the white people, who had by this time 
 grown very powerful, assisted the common ene- 
 my, the Maqua, in erecting a strong house on 
 the ruins of their grandfathers.''^ This accords 
 substantially with a communication from Dr. Bar- 
 ton, which says, " the Mahicans occupied * * * ■ 
 the east side of the Hudson, from a site opposite 
 to Albany down to the Tappan Sea. They were 
 chiefly confined to the Hudson shore, or within ten 
 or fifteen miles east of it."§ "Tliese were the 
 people that swarmed the eastern banks of the river 
 when Hudson sailed by their settlements, from the 
 borders of the Manhattans to the tide-water beyond 
 Albany. They were so much more numerous than 
 other Indians on the same river, that they in par- 
 ticular were subsequently denominated the River 
 Indians."|| 
 
 Wassenar, an early Dutch writer, states that at 
 the time of the discovery, the Mahicans held 
 twenty-five (seventy-five English) miles on both 
 sides of the river in the vicinity of Fort Orange, 
 which was built on their lands ; but concludes with 
 the statement that the Maquas (Iroquois) held the 
 west shore. This latter statement harmonized with 
 that of DeLaet, who wrote in 1625; and, sajs 
 Ruttenber, if it is considered that Wassenar wrote 
 "at different periods extending from 1621 to 1632, 
 
 * The Mahicanni name for Albany. 
 
 t The Potomac. This is a Delaware word which signifies "an arrival 
 of persons hy water. ^^ 
 
 % Heckewelder's Ms. Communication to Dr. Miller, iSoi. Library 
 New York Hist. Soc. Yates and Moulton's History of New York, 
 217-229. 
 
 § Ms. with New York Hist. Soc. 
 
 11 Yaif^s and Moulton^s History of New York, 230. 
 
i6 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 his account will be found entirely consistent with 
 itself." " From information subsequently obtained, 
 however," adds Ruttenber, "and especially that 
 furnished by treaties and other documentary papers, 
 it would appear that at the time of the discovery, the 
 Mahkans held possession under sub-tribal organi- 
 zations, of the east bank of the river from an un- 
 defined point north of Albany to the sea, includ- 
 ing Long Island; and that their dominion extended 
 east to the Connecticut, where they joined kindred 
 tribes ; that on the west bank of the Hudson they 
 ran down as far as Catskill, and west to Schenec- 
 tady."* Messrs. Yates and Moulton think it 
 "probable that they had in former times reached 
 to the head-waters of the Hudson, until they met 
 their rivals in the vicinity of Lacus Irocoisia, 
 (Champlain,) or near the Green Mountains west of 
 that lake. There is no doubt they once owned 
 and occupied the. Saratoga tract, now including a 
 county of that name in this State."t 
 
 CHAPTER 11. 
 
 The Iroquois Family — TheAlgonkin Family — 
 Their Inherent Weakness — Universality 
 OF their Language — The Dela wares — Rel- 
 ative Rank of the Three Tribes of the 
 Delawares — Their Organization and Gov- 
 ernment — Succession of Chieftaincies He- 
 reditary in the Female Line — Duties and 
 Powers of the Chief — Indian Mode of Ex- 
 piating Murder — Organization and Gov- 
 ernment OF THE MaHICANS — METHOD OF DE- 
 CLARING War — Offensive and Defensive 
 Weapons — Preparations for War — Endur- 
 ance and Sufferings of Indian Warriors — 
 Indian Torture — Indian Totems. 
 
 WHEN the Europeans first had inter- 
 course with the aborigines of North 
 America, the latter consisted of two great famiUes, 
 
 * Indian Tribes of H-udsan's Rivtr, 34. Wassenar's Historie Van 
 Euro^a, Amsterdam 16ZI-1632. 
 
 t History of New York, 95, 230. From the translation of the Sara- 
 toga purchase, (among the manuscripts of the New York Hist. Soc.,) say 
 these authors, (230, note,) it appears that the * 'iWarAf>tff«rf" Indians were 
 present at the court-house in A'bany, July a6, 1683, at the purchase of 
 the lands at Saratoga, and saw the Mohawks receive payment. Being 
 required to say whether they had any claim on the lands, they then de- 
 clared that they desisted from all right and ownership which they former- 
 ly had thereto, deferring to the discretion of the purchasers to give them 
 something of an acknowledgment or not, as it was their land of old, 
 before the Mohawks conquered (or won ) it. They also signed a quit- 
 claim or memorandum, declaring in the name of the whole nation who 
 might have any pretension to the same, that they would, so far as respects 
 their Nation, clear them from all demands. Whereupon the purchasers 
 gave them seven duffels garments, as a w^Wfon'fl/ of the aforesaid pur- 
 chase, two half casks of beer, and two kegs of wine. Albany Records, 
 C. fol. 290. 
 
 who are at present known as the Iroquois* and 
 the Algonkins.f The immediate dominion of the 
 Iroquois proper, or Five Nations, extended from 
 the borders of Vermont to Western New York, and 
 from the lakes to the head-waters of the Ohio, 
 Susquehanna and Delaware. To the north and 
 west lay the Huron, Neutral and Erie nations, and 
 to the south the Andastes, all kindred tribes of the 
 Iroquois family. 
 
 The Algonkin family was much more numerous 
 than that of the Iroquois, but lost much of its 
 eifective strength by being dispersed over a wide 
 extent of country. This made many of its tribes 
 an easy prey to the rapacity of the Iroquois, who, 
 from the want of thorough concert of action among 
 their enemies — for though cognate they were not 
 coherent — were enabled to attack and subdue them 
 in detail. " The primitive lafaguage which was the 
 most widely diffused, and the most fertile in dia- 
 lects," says Bancroft, "received from the French 
 the name of Algonkin. It was the mother tongue 
 of those who greeted the colonists of Raleigh at 
 Roanoke, and of those who welcomed the pilgrims 
 to Plymouth. It was heard from the Bay of Gasp^ 
 to the valley of the Des Moines; from Cape Fear, 
 and, it may be, from the Savannah, to the land of 
 the Esquimaux ; from the Cumberland River of 
 
 * This was the French name for the five confederate nations of Indians 
 who resided mostly within this State, and was given them, says Charle- 
 voix, because they usually began and finished their speeches with the word 
 hiro, which means, " I say," or " I have said," and combined as an affix 
 with the word Koue, is an exclamation expressing joy or sorrow, accord- 
 ing as the pronunciation is long or short. {Gameai^s History of Can- 
 ada.') By the Dutch they were called "Maquas." They denominated 
 themselves "Mingoes," meaning United People. (Clark's Onondaga.) 
 Their true name is " Hodenosaunee, " or " People of the Long House," 
 because the five nations were ranged in a long line through Central New 
 York, and likened to one of their long bark houses. (Parkman's 
 Jesuits.) Loskiel says "they call themselves AqiianuschUmi, that is. 
 United People ; always to remind each other that their safety and power 
 consists in a mutual strict adherence to their alliance." (Mission of the 
 United Brethren, Part I., Chap. I., l.) They also call themselves 
 "Canossioone," or " Konossione," meaning, in the Iroquois language, 
 "the whole house, or all the Indians together." (Colonial History, IV., 
 78, 196. ) 
 
 They were subsequently denominated the Six Nations on the admis- 
 sion to their confederacy in 171 3, of the remnant of the Tuscaroras, who 
 formerly belonged to them, (Colonial History, V., 176, 387,) and who, 
 in resisting the encroachments of the proprietaries of North Carolina, 
 who assigned their lands to the German Palatines, were almost destroyed 
 in their fort on the River Taw, March 26, 1713, having lost 80a in pris- 
 oners, who were sold as slaves to the allies of the English. The Tusca- 
 roras were assigned lands by the Oneidas, west of and in close proximity 
 to them, and they, like the Oneidas, remained friendly to tile colonists 
 during the Revolutionary war, while the rest of the Six Nations mostly 
 remained the allies of the English. 
 
 t The French called them .Adirondacks, or, more properly, a tribe liv- 
 ing in Canada, bearing the family name. (Colonial History, V., 791,)* 
 In Iroquois the name signifies "tree eaters," (Colonial History^ IV., 
 899,) and was given them in derision by the Mohawks, because, subsist- 
 ing mostly by the chase, during the long Canadian winters when game was 
 scarce, they were driven by hunger to subsist for many weeks together 
 upon the buds and bark and sometimes upon the young wood of forest 
 trees. 
 
ORGANIZATION AND GOVERNMENT OF THE DELAWARES. 
 
 17 
 
 Kentucky to the southern bank of the Missinipi. 
 It was spoken, though not exclusively, in a territory 
 that extended through sixty degrees of longitude 
 and more than twenty degrees of latitude."* 
 
 We have in a preceding chapter followed the 
 Delawares, the principal branch of the Algonkin 
 family, in their migrations from the west to the 
 east, and fixed the location of the Mahicans, a 
 branch of the Delawares, at the period of Euro- 
 pean settlement, on the east side of the Hudson. 
 The Delawares, as we have seen, were divided 
 into three tribes, of whom, says Loskiel, " the 
 Unami are considered as the head of the nation, 
 the Wunalachtikos are next in rank, and then 
 follow the Monsys."\ Each tribe was but a union 
 of families,! and each had a chief, who, says Los- 
 kiel, was nothing more than the most respected 
 among his equals in rank. Each chief, he adds, 
 had his counselors, who were " either experienced 
 warriors, or aged and respectable fathers of fami- 
 lies." These constituted the council, " appointed 
 to watch over the welfare of the tribe." In mat- 
 ters regarding the whole nation they s'ent repre- 
 sentatives to attend a general council. It was 
 imperative that the chief be a member of the 
 tribe in which he presided. He was not chosen 
 by his own tribe, but by the chiefs of the two 
 other tribes, who, with their counselors and whole 
 tribes, moved in procession with singing towards 
 the place appointed for the election to take place, 
 entering the council house at the east end. The 
 succession depended on birth, and was inherited 
 through the female line. The child belonged to 
 the clan of the mother, not that of the father, 
 from whom it could not inherit anything. All 
 rank, titles and possessions passed through the 
 female. The son of a chief could never be a 
 chief by hereditary title, though he might become 
 one through personal merit ; but a grandson, great- 
 grandson or nephew might succeed him. 
 
 " This system of clanship with the rule of 
 descent inseparable from it, was," says Park- 
 man, " of very wide prevalence. Indeed, it is 
 more than probable that close observation would 
 have detected it in every tribe east of the Missis- 
 sippi; while there is positive evidence of its ex- 
 istence in by far the greater number." The Chip- 
 pewas, however, furnished an exception to this 
 rule. With them, says Loskiel, the son of a 
 chief had a legal right to succeed his father. 
 
 * History of the United States, II., 394-J9S- 
 
 t History of the Mission of the United Brethren among the Indians 
 in North America, Part I., Chap. I., p. '■. 
 X Bancroft's History of the United States, II., 417. 
 
 This rule, though binding, was very elastic, and 
 capable of stretching to the farthest Hmits of the 
 tribe. Invariably with the Delawares the chief 
 was succeeded by a near relative, well acquainted 
 with the affairs of the State, but he must always 
 be acceptable to the whole nation. 
 
 The new chief was inducted into office by a 
 formal council of the chiefs of the nation, who en- 
 joined on him his duties regarding the preserva- 
 tion or re-establishment of peace, and admonished 
 him not to meddle with the affaiis of war, but to 
 keep his people from it, continually to attend to 
 the welfare of his nation, and willingly hear their 
 remonstrances if he should commit a fault. He 
 was required, with the advice of his counselors, to 
 keep good order amongst his tribe, and to decide 
 all quarrels and disputes; but he could neither 
 command, compel nor punish, as in that case he 
 would have been forsaken by the whole tribe. 
 Every word savoring of command was immediately 
 rejected with contempt by the Indian, who was 
 always jealous of his liberty. He was compelled 
 to keep up his reputation and enforce his authority 
 by a prudent, courteous and winning behavior. 
 He held his office by reason of merit and the 
 esteem in which he was held by the people, and 
 forfeited that distinction when this esteem was 
 lost. A respect for native superiority and a 
 willingness to yield to it were always conspicuous. 
 As he was not vested with the power to punish, 
 neither was it his prerogative to pardon. The 
 punishment of murder and other atrocious crimes 
 was relegated to the injured family. 
 
 It was the duty of the chief to entertain stran- 
 gers to visit the tribe on business, also ambassadors 
 from other nations ; but if their number was too 
 great they were put into a separate house, and 
 their wants supplied at the public expense. That 
 he might be able to dispense this hospitality with- 
 out impoverishment, the men of his tribe furnished 
 him with game, and the women assisted his wife 
 in her plantations. When he designed visiting 
 another chief he sent him a piece of tobacco, with 
 this message : " Smoke of this tobacco and look 
 towards my dwelling, then thou shalt see me com- 
 ing towards thee on such a day." 
 
 The chief received no compensation for his ser- 
 vices. Honor and esteem were his chief rewards ; 
 shame and being despised his punishment. The 
 principal men were generally poorer than the 
 common people; for they affected to give away 
 and distribute all the presents and plunder they 
 got by treaty or in war. Thus while the system 
 
HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 held out ample incentives to valorous achievement, 
 there was nothing to tempt the covetous and 
 sordid.* 
 
 " A captain," says Loskiel, from whose interest- 
 irfg account these facts are mostly derived, " is the 
 chief's right hand. He must undertake everything 
 committed to him by the chief, even at the hazard 
 of his Ufe, for his duty as captain requires this of 
 him. But if he is either wounded or killed by the 
 enemy, the whole nation joins in revenging his 
 death." The office of captain is neither elective 
 nor hereditary, but is bestowed as a recognition of 
 ability in war. 
 
 "The principal duty of the first chief of the 
 Delawares," says the same author, "is to maintain 
 the peace and covenants made between them and 
 the rest of the Indian nations and Europeans. He 
 therefore carries on a kind of correspondence with 
 them, with a view to be always acquainted with 
 their disposition towards his people. He also 
 sends embassies, but generally with the advice and 
 consent of the two other chiefs. If the Europeans 
 or Indians send a disagreeable message, the chiefs ■ 
 answer has always a double meaning. It would 
 be deemed very rude to inquire an explanation, 
 and against the law of the State to give one." For 
 small mistakes he was admonished by his people ; 
 but for any misdemeanor jeopardizing the com- 
 monwealth he was reprimanded by the two other 
 chiefs, and for continued delinquency he was for- 
 saken and his power at an end. 
 
 " The governments of the aborigines," says Ban- 
 croft, " scarcely differed from each other," except 
 as accident gave a predominance to one or the 
 other of the elements entering into them. " Each 
 village governed itself as if independent, and each 
 after the same analogies, without variety. If the. 
 observer had regard to the sachems, (whom Los- 
 kiel calls chiefs,) the government seemed mon- 
 archial, but, as of measures that concerned all 
 they could not conclude aught unto which the 
 people were averse and every man of due age was 
 admitted to council, it might also be described as 
 a democracy. In council, the people were guided 
 by the eloquent, carried away by the brave ; and 
 this influence, which was recognized and regular in 
 its action, appeared to constitute an oligarchy.f 
 
 Such substantially was the organization and gov- 
 ernment of the Mahican and other branches of the 
 Delaware nation, neither of whom had a written 
 con^itution. The Mahicans had a chief sachem, 
 
 *CalderCs Five Indian Nations. O'Callaglian's New Netherland-, 
 I,Sb. 
 t History of the United States^ //., 428. 
 
 who was chosen by the nation, with the title to 
 the office hereditary in the lineage of his wife. 
 He remained at all times with, and consulted the 
 welfare of his tribe, and concluded all of the 
 treaties in their behalf. He had charge of the 
 mnoti, or peace bag, which contained the strings 
 and belts of wampum, which were the tokens of 
 amity between his and other tribes and nations. 
 He was assisted by counselors called chiefs, and 
 by three others, who were respectively denominated 
 hero, owl, and runner. Both the hero and owl 
 were offices of merit ; the former was bestowed on 
 those only distinguished by prowess and prudence 
 in war ; and the recipient of the latter must be a 
 good speaker, with a retentive memory. The 
 heroes were charged with the execution of war 
 when that was decided on in council ; the owl sat 
 beside his sachem and with a foud voice proclaimed 
 his orders to the people; he also rose at day-light, 
 aroused the people, and summoned them to their 
 daily duties. The office of the runner was to carry 
 messages and convene councils.* 
 
 The chief or sachem could not declare war with- 
 out the consent of the captains, and when war was 
 determined on the care of the tribe or nation passed 
 for the time being from the former to the latter, 
 who relinquished it to the civil authorities again 
 when peace was proposed. The Delawares, Uke 
 the Iroquois, but uhUke some other nations, did 
 not declare war by a formal message ; but sent out 
 a small party, who killed and scalped the first man 
 they met belonging to the nation they intended to 
 engage, then cleaved the scull with a hatchet, 
 which was left in it, or laid a war-club, painted red, 
 upon the body of the victim. 
 
 But little preparation for war was needed. The 
 primitive ofi'ensive weapons were bows, arrows and 
 clubs. The latter were made of the hardest wood, 
 not quite the length of a man's arm, and very 
 heavy, with a large round knob at one end. Their 
 weapon of defense was a shield made of the tough 
 hide of a buffalo, on the concave side of which they 
 received the arrows and darts of the enemy. These, 
 however, were laid entirely aside by the Delawares 
 and Iroquois, even while the bow, arrows and club 
 were in vogue ; and fire-arms were substituted for 
 the latter weapons on the advent of the Europeans. 
 But previous to the substitution of guns they sup- 
 plemented the knobs of their clubs with nails and 
 pieces of iron. To the arrows of the Indians who 
 greeted Hudson in 1609, points, consisting of sharp 
 stones, were fastened with pitch. Th eir sole pro- 
 
 * Stockiridge, Past and Presimt. 
 
METHODS WHILE ENGAGED IN WARFARE— TORTURES— TOTEMS. 
 
 19 
 
 vision on such occasions consisted of pounded corn 
 and maple sugar. The night previous to their de- 
 parture was spent in aUmentary debauchery and 
 dancing. A feast of dog's flesh was always provided 
 on such occasions.* They were always followed 
 to their first night's encampment, (which was usu- 
 ally but two or three miles from the village,) by 
 the women, who took with them their old clothes 
 and brought back the finery in which they marched 
 from the castle. 
 
 They often made long and tedious marches to 
 the lands of their enemies ; and as their provisions 
 soon gave out, it became necessary to spend some 
 days in hunting. They dispersed through the 
 woods for that purpose; but returned to the place 
 of rendezvous exactly at the time appointed. No 
 one had precedence during the march, not even 
 the captain. Their provisions were divided in 
 equal shares, however small the portion allotted to 
 each. The Indian warriors possessed astonishing 
 patience and perseverance, encountered incredible 
 dangers, and lived upon the most scanty fare ; for 
 as soon as they entered the enemy's country they 
 could hunt no longer, and though they had always 
 sufficient provisions for some days, being frequently 
 under the necessity of hiding for several weeks in 
 the woods before venturing an attack, they suf- 
 fered incredibly from hunger and other inconven- 
 iences. The utmost care was exercised to prevent 
 premature discovery and elude pursuit. They al- 
 ways recorded these exploits by the aid of mne- 
 monic symbols, rudely sketched on the smooth side 
 of a piece of bark, peeled for that purpose from a 
 tree — usually an oak, as being most durable. 
 
 The horrible, cruel and remorseless tortures with 
 which they, in common with other Indians, per- 
 secuted their prisoners, forms one of the blackest 
 pages in their history ; while ,the heroism and forti- 
 tude with which they endured these tortures is the 
 marvel of civiUzation. Even women were not 
 exempt from them ; for both men and women were 
 inexorably subjected to the most revolting and 
 ignominious tortures, even to burning alive, though 
 the latter less frequently than the former. Not all 
 their captives, however, were subjected to torture; 
 for many were adopted into the families of those 
 who had lost friends and relatives in the war. Ter- 
 rible as were these tortures, they are not without a 
 parallel in the history of civilized nations; and 
 there is the added virtue that they were measura- 
 bly free from that vindictiveness which was the in- 
 spiring genius of the latter. With them it was a 
 
 • Colden's Five Indian Nations, 
 
 matter of education ; for, says DeWitt Clinton, "to 
 produce death by the most protracted" suffering 
 was sanctioned among them by general immemo- 
 rial usage." Bancroft significantly says : "We call 
 them cruel ; yet they never invented the thumb- 
 screw, or the boot, or the rack, or broke on the 
 wheel, or exiled bands of their nations for opinion's 
 sake ; and never protected the monopoly of a medi- 
 cine man by the gallows, or the block, or by fire,"* 
 As each tribe had its sachem and chief or cap- 
 tain, so also each had its specific device or totem, 
 denoting original consanguinity. The totems of the 
 Mahicans were the Bear, the Wolf and the Turtle. 
 The former, which, says Ruttenber, " appear to 
 have been inoccupation in the vicinity of Albany,"! 
 was according to Mahican tradition, " considered 
 the leading totem and entitled to the office of chief 
 sachem." These totems were universally respected, 
 and were often tatooed on the person of the In- 
 dian and even rudely painted on the gable-end of 
 his cabin, some in black, others in red. They en- 
 titled the wandering savage to the hospitality of 
 the wigwam which bore the emblem corresponding 
 with his own. These devices consisted of ani- 
 mals, birds, etc. They had various uses, but the 
 most important was that which denoted tribal 
 relation. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Aborigines of Duchess County — Divisions 
 OF THE Mahicans — Their Territorial Pos- 
 sessions — The Wappingers — Supposed Iden- 
 tity with the Sanhikans and Sankikani — 
 Conflicting Statements Respecting their 
 Location — Deposition of David Nimham 
 Regarding it — Chieftaincies of the Wap- 
 pingers — The Head Chieftaincy Located in 
 Duchess County — Villages of the Wappin- 
 gers — Dans-Kammer Point — Traditional 
 Indian Villages. 
 
 THE territory embraced within the present 
 limits of Duchess County was the home 
 at different periods of the Mahicans, who have 
 been styled the first inhabitants of Hudson River,t 
 the Wappingers, who originally lived west of the 
 Hudson, and subsequently joined the Mahicans, 
 and a remnant of the Pequots, the earliest victims 
 
 * History of the Untied States, II, 447. 
 
 t Indian Tribes of HudsofUs River, 50, (note.) 
 
 t Col. Hist. IV., 901. 
 
HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 to the Europeans, who were nearly exterminated 
 May 26, 1 637, and the remnant subsequently driven 
 from their homes in Connecticut. The latter dwelt 
 in the present town of Dover, and are still repre- 
 sented by their descendants in the valley of the 
 Housatonic, to which they subsequently removed. 
 Their sachem was Gideon Mauwee, whose grand- 
 daughter, Aunt Eunice Mauwee, died in i860, at 
 the age of 103 years. 
 
 The Mahicans were a confederacy,* although the 
 several nations composing it have never been desig- 
 nated, says Ruttenber, who adds that certain gen- 
 eral divisions appear under the titles of the Mahi- 
 cans, Soquatucks, Horicons, Pennacooks, Nipmucks, 
 Abenaquis, Nawaas, Sequins, and Wappingers. 
 The former, the representative nation of the con- 
 federacy on the Hudson, appears, he says, to have 
 taken original position there, and to have sent out 
 snbduing colonies to the south and east, originat- 
 ing other national combinations. Their ancient 
 council fire was kindled at Schodack, opposite the 
 city of Albany, the country in the vicinity of which 
 they occupied. The Soquatucks occupied the 
 country east of the Green Mountains; the Hor- 
 icons, the Lake George district ; the Pennacooks,t 
 the territory " from Haverhill to the sources of the 
 Connecticut ; the Nipmucks, the country " about 
 Worcester, Oxford, Grafton, Dudley, &c., in Mas- 
 sachusetts j"t the Abenaquis, "the inland country 
 on the upper part of the Kennebec River, in 
 Maine ;"§ the Nawaas and Sequins, the country 
 bordering the Connecticiit, the latter immediately 
 south of the former ; and the Wappingers, the coun- 
 try east of the Hudson and immediately south of 
 the Mahicans, extending from Roelaff Jansen's Kill, 
 or Livingston Creek, to the sea. The first of these 
 general divisions was again divided into at least 
 five parts, as known to the authorities of New York 
 viz : the Mahicans, occupying the country in the 
 vicinity of Albany ; the Wiekagjocks, described by 
 Wassenar as "next below the Maikens ;" the 
 Mechkentowoons, lying above Catskill and on 
 Beeren or Mahican Island; the Wawyachton- 
 
 * Bancroft says, "the country between the banks of the Connecticut and 
 the Hudson was possessed by independent villages of the Mohegans, kin- 
 . dred with the Manhattans, whose few 'smokes' once rose amidst the 
 forests on New York Island. "—History of the United States, II., 396. 
 
 t " The Pennacooks," says O'Callaghan, (Col. Hisi.N. Y, III., 482,) 
 *' were a New Hampshire tribe, and inhabited Concord and the Merrimac 
 country above and below that town." A full account of them will be found 
 in Moore's Annals of Concord, 73 ; and in Collections of New Hamp- 
 shire Historical Society, I, Z18." 
 
 } Hol^es^ Annals, /., 413. 
 
 %Col. Hist. N. Y., III., 48z, note, which also says: "They were 
 called Onagonques by the Dutch, Owenagungas by the English, and 
 Abenakis by the French." 
 
 ocks,* who apparently resided in the western 
 parts of Duchess and Columbia counties ; and 
 the Westenhucks, subsequently known as the 
 Stockbridges, who held the capital of the confed- 
 eracy, and occupied the village of Kaunaumeek, 
 where the missionary Brainerd labored, and which 
 he describes as "near twenty miles from Stock- 
 bridge and near about twenty miles distant from 
 Albany eastward ; " Potatik, located by the Mora- 
 vians on the Housatonic " seventy miles inland ;'' 
 and Westenhuck or Wuahktakook, the capital of 
 the confederacy, located on Sauthier's map, among 
 the hills south of Stockbridge. The villages of the 
 Wawyachtonocks, says Ruttenber, are without 
 designation, but it is probable that Shekomeko, 
 about two miles south of the village of Pine Plains, 
 and once the seat of a flourishing Moravian mis- 
 sion, was classed as one of them, as well as Wech- 
 quadnach, also the seat of a Moravian mission, 
 described as " twenty-eight miles below Stock- 
 bridge." He adds, " that their villages and chief- 
 tancies were even more numerous than those of 
 the Montauks and Wappingers" there is every 
 reason to suppose, but causes the very opposite of 
 those which led to the preservation of the location 
 of the latter, permitted the former to go down with 
 so many unrecorded facts relating to the tribe,"! 
 
 The Wappingers, or Wappingis, were, Uke the . 
 Mahicans, with whom they united, a branch of 
 the Delawares, and are supposed by Messrs. Yates 
 and Moulton % to be identical with the Sanhikans, 
 whom De Laet describes as residing on the west 
 side of the Hudson, " within the Sandy Hook," § 
 and with the Sankikani, who, when the Dutch 
 arrived at New Netherlands another Dutch author, " 
 Joost Hartger, who wrote in 165 1, twenty-six years 
 after De Laet, describes as residing " on New York 
 Bay, on the Jersey shore, opposite Manhattan's 
 Island, and thence some distance up the river, 
 lining the shore." Both authors say they were 
 deadly enemies of the Manhattans, occupying the 
 island to which it is supposed they gave their 
 
 * "This name," says Ruttenber, "is local," and is applied, in a peti- 
 tion by William Caldwell and others in 1702, to a " tract of unappropriated 
 lands in ye hands of ye Indians, lying in Duchess County to ye westward 
 of Westenholk's creek, and to ye eastward of Foughkeepsie, called by ye 
 Indians by ye name of Wayaughtanock." — Indian Tribes of Hudson^ s 
 River, 8s, note. 
 
 ^Indian Tribes of HudsoiCs River, 41. 85-86. A tract of laud 
 called Westenhook was patented to Robert Livingston, Jr., and others 
 in 1735, and that as well as Livingston Manor, patented in 1686, became 
 the subject of controversy between this State and Massachuset ts. — StmiKs 
 History of New York, 283-288. 
 
 X History oftht State of New York, 221. They strengthen this sup- 
 position by quoting Gov. Clinton. 
 
 %Nieuwe Wereldt, Book 3, Chaf. 9. 
 
TERRITORIAL LOCATION OF THE WAPPINGERS. 
 
 21 
 
 name,* and were, says Hartger, a much less 
 ferocious and sanguinary people. De Laet testifies 
 that they were a better people than the Manhattans, 
 who, he says, were a wicked nation having " always 
 conducted towards the Dutch in a cruel and inimi- 
 cal manner." O'Callaghan says the Dutch dis- 
 tinguished the Delawares by the name of Sankhi- 
 cans.f 
 
 The Rev. John Heckewelder,t who says the 
 Sankhicanni derive their name from Sankhican, 
 who sigmiiss fire-works, adds, they and the Wabinga 
 or Wapinga, sprung from the Delawares and Min- 
 sis, and, living opposite the Mahicanni, on the 
 Hudson, (the latter the most southerly, up the 
 Pachsdjeck — i.e. a valley, Passaic,) intermarried 
 with them, till at length their language betrayed 
 more of the Mahicanni, than- the Delaware. The 
 
 Wappingis, occupied the highlands on the west 
 side of the Hudson, from which they were known 
 by the Y>\A(Ai.z.%Hocklanders, (Highlanders.) The 
 Sankhicanni extended their settlements towards 
 the site of Albany. In course of time these two 
 tribes were under the necessity of leaving their 
 country, when they went over to the Mahicanni, with 
 the exception of a few famiUes, who again joined 
 the Delawares, but for fear of being again driven 
 from their settlements by the whites, went first to the 
 Susquehanna, and subsequently to the Ohio. The 
 
 Wappingis says Heckewelder derive their name 
 from the opossum, which in the language of the 
 Delawares, is called Waping. Wappingi signifies 
 " the opossummani." § 
 
 Mr. Charles ThompscJn, Secretary of the first 
 American Congress, locates the Wappingers be- 
 tween the west branch of the Delaware and the 
 Hudson, from the Kittatinny Ridge (Blue Mts.) 
 down to Raritan. || Prof. Ebeling observes that 
 the Esopus Indians, who proved so troublesome 
 
 * Heckewelder, in Ms. Comm. to Dr. Miller, says his inquiries in re- 
 spect to a nation or tribe of Indians called Mankattos or Nanathones 
 were fruitless. They were unknown at the middle of the eighteenth 
 century to both the Mahicans and Delawares. He was convinced that 
 the Delawares and Minsis occupied Manhattan or New York Island, 
 which the former then called Manahattani or Manahachtanink. The 
 Delaware word for island, he says, is Mznaiey ; the Minsi word, Man- 
 ttchtey. Early writers, however, are emphatic in naming this tribe, and 
 De Rasieres, who wrote in 1626, intimates that they were conquered '* by 
 the Wappenos." 
 
 t History of New Netherlands /., 48. 
 
 X Ms. Communication to Dr. Miller in 1801. now in possession of the 
 N. Y. Hist. Soc. 
 
 § Wappingers, says Ruttenber, is a corruption of ivahun, east, and 
 ackif land, which, as applied by the Indians themselves, may be rendered 
 Eastlanders, or Men of the East. The French preserved the original 
 very nearly in Abenague, and Heckewelder in Wapanachki. The 
 Dutch historians are responsible for JVappingerSy perhaps from their 
 rendering of the sound of the original word, and perhaps as expressing 
 the fact that they were, in the Dutch language, wapertt or half-armed In- 
 . dians. — Indian Tribes o/HudsoTCs River, 170 — 371. 
 
 li Note 5, Appendix to Jefferson's Notes on Virginia. 
 
 to the early Dutch settlers, were supposed to be 
 Wappingers.* Ruttenber says : "Although it is so 
 stated on Van der Donck's map of New Nether- 
 land, and assumed by Gallatin as a fact, there is 
 no evidence that the Wappingers extended west of 
 the Hudson, but, on the contrary, the conclusion is 
 certain that they did not. The record of the Esopus 
 wars and the sales of lands show what and who the 
 latter were. The error of Van der Donck's in- 
 formants was in confusing totemic emblems, and 
 similarity of dialect, with tribal jurisdiction." f 
 
 Whatever may be the fact with reference to the 
 Wappingers having once possessed lands west of 
 the Hudson, it is certain that their later settle- 
 ments were on the east side of that river, as is 
 shown by the following deposition of David Nim- 
 ham, whose father, Daniel Nimham, was made 
 chief sachem of the Wappingers in 1740, and dis- 
 tinguished himself not less by his persistent efforts 
 to recover lands in Putnam county, of which his tribe 
 were defrauded, than by his tragic death at the battle 
 of Cortland Ridge, in Westchester county, where he 
 and some forty of his followers, including his son, 
 were killed or wounded August 31, 1778, by the 
 British, against whom they had espoused the cause 
 of the Colonists. I The deposition reads as fol- 
 lows : — 
 
 " David Nimham, aged thirty-six years, being 
 duly sworn, maketh oath, that he is a River Indian 
 of the tribe of the Wappingers, which tribe were 
 the ancient inhabitants of the east shore of Hud- 
 son's River, from the city of New York to about 
 the middle of Beekman's Patent ; that another of 
 River Indians, called Mahiccondas, were the an- 
 cient inhabitants of the remaining east shore of the 
 said river; that these two tribes constituted one 
 nation. That the deponent well understands the 
 language of the Mahiccondas. It is very Uttle 
 different from the language of the Wappings tribe. 
 That the Indian word Pattenock signifies in the 
 language of the Mahiccondas, a fall of water, and 
 has no other signification. And this deponent 
 says that he is a Christian, and has resided some 
 years with the Mahiccondas at Stockbridge. 
 
 his 
 
 "DAVID X NIMHAM. 
 
 mark. 
 
 " Sworn the second day of August, 1762, before 
 me. WILLIAM SMITH." 
 
 The chieftaincies of the Wappingers, say Rut- 
 tenber,§ were the Reckgawawancs^ who occupied 
 Manhattan Island and a portion of the mainland, 
 with their principal village,|| says Bolton, at the 
 
 * Yates and Moiilion' s History of the State of New York^ 221, 
 
 t Indian Tribes of Hudson River-, 84. 
 
 X Sintcoe^s Military Jo^irtial. 
 
 % Indian 'rrihes 0/ Htidson's River^ 77-84. 
 
 II History of Westchester County. 
 
HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 mouth of Neperah (Neperhan *) or Saw Mill 
 Creek, where the village of Yonkers now stands, 
 and at whose strong stockade fort, which stood on 
 Berrien's Neck, on the north bank of the Spuyten 
 Duyvel commanding the romantic scenery of that 
 creek and the Mahicannituck, Hudson first dropped 
 anchor on his ascending voyage, and was attacked 
 by the Indians on his return ; the Weckquaesgeeks, 
 who, as early as 1644, had three entrenched 
 castles,t one of which remained as late 1663, and 
 was then garrisoned by eighty warriors. Their 
 principal village, named Weckquaskeck, was on the 
 site of Dobb's Ferry, and its outlines, it is said, 
 can still be traced by numerous shell beds ; a 
 second one called Alip Conck, occupied the site 
 of the village of Tarrytown. Their territory seems 
 to have extended from Norwalk on the Sound, to 
 the Hudson, and to have embraced considerable 
 portions of the towns of Mount Pleasant, Greenburgh 
 White Plains and Rye, or, according to O'Calla- 
 ghan, J from the North to the East River, " on the 
 banks of two smaller streams, called the Sintsinck, 
 and the Armonck, a few miles north of the fierce 
 Manhattd^ or Manhattans,- a ' cruel nation,' who 
 held their council fires on an extensive island im- 
 mediately south, which, retaining their name, was 
 afterwards called Manhattans ;" the Sint-Sinks, 
 who, apparently, were not numerous, but had two 
 villages, one Ossing-Sing, on the site of the present 
 village of Sing Sing, the other, Kestaubuinck, located 
 between Sing Sing Creek and Croton River ; the 
 Kitchawongs or Kickfawancs, whose territory ap- 
 pears to have extended from Croton River to An- 
 thony's Nose, embracing a principal village named 
 Kitchawonck, located at the mouth of the river 
 bearing their name ; another named Sackhoes, on 
 the site of the village of Peekskill, and a fort, 
 which stood at the mouth of Croton River, and is 
 represented as one of the most formidable and an- 
 cient Indian fortresses south of the Highlands; 
 the Tankitekes, whom Brodhead locates at Haver- 
 straw, O'Callaghan on the east side of Tappan 
 Bay, and Bolton, in the eastern part of Westchest- 
 er, (the latter of which, from the deeds given by 
 them, Ruttenber affirms is correct,) and who, says 
 the latter, occupy " a prominent ' place in the 
 Dutch history through the action of Pecham, ' a 
 crafty man,' who not only performed discreditable 
 service for Director Kieft, but was also very largely 
 instrumental in bringing on the war of 1645 ;" the 
 Nochpeems, who occupied the highlan ds north of 
 
 *F7encKs Map of the State of New York, 
 
 1 younial of New Netherland, Doc. Hist., IV.,-IS. 
 
 X History of New Netherland, I., 47. 
 
 Anthony's Nose, (where Wassenar locates the 
 Pachany, and Brodhead the Fachimis, whom — the 
 Pachamis — O'Callaghan locates on the east side of 
 Tappan Bay,) and to whom Van der Douck 
 assigns three villages on t\itYi\xA%ox^—Keskistkonck, 
 Pasquasheck and Nochpeem — but whose principal 
 village, says Ruttenber, situated in what is now 
 known as Canopus Hollow, in the town of Putnam 
 Valley, appears to have been called Canopus, from 
 the name of their sachem; the Siwanoys, also 
 known as "one of the seven tribes of the sea 
 coast," who were one of the largest of the Wap- 
 pinger subdivisions, and occupied the northern 
 shore of the sound, " from Norwalk twenty-four 
 miles to the neighborhood of Hell-gate;" the 
 Sequins, who took their name from one of their 
 chiefs, who occupied a larg^ extent of country, 
 with their principal seat on the west bank of the 
 Connecticut, and had jurisdiction over all the 
 south-western Connecticut clans; and the Wap- 
 ptngers, the acknowledged head of the chieftaincies 
 of the tribal organization of that name, whose ter- 
 ritory covered the major portion of Duchess 
 County. The location of their principal village is 
 not known, but presumably on the creek which 
 perpetuates their name, on the south side of which 
 — the Mawenawasigh, its beautiful Indian name — 
 Van derDonck's map locates three of their villages. 
 Others of their villages were located in the town of 
 Fishkill, and at Fishkill Hook. " Until quite recent- 
 ly, there were traces of their burial grounds, and 
 many apple and pear trees are still left standing."* 
 Here, on a farm of three hundred acres, adjoining 
 Putnam County, which was claimed as a reserva- 
 tion, the Indians lingered long after the sale of 
 their lands in that locality; and even after their 
 removal to the West, a few came occasionally to 
 renew their claims, remaining a few weeks to hunt 
 and fish, while plying the vocation of mendicants. 
 North of Wappinger's Creek they appear to have 
 been known as the Indians of the Long Reach, 
 and on the south as the Highland Indians. Of 
 their possessions on the Hudson there is but one 
 perfect transfer title on record, that being for the 
 lands which were included in the Rombout Patent, 
 of which further mention will be made in a subse- 
 quent chapter. 
 
 Messrs. Yates and Moulton, after referring to the 
 former residence of the tribe on the west side of 
 the Hudson, say, at a later period, they "occupied 
 that part of the east side of the Hudson, near a 
 
 * Historical Sketch of the Town qf Fishkill, by T. Van Wyck Brink- 
 erhoff, S'-S2i 
 
RIVALRY BETWEEN THE DELAWARES AND IROQUOIS. 
 
 23 
 
 hill called Anthony's Nose, in the Highlands which 
 embraced what was called Phillips's upper patent 
 in Duchess County, including PoUipel's Island. 
 Although formerly numerous, they had in 1767 
 dwindled to 227 persons. Their occupation was 
 principally planting and hunting. The Highlands 
 afforded fine hunting ground, and the surrounding 
 soil was excellent for planting. * « * jt ^^^s 
 their fate, though a similar fate with others, to be 
 compelled to abandon their once pleasant Wickapy, 
 (which was the name of the lands where the tribe 
 chiefly resided,) and to seek refuge in remote, and 
 to them, strange places.* Dunlap, in his History 
 of New York, speaks of them as occupying the 
 Highlands, called by them Kittatinny Mountains, 
 and says, their principal settlement, designated 
 Wicapee, was situated in the vicinity of Anthony's 
 Nose. Brodhead says : " It would seem that the 
 neighboring Indians esteemed the peltries of the 
 Fishkillf as charmed by the incantations of the 
 aboriginal enchanters who lived along its banks, 
 and the beautiful scenery in which those ancient 
 Priests of the Highlands dwelt is thus invested with 
 new poetic associations." 
 
 Tradition locates other villages in various parts 
 of the county ; but it is mostly vague and unsat- 
 isfactory, though there is little doubt that many 
 more than those indicated existed within the Hmits 
 of the county. Wassenar locates the Pachany, 
 Warenecker and Warrawannankoruks at Fisher's 
 Hook,J a projection into the river formed by the 
 confluence of the Fishkill in the town of that name. 
 DeLaet agrees substantially with him in the location 
 of the former, whom he calls the Pachami ; but 
 .the latter two, named by him Waoranecks and 
 Warranawankongs, he locates on the west side, on 
 the Dans-Kammer point,§ in which he is unques- 
 tionably more nearly correct. Van derDonck locates 
 the Waoranecks on the south side of Wappingers 
 Creek, while above them, on both sides of the river, 
 he places the Wappingers. The Minnisinks, a 
 * clan of the Minsis, are said to have lived in vari- 
 ous parts of the county, probably not as a clan, 
 however; while the Sepascots are credited to 
 Rhinebeck, and the Shenandoahs to Red Hook. 
 
 * History of the State of New York., lii. 
 
 t The Indian name of this stream was Matteawan, by which it is still 
 sometimes called. The word has been said to signify ^ good fiirs,'''' and 
 Moulton has endeavored to associate it with the incantations of Indian 
 priests, but, says Ruttenber, on no positive authority. 
 
 XDoc. His. Ill, iS, 
 
 §Thisname, which means " dance-chamber, " was given toapointof 
 land, six miles north of Newburgh, where the aborigines were accus- 
 tomed to dance the Kuite-Kaye, a species of devil-worship, on the eve 
 of engaging in expeditions of war or hunting, and when, as prisoners, 
 they were about to suffer torture.— />«?. His. TV, 6j. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Contemporaneous Emigration of Delawares 
 AND Iroquois from the West — The Iroquois 
 Become Jealous of the Delawares and 
 Clandestinely Seek their Humiliation — 
 Wars Between the Delawares and Iroquois 
 — The Iroquois Make Women of the Dela- 
 wares — The Significance of this Act — Dif- 
 fering Views Respecting the Subjugation of 
 THE Delawares by the Iroquois — The Dela- 
 wares Resent the Perfidy of the Iroquois 
 — Wars Between the Iroquois and Mahi- 
 CANs — The Mahicans Unsubdued — Their 
 Subjugation Asserted by Various Histori- 
 ans — Their Statements Refuted by Docu- 
 mentary Troof — Traditional Reverses of 
 the Mahicans — Their Losses and Dispersion 
 — War of 1755 — Relation of the Delawares 
 AND Mahicans to It — The Delawares in 
 the Revolutionary War. 
 
 IN a preceding chapter we have shown that the 
 Iroquois and Delawares, according to tradi- 
 tion, emigrated at the same time from the west- 
 ward ; and, having defeated and dispersed the Al- 
 ligewi, who disputed with them the passage of the 
 Mississippi, that they divided and occupied the 
 conquered territory. The Iroquois, increasing in 
 numbers, extended their settlements below the 
 lakes along the St. Lawrence, from which, tradi- 
 tion asserts, they were driven by the Adirondacks, 
 to the interior parts of New York.* The Dela- 
 wares had also moved farther eastward, and, with 
 their kindred tribes, occupied the valleys of the 
 Delaware, Susquehanna and Hudson. 
 
 In these relative positions they resided peace- 
 ably for many years. At length the Iroquois be- 
 came jealous and distrustful of their southern 
 neighbors, who were rapidly increasing in numbers, 
 and sought to lessen their growing power by em- 
 broiling them and other tribes, especially the Chero- 
 kees, who then lived on the banks of the Ohio and 
 its branches, and between whom and the Dela- 
 wares a most bloody war was waged, as the result 
 of this Iroquois perfidy, until the treachery of the 
 latter was discovered. The Delawares determined 
 to revenge themselves by the extirpation of that 
 deceitful race ;t and-so successful were they in the 
 violent wars which ensued between them and the 
 Iroquois,J that the latter, who at a later period, 
 
 * Smithes History of New York, 77. 
 
 \ Heckewelder' s Historical Account of the Indian Nations, 37, 
 X LoskieVs History of the Mission of the United Brethren among the 
 Indians in North America, Part I, Chap. X,p. IZ4. Heckewelder, 38. 
 
24 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 had also become involved with the French colon- 
 ists in Canada, were constrained to resort to a 
 stratagem to terminate them, being convinced that 
 if they continued, " their total extirpation would be 
 inevitable."* Heckewelder even attributes to the 
 severity of these wars that great Amphyctonic 
 league — the Iroquois confederacy — which, he says, 
 on the authority of Pyrlseus, a missionary among 
 the Mohawks, was formed " sometime between the 
 fifteenth and sixteenth centuries'' ; and adds that 
 the different tribes of the Iroquois had hitherto 
 acted independently.f 
 
 The plan of the Iroquois was to allay the enmity 
 of the Delawares, their "most formidable oppo- 
 nents,"t by urging them to assume the office of 
 women, and act as mediators and ujppires among 
 their warlike neighbors, so that they might devote 
 their entire energies to their northern enemies, the 
 French ; for the wars between these savage nations 
 were never terminated, except through the ihter- 
 position of the women, whose prerogative it was 
 to demand a cessation of hostilities. The men, 
 however tired of fighting, maintained a determined 
 hostile attitude; for they considered it an evidence 
 of cowardice to intimate a desire for peace, and 
 unbecoming for a warrior with a bloody weapon in 
 his hand to address pacific language to his enemy. § 
 They therefore sent the following message || to the 
 Delawares : — ■ 
 
 " It is not profitable that all nations should be 
 at war with each other, for this will at length be 
 the ruin of the whole Indian race. We have there- 
 fore considered of a remedy, by which this evil 
 may be prevented. One nation shall be the 
 woman. We will place her in the midst, and the 
 other nations who make war shall be the man, 
 and live around the woman, no one shall touch 
 or hurt the woman, and if any one does it, we 
 will immediately say to him, ' Why do you beat the 
 woman ? ' Then all the men shall fall upon him 
 who has beaten her. The woman shall not go to 
 war, but endeavor to keep peace with all. There- 
 fore if the men that surround her beat each 
 other, and the war be carried on with violence, 
 the woman shall have the right of addressing them, 
 ' Ye men, what are ye about, why do ye beat each 
 other? We are almost afraid. Consider that 
 your wives and children must perish, unless ye 
 desist. Do ye mean to destroy yourselves from 
 the face of the earth ? ' The men shall then hear 
 and obey the woman." 
 
 To appeal to the magnanimity of the Dela- 
 wares and entreat them to accept such an office was 
 
 *Laskiel, Part /, Chaf. X f. IZ4. - 
 
 ^ He9hewelder, 37-38. 
 
 X MarryaVs Diary in America, 261. 
 
 § Heckewelder, 39. 
 
 liLoskiel. Part I; Cha^. X, 144-125. 
 
 to pay a high tribute to their character for probity 
 and valor ; for it would have been folly for a weak 
 or vacillating nation to have undertaken such a 
 task. It implied that, since "as men they had 
 been dreaded ; as women they would be respected 
 and honored." Unhappily for them they yielded 
 to the flattering proposition, not suspecting the 
 meditated treachery of the Iroquois, who desired 
 as well to deprive them of their power and mili- 
 tary fame, "which had exalted them above all the 
 other Indian nations." * They believed their 
 object to be the preservation of the Indian race. 
 
 The Iroquois, rejoiced at the assent of the un- 
 wary Delawares, appointed a great feast, and 
 solemnly inducted the latter into their new and 
 novel office of women. Addressing the Delawares, 
 they said : " We dress you in a woman's long 
 habit, reaching down to your feet, and adorn you 
 with ear-rings," meaning, that they should no more 
 take up arms ; " We hang a calabash filled with 
 oil and medicines upon your arm. With the oil 
 you shall cleanse the ears of the other nations, that 
 they may attend to good, and not to bad words ; 
 and with the medicine you shall heal those who are 
 walking in foolish ways, that they may return to 
 their senses, and incline their hearts to peace ; we 
 deUver into your hands a plant of Indian corn and 
 an hoe," by which they were exhorted to make 
 agriculture their future employment and means of 
 subsistence. "Ever since this singular treaty of 
 peace," adds Loskiel, " the Iroquois have called 
 the Delawares their cousins"\ Elsewhere they are 
 called children of the Five Nations; J while they 
 themselves call the Six Nations their uncles,§ a 
 term which they also apply to the Senecas. || The 
 Mahicans, the Iroquois called their nephews. 
 
 This treaty, which also comprised in its provis- 
 ions the Mahicans and other conneetions of the 
 Delawares, is supposed, from the traditions of the 
 Delawg,res, Mahicans and Iroquois, to have been 
 consummated at a place since called Norman's 
 Kill, a few miles from the site of the city of 1 
 Albany, "between the years 1609 and i62o,"1[ 
 and was participated in by the Dutch, who united 
 their influence with that of the Iroquois to induce 
 the Delawares, Mahicans and their connections to 
 bury the hatchet, and declared that they " would 
 fall on those who should dig it up again." The 
 Dutch also declared their intetition t o "forthwith 
 
 * Heckewelder, 39, 41. 
 
 'i Loskiel, Part /., Chap. X., 115^126. 
 
 XCcl.Hisi. VI.,<)%%. 
 
 % Col. Hist. VJI., 104. 
 
 II Col. Hist. VII., lia. 
 
 \ Heckewelder, 12. 
 
THE IROQUOIS MAKE "WOMEN" OF THE DELAWARES. 
 
 25 
 
 erect a church over the weapon of war, so that it 
 could no more be exhumed without overturning 
 the sacred edifice, and whoever dared do that 
 should incur the resentment of the white men."* 
 The date of this treaty is definitely fixed in the 
 copy of a proposition made by the River Indians 
 to Lt. Gov. Nanfan, at Albany, July 18, 1701, in 
 which it is explicitly stated that " Itt is now ninety 
 years agoe since the Christians came first here, 
 when there was a covenant chain made between 
 them and the Mahikanders, the first inhabitants of 
 this River" — the Hudson. It is further stated; 
 "Wee have been soe happy never to have 
 had the least flaw or crack in the chain 
 * * * wherein the Maquase [Mohawks] and 
 wee are hnked." f From this it appears that 
 the date was 16 ii. "By this treaty," says Moul- 
 ton, "the Dutch secured for themselves the quiet 
 possession of the Indian trade, and the Five 
 Nations obtained the means to assert that ascend- 
 ency which they ever after maintained over the 
 other native tribes, and to inspire terror far and near 
 among the other savages of North America." 
 
 Whatever may be the credence to which these 
 traditions are entitled, certain it is that the relative 
 positions of the Delawares and Iroquois, as to 
 their military status, was reversed,! and the former 
 were subsequently looked to for the preservation 
 of peace, '' and entrusted with the charge of the 
 great belt of peace and chain of friendship."§ 
 
 The Iroquois asserted, and sought sedulously to 
 impress upon the mind of others, that the Dela- 
 wares and their kindred tribes were fairly con- 
 quered by them, and compelled by force to submit 
 to the humiUation of being made women to avoid 
 utter ruin.ll Authors have very generally assumed 
 this to be the fact ; but a few, notably Heckewelder 
 and Ruttenber,- have earnestly striven to refute what 
 they beUeve, and justly, to be an error. " It is a 
 singular fact, too," says the latter, " that of all the 
 nations subjugated by the Iroquois, the Lenape 
 alone bore the name of women. While the council- 
 fires of other nations were 'put out,' and their 
 survivors merged in the confederacy, that of the 
 Lenape was kept burning, and their civil govern- 
 ment remained undisturbed."!! Says Heckewelder, 
 "Neither Mr. Pyrlaeus nor Mr. Zeisberger, who 
 both lived among the Five Nations, and spoke and 
 understood their language well, could obtain from 
 
 * Annals 0/ Albany, 1.1 M^ Heckewelder, 43, 
 
 + Col Hist. /K, 901, 90J. 
 
 t jfmmal 0/ New Netherland, Doc. Hist. IV., 8. 
 
 § Loskiel, Part I., Chaf. X., p. Ii6. 
 
 1 Loskiel, Part /., Chap. X., p. 146-117. 
 
 \ Indian Triies 0/ Hudson' s River, 66. 
 
 them any details relative to this supposed con- 
 quest;" and, he adds, "If this were true, the 
 Lenape and their allies, who, like all other Indian 
 nations, never considered a treaty binding when 
 entered into under any kind of compulsion, would 
 not have submitted to this any longer than until 
 they could again have raUied their forces and fallen 
 upon their enemy; they would have done long be- 
 fore the year 1755, what they did at last at that 
 time, joined the French in their wars against the 
 Iroquois and English, and would not have patiently 
 waited more than a century before they took their 
 revenge for so flagrant an outrage."* 
 
 The Delawares discovered and resented the base 
 treachery of the Iroquois. They " determined to 
 unite their forces and by one great eflfort to destroy 
 entirely that perfidious nation," which, they said, 
 they might easily have done, "as they were then as 
 numerous as the grasshoppers at particular seasons, 
 and as destructive to their enemies as these insects 
 are to the fruits of the earth ;" while they described 
 the Iroquois " as a number of croaking frogs in a 
 pond, which make a great noise when all is quiet, 
 but at the first approach of danger, nay, at the very 
 rustling of a leaf, immediately plunge into the 
 water and are silent." But the rapid increase and 
 encroachments of the white settlers " engaged all 
 the capacity of their minds," and diverted their 
 attention from this purpose, f 
 
 The force of Iroquois opposition, it would appear, 
 weighed most heavily against the New England and 
 River Indians, the former of whom, and certain of 
 the latter, especially the Minsis, were brought under 
 tributary subjection to them. Fierce and san- 
 guinary conflicts prevailed between the Iroquois, 
 especially the Mohawks, and the Mahicans, who 
 were their "most formidable competitors," and 
 were not terminated when the English superseded 
 the Dutch, nor until the close of the war which 
 terminated in 1673, when the English, who were in 
 alliance with both, effected a permanent settlement. 
 Being "equal in courage, equal in numbers, equal 
 in the advantages of obtaining fire-arms from the 
 Dutch, and in their subsequent alliance with the 
 EngUsh, they marched unsubdued by the boasted 
 conquerors of America."! 
 
 Judge William Smith, an early historian, says : 
 "When the Dutch began the settlement of this 
 country, all the Indians on Long Island, and the 
 northern shore of the sound, on the banks of Con- 
 necticut, Hudson's, Delaware and Susquehanna 
 
 * Heckewelder^ 44-45- 
 
 t Heckewelder, 48. 
 
 X Indian Tribes of Hudsof^s River, 56. 
 
26 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 rivers, were in subjection to the Five Nations; and 
 within the memory of persons now living, acknowl- 
 edged it by the payment of an annual tribute." 
 Colden, speaking of the Mohawks, says : "All the 
 nations round them have, for many years, entirely 
 submitted to them, and pay a yearly tribute to 
 them in wampum ;" though elsewhere the latter 
 inconsistently admits that the contest between the 
 Mohawks and Mahicans was not at an end till 
 1673,* when it was effected through the mediation 
 of the English, but without the subjugation of the 
 Mahicans. O'Callaghan reiterates the statement of 
 Colden.f Bancroft says: "Like the benevolent 
 William Penn, .the Delawares were pledged to a 
 system of peace ; but, while Penn forbore retaUa- 
 tion voluntarily, the passiveness of the Delawares 
 was the degrading confession of their defeat and 
 submission to the Five Nations. Their conquer- 
 ors had stripped them of their rights as warriors, 
 and compelled thetn to endure taunts as women.''^ 
 
 But these statements would seem to be too broad 
 and indefinite, and certainly incorrect with respect 
 to the Mahicans, or Manhingans, who, the Hela- 
 tions of the Jesuit missionaries' show, were at war 
 with the Mohawks in 1656, who experienced a 
 severe check in an attack upon a fortified Mahican 
 village in 1663. In 1664, the Mahicans were al- 
 lied with four other Indian nations, including the 
 Wappingers, in an attack upon the Mohawks, § who 
 were so weakened and their pride humbled, that, 
 in 1699, they sent an embassy to Quebec to solicit 
 the French to protect them against the Mahicans. 
 In this the Mohawks were successful to the extent 
 of securing the co-operation of the Jesuit mission- 
 aries in resisting an attack made by three hundred 
 Mahicans on the fortified village of Cahnawaga, on 
 the 1 8th of August, 1669. The Mahicans were 
 repulsed and retired after two hours of fighting, but 
 were intercepted by the Mohawks, who descended 
 the river in canoes and formed in ambush between 
 the village of Cahnawaga and Schenectady. The 
 Mohawks, though at first successful in the conflict 
 which ensued, were eventually put to flight.|| They 
 then called to their aid the Oneidas, Onondagas 
 and Cayugas, and with four hundred warriors set 
 out to surprise a Mahican fort near Manhattan. 
 But in this enterprise they were equally unsuccess- 
 ful. In April, 1670, Governo; Lovelace visited 
 Albany, charged, among other things, with the 
 
 * Colden^s Six Nations^ 11.^ 35. 
 i History 0/ the New Netherlands /., 47. 
 tffStaryo/the United States, II.., 396. 
 
 § Doc. Hist. IV., 8j-8s. History of New Neiherland IJ, 519. 
 I Co/. Hist. Ill, ISO. Drake's Biography and History 0/ the In- 
 dians of North America. 
 
 duty of making peace between the Mohawks and 
 Mahicans, but not until August of the succeeding 
 year were the negotiations consummated, and, ac- 
 cording to Colden, not until 1673.* Subsequent 
 to this event the Mahicans were uniformly em- 
 ployed as auxiliaries of the Iroquois and English 
 in their wars with the French. 
 
 At an earlier period it will appear that the Ma- 
 hicans were less successful in their encounters with 
 the Mohawks. Michaeluis says that in 1626, the 
 Mahicans fled before the Mohawks and left their 
 lands,t referring, doubtless, to a clan or chief- 
 taincy, which, as we have previously shown, occu- 
 pied a tract of country on the west side of the Hud- 
 son, in its upper course. Wassenar mentions a 
 similar reverse which occurred in 1628.J That 
 this exodus did not apply to the Mahicans as a 
 nation is proved by subsequent deeds. As evi- 
 dence of the sanguinary conflicts between these 
 two nations and the reverses sustained by the Ma- 
 hicans, tradition points to localities on Wanton 
 Island, near Catskill and in the town of Red Hook 
 in this county, " the bones of the slain at the lat- 
 ter place," says Ruttenber, " being, it is said, in 
 monumental record when the Dutch first settled 
 there."§ 
 
 The Mahicans or River Indians were strength- 
 ened by the disasters which befel King Philip's 
 army in New England; for after the disastrous 
 battle of August 12, 1676, in which the great leader 
 lost his life, the shattered remnant of his army, 
 though pursued and attacked by the English near 
 the Housatonic, found refuge in the friendly vil- 
 lages of their kindred along the Hudson. But they 
 melted away in their subsequent wars as the faith- " 
 ful and efficient allies of the English, losing between 
 the years 1689, (when they numbered 250 warriors,) 
 and i6g8, not less than i6o.|| Others were seduced 
 from their allegiance by the Jesuit missionaries and 
 joined<»the "praying Indians" in Canada. At a 
 conference held with Lieut. Governor Nanfan, July 
 18, 1701, a Mahican speaker stated their number 
 to be 200 fighting men, belonging to the county of 
 Albany, which then embraced the entire country 
 west of the Connecticut and north of Roelaff Jan- 
 sen's Kill, on the east of the Hudson, and north 
 of the Catskill Mountains, on the west side.U 
 Many were carried off by that dread scourge, the 
 small-pox, while gr eat numbers died in conse- 
 
 * Colden' s Six Nations, Chap. II, 34, 
 
 t Col. Hist., II, 371, 769. 
 
 t Doc. Hist., Ill, 48. 
 
 § Indian Tribes 0/ Hudson's River, 57-58. 
 
 II Col. Hist. IV, 337. 
 
 IT Col. Hist. IV, 902. 
 
THE DELAWARES IN THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR. 
 
 27 
 
 quence of the introduction of spirituous liquors 
 among them. The remainder removed in separate 
 bodies to different parts and mingled with other 
 nations. A considerable number migrated from 
 the Hudson River in 1734, and settled at Stock- 
 bridge, Massachusetts, where in October of that 
 year, Rev. John' Sergeant established among them 
 a mission, under the auspices of the society for the 
 propagation of the gospel in foreign parts.. Be- 
 tween 1785 and 1787, with diminished numbers, 
 they removed to the country of the Oneidas, a 
 nation of the Iroquois, and located in the town 
 which still perpetuates their name — Stockbridge — 
 in the present county of Madison, where they 
 were soon after gathered into a church under 
 the missionary labors of Rev. John Sergeant, who 
 followed them to New Stockbridge in 1796, and 
 continued to reside with them till his death, Sept. 
 7, 1824. They subsequently removed to lands 
 purchased, in company with the Iroquois, St. Regis 
 and Minsi Indians, on Green Bay, and the Winne- 
 bago and Fox Rivers in Wisconsin, where they 
 have made considerable advances in civilization 
 and are generally sober and industrious. Upwards 
 of one hundred of them, who lived in the colonies 
 of New York and Connecticut, having, through the 
 labors of the United Brethren, embraced Chris- 
 tianity, emigrated to Pennsylvania between 1742 
 and 1760, and there afterwards became incorporated 
 with the Delawares. 
 
 As early as 1762, a number had emigrated to 
 the Ohio J and in Connecticut, where they were 
 once numerous, there were, in 1799, in the county 
 of New London, still eighty-four individuals of 
 them, the remains of a once laige and flourishing 
 settlement. 
 
 The war of 1755 between the English and 
 the French, which was but the'legitimate fruit of 
 the imperfect treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, concluded 
 April 30, 1748, witnessed a new alUance of the 
 Mahicans and their kindred tribes, and the active 
 alliance of the Delawares and neighboring tribes 
 with the French, whose early and sweeping suc- 
 cesses allied to their interests the western Indians 
 generally, and caused the Iroquois, then, thraugh 
 the assiduous labors of the Jesuit priests, about 
 equally divided in their numerical representation 
 in New York and Canada, to falter in their fealty 
 to the EngUsh Crown, and increased the division 
 in their ranks as the war progressed, with results 
 altogether favoring French interests. 
 
 The war, which for many years threatened dis- 
 aster to the EngUsh, finally resulted in their favor, 
 
 and left them in possession of Canada and the 
 territory east of the Mississippi. 
 
 At the Revolution the Delawares, who, at the 
 close of the war in 1763, numbered 600 warriors,* 
 were divided; those Uving upon the Ohio, to 
 which they removed in the early part of the eight- 
 eenth century, and the most numerous i)ortion, 
 were "dragged" into the war, by which their 
 numbers were reduced, and "they lost the desire 
 of becoming a civilized people ; "'\ while the tribes 
 east of the AUeghanies, including the Mahicans or 
 River Indians, became the efficient allies of the 
 colonists, though the number of the latter must 
 have been inconsiderable. In 1774, Governor 
 Tryon thus refers to them : — 
 
 " The river tribes have become so scattered and 
 so addicted to wandering, that no certain account 
 of their numbers can be obtained. These tribes — 
 the Montauks and others of Long Island, Wap- 
 pingers of Dutchess county, and the Esopus, Papa- 
 goncks, etc., of Ulster county — ^have generally 
 been denominated River Indians and consist of 
 about three hundred fighting men. Most of these 
 people at present profess Christianity, and as far 
 as in their power adopt our customs. The greater 
 part of them attended the army during the late 
 war, but not with the same reputation as those 
 who are still deemed hunters."J 
 
 In April, 1774, the Provincial Congress of 
 Massachusetts apprised the Mahicans and Wap- 
 pingers at Westenhuck of the gathering tempest, 
 and expressed a desire to cultivate a good under- 
 standing with them. " Capt. Solomon Ahhannuau- 
 waumut, chief sachem of the Moheakounuck In- 
 dians," to whom the message was addressed, visited 
 Boston on the eleventh of that month, and his 
 reply on that occasion sufficiently evinces the 
 warmth of their attachment to the colonists. 
 Among other things he said : " Whenever I see 
 your blood running, you will soon find me about 
 to revenge my brother's blood. Although I am 
 low and very small, I will gripe hold of your enemy's 
 heel, .that he cannot run so fast, and so light, as if 
 he had nothing at his heels. * * * 'Wg are 
 ready to do anything for your reUef." After his 
 return from the battle of Bunker Hill, in which he 
 and his warriors participated, at a council at 
 Albany, he renewed this pledge in language most 
 eloquent. " Depend upon it," he said " we are true 
 to you, and mean to join you. Wherever you go, 
 we will be by your sides. Our bones shall he with 
 yours. We are determined never to be at peace 
 with the red coats, while they are at variance with 
 •Co/. Nisi. y/i.,s»3- — — — 
 
 t Heckewelder, 67, 68. 
 XCol.Hist. VlII., 4Si. 
 
2S 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 you. We have one favor to beg. We should be 
 glad if you would help us to establish a minister 
 amongst us, that when our men are gone to war, 
 our women and children may have the advantage 
 of being instructed by him. If we are conquered, 
 our lands go with yours ; but if you are victorious, 
 we hope you will help us to recover our just 
 rightsv"* Wherever the influence of the Mahicans 
 could reach, it was exerted among their brethren 
 of the west. Their valor and devotion was dis- 
 played on the field of White Plains, Oct. 28, 1776 ; 
 and at Cortland's Ridge, in Westchester county, 
 August 31, i778.t 
 
 Not a representative of this once numerous 
 aboriginal race remains in the county ; and scarcely 
 a vestige of their former occupancy survives the 
 obliterating agencies of the century since their 
 departure. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 The Moravians — Moravian Mission at Sheko- 
 MEKo — Christian Henry Rauch Establishes 
 THE First Successful Moravian Mission in 
 North America at Shekomeko — Joined by 
 Buettner — Joseph Shaw sent to Sheko- 
 meko AS School Master — The Mission- 
 aries, Pyrl^us, Senseman and Post join the 
 Mission — Communion First Administered at 
 Shekomeko — New Chapel at Shekomeko — 
 Mission at Pachgatgoch Broken Up — Diffi- 
 culties AT Shekomeko — Efforts to Break 
 Up the Mission — Persecutions of the Mis- 
 sionaries and their Indian Converts — 
 Death of Buettner — Indians Driven from 
 Shekomeko and Wechquadnach — Interest 
 in Shekomeko and Wechquadnach Revived 
 after the Lapse of a Century — Their Sites 
 Identified — Monuments Erected Thereon 
 to the Memory of the Missionaries Buett- 
 ner, Bruce and Powell — Description of 
 the Monuments. 
 
 HAVING examined cursorily the character 
 of the aborigines of this section of country, 
 we are prepared in a measure to estimate the 
 qualities of those who undertook the evangelization 
 and the difficulties with which they had to contend. 
 
 * This has reference to several tracts of land claimed by the Mahicans, 
 the principal of which was a portion of the Livingston Patent, and lands 
 at Westenhuck, the latter of which they claimed to have leased to the 
 whites for a term of years. The matter has several times been before the 
 New York Legislature, but, like the claim of the Wappingers, has never 
 been adjusted. 
 
 t Indian Tribes of Hudson's River, »69-z87. 
 
 This task, so far as this county is concerned, was 
 confined to the Moravians, whose heroism, devo- 
 tion and self-sacrifice find their parallel only in the 
 zeal of the Jesuits, of whom Parkman says, " No 
 rehgious order has ever united in itself so much to 
 be admired and so much to be detested." Each 
 alike were men of culture and intelligence, who for- 
 sook homes of luxury in Europe, and submitted 
 with a wonderful patience and heroism to the most 
 menial offices, the utmost hardships and privations, 
 and cheerfully accepted missions attended with the 
 most inconceivable danger in the zealous pursuit 
 of their calling. 
 
 The Moravians, a name " redolent with Christian 
 faith and hope" — were then just emerging to promi- 
 nence from under the cloud of religious conten- 
 tion and persecution which, for centuries, had 
 tinged their history with a melancholy interest; 
 and they entered upon their arduous and self-ap- 
 pointed labors with the vigor of resuscitated man- 
 hood succeeding protracted and enfeebled infancy. 
 But, says the Moravian historian, Reichel, it was 
 under peculiar difficulties that they commenced 
 their labors among the nomads of this western 
 world. Entering upon them at a time when the 
 contending civilizations of Europe on this con- 
 tinent, which, for nearly a century and a half had 
 a doubtful issue, were approaching a determinate 
 issue, and just upon the eve of those difficulties 
 which culminated in the French and Indian war, 
 they became an object of two-fold suspicion. They 
 stood between the Indian and the aggressive An- 
 glo-Saxon, but were friends of both. 
 
 They adopted as peculiarly their own the mission 
 of converting the heathen in fields which others 
 had not attempted to cultivate. In 1732, the first 
 missionaries of the society were sent to the Island 
 of St. Thomas in the West Indies, *hen and still 
 under the Danish government; and in 1733, a 
 successful mission was established on the inhospi- 
 table coast of Greenland. In 1734, a number of 
 brethren living in Berthelsdorf, in Upper Lusatia, 
 under the protectorate of Count Nicolas Lewis 
 von Zinzendorf, a son of one of the prime min- 
 isters at the Court of Saxony, resolved to go to 
 Georgia; but on arriving at Holland, changed 
 their minds and removed to Pennsylvania, estab- 
 lishing the Moravian colony at Bethlehem in that 
 State, which became the headquarters of the Society 
 in this country. In November, 1734, others, under 
 the leadership of John Toeltschig and Anthony 
 Seyffart, left Herrnhut, a Moravian settlement in 
 Saxony, to establish a colony in Georgia, on a 
 
THE FIRST MORAVIAN MISSION AMONG THE DELAWARES. 
 
 29 
 
 tract of land granted to Count Zinzendorf by the 
 Trustees of that province, for cultivation by the 
 brethren, who hoped that a way might thus be 
 opened to preach the gospel to the Creek, Chicka- 
 saw and Cherokee Indians. In London they were 
 joined by Rev. Augustus GottHeb Spangenberg. 
 They arrived in Georgia in the spring of 1735, and 
 were joined by others during the summer. The colo- 
 ny had but just entered upon a career of prosperity, 
 when they were involved in serious political com- 
 plications. The Spaniards made an effort to expel 
 the English from Georgia, and the brethren were 
 called upon to join the other colonists in arms to 
 resist the attempt; but this they refused to do. 
 This dissatisfied the other colonists and the 
 brethren were constrained to leave their flourish- 
 ing plantations, which a portion of them did in 
 1738, and the remainder in 1740, retiring into 
 Pennsylvania. 
 
 Under these discouraging circumstances was 
 commenced the Moravian mission at Shekomeko, 
 in the town of Pine Plains in this county — a place, 
 which, says Mr. Isaac Hunting, was notorious for 
 its wickedness, and had been for years before. 
 Seeking another field of labor, one of these brethren. 
 Christian Henry Ranch, was dispatched to New 
 York, where he arrived July 16, 1740. There he 
 unexpectedly met Frederick Martin, a missionary 
 from St. Thomas, who introduced him to several 
 influential persons, who, it was thought, would take 
 an interest in the work, and give him information 
 respecting the Indians and the best means of gain- 
 ing an influence with them. But they unanimously 
 discouraged the attempt, saying "that the Indians 
 were, universally, of such a vicious and abandoned 
 character, that all efforts for their improvement 
 would be dangerous, as well as utterly in vain,'' as 
 all hitherto made had been. 
 
 Not discouraged, however, he sought out an em- 
 bassy of Mahicans, who had recently arrived in 
 New York on business with the Colonial Govern- 
 ment. At his first visit, and for some time after- 
 ward, they were "in a state of beastly intoxication 
 and terribly ferocious in appearance and manners." 
 Patiently awaiting their return to sobriety, he opened 
 a conversation with two of the principal chiefs — 
 Tschoop and Shabash — who, from their intercourse 
 with the Dutch settlers along the Hudson, were 
 slightly acquainted with the Dutch language. With- 
 out ceremony he inquired if they desired " a teacher 
 to instruct them in the way to salvation ?" 
 "Tschoop answered in the affirmative, adding, that 
 he frequently felt disposed to know better things 
 
 than he did, but knew not how, or where to find 
 them; therefore, if any one would come and in- 
 struct him and his acquaintance, he should be 
 thankful; that they were all poor and wicked, yet 
 he thought that it might answer a good purpose, if 
 a teacher would come and dwell with them." Sha- 
 bash gave his assent. Rejoiced at this disposition, 
 Ranch promised to accompany them on their re- 
 turn ; " upon which they declared him to be their 
 preacher, with true Indian solemnity." "Some 
 days after he visited again, but found them so much 
 intoxicated, that they could neither speak nor 
 stand. Upon his third visit he found them sober, 
 and having agreed to set out before them, they 
 promised to call for him at Mr. Martin Hoffman's, 
 on North River." Here for some days he awaited 
 their arrival in vain, when, going in search of them 
 to a neighboring Indian town, they missed him, and 
 proceeded on their journey. 
 
 The devoted missionary soon followed them to 
 their village of Shekomeko,* which was situated 
 in "a most beautiful and romantic spot," on lot 12 
 of the Little Nine Partners, now the farm of Mr. 
 Edward Hunting, about, two miles south of the 
 village of Pine Plains. He arrived August 16, 
 1740, "and was received in the Indian manner 
 with much kindness.'' Tschoop and Shabash had 
 previously "announced him as the man whom they 
 had appointed to be their teacher;" and he im- 
 mediately addressed them on the subject of his 
 mission, and of the means of redemption, to which 
 they listened " with great attention," and, appar- 
 ently, " not without impression." But the next day, 
 when he repeated his exhortations, " he perceived 
 with sorrow that his words excited derision, and at 
 last they openly laughed him to scorn." Not dis- 
 couraged, however, at this rebuff, he indefatigably 
 visited the Indians in their huts and made them 
 the subjects of personal exhortations. Amid 
 mental suffering, while struggling with outward 
 distress and famine, he persevered in his efforts, 
 traveling on foot from one Indian town to another, 
 as he had neither the means to keep a horse nor 
 hire a boat, suffering from heat and fatigue, and 
 often denied even the poor shelter of an Indian 
 hut for refreshments and rest. 
 
 * Mr. Isaac Huntings of Pine Plains, in a contribution to The Dutch- 
 ess Farmer^ under date of April la, 1878, says, this word, which he 
 spells Che-ko-me-ko, with the accent on the last syllable, means '^ Little 
 Mountain" — *' one of the range of high hills three miles south of the 
 villaG;e of Pine Plains, the one whose high point terminates so abruptly to 
 the west in the Sterrick Valley, " which Loskiel calls **Stissik mountain.'* 
 We have adopted the orthography in general use among authors. Mr. 
 Lossing, the historian, says, on the authority of Aunt Eunice Maweehu, 
 the word is more correctly pronounced with the accent on the second 
 syllable. 
 
s° 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 At length his zeal and devotion, which gradually 
 won the confidence and respect of the Indians, 
 was rewarded by the conversion of Tschoop, " the 
 greatest drunkard and the most outrageous villain 
 among them," who asked the missionary, says 
 Loskiel, " what effects the blood of the Son of 
 God, slain on the cross, could produce in the heart 
 of man." Shabash was soon after awakened, 
 "and the labor of the Holy Spirit became remark- 
 ably evident in the hearts of these two savages. 
 Their eye? overflowed with tears, whenever Brother 
 Rauch described, to them the sufferings and death 
 of our Redeemer. They often lamented their 
 former blindness in worshiping idols." These 
 conversions aroused the neighboring Christians, 
 particularly the inhabitants of Rhinebeck, who 
 became eager to hear the gospel, and desired the 
 missionary to preach to them in a barn. Many, 
 says Loskiel, received an abiding blessing. The 
 change which took place in the heart and conduct 
 of Tschoop was very striking; for he had been 
 distinguished in all parties met for diversion as 
 the most outrageous, and had even made himself 
 a cripple by debauchery. 
 
 But now, says Rev. Sheldon Davis, in his S/ie- 
 komeko* many of the white settlers, who, while 
 they corrupted, abused and vilified the Indians, 
 lived upon their vices, and made large gains, es- 
 pecially by their drunkenness, conceived that their 
 interests would be injured by the success of the 
 missionary. They therefore stirred up the more 
 vicious Indians, and raised a persecution against 
 him, and even instigated them to threaten his life 
 if he did not leave the place. Even Tschoop and 
 Shabash were filled with mistrust, and became 
 disaffected towards him. The former even sought 
 an opportunity to shoot him, says Loskiel; and 
 the latter, though he did not seek his life, avoided 
 him everywhere. Once, he adds, an Indian ran 
 after him with a hatchet, and would doubtless have 
 killed him, had he not stumbled and fallen into 
 the water. Thus not only contempt, mockery and 
 insults were, as he expressed it, his daily bread, 
 but several white people even sought an occasion 
 to beat and abuse him, and some threatened to 
 hang him in the woods. 
 
 In the midst of these bitter trials he writes : 
 "Yet I will continue to preach the death of the 
 
 * This is the title of a pamphlet published at Foughkeepsie, in May, 
 1858, by Rev. Sheldon Davis, an Episcopal clergyman, then resident at 
 Pleasant Valley. As early as 1850, Mr. Davis' attention was called to 
 the existence of certain memorials of the Moravian missions in this 
 countyf and he first directed the attention of the public and the Moravian 
 Church to the condition of these mission sites in this State and Connecti- 
 cut. 
 
 Lord Jesus, for my soul hungers and thirsts after 
 the salvation of these heathen. To gather souls 
 for Him, is the chief desire of my heart, and I 
 proceed upon the word of my I.,ord in spite of the 
 combined force of the enemy; for no gate of Hell 
 is so well secured as to resist the power of Christ 
 to burst it open." Nevertheless, he thought it 
 advisable to depart for a while ; and he sought and 
 found refuge with a German settler named John 
 Rau, (now spelled Rowe,) a farmer living two 
 miles east of Shekomeko, and whose sons Matthias 
 and Philip are the more immediate ancestors of 
 the Rowes now living in and about Pine Plains. 
 Mr. Rau was friendly to the cause of Christiani- 
 ty and to the missionary ; but endeavored to dis- 
 suade him from the attempt to Christianize "a set 
 of savages, more like incarnate devils than human 
 beings," as he regarded the objects of Mr. Rauch's 
 labors. However the missionary was not to be 
 diverted from his purpose, which was to pursue 
 his higher calUng as opportunity offered, while 
 supporting himself by the labor of his hands and 
 by applying the httle skill he possessed in the use 
 of medicines. Admiring his zeal, Mr. Rau offered 
 him a home, on condition that he instruct his chil- 
 dren, for, added he, " we white people are as wicked 
 and ignorant as the heathen." He was ever after 
 the firm friend of the faithful missionary, and 
 aided and defended him and those subsequently 
 associated with him through all the persecutions 
 which ultimately drove them from the colony and 
 compelled them to abandon the mission. 
 
 During all these trials, the good missionary fol- 
 lowed his converts " with patierice and much love, 
 praying for them, and sowing the word of God in 
 tears." His courage, prudence, meekness and per- 
 severance gradually restored the confidence of the 
 Indians, with whom he spent much |ime in their 
 huts, ate and drank with them, and even slept 
 among them with the greatest composure. This 
 latter circumstance particularly impressed them, es- 
 pecially Tschoop, who remarked to himself: " This 
 man cannot be a bad man, he fears no evil, not 
 even from us, who are so savage, but sleeps 
 comfortably, and places his life in our hands." 
 Tschoop was the first reclaimed, and Shabash soon 
 followed; and notwithstanding the base efforts 
 made to seduce them, they persevered in the course 
 of rectitude. Such was the success of the mission- 
 ary's labors, that many Indians, not only in Sl^ko- 
 meko, but also in Wechquadnach, Pachgatgoch 
 and other neighboring towns, "were powerfully 
 convinced of the truth of the gospel." 
 
COUNT ZINZENDORF VISITS SHEKOMEKO. 
 
 31 
 
 In June, 1741, Ranch visited the brethren in 
 Bethlehem, and returned in company with Bishop 
 David Nitschman, the companion and co-laborer 
 of Count Zinzendorf, who, on his return, gave a 
 favorable report of what he had seen in Shekomeko. 
 In October, 1741, Gottlob Buttner, Christopher 
 Pyrlseus and William Zander arrived from Europe 
 to assist in the missions of the society, and in Jan- 
 uary, 1742, Biittner, a native of Silesia, and a weaver 
 by trade, by appointment of Count Zinzendorf, who 
 arrived in Pennsylvania in the latter part of 1741, 
 visited Shekomeko, to invite Rauch to a synod of 
 of the brethren of Oley, Pennsylvania. "The 
 gentle and laborious Biittner, "a martyr to the 
 blessed work upon which he then entered," "whose 
 grave at Shekomeko," says Davis, "has called up 
 and preserved the memory of this noble effort of 
 the Moravians, and whose brief history is of the 
 greatest interest in connection with this mission," 
 spent ten days with Rauch, and first preached 
 to the Indians of Shekomeko, January 14, 1742. 
 
 January 22, 1742, Rauch and Biittner left She- 
 komeko to attend the synod at Oley. They were 
 accompanied by three Indian converts, Shabash, 
 Seim and Kiop. They traveled on foot, and, being 
 in the company of Indians, "were refused admit- 
 tance at some inns,'' while at others, they were 
 " not only laughed at, but their bills were purposely 
 overcharged." They reached Oley February 9th, 
 and on the i ith, Rauch and Biittner were ordained 
 deacons by Bishops Nitschman and Zinzendorf. 
 After this ceremony, Rauch baptized the three In- 
 dians who accompanied him, calling them respec- 
 tively Abraham, -Isaac and Jacob. These were 
 the first fruits of the Moravian missions in North 
 America. Tschoop was too lame to undertake so 
 long a journey at that time. 
 
 Rauch and the three Indians soon after returned 
 to Shekomeko, where, on the i6th of April follow- 
 ing, the first sacramental ceremony was performed, 
 and Tschoop was baptized, receiving the christian 
 name of John. "This man," says Loskiel, "who 
 formerly looked more like a wild bear than a hu- 
 man creature, was now transformed into a lamb, 
 and whoever beheld him, was amazed at so evident 
 a proof of the powerful efficacy of the word and 
 sacrament of the Lord." He, as well as Abraham 
 and Isaac, and the wife of Abraham, with others 
 to the number of eighteen, fell a victim to the small- 
 pox, which prevailed among the Indians in 1746, 
 first at Bethlehem and then at Gnadenhwetten. He 
 died at Bethlehem, August 27, 1746, andlies buried 
 there with his Indian brethren. 
 
 The wonderful change which had taken place in 
 these four baptized Indians, whose countenances, 
 says Loskiel, as compared with the unbelieving 
 Indians, were so different, as to be remarked by 
 all who saw them, awakened the attention of oth- 
 ers, who flocked to Shekomeko, from a distance of 
 twenty-five to thirty miles around. 
 
 In the summer of 1 7 42, Rauch was visited at 
 Shekomeko by the distinguished Count Zinzendorf, 
 his daughter Benigna, said to be beautiful and in- 
 teresting, and Anthony Seyffart. This was an 
 event which adds no little interest to the associa- 
 tions which cluster around Shekomeko. They left 
 Bethlehem on the 21st of August, and crossed the 
 country to Esopus, (Kingston,) where they were 
 joined by another party of brethren from New 
 York. They arrived at Shekomeko on the 27th, 
 " after passing through dreadful wildernesses, 
 woods and swamps, on which they suffered much 
 hardship." The missionary received them into 
 his hut with unexpressible joy, and the follow- 
 ing day lodged them in a bark cottage, erected 
 for them, which the Count afterwards declared 
 was "the most agreeable dwelling he had ever 
 inhabited." 
 
 During the Count's stay he baptized six Indians, 
 named Kaupaas, Kermelok, Herries, and the wives 
 of Shabash, Seim and Herries. To the men he 
 gave the baptismal names of Timothy, Jonah and 
 Thomas; and to the women, Sarah, Rebecca and 
 Esther. These six, together with the four previ- 
 ously baptized, he formed the same day into a 
 Christian congregation — the first congregation of 
 Indians established by the Moravians in North 
 America. The "four firstlings were appointed 
 assistants, and blessed for their office with impo- 
 sition of hands ;" because, says the eighth article 
 drawn up for their guidance, " a peculiar power of 
 grace and spirit evidently rests upon them." John 
 ( Tschoop) was appointed Indian teacher and inter- 
 preter; Abraham, (6'-4ffl^aj/4,) elder; Jacob, {Kiop,) 
 exhorter; and Isaac, {Seim,) servant. 
 
 The Count took an affectionate leave of Rauch 
 and the Indians at Shekomeko, Sept. 4, 1742, and 
 set out for Bethlehem, accompanied by some un- 
 baptized Indians ; two of whom, having answered 
 satisfactonly several questions put to them in the 
 presence of the whole congregation, were baptized 
 by the Count and the missionary Biittner, and named 
 David and Joshua. They were the first Indians 
 baptized in Bethlehem. David, as well as Thomas, 
 before referred to, were among the small-pox vic- 
 tims of 1746. 
 
32 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 Eiittner, who has been called the Luther of the 
 Shekomeko mission, spent some time after his 
 ordination at Bethlehem and its vicinity, preaching 
 and searching for a wife, whom he found in the 
 person of Margaretta, third daughter of John 
 Bechtel, of Germantown. With his wife, to whom 
 he was married by Count Zinzendorf, Sept 14, 
 1742, he rejoined Ranch at Shekomeko, Oct. i, 
 1742 ; and the two preached with unanimity and 
 zeal, either in English or Dutch; while John, 
 Jonathan and other baptized Indians interpreted 
 and confirmed their words, both in public and in 
 private, with great energy. The Indians from the 
 neighboring towns made frequent visits to Sheko- 
 meko, and many "who had formerly Hved like 
 wild beasts, worshiping idols, bloody-minded, and 
 eagerly pursuing all manner of vices and abomina- 
 tions," flocked to hear the gospel. Towards the 
 close of the year, Martin Mack and his wife arrived 
 at Shekomeko to engage in missionary labors ; and 
 Rauch went on a visit to Bethlehem. Such was 
 the success which rewarded their zeal, that at the 
 close of the year 1742, the number of baptized In- 
 dians in Shekomeko was thirty-one — all Mahicans. 
 
 December 6, 1 7 42, a burying ground for the use 
 of the baptized Indians was laid out, and in it the 
 lamented Biittner was afterwards buried. The first 
 interment in it was that of a child named Lazara. 
 
 The spiritual harvest at Shekomeko demanded 
 more laborers. Count Zinzendorf returned to 
 Europe in the beginning of the year 1743; but 
 previous to his departure sent Joseph Shaw to 
 Shekomeko, as schoolmaster to the Indian chil- 
 dren. His stay, however, seems to have been of 
 short duration. Rauch, who married in Bethlehem, 
 Ann Elizabeth Robins, returned to Shekomeko 
 in the early part of 1743, and continued his labors 
 jointly with Biittner and Mack. Not long after 
 Christopher P)a-laeus and Gottlob Senseman, with 
 their wives, joined this mission ; also Christian 
 Frederick Post, "the most adventurous of Mora- 
 vian Missionaries sent among the Indians, who 
 afterwards married a Wampanoag named Rachel, 
 one of the first converts at Pachgatgoch, (near 
 Kent,) Connecticut. Biittner and his wife re- 
 mained the greater part of the year 1743 at Sheko- 
 meko j while the other missionaries spent most of 
 that period in visiting other places, especially 
 Wechquadnach* and Pachgatgoch,t the latter 
 
 * This village was located on the west side of Indian Pond, in the town 
 of North East. Aunt Eunice Maweehu said the correct name was Pacii- 
 quadn^h, which orthography was first used by tlie Moravian Mission- 
 aries, as reference to their diaries shows. 
 
 -tThis name, as used by the Missionaries, as well as the modem Schagh- 
 ticoke, are, according to Aunt Eunice Maweehu, corruptions of Pisli- 
 gachtigok, signifying the confluence of two streams. 
 
 about twenty miles from Shekomeko. Rauch 
 visited the country about Albany, Schoharie and 
 " Canatschochary ;" and Pyrlseus, the Mohawks at 
 Tulpehokin, remaining three months with the dis- 
 tinguished interpreter, Conrad Weiser, to learn 
 their language. 
 
 Most of the Indians who visited Shekomeko, 
 " and who were truly awakened," lived at Pachgat- 
 goch. Having applied in vain to the magistrates 
 of Connecticut for a Christian minister, they be- 
 sought the Moravians to send one to preach " the 
 sweet words of Jesus." Accordingly Mack and his 
 wife went thither on the 38th of January. They 
 also visited Potatik, a village about seventy miles 
 further inland. They returned to Shekomeko at 
 the expiration of two weeks, but later in the year 
 he and his wife took up their abode at Pachgat- 
 goch. The success of the mission at Pachgatgoch 
 was even greater than at Shekomeko, and it was 
 continued there at intervals for more than twenty 
 years. 
 
 "The Indian congregation at Shekomeko con- 
 tinued to increase in number and grace," and 
 March 13, 1743, the holy communion was for the 
 first time administered to them. It was preceded 
 by a love feast, and followed by the pedilavium. 
 " During the subsequent meeting for adoration 
 and thanksgiving," writes the missionary, " we 
 were overcome with weeping, and whilst I live, I 
 shall never lose the impression this first com- 
 munion with the Indians in North America made 
 upon me." 
 
 In July, 1743, the new chapel at Shekomeko was 
 finished and consecrated, some of the elders of 
 the congregation at Bethlehem being present. It 
 was thirty feet long and twenty broad, and entirely 
 covered with smooth bark. The daily meetings 
 were now regulated in a better manner. A dis- 
 course was usually delivered every forenoon, and a 
 hymn gung in the evening. A monthly " prayer- 
 day " was established, at which accounts were read 
 concerning the progress of the gospel in different 
 parts of the world. On these days, as well as all 
 Sundays and festival days, "Shekomeko seemed 
 alive," says Loskiel, "and it may be said with truth, 
 that the believers showed forth the death of the 
 Lord, both early and late. One day above one 
 hundred savages came thither on a visit, and one 
 of the missionaries observed, that wherever two were 
 standing and conversing together, our Lord Jesus, 
 and his love to sinners, as the cause of his bitter 
 sufferings, was the subject of conversation. The 
 zeal of the baptized Indians in testifying of our 
 
PERSECUTIONS OF THE MORAVIAN MISSIONARIES. 
 
 33 
 
 Saviour was such, that they were thus employed 
 even till after midnight." At the close of the year 
 1743, the congregation of baptized Indians consist- 
 ed of sixty-three persons, exclusive of those at Pach- 
 gatgoch, from whence Mack had been driven to 
 Shekomeko, followed by many of the Indians whom 
 he had instructed, by persecutions instigated by 
 malevolent white settlers, who had been accustomed 
 to make the dissolute life of the Indians, especially 
 their love of Uquor, subservient to their advantage. 
 Mack, Shaw and Pyrlseus, (the two latter being on 
 a visit to Pachgatgoch,) were branded as papists 
 and traitors, and were arrested, " and dragged up 
 and down the country for three days, till the Gov- 
 ernor of Connecticut, hearing their case, honorably 
 dismissed them." 
 
 The first months of the year 1744 were spent 
 in peace by the mission at Shekomeko, which was 
 then under the care of the missionaries Mack, 
 Shaw and Senseman ; Post having been recalled, 
 and Biittner being on a visit to Bethlehem from 
 January till May of that year. But grave difficul- 
 ties soon disturbed this grateful quiet. The war 
 which was commenced this year between the 
 French and English, known as the French and 
 Indian War, by which the entire English frontier, 
 from Nova Scotia to the mouth of the Mononga- 
 hela, was laid waste by fire and sword, and at least 
 a thousand people were killed and carried into 
 captivity, exclusive of the losses of soldiers, was 
 made the pretext' by disaffected white settlers in 
 the neighborhood for fomenting jealousy and 
 hatred against the Moravian missionaries. They 
 were accused of being in the French interest, and, 
 like the Jesuits, on whose heads a price was set, 
 with laboring to alienate the Indians from, and 
 array them against, the English colonists. The 
 Indians, who were generally in alliance or in 
 sympathy with the French, through the great in- 
 fluence exerted over them by the Jesuit mission- 
 aries, were commonly looked upon as enemies by 
 the English colonists, and those who befriended 
 them naturally became objects of suspicion. These 
 falsehoods were assiduously circulated, and the 
 white settlers became thoroughly alarmed. Many 
 forsook their farms ; others placed themselves 
 under arms for mutual defense ; and the civil 
 authorities were urged to interfere. 
 
 March i, 1744, says Loskiel, Justice Hegeman, 
 of Filkentown, (now Mabbettsville,) "arrived in 
 Shekomeko, and informed Brother Mack, that it 
 was his duty to inquire what sort of people the 
 Brethren were, for that the most dangerous tenets 
 
 and views were ascribed to them. He added, that 
 as to himself he disbelieved all those lying reports 
 concerning them, and acknowledged the mission 
 in Shekomeko to be a work of God, because, by 
 the labor of the Brethren, the most savage heathen 
 had been so evidently changed, that he, and many 
 other Christians, were put to shame by their godly 
 walk and conversation ; but that, notwithstanding 
 his own persuasion, it would be of service to the 
 Brethren themselves, if he was suffered minutely 
 to examine into their affairs, with a view to silence 
 their adversaries." In the absence of Biittner, 
 who, during these troubles was regarded as their 
 leader and counselor — a position awarded him no 
 less from his superiority than his amiability — he 
 only desired to be informed of his return. Upon 
 notification of the return of Biittner in May fol- 
 lowing, the missionaries Ranch, Biittner and Shaw 
 were summoned to Pickipsi (Poughkeepsie) " to 
 exercise with the miUtia ; " but they claimed ex- 
 emption, as ministers of the gospel, from military 
 service, and did not go. On the i8th of June 
 another summons was issued, pursuant to an order 
 from Governor Clinton to Col. Henry Beekman, 
 dated the 8th,* requiring their attendance on the 
 23d. The following day a Justice, with the Sheriff 
 and eight men, arrived from Pickipsi, and in- 
 formed the missionaries that two companies had 
 been ready to march to arrest them, but that he 
 had prevented it, with a view to examining the 
 whole affair himself. After receiving answers to 
 his inquiries as to the nature of their business and 
 who sent them, he observed that, though he con- 
 sidered the accusations brought against them re- 
 specting the Indians to be groundless, yet, if 
 they were papists, as a clergyman in Dover had 
 positively asserted in a letter then but recently 
 written, they could not be suffered to remain in 
 the country. He added, every inhabitant was re- 
 quired to take two oaths, one of which was, " That 
 King George being the lawful sovereign of the 
 kingdom, he would not in any way encourage the 
 Pretender;" the other, "That he rejected tran- 
 substantiation, the worship of the Virgin Mary, 
 purgatory, etc." Biittner assured him that they 
 could assent to every point contained in the oaths ; 
 yet, though he did not condemn those who took a 
 lawful oath, he hoped that, for conscience sake, he 
 would not insist upon their swearing ; but that he 
 would submit to every punishment for perjury if 
 found acting contrary to the asseveration yes or no. 
 The Justice expressed satisfaction for the present, 
 
 * Council Minutes, XIX., Doc. Hist. III., loij. 
 
34 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 but required the missionaries under a penalty of 
 ;^4o to appear before the court in Pickipsi on the 
 1 6th of October. He then visited the Christian 
 Indians in their plantations and took leave with 
 much civility. 
 
 Col. Beekman, who had also been ordered to 
 search the "Moravians and other disaffected 
 persons " for arms and ammunition, and to cause 
 the dispersion of the Indians, wrote to the Gover- 
 nor " that there were four Moravian priests and 
 many Indians at Schocomico," and that, having 
 made search for arms and ammunition, he could 
 neither find nor hear of any. In referring in the 
 same letter to this visit of the Justice, Sheriff and 
 others, on the "i8th" of June, he wrote "they 
 found all the Indians at work on their plantations," 
 and that they " seemed in a consternation at the 
 approach of the Sheriff and his company, but re- 
 ceived them civilly ; that they found no ammuni- 
 tion, and as few arms as could be expected for 
 forty-four men."* 
 
 On the 2 2d of June, the missionaries went to 
 Rhinebeck, in answer to summons, and were re- 
 quired to prove in open court, before Justice Beek- 
 man, that they were privileged teachers. " Biittner 
 produced his written vocation, and his certificate 
 of ordination, duly signed by Bishop David Nitsch- 
 man, adding, that the protestant church of the 
 Brethren had been declared by the Archbishop of 
 Canterbury to be an Episcopal and Apostolical 
 church ; and therefore they hoped that they would 
 be entitled to the same toleration enjoyed by other 
 protestant communities." These evidences were 
 rejected, and they were ordered to appear before 
 the court to be held at Pickipsi in October follow- 
 ing, by order of the Governor. But as the accusa- 
 tions against them increased very fast, and a great 
 stir was raised among the people, the magistrates 
 thought proper to hasten the examination, and 
 they were required to appear at Filkentown on the 
 14th of July. Three witnesses were heard against 
 them, but their testimony " made no impression 
 upon the court." Their friend, John Rau, kindly 
 accompanied them, and was examined in their 
 behalf. He testified that he " could say nothing 
 but what tended to their honor; that he had 
 frequently been present with his whole family at 
 their meetings, and had never seen anything to 
 justify the strange accusations brought against 
 them." They were again honorably acquitted. 
 
 In the meantime the accusations of their adver- 
 saries had be en repeatedly brought to the ears of 
 
 * Council Minutes, XIX., Doc. Hist III., 1013. 
 
 Governor Clinton, and at a meeting of the council 
 July 5, 1744, on presenting the subject to that 
 body, he was advised to write to the sheriff of 
 Duchess county to order the missionaries to appear 
 before him at New York. The Governor com- 
 municated this action to Henry Filkin, High Sheriff, 
 the same date, and on the 17th, that officer visited 
 Shekomeko, which, he says, in his letter to the 
 Governor acquainting him of the fact, is inhabited 
 chiefly by Indians, where also live Gudlop Bydner, 
 Hendrick Joachim Senseman and Joseph Shaw, 
 three Moravian priests, with their families, in a 
 block house, and sixteen Indian wigwams round 
 about it. The two first were at home, where- 
 upon he acquainted them with his Excellency's 
 order, and they promised to set out on the 24th 
 instant, and that he perceivgd nothing disorderly 
 there.* 
 
 Accordingly the three missionaries repaired to 
 New York, (Shaw being then at Bethlehem,) and 
 there learned "that the attention of the whole town 
 was raised," and that "they were regarded as disturb- 
 ers of the public peace, deserving either imprison- 
 ment, whipping, or banishment." They were ex- 
 amined separately before the council on the ist of 
 August, and asked to take the oaths, which each 
 refused to do. Justice Beekman, who had pre- 
 viously examined them in Rhinebeck, publicly de- 
 fended them in New York, and affirmed " that the 
 good done by them among the Indians was unde- 
 niable." August II, 1744, in re'sponse to the in- 
 quiry of the Governor as to "what further should 
 be done in relation to the Moravian priests," it is 
 recorded that "the council were of opinion to ad- 
 vise his Excellency to order [them] back to -their 
 homes and required them to hve there peaceably 
 and await the further orders of his Excellency." On 
 the 2 1 St, leave was given them to return home; 
 but they were enjoined to " live according to their 
 religiofls tenets in such a manner that no suspicions 
 might arise concerning them." They received a 
 certificate of their acquittal in writing, " to secure 
 them against any injury from the mob." Biittner 
 and Shaw arrived at Shekomeko on the 9th of 
 September; but Senseman went to Bethlehem, 
 there to give an account of these transactions.f 
 
 Biittner answered the summons to Pickipsi in 
 October. His health was already greatly impaired, 
 yet he was detained there two days in very severe 
 weather. At last, through the, intervention of a 
 friend, his case was brought forward ; but having 
 
 *Doc. Hist. Ill, 1014. 
 
 tLosiiel, Part It, Chap, ly. 6l-6z. Doc. Hist., Ill, 1014-10191 
 
THE MORAVIANS FORBIDDEN TO PREACH TO THE INDIANS. 
 
 35 
 
 received a dismission from the Governor, he was 
 liberated without further examination. 
 
 The adversaries of the missionaries having thus 
 far failed in their machinations, except so far as to 
 annoy them and interfere with the successful prose- 
 cution of their labors, now resorted to other meas- 
 ures which, unhappily, were successful and ulti- 
 mately broke up the flourishing mission at She- 
 komeko. The prosecutions thus far had been con- 
 ducted under the enactment against Jesuits, passed 
 July 31, 1700, previously referred to; but each 
 examination to which they had been subjected 
 showed clearly that they had no affiUation with 
 papacy. It became necessary, therefore, in order 
 to accomplish their purpose to resort to other 
 means ; and, knowing that the Moravians had con- 
 scientious scruples against taking an oath, through 
 their exertions a law was passed by the As- 
 sembly September 21, 1744, requiring all persons 
 residing within the province to take the State oaths 
 under a pecuniary penalty, or six months imprison- 
 ment in default, and forbidding any person " to 
 reside amongst their Indians under the pretence of 
 bringing them over to the Christian's faith, without 
 the license of the Governor and the consent of the 
 council."* 
 
 November 27, 1744, the Governor, by advice of 
 the council, directed the Deputy Clerk of the 
 council to write to the sheriffs of the counties of 
 Albany, Ulster and Duchess, " to give notice to 
 the several Moravian and vagrant teachers among 
 the Indians in their respective counties * * « 
 to desist from further teaching or preaching and to 
 depart this province;" also to the several Justices 
 of the Peace of those counties, directing them, in 
 case of refusal, to "immediately put the act in 
 execution against them." December 15, 1744, the 
 sheriff and three justices arrived at Shekdmeko, 
 prohibited all meetings, and commanded the mis- 
 sionaries to appear before the court in Pickipsi on 
 the 17th of that month. Biittner was too ill to 
 comply ; but Ranch and Mack did so, and were 
 edified by the reading of the act in question. Biitt- 
 ner thus wrote to the brethren in Bethlehem : "We 
 are either to depart, or incur a heavy penalty. 
 They threaten to seize upon all we possess. We 
 have but little, and if they take away that little, 
 then we shall yet have as much left as our Lord 
 had, when on earth."! 
 
 ♦ This law was calculated to continue in force for one year only, and 
 expired by its own limitation.— Zlw. Hist., Ill, 1027. 
 
 t Digest of Davis's Shekemeko^ in Moravians in New York and Con- 
 neciicui, 45," Holmes' Missions of the United Brethren, 134; Loskiel, 
 Part II.., Chaf. 1^,63,64; Doc, Hist., III., 1019, 1010. 
 
 In November, 1744, the Moravian Bishop, A. 
 G. Spangenberg, to whom the care of the affairs of 
 the brethren in North America had been com- 
 mitted, visited the persecuted congregation at She- 
 komeko, with whom he remained from the 6th to 
 the 1 8th ; but his efforts to devise means whereby 
 the good work might be continued were unavailing. 
 
 December 31, 1744, Count Zinzendorf addressed 
 a letter from Marienborn, Germany, to the Board 
 of Trade of New York, in which he complained 
 of the injustice of the act of September 21, 1744, 
 and asked for relief Two Moravian ministers also 
 directed their attention to the same subject. June 
 28, 1745, the Board of Trade wrote Governor 
 CUnton, requesting information regarding " the 
 behaviour of these Moravians," " and whether any 
 ill-practices on their part gave occasion to their 
 being inserted by name in the said act." This 
 elicited from the council in May, 1746, an official 
 exposition of the reasons which, in their opinion 
 influenced the Assembly in the passage of the law — 
 " a document which," says Davis, " for its miscon- 
 ception of the real character of the zealous and 
 good men against whom it was aimed, and the 
 odious imputations which it casts upon them, is 
 seldom equalled." " It is some palliation, perhaps, 
 of these persecuting measures/' adds the same 
 author, "that the public mind was exceedingly 
 sensitive, and that the whole country was filled 
 with rumors to the prejudice of the harmless 
 Moravians. But, on the other hand, it is equally 
 true that they had fully proved themselves clear of 
 every charge that had been preferred against them, 
 and finally, secured a full vindication by the highest 
 authority of the British Government. For, by an 
 act of the British ParUament, passed May 12th, 
 1749, 'the Unitas Fratrum were acknowledged as 
 an ancient Protestant Episcopal Church ; those of 
 its members who scrupled to take an oath, were, 
 exempted from it on making a declaration in the 
 presence of Almighty God, as witness of the truth; 
 they were exempted from acting as jurymen ; they 
 were entirely exempted from raihtary duty under 
 reasonable conditions.' Such was the ultimate 
 result of the remonstrances of the Moravians to 
 the British and Colonial Governments. A result 
 however, so tardy as that, though it aided their 
 subsequent missionary efforts, it was yet of little 
 or no service to the poor Christian Indians and 
 their self-denying teachers at Shekomeko." In 
 1753, they were invited to the scene of their 
 former persecutions both in New York and New 
 England to preach. In New York city they built 
 
36 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 a church; they ministered to the Indians at 
 Pachgatgoch and Wechquadnach ; and even the 
 white settlers of Duchess county " begged for and 
 obtained a minister from Bethlehem."* 
 
 But the beloved Biittner was not permitted to 
 return with his associates to Bethlehem. He sank 
 under his physical infirmities, which were aggra- 
 vated by mental afflictions, and " fell gently and 
 happily asleep in Jesus," February 23, 1745, in the 
 presence of all the Indian assistants, whom he 
 exhorted with his dying lips to be faithful to the 
 end. The Indians wept over him as children. over 
 a beloved parent. With holy awe and reverence 
 they prepared his remains for the tomb. They 
 dressed his corpse in white, and buried it with 
 great solemnity in the burying-ground at Sheko- 
 meko. They watered his grave with their tears, 
 and for a long period thereafter continued to weep 
 over it. The stone afterwards erected over his 
 grave bore the following j inscription : — 
 
 HiER RUHET 
 
 GOTTLOB BUETTNER, 
 
 DER NACH DEN BeFEHL SEINES 
 
 GOTTES AM KrEUZ, 
 
 DEN Heiden die Botschaft BRACHTE, • 
 
 DAS IHRE SUNDEN DURCH DAS 
 
 BlUT JeSU VERSOHNT BIND, 
 
 welches sie auch angenomen 
 
 und sich in den tod des 
 
 Herrn haben Taufen lassen. 
 
 Sein leztes Flehen war, 
 
 DAS SIE Alle mochten behalten werden, 
 
 BIS AUF DEN TaG JeSU ChRISTI. 
 
 Er war geboren den xxix sten 
 December MDCCXVI, (v.s.) 
 UND entschlief, im Herrn, 
 am xxiii sten Februar MDCCXLV. (v. s.) 
 After the burial of Biittner, the believing In- 
 dians held a council, to consider whether they 
 should not leave Shekomeko ; fearing that, if left 
 to themselves, they might be gradually overcome 
 by sinful seductions. However, they continued 
 to meet as usual, and only now and then one or 
 more brethren, acquainted with the language, were 
 
 * Crantz^ History of the United Brethren^ 401. 
 
 t A copy of this inscription is now in the possession of Benson J. 
 Lossing, LL. D., and was furnished by him for pnblication in The 
 Dutchess Farmer^ of May 7, 1878. It was copied exact from the tomb- 
 stone, and sent from "Northeast Town," May 16, 1806, to Gilbert 
 Livingston, at Poughlceepsie, by Stephen Winans, at the request of his 
 father, Gerardus Winans, for translation into English. It recently came 
 into the possession of Mr. Lossing with other papers of the Livingston 
 family. The original draft, from a published copy of which the above is 
 given, is preserved in Bethlehem. The following is the English transla- 
 tion, as given by Loskiel, [Partll.^ Chap.V.^ 69): — 
 
 " Here lies the body of Gottlob Buettner, who, according to the com- 
 mand of his crucified God and Saviour, brought the glad tidings to the 
 heathen, that the blood of Jesus had made an atonement for their sins. 
 As many as embraced this doctrine in faith, were baptized into the death 
 of the Lord. His last prayer was, that they might be preserved until 
 the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. He was born December 2Qth, 1716, 
 and fell asleep in the Lord, February 23, 1745." 
 
 sent to visit and advise with them. They fre- 
 quently went to Bethlehem where they were always 
 received with great cordiality and friendship, and 
 sometimes they spent several weeks there in large 
 companies. 
 
 But the persecutions of their enemies did not 
 cease, and sometimes they were even cruelly 
 treated ; nor can it be denied, says Loskiel, that 
 some occasion was given by the inconsiderate 
 zeal of the awakened Indians, who, often boldly 
 reproved the white people for their sinful way of 
 Kfe, and when interrogated, spoke the truth with- 
 out reserve or caution. 
 
 At length the continued aspersions of the absent 
 missionaries, who were accused of an intention to 
 reduce the behevers to a state of slavery, had its 
 effect upon their persecuted and disheartened flock- 
 Some not only departed from the faith, but returned 
 to their sinful practices ; division and much slander 
 was occasioned, which ended at last in confusion 
 and rhisery. The Moravians resolved on an effort 
 to remove them from Shekomeko and near to Beth- 
 lehem, where they might enjoy perfect Uberty of 
 conscience, and be less exposed to the seductions 
 of the white people. Wajomick, (Wyoming,) from 
 which the Shawanese had then mostly removed 
 to the Ohio, was regarded an eligible location, 
 and in May, an embassy, consisting of Bishop 
 Spangenberg, Conrad Weiser, David Zeisber- 
 ger and Shabash, set out for Onondaga to gain 
 the consent of the Iroquois, to whom the country 
 belonged, or by whom it was claimed, to its occu- 
 pancy. But now an unforseen difficulty arose ; for 
 after the consent of the Iroquois was obtained, the 
 Indians at Shekomeko refused to accede to the 
 proposition. They alleged as a reason that as the 
 Governor of New York had particularly commanded 
 them to stay in their own town, and promised them 
 protection, they could not, therefore, remove with- 
 out giving new cause for suspicion, and encourag- 
 ing a new persecution against the missionaries ; 
 and further, if they emigrated, their unbaptized 
 friends and relations would yet remain there and 
 enter upon their old sinful courses, which would 
 grieve them exceedingly. An event soon tran- 
 spired, however, which compelled their removal ; 
 for the white people drove them from Shekomeko 
 by force, under pretense that the ground upon 
 which the town was built belonged to other people, 
 who would soon come and take possesion,* and 
 
 * The site of Shekomeko was included in the Little Nine Partners 
 Tract, which was granted to Sampson Houghton and eight others, April 
 JO, 1706. A map of the tract was made in 1744, by Charles Clinton, and 
 ip 1769 lot 12, embracing this site was sold to James Winans, by the 
 partners. 
 
FINAL EXTINGUISHMENT OF THE MISSIONS. 
 
 37 
 
 even appointed a watch to prevent all visits from 
 Bethlehem.* They applied in vairl to the Governor 
 for help. 
 
 It was further reported that a thousand French 
 troops were on their march to the province, and 
 that the Indians at Shekomeko, would join them 
 and ravage the country with fire and sword. The 
 rumor spread terror, particularly at Rhinebeck, so 
 that the inhabitants demanded a warrant of the 
 justice to kill all the Indians at Shekomeko. The 
 warrant was not granted ; but the fact that it was 
 demanded was soon known to the Indians, some 
 of whom, notwithstanding their great attachment to 
 Shekomeko, were constrained to accept the invita- 
 tion of the brethren at Bethlehem. In April, there- 
 fore, ten families, comprising forty-four persons, 
 left Shekomeko, "with sorrow and tears," for Beth- 
 lehem, where they were received " with tenderness 
 and compassion." They were established tem- 
 porarily adjacent to Bethlehem, in a village called 
 Friedenshuetten, or " Tents of Peace ;" and sub- 
 sequently removed to a tract of two hundred 
 acres, at the junction of the rivers Mahony and 
 Lecha, (Lehigh) beyond the Blue Mountains, 
 about thirty miles from Bethlehem, and the same 
 distance from Wyoming — (near where Mauch 
 Chunk now stands). This village was called 
 Gnadenhuetten, or " Tents of Grace ;" and many 
 other Indians from Shekomeko and Pachgatgoch 
 soon joined them~there. Others who still remained 
 joined the army at the call of the English to help 
 repel the French Indians, who had penetrated to 
 within a day's journey of Shekomeko. 
 
 July 24, 1746, the missionaries Hagen and Post 
 were sent from Bethlehem to Shekomeko and held 
 a love-feast with the remaining baptized Indians. 
 They then, by a written deed of gift, secured the 
 chapel to them as their property, and thus, with 
 sorrowful hearts, concluded their labors at this 
 place, where, within the space of two years, sixty- 
 one adults had been baptized, exclusive of those 
 baptized in Bethlehem. The converted Indians 
 were now dispersed in different places, at a con- 
 siderable distance from each other, viz : in Gna- 
 denhuetten, Bethlehem, Pachgatgoch, Wechquad- 
 nach and Shekomeko; some, notwithstanding the 
 war and other troubles still remaining at the latter 
 place, to which they were so much attached, though 
 their misery daily increased. The brethren from 
 Bethlehem and Gnadenhuetten frequently visited 
 Pachgatgoch and Wechquadnach, to prevent the 
 entire extinguishment of the spark of truth which 
 
 *Loskul, Part II. , Chap. K, 80. 
 
 yet glimmered there ; and the missionary Frederick 
 Post staid some time in Pachgatgoch, living in the 
 Indian manner, preaching the gospel, and work- 
 ing at his trade as a joiner. In 1747-48, Shekome- 
 ko was also variously- visited in conjunction with 
 those places ; and in December of the latter year 
 all three places were visited by Bishops Johannes 
 von Watteville and Frederick Cammerhoff, in com- 
 pany with Nathan Seidel, a minister of the society, 
 their chief object being " to look after the lost 
 sheep." At Shekomeko they found everything de- 
 stroyed, except the burying ground ; but in March' 
 following, these places were again visited by Bishop 
 Cammerhoff and Gottlieb Bezold, " to strengthen 
 the believers, and to administer the sacraments to 
 them." Twenty Indians were then added to the 
 church by baptism. In January of this year, 1 749, 
 the missionary David Bruce was appointed to the 
 care of the Christian Indians in Pachgatgoch and 
 Wechquadnach, and remained till his death which 
 occurred July 9th of the same year. " Since the 
 before-mentioned visit," says Loskiel, these Indians 
 " had again formed a regular settlement," the lat- 
 ter, this time, apparently, on the east border of In- 
 dian Pond, in the town of Sharon, Connecticut. 
 Bruce lived chiefly at Wechquadnach, in a house 
 belonging to the brethren, called Gnadensee. He 
 sometimes resided at Pachgatgoch, whence he paid 
 visits to Westenhuck, " by invitation of the head- 
 chief of the Mahican nation, sowing the seed 
 of the gospel wherever he came." His funeral 
 was conducted with appropriate ceremonies, and 
 one of the assistants " delivered a powerful dis- 
 course upon the solemn occasion." His suc- 
 cessor was Abraham Bueninger, who, " at leisure 
 hours, was very diligent in instructing the children." 
 In the spring of 1753, "the small congregation of 
 Indians settled at Wechquadnach were driven away 
 by their neighbors, and some retired to Wajonick. 
 Thirty-four of these people, having given satisfac- 
 tory proofs of their sincerity, obtained leave to re- 
 move to Gnadenhuetten." In 1755, the missionary. 
 Christian Seidel, twice visited Pachgatgoch, bap- 
 tized several Indians, and administered the Lord's 
 supper to the communicants. He passed " through 
 Oblong, Salisbury, Shekomeko, and Reinbeck, 
 where his animated testimony of the gospel was 
 well received by many." " The congregation at 
 Pachgatgoch, whose situation," says Loskiel, " was 
 very distressing in the year 1762, was still more 
 oppressed during the war, and at length so much 
 dispersed, that nothing remained but the hopes 
 that they might unite again in time of peace." This 
 
38 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 is the last account Loskiel gives us of these inter- 
 esting missions, whose last flickering light seems 
 now to have been extinguished. The subsequent 
 history of those who removed hence to Pennsyl- 
 vania was not less ch'eckered than we have seen it 
 to have been here, but we have not the space to 
 follow it. It was, for the most part, a sickening 
 succession of injustice, outrage and oppression, 
 such as has characterized the subsequent treatment 
 ' of the unfortunate red man by his white neighbors, 
 relieved by only an occasional ray of light flashing 
 athwart their retreating horizon, through the singu- 
 lar fidelity of the devoted missionaries who first 
 taught them to look to a future life for that happi- 
 ness which was denied them in this. 
 
 In 1753, immediately after the dispersion of the 
 Indians at Wechquadnach, Abraham Reinke, an 
 ordained clergyman, was sent by the Moravians, 
 in response to a request of the inhabitants, and 
 established a Moravian congregation of white per- 
 sons on the western side of Indian Pond, in the 
 town of North East, on the present farm of Mr. 
 Douglass Clarke (i 858). The meeting-house stood 
 here till within a few years ; and in an adjoining 
 burying-ground is the grave of the Rev. Joseph 
 Powell, the Moravian missionary of that name, and 
 one of the last to minister here under the auspices 
 of the Moravian society. His labors here were 
 brief, commencing in the spring and ending in the 
 autumn of 1 7 7 4. As appears from the stone which 
 stands at his grave, he died in 1774, aged skty- 
 three years. 
 
 For a full century the veil of obscurity was drawn 
 over the scenes and events we have narrated, and 
 all knowledge of them was almost obliterated from 
 the minds of the present generation. For a cen- 
 tury the remains of the faithful and^ gentle Biittner 
 enjoyed that serene quiet and rest which were so 
 foreign to the closing years of his laborious life ; 
 and but for the stone which marked his last resting- 
 place, it is probable that his deeds, in this connec- 
 tion, would never again have been revived in this 
 locality. That stone, " which," says Mr. Lossing, 
 the historian, " was a heavy mass of gray carbonate 
 of lime, smoothed on one side for the inscription, 
 which is in the thin Latin characters which are met 
 with in the printing of the last century," was, in the 
 lapse of time, broken into fragments, and only a 
 small portion, containing the central part of the 
 inscription, preserved ; but it was sufficient, with 
 th^, aid of the records of the society in Bethlehem, 
 to certainly identify it, and connect it with this mis- 
 sion. In 1855, that fragment which some sup- 
 
 posed to be the monument of an Indian chief, 
 was deposited in the museum of the Poughkeepsie 
 Lyceum, and by that society generously presented 
 to the Moravian Historical Society at Nazareth, 
 Pennsylvania, who now have it in their posses- 
 sion.* • 
 
 The results of the researches of Rev. Mr. Davis, 
 as pubHshed in his Shekomeko, came to the knowl- 
 edge of the Moravian pubKc, and were of so satis- 
 factory, a nature as to suggest the propriety of 
 visiting the scenes to which they referred ; and it 
 was thought that, with the aid of records and docu- 
 ments known to exist in the archives of the church 
 at Bethlehem, Mr. Davis' discoveries might be 
 confirmed, new clues obtained, and the identity of 
 the old stations established beyond a doubt. Ac- 
 cordingly, in June, 1859, a party of gentlemen, 
 members of the Moravian Historical Society, 
 visited the locaUties of Shekomeko and Wechquad- 
 nach, under the guidance of Messrs. Lossing and 
 Davis, whose interest and aid were readily enlisted in 
 an enterprise of so much interest to this county. 
 Arriving at Mr. Edward Huntings, the party 
 were joined, in addition to Mr. Hunting's family, 
 by other residents of the county. "A slight de- 
 pression in the soil, and the protruding edge of the 
 heavy limestone," says the account of this visit, 
 pubhshed in The Moravian of July 21st and 28th, 
 were all that marked the grave of Biittner ; which 
 was discovered in 1854, by Messrs. Davis and 
 Hunting, with the aid of Mr. Josiah Winans, (a 
 son of Gerardus Winans, who succeeded his father, 
 James Winans, as proprietor of the farm, on the 
 death of the latter in 1795,) who was the only per- 
 son living from whom any reliable information* 
 could be obtained in reference to it. By means of 
 a sketch of Shekomeko, made in 1745, which the 
 visitors brought with them, they were not only able 
 to identify the locality of the grave, but also of the 
 Indian village, the huts of which — seventeen in 
 number — were arranged in the form of a crescent 
 around the little bark-covered church, only some 
 eighteen feet from the missionary's grave. The 
 following day the party proceeded to the site of 
 Wechquadnach, where the missionaries, David 
 Bruce and Joseph Powell, are buried. Of the 
 Wechquadnach mission house, says the account 
 before quoted, there is no trace; but Douglass 
 Clarke, on whose farm it was located, pointed to 
 where it stood within his recollection. (He was 
 then — 1859 — " a venerable man of eighty-three.") 
 Tradition has preserved nothing of the site of the 
 
 » The Dutcktss Farmer-, l\a.y ^■,1i^S. ■ •■ — 
 
THE SHEKOMEKO AND WECHQUADNACH MONUMENTS. 
 
 ■39 
 
 Indian village. As the missionaries, in writing 
 of Wechquadnach, never distinctly allude to one, 
 "there is room for the presumption that the 
 dwellings of the Indians were scattered along 
 the western shore of the lake, inasmuch as the 
 nature of the ground is such as would have led 
 them to select it for planting purposes.'' Bruce 
 was carried across the "Gnaden See'' (Indian 
 Pond) on two canoes, and buried on the east side 
 of the Pond. From Wechquadnach the party pro- 
 ceeded to the site of Pacligatgoch, two miles south- 
 west of Kent. 
 
 July IT, 1859, the Moravian Historical Society 
 resolved to erect monuments over the grave of 
 Buttner, and near the graves of Bruce and Powell. 
 A numerous committee of which Messrs. Davis, of 
 Pleasant Valley, Lossing, then of Poughkeepsie, 
 and Edward Hunting and Theron Wilber, of Pine 
 Plains,. were members, was appointed to collect the 
 requisite funds and superintend their erection. 
 October sth and 6th, was the time designated for 
 the dedication of the monuments. The details of the 
 work naturally fell to the share of the local mem- 
 bers of the committee. The monuments were 
 fashioned by Messrs. Miller & Co., of Poughkeep- 
 sie ; and Messrs. Davis and Lossing cheerfully un- 
 dertook to select the material, and to superintend 
 the lettering of the inscriptions. Two obelisks of 
 the finest Italian marble were contracted for at 
 $260, (including transportation and necessary ma- 
 sonry,) to which was added $16.41 incurred for 
 lettering. 
 
 The monuments were thus described by Mr. 
 Lossing, in a letter to members of the committee 
 August sth, 1859:— 
 
 " Shekomeko Stone. — Pedestal, 29 inches square; 
 1 2 inches high ; of Connecticut sandstone. Weigh- 
 ing 700 lbs. Base, 23 inches square; 12 inches 
 high ; with moulding above 2\ inches high. Weigh- 
 ing 500 lbs. Shaft, 18 inches by 15^ below; 17 
 inches by 14^ above ; 4 feet 5 inches high. Weigh- 
 ing 1,400 lbs. Entire height, 6 feet 6^ inches. 
 Entire weight 2,600 lbs." 
 
 ^^Wechquadnach Stone. — Pedestal, 29 inches 
 square ; 1 2 inches high ; of Connecticut sandstone. 
 Weighing 700 lbs. Base, 23 inches square; 11 
 inches high; with moulding above 2\ inches high. 
 Weighing 500 lbs. Shaft 18 inches by 15^ below; 
 I o inches by 8 above ; 6 feet high. Weighing 1,400 
 lbs. Entire height, 8 feet ■i\ inches. Entire 
 weight, 2,600 lbs." 
 
 The following are the inscriptions on the Sheko- 
 meko monument: — 
 
 [North Side.J 
 
 Shekomeko Mis.sion, 
 Commenced August 16, 1740, 
 
 BY 
 
 Christian Henry Rauch, 
 
 Erected by the 
 
 Moravian Historical Society, 
 
 October 5, 1859. 
 
 [South Side.] 
 
 In Memory of 
 
 the Mohican Indians, 
 
 Lazara, 
 
 Baptized Dec. i, 1742. Died Dec. 5, 1742. 
 
 and 
 
 Daniel, 
 
 Baptized Dec. 26^ 1742. Died March 20, 1744. 
 
 Upon the west side is the German inscription 
 which appeared on the original tombstone of Biitt- 
 ner; and upon the east side, the English transla- 
 tion of the same. 
 
 The inscriptions upon the Wechquadnach monu- 
 ment are as follows : — 
 
 [North Side.J 
 
 Joseph Powell, 
 
 A Minister of the Gospel 
 
 IN the 
 
 Church of the United Brethren, 
 
 BORNj 1 7 10, 
 
 NEAR WhITECHURCH, SHROPSHIRE, ENGLAND, 
 
 DIED, Sept. 23, 1774, 
 
 AT SiCHEM IN THE ObLONG, 
 
 Duchess Co., N. Y. 
 
 [South Side.J 
 
 David Bruce, 
 
 A Minister of the Gospel 
 
 IN the 
 
 Church of the United Brethren, 
 
 from 
 
 Edinburgh, Scotland, 
 
 DIED July 9, 1749, 
 
 at the 
 
 Wechquadnach Mission, 
 
 Duchess Co., N. Y. 
 
 [East Side.] 
 
 " How beautiful upon the mountains 
 Are the feet of him that bringeth 
 Good tidings, that publisheth peace ; 
 That bringeth good tidings of good ; 
 That publisheth salvation." — Isaiah Hi, 7. 
 
 [West Side.] 
 
 Erected by the 
 
 Moravian Historical Society, 
 
 October 6, 1859. 
 
 October 4, 1859, a delegation of Moravians from 
 Bethlehem, New York and Philadelphia, arrived at 
 Pine Plains, and on the evening of that day held in- 
 
40 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 troductory services in the Bethel, a union church in 
 the valley of the Shekomeko. The two succeeding 
 days, the 5th and 6th, first the Shekomeko, and 
 next the Wechquadnach monuments, were dedi- 
 cated with solemn and imposing ceremonies, con- 
 ducted according to the Moravian ritual. 
 
 The Shekomeko monument marks the grave of 
 Biittner J that at Wechquadnach stands on a rocky 
 ledge on the east shore of and overlooking the 
 beautiful " Gnaden See," or " Lake of Grace," and 
 the entire region of country in which the Mora- 
 vians, whose labors it commemorates, carried on 
 their missionary work. The grave of Bruce, near 
 which the latter stands, is on the east, and that of 
 Powell, which is still marked by the stone originally 
 erected to his memory, on the west side of this 
 sheet of water. 
 
 The services consisted of those portions of the 
 Moravian ritual that relate to death and the res- 
 urrection ; the litanies used at burials, which were 
 .deemed peculiarly appropriate, inasmuch as the 
 remains of the missionaries were committed to the 
 grave without the performance of those cherished 
 rites ; the Easter morning litany, which is observed 
 yearly in Moravian burying-grounds ; the choral 
 music of trombonists, a characteristic element of 
 Moravian obsequies ; and historical and doctrinal 
 discourses. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Hudson's Discovkry and Exploration of the 
 North River — His Intercourse with the Na- 
 tives—Diverse Claims of the English, French 
 AND Dutch — Character of the Dutch Col- 
 onists OF New Netherlands— Early Dutch 
 Enterprises in the Valley of the Hudson — 
 The United New Netherland Company — The 
 Dutch West India Company — Dutch Colo- 
 nization — Its Pernicious Features — The 
 Harsh Measures of Director Kieft — Dep- 
 redations of the Wappingers^ — The Esopus 
 Wars — The Destruction of Wiltwyck — Ex- 
 pedition TO Red Hook during the Second 
 Esopus War — Friendly offices of Wappin- 
 gers — Indian Treaty of 1664— Its Efficacy 
 — Supersedure of the Dutch by the English. 
 
 ON the 4th of April, 1609, Henry Hudson, an 
 intrepid English navigator, and the friend 
 of ©aptain John Smith, having failed in two attempts 
 to discover a. western passage to the East Indies, 
 in the interest of a company of London merchants, 
 
 sailed from xlmsterdam with a mixed crew of some 
 twenty Dutch and English sailors, in the employ of 
 the Dutch East India Company of Holland, 
 formed the previous year for traffic and coloniza- 
 tion. He arrived on the American coast near 
 Portland, Maine, whence he proceeded south along 
 the coast to the entrance of Chesapeake Bay. 
 From thence he proceeded northward, discovered 
 and entered Delaware Bay, and on the 3d of Sep- 
 tember moored his vessel, the Half Moon (^Halve 
 Maene,) a mere yacht of about eighty tons burden, 
 within Sandy Hook. On the fourth he proceeded 
 up the bay to a very good harbor near the Jersey 
 shore ; and here he received on board the natives, 
 who came in great numbers to traffic for knives 
 and beads. On the fifth Hudson returned the 
 visit of the natives, who welcomed him by singing 
 and dancing. " Men, women and children were 
 feather-mantled, or clad in loose furs." "Some had 
 pipes of red copper, with earthen bowls, and cop- 
 per ornaments round their necks." " They were 
 friendly, but thievish, and crafty in carrying away 
 what they fancied." On the sixth, five of the crew 
 were sent in a boat to examine the channel. They 
 sounded the Narrows and proceeded to Newark 
 Bay ; but on the return, for some unexplained rea- 
 son, were attacked by the natives in two canoes, 
 and John Colman, an Englishman, who had ac- 
 companied Hudson in his Polar explorations, was 
 killed by an arrow shot in his throat, and two of 
 his companions wounded. Colman was buried at 
 Sandy Hook, and Colman's Point, where his re- 
 mains were interred, perpetuates the memory of 
 this first European victim of the natives in these 
 waters.* 
 
 During the three succeeding days Hudson con- 
 tinued to receive the visits of the natives, some of 
 whom came armed, though he took tJie precaution 
 to allow only two of the latter to board the vessel, 
 and those he detained and dressed them in red 
 coats. Soon after two others came to the vessel, 
 and one of these he also detained, but he escaped 
 by jumping overboard and swimming to the shore. 
 
 On the ninth Hudson moved cautiously through 
 the Narrows, and on the eleventh reached New 
 York harbor, " where he rode all night." On the 
 morning of the twelfth he commenced the memor- 
 able voyage up the river which bears his name. 
 Owing to the lightness of the wind he could pro- 
 ceed only a very few leagues. The moment he 
 anchored, the native men, women and children 
 renewed their visits in increased numbers, bringing 
 
 * History of New Netherland, /,, 36. 
 
HUDSON'S EXPLORATION OF THE NORTH RIVER. 
 
 41 
 
 beans and very good oysters; but none were 
 allowed on board. On the thirteenth, with the aid 
 of the flood tides, he reached a point just above 
 Yonkers. On the fourteenth, a strong south-east 
 wind carried him rapidly into the Highlands, 
 " through the majestic pass guarded by the frown- 
 ing Donderberg." He anchored at night near 
 West Point, amidst the most sublime scenery of 
 the mountains, whose summits were concealed 
 when he awoke the next morning by a heavy mist 
 which hung over the river and adjacent country. 
 Here the two natives whom he held as hostages 
 escaped through the port-holes of the vessel and 
 swam to the shore, where they expressed their in- 
 dignation at the treatment to which they had been 
 subjected by uttering loud cries of scorn and 
 anger. 
 
 The mist soon cleared and he proceeded up the 
 river, anchoring at night a little below Red Hook, 
 within the shadow of the majestic CatskiUs. Here 
 he found " very loving people and very old men," 
 by whom he "was well usedj" and here also he 
 " caught a great store of very good fish.'' Most 
 of the sixteenth was spent in taking fresh water. 
 He did not weigh anchor until night, and then 
 proceeded only two leagues, when shoal water 
 compelled him to lay at anchor till morning. On 
 the thorning of the sixteenth the natives brought 
 Indian corn, pumpkins (pompions) and tobacco, 
 which they exchanged for " trifles." 
 
 On the evening of the seventeenth, having twice 
 grounded on shoals during the day, he reached a 
 point just above the site of Hudson (latitude 42° 
 .18'.*) On the eighteenth he rode at anchor; and 
 in the afternoon the " master's mate f went on land 
 with an old savage, a governor of the country, who 
 carried him to his house and made him good cheer." 
 "He was," says O'Callaghan, " chief over forty men 
 and seventeen women," and says Bancroft, occu- 
 pied "a house well constructed of oak bark, circular 
 in shape, and arched in the roof." " Here," adds 
 O'Callaghan, " he found large quantities of Indian 
 corn and beans, - sufficient to load three ships, 
 besides what were still growing in the fields." 
 
 At flood tide on the nineteenth, about eleven 
 o'clock, Hudson weighed anchor and proceeded 
 "two leagues above the _shoals," anchoring in 
 eight fathoms of water. Here too, the natives 
 flocked aboard, bringing grapes, pumpkins and 
 
 * Bancroft's History of the Unitid States, II.., r%. O'Callaghan, 
 {History of New Neiherland, I., J7,) fixes this location in the neighbor- 
 hood of the present town of Castleton. 
 
 t Robert Ivet's account, Transactions New York Historical Society. 
 Bancroft and O'Callaghan both say it was Hudson himself. 
 
 beaver and otter skins, which they exchanged for 
 beads, knives, hatchets and other trifles. He now, 
 says Bancroft, " drew near the landing of Kinder- 
 hook," and ventured no higher with the yacht ; but 
 sent the master's mate with four men to take 
 soundings of the river. Two leagues above they 
 found but two fathoms of water, and the channel 
 very narrow; but above that, seven or eight fath- 
 oms. They returned towards night. 
 
 On the twenty-first Hudson purposed exploring 
 the river higher up, but was deterred because 
 " much people resorted aboard." He determined, 
 however, "to try some of the chief men of the 
 country, whether they had any treachery in them. 
 So he took them down into the cabin and gave 
 them so much wine and aqua vitas that they were 
 all merry," and "in the end one of them was 
 drunk." His companions were filled with astonish- 
 ment, and " could not tell how to take it.'' They 
 left in their canoes for the shore ; but some of 
 them returned again, bringing " stropes of beades," 
 which they gave to their stupefied companion, who 
 slept quietly all night on the vessel. He had re- 
 covered when his friends came to see him at noon 
 the next day, and so rejoiced were they that in 
 the afternoon they visited the boat in great num- 
 bers, bringing with them tobacco and beads, which 
 they presented to Hudson, to whom they " made 
 an oration, and showed him all the country round 
 about." One of their number was sent ashore, 
 and soon returned with a great platter of dressed 
 venison, which they caused Hudson to eat with 
 them. They then made him reverence and de- 
 parted, all save the old man, who, having tasted 
 the fatal beverage, preferred to remain aboard. 
 
 Heckewelder has preserved the pathetic Dela- 
 ware tradition of this first debasing acquaintance 
 with the Europeans, whom the natives first regarded 
 with a superstitious fear, believing Hudson to be 
 none other than iht great manitou. After describ- 
 ing the consternation of the natives when they 
 first discovered the strange apparition of a house 
 upon the waters and the preparations made to give 
 the supposed manitou the most fitting welcome 
 their savage natures could devise, he says : — 
 
 " Meanwhile, a large Hackhack* is brought by 
 one of his [Hudson's] servants, from which an 
 unknown substance is poured out into a small cup 
 or glass, and handed to the supposed Mannitto. He 
 drinks — has the glass filled again, and hands it to 
 the chief standing next to him. "The chief receives 
 it, but only smells the contents and passes it on to 
 the next chief, who does the same. The glass or 
 
 * Meaning a gourd. 
 
42 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 cup thus passes through the circle, without the 
 liquor being tasted by any one, and is upon the 
 point of being returned to the red-clothed Man- 
 nitto, when one of the Indians, a brave man and 
 a great warrior, suddenly jumps up and harangues 
 the assembly on the impropriety of returning the 
 cup with its contents. It was handed to them, 
 says he, by the Mannitto, that they should drink 
 out of it as he himself had done. To follow his 
 example would be pleasing to him ; but to return 
 what he had given them might provoke his wrath, 
 and bring destruction on them. And since the 
 orator believed it for the good of the nation that 
 the contents offered them should be drunk, and as 
 no one else would do it, he would drink it himself, 
 let the consequence be what it might ; it was 
 better for one man to die, than that a whole nation 
 should be destroyed. He then took the glass, and 
 bidding the assembly a solemn farewell, at once 
 drank up its whole contents. Every eye was fixed 
 on the resolute chief, to see what effect the un- 
 known liquor would produce. He soon began to 
 stagger, and at last fell prostrate on the ground. 
 His companions now bemoan his fate, he falls into 
 a sound sleep, and they think he has expired. He 
 wakes again, jumps up and declares that he has 
 enjoyed the most delicious sensations, and that he 
 never before felt so happy as after he had drunk 
 the cup. He asks for more, his wish is granted ; 
 the whole assembly then imitate him, and all be- 
 come intoxicated."* 
 
 Alas, this was but the sad prelude to a sadder 
 sequel ! 
 
 On the twenty-second Hudson sent five of the 
 crew to sound the river higher up. They proceeded 
 " eight or nine leagues, and found but seven foot 
 of water, and inconstant soundings." Hudson 
 was now forced to the conclusion that he had 
 reached the head of navigation, and he regretfully 
 retraced his steps on the twenty-third, making two 
 leagues that day and " seven or eight," the twenty- 
 fourth, each day grounding on shoals, and the latter 
 day going ashore, where they " gathered a good 
 store of chestnuts." On the twenty-fifth and twenty- 
 sixth he rode at anchor, because of adverse winds. 
 On the morning of the twenty-sixth " two canoes 
 came up the river from the place where we first 
 found loving people," and in one of them was the 
 old chief who was the subject of the strange ex- 
 periment with aqua vitae. He brought with him 
 another old man, who presented Hudson with 
 " more stropes of beades," " and showed him all 
 the country there about, as though it were at his 
 command." Hudson dined with them and their 
 wives, and " two young maidens of the age sixteen 
 or seventeen years," who also accompani ed them 
 
 * Historical Account of the Indian Nations in Transactions of the 
 Historical and Literary Committee of the American Philosophical 
 Society., Philadelphia, /., $5, 57. See also Doc. Hist. II., 598, 599. 
 
 to the vessel, and " behaved themselves very mod- 
 estly." To one of the men Hudson gave a knife, 
 and received in return tobacco. On the twenty- 
 seventh he was grounded on a shoal " from half 
 ebb to half flood " tide, but made six leagues. The 
 old chief who had acquired such a relish for 
 Hudson's " good cheer " again came on board and 
 urged him to lie at anchor and go ashore and eat 
 with him ; but the wind being fair Hudson would 
 not yield to his request. He departed with a 
 sorrowful countenance, but Hudson comforted him 
 with presents and the assurance that they would 
 return the next year. 
 
 On the zgth, Hudson anchored at the lower end 
 of the Long Reach, which "is six leagues long." 
 Here natives who came on board brought " Indian 
 wheat." October ist, while becalmed off Stony 
 Point, "the people of the Mountains came aboard 
 of us, wondering at our ship and weapons." One 
 man, who persisted in " hanging under our stern,'' 
 gained the cabin window by means of the rudder, and 
 stole a pillow, two shirts and " two bandeleers." He 
 was detected by the mate, who shot him in the 
 breast and killed him. The others fled, some taking 
 to their canoes, others to the water. A boat was 
 manned, and the stolen goods easily recovered. 
 An Indian, who swam to the boat, seized it with his 
 hand and tried to upset it ; but the cook cut off 
 his hand with a sword and he was drowned. 
 On the second, at the head of Manhattan 
 Island, the vessel was approached by a canoe 
 containing one of the natives who escaped from it 
 on the voyage up ; but fearing treachery, Hudson 
 would not allow him nor his companions on board. 
 Two other canoes, filled with armed warriors, now 
 came under the stern, and an attack was made 
 with arrows ; but they were repulsed with a loss of 
 two or three men. Over a hundred of the natives 
 then took position on a point of land, but a falcon 
 shot killed two of them, and the rest fled to the 
 woods. Another canoe, manned with nine or ten 
 warriors, came to meet them j but a falcon shot 
 was sent through it and one of its occupants killed. 
 Three or four others were killed and the rest dis- 
 persed with musketry. Hudson then dropped down 
 two leagues, and was free from further danger. 
 
 Such were the events which opened up to Eu- 
 ropean emigration the beautiful and fertile valley 
 of the Hudson, and sowed the seeds of decay 
 among the native tribes, whose shattered fragments 
 were rolled back Uke a shriveled scroll upon the 
 western nations, who, in their turn, are rapidly re- 
 ceding in constantly diminishing numbers before 
 
FIRST SETTLEMENT AT NEW AMSTERDAM. 
 
 43 
 
 the onward march of civilization. Soon after the 
 intelligence of Hudson's discoveries were received 
 in Holland, in whose name he took possession of 
 the country, colonization projects engaged the at- 
 tention of the company who employed him. 
 
 Little is known of Hudson's earlier life, except 
 that in youth he received a thorough maritime edu- 
 cation. His connection with the Dutch East India 
 Company ceased soon after his arrival in England 
 in November, 1609; for England, having become 
 jealous of the maritime enterprises of the Dutch, 
 caused his detention in that country. He re- 
 entered the service of the London Company, and 
 in 1 6 10 voyaged in search of a north-west passage 
 to India. He discovered and entered the bay 
 which bears his name ; but continuing his search 
 too long, was compelled to spend the winter in the 
 northern latitude. In the spring, a part of his 
 crew mutinied, and placing him, his son and seven 
 others in a boat, left them to their fate. He is 
 supposed to have perished in this situation, but his 
 fate is a mystery. 
 
 Three European nations at this time based 
 claims to a part of the territory embraced in the 
 State of New York ; England, by reason of the 
 discovery of Cabot and his son Sebastian, claiming 
 a territory eleven degrees in width and extending 
 westward indefinitely; France, by reason of the 
 discoveries of Verrazani, claiming a portion of the 
 Atlantic coast ; and Holland, by reason of the dis- 
 covery of Hudson, claiming the country from Cape 
 Cod to the southern shore of Delaware Bay. But 
 the Dutch became the actual possessors of the 
 country. 
 
 Colonization in New York, not less than in New 
 England, was an emanation from the Reformation, 
 which emancipated the Low Countries on the one 
 hand, and was followed by collisions between 
 English dissenters and the AngUcan hierarchy on 
 the other. "The Netherlands," says Bancroft, 
 " divide with England the glory of having planted 
 the first colonies in the United States ; they also 
 divide the glory of having set the example of public 
 freedom. If England gave our fathers the idea of 
 a popular representation, the United Provinces 
 were their model of a federal union."* 
 
 The pilgrim fathers who colonized New England, 
 fleeing from religious persecution at home, found 
 refuge in Holland, which was then struggling to 
 throw off the oppressive yoke of Spanish tyranny, 
 and there learned their first lesson in popular gov- 
 ernment, from a people, who, from the time of the 
 
 * History e/ the United States, II., 18. 
 
 universal sway of imperial Rome, " had been ani- 
 mated by an indomitable spirit of civil Uberty." "The 
 Dutch Republic," says Brodhead, "which for nearly 
 a century after it first took its place in the rank of 
 independent nations continued to sway the balance 
 of European politics, owed its proud position to 
 the moral qualities and free spirit of the people of 
 the Netherlands ; to the constitution of their gov- 
 ernment ; to their geographical position ; their 
 maritime power ; their liberal commercial policy ; 
 their spirit of universal toleration ; and to the wise 
 statesmanship which attracted to their shores a 
 winnowed population from other lands." 
 
 The truce with Spain, concluded April 9, 1609, 
 which virtually, if not formally, acknowledged Dutch 
 independence, brought a temporary respite to the 
 people of the Netherlands, who, for more than forty 
 years, had been struggling with desperate energy 
 and dogged determination against the mighty forces 
 of Spain. Four days before the consummation of 
 this truce, which was wrung from Spain by the 
 great victory achieved over the Spanish fleet the 
 previous year, by that bold navigator, Jacob 
 Heemskirk, Hudson had sailed on his voyage of 
 exploration in the interest of Holland ; and when 
 his discoveries were made known, the people were 
 ripe for those adventures which planted colonies in 
 the valleys of the Hudson and Delaware from the 
 surplus population at the mouths of the Rhine. 
 
 In 1610, the Dutch sent out a vessel to engage 
 in the fur trade on the banks of the river discov- 
 ered by Hudson. In 1612, and again in 1614, 
 Hendrick Christiansen and Adrian Block fitted out 
 two other vessels for the same purpose, and were 
 soon followed by others. The fur trade proving 
 successful, Christiansen was appointed to superin- 
 tend it and Manhattan Island made the chief depot. 
 In 161 4, he erected a small fort and a few rude 
 buildings on the southern extremity of the island, 
 which he called New Amsterdam. March 27, 1614, 
 the States General of the United Netherlands 
 secured to each discoverer the exclusive right to 
 make four voyages to the lands discovered by him 
 for the purpose of trading with the natives ; and 
 October 1 1 th of the same year a charter was granted 
 to an association of merchants engaged in the traflic, 
 conferring on them the exclusive right to trade for 
 three years in the territory situated between New 
 France and Virginia, (between 40° and 45° of lati- 
 tude,) the whole region being then known as New 
 Netherland. 
 
 In the meantime, in 1614, explorations were 
 being made in the surrounding country. Adrian 
 
44 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 Block passed up the East River, Long Island 
 Sound — demonstrating for the first time the insular 
 character of Long Island — up Connecticut River, 
 and into the bays and along the islands eastward to 
 Cape Cod. Cornelissen Jacobson Mey explored 
 the southern coast of Long Island and southward 
 to Delaware Bay; Capt. John DeWitt sailed up 
 the North River and gave his name to one of the 
 islands near Red Hook ; while Hendrick Christian- 
 sen ascended that ^ream to Castle Island, a Uttle 
 below Albany, (which has long since become a part 
 of the main land,) where he established a trading 
 post, and, in 1615, built a small fort called Fort 
 Nassau, which, being damaged by the flood in 
 1 6 18, was removed a little below to the Norman's 
 Kill. Here a treaty of peace was formed between 
 the Five Nations and the representatives of New 
 Netherland, which remained inviolate so long 
 as the Dutch retained possession of the country. 
 A third fort was built at the mouth of Rondout 
 Kill, on the site of the city of Kingston, contempo- 
 rary with those at New Amsterdam and Castle 
 Island; but it was not until 1652 and 1653 that 
 any settlers took up land in that quarter. 
 
 Thus the colonization of New York may be said 
 to have fairly begun at three detached points along 
 the Hudson in 16 14; though, up to this time, and 
 for some years later, the energies of the Dutch were 
 directed more to commerce than colonization. 
 This was six years before the estabUshment of the 
 Plymouth Colony; sixteen years before Governor 
 Winthrop founded Boston ; twenty-one years before 
 the settlement of the Connecticut Valley was begun 
 by William Pynchon and his followers at Spring- 
 field, and Thomas Hooker and his band at Hart- 
 ford ; sixty-eight years before Penn concluded that 
 famous treaty with the Lenni-Lenape tribes, which 
 remained inviolate during his life-time ; and sixty- 
 nine years before the founding of Philadelphia by 
 the same admirable man. 
 
 The Dutch establishment at New Amsterdam 
 increased, and the fur trade became so profitable 
 that at the expiration of their charter, the States 
 General refused to renew it, giving instead a tem- 
 porary license for its continuance. It had become 
 sufiiciently attractive to tempt the avarice of English 
 capitalists. In 1620, James I. granted all the ter- 
 ritory between the 40th and 48th degrees north 
 latitude, extending from ocean to ocean, to Ferdi- 
 nando Georges and his commercial associates, and 
 in their interest Capt. Dermer appeared at Man- 
 hattaft and laid claim to all the territory occupied 
 by the Dutch, This claim was strengthened by 
 
 instructions to the English ambassador at the Dutch 
 capital to remonstrate against Dutch intrusion. 
 Notwithstanding this remonstrance, however, June 
 3, 1621, the States General chartered the Dutch 
 West India Company, an armed mercantile associa- 
 tion "designed to co-operate in extending national 
 commerce, in promoting colonization, in crushing 
 piracy, but, above all, in humbling the pride and 
 might of Spain," and gave them exclusive jurisdic- 
 tion for a period of twenty years over the province 
 of New Netherland, with power to appoint govern- 
 ors, subject to the ajjprovalof the State, to colonize 
 the territory, and administer justice. 
 
 By virtue of this charter the company took pos- 
 session of New Amsterdam in i622-'3. The exec- 
 utive management was entrusted to a board of 
 directors, distributed through five separate cham- 
 bers in Holland. The charge of the province 
 devolved on the Amsterdam chamber, which, in 
 1623, sent out a vessel under the direction of Capt. 
 CorneUssen Jacobson and Adriaen Jorissen Tien- 
 pont, with thirty famihes, most of whom were in 
 the company's service, for colonization. A portion 
 of these settled on the Connecticut ; others on the 
 Hudson, at Albany, where, in 1624, they built Fort 
 Orange ; and the remainder on the Delaware, near 
 Gloucester, where, the same year, (1624,) Fort 
 Nassau was built. This was the first settlement on 
 the Delaware. In May, 1626, Peter Minuit arrived 
 in New Netherland as Director General or Gover- 
 nor of the Province. 
 
 No systematic attempt was made to promote 
 colonization until 1628. March 28th of that year, 
 the "Assembly of XIX." referred to a committee 
 for examination, the draft of a "charter of privi- 
 leges and exemptions," which, after revision and 
 amendment, was agreed to June 7, 1629. This 
 secured certain privileges to patroons, masters and 
 individuals who planted colonies in ffew Nether- 
 land under its provisions, and "transplanted to the 
 free soil of America the feudal tenure and feudal 
 burdens of continental Europe."* " While it secured 
 the right of the Indian to the soil," says Moulton, 
 "and enjoined schools and churches, it scattered 
 the seeds of servitude, slavery and aristocracy. 
 While it gave to freemen as much land as they 
 could cultivate, and exempted colonists from taxa- 
 tion for ten years, it fettered agriculture by restrict- 
 ing commerce and prohibiting manufacture." 
 
 But the very provisions of this charter defeated 
 the object of its projectors. The patroons who 
 acquired titles to lands under it, were not less ea^er 
 
 *HUiory of New Netherland I., uo. 
 
PERNICIOUS FEATURES OF DUTCH COLONIZATION. 
 
 45 
 
 than the Dutch West India Company to drive a 
 profitable trade with the natives. They were, in- 
 deed, directors of that company, which, though it 
 introduced a few settlers, offered few inducements 
 to them to remain. Up to 1633, the company, 
 though its estabUshment gave it more of the charac- 
 ter of an independent sovereignty than a chartered 
 mercantile society, had scarcely secured a solitary 
 agricultural settler to fell the forest or reclaim the 
 wilderness. Had they been disposed even to make 
 colonization their chief object, the jealousy en- 
 gendered between the company and the patroons 
 would have neutralized their efforts in that direc- 
 tion ; for each accused the other of having en- 
 croached upon its special privileges, and the con- 
 sequence was fatal to the prosperity of the country. 
 The spirit of monopoly which breathed throughout 
 that charter, discouraged private enterprise and 
 industry, so that individuals who were inclined 
 to em'grate abandoned their design "and durst 
 venture nothing." In these elements lay the weak- 
 ness of the Dutch colony; and in'them it is prob- 
 able, we may trace its ready submission to the 
 supplanter in 1664. While the Enghsh colonists 
 sought this country for the purpose of estabUshing 
 homes, the Dutch were only desirous of avaiUng 
 themselves of the profitable trade with the natives, 
 and while the former were becoming thrifty and 
 populous through agricultural enterprises, the latter, 
 after fifteen years' operations by the company, 
 were decreasing in number, and the wide extent of 
 territory claimed by the Dutch government, was 
 "removed scarcely a degree from its primitive state 
 of wilderness, uninhabited, except by a few traders 
 and clerks in the employ of a distant corporation, 
 its rich and luxuriant soil almost wholly uncultivat- 
 ed and unreclaimed, for the number of farms as 
 yet amounted to not much more than half a dozen 
 around Fort Amsterdam, and the same number 
 around Fort Orange. It afforded evidence every- 
 where of mismanagement."* 
 
 The States General saw the error and, though 
 late, endeavored to apply the remedy. It was at 
 this critical juncture that William Kieft assumed 
 the duties of Director General of the Province, 
 arriving at Manhattan, March 28, 1638. The 
 monopoly of the West India Company was abolish- 
 ed in 1638, and the privilege of trade, as well as 
 the cultivation of the soil, was extended to all un- 
 der certain regulations and restrictions. Emigra- 
 tion was encouraged by liberal assistance rendered 
 those who chose to avail themselves of its benefits. 
 
 "History of New Neiherland /, 157, '77. 178. 
 
 These measures stimulated individual enterprise, 
 and increased the population. They attracted 
 " whole towns " from New England, who sought to 
 " escape from the unsupportable government " of 
 that province, and the religious persecutions -which 
 the intollerant majority inflicted on the minority. 
 
 But these advantages were not without their at- 
 tendant evils. They offered temptations to the 
 avaricious and unscrupulous fur traders, who insin- 
 uated themselves among the Indians in their re- 
 mote villages, to faciUtate the pursuit of their 
 vocation ; and provoked collisions between the 
 natives and the scattered Dutch planters, whose 
 unguarded cattle destroyed their unprotected corn- 
 fields. These encroachments, added to the harsh 
 and inconsiderate measures of Director Kieft, who 
 also, under instructions from certain of the Dutch 
 authorities, attempted to make the natives pay 
 tribute in corn, furs or wampum, for the pretend- 
 ed protection afforded them by the construction of 
 forts and maintainance of an armed force, soon 
 provoked the just resentment of the Indians, with 
 whom they had hitherto Uved on amicable terms, 
 and involved the colonists in a war with the 
 latter which continued, with some interruptions, 
 during the remainder of the Dutch occupancy, 
 and jeopardized the very existence of the colony. 
 
 These hostilities, which ravaged with merciless 
 hand the settlements about New Amsterdam and 
 in Ulster county, have only an indirect reference to 
 this county, which had not a single white settler 
 during the whole period of Dutch occupancy. 
 They involved, however, to some extent the native 
 tribes. In August, 1643, the Wappingers, with 
 whom the Dutch had had no dispute, were the 
 first to break the peace concluded April 22 of that 
 year, a peace suggested by the necessities of the 
 Indians, and gladly assented to by Director Kieft, 
 who was smarting under the humiliating reproaches 
 of his countrymen, whom his indiscretion and 
 cruelty had outraged. They attacked an open 
 boat, laden with four hundred beaver skins, en route 
 from Fort Orange to the Manhattans, and murdered 
 one of the crew. The booty thus acquired tempt- 
 ed others to make similar attacks on two other 
 boats, which were also overpowered; but in the 
 attempt to surprise a fourth the savages were re- 
 pulsed with a loss of six men. Nine white people 
 lost their lives in these encounters, and a woman 
 and two children were made captives. Numbers 
 of others were murdered about this time by Indians, 
 who came under the guise of friendship ostensibly 
 to warn the settlers of approaching danger. 
 
46 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 Neither the Mahicans nor Wappingers took any 
 general part in the Esopus wars though nine of 
 the latter aided the Esopus Indians in the second 
 Esopus war. Both tribes were, however, repre- 
 sented by their chiefs in the intercessions with the 
 Dutch, in behalf of the Esopus Indians, and 
 participated in the negotiations by which those 
 wars were terminated. It was also a Wappinger 
 Indian who guided Capt. Krygier's forces in the 
 expedition which "virtually annihilated" the Esopus 
 Indians in 1663, and it was through the friendly offi- 
 ces of a Wappinger chief that some of the captives 
 taken by the Indians in the attack on Wiltwyck, 
 June 7, 1663, were restored. At a treaty of peace 
 concluded with certain tribes of the River Indians 
 March 6, 1660, by Peter Stuyvesant, the last of 
 the Dutch governors of New Amsterdam, who suc- 
 ceeded Director Kieft in that office, March 1 1, 1647, 
 Goethals, a Wappinger chief, " requested that the 
 Esopus savages should be included in the treaty." 
 But a treaty of peace with the latter was not 
 concluded till July 15, 1660. Eskryas alias Apie 
 and Ampumst represented the Mahicans, and 
 Isseschahya and Wisachganio, the Wappingers. 
 
 June 7, 1663, the Esopus Indians^ who, by an 
 unusual manifestation of friendship, had gained 
 the confidence of the inhabitants of the village of 
 Wiltwyck, (now Kingston,) made a sudden attack 
 on that village while the male portion of its inhab- 
 itants were at work in the fields. Twelve houses 
 were burned, and, with the exception of a new 
 uncovered barn, not a building was left standing 
 in the " new village." The loss in both villages 
 (Kingston and Hurley) was twenty-four killed, 
 eight severely wounded, and seventy missing, forty- 
 five of the latter of whom, principally women and 
 children, were taken into captivity, though most 
 of them were recaptured or ransomed. 
 
 A month after the occurrence of this tragedy, 
 (July 7, 1663,) two Wappinger Indians arrived at 
 the beleaguered fort at Wiltwyck with a deer and 
 some fish. Being distrusted, they were detained. 
 The next day five others came to inquire after 
 their brethren. Being assured that no harm should 
 befall them if they were friendly, they retired. 
 The elder of the two told the commandant the 
 same day that a party of twenty-eight Esopus 
 Indians (eight men, nine women and eleven child- 
 ren,) were living "back of Magdalen Island on 
 the main land in the rear of a cripple bush on the 
 east^side of Fort Orange riv er."* On the evening 
 
 * Magdalen Island is opposite the town of Red Hook, between the 
 upper and lower landing— Tivoli and Barrytown ; hence this incident 
 transpired In Red Hook. 
 
 of the ninth Sergeant Christian Niessen and Peter 
 Wolfertsen (Van Couwenhoven) with twenty sol- 
 diers and twelve Indians, were sent under the 
 guidance of the elder Wappinger Indian to sur- 
 prise them. The guide "led them astray and 
 missed the houses," thus preventing a surprise; 
 but they returned on the twelfth, having killed five 
 men and a woman, including the Esopus captain, 
 ( Weldoverste,) whose hand they cut off and 
 brought with them. They routed the rest, and 
 plundered their huts, and brought back with them 
 a squaw and three children whom they captured, 
 and " nineteen blankets, nine kettles, a lot of 
 sewan and four muskets " as booty. 
 
 Efforts ensued to effect the release of the cap- 
 tives held by the Esopus Indians, and through the 
 friendly intercession of five Mohawk Indians were 
 partially successful. Tired with fruitless parle)dng 
 it was resolved to attempt their rescue by force. 
 After some delay occasioned by wet weather, and 
 the return without success of an expedition 
 designed for this purpose, Capt. Krygier set out on 
 the 3d of September with a force of one hundred 
 and twenty-five men, guided by the younger of the 
 Wappinger Indians detained on the 7th of July, 
 who was promised his liberty and a "cloth coat" 
 if he directed them "truly to the Esopus Indians." 
 Besides inflicting heavy losses on the Indians, 
 the expedition returned with twenty-three Christian 
 prisoners; and the following October their un- 
 finished fort, huts and crops were destroyed and 
 much booty secured. October seventh, after the 
 return of the latter expedition, a girl escaped from 
 her Indian captor, with whom she had cohabited, 
 and returned to the fort. November seventh 
 Peter Wolfertsen brought in two children whom 
 he received in exchange for a squaw and Indian 
 girl. He also brought two Wappingers, one a 
 chief, who engaged to return a Christian woman 
 who was detained by his tribe, having been bought 
 from an Esopus squaw, which he did on the thir- 
 teenth. On the fourteenth he was presented with 
 an "Esopus squaw and a little sucking infant," 
 " also with two pieces of cloth in token of friend- 
 ship." He requested that the Dutch " should live 
 with him in friendship, which should be preserved 
 by him." He gave in token thereof a bow and 
 arrow, and said, " I will not make war against the 
 Dutch but live in peace with them." He further 
 promised to obtain from the Esopus Indians the 
 remaining prisoners held by them. On the twenty- 
 eighth he returned with a quantity of venison, and 
 said that, but for the misfortune of having " burnt 
 
THE ENGLISH OBTAIN CONTROL OF NEW NETHERLAND. 
 
 47 
 
 his buttock," he should have secured the captives. 
 Six of them, he said, "were together at the river 
 side," and the seventh — "Albert Heyman's oldest 
 daughter — he "gave ten fathom of sewan to an- 
 other Indian to look up." He promised positively 
 to restore all the Christian prisoners in three days, 
 " provided it did not blow too hard from the north ; 
 otherwise, he could not come before the fourth 
 day.'' Having sold his venison he departed. He 
 returned December 3d with two captive children, 
 saying, that, owing to absence and detention, he 
 had been unable to fulfill his promise in respect 
 to the remaining five. But he promised to renew 
 his efforts, and all, " except three," were subse- 
 quently recovered . * 
 
 A treaty of peace was concluded with the In- 
 dians, including the remnant of the Esopus tribe, 
 May 16, 1664, in which Tseessaghgaw, a chief of 
 the Wappingers, participated in behalf of that 
 tribe. This was the last treaty concluded by 
 Stuyvesant with the Indians; and though he 
 was impelled to it by the necessities of the 
 Dutch colonists, who were sorely harassed on every 
 hand, and contrary to instructions of the company 
 whose interests he represented, it put an end 
 to Indian hostilities in this State until the Revo- 
 lution. 
 
 Events were culminating which were destined to 
 terminate the occupancy of New Netherland by 
 the Dutch, who were menaced and their territorial 
 rights violated almost continually from the time 
 they took possession ; first by the Connecticut col- 
 onists upon the north and east, and later by the 
 Swedes and Marylanders on the Delaware. O'Cal- 
 laghan's commentary on the administration of Di- 
 rector Stuyvesant is not less appUcable to the whole 
 period during which the Dutch struggled to main- 
 tain a colony in America. It was, he says, " one 
 of trouble and anxiety. Discontents and broils 
 were its sponsors ; clamors and disaffections its 
 pall-bearers ; whilst scarcely an hour of its exis- 
 tence was free from menace and danger from its 
 neighbors, whether savage or civilized. Lacking 
 those impulses which filled other colonies so rap- 
 idly, whatever advantages the Dutch province pos- 
 sessed from nature were seriously counterbalanced 
 by the vicious system under which it was colonized, 
 and the institutions under which it was governed, 
 which would convert settlers into serfs, and by con- 
 stant petty intermeddling, hamper their exertions 
 and paralyze their energies. In no department 
 
 * jmrnal of the Second Esopus War, Doc. Hist. IV., 49-9S. 
 History of New Netherlaitd, II., 477-4831- 
 
 were these tjaleful influences more palpable than in 
 the settlement of the country."* 
 
 On the, 12th of March, 1664, Charles II. of 
 England, conveyed by patent to his brother James, 
 Duke of York, all the country from the River St. 
 Croix to the Kenebec, in Maine, also Nantucket, 
 Martha's Vineyard, and Long Island, together with 
 all the land from the west side of the Connecticut 
 River to the east side of Delaware Bay. The 
 Duke sent an English squadron, under Admiral 
 Richard NicoUs, to secure the gift, and on the 8th 
 of September following. Governor Stuyvesant ca- 
 pitulated, and the territory till then held by the 
 Dutch, passed into the hands of the English, who 
 changed the name . of New Amsterdam to New 
 York. The victory was an easy one, for restricted 
 in their rights and liberties, and desirous of enjoy- 
 ing the privileges accorded to the neighboring 
 English colonists, the Dutch settlers refused to 
 contest the supremacy, and Stuyvesant unsupport- 
 ed was obliged, though reluctantly, to yield. The 
 country thus surreptitiously acquired remained 
 in possession of the English till the Revolution, 
 except that, for a short period, it was again in pos- 
 session of the Dutch, who, being at war with Eng- 
 land, sent a small squadron which arrived at Staten 
 Island, July 30, 1673, and to this. Captain Man- 
 ning, who in the absence of Governor Lovelace 
 had command at New York, surrendered most in- 
 gloriously with but little effort at resistance. By 
 the treaty of peace concluded between the Dutch 
 and English in 1674, New Netherland was restored 
 to the English. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Titles to the Soil — Extinguishment of the In- 
 dian Title — ^Land Patents — How Acquired 
 AND Rights Conferred-Duchess County Land 
 Patents — Rombout Patent — Early and Dis- 
 paraging Estimate of the Value of its Lands 
 — Copy OF Indian Deed Therefor— Schuyler's 
 Patent — Great jor Lower Nine Partners' 
 Patent — Poughkeepsie Patent — Rhinebeck 
 Patent — Beekman Patent — I^ittle or Upper 
 Nine Partners' Tract — Oblong Patent — 
 Disputed Boundary Line Between New York 
 AND Connecticut — The Oblong Granted to 
 English and American Patentees — Defective 
 Titles -Anti- Rent Difficulties. 
 
 THE Indian title to lands within Duchess 
 County was extinguished at different times 
 by various individuals to whom they were patented, 
 
 * History of New Neikerland, II., 539. 
 
48 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 or by whom they were subsequently acquired, and 
 it is a congratulatory fact that in this acquisition 
 no injustice was inflicted on the natives, who 
 received satisfactory remuneration for their fair 
 possessions. In this respect it presents a contrast 
 as marked as gratifying with the adjoining county 
 of Putnam, which formerly belonged to Duchess, 
 in which Philipsburgh, which was patented to Fred- 
 erick Philipse, April i, 1680, was the subject of a 
 long and bitter controversy, but out of which jus- 
 tice to the red man was never evolved. 
 
 During the Dutch regime, lands were sometimes 
 granted in the colony without the formalities of 
 Indian purchase. Not until 1650, we believe, were 
 any measures taken to regulate the purchase of 
 Indian lands. It had then become necessary, 
 owing to the disposition manifested by several in- 
 dividuals to acquire large tracts of wilderness, not 
 with a view to improvement, but for speculative 
 purposes. May 24, 1650, all persons were forbid- 
 den to buy land from the natives without the con- 
 sent of the Director and Council, on pain of for- 
 feiture. The titles derived from the Dutch Gov- 
 ernment were confirmed by the English when they 
 succeeded to the possession of the country in 1664. 
 The third article of the terms of capitulation stipu- 
 lated that "All people shall continue free denizens, 
 and shall enjoy their lands, houses, goods, where- 
 soever they are within this country, and dispose of 
 them as they please." The English Government 
 also adopted similar provisions with respect to the 
 acquisition of Indian lands. In January, 1665, a 
 law was passed, requiring the approval and signa- 
 ture of the Governor to all deeds of lands purchased 
 from the Indians, in order to render the titles 
 valid. This was necessary, as the Indians fre- 
 quently sold the same tract of land to different in- 
 dividuals. 
 
 " Purchases from the Indian natives, as of their 
 aboriginal right, have never been held to be a legal 
 title in this province," says Governor Tryon, in his 
 report to the Captain General and Governor-in- 
 Chief of the Province of New York, in 1774, "the 
 maxim obtaining here, as in England, that the 
 King is the fountain of all real property, and from 
 this source all titles are to be derived." 
 
 Patents for lands were generally issued by the 
 Colonial Government under the great seal of the 
 Province, pursuant to the powers conferred on the 
 Governors. "It was customary," says French, "to 
 apply to the Governor and Council for leave to 
 purchase. If granted, a treaty was held and an 
 Indian deed obtained, a warrant was issued to the 
 
 Surveyor General for a survey, and the map and 
 field notes were reported. The Attorney General 
 was then directed to prepare a draft of a patent, 
 which was submitted to the Governor and Council, 
 and, if approved, was engrossed upon parchment, 
 recorded, sealed and issued. The fees incident to 
 procuring a patent were important sources of rev- 
 enue to the officers concerned. Only one thous- 
 and acres could be granted to one person ; but this 
 rule was evaded by associating great numbers of 
 merely nominal parties ; and the officers through 
 whose hands the papers passed were often largely 
 interested in the grants. The Colonial Govern- 
 nient in this respect became exceedingly corrupt, 
 and stood greatly in need of a reform like that 
 wrought by the Revolution. * * * The grants 
 were 'in fee and common socage ' * * * and 
 included with the land all 'hoifees, messuages, ten- 
 ements, erections, and buildings, mills, mill-dams, 
 fences, inclosures, gardens, orchards, fields, pas- 
 tures, common of pastures, meadows, marshes, 
 swamps, plains, woods, underwoods, timber, trees, 
 rivers, rivulets, runs, streams, water, lakes, ponds, 
 pools, pits, brachen, quarries, mines, minerals, (gold 
 and silver [wholly or in part] excepted,) creeks, 
 harbors, highways, easements, fishing, hunting and 
 fowling, and all other franchises, profits, commodi- 
 ties, and appurtenances whatsoever.' This enumer- 
 ation of rights, more or less varied, was embraced 
 in all land patents. Colonial grants were usually 
 conditioned to the annual payment of a quitrent, 
 at a stated time and place named in the patent. 
 This payment was sometimes due in money, and 
 often in wheat or other commodity. Others were 
 conditioned to the payment of the skins of animals 
 or a merely nominal article, as simply an acknowl- 
 edgment of the superior rights of the grantors. 
 The quitrents formed an important source of rev- 
 enue, and, after the Revolution, became due to the 
 State. In 1786, it was provided that the lands 
 subject to these rents might be released upon pay- 
 ment of arrears, and fourteen shiUings to every 
 shilling of the annual dues. Large amounts of 
 land upon which arrears of quitrents had accumu- 
 lated were sold from time to time ; and laws con- 
 tinued to be passed at frequent intervals for the 
 regulation of these rents until 1824, when an act 
 was passed for the final sale of all lands which had 
 not been released by commutation or remitted by 
 law. Such lands as then remained unredeemed 
 were allowed to be released by payment of $2.50 
 to each shilling sterling due. The last sale took 
 place in March, 1826. The arrears for quitrents, 
 
THE ROMBOUT PATENT. 
 
 49 
 
 then amounting to $53,380, were in 1819 taken 
 from the general fund and given in equal portions 
 to the Literature and School Funds." * 
 
 Under these provisions all the lands in Duchess 
 County were taken up in large tracts, less than a 
 dozen in number, by individuals who undertook 
 " to settle, build up, and cultivate the new coun- 
 try," and let them, wholly or in part, for a term of 
 years, at a nominal rent, or merely for the payment 
 ol the taxes. 
 
 The first tract of land granted within the present 
 limits of Duchess County was the Rombout Patent, 
 which embraces the present towns of Fishkill, East 
 Fishkill. and Wappinger, the westerly part of La 
 Grange, and nine thousand acres within the south- 
 ern limits of the town of Poughkeepsie. For this 
 immense tract, covering eighty-five thousand acres, 
 the patentees were required to pay to the Gover- 
 nor, "six bushels of good and merchantable winter 
 wheat every year ; but; if tradition speaks truly, 
 even that might then have been regarded as ample 
 compensation ; for it is said that some of the 
 Dutch burghers from Ulster came over to see the 
 country, but returned and reported that the land 
 was not worth crossing the river for.f 
 
 February 8, 1682, Governor Thomas Dongan 
 gave Francis Rombout and Gulian Ver Planck a 
 Ucense to purchase the above named tract of the 
 Wappinger Indians. The purchase was consum- 
 mated and the native title extinguished August 8, 
 1683, and a patent issued therefor October 17, 
 1685 ; but prior to the latter date Ver Planck died ; 
 hence Stephanus VanCourtlandt became associated 
 with Rombout, and Jacobus Kipp became the rep- 
 resentative of Ver Planck's children. The follow- 
 ing copy of the Indian deed for this tract, which 
 Ruttenber says is the only "perfect transfer title on 
 record," of the possessions of the Wappingers, is 
 recorded on page 72, vol. 5, Book of Patents. It 
 is an interesting document, and no apology is 
 needed for its introduction here. We cheerfully 
 acknowledge our indebtedness for it to the Histor- 
 ical Sketch of the Town of Fishkill, by Mr. T. Van 
 Wyck Brinkerhotr, of East Fishkill, published in 
 the Directory of that town for 1866 : — 
 
 "To ALL CHRISTIAN PEOPLE to whom this 
 Present Writeing shall Come, Sackoraghkigh 
 for hiraselfe, and in the name of Megriesken, 
 Sachem of theWappinger Indians, Queghsjehapaein, 
 Niessjawejahos, Queghout, Asotews, Wappegereck, 
 Nathindaeniw, Wappappee, Ketaghkainis, Meak- 
 haghoghkan, Mierham, Peapightapeieuw, Queghi- 
 
 * Gazetteer of New York, 46, note. See also New A merican Cyclo- 
 pedia, I., 668, under head o{ ArUi-Xent, 
 t Poughkeepsie Weekly Eagle, July 8, 1876. 
 
 taeuw, Minesawogh, Katariogh, Kightapiuhogh, 
 Rearowogh, Meggrek, Sejay, Wienangeck, Maene- 
 manew, and Ginghstyerem, true and Lawful Own- 
 ers and Indian proprietors of the Land herein 
 menchoned, send Greeting, KNOW YEE — that for 
 and in Consideracon of a Certain Sume or Quantity 
 of Money, Wampum, and diverse other Goods in 
 a Schedull hereunto Annexed Perticularly Men- 
 coned and Expered to them the said Indians, in 
 Hand Payed by Mr. ffrancis Rumbouts and Gulyne 
 Ver Planke, both of the Citty of New York, Mer- 
 chants, the Receipt whereof they, the said Indians, 
 Doe hereby Acknowledge, and therewith ownes 
 themselves to be fully payed, Contented and Sat- 
 tisfied, and thereof of every Parte and Parcell, Doe 
 hereby Acquitt, Exonerate and Discharge them, the 
 said ffrancis Rumbouts and Gulyne V. Planke, 
 their Heires and Assignes, have Given, Granted, 
 Bargained, Sold, Aliened, Enfoeffed, and Con- 
 firmed, and by these Presents Doe fully Cleerly 
 and Absolutely Give, Grant, Baigaine, Sell and 
 Alien, Enfeoffe, and Confirme unto the said Fran- 
 cis Rumbout and Gulyne Ver Planke, All that 
 Tract or Parcell of Land Scituate, Lyeing and be- 
 ing on the East side of Hudson's River, at the 
 north side of the High Lands, Beginning from the 
 South side of A Creek Called the fresh Kill, and 
 by the Indians Matteawan, and from thence North- 
 ward along said Hudson's River five hund"* Rodd 
 bejond the Great Wappins Kill, called by the In- 
 dians Mawenawasigh, being the Northerly Bounds, 
 and from thence into the Woods fouer Houers goe- 
 ing,* alwayes Keeping five hund^ Rodd Distant 
 from North side of said Wapinges Creeke, however 
 it Runns, as alsoe from the said fresh Kill or Creeke 
 called Matteawan, along the said fresh Creeke into 
 the Woods att the foot of the said High Hills, in- 
 cluding all the Reed or Low Lands at the South 
 side of said Creeke, with an Easterly Line, fouer 
 Houers going into the Woods, and from thence 
 Northerly to the end of the fouer Houers Goeing or 
 Line.Drawne att the North Side of the five hund^ 
 Rodd Bejoyond the Create Wappinger Creek or 
 Kill called Mawenawasigh, together with all the 
 Lands, Soyles, Meadows, both fresh and Salt, Pas- 
 tures, Commons, Wood Land, Marshes, Rivers, 
 Rivoletts, Streames, Creekes, Waters, Lakes, and 
 whatsoever else to the said Tract or Parcell of 
 Land within the Bounds and Limitts aforesaid is 
 Belonging, or any wise Appurteining, without any 
 Reservacon of Herbage, Trees or any other thing 
 Growing or Being thereupon, To have and to hold 
 said Tract or Parcell of Land, Meadow, Ground, 
 and Primisses, with their and every of their Appur- 
 tennces, and all the Estate, Right, Title, Interest, 
 Clayme and Demand of them the said Indian Pro- 
 prietors and each and every of them, of, in, and to, 
 the same, and Every Parte thereof, unto them the 
 
 * In a tripartite indenture between Catharyna Brett, '^of Fishkill," 
 "daughter and sole heir of Francis Rombout, late of the city of New 
 York, deceased," of the first part, George Clarke, Sec'y of the Province 
 of New York, of the second part, and Cornelius Van Wyck, of Hemp- 
 stead, Queens county, yeoman, of the third part, dated April 10, 1735, 
 and recorded in the Clerk's office in Duchess county, these distances are 
 said to he equivalent to sixteen English miles. 
 
so 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 said ffrancis Rumbout and Gulyne Ver Planke, 
 their Heires and Assignes, to the Sole and only 
 Proper use, Benefitt and Behoofe of them, the said 
 ffrancis Rumbout and Gulyne Ver Planke, their 
 Heires and Assignes for Ever, And they the said 
 Indians Doe for themselves and their Heires and 
 every of them Covenant, Promise and Engage that 
 the said ffrancis Rumbout and Gulyne Ver Planke, 
 their Heires and Assignes, shall and may from 
 henceforth for ever Lawfully, Peaceably, and 
 Quettly have, hold, Possesse, and Enjoye the said 
 Tract or Parcell of Land, and all and Singuler 
 other the Primisses, with their Appertences without 
 any Lett, Hindrance, or Interrupcon whatsoever of 
 or by them, the said Indians^ Proprieters or their 
 Heires, or of any other Person or Persons whatso- 
 ever clayming or that hereafter shall or may Clayme 
 by, from, or under them, or Either of them. And 
 that they shall and will, upon reasonable Re- 
 quest and Demand made by the said Francis 
 Rumbouts and Gulyne Ver Planke, Give and De- 
 liver Peaceably and Quiettly Possession of the said 
 Tract or Parcell of Land and Primisses, or of some 
 Parte thereof, for and in the Name of the whole, 
 unto such Person or Persons as by the said ffrancis 
 Rumbout and Gulyne Ver Planke, shall be Appoint- 
 ed to Receive the same. In witness whereof, the said 
 Sackoraghkigh, for himselfe and in the Name of 
 Megriskar, Sachem of Wappinger Indians, Quegh- 
 sjehapeieuw, Niessjawejhos, Queghout, Asotewes, 
 Wappegereck, Nathindaew, Wappape, Ketagh- 
 kanns, Meakaghoghkan, Mierhara, Peapithapaeuw 
 Queghhitaeuw, Memesawogh, Katariogh, Kighta- 
 pinkog, Rearawogh, Meggiech, Sejay, Wienangeck. 
 Maenemaeuw, Guighstierm, the Indian Owners 
 and Proprietors afores'^, have hereunto sett their 
 Hands and Seales in N. Yorke, the Eighth Day of 
 August, in the 3Sth Yeare of his Mat'^ Reigne, 
 Anno DoTO, 1683. 
 
 "Themarkeof \ SAKORAGHUCK, [l.s.J 
 "The marke of X QUEGHSJEHAPAEIN, [l. s.] 
 
 " Signed Sealed and Delivered 
 in the psen of us 
 
 "Antho. BrockhoUs, 
 
 " P. V. Courtlandt, 
 
 " John West. 
 "The marke of CLAES the Indian X Inter. 
 
 [VERITE.1 
 
 "The marke of a MERHAM, [l. s.] 
 " The marke of & PEAPIGHTAPAEW, [l. s 1 
 "The marke of 7 QUEGHHITAEMW, [l. sf 
 " The marke of 8 MEINESAWOGH, [l. s ] 
 " The marke of O KOTARIOGH, [l. s.] 
 " The marke of 3 KIGHTAPINKOJH, [l. s 1 
 " The marke of-< REAROWOGH, [l. s.] 
 " The marke of 9 MEGGENKSEJAY, [l s 1 
 "The marke ofu WIENARGECK, [l. s.] 
 " The marke of O M AENEMANEW, [l s 1 
 "Themarkeof 2 GUIGHSTJEREM, [l. si 
 "The marke of (- KETAGHKANNES, Vl s.I 
 " The marke of V MEAKHAJH, [l. s 1 
 'i,The marke of O OGHKAN, [l. s.] 
 " The marke of X NIESSJAWETAHOS, Tl s 1 
 "The marke of X QUEJHOUT, [l. s.] 
 
 The marke of X SJOTEWES, [l. s.] 
 The marke of X WAPPEGERECK, [l. s.J 
 The marke of X NATHINDAEUW, [l. s.] 
 "The marke of X WAPPAPE, [l. s.] 
 
 " A ScheduU or Perticuler of Money, Wampum 
 and other goods Paid by ffrancis Rumbout and 
 Gulyne Ver Planke for the purchase of the Land 
 in the Deed hereunto annexed. 
 
 " One hund"! Royalls, One hund'^ Pound Pow- 
 der, Two hund"^ fathom of White Wampum, one 
 hundd Barrs of Lead, One hundred fathom of 
 black Wampum, thirty tobacco boxes ten hoU a 
 dges, thirty Gunns, twenty Blankets, forty fathom 
 of DuffiUs, twenty fathom of stroudwater Cloth, 
 thirty Kittles, forty Hatchets, forty Homes, forty 
 Shirts, forty p stockins, twelve coates of R. B. & b. 
 C, ten Drawing Knives, forty earthen Juggs, forty 
 Bottles, forty Knives, fouer ankers rum, ten halfe, 
 fatts Beere, two hunda tobacco Pipes, &c., Eighty 
 Pound Tobacco. 
 
 " New York? August the 8th, 1683. 
 " The above Perticulers were Delvered to the 
 Indians in the Bill of Sale Menconed in the psence 
 of us 
 
 "Antho: Brockhalls, 
 " P. V. Courtlandt, 
 "John West. 
 "I do hereby certify the aforegoing to be a true 
 copy of the Original Record, compared therewith 
 by me. 
 
 " Lewis A. Scott, Secretary." 
 
 Schuyler's Patent, granted by Governor Thomas 
 Dongan to Col. Peter Schuyler, June 2, i688, 
 consisted of two tracts; "one near Maghdalen's 
 Island," embraced in the present town of Red 
 Hook ; the other, apparently, corresponding with 
 that portion of the Rombout Patent lying north of 
 Wappinger's Creek, in the present town of Pough- 
 keepsie,* and thus described on page 278, Bool^A 
 of Deeds in the clerk's office in Poughkeepsie : — 
 
 " Scituate, Lying and being on ye East side of 
 Hudson's River in Dutches county at A Certaine 
 Place Caled ye Long Reach Slenting Over Against 
 Juffrow's Hook f At a Place Called the Rust Plaest.t 
 Runs from Thence East Ward into the wood to A 
 Creek Caled by The Indians Pietawickquasick 
 Knowne by the Christians for Jan Casperses Creek 
 
 * See Sauthier's Map, 1779. 
 
 t "Jeffrows " or "Jeflroos Hook " is on the west bank of the Hudson, 
 opposite the south part of the city of Poughkeepsie. 
 
 t ' ' Rust Plates Kill " empties into the Hudson on the east side, nearly 
 opposite Jeffrows Hook. April 3, 1741, Johannis Van Kleeck, aged te 
 years, and Myndert Van Den Bogart, aged about 60, both of Poughkeep- 
 sie Precinct, being duly sworn declared "that the Rust place (which 
 Bounds Mr. Henry Van Den Burgh & Compy. on the north, and Myn- 
 dert Harmse & Company on the south, according To a Deed Given them 
 by Coll. Peter Schuyler, which lays and is on ye East Side of Hudson's 
 River Slanting over against Juffrows Hook and Lays in Poghkeepsie 
 Precinct,) • * • is the only rust place and which was m^ant in said 
 Schuyler's Deed and that there is no other in said pattent." Both Van 
 Kleeck and Van Den Bogart said they had known the " Rust place " to 
 be called by that name for fifty years before.— Book A, Deeds, Clerk's 
 Office, Poughkeepsie. 
 
NINE PARTNERS, POUGHKEEPSIE, RHINEBECK AND BEEKMAN PATENTS. 51 
 
 Northwarde to a Water fall where the Saw Mill 
 belonging to Myndert Harmense * * * Stands 
 Upon and so Southwarde Alongst Hudsons River 
 Aforesaid to said Rust Plaest." 
 
 The latter tract was conveyed by Schuyler to 
 Robert Saunders and Myndert Harmense August 
 30, 1699; but both tracts were for many years in 
 possession of Henry Beekman, probably as a lease- 
 holder, as appears from the following document : — 
 
 "Received of Henry Beekman fifty Two Bush- 
 ells of wheat which added to the former payments 
 makes the amount of three hundred and seventy 
 Bushells of wheat being the arrears of thirty two 
 years Due to his Majastie to the year one thousand 
 seven hundred Twenty five for Quit rent of a 
 Patent Granted 1688 June ye 2d to Coll. Peter 
 Schuyler Laying in Dutchess County Consisting of 
 Two Tracts of Lands the one near Maghdalens 
 Island and the other at the Long reatch on the 
 South Side of A Place Called Poghkeepsie which 
 quantity of three hundred and seventy Bushels of 
 wheat I aknowledge to have Red. in full for the 
 above said Patent. 
 
 "Witness my hand this 4th of Octr 1727. 
 "Archd. Kennedy 
 
 " Recr. Genii. 
 "New York Octobr nth 1727. 
 
 "Archibald Kenedy Esqr. Receiver Generall of 
 the province of New York having appeared before 
 me Lewis Morris Junr. Esqr. one of his Majesties 
 Councill of the Province of New York and ac- 
 knowledged the within Receipt to be his act and 
 Deed and I haveing Examined the same allow it 
 may be Recorded. Lewis Morris Junr.* 
 
 The Nine Partners' Patent (Great or Lower) was 
 granted by Gov. Benjamin Fletcher, May_27, 1697, 
 to Col. Caleb Heathcote, Major Augustus (or Au- 
 gustin) Graham, James Emott, Lieut.-Col. Henry 
 Filkins, David Jamison, Hendryck Ten Eyck, John 
 Aaretson, WiUiam Creed and Jarvis Marshall, nine 
 men of wealth and influence. It embraced the 
 present towns of Clinton, Pleasant Valley, Stan- 
 ford and Washington, except a small strip along 
 the north border of CUnton and Stanford, that por- 
 tion of Hyde Park south and east of Crum Elbow 
 Creek, and Amenia and the southern part of North 
 East, except the Oblong, which was afterwards de- 
 fined. Its boundaries are thus defined in deeds 
 derived from it : — 
 
 "A Tract of Vacant Land Situate, Lying and 
 Being on Hudson's River in Dutchess County. 
 Bounded on the west by the said Hudson River 
 Between the Creek called Fish Creek [Crum 
 Elbow ?] at the marked Trees of pauUng (Includ- 
 ing the said Creeke) and the Land of Myndert 
 Harmensen & Company then Bounded southerly 
 by the Land of said Myndert Harmense and com- 
 pany as far as their bounds goes then westerly by 
 
 * Book A, Deeds, Clerk's Office, Poughkeepsie. 
 
 the Land of the said Harmense and untill a south- 
 erly Hne runs so far south untUl it comes to the 
 south side of a certain Meadow wherein there is a 
 White Oak Tree markt with the Letters H. T. then 
 southerly by an east and west Line to the Division 
 Line between the province of New York and the 
 colony of Connecticut and so Easterly to the said 
 Division Line and Northerly by the aforesaid Fish 
 Creeke as far as it goes and from the head of said 
 Creeke by a parallel line to the south Bounds east 
 and west Reaching the aforesaid Division Line." 
 
 The tract was divided into thirty-six principal 
 lots and nine " water lots," the latter fronting upon 
 the Hudson. The lots varied in size according to 
 the quality of the land, but were nearly equal. 
 
 The Poughkeepsie Patent, embracing the major 
 portion of the town of Poughkeepsie, was granted 
 to Henry Ten Eyck and eight others, by Governor 
 Benjamin Fletcher, May 7, 1697. 
 
 The Rhinebeck Patent, embraced within the 
 Umits of the towns of Rhinebeck and Red Hook, 
 was granted to Henry Beekman, June 8, 1703. 
 
 The Beekman Patent, which comprised the towns 
 of Beekman and Unionvale, the easterly portion 
 of LaGrange, and Dover and Pawling, except the 
 Oblong, was granted to Henry Beekman, June 25, 
 1703. 
 
 The Little or Upper Nine Partner^ Patent was 
 granted April 10, 1706, to Samson Broughton, Rip 
 Van Dam, Thomas Wenham, Roger Mompesson, 
 Peter Fauconier, Augustin Graham, Richard 
 Sackett and Robert Lurting, and comprised the 
 towns of Milan and Pine Plains, the north half of 
 North East, and the small portions of Clinton and 
 Stanford not covered by the Great Nine Partners' 
 Patent. It was bounded as follows : — 
 
 " Beginning at the North Bounds of the Lands 
 And then lately purchased by said Richard Sackett 
 in Dutchess county, and runs thence South Easterly 
 by his north bounds to Wimposing thence by the 
 mountains southerly to the south east corner of 
 the said Sackett's Land and thence Easterly to the 
 Colony Line of Connecticut and thence Northerly 
 by the said colony Line and Wiantenuck River to 
 the south bounds of lands purchased by John 
 Spragg &c. at Owissetanuck thence westerly by 
 the said purchase as it runs to the south-west cor- 
 ner thereof thence to the Manner of Livingston 
 and by the south bounds thereof unto the lands 
 purchased and patented to Coll. Peter Schuyler 
 over against Magdelons Island and so by the said 
 purchase and patent To the patent of Coll. Beek- 
 man for Land Lying over against Clyne Esopus Fly 
 and thence by the said Land to the said south east 
 corner and thence to the place where it begun." 
 
 This tract was confirmed by Queen Anne to the 
 above named patentees September 25, 1708; and 
 in 1734, the Colonial Assembly-passed a law author- 
 
52 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 izing its partition. A deed for three hundred acres 
 of this tract, given October 20, 1740, by Richard 
 Sackett, Richard Sackett, Jr., and John Sackett to 
 Johann Tise Smith, recites that "some native 
 Indians of said county [Duchess] and there re- 
 siding lay claim to some part of the above demised 
 and granted premises." This has reference doubt- 
 less to the Shekomeko Indians. 
 
 The Oblong Patent covers a tract of land, named 
 from its figure, and extends in a narrow strip along 
 the east borders of Duchess, Putnam and Westches- 
 ter counties. It contains 61,440 acres, and was 
 ceded to the State of New York as an equivalent 
 for lands on the sound, eight by twelve miles in 
 extent, surrendered by that State to Connecticut. 
 It was originally called the " Equivalent land," and 
 is so referred to in colonial documents. 
 
 The boundary line between New York and Con- 
 necticut has been in dispute from an early period 
 in the Dutch Colonial history. An effort to adjust 
 this difficulty was made at Hartford, Sept. 19, 1650, 
 by Commissioners representing the United English 
 Colonies and New Netherland. It was then agreed 
 that " the bounds upon the main " should " begin 
 at the west side of Greenwich Bay, being about 
 four miles from Stamford, and so to run a northerly 
 line twenty miles up into the country, and after as 
 it shall be agreed by the two governments, * * * 
 provided that the said line come not within ten 
 miles of Hudson River." The Dutch were pro- 
 hibited from building thereafter " any house or 
 habitation within six miles of the said Une." The 
 inhabitants of Greenwich were to remain under 
 the government of the Dutch till further considera- 
 tion was had ; and the Dutch were to " hold and 
 enjoy all the lands in Hartford that they [were] 
 actually possessed of; " while the remainder of 
 the lands on both sides of the Connecticut were 
 to remain in possession of the English. 
 
 But that agreement was by no means preserved 
 inviolate. The encroachments of the Connecticut 
 colonists proved one of the most serious problems 
 that vexed the Dutch colonial administration. 
 When the EngUsh superseded the Dutch in 1664, 
 they had extended their settlements on the sea 
 coast to within ten miles of the Hudson ; and as 
 they desired to retain their connection with the 
 Connecticut government, with which their sympa- 
 thies and associations brought them into close 
 affiUation, an effort was made in that year to adjust 
 the boundary in harmony with those wishes, and 
 with due regard to the claims of the Duke of York. 
 Commissioners were appointed by Charles II., of 
 
 England, who determined on a line parallel with 
 the Hudson and twenty miles distant from it on 
 the east, " reserving, however, to Connecticut, the 
 settlements actually made, though within less than 
 ten miles from Hudson's River, for which they were 
 to allow an equivalent in the inland parts, where 
 they had no settlements. By this equivalent the 
 distance between Hudson's River and the colony 
 of Connecticut in the upper parts is about twenty- 
 two miles." 
 
 The line thus agreed upon " being considered as 
 fraudulent, or erroneous," and having given rise to 
 a dispute respecting the right of government over 
 the towns of Rye and Bedford, in Westchester 
 county, another agreement was concluded Novem- 
 ber 28, 1683, between Colonel Thomas Dongan, 
 Governor of New York, in behalf of the Duke of 
 York, on the one side, and Governor Robert Treat, 
 Major Nathaniel Gold, Captain John Allyn and 
 WilUam Pitkin, of Connecticut, on the other. The 
 line then determined on commences at "Lyons 
 Point," on the east bank and at the mouth of By- 
 ram River, and proceeds thence " one mile and a 
 half and twenty rods," " as the said river runneth 
 to the place where the common road or wading 
 place over the said river is ;" thence " north north- 
 west into the country" six and a half miles, "to a 
 point eight miles distant from Lyons Point;" 
 thence eastward twelve miles in the general direc- 
 tion of the Sound and eight miles distant from it ; 
 thence twelve miles north north-west ; and thence 
 " parallel to Hudson's River in every point, twenty 
 miles distant from the river, so far as the Con- 
 necticut colony doth extend northwards." It was 
 provided that, if these bounds encroached upon 
 lands within twenty miles of the Hudson, a strip 
 should be taken from Connecticut, east of and ex- 
 tending the whole length of the line running par- 
 allel with the river, of such width as would make 
 an equivalent compensation therefor. The towns 
 of Rye and Bedford were adjudged by the latter 
 commission to be subject to the New York govern- 
 ment. By a survey made in 1684, it was deter- 
 mined that the line running parallel with the Sound 
 would, if prolonged "one mile and sixty-four rods," 
 reach a point "twenty miles distant from the Hud- 
 son, and that the oblong of eight by twelve miles 
 diminished " sixty- one thousand four hundred 
 and forty acres from the twenty miles from Hud- 
 son's River ;'' therefore a strip " three hundred and 
 five rods" in width was annexed on the line run- 
 ning parallel with the Hudson, which was deemed 
 to extend one hundred miles from the terminus of 
 
DISPUTE OVER THE NEW YORK AND CONNECTICUT BOUNDARY LINE. 53 
 
 the eight mile line.* This agreement was respected 
 till the beginning of the year 1697, when, as ap- 
 pears by a letter from Governor Fletcher, dated 
 June 22, 1697, the towns of Rye and Bedford "re- 
 volted from New York to Connecticut," "to avoid 
 the payment of some arrears of taxes ;" and Con- 
 necticut having " owned them as members of that 
 colony," the execution of a writ for the election of 
 a Representative to the General Assembly of New 
 York, was " disturbed at Rye in a hostile man- 
 ner." It became necessary therefore to apply to 
 the EngUsh Crown for a confirmation of the agree- 
 ment, which was given March 28, 1700. 
 
 "Nineteen years afterwards," says Smith, "a 
 probationary act was passed, empowering the Gov- 
 ernor to appoint commissioners, as well to run the 
 line parallel to Hudson's River, as to re-survey 
 the other lines and distinguish the boundary. The 
 Connecticut agent opposed the King's confirma- 
 tion of this act, toHs viribus ; but it was approved 
 on the 23d of January, 1723. Two years after, 
 the commissioners and surveyors of both colonies 
 met at Greenwich, and entered first into an agree- 
 ment relating to the method of performing the 
 work. The survey was immediately after executed 
 in part, the report being dated on the 12th of May, 
 1725 ; but the complete settlement was not made 
 till the 14th of May, 1731, when indentures, certi- 
 fying the execution of the agreement in 1725, were 
 mutually signed by the commissioners and survey- 
 ors of both colonies. At this time the tract' known 
 as the Oblong was ceded to New York as an equiva- 
 leiit for the lands near the Sound, the peaceable 
 possession of which Connecticut had enjoyed during 
 all the intervening years." 
 
 "The manner of setting off this strip," says a 
 writer in the Poughkeepsie Eagle, of recent date, 
 "was the main cause of later disputes, as instead of 
 running a new line where the boundary was to be, 
 and marking it with suitable monuments, the sur- 
 veyors ran the old line on the west side of the 
 'Oblong' to be set off, and every two miles made 
 offsets toward the east, of such distance as to make 
 the oblong contain the required number of acres. 
 In making these offsets, measuring as they had to 
 through an unbroken wilderness, through swamps 
 and over mountains, hardly two of the lines were 
 of equal length, and as a result the line, instead 
 of being straight as was intended, bowed into 
 Connecticut. * * * At the time this line was 
 determined on it made very little difference whether 
 it bowed into Connecticut or New York, as the 
 territory was entirely wild and unsettled, and 
 is so largely even to the present day, but as settle- 
 ments increased and the stone heaps that had been 
 
 * The width of the oblong is 580 rods. Frenches State Gazetteer^ 
 Z69, note. 
 
 piled up for monuments and the trees which had 
 been marked began to disappear, disputes again 
 arose which no one had authority to settle ; so in 
 185 s, another effort was made to obtain a final 
 settlement of the vexed question ; and Hon. Ben. 
 Field, Samuel D. Backus and Jonathan Tarbell 
 were appointed Commissioners on the part of this 
 State, and Hon. Wm. H. Holly and Jason Whiting 
 on the part of Connecticut for that purpose. These 
 Commissioners made a survey from the Sound 
 north to the point where the ceded territory to 
 New York began, from which point the Connecti- 
 cut Commissioners insisted a straight line should 
 be run to the Massachusetts line, while the New 
 York Commissioners insisted it should run through 
 the old monuments as far as they could be ascer- 
 tained. Various efforts were made at compromise, 
 but nothing was effected, and the commission was 
 finally dissolved. In 1859 another effort was made, 
 and new Commissioners appointed by both sides, 
 consisting of Isaac Piatt, Jacob Vroman and Lean- 
 der D. Brown, on the part of New York, and Oliver 
 A. Perry, Joseph R. Hawley and Phihp D. Bebee, 
 on the part of Connecticut. This commission in 
 1859 held many meetings and made sufficient 
 examination of the line to convince them that the 
 old monuments could be found in almost every in- 
 stance, but the Connecticut Commissioners still in- 
 sisted on the straight Une, with slight modification, 
 while the New York Commissioners insisted on the 
 old line as far as practicable. One of the principal 
 bones of contention was the village of Amenia 
 Union in this county, the Main street of which had 
 been considered the boundary line from time 
 immemorial, and which village the straight line 
 would have put entirely in Connecticut. At one 
 time the Connecticut Commissioners conceded so 
 much as to agree to still call this street the line, 
 and run from the north end of it straight to the 
 Massachusetts line, and from the south straight to 
 the southern end of the oblong, but that was not 
 accepted by New York.'' 
 
 "Finding all efforts at agreement futile, the 
 Legislature in i860 passed a law directing the New 
 York Commissioners, if, after further suitable 
 efforts, no agreement should be reached, to proceed 
 alone to survey and mark the line, and this was 
 done during the summer and fall of i860, the line 
 running through the old monuments so far as they 
 could be ascertained, its position being marked at 
 road crossings and angles with suitable monuments 
 of marble or granite. Their work was approved 
 by the Legislature of this State, and generally 
 
54 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 acceded to by the people of Connecticut ; still it 
 was not formally adopted by that State, and was 
 not considered a legal line, although it was so de- 
 cided by several suits in this State." 
 
 "Thus matters rested for twenty years, until last 
 year, when another commission consisting of Allen 
 C. Beach, Secretary of the State ; Augustus 
 Schoonmaker, Attorney General, and Horatio Sey- 
 mour, Jr., State Engineer, on the part of New 
 York, and Origen S. Seymour, Lafayette S. Foster 
 and William T. Minor, on the part of Connecticut, 
 were appointed to finally settle the subject, if pos- 
 sible. This Commission * * * agreed in 
 favor of the line as surveyed and established in 
 i860, and their action has been ratified by this 
 State and we believe also by Connecticut." 
 
 May 15, 1731, a patent designed to convey the 
 whole of the Oblong Tract, was granted in London 
 to Sir Joseph Eyles, Jonathan Perrie, John Drum- 
 mond and Thomas Watts. June 8, 1731, a patent 
 for the greater part of the same tract was granted 
 by the Colonial government to Thomas Hawley 
 and others. The EngUsh patentees brought a bill 
 in chancery to repeal the latter ; but the defend- 
 ants filed an answer containing so many objec- 
 tions against the EngHsh patent that the suit 
 was for some time unprosecuted. The American 
 patentees maintained possession, though the con- 
 troversy was only terminated by the war of the 
 Revolution. 
 
 May 31, 1733, in conformity with the petition of 
 the English patentees, the Oblong was annexed to 
 the contiguous counties in this State. December 
 17, 1743, South, Beekmans, Crom Elbow and 
 North Precincts were extended across the tract 
 to the Connecticut Une; and March 9, 1774, the 
 patent was divided into lower, middle and upper 
 districts, to faciUtate the collection of quitrents. 
 
 Many of the old patents to lands were very 
 defective, and led to much controversy and litiga- 
 tion. The Poughkeepsie patent, under which all 
 the owners here held their titles proved to be 
 fraudulent and the occupants finally kept their 
 farms solely by right of occupation. Some 
 of the others were very absurd and had to be 
 modified to prevent insurrection.* The want 
 of knowledge of the geography of the country led 
 to indefinite boundaries and ambiguous descrip- 
 tions thereof J it also favored the fraudulent prac- 
 tices of those who were sufficiently unscrupulous 
 to take advantage of it. A communication from 
 Hon. Cadwallader Colden, under date of June 9, 
 
 •Poughkeepsie Weekly Eagle, July 8, 1876, Col. Hist. IV., 391, 396. 
 
 1736, to Hon. George Clarke, President of the 
 Council of New York, who was " deeply interested 
 in large tracts of land," sufficiently indicates these 
 facts, and deprecates the practice of granting 
 patents in England, as tending to that confusion 
 which we have seen was occasioned by the con- 
 flicting patents for the Oblong. It says : — 
 
 " It is very difficult for the King's officers, who 
 live in the Province, to guard against frauds in 
 petitioning for lands described by natural limits, 
 such as brooks, hills, springs, &c., though actual 
 surveys be made previous to the grant, because the 
 names of such places being in the Indian tongue 
 are known to few Christians, so that the proprietors 
 afterwards are sometimes tempted to put those 
 names upon other places that they think more con- 
 venient for them, and it is impossible for the su- 
 perior officers to guard against the unfaithfulness 
 of those that they are under a necessity of em- 
 ploying in surveying landfe especially in remote 
 parts of the country. Now Sir, if it be so diffi- 
 cult for the officers who live on the spot to pre- 
 vent abuses, how much greater must it be at such 
 a distance as England is from us, where the situ- 
 ation of the parts of this Province is not in any 
 manner known, and how great will the temptations 
 be to attempt frauds. Indeed the common method 
 of obtaining grants of land in this country is at so 
 easy a rate that I can not think that any man in 
 this country would endeavor to obtain a grant in 
 England upon the usual quitrents unless he had 
 something private in view which he thought could 
 not be kept secret in this country. This method 
 of granting land in England if encouraged must of 
 course be of great prejudice to the settUng of the 
 country and the improving of the uncultivated 
 lands."* 
 
 During the latter half of the eighteenth century 
 a very large portion of the settled parts of this 
 State was held by patroons enjoying manorial 
 privileges, and the cultivators occupied these farms 
 on leases for one or more lives, or from year to 
 year, stipulating for the payment of rents, dues 
 and services, copied from the feudal tenures of 
 England and Holland. Almost every incident of 
 the tenures in socage and villenage were imposed 
 by contract upon the manorial tenants. Purvey- 
 ances, fines for alienation, and other similar con- 
 ditions, burdened most of the farmers. 
 
 Although Duchess county as at present bounded, 
 was not burdened with manorial patents, like the 
 adjoining county of Columbia, the counties of 
 Greene and Ulster on the opposite side of the 
 river, and other counties in the State, it was not 
 entirely free from the evils of the feudal system 
 which was transferred from Holland and England 
 and engrafted upon the soil of this State, nor 
 
 * Col. Hist. VI., 68. 
 
THE FIRST SETTLER IN DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 55 
 
 from the violence which they engendered, though 
 the violence here was quite insignificant compared 
 with that which distressed other counties, in which 
 armed associations of anti-renters opposed the 
 legal authorities, provoked bloodshed, and finally 
 developed a poUtical party, through whose agency 
 the wrongs of the oppressed tenants were re- 
 dressed. 
 
 From an article in the Poughkeepsie Weekly 
 Eagle of July 8, 1876, we quote what is said in 
 respect to the disquieting influences of this move- 
 ment in this county : — 
 
 "The anti-rent war begun in Columbia county 
 in 1766,* in the refusal of settlers to pay rents 
 claimed by the original proprietors, and soon 
 spread into Duchess. William Pendergast, of Do- 
 ver or Pawling, was the leader of the dissatisfied 
 settlers in this county, and he gathered a band 
 under him who threatened to resist the payment by 
 force of arms. There was a small detachment of 
 British regular troops stationed at Poughkeepsie 
 and to enforce his authority the sheriff was com- 
 pelled to call on them. Finally a body of insur- 
 rectionists gathered on Quaker Hill, which was so 
 formidable that two hundred men and two field 
 pieces were sent from New York to re-inforce the 
 grenadiers at Poughkeepsie, and with this force the 
 outbreak was suppressed. Pendergast was taken 
 prisoner and brought here to be tried for high trea- 
 son. His defense was conducted by himself and 
 wife, the latter showing so much abiUty that the 
 Attorney General lost his temper and moved that 
 she be turned out of court, as she might too much 
 influence the jury. The motion was denied with 
 a sharp rebuke from the Judge ; but the jury found 
 Pendergast guilty and he was sentenced to be hung. 
 As soon as the result was announced, his wife, who 
 seems to have been a woman of extraordinary per- 
 severance and energy, started immediately for New 
 York to ask for a reprieve from the Governor until 
 the King could be heard from. How prompt and 
 efficient she was in what she undertook is shown by 
 the fact that she went to New York, saw the Gov- 
 ernor, got the reprieve, and returned in three days, 
 just in time to prevent an attenipt by his followers 
 to rescue him that would probably have resulted 
 unfavorably in the end. Such a woman could 
 hardly be expected to fail in what she undertook. 
 She followed up her success with an appUcation to 
 the King himself, and in six months a full pardon 
 came from George III., and Pendergast and his 
 noble wife went home amid great rejoicings."t 
 
 * A letter from Governor Hardy to the Lords of Trade, Dec. 21, 1756, 
 shows that violent opposition was manifested at that time by the. tenants 
 on Livingston Manor, and that Adam Rypenberger, a poor tenant of Mr. 
 Livingston's, who accompanied the sheriflF upon summons to eject a 
 tenant named Hendrick Brusies or Brusie, was shot. Cal. His. VII., 
 lob.—Dac. His. Ill, 818. 
 
 t These disturbances occurred in 1766, and extended to what then con- 
 stituted the counties of Albany, Duchess and Westchester. They were 
 committed by an organization known as the * ' Sons of Liberty," and were 
 not quelled without bloodshed.— See Col. His. yil., 825, 84s, 846, 849, 
 867, 879. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 First Settlements — Traditions Respecting 
 Them — Projected Settlement of New Eng- 
 landers at the Mouth of Wappinger's Creek 
 — Nicholas Emigh Supposed to be the First 
 Settler — Settlements at Poughkeepsie and 
 Rhinebeck — The Palatines — Huguenot Set- 
 tlers — Environments of the Pioneer Set- 
 tlers — Progress of Settlement — First 
 Census of Duchess County, 17 14 — Freehold- 
 ers in Duchess County in 1740 — Descrip- 
 tions of the County in 1756 and 1813 — 
 Population of County at Different Periods 
 from 17 14 to 1880 — Present Status of the 
 County — Enrollment of Quakers in 1755 — 
 Slaves in Duchess County in 1755 — Early 
 Civil Processes — Oaths of Abjuration and 
 Fealty in 1760 — Observations on Duchess 
 County in 1780-82, by the Marquis De- 
 Chastellux. 
 
 AS the law provided that all lands not improved 
 or settled " in three years or some other 
 number of years " should return to the grantor, we 
 find that small beginnings were made in various parts 
 of the county soon after the issue of these patents 
 for lands. The precise date and location of the 
 first settlement is not definitely known. It is doubt- 
 ful if there were any settlements in the county 
 prior to the issuance of the Rombout Patent, 
 though tradition asserts that there were.f It is 
 said that the first settler was a man named Hoff- 
 man, who ran away from a Dutch ship of war in 
 New York Harbor, and found a resting place some- 
 where on Wappinger's Creek, where he married 
 and raised a family.f We may, doubtless, trace a 
 connection between this traditionary individual 
 and a Martinus Hoffman, whom we find endeavor- 
 ing to conciliate the Indians, one of whose num- 
 ber was shot by a white man at Rhinebeck, in 1 748.$ 
 In French's State Gazetteer we find further refer- 
 
 * A writer in the Poughkeepsie Weekly Eagle of July 8, 1876, says : 
 '* There is evidence that some part of Dutchess county was occupied dur- 
 ing the rule of the Dutch Governor, Peter Stuyvesant, prior to 1664. 
 * * * In the history of the Esopus war with the Indians in 1663, 
 reference is made to Capt. Covenhoven, who lived among the Wappin- 
 gers." We have not been able to find such evidence. Covenhoven was, 
 indeed, an active participant in the Second Esopus War, and was sent to 
 release the prisoners captured by the Esopus Indians in the attack on 
 Wiltwyck. In the performance of the latter office he "lay several days near 
 the Wappinger Indians who acted as mediators in the affair ; " but we find 
 nothing to indicate that he ever settled among them. Benson J. Lossing, 
 LL.D., in Sketches of Local History, published in The Dutchess Farmer 
 of Dec. 12, 1876, says, when the county was organized, in 1683, ** there 
 were no white inhabitants on the domain." 
 
 \ Poughkeepsie Weekly Eagle, July 8, 1876. 
 
 X Col. Hist. VII, ISO. 
 
56 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 ence to this individual, in the following copy of a 
 - letter, now in possession of T. Van Wyck Brinker- 
 hoff, of East Fishkill :— 
 
 " In the year 1833, 1 saw Isaac Upton, a coaster 
 from Newport, who informed me that about 1760 
 he came up the North River to Poughkeepsie, and, 
 in company with another person, went to Mabbitt's 
 store, in Washington, on business. That on their 
 return, they took a circuitous route from Pleasant 
 Valley, and passed a German by the name of 
 Hoffman, who was then 118 years old. He sup- 
 posed himself to be the first white settler in Duch- 
 ess county ; and that, when young, he deserted 
 from a Dutch ship of war in New York, squatted 
 where he then lived, built him a shanty, and lived 
 a number of years a solitary life without being able 
 to find a white woman for a wife ; that afterward, 
 finding a German family at Rhinebeck, he married, 
 and had lived where he then was to that advanced 
 age. I was informed that he died two years after- 
 ward, at 120 years. (Signed,) Paul Upton." 
 
 A settlement was projected in the county as 
 early as 1659, and had it been successful, would 
 doubtless have changed the preponderating charac- 
 ter of the early settlers. But it was destined to fail. 
 In that year, in consonance with the spirit of en- 
 croachment which more especially characterized 
 the settlers in Connecticut, Massachusetts claiming 
 under her charter the country north of the 42d° of 
 latitude from the Atlantic to the Pacific, granted " a 
 plantation in the neighborhood of Fort Orange, to 
 several persons of respectability residing within her 
 jurisdiction." With a view to locating this grant, 
 an exploring party proceeded during the summer 
 to Beverwyck, (Albany,) and after examining most 
 of the lands along the east bank of the Hudson, 
 they announced their intention to establish a vil- 
 lage near the mouth of Wappinger Creek, " where 
 the country, in point of beauty and fertility, sur- 
 passed anything they had seen in the East." As 
 this spot was a great distance from the settled 
 parts of New England, and difficult of access, in con- 
 sequence of the intervening wilderness, the project- 
 ors applied to the Dutch authorities for leave to 
 proceed thither by the North River. Director 
 Stuyvesant, foreseeing the injury which such an 
 establishment would work on the Dutch interests 
 in New Netherland, determined to anticipate their 
 project by purchasing the lands and establish 
 thereon a village of some twenty-five or thirty 
 families. He therefore wrote to the directors of 
 the Dutch West India Company, urging them to 
 send hither, by the first vessels, a colony of Polish, 
 Lutheran, Prussian, Dutch or Flemish peasants. 
 
 TLe Englishmen, in the meantime, obtained 
 from the commissioners of the United Colonies 
 
 letters to Director Stuyvesant, soliciting in th< 
 behalf the right of passage through the Hudso 
 Stuyvesant, not unmindful of the experience with 
 the Connecticut colonists on the Connecticut 
 River, determined to oppose a repetition of that 
 experience by all the means within his power. 
 Conscious of his inability to coerce compliance, 
 he sought to avert the misfortune by an explana- 
 tion of the reasons which impelled him to refuse. 
 These, however, did not satisfy the General Court 
 at Boston, for they immediately sent a deputation 
 " to communicate their honest intentions in this 
 matter, and to demonstrate the equity of the 
 motion of the commissioners in their behaf." 
 They asserted their intention to plant the land 
 about the upper waters of the Hudson, not actually 
 in possession of the Dutch, and affirmed that 
 permission to pass the Hudson should not preju- 
 dice the rights of the Dutch. A wordy encounter 
 ensued, during which Stuyvesant declared that he 
 could not grant the right of free passage through 
 their rivers to Massachusetts, nor any other govern- 
 ment, " without a surrender of their honor, repu- 
 tation, property and blood, their bodies and lives." 
 " Circumstances, however, interposed, and for a 
 moment interrupted the designs of the New Eng- 
 enders. A revolution restored monarchy to Eng- 
 land, and those of Boston abandoned, for the 
 time, the design of seizing on the North River." 
 The first settlement of which we have authentic 
 information was made in Fishkill, by Nicholas 
 Emigh or Eighmie, but authorities differ as to the 
 date of settlement. One author* says he came in 
 1682, " and bought a tract of land of the Indians, 
 but finding it already covered by a patent, he repur-; 
 chased of those holding it a portion of what is 
 known as the Clove, near the middle of the county, 
 where he settled and where some of , his descend- 
 ants still remain." Says Mr. Lossing, in Sketches 
 of Local History, before refererred to, Emigh (whose 
 father a native of Holstein on the borders of Hol- 
 land, had followed Prince RupeFt into England in 
 the time of the Civil War, and remained in Scot- 
 land,) came to this country in 1686, at the instance 
 of Robert Livingston, "a landless, but shrewd 
 adventurer from Scotland," who, in 1683, married 
 Alida, the young widow of Rev. Nicolaus Van 
 Rensselaer and daughter of Philip Pietersen Schuy- 
 ler, (the first of the Schuyler family who settled in 
 this country,) and with her money bought an im- 
 mense tract of land on the north border of''this 
 county, to which that portion lying west of Roelaff 
 
 *Pmgkkeepsie Weekly Eagle, July S, i«75. 
 
EARLY SETTLEMENTS IN DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 57 
 
 Jansen's Creek, comprising the present towns of 
 Clermont and Germantown, formerly belonged. 
 
 Settlement under Robert Livingston, whose 
 family filled a conspicuous niche in our colonial and 
 revolutionary history, commenced prior to 1686, 
 but apparently made slow progress; for Earl 
 Bellomont, in a letter to the Board of Trade, 
 dated January 2, 1701, says of it : "Mr. Living- 
 ston has on his great grant of sixteen miles long 
 and twenty-four broad, but four or five cottagers, 
 as I am told ; men that live in vassalage under and 
 work for him and are too poor to be farmers, 
 having not wherewithall to buy cattle to stock a 
 farm." , 
 
 Under such harsh conditions were the fortunes 
 of our pioneer settler — ^young Emigh — cast, and we 
 need not wonder that he became dissatisfied, and 
 left the Livingston domain. He bought an island 
 in the Hudson just below Albany and settled on it 
 with his young wife, a pretty Dutch lass from Hol- 
 stein, whom he courted and married on the long 
 ocean voyage to America. But there they were 
 drowned out the next spring by a Mohawk flood, 
 and removed to the site of Fishkill, where he 
 bought of the Indians a tract of land extending 
 from the Fishkill to Poughkeepsie, and from the 
 Hudson to the Connecticut line. Here also he 
 had, the misfortune to locate on land covered by 
 patent ; for the island on which he previously set- 
 tled, constituted a part of the Manor of Rensse- 
 laerwyck. He subsequently removed to, and pur- 
 chased of the patentees, a large tract of land in 
 the Clove, some of which is still in the possession 
 of his descendants. 
 
 During their residence in Fishkill his wife gave 
 birth to a daughter, who received the name of 
 Katrina, and was the first white child born in the 
 county. At maturity she married a young Hol- 
 lander named Lasink, (Lossing,) who moved up 
 from New York about 1700. The young couple 
 settled in the town of East Fishkill, where they 
 raised a family of eight children — four sons and 
 four daughters — who lived to a good old age, the 
 seven younger ones surviving the oldest, who died 
 when the youngest was seventy-five years old. 
 From this family descended the distinguished his- 
 torian Benson J. Lossing, LL. D., of Dover. 
 
 The settlements in Poughkeepsie and Rhinebeck 
 were nearly contemporaneous with those in Fishkill. 
 At Rhinebeck a considerable number of Palatines 
 had settled in the early part of the eighteenth cen- 
 tury. They, were German refugees from the banks 
 of the Neckar and the Rhine, who were hired of 
 
 the Elector of the Palatinate by Queen Anne, and 
 served in her army during the war of the Spanish 
 succession, 1702-1713. In 1709, the project of 
 establishing them in the English- American colonies 
 was broached; and in the summer of 17 10, a col- 
 ony numbering 2,227 arrived in New York, and 
 were located in five villages, on either side of the 
 Hudson, those upon the east side being designated 
 as East Camp, and those upon the west, as West 
 Camp. Three of these villages were located on 
 six thousand acres of land, which originally con- 
 stituted the town of Germantown, in Columbia 
 County, and were purchased of Robert Livingston 
 by Gov. Robert Hunter, Sept. 29, 17 10, because, 
 from the growth of pine timber they bore, they 
 were especially adapted to the industry in which it 
 was designed to employ the Palatines, viz : raising 
 hemp and making tar, pitch and resin for the royal 
 navy. The other two villages were located on the 
 opposite side of the river, in Ulster County, on 
 lands which were then unpatented. This little col- 
 ony received many marks of the kind care and 
 beneficence of Queen Anne, under whose special 
 patronage it was planted. The management of 
 their affairs was entrusted to a board of com- 
 missioners, consisting of Robert Livingston, Rich- 
 ard Sackett,* John Cast, Godfrey Walsen, Andrew 
 Bagger and Henry Schureman. The first settle- 
 ments commenced by small lodges or temporary 
 huts, each of which was placed under the superin- 
 tendence of some principal man, from whom they 
 took their local names, with the addition of dorf, 
 the German word for village. The names by which 
 they were officially known, however, were Anns- 
 berry, from Queen Anne ; Haysberry, after Lady 
 Hay, wife of Governor Hunter; Htmterstown, 
 after Gov. Hunter ; Queensberry, after the Queen, 
 &c. Their numbers in the respective villages May 
 I, 1711, were as follows: — 
 
 ON EAST SIDE. 
 
 Hunterstown 334 
 
 Queensberry 350 
 
 Annsberry 252 
 
 Haysberry 258 
 
 1194 
 
 ON WEST SIDE. 
 
 Ehzabethtown 148 
 
 Georgetown in 
 
 New Village 324 
 
 583 
 
 1777 
 
 * Richard Sackett was one of the patentees of the Little Nine Partners 
 Tract, and the pioneer settler of Amenia, where he located early in the 
 century. 
 
S8 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 The enterprise, however, proved unsuccessful, 
 for the Palatines soon became restive under the 
 restraints imposed on them. They scattered, many 
 of them removing to the Mohawk and Schoharie 
 valleys, and some, as we have seen, to Rhinebeck. 
 The six thousand acre tract was subsequently 
 granted to those willing to remain on it, (for some 
 were restrained there against their wish,) in accord- 
 ance with the petition of Jacob S. Sharp and Chris- 
 tophel Hagadorn, in behalf of sixty-three famiUes 
 so inclined, to whom was secured the tracts on 
 which they had settled and made improvements, on 
 the payment of the usual quitrent. In 1718, these 
 Palatine farpiUes were distributed* as follows:— 
 
 ON EAST SIDE. 
 
 Hunterstown 25 families, 109 persons. 
 
 Kingsberry 33 " t04 " 
 
 Annsberry i? " 71 
 
 Haysberry 16 " 75 " 
 
 Rheinbeck 35 " 140 " 
 
 ON WEST SIDE. 
 
 New Town 14 families, 56 persons. 
 
 George Town 13 " 52 " 
 
 EUzab : Town 9 " 36 " 
 
 Kings town 15 " 60 " 
 
 Wessels pretended land. 7 " 28 " 
 
 Kingstown Sopes 10 " 4° " 
 
 At New York and places 
 
 adjacent 30 " 150 
 
 In Seven Townships in 
 
 Schoharie 170 " 680 " 
 
 Among the early settlers was a considerable 
 number of Huguenots, fragments of that terribly 
 persecuted class who fled from France on the re- 
 vocation of the Edict of Nantes by Louis XIV., in 
 1685, to the number of eight hundred thousand, 
 and took refuge in Holland, Germany, Switzerland 
 and England, whence many emigrated to this coun- 
 try, locating most numerously in this State in the 
 counties of Orange and Ulster, though the most 
 opulent settled in the city of New York. They 
 were a most valuable acquisition to the feeble set- 
 tlements in this vicinity; for their industry and 
 skill made them welcome in every Protestant coun- 
 try, and contributed largely to the development 
 not only of the physical features of the country, but 
 also of the liberal tendencies of the people. They 
 introduced into England arts of which France had 
 hitherto enjoyed a monopoly, and into North Ger- 
 many, manufactures which, hitherto unknown, put. 
 a new aspect on that country ; their persecutions 
 awakened the religious sympathies of New Eng- 
 land, and their skill and intelligence infused energy 
 and system into whatever they undertook. 
 
 * This list does not include the widows and orphans. See Colonial and 
 Documentary Histories of New York. 
 
 While the Dutch settlers were striking sturdy 
 blows in the reclamation of the wilderness which 
 marred the beautiful and fertile valleys of the west- 
 ern portion of the county, the enterprising New 
 England colonists, especially of Connecticut, were 
 forcing a passage across rugged mountain peaks 
 and planting the evidences of advancing civiUza- 
 tion in its eastern wilds. Thus we find in the con- 
 stituent elements of the population a healthy com- 
 mingUng of that volatile enterprise characteristic 
 of the New England yeomanry and the sterling 
 qualities and plodding energy of the more phleg- 
 matic Dutch burghers. 
 
 The first settlers were generally poor and de- 
 voted to husbandry. They sought here homes 
 and subsistence for themselves and famihes, such 
 as could be coaxed in an humble way from the 
 fruitful soil, which rewarded abundantly even a 
 moderate industry. Their beginnings were of a 
 most primitive character.- Their wants were few 
 and little sufficed to supply them ; for their simple 
 lives were not cursed with the artificial wants which 
 tax the energies of the present generation. Cor- 
 nells VanTienhoven, Secretary of the Province of 
 New Netherland, thus describes the houses which 
 prevailed in 1650, nearly forty years before the 
 rude beginnings were made in this county : — 
 
 " Those in New Netherland and especially in 
 New England, who have no means to build'farm 
 houses at first according to their wishes, dig a 
 square pit in the ground, cellar fashion, six or seven 
 feet deep, as long and as broad as they think 
 proper, case the inside with wood all round the 
 wall, and Une the wood with bark of trees or some- 
 thing else to prevent the caving in of the earth ; 
 floor this cellar with plank and wainscot it over- 
 head for a ceiling, raise a roof of spars clear up 
 and cover the spars with bark or green sods, so 
 that they can live dry and warm in these houses 
 with their entire families for two, t^ee and four 
 years, it being understood that partitions are run 
 through those cellars which are adapted to the size 
 of the family. The wealthy and principal men in 
 New England, in the beginning of the colonies, 
 commenced their first dweUing houses in this fashion 
 for two reasons ; firstly, in order not to waste time 
 building and not to want for food the next season ; 
 secondly, in order not to discourage poorer labor- 
 ing people whom they brought over in numbers 
 from Fatherland. In the course of three and four 
 years, when the country became adapted to agri- 
 culture, they built themselves handsome houses, 
 spending on them several thousands." 
 
 It is not improbable that such were the houses 
 
 in which the families of the pioneers in this county 
 
 were first domiciled, for we have evidence of their 
 
 I extreme poverty in the fact that when, in 1702, the 
 
EARLY GROWTH OF DUCHESS COUNT V RETARDED. 
 
 59 
 
 Assembly voted £ i,8oo for the support of one 
 hundred and eighty men to defend the frontiers, 
 such was then the known indigence of the 
 people of Duchess county, "that but eighteen 
 pounds were apportioned for their quota of these 
 levies," while a/w rata amount by counties would 
 have been ;^iSo. 
 
 For many years the progress of settlement was 
 slow, and not until near the middle of the eight- 
 eenth century did the county become entitled to 
 that proud distinction of being "populous and 
 flourishing," as Judge Smith calls it in 1756, when 
 it had become the second county in the Province 
 in population, though only seventh in wealth. The 
 settlement was begun in the midst of that bitter 
 struggle between republicanism and monarchy 
 which evolved the revolution by which the Prince 
 of Orange ascended the English throne in 1688. 
 The English-American colonies sympathized with 
 the movement in England, and chafed under the 
 jurisdiction of the detested Andros, which then ex- 
 tended to New England, New York and New Jer- 
 sey. The news of the Prince's invasion of Eng- 
 land reached America in' April, 1689; and the pre- 
 viously matured movement which abolished the 
 Andros government and restored to the colonies 
 their charter rights was speedily consummated. 
 New York shared the impulse but with less una- 
 nimity, and the common people among the Dutch, 
 led by Jacob Leisler and his son-in-law, Jacob Mil- 
 borne, proclaimed the stadtholder, King of Eng- 
 land. The bitter dissensions incident to the gov- 
 ernmental changes wrought by this revolution, 
 especially in this State, resulting, as they did in. 
 the execution of these leaders in 1691, through the 
 perfidy of the faction who opposed the assumed 
 authority of Leisler, and came into power with the 
 advent of Col. Sloughter as Governor in that year, 
 were not calculated to promote internal growth. 
 The activity of the French at this period, also, was 
 particularly distressing to the border settlements, 
 and Schenectady was sacked and burned on the 
 night of February 9, 1690. This disaster was so 
 disheartening to the people of Albany that they 
 resolved to abandon the place and retire to New 
 York. Many were only deterred from doiiig so by 
 the reproaches of the Mohawks, who had, during 
 all these years, been the faithful allies of the En- 
 glish, and, in conjunction with the other Iroquois 
 nations, borne the brunt of French hostile aggres- 
 sion. 
 
 The contentions between Leislerian and anti- 
 Leisletian factions were protracted and acrimoni- 
 
 ous, and lent interest and animation to the Assem- 
 bly elections for years. It was during this period, 
 in 1 701, that Duchess County, which had hitherto 
 been thought "incapable of bearing the charge of 
 a representation," " animated by the heat of the 
 times, sent Jacob Rutsen and Adrien Garretsen to 
 represent them in assembly." 
 
 September 10, 1692, Duchess and Ulster Coun- 
 ties were required to raise eighty men for the pro- 
 tection of Albany from the Indians during the 
 winter,* and in April, 1693, the militia of these 
 two counties, then commanded by Lieut. -Col. 
 Henry Beekman, a Justice in Ulster County, num- 
 bered 277, and consisted of four companies of foot 
 and one of dragoons. We have no means of know- 
 ing how many of these belonged to Duchess, 
 though there is little doubt that the number was 
 small. 
 
 In 1700, the miUtia of the two counties com- 
 prised 325 men, who were formed into seven 
 companies of foot and one of horse, under com- 
 mand of Lieut.-Col. Jacob Rutsen, who repre- 
 sented Duchess in the Assembly in 1701. A list 
 of the officers in this year (1700) gives the earliest 
 official list of names which has come under our 
 observation. We believe, however, that only thi'ee 
 belonged to this county, viz : Capt. Baltus Van 
 Cleet, [Kleek,] Lieut. Mattyse Sleight^and Ensign 
 John.Ter Bus [Boss.j In 1698, the population of 
 the two counties was 1,384; in 1703, 1,669 ;f and 
 when we consider the fact that the population of 
 Ulster alone in 1700 was 2,005, '^^ ^^Y reasonably 
 conclude that Duchess County's share in these fig- 
 ures was indeed small. 
 
 In 1 7 14, we are first given a detached census of 
 Duchess County, which had then acquired govern- 
 mental functions of her own. The document is 
 one of great value in a historic point of view, as it 
 gives us the names of the sixty-seven heads of 
 families then resident in the county, (which, it 
 must be understood, embraced what is now Put- 
 nam County, and the towns of Clermont and Ger- 
 mantown in Columbia County,) and the status of 
 their families. The total number of souls was 445, 
 of whom 29 were slaves. We deem the document 
 of sufficient importance to be transcribed to these 
 pages. The names are familiar ones to the resi- 
 dents of the county, and many of them are per- 
 petuated to the present generation. 
 
 * Duchess County was for some years provisionally attaclied to Ulster 
 on account of the paucity of its inhabitants. 
 
 t In Doc. Hist. III., 966, this is stated to be the population of Ulster 
 County alone ; and the number is made up of the residents of Pals, 
 (Paltz,) Rochester, Marbletown, Hurley and Kingstown, thus proving that 
 the population of Duchess is not included. 
 
6o 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 A List of the Inhabttants and Slaves in the 
 County of Duchess in 17 14. 
 
 names. 
 
 Jacob Kip ; ■ • 
 
 Jacob Plowgh 
 
 Matieis Slejt 
 
 Evert Van Wagenen 
 
 Whilliam Ostrander 
 
 Lowrans Ostrout 
 
 Peter Palmater .. . . 
 
 Maghell Pallmatir 
 
 William Tetsort 
 
 Hendrick Pells 
 
 Peter Vely , 
 
 John Kip 
 
 Elena Van Be Bogart 
 
 John De Grave 
 
 Lenard Lewis 
 
 Bartolumus Hoogenboom . . 
 
 Baltus Van Kleck 
 
 Frans Le Roy 
 
 Bareiit Van Kleck 
 
 John Ostrom 
 
 Harmen Rinders 
 
 Meindert Van Ben Bogart. 
 
 Johanes Van Kleck 
 
 Lenar Le Roy — 
 
 Swart Van Wagenen 
 
 Henry Van Ber Burgh . . . 
 
 Elias Van Bunchoten 
 
 Thftmas - Sanders 
 
 Catrine Lasink Wedo 
 
 Peter Lasink ... 
 
 -ey Scouten., 
 
 Mellen Springsteen 
 
 Johnes Terbots 
 
 John Beuys 
 
 Abram Beuys 
 
 Garatt Van Vleit 
 
 William Outen 
 
 Andreis Baivedes 
 
 Frans Be Langen 
 
 Aret Masten . ...- ... 
 
 James Husey 
 
 Roger Brett 
 
 Peter De Boyes 
 
 Isack Hendricks 
 
 John Breines . . , 
 
 Jeurey Springsten 
 
 Peck De Wit 
 
 Adaam Van alsted 
 
 Cellitiekool 
 
 Harmen Knickerbacker . . . 
 Johanis Byckman Sienjer . 
 Jacob Hoghtelingh . . . 
 
 Dirck Wesselse 
 
 WillemSchot ., 
 
 Jacob Vosburgh 
 
 Tunis Pieierse 
 
 henderick bretsiert 
 
 Roelif Buijtse'r . . . 
 
 Johannis Spoor Junjoor . . 
 
 Abraham vosburgh 
 
 Abraham Van Busen 
 
 Willem Wijt 
 
 Louwerens knickerbacker. . . 
 
 henderck Sissum 
 
 Aenderis Gerdener 
 
 Gysbert Oosterhout 
 
 Johannis Byckman Junjor. . 
 
 Total., 
 
 
 
 
 89 *I20 
 
 a 
 
 iz; 
 
 97 
 
 
 98 
 
 *The third column foots up to 121, and the seventh, to 30, which would 
 make the total number 447 ; but the error probably occurs in the columns, 
 though the above is a copy of the table. 
 
 The next census of Duchess, taken in 1723, 
 gives the county a population of 1,083. Of this 
 numter 43 were " negroes and other slaves." In 
 1731, the population had increased to 1,727, of 
 
 whom 112 were "blacks." Up to this period 
 Duchess was the least populous county in the 
 Province; but in 1737, with a population of 3,418, 
 of whom 262 were "blacks,"' it outranked Kings, 
 Orange and Richmond. June 2, 1738, Lieut.-Gov. 
 Clarke, in answer to queries from the Board of 
 Trade, states the population of the county, " ex- 
 cept the High Lands," to be 3,086, including 262 
 " blacks ;" so that here we have approximately the 
 population of the county, as at present constituted, 
 at that period. In 1740, we have a "list of the 
 freeholders " in the county, certified by "Ja. Wilson, 
 Sheriff." They number 235. In no other form 
 have we so many of the names of the settlers of 
 that early period. Their honorable connection 
 with the history of the county as the pioneers in 
 its subjugation from the wilderness they found it, to 
 the fair Eden as their descenaants now enjoyit, is 
 sufficient to raise them from the vale of personal 
 obscurity in which many of them doubtless lived, 
 and justly entitles them to recognition in these 
 pages. We transcribe and thus hand down to 
 posterity the names * of this venerated band, as 
 follows : — 
 
 Henry Beekman, Hendrick Sheffer, 
 
 Lowr'nce Kneckerbacker,Peter Oostrander, 
 Nicholas Hoffman, Benjamin Van Steenberg, 
 
 Martinus Hoffman, Hans felte Sheffer, 
 
 Barent Van Benthuysen, Willem Freer, 
 
 Philip Londen, 
 Hendrick Kip, 
 Nicholas Row, 
 Jury Soefelt, 
 Zacharias Haber, 
 Fredricke Sipperly, 
 Johannis Spaller, 
 Jury Feder, 
 William Cole, 
 Hans Heyner, 
 Johannis P. Snyder, 
 Johannis Backus, 
 Hans felte Wollever, 
 Hans Lambert, 
 Joseph Rykert, 
 Adam Oostrander, 
 Simon Kool, 
 Godfreed Hendrick, 
 Wendel Yager, 
 Jacob Drom, 
 Martinus Shoe, 
 Jury Adam Soefelt, 
 Philip foelandt, 
 Andries Widerwox, 
 Frau Neker, 
 Christophell Snyder, 
 Marten Tiel, 
 Arnout Viele, 
 
 Teunis Freer, 
 Jury Ackert, 
 Evert Knickerbacker, 
 Nicholas Bonesteel, 
 Jacobus Van Etten, Junr., 
 Basteaan Trever, 
 Coenradt Befringer, 
 Wendell polver, 
 Peter Van Etten, 
 William Simon, 
 William Scott, 
 Michaell Sipf)erly, 
 David Richart, 
 Jacob Mowl, 
 Mathys Earnest, 
 Andries* Hermans, 
 Michael Polver, 
 Johannis Weaver, 
 Wm. Van Vreedinburgh, 
 Johannis Kip, * 
 
 Arie Hendrickse, 
 Wm. Van Vreedingburgh, 
 Isaac Kip, [Junr., 
 
 Roeloflf Kip, 
 Jacob Kip, 
 
 Abraham Kip, « 
 
 Mathys Sleght, 
 Evert Van Wagenen, 
 
 *r)i,c. Hist. I., bgi, 694 ; /K, 184, 205 ; Col. Hist. F., 702, 929 ; VI., 
 133— 134. 
 
LIST OF FREEHOLDERS IN 1740. 
 
 61 
 
 Lowrence Tiel, 
 Jacob Cool, 
 Philip More, 
 Jan Van Benthuysen, 
 Zacharias Smith, 
 Josias Ross, 
 Gysbert Westfall, 
 Henry Filkin, 
 Francis Hagaman, 
 John Gay, 
 Isaac Filkin, 
 Jan Ostrom, 
 Roeloif Ostrom, 
 Simoh Flegelaer, 
 Augustine Creed, 
 Jacob Hoff, 
 Lowrence Hoff, 
 Isaac Germain, 
 Isaac Germain, Junr., 
 Josias Crego, 
 Isaac Tietsort, 
 Richard Sackett, 
 Gerret E. Van Wagenen. 
 Isaac Runnells, 
 Isaac Runnells, Junr., 
 Frans Van Dyck, 
 Nehemiah Runnells, 
 Nicholas Van Wagenen, 
 Peter Palmer, 
 Nathaniell Marshall, 
 Joseph Palmer, 
 Jacob Van Campen, 
 John Runnells, 
 Samuell Palmer, 
 Joshua Palmer, 
 Manuell Gonselesduck, 
 William Palmer, 
 Peter Lassing, 
 Isaac Lassing, 
 Wilham Lassing, 
 Christophell Van Bomell, 
 Arie Van Vliet, 
 JohannisVan Benthuys'n, 
 William Syfer, 
 William Smith Secundus, 
 Alexander Griggs, 
 Jacobus De Yeo, 
 James Auchmoty, 
 Samuell Mathews, 
 George Ellsworth, 
 Johannis DoUson, 
 Jacob De Witt, 
 David De Dutcher, 
 John Cook, 
 John Carman, 
 Nicholas Koens, 
 Nicholas Emigh, 
 Hendrick Owl, 
 Mosis Nauthrup, 
 Stephen Crego, 
 Peter Simpson, 
 John Gamble, 
 William Humphreys, 
 Francis Nellson, 
 
 Goese Van Wagenen, 
 Hendrickus Heermans, 
 Lowrence Oosterhout, 
 Peter Tippell, 
 Albartus Shriver, 
 Stephen Frelick, 
 Arent Oostrander, 
 PhiUp Feller, 
 Jacob Van Wagenen, 
 Lewis Du Bois, 
 Mathys Du Bois, 
 Marcus Van Bomell, 
 Rudolphus Swartwoudt, 
 Mathewis Van Keuren, 
 Hendrick Willsie, 
 Elias Van Buntschoten, 
 Jacobus Van Bomell, 
 Thomas Lewis, 
 Henry Vandenburgh, 
 John Concklin, 
 Jacob Low, 
 Johannis Van Kleek, 
 Simon Freer, 
 Mosis De GraafF, 
 Barnardus Swartwoudt, 
 Johannis Tappon, 
 Myndert Vandenbogart, 
 Hendrick Ostrom, 
 Barent Van Kleek, 
 Frans La Roy, 
 Lowrence Van Kleek, 
 Jacobus Van Den Bogart, 
 Frans Filkin, 
 Bowdewine La Count, 
 Lowrence Gerbrantz, 
 Robert Kidney, 
 Peter Veile, 
 John Emons, 
 Magiel Pells, 
 Abraham Freer, Junr., 
 Peter Palmatier, 
 Gybsert Peelen, 
 John Lossee, 
 Johannis Willsie, 
 Johannis Ter Boss, 
 Isaac DoUson, 
 Teunis Van Vliet, 
 Hendrick Van Tessell, 
 Hendrick Ter Boss, 
 Robert Britt, 
 Jacobus Ter Boss, 
 Cornelis Van Wyck, 
 Francis Britt, 
 Hendrick Rosekrans, 
 Thomas Langdon, 
 John Baily, 
 Christian Du Bois, 
 Jacobus Swartwout, 
 Theodorus Van Wyck, 
 Benjamin Hasbrook, 
 Willem Schutt, 
 George Brinckerhoff, 
 Daniell Boss, 
 Ephraime Bloome, 
 
 Thomas Davinport, 
 
 Isaac Van Amburgh, 
 
 Peter Du Bois, Junr., 
 
 Cornelis Bogardus, 
 
 Jacobus De Peyster, 
 
 John Calkin, Junr., 
 
 Johannis Van Voorhees. 
 
 Coert Van Voorhees, 
 
 Johannis Van Voorhees, William Drake, 
 
 Hendrick Philip, [Junr., Joshua Griffen, 
 
 John Brinckerhoff, 
 Cornelis Lossee, 
 Lowrence Lossee, 
 Jonathan Du Bois, 
 Jacob Du Bois, 
 John Montross, 
 Peter Mufford, - 
 John fiewellen. 
 
 Johannis Middellaer, 
 Samuel Hallstead, 
 Daniel Yeomans, 
 John Rosekrans, 
 Cornelis Willsie, 
 Maes Oostrander, 
 Abraham Swartwoudt, 
 Isaac BrinckerhofiF, 
 Baltus J. Van Kleek, 
 Baltus B. Van Kleek, 
 
 William Ver Planck, 
 Simon La Roy, 
 Ahaswarus Van Kleek, 
 Teunis Van Buntskoten, 
 Gideon Ver Veelen, 
 Peter Outwater, 
 Jacob Brinckerhoff, 
 Hendrick Mufford, 
 Marten Shenk, 
 Mathew DuBois, Jr., 
 Abraham DeGraeff.* 
 In 1746, Duchess had a population of 8,806, in- 
 cluding 500 " blacks." In 1749, it was diminished 
 to 7,912, of whom 421 were "blacks;" but in the 
 next seven years there was an increase nearly equal 
 to one hundred per cent. ; for in 1756, there were 
 13,289 white, and 859 black inhabitants, making a 
 total of 14,148. At that time its population ex- 
 ceeded that of any other county in the Province, 
 except Albany, which had 17,424 inhabitants. 
 Westchester had 13,257, and New York only 13,- 
 040. Judge Smith in describing it in that year, 
 (1756,) says:— 
 
 " The south part of the county [now Putnam] 
 is mountainous and fit only for iron works, but the 
 rest contains a great quantity of good upland well 
 watered. The only villages in it are Poughkeepsie 
 and the Fish Kill, though they scarce deserve the 
 name. The inhabitants on the banks of the river 
 are Dutch, but those more easterly, Enghshraen, 
 and, for the most part,emigrants from Connecticut 
 and Long Island. There is no episcopal church in 
 it. The growth of this county has been very sud- 
 den, and commenced but a few years ago. With- 
 in the memory of persons now living, it did not 
 contain above twelve families ; and, according to 
 the late returns of the militia, it will furnish at 
 present, above two thousand five hundred fighting 
 men." 
 
 From this time till the close of the century the 
 county increased rapidly both in population and 
 wealth; since that time there has been a more 
 uniform but almost constant increase in popula- 
 tion. The only important exception, (and, indeed, 
 with the exception of the year 1835, the only one,) 
 was in 1814, when it was reduced from 51,363, in 
 
 * lu this, as in the preceding list, we have adherred to the orthography 
 in the original. (See Doc. Hist. I., mj — 208.) It will not he difficult 
 to recognize many of these names among those of the present inhabitants 
 of Duchess county, though the latter have been somewhat modernized. 
 
62 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 1810, to 43,708, by the erection, in 1812, of Put- 
 nam county, which had a population in 181 4 of 
 9,353- From 22,404 in 1771; 32,636, in 1786; 
 and 45,266 in 1790; it had increased at the close 
 of the century to 47,775 ; thus, not only holding 
 the position it had gained in 1756, but far out- 
 stripping every other county in the State, except 
 New York, which nearly doubled its population in 
 the decade from 1790 to 1800, having the latter 
 year a population of 60,515 against 33,131 in 1790. 
 Washington, which most nearly approached 
 Duchess in 1800, had 35,792 inhabitants; Colum- 
 bia came next, with 35,472 and Albany -next 
 with 34,103. Most of the others were far be- 
 low it, and none approached it within fifteen 
 thousand. In 181 3, Spafford describes it as 
 " one of the most opulent farming counties in the 
 State;" and adds, "in agriculture, no county ex- 
 ceeds this in the style of improvement, and none 
 has a greater respectability of character, engaged 
 in practical farming." In domestic manufactures, 
 also, it took advanced rank, having in 1810, a 
 larger number of fulling-mills than any other county 
 in the State. It ranked fourth in the number of 
 carding machines — 25 ; first in the number of cot- 
 ton factories — 5— equahng Oneida; first in the 
 number of tanneries — 80 — double the number of 
 any other county in the State, except Montgomery, 
 Orange and Ulster, which had respectively 45, 49 
 and 41 ; only fifth in the number of breweries — 2 ; 
 ninth in the number of distilleries — 25 ; third in the 
 number of paper mills — 2 ; first in the number of 
 batteries — 22 — doubling the number of any other 
 county, except Saratoga, which had fourteen ; and 
 in the front rank, but equaled by five others, in 
 the number of oil-mills — 3 ; also in the number of 
 trip hammers— 7 — being equaled by one other 
 county only. But ithad neither blast nor air fur- 
 nace, nor blomary, a feature which at present forms 
 an important part of its industries. 
 
 If we look at the quantity of its manufactured 
 products at that period, we find that it held a no 
 less prominent position. It ranked ninth in the 
 number of looms— 1,342— and eighth in the num- 
 ber of yards of woolen cloth manufactured — 
 128,655; fifth in the number of yards of linen 
 cloth— 230,404; first in the number of hides and 
 skins tanned — 42,714; sixth in the number of gal- 
 lons brewed— 18,000 ; twentieth in the number of 
 gallons distilled — 24,450; first in the number of 
 reams of paper made — 15,000; second in the 
 nuitiber of hats made— 12,450 ; fifth in the number 
 of gallons of oil produced— 3,500. The product 
 
 of its fulUng-mills and cotton-factories is not given ; 
 neither for more than five of its twenty- five carding 
 machines. In 181 1, it had fourteen post-offices; 
 a number equaled by only two other counties — 
 Chenango and Otsego — and exceeded by four — 
 Oneida, Ontario, Suffolk and Washington.* 
 
 The subjoined table shows the population of the 
 county at different periods : — 
 
 1714 445 
 
 1723 i;o83 
 
 1731 1,727 
 
 1737 3,418 
 
 1746 8,806 
 
 1749 7,912 
 
 1756 14,148 
 
 1771 22,404 
 
 1786 32,636 
 
 1790 45,266 
 
 1800 ..47,775 
 
 1810 51,363 
 
 1814 ..43,708 
 
 1820 46,615 
 
 1825 46,698 
 
 1830 50,926 
 
 1835 50,704 
 
 1840 52,398 
 
 1845 55,124 
 
 1850 58,992 
 
 1855 60,635 
 
 i860 64,941 
 
 1865 65,192 
 
 1870 74,041 
 
 1875 76,334 
 
 1880 79,273 
 
 Happily the pioneers of Duchess county were 
 never harassed by those distressing Indian wars, 
 which desolated other counties and swept away 
 both the settler and his improvements ; neither 
 were they cursed with a sterile soil. They were left 
 to develope their agricultural, commercial and 
 mechanical enterprises without extraneous hind- 
 rance. The soil, which possesses a fertility un- 
 known to the lands in many portions of the State, 
 responded generously to the moderate exertions of 
 the husbandman ; and during the many years while 
 their less fortunate neighbors could only by the most 
 pinching industry coax from an almost barren soil a 
 scanty subsistence, they had acquired titles of un- 
 doubted validity to their lands, and were enjoying 
 the blessings which flow from a moderate compe- 
 tence. 
 
 The county occupies one of the most pictur- 
 esque portions of the Hudson Valley ; and while 
 its fertility attracted and held the agriculturist, its 
 beauty, not less than its excellent institutions of 
 learning and religion, for which it is justly noted, 
 •attracted persons of wealth, culture and refinement, 
 who sought homes within its borders because of 
 its aesthetic associations and influences. Hence a 
 steady and healthy growth has been maintained 
 for maily years ; and though it has been outstripped 
 in the competitive race for population it can point 
 to the many commercial and manufacturing enter- 
 prises within its borders, and with just pride, refer 
 the stranger to the no less gratifying evidences of 
 wealth, prosperity and contentment exhibited by 
 
 * spafford? s Gazetteer of \%fi, 6, 50, 73. Doc. Hist. I., 695, 696, 697. 
 Col. HUt. VI., 39Z, sso ; VIII.., 457, Census Reports. 
 
ENROLLMENT OF QUAKERS IN 1755. 
 
 63 
 
 the tillers of the soil, who have supplemented 
 nature by improving an already beautiful country 
 and transformed it from its pristine wilderness to 
 the productive and attractive farms which adorn its 
 hillsides and valleys.* , 
 
 Though the pioneers were not molested by the 
 savage natives whose fairpossessions they acquired, 
 their herds and flocks did not enjoy equal immu- 
 nity from the savage denizens of the forest. Early 
 in the eighteenth century the aid of the State Legis- 
 lature was invoked for the destruction of these 
 depredators. In 1726 and again in 1728, that 
 body passed laws for the destruction of wolves in 
 Albany, Duchess and Orange counties. In 1741 an 
 act was passed "to encourage the destroying of 
 wolves and panthers in Duchess county," which 
 was " much infested with those creatures." A like 
 act was passed the following year, and applied also 
 to Ulster and Orange counties. The record says : 
 "the inhabitants of these counties finding the for- 
 mer acts insufiicient, this act is passed hoping it 
 will prove more effectual." The hope would seem 
 to have been realized, for we find no further legis- 
 lative enactments against these pests, whose charge 
 it was probably thought safe to relegate to local 
 agencies. 
 
 Swine were no less objects of solicitude with 
 the State Legislature; for in 1728, again in 1730, 
 and again in 1736, acts were passed to prevent 
 their running at large in the county. The provi- 
 dent care of this august body was directed even 
 to the regulation of wagon ruts in the county, an 
 act having been passed for that purpose in 1734. 
 The record says : " One or two counties in the 
 Province having formerly obtained acts of Assembly 
 to make their waggons of a larger and equal size, 
 this county having observed the benefitt the people 
 have had by it are desirous to tread in their 
 
 steps."t 
 
 In April, 1755, an enrollment was made of the 
 Friends or Quakers in the county who claimed 
 exemption from military duty, pursuant to an act 
 of the Assembly passed February 19, 1755, for 
 regulating the militia of the Colony. They were 
 found to be quite numerous in the eastern part of 
 the county, especially upon the Oblong tract. 
 They were chiefly immigrants from Long Island 
 and Rhode Isl and and were of British origin. The 
 
 * In 1870, Duchess county, though then ranking as only the fourteenth 
 county in the State in respect to population, ranked as tenth in aggregate 
 equalized valuation ; being surpassed only by Albany, Erie, Kings, Mon- 
 roe New York, Onondaga, Orange, Rensselaer and Westchester ; and 
 some of these, though largely exceeding it in population, surpass it in 
 wealth by only trifling ainounts. 
 
 t Col. HUt- V; 87J, 909 ; VL, 28, 87. 
 
 names of many of these estimable people, who, 
 like the Moravians previously referred to, suffered 
 bitter persecutions at the hands of the dominant 
 religious party, are familiar to the present genera- 
 tion, and we give them as we find them recorded, 
 with their locations * and occupations : — 
 
 Joshua Shearman, 
 Moses Shearman, 
 Daniel Shearman, 
 Joseph Doty, 
 John Wing, 
 Zebulon Ferris, 
 
 Beekman Precinct, 
 do. 
 do. 
 do. 
 do. 
 (Oblong) do. 
 
 Joseph Smith, son of Richard, do do. 
 
 Robert Whiteley, Oblong, 
 
 Elijah Doty, Oblong House, 
 
 Philip Allen, Oblong, 
 
 Richard Smith, do. 
 
 James Aiken, do. 
 Abraham Chase, son of Henry, do, 
 
 David Hoeg, do. 
 
 John Hoeg, do. 
 
 Jonathan Hoeg, do. 
 
 Amos Hoeg, son of John, do. 
 William Hoeg, son of David, do. 
 
 John Hoeg, son of John, do. 
 
 Ezekiel Hoeg, do. 
 
 Judah Smith, do. 
 
 Mathew Win^, do. 
 
 Timothy Dakin, do. 
 
 Jonathan Dakin, do. 
 
 Samuel Russell, do. 
 
 John Fish, do. 
 
 Reed Ferris, do. 
 
 Benjamin Ferris Junr., do. 
 
 Joseph Akin, do. 
 
 Israel Howland, do. 
 
 Elisha Akin, do. 
 
 Isaac Haviland, do. 
 Nathan Soule, son of George, do. 
 
 Tames Birdsall, do. 
 
 Daniel Chase, do. 
 
 Shoemaker. 
 Laborer. 
 
 do. 
 Blacksmith. 
 Farmer. 
 
 do. 
 Laborer. 
 Farmer, 
 Carpenter. 
 Weaver. 
 Farmer. 
 Blacksmith. 
 Farmer. 
 
 Farmer. _ 
 Blacksmith. 
 Laborer. 
 Farmer. 
 
 Laborer. 
 Tailor. 
 
 Farmer. 
 
 Laborer. 
 
 do. 
 
 Farmer. 
 
 Shoemaker. 
 
 Laborer. 
 
 Blacksmith. 
 
 Fanner. ■ 
 do. 
 
 Blacksmith. 
 
 Farmer. 
 
 Laborer. 
 
 Farmer. 
 Silas Mossher, Oswego in Beekman Precinct, do. 
 
 William Mosher, do. do. 
 
 Silvester Richmond, do. do. 
 
 Jesse Irish, do. do. 
 
 David Irish, do. do. 
 
 William Irish, do. do. 
 
 Josiah Bull, do. do. 
 
 Josiah Bull Junr., do . do. 
 
 Allen Moore, do. do. 
 
 Andrew Moore, do. do. 
 
 William Gifford, do. do. 
 
 Nathaniel Yeomans, do. do. 
 
 Eliab Yeomans, do. do. 
 
 William Parks, do. do. 
 
 The following is a list of the slaves in Duchess 
 county above the age of fourteen, and their owners, 
 taken pursuant to act of the Assembly in 1755 = — 
 
 Names of Masters Names of Male Names of Fe- 
 
 AND Mistresses. Negroes. male Nbgbobs. 
 
 CoUo ; Martin Hoffman, Jack Fortune, Frank Francis,' Sarah Dean 
 
 Susan Bet 
 Toby Jo : 
 Capt. Zacharias Hoffman, Bristoll Will, Jenny Peggy 
 
 Vullard Widbeck, Jack, Diana 
 
 Harmon Knickerbacker, Tom, 
 
 John Van Benthouse, Pompey, Cuffy, Hannah Jenny 
 
 Barrent Van Benthouse, Bastian,Andrew,Cui6r,Peter, 
 
 Simon, prince Adam Mathew, 
 Anthony Hoffman, Jo ; 
 
 John Vosburgh, Jo Tom, Phillis 
 
 Capt. Evert Knickerbacker, Maria 
 
 Adam Pitzer, Kate 
 
 Peter Pitzer, Fortune, 
 
 Rier Schemerhorn, Diana 
 
 Peter Heermanse, Quash, 
 
 Gerrett Heermanse, Ned, 
 
 The above List was taken by me this izth Day of May 1755. 
 
 Zacharias Hoffman, Captain. 
 Rynebeck Precinct, March 22 Day. 
 Mr. Jacob Siemon, Antony, 
 
 Margerit Bennin, Tam, 
 
 Symon Kool, Pamp, Bette 
 
 Nicholas Stickel, Frank, 
 
 Johannes Feller, Piet, 
 
 Petrus Ten Brock, Tam, Cornells, Jack, Sara Bette 
 
 Ms Catherine Palling, Robben, Deen 
 
 Andiies Heremanse, Go, Mary 
 
 Taken up by me Evert. 
 
 Knekerbacker, Capt. 
 
 "Sketches of Local History, by Benson J. Lossing, LL. D., in The 
 Dutchess Farmer, Dec. \^, 1S76.— Doc. Hist. III., 1027, 1028. 
 
64 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 Rhynebeck Precinct, March ye 22 Day. 
 
 Names of Masters Names of Male Names of Fe- 
 
 AND Mistresses. Negroes. male Negroes. 
 
 Mrs. Aleda Rutsen, Thom, Robin, Coffie, Filis, Riet, Dean 
 Mrs. Rachel VanSteenbergen,Lou, Pieter, 
 Lawrence Tiel, Tam, 
 Henry Tiel, Jack, 
 
 Philip Veller, Lou, Betty 
 
 Johannes Lambert, Bett 
 
 Jack Keip, Tom, Pieter, Jan, fillis 
 
 Roelof Keip, Tom, Keet 
 
 Abraham Keip, Betty, Mary, Bess 
 
 Gerrit VanBenthuysen, Herry, floor Dill 
 
 George Toevelt, febe 
 
 George Adam Toevelt, Dien 
 
 Susan Angenes Sheeferen, Kinno 
 
 Comeles Ostervanter, Wench fillis 
 
 Mrs. Cathlynje V. fretenborg, Yud 
 Taken up by me, Frans Nehkr Capt.* 
 
 The following document, which forms a part of 
 the collection of the Historical Committee of the 
 Poughkeepsie Literary Club, preserves evidence 
 that the inhabitants of Duchess of a century ago 
 were not free from those petty bickerings which 
 disgrace the present generation. We quote verba- 
 tim the formidable prelude to this document : — 
 
 " Dutchess Co. ss : An extract of all issues, fines, 
 americaments and recognizances forfeited and set 
 to our Lord the King at the General Session of 
 the Peace of our Lord the King on the first Tues- 
 day of January in the thirteenth year of the reign 
 of our Sovereign Lord George the Third now [1773] 
 King of Great Britain, &c., and by adjournment 
 to Saturday the eighth of January of the same 
 month, before Beverly Robinson, Nicholas De- 
 Lavergne, Henry Van Der Burgh, Bartholomew 
 Noxon, Ephraim Paine, Lawrence Lawrence and 
 Thomas Barker Esqrs., Justices of our said Lord 
 the King assigned to keep the peace in the county 
 of Dutchess also to hear and determine diverse 
 felonies, trespasses and other [a word unintelligible] 
 committed in the same county — Henry Livingston 
 Esq., Clerk of the Peace of the county aforesaid 
 there attending for the space of foar days." 
 
 By this tribunal fines of ten shillings each were 
 imposed on John Ostrom and Hendrick I. Ostrom, 
 yeoman, of Rombout Precinct, "for an assault on the 
 body of Francis Smith ;" Edy Van Evere, yeoman, of 
 Rombout Precinct, " for an assault on the body of 
 Nicholas Pearson, Jr. ;" Nicholas Pearson, Jr., yeo- 
 man, of same precinct, "for an assault on the body 
 of Edy Van Evere;" of five shillings each on John 
 I. Van Kleek, of " Poghkeepsie Precinct," shop- 
 keeper, "for an assault on the body of Alexander 
 Chaucer;" Alexander Chaucer, of the same pre- 
 cinct, gentleman, " for an assault on the body of 
 John I. Van Kleek;" Peter Mullen, of the same 
 precinct, blacksmith, " for an assault on the body 
 of Simon P. La Roy ;" and of five pounds on Silas 
 Fosket, of Amenia Precinct, yeoman, "for a vio- 
 lent assault on the body of Elizabeth Harris," and 
 he was "committed to his Majesty's gaol in 
 Dutchess county, there to remain until he shall pay 
 the said fine." 
 
 • Doc. Hist. Ill, 851, 852. ' ' 
 
 Other quaint documents in the same collection 
 hand down to us those relics of ancient barbarism 
 — the oaths of abjuration and fealty, which, on the 
 accession of George III. to the throne of England 
 in 1760, were prescribed for the officers in his 
 dominion. The following are the oaths and the 
 names of those in Duchess county who took 
 them : — 
 
 "I, A. B., Do Solemnly and Sincerely, in the 
 Presence of God, Profess, Testify and Declare, 
 That I do Believe, that in the Sacrament of the 
 Lord's Supper there is not any Transubstantiation, 
 of the Elements of Bread and Wine, into the Body 
 and Blood of Christ, at or After the Consecration 
 Thereof, by any person whatsoever, And that the 
 Invocation, or Adoration of the Virgin Mary, or 
 Any Other Saint, And the Sacrifice of Mass, as they 
 are Now Used in the Church of Rome, Are Super- 
 stitious and Idolatrous, andu I do Solemnly in the 
 presence of God, Profess, Testify and Declare, that 
 I do make this Declaration, and Every Part There- 
 of, in the Plain and Ordinary Sence, of the Words 
 read to me, as they are Commonly Understood, by 
 English Protestants, Without Any Evasion, Equiv- 
 ocation, or Mental Reservation Whatsoever, and 
 Without any Dispensation, Already Granted me 
 for this purpose, by the Pope, or any Other Author- 
 ity Whatsoever, or Without Thinking, that I am or 
 Can be Acquitted, before God or Man, or absolved 
 of this Declaration, or any Part Thereof, Although 
 the Pope, or any Person or Persons, or Power 
 Whatsoever, Should Dispence with, or Annul the 
 same, and Declare that it was Null and Void, from 
 the Beginning." 
 
 The other oath reads as follows : — 
 
 " I, A. B., do Sincerely Promise & Swear, that I 
 will be faithful and bear true Allegiance to his 
 Majesty King George the Third, and I do Swear, 
 that I do from my heart, Abhor, Detest and Abjure,^ 
 as Impious and Heritical, that Damnable Doctrine 
 and Position, that Princes Excommunicated and 
 Deprived by the Pope, or any Authority of the See 
 of Rome, may be Deposed by their Subjects or any 
 other Whatsoever, and I do Declare that no For- 
 eign Prince, Person, Prelate, State or Potentate, 
 hath or ought to have, any Jurisdiction, Power, 
 Superiority, Pre-eminence, or Authority Eclesias- 
 tical or Spiritual Within this Realm, and I do 
 Truly and Sincerely accknowledge and profess, 
 Testify and Declare, in my Conscience, before God 
 and the World, That our Sovereign Lord King 
 George the Third, is Lawfull and Rightfull King 
 of this Realm, and all other Dominions and Coun- 
 trys Thereunto Belonging, and I do Solemnly and 
 Sincerely Declare, that I do believe in my Con- 
 science that the person pretended to be Prince of 
 Wales, During the Life of the Late King James 
 the Second, and Since his Decease, PretendiiSg to 
 be, and Takeing upon himself, the Stile and Title 
 of King of England, by the name of James the 
 Third, or of Scotland by the name of James the 
 Eighth, or the Stile and Title of King of Great 
 
LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS TO OATHS OF ABJURATION AND FEALTY, 1760-73. 65 
 
 Britain, hath not any right or Title Whatsoever, to 
 the Crown of this Realm, or any other the Domin- 
 ions Thereunto Belonging, and I do Renounce, 
 Refuse and Abjure, any Aligeance or Obediance 
 to. him and I do Swear, That I will bear Faith, and 
 true Alegiance to his Majesty King George the 
 Third, and him will Defend, to the Utmost of my 
 Power, against all Traiterous Conspiracies and 
 Attempts Whatsoever, which shall be made, Against 
 his Person, Crown or Dignity, and I will do my 
 Utmost Endeavors, to Disclose and Make Known, 
 to his Majesty and his Successors, all Treasons and 
 Traiterous Conspiracies, which I shall know to be 
 against him, or any of them, and I do faithfully 
 promise to the Utmost of my Power to Support 
 Maintain and Defend, the Successors of the Crown, 
 against him the said James and all other Persons 
 Whatsoever, Which Succession, by an Act Entitled 
 an Act for the further Limitation of the Crown 
 and better Securing the Rights and Libertys of the 
 Subjects is and Stands Limitted to the Late Prin- 
 cess Sophia, Electress and Dutchess Dowager of 
 Hanover, and the Heirs of her Body, being Protes- 
 tants, and all these things I do Plainly and Sincerely 
 Acknowledge and Swear according to the Express 
 words by me Spoken, and According to the Plain 
 and Common Sence and Understanding of the 
 Same Words, Without any Equivocation, Mental 
 Evasion, or Senister Reservation Whatsoever, and 
 I do make this Recognition, Acknowledgement, 
 Abjuration, Renunciation and Promise, heartily. 
 Willingly and Truly, upon the True Faith of a 
 Christian — So help me God." 
 
 Those whose name are foll(Jwed by a star (*) in 
 the following list took only the first oath at the date 
 set opposite their respective names. Those remain- 
 ing took both : — 
 
 1760. 
 April I. Roswell Hopkins,* 2d Lieut. 
 
 do. 2. Abraham Lozel,* Captain. 
 
 do. 2. Henry Bell,* ist Lieut. 
 
 do. 2. Michael Vinsnt,* 2d Lieut. 
 
 do. 2. Peter Covis,* Ensign. 
 
 do. 3. Stephanus Congen,* ist Lieut. 
 
 do. 3. Wm. Radcliff,* 2d Lieut. 
 
 do. 3. Bathuin Brown,* Ensign. 
 
 do. 3. Simon Flagler,* zd Lieut. 
 
 do. 4. Samuel King,* Ensign. 
 
 '''" 5. William Gray,* 2d Lieut. 
 8. Simeon Wright,* do. 
 
 William Doughty, Jr.,* Ensign. 
 John Stoutenburgh,* do. 
 William Hill,* 2d Lieut. 
 Isaac Rhodes,* Captain. 
 Andrew Sill,* Ensign. 
 
 his 
 
 do. 24. Thomas X Smith,* ist Lieut. 
 
 mark. 
 
 John Cannon,* Lieut. 
 Saml. Gerry, Jr.,* do. 
 Joseph Powell,* do. 
 Isaac Conckin,* do. 
 
 (.10, 
 
 do. 
 
 do. g. 
 
 do. 16, 
 
 do. 
 
 do, 
 
 do. 
 
 21. 
 21. 
 21. 
 
 May 22. 
 
 do. 22. 
 
 do. 23. 
 
 do. 23. 
 June 28. 
 
 do. 28. 
 
 Cornelius Vanwyck,* 2d Lieut. 
 John Bailey, Jr.,* Ensign. 
 
 1760. 
 June 30. 
 Aug. 21. 
 
 do. 21. 
 
 do. 21. 
 
 do. 21. 
 Sept. 27. 
 
 do. 29. 
 Nov. 8. 
 
 do. 27. 
 
 do. 27. 
 1761. 
 Oct. 20. 
 
 do. 22. 
 
 do. 22. 
 do. 22. 
 do. 22. 
 
 1762. 
 May 18. 
 
 do. 18. 
 
 do. 18. 
 
 do. 18. 
 
 do. 18. 
 
 do. 18. 
 
 do. 18. 
 
 do. 18. 
 
 do. 18. 
 
 do. 18. 
 
 do. 18. 
 
 do. 18. 
 
 do. 18. 
 
 1763. 
 
 Feb. 22. 
 
 Mar. 12. 
 
 do. 24. 
 
 do. 24. 
 
 do. 24. 
 
 do. 24. 
 
 1761. 
 
 Sept. 25, 
 
 do. 26. 
 
 do. 
 
 do. 
 
 do. 
 Oct. 
 
 do. 
 
 26. 
 
 29. 
 
 30- 
 7- 
 7- 
 
 do. 7. 
 do. 12. 
 ,do. 13. 
 do. 14. 
 do. 20. 
 do. 20. 
 do. 21. 
 do. 21. 
 do. 21. 
 do. 21. 
 do. 21. 
 do. 21. 
 do. 21. 
 do. 21. 
 
 Jacob X Brill's mark,* Ensign. 
 Samuel Rowland,* Captain. 
 Abraham filkin,* Ensign. 
 Zephaniah Piatt, Jr.,* Captain. 
 Silas Deuel,* ist Lieut. 
 Jacob Sharpenstone,* 2d Lieut. 
 Christian Tobias,* Jr., Ensign. 
 Clear Everitt,* Sheriff. 
 Teunis Tappen,* Under Sheriff. 
 Barnardin Fillkih,* do. 
 
 Daniel Castle, Justice. 
 
 his 
 
 Christian DD Dedrick, Naturalized. 
 
 mark. 
 
 Henry Shop, do. 
 
 Johannes Pallankin Cassford, do, 
 Lodwick Elsever, do. 
 
 Johann Georg Goodmanhein, do. 
 
 his 
 
 Anthouy X Poucher, do. 
 
 mark, 
 his 
 
 Hannis HK Kraf, do. 
 
 mark. 
 
 William Peter Wallace, do. 
 
 Jacob Cain, do. 
 
 Johannis Blin or Bloss (?) do. 
 
 Hurst Cramer, do. 
 
 Peter Crofut, do. 
 
 Henry Dencker, do. 
 
 Christian Frankal, do. 
 
 Yuvi Loun, do. 
 
 George Schuyder, do. 
 
 John Joshua Weder, do. 
 
 Isaac Burton, Sub Sheriff. 
 Henry Ludinton, do. 
 Malen Mead, Captain. 
 David Sotherland, ist Lieut. 
 Lewis Barton, 2d Lieut. 
 Samuel Pugsly, Ensign. 
 
 Matthew Du Boys, Judge and Justice. 
 
 Nicholas De La Vergne, Justice and Asst. 
 
 William Doughty, do. do. 
 
 Roswell Hopkins, Justice. 
 
 L. Van Kleeck, Judge and Justice. 
 
 Abraham Bockee, Justice. 
 
 Thomas Philips, do. 
 
 Samuel Peters, do. 
 
 Henry Lott, do. 
 
 Henry D. Burgh, do. 
 
 William Humfrey, do. 
 
 John Akin, do. 
 
 Caleb Smith, do. 
 
 Jacobus Ter Bos, Justice and Judge. 
 
 Timothy Soule, Justice. 
 
 James Dickinson, do. 
 
 Elijah Tompkins, do. 
 
 John Rider, do. 
 
 Anthony Yelverton, Justice and Asst. 
 
 Samuel R. Utly, Justice. 
 
 Mordecai Lester, do. 
 
66 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 1761. 
 Oct. 21. 
 
 do. 23. 
 
 do. 29. 
 Nov. 13. 
 
 do. 21. 
 
 do. 27. 
 
 do. 27. 
 
 1762. 
 
 Jan. 20. 
 
 Feb. 5. 
 
 May 18. 
 
 do. 20. 
 
 do. 20. 
 
 do. 20. 
 
 1763. 
 
 Jan. 12. 
 
 do. 12. 
 
 do. 12. 
 
 do. 28. 
 
 do. 28. 
 Feb. 2. 
 
 do. 
 
 do. 
 
 do. 
 
 do. 
 
 do. 
 
 do. 
 
 do. 2. 
 
 do. 
 do. 
 do. 
 do. 
 do. 
 do. 
 do. II. 
 do. II, 
 
 do. II. 
 
 April 6. 
 June 2. 
 Nov. 7. 
 
 1764. 
 Feb. 4. 
 
 May 15. 
 
 do. 15. 
 
 do. 17. 
 Oct. 2. 
 
 do. 2. 
 
 do. 2. 
 
 do. 29. 
 Nov. 7. 
 
 do. 7. 
 
 176J. 
 
 Nov. 8. 
 
 1766. 
 May 20. 
 
 do 20. 
 Oct. 7. 
 
 do. 7. 
 
 do. '8. 
 Nov. 1 2. 
 
 John Palmer, Justice. 
 James G. Livingston, Sheriff. 
 Bernard Filkin, Under Sheriff. 
 
 James Smith, Justice. 
 
 James Duncan, do. 
 
 Johannis Deevit, do. 
 
 Cornelis Luyster, do. 
 
 Augustinus Turck, do. 
 Elisha Colver, ' do. 
 Gilbert Livingston^ D. Clerk. 
 Johann Georg Kreep, Naturalized. 
 Henry AUendorf; do. 
 
 Azariah Newcomb, Under Sheriff. 
 
 Michael Hopkins, Captain. 
 Simeon Cook, 2d Lieut. 
 Ichabod Paine, Ensign. 
 Harmon Hoffman, do. 
 Samuel King, ist Lieut. 
 Moses Harris, Captain. 
 Jonathan Reynolds, ist Lieut. 
 Stephen Herrick, 2d Lieut. 
 Henry De Deo, Captain. 
 Symon Westfael, 1st Lieut. 
 Johannes Henner, 2d Lieut. 
 John Weever, Jr., Ensign. 
 
 his 
 
 Philip X Staats, do. 
 
 mark. 
 
 Stephen Caswell, Captain. 
 Eben'r Jessup, 2d Lieut. 
 Lewis Enos Bryan, Ensign. 
 Simeon Wright, Captain. 
 John Ring, ist Lieut. 
 Daniel J. CHne, Ensign. 
 Ichabod Rogers, 2d Lieut. 
 Henry Heermanns, ist Lieut. 
 
 his 
 
 Johannis Rysdorf, 2d Lieut. 
 
 mark. 
 
 Joseph F&wler, Ensign. 
 Joseph Ketchum, ist Lieut. 
 James Livingston, Sheriff. 
 
 Isaac Van Benschoten, Under Sheriff. 
 
 Isaac Burton, Under Sheriff. 
 
 Christian Tobias, NaturaUzed. 
 
 Frederick Gilliger, do. 
 
 John Bogardus, Justice. 
 
 Nathan Taylor, Captain. 
 
 Edward Gody, Jr.,* ist Lieut. 
 
 Silas Paddock, Ensign. 
 
 John Field, 2d Lieut. 
 
 Isaiah Bennet,* do. 
 
 Amos Fuller, Ensign. 
 
 Richard Warner, Under Sheriff. 
 
 Peter Klaing, NaturaUzed. 
 
 Josan Georg Marquaof, do. 
 Daniel Geigen Grim, do. 
 
 Michael Colts, do. 
 
 Isaac Rysdyk, do. 
 
 James Brook, Under Sheriff. 
 
 1767. 
 Mar. 15, 
 Oct. 4. 
 
 1769. 
 Jan. 9. 
 May 16. 
 
 do. 16. 
 
 do. 16. 
 
 do. 16. 
 
 do. 16. 
 
 do. 17. 
 
 do. 17. 
 
 do. 17. 
 
 do. 17. 
 June 6. 
 
 do. 7. 
 
 do. 7. 
 
 do. 14. 
 
 do. 15. 
 Aug. 31. 
 Oct. 4. 
 
 do. 4. 
 
 do. 4. 
 
 do. 14. 
 Dec. 6. 
 
 1770. 
 Jan. 30. Henry Hegaman, Justice. 
 Feb. 3. Jacobus Swartwout, Coroner. 
 Mar. 6. Cornelis Knickerbocker, Captain. 
 
 do. 6. Jacob Millins, ist Lieut. 
 
 do. 6. Johannes George Rorick, 2d Lieut. 
 
 do. 6. Benjamin Van Leman, Ensign. 
 
 do. 20. Thomas Taber, Justice. 
 Apr. 1 7. Johannes Rauch, Captain. 
 
 do. 17. John Wise Erus, ist Lieut. 
 
 do. 17. James Wilson, Ensign. 
 
 do. 17. Lewis Bryan, ist Lieut. 
 
 do. 17. James Winchell, 2d Lieut. 
 
 do. 17. William Knickerbocker, Ensign. 
 May 7. John Lovell, ad Lieut. 
 
 do. 15. John Child, Attorney. 
 
 do. 16. James Meed, 1st Lieut. 
 
 do. 22. Benjamin DeLamatter, Ensign. 
 June 16. Henry Ellis, Justice. 
 July 10. James Atwater, do. 
 Sept. 27. Silas Marsh,* Attorney. • 
 
 1771. 
 Feb. 9, 
 May ifl 
 
 Rufus Herrick, Under Sheriff. 
 Henry Beekman, Justice and Asst. 
 
 Tho. Newcomb, Under Sheriff. 
 
 Henry V. D. Burgh, Judge and Justice. 
 
 Peter Harris, Asst. and Justice. 
 
 James Duncan, Justice. 
 
 Lawrence Lawrence, Justice.. 
 
 Matthew Brett, do. 
 
 Uriah Lawrence, do. 
 
 Andrew Moorhous, do. 
 
 Thomas Menzies, do. 
 
 Malcom Morison, do. 
 
 Bartholomew Noxon, do. 
 
 Henry Rosekranz, Jr., do. 
 
 Cornelius Humphrey, do. 
 
 Thomas Baldwin, do. 
 
 Andrew Bostwick, do. 
 
 Conrad Wineger, do. 
 
 Daniel Sleght, Naturalized. 
 
 John Michel Richer, do. 
 
 Thomas Barker, Justice. 
 
 Lewis Duboys, Under Sheriff. 
 
 Ephraim Paine, Justice. 
 
 John Lloyd, Under Sheriff. 
 
 Reuben Hopkins, Attorney. 
 June 14. Bev. Robinson, Judge and Justice. 
 Oct. 31. Enos Northrup, Under Sheriff. 
 
 James Vanderburgh, Justice. 
 Duncan Campbell, do. 
 Alex'r Grant, do. 
 
 Philip I. Livingston, High Sheriff. 
 Peter Dubois, Under Sheriff, • 
 
 1772. 
 
 Feb. 17. 
 
 Oct. 9. 
 
 do. g. 
 
 do. 16. 
 
 do. 16. 
 
 1773. 
 
 Jan. 6. John Terrill, Justice. 
 
 Feb. 15. Ananias Cooper, do. 
 
 Thrice during the revolutionary period (1780- 
 1782,) did the Marquis de Chastellux, a French 
 general officer under Rochambeau, extend his 
 
DE CHASTELLUX'S TRAVELS THROUGH DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 67 
 
 travels to this county. His observations, published 
 in a rare work entitled Travels in North America, 
 are, with the exception of Anburey's, which will be 
 noticed in another connection, the earliest having 
 a local interest to Duchess county of which we 
 have knowledge. A view of the county at that 
 early period through the eyes of so distinguished 
 a character can not fail to interest the present in- 
 habitants of Duchess. 
 
 De Chastellux made his first visit in November, 
 1780, while en route from Rhode Island to " Prak- 
 ness," where Washington's army then lay. He 
 crossed the Housatonic, "or river of Stratford," 
 "near BulVs iron works" (now Bull's Bridge,) 
 where, he says, it " is easily forded," and " lost in 
 admiration at the view of the charming landscape, 
 formed by the combination of forges, of the fall of 
 water which seems to work them, and of the varie- 
 gated prospect of trees and rocks with which this 
 picturesque scene is embellished," followed its 
 course south to the mouth of Ten Mile River. 
 After ascending the latter two or three miles he 
 came " in sight of several handsome houses, 
 forming a part of the district called The Oblong" 
 Two miles further on he arrived at the inn kept by 
 Colonel Moorhouse; "for nothing is more com- 
 mon in America," he says, " than to see an inn- 
 keeper a Colonel : they are in general militia col- 
 onels, chosen by the mihtia themselves, who seldom 
 fail to entreat the command to the most esteemed, 
 and most creditable citizens." With a motive 
 which did little credit to his heart, he urged for- 
 ward his horses " to get the start of a traveler 
 on horseback" who had joined him on the road, 
 and would have the same right with himself to 
 lodgings had they arrived together. He " had the 
 satisfaction, however, to see him pursue his jour- 
 ney ; but soon learnt with concern, that the little 
 inn where [he] proposed to pass that night, was 
 occupied by thirteen farmers, and two hundred and 
 fifty oxen coming from New Hampshire." The 
 oxen were " a part of the contingent of provisions " 
 furnished by that State to the army. They, he 
 adds, "were the least iijconvenient part of the 
 company, as they were left to graze in a meadow 
 hard by, without even a dog to guard them ; but the 
 farmers, their horses, and dogs, were in possession 
 of the inn." They occupied " all the rooms, and 
 all the beds," and he " was in the greatest distress ;" 
 when, with remarkable magninimity, "a tall, fat man, 
 the principal person amongst them," being informed 
 who he was, assured him, "that neither he, nor his 
 companions, would ever suifer a French general 
 
 officer to want a bed, and that they would rather 
 sleep on the floor ; adding, that they were accus- 
 tomed to it, and that it would be attended with no 
 inconvenience." He assured them that, being a 
 military man, he was as much accustomed as them- 
 selves to making the earth his bed, and they " had 
 long debates on this point oi pglitesse;" but the 
 result was that he and his aides "had a two-bedded 
 room." 
 
 He " parted good friends '' with his New Hamp- 
 shire acquaintances, whose " size and stature 
 struck" him ; and on the morning of the " 20th 
 of December" [should be November] resumed his 
 journey. "Three miles from Moorhouse's," he 
 says, "is a very high hill; we then descend, but 
 not quite so much as we ascended ; but the road 
 here is over elevated ground, leaving large moun- 
 tains on the left. The country is well cultivated ; 
 affording the prospect of several pretty farms, with 
 some mills ; and notwithstanding the war, Hopel 
 [Hopewell] township is building, inhabited chiefly 
 by Dutch people." It was his intention " to sleep 
 five miles this side of Fishkill, at Colonel Grifiin's 
 tavern ;'' but being assured by that gentleman, 
 whom he found " cutting and preparing wood for 
 fences,'' that "his house was full, which was easy 
 to be believed, for it was very small," he continued 
 his journey and reached Fishkill about four o'clock. 
 "This town," he says, referring to Fishkill, "in 
 which there are not more than fifty houses in the 
 space of two miles, has been long the principal 
 depot of the American army. It is there they have 
 placed their magazines, their hospitals, their work- 
 shops, &c., but all these form a town of themselves, 
 composed of some handsome large barracks, built 
 in the wood at the foot of the mountains." As 
 evidence of the "great importance" of the post at 
 Fishkill, which, he says, being " situated on the 
 high road from Connecticut," " near the North 
 River," and " protected by a chain, of inaccessible 
 mountains," "has all the qualities necessary for a 
 place of depot," he cites the campaign of 1777, 
 which made it " clear that the plan of the English 
 was to render themselves masters of the whole 
 course of the North River, and thus to separate 
 the Eastern and Western States," and " necessary 
 therefore to secure a post on Jhat river; West 
 Point was made choice of as the most important to 
 fortify, and Fishkill, as the place best adapted to 
 the establishment of the principal depot of pro- 
 visions, ammunition, &c." 
 
 How, " with difficulty," he found lodgings, which 
 were made " very scarce" by the movement of 
 
68 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 troops to winter quarters ; but he " got at last into 
 a middling inn, next [kept] by an old Mrs. Egre- 
 mont. The house was not so clean as they usually 
 are in America ; but the most disagreeable circum- 
 stance was the want of several panes of glass. In 
 fact, of all repairs, that of windows is the most diffi- 
 cult, in a country where, from the scattered situ- 
 ation and distance of the houses from each other, 
 it is sometimes necessary to send twenty miles for 
 a glazier." But, having " made use of every thing 
 that came to hand to patch up the windows," with 
 the aid of " an excellent fire," and under the genial 
 influences of the polite attentions of " the Doctor 
 of the hospital" and " the Quarter-master of Fish- 
 kill," he managed to pass the night. In the morn- 
 ing he was conducted by the latter " to see the 
 barracks, the magazines, and work-houses of the 
 different workmen employed in the service of the 
 army." "These barracks," he says, " are wooden 
 houses, well built and well covered, having garrets, 
 and even cellars." Here, he adds, " such ample 
 provision is made for every thing that the service 
 and discipline of the army may require, that a 
 prdvotd and a prison are built there, surrounded by 
 paUsades. One gate only affords access to the 
 inclosure of the prdvotd ; and before it is placed a 
 guard-house." "After passing some time in visiting 
 these different settlements," he proceeded toward 
 West Point. Four or five miles from Fishkill, he 
 passed a camp in the woods occupied by "some hun- 
 dred invalid soldiers," who, he says, "were all in very 
 good health, but had been sent here because their 
 cloaths were truly invahds." " These honest fel- 
 lows," he adds, " for I will not say creatures^ (they 
 know to well how to suffer, and are suffering in too 
 noble a cause,) were not covered, even with rags j 
 but their steady countenances, and their arms in 
 good order, seemed to supply the defect of cloaths, 
 and to display nothing but their courage and their 
 patience." He continued his journey "in the 
 woods, in a road hemmed in on both sides by very 
 steep hills, which seemed admirably adapted for the 
 dwelling of bears, and where in fact they often 
 make their appearance in winter." He availed 
 himself " at length of a less difficult part of these 
 mountains to turn to the westward." Descending 
 slowly towards the river, " at the turning of the 
 road," he says, " my eyes were struck with the 
 most magnificent picture I had ever beheld. It 
 was a view of, the North River, running in a deep 
 channel formed by the mountains, through which, 
 in fbrmer ages it had forced its passage. The fort 
 of West Point and the formidable batteries which 
 
 defend it fix the attention on the western bank, 
 but on Kfting your eyes you behold on every side 
 lofty summits, thick set with redoubts and bat- 
 teries." 
 
 The following month, (December,) DeChastellux, 
 having visited Washington at " Prakness," and 
 extended his travels south to Philadelphia and the 
 battle-field of Brandywine, turned his steps north 
 to visit the battlefields of Stillwater and Saratoga. 
 From New Windsor, which was then the head- 
 quarters of Gen. Washington, he crossed the Hud- 
 son to " Fishkill Landing Placed' accompanied by 
 that officer, in whose barge he made the passage. 
 The object of crossing the river at this point was, 
 he says, " to gain the eastern road, preferred by 
 travellers to the western." Here he took leave of 
 Washington, who insisted that Col. Smith should 
 accompany'him to " Pougkk^nsie" (Poughkeepsie.) 
 " The road to this town," he says, " passes pretty 
 near Fishkill, which we leave on the right, from 
 thence we travel on the heights, where there is a 
 beautiful and extensive prospect, and traversing a 
 township, called Middlebrook, arrive at the creek, 
 and at Wapping Fall. There I halted a few 
 minutes to consider, under different points of view, 
 the charming landscape formed by this river, as 
 well from its cascade, which is roaring and pictur- 
 esque, as from the groups of trees and rocks, which, 
 combined with- a number of saw-mills and furnaces, 
 compose the most capricious and romantic pros- 
 pect." 
 
 It was his intention to stop over night at "Pough- 
 kensie," where he arrived at half-past three in the 
 afternoon ; " but finding that the sessions were 
 then holding, and that all the taverns were full," 
 he proceeded three miles further, to '■'■Prides 
 Tavern" regretting not having seen Governor 
 Clinton, who "was then at Poughkensie, but 
 taken up with the business of the sessions." At 
 "Pride's Tavern" he interrogated the landlord, 
 whose name was Pride, and whom he perceived to 
 be a good farmer, on the subject of agriculture, 
 and drew from him the information that " the land 
 is very fertile in Duchess County, * * * but 
 it is commonly left fallow one year out of two 
 or three, less from necessity than from there being 
 more land than they can cultivate. A bushel of 
 wheat at most is sown upon an acre, which renders 
 twenty, and five-and-twenty for one. Some 
 farmers sow oats on the land that has borne wheat 
 the preceding year, but this grain in general is re- 
 served for lands newly turned up ; flax is also a 
 considerable object of cultivation ; the land is 
 
DE CHASTELLUX'S TRAVELS THROUGH DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 69 
 
 ploughed with horses, two or three to a plough ; 
 sometimes even a greater number when on new 
 land, or that which has long lain fallow." Mr. 
 Pride, he says, while giving these details, always 
 flattered him with hopes of fine weather the next 
 day ; in the morning, however, he was chagrined 
 to find that the ground was "ahready entirely 
 white," while snow "continued to fall in abun- 
 dance, mixed with hail and ice." He continued 
 his journey, notwithstanding, ''only taking a little 
 better breakfast than I should otherwise have 
 done," he says, probably, as he does not other- 
 wise explain his motive, as a punitive reward for 
 the erroneous prognostications of his landlord. 
 " But I regretted most," he adds, " that the snow, 
 or rather small hail that drove against my eyes, 
 prevented me from seeing the country ; which, as 
 far as I could judge, is beautiful and well cultivated. 
 After the travelling about ten miles, I traversed 
 the township of Strasbourg, called by the inhabi- 
 tants of the country Strattsborough [Staatsburgh.] 
 This township is five or six miles long, yet the 
 houses are not far from each other." 
 
 "You scarcely get out of Stratsbourgh," he says, 
 "before you enter the township of Rhynbeck-" 
 where, he observes, " nobody came out to ask me 
 to dinner." " But this snow mixed with hail was 
 so cold, and I was so fatigued with keeping my 
 horse from slipping, that I should have stopped 
 here even without being invited by the handsome 
 appearance of the inn called Thomas's Inn. It was 
 no more, however, than half past two ; but as I had 
 already come three and twenty miles, the house 
 was good, the fire well-lighted, my host a tall, good- 
 looking man, a sportsman, a horse dealer, and dis- 
 posed to chat, I determined according to the English 
 phrase to spend the rest of my day there." Mr. 
 Thomas, who was the owner of "some dogs of a 
 beautiful kind," which awakened the Marquis' pas- 
 sion for a chase, and, in time of peace, had carried 
 on a great trade of horses, which he purchased in 
 Canada and sent to New York, there to be shipped 
 to the West Indies, regaled his distinguished guest 
 with the recital of his experiences as a sportsman 
 and horse trader, and with the more important in- 
 formation, " that in the neighborhood of Rhynbeck 
 the land was uncommonly fruitful, and that for a 
 bushel of sown wheat he reaped from thirty to 
 forty. The corn is so abundant that they do not 
 take the trouble of cutting it with a sickle, but 
 mow it like hay." The Marquis' opinion of his 
 host's patriotism was not of an exalted nature. "He 
 was " he says, " too rich, and complained too much 
 
 of the flour he furnished for the army to let me 
 think him a good whig." De Chastellux left 
 Thomas' Inn December 23d, and we leave him to 
 pursue his journey through Livingston Manor, 
 Claverack, Kinderhook and Albany to the historic 
 fields of Saratoga, of all of which he gives a most 
 interesting description. 
 
 Two years after his first visit, in December 
 1782, DeChastellux again visited this section, while 
 on his way from Rhode Island to the headquarters 
 of Washington, then at Newburgh. The war had 
 ceased; the preUminaries of peace had been 
 arranged between the United States, Great Britain 
 and France ; and the French allies of the former 
 were about to depart from America. The Marquis 
 had taken his usual route from Hartford through 
 Litchfield, down the Housatonic to Bull's Bridge, 
 and up Ten-Mile River to Moorhouse's Tavern, 
 where he arrived at five in the afternoon of Decem- 
 ber 4th. 
 
 " The 5th we set out at nine, and rode without 
 stopping, to Fish-kill, where we arrived at half-past 
 two, after a four-and-twenty miles journey through 
 very bad roads. I alighted at Boerorris tavern, 
 which I knew to be the same I had been at two 
 years before, and kept by Mrs. Egremont. The 
 house was changed for the better, and we made a 
 very good supper. We passed the North River as 
 night came on, and arrived at six o'clock at New- 
 burgh."* 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Early Civil Divisions — Duchess County Di- 
 vided Into Wards, Precincts and Towns — 
 Topography of County — Its Mountains and 
 Streams — Measures for Re-Stocking the 
 
 LATTER WITH FiSH ClIMATE TEMPERATURE 
 
 Rain-Fall — Snow-Fall — Thaws — Direction 
 and Prevalence of Winds — Mortality of 
 Duchess as Compared with other Counties 
 IN the State — Soils — Agriculture — Staple 
 Productions — Manufactures. 
 
 PREVIOUS to 1683, the State of New York 
 had no other distinctive civil divisions than 
 manors, cities and villages. In 1638, the Dutch 
 gave to all that part of the State lying west of 
 Albany its first specific designation— 7>rra Incog- 
 nita] — a name nearly as appropriate even a 
 
 *DeChastellux's Travels In North America., London Ed., /., 56— 
 7Z, J51 — 367; I!..,'2^i — joi. Historical Sketches by Benson J. Lossing^t 
 LL. D., in Poughkeepsie Daily Eagle, November 1873. 
 
 t Tumer^s Pioneer History of Phelps and Gorhanis Purchase., 126, 
 
70 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 century later. November i, 1683, the Province 
 of New York was divided into twelve counties 
 which were named from the titles of the royal 
 family.* Duchess was one of the twelve, and then 
 embraced the present county of Putnam and the 
 towns of Clermont and Germantown, in Columbia 
 county; the latter of which were annexed to 
 Albany county in 1717, and the former constituted 
 a separate county June t2, 181 2. Its boundaries, 
 as defined in the original act, were Roelaff Jansen's 
 Kill on the north to the county of Westchester, 
 south of the Highlands, on the south, and east 
 from the Hudson into the woods twenty miles. It 
 was then, it is supposed, uninhabited by white men ; 
 and October 18, 1701, "having very few inhabi- 
 tants," was provisionally annexed to Ulster county, 
 where its freeholders were entitled to vote, as 
 though they resided there. It retained that con- 
 nection till October 23, 1 7 13, when having increased 
 in population, it was deemed " necessary that they 
 should have county officers of their own," and by 
 an act of the assembly "Dutchy County" was em- 
 powered to elect a supervisor, treasurer, assessors 
 and collectors.! 
 
 In 17 19, the county was divided into three 
 wards designated Northern, Middle and Southern, 
 each entitled to a supervisor. The North Ward ex- 
 tended from Roelaff Jansen's Kill south to Cline 
 Sopas Island, (Little Esopus Island,) the Middle 
 Ward, thence to Wappinger Creek, and the 
 South Ward, thence below the Highlands to the 
 south border of the county. Each extended from 
 the Hudson to the Connecticut line, the present 
 west line of the Oblong, across which they were 
 extended December 17, 1743. December 16, 
 1737, the county was divided into seven precincts — 
 designated Beekman, Charlotte, Crom Elbow, 
 North, Poughkeepsie, Rhinebeck and South East 
 town — with municipal jurisdiction similar to that 
 of towns. The wages of each Supervisor was 
 limited to three shillings per day. Some of these 
 names are lost in the subsequent divisions which 
 took place. From these seven precincts others 
 were subsequently formed : North East, Dec. 1 6, 
 
 * These original counties were: Albany, Cornwall, (now in Maine,) 
 Dukes, (now in Massachusetts,) Duchess, Kings, New York, Orange, 
 Queens, Richmond, Suffolk, Ulster and Westchester. 
 
 t The records of the county previous to 171S, if any were kept, are 
 either lost or destroyed. The first recorded election of Supervisors was 
 held at "Pocopsang,." April 5, lyzo, and Johannes Ter Boss, of the 
 South Ward, Heniy Van Der Burgh, of the Middle Ward, and WiUiam 
 Traphagen, of the North Ward, were chosen. The first meeting of these 
 supervisors was held January 20, 1721, at which time county allowances 
 were made to the amount of £^0. 4s. 7d. The bills of Trynte Van Kleek, 
 wido^v, for victualing the assessors and supervisors, amounting to nine 
 shillings, and of Jacobus Van Der Bogart, for horse fodder furnished the 
 assessors, amounting to three shillings, were allowed. 
 
 1746; Pawlings, Dec. 31, 1768; Amenia, March 
 20, 1762 ; and Frederickstown, March 24, 1772. 
 Rombout and Fishkill Precincts are also men- 
 tioned in records of the colonial period. Beek- 
 man was reduced by the formation of Pawhngs. 
 Charlotte and Rhinebeck, — the latter of which 
 included the lands purchased of the widow 
 Paulding and her children by Dr. Samuel Statts, 
 all the land granted to Adrian, Roosa, and Cotbe, 
 the land. patented to Col. Henry Beekman June 5, 
 1703, and the Magdalen Island Purchase granted 
 to Col. Peter Schuyler, and derived its name from 
 the first settlers, who were from the Rhine, and the 
 original proprietor, Colonel Beekman — formed the 
 original town of Clinton. Amenia included 
 portions of Amenia and North East, and the 
 whole of Washington, Pleasant Valley, Stanford, 
 Clinton and Hyde Park; North East, named 
 from its geographical position in the county, em- 
 braced the Little or Upper Nine Partners' 
 Tract. Poughkeepsie corresponded with the 
 present town of -that name. March 7, 1788, the 
 county (except Clinton, which was formed March 
 13, 1786,) was divided into eight towns,* viz: 
 Amenia, Beekman, (from which a part of Freedom — 
 now LaGrange — ^was taken in 1821, and a part of 
 Union Vale, in 1827,) Fishkill, (from which a part 
 of Freedom was taken in 1821, East Fishkill, in 
 1849, and Wappinger,in 1875,) North East, (from 
 which Milan was taken in 1818, and Pine Plains, 
 in 1823.) Pawling, (from which Dover was taken 
 in 1807,) Poughkeepsie, (from which the city of 
 Poughkeepsie was taken in 1854,) Rhinebeck, 
 (from which Red Hook was taken in 181 2,) and 
 Washington, (from which Stanford was taken in 
 1793-) Two other towns were subsequently 
 formed from CUnton in 182T, Hyde Park and 
 Pleasant Valley, making the present number of 
 towns, twenty. 
 
 The county lies upon the east bank of the Hud- 
 son, extending thence east to the Connecticut line, 
 and is about midway between New York and Al- 
 bany, being centrally distant from the latter about 
 seventy-five miles, and from the former about sev- 
 enty miles. It is bounded on the north by Colum- 
 bia County, and on the south by Putnam. It is 
 geographically situated between 41° 25' and 42° 
 
 * Frederickstown, (now Kent, ) which like the precinct of that name, 
 derived its name from Frederidt Philipse, and its present name, to which 
 it was changed April 15, 1817, from the Kent family, who were e^j:ly set- 
 tlers ; Philipstown, from which a part of Fishkill was taken in 1806, and 
 which, Kke Philips Precinct, formed March 24, 1771, derived its name 
 from Adolph Philipse, the patentee of Philipse Manor ; and South East, 
 in Putnam county, but then in Duchess, were formed as towns March 7, 
 1788. 
 
CONFIGURATION OF DUCHESS COUNTY— STREAMS. 
 
 71 
 
 4' north latitude, and 3° 5' and 3° 33' east longitude 
 from Washington.* Its area is 486,254 acres.f its 
 greatest length nortli and south, thirty-eight miles, 
 and breadth, east and west, twenty-six miles. 
 
 The following table shows the number of acres 
 of improved land in each town in 1820 and 1875; 
 the total number of acres in each town, and the 
 total equalized valuation of real and personal prop- 
 erty in 1880; and the population in 1820 and 
 1880:— 
 
 TOWNS 
 
 Improved Land, Population. 
 
 Area.^ 
 
 Equalized 
 Valuation.^ 
 
 
 1820.11 
 
 "875. § 
 
 l820.§ 
 
 l88o.§ 
 
 Amenia 
 
 Beekman 
 
 32,306 
 
 19,157 
 22,441 
 
 43.240 
 18,988 
 31,091 
 15.392 
 17,347 
 15,677 
 
 tt 
 16,399 
 17.572 
 
 17,73° 
 18,831 
 14.178 
 
 §§ 
 
 24,323 
 
 18,506 
 14,329 
 19,800 
 17,178 
 23.415 
 24,289 
 1 7. '45 
 
 22,SZO 
 17.586 
 20,208 
 19,859 
 14,967 
 17.747 
 
 M,0S7 
 
 i/,463 
 18,134 
 26,925 
 17,028 
 
 §§ 
 52, 321 
 
 2,865 
 2.384 
 
 6,940 
 2,300 
 2,655 
 1.797 
 2,037 
 1,804 
 t+ 
 
 1,927 
 5,726 
 
 2,714 
 2,729 
 2,518 
 tt 
 
 4182 
 
 2,697 
 1,581 
 1,640 
 2,281 
 «.575 
 10,734 
 2,890 
 1.745 
 1,275 
 2,181 
 2,004 
 I,3S2 
 
 20I207 
 4,47' 
 3.905 
 2.092 
 1,407 
 4.966 
 2.854 
 
 26,087 
 18,512 
 24,100 
 32,392 
 
 33,221 
 18,715 
 23,098 
 25,816 
 22,676 
 26,182 
 27,594 
 ■8,531 
 20,108 
 17,782 
 
 22.255 
 21,535 
 31,642 
 23,403 
 16,001 
 36,806 
 
 * '.255.557 
 707,687 
 
 Dover 
 
 East Fishkill 
 
 Fishkill 
 
 Hyde Park , 
 
 La Grange.. 
 Milan 
 
 1,118,006 
 1.079.9'+ 
 3,493.941 
 1,965,440 
 1,189,490 
 
 578,179 
 
 1,207,865 
 
 1,269,494 
 
 777,324 
 
 952,660 
 
 2,400,511 
 
 11,835,167 
 
 1,275,246 
 
 625,529 
 
 1,606,603 
 
 1.458,059 
 
 North East 
 
 Pawling 
 
 Pine Plains 
 Pleasant VaUey.... 
 Po'keepsie, Town . 
 do City.. 
 
 RedHook 
 
 Rhinebeck ... 
 
 Stanford 
 
 Union Vale. 
 Wappinger . 
 Washington 
 
 Total 342,811 
 
 373,477 
 
 46,615 
 
 79.273 
 
 486,254 
 
 $41,001,927 
 
 W Stafford's Gazetteer., 1824, 149. 
 
 § Census Reports, 
 
 'i Proceeding's 0/ the Board of Supervisors of Duchess County, 1880, 
 
 ** Included in Fishkill. 
 
 +t Included in North East. 
 
 it Included iu Beekman and La Grange. 
 
 |§ Included in Fishkill. 
 
 The surface of the county is diversified, and 
 produces a variety of soil and scenery. It is gen- 
 erally hilly ; but mountainous in the east and south. 
 It may be divided into two great valleys : that on 
 the east bounded by the Taconic and Mattea- 
 wan or Fishkill mountains, the former of which, 
 occupying the east border of the county, rise from 
 300 to 500 feet above the valleys, and i,ooo to 
 1,200 feet above tide, and the latter, extending in 
 a broad range, north and south, through the cen- 
 tral part of the county, with a spur extending west 
 along the south border to the river, have an average 
 elevation of i,ooo above tide, while the highest 
 peaks, along the south border, attain an altitude of 
 1,500 to 1,700 feet ;t that on the west spreads 
 
 * The meridian of Washington corresponds with the seventy-seventh 
 west of Greenwich. 
 
 t Report of the Committee on Equalization of the Board 0/ Super- 
 visors, 1880 The Census of 1 87s says it contains 472, 1 3 5 acres ; Frenches 
 and Hough's Gazetteers of New York, 518,400, (810 square miles ;) 
 Burr's Atlas 4^<},joo ; Spafford's Gazetteer of iSz^ 464,000, (725 square 
 miles.) 
 
 t Old Beacon, two miles east of Matteawan village, is 1,471 feet above 
 tide : and New Beacon or Grand Sachem, a half mile south of the same 
 place, is 1,685 feet above tide. These eminences derive their names from 
 beacons placed on their summits during the Revolution. Their illumined 
 crests were visible for a long distance up and down the valley, and were 
 a pharos to give warning to the patriotic. " From the top of the latter," 
 says BarhN,{Historical Collections of the State of New York,^ "the view 
 on the south embraces the country upon the Hudson for 25 miles, to Tap- 
 pan Bay ; on the south-east includes Long Island and the Sound ; and 
 upon the north-east and west comprehends, in the diameter of a circle 
 fifty miles in extent, scenery of every diversity, blending the beauties of cul- 
 tivation with the stern and unchangeable features of nature." 
 
 between the Fishkill Mountains and the high bank 
 of the Hudson. The decUvities of the Taconic 
 Mountains, and those on the south border, are 
 generally steep, and in some places rocky ; but to- 
 wards the north, the latter decline more gradually, 
 and the country assumes a rolling character, broken 
 by rounded hills. West of the Fishkills, and be- 
 tween the streams, are rolling ridges, whose line of 
 bearing, from south-west to north-east, corresponds 
 with that of the mountains. They terminate upon 
 the river in a series of bluffs from loo to i8o feet 
 in height. Some of these are broken by deep 
 ravines, and become isolated hills. The mountains 
 upon the south border form the northern extrem- 
 ities of the Highlands, in whose "awful defiles," 
 says Irving, in his authentic history of New York, 
 by Diedrich Knickerbocker, "it would seem that 
 the gigantic Titans had erst waged their impious 
 war with heaven, piling up cliffs on cliffs, and hurl- 
 ing vast masses of rock in wild confusion ;" and 
 through whose "stupendous ruins," "at length the 
 conquering Hudson, in his irresistible career towards 
 the ocean," having burst the formidable barrier, 
 rolls " his tide triumphantly." A break in these 
 mountains, in the east part, opening toward the 
 south, and known as the Wiccopee Pass, was care- 
 fully guarded during the Revolution, to prevent the 
 British from capturing the American stores at 
 Fishkill and turning the works at West Point. A 
 considerable American force was stationed at the 
 upper extremity of the pqss during the campaign 
 of 1777. 
 
 The principal streams besides the Hudson, which 
 form the west boundary, are the Fishkill, Fallkill, 
 Sawkill, and Wappinger, Crom Elbow and Landi- 
 mons Creeks, tributaries of the Hudson, all flowing 
 into it in a south-westerly direction, Sprout Creek, 
 a considerable branch of the Fishkill, Ten Mile 
 River, a tributary of the Housatonic, Swamp River, 
 a tributary of the latter, Roelaff Jansen's Kill, flow- 
 ing through a portion of the extreme north part of 
 the county, and Croton River. There are innum- 
 erable small streams tributary to these, which rise 
 in springs upon the mountain slopes ; and among 
 the highlands in the central and eastern portions 
 are numerous beautiful little lakes, noted for the 
 purity of their waters and the beauty of the scen- 
 ery immediately about them. 
 
 Hudson River is the most important and the 
 most picturesque of the interior water courses of 
 the State. Its basin occupies about two-thirds of 
 the east border of the State, and a large territory 
 extending into the interior. It rises from springs 
 
72 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 and lakelets on Mt. Marcy, a peak of the Adiron- 
 dacks, towering to the height of 5,467 feet above 
 tide, the highest land in the State, and is fed by 
 numerous branches which cover the whole moun- 
 tain chain of the Adirondacks. It descends rapidly 
 through narrow defiles into Warren county, where 
 it receives from the east the outlet of SchroonLake, 
 and from the west the Sacondaga River. Below the 
 mouth of the latter it turns eastward, and in a 
 series of rapids and falls breaks through the barrier 
 of the Luzerne Mountains. At Fort Edward it again 
 flows south, with rapid current, frequently inter- 
 rupted by falls, to Troy, 160 miles from the occean, 
 where it becomes an estuary, its current being 
 affected by the tide; and from thence to its mouth 
 it is a broad, deep, sluggish stream. Above Troy 
 it receives the Hoosick from the east and the 
 Mohawk from the west ; the former rising in west- 
 ern Massachusetts and Vermont, and the latter in 
 the north-east part of Oneida county. Below Troy 
 its tributaries are comparatively small. About 
 sixty miles from its mouth it breaks through the 
 rocky barrier of the Highlands, the most easterly 
 of the Appalachian mountain ranges ; and along 
 its lower course is bordered on the west by a nearly 
 perpendicular wall of basaltic rock 300 to 500 feet 
 high, known as "The Palisades." South of the 
 Highlands it spreads out into a wide expanse 
 known as " Tappan Bay." In its whole course it 
 is 300 miles in length. At its mouth the Hudson 
 is navigated by the largest ships ; it opens a sloop 
 navigation to Waterford, from which place it is 
 connected by Champlain Canal with Lake Cham- 
 plain at Whitehall. At present it is navigable for 
 ships to Hudson and Athens, and for sloops and 
 steamers to Troy. Boats formerly ascended to 
 Fort Edward, with portages around the rapids. At 
 Poughkeepsie, from the high point above the ferry 
 dock to the landing opposite near the ferry dock, 
 the river is 2,420 feet wide. The depth of water 
 in the midle is forty-nine feet; and the average 
 depth on either side, 51 feet. The mean rise and 
 fall of tides at Poughkeepsie is 3.24 feet; at Tivoli, 
 3.95 feet. The mean rise and fall of spring tides 
 at those places is 4 and 4.8 feet respectively; and 
 of neap tides, 2.4 and 3 feet. 
 
 The Fishkill is a name compounded of the En- 
 glish word Fish and the Dutch word .S"///, (meaning 
 creek,) and, like the mountains in which it rises 
 was called by the aborigines Matteawan, a name 
 whose euphony has not been improved by the 
 change. The name signified, says Spafford, "the 
 country of good fur." The stream was called by 
 
 the early Dutch settlers Vis-Kill. It rises by two 
 main branches in the town of Union Vale. The 
 easterly branch is known as Gardiner Hollow 
 brook; the westerly and most northerly one, as 
 Clove Stream; they unite near the center of the 
 town of Beekman, and thence the main stream 
 flows in a south-westerly direction through the cen- 
 tral parts of East Fishkill and Fishkill, and empties 
 into the Hudson near the south border of the latter 
 town. It presents numerous cascades, and fur- 
 nishes a valuable hydraulic power. It receives in 
 its course many small streams, the principal of 
 which is Sprout-creek, which rises in the south- 
 west part of Washington and north-west part of 
 Union Vale, and flows in a south-westerly direc- 
 tion through La Grange, forming the boundary 
 between East Fishkill and Wappinger, to near the 
 center of the west border of the former town, where 
 it unites with the Fishkill. The latter stream, (the 
 Fishkill) is rapid in the upper and lower parts of 
 its course, but sluggish through the Fishkill plains. 
 From Fishkill village to its mouth, the fall is 187 
 feet in a distance of five miles, affording ten val- 
 uable mill sites. It propels several manufacturing 
 establishments in Beekman, and the extensive fac- 
 tories of Matteawan and Glenham. 
 
 Wappinger Creek, the largest in the county, 
 derives its name from the Wappinger or Wap- 
 pingi tribe of Indians, who dwelt at its falls near the 
 Hudson, and called it Maevenawasigh, "a large 
 good stream and cascade." On Sauthier's map it 
 is called the " Great Wappingers Creek." It rises 
 in Stissing Pond, in the town of Pine Plains, and 
 traverses the county from north-east to south-west, 
 for a distance of about thirty-five miles, passing 
 diagonally through Stanford, across the south-east 
 corner of Clinton, diagonally through Pleasant Val- 
 ley, and from thence forms the bouridary between 
 the towns of Poughkeepsie, LaGrange and Wap- 
 pinger. It unites with the Hudson at New Ham- 
 burgh, nine miles below the city of Poughkeepsie. 
 It receives many streams on either hand, and sup- 
 pHes many valuable mill seats. It is everywhere 
 a highly picturesque stream. 
 
 Ten Mile River rises by several branches in the 
 east part of the county and in the town of Sharon, 
 Connecticut. It flows south through Amenia and 
 Dover, and in the south part of the latter town 
 deflects east into Connecticut, emptying into the 
 Housatonic. Its tributaries from the north, ,Was- 
 saic and Deep Hollow Brooks, do not much ex- 
 ceed five miles in length ; and Swamp River from 
 the south, rising from a morass in Pawling, (which 
 
STREAMS OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 73 
 
 is also the source of Croton River, which supplies 
 the city of New York with water,) may have a 
 course of about eight miles. 
 
 Cro7n Elbow Creek, a name compounded of the 
 Dutch Crom (crooked) and the English Elbow, 
 and given also by the Dutch to a sudden bend in 
 the river a little above the mouth of this creek, 
 where it is contracted to a narrow channel between 
 rocky bluffs, is a very crooked stream, some eight 
 or ten miles in length, rising among the hills at the 
 intersection of the towns of Milan, Clinton and 
 Rhinebeck, and flows in a south-westerly direction 
 to Union Comers, near the central part of the 
 town of Hyde Park, where it turns at nearly right 
 angles to the west, uniting with the Hudson near 
 the village of Hyde Park. In its upper course it 
 forms the south half of the east boundary of the 
 town of Rhinebeck, and the north half of the west 
 boundary of Clinton. It is a placid brook for the 
 greater part of its course, but has much fall in its 
 passage through the high bank of . the Hudson, 
 where it supplies some mill seats. On Sau- 
 thier's map and in some old deeds this creek is 
 called Fishkill, a name, indeed, which has been 
 applied to a vast number of streams in this 
 State. 
 
 The Fallkill, sweetly called by the Indians the 
 Winnakee, signifying " leap-stream" is a small, but 
 was once a valuable mill-stream. It rises in the 
 town of Clinton, and for the first six miles flows 
 rapidly over a rock or gravel bed, between high and 
 rocky hills. Below this point to the city line, it 
 moves for the greater part of the way sluggishly 
 along its crooked channel through muck, swamp 
 and low meadow land. Here it receives its load 
 of decomposing vegetable matter, which, together 
 with animal matter, the surface drainage from the 
 streets, and the refuse from tan-pits and slaughter- 
 houses within the city limits, deposited upon the 
 bottoms and banks of the several mill ponds within 
 the city, proved so deleterious to the health of the 
 citizens of Poughkeepsie, that it necessitated the re- 
 moval of most of the dams and the straightening 
 of the channel through the city. It is a " quick 
 stream," speedily affected by rains, the soil which 
 covers its rocky hills being shallow and not reten- 
 tive of water ; for the same reason it rapidly 
 resumes its natural flow. It reaches the river by 
 a series of cascades in the north part of the city, 
 emptying into what was once a sheltered cove, 
 which the aborigines called Apokeepsing, or "safe 
 harbor" from which the beautiful rural city upon 
 its borders derives its name. Several of the smaller 
 
 streams, with which the county abounds, furnish 
 excellent mill sites. 
 
 The streams and lakes within the county were 
 abundantly stored with choice fish during the early 
 years of settlement ; but the contamination of their 
 waters by the refuse from factories and other 
 causes depleted them. Measures have been taken 
 to restock them. About 1822, pickerel were in- 
 troduced into Thompson's Pond, a beautiful sheet 
 of water lying in the eastern part of the town of 
 Stanford, by James Dudley and one or two others 
 whose names are not remembered. They were 
 taken from one of the numerous lakes in Western 
 Connecticut, carried across the country in wash- 
 tubs, and safely deposited. They lived and mul- 
 tiplied abundantly. Mr. Dudley was one of the 
 most skillful anglers for trout in all that region of 
 country. He carried on blacksmithing in connec- 
 tion with a small farm near "the old separate meet- 
 ing-house," which, in early times, was widely known 
 as " the yellow-meeting-house," and was a guide 
 point in all that part of the country. But, like 
 many other old landmarks, it has gone, and little 
 remains to mark the spot where it stood so long, 
 except "God's acre" adjoining it, where rest the 
 remains of many of the early settlers of that fruit- 
 ful and beautiful valley. 
 
 About the same time pickerel were transplanted 
 from New Milford, Connecticut, to Silver Lake, on 
 the borders of the towns of East Fishkill and Beek- 
 man. They were transported in large casks across 
 the country, a distance of full twenty miles. 
 
 In December, 1877, the Supervisors appointed 
 a committee, consisting of J. S. VanCleef, P. A. M. 
 VanWyck, Albert Emons, James H. Weeks, David 
 Warner and Peter H. Christie, to stock the waters 
 of the county and to enforce the laws relative to 
 the taking offish. In 1878, the committee reported 
 that, " as far as your committee are informed, the 
 waters of this county suitable for salmon trout 
 have been suflSciently stocked. During the last 
 few years there have been distributed of this fish 
 through public and private efibrt not less than 150,- 
 000, a large proportion of which seem to have per- 
 ished, either because the water was not adapted to 
 them, or because they were devoured by their nat- 
 ural enemy, the black bass ; and it is respectfully 
 suggested that the efforts at stocking our streams 
 for the coming year be confined mainly to brook 
 trout and land-locked salmon." 
 
 The climate of Duchess County is agreeable and 
 healthful, though, from the elevations of some por- 
 tions of it, it is colder than some of the adjacent 
 
74 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 counties.* The relative temperature of different 
 sections of the State, while it depends chiefly on 
 latitude and elevation, is modified in some degree 
 by a variety of other circumstances, such as the 
 situation in regard to the sea, or other large bodies 
 of water, both as it respects proximity and direc- 
 tion; the configuration of the surface, whether level 
 or hilly, and the position and shape of the hills, the 
 nature of the soil, and the extent of cultivation in 
 the surrounding country.! 
 
 The difference of vegetation between the eastern 
 and western parts of the State is from ten to fifteen 
 days in favor of the latter. The harvests are gath- 
 ered earlier, and vegetation continues longer. The 
 peach tree, in the same parallels along thfe Hudson, 
 is sickly, and in the Mohawk country rarely bears 
 fruit. In the eastern part of this county vegetation 
 is from eight to ten days later than along the Hud- 
 son. Between Sandy Hill and the Matteawan 
 Mountains the harvest is earlier by a week than 
 on the Mohawk between the east limits of Mont- 
 gomery County and the west limits of Herkimer 
 County. South of Matteawan Mountains, ap- 
 proaching the sea coast, the climate is milder and 
 vegetation earlier, and of longer continuance than 
 in the north and west. J 
 
 In the Hudson Valley, the extreme summer heat 
 is greater by several degrees than in any other sec- 
 tion of the State. There is no other place in the 
 State where the thermometer has risen so high on 
 an average each year as at Montgomery, Pough- 
 keepsie and Lansingburgh. This must be under- 
 stood as applying only to the hottest days in' each 
 year, and not to the average of the seasons. As 
 we ascend the Hudson, the opening of spring grad- 
 ually becomes later, the difference between the 
 vicinity of New York and Albany being about a 
 week.§ It is also characterized by the opposite 
 extreme. In 1835, a year of great severity of cold, 
 the thermometer at Poughkeepsie reached —35° 
 on the ^th of January. At New Lebanon, Colum- 
 bia County, the mercury froze the same day, a 
 condition requiring a reduction to — 40^". || 
 
 Observations made during a period of eleven 
 years at Poughkeepsie, which is in latitude 41° 41', 
 and at the level of tide water, showed a tempera- 
 ture of 50.7 4°, while the temperature due to latitude 
 
 * Geographical History-of New York, Mather and Brockett, 187. 
 
 t Letter of James H. Coffin, a tutor in Williams College, dated Sept. 
 4, 184J, and published in Natural History of New York, Pari K, Ag- 
 riculture, 12. 
 
 t Gordon's Gazetteer of the State of New York, 64. 
 
 % Cofin's Letter; Natural History, Part V., Agriculture, vi, 23. 
 
 II Blodgett's Clivmtology, 148-150, which vatAt^ Niles' Register, AprU 
 ". 1835. 
 
 and elevation is 49.67° — a difference of 1.07" to 
 be attributed to other causes than altitude and lat- 
 itude. At Red Hook, in latitude 42° 2', at an 
 elevation of fifty feet,* twelve observations showed 
 the temperature to be 48.81°, while the tempera- 
 ture due to latitude and elevation is 49.13° — a 
 reduction of .32° by other causes than latitude 
 and elevation. The mean temperature of the 
 State, as determined /rom 59 localities and 577 
 observations, is 46.49°; the mean annual maxi- 
 mum, from 59 localities and 550 observations, 92°; 
 the mean annual minimum, from 59 localities and 
 551 observations, 12°. The following is a com- 
 parison of the mean temperature, and annual 
 extremes of heat and cold, with the average of the 
 State during the same years : — 
 
 Poughkeepsie. Red Hook. State. 
 
 Mean temperature, +4-25° -I- 1.92° 46.49°! 
 " annual maximum, -1-4.24° -I- .75" 92° 
 " " minimum, -h 2.33'^ -1-3.42° 12° 
 
 " " range, +1.91° —2.67° 104°! 
 
 The Hudson Valley, like the valleys of New 
 York generally, has less rain than the hills or 
 elevated lands. The quantity of water precipitated 
 in rain is proportioned to the temperature, and 
 not to configuration or proximity to the sea ; but 
 there are practical exceptions to this general prin- 
 ciple, and an example is furnished in the district 
 which includes the highlands and mountains of 
 most parts of the New England States and New 
 York, which has more rain than would fall to it by 
 the general rule. There is some evidence that the 
 contact of atmospheric volumes with these alti- 
 tudes induces a share of the precipitation. We 
 find the greatest quantity for the State near the 
 Highlands of the Hudson, and a diminution from 
 this line both towards the sea and inland. Here 
 topography and configuration influence the result 
 very much. The rain-fall in the region of the 
 Southern Highlands exceeds that of other portions 
 of the State in the spring, fall and winter, very 
 largely in the latter season, while it is less in the 
 summer season. In the Hudson Valley, as shown 
 by observations between 1825 and 1855, made at 
 eleven academies and colleges and two military 
 posts, 36 inches was the annual rain fall. This is a 
 falling off of at least four inches from the country 
 in the vicinity on either side. The elevated por- 
 tions of the State, including Albany, from observa- 
 tions from 1820 to 1850, at thirteen academies, 
 gave a corrected average of nearly 39 inches ; and 
 
 * Both Poughkeepsie and Red Hook are at the level of tide water, but 
 the height of the instrument in each case was assumed to be fifty feet, 
 t -t- means more, and — , less than for the State. 
 X Covin's Letter. 
 
METEOROLOGY— MORTALITY— SOIL. 
 
 75 
 
 as the points of observation are in most cases in 
 valleys more or less below the general level of the 
 country, it would be safe to assign 40 inches as 
 the average quantity for the district inclusive of its 
 valleys. Observations at Poughkeepsie Academy 
 during fourteen years gave 38.13 inches, and at 
 Red Hook Academy, during ten years 34.73 
 inches.* Observations made at Stanfordville in 
 this county in 1879, show the total precipitation 
 in rain, snow, etc., to have been 39.535 inches.f 
 
 The healthfulness of the climate as compared 
 with that of other counties in the State is indicated 
 in a measure by the percentage of deaths. The 
 rate in this county is 1.17 j while the average for 
 the State is 1.15. Just half the counties in the 
 State present a better showing than Duchess, while 
 two others equal it. The maximum rate — 1.41 — 
 is in Madison county ; the minimum — .85 — , in 
 Clinton. t The mortality in Duchess, however, 
 would seem to be due to other causes than cUmatic 
 influence; for the census of 1880 exhibits a re- 
 markable longevity among its citizens. In the 
 city of Poughkeepsie there were 635 persons of 
 seventy years or over, 95 of eighty years or over, 
 and 1 1 of ninety years or over. In the county, 
 outside of the city, there were 1,994 of seventy 
 years or over, 410 of eighty years or over, 38 of 
 ninety years or over, and 2 of one hundred years 
 or over, (Honora Fitzgerald, of Amenia, aged 
 107, and Prince Crosby, of Wappingers Falls, 
 aged 100;) thus making a total of 3,185 persons 
 in the county who had reached man's allotted 
 time on earth. § 
 
 The soils of the county are embraced within 
 the two districts which Prof. Emmons denominates 
 the Eastern and the Hudson. The former is a 
 narrow belt of country extending from the Sound 
 to the head of Lake Champlain, and embraces a 
 large proportion of the counties of Duchess, 
 Columbia, Rensselaer and Washington ; the latter 
 comprises the valley of the Hudson. 
 
 The Eastern district, though long and narrow, 
 is very constant in its character, features and pro- 
 ductions throughout its entire range. The soil, 
 resting upon the Taconic system of rocks, 
 consists of the debris of those rocks, which, ex- 
 tending far to the north, and in the direction of 
 the drift, have not changed its character. It is 
 finer than those derived fr om the primary rocks, 
 
 'BlodgeU's CHmatolosy, 345,343, JS!, 354. 
 
 t Prof J. Hyatt's Paper on The Periodic Distribution of the Rain- 
 fall at Certain Stations, read before the Poughkeepsie Society of 
 Natural Science-, Jan. l8, 1880. 
 X Census of 187S. 
 § The Sunday Courier, gf Poughkeepsie, Oct 3t, 1880. 
 
 and possesses a superiority from the facility with 
 which finely divided matter absorbs the floating 
 gases of the atmosphere. Some difference exists 
 in its chemical composition ; and some of the 
 differences observed in crops are due to elevation, 
 combined with other causes necessarily connected 
 therewith. The Taconic range is composed of 
 slate, with a granular limestone at the east base 
 and a sparry limestone at the west base. All the 
 minor ridges have a direction parallel to the main 
 ridge dividing the States and a like composition ; 
 the limestones usually occupying the valleys as 
 well as the sides of the mountains further east. 
 West from the main range their height and steep- 
 ness diminish. There are no elevated plains. The 
 principal plains border the valley of the Hudson, 
 and are rather sandy, with an underlay of clay. 
 The arrangement of the hills in this district is 
 such as to favor vegetation, and to admit, even 
 invite, useful improvements in draining and irriga- 
 tion. Generally the slopes are gentle, but steeper 
 upon the west than the opposite side. The hills are 
 susceptible of cultivation to their summits, and are 
 not broken by the rugged and outcropping rocks. 
 
 Though these soils are by no means clayey, as 
 much alumina is frequently obtained from them as 
 from the tertiary clay. This is a good feature and, 
 in durable soil, one upon which mechanical fertili- 
 zation may be employed without annual loss. 
 Without excei)tion they contain less lime than is 
 requisite to form the best and most productive 
 kinds of land. The best materials for fertilizing 
 them are lime and peat, of each of which there is 
 an abundance. They should be composted, which 
 is the only way in which they can be usefully em- 
 ployed. Leached or unleached ashes are a useful 
 addition to this compost, inasmuch as there is a 
 deficiency of potash in the soil to meet the de- 
 mands of the cultivated crops. 
 
 The soils of the Taconic system are rarely 
 excessively leachy, but some are moderately so. 
 For a leachy soil it is proper to make a bulky ma- 
 nure, consisting of burnt clay, ashes, peat or organ- 
 ic matters, the whole of which is only moderately 
 soluble, but, when exposed in a porous soil, it re- 
 quires the influence of the air to bring it with suf- 
 ficient rapidity to a state fit for the consumption 
 of vegetables. In a close and compact soil, 
 the solubility of the manure may be greater; for 
 then it may be retained for the future use of plants, 
 if not required immediately. 
 
 What are called cold lands are not uncommon 
 in this district. They lie on the slopes of hills, 
 
76 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 frequently 200 or 300 feet above the valleys. This 
 condition is produced by the agency of many 
 springs, which issue from the hillsides, and saturate 
 the earth with water, in the shape of small foun- 
 tains, which percolate through the soil and sub-soil 
 on their way to the valley below; but this evil may 
 be cured by draining, which is the most efficient 
 means of improving the soils in this district. 
 
 These soils require draining more frequently 
 than western ones, in consequence of the peculiar 
 structure of the underlying rock, which, in the 
 Taconic district, is invariably placed edgewise, 
 or at an angle varying from 15° to 30" ; and the 
 layers or strata are compacted so closely, that 
 water seldom or never finds its way into the rock, 
 and hence must pass through the soil ; and if this 
 is not very porous, the water passes off slowly, and 
 is frequently detained so long that the soil is most 
 of the time saturated with it. 
 
 Magnesia is a common element in the soils of 
 this district, and to this element Prof Emmons at- 
 tributes the excellence of the crops of corn, which, 
 he says, "is so much at home upon the gentle 
 slopes of this system." " At any rate," he adds, 
 "in no other district is this crop so perfect, so 
 sound and rich, as in Dutchess, Columbia, Rens- 
 selaer and Washington counties. Comparing this 
 crop in the eastern district with that of the west, 
 we unhesitatingly give preference to the former, as 
 being more thrifty and sounder in the kernel, and 
 better filled out. There is a limit, however, at 
 which maize ceases to ripen in this district. For 
 example, along the Taconic range between Massa- 
 chusetts and New York, at the height of about 
 t,ooo feet above tide, it dwindles to a short slender* 
 stalkj and yields but small tapering ears. This limit 
 is often marked by a line of frost during the cold 
 months, to which it very frequently descends, form- 
 ing a distinct icy line of congealed vapor upon the 
 forests, and upon the trees of the cultivated fields."* 
 
 The Hudson district is closely related to the 
 Eastern. Its slaty or shaly rocks, and sandstone 
 and limestone beds, furnish, when mixed, a soil 
 much Uke that of the Eastern district. There is, 
 however, more alluvial matter, broader meadows, 
 and a less undulating surface. Beneath the river 
 bottoms there reposes a stiff calcareous clay ; and 
 departing a Uttle from the river, and ascending its 
 sloping bank, we find sandy plains, which, however, 
 are underlaid with the same stiff clay, a marine de- 
 posit of modern date. No part of t his district 
 
 *In 1874, Duchess ranked only forty-ninth in the average yield of In- 
 dian com per acre— 24.11— below the State average, which was 31.33 
 bushels. 
 
 rises into mountains. Steep bluffs are common, 
 but rarely exceed 300 feet in height. As an agri- 
 cultural district it is important; but it has been 
 longer cultivated, and hence is more exhausted 
 than the Eastern district.* 
 
 In the Hudson Valley we find the rocks and soil 
 of the lower part of the New York system, together 
 with a few granite, gneissoid, and hornblendic 
 boulders, but these constitute only a small propor- 
 tion of the matters composing the soil. From the 
 east rise of the valley west to the river, the bould- 
 ers and soil are derived from the Champlain group. 
 The soils in the valley differ in many respects from 
 those of the Taconic slate district. The slates 
 or shales are more decomposable, more calcareous, 
 and the beds of limestone are more extensive. 
 Hence we expect the soil contains more lime, and 
 is, in general, more favorable for agriculture. The 
 rocks, too, are less disturbed. This district con- 
 tains a distinct formation of clay and sand, which 
 imparts a pecuUar character to it, approximating 
 those of the west wheat district. This formation 
 gives a degree of stability to the soil which is not 
 possessed by the soils of the Taconic district. 
 But the principal difference between the soils of 
 this and the adjacent districts, consists in the fine- 
 ness of the former. The Taconic slates furnish 
 no small amount of the debris or soil; and the 
 Northern Highlands furnish their materials, though 
 less plentifully. The extensive beds of clay with 
 their accompanying sands, which form one of the 
 most important features of the district, are formed 
 from the detritus of the rocks of the Primary and 
 Champlain divisions, the Hudson River slates and 
 shales, decomposing and forming clay. 
 
 Argillaceous soils are improved by paring and 
 burning, the latter process converting their astrin- 
 gent salts of iron to the peroxide. By ignition, the 
 close texture ofthe clay becomes open and pervious; 
 some of the materials composing it become more 
 soluble; the color of the clay, which, by this pro- 
 cess becomes red, absorbs more heat; and we may 
 reasonably conclude that clays thus treated become 
 better absorbers of the nutritive gases, as ammonia 
 and carbonic acid. 
 
 Wheat t was once the great staple of production 
 
 * "Duchess," says Spafford, "took an early lead in the introduc- 
 tion of gypsum as a manure, with the most decided advantage." The 
 committee appointed to confer with the State Board of Equalization in 
 1880, stated, by way of argument, " that the county had been drawn away 
 upon the farmers' hay wagons." 
 
 t In l8js, Duchess county sent more than one-third of all thograin 
 shipped to New York city from the several counties ofthe State. Her 
 contribution was 838,043 bushels, while the aggregate quantity was 
 2,3°9i307 bushels. {.Gordon's Gazetteer a/ New York.) During the 
 year ending June i, 1840, there were ^,so^,^<^X bushels of grain raised 
 in the county, ( r/ie Sunday Courier, of Poughkeepsie, August 3, 1871 ;) 
 and in 1874, 1,513,007 bushels. (0»«« 1875,) 
 
AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTIONS— COMPARATIVE STATISTICS. 
 
 77 
 
 of the Hudson Valley ; but it has ceased to be a 
 profitable crop, unless it be for family consump- 
 tion, in consequence of the essential losses the soil 
 has sustained in the successive croppings to which 
 it has been subjected.* 
 
 Agriculture is the leading branch of industry, 
 "but the prestige this county once had, by reason 
 of its nearness to New York, has passed away with 
 the improvements in transportation and the con- 
 stant drain upon its fertility, incident to the kind of 
 farming necessary to produce profitable results."! 
 The soil is adapted to a wide range of crops, but 
 there is not one, perhaps, that is peculiarly a char- 
 acteristic of the county ; yet it ranks high in the 
 gross value of its farm products. The gross sales 
 from its farms in 1874 amounted to $3,178,920; 
 which was exceeded by only nine other counties in 
 the State. The cereals, especially corn, oats and 
 rye, are produced abundantly; but wheat and buck- 
 wheat, less plentifully. Tobacco is quite extensive- 
 ly raised. Though not specifically a dairy county, 
 the butter made is large in quantity and excellent 
 in quality, while the production of milk for the 
 New York market is an important and leading 
 industry, especially in the eastern portion. For 
 this reason hay is a large and staple crop. Sheep 
 raising is an important industry in the eastern por- 
 tion of the county, but far less extensive than half 
 a century ago. Pork is a staple production. Fruit 
 of excellent quality is raised in large quantities, 
 and grapes, which are already successfully and ex- 
 tensively raised, are receiving increased attention, 
 especially in the Fishkills. The grapes from that 
 locality, says an article in the New York Herald, 
 in 1876, have "obtained an enviable reputation in 
 New York City." The same writer says, "The 
 finest grapes of out-door culture in the United 
 States are probably grown by Messrs. Van Wyck & 
 Johnson, at their vineyard back of Fishkill." In 
 cultivated area the county is excelled by only twelve 
 counties in the State ; in the cash value of its farms, 
 by only six ; in the value of farm buildings other 
 than dwellings, by only one ; in the value of stock, 
 by twelve ; in the value of tools and implements, 
 by twelve ; and in the cost of fertilizers used, by 
 eight. 
 
 The manufactories of the county, though not very 
 numerous, are some of them quite extensive and 
 valuable; but the disparity between agricultural 
 and mechanical pursuits is increasing to the detri- 
 
 * Natural History of New York, Part V., Agriculture, by E. Em- 
 mons, 6, 7, 213, i4J, ^ii-2S(>, 263, 326, 327- 
 
 t Report of Committee to Confer with State Board of Equalization, 
 Dec. 4, 1880. 
 
 ment of the latter. From 1870 to 1875 the num- 
 ber of manufacturing establishments in the county 
 decreased from 602 to 499 ;* nevertheless we may 
 fairly question if their value has materially de- 
 creased, though we have not the data at hand to 
 determine this. In 1836, the county ranked 
 second in its manufactories, being surpassed only 
 by Oneida County.f In 1832, it ranked third in 
 the State in the number of cotton mills, having 
 twelve, while Oneida had twenty and Rensselaer, 
 fifteen ; third, also, in the amount of capital in- 
 vested — $445,000 ; second in the number of spin- 
 dles in use — 17,690 ; third in the number of pounds 
 of cotton annually manufactured — 833,000 ; fourth 
 in the value of cloth produced — $1,952,000 ; fourth 
 in the number of pounds of yarn sold — 185,500; 
 second in the value of yarn and cloth produced — 
 $333,500; and second in the number of persons 
 sustained by said establishments — 1,974. It was 
 in the front rank in the number of manufactories 
 6 — (Orange County having the same number.) 
 The only three from which reports were received 
 employed a capital of $186,000, (while the six in 
 Orange County employed only $192,762 ;) and 197 
 operatives, (a number exceeded only by Rensselaer, 
 which reported five factories ;) paid wages amount- 
 ing to $42,179, (exceeding all others;) used 156,- 
 000 pounds of wool, (exceeding all others;) and 
 manufactured goods to the value of $196,250, 
 (exceeding all others.) It had three cupola and 
 air furnaces, making 855 tons of pig iron. Eleven 
 counties excelled it and three equaled it in num- 
 ber, while only four excelled it in production. It 
 had, also, one blast furnace, making 836 tons of 
 pig iron and 5 tons of castings. Six counties ex- 
 celled it in number, but none in quantity, if we 
 except Orange, which included also the blast fur- 
 nace at Cold Spring, Putnam County. It employed 
 in these iron industries 295 persons, who had 967 
 dependents.^ In 1880, the county produced 61,- 
 637 tons (of 2,000 pounds each) of all kinds of 
 pig iron,§ 
 
 In 1880, the assessed valuation of real estate 
 was $36,045,422 ; assessed valuation of personal 
 property, $6,217,232; the indebtedness of the 
 county for which bonds had been issued, $277,- 
 000; total indebtedness of county and city, ex- 
 clusive of school districts, $2,345,947.70. || 
 
 * Censits of 187s. 
 
 + Gordon^ s Gazetteer of the State of New York., 425. 
 
 Xlhid, 336, 337- 
 
 § Letter of James M. Swank, Philadelphia, Secretary American Iron 
 and Steel Association, and Special Census Agent to Collect Iron and Steel 
 Statistics. 
 
 II Census of 1880. 
 
78 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 Geology — Underlying Rocks of Duchess 
 County — Rocks of the Champlain Division 
 
 Rocks of the Hudson River Group — Grit 
 
 AND Slate Rocks— Utica Slate Group- 
 Trenton Limestone Group — Black River 
 Limestone — Calciferous Group — Barnegat 
 Limestone — Roofing Slate — The Taconic 
 System — Metamorphic Rocks — Dolomitic 
 AND Granular Limestone — Duchess County 
 Marble — The "Stone Church" — Stea- 
 tite—Iron Ore Abundant and of Good 
 Quality — Galena — Copper — Silver — Gold 
 — Primary Rocks — Granite — Hornblende — 
 SiENiTE — Gneiss — Mica Slate — Augite Rock 
 — Greenstone — Alluvial Deposits — Shell 
 Marl — Peat — Sink Holes— "Spook Hole" 
 — Clay Balls and Calcareous Concretions — 
 Mineral Springs — Gas Springs — Subterra- 
 nean Streams — Inflammable Gas — Sulphate 
 of Iron — Bog Ore — Manufacturers of 
 Bricks — Topographical Changes— Drift De- 
 posits—Smoothed AND Scratched Surfaces 
 of Rocks — What They Indicate. 
 
 THE underlying rocks of Duchess county are 
 classed in the Geological Reports as the 
 metamorphic rocks of the Primary system and the 
 Champlain division of the New York system. The 
 former occupy a narrow belt along the east border 
 of the county ; the latter extend thence west to the 
 Hudson River and beyond it. Rocks similar in 
 character to the Shawangunk grit, and the inter- 
 stratified and overlying red rocks, range north 
 through the county from Fishkill, near Matteawan ; 
 and Prof Rodgers, though doubtful about the geo- 
 logical age of this formation, inchnes to the opinion 
 that it is equivalent to the new red sandstones, 
 which are associated with trappean rocks in this 
 State ; though Prof Mather, assuming their identi- 
 ty with the rocks they resemble, infers for them a 
 greater age. These red grit rocks, like those they 
 resemble to the south, are in a highly inclined po- 
 sition, often vertical ; and were observed in hun- 
 dreds of localities in this county and those north 
 of it to Vermont. 
 
 The rocks of the Champlain division consist of a 
 series of slates, shales, grits, Hmestones and siliceous 
 and calcareous breccias and conglomerates. Some 
 plutonic rocks which have been intruded among 
 them have modified their aspect in many places, 
 and formed metamorphic rocks. Along their east- 
 ern line of outcrop these strata have been much 
 
 deranged in position since their deposition, having 
 been broken up and tilted at various angles, bent, 
 wrinkled and contorted in almost every conceiva- 
 ble manner, and elevated into hills and mountain 
 chains. 
 
 The rocks of the Hudson River group occupy a 
 large part of Duchess county. They are mostly 
 slates, shales, and grey, slaty and thick-bedded 
 grits. The slates and shales are generally dark- 
 brown, blue and black ; the grits are grey, greenish 
 and bluish-grey. They are stratified and conform- 
 able, alternating a great number of times without 
 regularity. Prof. Mather, from insufficient data, 
 said they contained few fossils except fucoids, and 
 such, until recently, has been supposed to be the 
 fact. But investigations made by Mr. T. N. Dale, 
 Jr., in the spring of 1878, and subsequently by 
 Prof. J. D. Dana, Mr. R. P. Whitfield, Curator of 
 Geology in the American Museum of Natural His- 
 tory, New York city, and Prof. W. B. Dwight, of 
 Vassar College, has shown them to be highly fos- 
 sihferous, and resulted in " the determination by 
 paleontological evidence of the Hudson River 
 group in the slates, and the calciferous chazy and 
 Trenton groups among the limestones. These re- 
 sults substantially confirm in general the views of 
 Mather, and the earlier views of Prof Hall, as to 
 the horizon of these rocks, though the particular 
 distribution and relative positions of these various 
 formations when fully explored and mapped out, 
 will be found to differ considerably from any pre- 
 vious conceptions."* 
 
 The rocks of the Hudson River group, and of 
 nearly all the Champlain division, are remarkably 
 well developed in this county. They are well, ex- 
 posed to view, and capable of rigid examination 
 and identification on the rocky shore of the Hud- 
 son from the mouth of Ancram creek to Red Hook; 
 the rocky islands below Red Hook Landing ; and 
 from Red Hook Landing to Barnegat (now Clinton) 
 Point. They range through the towns of Red 
 Hook, Milan, Rhinebeck, Clinton, Hyde Park, 
 Pleasant Valley, Poughkeepsie, La Grange and 
 Wappinger. The grits, shales and slates, which 
 are mostly composed of fragments of the lower 
 rocks of the Champlain division, are interstratified, 
 alternating a number of times. Most of the grits 
 are calciferous and effervesce slightly with a strong 
 acid when taken from a sound rock that has not 
 been exposed to weathering. The coarse greenish 
 grit that occupies so prominent a place in Rens- 
 
 * The results of some Recent PaleontologicaZ Ixacstigations in the 
 Vicinity of Poughkeepsie, by Prof. W. B. Dwight, read before the 
 Poughkeepsie Society of Natural Sdence, April 21, 1880. 
 
ROCKS OF THE HUDSON RIVER GROUP. 
 
 79 
 
 selaer county becomes finer farther south and forms 
 a mountain mass extending through the five towns 
 first naniied. Veins of quartz abound in this rock, 
 which has an aspect almost trappean ; also, more 
 or less abundantly, in all the rocks of this group ; 
 but more frequently it is only the proper joinis that 
 are filled with quartz and calcareous spar. Rocks 
 that have formerly been called greywacke, varying 
 in texture from an argillaceous slate to a sand- 
 stone, succeed the Umestone of the Fishkill valley 
 about three-fourths of a mile from the village of 
 Fishkill, on the old post-road from New York to 
 Albany. The dip is generally east-south-east from 
 ten to fifteen degrees, but at Wappinger Creek it 
 is nearly vertical. Some quarries of the grit rock, 
 which is easily quarried into rhombic blocks and 
 fragments, have been opened along the road for 
 wall stone. 
 
 The grit and slate rocks of this group are seen 
 abundantly in places three miles south of Pough- 
 keepsie, on the post-road, and continue to be seen 
 at intervals, emerging in ridges and hillocks through 
 the quarternary formation, in Hyde Park, Rhine- 
 beck and Red Hook. They are frequently inter- 
 stratified with shales and sometimes with lime- 
 stone and other rocks. 
 
 The strata dip at various angles from eight to 
 ninety degrees,'' generally to the east-south-east, 
 but in some places to the north-east, and even to 
 the north. The latter are local variations, due 
 in most if not all cases, to derangements of the 
 strata along the transverse axes of disturbance. 
 An exposure of these rocks between Lower Red 
 Hook village and the landing, three-fourths of a 
 mile, and again one mile from the village, showed 
 well characterized drift scratches, the surface being 
 otherwise smoothed off as if ground down by attri- 
 tion. In these, as well as many other locaUties in 
 this vicinity, the dip was eastwardly at a high angle. 
 Singular contortions of these rocks may be seen on 
 the shore a few rods below the landing. , The rocks 
 are bent and folded and packed together in such a 
 way as cannot be easily described or represented. 
 The strata are nearly vertical, and bent into regular 
 and irregular curves and folds. The grit rocks, in 
 stratafrora six to twelve inches in thickness, are in- 
 terstratified with slaty grits and slate. A hundred 
 yards below the Lower Red Hook landing, the 
 grit rock is seen nearly vertical, immediately over- 
 laid by nearly horizontal slate. The strata are 
 very beautifully exposed to view between Red Hook 
 and Rhinebeck landings on the shore of the Hud- 
 son and the small rocky islands near it. Smoothed 
 
 and scratched surfaces may be seen where the over- 
 ling clay has recently been removed from the 
 rock. One locality was observed about two miles 
 south of Red Hook landing, where two distinct 
 sets of scratches were engraved on the rock, with 
 directions of south ten degrees west and south 
 twenty degrees west. The smoothed or scratched 
 grit or greywacke was seen between Rhinebeck 
 landing and village, west of the ridge of naked grit 
 rock that paves the road west of the creek ; also at 
 several places on the Rhinebeck and Pine Plains 
 turnpike; and two and three-fourths miles from 
 Lower Red Hook village, on the road to Long 
 Pond. A quarry of flagging and building stone 
 has been opened about half a mile east of the lat- 
 ter village in the slaty grits of this group. The 
 stone is easily quarried in slabs of five to fifty feet 
 square and three to eight inches thick. 
 
 A broken rocky ridge of grit and slaty grit, in- 
 terstratified with slate, extends from near Rhine- 
 beck, by Hyde Park, to near Poughkeepsie, and is 
 exposed in many places along the east side of the 
 old post-road. The dip of the rock is eastwardly, 
 generally east-south-east, at very variable angles 
 from forty to ninety degrees. At Lewisville, .oppo- 
 site Lewis' landing, the strata are vertical. 
 
 The smoothed and scratched greywacke and 
 grit was observed on the ridges of Hyde Park; and 
 about half a mile east of the post road opposite to 
 half a mile north of De Graffs tavern, the grooves 
 and scratches, which were perfectly similar in size, 
 depth and direction, were interrupted by shps or 
 slight faults of the rock of more recent origin. 
 Prof. Cassels observed them in several places in 
 that vicinity. 
 
 Flagging stones have been quarried from the 
 slaty grits in Hyde Park. The rocks are well ex- 
 posed between Hyde Park village and landing, 
 and along the shore from the landing for some 
 ^distance north. The grit, composed of distinct 
 particles of slate in addition to the usual materials, 
 is interstratified with a fissile slate, almost like 
 roofing slate, on this shore a little above the land- 
 ing. The long narrow island and several smaller 
 ones between Hyde Park and Lewis' landing 
 offer fine exposures of the grits and slaty grits. 
 Below Barrytown are two long, narrow, rocky 
 islands called Magdalen, on which the strata are 
 well exposed to view, dipping as usual to the east, 
 south-east, or more nearly east at high angles. 
 About a mile below Rhinebeck landing, thick 
 layers of grit are interstratified with slate, and 
 contorted. A few rods above this locahty nodules 
 
8o 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 of argillaceous iron ore were observed embedded 
 in the slate. 
 
 The fossils discovered by Mr. Dale in the Hud- 
 son River slates in Marlborough Mountain, on the 
 west bank of the Hudson, opposite of Poughkeep- 
 sie, were identified by Prof. Hall, State Geologist, 
 as the brachiopods, Orthis testudinaria, Leptarna 
 sericea, Orthis pectinella, Stophomena alternata 
 the gasteropod, Bellerophon bilobatus, and the 
 fucoid, Buthotrephis subnodosa. " These fossils," 
 says Prof. Dwight, " are all common both to the 
 Trenton and the Hudson River groups, except the 
 Orthis pectinella, which has hitherto been unknown 
 in the Hudson River shale. They therefore defi- 
 nitely fix the age of these slates as belonging to 
 some member of the Trenton period and, under 
 all the circumstances, are generally accepted as 
 indicating the highest strata in that period, the 
 Hudson River group.". 
 
 The rocks of the Utica Slate group, which Prof. 
 Mather classifies as a member of the Champlain 
 division, consist of dark-colored argillaceous slates 
 of several varieties, which may generally be dis- 
 tinguished by their color, and form a large propor- 
 tion of the slate of the Hudson Valley. They 
 range from Vermont to New Jersey, and are well 
 exhibited to view on the banks of the Hudson at 
 Fishkill landing and at Poughkeepsie. 
 
 The slate of this group is highly carbonaceous 
 and contains thin seams and fragments of anthra- 
 cite. This has led to the delusive hope that coal 
 in greater quantity exists in its locality, and some 
 places where excavations for coal have been made 
 are very apt to deceive those who are not profes- 
 sional geologists and mineralogists. Small layers 
 and lumps of anthracite are actually seen, and the 
 fragments of rock present an appearance some- 
 what similar to the carbonaceous matter near the 
 outcropping edges of beds of anthracite. In some 
 localities vegetable remains are found. Near 
 Poughkeepsie a well was bored to a depth of two 
 hundred feet in search of coal ; and in its vicinity 
 ten or twelve excavations have been made and 
 $5,000 to $6,000 expended, in this object. A 
 large piece of anthracite is said to have been 
 found at the mouth of Wappinger Creek nearly 
 ninety years ago. On the Annan farm in Fishkill 
 an excavation was made in black slate glazed with 
 anthracite in expectation that coal would be found. 
 The locality is at the base of the Highlands, near 
 the junction of the granite and slate rocks, and 
 has, says Prof. Mather, in his report of 1843, 
 " been called the coal mine for a century." It is 
 
 he adds, more likely to deceive those not familiar 
 with coal regions than any he had seen, except 
 those at Hudson and Rider's mill in Chatham. 
 Even as late as 1878, and probably to this day, 
 the hope of finding coal in these slates was strongly 
 entertained. A specimen of coal dug that year on 
 the farm of Michael Herman, a short djstance 
 from Pleasant Valley, about sixteen feet below the 
 surface, was supposed to indicate a valuable 
 deposit of that combustible. Subsequent exami- 
 nation, during the same summer, led to the dis- 
 covery of a "three-feet vein of anthracite coal," at 
 a depth of twenty-four feet, and evoked from a 
 local journal the asseveration, "that there is coal 
 in Duchess county in quantities to pay for mining 
 is a settled fact."* Toward the close of the late 
 war the search for petroleum was prosecuted in 
 Fishkill with considerable, energy. The Hudson 
 River Petroleum Company, composed of "the 
 most prominent, wealthy and enterprising men of 
 that vicinity," was formed with a capital of $600,- 
 000, and pipes drove at Glenham to a depth of 150 
 feet when a section, having been driven through 
 several boulders, was crushed, and operations dis- 
 continued. Another well was started near the 
 base of the mountains.f 
 
 About three and one-fourth miles north-west of 
 Lower Red Hook on the road near the^Nathan 
 Beckwith farm, is a ridge of black sihceous slate, 
 in some of the loose masses of which copper 
 pyrites was rather abundantly disseminated. The 
 same kind of rock was seen in place on the next 
 swell of land to the west, and in several places 
 between Lower Red Hook and Clermont. 
 
 The rocks of the Trenton Limestone group are 
 limestones and shales alternating with each other. 
 Some of the strata abound in fossils which are 
 peculiar in character and distinguish the group 
 from others higher in the geological series. The 
 group thins out from west to east or is mostly 
 replaced by the associated slates. The limestone 
 is generally dark colored, compact or sub-crystalline, 
 sometimes slaty, at times it occurs in strata two 
 to four feet thick, separated by thin layers of black 
 slate. Some of the strata are replete with fossil 
 remains; others are nearly destitute of them. 
 Some of the thick strata are easily sawed and pol- 
 ished, and make a beautiful black marble, others 
 contain hornstone and chert in small nodules or 
 irregular masses, that render it useless for such 
 
 * The Pmghktetsii Weekly Eagle, May 4th, 1878, and July 2a, 
 1878.— rfe Rhinebeck Gazette, 1878. 
 
 t The Fishkill Standard, 1864. The Poughkeepsie Eagle, Dec. 23. 
 1864 ; June 16, 1865 ; and August S, 1855. 
 
BLACK RIVER LIMESTONE— CALCIFEROUS ROCKS. 
 
 8i 
 
 purposes. The rocks of the group occur on the 
 banks of the Hudson, about one and one-fourth to 
 one and one-half miles above Clinton Point. They 
 are slate or slaty altered limestones, that would 
 not be recognized as limestone without flose exami- 
 nation. The strata dip at a high angle to the east, 
 like all the rocks in the vicinity. Among the fos- 
 sils of this group are the Isotelus gigas, Calymene 
 senaria, Cryptolithus tessellatus, Favosites lyco- 
 podites and several other species, several species of 
 Crinoidea, Orthocera striatum, Orthocera duplex 
 ( C,) Trocholites ammonius ( C,) and several other 
 species, Bellerophon apertus, Strophomena alter- 
 naia, S. semiovalis, S. deltoidea, Delthyris microp- 
 tera, Atrypa glabella, Orthis testudinaria. 
 
 The Black River Limestone is more extensively 
 developed in the district than the Trenton Lime- 
 stone. It is found not only in continuous strata, 
 but in numerous limited patches. It is one of the 
 most durable and valuable stones for buildings, 
 locks, bridges and aqueducts, and is easily quarried 
 and dressed. The limestone beds in Milan which 
 are supposed to belong to this group, form a sur- 
 face mass one htmdred to two hundred yards in 
 width, which is crossed by the Pine Plains and 
 Rhinebeck turnpike, one and three-fourths miles 
 west of LaFayette Corners. It is compact, fine- 
 grained, sub-crystalline, and much is more or less 
 " sparry," in consequence of its being traversed by 
 veins. A similar limestone is found in the eastern 
 part of Red Hook and in Clinton, ranging through 
 the western part of Milan. The limestone near 
 Lithgow on the road from Poughkeepsie and Amenia 
 is another example. Another similar limestone, 
 but blacker, occurs on the same road about a mile 
 from Washington Hollow. The limestones near 
 Fishkill, Matteawan, Sprout Creek, Poughquaick, 
 etc., are further examples. These limestones in 
 FishkiH, Beekman, Pleasant Valley and Washing- 
 ton are more or less altered by metamorphic action. 
 Conglomerate limestone, some blocks of which 
 were nearly black, intersected by white and yellow 
 veins, was observed in Clinton, and brecciated 
 limestone in the eastern part of Rhinebeck. 
 Numerous other localities of conglomerate and 
 brecciated limestone were observed. 
 
 The Calciferous group of rocks is intermediate in 
 composition, as it is in age, between the Trenton 
 and Black River (or Mohawk,) limestones and 
 the Potsdam sandstone. The rocks are cal- 
 careo-siliceous, and sometimes one and some- 
 times the other predominates and gives character 
 to them. The water-lined laminge of deposi- 
 
 tion are very conspicuous in some of the 
 strata of calciferous sandstone. The rocks of this 
 group occupy a long narrow belt, extending from 
 Clinton Point through Poughkeepsie, Pleasant Val- 
 ley, Stanford and Pine Plains. The first continu- 
 ous range of this Umestone of much magnitude in 
 the district is seen at Bamegat, where it crosses the 
 Hudson, and from this fact it received the dis- 
 tinctive name of Bamegat Limestone. Wappin- 
 ger Creek forms its eastern boundary at Attlebury. 
 It crosses the valley of Pine Plains under the great 
 peat and marl marsh and Stissing Pond. It varies 
 in its character from a sandy, granular, sub-crystal- 
 line texture, to a perfect compact limestone, with 
 a conchoidal fracture. It is usually gray, granular 
 and sub-crystalline, with grains of sand and minute 
 quartz crystals disseminated. Small cavities lined 
 with quartz crystals are common. It is sometimes 
 distinctly stratified, and even slaty near its junc- 
 tion with the slate rocks, but frequently its beds are 
 so thick, and the masses of the ledges so broken 
 that scarcely any traces of stratification are visible. 
 It was formerly important in consequence of its 
 extensive application to the manufacture of lime, 
 at and near Bamegat, where six, ten and even 
 twenty* kilns are said to have been in operation. In 
 1843, there were six kilns which were kept constantly 
 burning during the period of river navigation, and 
 produced 720,000 bushels per annum. There were 
 numerous other kilns in the county the aggregate 
 annual product of which was then estimated to be 
 1,500,000 bushels. This lime was shipped mostly 
 to New Jersey and applied to the sandy soils of 
 that State proved a valuable fertilizer. The busi- 
 ness in this county has declined, and for the last 
 six years no lime has been burned at Barnegat. 
 
 These rocks, in which Prof. Mather says he was 
 unable to detect a trace of fossil remains, and that 
 Prof. Briggs discovered faint traces of shells, but 
 too imperfect for determination, the more recent 
 and careful investigation by Professors Dana and 
 Dwight proved to be highly fossiUferous ; and 
 among the specimen fossils '• were a number in a 
 state of preservation sufficiently distinct to fix in- 
 contestably the age of the rock as that of the Tren- 
 ton epoch." In the spring of 1879, Professors 
 Dana and Dwight visited the little quarry on the 
 creek half a mile south-east of Pleasant Valley, 
 where, nearly forty years before, the labors of Prof 
 Briggs had been rewarded with such meager results, 
 and found the following fossils: Cyathophylloid 
 corals, and several species of Crinoids, the latter 
 
 * Gordon's Gazetteer of the State of New Yerlt, (1836) 433. 
 
82 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 in abundance; Orthis testudinaria, Orthis tricen- 
 aria, Orthis jmiceum, and what were apparently 
 fragments of Trilobites and also of the Brachiopod, 
 Strophomena alternata. There were also masses 
 of rock filled, apparently, with small rounded 
 pebbles, which, on subsequent slicing, proved to be 
 a Chcetetes coral of remarkably minute structure. 
 At Rochdale, on the premises of Mr. Henry Titus, 
 they found the same fossils as at Pleasant Valley^ 
 and in addition a great many specimens of a very 
 singular and doubtless new fossil which appears to 
 resemble most closely those organisms so httle un- 
 derstood, which are called receptaculites. During 
 several visits to the latter place that summer. 
 Prof. Dwight found abundant specimens of Stro- 
 phomena alternata, Orthis pectinella, one En- 
 doceras twenty to twenty-five centimeters in length, 
 one Escharapora recta, one Ptilodictya acuta, a 
 pygidium of a Calymene Trilobite, and several speci- 
 mens which were probably Petriaia corniculutn, 
 besides additional individuals of fossils previously 
 mentioned. He also found that the fine Chatetes 
 mentioned existed in profusion in the rock. At 
 Manchester he found a large slab covered with a 
 beautiful fucoid, probably Buthothrepis gracilis. 
 At Wallace's quarry, one and one-fourth miles be- 
 low Salt Point, and in several cuts on the railroad 
 between that place and Pleasant Valley, he found 
 an entirely new set of fossils, and in a rock of quite 
 different appearance from that at Rochdale and 
 Pleasant Valley, there were great numbers of 
 univalve discoidel shells sometimes intermixed with 
 fucoids. There were also small Orthocerata, but 
 an entire lack of the various species found at the 
 other localities. 
 
 The fine Chcetefes compacta, and the large 
 crinoid Cleiocrinus magnificus, the latter of which 
 was found by Prof. Dwight near Newburgh, were 
 never before found in the State nor south > of 
 Canada. 
 
 Roofing slate* is an altered rock, intermediate in 
 character, hke its associates, between the rocks 
 described under the Champlain division and those 
 to be describedunder the " Taconic " system. The 
 rock and its associates, which are similar to those 
 already described under the Champlain division, 
 are penetrated by quartz veins in great numbers, 
 and by interlaminations of quartz. It ranges from 
 Vermont through Washington, Rensselaer, Colum- 
 
 *Roofing slate has been quarried in various places in the county ; and 
 at least two companies have been formed for that purpose : the New 
 Tfork Slate Co., incorporated March 2jd, iSlo, to continue fifteen years ; 
 and the Duchess Co. Slate Co., incorporated June 8, iSu, to continue 
 twenty-one years. The operations of the latter company were to be con- 
 fined to North East.— J^VsMcAV Gazetteer of New York, iSyj. 
 
 bia. Duchess, Ulster and Orange counties to New 
 Jersey and Pennsylvania, and is quarried for roof 
 slate in many places, but not in this county. 
 
 The Taconic* system consists of slates, lime- 
 stones and granular quartz rocks, which form a 
 belt of mountainous and hilly country, of which the 
 eastern and southern portions of this coimty form 
 a part. The strike and dip of the rocks are in the 
 same directions as those of the Champlain di- 
 vision, and apparently overlie them. The dip is to 
 the east, east-south-east, and east-north-east, at 
 angles varying from fifteen to ninety degrees. Al- 
 though the rocks all dip in the same general direc- 
 tion, similar strata at no great distance are fre- 
 quently reversed in their relative order of superpo- 
 sition. This is more frequently observed on the 
 opposite sides of ridges, hills and mountains. The 
 talcose slates of this syst^ are not confined to the 
 belt described, but local patches are found in many 
 places. The rocks of the system are more or less 
 distinctly characterized when they approach to 
 gneiss and granite and when quartz has been in- 
 truded most abundantly among them. When the 
 exact order of superposition of these rocks and the 
 primary can be examined, it is found that the gran- 
 ular quartz either rests upon, or pitches immedi- 
 ately under, the gneiss or granite rocks ; that the 
 limestones lie next in order to the gneiss or granite, 
 either in super or sub-position and that the slates 
 next follow. The observer may find much diffi- 
 culty in verifying this, as the rocks are almost uni- 
 versally much deranged from the position in which 
 they were deposited. The connection may be 
 traced on the south-west side of Mt. Stissing in 
 Pine Plains and Stanford. 
 
 The sandstones of the Taconic system are grey, 
 reddish, striped and white, and all are very hard, 
 tough, indurated quartzose.rocks. , The hmestones 
 are grey and black, compact in some -places j 
 crystalline, grey, and sparry or checkered in others ; 
 and not unfrequently granular, whitish and crystal- 
 line. The same continuous rock has undergone 
 these changes at different localities, in proportion 
 as it has been more or less subjected to the influ- 
 ences that have modified it. The slate rock has 
 undergone as great changes. It varies from argil- 
 laceous slate, through graphic, plumbaginous, 
 
 * This name, given by Prof Emmons to designate the rocks forming the 
 Williamstown Mountain, which are very peculiar in their aspect, but 
 blend in to the Champlain division on the one hand, and into the Pri- 
 mary rocks on the other, is variously spelled; but we follow both%e orthog- 
 raphy and classification of Prof Mather ; though Prof Dwight says the 
 recently' discovered fossils within this county "are so many proofs that 
 there is no Taconic system in geological history, as far at least as this its 
 original and typical seat in the Taghkanic Mountains is concerned." 
 
SLATE FORMATIONS. 
 
 83 
 
 chlorite and talcose slate. Modifications of the 
 latter two are most common, sometimes mingled 
 with blue, green, red and mottled slates. It is 
 more or less permeated by veins and branches of 
 milky quartz, which often contains chlorite and 
 brown spar disseminated in bunches. 
 
 A mountain mass of Taconic rocks ranges 
 through Ancram to the east part of Pine Plains, 
 the west part of North East, and the north-west 
 part of Amenia. The north part, in Ancram, is 
 called Winchell Mountain. It is composed of 
 slate, talcy slate and chloritic slates, and is inter- 
 sected by numerous veins of quartz. Limestone 
 ranges along the base of the mountain on both 
 sides. It is generally grey and blue, though in 
 some places at the east base it is white. About 
 one and a half miles north-west from the gate, 
 which is on the mountain west of Amenia, the slate 
 is chloritic, and is soon succeeded, as we approach 
 the " City "* by talcose slate. A short distance 
 north of the "City," the rocks are much broken 
 up, and are talcy slate and talcy limestone. Both 
 rocks contain cubic crystals of iron pyrites. The 
 bluish grey and clouded hmestone soon succeeds 
 on the west, apparently pitching under the talcy 
 slate. In some places this limestone was checked 
 by veins of carbonate of lime and quartz. Lime- 
 stone was seen in places from thence to Pine Plains, 
 except at a place where the road crosses a small 
 stream about half or three-fourths of a mile east of 
 the Quaker meeting-house, and here slate was seen 
 in place. A mass of alternating slate and lime- 
 stone enters the town of Pine Plains from Ancram. 
 Some of the slate is black with carbon, (graphic 
 slate,) and in places plumbaginous. The limestone 
 is grey and subgranular, blue and compact, and 
 sparry. 
 
 On the route from Amenia, through the central 
 and west parts of North East towards Pine Plains, 
 Prof. Merrick observed masses of talcose slate 
 firmly adhering to the hmestone, but in no case 
 penetrating it; and talcose slate a httle farther 
 west, dipping so as apparently, but not really, to 
 plunge under the limestone. This locality is on 
 the Worster Wheeler farm, about one and a half 
 miles south-east of the village of North East. The 
 limestone is grey, variegated and granular, and 
 would make a beautiful clouded marble. About a 
 mile north-west of Wheeler's, well characterized 
 mica slate was observed in the hill on the east, and 
 talco-argillaceous slate on the west side of the 
 road. About half a mile farther west he observed 
 
 * The " City " is a small post village in the north-west part of Amenia. 
 
 a ridge of limestone dipping to the west. About 
 one and a half miles north-west of North East vil- 
 lage near a small stream, the talcose slate and 
 limestone were observed to alternate twice. The 
 actual junction, where the rocks were firmly 
 cemented together, was observed in one place. A 
 similar junction of the talcose slate and limestone 
 was observed in North East, where the road crosses 
 the outlet of Indian Pond. A few rods east and 
 south-east of the Amenia ore bed, the slaty lime- 
 stone is seen superposed on the talcy slate. On 
 the summit of the mountain in North East, where 
 the Sharon road intersects that from Amenia to 
 Pine Plains, the rock is slightly talcy. Soon after 
 leaving the base of the mountain, the limestone 
 was observed to be abundant. On the east side of 
 the mountain it alternates with the slate, which is 
 variable in character, in some places being talcy, in 
 others like roof slate. Nearly opposite the Episco- 
 pal church, a half mile north of Lithgow, in Wash- 
 ington, the sparry hmestone was observed several 
 rods in width, dipping to the east and ranging 
 south thirty degrees west. At the " City " the rock 
 is talco-argillaceous slate ; and about a hundred 
 rods west of this place is an old mine hole, reputed 
 to be a copper mine, but Prof Cassels reported 
 that the copper ore, if any had been obtained there, 
 must have been in very small quantity. The exca- 
 vation is in the talco-argillaceous slate, traversed 
 by veins of milky quartz. 
 
 Pine Plains is situated on the quartemary, and un- 
 derlaid by the slate rocks ; but the sparry limestone 
 forms a ridge called Mill Hill, a Httle east of the 
 village, and this is the prevailing rock, alternating, 
 however, with slate, for three to three and a half 
 miles towards the Salisbury ore bed. It is suc- 
 ceeded by the slate of Winchell's Mountain, which 
 is talco-argillaceous, and in some cases micaceous. 
 The slate dips to the east at a high angle. Lime- 
 stone succeeds the slate for a short distance a little 
 east of Pulver's Corners, and alternates several 
 times between that and the Salisbury ore bed; but 
 the most important are at Spericer's Corners, and 
 at the brook by the hne between New York and 
 Connecticut, on the turnpike. The slate of Winch- 
 ell's Mountain is very fissile, talcy, micaceous 
 and argillaceous, frequently colored, and more or 
 less loaded with plumbago. The limestone about 
 Pine Plains seems to divide into two branches, one 
 of which ranges by the south end of Mt. Stissing, 
 (where it is underlaid by the Potsdam sandstone 
 resting on gneiss,) down Wappinger Creek to 
 Barnegat ; the other up the valley of Shekomeko 
 
84 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 Creek, through the west part of North East, the 
 west part of Amenia, the east part of Washington, 
 by Lithgow and Mabbittsville, and down the Clove, 
 through Union Vale and Beeknian into Fishkill. 
 Another branch ranges from Stanford through 
 Washington, to half a mile south of'Verbank in 
 Union Vale, to Poughquaick in Beekman, and 
 thence down Fishkill Creek to Matteawan. In 
 many places near the mica slate and gneiss of the 
 Chestnut ridge, (which is the southern extension of 
 Winchell's Mountain towards the Highlands,) and 
 especially in the low valleys, the limestone is altered 
 to a grey and white granular limestone, more or less 
 dolomitic, like that of the Dover and Oblong valley 
 east of Chestnut Ridge and Winchell's Mountain. 
 About a quarter of a mile south-east of Pulver's 
 Corners in Pine Plains, on the east side of Winch- 
 ell's Mountain, the junction of the slate and sparry 
 limestone was observed. Both dipped sHghtly to 
 the west, the slate being on the west side. A 
 quarry of talco-argillaceous slate containing cubic 
 cavities in which crystals of pyrites have been em- 
 bedded, was seen on the east side of Winchell's 
 Mountain, about a quarter of a mile north of Pul- 
 ver's Corners. The rock of this quarry is used for 
 the lining of furnaces, and when laid with the edges 
 to the inside of the stack, resists the heat almost 
 as well as fire bricks. Prof. Merrick observed a 
 slaty and talcy limestone at the base of a hill a lit- 
 tle west of the village of Separate, in Amenia. 
 Talco-micaceous slate lies next on the east, and 
 talco-argillaceous on the west, traversed by veins 
 of quartz. The fragments of quartz are very much 
 scattered over the surface. The talco-argillaceous 
 slate becomes less talcy on the west, and forms the 
 range of hills in the east part of Stanford. The 
 rock is very much contorted. A few rods west of 
 Thompson's pond, he observed limestone which he 
 believed would make a fine clouded marble, but 
 only a small area of the rock was exposed. 
 
 The granular quartz rock at the south-west end 
 of Mount Stissing may, from its modified character, 
 be considered as belonging to the Taconic rocks. 
 It is nearly horizontal in position, reposing on 
 gneiss at the base of Mount Stissing, and is overlaid 
 by the Barnegat limestone, and that by the slate 
 rocks of the west side of the mountain. It re- 
 sembles gneiss at a little distance, but is a hard, 
 closed-grained sihceous grit rock. Another mass 
 of this rock was mentioned by Walter Reynolds, 
 of Pine Plains, and said to cross the limestone 
 ridge obliquely a short distance south-east of Pine 
 Plains. 
 
 The ridge dividing Washington and Pleasant 
 Valley has breccia and sparry limestone on its west 
 base, and red slate a little further to the west. It 
 ranges so into La Grange. Talcy slate was also 
 observed by Prof. Merrick a little east of Verbank, 
 and he considered it an extension of that observed 
 in the south-east corner of Stanford ; also sparry 
 Umestone a half mile east of Mabbittsville, and 
 talcy slate two and a half miles east of that village. 
 The slate in the ridges passing through the east 
 part of Stanford, the middle and west parts of 
 Washington, and along the Une between Union 
 Vale and La Grange, is very much traversed and 
 intersected by veins of quartz, and is contorted. 
 The outcropping edges are waving. Extensive 
 excavations are said to have been made in these 
 rocks in the north-east part of La Grange during 
 the latter part of the eigli'teenth century in search 
 of silver ; and, although there were marvelous 
 reports of the quantities obtained, no traces of any 
 metal were observed but pyrites. 
 
 Talcy limestone was observed in places about a 
 quarter of a mile west of Hopewell. White lime- 
 stone, that would make a good marble, was seen 
 about a mile west of Poughquaick. Limestone is 
 the most common rock seen emfrging through the 
 -extensive quarternary plains of Fishkill, and in 
 many places it assumes the aspect of what has been 
 habitually called primitive limestone, but it is the 
 same as that generally found in this valley, which 
 has been traced in modified forms from a compact 
 and sandy limestone to a white marble, from 
 Vermont to the Highlands. About a mile and a 
 half above Matteawan, near the creek, the lime- 
 stone seemed to repose on granite. It was on the 
 east side of the granite, dipping to the east, and 
 the granite was succeeded on the west by red and 
 green slates that seemed to pitch under it towards 
 the east. The direction of the granite and asso- 
 ciated rocks was parallel to the creek for some 
 distance, forming a low ridge, which finally crosses 
 the stream about a quarter of a mile from the 
 bridge. The strike is north fifty degrees east. 
 The red and green slates are red and green in the 
 same continuous layers, and the colors are probably 
 due to the different degrees of oxidation of iron in 
 the different parts of the rock. Near Matteawan^ 
 also, the granite, and red, green and black shales 
 were observed. About a mile east of Stormville, 
 the limestone of the Fishkill valley is succeeded by 
 the granite and gneissoid rocks of the Highlands. 
 Patches of limestone, however, ' like that of the 
 valley, were occasionally seen on the mountains 
 
METAMORPHIC ROCKS. 
 
 8S 
 
 farther east. The dip of the primary rocks was 
 sixty to eighty degrees eastwardly, and the strike 
 north forty-five to sixty degrees east. 
 
 Metamorphic rocks include such as present evi- 
 dence which renders it highly probable that they 
 were originally sedimentary, but have been altered 
 in their character, so as to change them into such 
 as have usually been called primary. In those of 
 this portion of the first district, the limestones are 
 granular, dolomitized and stratified; the slates are 
 talco-argillaceous, talcose, chloritic, or micaceous, 
 the latter predominating, and the sandstones are 
 changed to granular quartz rock, eurite and gneiss. 
 The intrusive rocks bear but a small proportion to 
 the altered rocks, and are mostly quartz and 
 granite. These rocks range from Bennington and 
 Shaftsbury in Vermont, in a direction about south, 
 through the west part of Massachusetts and Con- 
 necticut and the east part of New York, in the 
 counties of Duchess, Putnam, Westchester and New 
 York, to Long Island Sound and Hudson River. 
 Between the Taconic rocks and the Metamorphic 
 rocks to the east of them, no well-marked line of 
 distinction can be drawn, as they blend into each 
 other by insensible shades of difference. The 
 strata of the metamorphic rocks are very much 
 broken, so that no stratum has been traced con- 
 tinuously for more than a few miles. 
 
 These rocks enter the State in the north-east 
 corner of this county from the south end of Mt. 
 Washington, the mica slate from which crosses the 
 valley of Oblong Creek very obUquely ; also the 
 mountain called Chestnut Ridge, south of Amenia, 
 and Winchell's Mountain north of that place. The 
 mica slate occupies about half the breadth of 
 the mountain west of Amenia, on the turnpike 
 from that place to Poughkeepsie, and it forms 
 most of the same mountain to the Highlands, as 
 the west boundary of the Oblong and Dover valleys. 
 On the east of this range of mica slate, (which 
 rnerges on the west into talcy and talco-argillaceous 
 slate,) the rocks are almost entirely of mica slate, 
 crystalline, white and grey dolomitic Umestones, and 
 quartz rock, eastward to the gneiss rocks near the, 
 Housatonic. 
 
 In some places garnets and crystals of staurotide 
 are found in the mica slate, but they are not com- 
 mon, and more frequently it shows a talco-argilla- 
 ceous character in New York, indicative of its origin, 
 except in the Highlands and farther south. Near 
 the line between North East and Salisbury, the 
 talco-micaceous slate and whitish Umestone were 
 observed, and a little farther east the mica slate was 
 
 well characterized and contained garnets and some 
 crystals of staurotide. The rocks dipped rapidly 
 to the eastward. At the Indian Pond ore bed, 
 white and grey limestone apparently underlies, and 
 mica slate overlies the ore. These rocks dip sixty 
 to seventy degrees to the eastward. The moun- 
 tain near and south-west of Leedsville is composed 
 of mica slate and limestone, and both dip to the 
 east at a high angle. Nearly all the rock seen in 
 place between that mountain and Amenia was lime- 
 stone, always highly inclined to the east, and some- 
 times almost vertical. It is generally white or grey 
 and granular. At the Amenia ore bed, white lime- 
 stone was seen in place a few rods to the west, and 
 talco-micaceous slate on the east, the latter over- 
 laid by bluish and sandy Umestone. At the Deep- 
 Hollow furnace, two and a half miles south of 
 Amenia, the rock is mica slate, somewhat talcy. 
 Limestone succeeds the mica slate on the east side 
 of the valley opposite the furnace, and this is suc- 
 ceeded farther east by mica slate. These rocks 
 form the mountain which here terminates on the 
 south, and extends northward to a little west of 
 Leedsville, becoming very low to the riorth-east of 
 Amenia Seminary. The limestone is quarried a 
 little east of the furnace and used as a flux in 
 smelting the ore. The rock is white and lies in 
 nearly vertical strata. Between the Deep-Hollow 
 furnace and the steel works farther to the south- 
 east, the rock is mica slate, and is succeeded on 
 the east by white and grey granular Umestone. 
 The Umestone was seen in place from near KUne's 
 Corners, in the south-east part of Amenia, and 
 thence at frequent intervals to Leedsville. Much 
 of it is very white and massive. There seems to 
 be main ranges of the white limestone in the valley 
 east of the Chestnut ridge. One ranges down the 
 west branch of the vaUey from North East by 
 Amenia Seminary and Deep-Hollow furnace; 
 thence south to two miles north of Dover Plains ; 
 thence by Dover Plains, cropping out at intervals 
 in low ridges and hummocks through the quarter- 
 nary of the Dover valley. The other ranges down 
 the Oblong valley in Sharon and Amenia by Leeds- 
 ville, Hitchcock's Corners, KUne's Corners, and 
 the hills a little east of Dover, where it crops out 
 also in low ridges through the quarternary. 
 
 The mountains west of the steel works, which 
 seem to terminate abruptly to the south, and are a 
 part of the Chestnut ridge, are of mica slate, and 
 garnets are not uncommon in it. At the " Stone 
 Church," half of a mile south-west of Dover Plains, 
 mica slate may be seen weU exposed. Garnets and 
 
HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 a single crystal of staurotide were observed here. 
 Fine specimens of the mica slate containing gar- 
 nets may be obtained at the falls of Wassaic Creek, 
 above the furnace in Amenia. Near the " City," 
 the mica slate passes into the talcose slate. On 
 the road from Amenia north-east to the Chalk 
 Pond ore bed, the limestone, mica slate and talc 
 slate were all seen in a position nearly horizontal. 
 They may be better examined between the Chalk 
 Pond ore bed and Perry's Corners. Limestone of 
 very white color may be seen three-fourths of a 
 mile north-east of Amenia Seminary. The mica 
 slate is sometimes loaded with iron pyrites. One 
 locality, called the alum rock, is in the south part 
 of Amenia, not far south-east of the furnace ; 
 another is the mountain two miles south-west of 
 Amenia, in contorted, talcy, micaceous slate. It is 
 sometimes carbonaceous. It dips ten to forty 
 degrees to the west. Garnets are stated to be 
 abundant in the mica slate between Beekman and 
 the south-west part of Dover, by Prof. Cassels. 
 White limestone skirts the east base of the Chest- 
 nut ridge in Dover and into Pawling. The lime- 
 stone at some of the marble quarries near Dover 
 Plains is in nearly vertical strata. Generally, all 
 the strata of rocks in this region dip to the east- 
 south-east at high angles. Professors Cassels and 
 Merrick explored the Dover valley south into Paw- 
 ling, almost to Putnam county, and found it skirted 
 nearly the whole distance on the west by white 
 limestone in nearly vertical strata, dipping seventy- 
 five to eighty degrees to the east. The strike was 
 almost north and south. 
 
 The " Stone Church " is a place of some noto- 
 riety as a natural curiosity. It is a deep chasm in 
 the mica slate rock, worn out much larger by the 
 wearing action of a stream of water. It is very 
 irregular in its dimensions, broader at bottom than 
 at top, with large masses of rock in the bottom, 
 over which it is necessary for the visitor to clam- 
 ber to explore its more remote parts. Segments of 
 pot-holes have been worn in the rocks by the action 
 of pebbles and the rapid flow of water. 
 
 The Duchess county marble varies somewhat in 
 its character. It is almost always dolomitic,* or 
 composed of the carbonates of lime and magnesia 
 in variable proportions. Sometimes it is large 
 grained and quite compact ; at others it is fine 
 grained, and so loose in its texture as to be unfit 
 for a building rhaterial. A specimen of this marble 
 from Dover, which was of snow-white color, had a 
 
 * Dolomite derives its name from the French geologist Dolomieu. When 
 pure, it consists of 54-3 per cent, of carbonate of lime and 45.7 per cent, 
 of carbonate of magnesia. 
 
 granular texture, and was as friable as loaf sugar, 
 gave upon analysis the following results in one hun- 
 dred parts, viz : carbonate of lime, 60. 50 ; carbon- 
 ate of magnesia, 39. 50.* 
 
 About one and a half miles east of Kline's Cor- 
 ners, near the hne between Kent, Amenia and Do- 
 ver, heavy beds of close-grained granular quartz 
 were observed. This rock seems to form also a 
 portion of the mountain ranging southwardly, called 
 Elbow Mountain, and that ranging northwardly, 
 called Peaked Mountain in the reports.f Th# east 
 side of Elbow Mountain trends nearly south, and 
 the west nearly in a south-west direction. The 
 north end presents a sharp summit, but opposite 
 Dover it is three or four miles wide. The quartz 
 rock may be easily examined on the road from 
 Kline's Corners to Kent, in a field on the north 
 side of the road. It contains some small black 
 crystals in some places, which are probably horn- 
 blende or black tourmaline. This quartz rock is 
 believed to be the same as the Potsdam sandstone, 
 only altered by its proximity to granitic and in- 
 trusive rocks. 
 
 The granular limestone of Duchess county is 
 very extensive, and does not yield to any other 
 mineral deposit in the county in prospective value. 
 Marble quarries are extensively wrought in some 
 parts of its range, which extends through the great- 
 er part of the length of the county, and crops out 
 with variable breadth from a few hundred yards to 
 several miles. It varies much in texture and color. 
 It is granular and compact, white, grey, clouded, 
 striped, and nearly black. In some localities it is 
 strong and difficult to break ; in others it is dolo- 
 mitic and very friable, and crumbles to sand by 
 exposure to the weather. The hmestone beds of 
 this range are interstratified with talcose and mica- 
 ceous slate. They dip to the east and east-south- 
 east from twenty to ninety degrees. * It is rarely 
 used, except as a wall stone. Lime has been made 
 from it in Amenia and some other places. It 
 makes a good strong lime. 
 
 The calcareous sand, caused by the disintegra- 
 tion near the surface of many of the beds of dolo- 
 mitic limestone, may probably be used with advan- 
 tage on the soil as a 'substitute for marl. It is 
 found by experience that the lime of these dolo- 
 mites does not injure vegetation, like that of Euro- 
 pean magnesian limestones ; and the rock here is 
 pulverulent, and ready to act on vegetation in 
 the same manner as marl. * 
 
 * Prof. BecK s Fourth Geological Report, 6l, 62. 
 
 t Vide Second Annual Geological Report of New York, 1838, p i^^. 
 
MARBLE— STEATITE— IRON ORE. 
 
 87 
 
 The principal marble quarries in the county are 
 in the town of Dover, near the village of Dover 
 Plains, Preston's and Ketcham's quarries being the 
 principal openings. Two stone saw-mills reduce 
 the huge blocks to marketable slabs, and are 
 abundantly supplied from the quarries with sharp, 
 gritty sand, without which the saws would be pow- 
 erless. The marble works easily and is susceptible 
 of a fine polish. It is almost a pure white, fine- 
 grained, dolomitic limestone, and is mostly used 
 for tomb-stones. 
 
 Near Kline's and Hitchcock's Corners are exten- 
 sive beds of limestone which do not crumble by 
 the action of the weather, and would make a good 
 marble. In Beekman, near Doughty's mills, fine 
 marble, in beds of a few feet in thickness, were ob- 
 served, as also in several places in East Fishkill, 
 near Stormville and Hopewell. Clouded marbles 
 were observed by Mr. Merrick on the Worster 
 Wheeler and E. Merritt farms in North East, and 
 was quarried in the latter place in the early part of 
 the present century. Other quarries have been 
 worked in several places, though the demand for 
 the particular kinds was not sufficient to make them 
 profitable. Beds of marble as good as that so well 
 known in Egremont and Stockbridge, undoubtedly 
 exist in North East, Amenia, Dover, Pawling, 
 Beekman and Fishkill. The resources of Duchess 
 county in valuable marbles are inexhaustible. 
 
 East of Poughquaick in Beekman, the granular 
 quartz rock was seen, having almost the characters 
 of gneiss, and the slate was changed to a mica 
 slate. South of Shenandoah the granular quartz 
 was seen again, and there it was compact and 
 homogeneous like eurite, but retained its strata 
 planes. The associated limestones are very grey 
 and white. The dip was in some places almost 
 vertical to the south-east. 
 
 Steatite (soap-stone) was seen near Peckville. 
 It is there intermixed with serpentine, and al- 
 though abundant, and quarried in large blocks, it 
 was found difficult to saw it well in consequence 
 of the different degrees of hardness of the steatite 
 and serpentine. It is beautifully spotted aiid 
 clouded, and as steatite indurates by heat, it is 
 possible that it may at some future time be wrought 
 as an ornamental stone. Some of the masses of 
 steatite are very pure, soft and easily wrought. In 
 some parts of the bed the rock is granular, or 
 scaly talc, either pure, or traversed in every direc- 
 tion by crystals of actynolite. 
 
 The iron ore of Duchess County is very abun- 
 dant, and makes iron of the best quality. -The 
 
 mines are numerous, and, generally, are easily 
 worked and free from water. The ore consists 
 principally of limonite, (sometimes called brown 
 hematite,) which varies in its state of aggregation 
 from a yellow pulverulent mass to a compact brown 
 iron-stone. It is mammillary, botryoidal, spongi- 
 form, and with stalactitic forms, some of which 
 have hemispherical, and others acicular termina- 
 tions; others are like bunches of pendant moss. 
 The solid stalactitic forms are fibrous, with 
 diverging radii from the center. The specimens 
 are beautiful and highly ornamental as curiosities 
 and as minerals. In 1843, there were said to be 
 ten furnaces within twelve miles of Amenia, which 
 made in the aggregate about 10,000 tons of iron per 
 annum, and affijrded employment to about 1,000 
 men as ore-diggers, coal-men, teamsters, smelters, 
 limestone-diggers, etc. Some of these were in 
 Connecticut, near the line ; but the furnace at 
 Hopewell was not included in the number. In 
 t88o the production of iron in the county had in- 
 creased to more than six times that quantity — 
 61,637 tpns, exceeding the production of any pre- 
 ceding year. The malleable iron from the furnaces 
 in this county is highly valued for its toughness and 
 softness, and has been extensively employed in 
 making anchors, musket and pistol barrels, wire, 
 etc. The ore makes the finest car-wheels and can- 
 non, and it is said by experts to be peculiarly 
 adapted to making the best steel. The geological 
 situation of the ore-beds is very constant, and 
 mostly at the junction of mica or talcose slate 
 with the grey and white limestones. The limestone 
 generally crops out on the west side of the ore 
 beds, and the mica and talc slate on the east, and 
 both dip at an angle of from twenty to sixty degrees 
 to the east-south-east. 
 
 The ore bed in East Fishkill is thus described by 
 Dr. Beck in the Geological Report of 1837: — 
 
 " This is the ore bed belonging to the Fishkill 
 Iron Company. It is situated about three miles 
 north-east of the village of Hopewell. The hill in 
 which it occurs presents no peculiarity that I 
 could discover, except that its surface" is made 
 up of coarse gravel, and has a rounded form in 
 various places. The ore is covered by a stiff whitish 
 clay, and is intermixed with the same substance, 
 called fuller's earth by the miners. Quartz is also 
 one of the accompanying minerals, and a sort of 
 slate is also found in the center of the mass of ore, 
 which causes some inconvenience to the smelter. 
 The whole bed is made up of nodules of ore of 
 various sizes and forms, but unusually rounded, 
 which are covered, and apparently cemented 
 together with a yellowish brown clayey ochre. 
 These nodules are often hollow ; and when this is 
 
88 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 the case, the inner surface is highly polished, and 
 has the appearance of having been fused. Some- 
 times also beautiful stalactites, of various sizes and 
 forms, are found in these balls ; and occasionally 
 there is observed a thin lining of a black powdery 
 nature, resembling plumbago, which is believed to 
 be oxide .of manganese. The structure of the ore 
 is fibrous, and its color brown. This bed is worked 
 by levels or burrows carried in various directions 
 through the hill in which it is situated. These ex- 
 cavations have already extended to the distance of 
 ninety or a hundred feet from the entrance. The 
 roof of these burrows is from twelve to thirty feet 
 above the floor, and is supported by pillars of ore, 
 from five to teti feet in thickness. The ore alter- 
 nates with the clay and Slate, and from what I sub- 
 sequently observed, I infer that the bed rests upon 
 mica slate, although I did not find that rock in the 
 immediate vicinity." 
 
 Most of t;he galleries, says Prof. Mather, in 1843, 
 have caved in, in consequence of the injudicious 
 method of working the ore. The superincumbent 
 materials are clay, loam, gravel and pebbles, im- 
 perfectly aggregated like " hard pan ;" so that when 
 the soil becomes very wet, they have little tenacity; 
 and as the galleries are made large, and without 
 any support to sustain the superincumbent mater- 
 ials, they cave in, and render the extraction of ore 
 expensive. The ore is of good quaUty, but more 
 mixed with earthy matter than at many of the 
 other mines. Limestone was seen in places a few 
 rods west of the mines, and of the same general 
 character as that seen at the various mines of this 
 kind of iron ore. There are at present (1881) two 
 mines in this locality, situated on the Clove Branch 
 of the Newburgh, Duchess & Connecticut Rail- 
 road, viz: Brown's and Tower's, the former em- 
 ploying about forty men and the latter about thirty. 
 Their combmed product is about 150 tons of ore 
 per day, that of the latter being transported to the 
 furnaces in Poughkeepsie. 
 
 The Clove ore bed is an extensive deposit of 
 brown hematite, situated in the south-west part of 
 Union Vale, on the west side of the hill running 
 parallel with the valley of the Clove. The gen- 
 eral appearance of the hill in which it is situated 
 does not differ much from that of the East Fish- 
 kill ore bed, but it appears to be more extensive, 
 at least it has been more extensively explored. In 
 most instances it has been worked ^(7 //5i? day ; large 
 excavations having been made in various places, 
 which communicate with some central point by 
 means of roads or railways. The Dover Iron Co. 
 sunk a shaft and constructed a level to intersect it. 
 f he ore is in general similar to that found at the 
 bed in East Fishkill, but contains, perhaps, a larger 
 
 proportion of the ochery or fine ore, which is con- 
 sidered more valuable than the other varieties. 
 Associated with it are minute crystals of oxide of 
 manganese, and that rare mineral, gibbsite. It is 
 a very pure hydrated peroxide of iron, and is mostly 
 fibrous hematite. It supplies the Beekman furnace 
 two miles further south. A bed of white clay, or 
 fuller's earth, rests upon the ore as at East Fishkill, 
 and the ore bed is bounded on the east by Ume- 
 stone. The southernmost of the ore beds at this place 
 does not make as good iron as the others, though 
 the ore is richer and yields a greater proportion of 
 iron. The ore is mostly the fibrous hematite. 
 
 Foss' ore bed is situated in the town of Dover 
 about a mile and a half west-south-west of the 
 furnace of the Dover Iron Company, in a valley 
 between the spurs of the mountain which passes 
 through this part of the country, and it is particu- 
 larly interesting as showing the association of the 
 hematite with the mica slate, which occurs here in 
 strata of some thickness, and contains garnets 
 of various sizes. In extent it appears to be in- 
 ferior to those already noticed. The ore is in 
 much larger masses, and is not only reduced to 
 powder with more difficulty, but contains a larger 
 proportion of foreign substances. Work has for 
 some time been discontinued. 
 
 The Amenia and SaUsbury ore beds are the most 
 extensively wrought of any iron mines of this ore 
 in the United States, and the iron from these beds 
 is considered superior in softness and toughness to 
 that of any other mine in the country. The ore 
 in the Amenia beds yields fifty per centum of pig 
 iron, and inproves in quality as it descends. The 
 deposit is very extensive, and is covered with eart\ 
 gravel and broken rocks to a depth of five to 
 twenty feet. In 1843, the beds, which, in one 
 place, had been excavated to a depth of forty-five 
 feet, yielded 5,000 tons of ore per annum ; and 
 Prof. Mather estimated that at that rate of pro- 
 duction they would not be exhausted in three 
 hundred years. Talcose slate crops out a few 
 rods east and white limestone a few rods west 
 of the bed. Another mine, possibly a contin- 
 uation of the same bed, is opened at Squab- 
 ble Hole, about two miles south-south-west of 
 Ameniaville, The ore, which is abundant, was 
 discovered while digging a well. The Chalk Pond 
 ore bed, two and one-half miles north-east of 
 Ameniaville, was extensively wrought many years 
 ago, and abandoned in consequence of the water 
 from the pond incommoding the mines ; but this 
 difficulty has been obviated by drainage. 
 
LEAD— COPPER— GOLD— SILVER. 
 
 89 
 
 The ore bed near the village of Amenia, (or 
 Paine's Corners, as it has been called,) is best ex- 
 posed to examination, and has yielded the greatest 
 quantity of ore. In some places clayey matter is 
 intermixed with the ore; in others it is red like the 
 earthy red oxide of iron, yellow like iron ochre, 
 white like pipe clay, and sometimes bluish. The 
 blue clay is not plastic, but rather crumbly when 
 wet ; it is more or less mixed with talcy and mica- 
 ceous matter, and contains a multitude of minute 
 but perfect cubic crystals of pyrites. This bed 
 yields the greatest variety of the most beautiful 
 and delicate specimens for the cabinet of any local- 
 ity which came under the observation of Prof. 
 Mather, who says it "is a treat to the mineral- 
 ogist." Prof. Beck says : " a fragment of stalactite 
 from this locality was found to have a specific 
 gravity of 3.828 ; and to lose upon calcination 13.5 
 per centum of its weight. The composition of 
 this specimen will probably be a fair average of 
 that of the pure hematitic variety from the various 
 localities in this county." His analysis of brown 
 hematite from the Amenia ore bed gives the fol- 
 lowing result : — 
 
 Peroxide of iron 82.90 
 
 Silica and alumina 3.60 
 
 Water i3S° 
 
 Oxide of manganese trace 
 
 Proportion of metallic iron 57.50 pr. ct. 
 
 Galena, or the sulphuret of lead, is extensively 
 distributed in small quantities over a tract extend- 
 ing through this county and the counties north of 
 it on the east side of the Hudson. In nearly every 
 locality it is situated in veins, traversing the strata 
 near the junction of limestone with slate rocks, 
 where they have been upturned and exposed to 
 great derangements, and more or less affected by 
 metamorphic agency. Many localities were exam- 
 ined, but none gave much promise of profitable 
 investment. Fine grained galena is found in Dover 
 in a small vein, in dolomite, near the Preston Inn. 
 It is situated in a quartz vein which traverses the 
 limestone, and the ore is disseminated in small 
 grains and bunches. Lead ore occurs in Amenia. 
 In April, 1863, the Amenia Lead Co. was organ- 
 ized with a capital of ^500,000. The property of 
 the company was situated about seven miles from 
 Amenia, and consisted of about 100 acres held by 
 the company in fee simple, and some 1,220 acres, 
 about three-fourths of which was covered by long 
 mining leases, with covenants for renewal and pur- 
 chase at the company's option, and the remaining 
 one-fourth by a perpetual mining lease. An an- 
 
 alysis of one ton of copper ore from this mine was 
 made by Augustus T. Moith, in May, 1863, with 
 the following result : Copper oxide, 1,350 to 1,400 
 lbs. ; sulphur, 280 lbs. ; Water, 240 lbs. ; silver, 
 33^ to 34 oz. ; lead, 20 lbs. ; earthy matter, 140 lbs. 
 Galena is said to have been found at Rhinebeck ; 
 and in Stanford lead ore is said to occur on the 
 Asa Thorn and Asa Thompson places. Copper 
 ore was observed in small quantity on the Gen- 
 eral Brush farm in Aihenia, about a hundred rods 
 west of the "City" meeting-house. This locality 
 was worked for copper ore in the early part of the 
 present century. Copper ore, principally of the 
 black sulphuret, occurs in the Judge Bockee lead 
 mines in North East. Copper pyrites were observed 
 in the siliceous slate, on the road from Lower Red 
 Hook to Upper Red Hook landing, but in small 
 quantity. It was on the Nathan Beckwith farm. 
 On the Van Wyck farm in East Fishkill, about a 
 mile south-east of Johnsonville, Mr. Merrick saw 
 a thin vein of quartz in limestone, which contained 
 galena and some copper pyrites. Blende is seen 
 in veins one-fourth to one inch wide in the lime- 
 stone at the Ward Bryan and Judge Bockee lead 
 mines in North East.* It was seen in small quan- 
 tities at most of the lead diggings in various parts 
 of the county. In North East, on the Lee farm, 
 about four miles north of Amenia, excavations were 
 made many years since in search of silver. They 
 are in the quartz veins, in the talcy slate rock, near 
 its junction with the limestone. Pyrites occur in 
 some abundance there ; but no other ore was seen. 
 In the north-east part of La Grange are numerous 
 excavations said to have been silver mines, from 
 which, according to tradition, large quantities were 
 obtained in olden times. Mr. Merrick found no 
 traces of any metal, except a few particles- of 
 ' pyrites, " and the money made there," says Prof. 
 Mather, "was probably 'out of pocket.'" Silver 
 mines have been mentioned as occurring in par- 
 ticular localities, "but investigation showed, in at 
 least nine cases out of ten, that pyrites was the 
 deceptive mineral." The county is not without 
 auriferous deposits, as is shown by the following 
 from the Poughkeepsie Weekly Eagle of May 6, 
 1876:— 
 
 "The existence of gold in the hills around Rhine- 
 beck has long been known. * * * In 1868 or 
 '69, Dr. Freleigh, then a physician of Rhinebeck, 
 
 * Numerous excavations for lead and copper were made in these local- 
 ities, in colonial times, as early as 1740 by a company of Germans, who 
 sent the ore to Bristol, England. The mines were re-opened during the 
 Revolution, and a few tons of ore obtained. Geology o/the First Geo- 
 logical District of New York, \i,b.— French's Gazetteer of the State of 
 New York, li^. 
 
9° 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 satisfied himself that there was valuable treasure 
 about eight miles east of the village. The land was 
 owned by Daniel Murch, and an agreement was 
 made by which Dr. Freleigh was to have the refusal 
 of the farm for a year. Dr. Freleigh interested 
 parties in New York, to whom he sold the farm for 
 $100,000, paying Murch $25,000, when both re- 
 tired from the business. After the disposal of 
 the farm, the gold excitement died out, and 
 nothing was done in mining. The first practical 
 explorations of the gold fields were begun in the 
 summer of 1875, by J. B. Lichtenstein, of New 
 York, who purchased of N. W. H. Judson, of 
 Rhinebeck, the farm adjoining that of Murch. A 
 shaft was sunk into the hills about thirty feet, and 
 a tunnel started in the direction of the most prom- 
 ising leads. The machinery used was of the 
 crudest kind, being a hand-working crusher, a 
 small furnace, and a few imperfect tools. The 
 most productive ore found yielded not more than 
 $25 per ton, and the mine cannot be made to pay 
 at less than $35 a ton." 
 
 The primary rocks, which are similar in mineral- 
 ogical characters, in mineral contents, and in geo- 
 logical associations, are confined in this county to 
 the south-east portion and a few islands surrounded 
 by other formations. They occupy Pawling, the 
 east part of Beekman, and south-east and south 
 part of East Fishkill, the east part of Dover, and 
 a small part of Pine Plains and Stanford. They 
 are numerous and everywhere abundant, and are 
 seen cropping out from the surface of almost every 
 hill and ravine. Many of them are applied to use- 
 ful purposes. The principal are granite, sienite, 
 gneiss, mica slate, augite rock, greenstone and 
 hornblende rocks, quartz rock, talcose slate, lime- 
 stone, serpentine and steatite, the latter five of 
 which have been descfibed as metamorphic rocks. 
 Granite occurs abundantly, and presents all 
 varieties of texture, from a very coarse grained 
 rock to one almost perfectly compact. It varies 
 as much in color as in texture, being white, grey, 
 red, yellowish and bluish grey, according to the 
 color of the- minerals forming it. The color of the 
 feldspar usually determines that of the mass. It 
 occurs in beds, veins, interstratified masses, and in 
 knots, knobs and protruding masses, in which no 
 connection with veins or beds has been traced. 
 The more common mode of its occurrence is in 
 beds 10 to 100 feet thick, interstratified with 
 gneiss. Some of it is too coarse for use as a 
 building material ; some is too compact and hard, 
 being, in fact, eurite ,- others are well adapted for 
 building. The materials are of the best quaUty, 
 easily quarried in large blocks, suitable for columns 
 and cornices, easily dressed, and enduring as time, 
 as the naked crags themselves testify. 
 
 Hornblende, associated with hornblendic gneiss, 
 was observed on Mt. Stissing, near Pine Plains, 
 and on the mountains in Pawling. The horn- 
 blendic rocks are constantly associated with the 
 beds of magnetic oxides of iron. 
 
 Sienite is generally coarse grained, of a reddish 
 color, spotted with black crystalline and irregular 
 masses of hornblende. It passes into hornblendic 
 slate and hornblendic gneiss on the one hand, and 
 into hornblende rock on the other. 
 
 Gneiss varies greatly in external aspect and com- 
 position ; and its color is dependent upon the rela- 
 tive abundance of its constituents, which are 
 variously colored in different localities. The feld- 
 spar is white, reddish, or of a bluish grey ; the 
 mica is black, brown, yellow, copper-colored and 
 white ; the quartz is white, grey, or smoky. In 
 some places mica abounds in the rock, and it ap- 
 proaches to mica slate ; but more commonly the 
 feldspar is most abundant, and gives character to it. 
 Mica slate has a very limited distribution, and 
 when it does occur it seems to be a modification of 
 gneiss, the mica becoming predominant, while 
 within a short distance the rock resumes its char- 
 acter of gneiss. 
 
 Augite rock is sometimes mixed with feldspar, but 
 is more commonly either by itself, or mixed with 
 the various minerals that are usually associated 
 with it. It is of all shades of color, from white, 
 through grey and green of various shades to black ; 
 and from compact through various grades of gran- 
 ular to broad fohated masses, in the forms of 
 fassaite, coccolite, common augite, sahlite, crystal- 
 lized augite and diopside. This rock has not been 
 applied to any useful purpose. 
 
 Greenstone, in some places, has the aspect of 
 common trap, like basalt, but more commonly the 
 hornblende predominates and gives its character 
 to it. It traverses and is intruded in sheets and 
 irregular masses among the gneiss and other rocks 
 m the same way as granite and sienite, and many 
 of the masses classed with this rock may be classed 
 with sienite, but for the fineness of the grain, being 
 of about the same texture of a sandstone, com- 
 posed of black hornblende with grains of white and 
 grey feldspar. 
 
 ^ Granular quartz rock was observed on the east 
 side of the Dover Valley, in Dover, adjacent to 
 the gneiss rocks; but this and the contiguous 
 white dolomitic limestone belong to the metamor- 
 phic rocks. ' 
 
 ^ The mass of primary rocks in Pine Plains and 
 Stanford is called Mt. Stissing. Its highest peak 
 
ALLUVIAL DEPOSITS— MARL— PEAT. 
 
 91 
 
 is probably elevated nearly a thousand feet above 
 the level of the lake on its east side. It is com- 
 posed of gneiss and hornblendic gneiss with some 
 granite, all of which are like the rocks of the High- 
 lands. The strata range north fifteen to twenty 
 degrees east, and dip from seventy to ninety de- 
 grees to the westward. The mountain is entirely 
 isolated, like an island, surrounded entirely by the 
 quarternary and rocks of the Champlain division. 
 The Potsdam sandstone rests on the primary at 
 the south-west end of the mountain, and this is 
 covered by the grey limestones and slates of the 
 Champlain division. The slates on the west side 
 of the mountain are broken and crumpled up in 
 the greatest confusion. 
 
 Magnetic iron is the only ore of any great eco- 
 nomical importance known to the Highlands, but 
 there are some beds of limonite, some of pyrites 
 and of arsenical iron. Lead, silver and tin ores 
 are said to have been found, but Prof. Mather says 
 he has seen no indications to justify the conclusion 
 that they occur in any important quantities. Cop- 
 per pyrites and carbonate of copper have been 
 observed in small quantities. 
 
 Vast quantities of alluvion are being constantly 
 deposited in the Hudson by the numerous streams 
 emptying into it. Almost every creek has its del- 
 ta. These alluvions are highly important both in 
 an economical and scientific point of view. They 
 are sensibly increasing in height and area, and will 
 at some future time make valuable and productive 
 lands. Some of them are now employed for hay 
 and pasturage, and others are rapidly becoming 
 adapted for such uses. Between Upper Red Hook 
 landing and the mouth of the Saghkill an exten- 
 sive alluvial deposit is forming, which may be con- 
 sidered the united deltas of the Saghkill and Stony 
 Creek. The bay in which this deposition is taking 
 place, is filling up by the deposits of the streams 
 flowing into it, the wash of the adjacent clay hills 
 on the east and north, and by organic depositions, 
 which form a large proportion of the bulk of ac- 
 cumulating matter. The aquatic plants grow very 
 thick and luxuriant, and by their annual decay 
 form a large amount of carbonaceous matter, 
 mixed with the wash of the adjacent country. Two 
 islands cut off the "river from most of the west 
 boundary of the baj-, and a marsh connects the 
 largest with the main land, so that the water stag- 
 nates.- They are on a line with the rocky shore 
 above Upper Red Hook landing, and are the out- 
 cropping edges of the same strata. An island of 
 alluvial ooze is forming about two and one-half 
 
 miles below Rhinebeck landing, and extensive 
 flats under water are also in process of formation. 
 Between Emott's and Thompson's landings clay 
 hills bound the bay on the east, in which these de- 
 positions are taking place. Three small creeks 
 also empty into it, and by their deposits assist in 
 the accumulation. At the mouth of Casper Creek 
 a small deha is forming. At the mouth of Wap- 
 pinger Creek, a small alluvial deposition com- 
 mences, and extends with little interruption till it 
 joins that of Fishkill Creek, and continues thence 
 to the Highlands. There are many alluvial 
 marshes and flats too small to notice, and they can 
 be of comparatively little value, even prospective- 
 ly, except for manure. 
 
 Shell marl abounds in the valley of the Hudson. 
 It is a white pulverulent substance when dry, and 
 when wet, is so soft that a pole may easily be 
 thrust into it. It is composed of the shells and 
 decayed fragments of the lymn»a, Physa heter- 
 osiropha, Planorbis trivalvis, P. campanulatus, 
 Cyclas similis, and other species. Uniones and 
 anodontce are sometimes found in it. The term 
 marl, in its strict mineralogical sense, means an 
 - argillaceous carbonate of lime. 
 
 Peat has an extensive range in the county, and 
 occurs in patches of two to three hundred acres, 
 the most important deposits being in Pawling, 
 Pine Plains, Stanford and Amenia. This alluvion 
 is the result of vegetable decomposition. It varies 
 in its aspect. The best quality is a soft, unctious, 
 tremulous mud when wet, but when dry is so com- 
 pact as to receive a slight pohsh. When heated, 
 it burns with flame and bituminous odor. Ligne- 
 ous, fibrous and compact peat are the principal 
 varieties. The former two are of comparatively 
 little value ; the latter makes a valuable fuel and 
 is extensively used for that purpose in France and 
 Ireland. In cold climates it is formed in moist 
 ground and shallow ponds, wherever there is an ac- 
 cumulation of vegetable matter. Decayed trees 
 form a light, soft, spongy mass, called ligneous 
 peat. From decomposed grasses and seeds a 
 fibrous peat is formed, which is light and spongy 
 several feet below the surface, but at a greater 
 depth may be of good quality for fuel. Small 
 aquatic plants and mosses, such as Sphagnum 
 palustre, produce peat, which, at a moderate depth, 
 is compact, without fibres, uniform in its texture, 
 and of good quality. The Rev. Mr. Shafter, of 
 New York, observed peat and marl in Rhinebeck, 
 North East and Clinton in 1817. He gave, ai sec- 
 tion of one of the marshes, which is as follows: 
 
92 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 I, sod and vegetable mold; 2, a stratum of turf 
 on peat, three to four feet ; 3, a stratum of peat 
 and marl mingled, two feet ; 4, a stratum of pure 
 marl, two to three feet. Below these there was an 
 appearance of sand and blue clay.* 
 
 The county presents examples of the sinking of 
 limestone rock into caverns below, in consequence 
 of the gradual removal of the limestone that sup- 
 ported the roofs of the caverns, by the solving and 
 erosive action of subterranean springs and streams. 
 Near Clinton Point in Poughkeepsie, the ground 
 sank, the rock being no longer able to bear the 
 weight of the superincumbent mass. A man 
 that was plowing had passed over this ground 
 but a moment before. Another occurred in Pine 
 Plains, on the line of a subterranean stream. 
 Trees were not disturbed in their growth on the 
 sunken ground but a cow that was in it, died 
 from want of water and food, from her inability to 
 climb out of the sunken space. 
 
 Concreted carbonate of lime was seen in small 
 quantity at and near the " Spook Hole,"t a cave 
 near Clinton Point. Tufa is mentioned by Cleave- 
 land near Rhinebeck. 
 
 Clay balls and calcareous concretions are com- 
 monly found in the tertiary or quarternary clay 
 beds, which are of alluvial formation. One divis- 
 ion of them seems to be formed by segregation, 
 like septaria and the various nodular masses em- 
 bedded in limestone, slate and other rocks. They 
 present a great variety of forms, rarely spherical, 
 except when grouped in botryoidal masses; but 
 generally flattened ovoidal digitated, and more 
 similar in form to the various shapes of cakes made 
 for children. They are formed of clay, but con- 
 tain carbonate of hme sufficient to indurate them, 
 and sometimes to slack when burned. The other 
 division is formed by organic causes. They are 
 almost all the shapes of a tubular, flattened ovoidal 
 or annulated form, and almost universally have a 
 hole through them, some not larger than a fine 
 needle, others of the size of the finger or of the arm. 
 They are formed in and between the layers of clay, 
 but never, it is believed, below the depth to which 
 the roots of plants penetrate. They seem to be 
 formed by the roots of plants absorbing the water, 
 and perhaps the carbonic acid of the water in the 
 earth, and rejecting the carbonate of lime that is 
 held in solution by one or both. This, by its de- 
 
 * American Journal of Science, I., \y), 
 
 + The Spook Hole is a small cave in limestone about half a mile 
 
 soutli-cast of Clinton Point and so to 70 rods from the Hudson. It is 
 
 ' said,<* Jiave Wmuch carbonic acid gas in it as to make it dangerous to 
 
 enter with6(it precaution. When visited by Prof. Mather lights burned 
 
 well. ■ 
 
 position, remains around the root or fibre, and in- 
 durates the clay. The localities in the valleys 
 of the Hudson and its tributaries are so numerous 
 that it is unnecessary to specify more than a few. 
 Between Lower Red Hook and Rhinebeck land- 
 ings, Prof. Mather saw an oak tree that had been 
 uprooted by the wind, with hundreds of these an- 
 nular, tubular, and discoidal concretions dangling 
 from its smaller roots and fibrous rootlets. They 
 are not uncommon about Poughkeepsie, Hyde 
 Park, Fishkill, and throughout the clay formations 
 of the Hudson and its main tributaries. 
 
 Sulphate of lime occurs only as an alluvion, in- 
 considerable in quantity, and resulting from the 
 decomposition of pyrites in contact with materials 
 containing calcareous matter, or as a deposit from 
 mineral springs. Sulphate of alumina occurs as an 
 efflorescence, and in tubercuiar masses. One locality 
 observed is on the mountain, about two and a half 
 miles south-west of Araeniaville, in decomposing 
 pyrites and dark colored mica slate, that was once 
 supposed to contain coal ; another is about three 
 miles south of the same village, in a similar rock. 
 Another locality is in the town of North East. Prof. 
 Merrick observed a locaHty of " alum slate," like 
 that of Amenia, near the top of the hill east of 
 Hurd's Corners, in Pawling. Muriate of lime 
 occurs in almost all the spring waters of the Hud- 
 son valley, and particularly in those that issue from 
 the clay beds of the tertiary of that valley. It is 
 the principal cause of the "hardness of the water," 
 or its quality of decomposing soap. 
 
 Springs are caused by the water percolating 
 downwards from the surface of the earth, until it 
 meets some stratum that is not sufficiently pervious 
 to permit it to pass through. The water accumu- 
 lates on this until it rises to such a level as to find 
 an outlet. Carbonic acid is one of the most com- 
 mon substances in mineral waters.* It is a well 
 established chemical fact that carbonates are solu- 
 ble iff an excess of carbonic acid. As spring waters 
 containing carbonic acid flow along the fissures of 
 limestone, the carbonic acid is continually exerting 
 its solvent action upon the rock, and transporting 
 the dissolved carbonate of lime to distant parts. 
 This offers a ready and satisfactory explanation of 
 the numerous extensive caverns in limestone dis- 
 tricts, to which they are almost exclusively con- 
 fined. 
 
 Chalybeate springs contain carbonate of iron 
 held in solution by carbonic acid, and the adjoin- 
 ing valleys and marshes into which such springs 
 flow, always contain bog iron ore, or soil stained with 
 
MINERAL SPRINGS— SUBTERRANEAN STREAMS. 
 
 93 
 
 limonite, unless they flow into a stream so as to 
 prevent a deposition of the ferruginous matter. 
 Near Upton's Pond in Stanford, Prof. Merrick 
 examined a small chalybeate spring from which an 
 unusual quantity of iron ore was deposited. A 
 chalybeate spring is said to flow from the base of 
 Barker's Mountain, half a mile north-west of KUne's 
 Corners, in Amenia. 
 
 A small sulphur spring flows from the base of 
 the mountain one and one-fourth miles north- north- 
 west of Ameniaville, on the Thomas Ingraham 
 place ; but its odor was so slight as to require the 
 water to be taken into the mouth to perceive that 
 it was sulphureted. It has some reputation for 
 the cures effected by it. On the premises of Capt. 
 Thomas S. Loyd, near South Clinton street, in the 
 city of Poughkeepsie, is a mineral spring which 
 was found by digging about thirty feet through the 
 rock. Its medicinal qualities, which were discov- 
 ered by accident, have been known to a few per- 
 sons for several years, and many have been bene- 
 fited by it, but they were not made pubUc until 
 1877. "The water is transparent and brilliant, 
 and has no odor or taste. It is aerated to an un- 
 common degree, and gases held in solution render 
 it delicious and refreshing." A gallon of this water 
 (231 cubic inches) contains twenty-two grains of 
 mineral matter, dried at 212° F., consisting of soda, 
 lime, magnesia, siUcic acid, chlorine, carbonic acid 
 and sulphate of potash, as determined by Prof. 
 Chandler, of Columbia College. It has received 
 the name of " Crystal Spring ;" and persons suf- 
 fering from rheumatism, dyspepsia, kidney diseases, 
 etc., have been benefited by the use of its waters.* 
 
 On the Isaac Smith farm, a mile south-east of 
 Judge Bockee's in North East, a gas spring issues 
 near the limestone, on the great axis of disturb- 
 ance on which the gaseous and thermal springs of 
 the eastern counties of New York are situated. 
 Gas is said to bubble up through the fountain, 
 which never freezes. A gas spring also rises in 
 the bed of a small stream about a quarter of a 
 mile from Ameniaville, towards Poughkeepsie, 
 and in another near the roadside, where the ground 
 was covered by water, the constant rise of bubbles 
 of gas was observed for some time. These locali- 
 ties were in the valley west of Amenia, and the 
 gas issued from the gravel beds over or near the 
 junction of the talcy slate with the limestone, 
 and between the Amenia ore beds of limonite and 
 those at a place called the Squabble-hole ore 
 beds. 
 
 *Pmghkeepsie TVefHj EagU, May a5, 1877. 
 
 There are several subterranean streams in the 
 county. Cold Spring, south-west of Stissing 
 Mountain, flows from the base of a Umestone ridge, 
 in a brook large enough to carry a mill, and is 
 generally reputed to be the subterranean outlet of 
 a small lake at the base of Mt. Stissing, which has 
 no visible outlet. The Clove Spring in Union 
 Vale, which is supposed to discharge from twenty 
 to thirty barrels of very Hmpid water per minute, 
 is another instance. Another occurs at low water 
 mark on the bank of the Hudson, a half or three- 
 fourths of a mile north of Clinton Point ; another 
 flows from the side of the post road, a quarter of 
 a mile north of the crossing of the Casper hill ; 
 and still another on the Judge Bockee farm in 
 North East, which discharges about twenty cubic 
 feet of water per minute. The water is very clear, 
 and uniform in temperature throughout the year. 
 In Pine Plains are several large springs. Two are 
 located on the Walter Reynolds farm, about three 
 miles east of Pine Plains. Both are in fact sub- 
 terranean streams, which sink into the earth and 
 re-appear. The large stream disappears in a sink- 
 hole, in the base of the hill on the north side of 
 the road from Pine Plains to Pulver's Corners, 
 and re-appears as a large spring boiling up through 
 sand about a quarter of a mile south-west of the 
 place of its disappearance. The road crosses the 
 subterranean stream. There is a sink-hole on the 
 line between these places, where the earth sank in 
 some years ago. Another stream vanishes and re- 
 appears twice south of the above, and a line of 
 sink-holes indicates the line of the subterranean 
 stream. 
 
 An inflammable gas, very pure, rises from the 
 bottom , of a small lake in the town of North 
 East."^ At the mineral springs bored for McCul- 
 loch's brewery, carburetted hydrogen is evolved, f 
 Sulphate of iron was observed in small quanti- 
 ties efflorescing on mica slate, about two miles 
 south-west of Ameniaville, on the east side of the 
 mountain, near an old excavation made with the 
 expectation of finding coal ; also four miles south 
 of Ameniaville, at the south side of Barker's Moun- 
 tain, on mica slate; about two miles south of 
 Poughkeepsie, on the shore of the Hudson, where 
 an excavation and boring had been made in search 
 of coal in the black shale of the Hudson River - 
 group of rocks. At all these locaUties the bisul- 
 phuret of iron was disseminated through the 
 rocks. 
 
 • A ckerly. Geology of the Hudson. Clevelana's Mintralogy, 483. 
 \Prof. L. C. Beck., Neva York Geological Report, i8j8. 41. 
 
94 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 Bog ore occurs in a meadow two miles west o 
 Pine Plains; at Poughquaick in Beekman, and 
 other places in the county, but not in sufficient 
 quantity to be of much value. 
 
 The quaternary deposits embrace the clay, sand 
 and gravel beds of the valleys of the Hudson and 
 its tributaries. Some boulders and drift deposits 
 overlie this formation ; but the main drift deposit 
 that is usually called diluvion, erratic block group, 
 boulder system, etc., underlies it. 
 
 A belt of the quarternary formation, mostly 
 clay, but in some places sand and gravel, extends 
 with irregular width south through Red Hook and 
 Rhinebeck. Branches or arms, like bays, of this 
 formation are found in the valleys of all the streams 
 which cross it. It is interspersed with rotky 
 islands. Another deposit extends from Pine Plains 
 down Wappinger Creek, and up some of its 
 branches. The drainage that now finds its outlet 
 through Ancram Creek, probably flowed in former 
 times through Wappinger Creek. Another oc- 
 cupies a part of the valley of Oblong Creek in 
 North East and Amenia; another forms the plains 
 in Dover and extends south up the valleys of the 
 streams that flow from PawUng into Ten Mile 
 River. Other deposits of similar character occur 
 on Fishkill Creek and its tributaries, in Fishkill, 
 East Fishkill, Beekman, La Grange and Union 
 Vale ; on Wappinger Creek and its tributaries, in 
 La Grange, Pleasant Valley, Washington and Clin- 
 ton ; and perhaps this may be connected with the 
 same formation about Poughkeepsie and Hyde Park, 
 and with the main mass of the quarternary forma- 
 tion that was described as terminating in the- lower 
 part of Rhinebeck. A small patch of the quarter- 
 nary occurs on and near the shore of the Hudson, 
 between the mouth of Fishkill Creek and the point 
 of Breakneck Mountain. The sand beds of this 
 formation in this part of the Hudson Valley do 
 not cover extensive areas with loose deep sands 
 that drift, or make the traveling over them tedious, 
 like the sand plains of Albany, Schenectady and 
 Saratoga counties and other localities north and 
 south. The clay lands of the same formation oc- 
 cupy a narrow belt near the Hudson to Fishkill. 
 Where the sand occurs it is uniformly above the 
 clay beds, and generally covers the plains that 
 divide the waters of the creek and smaller streams. 
 The brick manufactures of the Hudson Valley, to 
 which these deposits give life, are a most important 
 industry. In 1843, there were made within the 
 coifnty 15,700,000 bricks; at present, the seven 
 firms at Denning's Point, the principal seat of 
 
 manufacture, produce nearly treble that quantity— 
 44,500,000. We have no data as to extent of 
 manufacture elsewhere in the county, except in 
 Poughkeepsie, which, in 1843, was the principal 
 seat of manufacture, (7,900,000) while at present 
 it produces from two yards, the only ones now 
 engaged in the business, about 32,000 per day. 
 
 From the character of these quarternary deposits 
 it is evident that a vast inland sea once occupied 
 the basin of the Hudson valley, since the period of 
 the drift deposits ; that the water level has changed 
 in this area, and as the ocean maintains its equiUb- 
 rium, this vast tract of country has been elevated 
 in mass with little relative change in height, but to 
 an absolute height of 300 to 1,000 feet above its 
 former level ; and that this elevation has probably 
 been effected in a short time, and caused strong 
 currents to flow through th% channels communicat- 
 ing with the ocean, and through which the waters 
 have been drained to their present levels, deposit- 
 ing beds of sand, gravel, pebbles and boulders in 
 the eddies. 
 
 The drift deposits of the Hudson Valley are 
 found lying upon the naked rocks of all the forma- 
 tions that are consolidated. They are covered to 
 a greater or less extent in the large valleys by dep- 
 ositions of clay, gravel and sand, up to a certain 
 level, at which the water remained for a considera- 
 ble period. The drift depositions occupy situations 
 much higher in absolute level than the quarternary, 
 and in the valleys also are found at lower levels. 
 They were undoubtedly transported by water, and 
 this would show that the waters occupied a higher 
 level, or that the surface was relatively less elevated 
 at the drift, than at the quarternary period. Thef 
 are composed of fragments of all the primary rocks 
 exposed to the action of the causes that contrib- 
 uted to their transportation and deposition. They 
 are mostly coarse, composed of blocks, boulders, 
 pebbles, gravel and sand, sometimes loose, but fre- 
 quently aggregated by argillaceous matter. 
 
 The topographical features of this formation are 
 somewhat peculiar. In this vicinity, where it is 
 well exposed to view, it is very hilly and irregular, 
 and is composed of round-backed hillocks with 
 bowl-shaped cavities or valleys, between them. 
 These little hillocks are entirely composed of 
 boulders, rounded pebbles, gravel and sand. They 
 may be seen in the valley that extends south from 
 Fishkill, and in most of the elevated valleys 
 through which currents seem to have flowed, when 
 the water was elevated some hundred feet above 
 its present level. The same kind of diluvial hill- 
 
BOULDERS AND ERRATIC BLOCKS— SCRATCHED ROCKS. 
 
 95 
 
 ocks are in the valley of Wappinger Creek, 
 between FishkiU and Poughkeepsie ; in the valley 
 between Ameniaville and the furnace four miles 
 south ; along the east part of East Fishkill, near 
 the base of the mountains, near Shenandoah and 
 Stormville. It is only when the drift deposits have 
 a considerable thickness, that the hilly character of 
 the drift is observed. When it is thin it does not 
 give any marked character to the country, but 
 serves to fill up the irregularities that would other- 
 wise exist upon the rocky surface, and give a 
 smoother outline. 
 
 Boulders and erratic blocks are rounded masses 
 of rock that are supposed to have been worn to 
 their rounded forms by attrition, though many of 
 the large rounded masses called boulders, have 
 received their forms by the atmospheric causes 
 producing disintegration. It is not doubted, how- 
 ever, that the banks of rounded masses of rock, 
 pebbles and gravel indicate the action and trans- 
 porting power of water. The terms by which they 
 are designated imply that they are more or less 
 removed from the place where their characteristics 
 are found in stiu. They are loose masses spread 
 over or embedded in the soil, and frequently they 
 are' different from the rocks in place in the vicin- 
 ity; but it is observed, as a general rule, that the 
 larger masses and blocks are nearer their parent 
 sources, while they diminish in size as they are 
 more remote from them. They are scattered not 
 only over the valleys, plains and hills of moderate 
 elevation, but are found on the peaks of high 
 mountains. 
 
 The Fishkill valley contains boulders and peb- 
 bles of all the varieties of the Hudson slate rocks 
 and the Taconic series that occur in the Hudson 
 and Champlain valley as far north as Whitehall. 
 The Potsdam sandstone is the hardest of these 
 rocks, except quartz, and the pebbles of these two 
 rocks are most abundant. The Potsdam sandstone 
 pebbles are like the sandstone of Whitehall and 
 Fort Ann, and the quartz is mostly like that in veins 
 in the slaty rocks in Hillsdale, Taconic, Canaan, 
 AusterUtz, Chatham and New Lebanon, being 
 generally white milky quartz, frequently containing 
 chlorite, brown spar, and sometimes carbonate of 
 iron, carbonate of lime, and quartz crystals. The 
 brown spar is frequently decomposed, leaving 
 earthy oxide of manganese in the cavities. The 
 aspect of this quartz, together with the association 
 of minerals, is so peculiar as to leave no doubt of 
 the parent source of these pebbles. In the vicinity of 
 Poughquaick a large share of the boulders are of 
 
 limestone, mixed with those of quartzose gneiss. 
 Many of the limestone boulders are vesicular, from 
 partial disintegration. After crossing Fishkill Creek 
 to the west there was a change in the boulders and 
 pebbles. The limestone boulders are darker color- 
 ed, more siliceous, and are evidently from a differ- 
 ent stratum. The quartz boulders are also darker 
 and more abundant, and bear a strong resem- 
 blance to those found in the vicinity of the primi- 
 tive argillite. On the range of hills between 
 Fishkill and Sprout Creeks, in La Grange, the 
 boulders are of those rocks peculiar to the primi- 
 tive argillite region, consisting principally of 
 milky and brown quartz, with chlorite occasionally 
 adhering. 
 
 About three-fourths of a mile north of Clinton 
 Point, near the shore of the Hudson, the quarter- 
 nary yellow and blue clays occupy a small valley. 
 In the lower part of the blue clay, pebbles and 
 boulders of quartz and of grit rock of the Hudson 
 slate series are imbedded, and they seem to have 
 been deposited while the clay was also being de- 
 posited ; the boulders and pebbles are in many in- 
 stances smooth and scratched. On the mountains 
 between Hurd's Corners, in Pawling, and Beekman, 
 which are mostly mica slate and gneiss. Prof. Cas- 
 sels observed a great number of granite boulders ; 
 also on the east side of the Dover and Croton val- 
 leys in Pawling. In Stanford, south of Mt. Stissing, 
 are numerous boulders of granite and gneissoid 
 rocks, like those of that mountain ; also a hard 
 sihceous rock-like granular quartz, which is iden- 
 tical with a similar rock at the south end of 
 the mountain overlying the primary rocks, and 
 underlying the limestone of the valley of Wap- 
 pinger Creek. This siliceous rock is believed 
 to be the same as the Potsdam sandstone of Prof. 
 Emmons. 
 
 Numerous examples of smooth and scratched 
 surfaces of rocks, some of them very distinct, were 
 observed in various parts of the county. These 
 phenomena indicate that, at some former time, the 
 county, to the tops of the high mountains, was cov- 
 ered with water, and that strong currents flowed 
 through the Hudson valley. It is probable that 
 the summits of the highlands in the eastern and 
 southern portions of the county were then the only 
 parts of it that protruded from the wide extent 
 of waters, and in the form of small detached 
 islands.* _^_ 
 
 * We are mainly indebted for the materials of this chapter to Prof. Will- 
 iam W. Mather's Ji<:^i!ri on the Geoloiy 0/ the First Geological DU- 
 tricto/tfew York. 
 
96 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 Internal Improvements — Routes by which the 
 Pioneers Reached their Wilderness Homes 
 — Navigable Streams the Public Highways — 
 Indian Trails — Early Roads — Early Exper- 
 iments IN Steam Navigation at De Koven's 
 Bay — Early Railroad Enterprises in Duch- 
 ess County — Duchess Railroad Co. — Pough- 
 KEEPSiE & Eastern Railroad Co. — Pough- 
 keepsie, Hartford & Boston Railroad Co. — 
 Duchess & Columbia Railroad Co. — New- 
 burgh, Duchess & Connecticut Railroad 
 Co. — Hudson River Railroad Co. — New 
 York & Harlem Railroad Co. — Boston, 
 Hartford & Erie Extension Railroad Co. — 
 New York & New England Railroad Co. — 
 Other Railroad Projects — Clove Branch 
 Railroad Co. — Rhinebeck & Connecticut 
 Railroad Co. — Projected and Abandoned 
 Enterprises — The Poughkeepsie Bridge Co. 
 
 WE have given some attention in a pre- 
 vious chapter to the subject of pioneer 
 settlements; in this we purpose considering the 
 means by which the pioneer reached his home in 
 the wilderness, and the projects of internal im- 
 provement which subsequently engaged his atten- 
 tion. As we have seen, the first settlers came by 
 way of the Hudson, near which the first settlements 
 were begun. Settlements slowly progressed in the 
 interior, along the streams, which were the first, 
 and, for some years, almost the only highways in 
 the county. Gradually they diverged from these 
 into forests, unbroken, except by the small rude 
 clearings made by the - Indians, following the 
 well-worn trails left by the latter, and from these 
 branched off into routes indicated by blazed trees, 
 which were the forest guide boards, and by their 
 aid the forests were traversed from one locality 
 to another. But these human denizens could not 
 prosper in their isolated settlements; they must 
 needs open communication with each other and to 
 points affording amarket for their surplus products; 
 to this end roads were indispensable and of the first 
 importance. 
 
 In 1 73 1, the number of inhabitants had increased 
 so that an order was made by the Justices of the 
 county to lay out a road to Dover, and employ 
 freeholders to assess damages for property taken, 
 etc., the object being to enable the people "to 
 come down to the market or common landing at 
 Pgughkeepsie."* In 1738, the Assembly passed 
 
 * Poughkeepsie Weekly Eagle, July 8, 1876. 
 
 "an act for the better clearing and further laying 
 into public high roads in Duchess County.", Sau- 
 thier's map, published in 1779, shows a principal 
 road extending through the towns bordering the 
 Hudson, known as the post-road, with several 
 others branching from it, one at its intersection 
 with Crom Elbow Creek, extending thence north 
 through Rhinebeck and Red Hook to Tivoli 
 (Hoffman's Ferry,) and having three branches ex- 
 tending northerly and north-easterly into Living- 
 ston Manor ; a second, extending from Rhinecliff, 
 (Kip's Ferry,) easterly to Thompson's Pond; a 
 third, north-easterly from Fishkill to Verplank's 
 mill, on Sprout Creek ; and a fourth, south-easterly 
 from Fishkill, through Putnam County, to Danbury 
 in Connecticut. Two roads entered the county on 
 the east from Sharon, one extending westerly to the 
 central part of the Great Nine Partners' Tract, and 
 the other south-westerly across the Oblong, termi- 
 nating below Dover. Another road intersected that * 
 extending from Rhinecliff to Thompson's Pond 
 near the intersection of Clinton, Milan a:nd Rhine- 
 beck, and extended south-easterly through Clinton, 
 Washington and Dover, crossing the Oblong road, 
 apparently, near Dover Plains, and thence to New 
 Fairfield and Danbury in Connecticut. A map ac- 
 companying Anburefs Travels, in 1777, shows 
 only one road, (which, however, is not indicated 
 on Sauthier's map.) It enters the county from 
 Sharon, and passes south-westerly through "Nine 
 Partners," Hopewell and Fishkill, crossing the Hud- 
 son to " Newberry," (Newburgh.) The map accom- 
 panying DeCkastellux's Travels, 1 780-1 782, shows 
 the same road ; but what is called "Nine Partners" 
 on the former, is designated "Neventsorp" on the 
 latter, which also shows the post-road running par- 
 allel with the Hudson. The road indicated on the 
 latter maps is the one pursued by the British army 
 under Burgoyne after the Convention at Saratoga, 
 to Charlottesville in Virginia. But we need not 
 multiply details in regard to these common high- 
 ways ; suflSce it to say that they multiplied accord- 
 ing to the needs of the people. 
 
 It is an interesting fact that one of the first ex- 
 periments in steam navigation was made within the 
 waters of this county — at DeKoven's Bay, just below 
 Tivoli— by Chancellor Robert R. Livingston and 
 an Englishman named Nesbit, the latter of whom 
 was employed by Livingston to build a steamboat 
 at that place, in 1797, from plans. furnished by Liv- 
 ingston. The project was unsuccessful, but the 
 effort was renewed, and ultimate success achieved 
 through the liberality, perseverance and intelligent 
 
THE FIRST SUCCESSFUL STEAMBOAT. 
 
 97 
 
 energy of Livingston, combined with the genius of 
 Robert Fulton, whose acquaintance he made in 
 Paris, while serving as ambassador to the French 
 Court. In August, 1807, the " Clermont;' named 
 from Chancellor Livingston's home on the Hud- 
 son, but called by the incredulous populace " Ful- 
 ton's Folly," the first successful steamboat, with its 
 quaint wooden boiler, was launched at New York, 
 and on the 7th of September following set out on 
 her first trial trip to Albany. The distance of 150 
 miles was accomplished in thirty-two hours. The 
 following advertisement appeafed in the Albany 
 Gazette of September 2, 1807 : — 
 
 "The North River Steamboat will leave Pauler's 
 Hook, [now Jersey City,] on Friday, the 4th day 
 of September, at 9 o'clock in the morning, and 
 arrive at Albany on Saturday at 9 in the evening. 
 Provisions, good berths, and accommodations are 
 provided. The charge for each passenger* will be 
 as follows : — 
 • "To Newburgh, 14 Hours, Fare, $3. 
 
 " Poughkeepsie, 17 " " 4. 
 
 " Esopus, 20 " " 5. 
 
 " Hudson, 30 " " i\. 
 
 " Albany, 36 " " 7." 
 
 Early in the history of railroad enterprises the 
 project of a railroad from Poughkeepsie to the rich 
 and thriving regions of the Eastern States was agi- 
 tated, but not until 1872 were the hopes then ex- 
 pressed fully realized. Some years before the first 
 railroad in America was built, at Quincy, Mass., in 
 1826, in which year the first railroad company was 
 chartered in this State, though the road was not 
 in operation till 1831, a letter appeared in the 
 Poughkeepsie Journal and another in the Tele- 
 graph, proposing a road from Poughkeepsie to 
 Sharon, but the people of that day thought a canal 
 from Amenia to Hudson River would furnish bet- 
 ter and more speedy means of communication, and 
 a charter for such canal was obtained. In the 
 discussion of the relative merits of the two projects, 
 however, nothing was done. March 28, 1832, the 
 Duchess Railroad Co., of which William Davies and 
 his associates were incorporators, was chartered to 
 construct a railroad from Poughkeepsie to the 
 Connecticut State line. William Davies, Henry 
 ConkUn, Paraclete Potter, Homer Wheaton and 
 Morgan Carpenter were appointed commissioners 
 to receive subscriptions. The capital was fixed at 
 $600,000. No action was taken under this char- 
 ter, except that the project excited considerable 
 discussion, and the route was surveyed, also a 
 route to the State line in North East, Henry Whin- 
 field and William Dewey being the engineers. May 
 
 *Clarksotfs Clermont or Livitigston Manor, 113-138, 
 
 2Si 1836, the company was rechartered under the 
 same title, and a capital of $1,000,000, but with 
 greater latitude in the location of the route, which 
 might extend from Poughkeepsie to the Massa- 
 chusetts or Connecticut State line. Gideon P. 
 Hewett, James Grant, Jr., Homer Wheaton, 
 Peter P. Hayes, Isaac Merritt, Abijah S. Hatch, 
 John D. Robinson, Thomas WilUams, Jacob 
 Van Benthuysen, Matthew Vassar, Samuel B. 
 Dutton, George P. Oakley and Henry Conklin 
 were named commissioners to receive subscrip- 
 tions. Beyond the surveying of routes east to 
 Amenia and through Pine Plains and North East 
 nothing was done under this charter, and the mat- 
 ter was allowed to sleep till 1855, when a meeting 
 was called at Washington Hollow of all who were 
 in favor of a road from the east part of the county 
 to the Hudson. Quite a number were present 
 from the central part of the county, and a few from 
 Poughkeepsie, but during the meeting the ques- 
 tion was agitated, as it was subsequently, whether 
 the terminus should be Poughkeepsie or Fishkill. 
 The advocates of the latter terminus were in the 
 majority and voted accordingly, whereupon the 
 Poughkeepsie people withdrew from the enterprise, 
 and it was dropped for ten years. 
 
 The idea of a railroad, however, was not lost sight 
 of, and renewed agitation resulted in the construc- 
 tion of a road from each place. Isaac Piatt, the 
 senior editor of the Poughkeepsie Eagle was always 
 a strong advocate of the Poughkeepsie route. He 
 wrote in favor of it from 1826, and took occasion 
 whenever opportunity offered to publish articles on 
 the subject. Among these was a series of com- 
 munications from the civil engineer, then residing 
 at Poughkeepsie, whose statements attracted con- 
 siderable attention, and new movements were pro- 
 posed. The breaking out of the war in 1861, 
 again put a stop to all operations, but some time 
 in 1863, they were resumed, and the people began 
 to feel something like a general interest in them. 
 In the spring of 1865, there was quite an arousing 
 on the subject. Another meeting was held at 
 Washington Hollow, and hostility to Poughkeepsie 
 again appeared. It was then that the representa- 
 tives of Poughkeepsie resolved to abandon all 
 action in that direction and act independently. 
 A meeting was then called at Salt Point, which 
 was adjourned for a more general one at Bangall. 
 This latter meeting was largely attended, an organ- 
 ization under the general railroad law was formed, 
 and it was resolved to have the requisite surveys 
 made for the road, which was to be built from 
 
98 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 Poughkeepsie, via Pine Plains to Ancram or 
 Copake, and thence to the Connecticut line. The 
 survey was made by P. P. Dickinson, who re- 
 ported February 15, 1866, the estin:iated cost of 
 the road and equipments at $1,002,206.80. 
 April 15, 1866, the Poughkeepsie & Eastern 
 Railroad Co. was incorporated, with a capital of 
 $1,000,000, to construct a road over the above 
 route, with a branch at or near Salt Point to the 
 Harlem road at Wassaic. The first directors were : 
 George Innis, Isaac Piatt, James G. Wood, George 
 Morgan, Harvey G. Eastman and Robert F. Wilk- 
 inson, Poughkeepsie; Pomeroy P. Dickinson, 
 Birdsall Cornell and William Cor win, New York; 
 William Eno, Pine Plains ; Piatt G. Van VUet and 
 Stephen T. Angell, Pleasant Valley; James M. 
 Welling, Washington; Elihu Griffin, Clinton; 
 Isaac Carpenter, Stanford ; George Peasley and 
 Conrad Niver, Ancram. The first meeting of the 
 directors was held at the office of the company in 
 Poughkeepsie, April 28, i856, and the following 
 named officers were chosen : President, George 
 Innis ; Vice-President, George Morgan ; Treas- 
 urer, Isaac G. Sands ; Secretary, Robert F. Wilk- 
 inson ; Attorney, Mark D. Wilber ; Chief Engineer, 
 P. P. Dickinson. George Morgan, H. G. East- 
 man, James G. Wood, Birdsall Cornell, Piatt G. 
 Van Vliet, William Eno and Conrad Niver were 
 constituted an Executive Committee, with authority 
 to employ agents in the city and towns to obtain 
 subscriptions to stock. 
 
 Meantime the opposition project of a railroad 
 to Fishkill was revived, with greater force, and, 
 receiving a powerful ally in the person of George 
 H. Broivn, of Washington, made rapid progress. 
 Some of the Poughkeepsie people were in favor of 
 a road more directly east from Amenia instead of 
 the route to Pine Plains, and this idea was fostered 
 as much as possible by the friends of the Fishkill 
 road. At the same time a violent opposition dis- 
 played itself among the largest property holders 
 and prominent men in Poughkeepsie, and but for 
 George Innis, President of the Fallkill Bank, the 
 untiring energy of Mark D. Wilber, and the con- 
 tinued efforts of the Eagle, it is doubtful if the 
 enterprise would not have dropped again, a* it did 
 on previous occasions. In October, 1866, a series 
 of meetings was held in the interest of the Pough- 
 keepsie & Eastern Railroad at Washington Hol- 
 low, Bangall and Pine Plains, and addresses were 
 made by P. P. Dickinson, George Innis, Mark D. 
 Wilber, H. G. Eastman, Isaac Piatt and others. 
 Subscriptions to the stock of the company were 
 
 opened. It was proposed to raise $300,000 in 
 this way before starting to build the road, but it 
 was found that very little aid could be expected 
 from the country, as the towns on which most de- 
 pendence had been placed had become interested 
 in the Fishkill road. After a long effort, mainly 
 by a few men, at the head of whom Mr. Wilber 
 continued to be most active and persistent, the 
 subscription was given up, and it was decided in- 
 stead to bond the city for $200,000 and obtain in- 
 dividual subscriptions for $100,000. 
 
 By great labor and persistency, mainly through 
 the persevering efforts of Mark D. Wilber, the 
 project of bonding the city proved successful; and 
 April I, 1869, a small number of men proceeded 
 to a point on the farm of John A. Van Wagner, 
 just north of the crossing of the Salt Point turn- 
 pike, near the bank of the Fallkill, and there, 
 without special ceremony, ground was broken for 
 the Poughkeepsie & Eastern Railroad. In 1870, 
 15.26 miles of road were built; in 1871, 5.57 
 miles; and in 1872, 21.02 miles. Jan. 24, 1871, 
 the opening of the first division of twenty-one 
 miles, from Poughkeepsie to Stissing, was cele- 
 brated by an excursion over that portion of the 
 road. In the fall of 1872, the road was completed 
 to the Connecticut line, and Oct. i, 1872, trains 
 commenced running regularly from Poughkeepsie 
 to that point, a distance of forty-three miles. 
 There then remained to be built the division be- 
 tween Smith street in Poughkeepsie and the Hud- 
 son River, the grading on which was pretty much 
 done, and the laying of the rails commenced. The 
 road is 44.88 miles long. It follows the line of the 
 Fallkill, and thence crosses to the valley of Wap^ 
 pinger Creek, up which it continues to the north 
 line of the county, thence passes east around the 
 north end of the range of hills that enclose the 
 Harlem Railroad, and reaches the* State line at 
 the terminus of the Connecticut Western Rail- 
 road;' near Millerton. It touches the Duchess & 
 Columbia (now Newburgh, Duchess & Connecti- 
 cut,) at Stissing, and crosses the Harlem at Boston 
 Corners. 
 
 The stations and their distances on this road 
 from Poughkeepsie in miles are as follows : 
 Van Wagner's, 3.79; Pleasant Valley, 6.04; Rus- 
 sell's, 8.02; Salt Point, 10.64; Clinton Corners, 
 13-13 J Willow Brook, 15.72; Stanfordville, 
 17-71; Mclntyre, 19.73; Stissing, 21.02; Pine 
 Plains, 26.55; Ancram Lead Mines, 30.59; 
 Halstead's, 32.31; Tanner's, 34.28; Boston 
 Corners, 37.01; Mt. Riga, 40.87; C. W. R. 
 
RAILROAD ENTERPRISES. 
 
 99 
 
 R. Junction, 43.09 ; Millerton, 44.88. The total 
 cost of road and equipment to 1879, was $1,499,- 
 920.40. The rate of fare charged for first-class 
 through passengers is 3.02 cents and for first-class 
 way passengers, 4 cents per mile. 
 
 July I, 1870, the company executed and deliv- 
 ered to James Winslow as trustee a mortgage on 
 its road and appurtenances. Jan. 30, 1875, the 
 Supreme Court decreed the foreclosure of the first 
 mortgage bonds on the road, which were sold 
 April 14, 1875, 3.nd deeded May 15, 1875, to 
 George P. Pelton, of Poughkeepsie, who organized, 
 the latter date, the Poughkeepsie, Hartford & 
 Boston R. R. Co., with a capital of $850,000, 
 and associated with himself the following persons 
 as directors : E. L. BoUes, of New York City, and 
 George Innis, John F. Winslow, George R. Gay- 
 lord, Edward L. Beadle, Alanson Swain, John O. 
 Whitehouse and Michael J. Myers, of Pough- 
 keepsie.* 
 
 While the friends of the Poughkeepsie & East- 
 ern were laboring to advance the interests of that 
 road, even greater activity was manifested by those 
 favoring the Fishkill road ; and in 1865, before 
 either road was chartered, a section of four and 
 one-half miles, from Boston Corners towards Pine 
 Plains, had been completed and put in running 
 order at a cost of less than $20,000 per mile. The 
 survey was completed and arrangements made to 
 build the road to Pine Plains. Arrangements had 
 also been made to continue the survey to Stan- 
 fordville, and negotiations were pending for the 
 construction of the road to that point the following 
 summer. There it was proposed to stop until a 
 determination was reached as to whether the road 
 should terminate at Poughkeepsie or Fishkill.j 
 
 A meeting was held at Verbank, Dec. 5, 1865, 
 to make arrangements for having a survey for a 
 railroad from Boston Corners to Fishkill land- 
 ing. Between 200 and 300 people assembled and 
 organized by electing the following officers : Presi- 
 dent, Leonard B. Sherman; Vice Presidents, 
 Abm. Storms, George H. Brown, Col. John 
 Thompson, Jeremiah Emigh, Clark C. Barmour, 
 William Eno, Daniel P. Wheeler; Secretaries, 
 Samuel Thorn and George Potter. Alonzo Davis, 
 Henry Bostwick, Mark N. Wheeler, Clark C. Bar- 
 mour and Daniel P. Wheeler were appointed to re- 
 ceive subscriptions for the survey of the three routes 
 proposed to reach Verbank ; one by Stanford and 
 
 * We are indebted to the files of the Poughkeepsie Eagle ; the State 
 Engineer's Rejiort on Railroads, 1879; and other documents, for data 
 respecting these early railroad enterprises. 
 
 t Poughkeepsie Eagle, Nov. iS, 1865. 
 
 Washington Hollow; one by Bangall, Hart's 
 village and Four Corners ; and one by Thompson's 
 Pond, Mabbettsville and Little Rest. The follow- 
 ing were appointed to receive, conduct and enter- 
 tain the corps of engineers in surveying through 
 their respective towns : La Grange, A. W. Storms, 
 Mark H. Wheeler, James Townsend ; Union Vale, 
 Leonard B. Sherman, Elias N. Vail, Henry Bost- 
 wick ; Fishkill, Ward Emigh, Laurence Rapelyea, 
 Van Wyck BrinkerhofF; Pleasant Valley, D. P. 
 Wheeler, Capt. Pond, Henry Sutherland; Wash- 
 ington, Dr. John S. Thorne, Hugh B. Howard, 
 Timothy Preston; Stanford, Leonard Carman, 
 Col. John Thompson, Smith B. Tompkins. 
 
 A meeting of persons in central Duchess and 
 Columbia counties interested in the construction 
 of the proposed railroad from Fishkill to Boston 
 Corners, was held at Millbrook chapel, in the town 
 of Washington, April 26, 1866. The committee 
 appointed at a previous meeting to procure a sur- 
 vey of the routes reported that a survey had been 
 made under their direction, by P. P. Dickinson and 
 his corps of engineers, and that the estimates for 
 construction varied from $1,000,030 to $1,000,- 
 076, according to which route was adopted. A 
 committee was appointed to prepare articles of as- 
 sociation and other papers necessary to complete 
 an organization for the construction of the road, 
 with power to adopt a suitable name. The survey 
 committee were instructed to employ a new corps 
 of engineers to examine the routes as surveyed for 
 the purpose of verifying the estimates of the for- 
 mer engineers, and ascertaining if any advantageous 
 alterations could be made. WiUiam Eno was 
 added to that committee. 
 
 An organization was effected that year (1866) 
 under the name of the Duchess & Columbia Rail- 
 road Co., and articles for an eastern branch, sixteen 
 miles long, were filed Oct. 11,1867. Forty-three 
 miles of road were completed and opened to public 
 travel in 1869, and an additional fifteen miles, in 
 1871. The road extends from Duchess Junction 
 on the Hudson River road in Fishkill, through the 
 towns of Fishkill, East Fishkill, La Grange, the 
 north-west corner of Union Vale, Washington, 
 Stanford, Pine Plains and North East, to Miller- 
 ton, where it connects with the Harlem road. Its 
 total length is 58.58 miles. The cost of road and 
 equipment to 1879, "^^s $2,258,342.29. In 1873, 
 the road was consolidated with the New York, 
 Boston & Northern Railroad. August 5, 1876, it 
 was sold under foreclosure of mortgage. J. N. 
 Whiting, of New York City, purchased the road. 
 
100 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 with the exception of a small sectioiij in the inter- 
 est of the first mortgage bondholders, paying there- 
 for $297,500. J. P. Lowry, also of New York 
 City, purchased the balance, the right of way to 
 the river, for the third and fourth mortgage bond- 
 holders, for $40,000. These purchases did not 
 include the rolMng stock, which was the property 
 of the Brown family. A reorganization was effect- 
 ed and chartered under the name of the Newburgh, 
 Duchess & Connecticut Railroad Co., Jan. 15, 
 1877, with the following directors : John N. Whit- 
 ing, John S. Schultze and Samuel Thorn, of New 
 York City ; William Schultze, of Manchester, N. 
 J. ; Joseph Howland, of Matteawan ; R. G. Coffin, 
 of Washington ; W. S. Eno and W. W. Sayre, of 
 Pine Plains ; Albert Emans, La Grange ; Wm. A. 
 Reid and Oliver Davidson, Silver Lake ; John S. 
 Emans, East Fishkill. 
 
 The stations and distances on this road in miles 
 from Duchess Junction are: Matteawan, 1.8; 
 Groveville, — ; Glenham, 3.8; Fishkill, 5.92; 
 BrinckerhofT, 7.07 ; Hopewell, 12.11 ; Clove 
 Branch Junction, 13.37 i Arthursburgh, 15.70 ; 
 La Grange, 17.33 ; Billings, 18.8; Mooers, 21,34; 
 Verbank, 25.33; Coffins, 28.17; MiUbrook, 
 30.19; Shunpike, 33.49; Bangall, 37.03; Stis- 
 sing Junction, 39.84; Attlebury, 41.2 ; Pine Plains 
 Junction, 44.27; Pine Plains, 44.62; Bethel, 
 46.7 ; Shekomeko, 49.82 ; Husted, 52.45 ; Win- 
 chels, 54.08 ; Harlem R. R. Crossing, 58.08 ; Mil- 
 lerton, 58.58. The rate of fare for through pas- 
 sengers is 2.63, and for way passengers, 3 cents 
 per mile. 
 
 While these railroad projects engaged the atten- 
 tion of the people of Duchess, two others of greater 
 importance, and one of them of scarcely less local 
 interest, were earher pushed to completion— the 
 Hudson River and New York & Harlem rail- 
 roads—the latter of which is said to have doubled 
 the value of the eastern towns in this county, and 
 the former to have more than doubled the value of 
 the western towns, while the interior towns scarcely 
 increased a dollar during the same period.* Both 
 were in process of construction and were com- 
 pleted through the county at nearly the same 
 time. 
 
 The scheme of a railroad running along the east 
 bank of the Hudson originated in and was advo- 
 cated by the prominent citizens of Poughkeepsie— 
 most conspicuous among whom were Matthew 
 Vassar, D. B. Lent and A. J. Coffin-until the 
 capitalists of New York and othe r places were con- 
 
 *P(mihieefsU Eagle, Nov. iS, l86;. ' " 
 
 vinced of its feasibility, its safe investment, and its 
 great practical worth as a connecting link with the 
 commercial channels of the North and West. The 
 first survey of the road was paid for by Poughkeep- 
 sians; and it was through their influence that a 
 charter was obtained May 12, 1846. The con- 
 struction of the road was commenced in 1847, and 
 seventy-five miles were completed in 1849, which 
 year it was in part first opened to the public. It 
 was opened to Peekskill, from New York, Sept. 29, 
 1849 ; to New Hamburgh, Dec. 6, 1849 ; and to 
 Poughkeepsie, Dec. 3 1, 1849. The road was rapidly 
 completed, and the northern section was opened 
 from Albany to Hudson, June 16, 1851 ; to Tivolij 
 Aug. 4, 1851; and through its entire length, from 
 New York to Albany, a distance of 143^ miles, 
 Oct. I, 1851. It has 3,018 feet of tunnels, varying 
 from 60 to 835 feet, one of which is through sohd 
 rock just above New Hamburgh in this county. 
 Nov. I, 1869, it was consolidated with the New 
 York Central Railroad, under the name of New 
 York Central & Hudson River Railroad. The 
 second track of this road (the Hudson River,) was 
 laid in 1863-64. 
 
 The stations within this county upon this line of 
 road and their distance in miles from 30th street, 
 New York, are: Duchess Junction, 57.16; Fish- 
 kill, 58.85; Low Point, 62.38; New Hamburgh, 
 64.95 ; Milton Ferry, 69.41 ; Poughkeepsie, 73.3; 
 Hyde Park, 79.01 ; Staatsburgh, 83.42 ; Rhine- 
 beck, 88.75; Barrytown, 94.35 ; Tivoli, 98.59; the 
 latter being 43.54 miles from Albany. 
 
 The project of the road was emphatically a 
 child of Poughkeepsie, and hence there was great 
 rejoicing among her citizens when ground wa*s 
 broken for its construction. A number of the 
 leading citizens celebrated the event by a grand 
 supper, given March 4, 1847, at th@> Poughkeepsie 
 Hotel, then kept by John H. Rutzer. One who 
 was present says it surpassed anything of the kind 
 ever witnessed in Poughkeepsie. The large dining 
 hall of the Poughkeepsie Hotel was handsomely 
 and appropriately decorated, and the table was 
 filled to overflowing with the choicest viands, with 
 a minature locomotive and train of cars, in sugar, 
 for a center piece. After the removal of the cloth 
 several toasts were read. That to "The Pioneers 
 of the Hudson River Railroad" called out Mat- 
 thew Vassar; "Our Merchants" was responded 
 to by Hon. James Bowne ; " The Bar," by La)nard 
 Maison ; and " the Press," by Theopolus Gillinder, 
 then editor of the Poughkeepsie American. While 
 this animated scene was enacting there was 
 
RAILROAD ENTERPRISES. 
 
 loi 
 
 general rejoicing in the streets. " On Main and 
 Market streets bon-fires sent up volumes of flames 
 and smoke, and young and old of both sexes 
 thronged the sidewalks, while Young America 
 hurled fire balls through the 'air." Some of the 
 citizens "illuminated their residences and called 
 in their neighbors to partake of bountiful spreads 
 which they had prepared in the exuberance of 
 their joy."* 
 
 The New York & Harlem Railroad Co. was char- 
 tered April 25, 183 1, to build a road from 23d street. 
 New York, to Harlem, and commenced the con- 
 struction of their road Feb. 24, 1832. One mile 
 was built and opened that year, an additional mile 
 in 1833, and two miles in each of the years 1834, 
 '37 and '39. In 1840, the company were allowed 
 to extend to meet the New York & Albany Rail- 
 road, and in 1842, they opened an additional six 
 miles of road, and twelve^miles in 1844. In 1845 
 they were allowed to continue this road to Albany. 
 Twenty-five miles of road were opened in 1847; 
 twenty-nine miles in 1848; and fifty-one miles in 
 1852, on the 19th of January in which year it was 
 opened to Chatham Four Corners, where it con- 
 nected with the Albany & West Stockbridge Rail- 
 road. April 23, 1870, it was continued by the 
 Harlem Extension Railroad from Chatham Four 
 Corners to Vermont and Canada, thus forming a 
 great through Une of travel. That part of the road 
 operated by steam — north of Harlem — is leased to 
 the New York Central & Hudson River Railroad 
 Co. In this county it passes in a northerly direc- 
 tion through the eastern tier of towns. 
 
 The stations upon this line of road within this 
 county and their distances in miles from the Grand 
 Central Depot in New York are: Pawling, 63; 
 South Dover, 69; Dover Plains, 76; Wassaic, 81 ; 
 Amenia, 84; Sharon, 87; Coleman's, 88; Miller- 
 ton, 92 ; Mt. Riga, 95. 
 
 The Boston, Hartford & Erie Extension Rail- 
 road Co. organized to build a railroad from Fishkill 
 landing to the Connecticut State line, filed articles 
 of association Oct. i, 1863, and was consolidated 
 with the Boston, Hartford & Erie Railroad Co. 
 Aug. 23, 1864. About eighty per cent, of the 
 grading from Hopewell was finished in 1870. Pos- 
 session was taken by trustees, under the terms of a 
 mortgage, Sept. 13, 1871, and work on the road 
 was for some time suspended. In 1873, the name 
 was changed to the New York & New England 
 Railroad. In June, 1877, the road was completed 
 from Boston to WilHmantic and from Providence, 
 
 * The Sunday Courier, Poughkeepsie, Oct. ii, 1S73. 
 
 R. I., to Waterbury, Conn., with sundry branches, 
 and partly graded from Waterbury to Hopewell 
 Junction. In that year a committee of the Massa- 
 chusetts Legislature examined the route to deter- 
 mine whether it was best for the State to complete 
 or sell the road. At present, (1881,) a branch of 
 the road between Hopewell and Brewsters on the 
 Harlem road in Putnam County is under construc- 
 tion. 
 
 The Cornwall Suspension Bridge Railroad and 
 the Eastern Branch of the Duchess & Columbia 
 Railroad were projects of 1868, but both were 
 abandoned. The former was organized with a 
 capital of two and a half miUion dollars, as a 
 branch of the Erie Railway from Fishkill to New- 
 burgh, and filed articles Jan. 14, 1868. 
 
 Clove Branch Railroad Co. was chartered Nov. 
 21, 1868, with a capital of $150,000, to construct 
 a road from Clove Branch Junction to Sylvan 
 Lake, a distance of 4.25 miles, which was built and 
 opened in 1869. April 28, 1870, the company were 
 allowed to extend their road from any point on the 
 line then located, into or through East Fishkill, 
 Fishkill, Beekman or Union Vale, by a branch to 
 any iron mines in those towns, also a branch from 
 the Duchess & Columbia Railroad. A branch was 
 opened in 1877, from Sylvan Lake to Clove Val- 
 ley, a distance of 4.01 miles, and is leased to the 
 New York, Boston & Montreal Railroad. 
 
 The stations and distances in miles from Clove 
 Branch Junction are : Adriance, 1.77 ; Sylvan Lake, 
 3.31 ; Ore MineSj 4.09 ; Beekman, 6.09 ; Clove Val- 
 ley, 8.04. 
 
 The Rhinebeck & Connecticut Railroad Co. was 
 chartered June 29, 1870, with a capital of $1,000,- 
 000, for the purpose of building a railroad from 
 RhinecUff, on the Hudson River road in Rhine- 
 beck, to the State Une. Amended articles of asso- 
 ciation were filed with the Secretary of State in 
 1872, in the fall of which year construction was 
 commenced. Wm. Chamberlain, Wm. B. Piatt, 
 Ambrose Wager, Thomas Cornell, Anthony Ben- 
 son, Edward Martin and John S. Thompson were 
 the;n the directors. Twenty-eight miles of road 
 were finished and opened in 1874, and 7.2 miles 
 in 1875. The entire length of the main line is 
 41.6 miles.* The cost of road and equipment up 
 to 1879 was $1,440,920.30. 
 
 The stations upon this road and their dis- 
 tances in miles from RhinecUff are : Rhinebeck, 3; 
 Red Hook, 7.4; Spring Lake, 11.2; EUerslie, 
 
 * The track from Boston Corners to State Line, 6.4 miles, is held under 
 lease. 
 
HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 13.6 J Jackson Corners, 17.6; Mount Ross, 19.3; 
 GallatinviUe, 23; Ancram, 25.4;' Copake, 31.5; 
 Boston Corners, 35.2; Mount Riga, 38.6; State 
 Line, (C. W. R. R. Junction) 41:6. 
 
 The Putnam & Duchess Railroad Co. filed arti- 
 cles April 4, 1 87 1. It was formed for the purpose 
 of constructing a railroad from a point on the New 
 York & Boston Railroad in Carmel northerly to 
 the Duchess & Columbia road, at or near Hope- 
 well, a distance of about twenty miles. The cap- 
 ital of the company was $1,000,000. It was con- 
 solidated in 1873 with the New York, Boston & 
 Northern Railroad Co., which the same year was 
 consolidated with the New York, Boston & Mon- 
 treal Railroad Co. 
 
 The Iron Hill Railroad Co. in Duchess and Put- 
 nam counties, was chartered in 1873, but has 
 become extinct ; likewise the Pine Plains & Rhine- 
 beck Railroad Co., chartered the same year. The 
 Fishkill & Newburgh Railroad Co. was chartered 
 in 1876 to build a road from the terminus of the 
 Duchess & Columbia road to Newburgh, but it is 
 not in operation. The Poughkeepsie Grand Junc- 
 tion Railroad Co., formed to build a road from the 
 west bank of the Hudson, at a point in the town 
 of Lloyd, Ulster County, to connect with a Hne of 
 railroad designed to cross the proposed Poughkeep- 
 sie bridge, and extending thence south-westerly 
 twelve miles to a point on the Wallkill Valley Rail- 
 road, in the town of Gardiner, Ulster County, 
 filed articles Feb. 27, 1879, and, with the State 
 Line & Eastern Railroad Co., which filed articles 
 April 18, 1879, and was formed to build a road 
 from the point where the Poughkeepsie Grand 
 Junction should intersect the Wallkill Valley road, 
 to the locality of Port Jervis, was consolidated to 
 form the Poughkeepsie & Grand Junction Railroad 
 Co., which filed articles June 14, 1879. 
 
 The Poughkeepsie Bridge Co. was incorporated 
 May 10, 1872, with a capital of $2,000,000, for 
 the purpose of building a bridge for a railroad and 
 common road travel across the Hudson at Pough- 
 keepsie, a project first publicly suggested by Mr. 
 T. G. Nichols, in an article in the Daily Press, of 
 Poughkeepsie, of which he was then editor, dated 
 January 19, 1854, as a means of establishing a 
 direct and expeditious communication between the 
 manufacturing interests of the East and the limit- 
 less coal and ore fields of Pennsylvania, Virginia 
 and the West. The charter provided that the work 
 of construction should be begun before July r, 
 1872, and finished before 1876; that the bridge 
 should be so built as not to obstruct navigation, and 
 
 at least 130 feet above high tide. No pier was to 
 be built outside the pier limits then established by 
 law. In 1872, the charter was amended, so that 
 the shore abutment of the bridge should not be 
 constructed beyond the river line of the whale- 
 dock property on the east side of the river, nor 
 beyond the river line of the ferry-dock on the west 
 side, and the company were permitted to construct 
 and maintain besides the shore abutments, piers of 
 masonry in the river, not exceeding four in num- 
 ber, and distant from each other and the shore 
 abutments not less than five hundred feet. The 
 time limited for the commencement of the bridge 
 was extended to January i, 1874, and for its com- 
 pletion and opening for use to January i, 1879. 
 The officers of the company in 1872, were: John 
 
 F. Winslow, President ; Robert F. Wilkinson, Sec- 
 retary ; George Innis, John M. Toucey, Matthew 
 Vassar, Homer A. Nelson, P. P. Dickinson, Charles 
 Wheaton, Charles W. Swift, William A. Davies, 
 and Judge Anthony, Directors. A meeting of 
 stock-holders was held in Poughkeepsie, September 
 5, 1873, and a permanent organization was effected 
 as follows : Directors, J. Edgar Thompson, Phila- 
 delphia, of the Pennsylvania R. R., A. L. Dennis, 
 Newark, President N. J. R. R. & T. Co., Hon. H. 
 
 G. Eastman, LL. D., Mayor of Poughkeepsie and 
 President of Eastman's National Business College, 
 Andrew Carnegie, New York, of the Keystone 
 Bridge Works and Union Iron Mills of Pittsburg, 
 Charles G. Franklyn, of New York, Cunard Steam- 
 ship Co., David Solomon, New York, Financial 
 Agent Penn. R. R. Co., Andrew J. Cassatt, Phila- 
 delphia, General Manager Penn. R. R., George P. 
 Pelton, Poughkeepsie, President Poughkeepsie and 
 Eastern R. R., P. P. Dickinson, Poughkeepsie, 
 Chief Engineer P. & E. R. R., Strickland Kneass, 
 Philadelphia, Asst. President Peng. R. R. Co., 
 Gardiner F. McCandless, New York, Treas. I. M. 
 & N. R. R. Co. ; President, A. L. Dennis ; Vice- 
 President, H. G. Eastman ; Treasurer, G. F. 
 McCandless ; Secretary, Charles B. Thurston • 
 Assistant Secretary and Attorney, R. F. Wilkinson. 
 The work of construction was commenced in the 
 summer of 1876, and two piers carried above the 
 surface of the water, in which condition it still 
 remains, doubtful if further work on it will soon be 
 prosecuted. The proposed bridge is to be a mag- 
 nificent and costly structure. The iron work is to be 
 sixty-four feet in height, above the piers, thus mak- 
 ing the total height from the water to the top of 
 the bridge at least one hundred and ninety-four feet. 
 Its construction wiU necessitate the erection of an 
 
ORGANIZATION OF THE DUCHESS COUNTY MEDICAL SOCIETY. 
 
 103 
 
 independent temporary wooden bridge from shore 
 to shore, at an estimated cost of $400,000. It is 
 proposed to lay the railroad track on the top chord 
 of the bridge.* 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 County Societies — Early Legislation on Medi- 
 cal Subjects — Duchess County Medical So- 
 ciety — Organization, Constituent Members 
 and First Officers — Digest of By-Laws — 
 Early Legislative Enactments by the So- 
 ciety — Names of Successive Presidents — 
 Names of Members from the Organization 
 OF THE Society — Rise and Spread of Home- 
 opathy — Its Introduction into Duchess 
 County — Homeopathic Medical Society of 
 Duchess County — Organization — Successive 
 Presidents — Names of Members from the Or- 
 ganization of the Society — Duchess County 
 Mutual Insurance Company. 
 
 THE practice of " physic and surgery" in the 
 city of New York was first regulated by leg- 
 islative enactment June 10, 1760, and afterwards 
 by an act of March, 1792. March 23, 1797, the 
 first general regulation was attempted, by author- 
 izing the Chancellor, a Judge of the Supreme or 
 Common Pleas Court, or Master in Chancery, to 
 license physicians or surgeons, upon evidence of 
 their having studied two years, etc., and the act 
 of 1792 was repealed. The act of 1797 was 
 amended in 1801, and again in 1803. The pen- 
 alty for practicing without a license at this period 
 was the prohibition to receive remuneration, and 
 the imposition of a fine of twenty-five dollars each 
 time pay was received. April 4, 1 806, an act of the 
 Legislature authorized the establishment of County 
 Medical Societies and a general State Medical So- 
 ciety, and repealed the former acts ; and this act 
 was incorporated in that of April 10, 1813, which 
 prohibited persons from practicing "physic and 
 surgery" without having passed an examination and 
 received a diploma from a medical society, which 
 they were required to have recorded in the County 
 Clerk's office, under penalty of being forever dis- 
 qualified from collecting any debt incurred by such 
 practice in any court in this State, and of forfeit- 
 ing twenty-five dollars for each offence of which 
 they might be convicted, provided they received 
 pay or reward for their services. Any person, how- 
 
 * The Sunday Courier, Poughkeepsie, September 7, 187s ; Hough's 
 Gazetteer of the State of New York, 260 ; and other documents. 
 
 ever, was permitted to use for the benefit of the 
 sick, " any roots, bark or herbs, the growth or pro- 
 duce of the United States.'' Every applicant for a 
 license was required to produce " satisfactory tes- 
 timony that he had regularly studied physic and 
 surgery or both * * * with one or more rep- 
 utable practitioner or practitioners for the term of 
 three years ;" but before being allowed to practice 
 he must have attained the age of twenty-one years. 
 The law authorized qualified physicians and sur- 
 geons, not less than five in number, in counties 
 where no medical society then existed, to organize 
 such society, and empowered them not only to grant 
 licenses but to recognize diplomas granted by other 
 States and countries as well as those received from 
 the Regents of the University and Geneva Medical 
 College. They were endowed with the usual cor- 
 porate powers, and permitted to hold real and per- 
 sonal property not exceeding in value $ i .000. They 
 might require the payment by their members of a 
 sum not exceeding three dollars, and by each prac- 
 ticing physician and surgeon in the county a sum 
 not exceeding one dollar a year, for procuring a 
 medical library and apparatus, and encouraging 
 useful discoveries in chemistry, botany, etc. The 
 amended law of April 20, 1818, modified these 
 provisions somewhat, and also required " every 
 practitioner of medicine in this State to report him- 
 self to and connect himself with the medical so- 
 ciety in the county" in which he resided. If any 
 failed to comply, his license was forfeited and he 
 subjected to the provisions and penalties applicable 
 to unlicensed physicians. 
 
 Sept. 20, 1806, the following named physicians 
 of Duchess county, being a majority of the physi- 
 cians in the county, met at Cunningham's Hotel 
 agreeable to public notice, and formed the Duch- 
 ess County Medical Society, viz : John W. Smith, 
 Amenia; Ebenezer Carey and Thomas Laffen, 
 Beekman ; Cyrus B6rry, George W. Cook, James 
 Downs, WiUiam Ely and Thomas Quinlan, Clin- 
 ton; Abraham Halsey, John Pinckney, Joseph 
 Rogers, James Thorn and Bartow White, Fishkill ; 
 Uri Judd, North East ; David Delavan and James 
 Scovel, Pawling ; John Chamberlain, Caleb Child, 
 Daniel Dayton, John Thomas, Charles Waldo, 
 Baltus L. Van Kleeck and J. Livingston Van- 
 Kleeck, Poughkeepsie ; David Tomlinson and 
 Wm. W. Wheeler, Rhinebeck ; Richard Bartlett; 
 Amasa Beeckman and Ezekiel H. Gurnsey, Stan- 
 ford ; and Benjamin Delavergne and Wm. Lathrop, 
 Washington. Benjamin Delavergne was chairman, 
 and Abraham Halsey, secretary of the meeting. 
 
104 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 The following officers were elected : Samuel Bard, 
 of Hyde Park, President ; Benjamin Delavergiie, 
 Vice-President ; Robert Noxon, Treasurer, and J. 
 Livingston Van Kleeck, Secretary. After the 
 election of the above officers, the Vice-President, 
 Benjamin Delavergne, took the chair, and the fol- 
 lowing were elected Censors : Ebenezer Carey, 
 John Thomas, Wm. Lathrop, David Tomlinson 
 and Abraham Halsey. Wm. Wheeler was appointed 
 delegate to the State Society. John Thomas, 
 Bartow White, Thomas Laflfen, Wm. Ely and J. 
 Livingston Van Kleeck were appointed to draft a 
 code of by-laws. 
 
 Dr. Samuel Bard, who was elected President, 
 had retired from active life. He lived and prac- 
 ticed medicine in the city of New York, before, 
 during and after the Revolution of 1776. He was 
 a very successful practitioner, and, though not a 
 great author, had published a treatise written in 
 1 77 1, on Angina Suffocata, and another on the 
 " Use of Cold" in hemorrhage. His greatest and 
 best work was a treatise on obstetrics — a work the 
 more valuable because it was written and published 
 after he had retired, and not written to gain a reputa- 
 tion, but to give the young practitioner good ideas 
 particularly on the subject of the cautious use of 
 instruments in obstetrics. Thatcher says, in his 
 biography of medical men, that in 1813, Dr. Bard 
 was appointed President of the College of Physi- 
 cians and Surgeons in New York, which position 
 he held during the remainder of his life.* 
 
 At the second meeting, held at the same place 
 the second Tuesday in November, 1806, it was 
 " voted that the annual contribution be two dol- 
 lars."t By-laws, which every member of the So- 
 ciety was required to sign, were adopted. They 
 provided, among other things, that the annual 
 meetings of the Society should be held the second 
 Tuesday in November in every year, and the semi- 
 annual meetings the second Tuesday in May. 
 The delegate, in addition to his other duties, was 
 required " to support the honor and dignity of the 
 Society." Provision was made for the punishment 
 of all persons practicing "physic and surgery" 
 contrary to the law of April 4, 1806. " The cen- 
 sors, having been irregularly chosen at the last 
 meeting," were re-appointed at this. The delegate 
 seems to have performed satisfactorily the impor- 
 tant duty assigned him, for at the meeting of May 
 II, 1807, he was thanked for his services as such,, 
 " andfor his generous refusal to be remunerated for 
 
 .//To °'' ^".^«^'"='= ''«/'"• read before the Duchess County 
 Medical Society at Wappmgers Falls, June 8, 1881. 
 t May II, 1819, this was repealed and the amount fixed at $1 
 
 those services." At the latter date it was resolved 
 " that every candidate for admission de jure into 
 this Society shall produce to the Society a certifi- 
 cate of his legal qualification to practice physic and 
 surgery, according to the former laws of the State, 
 or that at least four members of the Society shall 
 vouch for his qualification." 
 
 Nov. II, 1807, the President, or, in his absence, 
 the Vice-President, was required to appoint three 
 persons in the order in which their names were 
 subscribed to the by-laws, to read dissertations on 
 some medical subject before the Society at its next 
 stated meeting. 
 
 Jan. 23, 1808, the by-laws were amended. The 
 Society resolved to confer licenses to practice 
 twice each year, at the annual and semi-annual 
 meetings; also to "give out twice in every six 
 months before each peri«l, a medical case, ques- 
 tion or aphorism," on which each candidate was 
 expected to write a short dissertation, to " be de- 
 Uvered to the Secretary at least fourteen days 
 before the next stated meeting, for the perusal 
 of such members as may choose to examine it." 
 The first examination was to be held on the morn- 
 ing of each stated meeting ; " be private before the 
 censors and such mernbers only as the candidate 
 might choose to invite," and " relate to anatomy, 
 physiology, chemistry, pharmacy, pathology and 
 therapeutics, on all of which, the candidate mani- 
 festing competent knowledge, the censors shall give 
 him a certificate thereof under their hands." The 
 second examination was to be public, on the after- 
 noon of the same day, and '' consist of a defense 
 by the candidate of such opinion as he may have 
 advanced in his dissertation, against the objections 
 which may be raised by the examiners," who were to 
 be chosen at every meeting of the Society for that 
 purpose. The candidate, having passed a satisfac- 
 tory examination, was required to repeat aloud and 
 subscribe to the following solemn declaration :— 
 
 "I, A. B., before God and this assembly, do 
 solemnly promise and declare that I will, at aU 
 times, practice the profession of physic and surgery 
 to which I am now to be licensed, cautiously, dili- 
 gently and conscientiously, and to the best of my 
 abilities, for the good of my patients, the care of 
 their diseases and the preservation of their health ; 
 tha.t I will, on no occasion, sacrifice them either to 
 the hope of reward, the gratification of resentment, 
 inexcusable negligence, or to any other motive 
 whatsoever ; that I will never conspire against the 
 life of the fetus, and that I will sacredly keep all 
 such secrets as shall be confided to me in my pro- 
 fessional capacity, which, as a citizen, I am not 
 bound to reveal." 
 
DUCHESS COUNTY MEDICAL SOCIETY. 
 
 105 
 
 Nov. 12, 181 1, the by-law relative to the exam- 
 ination of applicants for licenses, passed Feb. 22, 
 1808, was amended so as to make the day of ex- 
 amination ■ the day preceding the meeting of the 
 society, and May 9, 1815, was again amended so 
 as to permit the censors, by order of the President, 
 to convene on any day for that purpose, except 
 the days of the annual and semi-annual meetings 
 of the society. Nov. 14, 1815, it was "resolved 
 that the examination of the students shall be in the 
 presence of the Society in future, at their annual 
 and semi-annual meetings, and the Society (with 
 the Censors) shall decide on his or their quaUfica- 
 tion." Nov. 12, 1816, the by-law relating to 
 examination of students passed Nov. 14, 1815, was 
 repealed, and the law passed in 1806, "revived." 
 At that meeting also the Society concurred in the 
 efforts of the Albany .County Medical Society to 
 secure an amendment to the law regulating the 
 practice of physic and surgery in this State, so as 
 to make it unlawful for Censors of incorporated 
 medical societies in this State to proceed to the 
 examination of a student for hcense to practice 
 physic and surgery unless he previously exhibit a , 
 certificate of having attended at least one session 
 of some of the medical colleges in the United 
 States or in Europe. 
 
 At a meeting held in January, 1809, the society 
 emphatically dissented from the proposed action 
 of the Medical Society of the City and County of 
 New York, which contemplated recommending to 
 the Regents of the University, the College of Phy- 
 sicians and Surgeons, as a fit association to be 
 clothed with powers appertaining to County Med- 
 ical Societies. The society was apprehensive of 
 this abridgment of the rights vested in County 
 Medical Societies by the Legislature, and regarded 
 the measure as one calculated to reduce them to 
 mere automatons. 
 
 Nov. 14, 1809, the delegate to the State Medi- 
 cal Society was instructed to endeavor to obtain in 
 the Society a petition to the Legislature to repeal 
 so much of a recent act to organize the militia of 
 the State, as subjected "practitioners of physic 
 and surgery to a fine for omitting or refusing to 
 perform military duty." 
 
 Nov. lo, 1 8 13, Censors were allowed two dol- 
 lars per day while engaged in the business of their 
 office i and Nov. 14, 1815, the like amount was 
 voted for attendance at annual and semi-annual 
 meetings. At the latter date, also, it was resolved 
 that a sum not exceeding $160 be appropriated 
 froi5 the moneys in " the treasury of the Society, 
 
 for the purchase of surgical instruments for the use 
 of the Society, and Drs. Halsey, Cooper and Sher- 
 rill were appointed to make such purchases. May 
 13, 1817, it was resolved that students thereafter 
 examined should pay to each censor present at his 
 examination $2, and $5 for his diploma. Nov. 11, 
 181 7, Dr. Sherrill described the symptoms, treat- 
 ment, termination and examination of a case of 
 polypii of the heart, and the paper was ordered 
 published with the proceedings of the Society. 
 At this meeting it was resolved to be expedient to 
 have a standard of prices fixed for ordinary prac- 
 tice, and a schedule was adopted. A standard for 
 medicine was also adopted, the prices varying 
 from six pence to four shiUings. 
 
 Aug. 28, 1821, the by-law respecting charges 
 was suspended until the next semi-annual meeting, 
 and the delegate was requested to use his influence 
 with the State Society to repeal their law disap- 
 proving a system of charges by County Societies. 
 
 May 12, 1818, the President was required to 
 deliver an address, publicly, on going out of office, 
 or in case of inability to attend, to forward to the 
 Secretary such address in writing to be read before 
 the Society. May 11, 1819, the Vice-President 
 was required to deliver an address at each semi- 
 annual meeting. Nov. 9, 1819, a committee was 
 appointed to purchase " surgical instruments, 
 books, etc," for the use of the Society, in amount 
 not to exceed $75. May 8, 1821, an additional 
 $25 was appropriated for the purchase of books, 
 instruments, etc., for the use of the members of 
 the Society. May 14, 1822, after various resolu- 
 tions had been offered respecting the disposition of 
 the surplus funds of the Society, and the sale of 
 the surgical instruments and books belonging to 
 it, it was resolved that the former be appropriated 
 in future to the purchase of books. May 9, 1826, 
 it was resolved to sell the surgical instruments of 
 the Society, and Nov. 13, 1832, the books. The 
 latter were sold Nov. 1 2, T.833. 
 
 Nov. 12, 1822, it was resolved to be "improper 
 that any penalty other than the annual tax of one 
 dollar should be exacted by law of such physicians 
 and surgeons as are unwiUing to become members 
 of the County Medical Societies." The initiation 
 fee, which had been two dollars, was reduced to 
 one. 
 
 In January, 1823, the following were unani- 
 mously adopted : — 
 
 "Resolved, That we deem it highly requisite 
 both for the honor and dignity of the medical pro- 
 fession as well as for the interest of the community, 
 
io6 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 that there should be some tribunal vested with the 
 power of depriving unworthy practitioners of 
 physic and surgery of their licenses to practice. 
 
 '■'■Resolved, That we deem it just and consistent 
 with the dignity and utility of the medical profes- 
 sion, that the power to deprive of licenses should 
 be vested with the same body which by law has a 
 right to confer them. 
 
 '■'Resolved, That we concur with the medical 
 societies in this State which have agreed to petition 
 the Legislature so to amend the law relative to 
 physic and surgery that any medical society in this 
 State, on a vote of two-thirds of the members, may 
 have the power to deprive any practitioner of their 
 county guilty of malpractice or habitual intoxica- 
 tion, or convicted of any crime, or who may have 
 become so insane as to be incapable of attending 
 to his ordinary concerns, of his right to practice 
 physic and surgery, reserving always the right of 
 appeal to the State Medical Society or some other 
 tribunal established by law. 
 
 ^'Resolved, That a committee of three be ap- 
 pointed to correspond with other medical societies, 
 and to petition the Legislature on the foregoing 
 subject." 
 
 Drs. Cooper, Sherrill and Schenck were appointed 
 that committee, and were also instructed at the same 
 meeting " to draft a memorial to the Legislature of 
 this State, prapng that a law may be passed prohib- 
 iting the sale of medicines at retail by any others 
 than those who have served a regular apprentice- 
 ship to the druggist business, or are regular practi- 
 tioners of physic. 
 
 In November, 1823, a new set of by-laws was 
 adopted. 
 
 Nov. 12, 1833, Drs. Huntington, Sherrill, Stod- 
 dard, Judd and Thomas T. Everitt were appointed 
 "to draft a memorial to the Legislature, to be sub- 
 mitted to the State Medical Society, praying for an 
 amendment to the medical law, so as to require the 
 botanic and other professed practitioners of med- 
 icine to study the length of time and undergo the 
 usual examinations required of regular medical 
 students to entitle them to practice." 
 
 Two years later, in 1835, there were 69 physi- 
 cians and surgeons practicing in the county, a 
 larger number than any other county, except 
 Albany, which had 77, Monroe, 84, New York, 
 530, Oneida, 95, and Onondaga, 80, the total 
 number in the State then being 2,659.* 
 
 Nov. 8, 1842, it was "resolved, that in the opin- 
 ion of this society the privilege of licensing prac- 
 titioners of medicine and surgery ought to be 
 abolished from the county medical societies and 
 from the medical schools; that the privilege of 
 Ifcensing ought not to be conn ected with teaching." 
 
 ''Gordon's Gazetteer of the State of , New York, 191. 
 
 This was a period when the physicians of this 
 county in corhmon with others throughout the 
 country were deeply agitated — the period when 
 homeopathy began to force its just claims on pub- 
 lic attention and to legal recognition ; and this 
 action was a precursor of the legislative action 
 which followed in 1844, and was regarded by many 
 with grave and honest apprehension ; for it was 
 feared the action of the Legislature would prove 
 detrimental to the interests of the profession, and 
 many believed "that their efforts to advance a 
 sound rational system of medical education and 
 practice were neither appreciated by the people, 
 nor their representatives in the Legislature. " It has, 
 however, worked beneficially, in resting the prestige 
 of the profession upon its real, rather than its 
 assumed, merits. 
 
 "So far as I know," says Dr. Pine, whom we 
 have previously quoted, "harmony prevailed in the 
 society up to 1839 or '40. About that time a cir- 
 cumstance occurred which disturbed its harmony. 
 A student by the name of I. Devine came before 
 the censors to be examined for a license. He 
 was examined by them and found qualified. How- 
 ever, before the license was given him, the censors 
 heard of things which made them think his practice 
 would be too Utopian; consequently they refused 
 to give him the license. One or two law suits fol- 
 lowed. The society was defeated ; Devine gained 
 his point. His name stands on our roll. From 
 some cause, after that the society became unpopu- 
 lar, and was neglected by the great body of physi- 
 cians for a long time."* 
 
 There is no record of a meeting from Nov. 1 1, 
 1845,10 October, 1854. At the latter date a 
 meeting of the physicians of Duchess county was 
 held at Washington Hollow, and attended by Drs. 
 Hillis, Hughson,Thorne, Dodge, Hasbrouck, Losee, 
 Pine, Harvey, Bell, Campbell and Bockee. Dr. 
 Thorne was chosen president, and Dr. Bockee, 
 secretary//-^ tempore. After some discussion, and 
 a motion made " to organize a new society uncon- 
 nected with the Duchess County Medical Society'' 
 was lost, it was resolved to reorganize that society 
 and Drs. Walter Hughson, Per Lee Pine and 
 Jacob Bockee were appointed to review its by-laws 
 and present them at a future meeting. Nov. 14, 
 1854, the by-laws were revised and the name 
 "changed to the Medical Society of Duchess 
 County." The following officers were then elected : 
 C. Canfield, President ; A. B. Harvey, Vice-Presi- 
 dent; J. G. Hillis, S ecretary; C. H. Andrus, 
 
 * The Pmighkeefisie Daily Press, June lo, 1881. 
 
THE MEDICAL SOCIETY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 107 
 
 Treasurer ; R. T. Gill, J. Cooper, J. H. Traver, 
 Per Lee Pine and J. Bockee, Censors. Walter 
 Hughson, Delegate, and A. Hasbrouck, Supernu- 
 merary Delegate to the State Medical Society. 
 
 The Society adjourned to meet at Dr. Pine's 
 office in Poughkeepsie, the second Tuesday in 
 February, 1855 ; but there is no further record of 
 a meeting till July 5, 1859, at which time an in- 
 formal meeting was held at the Poughkeepsie 
 Hotel, and attended by Drs. C. Canfield, President; 
 John Cooper, A. B. Harvey, R. T. Gill, Wm. Bell, 
 Paine and J. G. Hillis. No meetings are re- 
 corded between Nov. 12, 1861, and Nov. 13, 1866. 
 At the latter date the Secretary was directed to 
 apply to the Supervisors for a room in the Court 
 House in which to hold the meetings of the Society. 
 The by-laws were so amended that the annual meet- 
 ings were to be held the second Tuesday in May, 
 and the semi-annual meetings, the second Tuesday 
 in November. A committee was appointed to re- 
 vise the by-laws and schedule of charges. May 14, 
 1867, the name of Asahel Hall was stricken from 
 the role as " an irregular practitioner." June 1 1, 
 1867, a modified form of the fee bill of the Cayuga 
 County Medical Society was adopted, also revised 
 by-laws. The time of annual meeting was changed 
 to the second Tuesday in June, and semi-annual, 
 to the second Tuesday in January, each year, and 
 Washington Hollow was designated as the place of 
 holding the former, and Poughkeepsie, the latter. 
 From this period the records of the Society are 
 replete with reports of interesting cases, which re- 
 flect in a high degree the talent and professional 
 skill of its members. - 
 
 Jan. 14, 1868, Dr. Barker complained of the 
 action of the Supervisors in " unjustly " cutting 
 down physicians' bills and moved that a committee 
 be appointed to consider the subject and report 
 at the next meeting. Drs. Cooper, Andrus and 
 Webb, who were chosen as such committee, re- 
 ported June 9, 1868, the following, which was 
 adopted : — 
 
 ''Resolved, by the members of the Duchess 
 County Medical Society, that they will in no case 
 accept a fee for making a post mortem examination 
 at the request of the Coroner, for an amount less 
 than the minimum specified in the schedule of the 
 Society ; and that they will sustain each other in 
 every honorable endeavor to obtain the payment 
 of the same by the Board of Supervisors." 
 
 The minimum fee for making a postmortem 
 examination by order of the Coroner was increased 
 from $10 to $20 when made before, and from $20 
 to $40, when made after interment. 
 
 The Society has not confined its eiforts to merely 
 local matters, but has aimed to exert a national 
 influence in the interests of the profession and of 
 humanity. Jan. 12, 1870, consideration was given 
 to the case of Passed Assistant Surgeon Charles 
 L. Green, of the United States Navy, who was 
 convicted by court martial for refusing to discharge 
 from the sick Ust an ordinary seaman, who, in his 
 opinion, was unfit for duty, and a committee was 
 appointed to invite the attention of Hon. John H. 
 Ketcham, Representative in Congress from this 
 district, to the importance of appropriate legisla- 
 tive action. Jan. 11, 1871, that committee re- 
 ported the following resolutions, which were 
 adopted and ordered forwarded to the Representa- 
 tive in Congress, who was urged to use his influence 
 towards procuring such legislation as would place 
 the medical staff on a proper footing : — 
 
 ''Resolved, That the position of the medical ofl5- 
 cers of the navy is not that which ought to be 
 given to them in view of the importance and es- 
 sential dignity of their duties ; and that in oppos- 
 ing the proper assimilation in rank, the officers of 
 the Une have not shown that courtesy and liber- 
 ality which the members of one Uberal profession 
 have a right to expect from the members of 
 another. 
 
 "Resolved, That, in our opinion, the medical 
 staff of the United States Navy ought to be 
 ranked so as to correspond in its position with the 
 same service in other nations, and with the like 
 service in our own army. 
 
 "Resolved, That, our Representative in Congress 
 be requested to aid in giving the medical staff a 
 more dignified position by urging such amendments 
 to the law as may be necessary for that purpose." 
 
 At this meeting of Jan. ir, 1871, the subject 
 of diphtheria, which for some time, and at a 
 period of nine years previously, had been epidemic 
 in his neighborhood, was introduced by Dr. Green, 
 and Drs. Beadle, Mead, Doughty, Andrus, Under- 
 bill, Webb and Young took part in the discussion 
 which ensued on this disease, which Dr. Green 
 defined as blood poisoning. At this meeting, also, 
 a proposition was made to offer two premiums, 
 one of $30 and one of $20, for essays on subjects 
 related to medicine, to be awarded respectively to 
 the first and second in order of merit. The project 
 of more frequent meetings was also discussed. 
 
 June 14, 187 1, the Society met in the Baptist 
 church at Bangall. By invitation the Rev. Mr. 
 Moore offered prayer. This is the first recorded 
 instance of such exercise in the meetings of the 
 Society. 
 
 August 14, 1872, the following was adopted by 
 a vote of nine to four : — 
 
io8 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 "Resolved, That after the ist of January, 1873, 
 the members of this Society will meet in consulta- 
 tion, only members of a Society affiliated with the 
 Medical Society of the State of New York." 
 
 Drs. Pine, Payne, Cooper, Harvey, Parker, 
 Devan, Van Duser, Webb and Hubbard voted for, 
 and Drs. Campbell, Stillman, Barnes knd Cunning- 
 ham against it. The action was rescinded Jan. 
 8, 1873. 
 
 Nov. 12, 1872, it is recorded: — 
 " A quorum faiUng to assemble at the time and 
 place appointed, no meeting was held. 
 
 " This failure should doubtless be ascribed to 
 the universal prevalence of influenza among the 
 horses, by reason of which travel in the country is 
 about suspended; and by no means to a distaste 
 among members for the further discussion of 
 questions of ethics. 
 
 A. Hasbrouck, Secretary." 
 June II, 1873, it was resolved that the meeting 
 held the second Wednesday in January of each 
 year at Poughkeepsie should be annual, and that 
 held the second Wednesday in June semi-annual. 
 In 1874, the Legislature, in a measure, put up 
 the barriers taken down in 1844, so far as to dis- 
 criminate against quackery, but not against regular 
 schools of medicine. This law was discussed in a 
 meeting of the Society of great interest Jan. 13, 
 1875. It requires practitioners to have a license 
 from a medical society, or to be graduates from a 
 medical college. May 29, 1880, an act was passed 
 by the Legislature requiring medical practitioners 
 to register in the County Clerk's office, their name, 
 residence, place of birth, and authority for practic- 
 ing. Both these laws make illegal practice punish- 
 able by fine or imprisonment or both. 
 
 The records of the Society during the last decade 
 of its existence evince a marked increased interest 
 and larger attendance at its meetings. Papers of 
 great interest and wide scope have been read, and 
 these with numerous reported cases have elicited 
 a general and enlightened discussion. The m;eet- 
 ings, though most frequently held at Poughkeepsie, 
 have been rotated to various parts of the county! 
 The following named gentlemen * have served 
 the society as presidents : — 
 
 Samuel Bard 1806-1812 
 
 Benjamm De Lavergne i g j , 
 
 John Thomas ! .' .' .'isM-iSis 
 
 James Downs ,0 J 
 
 urijudd :: ;^i; 
 
 Huntington SherriU :;8;8,' 1824 
 
 David Tomhnson tRt 
 
 Bartow White ^^^ 
 
 J^hn^^^^per_____^^^^^^ 
 
 John Dodge 1822 
 
 Shadrach Ricketson 1823 
 
 Henry D. Sleight 1825 
 
 Wheeler Gilbert 1826 
 
 David L. Dodge 1827 
 
 John Barnes 1828, 1834 
 
 Stoddard Judd 1829, 1835 
 
 Abijah G. Benedict 1830-32,* i84o-'42 
 
 Eliphalet Piatt 1833 
 
 William Thomas 1836-37 
 
 Richard A. Varick 1839, i86i-'66t 
 
 Nelson Andrews 1843 
 
 George W. Leach 1844 
 
 Calvert Canfield i845-'54-'58f 
 
 Lewis H. White 1867-1876 
 
 Beadle i877-'78 
 
 D. Guernsey iS79-'8o 
 
 Per Lee Pine 1 88 1 
 
 Officers elected January 12, 1881 : — ~ 
 President — Per Lee Pine. 
 Vice-President — N. M. Van Duser. 
 Secretary — Guy C. Bayley. 
 Treasurer — C. H. Langdon. 
 Delegates to American Medical Association — A 
 B. Harvey, R. K. Tuthill, D. Guernsey. 
 
 Following is a list of the names of members who 
 have joined the society since its organization, as 
 far as they can be ascertained from the records. 
 The right hand column of dates represents the 
 time they were admitted to membership, or when 
 their names first appear on the records as 
 members; the left hand column, the time those 
 who were licensed by the society received their 
 license : — 
 
 Adams Frank W., Fishkill-on- 
 
 Hudson, June II, 1873. 
 Allen Stephen, Stanford, May 9, 
 
 1809. 
 
 Andrews Nelson, Hyde Park, May 12, 1835 
 
 Andrus C. H., Po'keepsie City, Nov. 14, 1854. 
 
 Annon Daniel D., Nov. 13, 1821. 
 
 Anthony Theodore V.W.,Fishkill, Nov. 8, 182?. 
 
 Baker R N., Rhinebeck, Jan. 9 ,878. 
 Bancroft Rolandus, Newtown, Ct., 
 
 Jan. 22, 1808. 
 
 Banks James L., New York City, 
 
 (honorary,) ju„e 13, 1877. 
 
 Bard Samuel, Hyde Park, Nov. — 1806 
 
 Barker Samuel A,, Nov. 21, 1816. '- 
 
 Barnes Edwin, Pine Plains, ' May 14, 1867. 
 
 Barnes Enos, Clinton, 1814, May 9, 1815. 
 
 Barnes John, Po'keepsie City, Nov. 8, 1814."" 
 
 Barnes Peter, « " Nqv. 10, 1835. 
 
 Barns John H., « « Dec. 7, 1843. 
 
 Barras George, Fishkill, 1808. 
 
 Bartlett Richard, Stanford, Sept. 20, x8o6. 
 Bartlett R. N., Ver; early. 
 
 ^^rton T. F., June 12, 18/8. 
 
 * No election was held in iSjl, owing to the small number in attendance, 
 t No election is recorded between 1861 and 1866. 
 
 * No election is recorded between 1845 and 1854, and 1854 and 1859. 
 
MEMBERS OF THE MEDICAL SOCIETY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 109 
 
 Bartow Leonard, Fishkill, 
 Bates John, Red Hook, 
 Bayley Guy C, Po'keepsie City, 
 Beadle Edward L., Pleasant Val- 
 ley, 
 Beadle Edward L., Po'keepsie 
 
 City, 
 Beers Isaac, 
 
 Beers Vileroy, Hyde Park, 
 Bell Wm. P., Fishkill, 
 Benedict Abijah G., Red Hook, 
 May 9, 1815, 
 Bennett M., 1834. 
 
 Beiry Abraham, Clinton, May 
 II, 1819. 
 Berry Charles H., Dover Plains, 
 Berry Cyrus, Clinton, 
 Bierce Columbus, Amenia, May 
 14, 1816. 
 Bird J. SterUng, Hyde Park, 
 Bloss Samuel, Po'keepsie City, 
 April — , 1824, 
 Bockee Jacob, Po'keepsie City, 
 Bolton Edward C, Poughkeepsie 
 
 City, 
 Bolsford Charles, 
 Brown Paul R., Salt Point, 
 Buckman Amasa, Stanford, 
 Burnett Joshua I., May 9, 1809. 
 Burras George, Jan. 22, 1808. 
 Campbell Cornelius N., Pough- 
 keepsie City, 
 Canfield Calvert, Pleasant Val- 
 ley, 
 Carey Ebenezer, Beeknian, 
 Carey Egbert, Beekman, May B, 
 
 i8io, 
 Carhart Edward W., Stanfordville, 
 Carrington Henry A., Hyde Park, 
 Carroll R. J., Red Hook, . 
 Carter N. M., Po'keepsie City, 
 Case John, Palmer, 181 7. 
 
 Chamberlain John, Po'keepsie, 
 Chapman Geo. B., Amenia Union, 
 Cheesraan John C, M. D., New 
 
 York, (honorary,) 
 Chichester Isaac, 
 Child Caleb, Poughkeepsie, 
 
 Childs — . ; Po'keepsie City, 
 
 Church John, May 11, 1819, 
 Cleveland J. M., Hudson River 
 
 Hospital, 
 Cole Charles E., Jackson Corners, 
 Conklin Ebenezer H., Nov, 14, 
 
 1815. 
 Conklin Wm. J., Fishkill, 
 Cook George W., CHnton, 
 Cooke James S., May 9, 1809, 
 Cookingham H. L., Staatsburgh, 
 Cooper. John, Fishkill, 1808. 
 
 Cooper John, Poughkeepsie, Jan. 
 22, 1808, 
 Cooper John R., Po'keepsie City, 
 Cornell Isaac M., New Hamburgh, 
 
 May 8, 182 1. 
 Nov. 9, 1841. 
 Jan. 8, 1873. 
 
 Nov. 10, 1829. 
 
 May 14, 1867. 
 Nov. — , 1823. 
 May 12, 1818. 
 Nov. 14, 1854. 
 
 May 14, 1816. 
 
 Jan. 12, 1869. 
 Sept. 20, i8o6. 
 
 Nov. 13, 1866. 
 
 Nov. — , 1824. 
 Nov. 10, 1840. 
 
 Jan. 14, 1868. 
 May 10, 1842. 
 Jan. 14, 1868. 
 Sept. 20, 1806. 
 
 Nov. 14, 1854. 
 
 Nov. II, 1817. 
 Sept. 20, 1806. 
 
 Nov. 12, 181 1. 
 June 12, 1878. 
 Aug. 9, 1859. 
 Jan. 9, 1878. 
 Nov. 13, 1866. 
 
 Sept. 20, 1806. 
 June 14, 1876. 
 
 May 13, 1834. 
 Nov. II, 1817. 
 Sept. 20, 1806. 
 May 8, 1838. 
 Nov. 8, 1825. 
 
 Jan. 8, 1873. 
 June 12, 1872. 
 
 June 8, 1870. 
 
 Sept. 20, 1806. 
 
 Nov. 12, 181 1. 
 
 About 1872. 
 
 May 10, 1808. 
 
 1858. 
 
 Jan. 9, 1878. 
 
 Cortelyou Lawrence V., Pough- 
 keepsie City, June II, 1873. 
 
 Couch John W., May 12, 1818, May 8, 1821. 
 
 Coutant G. E., Poughkeepsie, Jan. 14, 1880. 
 
 Covel James, " 
 
 May II, 1819. 
 
 Cox John Palmer, May 12, 181 7, May 9, 1820. 
 
 Crosby Cyrenus, Amenia, Apr. 28, 1812. 
 
 Crusie Thomas K., Wappingers 
 
 I^alls, Jan. 12, 1875. 
 
 Curtis Charles P., Fishkill, June 11, 1873. 
 
 Davis Jacob J. H., Mar. g, 1819, May 9, 1820. 
 
 Day Fisher, Nov. 10, 181 3, 
 
 Dayton Daniel, Poughkeepsie, Sept. 20, 1806. 
 
 Delamater Abraham, May 11, 1807. 
 
 Delamater David D., May 13, 
 
 1817, 
 
 Delavan David, Pawling, Sept. 20, 1806. 
 
 DeLavergne Benjamin, Washing- 
 ton, Sept. 20, 1806. 
 
 Deming , Sharon, Ct., (hon- 
 orary,) June 12,1872. 
 
 Devan J. N., Pleasant Valley, Nov. 13, 1866. 
 
 Devine Joel, Poughkeepsie City, 
 
 1840, May II, 1841. 
 
 Dexter Harmon H., May 10, 1836, 
 
 Deyo E., Poughkeepsie, Nov. 13, 1866. 
 
 Dodge David L., Beekman, May 12, 1818. 
 
 Dodge Jeremiah, " Nov. — , 1806. 
 
 Dodge John, Jr., Poughkeepsie, Nov. 8, 1808. 
 
 Dodge John, Jr., Poughkeepsie 
 
 City, Feb. 15, 1843, 
 
 Dodge S., Poughkeepsie City, Nov. 14, 1854. 
 
 Doughty John H., Matteawan, Jan. 12, 1869. 
 
 Downs James, CUnton, Sept. 20, 1806. 
 
 Dunning Philo, May i2, 1818, Nov. 9, 1819. 
 
 Eastman John R., Nov. 8, 1836. 
 
 Ebstein L., Poughkeepsie, Nov. 13, 1866. 
 
 Eddy Caspar W., Rhinebeck, Nov. 10, 1818. 
 
 Eggleston John, May 11, 18 19, 
 
 Ely William, Clinton, Sept. 20, 1806. 
 
 Everitt Elmore, • Nov. 13, 182 1. 
 
 Ensign Lee, Dover, May 11, 1841. 
 
 Esselstine Richard, Red Hook, May 9, 1820. 
 
 Eustice Samuel, Nov. 10, 1813. 
 
 Everitt Thos. T., Po'keepsie City, Nov. 13, 1832. 
 
 Everts John, Nov. 9, 1830. 
 
 Fink W. F., Sprout Creek, Jan. 12, 1870. 
 
 Fletcher Frederick, May 12, 1835. 
 
 Foot Jeremiah, Feb. 26, 1818, 
 
 Forman James H., Hopewell Junc- 
 tion, Jan. 9, 1878. 
 
 Fountain Hosea, Westchester Co. 
 
 (honorary,) ^ Jan. 8, 1873. 
 
 Fountain Theodore, Fishkill, Nov. 11, 1834. 
 
 Fowler David, Orange County, 
 
 (honorary,) Nov. 11, 1834. 
 
 Fowler Peter D., Nov. 10, 1818. 
 
 Fowler Theodore, Early. 
 
 Frisby, Joseph, Nov. 10, 18 13. 
 
 Gerow Elizabeth H., Po'keepsie, June 9, 1875. 
 
 Gilbert Asher, March 19, 1822. 
 
 Gilbert Wheeler, Red Hook, Nov. 12, 181 1. 
 
 Gill Robert T., Milton, Nov. 14, 1854. 
 
HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 Grant Edmund F., Po'keepsie 
 City, 
 
 Gray , Hyde Park, 
 
 Green L., Amenia Union, 
 Green Lewis, LaGrangeville, 
 Gren Stephen S., LaGrangeville, 
 Greenwood Matthias P., Po'keep- 
 sie City, 
 Guernsey Desault, Amenia, 
 Guernsey Peter B., do 
 Gurnsey Ezekiel H., Stanford, 
 Haight Charles, Po'keepsie City, 
 Hall Asahel, do do 
 
 Hall Larry G., 1813. 
 
 Hallock Israel, 
 Halsey Abraham, Fishkill, 
 Hammond Thomas, Dover, 
 
 May 9, 1815, 
 Hammond Thomas, Dover Plains, 
 Harvey A. B., Po'keepsie City, 
 Harvey Clarence A., Po'keepsie, 
 Hasbrouck Stephen, Poughkeepsie 
 
 City, 
 Hasbrouck Alfred, Poughkeepsie 
 
 City, 
 Hayt Edwin, 
 Helms Wm. H., Westchester Co., 
 
 (honorary,) 
 Herrick W., Milan, 
 Herrick Walter, Milan, 
 Hewson Benjamin, Wappingers 
 
 Falls, 
 Hicks Robert L., 
 Hillis James G., Po'keepsie City, 
 Hillman John, 181 5, 
 
 Hoag Arthur F., Amenia, 
 Hoff Alexander H., Po'keepsie 
 
 . City, 
 Hoflfcut Obed, Dover, Feb. 15, 
 
 1843. 
 Holbrook M. R., Po'keepsie City, 
 Holden Edwin, " " 
 
 Dec. — , 1832, 
 Hommedieu Elias L., 
 Hooker Wm., 
 
 Hopkins H. Wm., La Grange, 
 Hosack David, Hyde Park, (hon- 
 orary,) 
 Rowland David, 1813. 
 
 Hughson Benjamin, 1819. 
 
 Hughson Walter, Po'keepsie City, 
 Hull Wm. B., 
 Hunting J. M., Stanford, 
 Huntington George, La Grange- 
 
 ville, 
 Hurd Curtis J., 
 Hurd George F., 
 Hurd Darwin E., 
 Hurd Milo, Nov. 14, 1815, 
 
 Hustis C, Matteawan, 
 Ingersoll Stephen M., 
 Ives Ansel W., N. Y. City, (hon- 
 orary,) 
 Jarvis Milton B., Nov. 23, 1841. 
 
 June I, 1838. 
 Nov. 15, 1859. 
 May 14, 1867. 
 Nov. 13, 1866. 
 1868. 
 
 Nov. 13, 1866. 
 Nov. 13, 1866. 
 Very early. 
 Sept. 20, 1806. 
 Nov. 13, 1827. 
 Nov. 10, 1829. 
 
 Very early. 
 Sept. 20, 1806. 
 
 Nov. 13, 1821. 
 Nov. 13, 1866. 
 Nov. i4j [854. 
 Jan. 12, 1881. 
 
 May 9, 1820. 
 
 Nov. 14, 1854. 
 June 9, 1875- 
 
 Jan. 8, 1873. 
 May 14, 1867. 
 June II, 1879. 
 
 May 14, 1822. 
 Nov. II, 1817. 
 Nov. 14, 1854. 
 Nov. 9, 1819. 
 June II, 1879. 
 
 Nov. II, 1845. 
 
 Nov. 13, 1866. 
 
 Nov. 12, 1833. 
 Nov. 12, 1816. 
 May 14, 1822. 
 Nov. 12, 1839. 
 
 Nov. 12, 1833. 
 
 Nov. 14, 1837. 
 June 12, 1878. 
 May 14, 1867. 
 
 June 10, 1874. 
 May — , 1823. 
 Nov. 12, 1833. 
 Nov. 10, 1835. 
 May 14, 1816. 
 Jan. 13, 1875. 
 Nov. 9, 1819. 
 
 Nov. 10, 1835. 
 
 Jenkins James S., May 14, 1835. 
 
 Johnston, Francis U., N. Y. City, 
 (honorary,) 
 
 Jourdan Abra., Clermont, 1808. 
 
 Judd Stoddard, March 17, 181 9, 
 
 Judd Uri, North East, 
 
 Kellogg A. O., Hudson River 
 Hospital, 
 
 King Bennett, Hyde Park, May 
 iS> 1834. 
 
 King John B., 
 
 Kinkhead John, Po'keepsie City 
 
 Kittridge C. M., Fishkill-on-Hud- 
 son, 
 
 Knapp A. H., Poughkeepsie, 
 
 Knapp David A., Union Vale, 
 
 Knickerbocker Edward, Red 
 Hook, 
 
 Laffen Thomas, Beekman, 
 
 Lamb Joseph T. C, Poughkeepsie, 
 
 La Monte Austin, Hydg Park, 
 
 La Monte Austin, Carmel, (hon- 
 orary,) 
 
 Landon Walter, Mar. 9, 1819; 
 
 Langdon Charles H., Hudson 
 River Hospital, 
 
 Lathrop Wm., Washington, 
 
 Leach George W., Po'keepsie 
 City, 
 
 Lente Frederic D., Cold Spring, 
 (honorary.) 
 
 Livingston Charles P., Pough- 
 keepsie, July 16, 1816. 
 
 Loomis Robert, 
 
 Losee Elmore, Bangall, 
 
 Losee John, Red Hook, 
 
 Manney James, Fishkill, 
 
 Marill J., Poughkeepsie City, 
 
 Marriott Jonathan, 
 
 Marvin Jonathan H., 
 
 Mason Edgar, 1826. 
 
 McClellan Chas. H. P., Po'keep- 
 sie City, 
 
 Mead Isaac N., Amenia, 
 
 Moith J. E., Fishkill-on-Hudson, 
 
 Mosher Ehza M., Poughkeepsie, 
 
 Mott Valentine, M. D., New 
 York City, (honorary,) 
 
 Nelson Thos. J., Rhinebeck, May 
 12, 1818. 
 
 Nelson Theophilus, Apr. 2, 1823, 
 
 Newcomb Andrew H., Pleasant 
 Valley, . May 17, 1822. 
 
 Newcomb John E., Pleasant 
 Valley, 
 
 Nicholson Clark N., Beekman, 
 
 Northrop M. C, So. Dover, 
 
 Noxon Robert, 
 
 O'Byrne Wm. J., Po'keepsie City, 
 
 Orton Henry T., Washington, 
 
 Osborn Jedediah B., May 17, 1822. 
 
 Paine Ichabod B., Amenia, 
 
 Parker Edward H., Poughkeepsie 
 City, 
 
 Nov. ir, 1834. 
 
 Nov. 9, 1819. 
 Sept. 20, 1806. 
 
 Jan. 8, 1874. 
 
 May 12, 1835. 
 June II, 1879. 
 
 Jan. 13, 1875. 
 June, 8, 1869. 
 Nov. 13, 1866. 
 
 Nov. 13, 1827. 
 Sept. 20, 1 806. 
 Jan, 14, 1880. 
 Nov. 13, 1866. 
 
 June 12, 1872. 
 
 Jan. 12, 1875. 
 Sept. 20, 1806. 
 
 Nov. 12, 1833. 
 
 Jan. 12, 1869. 
 
 May 10, 183 1. 
 Nov. 16, 1854. 
 June 12, 1878. 
 Nov. 14, 1809. 
 Jan. 13, 1875. 
 May 9, 1820. 
 May 14, 181:. 
 
 Nov. 8, 1836. 
 
 June 9, 1868. 
 
 June II, 1879. 
 
 ,June 9, 1875. 
 
 May 13, 1834. 
 
 May — , 1823. 
 
 Nov. 9, 1830. 
 Nov. 15, 1859. 
 May 14, 1867. 
 Sept. 20, 1806; 
 Jan. 8, 1873. 
 
 Nov. 13, 1827. 
 
 « 
 
 May 12, 1818. 
 Aug. 9, 1859. 
 
MEMBERS OF THE MEDICAL SOCIETY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 Ill 
 
 Payne John C, Po'keepsie City, 
 Pearce Henry, Pawling, 
 Peck Edgar F., Pine Plains, 
 Peck Wm. R., 
 Pells James F., 
 Per Lee John F., 
 Perlee John S., Amenia, 
 
 1820. 
 1818. 
 May 12, 
 i8i8, 
 1824. 
 1824, 
 
 Perry John, Araenia, 
 Perry John, Jr., April 
 Piles Jas. F., (expelled Sept. 20. 
 
 1820.) 
 Pinckney John, Fishkill, 
 Pine Per Lee, Poughkeepsie City, 
 Pingry James O., Mabbettsville, 
 Piatt Eliphalet, Rhinebeck, Feb. 
 26, 1818, 
 Plumb Ovid, Washington, 
 Prentiss Curtis, 
 
 Price Eliphalet Rev., (honorary,) 
 Proal Wm. H., Wappingers Falls, 
 Pultz M. T., Stanfordville, 
 Quinlan Thomas, CUnton, 
 Radclifif Peter A., Rhinebeck, 
 Rapalje Stephen, Fishkill, 1809, 
 Raymond Josiah, 
 Read Roswell P., Po'keepsie City. 
 Nov. — , 1824. 
 Reade Ebenezer, April 3, 181 7. 
 Remsen L., Fishkill, 
 Reynolds Edw'd H., May 12,1818. 
 Rickertson Shadrach, Beekman, 
 Ring Jourdan Lewis, Hyde Park, 
 Jan. 22, 1808, 
 Ring Lewis, Rhinebeck, 1808. 
 Robertson Samuel, 
 Rockwell Lyman E., Amenia, 
 Rodgers David, New York City, 
 
 (honorary,) 
 Rodgers David L., New York City, 
 
 (honorary,) 
 Rogers Joseph, Fishkill, 
 Ruggles, Wm. B., May 9, 181 5. 
 Schenck John P., Jr., Matteawan, 
 Schenck Peter D., Fishkill, 
 Schofield Peter, Pawling, May 9, 
 
 1809, 
 Scovel James, Pawling, 
 Sherrill Hunting, Clinton, 
 Slack Henry, Fishkill-on-Hudson, 
 Slater James, Poughkeepsie City, 
 Sleight Henry D., Fishkill, May 
 10, 1808, 
 Sleight Robert A., Nov. 8, 1808. 
 Smith Alexander H., Hyde Park, 
 Smithjohn, Homer, Nov. 19,1839, 
 Smith John W., Amenia, 
 Smith Strobridge, Wappingers Falls, 
 Sowle Jonathan, 
 Stanton Luke W., Amenia, 
 Starr D. L., Poughkeepsie City, 
 Stevenson W. G., Poughkeepsie 
 
 City, 
 Stewart, Chas. N. F., Feb. 26, 1818. 
 
 Nov. 14, 1854. 
 Jan. 12, 1869. 
 Nov. 9, 1850. 
 Nov. 12, 1833. 
 
 May II, 1819. 
 May II, 1824. 
 
 Sept. 20, 1806. 
 May II, 1841. 
 Jan. II, 1871. 
 
 May 12, 
 Nov. 12, 
 Nov. 10, 
 Jan. — , 
 Nov. 14, 
 June 14, 
 Sept. 20, 
 Nov. 9, 
 May 9, 
 Nov. 10, 
 
 1818. 
 1822. 
 1829. 
 1823. 
 
 1854- 
 187 1. 
 1806. 
 1803. 
 1809. 
 1813. 
 
 Nov. 13, 1827. 
 
 May 9, 1815. 
 
 May 8, i8io. 
 
 Nov. 10, 1835. 
 Jan. II, 1873. 
 
 Nov. 10, 1835. 
 
 Nov. 4, 1834. 
 Sept. 20, 1806. 
 
 Nov. 13, 1866. 
 Nov. 10, 1818. 
 
 May 8, 1810. 
 Sept. 20, 1806. 
 Nov. 14, 1809. 
 Jan. 8., 1873. 
 Oct. — , 1823 
 
 May 10, 1808. 
 
 May 12, 1835. 
 May II, 1841. 
 Sept. 20, 1806. 
 June 10, 1874. 
 Nov. 10, 1813. 
 May 14, 1867. 
 Nov. 12, 1833. 
 
 About 1873. 
 
 Stillman D. E., Pine Plains, 
 Stillman S., Millerton, 
 Stillman Sidney, " 
 Stringham Henry S., Po'keepsie 
 City, Dec. 20, 1833. 
 
 Sutherland D. R, Poughkeepsie 
 
 City, 
 Sutton G. L., East FishkiU, 
 Tabor J. Russel, Poughkeepsie 
 
 City, 
 Tallman Edward White, Pough- 
 keepsie City, Feb. 9, 1844. 
 Tappen Enoch Sawyer, Pough- 
 keepsie, 
 Tapping Elisha C, Poughkeepsie 
 City, 1813, 
 
 Thatcher Charles, 
 Thomas John, Fishkill, 
 Thomas Wm., Poughkeepsie, May 
 10, 1808, 
 Thompson Charles H., Fishkill, 
 Thorn James, " 
 
 Thorn John S., Washington, 
 
 Tibbies , Millerton, 
 
 Todd Ostrander D., 
 Tomlinson David, Rhinebeck, 
 Traver Isaac H., Pleasant Valley, 
 Tredway Alfred, Washington, 
 Trivett Elias, Poughkeepsie, 1814. 
 Tuthill Robert K., Po'keepsie 
 
 City, 
 Underbill Anthony, New Hack- 
 
 ensack, 
 Upton George, La Grange, 
 Upton George, " 
 
 Upton George, Lagrangeville, 
 Vail Ira I., April 3, 1817, 
 
 Van Deusen, N. M., Fishkill, 
 Vanderburg Federal, Beekman, 
 Vanderhofif, Thomas P., Rhine- 
 beck, Oct. 31, 1826. 
 Van Duser A. E., Po'keepsie City, 
 Van Kleeck Baltus L., Pough- 
 keepsie, 
 Van Kleeck J. Livingston, 
 
 Poughkeepsie, 
 Vanvliet Isaac F., Rhinebeck, 
 Van Wyck E., New Hamburgh, 
 Varick Richard A., Po'keepsie 
 
 City, 
 Vermilyea John K., Beekman, 
 Waldo Charles, Poughkeepsie, 
 Ward David B., Po'keepsie City, 
 Ward Jonathan, Poughkeepsie, 
 Watt James, 
 
 Webb DeWitt, Poughkeepsie, 
 Webster Helen W., Vassar College, 
 Weed J., Amenia, 
 Wellraan George M., Dover 
 
 Plains, 
 Wheeler Gamaliel, Rhinebeck, 
 
 1808, 
 Wheeler N. W., Patterson, (hon- 
 orary,) 
 
 May 14, 1867. 
 May 14, 1867. 
 June 9, 1868. 
 
 June 10, 1874. 
 Nov. 13, 1866. 
 
 June 10, 1874. 
 
 May 14, 181 1. 
 
 Nov. 13, 1827. 
 May 12, 1835. 
 Sept. 20, 1806. 
 
 Nov. 
 June 
 Sept. 
 Nov. 
 May 
 Nov. 
 Sept. 
 June 
 Nov. 
 
 8, 1808. 
 
 9, 1868. 
 20, 1806. 
 14, 1854. 
 14, 1867. 
 II, 1834. 
 20, 1806. 
 I, 1837. 
 
 — , 1806. 
 
 Nov. 13, 1866. 
 
 Jan. 12, 
 May 13, 
 Nov. II, 
 Nov. 13, 
 May 12, 
 Nov, IS, 
 May 8, 
 
 1869 
 1834, 
 
 1845 
 1866 
 1818 
 
 1859 
 1810, 
 
 Nov. 13, 1 866. 
 
 Sept. 20, 1806. 
 
 Sept. 23, 1806. 
 Nov. 13, 1866. 
 June 9, 1875. 
 
 Nov. 13, 1827. 
 Nov. 9, 1830. 
 Sept. 20, 1806. 
 June II, 1879. 
 Nov. II, 1807. 
 May 14, 1867. 
 Nov. 13, 1866. 
 June 9, 1875. 
 May 14, 1867. 
 
 June 14, 1871. 
 
 Nov. 13, 1827. 
 
 June 12, 1872. 
 
112 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 Wheeler Wm. W., Rhinebeck, 
 White Bartow, Fishkill, 
 White Howell, Fishkill, 
 White Lewis H., Fishkill, 
 White Oliver, New York City, 
 (honorary,) June ii, 1873. 
 Wilber Aaron, Amenia, 
 Wilber S., Amenia, Feb. 26, 18 18. 
 Wilbur Benjamin S., Amenia, 
 Wilbur H. C, Pine Plains, 
 
 Sept. 20, 1806. 
 Sept. 20, 1806. 
 Jan. 14, 1880. 
 Nov. 10, 1829. 
 
 May 14, 1822. 
 
 May 14, 1822. 
 May 14, 1867. 
 Williams A. A. C, Poughkeepsie, Nov. 13, 1866. 
 Williams, Wm. S., Feb. 26, 1818, Nov. 10, 1818. 
 Williamson Phebe Thome, Wash- 
 ington, June 12, 1878. 
 Wilson John P., Pleasant Valley, June 12, 1872. 
 
 Wilson Stephen, Nov. 8, 1808, 
 
 Witherwaxjohn M., July 13, 1835 
 
 Wooley Milton, Clinton, Dec. 7, 1843. 
 
 Wortman Dennis, May 13, 1817, May 12, 1818. 
 Wright Amaziah, Poughkeepsie, 
 
 1809, Nov. 14, 1809. 
 
 Wright J. Williston, Poughkeepsie, Nov. 13, 1866. 
 
 Wyman R., Nov. 12, 1833. 
 
 Young John, Fishkill Landing, Jan. 11, 187 1. 
 
 The Homeopathic Medical Society of Duch- 
 ess County. — The therapeutics of the homeop- 
 athic school of medicine is founded on the theory 
 of similia similibus curantur. The principle was 
 discovered by Samuel Hahnemann, who was born 
 in Meissen, in the province of Saxony, April lo, 
 1755- He was an accompKshed and skillful prac- 
 titioner of the old school of medicine, and having 
 proved certain remedies upon himself and others, 
 he abandoned a lucrative practice under govern- 
 ment patronage, at Gommern, near Magdeburg, on 
 account of conscientious scruples against adminis- 
 tering drugs according to the vague formulas then 
 in use, and in 1796, first enunciated the principles 
 of homeopathy, the practice of which he com- 
 menced in his native place. He was soon driven 
 from thence by the bitter opposition he encoun- 
 tered, to Paris, where he met with success and 
 secured converts, among whom was Dr. Hans B. 
 Gram of Copenhagen, an American by birth, who 
 having won the highest grade of merit in the Royal 
 Academy of Surgery in that city, came to New 
 York in 1825, and introduced the new practice 
 into America, continuing it in that city till his 
 death in 1840, three years previous to that of his 
 preceptor, Hahnemann, who died in Paris in 1843. 
 The new system spread rapidly, notwithstanding 
 the prejudice and bitter opposition against it, and 
 was first introduced into Duchess county, in the 
 town of CKnton, in 1835 or '36. The first known 
 case of treatment by "similars," says Dr. J. F. 
 Merritt, late of Pleasant Plains, in his History of 
 Homeopathy in Duchess County, in 1865, "was one 
 
 of chronic rheumatism of twenty years' standing — 
 twenty years of almost unrelieved suffering and 
 anguish. The fame of an early pioneer of home- 
 opathy in Albany reached her, and she sent for 
 him, hoping that the thorny pillow of pain and 
 death might yet be softened. The doctor came, 
 and with his Liliputian remedies came a relief 
 she had long before ceased to expect in this life. 
 The fame of a partial cure of a case so aggravated 
 soon spread in the vicinity. * * * It was not long 
 before the tidal wave that bore to our shores the 
 skill and erudition of Gram sent its pulsations up 
 along the banks of the Hudson, bringing us frag- 
 mentary evidences of that terra incognita in 
 medicine, which was soon to loom up to our view. 
 Thus residents of our county while living in New 
 York during the winter, became patrons of the 
 system, and when they returned to their country 
 residences in the summer, brought with them glow- 
 ing accounts of the beneficent works it had already 
 entered upon, and even sent for their city physi- 
 cians in many instances of sickness in their 
 families. * * * The easy administration of the 
 remedies and their prompt and efficient action 
 soon won adherents. Thus, little by Httle, was 
 homeopathy introduced to the attention, but not 
 yet commended to the confidence of a large pro- 
 portion of the inhabitants of Duchess county. * * * 
 " Followers of the new faith soon elevated our 
 standard at various points along the Hudson. 
 Early, if not the earliest, among those who were 
 instrumental in introducing homeopathy into this 
 county, was he who was the fearless defender of our 
 cause when most it needed such a defense as he 
 alone could give, and as his reward, he is now, in 
 his declining years, crowned with well-earned 
 honor— Dr. Federal Vanderburg, though past the 
 zenith of his life physically, yet in Ufe intellectually 
 he is still fresh and athletic— our own president 
 and^ father in medicine. * * * A resident practi- 
 tioner in New York City, he became an early 
 convert to the teachings of Gram, * * * [and] 
 was soon standing in the arena side by side with 
 Gram, Gray, Hering, Hull, Wesselhceft and others 
 like memorable. * * * 
 
 " One of the first recruits enlisted by him was Dr. 
 Hall, then of Fishkill, but for the past twenty years 
 or more a resident practitioner of Poughkeepsie. 
 This was in 1 83 7 or 1 83 8. Not far from this period 
 homeopathy was introduced into Poughkeepsie by 
 Dr. Formel, a German of considerable repute. 
 He remained only a short time and was succeeded 
 by Dr. Hall, first mentioned. 
 
HOMEOPATHIC MEDICAL SOCIETY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 "3 
 
 " Another of those who were induced by Dr. 
 Vanderburg to embrace the doctrines of Hahne- 
 mann, at an early period in our history, was the 
 Rev. James Lillie, at that time the pastor of the 
 Reformed Dutch Church of Rhinebeck. While 
 Dr. Vanderburg was negotiating for the purchase 
 of 'Linwood,' his [subsequent] residence on the 
 river, Rev. Mr. Lillie was accidentally thrown in 
 his way. A casual acquaintance ripened into 
 friendship until Mr. Lillie was induced to put him- 
 self under the doctor's treatment for taenia solium. 
 The result was so successful that Mr. Lillie was 
 favorably impressed with the new system. But he 
 was not the man to receive it as a demonstration 
 until he should have made a more thorough test. 
 Having spent four years in the University of Edin- 
 burgh, one of which was partially devoted to the 
 study of medicine, during which he had acquired a 
 taste for the profession, he was prompted to un- 
 dertake the task of investigating the system of 
 homeopathy. * * * in 1840, we find the pastor 
 and physician contributing to both the bodily and 
 spiritual comfort of his parishioners. * * * But it 
 was with reluctance that he consented in any case 
 to undertake the treatment of the sick. * * * in 
 1841 or '42, Mr. Lillie removed to New York City, 
 where, in due course of time, he graduated at the 
 College of Physicians and Surgeons, and, with the 
 assistance of his friend and preceptor^ Dr. Vander- 
 burg, commenced a practice at once remunerative 
 and successful. Thence he removed to Toronto, 
 some ten years since, and has since returned to 
 Scotland, the land of his birth. * * * 
 
 "In 1842, Dr. Vanderburg removed to Rhine- 
 beck, and first became a resident practitioner of 
 our county. * * * 
 
 "The next accession * * * was that of Dr. 
 Charles Haight, then of Hartsville. In the midst 
 of a large and lucrative practice overtasking his 
 physical strength, he was induced after repeated 
 tests to abandon the old in favor of the new system. 
 This was at a time when such a change was tanta- 
 mount to casting aside the means of comfortable 
 subsistence ; at least such was the prospect which 
 at that time and in that section opened before the 
 pioneer but * * * by steady, persevering effort, he 
 * * * re-established his originally extensive prac- 
 tice, which eventually became more incessant and 
 laborious than before. He subsequently removed 
 to Poughkeepsie, where he still continues to 
 practice. 
 
 "In 1843, we note the advent to our county, 
 and almost simultaneously to homeopathy, of Dr. 
 
 Martin Freligh, of Saugerties. * * * i^ 
 1836 or '37, a friend of the doctor's in Catskill, 
 having been cured by a few simple powders pre- 
 scribed by Dr. Vanderburg, then of New York 
 City, he was induced to visit the city for the pur- 
 pose of having a personal interview with Dr. Van- 
 derburg on the subject of homeopathy. Finding 
 the Doctor professionally engaged, he was directed 
 to call on Dr. Channing, then in Broadway, by whom 
 he was ' politely received andad vised to purchase the 
 Orgatwn, Ruoffs Repertory, Everefs, JDunsford's, 
 and /ahr's Manuals, and Henderson &= Forbes.' 
 But it was not until his removal to Rhinebeck, 
 at the period above named, and his subsequent ac- 
 quaintance with Dr. Vanderburg, that he was led 
 fully to adopt the new system of medicine. * * * 
 In 1850, Dr. Freligh removed to Ne^y York City, 
 where, in an enlarged sphere, he continued to prac- 
 tice until within two or three years, when he retired. 
 George Lorillard, John Augustine Kiersted and 
 Tabias S. Ring all studied medicine in his office. 
 Lorillard took his degree from the Albany Medical 
 College in 1847. Kiersted and Ring received 
 theirs from the University Medical College of New 
 York in 1848, ' all three confirmed homeopaths.' 
 In tracing the history of these young men allow me 
 to do it in the language of their preceptor. 
 He says, ' Dr. Lorillard's practice has been and is 
 at present purely philanthropic, complimentary to 
 himself — a charity to the poor, as I believe he has 
 never received a fee for his professional services. 
 Dr. Kiersted was a young man of brilliant intellect, 
 and had his life been spared, would have adorned 
 the profession of his choice, but he was compelled 
 to relinquish its practice in about two years after 
 his graduation, and died at the age of twenty-six 
 of consumption. Dr. Ring is in full practice at 
 Yorkville, and continues an unwavering homeo- 
 path.'* 
 
 " In 1849, Dr. Freligh, removing to New York, 
 was succeeded at Rhinebeck by Dr. Rodman 
 Bartlett of Pine Plains, who at once commenced 
 the investigation of homeopathy and in due time 
 became a competent prescriber of homeopathic 
 remedies.! 
 
 " At a period perhaps a little anterior to this, in 
 1844 or '45, Dr. Calvin P. Guernsey, long a prac- 
 titioner of the old system in Chnton, being sur- 
 rounded in his practice by a great array of cures 
 effected by homeopathic treatment, was led to the 
 study and test of the new system. He soon gave 
 
 * He left the county before 1854. 
 t Removed to New York in 1855. 
 
114 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 iQ his adhesion to the doctrines of similia, in which 
 he continued a consistent believer up to the period 
 of his death from phthisis-pulmonalis in 1856. 
 Associated with him for a short time preceding his 
 death was Dr. O. D. Cass, who, in like manner, 
 adopted the system of his senior partner. Dr. Cass 
 remained only a short tibe, as Dr. Guernsey's 
 business having been divided among former pupils 
 practicing in the vicinity, there was insufficient 
 ground remaining unoccupied to warrant him m 
 continuing. 
 
 " Dr. Ephraim Case* of Clinton Corners, in the 
 township of Clinton, next joined himself to our 
 cause. * * * He was one of the earhest pupils 
 of Dr. Guernsey. * * * In 1852 or '.53 Dr. 
 Bartlett removed to New York, and was succeeded 
 in Rhinebeck by Dr. G. C. Lansing, a young prac- 
 titioner of the old system in Milan. * * * 
 Dr. Lansing, * * * for twelve years, has main- 
 tained untarnished the standard raised by the in- 
 domitable LilHe. * * * 
 
 "In the fall of 1854, homeopathy in Poughkeep- 
 sie received afresh impetus by the accession to the 
 profession in that place of Dr. John Hornby, of 
 Brooklyn. Like many others, becoming dissatis- 
 fied with the uncertainty of remedies administered 
 upon the principal of contraria, he was so far pre- 
 pared for the investigation of a system of medicine 
 that promised to give certainty for uncertainty and 
 to guide the way to uniform success. 
 
 " Dr. Hornby was for seventeen years Assistant 
 Surgeon in the British service in Bengal, and 
 brought us the fruits of his observation on the 
 diseases incident to the camp and climes of that 
 tropical region. Dr. Hornby has become favor- 
 ably known by his valuable contributions on various 
 medical topics, f 
 
 "Dr. Ernst F. Hoffman * * * marked his 
 advent to the doctorate in 1852, by his almost sim- 
 ultaneous adoption of homeopathy. Having pre- 
 pared himself by an attendance upon the Homeo- 
 pathic Dispensary in Bond street, under the in- 
 struction of Drs. Otto FulgrofiF and Ixonard Marcy, 
 he came to Poughkeepsie, and entered into co- 
 partnership with Dr. Hall for the general practice 
 of medicine and surgery.'' 
 
 Dr. J. F. Merritt " graduated from the College of 
 Physicians and Surgeons in 1852, practiced allop- 
 athy three years, and in 1855 investigated home- 
 opathy, at the instance of4wo gentlemen, old school 
 practitioners, between whom and [himself] a 
 
 » He practiced at Clinton Comers, till his death in 1876, 
 t He continues his practice here to the present time. 
 
 business co-partnership existed at the time. The 
 result was the adoption of the practice of home- 
 opathy. This was continued until the dissolution 
 of the co-partnership, by mutual consent, in the 
 fall of 1855, on account of the ill health of" Dr. 
 Merritt. 
 
 " In 1857, Dr. Kornbach, formerly a Surgeon in 
 the Prussian army, opened an office in Pough- 
 keepsie. His slight acquaintance with the language 
 and customs of this country rendered his inter- 
 course with Americans a source of but little satis- 
 faction to himself. He left for London in t86o. 
 Dr. S. G. Cooke, a graduate of the University 
 Medical College of New York, first engaged in the 
 practice of medicine in Verbank in this county, 
 whence he removed to Stanfordville about four or 
 five years ago, at which time he embraced homeop- 
 athy. He was one of the first to take an active 
 part in the formation of the Duchess County 
 Homeopathic Medical Society. * * * in 
 1862, he took the position of Assistant Surgeon in 
 the isoth New York Infantry." He never re- 
 turned to Duchess county. Dr. Laurie succeeded 
 Dr. Cooke at Stanfordville. He adopted homeop- 
 athy in 1855 or '56, in Rhinebeck, where, for a 
 short time, he took the business of Dr. G. C. Lan- 
 sing. He removed to Pleasant Valley about 1858 
 or '59, and thence to Stanfordville in 1862. He 
 removed to New York, about 1867. "Recently 
 Dr. B. Lansing has reared the standard of home- 
 opathy in Hyde Park, one of the few towns in 
 this county in which our system had not yet been 
 introduced. Dr. Walter R. Case, [son of Dr. 
 Ephraim Case, of Clinton Comers,] a graduate of 
 the New York Homeopathic Medical College at 
 the late commencement, has just entered upon the 
 work in Clinton, [where he is still practicing.] 
 Dr. Burroughs, of Brooklyn, has recently taken up 
 his residence at Poughkeepsie as a practitioner of 
 our system." He left very shortly after he came 
 here. 
 
 " I reserve for the last the notice of two pio- 
 neers of homeopathy. Dr. Davis, deceased, of Pine 
 Plains, and Dr. DeLaMontagnie, of Fishkill. The 
 first for many years toiled on single-handed and 
 alone and by unaided effort, without a single 
 neighboring practitioner of his faith to cheer him 
 by word of encouragement, to build upon the foun- 
 dation of similia the superstructure of a practice 
 that will stand both as a monument of his assiduity 
 and ability, and an honor to the name of Hahne- 
 mann. Dr. Davis died several years since. Dr. 
 DeLaMontagnie is also entitled to a rank among 
 
HOMEOPATHIC MEDICAL SOCIETY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 "S 
 
 the pioneers. But insufficient data as to dates and 
 circumstances renders it impossible to accord to 
 either of these gentlemen that place in this sketch 
 to which their respective talents and acquirements 
 indisputably entitle them. 
 
 " By way of an addendum, I would subjoin the 
 additional names of Dr. Baxter, of Wappingers 
 Falls, and Dr. Scofield, who practiced home- 
 opathy for a short time in Poughkeepsie about ten 
 years ago, but whose career was cut short by 
 phthisis while he was comparatively young." Dr. 
 William Baxter died in practice at Wappingers 
 Falls about 1876 or '77, and is succeeded there 
 by his son. 
 
 Dr. Asa Hall continued his practice in Pough- 
 keepsie till his death in 1873. He was at his 
 death a very old man. 
 
 Federal Vanderburg, M. D., was born in the 
 town of Beekman, May 11, 1788. At the age of 
 seventeen he entered upon the study of medicine 
 with Dr. Wright, a physician of celebrity, at New 
 Milford, Conn., whence he removed to New York 
 City, to avail himself of the advantages of its 
 hospitals and colleges. In that city he entered the 
 office of Dr. Smith, a leading physician of that 
 day, and after completing his curriculum, graduated 
 before twenty-one years old. He married a lady 
 of New Milford, Conn., and in 1812-13 removed 
 to Geneva, N. Y., where he remained till 1830, 
 when, having restored his previously delicate 
 health, he returned to New York City and there be- 
 came acquainted with the celebrated Dr. Gram, 
 from whom he acquired a knowledge of the new 
 method of treatment discovered by Hahnemann. 
 In 1834, he was associated with the pioneers of 
 homeopathy in the establishment of the American 
 Journal of Homeopathy. In New York he estab- 
 lished a lucrative practice among the wealthy por- 
 tion of its inhabitants. In 1840, he removed to a 
 farm on the banks of the Hudson, where he re- 
 sided and practiced till his death. He introduced 
 and promulgated homeopathy in Duchess county, 
 and made many valuable contributions to its litera- 
 ture. He was enthusiastic in the practice of his 
 profession, and benevolent in disposition. He 
 died Jan. 23, 1868, in the 80th year of his age, 
 from a severe attack of pleuro-pneumonia, brought 
 on by exposure to inclement weather while visiting 
 a patient. 
 
 Dr. Lorillard is now living in Rhinebeck, but 
 not in active practice, except that he gives gratui- 
 tous advice. Gratuitous services have always 
 characterized his practice, his abundant wealth 
 
 making it unnecessary for him to pursue his pro- 
 fession for profit, or as a means of gaining a liveli- 
 hood. He belongs to the well-known Lorillard 
 family of New York. 
 
 Dr. Freligh was the first convert to homeopathy 
 in Ulster county. He is now in New York City. 
 
 Dr. G. C. Lansing retnoved to New York City 
 about 1869 or '70, and is still in practice there. 
 
 Dr. Ernst F. Hoffman removed to New York 
 about 1870, and is still in practice there. 
 
 Jesse F. Merritt, M. D., was born in Hyde Park, 
 Jan. 22, 1831, and acquired his education in the 
 schools of his native place. He commenced the 
 study of medicine in 1848, with Drs. Piatt and 
 Nelson, of Rhinebeck. At the recommendation 
 of Dr. Vanderburg he subsequently removed to 
 New York City, and graduated in the College of 
 Physicians and Surgeons in 1852. He married 
 and established himself in practice at Hyde Park, 
 but in 1854 removed to Rhinebeck, at the solicita- 
 tion of his preceptors, Drs. Piatt and Nelson, 
 with whom he entered into professional co-partner- 
 ship. In 1855, he was compelled to leave practice, 
 and travel in the Southern States for his health 
 which became impaired by an attack of hemorrhage 
 from the lungs. In 1856, he returned to Albany, 
 N. Y., and resided there with his family till the 
 following winter, when, his health being much im- 
 proved, he returned to this county and located at 
 Pleasant Plains, where he established an extensive 
 and lucrative practice, and remained till his death, 
 which occurred March 30, 1868, though failing 
 health had compelled him to abandon practice in 
 August, 1866. He was chiefly instrumental in the 
 organization of the Homeopathic Medical Society 
 of Duchess county. 
 
 Dr. Benjamin Lansing practiced in Rhinebeck 
 till his death in 1880. 
 
 In i860, the subject of the organization of a 
 County Medical Society was pressed upon the at- 
 tention of the homeopathic physicians of Duchess 
 county by the efficient Secretary of the State 
 Homeopathic Medical Society, Horace M. Paine, 
 M. D. His efforts were for a time unavailing, but 
 never intermitted. At length, receiving a second 
 and very urgent appeal from him. Dr. J. F. Merritt 
 caused to be published in the two weekly papers 
 in Poughkeepsie, a card to homeopathic physi- 
 cians, naming a time and place of meeting of those 
 favoring an immediate organization. Personal in- 
 terviews were had with several, and others were 
 reached by written communications. Accordingly 
 a meeting was held at the Gregory House in 
 
ii6 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 Poughkeepsie, Nov. 27, 1861, at which the Home- 
 opathic Medical Society of Duchess County was 
 formed, and the following officers chosen : Fed- 
 eral Vanderburg, Rhinebeck, President ; Ephraim 
 Case, Clinton Corners, Vice-President ; Ernst F. 
 Hoffman, of Poughkeepsie, Secretary and Treas- 
 urer; John Hornby, Poughkeepsie, Stephen G. 
 Cook, Stanfordville, and Jesse F. Merritt, Pleas- 
 ant Plains, Censors. A constitution and by-laws 
 were then adopted. Article 5 of the constitution 
 makes " any regularly licensed physician who has 
 complied with the requisitions of the laws of the 
 State and who shall avow his belief in the home- 
 opathic maxim, similia similibus curantur, eligible 
 to membership on a majority vote of the members 
 present at a regular meeting." Article 6 provides 
 that a regular annual meeting of the Society shall 
 be held on the fourth Wednesday of November, 
 in the city of Poughkeepsie, and a semi-annual 
 meeting, on the fourth Wednesday of May of each 
 year, at the same place. Section 8 of the by-laws 
 makes it " the duty of every member to make a 
 written communication at every regular meeting 
 upon some matter pertaining to the general interests 
 of medical science." Section 1 1 says, " the initia- 
 tion fee shall be two dollars," and "at every 
 annual meeting a tax not exceeding in amount one 
 dollar may be assessed upon each member of the 
 Society, by a vote of two-thirds of the members 
 present." 
 
 Previousto 1857, homeopathic societies existed as ' 
 informal associations only, having no legal status. 
 April 13, 1857, the Legislature authorized the forma- 
 tion of homeopathic county medical societies, with 
 equal privileges and immunities enjoyed by so- 
 called allopathic medical associations. April 17 
 1862, the Legislature passed an act to incorporate 
 the Homeopathic Medical Society of the State of 
 New York. Under that act a re-organization was 
 effected whereby county societies then existing be- 
 came auxiliary to the State society, and the 
 following year it was formally inaugurated. 
 
 At the second meeting of the society in Febru- 
 ary, 1862, Dr. Vanderburg read a paper on the 
 " Problem of Life," which was deposited in the 
 archives of the society for future discussion. Ac- 
 counts of interesting cases in practice were given 
 verbally by Drs. Cook, Merritt and Hornby. The 
 following standing committees were appointed : F. 
 Vanderburg, Theory and Practice of Medicine ; S. 
 G. Cook, Special Pathology and Therapeutics \ J 
 F^ Merritt, Prevailing Epidemics; J. Hornby 
 Homeopathic Treatment of Surgical Cases ; E f' 
 
 Hoffman, Diseases of Females and Children. At 
 this meeting it was resolved to meet quarterly. 
 At the third meeting, in May, 1862, Dr. Hornby 
 read a report on the homeopathic treatment of 
 surgical cases, which was continued at the meeting 
 of May, 1863, and published in the Transactions 
 of the State Medical Society, Vol. II., 1864. In No- 
 vember, 1863, Dr. J. F. Merritt made a very able 
 report of cases of diphtheria, epidemics, etc., 
 which was published in the volume just alluded to. 
 Nov. 30, 1864, the time of annual meeting was 
 changed to the first Tuesday in October, and the 
 semi-annual meeting to the first Tuesday in April 
 of each year. 
 
 April 2, 1867, communications from Dr. Jones, 
 of Albany, and the Secretary of the State Society, 
 were read, " and it was resolved that members of 
 the society be requested to use their personal in- 
 fluence with their patrons, and endeavor to procure 
 homeopathic treatment to be adopted by the 
 authorities in the new insane asylum to be erected 
 near this city." 
 
 Oct. 6, 1868, it was resolved : " That the code 
 of medical ethics adopted by the American Insti- 
 tute of Homeopathy, at their 21st annual session 
 held at St. Louis in June, 1868, be the standard 
 of professional behavior among the members of 
 this society." 
 
 No meetings are recorded between Oct. 10, 187 1, 
 and April 7, 1874; nor between Oct. 5, 1875, and 
 Oct. 4, 1880. 
 
 The following named gentlemen have served the 
 society in the capacity of president : — 
 Federal Vanderburg,* i86i-i866.t 
 
 L S. P. Lord, 1867-1871.1 
 
 Ephraim Case, 1874. 
 
 John Hornby, 1875-1881! 
 
 The following have been the members of the so- 
 ciety ffom its organization to the present time, with 
 the date of admission : — 
 
 Avery Edward W.,§ Poughkeepsie, Oct. 6, 1868. 
 Avery Henry N.,|| " Qct. i, 1867. 
 
 Baxter Wilham,1[ Wappingers Falls, Oct. 6, 1868. 
 Baxter William, Jr., " « Oct. 6, 1874. 
 
 Belden Charles D.,** Fishkill, Oct. 6, 1868. 
 
 Buckingham W. E., Milton, Ulster 
 ^^°u°ty, April— ,1870. 
 
 Case Ephraim, Clinton Corners, Nov. 27, 1861. 
 
 • Dr. Vanderburg resigned the office in 1867 by reason of age and in- 
 firmities. 
 
 t There was no election in 1865, because there was no quorum present. 
 
 t No election is recorded in 1870, '72 and '7J. 
 
 § Dr. E. W. Avery removed to Utica in 1869, to undertake , the study 
 oflaw with his father in Clinton, Oneida county. 
 
 II Dr. H. N.Avery removed in 1869. 
 
 H Deceased. 
 
 ** Removed. 
 
T«E DUHCESS COUNTY MUTUAL INSURANCE COMPANY. 
 
 117 
 
 Case Walter R., Harts Village, April 2, 1867. 
 
 Cook Stephen G.,* Stanfordville, Nov. 27, 1861. 
 
 Gidley Wm. H., Moore's Mills, Oct. 5, 1875. 
 
 Haight Alonzo, Oct. 5, 1875. 
 
 Haight Charles, Poughkeepsie, Oct. 6, 1874. 
 
 Hall A, " 
 
 Hartley John Fletcher, " Oct. 5, 1875. 
 
 Hoffman Ernst F.,* " Nov. 27, 1861. 
 
 Hornby John, " Nov. 27, 1861. 
 
 Howland Anne C, " Oct. 5, 1875. 
 
 Hubbard Levi,t " Oct. — , 1866. 
 
 Lansing Benjatnin,1[,§ Hyde Park,- 
 
 Lansing G. C.,* Rhinebeck, May 25, 1864. 
 
 Lansing Taylor, Poughkeepsie, Oct. 6, 1874. 
 
 Lord L S. P.,t " Oct. I, 1867. 
 
 Lorillard George, Rhinebeck, Nov. 30, 1864. 
 
 Merritt Jesse P., § Pleasant Plains, Nov. 27, 1861. 
 
 Mitchell Geo. B. I., Fishkill Ldg., Oct. 5, 1875. 
 
 Otis John C, Poughkeepsie, April 6, 1869. 
 Paine Horace M., Oneida Co., 
 
 (honorary,) April 4, 1865. 
 
 Throop A. P.,* Poughkeepsie, Oct. 19, 1880. 
 
 Vanderburgh D. W.,|j Rhinebeck, April 2, 1867. 
 
 Vanderburg Federal,§ " Nov. 27, 1861. 
 
 Whiton Milo James, Fishkill, Oct. — , 1866. 
 
 Dr. Milo James Whiton was born at Lee, Mass., 
 March 27, 1805, and studied medicine with his 
 brother. Dr. Lyman Whiton ; also at the Berkshire 
 Medical College, and with Dr. L. Hubbard, of 
 Poughkeepsie. He practiced medicine twenty-five 
 years — seventeen as a homeopath. He possessed 
 a delicate constitution, and though never enjoying 
 health himself, was always ready to reUeve the suf- 
 ferings of others. He was successful in the treat- 
 ment of chronic diseases, to which he paid most 
 attention, and particularly to the use of the galvanic 
 battery in combination with his prescriptions of 
 medicine. He had formerly practiced in Saratoga 
 county and removed thence to Brooklyn. He 
 practiced there four years when his preference for 
 country life induced him to remove to Fishkill vil- 
 lage. He died of disease of the heart, Dec. 15, 
 1867. 
 
 The Duchess County Mutual Insurance Com- 
 pany was chartered April 12, 1836, on application 
 of James E. Mott, Nathaniel P. Tallmadge, James 
 Mabbett, Alexander Forbus, Henry ConkUn, Abra- 
 ham Bockee, Thomas Taber, Daniel D. Akin, 
 Homer Wheaton** John M. Ketcham, Wm. H. 
 Bostwick, Daniel H. Shultz, Theodore V. W. An- 
 thony, Henry Staats, Stephen Thorn, Taber Beld- 
 
 ♦ Removed to New York. ' 
 
 + Removed to DeKalb, 111. 
 t Removed to Brooklyn, L. I. 
 § Deceased. 
 II Removed to Ilion. 
 T Removed to Rhinebeck. 
 
 ** Only the three incorporators whose names are italicized survive, and 
 they have ceased to be members of the company. 
 
 ing, Uriah Gregory, John T. Schryver, Silas Ger- 
 mond, Obadiah Titus, George H. Tompkins, Wal- 
 ter Sherman, Daniel Sands, Isaac Haight and 
 James Vincent, " for the purpose of insuring their 
 respective dwelling houses, stores, shops, and other 
 buildings, household furniture, merchandise, and 
 other property, against loss or damage by fire." 
 James Emott, James Mabbett, Alexander Forbus, 
 Abraham Bockee, Thomas Taber, Daniel D Akin, 
 Homer Wheaton, Wm. H. Bostwick, John T. 
 Schryver, Stephen Thorn, Silas Germond, John M. 
 Ketcham and James Vincent were the first directors. 
 The directors are chosen annually, and transact the 
 • business of the company in Poughkeepsie. The 
 first officers were: — James Emott, President; 
 James E. Slater, Secretary. The charter expired 
 at the end of twenty years and was extended by act 
 of April 9th, 1855, for twenty years from April 12, 
 1856, and under the general insurance laws, for 
 thirty years, from April 12, 1876. April 30, 1868, 
 it was made optional with the company to receive 
 from parties applying for insurance " all cash for 
 premiums in lieu of a deposit note," for which the 
 original charter made provision. 
 
 Mr. Emott was succeeded in the presidency by 
 James Mabbett and George Wilkinson, the latter 
 of whom held the office till his death, Jan. 21, 1881, 
 since which time no president has been elected. Mr. 
 Slater was Secretary till his death in 1850, when 
 Owen T. Coffin was elected. He resigned in 1851, 
 when LeGrand Dodge was elected and has since 
 held the office. 
 
 The company commenced business without a 
 dollar, taking premium notes from the insured and 
 a percentage thereon as a nucleus for a surplus. 
 Over a million dollars have been paid for losses and 
 expenses without calling on the members for a 
 dollar's assessment on premium notes, and during 
 the forty-four years of its existence the company 
 has had but one law suit, but has paid every loss 
 sustained by its policy holders, whether by fire or 
 lightning. The company has been very successful, 
 mainly under the efficient direction of the Secre- 
 tary, Mr. Dodge', who, during his thirty years' 
 management, has increased the surplus from $16,- 
 000 to $ 1 50,000. The premium for many years has 
 uniformly been about 1.6 per cent. June i, 1880, 
 the date of the 44th annual report, the number of 
 policies in force was 23,374, and the amount cov- 
 ered by insurance, $27,548,384. About one-half 
 the insurance is from Duchess county, the rest 
 being from Long Island and the river counties. It 
 is almost entirely confined to farm property. 
 
ii8 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 CHAPTER Xni. 
 
 Early Courts— Courts First Authorized in 
 Duchess (Bounty— First Court House and 
 Jail in Duchess County— Assessments of 
 Wards and Precincts at Different Periods — 
 Subsequent County Buildings — Their Con- 
 struction AND Destruction — Jail Limits — 
 County Poor House — Duchess County Civil 
 List — Miscellaneous Appointments to Dis- 
 tinguished Positions — Delegates to State 
 Constitutional Convention — State Sena- 
 tors — Members of Assembly — First and 
 County Judges —Surrogates —District At- 
 torneys — Sheriffs — County Clerks — Coun- 
 ty Treasurers — County Superintendents of 
 Common Schools — School Commissioners — 
 Presidential Electors — Senators and Rep- 
 resentatives IN Congress. 
 
 IN 1683, an act was passed directing that a 
 Court of Sessions be held by three Justices of 
 the Peace, twice each year, in each of the twelve 
 counties erected that year, except New York and 
 Albany, in the former of which it was to be held 
 four times, and in the latter three times, each year. 
 It determined all causes, civil and criminal, by a 
 jury, but actions exceeding ;^5 could be removed 
 on application to the Court of Oyer and Ter- 
 miner. By the act of 1691 and ordinance of 1699, 
 the functions of this court were confined to crimi- 
 nal matters, and civil cases were transferred to the 
 Court of Common Pleas, which was first estab- 
 lished in New York and Albany in 1686, but in 
 the other counties in 169 1. Not, however, till 
 thirty-seven years after its formation as a county 
 did Duchess enjoy this judicial tribunal, for, from 
 Oct. 18, 1 70 1, it was provisionally attached to Ul- 
 ster county. This Couit was originally composed 
 of one judge and three justices, but in 1702, it was 
 ordered that the judge be assisted by two or more 
 justices, all of whom were appointed by the Gov- 
 ernor, and hold office during his pleasure. It had 
 cognizance of all actions where the matter in de- 
 mand exceeded in value the sum of ^^5. July 2 1 
 1 7 15, the General Assembly authorized the con- 
 struction of a "county house and prison" in this 
 county, and July 6, 1720, Governor William Bur- 
 net passed an ordinance for establishing Courts of 
 Common Pleas and General Sessions of the Peace 
 therein. The latter document is an interesting one 
 and we reproduce it : — 
 
 " "Whereas, In the Establishments of the Courts 
 of Common Pleas and the General Sessions of the 
 
 Peace hitherto in the County of Dutches, on the 
 East-Side of Hudson's River, over against the 
 County of Vlster, there has been no Courts of 
 Common 'Pleas or General Sessions of the Peace 
 Erected and Established to be holden and kept 
 within the said County, but the Inhabitants of the 
 same County have sometime formerly been sub- 
 jected to the Jurisdiction of the Justices of the afore- 
 said County of Vlster. For Remedy whereof for 
 the Future, I have thought fit, by and with the Ad- 
 vice and Consent of his Majesties Council for the 
 Province of New York, and by virtue of the Power 
 and Authority unto me given and granted under 
 the Great Seal of Great Britain, and do hereby 
 Erect, Establish and Ordain, That from hence- 
 forward there shall be held and kept at Poghkeep- 
 son, near the Center of said County, a General Ses- 
 sions of the Peace, on the third Tuesday in May, 
 and the third Tuesday in October, yearly and every 
 year for ever, which General Sessions of the Peace, 
 in every Sessions, shall not continue for longer 
 than Two Days, but may finish the business of the 
 Sessions, possibly, in one Day, and that from hence- 
 forward there shall be held and kept at Poghkepson, 
 near the Center, of the said County, a Court of 
 Common Pleas to begin the next Day, after the 
 said Courts of General Sessions of the Peace Ter- 
 minates, and then only, if Busines require, to hold 
 and continue for two Days next following, and no 
 longer, with the like Power and Jurisdictions as 
 other Courts of Common Pleas in other Counties 
 within the Province of New York, have used and 
 enjoyed, any former Ordinance, Practice or Usage 
 to the contrary hereof in any wise notwithstanding. 
 '■'■Given under my Hand and Seal at Anns in 
 Council at Fort . George, in New York, the 
 Sixth Day of July, in the Seventh Year of the 
 Reign of our Sovereign Lords George, by the 
 Grace of God, King of Great Britain, France 
 and Ireland, Defender of the Faith, S^c. 
 
 W. Burnet. 
 "By Order of His Excellency in Council, 
 
 Is. Bobin, D. CI Counr* 
 The court house and jail, though authorized in 
 1715, were not, says French,! g-pparently com- 
 pleted till thirty years afterward. Pursuant to the 
 act of 1715, a meeting was held at the house 
 of Leonard Lewis, in "Pockepsen" June 22, 
 17 17, and Capt. Barendt Van Kleeck and Jacobus 
 Van Der Bogart were chosen commissioners to 
 build a court house and jail. The meeting was 
 summoned by an order signed by Lewis Leonard, 
 Barendt Van Kleeck and Johannes Terboss. It 
 commanded Cornelius Van Der Bogart to summon 
 the people to attend. The certificate of the result 
 is signed by Lewis Leonard, Judge, and Capt. 
 Barendt Van Kleeck and Machill Palmateer, 
 Justices. I The land wher eon the present court 
 
 * Documentary History of New York, ///., 972, 97J. 
 \ Gazetteer of the State Of New York, 268. 
 t Poughheepsie Weekly Eagle, July 8, 1876, 
 
THE FIRST COURT HOUSE— FIRST TAX RECORD. 
 
 119 
 
 house stands, and on which the first one was 
 erected, was conveyed in 17 18, by deed, by Henry 
 Van Der Bogart to Barendt Van Kleeck. The origi- 
 nal building was not erected until 1746. Its con- 
 struction was again authorized by the Provincial 
 Legislature in 1743, and it was built under the 
 supervision of Commissioners, of whom Henry 
 Livingston was chief, who were appointed to re- 
 ceive and disburse the money raised for the 
 purpose. Mr. Livingston received his authority 
 as financial manager from the Justices of the Peace 
 of the several precincts. The document is signed 
 by Justices Jacobus Swartwout, Francis Filkin, 
 Laurence Van Kleek, John Montross, Mordicai 
 Lefifert, John Tripp, James Duncan and John 
 BrinkerhofF. The precincts were assessed accord- 
 ing to their population and valuation to pay for 
 the building of the court house. The amount 
 assessed was about $18,000, of which Rhinebeck, 
 then the most populous and wealthy, paid nearly 
 $S,ooo, Rombout, over $4,000, and Poughkeepsie, 
 less than $2,500. In 1760, an act authorized the 
 conversion of a jury room into a jail, and four 
 years after money was raised to complete the 
 arrangement. This building was destroyed by fire 
 in 1785, and April 11, of that year, ;^i,S°o were 
 appropriated for its reconstruction. Cornelius 
 Humphrey, Peter Tappen and Gilbert Livingston 
 were the building committee. A further tax of 
 £■2,000 was ordered in 1786, and of ;^i,3oo in 
 1787. In the meantime the prisoners were sent 
 to the Ulster county jail* 
 
 The first record of taxes — for the years 1716 
 and'17— bears date of Jan. 17, 1717. The amount 
 of property assessed in the North Ward was ^426, 
 the tax on which was £i^ 19s, 4|d; in the Mid- 
 dle Ward the assessed valuation was ^^554 and 
 the tax ;^33 9s. 6Jd ; in the South Ward the 
 assessed valuation, was ;^32o and the tax, ;^ 19 
 6s. 7d. Thus the assessed valuation of the county 
 was £ 1,300, and the tax, £^2 15s. sfd. Of this 
 ^30 IS. 9d. was directed to be paid to A. D. 
 Peystern, Receiver of the King's tax at New York, 
 and the rest to Leonard Lewis, Treasurer of the 
 county. The tax list for the North Ward is 
 signed by Henricus Beekman and Hendrick Kip, 
 assessors ; that for the Middle and South Wards, 
 by Henry V. D. Burgh, Johannes Van Kleeck, 
 Loanworens Van Kleeck, James Hussey and 
 Jacobus Van Der Bogart, assessors. The collect- 
 ors of this tax were Johannes Buys, Cornelius Van 
 
 Der Bogart and Matthys Slegt. It is evident, how- 
 ever, that taxes were collected previous to this, for 
 a receipt for taxes is mentioned, dated New York, 
 July 6, 1715, signed A. D. Peyster, Treasurer of 
 the Province. In 1723, there were 179 taxable 
 inhabitants in the county.* 
 
 The following table shows the assessment of 
 precincts in 177 1 : — 
 
 PRECINCTS. 
 
 Southern ■ ■ • 
 
 Rumbout 
 
 Pawlings 
 Beekmans 
 Poughkeepsie 
 Charlotte 
 
 Amenia 
 
 Rhinebeck . . . , 
 North East. . 
 
 Total. . 
 
 No. of 
 Individ- 
 uals. 
 
 683 
 492 
 298 
 
 JIG 
 
 m 
 
 6jo 
 z88 
 J 84 
 258 
 
 J, 583 
 
 ;£'>J77 
 
 1,888 
 
 923 
 
 786 
 
 80S 
 
 1,908 
 
 81& 
 
 ',97' 
 
 547 
 
 Rate 
 
 Tax. 
 
 £ s. d. 
 
 145 
 75 
 191 
 135 
 98 
 82 
 77 
 
 151 12 I 
 
 * Sketches of Local Hhiory, by Benson J. Lossing, LL. D., in The 
 Dutchess Farmer, Dec. 12, 1876. 
 
 The second court house, located on the site of 
 the first, was built of stone, in the old Dutch style 
 of architecture, and was surrounded by a picket 
 fence. The jail was in the north end, and con- 
 tained two tiers of arched cells, the first under- 
 ground, where prisoners charged with the higher 
 crimes were placed. The southern half was occu- 
 pied by Mr. Hatch as a tavern. Here the judges 
 and jurors boarded during the sessions of the court. 
 It was no uncommon thing to see " the court,'' 
 jury, counsel, sheriff, constables, prisoner and all 
 adjourn to Mr. Hatch's bar for drinks. On one of 
 these social occasions, the prisoner, a horse thief, 
 slipped away from his custodians. When the judge 
 resumed his seat, the fact was rnade known to him. 
 At first he said nothing, but appeared to be in deep 
 thought. Finally he arose and with more than his 
 usual gravity, deUvered himself as follows: — 
 
 " Gentlemen of the Jury — I am told that the 
 prisoner has informally taken leave of the Court, 
 and gone the sheriff knows not whither. This gives 
 the case before you a more complex phase, as the 
 statutes distinctly provide that the prisoner shall at 
 no time, during trial, sentence or punishment ab- 
 sent himself from the officers of the law. There- 
 fore it only remains for me to say, that further pros- 
 ecution in this case must be postponed until the 
 return of the d — d scoundrel who has thus inform- 
 ally trifled with the dignity of the Court and the 
 people of the State of New York." 
 
 "The Courts in those days were composed of 
 rough hewn timber, yet we venture to say their 
 justice was equal to that dispensed by the judiciary 
 at the present time."t 
 
 This building was destroyed by fire on the night 
 of T hursday, Sept. 25, 1808, and the act was at- 
 
 "^P^ghkeefsie Weekly Eagle, July 8, 1876. Historical Sketch and 
 Directory of the town of Fishkill, '866, p. 62. 
 t The Sunday Courier, Poughkeepsie, March '6, 187J. 
 
I30 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 tributed to the criminal inmates of the jail, who 
 were removed to the Farmers' Hotel, then kept by 
 Amaziah Blakeslee, on Cannon street, nearly op- 
 posite the Duchess County Academy, which then 
 occupied the site of St. Mary's church. None of 
 the public documents in the clerk's office were 
 destroyed, and the October terms of Courts were 
 held in the Reformed Dutch church. An act for 
 the reconstruction of the building was passed 
 March 24, 1809, and $t 2,000 was raised for that 
 purpose. James Tallmadge, John B. Van Wyck 
 and John Van Benthuysen were commissioned to 
 superintend its erection. In 1810, $13,000 addi- 
 tional was raised, and the building was completed 
 soon after. It is a plain stone edifice, 50 by 100 
 feet, and its walls were covered with stucco in 186 1. 
 It contains the county clerk's office, which under- 
 went some improvements in its interior arrange- 
 ments in 1877-78, and the other county offices 
 except that of Surrogate, which is a small one-story 
 brick building immediately in its rear. Originally 
 the jail was in the same building, but in 1856, its 
 condition was represented by the Senate Commit- 
 tee as extremely unfit for its purpose and unhealthy 
 to its inmates. The present jail, which is in the 
 rear of the Poughkeepsie National Bank and to the 
 west of the rear part of the court house, is a brick 
 structure, and was erected in 186 r at a cost of 
 $10,901.51. The jail hmits of Duchess, as laid 
 out pursuant to the order of the Court of Common 
 Pleas at the January term of 1809, by David 
 Brooks, Clerk of said Court, Joseph C. Fields, 
 Sheriff of said county and James Tallmadge, Jr., 
 President of the Trustees of the village of Pough- 
 keepsie, comprised four and three-fourths acres 
 of land. In former years, when imprisonment 
 for debt was in vogue, fifty to sixty adjudged 
 debtors have been known to circulate within these 
 prescribed limits for months, and in-some instances 
 for twenty years or more.* 
 
 The poor-house of Duchess county was originally 
 located at Poughkeepsie. In i74r, an act was 
 passed for the better rehef of the poor of the coun- 
 ty, and to remove certain scruples the Supervisors 
 had to raising money for the maintenance of the 
 poor. The poor-house is now located in Washing- 
 ton, three miles south-east of Washington Hollow. 
 In 1856, a change was contemplated in the method 
 of supporting the county poor, and in that year an 
 act was passed empowering the Supervisors, when- 
 ever any two successive boards should vote a 
 
 *The Sunday Courier ai Sept. 14, 1873, gives a minute description 
 of tliese limits, wlaose boundary marks liave long since been obliterated. 
 
 change expedient, to contract for the support and 
 maintenance of the poor, and to sell the poor- 
 house buildings and lands and divide the proceeds 
 between the city of Poughkeepsie and the several 
 towns in the county, in proportion to the amount 
 of taxes paid by them respectively. 
 
 April 7, 1863, David S. Tallman, John Ferris 
 and Albert Emons were commissioned to sell the 
 old poor-house property, which consisted of 105.22 
 acres of land and buildings, located opposite the 
 present city alms-house in Poughkeepsie, and pur- 
 chase other farming lands not less than 50 nor 
 more than 75 acres, and not less than eight nor 
 more than fifteen miles from Hudson River, upon 
 which to keep the county poor ; and they were 
 authorized to erect upon the lands so purchased 
 suitable buildings for their accommodation, the 
 entire cost of land and buildings not to exceed 
 $20,000. May 9, 1863, they sold the old poor- , 
 house farm and buildings at auction for $19,605.55,* 
 and agreed with the purchasers to pay seven per 
 cent, on that amount for their use until April i, 
 1864. May 28, 1863, they received a deed for 
 74 acres, i rood and 29 perches of land in the 
 town of Washington from Daniel H. Lyon, for 
 which they paid $6,182.24, and contracted with 
 him for the purchase of an additional 29 acres, 3 
 roods and 29 perches adjoining it at $55 per acre, 
 subject to the approval of the Supervisors. The 
 latter purchase was legalized and confirmed by the 
 Legislature in 1864. (Section i, chap. 286.) The 
 Commissioners also contracted with Orlando J. 
 Rust to erect a building 130 feet long, 32 feet 
 wide, two stories high, with basement, to be built 
 with wood and filled in with brick— the timber i.o 
 be in the main, white oak and chestnut — and roofed 
 with slate, and completed by April i, 1864. The 
 separate maintenance of the poor of the county 
 and the city of Poughkeepsie was authorized by 
 the Legislature in 1863, and Dec. 9th of that year, 
 the Supervisors directed the Commissioners to pay 
 to the Aims-House Commissioners of the City of 
 Poughkeepsie $3,172.60, that being its share of the 
 proceeds pf the sale of the poor-house property. 
 
 The building erected for the poor in 1863, cost 
 $14,380, including boiler and heater, but was illy 
 adapted to the purposes for which it was intended, 
 imperfectly ventilated, destitute of conveniences for 
 bathing, and did not admit of a proper separation 
 of the sexes. In 1864, a lunatic asylum was built 
 at a cost of $5,944.34. It is a plain two-story 
 
 *The auctioneer was Henry W. Shaw, {yosh Billings i) of Pough- 
 keepsie. 
 
COUNTY POOR HOUSE— CIVIL LIST. 
 
 121 
 
 wooden building, 24 by 36 feet, containing eighteen 
 cells — nine on each floor — with grated doors and 
 barred windows. In 1865, a house for the keeper 
 was erected at a cost of $5,764.92, and in the same 
 year repairs and other buildings cost $3,877.63. 
 The entire cost of the poor-house property previous 
 to i88r, exclusive of ordinary running expenses, 
 _ amounted to over $45,000. 
 
 " The evils resulting from the want of adapta- 
 tion becoming more evident year by year, the 
 County Visiting Committee of the State Board of 
 Charities reported its condition to the Board of 
 Supervisors in 1876, and again in 1877, afterwards 
 addressing an open letter to the citizens of the 
 county." A committee of Supervisors was ap- 
 pointed, and in the spring of 1879, many repairs 
 were made. But the building was still in an un- 
 satisfactory condition, and on the recommendation 
 otthe committee a further appropriation of $1,000 
 was made. This sum proved inadequate to accom- 
 plish all that was needed and contemplated, but 
 sufficed to perfect a desired object — a complete 
 division of the house and grounds into two depart- 
 ments — which was economically accomplished, 
 more by a skillful re-arrangement and utilization 
 of material on the ground, than by the erection of 
 new buildings. Various other changes and im- 
 provements were made, involving the changing of 
 the front of the house from the west to the north ; 
 but they were not all that could be desired. The 
 Superintendent, David S. Tallman, entered upon 
 * the duties of his office Jan. i, 1880, at which time 
 the number of inmates was 160. Nov. i, 1880, this 
 number was reduced to loi, against 106 the same 
 time the previous year. The average number of 
 paupers in 1880 was 114, a reduction of 22 as 
 compared with the previous year. The average 
 cost of support per week was $2.24. The total 
 amount of receipts, including appropriation, 
 ($r2,ooo,) was $13,771; the total amount of 
 disbursements, $13,420.28. April i, 1880, the 
 books showed one hundred and forty-two resident 
 paupers, of whom ninety-five were men, (twenty- 
 seven Americans,) forty white women, (twenty- 
 three Americans,) six colored men, and six 
 colored women, twenty-three foreign women, sixty- 
 two of foreign birth, five blind, eleven insane, four 
 aliens, and one mute of fifteen years, removed 
 September ist, to the institution at Rome. The 
 majority were old and feeble, and the remainder of 
 the class usually found in poor-houses, indolent, 
 weak-minded, victims of unfortunate circumstan- 
 ces. Religious services are held semi-monthly in 
 
 the dining-room, which is in the basement of the 
 building ; and for such as choose, a way is provided 
 to attend the Catholic Church. Children at two 
 years of age are placed in the Orphan House at 
 Poughkeepsie, or Colored Orphan Asylum in 
 Brooklyn. The institution is deficient in its pro- 
 visions for the sick. Medical attendance is secured 
 twice a week, but no rooms have been set apart 
 for their especial care and comfort. The house 
 work is done by the women, and most of the farm 
 work by the men. The building is heated by 
 steam, and water is conveyed to the wash-house, 
 where it is obtained by the inmates for use. In 
 . December, 1880, the Supervisors appropriated 
 $1,500 to complete the repairs in progress on the 
 building, and the Superintendent was authorized 
 to purchase earthen bowls and plates to replace the 
 tinware then in use, also chairs for the dining- 
 room in place of benches, and to put enameled 
 covers on the dining tables,* 
 
 Duchess County Civil List. — Duchess county 
 has produced many men of talent and eminence in 
 the various professions, and has always been ably 
 represented in legislative bodies. " It was so in 
 the Provincial Assembly," says Mr. Lossing, " and 
 especially so when, in 1775, British rule was dis- 
 carded and a Provincial Convention took the 
 political power of the province under its control. 
 In that convention Duchess county was represented 
 by Egbert Benson, Morris Graiham and Robert R. 
 Livingston. The latter was the eminent Chancel- 
 lor, whose name has been made immortal by his 
 connection with the first successful efforts in steam 
 navigation. In the New York Provincial Congress 
 and Convention from 1775 to 1777 inclusive, when 
 a State government was formed. Duchess was rep- 
 resented by men of mark, such as Derick Brincker- 
 hoff. Dr. Crane, Jacob Evertson, Morris Graham, 
 Henry Hoffman, Cornelius Humphrey, Jacob 
 Kane, Jonathan Landon, Gilbert and James Liv- 
 ingston, Robert G. and Robert R. Livingston, 
 Richard Montgomery, (who was slain at Quebec,) 
 Ephraim Paine, Zephaniah Piatt, Beverly Robin- 
 son, Nathaniel Sackett, Guysbert, Henry, John 
 and Paul Schenck, Melancton Smith, Peter Ten 
 Broeck, James Vanderburgh and Theodorus 
 Van Wyck."t 
 
 Duchess county has furnished two Lieut--Gov- 
 ernors of New York— James Tallmadge, elected 
 
 * Twelfth and Fourteenth Annual Reports of the State Board of 
 Charities, of which body Sarah M . Carpenter, of Poughkeepsie, is Com- 
 missioner for the Second Judicial District ; Proceedings of the Board of 
 Supervisors of Duchess County, for 1880, and other documents. 
 
 t Sketches of Local History, in The Dutchess Farmer, Dec. 12, 1876. 
 
HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 Nov. I, 1824, and Peter R. Livingston, the noted 
 politician, who spent most of his life in Rhinebeck, 
 and who, on the death of Gov. DeWitt Clinton 
 Feb. Ti, 1828, and the assumption of the guberna- 
 torial duties by Lieut.-Gov. Nathaniel Pitcher, was 
 elected President of the Senate Feb. 16, 1828 ; 
 one staff officer, J. Watts de Peyster, of Tivoli, 
 who was appointed Adjutant-General of the State, 
 Jan. I, 185s ; three Secretaries of State, Thomas 
 Tillotson, of Red Hook, appointed August 10, 
 1801, and again Feb. 16, 1807, Robert R. Tillot- 
 son, of Red Hook, appointed February 12, 
 r8i6, and Homer A. Nelson, of Poughkeepsie, 
 elected November 5, 1867 ; two State Treasurers, 
 Joseph Howland, of Matteawan, who was elected 
 Nov. 7, 1865, and James Mackin, of Fishkill, 
 elected Nov. 6, 1877 ; three Attorneys-General, 
 Egbert Benson, of Red Hook, appointed May 8, 
 1777, Morgan Lewis, of Rhinebeck, elected Nov. 
 8, 1 791, and Thomas J. Oakley, of Poughkeepsie, 
 elected July S, 1819; one Canal Commissioner, 
 James Hooker, of Poughkeepsie, appointed Feb- 
 ruary 8, 1842; one Inspector of the New York 
 Prison, James Teller, of Matteawan, who was 
 thrice appointed, first April i, 18 11, again March 
 17, 18 1 5, and again Feb. 24, 182 1 ; two members 
 of the first Board of R.egents, Anthony Hoffman, 
 of Rhinebeck, and Cornehus Humfrey ; one to 
 the second board, Gilbert Livingston ; and one to 
 the board under the new system, adopted in 1787, 
 Smith Thompson, of Stanford, appointed March 3, 
 1813 ; three Commissioners of the State Board of 
 Charities, Harvey G. Eastman, of Poughkeepsie, 
 appointed June 17, r867, (in which year the Board 
 was organized,) and re-appointed March 19, 1873, 
 James Roosevelt, of Hyde Park, appointed as 
 Eastman's successor, February 12, 1879, and Sarah 
 M. Carpenter, of Poughkeepsie, who is the present 
 incumbent of the office in the Second Judicial 
 District ; one Judge of the Court of Appeals, 
 Charles H. Ruggles, of Poughkeepsie, elected June 
 7, 1847, for six years, and re-elected Nov. 8, 1853, 
 resigning the office August 20, 1855 i a Chief Jus- 
 tice of the Supreme Court, Smith Thompson, 
 appointed Feb. 3, 1814; three Puisne Justices of 
 the Supreme Court of the State, Morgan Lewis, 
 of Rhinebeck, appointed Dec. 24, 1792, Egbert 
 Benson, of Red Hook, appointed Jan. 29, 1794, and 
 Smith Thompson, appointed Jan. 8, 1802;* three 
 Circuit Judges, (Second Circuit,) James Emott, of 
 Poughkeepsie, appointed Feb. 21, 1827, Charles 
 
 • Judge Benson drew the first rules of the Court for the Correction of 
 Errors, which were adopted in April, 1796. 
 
 H. Ruggles, of Poughkeepsie, appointed March 
 9, 1 83 1, and Seward Barculo, of Poughkeepsie, 
 appointed April 4, 1846 ; a Justice of the General 
 Term of the Supreme Court, Joseph F. Barnard, 
 of Poughkeepsie, (Second Department,) who was 
 appointed Dec. 25, 1870, and is the present incum- 
 bent J four Justices of the Supreme Court, Seward 
 Barculo, elected June 7, 1847, and died in office 
 June 17, 1854, Gilbert Dean, of Poughkeepsie, ap- 
 pointed on the decease of Barculo, June 26, 1854, 
 James Emott, elected Nov. 6, 1855, and Joseph F. 
 Barnard, the present incumbent, elected Nov. 3, 
 1863, and re-elected ; a member of the Council of 
 the Colony of New York, John Johnston, from 
 1716 to 1722; a member of the first Council of 
 Safety, which was appointed May 3, 1777, and sat 
 from May 14 to Sept. 10, 1777, Zephaniah Piatt, 
 of Poughkeepsie ; andtwo members of the second 
 Council of Safety, which sat from Oct. 8, 1777 to 
 Jan 7, 1778, first at Kingston, then at Hurley and 
 finally at Poughkeepsie, viz : Egbert Benson, of 
 Red Hook, and Jonathan Landon ; ten members 
 of the Council of Appointment, Zephaniah Piatt, 
 appointed Oct. 17, 1778, and again Oct. 25, 1781, 
 Ephraim Paine, Sept. 11, 1780, (vacated by expul- 
 sion from the Senate March 15, 1781,) Jacobus 
 Swartwout, of Fishkill, Jan. 21, 1784, and again 
 Jan. 19, 1786, Anthony Hoffman, of Rhinebeck, 
 Jan. 18, 1788, Thomas Tillotson, of Red Hook, 
 Jan. 14, 1791, Abraham Schenck, of Fishkill, Jan. 
 7, 1796, Abraham Adriance, of Poughkeepsie, Feb. 
 7, 1804, Robert Williams, of Poughkeepsie, Jan. 
 31, 1810, Peter R. Livingston, of Rhinebeck, Jan. 
 3r, 1818, and Stephen Barnum, Feb. 3, 1819; a 
 Secretary of War, John Armstrong, of Red Hook, 
 who was appointed by President Madison, Jan. 13, 
 1813 ; two Secretaries of the Navy, Smith Thomp- 
 son, who was appointed Nov. 9^,1818, and James 
 K. Paulding, the author of Salmagundi and other 
 works of merit, who was appointed June 25, 1 838 ;* 
 a Judge of the Supreme Court of the United States, 
 Smith Thompson, appointed Sept. 21, 1823; a 
 diplomatic officer, John Armstrong, appointed 
 Minister Plenipotentiary to France, June 30, 1804; 
 a Judge of the Circuit Court of the United States, 
 Egbert Benson, appointed Feb. 20, r8o4. 
 
 Delegates to State Constitutional Conventions.— 
 Jonathan Atkins, John DeWitt, Gilbert Living- 
 ston, Zephaniah Piatt, Melancton Smith,t Jacobus 
 Swartwout and Ezra Thompson r^resented 
 Duchess county in the convention which met at 
 
 * It is a noteworthy fact that the only two Secretaries of the Navy from 
 this State were from Duchess county, 
 t Resided in New York City. 
 
CIVIL LIST— STATE SENATORS, MEMBERS OF ASSEMBLY. 
 
 123 
 
 Poughkeepsie to adopt the Federal Constitution, 
 and sat from June 17 to July 26, 1788. Atkins 
 and Swartwout voted against the Constitution ; 
 Thompson did not vote. In the convention of 
 1 80 1, Duchess county was represented by Jona- 
 than Akin, Isaac Bloom, Caleb Hazen, Peter 
 Huested, Edmund ' Parlee, Smith Thompson, 
 Joseph Thorn, John VanBenthuysen, Theodorus 
 VanWyckand Ithamer Weed ; in that of 1821, by 
 Elisha Barlow, Isaac Hunting, Peter R. Living- 
 ston, Abraham H. Schenck and James Tallrnadge ; 
 and in that of 1846 by Peter K. Dubois, Charles 
 H. Ruggles and James Tallmadge, and in that of 
 1867, by B. Piatt Carpenter, Wilson B. Sheldon 
 and Homer A. Nelson, the latter of whom was 
 delegate at large. 
 
 State Senators. — Previous to 1821, the senator- 
 ial districts were designated as Southern, Middle, 
 Eastern and Western. The Middle District orig- 
 inally embraced Duchess, Orange and Ulster 
 counties, and was entitled to six senators. Subse- 
 quently Columbia, Delaware, Chenango, Greene 
 and Sullivan counties were added. Its representa- 
 tion was twelve senators from 1796 to 1808, and 
 seven from 1808 to 1815. April 17, 1815, Duch- 
 ess, Kings, New York-, Putnam, Queens, Rich- 
 mond, Rockland, Suffolk and Westchester counties 
 were constituted the Southern District, and enti- 
 tled to six senators. The county retained this 
 connection during the further continuance of the 
 First Constitution. 
 
 Under the Second Constitution, adopted in 
 1821, the State was divided into eight senatorial 
 districts, which were designated by number. 
 Duchess was united with Putnam, Rockland, 
 Orange, Sullivan, Ulster and Westchester counties 
 in forming the Second District. April 18, 1826, 
 Delaware was annexed, but was transferred May 
 23, 1836, at which time Queens and Suffolk were 
 added. Each district was entitled to four senators, 
 one of whom was elected annually for the term of 
 four years. 
 
 Under the Third or present Constitution, the 
 State is divided into thirty-two districts, in each of 
 which one member is elected in each odd year. 
 Duchess was associated with Columbia in forming 
 the Eighth District. April 13, 1857, the same 
 counties were constituted the. Eleventh District, 
 and maintained that relation until April 23, 1879, 
 when they were associated with Putnam in forming 
 the Fifteenth District. 
 
 The State senators from Duchess county have 
 been as follows: Jonathan Landon, 1777-79; 
 
 Zephaniah Piatt, i777-'83; Ephraim Paine, 1779 
 -'81, 1782-85; Jacobus Swartwout, i784-'95 ; 
 CorneKus Humfrey, i787-'89; Anthony Hoffman, 
 1788-90; Thomas Tillotson, 1791-99; Abraham 
 Schenck, i796-'99; Peter Cantine, Jr., 1798-1801 ; 
 Isaac Bloom, 1800-1802 ; David VanNess, 1801- 
 1802 ; Abraham Adriance, 1 803-1 806 ; Robert 
 Johnston, 1804-1807; Robert Williams, i8o8-'ii ; 
 Morgan Lewis, i8ii-'i5 i Wm. M. Tabor, 1812- 
 '15 ; Peter R. Livingston, i8i6-'22, i826-'29 ; 
 Stephen Barnum, i8i8-'2i ; Nathaniel P. Tall- 
 madge, i83o-'33 ; Leonard Maison, i834-'37 ; 
 Henry A. Livingston, i838-'4i; Abraham Bockee, 
 1 842-' 45 ; Alexander J. Coffin, 1 848-' 49 ; John 
 H. Otis, i8s2-'53 ; William Kelly, i856-'57 ; 
 John H. Ketcham, i86o-'6i ; John B. Dutcher, 
 i864-'6s: Abiah W. Palmer, i868-'69, i872-'73; 
 George Morgan, 1870-71 ; B. Piatt Carpenter, 
 i876-'77. 
 
 Members of Assembly. — There has been great 
 variation in Duchess county's representation , in the 
 Assembly, which has corresponded with that of the 
 ratio of her population to that of the State, the ex- 
 tremes being two and ten. She had seven members 
 under the first and second apportionments — April 
 20,1777, andFeb. 7, 1791; ten under that of March 
 4j 1796; seven under that of March 31st, 1802; 
 six under that of April i, 1808; five under that 
 of April 8, 1815; four under those of April 121 
 1822, and April 18, 1826; three under those of 
 May 23, 1836, and March 8, 1846; two under 
 those of April 13, 1857, April 15, 1866, and April 
 23, 1879, ^^ latter of which remains in force.* 
 
 Duchess was not represented separately in the 
 Colonial Assembly until 1 7 1 3. Previous to that time 
 when represented at all,f it was connected with Ul- 
 ster county. The first resident representative was 
 Leonard Lewis, who was elected and served in 1 7 13 
 -'26, being associated in 1715-17 with Baltus Van 
 Kleeck, who served till his death, and was succeed- 
 ed by Johannis Terbosch, who was admitted May 
 4, 1 7 17, and served till his death, when Henry 
 Beekman was chosen his successor. The latter 
 was admitted August 31, 1725, and served contin- 
 uously until 1758. Their successors were Johan- 
 nis Van Kleeck, i726-'37; Jacobus Ter Boss, 1737- 
 '43; Johannis Tappen, 1743-51; Henry Filkin, 
 
 * Since 1857, Amenia, Beekman, Dover, East Fishkil], Fishkil], La 
 Grange, North East, Pawling, Pine Plains, Stanford, Union Vale, Wap- 
 pinger, (frcm 1875,) and Washington, have formed the First Assembly 
 District ; and Clinton, Hyde Park, Milan, Pleasant Valley, Poughkeep- 
 sie, City of Poughkeepsie, Red Hook and Rhinebeck the Second. 
 
 tit would appear from StnitfCs History of New York (page i6z, Ed. 
 1814, } that for some years at least previous to 1713, Duchess was not rep- 
 resented. 
 
124 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 1752-58; Robert R. and Henry Livingston, 1759 
 -'68; Leonard Van Kleeck and Dirck Brinckerhoff, 
 i768-'75. 
 
 Her deputies to the Provincial Congress were : 
 Dirck Brinckerhoff,. Anthony Hoffman, Zephaniah 
 Piatt, Richard Montgomery, Ephraim Paine, Gil- 
 bert Livingston, Jonathan Landon, Guisbert 
 Schenck, Melancton- Smith and Nathaniel Sackett 
 in 1775; Petrus Ten Broeck, Beverly Robinson, 
 Cornelius Humphreys, Henry Schenck, Gilbert 
 Livingston, John Kaine, Jacob Everson, Morris 
 Graham, and Robert G. Livingston in 1775-76; 
 Robert R. Livingston, James Livingston, Gilbert 
 Livingston, Jonathan Landon, Morris Graham, 
 Henry Schenck, Theodorus Van Wyck, John 
 Schenck, Anthony Hoffman, Paul Schenck, Na- 
 thaniel Sackett, Cornelius Humphreys, Zephaniah 
 Piatt, James Vanderburgh, Benjamin Delavergne 
 and John Field in 1776; Zephaniah Piatt, Na- 
 thaniel Sackett, Gilbert Livingston, Doctor Crane, 
 Henry Schenck, James Livingston, John Schenck, 
 Anthony Hoffman, Robert R. Livingston and 
 Jonathan Landon in 1776-77. 
 
 Her Members of Assembly have been : Egbert 
 Benson, 1777-81, 1788; Dirck Brinckerhoff, 
 1777-80, 1781, 1784-87; Anthony Hoffman, 
 i777-'79- 1784; Gilbert Livingston, 1777,-78, 
 1788-89; Andrew Moorhouse, 1777-79; John 
 Schenck, i7Tj-'7g; Jacobus Swartwout, 1777-79, 
 1780-83; Joseph Crane, Jr., 1778-79, 1789-90, 
 1796-97'; Samuel Dodge, 1778-81 ; Annanias 
 Cooper, 1779-80; Henry Ludenton, 1779-81, 
 1786-87; Brinton Paine, 1779-81, 1785-87; Na- 
 (thaniel Sackett, 1779-80; Ebenezer Cary, 1780- 
 '81, 1784-85; Guisbert Schenck, 1780-81 ; Jona- 
 than Dennis, 1781-84; Cornelius Humfrey, 1781- 
 '85; Ebenezer Husted, 1781-84, 1789-90; Abra- 
 ham Paine, 1781-82; Thomas Storm, 1781-84; 
 Benjamin Birdsall, 1782-83; Matthew Patterson, 
 1782-89, 1792-93; Abraham Brinckerhoff, 1784- 
 '85 ; James Tallmadge, 1784-85, i7gi-'92, 1824; 
 John DeWitt, 1786, i788-'89, 1794; Lewis Duboys, 
 i786-'87 ; Jacob Griffin, i786-'87, i788-'89 ; John 
 DeWitt, Jr., i787-'88;IsaacBloom,i788-'92; Peter 
 Cantine,Jr., 1788; Morris Graham, 1788; Thomas 
 Tillotson, 1788, 1789-90; Jonathan Akin, 1788- 
 '89, i79i-'93, 1841; Samuel A. Barker, 1788-92, 
 1794-95, 1796-97, i8o8-'89, i8ii; Isaac J. Tal- 
 man,i789-'9o;JamesKent, 1791, i792-'93'; Henry 
 ^ Schenck, 1791; David VanNess, 1791 ; Daniel 
 Graham, 1792; Morgan Lewis, 1792; Josiah 
 Holly, i792-'93; Ebenezer Mott, i792-'93, 1798- 
 1801; Barnabas Payen, 1792-93; Wm. Radclift, 
 
 i792-'93; Jacob Bockee, 1794-95, i796-'97; 
 David Brooks, 1794-96, 1810; Jesse Oakley, 
 1794-97; Isaac Van Wyck, i794-'96, i8io-'ii; 
 Jacob Smith, i795-'98; Richard Davis, i796-'97, 
 Solomon Sutherland, 1796; Jesse Thomp- 
 son, i796-'98, i8o8-'o9, i8i4-'i9; WiUiam Pearce, 
 i796-'97, i798-'99; William B. Verplanck, 
 i796-'98; William Wheeler, i796-'97; William 
 Barker, 1798, 1800; Lemuel Clift, i798-'99, 1810- 
 '11 ; Luther Holly, 1798; Joseph Potter, 1798, 
 1814; Philip J. Schuyler, 1798; John Thomas, 
 1798; Sanluel Towner, 1798, 1800; Abraham 
 Adriance, 1798-1802; Henry Dodge, i798-'99, 
 i8i2-'i3; Robert Johnston, 1798-1801; Piatt 
 Smith, i798-'99; Jonathan Soule, i798-'99; Will- 
 iam Taber, 1798-1800, 1804;, John VanBenthuy- 
 sen, 1798-1800, i8o4-'o6; William Emott, 1800; 
 Joseph C. Field, 1800, 1803, 1806; Isaac Sher- 
 wood, 1800-1801, i8o4-'o5; Benjamin Akin, 1800- 
 1802; Elisha Barlow, 1 800-1 802 ; Nicholas H. 
 Emigh, 1800-1802; Zalmon Sanford, 1800-1804; 
 Smith Thompson, 1 800-1 801 ; John M. Thurston, 
 1800-1802, i8o4-'o5; Theodorus Bailey, 1802; 
 Harry Garrison, 1802; Alexander Spencer, 1802; 
 John Thompson, 1802; John Jewett, 1803; John 
 Martin, i8o3-'o4; Thomas Mitchell, i8o3-'o4; 
 Philip Spencer, Jr., 1803; Theodorus R. Van- 
 Wyck, i8o3-'o4; James Winchell, 1803; Joseph 
 E. Hoff, 1804; Benajah Thompson, 1804, 1808- 
 '09; Job Crawford, i8o4-'o5 ; Isaac Hunting, 
 i8o4-'os ; John Patterson, i8o4-'o5 ; Abraham H. 
 Schenck, i8o4-'o6 ; Barnabas Carver, 1806; Ben- 
 jamin Herrick, 1806; WiUiam D. WilUams, 1806; 
 Veniah Wooley, i8o6-'o7 ; John Haight,i8o7-'o8; 
 Aaron Hazen, 1807; Theron Rudd, 1807; John 
 Storm, 1807; Tobias L. Stoutenburgh, i8o7-'o8; 
 Martin E. Winchel, 1807-08; Albro Akin, 1808, 
 i82o-'2i; Devoue Bailey, i8o8^ George Casey 
 and Cyrenus Crosby, 1808; George Bloom and 
 Derick A. Brinckerhoff, i8o8-'o9; Ebenezer 
 Haight, i8o8-'io; Coert Dubois, i8io-'ii; 
 Alexander Neely, i8io-'ii; Shadrach Sher- 
 man, 1811; Joseph Arnold, Cyrus Benjamin, 
 Isaac Bryan and John Warren, 1812-13; Robert 
 Weeks, 1812; John Beadle, i8i2-'i3, i8i4-'is, 
 1819 ; William A. Duer, i8i4-'i7 ; James Emott,* 
 i8i4-'i5, i8i6-'i7; Samuel Mott, 1814; Joel 
 Benton, i8i4-'i5, i8i6-'i7, 1831; James Grant, 
 1814-15; Zachariah Hoffman, 1816; Thomas J. 
 Oakley, 1816, i8i8-'2o; Isaac Smith, 1816; John 
 B. Van Wyck, 1816; Nathaniel Pendleton and 
 Abiel Sherman, i8i6-'i7; Benjamin Haxton, 
 
 * James Emott was Speaker of the Assembly in 1814. 
 
CIVIL LIST— MEMBERS OF ASSEMBLY, FIRST AND COUNTY JUDGES. 
 
 125 
 
 Andrew Pray and Jehiel Sackett, 1818; John W. 
 Wheeler, 1818-20; James Ketchum and David 
 Tomlinson,i8i9; Abraham Bockee, Jacob Doughty 
 and Mathew Mesier, 1820; Benjamin H. Conklin, 
 Coert Dubois, Israel Harris and Joseph I. Jack- 
 son, 1820-21 ; John Cox, Daniel Northrup, Philo 
 Ruggles, Benjamin Sherman and George Vanden- 
 burgh, 1822 ; Wheeler Gilbert, Prince Hoag, 
 Peter R. Livingston* and Samuel M. Thurston, 
 1823 ; John Klapp and Alfred S. Pell, 1824; Gil- 
 bert Thome, 1824-25 ; Eli Angevine, John Arm- 
 strong, Jr., and Enos Hopkins, 1825 ; Isaac R. 
 Adriance, Martin Lawrence and Thomas Tabor, 
 2d., 1826; Daniel D. Akin, 1826, 1833; Egbert 
 Cary, Jacob C. Elmendoif, Samuel B. Halsey and 
 Henry A. Livingston, 1827; Taber Belding, 1828, 
 1837 ; Francis A. Livingston, George W. Slocum 
 and Nathaniel P. Tallmadge, 1828; Elijah Baker, 
 Jr., Tobias Teller and Stephen D. VanWyck, 
 1829; Stoddard Judd, 1829, 1835-36; James 
 Hughson, George P. Oakley, Jacob VanNess and 
 Philo M. Winchell, 1830; Samuel B. Halsey, 
 William Hooker and John E. Townsend, 1831; 
 Robert Coffin, Eli Hamblin, Michael S. Martin 
 and Israel Shadbolt, 1832 ; Joel Brown and Geo. 
 Lambert, 1833 ; Henry Conklin, 1833-34, 1839- 
 '40; Theodore V. W. Anthony, 1834-35 ; Wra. 
 H. Bostwick, 1834, 1854 ; James Mabbett, 1834 ; 
 David Barnes, Jr., and Stephen Thorn, 1835 '> 
 Abijah G. Benedict, Cornelius H. Cornell and 
 William Eno, 1836 ; John R. Myer and David 
 Sheldon, 1837 ; Cornelius Dubois, 1838; Freeborn 
 Garretson, 1838, 1845; Jacob Sisson, i838-'39; 
 Daniel Toffey, i839-'40; Amos Bryan, 1840; 
 Edmund Elmendorf and John Thompson, 1841; 
 Peter K. Dubois and Richard C. VanWyck, 1842; 
 John H. Ketcham, i842-'43, i856-'57; Gilbert 
 Bentley and John Elseffer, 1843 ; Alexander H. 
 Coffin, John K. Mead and Ambrose L. Pinney, 
 1844 ; Epenetus Crosby and Walter Sherman, 
 1845, 1847 ; Elnathan Haxton, George T. Pierce 
 and Daniel Sherwood, 1846 ; Aves I. Vanderbilt, 
 1847 ; Edgar Vincent and James Hammond, 1848- 
 '49; David Collins, Jr., 1848; Wesley Butts, 
 1849; Charles Robinson, iSso-'si ; Minor C. 
 Story and Stephen Haight, 1850; Howland R. 
 Sherman and William H. Feller, 185 1 ; John S. 
 Emans and Augustus Martin, i852-'53; John M. 
 Keese, 1852; James H. Weeks, 1853; Peter P. 
 Monfoort and George W. Sterling, 1854; Albert 
 Emans and Ambrose Wager, 1855, 1858; Joseph 
 E. Allen, 1855; Daniel O. Ward, 1856; Jacob B. 
 
 * Peter R. Livingston was Speaker of the Assembly in 1823. 
 
 Carpenter, 1856, 1873; Franklin Dudley and 
 Cornehus N. Campbell, 1857; James Mackin, 
 1859. i873-'75; Samuel J. Farnum, 1859, 1861 ; 
 Richard J. Garrettson, i860; Abiah W. Palmer, 
 i860, 1866 ; John B. Dutcher, i86i-'62 ; Edmund 
 Green, 1862 ; Luther S. Dutcher and Joseph C. 
 Doughty, 1863; John N. Cramer, 1864; James 
 Howard, i864-'6s; Mark D. Wilber, i865-'67 ; 
 Augustus A. Brush, i867-'68; Alfred T. Ackert, 
 1868; David R. Gould and William W. Hege- 
 man, 1869; James A. Seward and David H. 
 Mulford, i87o-'7i; Edward M. Goring, 1872;* 
 Harvey G. Eastman, 1872, 1874; Benjamin 
 S. Broas, 1875; Thomas Hammond and De- 
 Witt Webb, i876-'77 ; Obed Wheeler, i878-'79; 
 Peter Hulme, 1878; Cornelius Pitcher, 1879; 
 Isaac S. Carpenter, i879-'8o; James E. Dutcher, 
 1880. 
 
 J^trsi and County Judges. — The Court of Com- 
 mon Pleas was continued from the colonial period. 
 For most of the time under the First Constitution 
 the number of Judges and Assistant Justices in 
 the several counties differed, reaching, in some 
 counties, as many as twelve of each. March 27, 
 18 1 8, the office of Assistant Justice was abolished, 
 and the number of Judges limited to five, includ- 
 ing the First Judge. The Judges were appointed 
 by the Governor and Senate for a period of five 
 years. The constitution of 1846 provided for the 
 election of a County Judge for each county, except 
 the city and county of New York, and the new 
 judiciary article extended the tenure of office from 
 four to sue years, upon the election of the succes- 
 sors of the present incumbents. 
 
 The First Judges of Duchess county were : 
 Leonard Lewis, appointed in 1716 ; Jacobus Ter- 
 boss, Nov. 24, 1739 ; Martinus Hoffman, Dec. 30, 
 1749; Jacobus Terboss, May 6, 1755; Beverly 
 Robinson, May 4, 1769 ; Ephraim Paine, Jan. 30, 
 1778 ;t Zephaniah Piatt, June 28, 1781; David 
 Brooks, Nov. 24, 1795; John Johnston, June 5, 
 1807 ; James Emott, April 8, 181 7 ; Maturin Liv- 
 ingston, Feb. 3, 1823 ; Daniel C. Verplanck, 
 March 11, 1828; Edmund H. Pendleton, Jan. 16, 
 1830; Joseph I. Jackson, Jan. 20, 1840; Seward 
 Barculo, March 5, 1845 ; Abraham Bockee, April 
 8, 1846 ; John Rowley, May 12, 1846. The 
 County Judges, since the office was made elective, 
 have been: John Rowley, 1847;! Egbert Q. 
 Eldridge, 185 1 ; Homer A. Nelson, 1855 ;§ Charles^ 
 
 " » Edward M. Goring was Sergeant-at-Arms of the Assembly in 1873. 
 t Resigned Jan. 30, 1 78 1. 
 
 X Rowley was elected in June : those who succeeded him, in November. 
 § Resigned Nov. ^7, 1863. 
 
r26 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 Wheaton, 1863;* AUard Anthony, 1867; Henry 
 M. Taylor, 1871 ; B. Piatt Carpenter, 1877. 
 
 Surrogates. — Previous to i8zi. Surrogates were 
 designated by the Council of Appointment ; from 
 182 1 to 1846, by the Governor and the Senate. 
 The constitution of 1846 abolished the office and 
 devolved its duties on County Judges, except in 
 counties having a population exceeding 40,000, in 
 which it was made elective. This office has been 
 held successively by Gilbert Livingston, appointed 
 June 16, 1778; Anthony Hoffman, March 28, 
 1785; Gilbert Livingston, March 13, 1787 ; James 
 Tallraadge, Jr., Nov. 9, 1804; Thomas J. Oakley, 
 Feb. 9, 1 810; George Bloom, March 11, 1811; 
 Philo Ruggles, March 19, 1813 ; Derrick B. Stock- 
 holm, Feb. 16, 18x5; John Brush, July 9, 1819; 
 Ebenezer N/e, March i, 1821; James Hooker, 
 March 7, 1828 ; Robert Wilkinson, Feb. 10, 1840; 
 Virgil D. Bonesteel, Feb. 10, 1844; John P. H. 
 Tallman, 1847 ;t Edgar Thorn, 1855; Peter Dor- 
 land, 1859 ; Milton A. Fowler, 1867 ; Peter Dor- 
 land, 1871J Collins Sheldon, 1877. 
 
 District Attorneys. — The original appellation of 
 this office, which was created Feb. 12, 1796, was 
 that of Assistant Attorney-General, who was ap- 
 pointed by the Governor and Council. The office 
 of District Attorney was created April 4, 1801. 
 At first the State was divided into seven districts, 
 but subsequently several new ones were formed. 
 In April, 18 18, each county was constituted a sep- 
 arate district. The office was made elective by 
 the Constitution of 1846. During the period of 
 the district system Duchess belonged to the second 
 district, which also included the counties of Orange 
 and Ulster under the act of 1796, and Delaware, 
 Rockland and Ulster under that of 1801. 
 Duchess first filled the office, Jacob RadclifF being 
 appointed Feb. 23, 1796. He was succeeded Jan. 
 27, 1798, by Coenrad E. Elmendorph, an Ulster 
 county man, who held the office until the act of 
 1801 took effect, and for a short time during its 
 operation. August 19, 1801, Smith Thompson, of 
 Duchess, succeeded to the office, and was in his 
 turn succeeded by Lucas Elmendorf, of Ulster 
 Oct. 28, 1 80 1, Randall S. Street, of Poughkeepsie 
 Feb. 9, 18 10, Samuel Hawkins, of Ulster, Feb. 15, 
 1811, Randall S. Street, of Poughkeepsie, March 
 19, 1813, and George Bloom, of Duchess, Feb. 13, 
 1 8 15. The latter was reappointed June 11, 18 18 
 , and has been succeeded under the new regime of 
 that year by Philo Ruggles, appointed Jul y 8, i8ig; 
 
 * Appointed Nov. S7, 1863, vice Nelson resigned. 
 t Tallraar. was elected in June ; those who succeeded him, in Novem- 
 ber. 
 
 Francis A. Livingston, Feb. 14, 182 1; Stephen 
 Cleveland, i826(?); George A. Shufeldt, 1836 (?); E. 
 M. Swift, 1843 (?) ; WilHam Eno, 1845 {?); Joseph 
 T.Lee, June, 1847; JamesEmott, Jr.,Feb. 3, 1849;* 
 Thomas C. Campbell, 1849;! Silas Woodell, 1855 ; 
 Benjamin Piatt Carpenter, 1858 ;{ Alfred Antho- 
 ny, Dec. IS, i86o;§ William J. Thorn, 1867 j 
 Tristram Coffin, 1870; James L. Williams, 1873; 
 William B. Woodin, 1876, re-elected in 1879. 
 
 Sheriffs. — Under the Colonial Government, 
 Sheriffs were appointed annually, in the month of 
 October, unless otherwise noticed. Under the 
 First Constitution, (1777-1821,) they were ap- 
 pointed annually by the Council of Appointment, 
 and no person could hold the office for more than 
 four successive years. The Sheriff could not hold 
 any other office, and must be a free-holder in the 
 county to which he was ^pointed. Under the 
 Second Constitution, (1S21 to 1846,) Sheriffs were 
 elected for a term of three years, but were inelig- 
 ible to election for the next succeeding term. 
 These provisions are operative at the present 
 time. 
 
 The Sheriff was once an officer held in great re- 
 spect. He arranged all the ceremonials of the 
 court, and formally announced to the judges the 
 particular hour the court-room was in order for 
 their reception. He was equipped with side arms, 
 and kept his sword unsheathed on the desk in front 
 of his seat. He, with his deputies, formally in- 
 ducted the Judges from their lodgings to the court- 
 room ; the jurors closed the procession. He 
 opened the court with solemn proclamation. In 
 every respect the office of Sheriff was once of more 
 import in the public estimation than now. || 
 
 Until 172 1, Duchess was united with Ulster 
 county in the functions of this office. The first 
 Sheriff of Duchess county was J. van ^e Voert, who 
 was appointed in October, 172 i.l His successors 
 have been: William Squire, appointed in 1731 ; 
 James Willson, 1737; Henry Filkin, 1743; Will- 
 iam Barnes, 1748 ; Isaac Brinckerhoff, 1749 ; Clear 
 Everit, 1754 ; James G. Livingston, 1761 ; Hen- 
 ry Rosekrans, Jr., 1769; Philip J. Livingston, 1772; 
 Melancton Smith, May 8, 1777, and Jan. 6, 1778, 
 the first time appointed by the Provincial Conven- 
 tion ; Lewis Dubois, March 22, 1781; Harmon 
 Hoffman, March 9, 1785; J ohn DeWitt, Feb. 28, 
 
 • Appointed vice Lee, deceased. 
 
 + Campbell and his successors were elected in November. 
 
 X Resigned. s 
 
 § Appointed vice Carpenter, resigned ; elected in 1861 and '64. 
 
 II Clark's History of Chenango County. 
 _ irj. van de Voerl's successors durins: the Colonial period were appointed 
 m October. 
 
CIVIL LIST— COUNTY CLERKS, TREASURERS, PRESIDENTIAL ELECTORS. 127 
 
 1789; John VanBenthuysen, Feb. 18, 1793; 
 John Dewitt, Feb. 21, 1794; William Radcliff, 
 Feb. 7, 1797 ; Robert Williams, Feb. 18, 1801 ; 
 Joseph Thorn, Feb. 23, 1805 ; John VanBenthuy- 
 sen, March 5, 1807; Joseph C. Field, Nov. 12, 
 1808; John VanBenthuysen, Feb. 9,1810; Joseph 
 C. Field, Feb. 15, 181 1 ; Derick A. Brinckerhoff, 
 Feb. 4, 181 2 ; John Radcliff, March 19, 1813; 
 William Griffin, Apjril 8, 1817 ; Gilbert Ketchum, 
 Feb. 9, 1819 ; Richard C. Van Wyck, July, 1819 ; 
 William Griffin, Feb. 12, 1821 and elected in No- 
 vember, 1822 ;* John A. Wood, 1825 ; Obadiah 
 Titus, 1828 ; Abraham Myers. 1831 j Thomas N. 
 Perry, 1834; Stephen D. Van Wyck, 1837; 
 Thomas N. Perry, 1840 ; Alonzo H. Mory, 1843; 
 David N. Seaman, 1846 ; Alonzo H. Mory, 1849 > 
 Henry Rikert, 1852 ; Moses C. Sands, 1855 ; 
 James Hammond, 1858; Judah Swift, 1861; 
 George Lamoree, 1864; Richard Kenworthy, 
 1867 j CorneUus Pitcher, 1870 ; John G. Hal- 
 stead, 1873 ; David Warner, 1876 ;t James E. 
 Dutcher, 1876 ; Sylvester H. Mase, 1879. 
 
 County Clerks. — During the colonial period the 
 County Clerk was constituted by his commission. 
 Clerk of the Court of Common Pleas, Clerk of the 
 Peace and Clerk of the Sessions of the Peace in 
 his county. Under the First Constitution it was 
 his duty to keep the county records, and act as 
 Clerk of the Inferior Court of Common Pleas, and 
 Clerk of the Oyer and Terminer from Feb. 12, 
 1796. His seals were the seals of the Court of 
 Common Pleas. County Clerks are now likewise 
 Clerks of the Supreme Court in their respective 
 counties, and their seals are declared to be the 
 seals of the court. The term of office, since the 
 adoption of the Constitution of 182 1, has been 
 three years. 
 
 The office in this county has been filled succes- 
 sively by Richard Sackett, appointed in 1715; 
 Henry Vanderburgh, 1721; Henry Livingston, 
 Sept. 15, 1742, and May 8, 1777 ; Robert Henry 
 Livingston, May 11, 1789; Gilbert Livingston, 
 Nov. 9, 1804; David Brooks, June 5, 1807 ; Philip 
 Spencer, Jr., Jan. 26, 1809 ; David Brooks, Feb. 
 9, 1810; Philip Spencer, Jr., Feb. 15, 1811 ; David 
 Brooks, Feb. 23, 1813 ; Philip Spencer, Feb. 13. 
 1815 ; Jacob Van Ness, July i, 1815 ; John Van 
 Benthuysen, March 2, 1819 ; John Johnston, Feb- 
 ruary 4, 1820; Jacob Van Ness, Feb. 14, 182 1, 
 and elected in November, 1822 ;% Clapp Raymond, 
 1825 ; Henry S. Traver, 1828; Daniel W. Beadle, 
 
 * Griffin's successors were elected in November. 
 
 t Appointed March 7, 1876, vice Halstead, deceased. 
 
 t The successors of Van Ness were elected in November. 
 
 1837 ; Robert Mitchell, 1840 ; Joseph T. Adriance, 
 1846; George H. Tompkins, 1852; Wilson B. 
 Sheldon, 1858; Edgar Vincent, 1864; John W. 
 Vincent, 1870; Andrew C. Warren, 1873 ; William 
 A. Fanning, 1876; Wilson B. Sheldon, 1879. 
 
 County Treasurers are elected under the Consti- 
 tution of 1846, for a term of three years. They 
 were previously elected by the Boards of Supervis- 
 ors in the several counties. The incumbents of 
 the office in this county, all of whom were elected 
 in November, have been: Albert Van Kleeck, 
 1848; Leonard B. Sackett, 1851 ; James H. Sea- 
 man, 1854 ; John F. Hull, i860 ; Joseph C. Harris, 
 1866 ; Walter S. Fonda, 1869; Frederick W. Davis, 
 1875; Seneca V. Halloway, 1878. 
 
 County Superintendents of Common Schools. — 
 April 17, 1843, the Boards of Supervisors were 
 directed to appoint Superintendents of Common 
 Schools, and Augustus R. McCord and Henry H. 
 Ingraham were accordingly so appointed for the 
 Northern District in Duchess county, and Asa S. 
 Clement and Levi S. Arnold, for the Southern Dis- 
 trict. The office was abolished March 13, 1847. 
 
 School Commissioners. — Prior to 1857, School 
 Commissioners were appointed by the Board of 
 Supervisors. In 1856 the office was made elective ; 
 and the first election under that act was held in 
 November, 1859. The office has been held in 
 Duchess county by the following named persons : 
 John W. Vincent, John S. Thorn, Augustus A. 
 Brush, George W. Draper, Derrick Brown, George 
 W. Draper, John F. Schlosser, in the First Dis- 
 trict ; John Dearin, Charles J. Howland, Wright 
 D. Lattin, Sherman Hoyt, Isaac F. ColUns, Edgar 
 A. Briggs and Martin W. Collins, in the Second 
 District ; WiUiam Berry and E. J. Buckingham, 
 Presidents of the Board of Education ; G. C. 
 Burnap, City Superintendent; Richard Brittan 
 and C. H. Andrews, Clerks of the Board of Edu- 
 cation ; and Edward Burgess, City Superintendent, 
 in Poughkeepsie. 
 
 Presidential Electors. — The Federal Constitu- 
 tion provides that the President and Vice-Presi- 
 dent of the United States shall be chosen by 
 Electors appointed in such manner as the Legis- 
 latures of the respective States shall direct, the 
 number to be equal to the number of their 
 Senators and Representatives in Congress. In 
 this State the Electors were originally appointed 
 by the Legislature, pursuant to an act passed 
 April 12, 1792. March 15, 1825, the Legislature 
 submitted to the people the question of choosing 
 electors by districts, or on a general ticket, and it 
 
128 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 was decided by a small majority in favor of the 
 former. The system thus adopted, however, was 
 in vogue at one election only; for April 15, 1829, 
 the Legislature adopted the general ticket system 
 now in use. The Electors must be appointed with- 
 in thirty-four days before the first Wednesday of 
 December, in every fourth year ; and in this State, 
 as, indeed, in all the States, they are now chosen 
 on the Tuesday after the first Monday of Novem- 
 ber. In making up the general ticket, one person 
 is selected from each Congressional district, and 
 two to represent the State at large. The Electoral 
 College is required to meet at the State capitol on 
 the first Wednesday of December, cast their votes 
 for President and Vice-President, make a certified 
 list thereof, and forward it under seal to the Presi- 
 dent of the United States Senate, who opens and 
 announces the result in the presence of the two 
 houses of Congress. 
 
 Duchess county has been represented in the 
 Electoral College as follows : — David VanNess, 
 1792; Peter Cantine, Jr., 1796; Gilbert Livings- 
 ton, 1 800 ; Ezra Thompson, 1 804 ; James Tall- 
 madge, 1808; David VanNess, 1812; Theodorus 
 W. VanWyck, 1816; Isaac Sutherland, 1824; 
 Morgan Lewis, 1828; William Taber, 1832; 
 James Hooker, 1836 j Bartow White, 1840 ; John 
 C. Cruger, 1848; Jacob B. Carpenter, i860.* 
 
 Senators and Representatives in Congress. 
 
 Duchess county has undergone several changes in 
 its Congressional associations. The State Legis- 
 lature chooses two Senators to the Federal Con- 
 gress, who hold their office for six years. A Sena- 
 tor must be an inhabitant of the State from which 
 he is chosen. He must have been nine years a citi- 
 zen of the United States, and attained the age of 
 thirty-five years. The House of Representatives 
 is composed of members elected by districts. Rep- 
 resentatives hold office for two years. They must 
 reside in the State which they are chosen to repre- 
 sent, must have been seven years citizens of the 
 United States, and have attained the age of twen- 
 ty-five years. After each United States census, 
 which is taken every ten years, Congress apportions 
 the Representatives among the several States. Un- 
 der the act of Jan. 27, 1789, Duchess was united 
 with the towns of Salem, North Salem, Cortlandt, 
 Yorktown and Stephentown in Westchester county,' 
 in forming a Congressional district. Under the 
 acts of December 18, 1792, March 23, 1797 
 March 30, 1802, March 20, 1804, and March 
 
 * J^es Holdane was elected in .S76, but did not attend. Alexander 
 Orr, of Brooklyn, was elected to fill the vacancy. 
 
 8, 1808, this county formed a separate district, 
 designated by number under each respective 
 apportionment, (except the first, when the dis- 
 tricts were not numbered,) 5, 6, 6, 4; June 10, 
 18 1 2, this county, (except the towns of Clinton 
 and Rhinebeck, which ^tr& associated with Col- 
 umbia county, in forming the sth district,) and 
 Putnam, formed the 4th district; under the acts of 
 April 17, 1822, and June 29, 1832, it again formed 
 a separate district, designated the sth. September 
 6, 1842, it was associated with Putnam county in 
 forming the Sth district; July 19, 1851, and April 
 23, 1862, in conjunction with Columbia county, it 
 formed the 12th district. June 18, 1873, Colum- 
 bia, Duchess and Putnam counties were consti- 
 tuted the 13th district. 
 
 Duchess County has been represented in the 
 United States Senate by John Armstrong, of Rhine- 
 beck, who was appointed November 6, 1800, and 
 at the expiration of his term, March 3, 1801, was 
 (January 27, 1801,) appointed to a full term, but 
 resigned February 5, 1802; Theodorus Bailey, of 
 Poughkeepsie, who was appointed February i, 
 1803; Nathaniel P. Tallmadge, of Poughkeepsie, 
 who was appointed February 5, 1833, and re-ap- 
 pointed January 13, 1840. 
 
 John Armstrong was again appointed by the 
 Governor in the recess of the Legislature in De- 
 cember, 1803, and again February 3, 1804, on the 
 resignation of Theodorus Bailey, but the position 
 was each time vacated by the meeting of the Leg- 
 islature, (U. S. Constitution, art. i, sec. 3, II.) 
 
 The Representatives in Congress from Duchess 
 County have been : Egbert Benson, of Red Hook, 
 1789-1793, i8i3-'is, (resigned;) Theodorus 
 Bailey, of Poughkeepsie, 1793-1797, 1799-1803, 
 (elected in November, 1801, in place of Thomas 
 Tillottson, of Red Hook, who did not attend ;) 
 David Brooks, 1797-99; Isaac Bloom, of Red 
 Hook, 1803, (died in 1803;) Daniel C. Ver- 
 planck, of Fishkill, 1803-1809, (elected Oct. 8, 
 1803, vice Bloom, deceased;) James Emott, of 
 Poughkeepsie, 1809-1813; Thomas J. Oakley, of 
 Poughikeepsie, i8i3-'is, i827-'28, (resigned May 
 9, 1 82 8, having accepted the office of Judge 1) Abra- 
 ham H. Schenck, of Fishkill, i8is-'i7; James 
 Tallmadge, Jr., of Poughkeepsie, 181 7-' 19, (elect- 
 ed in June, 1817, vice Henry B. Lee, of Putnam 
 county, deceased;) Randall S.- Street, of Pough- 
 keepsie, i8i9-'2i ; William W. VanWyck, of Fish- 
 kill, i82i-'2S ; Bartow White, of Fishlill, 1825- 
 '27; Thomas Taber, of Dover, 1827-29, (resigned 
 Feb. 6, 1829;) Abraham Bockee, of Federal Store, 
 
MILITARY HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 I2g 
 
 1829-31, 1833-37 ; Edmund H. Pendleton, of 
 Hyde Park, 1831-33; Obadiah Titus, 1837-39; 
 Charles Johnson, of Poughkeepsie, 1839-41 ; 
 Richard D. Davis, of Poughkeepsie, 1841-45 ; 
 William W. Woodruff, of Hyde Park, 1845-' 47; 
 Gilbert Dean, of Poughkeepsie, 1851-54, (resigned 
 in July, 1854;) James Teller, of Matteawan, 
 1854-55, (elected in November, 1854, »w Gilbert 
 Dean, resigned ;) John Thompson, of Poughkeep- 
 sie, 1857-59; Stephen Baker, of Poughkeepsie, 
 i86i-'63; Homer A. Nelson, of Poughkeepsie, 
 1863-65 ; John H. Ketcham, of Dover Plains, 
 1865-73, 1877-83 ; John O. Whitehouse, of 
 Poughkeepsie, 1873-77. 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 Military History of Duchess County — French 
 AND English Colonial Wars — War of the 
 Revolution — Military Organizations in 
 Duchess — Provincial Congress — Measures 
 FOR the Formation of a State Government 
 — Continental Ship Yard at Poughkeepsie 
 — Chain Across the Hudson — Sir Hen- 
 ry Clinton's Expedition up the Hudson 
 — Reduction of Forts Clinton and Mont- 
 gomery — Gen. Vaughn Destroys Kingston — 
 His Operations in Duchess County — The 
 Duchess Invincibles — Surrender of Bur- 
 
 GOYNE AND MaRCH OF HIS ArMY ThROUGH 
 
 Duchess County as Prisoners of War — Fish- 
 kill A Depot of Supplies for the Continen- 
 tal Army — Historic Associations of J'ish- 
 KiLL — Enoch Crosby— Revolutionary Inci- 
 dents IN Pawling — Adoption of the State 
 Constitution — Printed in Fishkill — State 
 Government removed to Poughkeepsie — 
 Tories Attempt the Seizure of Notable 
 Men — Articles of Confederation Ratified 
 by the Legislature in Poughkeepsie — The 
 Convention to Consider the Revised Fed- 
 eral Constitution Meet in Poughkeepsie — 
 War of 1812. 
 
 THERE is little of interest in the military his- 
 tory of Duchess County previous to the 
 Revolution. Her citizens were, indeed, called on 
 to render military services, but her borders were 
 not the theater of active operations. In 1696, 
 when the settlements of the county must have been 
 very sparse, the daring incursions of the French 
 and Indians in the war then waging, called forth 
 
 the following action on the part of the New York 
 Government : — 
 
 '' Resolved for the future, th.zX Six pounds shall 
 be given to each Christian or Indian as a Reward 
 who shall kill a fifrench man or Indian Enemy— 
 within three miles of Albany or any other Settled 
 farme in Albany, Ulster or Dutchesse Countyes." 
 
 A printed proclamation to that effect was issued 
 May 1 1, 1696.* Nov. 9, 1696, Gov. Fletcher, refer- 
 ring to an anticipated attack of French and Indians 
 on Albany that winter, speaks hopefully of his 
 ability to successfully resist such invasion with the 
 forces he then had and such as he might be able to 
 draw from Ulster and Duchess counties in case of 
 alarm.f From 1744 to 1748, the French and En- 
 gUsh were again at war, and,;like all their wars from 
 the commencement of American colonization, the 
 colonists of these respective nations in the western 
 hemisphere were involved in these hostilities. May 
 30, 1746, Gov. Clinton laid before the Council a 
 letter from Col. Beekman, relating to the raising of 
 men in Duchess County, and was advised by that 
 body to engage 200 men, and recommend the As- 
 sembly to provide ammunition, pay and subsistence 
 for them.f During the war from 1755 to 1763, 
 which terminated French dominion in Canada, the 
 services of the citizens of Duchess county were 
 again called into requisition. The surrender of 
 the forts at Oswego to a French force under Gen. 
 Montcalm, August 14, 1756, induced Gov. Hardy 
 to call out all the militia of Duchess and Ulster 
 counties, who were dispatched to Albany to co- 
 operate with Lord Loudon, who, a little later that 
 year marched an army through the county en route 
 to Lake George. He traversed the old post road, 
 which is said to have been opened by his direction. 
 About the same time a detachment of Connecticut 
 militia crossed the towns of Dover and Amenia 
 to re-enforce his army in the North.§ 
 
 These French and Indian wars, especially the 
 later ones, were not without significance and import- 
 ance. They were the school in which were trained 
 many who were destined to take a prominent part 
 in the struggle then impending for colonial inde- 
 pendence ; for in March, 1764, the year following 
 the treaty of Paris, which ceded Canada to the 
 English, and put an end to PYench domination on 
 this continent, the odious stamp act was passed, 
 and though it was repealed two years later, 
 (March 18, 1766,) in response to the petition of a 
 
 * Col. Hist, IV, ISO. 
 
 t Ibid, 24 !• 
 
 X Ibid VI., 550. 
 
 § Col. Hist. VII., 124, 199. 
 
130 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 Congress in which nine of the thirteen Colonies 
 were represented, the intense feeling of indigna- 
 tion and hostility it aroused was only partially al- 
 layed. The seed of American independence had 
 been sown in fruitful soil, and the continued acts 
 of oppression by the English government only 
 brought it to an earlier maturity. When, on the 
 igth of April, 1775, the first mart)frs to the cause 
 of Liberty surrendered their lives on the common 
 at Lexington, the impulses which had long been 
 repressed in the breasts of the patriots burst into 
 activity, and the flame then kindled burned with 
 increasing brightness until American independence 
 was accomplished. 
 
 The desire for independence was by no means a 
 unanimous sentiment. In Duchess county, but 
 not more than in other localities, a large and re- 
 spectable minority opposed it.* The line between 
 the Whig and Tory elements was sharply drawn, 
 and collisions between them were of frequent oc- 
 currence. In the summer of 1776, this county 
 was the scene of an insurrection against the au- 
 thority of the Provincial Congress, but it was soon 
 suppressed, not, however, without the aid of the 
 militia from Connecticut. Many arrests were 
 made, more than enough to fill the jail at Pough- 
 keepsie, so that some of the offenders were sent to 
 the jail in the adjoining county of Litchfield. 
 
 In March, i77S,t a few Whigs met at the house 
 of John Bailey, about three miles from Poughkeep- 
 sie, and erected a liberty pole, with a flag, on one 
 side of which was inscribed the words, " The 
 King," and on the other, " The Congress and Lib- 
 erty." The sheriff of the county, attended by a 
 judge of the inferior court, two justices, a con- 
 stable, and some other Tories, cut down the pole 
 " as a public nuisance." A furious altercation af- 
 terwards took place between the sheriff and Hon. 
 Zephaniah Piatt, who was one of the party that 
 raised the pole. The sheriff accused him of trea- 
 son and threatened to arrest him, but Piatt seized 
 a club and declared he would knock his brains out 
 if he touched him. The sheriff drew -his sword, 
 but finally withdrew without attempting the arrest. 
 
 * The lists of those who signed or refused to sign the articles of asso- 
 ciation show a radical difference in the views even of members of the 
 same family, and in some of the Precincts almost an equal division. For 
 instance ; In Rhinebeck Prednct, of 480 freeholders and inhabitants 
 z62 signed and lis refused; in Rombout Precinct, of 762 persons, joi 
 signed and 260 refused ; in Beekman Precinct, of 386 persons 257 
 signed and 13S refused; in Poughkeepsie Precinct, of 295 persons 21! 
 signed and 82 refused. ' 
 
 t Benson J. Lossing's Sketches of Local History, in The Dutchess 
 Farmer of Dec. 12, .876, to which, and to other documents kindly furn- 
 ished by that gentleman, we are largely indebted for the materials of this 
 chapter. A writer in the Poughkeepsie Weekly Eagle of July 8 1876 
 makes the date of this event, July, 1775, 
 
 The following year, when Burgoyne was making 
 his victorious march toward the valley of the Hud- 
 son, the Tories of Duchess became bold, and de- 
 fied the militia guard which had been established. 
 About four hundred of them, well armed, assem- 
 bled at " Carpenter's," now Washington Hollow, 
 and threatened destruction to all the Whigs in the 
 neighborhood. An expedition was immediately 
 set on foot in Sharon, Conn., to break up the gang. 
 A strong party of armed volunteers gathered at 
 Bloom's Mills, north of Washington Hollow, and 
 early in the morning marched to the latter place, 
 where they found the Tories paraded in a meadow. 
 Marching up with spirit, the volunteers fired on 
 the insurgents, who broke and fled. Thirty or 
 forty of them were captured and taken first to 
 Connecticut and afterward to New Hampshire, 
 where they were confined for about two years. 
 About the same time seven Tories were committed 
 to the jail at Poughkeepsie for robbing several 
 houses. They were all painted and dressed hke 
 Indian men, but it was found that five of them 
 were women— three of them a mother and her two 
 daughters. 
 
 Numerous minor affairs, some of them resulting 
 in loss of life, occurred in various parts of the 
 county, and thefts and other acts of violence by 
 Tories continually disturbed the Whig families of 
 the county. Individuals persisted in their hostility, 
 or were pronounced in their loyalty to the King, 
 and June 30, 1778, the sentence of banishment 
 was pronounced by a committee of the Provincial 
 Congress of New York, appointed to " detect con- 
 spiracies," against the following residents of Duch- 
 ess county : William Smith, James Smith, Cofael- 
 ius Luyster, Dirck Van Vliet, John Terrill, James 
 Scott, Theophilus Nelson, Richard Wilhams, 
 Lodowick Strydt, Samuel Mabbett, Agrippa Martin, 
 Myndert Velie, Zebulon Walbridge, Joseph Zeed, 
 William Brady, Joseph Mabbett and Benjamin 
 Lapham. 
 
 Pending the earnest efforts of the several colo- 
 nies to bring about a reconciliation with the mother- 
 country, and at the same time to enforce a recog- 
 nition of their rights by Pariiament, a general 
 congress, suggested by New York statesmen and 
 called by Boston, was formed by the colonies to 
 secure concert of action. Feb. 23, 1775, "the 
 Tory Assembly of New York" declined to send 
 delegates to the second Continental Congress. In 
 March of that year, the " Committee of Sixty," 
 composed of inhabitants of the city and county of 
 New York, and charged with the duty of " carrying 
 
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR. 
 
 131 
 
 into execution the Association entered into by the 
 Continental Congress," issued a call to the several 
 counties throughout the Province, to elect deputies 
 to a Provincial Convention, to be held in New 
 York City, April 20, 1775, for the purpose of 
 choosing delegates to represent the colony in that 
 Congress. That body met at the time appointed 
 at the Exchange in New York City. Duchess 
 county was represented in its deUberations by Eg- 
 bert Benson, Morris Graham and Robert R. 
 Livingston, the latter of whom was a member of 
 the last General Assembly. It elected delegates 
 to the Continental Congress, " to concert and de- 
 termine upon such measures as should be judged 
 most effectual for the preservation and re-estab- 
 lishment of American rights and privileges, and for 
 the restoration of harmony between Great Britain 
 and her colonies." 
 
 . The convention dissolved on the 22d of April, 
 and the following day (Sunday) the news of the 
 battle of Lexington reached the city, producing 
 great excitement and indignation. The " Com- 
 mittee of Sixty " was increased to a " Committee 
 of One Hundred," which " resolved to stand or fall 
 with the liberty of the Continent." 
 
 April 29, 1775, ten days after the battle of Lex- 
 ington, a large gathering of " the freemen, freeholders 
 and inhabitants of the city and county of New 
 York," met and formulated the following pledge, 
 which was circulated in the several counties for 
 signatures : — 
 
 " Persuaded that the salvation of the rights and 
 liberties of America depend, under God, on the 
 firm union of its inhabitants in a vigorous prosecu- 
 tion of the measures necessary for its safety ; and 
 convinced of the necessity of preventing anarchy 
 and confusion, which attend a dissolution of the 
 powers of government, we, the freemen, freehold- 
 ers, and inhabitants of , being greatly 
 
 alarmed at the avowed design of the ministry to 
 raise a revenue in America, and shocked by the 
 bloody scenes now acting in Massachusetts Bay, 
 do, in the most solemn manner, resolve never to 
 become slaves, and do associate, under all the ties 
 of religion, honor and love to our country, to adopt 
 and endeavor to carry into execution, whatever 
 measures may be recommended by the Continental 
 Congress, or resolved upon by our Provincial Con- 
 vention, for the purpose of preserving our con- 
 stitution, and opposing the execution of the 
 several arbitrary and oppressive acts of the British 
 Parliament, until a reconciliation between Great 
 Britain and America, on constitutional principles, 
 (which we most ardently desire,) can be obtained; 
 and that we will in all things follow the advice of 
 our General Committee, respecting the purposes 
 aforesaid, the preservation of peace and good order, 
 and the safety of individuals and private property." 
 
 This pledge was approved and signed by the mem- 
 bers of the Provincial Congress, and placed in the 
 hands of committees to circulate through the coun- 
 ties. It was signed by 1,820 persons, in Duchess 
 county J 964 refused to sign it. Some who signed 
 qualified their signatures by certain restrictions. 
 The names of those who signed, as well as those 
 who refused to do so, are preserved, but we have 
 not the space to reproduce them here. 
 
 This first Provincial Congress. began at once tc 
 devise measures for the general safety. The rais- 
 ing of men and munitions was authorized. County 
 Committees of Safety were appointed, and Egbert 
 Benson, of Red Hook, was made chairman of the 
 committee for this district. Precinct committees 
 were also formed, and disaffected parties were 
 brought under a strict surveillance. Warrants 
 authorizing the recruiting of men in Duchess 
 county were issued June 28, 1775, to Captains 
 Henry B. Livingston, Louis Dubois, Andrew Bil- 
 lings and Rufus Herrick ; to First Lieutenants 
 Jacob Thomas, Ehas Van Benschoten, Jr., Ezekiel 
 Cooper and Charles Graham, and to Second Lieu- 
 tenants Roswel Wilcox, Cornelius Adriance, John 
 Langdon and Jesse Thompson. In September, 
 1775, commissions were issued to the officers of 
 nine companies in Charlotte Precinct, seven in 
 Rombout Precinct, five in Rhinebeck Precinct, 
 four each in Beekman and Amenia Precincts, and 
 one in South East Precinct. Oct. 17, 1775, com- 
 missions were issued to the officers of seven 
 regiments in Duchess county, including two of 
 minute men. 
 
 August 18, 1775, the County Committee re- 
 solved to furnish a sufficient guard to the commit- 
 tee in each Precinct, for the purpose of visiting the 
 Tories in the county, who were to be requested in 
 a friendly manner to surrender their firelocks for 
 the use of the Continental forces, at a reasonable 
 price, to be affixed by one of the committee and a 
 person selected by the individual so surrendering 
 it. In case of disagreement, an appraisement was 
 to be made by a person selected by these two ; 
 and in case of refusal, such firelocks were to be 
 taken forcibly, and a Ust of the names of persons 
 from whom they were taken, with their value at- 
 tached, was to be preserved. A considerable num- 
 ber of guns were thus obtained for the use of the 
 army. 
 
 July 8, 1775, the first Provincial Congress hav- 
 ing resolved to adjourn, certain of its members were 
 appointed a Committee of Safety, charged with the 
 general supervision of the affairs of the Province 
 
132 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 when the Congress was not in session. The sec- 
 ond and third Congresses also met in New York 
 City, the former Nov. 14, 1775, and the latter 
 May 14, 1776. The Congress, though deriving its 
 authority from the people, was a revolutionary 
 body, and owed its existence to the exigencies of 
 the times. At its third session, in conformity with 
 the spirit of a resolution adopted by the Conti- 
 nental Congress May 15, 1776, measures were first 
 introduced for the formation of an adequate gov- 
 ernment. A motion to appoint a committee to 
 devise a plan for this purpose met with strenuous 
 opposition from Hhose, who, jealous of every as- 
 sumption of power, affirmed that that body was not 
 delegated with such powers. Hence the subject 
 was referred to a committee, who reported on the 
 27th of May, "that the right of framing, creating 
 or remodeling of civil governments is, and ought 
 to be, in the people," and recommended that, in- 
 asmuch as doubts existed relative to the powers of 
 that Congress in the premises, a newCongress be 
 elected by the people, specially instructed upon 
 the question of a new government. The old gov- 
 ernment was declared to be dissolved, the royal 
 governor having taken refuge under the guns of 
 the British fleet. "This report," says Hon. 
 Chauncey M. Depew, in an address delivered at 
 the Kingston Centennial, in 1877, "is remarkable 
 as the earUest, clearest, and most emphatic declar- 
 ation of the doctrine of popular sovereignty." On 
 the 31st of May, in consonance with the report of 
 the committee, resolutions were adopted calling on 
 the people to elect a new body empowered to 
 form a new government, and instructed also upon 
 the question of united colonial independence. 
 
 In the meantime the seat of war was transferred 
 to New York. On the 25th of June, the British 
 fleet and army under Lord Howe, arriyed off Sandy 
 Hook, and on the 30th, the Congress, apprehen- 
 sive of an attack, resolved that the next Congress 
 should meet at White Plains, and adjourned. The 
 newly elected delegates met at the court house in 
 that village July 9, 1776,* and on the forenoon of 
 that day, a letter inclosing the Declaration of In- 
 dependence, which had been adopted by the Con- 
 tinental Congress on the 4th, was received from 
 New York's delegates in that body. On the after- 
 noon of the same day, this newly created body, 
 with a marvelous heroism, while lamenting the 
 " cruel necessity," concurred in that Declaration, 
 and instructed their delegates in the Continental 
 
 m — 
 
 •Duchess county's delegates to this and other Congresses have been 
 named in the Civil List, seep. 124. 
 
 Congress to support the same, and give their 
 united aid to all measures necessary to attain its 
 object. This was an act which, if the issue was 
 successful, would crown them as patriots, but 
 which, if a failure, would stamp them as traitors 
 and felons. The following day, July loth, the 
 Congress assumed the name of the " Convention 
 of Representatives of the State of New York." 
 
 On the afternoon of the loth the Convention 
 resolved to enter upon the formation of a new 
 government on the i6th, but by that time the' 
 situation of affairs had become too alarming for 
 deliberation. Washington was contemplating the 
 abandonment of New York. British ships of war 
 were anchored off" Tarrytown, within six miles of 
 where they were then sitting. Their whole atten- 
 tion was occupied in raising troops and supplies 
 and providing for the public welfare. In the 
 meantime they ordained that all civil officers well 
 affected toward independence continue the ex- 
 ercise of their duties until further ordered, except 
 that all processes thereafter must issue in the name 
 of the State of New York. It was declared to be 
 treason, and punishable with death, for any one 
 living within the State, and enjoying the protection 
 of its laws, to adhere to the cause of the King of 
 Great Britain, or levy war against the State in his 
 behalf. 
 
 On the 27th of July, the Convention found it 
 necessary to move to Harlem. From Harlem the 
 Convention removed to King's Bridge, thence to 
 Odell's, in Philipse's Manor, and from thence Aug- 
 ust 29, 1776, to Fishkill, where "they supplied 
 themselves with arms and ammunition, and there- 
 after legislated with their swords by their sidesj lit- 
 erally building the peaceful fabric of constitutional 
 government in the very presence of the alarms, the 
 perils, and the carnage of war." 
 
 At Fishkill the Convention first met in the Epis- 
 copal church, September sth,but that building was 
 not in a fit condition to be occupied, being, so the 
 chronicles say, "very foul with dung of birds and 
 fowls, without any benches, seats, or conveniences 
 whatever." They therefore removed to the Dutch 
 church, which is still standing. Here sessions were 
 held at intervals till Feb. ii, 1777, when they ad- 
 journed to Kingston, where the final session was 
 begun on the 6th of March. 
 
 During this time, from July 11, 1775, to March 
 S, 1777, the government was often confided to 
 the Committee of Safety owing to the extreme 
 difficulty of keeping so large a body together at this 
 critical period, and from Sept. 2, 1776, to Feb. 14, 
 
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR. 
 
 133 
 
 1777, this committee, at intervals, held its sessions 
 at Fishkill. 
 
 Nathaniel Sackett, who was born and received 
 his education in Orange county, but was then a 
 resident of Fishkill, was secretary of the commit- 
 tee, and Jan. 3, 1777, was authorized by that body 
 "to employ such detachments of the militia of 
 Duchess county as are not in actual service, as he 
 may deem expedient," " for inquiring into, detect- 
 ing and defeating all conspiracies which may be 
 found, * * * against the Liberties of America."* 
 In i775i Poughkeepsie was selected as one of 
 the places where vessels for the Continental navy 
 were to be built; and on the 7th of March, 1776, 
 workmen and materials were conveyed to that 
 place by sloop from New York, the navigation of 
 the lower Hudson being then .uninterrupted by 
 ice. Before the middle of that month, a sloop 
 came down from Albany, laden with lumber from 
 the mills of Gen. Schuyler at Saratoga, for the 
 ship yard at Poughkeepsie, which was in the lo- 
 cality of Southwick's tannery, near the lower land- 
 ing. There in 1776, the frigates Congress and 
 Montgomery, the former of twenty-eight, and the 
 latter of twenty-four guns, were built, launched 
 and equipped, under the supervision of Captains 
 Lawrence and Tudor. They are said to have been 
 staunch vessels and of good model ; but they 
 never got to sea, as the British held the mouth of 
 the river from the time they were built till 1783. 
 They were wintered at the mouth of Rondout 
 Creek; and are supposed to have been burned 
 in 1777, to prevent their falling into the hands of 
 the enemy when Sir Henry Clinton took the forts 
 in the highlands. One or two fire-ships with 
 fire-arrows were fitted out here by Capt. Hazel- 
 wood in the summer of i776.t Robert R. Living- 
 ston, in a letter to John Jay, under date of May 
 21, 1776, urged the importance of building here 
 " fourteen or fifteen hght boats, capable of carry- 
 ing a twelve-pounder, to secure Hudson River, 
 which," he said, " is to be the chief scene of ac- 
 tion."t 
 
 Stedman, the English historian, mentions the 
 fact that two frigates, two galleys and an armed 
 sloop belonging to the Americans, lay at anchor 
 under the guns of Forts Montgomery and Clinton, 
 when those works were taken by the forces under 
 
 * Fishkill in the Revohitian, by J. Hervey Coolc, in the Fishkill 
 Standard oi April 12. 1876. 
 
 + Contribution from Benson J. Lossing to the Poughkeepsie Weekly 
 Eagle of Feb. 26, 1876, and Sketches of Local History, by the same 
 mthor, m The jDutchess Farmer o(X>ec.JZ, 1876. Local Reminiscences 
 in The Sunday Courier, of Poughkeepsie, April zo, 1873. 
 
 t Clarkson's Clermont, or Livingston Manor, 87. 
 
 Sir Henry Clinton, Oct. 6, 1777, and, being unable 
 to escape by reason of adverse winds, were fired 
 by their crews. 
 
 July 25, 1776, a secret committee of the Con- 
 vention met at Poughkeepsie and ordered the 
 building of a boom and chain across the Hudson 
 at Fort Montgomery, to prevent vessels from the 
 British fleet ascending the river. The greater por- 
 tion of that chain was brought down from Ticon- 
 deroga ; the remainder was wrought by Theophilus 
 Anthony, a blacksmith, whose shop was at Milton 
 Ferry, about four miles below Poughkeepsie, 
 (where he also. carried on farming and milling;) 
 now the " Spring brook '' property of his descend- 
 ants, the Gill family. For these services the prop- 
 erty of this staunch Whig was destroyed by the 
 British expedition which burned Kingston in the 
 fall of 1 7 7 7,which was piloted up the river by a Duch- 
 ess county Tory, who lived at Barnegat, (Clinton 
 Point,) and knew all the Whigs in this locality.* 
 
 This chain was stretched from the mouth of 
 Poplopen Kill to Anthony's nose, a lofty projecting 
 rocky eminence, tunnelled by the Hudson River 
 Railroad. It was 1,800 feet long, weighed, says 
 Stedman, over 50 tons, and is supposed to have 
 cost about jQ<iO,ooo. Its links were about 2-^ 
 inches square. It was buoyed up by heavy spars, 
 connected by ironUnks, and also by large rafts of 
 timber. The additional obstructions at this point, 
 which were not completed till the fall of 1777, con- 
 sisted of a boom and chevaux defrise, which so ob- 
 structed the current of the river, (here very strong,) 
 that the water was raised two or three feet above 
 them and pressed upon them heavily. Twice the 
 chain was parted by this pressure : — first, a swivel, 
 which came from Ticonderoga, was broken ; and, 
 the second time, a clevis, which was made at 
 Poughkeepsie, gave way.f 
 
 A second chain was stretched across the Hud- 
 son at West Point, May i, 1778, aportion of which 
 is preserved in the Artillery Laboratory at West 
 Point. The links are made of iron bars, 2^ inches 
 square; average in length a little over two feet, and 
 weigh about 140 pounds each. The chain was 
 stretched across the river at the narrowest point, 
 between the rocks just below the steamboat land- 
 ing and Constitution Island, opposite. It was 
 fastened to huge blocks on each shore, and buoyed 
 
 * Sketches of Local History, by Benson J. Lossing, in The Dutchess 
 Farmer, Dec. 12, 1S76; and the Poughkeepsie Weekly Eagle, July 8, 
 1876. 
 
 fLossing's Pictorial Field Book of the Revolution, I, 732 ; Clinton 
 on the Hudson, by Anclwr, (J. Watts de Peyster, of Tivoli,) in ?■& 
 New York Times, Sept. 3°. '877. 
 
134 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 by large logs, about i6 feet long, pointed at the 
 ends, to lessen their opposition to the current at 
 flood and ebb tide. Anchors, to which it was 
 fastened by means of cables, were dropped at 
 proper distances, to give it greater stability. 
 
 The following letter, which appears in the Fish- 
 kill Standard oi 1876, shows how great were the 
 hopes based on this obstruction, which, however, 
 was no formidable obstacle to the progress of the 
 British fleet after the fall of Forts Chnton and 
 
 Montgomery: — 
 
 FiSHKiLL, Sept'r nth, 1776. 
 
 Sir : — It is conceived highly necessary that the 
 Iron Chain should be immediately dispatched. If 
 it is finished, pray send it down to, the Fort with- 
 out delay. If it is not finished, let no time be lost, 
 and in the interim give us the earliest particular ac- 
 count of its present state, and when it will prob- 
 ably be finished. 
 
 " I am, sir, your very hum. servt., 
 
 " Wm. Yates, Jun. 
 " To Gilbert Livingston, Esq., Po'keepsie." 
 
 A few years since a three-pointed caltrop was 
 found in the locality of Anthony's forge. 
 
 In the fall of 1776, Washington's army was 
 driven from New York by the forces under I.,ord 
 Howe, and withdrawn from the east side of the 
 Hudson into New Jersey. The command of the 
 forts in the Highlands was devolved on George 
 Clinton, who was afterwards elected the first Gov- 
 ernor of the State. The term of enlistment of the 
 militia under his command had expired, and ap- 
 prehension was felt that the enemy meditated an 
 attack on the Highland passes. In response to 
 Washington's appeal to the State to meet this 
 emergency with a temporary supply, Dec. 21, 
 1776, the Convention, then in session at Fishkill, 
 • ordered the entire militia force of the counties of 
 Westchester and Duchess and part of Albany, to 
 be marched forthwith to North Castle, in the 
 former county, " well equipped with arms and am- 
 munition, and furnished with six days' provisions, 
 and blankets, and a pot or camp kettle to every 
 six men." Exemption was, however, granted to 
 such persons as the field oflicers judged could not 
 " be called into service without greatly distressing 
 their families," or who were " actually engaged in 
 the manufacture of saltpetre, or of shoes and cloth- 
 ing for the army." The militia were to be allowed 
 Continental pay and rations, and such as could not 
 provide themselves with arms were to be supplied 
 from the public stores. 
 
 In 1777, Gen. Burgoyne was struggling, first 
 
 ,with Gen. Schuyler, and subsequently with Gen. 
 
 Gates, for the supremacy of the Upper Hudson 
 
 and, in spite of the unhappy jealousy and strife 
 between the latter generals, which seriously weak- 
 ened the American array in that quarter, was 
 checked, and finally overwhelmed with disaster on 
 the fields of Saratoga. Oct. 4, 1777, Sir Henry 
 Clinton, then in command of the British forces in 
 New York, started a force, "variously estimated at 
 3,000 to 3,600, and 4,000 regulars and loyal organ- 
 izations," up the Hudson ; but whether designed to 
 co-operate with Burgoyne, or, merely, by a diver- 
 sion in his favor, to facilitate his operations, is a 
 mooted question. Certain it is that Burgoyne 
 counted on his support and co-operation ;* but 
 whether Clinton so intended is not so certain, 
 though Dunlap says this was his obvious intention. 
 If he did, his failure to take advantage of his suc- 
 cesses was as inexcusable as inexpUcable.t 
 
 The defense of the Hudson was entrusted to the 
 inefficient Major General Israel Putnam, whom the 
 great Massachusetts historian pronounced " unfit 
 to be a General officer." His jurisdiction extended 
 from King's Bridge to Albany. " Although having 
 guard-boats all along the river and spies on the 
 alert in every direction," says Gen. de Peyster, 
 "the British Chnton completely outwitted him; 
 made him believe that he was about to turn his 
 position by the practicable passes through the 
 eastern Highlands, then took advantage of a fog, 
 transferred his troops oyer to the western side of 
 the river, to Stony Point, made a wonderful march 
 across or rather around the Dunderberg Mountain, 
 and carried Fort Chnton and Fort Montgomery by 
 assault, performing the most brilliant British oper- 
 ation during the seven years' war." 
 
 Forts Chnton and Montgomery, the latter com- 
 manded by Admiral George Clinton, the first 
 Governor of the State of New York, and the for- 
 mer by his brother. Gen. James CUnton, were 
 taken on the 6th of October. *The garrison of 
 Fort Montgomery, according to Stedman, num- 
 bered 800 men; that of Fort Clinton, 400; though 
 Gordon and Irving agree in stating their united 
 force did not exceed 600, mostly militia. Gov- 
 ernor Chnton, having, according to Gen. Sir 
 Edward Cust, lost 100 in killed and 250 taken 
 prisoners, escaped with the remnant of his force 
 from the two forts under cover of night, and 
 placed himself in a position to watch the further 
 
 * Anburey's Travels in America^ /, 410, anr/ //, 30. WilkimtiH^s 
 Memoirs^ (Vol. I, p. 251.) furnishes copies of letters from Burgoyne to 
 Clinton showing this fact ; and the expectation of aid fror^| Clinton was 
 one of the determining conditions in Burgoyne's final surrender. 
 
 t Gen. J. Watts de Peyster, of Tivoli, contributed a very able re- 
 view of Clinton's expedition to The New York Times of September 30, 
 1877. 
 
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR. 
 
 I3S 
 
 movements of the enemy and to aiford succor to 
 Esopus (Kmgston,) then the State capital. Other 
 forts had been constructed along the Hudson to 
 guard special interests, among them two at the 
 Wiccopee Pass, about four miles south of Fishkrll 
 village, (whose sites are yet plainly discernible,) to 
 guard that pass, and protect the military stores at 
 Fishkill. But these could offer no resistance to 
 the progress of the enemy up the river, after the 
 fall of Forts Clinton and Montgomery. Putnam, 
 whose force numbered, according to Botta, 600 
 regulars and an uncertain number of militia, re- 
 treated from Peekskill, where he was encamped, to 
 the stronger Highlands in his rear, before an insig- 
 nificant force sent by Sir Henry CUnton to conceal 
 the advance of his forces on the west side of the 
 river. On the 7th he wrote to Gates, then in 
 command of the Northern army opposed to Bur- 
 goyne : "I cannot prevent the enemy's advancing; 
 prepare for the worst ;" and on the 8th : " The 
 enemy can take a fair wind, and go to Albany or 
 Half Moon with great expedition and without any 
 opposition." 
 
 Sir Henry Clinton removed the obstructions for 
 the defense of the river on the 7th; but not until 
 the 13th (Botta, II, 26,) did he send up the__river 
 " a flying squadron of small frigates, under Sir 
 James Wallace, carrying a detachment of British 
 troops under Major Gen. Vaughan," while he, 
 himself, after garrisoning Fort Montgomery, re- 
 turned to New York. He had, however, on the 
 nth sent Sir James Wallace to reconnoiter the 
 river. That officer proceeded to within three 
 miles of Poughkeepsie, and having burned Van 
 Buren's mills and several buildings, also several old 
 vessels along the shore, returned in safety.* His 
 report determined the expedition under General 
 Vaughan ; for, says Stedman, the necessity of a di- 
 version in favor of Burgoyne was not even suspected. 
 
 On the 7 th of October, from New Windsor, Gov. 
 Clinton, after his narrow escape from capture at 
 Fort Montgomery, communicated the loss of the 
 Highland forts to the Legislature, then in session 
 at Esopus, and requested them to urge forward the 
 detachment of Duchess and Ulster county militia 
 from the army under Gen. Gates. Clinton removed 
 his personal effects from Little Britain to Esopus^ 
 and his brother-in-law, Dr. Peter Tappen, removed 
 Mrs. Clinton and the family to Pleasant Valley, in 
 Duchess county, where they remained until the 
 marauders under Vaughan returned to New York. 
 
 *Zephaniah Piatt to the Council of Safety, dated Poughkeepsie, Oct. 
 12, 1777. Gates Papers, 
 
 The Legislature received information of the re- 
 duction of Forts Clinton and Montgomery on the 
 7th of October, and anticipating an advance upon 
 Esopus, took immediate steps to do what lay in 
 their power to promote the public weal. They 
 passed resolutions continuing the county and dis- 
 trict committees, as well as the commissioners for 
 . detecting conspiracies. They required the com- 
 mittee to lade all the vessels at the different land- 
 ings and other places along the river with flour, 
 wheat, or other provisions which was near the shore, 
 and send them to Albany ; to cause all cattle and 
 Hve stock near either side of the river, not required 
 for present use, to be removed into the interior, or, 
 in case persons refused to permit such removal, to 
 destroy them. They appointed a Council of Safe- 
 ty, consisting of William Floyd, Evert Baucker, 
 Egbert Benson, Daniel Dunscomb, Robert Harper, 
 Jonathan Landon, Levi Pawling, John Morin Scott, 
 Johannis Snyder, Peter Pray Van Zandt, Alexan- 
 der Webster, Wrn. B. Whiting and Abraham Yates, 
 Jr., any seven of whom were vested with the pow- 
 ers of government, to continue as long as the ne- 
 cessities of the State should require.* As the dan- 
 ger from the enemy seemed imminent, the public 
 records were ordered boxed, ready to be moved at 
 a moment's notice to Rochester, (Ulster Co.,) 
 which was designated as their repository. Vari- 
 ous other measures were taken for the public weal. 
 
 Clinton kept close watch of the movements of 
 Vaughan's forces up the river, and when it became 
 evident that Kingston was the objective point, he 
 set his small army in motion toward that village, 
 whither he preceded them, arriving at 9 oclock on 
 the night of the 15th of October. His army, 
 fatigued by a forced march, did not reach that 
 place until about two hours after it had been de- 
 stroyed by the British, but had it been at hand, it 
 was inadequate to successfully oppose them. Strenu- 
 ous efforts were made to save as much of the public 
 and private property as possible, but the British 
 moved with such celerity that much plunder fell 
 into their hands and was destroyed with the village. 
 They gained the landing on the i6th and marched 
 immediately up to Kingston, driving from their 
 hastily constructed earth-works on the river bank, 
 at the point of the bayonet^ about 150 miUtia, 
 commanded by Cols. Levi Pawhng and Johannis 
 Snyder. Kingston, which was then the third town 
 in size in the State, was destroyed on the i6th, 
 only one house escaping plunder and the torch. 
 
 t Journal Provincial Convention, I, io6l. This Council held its ses- 
 sions first at Kingston, next at Hurley, and finally at Poughkeepsie. It 
 continued from Oct. 8, 1777, to. Jan. 7, 1778, its first session in Pough- 
 keepsie being held Dec. 21, 1777. 
 
136 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 Authors differ in regard to this date, some as- 
 signing to it the 13th, others, the 15th, others still, - 
 the i6th, and one, {The New American Encyclope- 
 dia,) the 17th. The researches of Hon. George 
 W. Pratt, embodied in a paper read before the 
 Ulster County Historical Society Oct. 16, i860, 
 have thrown light on this subject and shown pretty 
 conclusively that the i6th is the correct date. He 
 cites the following letter from Gov. Clinton to Gen. 
 Putnam, dated " Marbletown, seven miles from 
 Kingston, 17th October, i777-" "Kingston was 
 burnt yesterday afternoon because I had not troops 
 to defend it;" and the following draft of a letter 
 from the Council to the New York delegates in the 
 Continental Congress, referring to the movements 
 of Vaughan's troops. {Journal Provincial Conven- 
 tion, I., 1072;) * * * on the sixteenth, * * * 
 gained the Landing and * * * marched imme- 
 diately up to Kingston and reduced the whole 
 town to ashes." The New York Journal and the 
 General Advertiser of May 11, 1778, then pub- 
 lished at Poughkeepsie, states that Kingston was 
 destroyed on the i6th. 
 
 The advent of Sir Henry Clinton's forces up the 
 Hudson was anticipated in the early autumn and 
 occasioned much alarm to the people living adja- 
 cent to the river, but the dilatory moments of the 
 British commander had measurably allayed the 
 apprehensions thus awakened. They were revived, 
 however, when, on the 6th of October, the roar of 
 cannon was heard at Forts Clinton and Mont, 
 gomery, and when, on the night of the 7th, the 
 beacon lights on the northern summits of the High- 
 lands, flashed out the intelligence that those works 
 had succumbed to the enemy. 
 
 In the postscript to a letter from Brig. Gen. 
 James CUnton to his brother, the Governor, dated 
 Little Britain, Oct. 18, 1777, it is stated that Gen. 
 Parsons remained at Peekskill with about 2,000 
 men; that the militia regiments of Cols. Humphrey 
 and Brinkerhoof were left at Fishkill, and Col. 
 Piatt, with about 150 men, at Poughkeepsie. 
 
 The British, it would seem, did not delay their 
 progress up the river to commit depredations along 
 its shores until reaching the vicinity of Rondout 
 Kill. They did, nevertheless, fire a few shot and 
 shell in response to the firing from the shore, and 
 made targets of the dwellings of prominent Whigs, 
 which were pointed out by a Duchess county Tory, 
 who piloted them up the river. Several shells were 
 fired at a party who were standing on the porch of 
 one. of the old houses above the Fishkill Landing 
 Machine Works, arjd two of them were subse- 
 
 quently found in making excavations. One of 
 them went as far up as what is known as the Wm. 
 H. VanVoorhis place. Several shots were fired at 
 Poughkeepsie, where a vigorous fire was kept up 
 by the " Invincibles," who occupied the high 
 grounds south of Kaal Rock, and were concealed 
 from the enemy by a heavy growth of cedar. A 
 piece of ordnance, of about three pounds calibre, 
 was stationed in the ravine between that point and 
 Kaal Rock, and from this "battery" fire was 
 opened as soon as the first vessel of the enemy 
 came in range. " But a few shots from the English 
 silenced it, and sent the artillerymen flying up the 
 hill and beyond reach." " The Invincibles fired 
 a couple of volleys, but a shot or two from another 
 vessel of the fleet compelled them to 'lay low' 
 and cease firing. The enemy then passed on with- 
 out further molestation from our ' forces ' until they- 
 reached a point near the ferry slip. Here the 
 enemy again received a shot or two from another 
 small cannon which was stationed on the high 
 ground at that place, but without sustaining dam- 
 age." Firing was continued from the shore until 
 the fleet passed out of range of the high grounds 
 at the Upper Landing.* One shot from the enemj", 
 so we were told by the late Matthew Vassar, Jr., 
 struck in the spring near the old Vassar brewery 
 on Vassar street. Another shot pierced the south 
 side of the old Livingston house, near the left door 
 jamb, and the orifice made through the shingle 
 (for the sides, as well as the roof of the house, are 
 covered with shingles,) is still discernible, though 
 another shingle has been inserted under the one 
 thus perforated to cover the hole made through 
 the walLf The Invincibles were commanded by 
 Capt. Jacobus Frear, some of whose descendants 
 are still living in Poughkeepsie. 
 
 * Local Reminiscences^ in The Sunday Cowr^V?- of Poughkeepsie, 
 June IS, 1873 ; Fishkill in the Revolution, by J. Hervey Cook, of Fish- 
 kill-on-the-Hudso'n, in the Fishkill Standard, March 4, 1876. 
 
 t This old house is one of tlie most interesting rehcs of Duchess 
 county, and is one of the oldest, if not the oldest building, standmg in 
 it. It is located on the river, between it and the Hudson River Rail- 
 road, a little more than a mile below the landing at the foot of Main 
 street. It was, says Lossing, (Pictorial Field-Book of the Revolution, 
 Ii 384, 38s,) " the residence of the late Col. Henry A, Livingston, a 
 grand-son of Philip Livingston, one of the signers of the Declaration of 
 Independence, and son of the late John H. Livingston, D. D., president 
 of the College of New Brunswick. It was built by his paternal grand- 
 father, Henry Livingston, in 1714, and is a fine specimen of a country 
 mansion of that period." The situation was once delightful, completely 
 imbosomed in venerable willow trees, planted by the first owner, beside a 
 once beautiful cove, but whose beauty, like that of the mansion site, has 
 been iparred by the railroad, which passes within a few feet of the house, 
 and the works of the Hudson River Iron Manufacturing Company, to 
 whom the property now belongs. Col. Livingston, who ied June 9, 
 1849, will long be remembered in Poughkeepsie as one of its best 
 citizens. " Although Hving in the retirement of a gentleman of wealth 
 and leisure, he oflen consented to serve the public in offices requiring 
 judgment, industry and integrity." 
 
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR, THE "DUCHESS INVINCIBLES." 
 
 '37 
 
 The " Duchess Invincibles " were probably the 
 first uniformed militia company in Poughkeepsie. 
 The company was organized about 1775 and num- 
 bered nearly one hundred men. Their headquarters 
 were on what is now South Avenue, near Mr. Bur- 
 nap's residence. That portion of Poughkeepsie was 
 then known as " Freartown," from the fact that 
 about the whole of it was owned by the Frears. 
 The uniform of the Invincibles consisted of a bear 
 skin cap of peculiar shape, long frock coat made 
 of homespun cloth, trimmed with buff, and 
 pantaloons of the same material, with buff stripe 
 down the legs. They had no cartridge box, but 
 carried their ammunition in a pocket made of 
 leather which was fastened to the breast of the 
 coat.* 
 
 Gen. Vaughan, having effected the destruction 
 of Kingston, rapidly withdrew his forces to the 
 fleet, which remained at anchor on the night 
 of the i6th. On the 17th, (Friday,) a strong 
 detachment was landed on the east side of the 
 river and marched to Rhinebeck Flats, (now Rhine- 
 beck,) which, it is claimed, "was eminently a Whig 
 place during the Revolution." There several 
 houses were burned; "not those of the poorer 
 class, nor indiscriminately," says Gen. de Peyster, 
 " but of rich leaders who had made themselves ob- 
 noxious." One of these was the residence of the 
 lamented Gen. Montgomery before he assumed the 
 command which terminated in his death in an 
 assault on Quebec, Dec. 31, 1775- This detach- 
 ment made its way up the river as far as Living- 
 ston's Manor, and destroyed the mansion and other 
 houses. Red Hook did not escape the avenging 
 hand. The detachment disembarked at what was 
 formerly known as the Lower Tivoli Dock, and 
 burned the residences above Upper Red Hook 
 Landing, (now TivoU.) Thence they marched to 
 their work of destruction, some three miles further 
 north, along a path still constantly used within a 
 quarter of a century. They also destroyed Liv- 
 ingston's (?) Mills, in Red Hook, of which not a 
 vestige now remains. They consisted of a grist- 
 mill, very fine for the era in which it did its work, 
 and' a saw-mill which had an immense business. 
 They were located at the mouth of the Saw Kill, 
 which empties into the Hudson just north of what 
 is known as the "Montgomery Place" which was 
 built by the widow of the General from whom it 
 derives its name, after his death, and from 'whose 
 piazza, in 1818, she saw "her husband's remains 
 
 • Local RemmUcences, in The Smiday Courier, of Poughkeepsie, 
 June 8, 1873. 
 
 return with distinguished funeral honors from the 
 scenes of his heroic death and temporary burial," 
 borne to their final resting place in New York 
 City.* 
 
 A letter dated Fishkill, Oct. 30, 1777, and pub- 
 Ushed in the Independent Chronicle, (Boston,) Nov. 
 6, 1777, attributes to the timely appearance of 
 Gen. Putnam the prevention of the further de- 
 struction of villages and property along the river. 
 It says : — 
 
 " Last Friday the fleet returned from their in- 
 glorious expedition up the North River, having 
 burnt Kingston, in Esopus, and a few houses at 
 Rhynebeck and Livingston's Manor. * * * Our 
 army, commanded by Gen. Putnam, coming up 
 with them, caused them to skulk on board 
 their vessels, and prevented their doing further 
 mischief ; the wind being light in their return, 
 which gave an opportunity to our army of march- 
 ing as fast as they sailed and was a happy circum- 
 stance in our favor, and prevented them from de- 
 stroying Poughkeepsie and other buildings on the 
 river side." 
 
 Mr. Lossing, the historian, in a contribution to 
 the Poughkeepsie Eagle of recent date, says that 
 at Livingston's Manor, Vaughan's forces heard of 
 the surrender of Burgoyne, " and fled in haste to 
 New York." Lamb's Journal, {^^. i72-'3>) says 
 " the advanced state of the season " compelled the 
 return. 
 
 Governor -Clinton concentrated his little force at 
 Hurley, and did not follow the enemy lest he might 
 be shut in between the Catskill Mountains and the 
 river, should the British land in force. 
 
 The British fleet lay opposite the northern part 
 of the county. " The armed vessel highest up the 
 river," says Gen. de Peyster, "lay just above the 
 ' Lover's Leap '—a tall bluff covered with glorious 
 evergreens — about three-quarters of a mile north 
 of Tivoli Station. The rest were strung out south- 
 ward for over two miles." Here it lay till the 23d 
 of October, when, to the astonishment of the 
 American patrol on shore, it steered down, instead 
 of up, the river, and rejoined the forces in the 
 Highlands. This retrograde movement, adds Gen. 
 de Peyster, seemed to the Americans "to be ex- 
 plained three or four days after, when the news of 
 Burgoyne's surrender reached this locahty." It 
 was a serious disappointment to the " large body 
 of loyalists," who, says Lamb, " were forming at 
 this time on the eastern shore of the river to join 
 the royal army." 
 
 October 19th, the Council of Safety, which 
 disn ersed at the burning of Kingston, met at Mar- 
 
 ~ * Gen. J. Watts de Peyster. in The New York Times, Sept. 30, 1877. 
 
138 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 bletown, and adopted the following preamble and 
 resolutions : — 
 
 " Whereas, The late destruction of the town of 
 Kingston, and a vast number of dwelling houses, 
 improvements, grain and fodder on either side of 
 Hudson's River, by a cruel, inhuman and merciless 
 enemy, has deprived many persons and famiUes, 
 the good subjects of the State, of shelter and sub- 
 sistence for themselves and their cattle — calamities 
 which, by the blessing of God on the fruits of this 
 land, those who have not shared in so uncommon 
 a misfortune are enabled in a great measure to 
 reUeve ; 
 
 " Resolved, Therefore, that it be, and it is hereby 
 most earnestly recommended to the several and re- 
 spective general and district committees of the 
 counties of Ulster, Dutchess, Orange and Westches- 
 ter, to make, or cause to be made, a proper and 
 proportionate distribution of the aforesaid dis- 
 tressed persons and families, and their cattle, to 
 the end that they may all be provided for as the 
 circumstances of the country will permit ; and it is 
 hereby most strenuously urged on all those who 
 may not have shared with them in their afflictions 
 to receive the aforesaid persons, famihes and cat- 
 tle, and furnish them with shelter and subsistence 
 at a moderate rate." 
 
 While Sir Henry CHnton's victorious army was 
 pushing its way up the Hudson and ravaging the 
 settlements upon its banks, the straitened army 
 of Burgoyne was engaged in the vain endeavor to 
 extricate itself from the toils with which the victo- 
 rious and increasing array of Gates had surrounded 
 it, and into which it had been lured in no small 
 measure by the delusive hope of succor from the 
 former. On the 17th of October, 1777, the day 
 following the destruction of Kingston, Burgoyne 
 surrendered his entire army. The melancholy fate 
 of this array has a local interest, for its route from 
 Cambridge, Mass., to Charlottesville, Va., where, 
 for a long time, it was kept as prisoners of war, was 
 through this county. After the surrender at Sara- 
 toga, it was marched to Cambridge, whence, 
 according to the second article of the convention 
 between Generals Burgoyne and Gates, it expected 
 to proceed to Boston and embark for Europe; 
 but Congress, with perhaps questionable justice, 
 decided otherwise. 
 
 The route of the British army is laid down in a 
 map accompanying Anburey's Interior Travels 
 Through America. It entered this county and 
 State in the neighborhood of Sharon, and 
 "marched," says the historian Lossing, "down 
 the valley of the Wee-bee-tuck or Wee-bu-took, 
 (the Ten Mile River,) " almost to Dover Plains, 
 wgnt over Plymouth Hill, and through Mutton 
 Hollow to Little Rest, thence by way of Verbank 
 
 and Arthursburg to Fishkill Plains, and crossed the 
 Hudson River from Fishkill Landing [to] New- 
 burgh." " In my. boyhood," he adds, " I have 
 heard old people speak of this march of the Hes- 
 sians through the country, and of the many women 
 and children, wives and offspring of the soldiers, 
 who were forlorn-looking camp-fbllowers."* 
 
 It will be of interest to note Anburey's intelli- 
 gent observations in so far as they pertain to this 
 locality. 
 
 " Just before we crossed the North River," he 
 says, "we came to the town of Fish Kill, which has 
 not more than fifty houses, [in 1777] in the space 
 of near three miles, but this place has been 
 the principal depot of Washington's army, 
 where there are magazines, hospitals, workshops, 
 etc., which form a town of themselves. They are 
 erected near a wood, at the foot of a mountain, 
 where there are a great number of huts, which have 
 been the winter-quarters of the American army, and 
 to which they are shortly expected to return for 
 the ensuing winter ; they are a miserable shelter 
 from the severe weather in this country, and I 
 should imagine, must render their troops very 
 sickly, for these huts consist only of little walls 
 made with uneven stones, and the intervals filled 
 up with wood and straw, a few planks forming the 
 roof; there is a chimney at one end, at the side 
 of which is the door. Near the magazines are 
 some well-constructed barracks, with a prison, 
 surrounded with lofty pallisadoes. In this prison 
 were a number of unfortunate friends to Govern- 
 ment, who were seized in their plantations, for re- 
 fusing to take the oath of allegiance to the United 
 States, and who were confined till a sloop was ready 
 to take them to New York ; for the Americans are 
 so oppressive, they will not let any one remain 
 neuter ; and they compel every inhabitant, either 
 to take the oath, or quit the country. When we 
 crossed the river, there were two large sloops going 
 to New York, crowded with people of this descrip- 
 tion, many of whom, the boatmen informed us, had 
 left beautiful houses, with extensive and well culti- 
 vated plantations." " The small part of New York 
 we passed through," he says, "seems to be well cul- 
 tivated; it affords grain of all sorts; there are 
 abundance of cattle, hogs and poultry." 
 Further on, he says : — 
 
 " We passed through a Httle town called Hopel, 
 [Hopewell,] before we crossed the North River, 
 which is chiefly inhabited by the Dutch. At a 
 house where we were quartered, the people behaved 
 extremely civil and attentive, and upon leaving 
 them,. would scarce permit us to pay for what we 
 had; from which circumstance we concluded they 
 were friends to Government, and some officers 
 opening their hearts, spoke very freely about the 
 Congress, Washington, etc., observing how ^eat a 
 shame it was, that we should be put to such ex- 
 pence, and that Congress ought to pay for us, the 
 
 * Poughkeepsie Weekly Eag!e, Jan. ii, 1876. 
 
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR. 
 
 139 
 
 man went out of the room in a moment, and just 
 as we were mounting our horses, brought us an 
 enormous bill, exhorbitant in every article, which 
 he insisted upon being paid, and upon our urging 
 that we had paid him what he had demanded, he 
 replied, 'Yes, gentlemen, so you have, but then I 
 thought Congress were to defray all your expences, 
 now I know you are to pay me, I can't take a 
 farthing less than this bill, which we were com- 
 pelled to discharge ; however, it served as a lesson 
 in future, to be cautious before whom we railed 
 against Congress."* 
 
 While this army of prisoners was en route, Wash- 
 ington, uncertain of the intentions of Lord Howe, 
 and apprehensive that Sir Henry Clinton would 
 attempt a rescue at the crossing of the Hudson, 
 or the passage through the Jerseys, moved his 
 army into the latter State, and on their arrival at 
 Fishkill, detached a large escort, consisting of a 
 brigade for each brigade of prisoners,! who num- 
 bered between 5,000 and 6,000. 
 
 At an early period of the war, Washington 
 evinced an appreciation of the importance of an 
 adequate defense of the Hudson River, and when 
 he withdrew his army from New York, the selec- 
 tion of eligible defensive situations revealed to him 
 the strategical advantages of West Point. The 
 campaign of 1777 having revealed the apparent 
 effort of the British to gain control of the Hudson, 
 and thus separate New England from the rest of 
 the country, led to the improvement of the defen- 
 ses of that stronghold, which were in progress in 
 the fall of 1777. Fishkill, from its secure posi- 
 tion at the head of the Highlands, and being on a 
 direct route of communication with the New Eng- 
 land States, was the natural depot of supplies for 
 this section, and at an early period was selected 
 for that purpose, a sergeant and fourteen men being 
 detailed from each regiment within the county to 
 erect barracks there. Each man so detailed was 
 required to provide himself with either " a good 
 sufficient spade, shovel, stubbing hoe, felling ax, or 
 corn hoe, and every other necessary for his ac- 
 commodation." Large quantities of stores from 
 the Eastern States and adjacent country were there 
 accumulated for the use of the Continental army; 
 and there numerous refugees sought shelter on the 
 evacuation of New York City in 1776. 
 
 Considerable bodies of troops were stationed in 
 Fishkill at different periods. The Wharton House."| 
 
 *Anburey's Tranels, II., i34-»43. 
 
 t/Jirf, 136, 
 
 XLossing's Pictorial Field Book of the Revolution, I,6goi The same 
 author in one of a series of Historical Sketches, published in the 
 • Pouehkeeisie Eagle, reiterates the name. Mr. Brmkerhoff, in the 
 sketch already noted, calls it the "Walton House," a name, he saySj 
 which "has already lead to much needless mistake The place, 
 
 he adds, "has always been in tlie possession of the VanWyck famUy, Irom 
 the first' settlement of the country." 
 
 named from Mr. Wharton, who then owned it, and 
 made memorable by Cooper's story of The Spy* 
 but now the residence of Sidney E. VanWyck, was 
 the head-quarters of the officers. The house stands 
 a short distance south of the village, on the turn- 
 pike, near the foot of the mountains. The bar- 
 racks extended along the road, a half-mile south of 
 the village, in close proximity to the house. Near 
 this residence, " by the large black-walnut trees," 
 says Mr. Brinkerhoff, before quoted, " and east of 
 the road near the base of the mountain, was the 
 soldier's burial-ground. * * * This almost un- 
 known and unnoticed burial-ground holds not a 
 few, but hundreds of those who gave their lives for 
 the cause of American Independence. Some fif- 
 teen years ago, [about 1861,] an old lady who was 
 then living at an advanced age, and who had lived 
 near the village until after she had grown to woman- 
 hood, told the writer that after the battle of White 
 Plains she went with her father through the streets 
 of Fishkill, and in places between the Dutch and 
 Episcopal churches the dead were piled up as high 
 as cord wood. These were buried there. The 
 wounded of the battle who afterwards died, were 
 buried there. The constant stream of death from 
 the hospitals were buried there. The small-pox, 
 which broke out in the camp, and prevailed very 
 malignantly added many more." The same writer 
 adds, " it is doubtful whether any spot in the State 
 has as many of the buried dead of the Revolution 
 as this quiet spot." Some of the hospitals were 
 located in the barracks, others, in the more imme- 
 diate vicinity of the village. The Episcopal church 
 was used for that puspose when needed ; also the 
 Dutch church, though less often. The academy 
 building was likewise used for hospital purposes ; 
 and finally the Presbyterian church. 
 
 Fishkill was, for brief periods, the headquarters 
 
 * In this house a company of Tories, who were lured by Enoch 
 Crosby into the power of the Whigs, were tried before the 
 Committee of Safety in the fall of 1776- Crosby was a native of Massa- 
 chusetts, and in infancy removed with his parents to South East, in 
 Duchess, (now Putnam, ) county, where he learned the trade of a shoe- 
 maker. When the Revolution broke out he was living at Danbury. He 
 laid aside the lap-stone and last and shouldered a musket. In 1776, 
 after rendering service on the northern frontier, he engaged in the 
 " secret service," at the suggestion of the Committee of Safety of this 
 State, and distinguished himself by his exploits in luring bands of Tories, 
 with whom he was usually captured, tried and imprisoned, but managed 
 to escape through the connivance of his captors, until his frequent 
 escapes from durance excited the suspicions of the Tories of Westchester 
 and the southern portion of Duchess county, among whom he had freely 
 mingled as a traveling cobbler. He, in company with the band 
 of Tories above referred to, was confined in the old stone (Dutch) 
 church at Fishkill ; in which, also, were confined several British and 
 Hessian soldiers captured through a stratagem of Crosby's at Teller's 
 Point. This old stone church still stands, an eloquent relic of the dim 
 past. Enoch Crosby, it is asserted, was the original of ' ' Harvey Burch," 
 the hero of James Fennimore Cooper's Spy: a Tale of Neutral 
 Ground. 
 
I40 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 of Gen. Washington, who always, when in that 
 town, stopped at the residence of Col. John Brinck- 
 erhofif,* which " is one of a group of buildings in 
 and around Fishkill village made notable by their 
 connection with historic events." This building, 
 which, as a stone in one of its gables testifies, was 
 erected in 1738, by the same Col. Brinckerhoff, 
 stands a few rods from the line of the Duchess and 
 Columbia Railroad, about three miles north-east 
 of Fishkill village. It is an old-fashioned farm 
 .house, built of stone, its gables being formed of 
 bricks imported from Holland. It also accommo- 
 dated other distinguished guests, among whom 
 was La Fayette, who remained there during a six 
 weeks' sickness. It is now the property of Mr. 
 Alfred White. Many other buildings in !^ishkijl 
 have connected with them Revolutionary associa- 
 tions, but for more minute descriptions of these, 
 as well as the comphcity of Joshua Hett Smith in 
 Arnold's treason and his subsequent arrest in 
 Fishkill, we must refer the reader to the history of 
 that town. In the spring of 1779, Fishkill Land- 
 ing was the headquarters of Anthony Wayne — 
 " Mad Anthony "—the hero of Stony Point. 
 There, also, were the headquarters of John Fisher, 
 Quartermaster-General of the Continental Army. 
 Pawling, too, is made memorable by its Revolu- 
 tionary associations. Within its borders, on the 
 slopes of " Purgatory Hill," a portion of the Con- 
 tinental army was cantoned in the fall of r778. 
 They occupied log huts, the remnants of the chim- 
 neys of which might be seen a few years ago. 
 Washington, whose headquarters were at or near 
 Fredericksburg, (now Patterson,) a few miles be- 
 low Pawling station, spent several weeks with these 
 troops— from late in September till the close of 
 November, excepting some ten days spent at Fish- 
 kill. Well authenticated tradition says that he 
 sometimes occupied the Ferris house, a first- 
 class farm house, situated about two miles from 
 the Harlem Railroad station at Pawling, a little 
 distance from the more southerly road leading to 
 Quaker Hill, and built in 1771, by Reed Ferris, one 
 of a number of families of Friends who immigrated 
 to that town from Rhode Island. This house is 
 further made notable by the trial there, in the fall of 
 1778, of Gen. Philip Schuyler, (the victim of Gen. 
 Gates' intrigues,) by court-martial, on the general 
 charge of neglect of duty while in command of the 
 
 *Mr. T. VanWyck BrinkerhofF says Washington quartered at the 
 " Wharton," or "Walton House." Its builder, Col. John Brinckerhoff 
 •was the maternal grandfather of the late Col. John B VanWyck of 
 Poughkeepsie, who occupied the mansion till his removal to Pouirh- 
 keepsie, m 1817, *" 
 
 Northern Department in 1777, especially for his 
 absence at the capture of Ticonderoga July 6th, 
 of that year. General Lincoln, whose headquarters 
 were at the Ferris house, was President of the court. 
 Gen. Schuyler was honorably acquitted, and pend- 
 ing the action of Congress on the verdict of the 
 court, he was appointed to that body by the Leg- 
 islature of New York, then in session at the court- 
 house in Poughkeepsie. Some changes have been 
 made in the Ferris house, but it remains substan- 
 tially the same as when Washington occupied and 
 Schuyler was tried in it. 
 
 While the army lay encamped on " Purgatory 
 Hill," this region was infested by a band of Tory 
 robbers, known as " Cowboys," who plundered the 
 Whigs and were not over-scrupulous in appropriat- 
 ing the property of moderate Tories. The suffer- 
 ing Whigs, prominent among whom were Messrs. 
 Sherman and Akin, of Quaker Hill, unwilling longer 
 to endure the injuries to person and property in- 
 flicted by this band, determined to exterminate 
 them, and securing the services of Col. Pearce, of the 
 Duchess county militia, and a file of men, accom- 
 panied them to the house of one named Peaseley, 
 (a leader of the band,) which was situated on a 
 high hill about a mile east-south-east of the Ferris 
 house, and was the chief place of rendezvous. The 
 heavy growth of woods which almost surrounded 
 the house enabled them to approach closely with- 
 out being observed. One Vaughan, a chief leader 
 of the band, and two of his companions were sitting 
 near a rock, with their guns by their sides, playing 
 cards. One division of Pearce's men fired on them, 
 mortally wounding Vaughan, and lopping a finger 
 from the hand of another. This broke up the 
 band and gave peace to the neighborhood. In 
 one corner of a secluded burying ground on Quaker 
 Hill, two rude stones yet mark the grave of 
 Vaughan.* 
 
 On the first of August, 1776, as previously 
 stated, the Convention of Representatives of the 
 State of New York appointed a committee to de- 
 vise a form of government for the State ; but this 
 committee did not report till March 12, 1777. 
 The draft of the constitution, which was drawn by 
 John Jay, was amply discussed and underwent 
 some amendments and additions, but was adopted 
 on the 20th of April, 1777, with but one dissenting 
 voice, in almost the same form as prepared by Mr. 
 Jay. The same night one of the secretaries was 
 directed to proceed to Fishkill and have printed 
 
 *Hktorical Sketches, Nos. S6 and 6l, by Benson J. Lossinft LL. D., 
 in the Poughkeepsie Eagle. 
 
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR, GEORGE CLINTON ELECTED GOVERNOR. 
 
 141 
 
 500 copies of the Constitution with, and 2,500 
 without, the preamble, and was instructed to give 
 gratuities to the workmen to expedite the work. 
 
 This constitution was printed by Samuel Lou- 
 don, a Whig printer of New York, who fled from 
 that city on its evacuation by Washington's army 
 and set up his press in Fishkill. It "was \hz first, 
 as well as the most important book ever printed in 
 the State " ;* and the New York Packet, whichjie 
 established in December, 1776, and pubHshed there 
 during the war, was the first newspaper pubhshed 
 in Duchess county.f 
 
 The document was promulgated the following 
 Thursday in front of the court house at Kingston, 
 by Robert Berrian, one of the secretaries, who read 
 it to the assembled multitude from the end of a 
 hogshead. The Convention, having provisionally 
 appointed officers to carry on the government until 
 an election could be held, adjourned sine die, May 
 13, 1777- "Thus," says Hon. Chauncey M. De- 
 pew, " passed into history this remarkable Conven- 
 tion. In lofty patriotism, steadfastness of pur- 
 pose, practical wisdom, and liberal statesmanship, 
 it had few, if any, equals, even among the legisla- 
 tive bodies of extraordinary merit which marked 
 the era." George CUnton was duly elected Gov- 
 ernor. The returns were made to the Council of 
 Safety, July 9, 1777, and on the 30th of that month 
 he took the oath of office at Kingston. 
 
 Governor Clinton, who was then in the field in 
 command of the State militia, discharged the du- 
 ties of his office by correspondence with the Coun- 
 cil of Safety, which remained the governing power 
 until the Legislature met. August i, 1777, was 
 designated as the time of meeting of the latter 
 body, but for obvious reasons. Gov. Clinton twice 
 deferred it. The Senate had no quorum till Sep- 
 tember gth, 1777 ; and the Assembly, though in 
 session on the first of that month, did not organize 
 until the loth. The Legislature remained in ses- 
 sion at Kingston till Oct. 7th, when, having made 
 provision for the pubhc welfare, and appointed a 
 new Council of Safety, it dispersed on the approach 
 of Sir Henry Clinton's forces up the Hudson. 
 
 On the burning of Kingston, the State govern- 
 ment was removed to Poughkeepsie, and there the 
 Assembly next met, Jan. 5, 1778, and the Senate 
 on the 15th of that month. 
 
 In Poughkeepsie the Legislature met first in the 
 old VanKleeck House, which was then a tavern, 
 and subsequently in the court house, and there 
 
 * Lossing's Pictorial Field- Book 0/ the Revolution, /, 695. 
 1 Sketches of Local History, by Eenson J. Lossing, in The 
 Dutchess Farmer, Dec. 12, 1876. 
 
 continued its sessions, at intervals, until March 17, 
 1779- After that it met at irregular intervals at 
 Kingston, Albany, Poughkeepsie and New York, 
 till the final removal of the State capitol to 
 Albany in 1797. Its subsequent sessions at 
 Poughkeepsie were: — September 7 to October 10, 
 1780; June 15 to July i, and October 10 to No- 
 vember 3, 1781 ; February 23 to April 14, and 
 July 8 to 25, 1782; January 11 to March 22, 
 1788; December 11, 1788, to March 3, 1789; 
 and January 6 to 14, 1795. 
 
 On the removal of the State capitol to Pough- 
 keepsie in 1778, Governor Clinton took up his 
 residence there, in the old stone house now known 
 as the Washington Hotel, on the corner of Main 
 and White streets, on the north side of the former 
 street. It was then the fine mansion of Clear 
 Everett, (who was Sheriff of the county from 1754 
 to 1 76 1,) by whom it was built. 
 
 In 1 78 1, efforts were made by the British in 
 New York City to make prisoners of notable men 
 in the State, in order to secure the release by 
 exchange of distinguished British captives. An 
 attempt to seize Gen. Schuyler in August, 1781, 
 was almost successful. A similar attempt to seize 
 Governor Clinton at Poughkeepsie was made 
 about the same time. The Governor, writing to 
 Gen. Schuyler from the stone mansion of Clear 
 Everett, said: — 
 
 " I sincerely congratulate you on your fortunate 
 escape from the villainous attempts of Meyer and 
 his party. * * * xhe evening before I re- 
 ceived your letter, I received an account by express 
 from his Excellency, General Washington, (then at 
 Dobb's Ferry, on the Hudson,) of a party out 
 from New York, to seize and dehver me there, for 
 which they are promised a considerable reward. I 
 have persons out to watch their motions, and am 
 not without hope of soon having some of them at 
 least, in my power. This is the third party which 
 has been sent out on this business, and of which I 
 have been apprised, in the course of the spring 
 and summer, and some of them have met their fate 
 at this place, though for different crimes."* 
 
 During its first session in Poughkeepsie, in the 
 old VanKleeck House, in 1778, the Legislature 
 ratified the Articles of Confederation, and on the 
 9th of July of that year New York's delegates in 
 
 * Among these was Huddlestone, a notorious British spy, who was 
 hung on what was afterwards known as " Forbus's Hill,*' in rear of the 
 Nelson House, and in the square formed by Market, Jefferson, Union 
 and Church streets. This hill was, at an early day, a beautiful elevated 
 plateau, but h^s been leveled somewhat and its peculiar characteristics 
 destroyed. There too, a hundred years ago, a negro slave belonging to 
 Jacob VanBenschoten, of Poughkeepsie, was burned at the stake, for 
 the crime of burning his master's bam and \i\ct^zk.~Sheiches of Local 
 History, by Benson J. Lossing, in The Dutchess Farmer, December 
 12, 1876. 
 
142 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 Congress signed the articles. But New York's 
 ratification was conditioned on a like ratification 
 by all the other States. The delegates from Con- 
 necticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Penn- 
 sylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina and 
 Virginia, signed them the same day ; but the last 
 of the States to do so,— Maryland, — did not sign 
 until March i, 1781. 
 
 The news of the surrender of Cornwallis at 
 Yorktown, Oct. 19, 1 781, which virtually terminated 
 the struggle for American independence, (for peace 
 was concluded the following year,) was received 
 with delight by the patriotic citizens of Duchess 
 county on the 29th of October. The Legislature 
 was then in session at Poughkeepsie, and both 
 houses, with the Governor, proceeded to the Re- 
 formed Dutch church, and there offered thanks- 
 giving to God for the great deliverance. The 
 Rev. John H. Livingston, (father of the late Col. 
 Henry A. Livingston, of Poughkeepsie, and after- 
 wards President of Rutger's College,) who was a 
 native of Poughkeepsie, and was then pastor of 
 that church, officiated on that occasion. From 
 the church the members of the Legislature went 
 to the residence of Governor Clinton to tender 
 their congratulations. Cannon were fired, bonfires 
 were lighted in Main (now Market,) street, and 
 the houses of Whig citizens were illuminated in 
 the evening. 
 
 At that time there were only two stores in 
 Poughkeepsie, one kept by Beekman Livingston, 
 on the site of the present Park House, on the 
 corner of Market and Cannon streets, and the 
 other by Archibald Stewart, "adjoining the Dutch 
 church." On the occasion alluded to, Livingston's 
 store was illuminated ; that of Stewart, who was a 
 Scotchman and a loyalist, was " darkened," so to 
 speak, by the light of a single tallow candle. 
 
 At Fishkill, the victory was celebrated with 
 demonstrations of great joy. " A roasted ox and 
 plenty of liquor formed the repast," and a number 
 of toasts were drank. French and American 
 colors, indicative of the alliance, were displayed, 
 and cannon, bonfires, illuminations and fire works 
 marked the general joy. An immense bonfire was 
 displayed on the summit of Beacon Hill, in the 
 Highlands, that shed its light far over the country, 
 and attracted the attention of the citizens of New- 
 burgh, who on that day had hung Benedict Arnold 
 in eflSgy.* 
 ^ "When th e war of 1812 broke out, recruiting 
 
 * Sketches 0/ Local I/M^j,, by Benson J. Lossing, in The Dutchess 
 Farmer of Dec. iz, 1876. 
 
 offices were opened in this county, and many men 
 were sent off to the scene of action. As a matter 
 of course, deep interest was felt in every scrap of 
 news, and when finally the intelligence was re- 
 ceived that peace had been declared, it was re- 
 ceived with the greatest rejoicings. The news 
 reached here, [Poughkeepsie,] on Sunday morn- 
 ing, and was announced in the churches, the day 
 bejng made a general thanksgiving. The next 
 night many of the villages were illuminated, and 
 the event was further celebrated by great proces- 
 sions of sleigh riders, (it was in February, 1815,) 
 who went dashing through the streets, their jingling 
 bells and merry shouts testifying to the general 
 joy."* 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 War of the Rebellion — Secession of South 
 Carolina — Formation of the Confederate 
 
 Government — Surrender of Fort Sumter 
 
 Early Measures to Suppress Rebellion 
 
 The Ready Response of the North— Prompt 
 AND Generous Response of Duchess County. 
 — Additional Troops Called For — Some of 
 the Organizations with which the Early 
 Volunteers United — Call of July 2d, 1862 
 —Military Districts Formed— Regimental 
 Camp at Tivoli — Changed to Hudson — 
 National and State Bounties— A District 
 Regiment Authorized— Town Quotas Under 
 the Call of July 2d— Call of August 4th, 
 
 1862 — Efforts to Promote Enlistments 
 
 The 128TH Regiment— Its Organization and 
 Services. 
 
 THE war of the rebellion covers a period in 
 the history of Duchess county to which the 
 descendants of those who participated in it may 
 recur with just pride. 
 
 December 17, i860, the people of South Caro- 
 lina met in Convention at Columbia, and adjourned 
 thence by reason of the prevalence of small-pox to 
 Charleston, where they repealed the act of May 
 23, 1788, ratifying the federal constitution and the 
 amendments thereto, and declared " that the union 
 now subsisting between South Carolina and other 
 States, under the name of the United States of 
 America, is hereby dissolved." An address to the 
 people of the other slave-holding States was issued, 
 inviting them to join in " a slave-holding Confed- 
 eracy," and reciting that "we must be the most in- 
 
 * Poughkeepsie Weekly Eagle., July 8, 1876. 
 
THE WAR OF THE REBELLION, FIRST VOLUNTEERS. 
 
 143 
 
 dependent, as we are the most important of the 
 nations of the world." This action was followed 
 in a few days by Georgia, Florida, Texas, Missis- 
 sippi, Alabama and Louisiana. " The Border 
 States foreseeing inevitable war, and that the shock 
 of the conflict would fall upon them, temporized. 
 After all had been done to pledge them to the 
 movement, Virginia, North Carolina, Missouri, 
 Kentucky, Tennessee, Maryland, though a reign of 
 terror political and social, was inaugurated in them, 
 either took the step with great reluctance, or 
 avoided taking it at all."* Prominent among these, 
 and indeed among the States composing the Con- 
 federacy, was Virginia, which did not pass the 
 ordinance of secession until April 17, 1861, and 
 then only after exacting the foremost rank in the 
 Confederacy and protection for her slave interests. 
 Even then she did not carry the whole State with 
 her ; for the western portion maintained its de- 
 termination to adhere to the Union, and was af- 
 terwards recognized as a separate State. Arkan- 
 sas, North Carolina and Tennessee also passed 
 ordinances of secession. 
 
 February 4, 1861, the delegates of six of the 
 seceding States, (South Carolina, Georgia, Ala- 
 bama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Florida,) met 
 in convention at Montgomery, Alabama, and 
 formed a provisional government denominated 
 "The Confederate States of America," founded, 
 as affirmed in the inaugural address of its presi- 
 dent, on the principle of the inequaUty of men, 
 and with human slavery as its corner-stone. Jef- 
 ferson Davis was elected President and Alexander 
 H. Stephens, Vice-President. They were soon af- 
 ter elected permanently for six years. The per- 
 manent constitution was modeled substantially from 
 that of the United States. The following summer 
 the seat of government was removed to Richmond, 
 and their Congress opened its first session in that 
 city, July 20, 1861, the day previous to the battle 
 of Bull Run. 
 
 On the 15th of April, 1861, two days after the 
 fall of Sumter, President Lincoln called on the 
 several States for 75,000 men to suppress the up- 
 rising, which was then regarded, even by those in 
 the best position to judge, as little more than an 
 evanescent emeute. The proclamation also called 
 an extra session of Congress to be convened on 
 the 4th of July. 
 
 New York, instead of filling the requisition on 
 her for seventeen regiments — between 13,000 and 
 14,000 men — for three months, for which period 
 
 * Draper's History of the American Civil War, I., S'7i 
 
 the 75,000 were called, raised 30,000 men for two 
 years and added a war loan of $3,000,000. Many 
 other States acted in like manner. Rhode Island 
 not only instantly sent her quota and added a 
 loan, but her Governor, Sprague, went at the head 
 of her troops. Within fifteen days 350,000 men 
 had offered their services. 
 
 If we direct our inquiry to the action of the cit- 
 izens of Dachess county during this eventful period, 
 we find a no less gratifying exhibition of pat- 
 riotism. On the fall of Fort Sumter, Matthew 
 Vassar, Jr., of Poughkeepsie, anticipating the need 
 of the government, tendered to it his schooner, the 
 Matthew Vassar, Jr., " one of the fastest sailing 
 vessels afloat." Her mate, the Matther Vassar, 
 was loaned to the goverment by Mr. Vassar for 
 service during the Mexican war. With the same 
 wise forethought Messrs. W. W. & J. Reynolds, also 
 of Poughkeepsie, tendered to the government their 
 substantial and well-arranged steamer Reliance. 
 
 Local military organizations evinced early activ- 
 ity. On the 1 6th of April meetings of the officers 
 of the 2 1 St Regiment and the American Citizens 
 Corps were held, to put those organizations on a 
 war footing and prepare them for any emergency. 
 The use of the city hall had been tendered the 
 former for drill purposes by the Common Council 
 of Poughkeepsie, on the 15th. Measures looking 
 to the formation of independent companies were 
 instituted in the city and the principal villages in 
 the county. The Poughkeepsie Eagle, of April 1 7, 
 1 86 1, says : "We have ascertained that there are 
 one hundred volunteers ready to answer to the 
 Governor's call " ; and adds : " Political feeUngs 
 are fast disappearmg in this city. * * * The old 
 poHtical names are fast being forgotten." Such 
 was the spirit that animated the people throughout 
 the county ; and within a few days from the issu- 
 ance of the Governor's call on the i8th of April, 
 companies were raised and organized in many of 
 the towns of the county, and united with various 
 regimental organizations. In some instances, and 
 this is especially true of the city of Poughkeepsie, 
 civic societies became the nuclei of companies or 
 parts of companies. Spirited public meetings, 
 numerously attended and ably addressed, were held 
 in various parts of the county, and awakened a 
 great degree of enthusiasm. These early measures, 
 being concerted by the several towns, will be more 
 particularly noticed in connection with the history 
 of the respective towns. 
 
 The South, by years of anticipation and covert 
 preparation, were in a better state of readiness than 
 
144 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 the North, and were thus able to precipitate events 
 with astounding rapidity. The conviction of the 
 extent of that preparation, the magnitude of the 
 struggle, and the means necessary to oppose it, 
 forced itself only gradually on the minds of the 
 authorities at Washington, who repressed rather 
 than stimulated a popular uprising. 
 
 It soon became evident that the time of the 
 75,000 three months' men would expire before they 
 could be fully armed and equipped. On the 3d of 
 May, 1861, a call was issued for 42,034 volunteers 
 for three years, and provision made to increase the 
 regular army by 22,714 men, and the navy by 
 18,000 men, for five years. On the ist of July 
 two hundred and eighty regiments had been ac- 
 cepted. Congress met July 4th, and July 22, 1861, 
 voted $500,000,000 and 400,000 more men, of 
 which New York's quota was 25,000 men, who 
 were called for on the 2Sth of July, four days after 
 the disastrous battle of Bull Run, which was fought 
 on Sunday, July 21, 1861, mostly with three months' 
 men whose time was then expiring. July 29th the 
 addition of 25,000 men to the regular army was 
 authorized. 
 
 The troops raised under the call of July 25th 
 were, like those raised under the first call, required 
 to rendezvous at New York, Albany and Elmira, 
 and provision was made for the examination of ap- 
 plicants for commissions. This, though it gave to 
 the service a greatly improved class of officers, re- 
 tarded enlistments. To obviate this, and at the 
 same time obtain the best class of troops. Gover- 
 nor Morgan authorized branch depots in twenty- 
 two different localities, so separated that they 
 would be unlikely to interfere with each other. 
 Major VonBeck, of Rondout, was appointed gen- 
 eral recruiting officer for Columbia and Duchess 
 counties. " The objects," says Governor Morgan, 
 in his annual message of Jan. 7, 1862, "were more 
 than accomplished. Not only did the change se- 
 cure a class of troops which for respectability and 
 intelligence can nowhere be surpassed, ,but it 
 hastened enlistments." 
 
 Duchess County's contributions to the quotas 
 under these early calls were both prompt and gen- 
 erous. Public meetings were held in various parts 
 of the county and eloquently addressed by able 
 speakers. Each village and hamlet became the 
 center of an organized effort in this interest. Flags 
 were flung to the breeze in all directions, and these 
 events were made the occasion of large gatherings 
 of enthusiastic people, whose patriotism was ap- 
 pealed to by earnest speakers. Such a meeting was 
 
 held at Beekmanville on Saturday, May ir, 1861, 
 and addressed by Dist. Atty., AUard Anthony, 
 of Poughkeepsie, Benson J. Lossing, of Pough- 
 keepsie. Rev. Mr. Holman, pastor of the Baptist 
 Church at Beekmanville, and the Rev. Mr. King, 
 pastor of the Methodist Church at Yonkers. The 
 speech of Mr. Lossing, who is a native of Beek- 
 manville, was forcible and eloquent and breathed 
 the sentiment of the great loyal heart of the nation. 
 It was prophetic of the ultimate triumph of the 
 Union arms, and vividly mirrors the state of the 
 pubhc mind in the early days of the rebellion. He 
 said, referring to the rebels : — 
 
 "Shall they succeed in their stupendous scheme 
 of villainy? No — a thousand times no! The 
 voices of nineteen milUons of patriotic and indig- 
 nant people have already answered that question 
 most emphatically within the last twenty days. 
 Never in the history of the worid has there been 
 such an uprising of the people in defense of the 
 dearest interests of man. For weeks gloom and 
 despondency overshadowed the land. Good and 
 true men began to ask themselves, have we got a 
 government? Has patriotism died out? Have 
 the fathers been forgotten, and are their practices 
 and precepts unremembered ? Is this great Re- 
 pubHc that cost so much blood and treasure about 
 to be dissolved, and the Star in the West that has 
 long beamed in splendor as a harbinger of hope 
 and redemption for the struggling nations about to 
 go down in darkness forever ? 
 
 "Dark were the clouds all over the political 
 horizon. Men appeared to be slumbering every- 
 where. It seemed as if some deadly malaria had 
 come creepmg up from the dark swamps of the Gulf 
 States, poisonmg the blood, deadening the nerves 
 and paralyzmg the moral perceptions of the best 
 and wisest. The atmosphere became, as it were 
 thick and suffocating. All felt as if some dreadful 
 calamity was pending; They looked to the earth 
 all was gloom. They looked to the firmament, all 
 was blackness. 
 
 "Suddenly a thunder peal rolled over the land. 
 It was the boom of the gun that hurled a rebel 
 shot at Fort Sumter. It fell upon the dull ear of 
 the North like the trump of the Archangel. In- 
 stantly the dead were raised. The millions of the 
 loyal States, as one man, sprang to their feet and 
 seized the weapons of war. Every heart was filled 
 with courage and devotion. The life blood coursed 
 swiftly through their veins. From every hill and 
 valley a shout went up louder than ten thousand 
 hunders. 'The Union and the Government shaU 
 be Preserved. '* 
 
 As indicative of the spirit which per\raded the 
 rural districts of the county, we may cite a few of 
 the incidents which transpired at this period.. May 
 
 » PmghkeeMia Daily Eagle, May 14, 1S61. We are indebted to the 
 files of this paper for much of the materia] gleaned relative to the part 
 taken by Duchess county in the War of the Rebellion. 
 
THE WAR OF THE REBELLION, EARLY LOCAL INCIDENTS. 
 
 1 45 
 
 17, 1861, a large and splendid flag was raised on 
 the Episcopal church at Wappingers Falls. Ap- 
 propriate addresses were made by Revs. Messrs. 
 Andrews and Reese, and the "Star Spangled 
 Banner " was sung by the choir. The Wappin- 
 gers Falls Artillery, then just organized by Capt. 
 Faulkner, was out in full uniform and fired a 
 national salute. On the i8th a large and enthusi- 
 astic meeting of Union men was held at LaGrange- 
 ville, and eloquent addresses were made by Rev. 
 Mr. Cutting, of Poughkeepsie, Mr. Robinson, of 
 Ithaca, Mr. Anthony, of Poughkeepsie, and Jere- 
 miah Eighmie, of Fishkill. A flag was raised on a 
 pole of over one hundred feet natural length. 
 The same day a gathering of over a thousand 
 people assembled in the spacious yard fronting the 
 Presbyterian church at Hughsonville, to witness 
 the raising of the American flag on that edifice. 
 Stirring and patriotic speeches were made by Rev. 
 Vanness Traver, Col. James VanAlen, and Rev. 
 James B. Dunn. The exercises were enlivened 
 by booming cannon and music by the Fishkill 
 band and the church choir. Capt. Faulkner and 
 his zouaves from Wappingers Falls were there with 
 a gaily decorated carriage, festooned and garlanded 
 with flowers in the form of an arbor, in which sat 
 two young girls, dressed in white and decked with 
 wreaths of flowers. Previous to the meeting a 
 very large number of ladies met in the church and 
 formed a Dorcas Army Relief Society with the 
 following oflScers: — ist Directress, Mrs. Z. V. 
 Hasbrook ; 2d Directress, Miss Mesier ; 3d Direct- 
 ress, Mrs. McKinley ; Treasurer, Mrs. John 
 Smith ; Secretary, Mrs. Harriet Delavergne. The 
 presidents were Mrs. Henry Norris and Miss Lydia 
 R. Hasbrook. Mrs. Joseph Vail was President, 
 and Miss Eliza Jane Conover, Secretary, of the 
 working committee. On the 20th a flag was 
 raised in school district No. 9, in the towns of 
 Stanford and Washington, by the teachers and 
 scholars of that district, and a patriotic address 
 was made by Dr. S. G. Cook. On the 20th, also, 
 a flag was raised on the county house by John C. 
 Hitchcock, the Superintendent, and addresses 
 were made by William WiUiamson and A. S. 
 Pease. The Poughkeepsie Eagle of May 21, 186 1, 
 says: — "We learn that the citizens of Hyde Park 
 have presented each of the volunteers who went 
 from there to join Col. Duryee's regiment with a 
 revolver and knife." This is suggestive of the 
 work that was expected of them. May 22d four 
 hundred to five hundred people assembled at the 
 house of David D. Vincent, of Clove Hollow, to 
 
 assist in raising a pole and flag. Speeches were 
 made by AUard Anthony and G. I. Germond, of 
 Poughkeepsie, Rev. R. Mosher, of the Clove, 
 Wm. O. Thorn, of Washington, and Jeremiah 
 Eighmie, of LaGrange. On the 24th a large and 
 enthusiastic gathering took place at Arthursburgh 
 to celebrate the raising of a national flag with ap- 
 propriate ceremonies. Dr. G. Upton was made 
 chairman, Joseph Colwell, assistant chairman, and 
 Draper Hall, secretary. Addresses were made by 
 Charles H. S. Williams, Jr., Jeremiah Eighmie, 
 Albert Emans, Van Wyck Brinckerhoff, Rev. Mr. 
 Donnelly and David Ver Valin. The speaking 
 was of a patriotic character, suited to the occasion, 
 and was received with repeated applause. There 
 was a large attendance of ladies. At Fishkill Plains, 
 on the 29th of May, a flag was raised. A large 
 .procession was formed, including many ladies, and 
 headed by the Fishkill band, marched to the place 
 where the raising took place. Nicholas H. Strip- 
 pie was chosen chairman. The Rev. Mr. Cobb 
 opened the exercises with prayer. Charles H. S. 
 Williams, Jr., Albert Emans, V. W. Brinckerhoff, 
 AUard Anthony, M. D. Wilber, Rev. Mr. Lent and 
 Jeremiah Eighmie delivered addresses. June ist a 
 flag raising at Pleasant Valley was largely attended 
 by people from all the surrounding country to the 
 number of three thousand or more. Ebenezer 
 Allen was elected president. Several vice-presi- 
 dents and secretaries were chosen. The Rev. F. 
 B. Wheeler opened the exercises with prayer, after 
 which addresses were delivered by Rev. B. F. 
 Wile, James Bowne, Mayor of Poughkeepsie, 
 Rev. F. B. Wheeler, WiUiam Wilkinson, Esq., A. 
 S. Pease and Hon. H. A. Nelson. The exercises 
 were interspersed with music by the brass band. 
 
 Nor were those engaged in this labor unmindful 
 of the physical needs of the families of those who 
 heroically threw themselves into the vortex of war. 
 Provision was made for their support by towns and 
 municipalities, and this aid was supplemented by 
 individual contributions. The Poughkeepsie Daily 
 Eagle of May 31, 1861, published a list of one 
 hundred and forty-one subscribers to a " Fund for 
 the Relief of Volunteers from this County and their 
 Families." The gross amount subscribed was $ i o,- 
 875. It comprised one contribution of $300, one 
 of $250, three of $200, one of $150, sixty-eight of 
 $100, forty-four of $50, and twenty-three of $25 
 each. In addition $254.61 was donated by dif- 
 ferent individuals, included in which was $69.61 
 from the pupils of Rev. Mr. Rider's school, being 
 the proceeds of a concert. 
 
146 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 The men who enlisted in this county under these 
 calls and the subsequent ones of October ist and 
 November 6th of that year were scattered through 
 so many different organizations and branches of 
 the service that it would be an almost inter- 
 minable task to trace their connection, and make 
 a record quite too voluminous for the scope of this 
 work. Many joined the 20th Regiment, which was 
 raised at Kingston, for two years, and was composed 
 largely of those who had belonged to it as a militia 
 regiment. The regiment left its encampment at 
 Kingston, for the seat of war October 25, 1861. 
 Previous to this — on the nth of October — the 
 regiment made a farewell visit to Poughkeepsie. 
 After parading the streets a bountiful collation was 
 served by the ladies in Pine's Hall, which was 
 handsomely decorated. They were escorted 
 through the principal streets by the Ellsworth 
 Greys, the rain preventing a strict adherence to the 
 programme laid down. After the collation. Rev. 
 G. M. McEckron, in a patriotic speech, presented 
 the regimental standard prepared by the ladies of 
 Poughkeepsie. It bore on each side the seal of 
 the State of New York, and the inscription " 20th 
 Regt. N. Y. S. T." On one side was inscribed 
 " From the Ladies of Poughkeepsie," and on the 
 other, "Organized Augusts, 1857." Mrs. Wins- 
 low also presented a national flag with the direction 
 to " present it to one Jeff. Davis, as the ensign of 
 the Southern Confederacy, and if he objects to re- 
 ceiving and adopting it, tell him he must." Capt. 
 Smith responded in behalf of the regiment, and 
 both he and Mr. McEckron were interrupted by 
 almost continuous cheering, " and when Col. Pratt 
 took the two flags and asked the regiment if they 
 would defend them, the cries of 'We Will' were ab- 
 solutely deafening." Company A of this regiment, 
 commanded by Capt. James Smith, was raised in 
 Poughkeepsie. The regiment numbered 950 offi- 
 cers and men, 758 of whom were present in Pough- 
 keepsie on the nth of October. John R. Leslie, 
 who was well known as a teacher in Poughkeepsie, 
 was ist Lieut, of Co. B, of this regiment. Dr. R. 
 K. Tuthill, also of Poughkeepsie, was Assistant 
 Surgeon, and Theodore Van Kleeck, Sergeant 
 Major of the same regiment. 
 
 Many others united with the 30th Regiment, for 
 two years. Co. E of that regiment, commanded by 
 Capt. Harrison Holliday, who raised the first com- 
 pany for the war in Poughkeepsie, left Poughkeep- 
 sie 130 strong, and returned at the expiration of 
 *two years with only 55. The regiment was mus- 
 tered June 1, 1861, and left for the seat of war that 1 
 
 month, (passing Poughkeepsie en route for New 
 York on the 27th,) but were not actively employed 
 till the following year, when they formed part of 
 McDowell's corps on the Rappahannock, On the 
 loth of August the regiment was sent to re-enforce 
 Pope, and afterwards took part in the short, but 
 momentous campaign under that General, which 
 ended in the retreat to Washington. In the battle 
 at Gainesville and 2d Bull Run, the Poughkeepsie 
 Co. lost its captain and the regiment its colonel. 
 Soon afterwards they were again engaged at 
 the battles of South Mountain and Antietam, bear- 
 ing in each a distinguished part. They were also 
 present at the battle of Fredericksburgh, under Burn- 
 side, and at Chancellorsville, under Hooker, but 
 took no prominent part in either. Eleven battle- 
 fields witnessed its devotion to the Union. The 
 regiment joined the army with 741 men, which 
 number was subsequently increased to 1,100. It 
 returned with 491. It lost in killed and wounded, 
 331; by deaths and accidents, 12; by discharges 
 through sickness or disability, 288. It had 6 offi- 
 cers and 94 men killed and 12 officers and 219 men 
 wounded in action. Flockton's band of Pough- 
 keepsie, were engaged by Col. Frisbee of this regi- 
 ment during its encampment at Camp Rathbone, 
 near West Troy, and to escort it to the city of 
 Washington. This band subsequently enlisted for 
 two years to accompany the regiment to the war. 
 
 Co. I of the 74th regiment, was raised in Pough- 
 keepsie, in the summer of 1861, by Capt. Arthur 
 Wilkinson, and served for three years. In August 
 and September of that year some T35 men were 
 enlisted in this county for Col. Ramsey's regiment, 
 then stationed at Camp Leslie, Dobb's Feriy, 
 mostly by Lieut. Broom. August 31st, as that 
 officer was about to leave Poughkeepsie with a 
 party of volunteers for that camp, they were ad- 
 dressed in a kind and encouraging speech by Mrs. 
 Charles H. Ruggles, of Poughkeepsie, who, at the 
 conclusion of her remarks, presented each with 
 two pocket-handkerchiefs, and informed them that 
 "a patriotic lady was preparing them a flag, which 
 she trusted they would bear right gallantly for the- 
 honor of the country." On Friday, Oct. 4th, that 
 lady presented a stand of colors to Capt. A. Lava- 
 lie's company, (formerly Co. C, of Col. Ramsey's 
 regiment,) at Dobb's Ferry. This company was 
 recruited in this county by Lieut. Broom. In 
 August, 1 86 1, Edward Titus, son of the late Judge 
 Titus, of the town of Washington, was authorized 
 by Col. De Forest to recruit a company of cavalry. 
 His headquarters were at Little Rest in this county, 
 
THE WAR OF THE REBELLION, ENLISTMENTS DURING 1861. 
 
 147 
 
 and a branch office was opened by Wm. H. Broas, 
 at 314 Main street, Poughkeepsie. Fifty-five men 
 were recruited, mostly in the interior and eastern 
 parts of the county, and joined the Ira Harris 
 Guard, then rendezvoused in New York. Nearly 
 an entire company of the Washington Greys, (af- 
 terwards designated the 47th,) commanded by Col. 
 Henry Moore, were recruited in the towns of Stan- 
 ford, Pine Plains and Clinton, with a few from 
 Poughkeepsie, in the summer of 1861. They 
 joined the regiment at East New York the latter 
 part of August, and two weeks later proceeded to 
 Washington and encamped on Meridian Hill. It 
 subsequently removed to Camp Sherman, named 
 in honor of Gen. Sherman, and situated about a 
 mile from the capitol. It was brigaded with four 
 other regiments under Gen. Egbert Velie, a West 
 Point officer. In September, 1861, twenty-eight 
 men were recruited by Capt. Charles Bohrer, for 
 the Morgan Rifles, composed entirely of Germans, 
 and commanded by Col. Andrew Leutz. The re- 
 cruiting office was in George Seiver's lager beer 
 saloon, at the corner of Main and Bridge streets 
 in Poughkeepsie. Thirty men were enfisted by 
 Wm. H. Wheeler for Capt. Cromwell's company 
 of the First New York State Cavalry, encamped at 
 Troy and commanded by Col. Morrison. Twenty 
 of these — six from the city and the rest from the 
 country — left Poughkeepsie for the encampment 
 at Troy Sept. 24, 1861, and the remainder, early 
 in October. During the summer of 1861, a com- 
 pany was raised at FishkilL Landing to join the 
 19th regiment, whose headquarters were then at 
 Newburgh, and on the 17th of August they were 
 reviewed by Gen. Parraenter. August 19, 1861, 
 Pawhng sent six young men to the "People's 
 Ellsworth Regiment" at Albany. Their friends, 
 to the number of one hundred, met them at the 
 cars to see them off, and raised by subscription 
 over $150 in cash for their benefit. Other towns 
 furnished men for this regiment, which was desig- 
 nated the 44th, as follows : Rhinebeck — 6 in Co. 
 G, I in Co. I, 6 in Co. C, and i in Co. H ; 
 Washington — i in Co. G, and 3 in Co. E ; Town 
 of Poughkeepsie — 2 in Co. E ; Poughkeepsie City 
 — 4 in Co. E, viz : the zd Lieut., and ist, 3d and 
 4th Sergeants ; Pleasant Valley— i each in Cos. E 
 and G ; and Milan — i in Co. K. Wm. L. Vander- 
 lip was Captain of Co. G, Wm. H. Revere, Jr., of 
 Co. C, A. W. Shaffer, of Co. I, and Wm. Miller, 
 of Co. K. S. W. Stryker, of New York, was 
 Colonel. The regiment left Albany for Washing- 
 ton on Monday, Oct. 21st. 
 
 In the fall of i86i, Capt. M. V. L. Hevenor, of 
 Rhmebeck, was engaged in raising a company to be 
 attached to the First Regiment, Clinton Guards, 
 and composed in good part of members of the 
 Schuyler Guard, then recently returned from three 
 months' service. The Rhinebeck Gazette of that 
 period said, " Recruits are offering freely." The 
 regiment was commanded by Col. Spencer W. 
 Cone, a West Point graduate, and was rendezvoused 
 at Camp Harris, on Staten Island. Oct. 25th, 
 Capt. Manton C. Angell left Poughkeepsie with 
 six men for Co. B, of that regiment, en route for 
 the camp on Staten Island. November 30th, Capt. 
 Atkins, of the American Citizens Corps, left Pough- 
 keepsie with thirteen men for the McClellan 
 • Chasseurs, (the 91st Vols.,) organized at Albany 
 in December, 1861. Jan. 9, 1862, Lieut. Phoenix 
 Bockee, of Co. B, 2d N. Y. (Jackson,) Artillery, 
 left by the Harlem railroad with twelve men for 
 that regiment, at Camp Yates, East New York. 
 In the latter part of October, 1861, Lieut. S. W. 
 Cooper of the 8th U. S. Infantry opened a re- 
 cruiting office in the city hall, Poughkeepsie, and 
 during the two succeeding months enlisted fourteen 
 men for that regiment, which was then stationed in 
 Fort Hamilton. November 14th, Capt. Thacher, 
 of the 14th Regulars, took eleven recruits to the 
 camp of the regiment in Maryland. Early in De- 
 cember, Lieut. Benjamin Atkins opened a recruiting 
 office at the armory of the American Citizens 
 Corps, in the Library Building in Poughkeepsie, 
 for Capt. Samuel S. Parker's Co. B, 87th Regi- 
 ment, formerly the 13th Brooklyn. About the 
 middle of November, Henry A. Downing opened 
 a recruiting office in the court house for the Put- 
 nam Rifles, commanded by Col. H. W. Adams. 
 About the middle of September a recruiting station 
 was established at 277 Main street in Poughkeep- 
 sie, for the De Epineuil Zouaves, (53d Vols.,) a 
 regiment commanded by officers who had seen ser- 
 vice in the French army. 
 
 In these and various other organizations, too 
 numerous for detailed mention, the bone and sinew 
 of the yeomanry of Duchess county were repre- 
 sented in detached fragments, but exceeding in 
 the aggregate a thousand men, the offering of this 
 first spontaneous outburst of patriotism. For in- 
 telligence and sterling manly qualities they com- 
 pared favorably with the troops of that period from 
 any section of the State or country. S. H. Bogardus, 
 Jr., of Co. C, 5th Regiment, writing under date of 
 Oct. 8, 1 86 1, from Camp Federal Hill, where the 
 regiment were engaged in erecting batteries, said, 
 
148 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 the Poughkeepsie boys are well thought of in the 
 regiment. Such, if it could have found expression, 
 might have been the verdict of the Duchess county 
 troops generally. Nor did they in all cases fill in- 
 conspicuous niches. Lieut. John L. Worden, who 
 distinguished himself in command of the Monitor m 
 the desperate encounter with the Merrimac, March 
 9, 1862, was a native of Duchess county, and for- 
 merly resided in Fishkill, and also, for a time, in 
 Poughkeepsie. The builder of that staunch craft, 
 (the Monitor,) Stephen Simmons, was a native of 
 Poughkeepsie, a son of Isaac Simmons, a well-known 
 blacksmith. 
 
 In the spring of 1862, the prospect of an early 
 peace induced the government to suspend the or- 
 ganization of new regiments, and some that had 
 been forwarded were actually mustered out ; but 
 on the zd of July of that year, the President, in- 
 duced by the severe losses sustained by the federal 
 armies in the early campaigns of 1862, and urged 
 on the 28th of June by the governors of seventeen 
 loyal States, issued a call for an additional 300,000 
 men, to serve for three years or during the war. 
 Of this number New York's quota was 59,705; 
 and in order to facilitate and systematize the labor 
 of raising them, and equalize the burden to be 
 borne, on the 7th of July the State was divided 
 into military districts, corresponding, with the ex- 
 ception of the first eight, with the senatorial dis- 
 tricts. 
 
 Duchess county was then associated with Co- 
 lumbia in forming the nth district, in which the 
 raising of a regiment was authorized, and TivoU 
 was designated as the regimental camp. Hon. 
 William Kelly, of Rhinebeck, and Isaac Piatt, of 
 Poughkeepsie, were appointed by the Governor 
 members of a committee, of which the former was 
 made chairman, to adopt measures for facilitating 
 the raising of such regiment, and were empowered 
 to add to their number by forwarding to the Gov- 
 ernor the names of such as they chose to associate 
 with themselves. They were also commissioned to 
 recommend a commander and other principal offi- 
 cers for the regiment. 
 
 A meeting of this committee and others asso- 
 ciated with them was held at the Poughkeepsie 
 Hotel, Saturday, July 12, 1862, and attended by 
 the following named persons : Hon. William Kelly, 
 Hon. John Thompson, Hon. John H. Otis, Hon. 
 James Emott, Hon. Stephen Baker, C. W., Swift, 
 Benson J. Lossing, Isaac Piatt, W. S. Johnston, 
 James H. Weeks, Hon. Gilbert Dean and Ambrose 
 Wager. James Emott, Benson J. Lossing, John 
 
 H. Ketcham, J. F. Barnard and Ambrose Wager 
 were appointed an executive committee to confer 
 with a Hke committee from Columbia county, and 
 to devise ways and means to carry out the recom- 
 mendations of the Governor. Hons. WilUam 
 Kelly and Stephen Baker were appointed ex officio 
 members of said committee, and of the joint com- 
 mittee to be appointed by the two counties. 
 
 The committee for the two counties was as fol- 
 lows : Hon. William Kelly, chairman, James Emott, 
 John Thompson, James H. Weeks, Isaac Piatt, 
 John C. Cruger, J. F. Barnard, C. W. Swift, H. A. 
 Nelson, J. H. Ketcham, H. H. Hustis, Albert 
 Emans, J. B. Dutcher, J. B. Carpenter, Benson J. 
 Lossing, John S. Thome, John H. Otis, Isaac W. 
 White, William S. Johnston, Gilbert Dean, A. 
 Wager, H. H. Sincerbox, Joel Benton, Richard 
 Peck, WiUiam Chambeflain, Henry Staats and 
 Herrick Thome for Duchess county , and Henry 
 Hogeboom, Theodore Miller, Darius Peck, WiUiam 
 H. Tobey, O. L. Beale, D. S. Cowles, H. H. Til- 
 den, J. G. Palen, R. F. Clark, S. G. Tompkins, 
 John C. Collins, A. T. Miller, S. S. Wynkoop, S. 
 W. Tobey and Capt. Ashley, of Columbia county. 
 
 The joint committee met at Poughkeepsie, July 
 17, 1862, and on motion of Mr. Lossing resolved 
 to request the Governor to change the regimental 
 camp for this military district from Tivoli to Hud- 
 son. This change was authorized July 25, 1862, 
 by General Order No. 378. 
 
 It was also resolved : — 
 
 " That, having in view the relative population of 
 the counties of Duchess and Columbia, the county 
 of Duchess is required to furnish as her proportion 
 of a regiment of 1,010 rank and file, 585 men, 
 and the county of Columbia, 425, and that the ex- 
 ecutive committee of each county be requested 
 to take such action in apportioning the same upon 
 their said counties as may be deemed most effect- 
 ive, in their judgment, for the speedy raising of 
 such numbers respectively." 
 
 The executive committees were "requested to 
 obtain subscriptions to meet the incidental ex- 
 penses (not ptherwise provided for,) connected 
 with the raising of the regiment." At that meet- 
 ing Mr. Wager presented the application of P. 
 Chichester, of Poughkeepsie, to be enrolled as the 
 first recruit in the regiment. 
 
 George Parker opened a recruiting office in the 
 armory of the " Ellsworth Greys," in the city hall 
 of Poughkeepsie, July 22, 1862. On the 23dj F. 
 N. Sterling and S. C. Doty were associated with 
 him in a call for recruits for the new regiment. 
 Robert F. Wilkinson, who was appointed and duly 
 
, THE WAR OF THE REBELLION, CALL OF JULY 2D, 1862. 
 
 149 
 
 authorized to enlist recruits for this district, opened 
 an office at No. 2 Union street. John A. Van- 
 Keuren, Dewitt C. Underwood and John P. Wil- 
 kinson also signed a call for recruits, having opened 
 an office in the court house in Poughkeepsie. 
 About the same time George Veitch, of RhineclifF, 
 engaged to raise a company for the district regi- 
 ment in Rhinebeck. 
 
 David S. Cowles, of Hudson, was chosen Colonel 
 of the regiment to be raised in this district ; 
 and Capt. Alexander Annan, of Fishkill, Quarter- 
 master. Capt. Annan had seen considerable ser- 
 vice in the South, especially in the neighborhood 
 of Corinth. Capt. Abram Ashley, of Chatham 
 Four Corners, was soon after appointed Adjutant. 
 
 The quotas of the several towns in this county 
 under the call of July 2, 1862, and their popula- 
 tion in i860, are shown in the following table : — 
 
 Pop. in i860. Quota. 
 
 Amenia 2,288 35 
 
 Beekman i,37f 21 
 
 Clinton 1,922 3° 
 
 Dover 2,305 36 
 
 East Fishkill 2,544 39 
 
 Fishkill 9>S46 i47 
 
 Hyde Park 2,749 43 
 
 LaGrange 1,850 29 
 
 Milan 1,522 24 
 
 North East i,73S 27 
 
 Pawling 1,743 27 
 
 Pine Plains •• 1,412 22 
 
 Pleasant Valley 2,343 36 
 
 Poughkeepsie, (town) 3,122 48 
 
 " (city) 14,726 227 
 
 Red Hook 3,964 61 
 
 Rhinebeck 3,289 51 
 
 Stanford 2,323 36 
 
 Union Vale i,S°2 23 
 
 Washington 2,685 42 
 
 Duchess County 64,941 1,004 
 
 The following communication explains itself and 
 evinces the earnestness with which the promotion 
 of enlistments was entered into : — 
 ''Executive Committee for Duchess County: — 
 
 " We beg leave to place in the hands of your 
 committee the sum of two hundred and fifty dol- 
 lars to be distributed as follows : $100 to the cap- 
 tain of the first company from this county mus- 
 tered into the service at our District Camp ; $75 
 to the captain of the second company so mustered 
 in ; $50 to the captain of the third company so 
 mustered in ; and $25 to the captain of the fourth 
 company so mustered into service. 
 
 " Very respectfully, C. W. Swift, 
 
 James Emott, 
 George Innis, 
 M. Vassar, Jr., 
 A. Van Kleeck." 
 
 A large and stirring war meeting was held in the 
 Baptist Church at Pawling Station July 25th, over 
 which Hon. John B. Dutcher presided, assisted by 
 Duncan Campbell and David Gould. The church 
 was filled to its utmost capacity at an early hour 
 by the people of that vicinity, a large number of 
 them ladies. The Rev. Mr. Ferguson, of the 
 Methodist Church at that place, opened the meet- 
 ing with prayer. This was followed by an intro- 
 ductory speech by A.. B. Smith, of Poughkeepsie. 
 Gen. Lewis Wallace then addressed an earnest ap- 
 peal to the patriotism of the young men of the 
 vicinity, and was followed in a most eloquent and 
 impressive speech by George W. Sterling. A propo- 
 sition was then made to offer a bounty for each 
 recruit in the town of Pawling, when a few liberal 
 gentlemen present pledged to pay to each person 
 on enlisting the sum of $25 as a bounty in addi- 
 tion to the National and State bounties. An en- 
 thusiastic and well attended meeting was held at 
 Beekmanville on the 24th, and addressed by the 
 same gentlemen. 
 
 The district war committee arranged for meet- 
 ings to be held throughout the county as follows : — 
 August 7th, at Red Hook, to be addressed by Hons. 
 James Emott and Gilbert Dean, at Arthursburg, by 
 Allard Anthony and Hon. Homer A. Nelson, at 
 Bangall, by Messrs. A. B. Smith and O. W. Whea- 
 ton, at Rhinebeck, by Hon. John Thompson and 
 A. Wager ; August 8th, at Mabbettsville, by Hon. 
 James Emott and C. Wheaton, at Pleasant Valley, 
 by Hons. Gilbert Dean and John Thompson, at 
 LaFayetteville, by A. Wager and A. B. Smith, at 
 Clove, (D. D. Vincent's hotel,) by A. Anthony and 
 H. A. Nelson ; August 9th, at Gay Head, by Hons. 
 J. Emott and G. Dean, at Wappingers Falls, (at 
 Odd Fellows Hall,) by Charles Wheaton, at South 
 Dover, (Wheeler's hotel,) by Hon. H. A. Nelson 
 and A. Anthony, and at CUnton Hollow, by A. B. 
 Smith and A. Anthony. 
 
 August 4, 1862, the President issued a call for 
 300,000 militia for nine months, unless sooner dis- 
 charged, and a draft was ordered to take place Aug. 
 15, 1862, to supply any deficiency in the quota 
 at that time. The quota of New York under this 
 call was 60,000 ; and though enlistments were in- 
 vited to fill this call, a draft for that purpose was 
 ordered from the militia of the State on the 9th of 
 August. 
 
 Early in August the organization of the district 
 regimept was nearly completed and a regimental 
 camp had been formed in Hudson. There the 
 recruits from this county were rapidly concentrat- 
 
15° 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 ing, under, the efficient efforts put forth to that end. 
 The Amenia Times of that period said : " Spirited 
 and enthusiastic meetings have been held the past 
 week in eastern Duchess to faciHtate enlistments 
 and have met with success. The patriotism of the 
 people has been thoroughly aroused, and in spite 
 of the busy season and short notice of meetings, a 
 full attendance was secured in every instance." In 
 all parts of the county the demonstrations of popu- 
 lar sentiments were of a similar character. Says 
 \>!\& Poughkeepsie Eagle of August 9th, "enlistments 
 are brisk and constantly becoming more so." The 
 town of Union Vale, one of the least populous in 
 the county, had at that time furnished from 60 to 
 75 recruits from the commencement of the war. 
 
 August 8, 1862, a large and enthusiastic war 
 meeting was held at Mabbettsville, John S. Thorn 
 presided, assisted by John Sweezy and Samuel 
 Thorn, vice-presidents, and George Sweet, secre- 
 tary. It was addressed by Hon. James Emott and 
 Charles Wheaton, who explained at length the 
 issues pending and the great importance of sus- 
 taining the government. 
 
 August 9, 1862, the citizens of Pine Plains and 
 adjacent country met at Stissing Hall. After or- 
 ganizing by choosing R. Peck, chairman, and C. 
 Pitcher, secretary, the assembly adjourned to the 
 open air, owing to the crowded condition of the 
 hall, and was addressed by Revs. J. Reynolds, Wm. 
 N. Sayre and Wm. Bloomer, Messrs. H. H. Morse 
 and Wm. R. Woodin, and Lieut. Low, from the 
 balcony of A. T. Jones' hotel. The addresses had 
 a telling eifect upon the audience, " kindling a per- 
 fect blaze of enthusiasm." A long series of stirring 
 resolutions were adopted. 
 
 August 13, 1862, a mass meeting was held at 
 Pine's Hall, in Poughkeepsie. At an earlier hour 
 than usual the stores of the city were mostly closed 
 that the merchants and others might attend. The 
 spacious hall was well filled by an appreciative and 
 enthusiastic audience, including a goodly number 
 of ladies in the gallery. Hon. James Emott 
 called the meeting to order and nominated the fol- 
 lowing officers : President, Hon. Stephen Baker ; 
 Vice-Presidents, Charles E. Bostwick, of Amenia' 
 Jeremiah Sheldon, of Beekman, John S. Wing, of 
 Clinton, Obed Wing, of Dover, Lawrence 'c. 
 Rapelji, of East FishkiU, James Mackin, of Fish- 
 kill, James M. Friss, of Hyde Park, Albert Emans, 
 of La Grange, Herrick Thome, of Milan, John 
 Campbell, of North East, S. A. Barnum, of Paw- 
 hng» Cornelius Pitcher, of Pine Plains, John W 
 Lattin, of Pleasant Valley, Anthony Woolsey, of 
 
 Poughkeepsie, (town,) Henry C. Smith, James H. 
 Dudley, George R. Gaylord, Henry W. Shaw, 
 (Josh Billings,) of Poughkeepsie, (city,) George 
 Shoemaker, of Red Hook, Andrew J. Heermance, 
 of Rhinebeck, Isaac G. Sands, of Stanford, Wm. 
 R. Bagely, of Union Vale, David S. Tallman, of 
 Washington; Secretaries, Hon. A. Wager, Rhine- 
 beck, Hon. John B. Dutcher, Amenia, John F. Hull 
 and O. J. Gaylord, Poughkeepsie. A pointed 
 speech was made by Mr. Emott, after which the 
 " Star Spangled Banner " was sung by Mr. Hay- 
 man, the audience joining in the chorus. Charles 
 Wheaton, of Poughkeepsie, Wm. H. Bostwick, of 
 Amenia, Joseph C. Doughty, of Poughkeepsie, 
 John H. Ketcham, of Dover, David Warren, of 
 Washington, and T. V. W. Brinckerhoff, of East 
 Fishkill, were appointed a committee on resolutions. 
 Addresses full of energf and eloquence were 
 made by Hon. John Thompson, AUard Anthony 
 and A. B. Smith, all being received with bursts of 
 applause. 
 
 The following day, August 12th, another large 
 meeting assembled in Pine's Hall, in Poughkeepsie, 
 composed mostly of working men, the chief object 
 being to aid in obtaining recruits. The meeting 
 was called to order by C. W. Swift and Mayor 
 James Bowne chosen president. After an eloquent 
 address by Judge Bowne, of Orange county, Hon. 
 James Emott presented the proposition of another 
 gentleman to give $10 each to the first five re- 
 cruits who enlisted that night. Speeches were 
 made by Mayor Bowne, William Schwab, Hon. 
 John Thompson, Hon. Gilbert Dean and Mark 
 D. Wilber. Mr. Schwab spoke briefly in German 
 and afterwards in English, awakening a general 
 enthusiasm by his energetic appeals. 
 
 A large and enthusiastic meeting was held at 
 Mabbettsville August 13th, and spirjj:ed speeches 
 were made by Judge Nelson and Allard Anthony. 
 Mone^ was freely offered. After the meeting, a 
 supper was given to the volunteers— twenty-two in 
 number— Capt. Bostwick and Lieut. Dutcher, who 
 were organizing the company, were present and 
 added greatly to the spirit which prevailed. The 
 Stanfordville band did much to enliven the occa- 
 sion. 
 
 At Wappingers Falls, August 14th, the departure 
 of twenty-one volunteers for Camp Kelly, at Hud- 
 son, was made the occasion of a public demonstra- 
 tion. The factories at that place were stopped 
 and the population turned out en masse to escort 
 them to Fishkill Landing, where they were joined 
 by others of Capt. De Wint's Company. A meet- 
 
'^E WAR OF THE REBELLION, THE i28th REGIMENT. 
 
 IS' 
 
 ing of the operatives of the Duchess Print Works, 
 at Wappingers Falls was held the 13th, for the 
 purpose of providing some means for the support 
 of the families of those of their number who 
 might be drafted under the recent government 
 order. It was agreed that each person should 
 contribute toward that object two per cent, of his 
 monthly earnings. 
 
 A meeting of the patriotic citizens of La Grange 
 was held August 14th, and largely attended. Ad- 
 dresses were made by Albert Emans and Gilbert 
 Dean. As a result of the meeting a sufficient 
 amount was subscribed to give to each volunteer 
 from that town $55 extra bounty. 
 
 On the 1 8th of August a workingmen's meeting 
 was held at the armory of the Montgomery Guards 
 in Poughkeepsie, at which a large number of the 
 bone and sinew of the city were present. Speeches 
 were made by Phineas H. Beach, William Har- 
 low, a carpenter of Poughkeepsie, A. S. Pease, 
 Jeremiah Eighmie, of East Fishkill, and A. B. 
 Smith, of Poughkeepsie. Good feeling pre- 
 vailed and several volunteers were added to the 
 Montgomery Guards. On the 19th Capt. Robert 
 McConnell of the company, left Poughkeepsie for 
 the camp at Hudson with thirty-eight men. 
 
 The town of Clinton, which, says the Pough- 
 keepsie Eagle of August 21st, 1862, "has had the 
 name of being far behind her sister towns in fur- 
 nishing men for the armies of the Republic," " is 
 now thoroughly aroused. The hearts and pockets 
 of all are in the work and are putting forth every 
 effort to fill up her quota * * * * with 
 volunteers.'' 
 
 A war meeting was held at Clinton Hollow, Aug. 
 1 8th, at which the town was well represented. 
 The meeting was called to order by Supervisor 
 John S. Wing, and Stephen H. Smith chosen chair- 
 man. Speeches were made by Capt. George 
 Parker, Edward Wickes and others. It was unani- 
 mously resolved to give to each volunteer accredited 
 to the town between July 3d and Sept. i, 1862, 
 $200, to be assessed upon the taxable property of 
 the town. A local military committee, consisting 
 of Gilbert Bently, Stephen H. Smith, Thomas 
 Doty, Abraham Leroy, Philip H. Moore, John G. 
 Halsted, Tilly Grouse, Smith Eckert, Frederick C. 
 Filkins and Morgan Traver, was appointed to 
 superintend volunteering in the town and authorized 
 to borrow a sum sufficient to secure the object 
 proposed in the resolutions, and to disburse the 
 same. The resolutions were also brought before 
 the meeting at Schultzville, August 20th and con- 
 
 firmed. These measures had the effect to stimu- 
 late enlistments in the town. 
 
 Under the stimulus of these meetings and others 
 held elsewhere in the county, recruiting progressed 
 with great activity, and by the 27th of August, so 
 says the Hudson Star, more than a thousand men 
 were rendezvoused in Camp Kelly in that city. 
 August 14th, Francis W. Van Wagner, of Pough- 
 keepsie, was appointed Provost Marshal of Duch- 
 ess county. August 15th, J. J. Smith, of the same 
 city, was appointed military instructor for the reg- 
 iment forming at Hudson; and on the i6th, the 
 district war committee recommended Capt. James 
 Smith, of Poughkeepsie, for Lieut-Colonel .of the 
 regiment, and Capt. Foster, of Hudson, for Major. 
 Both had served a year in the field and were well 
 qualified. 
 
 Of the officers of the district regiment, which 
 was designated the 128th, the following were from 
 Duchess county : Lt. Col., James Smith, Pough- 
 keepsie; Quartermaster, Alexander' Annan, Fish- 
 kill; ist Asst. Surgeon, C. H. Andrus, Poughkeepsie; 
 Commissary Sergeant, E.' Augustus Brett, Fish- 
 kill; Quartermaster Sergeant, George S. Drake, 
 Amenia; Ordnance Sergeant, John Matthews, Jr., 
 Matteawan ; Color Sergeant, James M. Braley, 
 Rhinebeck. Companies B, C, D, F, H and I, were 
 raised in this county, and were officered as follows : 
 Co. B, (which contained 17 enlisted men from 
 Washington, 13 from Amenia, 13 from North 
 East, 7 from Pine Plains, 13 from Dover, 15 from 
 Pawling, and 18 from Stanford,) Captain, Charles 
 E. Bostwick, Amenia, 1st Lieut., Thomas N. 
 Dutcher, Dover, 2d Lieut., Jeremiah S. Pearce, 
 Pawling; Co. C, (which contained 32 enlisted men 
 from Rhinebeck, 24 from Milan, 21 from Red 
 Hook, 13 from Clinton, i from Washington, 3 
 from Hyde Park, and 7 from Stanford,) Captain, 
 Francis S. Keese, Rhinebeck, ist Lieut., Howard 
 H. Morse, Rhinebeck, 2d Lieut., Thomas N. 
 Davies, Milan ; Co. D, (which contained 56 en- 
 listed men from Poughkeepsie, 9 from Hyde Park, 
 I from Amenia, 6 from Pleasant Valley, 4 from 
 Pine Plains, i from Dover, i from Stanford, 5 
 from Clinton, i from LaGrange, 1 from Wash- 
 ington, I from Pawling, i from Beekman, i from 
 Fishkill, and 11 from Columbia county,) Captain, 
 George Parker, Poughkeepsie, ist Lieut., Francis 
 N. Sterling, Poughkeepsie, and 2d Lieut., Spencer 
 C. Doty, Poughkeepsie ; Co. F, (which contained 
 48 enlisted men from Fishkill, 16 from Pawling, 6 
 from Stanford, 4 from Washington, 2 from Amenia, 
 3 from North East, 3 from Dover, 6 from Pine 
 
IS2 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 Plains, I from Rhinebeck, i from Red Hook^ and 
 2 from Columbia county,) Captain, A. DeWint, ist 
 Lieut., J. J. Williamson, 2d Lieut., C. A. Ander- 
 son, all of Fishkill ; Co. H, (which contained 49 
 enlisted men from Fishkill, 16 from East Fishkill, 
 24 from Poughkeepsie, 2 from Hyde Park, 2 from 
 Union Vale, and i from Beekman,) Captain, John 
 A. Van Keuren, Poughkeepsie, ist Lieut., Henry 
 H. Sincerbox, and 2d Lieut., Sylvester H. Morse, 
 both of Fishkill ; Co. I, (which contained 28 en- 
 listed men from 'Poughkeepsie, 18 from Union 
 Vale, 13 from LaGrange, 8 from Clinton, 2 from 
 Hyde Park, 2 from Amenia, 2 from East Fishkill, 
 10 from Pawling, and i from Pleasant Valley,) 
 Captain, Robert F. Wilkinson, ist Lieut., Freder- 
 ick Wilkinson, 2d Lieut., John P. Wilkinson, all of 
 Poughkeepsie. In addition Hyde Park furnished 
 14 enlisted men. Red Hook, 3, and CHnton, i, 
 towards Co. K of that regiment. 
 
 The 128th regiment was mustered for three 
 years, Sept. 4, 1862. August 30th, the ladies of 
 Poughkeepsie and Fishkill presented the regiment 
 with a national flag at Hudson, which city it left 
 for the seat of war on the steamer Oregon, Sept. 
 5, 1862. It proceeded to Camp Millington, near 
 Baltimore, where it was engaged, in doing picket 
 duty, and was for a short period stationed at Har- 
 per's Ferry. It was soon after brigaded with the 
 iioth, 114th and ii6th N. Y. and 38th Mass. reg- 
 iments Bnder Gen. Emory, and Oct. 2, 1862, re- 
 ceived marching orders, but did not leave Camp 
 Millington till Nov. 5th, when it embarked on the 
 steamer Arago, forming a part of Banks' Expedi- 
 tion, and after lying off Fortress Monroe about a 
 month, occasionally going on shore to drill, set 
 sail from Hampton Roads at noon on the 4th of 
 December, in company with the Atlantic, Baltic 
 and Ericsson, convoyed by the iron-clad, Augusta, 
 carrying eight large guns, while another column^ 
 composed of the Thames, United States, Curlew, 
 Pocahontas and one or two other small vessels 
 kept nearer shore. On the 14th they came to 
 anchor in the harbor of Ship Island, where lay the 
 Northern Light, on board of which was the 159th, 
 raised in Columbia, and, partially, in Duchess' 
 county. On the 15th they commenced the ascent 
 of the Mississippi, and debarked, after forty-one 
 days spent on ship board, at Quarantine, seventy- 
 two miles below New Orleans, where they were de- 
 tained three weeks, on account of disease engen- 
 dered by their long stay on shipboard and the ab 
 ■^ence of regular exercise. Jan. 5, 1863, the regi- 
 ment was removed to Camp Chalmette, the battle 
 
 field of New Orleans. February 7, 1863, it was 
 stationed at Camp Parapet, near New Orleans, 
 where excellent precautions were taken to restore 
 and preserve the health of the regiment by flooring 
 the tents. March 4, 1863, (at which time the 
 health of the men was steadily and rapidly improv- 
 ing,) of the number who embarked on the Arago, 
 27 had died, 25 had been discharged for disability, 
 136 were awaiting transportation to New Orleans 
 from Baltimore and Fortress Monroe, 531 were re- 
 ported for duty, and 149 were reported by the sur- 
 geons unfit for duty, though the sickness of the 
 latter was mainly shght. 
 
 The regiment bore a conspicuous part in the 
 movements in Louisiana. May 12, 1863, it and 
 the 6th Michigan, under command of Col. Clark, 
 of the latter regiment,- left camp in light marching 
 order, and embarked on platform and cattle cars 
 on the New Orleans and Jackson Railroad, a half 
 mile in rear of their camp. They proceeded by 
 rail to Manchac Pass, the' junction of Lakes Pon- 
 chartrain and Maurepas, at which point the rail- 
 road bridge was burnt. A crossing was effected 
 by means of flat boats, and after a very tiresome 
 march of six miles through a dense cypress swamp, 
 over the railroad trestle, halted for the night. The 
 march was resumed at one o'clock the next morn- 
 ing, and by daylight they arrived within a mile of 
 Ponchatoula, where skirmishers were thrown out 
 and lines of battle formed. In this manner they 
 advanced upon the town, which the rebel infantry 
 had left two hours before. Their cavalry re- 
 mained, but decamped after firing a few rounds. 
 At Ponchatoula they were joined by several hun- 
 dred federal cavalry, who had made a forced 
 march from Baton Rouge. They returned on the 
 19th, and reached Camp Parapet, at dark. 
 
 The regiment left camp toward night of the 
 next day, and at 2 a. m. embarked on the steamer 
 United States at Carrolton. In company with 
 the steamships Crescent, Creole, Sallie Robinson 
 and Iberville, the expedition comprisingthe brigades 
 of Nickerson and Dow and a part of the 2d 
 brigade of Sherman's division, they proceeded up 
 the river, reaching Baton Rouge at night. The 
 next day they proceeded to Springfield Landing, 
 just below Port Hudson, whence they marched to 
 the rebel works at Port Hudson, leaving their 
 knapsacks, blankets and camp equipage on board 
 to be returned to Baton Rouge. 
 
 The rebel works at Port Hudson encompassed 
 the town, resting upon the river above and below 
 it, and were encircled by a wide, deep moat. 
 
THE WAR OF THE REBELLION, THE 128TH IN THE FIELD. 
 
 153 
 
 Sherman's division, to which the 128th belonged, 
 occupied the federal left. Augur's, the center, and 
 Banks', the right. Gen. Banks, who had charge 
 of the operations, ordered a general assault at 2 
 o'clock p. M. on the 27 th of May. Ten minutes 
 before the appointed time, the ist Vermont and 
 9th Indiana batteries, connected with the brigade 
 to which the 128th belonged, emerged at a gallop 
 from the edge of the woods in which they were 
 masked, took position in front of the rebel works, 
 and opened a terrific fire of shells. The infantry 
 were immediately and rapidly advanced from the 
 edge of the woods, where they were formed in line 
 of battle. Full six hundred yards of level plain 
 intervened between them and the formidable para- 
 pet, from which a terrific fire was instantly poured ; 
 and so destructive was it, that at the first discharge. 
 Gens. Sherman and Dow and Col. Clark, the next 
 in command, fell wounded, and the assaulting 
 column wavered and broke. The command then 
 devolved on Col. Cowles, of the 128th, who rallied 
 the men and rushed forward amid a ceaseless 
 storm of iron and lead. Col. Cowles fell, pierced 
 by six bullets, when the enemy's works were 
 nearly reached, and though he lived nearly an 
 hour, would not suffer himself to be carried from 
 the field. "Tell my mother," were his last words, 
 "that I die with my face to the enemy. Boys, 
 have I not done my duty as a man and a soldier?" 
 The unequal contest was continued for four hours, 
 Farragut's fleet co-operating and keeping up a 
 very heavy fire, but it was a futile effort. The 1 28th 
 lost 20 in killed and 79 in wounded, which one 
 account says was one-fourth of its force in action. 
 Col. Cowles was the only officer killed or wounded, 
 except Capt. DeWint, who was slightly wounded. 
 
 The attempt to carry the rebel works at Port 
 Hudson by assault was renewed on the 14th of 
 June, but was, like the first, unsuccessful, though 
 a more advantageous position was gained. The 
 casualties in the 128th in that action was one 
 killed and twenty wounded. Among the latter 
 were Capt. G. W. Van Slyck and Lieut. John P. 
 Wilkinson, Acting Adjutant, both slightly. Both 
 were on duty within a few days. 
 
 Lieut. Col. Smith was promoted to the Colonelcy 
 of the 128th in June, 1863, and later that year, Capt. 
 Francis M. Keese was promoted Major in place of 
 Major Giff'ord, who was taken prisoner at Port Hud- 
 son May 26, 1863, and died from fever at New 
 Orleans, August 8, 1863. Major Keese was from 
 Rhinebeck, and a son of John M. Keese, then the 
 postmaster at that place. 
 
 Col. Smith, writing from before Port Hudson 
 July 6, 1863, at which time the 128th was attached 
 to the ist brigade, 2d division, 19th cqrps, thus re- 
 capitulates the losses sustained by the regiment to 
 that time : — 
 The number of men enlisted in the regiment 
 
 was 1,021 
 
 -The number of men mustered in the regi- 
 ment Sept. 4, 1862, was 993 
 
 Killed in action, on picket, skirmish- 
 ing, etc 23 
 
 Died of disease 63 
 
 Died from wounds 2 
 
 Discharged for disability 77 
 
 Missing 6 
 
 Deserted 62 
 
 Present strength 
 
 \ Commissioned officers 33 
 
 J Enlisted men 727760 993 
 
 Wounded in action and by accident since 
 the regiment had been in the service, 
 nearly all of whom would return to duty, 79 
 The fall of Vicksburg made Port Hudson unten- 
 able, and it was surrendered July 8, 1863. The 
 128th was one of the two regiments selected from 
 the division to occupy the place, and receive the 
 surrender of arms and munitions from the rebel 
 gan-ison. July nth, the regiment was detailed to 
 escort a large train of artillery from Port Hudson 
 to Baton Rouge, a distance of twenty-five miles. 
 The march was made in one night. 
 
 July isth, the regiment was assigned to the 3d 
 brigade, 3d division, (which was soon after changed 
 to the 2d brigade, ist division,) and left Baton 
 Rouge with the brigade on transports for Donald- 
 son ville. La., where our forces had been attacked 
 and driven back. There it remained till August 
 2d, when it was detached and sent up the river 
 some ten or twelve miles above Donaldsonville, to 
 prevent guerillas from attacking or firing on pass- 
 ing boats. August itth it was ordered to the 
 village of Plaquemine, fifteen miles higher up the 
 river, whence, on the 29th of that month, it pro- 
 ceeded to Baton Rouge, where it was encamped 
 directly in the rear of the State penitentiary. 
 While there the regiment was engaged in picket 
 duty, drills, parades, etc., and their old colors, 
 which were so much worn as to be unserviceable, 
 were exchanged for new ones, the gift of the citi- 
 zens of Poughkeepsie, the ladies being the prime 
 movers in the affair. The losses of the regiment 
 from various causes from July i to Sept. 3,- 1863, 
 were 59 officers and men. 
 
 The 128th participated with a part of Banks' 
 forces in an engagement on Cane River, April 23, 
 
154 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 1864, and lost one killed and about twenty wound- 
 ed, only three or four dangerously so. 
 
 At the close of the Red River Expedition the 
 regiment returned to New Orleans, and was sent 
 thence to the Shenandoah Valley, where it served 
 under Sheridan, participating in the brilliant en- 
 gagements which distinguished that intrepid 
 commander. 
 
 About the middle of September, Sheridan, who 
 had been engaged in skirmishing both of an offen- 
 sive and defensive character, was instructed by 
 Grant to attack Early's army, at the risk of ex- 
 posing Maryland and Pennsylvania to invasion, 
 with a view to recovering the use of the Baltimore 
 & Ohio Railroad and the Chesapeake & Ohio 
 Canal. On the 19th of September, Sheridan 
 attacked Early, who was posted on the west bank 
 of Opequan Creek, covering Winchester, and after 
 a fierce engagement, which, for most of the day, 
 remained undecisive, drove him from his posi- 
 tion. In this engagement the 128th was com- 
 manded by Major Keese, Lt. Col. Foster being in 
 command of the 3d brigade, 2d division. The 
 regiment lost 7 killed, 57 wounded, and 8 missing. 
 Among the wounded was Major Keese. " There 
 was scarcely a man in the regiment," says Lt. Col. 
 Foster, " who had not some portion of his clothing 
 or accouterments struck.'' The colors were pierced 
 by eleven bullets. Early rallied his fleeing army at 
 Fisher's Hill, twelve miles from the battle-field of 
 Opequan, and one of the strongest positions in the 
 valley, which is here bisected by the Mansanutten 
 Mountains interposing between the Blue Ridge and 
 Shenandoah Mountains. Sheridan attacked and 
 drove him from this almost impregnable position 
 late on the 21st. The 128th formed a part of the 
 assaulting column, and were selected to charge the 
 right of the enemy's works, which they carried 
 with singularly hght casualties, losing only two 
 killed and six wounded, notwithstanding the scath- 
 ing fire to which they were subjected. The regi- 
 ment was complimented for its gallantry on this 
 occasion by Generals Sheridan, Emory and Grover 
 Gen. Emory pronouncing their charge the hand- 
 somest thing he ever saw. 
 
 Sheridan pursued the retreating enemy through 
 Harrisonburg, Staunton, and the gaps of the Blue 
 Ridge. In a week, says Draper, he had destroyed 
 or captured half of Early's army, and driven the 
 rest southward. Having devastated the valley so 
 thoroughly, that, it was said, if a crow wants to fly 
 down it he must carry his provisions with him, he 
 returned toward Strasburg, posted his army in 
 
 echelon behind the bold bluffs which skirt the north 
 bank of Cedar Creek, and proceeded to Washing- 
 ton to consult with the Secretary of War respect- 
 ing the return of the 6th corps to that city. 
 
 On the 1 8th of October, Early, whose force had 
 been restored to its original strength by the addi- 
 tion of Kershaw's division, crossed Cedar Creek, 
 and at daybreak on the 19th, under cover of a dense 
 fog surprised and attacked the national army 
 with great fury. They first fell upon the unsus-" 
 pecting 8th corps, whose camp was overrun in over- 
 powering numbers before the men had time to dress 
 themselves. They fled in the wildest confusion, 
 many almost in a state of nudity, closely followed 
 by the rebels. Rout and disaster to the entire 
 army was imminent in the confusion which ensued 
 and a reformation of the line became unavoidable. 
 Gen. Wright, on whom the command devolved in 
 the temporary absence of Sheridan, who was then 
 in Winchester, had, though wounded, succeeded in 
 checking the advance of the enemy, and made the 
 disposition of his forces, with which, later in the 
 day, Sheridan achieved the glorious victory which 
 immortaUzed his name. Lieut. Col. Foster of the 
 128th, writing from camp near Cedar Creek, Oct. 
 24, 1864, said, referring to this engagement : "Cer- 
 tainly, as it has resulted ultimately, it is one of the 
 most substantial victories of this, as it is one of the 
 most remarkable battles of any war." The casu- 
 alties of the 128th in that engagement were two 
 commissioned officers missing and one wounded 
 a,nd six enlisted men killed, fourteen wounded, and 
 eighty missing. 
 
 From the valley the 128th went to Savannah, 
 and thence to Augusta, where it joined Sherman 
 and went with him through the Carolinas to Raleigh. 
 From thence it went to Morehead City and back 
 to Savannah j thence to Augusta, which it garri- 
 soned for about six weeks, wlien it returned to 
 Savannah, was mustered out July 12, 1865, and 
 sent to Albany to be paid off. The regiment went 
 out with nearly a thousand men, and though it 
 received quite a number of recruits, returned with 
 only five hundred. The officers were : Capt. T. 
 M. Davis, who went out as 1st Lieutenant, com- 
 manding the regiment; Ambrose B. Hart, who went 
 out as corporal, Adjutant; J. Mortimer Craven, 
 Surgeon ; Wm. H. B. Post, Assistant Surgeon ; 
 Lieut. Crafts, who went out as corporal, command- 
 ing Co. A; Capt. Pierce, who went out as 2d 
 Lieutenant ; and ist Lieutenant White,'who went 
 out as private, Co. B ; Lieutenant Hager and 2d 
 Lieutenant Asher, both of whom went out as Ser- 
 
THE WAR OF THE REBELLION, THE isoth REGIMENT. 
 
 iSS 
 
 geants, Co. C ; Lieutenant Armstrong, who went 
 out as Orderly Sergeant, Co. D ; Lieutenant Keese, 
 who went out as Orderly Sergeant, Co. E ; Capt. 
 Anderson, who went out as ist Lieutenant; and 
 ist Lieutenant Van Tine, who went out as Ser- 
 geant, Co. F ; Capt. Mitchell, who went out as 
 Sergeant, and Lieutenant Moreil, who went out as 
 private, Co. G ; Capt. Sincerbox, who went out as 
 ist Lieutenant ■ and ist I^ieutenant Benson, who 
 went out as Sergeant, Co. H; Capt. Wilkinson, 
 who went out as ist Lieutenant j and ist Lieut. 
 Schouten, who went out as private, Co. I; ist 
 Lieutenant Speed, who went out as private Co K. 
 The return of the regiment was appropriately 
 welcomed by the towns from which the several com- 
 panies went, and in some cases was made the occa- 
 sion of imposing celebrations. 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 Measures Instituted for the Raising of a 
 Duchess County Regiment — Regimental 
 Camp at Poughkeepsie Authorized — War 
 Meetings and Measures to Promote Enlist- 
 ments — Great Activity in Recruiting — Camp 
 Duchess — Character of the Men Composing 
 the 1 50TH Regiment— Presentation of a Stand 
 OF Colors — Muster and Departure of the 
 150TH FOR THE Seat of War — Arrival of Trife 
 Regiment at Baltimore — Joins the Army of 
 THE Potomac — Participates in the Battle of 
 Gettysburg — Transferred to the Army of 
 THE Cumberland — The Atlanta Campaign — 
 Sherman's March to the Sea — Toilsome and 
 Perilous March Through the Carolinas — 
 Last Battle of the isoth — March Through 
 Richmond to Washington — The Return^— 
 Muster Out and Welcome Home. 
 
 A MEETING of the Executive Committee 
 of the district war committee was held 
 August 19th, and preliminary arrangements were 
 made for securing a full enrollment of all liable to 
 do military duty in the county, and for promoting 
 further enlistments. It was also 
 
 Resolved, That, as.it has been ascertained that 
 the whole quota of Duchess county is 2,008 men 
 under both calls, and no provision is made by the 
 County for bounties beyond the present regiment, 
 that we recommend an immediate meeting of the 
 Board of Supervisors of the County to consider the 
 propriety of offering adequate bounties to secure 
 the remaining men needed without a draft." 
 
 The quotas of the different towns under the call 
 of August 4th were the same as those under that 
 of July 2d. 
 
 August 22, 1862, the Board of Supervisors met 
 at the suggestion of the war committee and 
 authorized the County Treasurer to borrow a sum 
 sufficient to pay a bounty of $50 to every volun- 
 teer who had enlisted since July 2, 1862, or who 
 should thereafter enlist, provided he had not 
 already received any bounty from the county, and 
 that he enlisted under such circumstances as to be 
 credited to this county in case of a draft. They 
 also directed an application to the Legislature for 
 a law authorizing the issue of bonds to the amount 
 thus borrowed and expended for bounties, such 
 bonds to be payable in ten annual installments. 
 They further resolved " that the county ought and 
 is able to raise the whole number called for on 
 both quotas by volunteering, thus avoiding the in- 
 convenience and disgrace of a draft," and " that 
 the war committee to this end be requested to 
 take immediate steps for the organization of a 
 Duchess County Regiment of volunteers for the 
 war," and " pledging themselves to spare no exer- 
 tions to form and fill such regiment." 
 
 Pursuant to this action the executive war com- 
 mittee that night dispatched Alfred B. Smith, of 
 Poughkeepsie, one of the general committee, to 
 Albany, to obtain permission from the Governor 
 to raise a Duchess county regiment, with camp at 
 Poughkeepsie.* 
 
 August 26, i862j the war committee, which met 
 in Poughkeepsie the previous day, selected Hon. 
 John H. Ketcham, of Dover, for Colonel of the 
 Duchess county regiment, Alfred B. Smith, of 
 Poughkeepsie, for Major, George R. Gaylord, for 
 Quartermaster, and William Thompson, for Adju- 
 tant. This action was personally communicated 
 by Major Smith to the Governor and was ratified 
 by hirti. 
 
 Permission was immediately given to Joseph H. 
 Cogswell, Robert McConnell, Henry A. Gilder- 
 sleeve, William R. Woodin, Andris Brant, John 
 Green, Edward Wickes, Edward Crummy, Benja- 
 min S. Broas and John S. Schofield to recruit for 
 the new regiment, and those gentlemen subse- 
 quently became captains of their respective com- 
 panies, designated in the order named from A to 
 K. They were assisted by those who afterwards 
 became Lieutenants of the several companies. 
 
 * We are indebted largely for the data from which the history of the 
 I soth regiment is prepared, to Gen. A. B. Smith, of Poughkeepsie, who 
 was officially connected with the regiment during the period of its 
 
iS6 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 The executive branch of the war committee 
 arranged for war meetings to be held as follows: 
 at Bull's Head, (Noxon's,) August 30th; at. Clin- 
 ton Hollow and Pawling Station, Sept. ist; at 
 Washington Hollow and Ameniaville, Sept. 2d ; at 
 South Dover and Pleasant Valley, Sept. 3d; at 
 Beekmanville and Upper Red Hook, Sept. 4th; 
 at Millerton and Freedom Plains, Sept. sth; at 
 Storraville, Hyde Park and Rhinebeck village, 
 Sept. 6th; at Matteawan and Bangall, Sept. Sth; at 
 LaFayetteville and Channingville, Sept. 9th. The 
 following named gentlemen were designated to 
 address the meetings : Hon. James Emott, Hon. 
 H. E. Davies, Hon. G. Dean, Hon. John Thomp- 
 son, Hon. A. Wager, Charles Wheaton, G. W. 
 Sterling, William Eno, B. J. Lossing, Hon. H. A. 
 Nelson, Rev. G. W. Lord, Rev. G. F. Kettell, 
 Rev. J. Scarborough, Rev. L. H. King, Wra. S. 
 Eno, A. B. Smith, G. H. Swift and A. Anthony. 
 
 An enthusiastic war meeting was held at Upper 
 Red Hook August 23d, and was ably and elo- 
 quently addressed by Rev. G. L. Piatt, Rev. J. G. 
 Johnson, A. L. Martin, Z. Weeks and E. Staats. 
 As a result of this meeting fourteen recruits were 
 enlisted. 
 
 September 3, 1862, Mayor James Bowne issued 
 the following proclamation : — 
 
 "By request of many citizens, and in view of 
 the importance of unity of action in promoting 
 enlistments, I, James Bowne, Mayor of the City 
 of Poughkeepsie, request that all places of busi- 
 ness be closed each afternoon of the present week, 
 at 4 o'clock, and that the people use all efforts to 
 promote enlistments, and also to meet the ex- 
 igencies of the times." 
 
 War meetings were held in the city hall each 
 evening during the succeeding week, and a free in- 
 terchange of sentiments on public affairs was had. 
 The meeting of Saturday evening was composed 
 of Poughkeepsie's most intelligent citizens. The 
 hall was crowded. Alderman Shaw presided. Mr. 
 ■Lossing, by invitation, addressed the meeting in a 
 powerful and manly speech, showing the true rela- 
 tion of slavery to the then existing troubles of the 
 country. 
 
 At a meeting of the ladies in Poughkeepsie, 
 Sept. 8, 1862, it was resolved to raise a fund to 
 provide a stand of colors for the Duchess county 
 regiment, and such necessary articles of comfort as 
 were not furnished by the government, also that an 
 appeal be made to the ladies throughout the county 
 in this behalf, " so that concert of spirit and action 
 should give encouragement and comfort to this 
 regiment." A committee was appointed, consisting 
 
 of the following named ladies : Mrs. S. Barculo, 
 Mrs. J. Emott, Mrs. Wm. Schram, Mrs. W. S. 
 Morgan, Mrs. W. H. Crosby, Mrs. J. Winslow, 
 Mrs. B. J. Lossing, Mrs. T. L. Davies and Mrs. 
 John Thompson. Mrs. Charles H. Ru'ggles was 
 appointed Secretary, and Miss Sarah M. Carpenter, 
 Treasurer. 
 
 Sept. 8, 1862, Mayor Bowne issued the follow- 
 ing proclamation : — 
 
 " I would reccommend and request that all places 
 of business be closed during the present week at 
 6 p. M., and that every citizen make an extraordi- 
 nary effort to increase our enlistments, that the 
 Duchess County Regiment may be filled up and 
 mustered into the service as soon as possible, which 
 the exigency of the times and the state of the 
 country demands, and would also recommend the 
 war meetings be continued every night this week, at 
 seven o'clock, at the City Hall." 
 
 A great war meeting was held at Poughkeepsie 
 Sept. 17th, and was addressed by Gen. Corcoran. 
 A platform was erected on Market street, on the 
 east side of the court house, and to this, after being 
 driven through the principal streets in an open 
 barouche, escorted by Capt. McConnell's company 
 and the Poughkeepsie cornet band, he was accom- 
 panied by Hon. Judge Daly, John Savage, Lieuts. 
 Wm. J. Kane and John Tracy, Jr., Father O'Reilly, 
 Chaplain of the 69th Regiment, and Lieut. Col. 
 Smith, of the Phoenix Regiment. James Bowne 
 was chosen President ; Charles Swift, Charles 
 Murphy, E. Q. Eldridge, Wm. Gregg, George 
 Wilkinson, Charles Doran, J. F. Barnard, Patrick 
 McAvery, Charles Wheaton, George Innis, William 
 Paulding, Thomas Coffin, Edward Post, George 
 Lockwood, Wm. Hill, John Brooks, Adam Caire 
 and Sidney Fowler, Vice-Presidents ; and John M. 
 Flood, James Mulrein, Wm. Harlow and John 
 Burns, Secretaries. 
 
 • The first installment of men for the new regi- 
 ment, consisting of sixteen recruits from Beekman, 
 in charge of Capt. Underwood, arrived in Pough- 
 keepsie August 27, 1862. Hyde Park was the first 
 town to fill her quota under the two calls, for early 
 in September she had accomplished this and had a 
 surplus of four.* Union Vale accomplished the 
 task with almost equal expedition— by the 9th of 
 that month ; and at the same date Capt. Cogswell 
 had mustered in eighty-three men, and received his 
 commission as commandant of Co. A.f 
 
 The regiment, during its formation, was quartered 
 at " Camp Duchess," on a portion of the county 
 farm, at the head of Mansion street, where bar- 
 
 * Poughkeepsie Eagle, Sept. 8, i86j. 
 + Ibid, Sept. 9, 1861. 
 
THE WAR OF THE REBELLION, THE isoth REGIMENT. 
 
 157 
 
 racks were erected in the forepart of September*. 
 Owing to the great demand on it at that time the 
 government was temporarily unable to supply- 
 blankets for the members of the new regiment, 
 who were rapidly gathering in the city, and Quar- 
 termaster Gaylord made a requisition on the citi- 
 zens for several hundreds of that necessary article. 
 Sept. loth, Mrs. James Winslow presented the 
 regiment with a fine garrison flag to adorn the staff 
 in front of their quarters at Camp Duchess ; and 
 about the middle of that month the Rev. T. E. 
 Vassar, who had had the pastoral charge of the 
 Baptist Church of Amenia for five or six years, 
 accepted the appointment of Chaplain of the regi- 
 ment. Charles G. Bartlett, who had been chosen 
 to fill the office of Lieut. Colonel, arrived at the regi- 
 mental camp and entered upon his duties the latter 
 part of September. 
 
 On the 26th of September, 780 men had been 
 mustered at Camp Duchess, and thirty others had 
 been examined and accepted by the Surgeon. Six 
 companies were filled to the minimum standard. 
 At that time Amenia, Dover, Hyde Park, North 
 East, Pawling, Rhinebeck, Union Vale and Wash- 
 ington had filled their quota. All the rest of the 
 towns were more or less behind, some of them very 
 much so. Recruiting at this period, however, was 
 much more brisk than previously, and the regiment 
 rapidly filled up, having 975 men mustered Oct. 8. 
 Greater attention was given to the drilling of the 
 men, and the camp of the regiment began to pre- 
 sent quite a mihtary aspect. When on dress 
 parade and during battalion drill every afternoon 
 the regiment presented a fine and soldierly appear- 
 ance. Many persons, including a liberal sprinkling 
 of ladies, daily witnessed their evolutions. Oct. 8, 
 1862, a stand of colors was presented to the regi- 
 ment. 
 
 The field, staff and line oflicers of the regiment 
 as organized were : — 
 
 Field and Staff Officers. — Colonel, John H. 
 Ketcham, Dover ; Lieut. Colonel, Charles G. 
 Bartlett, West Point; Major, Alfred B. Smith, 
 Poughkeepsie ; Adjutant, WiUiam Thompson, 
 Poughkeepsie ; Quartermaster, George R. Gay- 
 lord, Poughkeepsie ; Surgeon, C. N. Campbell, 
 Stanford; ist Asst. Surgeon, Stephen G. Cook, 
 
 ; 2d Asst. Surgeon, Henry Pearce, Amenia ; 
 
 Chaplain, Rev. Thomas E. Vassar, Amenia. 
 
 Nbn - Commissioned Staff Officers. — Sergeant 
 Major, Cyrus S. Roberts, Poughkeepsie ; Quarter- 
 master Sergeant, Henry C. Smith, Poughkeepsie ; 
 Commissary Sergeant, John M. Case, Dover'; 
 
 Ordnance Sergeant, James WilUams, ; Hospital 
 
 Steward, Frank Gildersleeve, Clinton ; Drum 
 Major, Hubbard F. Roberts, Stanford. 
 
 Line Officers. — Company A — Captain, Joseph 
 H. Cogswell; ist Lieut., Henry Gridley ; 2d Lieut, 
 James P. Mabbett. Company B— Captain, Rob- 
 ert McConnell ; ist Lieut., Albert Johnson ; 2d 
 Lieut., Robert C. Tripp. Company C— Captain, 
 H. A. Gildersleeve; ist Lieut., Edgar P. Welling ; 
 2d Lieut., Rowland Marshall. Company D — 
 Captain, Wm. P. Woodin ; ist Lieut., Robert G. 
 Mooney; 2d Lieut., Frank Mallory. Company 
 E— Captain, Andris Brant ; ist Lieut., Obed 
 Wheeler ; 2d Lieut., Perry Chapman. Company 
 F— Captain, John L. Green ; ist Lieut., S. V. R. 
 Cruger ; 2d Lieut., Polhemus Rowman. Company 
 G — Captain, E. A. Wickes ; ist Lieut, Dewitt C. 
 Underwood ; 2d Lieut., John Sweet. Company 
 H— Captain, Piatt M. Thome ; ist Lieut., Wm. 
 S. VanKeuren ; 2d Lieut., Charles J. Gaylord. 
 Company I — Captain, Benjamin S. Broas ; ist 
 Lieut., Richard Titus ; 2d Lieut., David R. Sleight. 
 Company K — Captain, John S. Scofield; ist 
 Lieut, Michael P. Corcoran ; 2d Lieut., Wade H. 
 Steenburgh. 
 
 The 150th was mustered into the service on 
 Saturday, the nth of October, and left Pough- 
 keepsie the same day on the steamer Oregon for 
 Jersey City. 
 
 A fine brass band was organized and well sus- 
 tained during the whole period of the regiment's 
 service. The regiment took with it to the scene of 
 its arduous duties many tokens of love and friend- 
 ship from those who bade them God-speed. Sept 
 17th, Capt Robert McConnell was presented with 
 an elegant sword, sash, belt and pistol, by William 
 Harlow, in behalf of a number of friends, at the 
 house of James McGeein, 221 Main street, Pough- 
 keepsie. Oct. ist, Lieuts. Henry Gridley and 
 James Mabbett, of Co. A, were presented with 
 swords by the Amenia boys of the company, at the 
 Gregory House. The presentations were made by 
 Dr. J. C. Payne and Rev. T. E. Vassar, Chaplain 
 of the regiment, after which the company partook 
 of a splendid supper furnished by Mr. Gregory, the 
 proprietor of that house. Oct 2d, the friends of 
 Lieut. Robert G. Mooney met at the sheriff's 
 office, and through H. W. Shaw made a like pre- 
 sentation to him. On the sth of that month, the 
 friends of Capt. Joseph H. Cogswell, of Co. A, 
 presented him with a handsome sword and appur- 
 tenances, at the Congregational church. The gift 
 was from his friends among the members of that 
 society, and the presentation was made by Rev.Mr. 
 Tyler at the usual hour of service on Sunday even- 
 ing. Capt. Cogswell repHed in a most excellent 
 address. Oct 7th, a splendid sword, sash, belt and 
 pistols were presented at the high school, in Church 
 street, to Major A. B. Smith, by the children of the 
 pubhc schools, in which that gentleman still takes 
 
iS8 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 a deep interest. The presentation was made by 
 Mr. George W. McLellan, in a brief speech, which 
 was responded to by Major Smith. Addresses 
 were also made by Revs. Messrs. Chandler and 
 Wheeler. On the evening of the same day, the 
 young ladies of Mr. Rice's school presented a 
 sword, sash, etc., to Capt. E. A. Wickes, at the in- 
 stitute. The exercises were very interesting and 
 quite a number of citizens were present to witness 
 and take part in them. Oct. loth, Capt. Gilder- 
 sleeve was presented with " a most splendid sword, 
 sash, belt and pistol," the latter at the Poughkeep- 
 sie Female Seminary, through the Rev. D. G. 
 Wright, by the ladies of that institution, and the 
 " sword and appurtenances," by H. W. Shaw and 
 others. Just before the regiment broke camp at 
 Poughkeepsie, Lieut. Dewitt C. Underwood was 
 presented with an elegant sword, sash, belt and 
 pistol by his uncle. Captain Charles Underwood ; 
 and the same day, as the regiment was preparing 
 to leave camp, a bible agent visited them and 
 presented a New Testament to each man not sup- 
 plied with that or a Bible. They were accepted 
 with many thanks by all except two. 
 
 The regiment was accompanied by many of its 
 friends to Jersey City, where it arrived at 4 o'clock 
 on Sunday morning, disembarked at noon, and 
 marched to the railroad station. As the Oregon 
 reached a point opposite 31st street. New York, 
 James McGrath, a private in Capt. Brant's com- 
 pany, fell overboard and was drowned. At 3 
 o'clock six companies, under Lieut. Col. Bartlett, left 
 for Baltimore, and at 5 o'clock the remaining four, 
 with arms and ammunition for the regiment, left 
 with Col. Ketcham. The regiment was fed most 
 sumptuously at the "Cooper shop," in Phila- 
 delphia about midnight by the ladies of that pa- 
 triotic city, and on Monday arrived in Baltimore, 
 where arms were distributed to the men. That 
 night was spent under the open depot of the Balti- 
 more & Ohio Railroad, and the regiment suffered 
 severely from the intense cold, the officers being 
 destitute of both overcoats and blankets, that part 
 of the train containing the baggage not having ar- 
 rived. The next day, the r 4th, it went into quarters 
 in shelter tents at Camp Millington, on the Carroll 
 estate, in the western part of Baltimore, adjacent 
 to the camp of the 128th, which was then absent 
 on a trip to Gettysburg, but returned on the 15th. 
 A snow storm on the night of Wednesday covered 
 the ground nearly six inches deep. The regiment 
 .was furnished the next day with wall and A tents 
 and the camp made comfortable. 
 
 The second camp occupied by the regiment in 
 Baltimore was Camp Belger, situated near the 
 residence of Judge Bond, in the vicinity of Druid 
 Hill Park. Here they built commodious winter 
 quarters, the barracks forming three sides of a 
 rectangle. The main building was about 500 feet 
 long, the two wings about 200 feet each. 
 
 The regiment was retained in Baltimore during 
 the winter and spring, and, in company with the 
 15 ist, was engaged in guarding hospitals and stores. 
 The government had fitted up as hospitals the 
 large hotels and the residences of some of the lead- 
 ing rebels in that city, and in these were our 
 wounded and convalescent soldiers from the cam- 
 paign of the previous year. These duties were of 
 the most trying kind. The regiment, being separ- 
 ated into small detachments, and in contact with 
 the large rebel element«of that city, quite a number 
 were induced to desert. Some of these afterwards 
 returned and voluntarilyreported that they received 
 larger bounties for deserting than for enlisting. 
 
 Only once while performing these duties did 
 they break camp. Dec. 29, 1862, they, in company 
 with one other regiment and a battery, were sent 
 up the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, to the cross- 
 ing of the Monocacy, three miles from Point of 
 Rocks and a like distance south of Frederick 
 City, Md., to intercept a rebel force reported to be 
 raiding into Maryland to gather grain stored there. 
 They returned from this expedition Jan. 2, 1863. 
 The regiment was brigaded and attached to the 
 8th army corps, first under command of Gen. Wool, 
 and afterwards of Gen. Robert C. Schenck, Dur- 
 ing the Confederate sortie to the Susq"uehanna in 
 the summer of 1863, it was engaged in barricading 
 the streets of Baltimore and incidental duties. 
 June 25, 1863, it broke camp, and in company 
 with two Maryland regiments, under command of 
 Gen. Lockwood of the regular army marched 
 through Poplar Springs and Monocacy to a hill 
 north of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad and the 
 Monocacy River, which overlooked the entire val- 
 ley through which the army of the Potomac was 
 marching, having accomplished a distance of 
 thirty-nine miles in two days. Here the regiment 
 encamped. The men were very footsore and glad 
 to exchange fine boots for army shoes, which were 
 issued to them on Sunday, which was a veritable 
 day of rest. 
 
 June 29, 1863, the 150th was ordered to join 
 the 1 2th corps, commanded by Gen. ' Slocum, 
 which it reached on the 2d of July, after a march 
 of forty-six miles, through Frederick City and Bruce- 
 
THE WAR OF THE REBELLION, THE 150™ REGIMENT. 
 
 159 
 
 ville to Gettysburg, the last seven miles being 
 made by a forced march in two and one-half hours, 
 without blankets or knapsacks. It arrived on the 
 field of Gettysburg between 4 and 5 a. m., and was 
 assigned to the 2d brigade, ist division, of the 12th 
 corps. It was held in reserve till the afternoon of 
 that day, when, with the first division of its corps, 
 it was marched to the support of Gen. Sickles, who 
 had injudiciously posted his forces in an untenable 
 position and was forced back with the loss of half 
 his troops to the position originally designed for 
 him by Gen. Meade. The 150th did not have 
 occasion to fire a gun. It returned during the 
 night to the position of the 1 2th corps, on the ex- 
 treme right of the national line, at the barb of the 
 hook formed by Cemetery Ridge, on the crest of 
 which from Gulp's Hill to Round Top Meade's 
 army was posted. While the . contest for the pos- 
 session of Little Round Top was in progress, 
 Ewell, who had discovered that Gulp's Hill was 
 weakly defended, from the withdrawal of troops 
 from Slocum's command to the left of the line, 
 made a vigorous attack late in the afternoon and 
 succeeded in getting a foothold within the exterior 
 intrenchments, but was dislodged at the point of 
 the bayonet early the 'next morning. This was the 
 first fight in which the regiment " engaged. The 
 casualties were 8 killed and 25 wounded. Some 
 200 of the rebels surrendered to it. 
 
 The regiment then joined in Meade's dilatory 
 but fatiguing pursuit of Lee's defeated army, march- 
 ing and countermarching till August ist, when it 
 crossed the Rappahannock at Kelly's Ford, and 
 supported as skirmishers the cavalry, who drove 
 the enemy. It re-crossed the river on the 2d, and 
 on the sth went into camp. During this period 
 the men were without food and knapsacks for two 
 days immediately following the battle of Gettys- 
 burg, the latter having been sent to Westminster 
 for safe keeping. On the 7th of July, while on the 
 march, they were cheered by the news of the sur- 
 render of Vicksburg. On the i ith of that month 
 they came up with the enemy in intrenched works 
 and had some skirmishing. On the 17 th, the regi- 
 ment was changed to the 3d brigade of the same 
 division, commanded by Gen. Ruger. Much of 
 the time the march was over muddy roads, and 
 such were the fatigues, that on the 31st of July 
 nearly all the officers were sick, only seven being 
 fit for duty J and this was the condition of a pro- 
 portionate number of the men. 
 
 From the 5th to the 29th of August the regiment 
 lay in tents and drank bad water. Most of the 
 
 men were sick with acclimating fever, and at the 
 latter date there were 250 cases in the hospital 
 with typhoid and malarial fever. On the 30th of 
 August the regiment was removed to elevated 
 ground and excused from duty on account of the 
 great amount of sickness. Those who remained 
 with the regiment recovered; but those who went 
 to hospitals and had better treatment mostly died, 
 both officers and men. 
 
 The regiment remained in this camp till the i6th 
 of September, when it crossed the Rappahannock, 
 marched through Stevensburgh to Raccoon Ford 
 on the Rapidan, and encamped in woods, on 
 low swampy ground, eighty rods east of Cedar Run. 
 It was engaged in picket duty along the Rapidan 
 till the 24th of September, when it returned through 
 Stevensburgh to Brandy Station, where, on the 25th, 
 it received pay for the first time since leaving Bal- 
 timore. 
 
 The isoth was now to be transferred to other, 
 not less trying duties. After his defeat at the bat- 
 tle of Chickamauga, Sept. 19, 1863, Rosecrans 
 withdrew the Army of the Cumberland to the de- 
 fenses of Chattanooga, and was succeeded in the 
 command by Gen. Thomas. Here Bragg followed 
 and invested them so closely that they were threat- 
 ened with starvation, or a disastrous defeat if the 
 evacuation of the place was attempted. In this 
 extremity Gen. Grant was assigned to the com- 
 mand of that army, which was re-enforced by Sher- 
 man with the Army of the Tennessee, and by 
 Hooker, with the nth and 12th corps from the 
 Army of the Potomac. In conformity with this 
 arrangement the isth left the latter army, and took 
 the cars at Bealton for Washington on the 27th of 
 September. Thence it proceeded by rail and 
 arrived at Stevenson, Ala., Oct. 3d. On the 5th 
 it moved north to Decherd with the division to 
 open the line of communication, the rebels having 
 cut the road in their rear. It returned as far as 
 Wartrace on the 6th, and rebuilt the railroad bridge 
 destroyed by the enemy. The regiment was scat- 
 tered along this road for twenty miles to guard it, 
 with headquarters at TuUahoma. Here they built 
 comfortable quarters. 
 
 October 23d, the regiment marched through a 
 cold rain to join the rest of the corps, then near 
 Lookout Mountain, passing over the mountains 
 through Decherd to Anderson. The enemy had 
 again broken the road in their rear, and on the 
 26th they were ordered back a second time, making 
 a most fatiguing march over the mountains just 
 crossed, camping at Cowan on the night of the 
 
i6o 
 
 HISTORY. OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 26th, and at the old quarters at TuUahoma on the 
 27th. On the 28th they marched to Normandy, 
 Tenn., where the headquarters of the regiment 
 remained during the winter. The regiment was 
 divided into three detachments, one stationed at 
 Normandy, another at Duck River, and a third at 
 the water-tank midway between Normandy and 
 TuUahoma, to guard the railroad over which were 
 carried the supplies for the army at Chattanooga, 
 and along which blockhouses were built for its pro- 
 tection. The country was infested with guerillas 
 and Forrest's cavalry were hovering around in all 
 directions, so that no man was safe out of camp 
 alone. 
 
 Foraging parties were sent out at different times 
 in various directions. In the early part of Feb- 
 ruary, 1864, such a party was sent into Lincoln 
 county, twelve miles from TuUahoma. A Lieu- 
 tenant and three of his men belonging to a Michi- 
 gan regiment lingered a very short distance behind 
 their train and were surprised and captured by 
 guerillas. They were taken at night to the bank of 
 a stream, their hands tied behind them, and the 
 three men were shot and their bodies thrown into 
 it. The officer, who was a good swimmer, jumped 
 down the embankment and escaped. On learning 
 the facts, Gen. Slocum, by order of Gen. Thomas, 
 ordered Col. Ketcham to go down into Lincoln 
 county with his regiment (the 150th) and the 13th 
 N. J., and collect from the inhabitants living within 
 ten miles of Mulberry, $30,000, of which $10,000 
 was to be sent to the families of each of the three 
 men thus murdered. Col. Ketcham executed the 
 order, taking from some of the people cotton 
 instead of money, at a value it would certainly 
 bring, and shipping it to Nashville. Anticipating 
 that his collections would exceed the authorized 
 amount by $5,000 or $6,000, he announced to 
 certain of those on whom the impost rested most 
 heavily that he should recommend the redistribu- 
 tion of the surplus to them. But on the return of 
 the regiment February nth, George Lovelace and 
 John E. Odell, who had charge of the Colonel's 
 and Surgeon's horses,, and were a few rods in 
 advance of the regiment, were shot dead by "bush- 
 whackers" at a turn in the- road about eight miles 
 from TuUahoma, and the horses hurried away, 
 though the latter were recaptured by the cavalry 
 connected with the command. In consequence of 
 these murders, Col. Ketcham recommended that 
 the surplus, instead of being returned, be paid to 
 ' the families of the murdered men, each of whom 
 received $2,500. The regiment and its Colonel 
 
 received the thanks of the commanding officer for 
 the prompt and efficient manner in which they exe- 
 cuted this trust. 
 
 About a hundred guerUlas were captured by the 
 regiment at different times while guarding this road. 
 Among them were the leaders of the gang and the 
 principal men of the locality, about sixty of whom 
 were shot. 
 
 In the spring of 1864, a re-organization of the 
 army was effected. Grant having been appointed 
 Lieutenant General and taken charge of the Army 
 of the Potomac, Sherman was assigned to the 
 command of the Military Division of the Missis- 
 sippi, comprising the armies of the Ohio, Tennessee, 
 Cumberland and Arkansas. In this change the 
 150th was brigaded with the 2d Massachusetts, 
 13th New Jersey and 27th Indiana. 
 
 April 26, 1864, the 150th marched to TuUahoma, 
 and thence on the 29th through University Place, 
 across the Cumberland Mountains, encamping 
 May ist between Nickajack Cave and Shell 
 Mound. The march was resumed on the 2d 
 over a very bad road, "most of which was cor- 
 duroyed during the winter with dead mules," to 
 Whiteside Station, passing around the point of 
 Lookout Mountain on the 3d to SomerviUe, near 
 Chattanooga. On the 4th it marched to Gordon's 
 MiU, on the old Chickamauga battle-field, and on 
 the 5th to Taylor's Ridge. On the 6th it sent 
 back its extra baggage and prepared for action. 
 Thence it foUowed the movement of the army in 
 its detour through Snake Creek Gap, by which the 
 strong position of Dalton was turned and its evac- 
 uation compeUed on the 12th. 
 
 Sherman then directed his forces against Resaca. 
 There was heavy skirmishing along the entire front 
 on the 13th, and at i p. m. on the 14th an attempt 
 was made to break the enemy's^line and force him 
 from an elevated_position in the immediate front. 
 The effort, though bravely made, was futile. At 3 
 p. M., Johnston, in an effort to turn Sherman's left, 
 made an impetuous attack, which was at first suc- 
 cessful; but, re-enforced by Hooker's corps, the 
 Confederates were driven back about dusk with 
 great loss. In this movement the 150th was 
 marched from the extreme right to the extreme 
 left of the line. Its timely arrival prevented the 
 loss of a battery which the enemy had well nigh 
 taken. 
 
 The battle was renewed on the 1 5th. The 1 50th, 
 which, in the early part of the engagement, was held 
 in reserve, was ordered to take position on a com- 
 manding eminence on the extreme left, toward 
 
THE WAR OF THE REBELLION, THE 150™ REGIMENT. 
 
 161 
 
 which the enemy were seen to be moving. Their 
 experience at Gettysburg taught them the advan- 
 tage of an intrenched position, and the rails from 
 an adjoining fence were quickly appropriated. 
 Even this meager protection doubtless saved them 
 many men in the heavy fire to which they were 
 soon after subjected. The remainder of the bri- 
 gade were hotly engaged on their right a half mile 
 distant. Soon eight regiments were seen to 
 emerge from the woods in their front into an open 
 field, across which they advanced in splendid order. 
 The 150th reserved their fire till the enemy had 
 advanced to within three hundred yards, when a 
 murderous volley was poured into them with deadly 
 effect. So destructive was this fire, that Col. Cal- 
 houn, (now Mayor of the city of Atlanta,) who 
 commanded the regiment on the extreme right of 
 the advancing foe, afterwards admitted to Gen. 
 Smith, then Major of the isoth, that his regiment 
 never had a roll call afterward. 
 
 This terrible and unexpected fire caused the 
 enemy to move off by the left flank and seek pro- 
 tection behind a fence which ran nearly at right 
 angles with the line of the r5oth. From that po- 
 sition they kept up a scathing fire, which, within 
 fifteen minutes from the time they opened, had cut 
 down every stalk of corn which had partially con- 
 cealed the 150th, and plowed the garden in their 
 front as thoroughly as with plow and harrow. One 
 could not place his hand on the little house which 
 stood in rear of the regiment without covering a 
 bullet mark. Notwithstanding the great disparity 
 in numbers the 150th held its position immovably 
 through the day, without being re-enforced or re- 
 lieved ; yet with singularly light casualties, having 
 only one officer ajid eight men wounded. The 
 wounds mostly proved fatal, as the regiment, from 
 the want of vegetable food, was suffering from 
 scurvey. But Lieut. Stephen Van R. Cruger, 
 then Adjutant of the regiment, who was most se- 
 verely wounded, recovered and rejoined the 
 regiment in time to take the march with Sher- 
 man to the seaboard. He is now Colonel of the 
 1 2th Regt. N. G., S. N. Y. in New York City, and 
 the agent of the Trinity Church property. 
 
 Johnston withdrew his army from the defenses 
 of Resaca during the night of the isth. He was 
 closely pursued and forced across the Etowah. 
 After a rest of three days, from the 3oth to the 
 22d, (the only one the isoth had during the Atlan- 
 ta campaign of about a hundred days,) during 
 which Sherman forwarded supplies to his army, 
 Johnston's position at AUatoona Pass was turned 
 
 by a circuit toward Dallas, Hooker having the ad- 
 vance, and having some sharp encounters at New 
 Hope Church, in which the 150th was again 
 engaged. 
 
 On the 25th of May, the regiment having 
 marched from Cassville, its resting place, through 
 Euharlee, Stilesborough and Huntsville, towards 
 Dallas, was reached by an Orderly and directed to 
 re-cross Pumpkin Vine Creek to re-enforce General 
 Geary, who was hotly engaged on their left. The 
 brigade to which the isoth belonged, then com- 
 manded by Thomas H. Ruger, the late commandant 
 at West Point, advanced in splendid order, the 27th 
 Indiana being on the right of the isoth, and the 3d 
 Wisconsin and 107th New York on its left, the 
 extreme left resting on the New Hope Church 
 road. The brigade advanced to within a few rods 
 of the enemy's works, and held its position from 
 4 P. M. till midnight. Several attempts were made 
 to relieve them with other troops, but none suc- 
 ceeded in retaining a position in front of them. 
 The casualties of the 150th were six killed and 
 thirty-six wounded. Lieut. Mabbett was wounded 
 by a spent grape shot, which passed over his head 
 while lying down, and struck him in the back. 
 Sergt. Story, of Co. C, deserves honorable men- 
 tion. He fell while commanding and gallantly 
 leading his company. Sergt. Blauvelt, of Co. E, 
 who was one of the best sergeants in the regiment, 
 was mortally wounded and died in a few days. 
 The rsoth was favored by its position, having 
 passed the crown of the hill, so that the enemy 
 could not depress their guns sufficiently to reach 
 them. The regiment upon its right was driven 
 from the field, and those upon its left suffered in 
 casualties four-fold. The 150th covered the guns 
 of the enemy so thoroughly that six in their front 
 were silenced. The regiment retired from this line 
 at midnight in a drizzUng rain, and received the 
 congratulations of Gens. Hooker and Williams, 
 the corps and division commanders, for their noble 
 conduct. 
 
 The regiment participated in those movements 
 by which the turning of Allatoona Pass was com- 
 pleted and the railroad at Ackworth reached, being 
 almost continually under fire, which was at times 
 of great severity, and for three days awaiting orders 
 for an assault, for which every preparation had been 
 made. On the i ith of June, while the movements 
 in front of Marietta were in progress. Corporal 
 Henry L. Stone, of Co. A, was killed by the ex- 
 plosion of a shell while engaged in constructing 
 breastworks. This same day a shell from Battery 
 
l62 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 I, which the isoth was supporting, killed instantly 
 the rebel Gen. Bishop Polk, (a brother of the ex- 
 President,) who, in company with Gens. Johnston 
 and Hardee, was reconnoitering Sherman's posi- 
 tion.* 
 
 June 2 2d, while Sherman was slowly advancing 
 his army on the enemy's entrenched position on 
 Kenesaw Mountain, the iSoth, with the command 
 to which it belonged, was moved to the right of the 
 army. At noon the regiment reached the edge of 
 an open field, which extended on the left to the top 
 of Kenesaw Mountain, four miles distant. It was 
 soon evident from the angry mutterings on the 
 skirmish line posted in the ravine in their front, 
 that a battle was imminent. Hood's corps, with 
 detachments from the others, sallied and attacked 
 at 4 p. M., the blow falling mostly on WiUiams' di- 
 vision of Hooker's corps and a brigade of Has- 
 call's division of Schofield's corps. The iSoth 
 took position on the right of Battery M, ist N. Y. 
 Artillery, its only protection being a winrow of 
 rails, formed by pushing in the corners of a rail 
 fence and allowing it to fall. At 5 p. m. the rebel 
 Gen. Stevenson's brigade, said to be from 6,000 to 
 9,000 strong, emerged from the woods opposite 
 them, full three-fourths of a mile distant, and ad- 
 vanced in splendid order across the open field, 
 though terribly cut to pieces by the federal artillery, 
 which, for nearly four miles on the left gave them 
 a raking fire, while Battery M in front dealt 
 most severely with them with grape and canister, 
 and the regiment of infantry gave them a terrific 
 enfilading fire. Still they advanced through the 
 ravine and formed four hues of battle, the foremost 
 of which was not distant fifty paces ; but the deadly 
 fire compelled them to retire to the ravine, where, 
 and in the gullies leading to it, a large number of 
 the enemy were taken jjrisoners the following day. 
 
 This battle cost the isoth one of its most valued 
 officers— Lieut. Henry Gridley, of Wassaic, then 
 commanding Co. A. He was directing the fire of 
 his men, and a color-bearer in the front of the 
 enemy was shot down by his direction, by one of his 
 men, named GoUenbeck. His last words to his 
 comrades were : " Give it to them, boys ! Take 
 dead aim ! " The enemy were repulsed, though 
 opposed only by a single, unsupported line of 
 battle. 
 
 June 27th two assaults were made on the rebel 
 lines simultaneously, one by McPherson, on Little 
 Kenesaw Mountain, the other by Thoma s, a mile 
 
 " * From the Diary of Gen. A. B. Smith, of Poughkeepsie. Draper, 
 {Ifistmy of the A merican Civil War., III.., 284, ) says this event trans- 
 pired on the 14th of June. 
 
 farther south. Both failed, and Sherman therefore 
 resolved to turn the position at Marietta, and that 
 movement was commenced on the night of July 
 2d, by McPherson. A feint, in which the isoth 
 took part, was made to cover it. Johnston aban- 
 doned Kenesaw the following morning and was 
 driven across the Chattahoochee. Sherman forced 
 the passage of that stream and posted his army in 
 proximity to Atlanta, on the general line of Peach 
 Tree Creek, and across the Augusta Railroad. 
 Here, on the afternoon of the 20th of July, he was 
 attacked in force by Hood, who had superseded 
 Johnston in command of the confederate forces in 
 Georgia. The blow was unexpected and its weight 
 fell mainly upon Hooker's corps, which was un- 
 protected by works, and fought in comparatively 
 open ground. The attack was repulsed after a 
 severe engagement. ® 
 
 In this battle the isoth again met the enemy. 
 The division to which it belonged deployed under 
 the immediate eye of Hooker, and bursting through 
 the enveloping lines of the enemy, gained its 
 position in the line, thus connecting its right and left 
 portions. Companies E, H and B, of the 150th, 
 under command of Major Smith, were sent to re- 
 enforce the front line, which was held. The 150th 
 lost two men killed, and two officers and eight men 
 wounded. The officers were Lieuts. VanKeuren 
 and Barlow, the former of whom is now captain of 
 one of the Poughkeepsie Transportation Com- 
 pany's boats. 
 
 Having failed to prevent the passage of Peach 
 Tree Creek, Hood next endeavored to turn Sher- 
 man's left flank, and for that purpose made furious 
 assaults on the 21st and 2 2d of July. But his 
 success was only partialand temporary. The at- 
 tempt was repeated, for the last time, on the 28th, 
 but with far more disastrous results to the Confed- 
 erates. Sherman spent some days in investing the 
 defenses of Atlanta, and extending his army by the 
 right flank with a view to reaching the Macon 
 railroad, by which supplies and ammunition 
 for the Confederates reached Atlanta. But owing 
 to the difficulties attending the project with the 
 forces at his command, he resolved to abandon 
 the siege of Atlanta, and strike at the enemy's 
 communications with his whole army. The exe- 
 cution of this movement was coriimenced on the 
 25th of August, and the isoth, which had been 
 engaged in the meantime in the trenches before 
 Atlanta, moved back with the 20th corps to Chat- 
 tahoochee, where they entrenched to protect Sher- 
 man's line of communication and hold the railroad 
 
THE WAR OF THE REBELLION, THE isoth REGIMENT. 
 
 163 
 
 bridge across that stream. The subsequent move- 
 ments of Sherman in the development of his plan, 
 but in which the 150th did not directly participate, 
 necessitated the evacuation of Atlanta by the Con- 
 federates on the night of Sept. 1-2, 1864. Before 
 leaving the city. Hood destroyed a vast quantity of 
 military stores, said to have aggregated in value 
 $19,000,000, besides locomotives, cars, machine- 
 shops, store-houses and depots. These explosions 
 were heard by the forces on the Chattahoochee, 
 and a reconnoisance on the 2d revealed the 
 cause. The city was entered by the isoth at 5 p. 
 M., of that day. 
 
 Sherman remodeled the works at Atlanta so 
 that a smaller force could defend them. The isoth 
 was among the troops which remained in the city 
 for that object, and furnished a heavy daily detail 
 to work on the fortifications, which covered about 
 six acres in the heart of the city. These duties 
 were varied by occasional foraging expeditions and 
 reconnoisances. Col. Ketcham, who had been de- 
 tailed at the head of a court-martial, left the regi- 
 ment in command of Major Smith on the isth of 
 October, and returned home to be elected to Con- 
 gress. 
 
 Sherman, having received permission from Grant 
 on the 2d of November to execute his plan of 
 marching his army through the Confederate States 
 from Atlanta to the seaboard, at once began prep- 
 arations for that movement, for which he retained 
 four corps, including the 20th, to which the isoth 
 belonged. On the 14th of November his army was 
 grouped about Atlanta, which was thoroughly de- 
 stroyed, with the exception of its churches and 
 houses. Having effectually destroyed his line of 
 communication, and left Gen. Thomas at Nash- 
 ville to watch the movements of the rebel General 
 Hood, he set his army in motion toward the Atlan- 
 tic, living on the country as he went and marking 
 his course by a line of desolation. 
 
 The isoth was the first regiment to report at 
 brigade headquarters after the order to march was 
 given, and led the 20th Corps out of Atlanta on 
 the isth of November. It reached the Savannah, 
 at the crossing of the railroad from Charleston to 
 Savannah, on the loth of December, having had 
 several sharp skirmishes with the enemy, and, 
 among other acts of destruction, burned on the 
 26th of November, a very large quantity of bridge 
 timber, which was framed and ready to be put to- 
 gether and designed for the use of Hood's army 
 in its anticipated raid into the Northern States. 
 Dec. 13th Fort McAllister was taken, and commu- 
 
 nication opened with the fleet. On the 16th the 
 isoth was sent with a part of the brigade to Ar- 
 gyle Island, and thence into South Carolina, to 
 threaten Hardee's only hne of communication or 
 means of escape from Savannah. On the evacua- 
 tion of Savannah on the evening of the 20th, the 
 regiment re-crossed to Argyle Island. 
 
 Colonel Ketcham rejoined the regiment Dec. 
 17th, and on the 21st was badly wounded through 
 the thigh. He was never afterward in command 
 of the regiment. Having been elected to Con- 
 gress, he resigned, and the command devolved 
 on Lieutenant-Colonel Smith, who was promoted 
 to Lieutenant- Colonel, September 6th, 1864, and to 
 Colonel, April 24th, 1865, having previously been 
 breveted Brigadier-General. 
 
 The isoth went into position on the Savannah 
 River, north of the city of Savannah, and remained 
 there, while Sherman was refitting his army, till 
 Jan. 1 6th, 1865, when orders were received to be- 
 gin that memorable mid-winter march of toil and 
 suffering through the Carolinas, which were marked 
 by a track of desolation, as Georgia had previously 
 been. The regiment was inspected, and left 
 Savannah on the 17th, crossing the river on pon- 
 toons in the lower part of the city. The march 
 was fraught with incident, fatigue and danger, and 
 being at right angles to the water-courses, much 
 difficulty and delay was experienced in crossing 
 the numerous streams, some of which, swelled by 
 the continuous rains of a wet season, had to be 
 crossed by the men in water waist-high, and often 
 chilled nearly to the freezing point. The army 
 subsisted wholly by foraging, and on several occa- 
 sions the food of the regiment for a week at a 
 time consisted wholly of dried corn. On the 4th 
 of March the regiment bivouacked near Sneeds- 
 boro, on the Great Pedee River, in the south edge 
 of North Carolina. Over the fence from their camp 
 was a graveyard, old and neglected, but contain- 
 ing what appeared to be several new graves side 
 by side. These attracted the attention of a sol- 
 dier, and explorations made by thrusting a ramrod 
 into them aroused suspicion as to their real nature. 
 With the consent of Col. Smith, the fresh turned 
 earth was removed, and more than 500 bushels of 
 corn in the ear found to be buried there. 
 
 The regiment had some skirmishing en route 
 with the enemy, and on the nth of March, made 
 a forced march of twelve miles in three hours to 
 the battle-field near Fayetteville, N. C, but did 
 not participate in the action. At 8 p. m. on the 
 isth, after a most fatiguing march over bad roads, 
 
164 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 the regiment was ordered out and marched four 
 miles— about the most severe march the regi- 
 ment ever made — to support Kilpatrick's cavalry, 
 who encountered Hardee's forces near Averys- 
 boro, at the narrow neck of swampy land between 
 Cape Fear and South Rivers, on the direct road 
 between Fayetteville and Raleigh, where that Gen- 
 eral hoped, by disputing the passage of Sherman's 
 army, to delay it sufficiently to gain time for the 
 concentration of the scattered fragments of the 
 rebel army, which was then being collected by 
 Johnston, who had recently reheved Beauregard of 
 the command of that department. He was, how- 
 ever, pressed so hard that he retreated during a 
 stormy night, over dreadful roads, toward Smith- 
 field. 
 
 Leaving a division to make a show of pursuit, 
 Slocum turned to the right with the rest of his 
 army and moved towards Goldsboro. The isoth 
 supported the cavalry at dawn on the i6th, and 
 came, upon the enemy in force. The advance was 
 made in line of battle and the enemy was soon 
 driven from their front, not, however, without suf- 
 fering severe loss — the regiment having one killed 
 and fifteen wounded. The former was Lieut. Sleight, 
 a son of Peter Sleight, a well known citizen of La 
 Grange, and one of the best officers in the regi- 
 ment. Among the wounded were Sergeants Wat- 
 son, Wilkinson and Bell, the latter two losing each 
 a leg. This was the last engagement in which the 
 150th took part. The 20th corps fought the 
 battle of Bentonville, but the r5o"th was guard- 
 ing roads in the rear and took no part in that 
 action. 
 
 March 13th, the 150th was reviewed, after 
 marching seven miles, by Gens. Sherman and Slo- 
 cum. On the 23d of that month, while on the 
 march towards Goldsboro, which they reached at 
 1 1 A. M. on the 24th, the regiment first came in 
 sight of colored troops, whom they almost rivaled 
 in blackness. At' Goldsboro they met their old 
 commander. Gen. Ruger, who had been attached 
 to the 23d corps, and had occupied Savannah 
 since Sherman's army left there ; but they were 
 not under his command after the fall of Atlanta. 
 April 5th they were reviewed by Gen. Mower, who 
 then had command of the 20th corps. April 6th 
 the corps learned of the fall of Richmond, and 
 rent the air with their cheers, that the western 
 troops might know that, they rejoiced in the vic- 
 tory of the Army of the Potomac, with which they 
 were still proud to have been connected. April 
 7th the regiment received a box from home, 
 
 through the Chaplain, and a clean towel and 
 "comfort bag " was issued to each man. 
 
 April glh, Sherman, who had finished resting 
 and reclothing his army about Goldsboro, received 
 orders from Grant to "pitch into Johnston and 
 finish up the job at once," and at daybreak on the 
 loth all the heads of his columns were in motion 
 against the enemy. The 150th broke camp at 
 4.30 A. M. of the loth, and after a march of about 
 26 miles, crossing Little River and Moccasin 
 Creek, reached Smithfield on the nth. The 
 march was resumed at 6 a. m. on the 12 th, and on 
 that day the news of Lee's surrender was received. 
 The regiment reached Raleigh at noon of the r3th 
 (Johnston having left that city in the morning,) 
 and encamped near the Lunatic Asylum. Orders 
 had been received to resume the march on the 
 15th, but on the t4th Sherman received a request 
 from Johnston for an interview, and the order to 
 march was substituted with one to prepare for re- 
 view. 
 
 At that interview negotiations for the surrender 
 of Johnston's army were commenced, though they 
 were not completed, and that act consummated 
 till the 26th of April. On the 17th of that month 
 the 150th received the appalling news of Lincoln's 
 assassination. On the 24th it was reviewed by 
 Gen. Grant, and on the 25th marched fifteen miles 
 in the direction of Jones' Cross Roads, where, on 
 the 28th, the news of Johnston's surrender was re- 
 ceived, and the regiment returned to Raleigh. 
 April 30th the 150th started for home, marching 
 through Melville and across the Tar, Roanoke (at 
 Taylor's Ferry) and Big Nottaway Rivers to Rich- 
 mond, near which they encamped on the 9th of 
 May. Here Col. Smith purchased crape for the 
 colors to commemorate the death of President 
 Lincoln. On the roth they had an opportunity to 
 view Libby Prison and other places of interest in 
 the rebel capital, through which they marched on 
 the nth, passing through the malarial swamps of 
 the Chickahominy and over the memorable battle- 
 fields of Spottsylvania, Chancellorsville and Bull 
 Run, on the way to Washington. At Cloud's 
 Mills, a few miles south of Alexandria, where they 
 arrived on the 19th, they were visited on the 20th 
 by Gen. Ketcham, their former Colonel, and other 
 friends. 
 
 On the 24th the regiment participated in the 
 grand review at Washington, and went in^to camp 
 east of the federal city to prepare for muster out. 
 Here books and baggage which were left at Chat- 
 tanooga and had not been in possession of the 
 
THE WAR OF THE REBELLION, PREPARATIONS FOR THE DRAFT. 
 
 i6s 
 
 regiment since May i, 1864, were forwarded to it. 
 This regiment was one of the few which were per- 
 mitted to return home to be mustered out. It 
 arrived at Poughkeepsie about midnight on Satur- 
 day, the loth of June, and marched to the armory 
 in the vicinity of Vassar Row, on Main street, 
 where arms were stacked, and the men dismissed 
 and allowed to go where they pleased till Monday 
 morning, when they were mustered out. 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 Third District Regiment — Fails to Complete 
 ITS Organization — Preparations for the 
 Draft — Suspension of the Draft — Call for 
 Additional Troops — Services of the 2ist 
 Militia Regiment Tendered and Accepted- 
 Departure for the Seat of War— Return 
 AND Welcome Home — Effect of the Draft 
 Riots in New York — Home Guard — The 
 Draft in Duchess County — Aid of the Mili- 
 tary Invoked— Call Of Oct. 17, 1863— Re- 
 cruiting Agents Appointed — Enlistments of 
 Colored Men — Call of Feb. i, 1864 — Sani- 
 tary Fair— Call of March 15, 1864— Call 
 of July 18, 1864— Progress of Enlistments — 
 Third Draft in Duchess— Statement of 
 Bounties Paid — Call of Dec. 19, 1864 — 
 Fourth and Last Draft in Duchess — Close 
 OF the War — Woman's Work in the War. 
 
 ALMOST simultaneously with the inaugura- 
 tion of the movement to form a Duchess 
 county regiment, a movement was set on foot to 
 form a third district regiment. August 29, 1862, 
 the district war committee met at the Worth House 
 in Hudson, and appointed a committee consisting 
 of Judge Peck and C. P. Collier, of Columbia 
 county, and Judge Emott and Hon. Stephen Baker, 
 of Duchess county, to represent to the Governor 
 that, in the opinion of the committee, unless au- 
 thority be given to raise a third regiment of volun- 
 teers in the nth Senate district, the camp to be 
 located at Hudson, " it will be difficult, if not im- 
 possible, to raise the men required from said dis- 
 trict by voluntary enlistment, and that with it the 
 men can be raised." 
 
 That regiment, which was designated the 167th, 
 made a good start under Colonel Homer A. 
 Nelson, who designated his headquarters Camp 
 Columbia, with Arthur Wilkinson, then late of 
 Sickles' brigade, as military instructor, and Mark 
 D. Wilber, of Poughkeepsie, as Quartermaster, 
 
 and during the succeeding few weeks was gradually 
 filling up mostly with Columbia county men, num- 
 bering 500 men from that county, besides those 
 who were recruiting in Duchess county, by the 
 middle of October, at which time it was rapidly 
 filling up ; but it failed to complete its organiza- 
 tion. 
 
 Oct. 14, 1862, five per cent, was added to the 
 quota of each town, to provide for any deficiency 
 arising from desertions after enlistment and other 
 causes ; but this order was revoked on the 27th 
 of the same month, and on the 3d of December 
 following the draft was suspended, volunteer en- 
 listments being continued up to that period. Dec. 
 4, 1862, the County Treasurer reported to the 
 Supervisors disbursements amounting to $93,000 
 from the Bounty Fund ; of which sum $73,475 
 was expended in the payment of bounties to 1,533 
 volunteers, of whom 566 were in the 128th regi- 
 ment, 914 in the isoth, 35 in the 159th, (which was 
 organized in New Yorkand mustered Nov. i, 1862,) 
 and 1 8" in other foreign regiments. 
 
 March 3, 1863, Congress authorized the raising 
 of additional troops to take the place of the two 
 years' men, whose terms of service were about to 
 expire, and otherwise to strengthen the army. Presi- 
 dent Lincoln issued a conscription proclamation 
 on the 8th of May to carry that law into operation, 
 and ordered a draft to take place July 23, 1863. 
 The execution of the law was entrusted to a Provost 
 Marshal General and a Provost Marshal in each 
 Congressional' District, in each of which, also, a 
 board of enrollment was appointed. Isaac Piatt, 
 of Poughkeepsie, was appointed Provost Marshal 
 of the 1 2th district ; and the following enrolling offi- 
 cers were appointed in Duchess County : Wm. T. 
 IngersoU, Amenia; Philo Baker, Beekman ; Edgar 
 Knapp, Clinton; Edgar Vincent, Dover; David 
 C. Griffin, East Fishkill ; Edward M. Goring, Fish- 
 kill ; Walter C. Allen, Hyde Park ; Daniel W. 
 Odell, LaGrange ; Philip H. Traver, Milan ; Wm. 
 H. Creed, North East; Harman Ferris, Pawling; 
 Neheraiah J. Boyce, Pine Plains ; Elias DeGarmo, 
 Pleasant Valley ; Wm. Pinckney, Poughkeepsie ; 
 John Winslow, ist and 2d wards, Poughkeepsie 
 City ; Wm. Graham, 3d and 4th wards, Pough- 
 keepsie City; Herman Ostrom, Rhinebeck ; Philip 
 H. Lasher, Red Hook; Alfred R. Vail, Stanford; 
 Philip Bennett, Union Vale ; Isaac Sisson, Wash- 
 ington. 
 
 April 17, 1863, the State Legislature offered a 
 bounty of $150 to each two years' soldier who re- 
 enlisted for two years, and $75 for one year. As 
 
i66 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 enlistments for less than three years were not then 
 received, a bounty of $150 was also offered for 
 three years' enlistments, $30 to be paid down if 
 the re-enlistment occurred within a month after 
 discharge. But notwithstanding these inducements 
 and the additional incentives to enlistment of 
 county and town bounties preparations for the draft 
 continued. 
 
 At the inception of Lee's raid into Pennsylvania 
 in June, 1863, Governor Seymour was called on 
 for 20,000 militia. This demand was promptly 
 met by the mihtia of Duchess County, and on the 
 17th of June the following communication was 
 telegraphed to the State Executive : — 
 
 "Headquarters, \ 
 2ist Regt. N. G., S. N. Y. J 
 " To His Excellency Gov. Seymour : — 
 
 " Governor — Being authorized by the field, 
 staff and line officers of the 21st Regt., N. G., 
 S. N. Y., I hereby respectfully tender to the Govern- 
 ment the services of this Regiment for a short 
 term of service. 
 
 " Respectfully your obedient servant, 
 
 Jos. Wright." 
 Immediate efforts were made to recruit the ranks 
 of the regiment to the maximum number. This 
 work was pushed vigorously and successfully — 
 Colonel Wright, commanding the 21st, received the 
 following reply to his telegram : — 
 
 " Gen'l. Headquarters, State of N. Y., 
 Adjutant General's office, 
 
 Albany, June 19th, 1863. 
 "Special Order No. 313. 
 
 " The Secretary of War having made requisition 
 upon the Governor of this State for troops for a 
 short term of service, the 21st Regt. Nat. Guard of 
 N. Y., Col. Jos. Wright, commanding, will hold 
 itself in readiness to march on short notice. 
 " By order of the Commander-in-Chief, 
 J. B. Stonehouse, 
 
 Act'g. Asst. Adj't. Gen'l." 
 The 2 1 St left Poughkeepsie on the evening of 
 June 26, 1863, on the steamer William Kent,ixova. 
 the foot of Main street. Its departure was made a 
 grand ovation. Companies B, C, F and R, with 
 part of the Rhinebeck company, being unable to 
 procure uniforms on the 26th, did not leave until 
 the 27th. The work of enlisting was continued 
 till the day of starting. The following was the 
 field, staff and line officers : — Colonel, Joseph 
 Wright j Lieutenant-Colonel, James Kent ; Major, 
 Charles H. Fitchett; Adjutant, James E. Schram ; 
 Quartermaster, Joseph H. Marshall; Surgeon, Dr. 
 VanDuser; Asst. Surgeon, Dr. Schenck ; Com- 
 missary, R. M. Denton ; Quartermaster Sergeant, 
 
 J. Case ; Hospital Steward, J. H. Lindsley ; Co. A* 
 Poughkeepsie, (Ellsworth Guards,) Captain Hay- 
 man, Lieutenants Lindley, Darrow and Parker; 
 Co. B, Poughkeepsie, (Jackson Guards,) Captain 
 Chfford, Lieutenant O'Neil ; Co. C, Hudson, Cap- 
 tain MuUony ; Co. D, Poughkeepsie, (Scott Guards,) 
 Captain Tanner, Lieutenants Quigley, Hauben- 
 estel and Dennis; Co. E. Rhinebeck, "gone to 
 war ;" Co. F, Poughkeepsie, (Grenadiers,) Captain 
 Whelan ; Co. G, Poughkeepsie, (Duchess County 
 Artillery,) Captain Miller, Lieutenants, Prince and 
 Korner; Co. H, Fishkill, (Denning Guards,) Cap- 
 tain Hustis ; Ci?. .ff", Fishkill, (new company;) Co. 
 R, Poughkeepsie, (German Rifles,) Captain Heng- 
 sterbeck. Lieutenant Michaelis. The regiment 
 numbered 410 men.f 
 
 The regiment proceeded to Baltimore and were 
 quartered in Belger Barracks, then recently the 
 camp of the 150th. It left Camp Belger in July 
 and marched through a hard rain to Fort McHenry, 
 and thence proceeded on the 7th of July to Fort 
 Delaware, seventy-five miles south of Baltimore, 
 which was used for the confinement of rebel pris- 
 oners. It returned home, arriving at Poughkeepsie 
 on the government transport steamer Commodore 
 at midnight, July 28-'29, 1863, and notwithstanding 
 the unseasonable hour, received a hearty welcome 
 from the Home Guard and many citizens, amid 
 bonfires and brilliant illuminations. It was mus- 
 tered out at Poughkeepsie, August 7, 1863, by 
 Captain Chambliss, of the sth U. S. Cavalry. 
 
 Intense excitement prevailed in Poughkeepsie 
 on the reception of the news of the draft riots in 
 New York in July, 1863, and in the absence of 
 the 2ist regiment, measures were at once set on 
 foot to organize a home guard, as a means of pro- 
 tection against riot if such was attempted. On 
 the evening of July 14, 1863, several meetings 
 were held in the city on short notice, and the 
 Poughkeepsie Eagle of July rs, 1863, announced 
 that three companies had been formed ready to 
 assemble at a moment's warning. Railroad and 
 telegraphic communication with New York was 
 interrupted for three days, and the only means 
 of getting authentic information from that city was 
 by the morning and evening papers brought by 
 boat. The number of companies was subsequent- 
 ly increased to six, (one of which was composed 
 of returned volunteers,) in addition to the Grant 
 
 * This Company, during tlie war, says tlle Poughkeepsit El^k of Sept. 
 1, 1864, "has sent over 200 recruits to the war." 
 
 t Companys A, D, G, H, K and R, and a few men of Co. F, went 
 with the 2ist, the other companies refusing to do so.— Poughketpsie 
 BagU of July 25, 1863. 
 
THE WAR OF THE REBELLION, QUOTAS UNDER THE DRAFT. 
 
 167 
 
 Cavalry and Capt. Van Cleef's artillery corps, the 
 whole under command of Col. Joseph Williams. 
 Active drilling was kept up even after the riot 
 alarms had ceased. 
 
 The suspense which had hung over the people 
 of this district respecting the draft was at length 
 terminated. The draft was ordered to take place 
 on Monday, Sept. 7th. The quota for the district 
 was 2,013, of which number 1,202 fell upon 
 Duchess and 8 1 1 on Columbia. To these figures 
 fifty per cent, were added to cover exemptions, 
 making the entire number to be drafted in the 
 district 3,019— in Duchess, 1,781, and Columbia, 
 1,239. The following table shows the number 
 enrolled in and the quota to be furnished by each 
 town or sub-district in Duchess county : — 
 
 No. No. 
 
 Enrolled. Quota. Drft'd 
 
 Amenia 271 52 79 
 
 Beekman 147 26 39 
 
 Clinton 217 40 60 
 
 Dover. 197 36 54 
 
 East Fishkill 279 52 79 
 
 Fishkill, ist, 2d and 4th Districts.. 47 5 87 130 
 
 " 3d and 5th Districts 231 43 64 
 
 Hyde Park 360 67 loi 
 
 LaGrange 2n 38 57 
 
 Milan 160 33 49 
 
 North East 210 39 58 
 
 Pawling 191 34 ^i 
 
 Pine Plains 151 27 40 
 
 Pleasant Valley 177 32 48 
 
 Poughkeepsie 297 56 84 
 
 Poughkeepsie City, 1st & 2d Wards 847 157 235 
 
 " 3d & 4th " 607 116 17s 
 
 Rhinebeck ... 362 69 104 
 
 Red Hook 421 76 114 
 
 Stanford 212 39 59 
 
 Union Vale 133 24 36 
 
 Washington 237 43 65 
 
 The Sheriffs of Duchess and Columbia counties, 
 the Mayors of Poughkeepsie and Hudson, and the 
 following named gentlemen were invited to attend 
 the drawing and see that all was fairly done, viz : 
 Hon. James Emott, Hon. John Thompson, Joseph 
 H. Jackson, Wilson B. Sheldon, Albert Van 
 Kleeck and Charles W. Swift, Republicans, and 
 Homer A. Nelson, Charles Wheaton, Joseph F. 
 Barnard, Edgar Thorn, James H. Weeks and 
 Edward B. Osborne, Democrats. 
 
 At the hour appointed for the execution of the 
 draft in this district, a large number of citizens con- 
 gregated in and about the Provost Marshal's office 
 to witness the proceedings. The place selected for 
 the drawing to commence was the front room of 
 the building No. 7 Union street, which is still 
 standing and is now occupied for law offices. 
 
 The general failure of this draft to supply men, 
 owing to exemptions and commutations, led to 
 another call Oct. 17, 1863, for 300,000 men, for 
 three years or during the war, and a draft was or- 
 dered to fill the quotas unless otherwise filled by 
 Jan. 5, 1864. The quotas under this call were as 
 
 follows : — 
 
 No. Enrolled. Quota. 
 
 ■■ 271 38 
 
 21 
 
 31 
 28 
 
 Amenia . 
 
 Beekman j .- 
 
 Clinton ' " 317 
 
 East Fishkill ; /' 
 
 ™l-V 707' xo'o 
 
 Hyde Park ^60 
 
 LaGrange 211 
 
 Milan '_''"_ igo 
 
 North East 210 30 
 
 Pfwling igi 
 
 Pine Plains igi 
 
 Pleasant Valley xyy 
 
 Poughkeepsie 297 
 
 SO 
 30 
 22 
 
 27 
 22 
 
 25 
 42 
 69 
 
 5° 
 46 
 40 
 SI 
 S9 
 30 
 19 
 34 
 
 City, ist Ward 492 
 
 "2d " .... 352 
 
 " 4th " .... 280 
 
 Rhinebeck 362 
 
 Red Hook 42 1 
 
 Stanford 214 
 
 Union Vale , . 133 
 
 Washington 236 
 
 A committee appointed for that purpose selected 
 as recruiting agents the following persons, being two 
 in each Assembly District in this county : John C. 
 Pudney, Poughkeepsie ; John M. Keese, Rhinebeck; 
 Samuel Underhill, Fishkill; Horace D. Hufcut, 
 Dover. 
 
 Strenuous efforts were made to fill the quotas 
 under this call without the necessity of having 
 recourse to a draft. Dec. 8, 1863, the Supervis- 
 ors resolved to tax the county $250,000 for a 
 bounty fund, and to pay to each volunteer accept- 
 ed and mustered into the service a bounty of 
 $300. The County Treasurer was also authorized 
 to pay $5 to any person furnishing a volunteer 
 under this resolution, when such volunteer was 
 accepted, sworn in and credited on the quota of 
 the county, which was 904. Dec. 9, 1863, the 
 Supervisors authorized the Provost Marshal to 
 draw on the County Treasurer and pay the recruit- 
 ing agents $5 for every man enlisted by them and 
 accepted by the Government from this county. 
 This made the united national. State and county 
 bounties $690 to each new recruit and $865 to 
 each veteran. 
 
 The colored citizens of the county werp alive to 
 their privileges and duties, and within six weeks 
 
i68 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 after the New York draft riots, had organized in 
 Poughkeepsie a company of their own race num- 
 bering some sixty men. August 31st, Sergeant 
 Robinson of the 20th R. I. colored regiment left 
 Poughkeepsie on the steamer Mary Powell with 
 a number of colored recruits. The Poughkeepsie 
 Eagle oiDtc. 14, 1863, says: "Amass meeting 
 of colored men is called to assemble this evening 
 at the African M. E. Zion Church to raise colored 
 volunteers. The motto they place on their bills is 
 worthy of the cause. ' Prepare to arm ! Our time 
 has come ! If we would have a place in this 
 country's record, we must write it with the bay- 
 onet.'" During the succeeding two months a 
 large number of colored men were enlisted. Re- 
 cruiting was brisk and the towns generally had filled, 
 and many exceeded their quota. This excess was 
 credited on the subsequent call of Feb. i, 1864, 
 (known as the deficiency call,) for 200,000 men. 
 
 Feb. 15, 1864, the Supervisors extended the 
 time for the payment of county bounties until the 
 quota under the last call was filled. The same 
 date they resolved to pay $25 to any person 
 bringing a recruit credited to this county. This 
 resolution revoked the one of Dec. 9, 1863, offer- 
 ing $5 for such service. 
 
 Enlistments continued with great rapidity, and 
 within twenty days from the issuance of the call 
 the quota of the district was full. The Poughkeep- 
 sie Eagle of Feb. 20, 1864, says : — 
 
 " We are officially requested to make public the 
 ■fact that the 1 2th district has its quota full. * * * An 
 official communication has been received by Lieut. 
 Medary,* that our quota under the call for 500,000 
 menf is 2,2ri ; volunteers credited to the district 
 up to Jan. 31st, 1,121 ; drafted men who served or 
 commuted, and substitutes, 927 ; total to be cred- 
 ited, 2,048, leaving 163 to be raised. Since Feb. 
 ist there have been mustered in 310 men, so that 
 we have raised one hundred and forty-seven men 
 over our quota. This result will be hailed with 
 general satisfaction, and we think the more so be- 
 cause it proves the order to draft for 500,000 was 
 not a call for more men, but merely to clear ur 
 the old calls." ^ 
 
 The men raised under these calls, (Oct. 17, 
 1863, and Feb. 1, 1864,) were mainly appHed to 
 filling the old regiments, which were numerically 
 reduced by the exigencies of the service. They 
 were allowed to select the regiment with which they 
 desired to be attached, and were, consequently, 
 united to various organizations. 
 
 The payment of these large bounties, if gener- 
 ous, was unwise and unjust, and, though it stimu- 
 
 * Lieut. Medary was then acting Provost Marshal in his district 
 1- The calls of Oct. 17, 1S63, and Feb. i, 1864, were merged in one. 
 
 lated enlistments, attracted a rabble element, and 
 was a vice which pandered to base passions, fostered 
 corruption and extortion, increased in its enormity 
 as the war progressed and seriously interfered with 
 the levies for such an army as should have been 
 the dependence and defense of our noble Republic. 
 The county was to some extent victimized by 
 bounty jumpers operating in Poughkeepsie, and 
 desertions of whole squads were of frequent occur- 
 rence during this period, necessitating the employ- 
 ment of strong guards, with loaded muskets, as 
 the recruits were removed from the recruiting sta- 
 tion to the " Soldiers' Rest,"* or to other places of 
 rendezvous in the city, which were infested with 
 numerous sharpers, whose presence and operations 
 compelled the officials to be constantly on the 
 alert. 
 
 March 15, 1864, the*," Poughkeepsie City and 
 Duchess County Sanitary Fair " was opened and 
 continued to and including the 19th. Among its 
 attractions were the tattered and battle-stained 
 colors of the 128th regiment. Over $18,000 were 
 reahzed by the fair. 
 
 March 15, 1864, a call for an additional 200,000 
 men was issued. Volunteers were received until 
 April 15th, after which a draft was ordered to 
 make up any deficiency then existing. The quota 
 of the i2th district under this call was 913. The 
 following table exhibits the condition of the towns 
 in Duchess county at that time with reference to 
 previous calls : — 
 
 Amenia 20 Surplus. 
 
 Beekman 9 Deficiency. 
 
 Clinton x\ " 
 
 Dover i Surplus. 
 
 East Fishkill 19 Deficiency. 
 
 Fishkill 6 Surplus. 
 
 Hyde Park 15 Deficiency. 
 
 LaGrange in " 
 
 Milan c " 
 
 North East 17 « 
 
 Pawling i-y 't 
 
 Pine Plains 1 1 « 
 
 Pleasant Valley 6 Surplus. 
 
 Poughkeepsie 24 " 
 
 " City, ist Ward 15c 
 
 "2d " 23 
 
 "3d " IS 
 
 " 4th " 30 
 
 Rhinebeck j " 
 
 Red Hook 20 Deficiency. 
 
 Stanford 20 " 
 
 . Union Vale 6 Surplus. 
 
 Washington 13 « 
 
 *This building, which is surrounded with many interesting associa- 
 tions of the late war, and as the years roll by will be an object of increas- 
 ing interest, is still standing— 394 Main street— and is now occupied as a 
 grocery. 
 
THE WAR OF THE REBELLION, ENLISTMENTS IN 1864. 
 
 169 
 
 March 29, 1864, the Supervisors adopted the 
 minority report of a committee appointed to con- 
 sider the matter of continuing the county bounty, 
 to the effect that it be continued and the men en- 
 listed credited to the towns then deficient, till the 
 deficiency was met. 
 
 In the early part of April, Sheriff Judah Swift 
 and Treasurer John F. Hull went to Washington 
 " to have veterans enlisted credited to the quota 
 of the county." "A feeling of apathy settled upon 
 the people at home," says the Poughkeepsie Eagle 
 of April 7, 1864, "and little or nothing was done 
 to promote enlistments." This spirit was the 
 precursor of the draft which took place at 10 
 o'clock on Tuesday, May 31, 1864, at the Provost 
 Marshal's office in Poughkeepsie, to fill the defi- 
 ciency in the quota of the district. This draft was 
 completed in about two hours. There was scarcely 
 any excitement visible. Not more than twenty- 
 five or thirty persons were present in consequence 
 of the short notice given. Columbia county, 
 Poughkeepsie city and several towns in Duchess 
 county having filled their quotas, were exempt 
 from the draft. The following table shows the 
 number enrolled and the deficiency in each of the 
 towns in which the draft took place : — 
 
 No. Enrolled. Deficiency. 
 
 Clinton 282 10 
 
 Dover '. 302 10 
 
 East Fishkill 347 20 
 
 Fishkill 959 28 
 
 Hyde Park 419 9 
 
 LaGrange 273 21 
 
 Milan 202 9 
 
 Pawling 252 6 
 
 Pleasant Valley 241 4 
 
 Rhinebeck 437 12 
 
 Red Hook S4i 3' 
 
 Stanford 279 16 
 
 June 13, 1864, the Supervisors voted a bounty 
 of'$3oo to every drafted man held to service, "or 
 $325 to every man who furnished a substitute or 
 went himself" 
 
 June 17, 1864, another draft took place to sup- 
 ply the places of those exempted. At this time 
 the deficiency had been reduced to 62, by reason 
 of recruits received from Albany, and credits 
 allowed for veteran recruits. Following are the 
 towns which stood this draft and the number 
 drafted in each : Dover, 5 ; East Fishkill, 7 ; 
 Fishkill, 13 ; Hyde Park, 3 ; LaGrange, 10 j Milan, 
 3; Rhinebeck, 7 ; Red Hook, 14. The quotas 
 of CUnton, Pawling, Pleasant Valley and Stanford 
 were filled by credits referred to. 
 1 June 30, 1864, another draft took place to sup- 
 
 ply a deficiency of 23, caused by a number of the 
 recently drafted men proving, on examination, to 
 be physically disabled. This deficiency was dis- 
 tributed among the towns as follows : Dover, 2 ; 
 East Fishkill, 4; Fishkill, 3; Hyde Park, 7; 
 Rhinebeck, 2 j Red Hook, 5. July 14, 1864, a 
 supplementary draft was made in East Fishkill, 
 Fishkill, LaGrange, Rhinebeck and Red Hook, 
 to make up deficiencies caused by exemptions 
 from the last draft, the number drafted from the 
 towns named being respectively 2, 4, 5, 2 and 8. 
 
 The severe losses sustamed by Grant in the 
 spring and early summer of 1864, made it ap- 
 parent that another call for troops would soon 
 have to be met, and thoughtful minds were casting 
 about them for the means to meet this anticipated 
 requirement. The Poughkeepsie Eagle early and 
 strenuously urged the matter on the attention of 
 officials and citizens, and certain of the towns 
 (Amenia and Washington) were early alive to the 
 importance of prompt and energetic action. 
 
 The quotas of the several towns and the num- 
 ber enrolled under the call of July i8th, 1864, for 
 500,000 men, are exhibited as follows : — 
 
 No. Enrolled. Quota. 
 
 Amenia 24 1 39 
 
 Beekman 131 21 
 
 Clinton 302 48 
 
 Dover 321 51 
 
 East Fishkill 434 70 
 
 Fishkill 1,218 195 
 
 Hyde Park 435 70 
 
 LaGrange 310 50 
 
 Milan 206 33 
 
 North East 315 51 
 
 Pawling 187 30 
 
 Pine Plains 222 36 
 
 Pleasant Valley 262 42 
 
 Poughkeepsie 460 74 
 
 " City, ist Ward 712 114 
 
 " " 2d Ward 480 77 
 
 " " 3d Ward 546 87 
 
 " " 4th Ward 434 70 
 
 Rhinebeck ' 457 73 
 
 Red Hook 588 94 
 
 Stanford 303 49 
 
 Union Vale 193 31 
 
 Washington 251 40 
 
 Total 9.008 1,445 
 
 The several towns followed the example of 
 Poughkeepsie in paying increased bounties. Indeed 
 the sharp competition for recruits and substitutes 
 made that necessary if they would escape the 
 dreaded draft. The money for this purpose, which, 
 in previous years, had been raised on individual or 
 unauthorized town securities, was now secured by 
 town bonds, the State Legislature having passed 
 
170 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 an act Feb. 9th, 1864, authorizing the issue of 
 bonds to repay moneys borrowed to pay bounties, 
 or to aid the families of volunteers. The Super- 
 visor, Town Clerk and Justices of the Peace in 
 towns, and the Common Council of cities, were 
 made ex-officio boards of relief, to afford needed 
 aid to indigent families of volunteers in the ser- 
 vice, not exceeding $ 15 at one time, at the expense 
 of such towns and cities. Supervisors were also 
 authorized to raise or borrow money to fill quotas 
 or to aid families, subject to the approval of elect- 
 ors. 
 
 Men were recruited with a good degree of rapid- 
 ity, and within a month from the date of the call 
 the towns of Amenia, Pleasant Valley and Pough- 
 keepsie, had filled their quotas. Up to Sept 4th, 
 1864, 1,356 men had been recruited and ap- 
 plied on the quota of the district. On Saturday^ 
 Sept., 3d, 50 enlisted, a greater number than had 
 previously enlisted in one day under the call, and 
 Captain Johnson, the Provost-Marshal, was in- 
 structed not to begin the draft till further ordered. 
 44 were accepted on the sth, 33 enlisted on the 
 6th, 19 on the 7th, 5 on the Sth, 23 on the loth, 
 II on the 1 2th, 44 on the 13th and 42 on the 14th. 
 The quota of the town of Washington was full on 
 the 1 3th of September, and that of Poughkeepsie 
 City on the isth. " With the exception of Red 
 Hook and Rhinebeck," said the Poughkeepsie 
 Eagle of September i6th, all the towns in the 
 county " are about ' out of the wilderness,' and 
 some of them have a surplus." 
 
 Notwithstanding these exertions however, the 
 county did not entirely avoid the draft, which took 
 place in this district on the afternoon of Sept. 19th, 
 1 864, in the Sanitary Fair building on Main street, 
 which had then recently been made the headquar- 
 ters of the Provost Marshal. This is a brick build- 
 ing, and was erected by Mr. Burnap for a carriage 
 shop. There the Provost Marshal's office was kept 
 during the latter part of the war. The deficiency 
 in the district was 407, mostly in Columbia county. 
 The draft was concluded on the 20th, and one 
 hundred per cent, was added to the deficiency in 
 each sub-district, to make up for probable exemp- 
 tions for disability and other causes. The towns 
 in Duchess county which had not filled their quota, 
 and their deficiencies, were as follows : Rhinebeck, 
 56, Red Hook, 28, North East, 9, Pine Plains, 10, 
 Milan, 2. 
 
 After the completion of the draft, three men 
 were credited on the quota of North East, and one 
 on that of Red Hook. Permission was given to 
 
 fill up the quota with volunteers. The Eagle of 
 Oct. 7, 1864, says : " The last man on the quota 
 of this district under the late call was credited to 
 the town of Milan yesterday." 
 
 Duchess county paid a bounty of $300 to each 
 of 830 men under the call of July 18, 1864, — $249,- 
 000, and to recruiting officers and others for fur- 
 nishing them, $4,500 ; also for interest, commis- 
 sion, engraving, printing, and other incidental ex- 
 penses, $6,012.94, making a total of $259,512.94. 
 Its disbiirsements under the call for 200,000 men 
 were: — A bounty of $300 to each of 181 men, — 
 $54,300 ; $300 paid to the Government for each 
 of 136 drafted men, — $40,800 ; a premium of $25 
 paid to 19 drafted men who furnished substitutes, 
 — $475 ; paid recruiting officers and others for fur- 
 nishing men, $3,000; paid for interest, commis- 
 sion, engraving, printing and other incidental ex- 
 penses, $4,140.80 ; making a grand total under 
 both calls of $363,128.74. 
 ^ The credits allowed by act of Congress on the 
 call of July 18, 1864, for 500,000 men, reduced the 
 number to be obtained from that call to 280,000 ; 
 while the operations of the enemy in certain 
 States rendered it impracticable to procure from 
 them their full quotas, thus reducing the available 
 number of men under that call to 250,000. To 
 make up this deficiency the President, on the 19th 
 of December, 1864, issued a call for an additional 
 300,000 men, to be drafted Feb., 15, 1865, unless 
 supplied by that time by volunteers. 
 
 Dec. 26th, 1864, the Supervisors authorized the 
 several towns to raise, on their own credit, money 
 to be used in procuring volunteers under this call, 
 in such manner as might be provided by the elect- 
 ors at a special town meeting, to be held pursuant 
 to section 22, chapter 28, session laws of 1864. In 
 accordance with this provision special town meet- 
 ings were held and excessively large bounties voted 
 in the frantic effort to escape the impending draft ; 
 but the local bounty system, under the stimulus of 
 these fears, the sharp competition, and the rapacity 
 of bounty brokers, had worked such gross injustice 
 and been, subject to such outrageous abuses, that 
 on the 24th of February, 1865, the Legislature 
 made provision for a State bounty of $300, $400 
 and $600, for one, two and three years' men re- 
 spectively, and prohibited the payment of all local 
 bounties. This was at least an approach to a 
 healthier system, but its injustice differed „only in 
 degree. Provision was also made for the payment 
 of $250 to each man thereafter drafted and mus- 
 tered into the service. Amounts in this ratio were 
 
tHE WAR OF THE REBELLION, WOMAN'S WORK IN THE WAR. 
 
 171 
 
 to be refunded to counties and towns having pre- 
 viously filled their quotas, and for all men raised 
 by them in excess of their quotas under the call of 
 December 19th, 1864. An appropriation of 
 $30,000,000 was made to carry this system of 
 equaUzation into effect, and the law was ratified at 
 a popular election by an overwhelming majority— 
 392,113/0^ and 48,655 against. The interposi- 
 tion of brokers and middle-men was dispensed 
 with, as the bounties could only be paid to the 
 volunteers in person. 
 
 The draft for the deficiency in this district under 
 the call of December 19th, 1864, took place at the 
 Provost Marshal's office, in Poughkeepsie, on 
 Monday, March 20th, 1865, and was witnessed by 
 a large number of prominent citizens. Among 
 those drafted were Dr. A. B. Harvey, Rev. De Loss 
 Lull, Recorder Robinson, District Attorney Allard 
 Anthony, Prof. E. J. Wilber, G. W. Davids, local 
 editor of the Poughkeepsie Eagle, and John W. 
 Straight, editor of the Fishkill Standard. 
 
 The deficiencies in the several towns in this 
 county at that time were as follows : Fishkill, 79 ; 
 North East, i; Pine Plains, 2; Poughkeepsie 
 (town), 2; Poughkeepsie City, i7S; Red Hook, 
 42; and Rhinebeck, 14. Total, 344. 
 
 On the 8th of April, 1865, the last man on the 
 quota of this district, under all c'alls, was mustered 
 in and credited to the town of Red Hook. This 
 was the last, the crowning sacrifice, the county was 
 called on to make. The Confederacy was then in 
 its death throes, was tottering to its inevitable 
 doom. The same day that Duchess county gave 
 its last man to the defense of Liberty and Justice, 
 Lee was negotiating for the surrender of his army, 
 which, on the following day, laid down their arms 
 before Grant's victorious army— an army of many 
 vicissitudes, but now crowned with an imperishable 
 glory. 
 
 The news of the culminating victories of the war 
 was received in Duchess county with the most 
 frantic demonstrations of joy. Bells were rung, 
 bonfires kindled, cannon fired, processions formed, 
 and general hilarity prevailed. April 8th, 1865, a 
 preliminary meeting was held at the City Hall m 
 Poughkeepsie to arrange for a suitable celebration 
 by the citizens of the county, and committees were 
 appointed, charged with arranging the details of 
 a plan for that purpose. 
 
 But the joyful news of victory was quickly fol- 
 lowed by the sad intelligence of an appaUing 
 calamity— the assassination of Lincoln on the 
 evening of the 14th of April, and when the 
 
 death of the President, the following morning was 
 flashed over the wires, the people of Duchess 
 shared in that terrible, inexpressible and over- 
 whelming grief which enshrouded the North. The 
 Rebellion was crushed; but the head of the 
 Nation — ^the beloved Lincoln — was stricken down 
 by the hand of a traitor. 
 
 It may not be unfitting, but rather as graceful 
 as deserved a recognition, to make some slight 
 acknowledgment of the heroism, devotion and 
 patriotism of the women of Duchess county during 
 the eventful period we have been considering, and 
 whose annals, locally considered, have been given 
 in the last three preceding chapters. If their 
 physical discomforts were less than were those of 
 the loved ones whom they sent forth to battle 
 manfully for the right — as sacrifices, if need be, on 
 the altar of their country — not so the mental 
 anguish endured; and who shall say that the 
 material services of the one outweighed the subtler 
 and not less powerful influences of the other. 
 Nay, was not the one the necessary complement 
 of the other, and both equally indispensable to the 
 attainment of the great object in view ? 
 
 Who knows better than the devoted wife, the 
 cherished mother, the loved sister, and the affec- 
 tionate daughter, the long, weary days and nights 
 of intense and unremitting anxiety, of agonizing 
 suspense, occasioned by the absence of these their 
 natural protectors, and the dangers to which, 
 through the trying, toilsome years, they were un- 
 ceasingly exposed; and who knows better than 
 those who braved those dangers how necessary 
 was the loving sympathy and appreciation of the 
 dear ones at home to their health, strength, and 
 a manly performance of the arduous duties inci- 
 dent to their new and strange relations ? 
 
 The faithful sqjdier did not more surely, nor 
 more keenly, feel the pangs of hunger, fatigue and 
 pain than did they— sympathetically-whom he thus 
 represented and who ministered, as best they might, 
 to his comfort. The anodyne which assuaged a 
 physical pang as truly reUeved a mental one ; the 
 agency which terminated the life of the one as 
 certainly blighted that of the other; the deed 
 which brought honor to the one was equaUy re- 
 flected in the career of the other; and the act 
 which disgraced or humiliated the one as inevit- 
 ably blanched the cheek of the other. 
 
 But the influence and offices of woman found 
 a material and essential as well as emotional and 
 aesthetic expression. It was her province to 
 minister to the physical necessities of the sick and 
 
172 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 wounded who languished in distant hospitals, and 
 to the comfort of those engaged in the active duties 
 of the field, by supplying articles for which the 
 general government made no, or an inadequate 
 provision, and in the thousand and one ways which 
 only her thoughtful providence could suggest. 
 
 Simultaneously with the first expression of the 
 need of her services, at the very beginning of the 
 war, her sympathy and aid were extended to 
 alleviate suffering, both in the hospital and in the 
 field; and her energies relaxed only with the re- 
 moval of the causes which called them into action. 
 She inaugurated a system of relief which, as the 
 war progressed, developed such magnitude as to 
 demand the special services of a numerous. Sani- 
 tary Commission. 
 
 The Woman's Relief Association of Pough- 
 keepsie, organized in April, 1861, for the purpose 
 of supplying suitable clothing for the use of volun- 
 teers, and of which Mrs. John Thompson was 
 president, and Mrs. H. L. Young, secretary, early 
 undertook the task of supplying the demands on 
 those benevolently inclined. 
 
 The Stanford Ladies' Soldiers' Aid Society, of 
 which Mrs. J. W. Holman was president, and S. 
 
 A. Tallmadge, secretary, was organized Aug. 16, 
 1862. 
 
 The Second Annual Report of the Woman's Re- 
 lief Association, dated April 30, 1863, says: — 
 
 " This Association has during the past year for- 
 warded supplies to various hospitals and societies 
 as follows : — 
 
 " Central Relief Association, 5 boxes j Rev. C. 
 
 B. Thomas, Alexandria, Va., 11 boxes; Mrs. A. 
 H. Gibbons, Point Lookout, Md., 12 boxes; Mrs. 
 Horace Abbott, Union Dock Hospital, Baltimore, 
 I box, and i barrel of apples; 'New York 
 Soldiers' Relief Society,' Washington, n boxes, 
 and 4 barrels of apples ; Miss McClellan, Elizabeth 
 St. Hospital, near Washington, 7 boxes; 128th 
 Regt. at Fortress Monroe and New Orleans, 4 
 boxes; ' Sisters of the Good Samaritan,' Quincy, 111. 
 
 I box. Total, 52 boxes, and 5 barrels of apples.' 
 " The Treasurer's report shows the cash account 
 to be as follows: — 
 
 "Amount received during the year $617 65 
 
 " Amount expended during the year S98 50 
 
 "Balance in treasury April 30th $ig le 
 
 "Contributions have been received from the 
 following auxiliaries : — 
 
 "Blue Stocking Society, Locust Grove Society 
 Ladies' Relief Assopiation of St. Paul's Church' 
 Wurtemburg, Ladies' Aid Society of Beekman' 
 Army Rehef Association of Salt Point, Ladies of 
 Harts Village, Lithgow, LaGrange, Crum Elbow 
 Hyde Park, Zion Church, Wappingers Falls, Relief 
 
 Association of New Paltz Landing, Aid Society 
 of Presbyterian Church, Pleasant Valley, Ladies' 
 Relief Association, Pleasant Plains, Army Aid 
 Society, Stanfordville. 
 
 ***** 
 
 " Mrs. Wm. Henry Crosby, Prest. 
 " Julia N. Crosby, Sec'y." 
 
 This shows the spirit in which the noble and 
 honored women of Duchess county met the de- 
 mands on their sympathies — their patriotism ; and 
 their unwearied exertions and generous responses 
 were continued until the demand for them ceased. 
 Thousands bear living testimony to the great 
 blessings which flowed from these labors of love, 
 while the sufferings of thousands of others who 
 languished and died in hospitals from sickness and 
 wounds were mitigated by them. It was no fault 
 of theirs if, as was sometimes the case, their aims 
 were diverted from their legitimate ends through 
 the greed and avarice of men. 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 History of the Town of Red Hook. 
 
 THE town of Red Hook lies on the extreme 
 north-west corner of Duchess County. It 
 is bounded on this north by Clermont (Columbia 
 county) ; on the east by Milan ; on the south by 
 Rhinebeck ; the Hudson River forming the west- 
 ern boundary. 
 
 The scenery about Red Hook is exceedingly 
 fine. Along its western border flows the matchless 
 Hudson, 
 
 " Broad and grand, 
 A river worthy of the land," 
 
 with its romantic views, historic suggestions, and 
 ever-moving panorama of sloop and steamer ; while 
 in the interior the rolling upland is broken into 
 hills and vales of picturesque beauty, dotted here 
 and there with beautiful country residences. 
 
 The town is devoted chiefly to agriculture and 
 the cultivation of fruits, producing quite abundantly 
 such cereals as oats, rye and barley, and such fruits 
 as apples, pears, plums and the different varieties 
 of berries, strawberries being the most extensively 
 grown. 
 
 The valleys of the principal streams — the White 
 Clay-kill and Saw-kill — are broad and fertile, the 
 soil in their vicinity being a clayey loam. The soil 
 of the uplands is a sandy, gravelly, or slaty loam. 
 Long Pond, in the eastern part, is the largest body 
 of water in the town, and forms the source of the 
 Saw-kill. 
 
TOWN OF RED HOOK. 
 
 173 
 
 The town of Red Hook was formed from Rhine- 
 beck, June 2, 18 1 2, and its earlier history is more 
 or less blended in that of the latter town. Its popu- 
 lation for a series of years has been as follows : — 
 1840, 2,833; 1850, 3,120; i860, 3,750; 1870, 
 4>3S°; 1875.4,221; 1880,4,471. 
 
 The first settlements were made in this town by 
 the Dutch, near Barrytown and Tivoli, about the 
 year 17 13. Among the early settlers we find the 
 names of Bermor, Haeners, Hagadorn, Near, Staats, 
 .Prosseus, Schufeldt, Trauve, Wiederwax, Waldorf, 
 Shaffer, and Zippertie. 
 
 On the second of June, 1688, Col. Peter Schuyler 
 obtained from Governor Thomas Dongan a patent 
 for the land lying over against Magdalene, now 
 Cruger's Island, which land he had purchased from 
 the Indians. 
 
 In the patent the boundaries* are thus de- 
 fined : — 
 
 "Situate, lying and .being on the east side of 
 Hudson's river in Duchess county, over against 
 Magdalenef Island, beginning at a certain creek 
 called Metambesem ; thence running easterly to 
 the south-most part of a certain meadow called 
 Tauquashqueick ; and from that meadow easterly 
 to a certain small lake or pond called Waraugh- 
 kameek ; from thence northerly so far till upon a 
 due east and west line it reaches over against the 
 Sawyer's Creek ; from thence due west to the 
 Hudson's river aforesaid; and thence southerly 
 along the said river to the said creek called Me- 
 tambesem." 
 
 This deed, according to the " Calendar of Land 
 Papers recorded in the Secretary of State's office 
 at Albany,'' was not recorded until the 25th of 
 June, 1787, nearly one hundred years after it had 
 been obtained. A confirmatory patent obtained 
 on the 7th of November, 1704, according to the 
 Calendar, was at once recorded in Vol. 3 of -Pat- 
 ents, page 184. 
 
 An old map, in the possession of Col. Henry B. 
 Armstrong, states that the creek called Metambe- 
 sem is now the Saw kill, entering the river between 
 Montgomery place and the Bard premises ; that 
 the meadow, called Tauquashqueick, was Schuy- 
 ler's, and is now generally known as Radcliff 's 
 Fly; and that Waraughkameek is now the "Fever 
 Cot/' which means the Pine Swamp, mainly on the 
 premises of the late Albert Snyder, three miles 
 east of the village of Upper Red Hook. Con- 
 ceding that the Saw kill was the creek named 
 Metambesem by the Indians, the patent erred in 
 making it the southern limit of Peter Schuyler's 
 
 * History of Rhineheck^ Edward M. Smith, p. 2z. 
 t This is spelled *' Magdalene," '*Magdalena," "Magdalen," thelat- 
 ter being preferable and more common. 
 
 lands ; they came down to the " Stein Valetie," 
 • (Little Stone Falls,) somewhere on the premises of 
 Francis H. Delano. 
 
 In 1689, the year after he had obtained the 
 grant, Peter Schuyler sold one-half of what he es- 
 timated to be one-fourth of his patent to Harme 
 Ganesvoort,. a brewer, of Albany. The fourth of 
 the patent out of which this sale was made, lay 
 north of a line run due east from a point on 
 the river opposite the south of Slipsteen Island, 
 (the small island north of Cruger's.) On the ist 
 of May, 1704, Harme Gansevoort sold for one 
 hundred and fifty pounds sterling, his moiety of 
 this part of the patent to Lowrance,* Cornelius, 
 Evert, and Peter Knickerbacker, of Duchess 
 county ; Anthony Bogardus, of the city of Albany, 
 and Janetje, his wife ; Jan Vosburgh, of Duchess 
 county, and Cornelia, his wife ; sons and daughters 
 of Harme Jans Knickerbacker, late of Duchess 
 county, deceased. 
 
 In 1722, Peter Schuyler had this upper fourth of 
 his patent carefully surveyed, and divided into 
 thirteen lots. Of these he set seven over to the 
 above named Knickerbackers, retaining the six in 
 his own possession. What he ultimately did with 
 these we have not learned. The other three- 
 fourths of his patent he sold to Tierk DeWitt, of 
 Ulster county, Joachem Staats, of the manor of 
 Rensselaerswick, and Barent VanBenthuysen, of 
 Duchess county. A partition deed and map in 
 the possession of Col. Henry B. Armstrong shows 
 the disposition ultimately made of his patent by 
 Col. Peter Schuyler. The deed reads as follows : — 
 
 " Barent Staats, of the manor of Renselaers- 
 wick, of the County of Albany, in the province of 
 New York in America, of the first part ; Barent 
 Van Benthuysen, of Duchess County, in the said 
 county and province, yeoman, of the second part ; 
 and Henry Beekman, of the said Duchess County, 
 gentleman, of the third part, whereas, Coll. Peter 
 Schuyler, late of ye county of Albany, deceased, 
 Tierk DeWitt, late of Ulster County, deceased, 
 and Joachem Staats, late of the said manor of Ren- 
 selaerswick, deceased, were partners to the pur- 
 chase of that certain tract or parcell of land, situ- 
 ate, lying and being in the said Duchess County, 
 beginning at a certain creek called Metambesem, 
 over against Calkoewhock : thence running easter- 
 ly to the southmostpartof a certain meadow called 
 Tauquashqueak ; and from that meadow easterly 
 to a certain small lake or pond, called Warach- 
 kameek; and from thence northerly so far till upon 
 a due east and west line it reaches over against the 
 south end of the island in Hudson's river called 
 and known by the name of Slipsteen Island ; thence 
 southward along the east side of said river to the 
 
 •See burial ground at Tivoli Landing, page 179. 
 
174 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 creek called Metambesem. * * * "phe said 
 tract of land * * * * was by letters patent from 
 Coll. Thomas Dongan, heretofore Lieutenant Gov- 
 ernor of said province, granted unto the said Peter 
 Schuyler, as by said patent bearing date the second 
 day of June, 1688, and since confirmed by an- 
 other patent, under the broad seal of the said 
 province, from Edward, Viscount Cornbury, some- 
 time governor of the said province, bearing date 
 the 7th day of November, 1704. And whereas 
 the said Tierk DeWitt, in his life time, by virtue 
 of a conveyance from the said Peter Schuyler of 
 one-third part of the above recited tract or parcell 
 of land, did make and convey that same third part 
 of the said tract or parcell of land unto his son. 
 Peek De Witt, who by another instrument under 
 his hand and seal hath conveyed the same unto the 
 said Henry Beekman, to have and to hold the said 
 third part of the said tract or parcell of land, to 
 him, the said Beekman, his heirs and assigns 
 forever, except any part in the meadow called 
 Magdalene Islands' Vly, that lyeth between the 
 main shore and the said Magdalene Islands ; which 
 said third part of the said tract or parcell of land 
 is afterwards confirmed and released unto them by 
 indentures with the said Peter Schuyler, bearing 
 date the eleventh day of February, 17 18-19. * * * 
 And whereas the said Peter Schuyler by other in- 
 dentures executed between him and the said Bar- 
 ent Staats, son and heir of Joachem Staats, bear- 
 ing date the eleventh day of February, 1718-19, 
 whereby the said Peter Schuyler granted, released 
 and confirmed unto the said Barent Staats for 
 himself and others, the children of the said Joa- 
 chem Staats, deceased, another third part of the said 
 above recited tract of land, and of the above 
 mentioned meadow, called Magdalene Islands' 
 Vly, under such quit rent as in the said indenture 
 IS specified. * « « * The other third part 
 of the said tract or parcell of land the said Peter 
 Schuyler hath sold and delivered to the said Barent 
 Van Benthuysen, his heirs and assigns forever. 
 Now this indenture witnesseth that the said parties 
 to these presents being now fully minded and 
 agreed that the aforesaid tract or parcell of land 
 shall be divided and laid out in lotts as equall and 
 conveniently as may be, in manner as the same 
 are laid out, delineated, proportioned and ascer- 
 tamed on the surveys, draft or chart thereof, refer- 
 ence whereunto being had may now plainly ap- 
 pear." -^ ^ 
 
 Tauquashqueick meadow (Schuyler's Vly) was 
 divided into three parts, and disposed of by lots 
 Barent Staats drawing the south, Barent Van Ben- 
 thuysen the middle, and Henry Beekman the 
 north part. 
 
 The Saw kill was found to have three falls of 
 water, and " eight acres of land conveniently locat- 
 ed to each fall of water, being in all twenty-four 
 acres, which creek, falls, and twenty-four acres are 
 reserved, and undivided, and remain as yet in com- 
 pany between the said parties, each one-third part 
 
 thereof, for the use of such saw-mill and saw-mills, 
 grist-mill or grist-mills, as at any time hereafter by 
 the said parties, their heirs and assigns, shall be 
 thereon erected." For the building of these mills 
 the parties reserved to themselves the right to 
 enter on any of the parties' lands not " infenced 
 and improved, and cut down and have, and carry 
 away timber " for any of the mills mentioned. 
 
 In this final partition and disposition of the 
 Schuyler patent, Barent Staats acted for himself, 
 and for his brothers, Abraham, Richard and Isaac, 
 and his sister, Elizabeth. The deed was signed, 
 sealed and delivered in 1725, in presence of Har- 
 manis Schuyler, Peter Livingston and Robert 
 Livingston, Jr. 
 
 The reservation of the mill sites, and the right to 
 cut timber therefor on each others' lands, seem to 
 indicate that there were' no mills on the Saw kill 
 in 1725; and the reservation of the right to pass 
 over each other's lands with teams and wagons, 
 indicates that there were no highways constructed 
 at this date, excepting, perhaps, the post road."* 
 
 The Cruger's Island,! referred to in the patent of 
 Col. Peter Schuyler, is one of the most distinguished 
 of any in this section, and one of the best known 
 locaHties. The Crugers, for whom the island was 
 named, were equally noted as citizens, politicians, 
 and soldiers. As early as 1739 John Cruger was 
 Mayor of New York City, and his son subsequent- 
 ly, was also Mayor. Another son was a colleague 
 of the celebrated Edmund Burke, as representative 
 in Parliament for the city of Bristol, Englarid. 
 
 Col. John Harris Cruger was one of the most 
 distinguished Americans who supported the crown 
 during the Revolutionary war ; and besides gallant 
 services on other fields, rendered himself famous 
 by his successful defense of Fort Ninety-Six in 
 South Carolina, in May and June of 1781,^ 
 against the American army under a General 
 second only to Washington— Nathaniel Greene 
 — who had with him as director of the siege 
 works, and chief engineer, a man whose celeb- 
 rity was as great in Europe as in America— 
 Thaddeus Kosciusko. 
 
 The present representative of the family, Stephen 
 Van Rensselaer Cruger, now Colonel of the Twelfth 
 Regiment, National Guards, S. N. Y., distinguished 
 
 * Smith's Hist. Rhineiecky p. 2J. 
 
 t The islands in the Hudson near Tivoli-Magdalene Island and Slip- 
 steen, or Slijpsteen Island -have been known by different names ; the lat- 
 ter bythe names of "John DeWitt's Island" and "Goat Island;" 
 while the former was once known as ' ' Marston " and " Wanton " Island, 
 Wanton, in Dutch meaning " mitten shaped." 
 
 tAlso in command of the British Centre at Eutaw Springs, the last 
 battle of the Revolution in the South, 8th Sept. 1781. 
 
TOWN OF RED HOOK. 
 
 I7S 
 
 himself in the Union service during the war of the 
 Rebellion. His first battle was Gettysburg, and 
 in the Atlanta campaign at Resaca, as Adjutant 
 of the 150th Regiment, N. Y. S. Volunteers, 
 he was desperately, and to all appearances mor- 
 tally wounded in two places. 
 
 At the southern end of Cruger's Island is a 
 mimic ruin, built in imitation of the remains dis- 
 covered in Chiapas and Yucatan by John Lloyd 
 Stephens, one of the first of the great American 
 explorers, who brought home carved stones which 
 • he presented to John C. Cruger, and which are in- 
 corporated in the walls erected by the latter. 
 
 Although, as in the deed above quoted, there 
 seems to have been no mills here in 1725, the 
 mills afterward built on the White Clay kill and 
 Saw kill were a prominent feature of the earlier 
 times. 
 
 On the Saw kill — so named because the first use 
 made of it was to turn saw-mills, — at one time 
 stood Judge Livingston's mill at the river ; Gen- 
 eral Armstrong's mill at Cedar Hill ; VanBen- 
 thuysen's mill, and a woolen factory, in the same 
 place ; the Chancellor's (now Hendrick's) mill, in 
 the interior ; and Robert G. Livingston's mill on 
 the Rock City branch. 
 
 The White Clay kill, so-called because some where 
 it runs through, or from, a layer of white clay, had at 
 one time at its mouth the mill of Jannetje Bradt, 
 Park's mill at Myersville, (Madalin,) Cook's factory, 
 and Zachariah Hoffman's mill. But very Uttle mill- 
 ing is done on this stream now. 
 
 Lossing, in his " Field Book of the American 
 Revolution," (Vol. I, 389,) speaks of the British 
 having burned the Livingston mills above referred 
 to. An antiquarian of Red Hook,* a gentleman 
 well informed on the earlier history of the town, 
 is perhaps the first who ever put on paper the sit- 
 uation of these mills. Not a vestige of them now 
 remains. They consisted of a very fine grist- mill, 
 for that era, and a saw-mill which did an immense 
 business, and were located at the south Cove, at 
 the mouth of the Saw kill, a creek which empties 
 into the Hudson river just north of what is known 
 as General Montgomery's house, f 
 
 Mr. Winegar, who married George H. Ellsworth's 
 aunt, and who was a carpenter's apprentice at Up- 
 per Red Hook landing in i8io,f told General de 
 Peyster that when he came here he often heard the 
 people talk about the burning of these mills by the 
 British. " My father,'' said Mr. Winegar, " was a 
 
 •Gen. J. Watts de Peyster. 
 
 t Gen. Montgomery never lived on this place, but his widow did. 
 
 J Died about three years ago. 
 
 soldier under Putnam in 1777, and the battalion to 
 which he belonged followed the British fleet up the 
 river from FishkiU, but kept out of the reach of 
 their guns. His company was posted on a range 
 of hills back of the river, north of Mr. Tanner's 
 place, on what is now known as the Saulpaugh 
 Ridge. Putnam's troops saw the smoke of the 
 British burnings, and a detachment was pushed 
 down to the edge of the water, near the mouth of 
 White Clay (now Ham's) creek."* 
 
 As at the mouth of the Saw kill, there were a 
 grist-mill and saw-mill, and also a brick-yard at tlie 
 mouth of White Clay kill. 
 
 At that time, and for many years afterward, there 
 was an artificial channel from deep water through 
 another " Vly " into the estuary of White Clay 
 kill, as far as the tide flowed, or nearly up to the 
 falls. Through this channel sailing sloop scows 
 went in for freight. It has been said that sloops 
 could also enter here, but doubtless reference was 
 made to what the British used for transporting 
 troops— flat bottomed boats with sails. 
 
 The North Cove mentioned was once very deep 
 water, and has been filled up rather by the subsi- 
 dence of the clay banks surrounding it than by de- 
 posits. To show the great depth of the alluvial 
 deposit,, the railroad company have driven piles 
 seventy feet long on the Cruger " Vly," without 
 finding any solid matter, the piles there being sus- 
 tained by suction. On the Johnston Livingston 
 place, within twenty-five years, about three acres 
 settled over eighty feet, so steadily and without 
 shock, that the trees on the sunken ground were not 
 in the least disturbed from their positions. 
 
 This mass seemed to settle into a bed of semi- 
 liquid blue clay mud which was crushed up into a 
 point outside in the bay. A short time after this 
 subsidence a second section of about the same 
 area, and inside the first, also sank down ; but this 
 settlement seemed to encounter a denser substra- 
 tum, because it was forced up under the first sub- 
 sidence and overthrew the trees which had hitherto 
 stood in their natural positions. 
 
 Mr. Winegar, to quote from him again, also 
 said that the dock at which all the freighting was 
 done still remained at Reade Hook, now Johnston 
 Livingston's Point, but the store-houses were gone. 
 Just inside of Reade Hook, and between it and the 
 sinking ground, the hull of Chancellor Livingston's 
 or rather Fulton's first regular North River passen- 
 ger steamboat was built. In this enterprise Fulton 
 
 • This empties into the North Cove, the Saw kill into the South Cove, 
 and these two were separated by a " Vly ' now traversed by the cause- 
 way to what is known as Cruger's Island. 
 
176 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 was aided by Livingston, the latter furnishing the 
 money. Mr. Winegar took the census of this 
 town in 1825, under the State law, and there were 
 then over two hundred and eighteen slaves in the 
 town.* It "is doubtful if there are one hundred 
 negroes, or anything like it, now to be found 
 therein, t 
 
 Mr. Winegar was present in 1824^ when the 
 Marquis de LaFayette landed, and shook hands 
 with him. The landing-place was at Livingston's 
 dock, about two miles above Tivoli. All the Revo- 
 lutionary soldiers from this neighborhood were 
 drawn up in line to receive him. 
 
 General de Peyster's father-in-law, John Swift Liv- 
 ingston, who bought the country seat where Gilbert 
 R. Livingston lived during the Revolution, told him 
 that the British detachment that burned the Liv- 
 ingston mansions, above Upper Red Hook land- 
 ing, now Tivoli, disembarked at the dock opposite 
 the south-west corner of his place; thence they 
 marched up through the woods to the work of 
 destruction. Gilbert R. Livingston was a loyalist, 
 and had been an officer in the British service, and 
 his was the only dwelling spared by the British. 
 
 Mr. Winegar, above quoted, said that when he 
 was a lad this place was considered the handsom- 
 est on the river, and was traditionally so. The 
 mills here, perhaps the oldest in the town, were 
 built, according to tradition, by Gilbert Livingston, 
 the second son of the first lord of the manor. The 
 old house, with an enormous central chimney, on 
 an elevation south-west of the mills, must, in whole 
 or in part, be equally as old. The house passed 
 into the hands of his grand-daughter, Helen, who 
 married Commissary-General Hake, of the British 
 forces in the Province. 
 
 Robert Gilbert Livingston, second son of the 
 first lord of Livingston manor, married Cornelia, 
 daughter of the noted patentee, Col. Henry Beek- 
 man, and was one of the earliest settlers and land 
 owners of the town of Red Hook. He received 
 from his father one-seventh part of Saratog, (Sara- 
 toga.) He died in 1746. His eldest daughter, 
 Margaret, married Peter Stuyvesant of New York, 
 another daughter Joannah married General Pierre 
 Van Cortlandt, one of the most prominent patri- 
 ots of this State during the Revolution ; and a third 
 daughter, AUda, married Henry Van Rensselaer, 
 whose son, Jeremiah, was Lieutenant-Governor of 
 this State from 1801 to 1804. 
 
 Gilbert Livingston was County clerk of Ulster, 
 
 - * The final abolition of slavery in this State occurred the 4th or sth of 
 July, 1827. 
 
 tThe State census of 1875 gives the colored population as 86. 
 
 a much more important and respected office in 
 those than in later days. He built the Livingston 
 Mills, and the old house on the hill which was 
 afterward occupied by his great-grandson, Samuel 
 Hake, Jr., and which was the scene of much semi- 
 barbarous luxury and display characteristic of the 
 living of rich country land owners of a century 
 ago. Gilbert's son, Robert Gilbert, was one of 
 the Livingstons who remained loyal to the Crown 
 during the Revolutionary War, and suffered in 
 consequence. He married Catharine McPheadres, 
 whose father built the famous residence now 
 known as the Warner Sherburne, or Whipple 
 House at Portsmouth, N. YL., which, with its 
 grounds and gardens, cost a sum at that time equal 
 to the most lavish expenditure made for such an 
 object in these days. In land, Robert Gilbert 
 Livingston was an enormously wealthy man, and 
 large areas which came through him are still held 
 by the descendants of his daughters who married 
 General Hake and John Reade. 
 
 Gilbert Livingston's son, Gilbert Robert, occu- 
 pied the only mansion (Green Hill) which was 
 spared by the British in 1777, as before mentioned. 
 
 Robert Gilbert Livingston was grand-father to 
 Helen, who, as previously stated, married General 
 Hake, whose daughter Helen married Frederic 
 de Peyster, father .to Frederic de Peyster Jr., the 
 present venerable president of the New York His- 
 torical Society. 
 
 Harry or Henry Gilbert Livingston, who built 
 the only house on the river's bank which the British 
 spared in 1777, built directly after the Revolution, 
 the mansion now belonging to Mrs. Kidd. He sold 
 the house and lands at Green Hill on the river to 
 his brother, Gilbert Robert, who, because he had 
 held a commission under the Crown, had this 
 property spared. West of this house of Mrs. 
 Kidd's, under the hill, and down near the creek, 
 embodied in the present building, are remains of 
 one of the oldest houses in tlie town, and was the 
 dwelling belonging to the mills which were at the 
 mouth of the White Clay kill, below the falls. 
 This house, in 1777, was occupied by the Ameri- 
 can forces watching the British fleet lying in the 
 channel from Cruger's Island up to the Columbia 
 county line. 
 
 One of the most distinguished citizens who ever 
 settled in the town of Red Hook, was General John 
 Armstrong, of the Revolutionary Army, better 
 known, perhaps, as the anonymous author of "The 
 Newburgh Addresses" than for services of much 
 more importance to the country. Washington at 
 
TOWN OF RED HOOK. 
 
 177 
 
 first condemned these letters, but in 1797 he did 
 justice to their author, and in a letter assured 
 Armstrong that he believed his object to have 
 been just, honorable, and of service to America. 
 General Armstrong was born at Carlisle, Penn- 
 sylvania, November 25th, 1758. At the age of 
 seventeen he left his studies at Princeton College 
 and entered the army of the ifevolution as a 
 private in a regiment from his native State. He 
 afterward became Aide-de-camp and Major in the 
 Revolutionary army, under General Horatio Gates. 
 He was Secretary of State to Governor Franklin, 
 of Pennsylvania, and Adjutant General of that 
 State. He subsequently married Alida, sister to 
 Chancellor Robert R. Livingston, of Clermont, 
 Columbia County, N. Y., and at once became as 
 influential in his adopted as he had been in his 
 native State. 
 
 In 1797 he was owner of the Bard property at 
 .Annandale, and of the mill at Cedar Hill, and 
 occupied the mansion on the estate, which, it is 
 said, was built by him. In 1801 he accepted the 
 ofiice of United States Senator, which was tendered 
 him by an unanimous vote of both branches of the 
 Legislature. In 1803 he was re-elected to this 
 office, which he retained until 1804, when he re- 
 signed it to accept the mission to France, as suc- 
 cessor to his brother-in-law, Chancellor Livingston. 
 This position he retained seven years. After his 
 return from France he purchased an estate on 
 the Hudson, south of Barrytown, on which he 
 built a fine, and in some respects curiously arrang- 
 ed mansion, which, after his daughter, Margaret, 
 married William B. Astor, became the property of 
 that gentleman, who in the course of time added 
 largely to the area of the domain. This place is 
 known as " Rokeby." 
 
 Toward the close of his life General Armstrong 
 built a less spacious dwelling in the village of Red 
 Hook, which is now occupied by his son, Col. 
 Henry Beekman Armstrong, the only surviving 
 child, and the last survivor of Margaret Beekman's 
 grand-children. In this house he died, April 1st, 
 1843, and his remains are interred in the family 
 vault in the cemetery at Rhinebeck. 
 
 Col. Henry B. Armstrong is one of the few 
 living distinguished officers of the war of 18 12. 
 His first commission was Captain of the 13th In- 
 fantry, April 19, 1812. He was severely wounded 
 at the assault on Queenstown Heights, October 
 13, 1812. He was promoted to Major of the 23d 
 Infantry in April, 1S13. He distinguished himself 
 at Stony Creek on the 6th of June of the same 
 
 year. In March, 18 14, he was transferred to the 
 4th Rifles, and on the 17th of September, 1814, 
 he became Lieut.-Colonel of the ist Rifles. 
 
 Gen. John Armstrong had three other sons in 
 the United States Army and war of 1812, — 
 Horatio G., William, and John, Jr. Another son, 
 Kosciusco, named for the celebrated Polish patriot, 
 was as remarkable for his literary attainments as 
 were the others for their military services. 
 
 A large portion of the land about what is now 
 known as Tivoli, was owned by .the Hoffman's, a 
 quite prominent family here something more than 
 a century ago, who purchased a portion of the 
 Schuyler patent which had lapsed. 
 
 In 1722, as before stated, Peter Schuyler had 
 the upper fourth of his patent (that fourth which 
 he sold to Harme Gansevoort,) surveyed and 
 divided into thirteen lots, seven of which he set 
 over to " Lowrance Knickerbacker, Cornelius 
 Knickerbacker, Evert Knickerbacker, all of Duch- 
 ess County ; Anthony Bogardus, of Albany, and 
 Janetje, his wife; and Jan Vosburgh, of the said 
 Duchess County, and Cornelia, his wife; sons and 
 daughters of Harme Jans Knickerbacker, deceased. 
 In 1766 Jan Vosburgh, and Cornelia, his wife, 
 Lowrance Knickerbacker and Hans Jury Lound- 
 ert, all of Rhinebeck precinct, in Duchess County, 
 of the one part, and Anthony Hoffman, of Kingston, 
 Ulster County, Zacharias Hoffman, of Rhinebeck, 
 of the other part, agree to divide a certain tract of 
 land lying adjacent to the south of the manor of Liv- 
 ingston, apparently belonging to them in common. 
 Either by this) division at that time or at an 
 earlier date and in another manner, the Hoffmans 
 became the owners of lands at the river about 
 Tivoli, and about the old Red Church and the 
 Hoffman Mills, northeast of Tivoh ; and they were 
 freighters, storekeepers, and millers before and 
 after the Revolutionary War." 
 
 One of this family had, for those times, a very 
 fine and spacious stone dwelling, of which not a 
 vestige now remains. This mansion stood in a 
 grove of locust trees, at the extreme point of the 
 domain now owned by Johnston Livingston, 
 where there are still to be seen vestiges of the dock 
 belonging to the first freighting establishment at 
 what is now Tivoli. On an old map of those days 
 this point is known as " Hoffman's Ferry." 
 
 " Holgate," continues Smith, " in his genealo- 
 gies, says these Hoffmans were descendants of 
 Martinus Hoffman, of Sweden, who settled at 
 Shawangunk, in Ulster county. His son, Nicholas, 
 married Jannitje Crispell, daughter to Antonie 
 
lyS 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 Crispell, a Huguenot, one of the patentees of New 
 Paltz, and thus transmitted some of the best blood 
 of France in the veins of his descendants. He 
 says he settled in Kingston. He was evidently the 
 Nicholas Hoffman who owned land in the precmct 
 of Rhinebeck as early 172S, and was a free-holder 
 here in 1740. He had no son Nicholas, and his 
 grandson of that name was not born at this date. 
 
 " Nicholas Hoffman and Jannitje Crispell had 
 five children :— Martinus, born in 1706 ; Anthony, 
 born in 171 1 ; Zacharias, born in 1713; Petrus, 
 born in 1727 ; Maria, born 1 730. There is here a 
 space of fourteen years between Zacharias and 
 Petrus, which Holgate ought to have accounted for. 
 " Martinus Hoffman married Tryntje Benson, 
 daughter of Robert Benson and Cornelia Roos,for 
 a first wife, and the widow, Alida Hansen, daughter 
 of Philip Livingston, the second lord of the manor, 
 for a second; and was thus brother-in-law to Rev. 
 Dr. John H. Livingston. By Tryntje Benson he 
 had nine children, as follows :— Cornelia, born in 
 Kingston, Aug. 13, 1734; Robert, born in Kings- 
 ton, Sept, 17, 1737 ; Anthony, born in Red Hook, 
 Aug. I, 1739;* Maria born June 20, 1743 ; Martin, 
 born in Red Hook, January 12, 1747, baptized in 
 the Camp Church, July 3, 1747; Zacharias, born 
 in Red Hook, May 10, 1749, baptized in the Rhine- 
 beck German Reformed Church at Pink's Corners, 
 June 2, 1749; Jane, born February 14, 1752; 
 Harmanus, born January 3, 17 45; Nicholas, born 
 1756; he had one child by Alida Hansen Living- 
 ston, Philip L., born December 28, 1767." 
 
 Philip Livingston Hoffman married Helen Kis- 
 sam. They had seven children, — Catharine Ann, 
 Alida, Helen, Hannah, Philip, Richard Kissam, 
 Adrian Kissam. The latter had several children, 
 among them John T. Hoffman, ex-Governor of 
 New York. 
 
 Martinus Hoffman was a Justice of the Peace 
 for Duchess County in 1750-51. In 1755 he 
 owned ten slaves, the largest number held by any 
 one person in the precinct. He was doubtless a 
 man of large property and influence. His son, 
 Anthony, was supervisor of the town of Rhinebeck 
 from 1 781 to 1785. He was Colonel, and member 
 of the ist, 3d, and 4th Provincial Congresses. 
 
 Anthony, brother to Martinus, resided in Kings- 
 ton. His son, Nicholas, married Edy Sylvester, 
 of New York, and resided in Red Hook. The 
 latter's son, Anthony, married, first, Miss Pell ; 
 second, Ann Cornelia, daughter of Isaac Stouten- 
 burgh and Ann Heermance, aunt to Rev. H. 
 
 •Died 1790. 
 
 Heermance, of Rhinebeck. By his first wife his 
 children were : Jane, born March 15, 1808 ; Laura, 
 born November, 1809 ; Nicholas, born October 
 181 1 ; Mary Ann, born January, 18 14, married 
 Andrew Pitcher. By the second wife the chil- 
 dren were : Edward, Cornelia, Charles, Augustus, 
 Elizabeth, Francis, Frederick, Anna, Catharine, 
 Howard, Caroline. Cornelia, of this family, mar- 
 ried John M. Keese, and had two children — Char- 
 lotte Suydam and Anthony Hoffman Keese. 
 
 Col. Martinus Hoffman's wife was Tryntje Ben- 
 son. Egbert Benson was a Member of Congress 
 from 1789 to 1793. We assume that he was a 
 relative, if not a brother, of Mrs. Martinus Hoff- 
 man. John S. Livingston bought land of Egbert 
 Benson in 17 15, and we assume they were the 
 premises on which he resided, and on which Egbert 
 Benson resided when he went to Congress from 
 Red Hook. 
 
 The burial ground in which were interred some 
 of the members of the Hoffman family was on a 
 sand bluff overlooking Tivoli Landing, back of the 
 Farmers' Hotel, and now a portion of the estate of 
 Col. Johnston L. de Peyster. This is the oldest 
 grave yard in this section of the country, and in 
 which there has been no recorded or remembered 
 interment within the present century. 
 
 This, says General de Peyster, was once a very 
 pretty spot, shaded by quite a grove of large, wild 
 plum trees, beneath which there were a considera- 
 ble number of tomb-stones, several quite costly for 
 the era in which they were placed, besides others 
 of less pretension. The vandalism which denuded 
 this spot of its trees for fire-wood was not as bad 
 as that which had previously made spoil of the 
 memorials. It is said that the brick supports and 
 foundations of the slabs were appropriated to other 
 uses, and the slabs themselves, in some instances, 
 converted into flag stones. 
 
 Here, on this ancient Hill of the Dead, lying 
 flat on the ground, and yearly wasting away by the 
 elements, are still to be seen several slabs of red 
 sandstone, erected to the memory of those who 
 peopled this locality nearly a century and a half 
 ago. 
 
 The oldest of these slabs bears date 1764, and 
 bears this inscription : — 
 
 " In memory of Mrs. Hannah Vosburgh, 
 daughter of Col. John Ashley, of Sheffield* She 
 was married to Mr. Martin Vosburgh Jan. nth 
 Anno Domini 1764, & departed this life tlte 30th 
 of June follow Being 19 years, 7 months & 28 
 Days of age." 
 
 * Massachusetts. 
 
TOWN OF RED HOOK. 
 
 179 
 
 The next, in order of date, bears this inscrip- 
 tion : — 
 
 " Here lies interred the Body of Tryntie Hoff- 
 man, wife of Col. Martin Hoffman, who departed 
 this Life March 31, 1765, in the 53 year of her 
 age." 
 
 Another stone, commemorative of the Lowrance 
 Knickerbacker, before mentioned, bears these 
 words : — 
 
 " Here lies the Body of Mr. Lowrance Knicker- 
 backer, who di'd ye 20th of December and was 
 buryed ye 22, in the 82nd year of his age in ye year 
 1766." 
 
 The last on which the record is legible is 
 " Helena Van Wyck, wife of Zacharias Hoff- 
 man, who departed this life April 3. 1773, aged 53 
 years & 3 months." 
 
 In the grounds of General de Peyster, just back 
 of St. Paul's church, and facing his vault, is an old 
 sandstone monument bearing this inscription : 
 
 "In Memory of John Vosburgh, Was born No- 
 vember : the 5 : 1680 : and Departed this Life May 
 the: 28: 1775: aged: 94: Years: 6: Months 
 and : 23 : Days." 
 
 This stone was thrown out by the frost and 
 washed down from the old burial ground on the 
 bluff, and was recovered from a barnyard below by 
 direction of General de Peyster, who transferred it 
 to his own grounds. 
 
 This old burial ground is now a pasture; the 
 few stones lie prone and crumbling on the ground, 
 under the quaint head stone of Lowrance Knick- 
 erbacker the fowls have hid their nests,* and the 
 names even of those who rest on that commanding 
 bluff have almost passed from the memory of a 
 majority of the residents of the town. 
 
 "Barent Van Benthuysen, who bought one-fourth 
 of the present town of Red Hook from Peter 
 Schuyler, in 1725, was a native of Albany. He 
 married in Kingston, April ,17th, 1699, Altje, 
 daughter of Jan Elting, and widow of Aart Ger- 
 ritse, eldest son of Gerrit Aartsen. He became 
 a widower, and married for a second wife Jannetje, 
 daughter of Gerrit Aartsen, on the 21st of April, 
 1701. The children of Gerrit Aartsen took Van 
 Wagenen for a family name, after the Dutch cus- 
 tom, because his father came from a place in Hol- 
 land called Wageninge, in Gilderland, ten miles 
 west of Arnheim. And we learn from the Kings- 
 ton church records that Barent Van Benthuysen 
 and Jannetje Van Wagenen had children baptized 
 as follows: Gerrit, Jan. 25, 1702; Jan, Feb. 6, 
 1704; Catryntje, Sept. 28, 1707 ; Anna, May 7, 
 
 tThis stone was slightly raised, and at the time of oiirvisit, June 17, 
 1881, a hen's nest was partially hidden beneath it. 
 
 1710; Peter, Feb. 24, 1712; Jacob, Oct. 3, 1714; 
 Abraham, Aug. 24, 1718. 
 
 Barent Staats, another of the partners to the pur- 
 chase of the Schuyler patent in 1725, disposed of 
 most, if not all, of his lands to other parties, some 
 of it passing into the possession of the Van Ben- 
 thuysens and Heermances, who seemed to have 
 moved out of Kingston to Red Hook together, at 
 an early date, and simultaneously with the Hoff- 
 mans and Elmendorfs. Hendricus Heerraance, 
 whose wife was Annatjen Van Wagenen, settled 
 in Rhinebeck, and had six children ; Andries 
 Heermance, who married Neeltje Van Wagenen, 
 remained in Kingston later, and had fourteen 
 children. It is probable that nearly, if not quite 
 all. their children settled on the lands of Barent 
 Van Benthuysen and Barent Staats in the north 
 part of the precinct of Rhinebeck.* * * » * 
 Eleanor Heermance, daughter to Jacob Heer- 
 mance, of Kingston, probably son of Andries 
 Heermance and Neeltje Van Wagenen, married 
 Peter Contine. They lived in the village of Upper 
 Red Hook from 1785 to 1 791, the road east of the 
 village during the time being from Warachkameek 
 to Peter Contine's. We assume that his pursuit 
 was that of a merchant, for we find him, after this 
 date, keeping a store at what is now Barrytown 
 Landing, and in 1798 in the same pursuit at the 
 Hoffman's, or Red Hook Landing. 
 
 "Jacob J. Heermance was found_by the road 
 district in 1792 and 1793 where it found Peter 
 Contine, and he was probably his successor in 
 business. He was his brother-in-law. 
 
 " Dorothea Heermance, another daughter of 
 Jacob Heermance, married Henry De Witt, and 
 in 1794-5-6-7 he was found by the road district 
 from Warachkameek where it had found his broth- 
 ers-in law, Peter Contine and Jacob J. Heermance, 
 and probably in the same employment. 
 
 " Anna Heermance, still another daughter to 
 Jacob Heermance, married Isaac Stautenburgh, 
 Jr., and they were found at the same corner 
 in 1798. 
 
 " * * John, James, Daniel and Robert Wilson 
 were four brothers who settled in the vicinity of Up- 
 per Red Hook before 1770. John married EUzabeth, 
 and James married Anna Kuhn, sisters, daughters 
 of Simon Kuhn and his wife, Catharine Linck. 
 Daniel married Mary Hamilton, and Robert 
 married Catharine Wilsey. Ruth Wilson, wife 
 of Guy Magill, 1768^ was probably a sister. These 
 Wilsons were Irish, or people of Irish descent. 
 
 * In what is now Red Hook. 
 
i8o 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 " * * Nicholas Bonesteel and Anna Mar- 
 gretha Kuhns, his wife, with some of their children, 
 were among the earliest settlers of what is now the 
 town of Red Hook, possibly at a period as early 
 as 17 14. His name is among the people taxed in 
 the North Ward in 1723, at which time it is be- 
 lieved he held, by life-lease, the farm bounded 
 northerly by the road leading to Barrytown, 
 easterly by the post road, southerly by the Ben- 
 ner farm, and westerly by the Hans Waldorph 
 farm. A portion of the village of Red Hook is 
 now on the easterly part of this farm."* 
 
 The descendants of this family were quite numer- 
 ous, among them being Philip N. Bonesteel, who 
 was a prominent merchant, a magistrate and post- 
 master in Red Hook for many years. He was 
 Colonel of a regiment of cavalry, and for some 
 years a trustee of Hartwick Seminary, ifis son, 
 Virgil D., graduated at Yale College, became a 
 lawyer, resided in Poughkeepsie, and held the 
 office of Surrogate of Duchess county for four 
 years. The Colonel re-purchased the old Bone- 
 steel homestead, embracing 210 acres of land, 
 April 30, 1823. His children all died without 
 
 issue. 
 
 Hendrick Weidman, afterwards written White- 
 man, another early resident of the town, came 
 from Zurich, Switzerland, about the year 1736, to 
 Ulster County, N. Y. He married Claphena 
 Koch, at Esopus. They had been members of 
 the same church in Zurich, and were betrothed 
 there. 
 
 In 1748 he came to Rhinebeck,t acting as a land 
 agent, and settled on the farm on which his de- 
 scendants have since lived for upwards of one 
 hundred and twenty-five years. 
 
 His son, Jacob Whiteman, in 1796 purchased 
 the fee of the farm. In the Revolutionary War 
 both father and son were noted rebels. 
 
 In 1777, Oct. 15, a band of Tories threatened 
 their house, but the Whitemans barricaded the 
 doors and windows so effectually that the Tories 
 withdrew, but the same night robbed and burned 
 the residence of Robert G. Livingston. 
 
 James Whiteman drew wheat in winter to the 
 Continental army quartered at Newburgh under 
 General Washington. He started before day- 
 break with sixty bushels of wheat and returned the 
 same night, traveUng seventy-six miles. 
 
 He married Catharine Neher, daughter to Fred- 
 eric Neher, a farmer, and died in 1838, aged 
 
 * Hist. Rhinebeck, pp. 84, 104-213. 
 t In what is now Red Hook. 
 
 eighty-six years. He left two children, Henry and 
 Maria. In his family was a quaint colored woman, 
 known as "old Hon," who was bought in her seventh 
 year, 1 7 87,and who lived in the family until her death 
 in 1856 ; also "Richard," a younger colored servant, 
 born on the farm, and who subsequently settled in 
 Michigan as a farmer. 
 
 Henry Whiteman was noted for his liberal opin- 
 ions and for his hospitality. He was a disciple of 
 Izaak Walton, a staunch follower of Jefferson, and 
 strongly opposed the Federalists. He married 
 Rebecca Sharpe, daughter to George Sharpe. 
 Their only child, Catharine Whiteman, married 
 John Elseffer. During their lifetime, Whiteman 
 Place was distinguished for its old-time hospitality. 
 Mr. Elseffer was a magistrate for twenty-four years 
 and it was said that no decision made by him, 
 when carried to a higher court, was ever reversed. ^ 
 He was also a member of the Legislature in 1843. 
 He left three children, Henry D., Jacob W., and 
 William L. Elseffer. Henry D. died in 1880. 
 Jacob W. studied law, and in 1847 married Delia E, 
 Bonesteel, daughter to Henry N. Bonesteel and 
 Helen Miller. He settled in the village of Red 
 Hook where he has since practiced law. 
 
 William L. Elseffer became a civil engineer, was 
 on the survey for the Hudson River Rail Road, 
 and was subsequently engaged in Canada, Illinois, 
 Mississippi, West Virginia, Maine, the Nassau Water 
 Works, and on construction of Central Park. In 
 1876 he married Amanda Shaw, daughter to Capt. 
 Leonard D. Shaw and Deborah Dewey, of New 
 York city, where they now reside. Mrs. Elseffer 
 is well known in literary circles as a writer of con- 
 siderable ability. 
 
 A quite conspicuous citizen for his time was 
 Andrew DeVeaux, who was born in Beaufort Dis- 
 trict, South Carolina, in 1759. In 1782 he was 
 Lieutenant-Colonel in the Loyal fnilitia — then 
 twenty-three years of age. He was a very remark- 
 able man, and very prominent as a brave British 
 officer. He married a fine and amiable woman, a 
 lady of New York, and located at his country seat 
 in the town of Red Hook, known then as DeVeaux 
 Park, afterwards as " Almont," and which presented 
 perhaps the finest aspects of English park scenery of 
 any on the Hudson river. Col. DeVeaux bought 
 Almont from the well known General Armstrong, 
 who built the house which the Colonel afterwards 
 enlarged and decorated within and without in a 
 most magnificent — and in his usually extravagant 
 style. Nothing now remains of this famous and 
 elegant building but the foundation. The estate is 
 
TOWN OF RED HOOK. 
 
 i8i 
 
 now in the possession of Col. Charles Livingston. 
 The building was destroyed by fire some three or 
 four years ago. 
 
 Another family whose name is quite intimately 
 blended in the history of the town is that of the de 
 Peysters, before alluded to.* 
 
 Gen. John Watts de Peyster was born at No. 3 
 Broadway, New York city, March g, 182 1, in the 
 house of his maternal grandfather, John Watts. 
 He received his education in New York, and is 
 M. A. of Columbia College. 
 
 In 1841 he located in Red Hook, having mar- 
 ried Estelle Livingston, daughter to John Swift 
 Livingston, who purchased the residence of Gilbert 
 Robert Livingston, great uncle to Helen Hake, 
 who was General de Peyster's grandmother, and 
 who was married in that mansion. 
 
 General de Peyster is author of a great number 
 of antiquarian, historical and military works ; for 
 one of which—" The Life of Field-Marshal Gen- 
 eralissimo Leonard Torstenson" — Oscar I. King 
 of Sweden, sent him three magnificent silver medals. 
 Among other works from his pen are, " The His- 
 tory of the Third Corps, Army of the Potomac," 
 for which the Third Army Corps Union voted him 
 the most exquisite badge, set with jewels, ever ex- 
 ecuted in New York ; " Field Practical Strategy," 
 as illustrated by the achievements of the Austrian 
 Field-Marshal, Traun, which was deemed of so 
 much importance by General Hon. Sir Edward 
 Cust, B. A.— author of the "Annals of the Wars," 
 etc.,— that he dedicated his last production-" The 
 Lives of the Warriors, 1 648-1 704,"— through 
 a letter dedicatory of 37 pages affixed to the work, 
 and sent him a fine portrait; "Life of Major 
 General Philip Kearney," said to be the best 
 military biography ever written in this country; 
 "La Royale— The Grand Hunt (or Last Cam- 
 paign) of the army of the Potomac"; "Carausius, 
 the Dutch Augustus and Emperor of Britain"; 
 "The History of the Menapiii or the Ancient 
 Netherlanders," and a series of articles on the 
 proper method of fighting infantry, entitled, " New 
 American Tactics, as developed during the course 
 of the war to suppress the Slave Holder's Rebel- 
 lion." These articles were translated in France, 
 and seemed to have been the germ of the uni- 
 versally adopted principles of the present use of 
 infantry in battle. 
 
 In 1851 General de Peyster was sent out as 
 Military agent of New York State to Europe, 
 
 • For a detailed account of this well known family, refer to the bio- 
 graphical sketch at the close of this chapter. 
 
 with endorsement of the general government. 
 He made a report which embodied a number 
 of suggestions, all of which he has lived to see 
 adopted in practice. This report contained the 
 germ of the Paid Fire Department with Steam 
 Fire Engines, which is now the glory of New 
 York, and for which Washington Hunt, Governor 
 of New York State, presented him with an ex- 
 quisite gold medal. 
 
 General de Peyster's officers also presented him 
 with a beautiful gold medal to commemorate his 
 efforts to improve the militia system of the State. 
 He also received the only medal ever issued by 
 New York State authority for zeal, devotion and 
 meritorious service ; and is the only officer 
 ever brevetted Major General in the United 
 States hy gQprial law of a State for " meritorious 
 services rendered to the National Guard, and to 
 the United States, prior to and during the Rebel- 
 lion." 
 
 To General de Peyster and to his son. Col. 
 Johnston L. de Peyster, we are indebted for much 
 of this history of the town, notably for the princi- 
 pal facts in its early period, and that portion cov- 
 ered by the War of the Rebellion, in which both 
 father and son were deeply interested. Their ac- 
 quaintance with the history of Red Hook has been 
 rendered intimate both from their interest in such 
 studies, and from kinship and intermarriage with 
 those families whose names have contributed to its 
 renown. 
 
 Upper Red Hook. 
 
 The oldest hamlet or settlement in this town 
 was Red Hook, so styled at the time of the Revolu- 
 tion, and now known as Upper Red Hook. 
 
 It derives its name from the fact that a noted 
 tavern, built of red brick,* stood at the cross roads, 
 which in Dutch is styled a " hoek," a term gener- 
 ally supposed to be restricted to a hook or point 
 of land projecting into the water. 
 
 The tavern referred to was a place of great re- 
 sort during the Revolution, and with the exception 
 of the old wooden gambrel-roofed dwelling recent- 
 ly known as the Benner house, near the church, 
 and as the Major Van Ness house in 1789, was 
 the only building on the post road designated by 
 name at this point a century ago. It is claimed 
 that Washington once had his headquarters in this 
 house, but it could not have been so during the 
 war, although it is not improbable that he did 
 
 * Known in 1789 as the Thomas House, and so marked on the CoUes 
 surveys of United States Roads of that date.-"Christopher Colles' map, 
 or Survey of Roads of the U. S., 1789-" 
 
l82 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 stop there when he made one of his tours after the 
 war. It was, however, at one time, undoubtedly 
 the headquarters of General Gates, for it was in 
 the limits of his military command. It is also 
 probable that Putnam had his headquarters there- 
 in, because he was in command along the river in 
 1777, the last time that a British expedition actu- 
 ally menaced this region. An old resident related 
 that he had seen during the Revolution, and was 
 almost certain it was in 1777, this house thronged 
 with Continental officers. This fact was impressed 
 on his memory because he saw at that time New 
 England rum carried into the house by bucketfuUs. 
 That was the only liquor they had in those days, 
 and already, for many years, rum and water had 
 been known as " Dashed Yankee.'' 
 
 Another incident related by the same party, was 
 the attempt to lynch a loyalist or tory of the neigh- 
 borhood who was dragged to this tavern to be hung. 
 Just as they were ready to run him up, the post- 
 coach, or whatever represented it, stopped at the 
 door, and among the passengers was a judge, whom 
 he thought was Judge Yates. The lynchers, with 
 great glee, told the Judge what they were about, 
 supposing from his well known patriotism that he 
 would be delighted with this impromptu justice. 
 Imagine their surprise when the Judge told them 
 that every man engaged in the outrage was liable 
 to indictment as participators in the crime of mur- 
 der; and, with an oath, he added — "If I am on 
 the bench when you are tried and convicted, I'll 
 hang every man of you." 
 
 Then the coach drove off; but the words of the 
 Judge had such a chilling effect that, after a con- 
 sultation, they released their victim, after giving 
 him — in what was then the common mode of ex- 
 pressing indignation to tories — a flogging with hick- 
 ory rods, which punishment was expressed by the 
 term, " putting him through a course of sprouts." 
 
 The part — so to speak — of Red Hook known 
 at one time as Upper Red Hook Landing is now 
 Tivoli, and the first evidence of this was the dis- 
 covery of an old map, so marked, among the pa- 
 pers of a very aged lady, who died a few years ago.* 
 From this point it has been supposed the town de- 
 rived its name. John Reade, a rich man from 
 New York, who married a daughter of Robert Gil- 
 bert Livingston, son of Gilbert, second son of the 
 first lord of Livingston manor, bought this point.f 
 formerly owned by the Hoffman's and started a 
 regular freighting establishment, which thencefor- 
 
 * Mrs. Hooker, 
 
 + Now Johnston Livingston's Point. 
 
 ward became known as Reade Hoek. This fact 
 gave rise to the statement that the town of Red 
 Hook took its name from this Reade Hoek ; and 
 people, long since dead, were fully satisfied that 
 this was the origin of the town's appellation. An 
 antiquarian of the town * was also fully impressed 
 with the correctness of this until he found a map, 
 or survey,! with Red Hook printed across the very 
 locality around the Red Brick tavern, before men- 
 tioned; which confirmed a tradition that the town 
 of Red Hook took its name from a noted red build- 
 ing, a place of general resort, standing at a cross 
 road, which must be the present Losee house, 
 in the village of Upper Red Hook, because this 
 was the only Red Hook then in existence. 
 
 On a map of Duchess County, whose title page 
 bears date 1838, it is found that Upper Red Hook 
 was still the only Red Hook, and the present Red 
 Hook, laid down as the Lower village, does not 
 appear as even Lower Red Hook. 
 
 Upper Red Hook was known as Red Hook un- 
 til Van Ness, the postmaster, transferred his resi- 
 dence to " Hardscrabble,"J which thus became 
 Red Hook Postoffice, and so appropriated the 
 name from its elder brother. 
 
 The freighting establishment at the Point was 
 afterwards transferred to what was known as the 
 Lower Dock, and bore successively the names of 
 " Confine's Dock, or Landing," " HamUn's," and 
 " Collyer's Dock." At the Upper Dock, Peter Out- 
 water started the first freighting establishment; 
 then Elmendorph built a steamboat dock there, then 
 James Outwater came in and secured possession 
 and under him the other docks were broken up. 
 
 In the history of Rhinebeck,§ in referring to 'the 
 origin of the town's name, the author says — " After 
 1787, when the church in Upper Red Hook was 
 built, it was called the ' New Red Hook Church,' ■ 
 and the one near Hoffman's Mills was called the 
 ' Old Red Hook Church.' It is clear, then, that 
 the vicinity of this mill was the point to which the 
 name of Red Hook was applied as early as 1751. 
 In our old town records, in 1789, ' Mickle More' 
 is roadmaster 'from Henry King's to Col. Hoff- 
 man's.' In 1790 it is 'from Henry King's to Red 
 Hook Landing,' and so again in 1791. In 1792 
 * * it is 'from Henry -King's to Read's Store,' 
 and it is to Read's store until 1799, when the road 
 district is as follows: ' From the River road to 
 
 * General de Peyster. 
 
 tXhismapisasurveyoftlie Post Road from New York to Albany, 
 and is now in the possession of the New York Hist. Soc 
 X Now known as Red Hook Village. 
 § Hist. Rhlnebeck, E. M. Smith, p. 8z. 
 
TOWN OF RED HOOK. 
 
 183 
 
 James Wilson's, to manor line, and from Zachari- 
 as Hoffman's to Red Hook Landing road.' It is 
 never to ' Read Hook.' " 
 
 Here, as will be perceived, is a reference to the, 
 by some, supposed origin of the town's name — 
 "Reade Hoek" — from Reade's Point, already 
 mentioned. 
 
 Although the authority above quoted is correct 
 in dissenting from the preconceived opinion as to 
 the origin of the appellation, it can hardly be con- 
 ceded that he is correct in his conclusions. "Hoek" 
 says he, " is the Dutch for corner, and Red Hook 
 simply means Red Corner ; and we have no doubt 
 the corner occupied by Hoffman's Mill had its 
 buildings painted red, and that this was the origin 
 of Red Hook. In those days the farm buildings 
 went unpainted, and when the Hoffman's painted 
 they used red, as most everybody else did" If 
 nearly all who painted in those days used red, then 
 each of a possible half-dozen points in the town 
 could as appropriately claim to be the source of 
 the town's name. It would seem clear, both from 
 tradition and from the evidence of the maps men- 
 tioned, that this village was the first to bear the 
 name, and that the appellation was derived from 
 the old red brick tavern, which now forms a por- 
 tion of the residence of Dr. John E. Losee. 
 
 " David Van Ness built the Punderson House in 
 Upper Red Hook, before the Revolution, and kept 
 a store in it until after 1790. In 1798 he was 
 General Van Ness, and owned the house and farm 
 which became the property of Tobias Teller, and 
 now belong to the heirs of William Chamberlain. 
 David Van Ness married Cornelia Heermance, 
 daughter of Jacob Heermance. They had chil- 
 dren baptized as follows: — Gertrui, June 30, 1771 ; 
 Jacob, Nov. 8, 1772; Catharine, July 31, 1774; 
 Jannnetjen, June 21, 1778; Wilhelm, March 29, 
 1784; Cornelia, June 24, 1786; Annatjen, Nov. 
 17, 1787;. Maria, October 25, 1789; Catalyna, 
 August 13, 1791J David, April 14, 1798. 
 
 These Van Nesses make their first appearance 
 in the records of the Camp German Reformed 
 Church. It is thought that WiUiam Van Ness and 
 his wife, Gertroy Hogeboom, were the parents of 
 John Van Ness, whose wife was Jannetje Bradt ; 
 of William Van Ness. Jr., whose wife was Elizabeth 
 Contine ; and of David Van Ness, above men- 
 tioned."* 
 
 Upper Red Hook lies in the eastern part of the 
 town, and is almost the same slumbering, quaint 
 Dutch village of a century ago. It lies on the old 
 
 ♦Hist. Rhinebeck. 
 
 post-road from New York to Albany, over which 
 in Revolutionary times marched the patriot forces 
 that halted beneath the spreading shade of the nu- 
 merous trees in this n arrow- streeted hamlet, and 
 were refreshed in the hospitable tavern on the 
 knoll. 
 
 The streets here are winding and narrow ; the 
 depth of shade is intense from the profuse growth 
 of oak and maple ; a dreamy quiet reigns over the 
 rural scene, which, heightened by the old-style 
 houses with their ancient dormer windows, makes 
 it as perfect a picture of a sleepy Dutch hamlet as 
 can well be imagined. 
 
 The place contains a store, postoffice, school 
 house, church, tavern, blacksmith shop (Norman 
 Mead,) harness shop, (De Witt W. Clinton,) wag- 
 on shop (Philip H. Teator,) and a population of 
 nearly two hundred.* 
 
 The postmaster here is Edgar Perine, appointed 
 April 18, 1 881, succeeding William H. Teator, 
 who had held the office some five years. 
 
 Allendorf & Perine (Christian AUendorf, Ed- 
 gar Perine,) are the only merchants here, estab- 
 lishing the business ten years ago. 
 
 The Park Hotel was built in 1838, by Gotlieb 
 Haass, by whom it was kept many years. The 
 present proprietor is Martin I.,asher, who has kept 
 it ten years, succeeding Edward Heermance who 
 had been its proprietor about the same length of 
 time, and who died some three years ago. 
 
 The old Upper Red Hook Academy which 
 stands on the hillside, and which was abandoned 
 about three years since, was built many years ago 
 (some say 70 years ago,) and in its day was a 
 flourishing institution of learning. 
 
 This hamlet is the home of Edward Mooney, 
 a quite celebrated portrait painter, who lives in the 
 Lyle House, built at an early date, and which was 
 one of the most important houses of earlier times. 
 
 There is also a fine public school building here, 
 much better than is usually seen in such small 
 places. 
 
 Among the prominent physicians of the town, 
 and for the better part of his life a resident of 
 Upper Red Hook, was Dr. Philip H. Knicker- 
 backer, who began to practice within this century, 
 and who died after the Rebellion. He was a pu- 
 pil of the celebrated Dr. Broadhead, of Clermont, 
 Columbia County, N. Y. His contemporary was Dr. 
 
 Wheeler, who owned and lived in the old 
 
 Thomas House, often referred to, also a very 
 able man, but not so popular as Dr. Knicker- 
 
 * 1870—205 ; 1880—184. 
 
i84 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 backer. Their successor in ability and location 
 is Dr. John E. Losee, the present owner of the 
 Thomas house. Doctor Benedict occupied in the 
 lower part of the town the same relative position 
 as the two former in the upper part. Benedict's 
 successor was Dr. Bates. 
 
 One of the most prominent legal men of the 
 town was John Rowley, also a resident of this 
 place, First Judge of Duchess county, appointed 
 May 12, 1846. His pupil and successor was Jacob 
 W. Elseffer, of Red Hook Village. 
 
 John V. A. Lyle, who lived in Upper Red Hook, 
 was a noted lawyer and Whig politician. 
 
 The edifice of the Reformed Church in America 
 is one of the most beautiful church edifices in the 
 town. The title page to its oldest book of records 
 tells us in the handwriting of the Rev. Andrew N. 
 Kittle that this church was "organized, Anno Dom- 
 ini, 1788, and a union formed with the Lower Red 
 Hook church." The Lower Red Hook here named 
 was not what is now known as Lower Red Hook. 
 It was the neighborhood of the Old Red Church, 
 northeast of Madalin, near Hoffman's Mills. 
 
 Andrew N. Kittle did not come into the pastor- 
 ate of this church until 1807. The union between 
 the two churches was not formed until 1 7 94, and the 
 organization of the Upper Red Hook Church was 
 evidently of an earlier date than 1788. The record 
 of baptisms in its book commences on the isth 
 day of December, 1785, and the first record of an 
 election of ofiicers in Dutch, reads in EngHsh as 
 follows : " Red Hook, November 9, 1788. Were 
 chosen members of the consistory the following 
 persons, — Elder, Peter Heermance, in place of 
 CorneHus Swart, who goes out ; Deacon, Corneli- 
 us Elraendorf, in place of David Van Ness, who 
 goes out." CorneUus Swart and David Van Ness 
 had thus served a term of office each at this elec- 
 tion ; and Jacob Elmendorf and Ryer Heermance 
 were both in office, also by a previous election. 
 Andrew N. Kittle also gives 1788 as the year 
 when the Rev. Petrus DeWitt came into the pas- 
 torate. In the old book of the Reformed Dutch 
 Church on Rhinebeck Flats is found a record in 
 his own hand in Dutch, which, translated, reads as 
 follows: "October 8, 1787. Children baptized 
 by Do. Petrus DeWitt, preacher at Rhinebeck 
 Flatts and Red Hook New Church.'' 
 
 From December 15, 1785, to May 8, 1791, 
 the baptisms are all in the handwriting of Henry 
 Lyle. They are all in the same ink, were probably 
 all recorded in one sitting, and, therefore, copied 
 from slips, or from some book not suited to the | 
 
 taste of the consistory or in a condition to receive 
 other necessary records. From July 17, 1788, 
 to August 26, 1791, the records are all in the 
 handwriting of Dominie DeWitt. It is thought 
 he closed his pastorate in the Red Hook Church 
 on the first of July, 1791. Giving him credit for 
 all recorded in the hand of Henry Lyle, Petrus 
 DeWitt. baptized eighty-three children in the Red 
 Hook Church, twenty-one of whom had a Heer- 
 mance for father or mother. He added thirteen 
 members to the church, all of whom, with one ex- 
 ception, were Heermances, ai)d their wives. This 
 exception was Catherine Verplank, wife of Har- 
 manus Hoffman, who became a member on profes- 
 sion of her faith June 19, 1790. He baptized 
 Philip Verplank Hoffman, their son, May 10, 1791. 
 
 The Rev. Jeremiah Romeyn was installed the 
 next pastor here, Feljruary 2, 1794, the Rev. 
 Petrus DeWitt preaching the sermon. He 
 remained in the charge until t8o6, a period of 
 twelve years. He added fifty-one to the member- 
 ship of the church, baptized one hundred and 
 eighty-four children, and married seventy couples. 
 Among the baptisms is found the name of James 
 Kosciusko Armstrong, before mentioned in con- 
 nection with the Armstrong family. 
 
 The succeeding pastor was Rev. Andrew N. 
 Kittle, who came into the pastorate under a regu- 
 lar call from the Old and New Red Hook churches, 
 which was accepted by him on the first of Febru- 
 ary, 1807. His pastorate extended to 1833, cov- 
 ering a period of twenty-six years. His successor 
 was the Rev. Frederic W. Thompson, of New 
 Brunswick, N. J. His pastorate was a very short 
 one, lasting from 1834 to 18^6. 
 
 The Rev. Jacob W. Hangen succeeded Mr. 
 Thompson. He came into the pastorate in 1838, 
 and went out in 1840. He died in 1843. 
 
 His successor was Rev. John W. Ward, who 
 served the church from 1841 to 1845. He died 
 iw 1859. 
 
 The Rev. T. G. Johnson succeeded Mr. Ward, 
 and continued in the pastorate from January i, 
 1846, to July 3, 1870, on the evening of which 
 day his labors were terminated by his death. He 
 died in the fifty-seventh year of his age, the thirty- 
 first of his ministry, and the twenty-fourth of his 
 Red Hook pastorate. The next pastor was the 
 Rev. Henry Van Schoonhoven Myers, who pre- 
 sided over the church from 187 1 to 1874. He 
 went from Red Hook to South Brooklyn. 
 
 The Rev. Joseph Scudder, a doctor of medicine 
 and an India missionary for a number of years, 
 
TOWN OF RED HOOK. 
 
 i8s 
 
 was Mr. Myers' successor. He came into the pas- 
 torate in 1875, and died November 21, 1876. 
 
 Mr. Scudder's successor was the Rev. Ezekiel 
 Carman Scudder, the present efficient incumbent, 
 also a doctor of medicine, and at one time an India 
 missionary. 
 
 The edifice of this church was in existence in 
 1787, and was probably built in that year. It was 
 built of stone. In 1854 that edifice was recon- 
 structed, and in 187 1 gave place to the present 
 handsome and commodious Gothic wooden struc- 
 ture. It was erected at a cost of about $14,000. 
 The corner stone was laid September 12, 1871, 
 and the house was dedicated May 15, 1872. The 
 interior contains three beautiful memorial windows 
 of stained glass. The first is to the memory of 
 Harmanus Hoffman and his wife, Catharina Ver- 
 plank, and was a gift from their son, Philip Ver- 
 plank Hoffman, of New York.* 
 
 The second is to the memory of the Rev. J. G. 
 Johnson, and was put in its place by the church. 
 The third is to the memory of Ebenezer Adams, 
 a veteran of the Revolution, and was a gift to the 
 church from his daughter Ruth. He was often 
 an elder of this church. He died January 31st, 
 1846, aged 94 years. 
 
 Red Hook. 
 
 The village of Red Hook lies in the southern 
 part of the town, and is perhaps the most beauti- 
 ful village in the township. Its streets are level 
 and well shaded, its buildings and churches fine, 
 and its business is of a solid and well established 
 character. The village contains a population of 
 
 936.t 
 The postmaster here is Charles W. Massanneau, 
 
 appointed under Lincoln's first administration. 
 
 The village has one newspaper, "The Red 
 Hook Journal;' a weekly, established in 1859 by 
 Levi Piester, who conducted it until his death, some 
 three years after. His wife, Martha, then con- 
 ducted it about one year, then rented the estab- 
 lishment to Franklin Van Valkenburgh for one 
 year, and again rented it for two years to Chauncy 
 A. Reed. The office and paper were then pur- 
 , chased by Albert Piester in 1866, who is still 
 the editor and proprietor. 
 
 The First National Bank of Red Hook was 
 established in February, 1865, through the exer- 
 tions of William Chamberlain. The first officers 
 were Jacob W. Elsefifer, President] Robert H. 
 
 * Harmanus Hoffman was an elder of Ihe church in 1789. 
 t In 1870 the population was 861. 
 
 Freeman, Cashier; Clarence Shook, Teller. The 
 Directors were, William Chamberlain,* Geo. A. 
 Phelps, J. W. Elseffer, Thomas Elmendorph, Dr. 
 John Bates,! Henry H. ConkUn, Peter G. Fraleigh, 
 Augustus Martin, t Robert L. Massanneau. The 
 present officers are :^Robert L. Massanneau, 
 President; John S. Crouse, Cashier; Clarence 
 Shook, Assistant Cashier. Directors: — J. W. 
 Elseffer, Henry H. ConkUn, Thomas Elmendorph, 
 Benj. B. Hoffman, John M. Lewis, Alfred AUen- 
 dorf, John S. Crouse, Clarence Shook, Robert 
 Massanneau. 
 
 A Lodge, I. O. O. F., was organized here 
 January 24, 1874, under the title of " Christian 
 Lodge, No. 379." The charter members were : — 
 Stephen R. Burnett, John H. Shafer, DeWitt Van 
 Wey, John E. Plass, H. W. St. John, Rev. Thomas 
 T. Everett. The first officers were : — Stephen R. 
 Burnett, N. G.; John E. Plass, V. G.; John H. 
 Shafer, Treas.; D. W. Van Wey, R. S. The 
 Lodge has a very fine hall, and meets every Satur- 
 day night. 
 
 An old established industry here is the Red 
 Hook Tobacco Factory, whose brands- of tobacco 
 and cigars are so celebrated throughout this sec- 
 tion of the State. This industry was started over 
 sixty years ago. The nucleus of the building in 
 which the business is conducted, was built some 
 sixty years ago, by Robert C. Massanneau. A 
 portion of the present building was erected in 
 1846. 
 
 The business since 1875 has been conducted by 
 Hoffman & Co.j (Benj. B. and John W. Hoffman, 
 Robert B. Hevenor and Henry E. Miller,) who 
 succeeded Nicks & Hoffman, who had run the 
 business seven years. The succession of proprie- 
 tors as far as can be learned has been as follows : — 
 before Nicks & Hoffman, Hendricks & Company, 
 about five years; J. & P. Hendricks & Co., 
 twelve or thirteen years; Jeremiah & Philip Hen- 
 dricks, four or five years; Jeremiah Hendricks, 
 about three years; Hendricks & Wells. This is as 
 far as the proprietorship can be definitely ascer- 
 tained. 
 
 The Red Hook Hotel was built probably over a 
 hundred years ago, but by whom it is not known. 
 It has been held by many successive owners, and 
 has been added to and changed many times. It 
 is on the old post road from New York to Albany. 
 The present proprietor is Howard Ellsworth, by 
 
 ~ * Bom in 1800, died May, i875- 
 elected in 1868, died in Aug., 1880. 
 
 t Died June, 1877. 
 
 JiDiedyan., 1875. 
 
 A son, Wm. L., also a director. 
 
i86 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 whom the building has been owned fourteen 
 years, twelve of which he has kept it as a hotel.* 
 
 One of the early merchants at this point was 
 Claudius G. Massanneau, who died in 1846, aged 
 77 years. His son, Robert C, was also a mer- 
 chant here many years. He died in 1878, aged 
 80 years. His successors in the business were his 
 sons, Charles W. and Edward F.,t who have con- 
 ducted a mercantile business here since 1861. The 
 store of Massanneau Bros, was built by Robert C, 
 their father, in 1854 or 1855. 
 
 The other merchants now doing business here, 
 are, Le Grand B. Curtis, general hardware, suc- 
 ceeding his father, John Curtis, who established 
 the business some thirty years ago, and who died 
 in July, 1879; Benjamin F. Gedney, general hard- 
 ware, in this branch of the mercantile business five 
 years ; Electrus Teats, (a native of Milan, ) boots 
 and shoes, in business here twelve years; John 
 Hobbs & Co., (William E. Hutton,) druggists, in 
 business eight years, succeeding Ransom E. Traver, 
 who had conducted the business two years t ; Ste- 
 phen R. Burnett, (born in Red Hook, June 30, 
 1829,) furniture and undertaking, in business twen- 
 ty years, succeeding Benjamin F. Gedney ; Abram 
 A. Dayton, (born in Brooklyn, 1835,) in business 
 here twenty years ; Charles H. Dayton, (born in 
 Tivoli, 1861,) books and stationery, in business 
 three years ; WiUiam A. Coon, (born in Red Hook, 
 1850,) boots and shoes, in business two years, suc- 
 ceeding Charles Falland who established the busi- 
 ness about a year previous ; Virgil Pulver, (born in 
 Red Hook, 1854,) cigar manufacturer, in business 
 two years. 
 
 The lawyers here are, Jacob Whiteman ElsefFer, 
 who was born in Red Hook, September 6, 1822, 
 educated at Claverack, N. Y., studied law with 
 Judge Rowley, Upper Red Hook, and was admit- 
 ted to the bar in 1845. 
 
 Joseph Martin, born in Red Hook in 1814, 
 studied law with Jacob W. Elseffer, and admitted 
 to practice in 1858. « 
 
 John H. Elseffer, son of Jacob W., born in 
 Red Hook, July 2, 1851, educated at De Garmo 
 Institute, Rhinebeck, and at Cornell University, 
 graduated from Albany Law School in June 
 1876. 
 
 George R. Carhart, born in Clinton Hollow, 
 N. Y., September 23, 1857 ; educated at Clifton 
 Park Seminary, and De Garmo Iiistitute, studied 
 law with Hackett & Williams, Poughkeepsie. and 
 
 •Leased to Edward Coon 2 years. 
 
 t The former bom in i8j 5, the latter in i8j6, in Red Hook. 
 
 tThe business was established by Charles GUbert Brown, in 1870. 
 
 with Hon. C. M. Woolsey, of Milton, Ulster Coun- 
 ty, and admitted to the bar January 30, 1880. 
 
 J. Edward Webb, a 'native of England, estab- 
 lished an office here in January, 1881. 
 
 The physicians are, Dr. Robert J. Carroll, born 
 in Ohio in 1843, graduated from Jefferson Medi- 
 cal College, Philadelphia, in March, 1867; came 
 to this town in 1876. 
 
 Dr. Harris L. Cookingham, born in Hyde Park, 
 N. Y., in 1850, graduated from Albany Medical 
 College in 1871, practiced a year and a half in 
 Staatsburg, and came to Red Hook. 
 
 The most historic points of interest near this vil- 
 lage are the houses of E. L. Traver and Edward 
 Martin. The former at one time known as the 
 " Martin House," was built probably one hundred 
 and fifty years ago, and still retains the character- 
 istics of the architectural ^tyle of those days. The 
 Martin Homestead, the present occasional residence 
 of Edward Martin, was built by his grandfather, Got- 
 heb, or Gotlop Martin, in 1776, the rafters being 
 raised on the stone walls on July 4th of that year. 
 This homestead has never been out of the family. 
 The house stands on the road leading to Upper 
 Red Hook. Hendrick Martin, the great grand- 
 father, was the first proprietor of the farm as ten- 
 ant. The house of Egbert L. Traver, before men- 
 tioned, was the original dwelling of the ancient 
 Martins. 
 
 Red Hook contains three churches, the Metho- 
 dist Episcopal, Episcopalian and Lutheran. 
 
 For the brief and even meagre history of the 
 Methodist church here given, we are principally in- 
 debted to the memories of some of the oldest liv- 
 ing members. Two small blue-covered book?, 
 titled respectively, " Probationers and Members," 
 "Baptisms and Marriages," contain all the written 
 history of the church now to be found. Previous 
 to this date there appears to have been no record, 
 or, at least, none preserved. Red Hook, it is 
 learned, was originally an appointment on the Milan 
 Circuit, suppKed with only occasional preaching. 
 Rev. Samuel Cochrane, one of the fathers m the 
 Church, is mentioned, among others, as having 
 preached in the old school house that was located 
 just in the southern end of the village. As there 
 was no church edifice at that time, the itinerant had 
 to preach where he could find a convenient place. 
 Mrs. Christian Mowl, the oldest living member of 
 the church, used to offer the hospitality of her 
 house to the Methodist itinerants. In the* year 
 1840 this appointment was made a station, and was 
 called the Red Hook Mission. 
 
TOWN OF RED HOOK. 
 
 187 
 
 Albert Nash was the first minister stationed here. 
 He held services in what was then called, " Fan- 
 cher's Hall," which, years ago, was either taken 
 down or converted to other uses. During his pas- 
 torate the first church edifice was erected. The 
 old house is still standing on or near the original 
 site, and is in the possessioft of Jacob W. Elsefifer. 
 The membership was then small, not exceeding 
 perhaps, a dozen names. Among these, were Sam- 
 uel Fancher, Mrs. Christian Mowl, Mrs. Jane Nicks, 
 and others whose names cannot now be easily re- 
 called. The next preacher on this charge was Bar- 
 tholomew Creagh, appointed in the spring of 1841. 
 He drew around him some of the wealthier and 
 aristocratic families of the neighborhood and town, 
 among whom were Mrs. William B. Astor, and 
 Mrs. Col. Armstrong and daughter. They became 
 regular attendants and supporters of the M. E. 
 Church in this place. 
 
 About this time the old German Reformed 
 Church of this place was converted into the pres- 
 ent Lutheran Church. Quite a number of its 
 members and congregation became dissatisfied, 
 and, instead of resolving themselves into the Lu- 
 theran Church, some of them united with the 
 Methodists. 
 
 Mr. Creagh's labors were blessed with a revival, 
 and this favorable combination of circumstances 
 gave the church a standing which it had before 
 vainly struggled to gain. The whole town had 
 been pre-occupied by German Reformed and Lu- 
 theran influences, so that the Methodists found 
 hardwork to obtain even a foothold, but now their 
 prospects had become quite encouraging. 
 
 In 1 849 the present church edifice was erected, 
 and in i860 or 1861 it was repaired and trans- 
 formed in part into its present beautiful appearance. 
 The church organ was purchased in 1866. In the 
 fall of 1867 the interior of the church was refitted 
 and improved, seats cushioned, and a marble-slab 
 table bought for the altar, while the old fixtures 
 were transferred to the parsonage. In February, 
 1877, the church was enlarged by an addition of 
 twelve feet to its length, the audience room changed 
 to its present form, new floor laid over the old, 
 seats changed somewhat, chairs purchased for choir, 
 and building repainted, all at a cost of about $600. 
 A pipe organ was also bought for about $800. 
 
 The following, as near as can be learned, has 
 been the succession of pastors since the time of 
 Rev. Mr. Creagh : — 
 
 Rev. Chas. B. Sing 1843-1845 
 
 Rev. O. V. Amerman 1845-1847 
 
 Rev. W. C. Hoyt 1847-1848 
 
 Rev. Shaffer 1848-1850 
 
 Rev. E. O. Haven 1850-1852 
 
 Rev. S. C. Perry 1852-1853 
 
 Rev. J. A. Edmonds 1853-1855 
 
 Rev. O. V. Amerman 1855-1857 
 
 Rev. Wm. Bloomer 1857-1858 
 
 Rev. Chas. B. Sing 1858-1860 
 
 Rev. O. Haviland 1860-1861 
 
 Rev. G. W. Knapp 1875-1878 
 
 Rev. Wm. H. Evans 1878-1881 
 
 Rev. Wilbur F. Brush -1881 
 
 Christ Church was not formally established here 
 until 1854, although occasionally the services of 
 the church had been held since 1850. In that 
 year the Rev. Henry de Koven, Rector of St. 
 Paul's Church in the upper part of the township, 
 at Tivoli, determined to establish the Church in 
 this village on a permanent basis. He, with the 
 aid of a few friends of the cause, procured a lot 
 containing about an acre and on it erected and fur- 
 nished, at a cost of $5,500, the present building, 
 the property being vested in him as sole trustee. 
 On July 21, 1855, the building was consecrated 
 under the name of Christ Church, Lower Red Hook, 
 by the Right Rev. Horatio Potter, D. D., Bishop 
 of New York. Soon after the consecration. Dr. 
 de Koven called as his Assistant the late Rev. 
 Frederic Sill, who held that position for about four 
 years, and had sole charge of the parish for two 
 years, while the Rector was absent in Europe. 
 
 The present incumbent, the Rev. John W. 
 Moore, M. A., was called as Rector by Dr. de 
 Koven in February, 1861, and began the discharge 
 of his duties April 7, 1861. Dr. de Koven con- 
 tinued sole trustee until August 28, 1867, when, at 
 his instance, the church was organized as a free 
 church with the name of Christ Church, Red Hook 
 (dropping the word " Lower,") under an act of the 
 State Legislature, passed April 13, 1854. Dr. de 
 Koven then resigned his trust, and deeded the 
 church property to seven trustees, as follows : 
 Rev. John W. Moore, Rector; Hon. John W. 
 Chanler, William Chamberlain, Henry Astor, An- 
 drew Crane, John H. Lord, Dr. John Bates. 
 
 These gentlemen were a close corporation, and 
 had power to fill any vacancies. With the excep- 
 tion of the Rector, none of the original trustees 
 " are in the present Board. The Church has now 
 about forty communicants, and a Sunday School 
 averaging from thirty to forty children. 
 
 St. PauFs Evangelical Lutheran Church is an 
 outgrowth from the old " Pink's Corner" Church, 
 which was the original church, and was German 
 Reformed. It originated from that portion of the 
 
i88 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 Palatines who adhered to the Calvanistic faith. 
 Their first church building stood below St. Peter's, 
 at what was known as " Pink's Corner," now 
 Monterey, where an old burial ground shows the 
 location of the church. 
 
 The baptismal record runs back to 1730. 
 About the year 1800 the old edifice at "Pink's 
 Corner" was abandoned, and a new church was 
 built at Lower Red Hook Village, about four 
 miles north of the former location. 
 
 The German Reformed Church died out gradu- 
 ally, — some congregations united with the Dutch 
 Reformed, and this church at Red Hook being 
 largely affiliated with the Lutherans by association 
 and intermarriage, became a Lutheran church 
 during the pastorate of Rev. Dr. N. W. Gcertner, 
 at St. Peter's, and has since been connected with 
 that denomination. The church building is a 
 large substantial ston ; edifice, with a fine parson- 
 age, lecture-room, cemetery, and ample sheds. 
 The church has an enrolled membership of 305 
 communicants. A few years ago the church edi- 
 fice was largely improved at an expense of $3,000, 
 and recently a pipe organ, costing $1,400, has 
 been added. 
 
 On the territory of this congregation are two 
 Lutheran chapels, one at Rock City, about four 
 miles south-east from here, and the other at Bar- 
 rytown, near the Hudson River. That at Rock 
 City was built at the sole expense of John Griffin 
 Schultz, a member of the Red Hook Church. It 
 was built on the land of the donor, and cost about 
 $3,000. In 1872 Mr. Schultz presented the deed 
 of the property to the Synod. The chapel is sup- 
 plied with preaching by the Lutheran ministers 
 of Red Hook, St. Peter's and Wurtemburg. 
 
 The chapel at Barrytown was built by Robert 
 Donaldson and Isabella Donaldson, his sister, and 
 which, after the death of the former, was deeded 
 by Miss Donaldson, in 1873, to the Synod of New 
 York and New Jersey, with which this church at 
 Red Hook is connected. Robert Donaldson is 
 buried in the rear of the chapel and on its grounds. 
 
 The pastor of Red Hook preaches there in the 
 afternoon. 
 
 The succession of pastors, subsequent to Rev. 
 N. W. Gcertner, has been as follows : 
 
 Rev. Dr. Charles F. Schaeffer i846-i8r;i 
 
 Rev. Dr. William D. Strobel 1851-1860 
 
 Rev. N. H. Cornell 1860-1864 
 
 Rev. Dr. Joseph H. Barclay 1865-1868 
 
 Rev. W. H. Luckenbach 1869-1872 
 
 Rev. Thomas T. Everett 1872-1871; 
 
 Rev. Dr. G. F. Stelling 1875-1877 
 
 Rev. J. Q. McAtee 1877-1879 
 
 Rev. S. A. Weikert 1879-1881 
 
 TivoLi — Madalin. 
 
 After the Revolution an old Frenchman drifted 
 into the northern part of Duchess County and 
 bought what was afterward known as the Elmen- 
 dorf Place. He spelled his name Delabegarre, 
 but tradition says that this was an Americanism 
 for L'Abbe de Seguard, which would indicate that 
 he was a waif of the French Revolution. 
 
 On this place he built a quaint old structure, 
 since remodeled and rebuilt by Col. Johnston L. 
 de Peyster. Of -the original only a sort of octagon 
 tower remains. 
 
 The early French settlers, when they established 
 themselves and acquired some property, and saw 
 a little hamlet grow up around them, followed as 
 far as possible the custom of their native country 
 by surrounding their dweUings with a high heavy 
 wall, and, where there was a stream, a moat, in 
 order to entitle them to style their dwellings 
 " Chateaux ; " because in France a protecting wall 
 and a ditch, or at least a wall, was indispensable to 
 such an appellation. Part of the old wall built by 
 Delabegarre, with its postern gate, is still standing. 
 Carried away by his ambition, Delabegarre, in imi- 
 tation of the Livingstons, — who laid out a town 
 on a bleak clay flat, near the original manor 
 church, on the north shore, overlooking RoelafF 
 Jansen's Kill, near the present station of Oak Hill, 
 where no house was ever built — laid out his farm 
 of about sixty acres into a city,* in which no house 
 was ever erected. The plot of this imaginary city 
 was elegantly engraved by the celebrated St. 
 Memin, whose miniature likenesses of notables of 
 the Revolutionary times have become of the great- 
 est value. Delabegarre styled his, enwalled dwell- 
 ing " Le Chateau de Tivoli," and from this cha- 
 teau and illusory town, the name of the present 
 postoffice, station, and incorporation was derived. 
 Tivoh lies in the north-western part of the town, 
 on the Hudson River. The incorporation com- 
 prises that section at one time known as -Myers- 
 ville, then changed to MadaUn, the postoffice at 
 this part of the village still retaining the latter 
 name. These two post-villages were united and 
 incorporated June 18, 1872, the first president of 
 the corporation being James Starr Clark, and Jacob 
 H. Feroe the first clerk. , 
 
 The following is the succession of presidents 
 and clerks to date : — 
 
 ' Staatje "—little town. 
 
TOWN OF RED HOOK. 
 
 189 
 
 PRESIDENTS. CLERKS. 
 
 1873, James Starr Clark, Jacob H. Feroe, 
 1874-75, Chas C. Champlin, Frank S. Ormsbee, 
 1876-77, Daniel V. Queen, " « 
 
 1878, Rensselaer Potts, " " 
 
 1879, Zachariah Weeks, William Hover, 
 1880-81, Watson D. Otis. " " 
 
 The village contains a population of 1,254. The 
 population of Tivoli proper, in 1870, before the in- 
 corporation, was 452; of Madalin, 629; total, 
 1,081 — an increase of 173 in ten years. The 
 postmaster at Tivoli is Theodore A. Hoffman, ap- 
 pointed February 4, 1869. 
 
 This portion of the incorporation has one store, a 
 freighting establishment, a church* and two hotels. 
 
 The merchant is Theodore Hoffman, in business 
 seven years, succeeding Hoffman & Feroe. This 
 store was built about 1853, and the first merchant 
 to do business in it was Edward Miller. 
 
 The Tivoli Hotel, Saulpaugh Bros., proprietors, 
 (Philip and Harman,) was built by James Outwater 
 about 1850. 
 
 The Farmers' Hotel, Alexander Boice, proprie- 
 tor, was built by a man named Fontaine, but at 
 what precise date is unknown. The property 
 some eighteen years ago came into the possession 
 of George Rogers, who thoroughly remodeled the 
 building and gave it the present name. 
 
 Peter Henry, a colored man, who was born on 
 the Bard Place, at Annandale, died here April 5, 
 
 1874, aged nearly 102 years. It is said that his 
 mother and grandmother were both born in this 
 town. A son, also named Peter, aged about 
 71, still lives here. 
 
 That portion of the incorporation known as 
 Madalin is the larger and more important end of 
 the village. Mr. Winegar, from whom we have 
 before quoted, said he worked on the building on 
 the north-east corner, where Clarence Moore now 
 has a store. At the "raising" it was proposed 
 to name the place, and Ephraim Martin suggested 
 the name of Myersville, in honor of a prominent 
 resident. of the name of Ten Broek Myers (or 
 Meyres,) one of the first merchants here. It was 
 so named, and as Myersville it remained until the 
 misspelling of the name, " Mireville," became too 
 appropriate. It was then called Madalin — a mis- 
 nomer for Magdalen, for it was named for Magda- 
 len Island, just below in the river. 
 
 At that time this locality was but sparsely popu- 
 lated, and the roads did not have their present 
 form. What is now known as Wall Street, was at 
 one time known as " Lothrop's Lane," so called for 
 
 * Catholic. 
 
 a man of that name into whose property the lane 
 ran as a private road, and it was afterward opened 
 through to the main road. 
 
 Eighty years ago, the road from Upper Red 
 Hook, then Red Hook, (what is now Lower Red 
 Hook was then only known as " Hardscrabble, ") 
 to Upper Red Hook Landing, now Tivoli, did not 
 come down the " Molly Coon " hill, and there was 
 no bridge across White Clay kill. The road turned 
 off near the old Vosburgh family's brick house, on 
 the summit of the hill, and went down the hill to 
 the creek in the rear of the house of Alfred Lewis 
 Moore, along the north edge of the present woods. 
 There was a ford through the creek two or three 
 hundred yards south of the mill where Parks once 
 had his woolen factory. The road ascended in the 
 rear of the present buildings and out-buildings 
 fronting on the main street east and west, and 
 came out on the present Montgomery street, about 
 where Edward Feller's house now stands. Before 
 that it turned off from the road to Upper Red 
 Hook, just west of John I. Saulpaugh's house, and 
 ran south half way up the hill, where its traces are 
 yet plainly distinguishable. 
 
 The traces of the cellar of the Vosburgh house 
 on "Molly Coon" hill, mark the site of one of 
 the oldest houses in the town. 
 
 On this road from Madahn to Upper Red 
 Hook, over Saulpaugh's Hill, is one of the oldest 
 houses in the town, now known as the Gale House, 
 which was built in 1733. 
 
 The first merchants here were Myers & Mar- 
 tin.* Jacob Van Steenburgh was next in succes- 
 sion, and he was succeeded by his clerk, Charles 
 Kent, who afterward left here and entered into 
 partnership with Judge Tyler, at Barrytown. His 
 brother, James Kent, and James White then took 
 the store. White shortly after went out of the busi- 
 ness, and Kent connected with him Alfred Lewis 
 Moore, and the firm was known as Kent & Moore 
 for a number of years. Alfred L. Moore died in 
 1878, having been a merchant here forty years. 
 
 His son, Clarence L. Moore, succeeded to the 
 business, which he still conducts. 
 
 The other merchants doing business here are : — 
 Philip Peelor, general merchandise, in business 
 here twenty-five years, succeeding Erastus Kim- 
 ball; WiUiam S. Ross, (born in New York city, 
 1 8 18,) druggist ; Gustave MuUer, (born in France, 
 1843,) boots and shoes, in business ten years; 
 William A. Decker, (born in Red Hook, 1820,) 
 
 » Ten Broek Myers and Ephraim Martin, in Moore's store, built by 
 Myers. 
 
I go 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 confectionery, began business in June, 1881; Will- 
 iam A. Washburn, (a native of Johnstown, N. Y., 
 born 1858,) druggist, in business here three years; 
 Edward Feller, general merchandise, in business 
 here ten years ; Roswell C. Gleason, (born in 
 Red Hook in 1832,) furniture and undertaking, in 
 business here twenty years ; Jacob Pfeiffer, bakery, 
 established in 1873 ; C. W. Coons, (born in Gal- 
 latin, N. Y., 1853,) merchant tailor, in business 
 here three years ; Clarence W. Lasher, (born in 
 Tivoli, 1852,) harnesses and horsemen's goods, in 
 business two years; Peter Feroe, (born in Red 
 Hook, 1818,) furnishing undertaker, in business 
 ten years ; Henry Fraleigh, boots and shoes ; Au- 
 gustus Moore, (born in Red Hook, 1839,) general 
 merchandise, in business here nineteen years; 
 William Rockefeller, (born in New York, 1844,) 
 fancy notions, in business thirteen years ; Charles 
 C. Champlin, general tinware. 
 
 The postoffice was established here in Decem- 
 ber, i86r, with Charles C. Champlin as postmaster, 
 which office he has since held. 
 
 The following are the only manufacturing in- 
 dustries : — 
 
 George H. Ellsworth, wagon maker, in business 
 here since 1827. 
 
 Steam box manufactory, Sylvester Teator, pro- 
 prietor, established in r 876. 
 
 Barrel factory, Clarence Feroe, proprietor, suc- 
 ceeding George Feroe & Son, who had conducted 
 the business twelve years. The factory was estab- 
 Ushed by Henry N. Leak some seventeen years 
 ago, who, in a few years gave up the business 
 which was resumed by Feroe & Son. The factory 
 turns out yearly from ten to twenty thousand fruit 
 barrels, besides its other work in tight cooperage. 
 Clarence Feroe was born in Madalin, January 28, 
 1847. 
 
 Saw, grist and plaster mill, George Feroe & Co. 
 (Montgomery Queen,) in business three years' 
 succeeding Cooper & Ham. ' 
 
 This mill stands on the White Clay kill, and the 
 property in its vicinity was once owned by the 
 Schuyler family. The building which at one time 
 occupied the site of the present mill, was built 
 many years ago for a woolen factory, and for a 
 number of years was run by Robert Lasher as 
 lessee. A man of the name of Hubbell, also a 
 lessee, succeeded Lasher in the business. This 
 factory did a considerable business. About 1835 
 Nathan Parks purchased the property, and con- 
 verted the factory into a grist-mill, and removed 
 the dam from where it once stood to its present 
 
 location above the bridge. The mill afterwards 
 came into the possession of Henry Alkenburgh, 
 and was destroyed by fire. It is said that he 
 purchased the property of John K. Feroe in 1857, 
 and that the mill was biirned about twenty years 
 ago. After the lapse of some two or three years, 
 Alkenburgh built the present mill. Ozias Cooper 
 was the next proprietor, then James Gardner 
 bought from Cooper, then William Hann obtained 
 possession, and at his death the estate sold the 
 property to George Feroe. 
 
 This part of the village has also two hotels. 
 The Madalin House was built by Philip McNifF in 
 1839,* by whom it was first kept as a hotel. The 
 
 next proprietor was Amos Proctor. Mandeville 
 
 and Charles Hamlin also kept hotel in this build- 
 ing. The present proprietor is Peter Overbough, 
 who has conducted it since 1854. 
 
 The Morgan House was built for a store by 
 Erastus Kimball, in 1846, and was changed into a 
 hotel by Edward Lasher some ten years ago. The 
 present proprietor is Philip Potts, who purchased 
 of Lasher three years ago. 
 
 Lodge No. 374, F. and A. M., was organized 
 here July 8, 1855. The charter bears date July 
 6, 1855, and contains the following names as charter 
 officers : Rev. John A. Edmonds, Master ; Simon 
 VanNamee, S. W. ; Benj. F. Gedney, J. W 
 Charter members: Samuel Nelson, William 
 Whitting, N. P. Tyler. The lodge was incorpor- 
 ated m 1878. The first trustees were Jacob E 
 Fmgar, F. S. Ormsbee, P. H. Miller. The lodge 
 meets m the Elm House on Broadway and has, for 
 Its size, one of the most beautiful halls in the 
 county. This is the centennial year ( r 88 r ) of the 
 Order in the State, and Andrew Rockefeller has 
 the distmction of being in so memorable a year 
 the W. M. of this lodge. 
 
 In this part of the village is situated Trinity 
 church, and the celebrated Academy bearing its 
 name. This school was established primarily by 
 John Bard and General J. Watts de Peyster, in No- 
 vember, 1853, as a private school, to meet the wants 
 of Madahn-Tivoli, under the superintendence of 
 Rev. James Starr Clark. In the spring of 1854, 
 General de Peyster withdrew from the support of 
 the school, and Mr. Bard, with the consent of the 
 Rector of St. Paul's church. Rev. Heniy de Koven, 
 determmed to support a parish school and mission 
 to meet the educational and spiritual wants of the 
 village. In July, 1854, a brick building, two stories, 
 30 by 60, was begun, and was especia lly adapted 
 
 *John K. Feroe, builden ~ ' ' 
 
TOWN OF RED HOOK. 
 
 191 
 
 for the purpose mentioned. The building con- 
 tained a chapel and a vestry-room in the second 
 story, and two large school rooms, suitably fur- 
 nished, in the first story. On the first Sunday in 
 January, 1855, the chapel was first occupied. 
 School was opened on the following Monday with 
 seventy pupils and two efficient teachers, both 
 chapel and school being under the direction of 
 James Starr Clark. 
 
 The church began with two communicants, and 
 increased so that at the expiration of six years it 
 numbered seventy. The school and church were 
 free. 
 
 This parish school continued until 1867. Mr. 
 Bard having signified his intention of withdrawing 
 his support, on account of Hmited means, Mr. 
 Clark determined to establish a boarding school, as 
 a means of support, and to carry out his education- 
 al ideas. The cottage in which he was then living 
 was enlarged to accommodate twelve pupils, and in 
 October, 1867, he opened his school with four 
 scholars. By the end of the first school year this 
 number had increased to ten, and by the end of the 
 second year the school was full to overflowing. In 
 1 87 1, the school then having fifteen pupils, and 
 many more applying for admission, the building 
 was enlarged to hold twenty-five. Other ad- 
 ditions were made from time to time, and in 1875 
 the building was enlarged, giving accommodations 
 to forty pupils in all. In 1879 a large portion of 
 the earlier structure was rebuilt, and a third story 
 added, at a cost of about $8,000.00. When com- 
 pleted, the building was 113 feet long, 42 wide and 
 three stories high. The school was soon filled to 
 its utmost capacity, and many applicants could not 
 be received. The number of pupils in 1881 was 
 sixty. The school has, in addition to the Rector, 
 a staff of five efficient teachers, and is conducted 
 on a modified military system. Pupils are here 
 fitted for entrance to the miUtary and scientific 
 schools of the country. A large and well appointed 
 gymnasium — 65 by 42 — including bowling alleys, 
 is located on the grounds, and on the Hudson are 
 two 40 foot gigs and two 30 foot barges for the 
 free use of the pupils. 
 
 Among the early physicians who located here, 
 after Myersville became a village of any extent, 
 was a Dr. Mixture — said to have been a most ap- 
 propriate name in every respect. He remained 
 but a short time. His successor was Dr. William 
 Bush, a most attentive practitioner, who became a 
 surgeon in the army during the Rebellion, and lost 
 his life in the discharge of his duty. He was suc- 
 
 ceeded by Dr. Thomas J. Barton, one of the pres- 
 ent practitioners, and one of the most remarkable 
 men, through his acquaintance with the EngUsh 
 classics, that is to be met with. He is the author of 
 some very respectable verses. Dr. Barton was born 
 in Valatie, Columbia county, N. Y., in 1830, grad- 
 uated from Albany Medical College in 1855, 
 and in 1856 came to this place, where, for twenty- 
 five years, he has had an extensive practice. 
 
 Other physicians who have practiced here, for 
 brief intervals, were Drs. McMenamy, George 
 deary, Watts, and Baldwin. 
 
 The only other resident physician is Dr. Lester 
 Cass Baldwin, born in Jewett, Greene county, N.Y., 
 December 14, 1850; graduated from the Medical 
 Department, University City of New York in 1879, 
 in which year he came to Tivoli. 
 
 The representatives of the law are Zachariah 
 Weeks and Frank S. Ormsbee. The former was 
 born in Copake, Columbia county, N. Y., in 1829; 
 studied law with George S. Gorham, Burlington 
 Green, Otsego county, N. Y., was admitted to the 
 bar in July, 1851, and became a resident of Red 
 Hook in May, 1853. 
 
 Frank Stanley Ormsbee was born in the town of 
 Ashland, Greene county, N. Y., in June, 1843, 
 studied law with Olney and Mott in Catskill, in 
 1862-63, and went to University of Albany, from 
 whence he graduated in 1864. He was admitted 
 to practice in that year, and came to Tivoli in the 
 spring of 1868.* 
 
 Tivoli has five churches, the Baptist, Methodist, 
 Roman' Catholic, St. Paul's and Trinity, the latter 
 being mentioned in connection with Trinity 
 Academy. 
 
 The Baptist Church was formally organized in 
 1842. Previous to the year 1839 but few Baptist, 
 ministers had ever preached in this town and there 
 were in the town but few families of that denomi- 
 nation, who belonged to churches in Sanford and 
 Saugerties. Among these famiUes were those of 
 the Wakemans and Beekworths, or Beckwiths (Col. 
 Nathan Beck with). In 1839 Rev. Thomas Stokes, 
 for several years Bishop of the Baptist church in 
 Cairo, Greene county, was employed by the Mis- 
 sionary Board of the Duchess Baptist Association 
 to preach in different parts of the county. In this 
 service he continued some eighteen months, preach- 
 ing with much success in Pawling, Hartsville, 
 Rhinebeck and Mechanicsville, now Madalin. 
 
 He was succeeded by Rev. David James, of New- 
 burgh, who labored for the board one year. Both 
 
 * Supervisor in 1881. 
 
192 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 of these Elders preached in the school house at 
 Madalin. An effort was made to build a Union 
 meeting-house, but it did not succeed. A few 
 families in Madalin and at the Landing were friend- 
 ly to this denomination, and treated the Baptist 
 missionaries with much kindness and hospitality. 
 
 In the spring of 1842 Rev. Isaac Bevans settled 
 at Rhinebeck, and succeeded the Elders mentioned, 
 in preaching at Mechanicsville. In the same 
 spring B. S. Pier, who, with his wife, was a mem- 
 ber of the Cannon St. Baptist Church, New York, 
 moved with his family to the upper village where 
 he opened a store. They were generous friends to 
 the cause in this town. Some time in the fall of 
 1842 it was decided to organize into a conference, 
 preparatory to a church organization, all the people 
 of Baptist proclivities who could be called together. 
 This conference was held at the house of Edwin 
 Knickerbocker, and Lewis Beckwith was chosen 
 clerk. There were eight persons present; viz: — 
 N. Beckwith and wife, B. S. Pier and wife, L. Beck- 
 with and wife, Hanford and wife. 
 
 In the last of fall it was decided to begin preach- 
 ing at the Landing. J. S. & S. .CoUyer, the pro- 
 prietors of one of the docks, had an old store which 
 was not occupied, and which they kindly offered to 
 the Baptists as a place in which to hold services. 
 This store was fitted up with coarse boards for 
 seats, and the first sermon here was preached by 
 Rev. Mr. Bevans, on Sunday evening, November 
 20, 1842. Here a series of meetings were begun 
 by Mr. Bevans on January 2 2d, 1843, which 
 were held every evening, with few exceptions, until 
 the first of March, in which Mr. Bevans was assisted 
 by Revs. N. D. Benedict and C. Shook. The 
 result was the conversion of between sixty and sev- 
 enty persons, and thirty-six were baptized. The 
 first baptism was administered February 26th to 
 nine individuals. The congregation rapidly in- 
 creasing, an effort was soon put forth to erect a 
 church building, which, after some delay, was ac- 
 complished, and a house, 34 by 40, was erected 
 on land given (conditionally)* by E. Elmendorph. 
 
 This building was located between the landing 
 and Madalin.t Members of the church and con- 
 gregation contributed liberally toward this object, 
 and some friends in other places, and a few not of 
 their communion, also very generously assisted. 
 William Kelly, of Rhinebeck, gave $100.00. The 
 
 *The conditions were that the property was to remain in the posses- 
 sion of the denomination so long as the Baptists remained there ; but 
 should they remove, the property was to revert to the heirs of Mr. Elmen- 
 dDrph. 
 
 t The old building is still standing at the forks of the road. 
 
 church was dedicated Thursday, February 14, 
 1844, by Rev. T. G. Freeman, of Hudson, and 
 Rev. I. B. Breed. The house was built by Cor- 
 nelius Patterson, at a cost of $830.00. In October, 
 1843, the church united with the Duchess Baptist 
 Association, and reported 36 baptized, 4 received 
 by letter, 2 dismissed by letter — total, 38. 
 
 Rev. Mr. Bevans remained as pastor from the 
 organization in 1842 to April, 1848. His suc- 
 cessors were Rev. Henry Cornell, Sept. 9, 1848, 
 who remained until August, 1849; Elder Lyman 
 Palmer, September, 1849, supplied the pulpit 
 about three months; Elder David Morris, De- 
 cember, 1849, remained until January, 1852, but 
 preached occasionally during that winter; Elder 
 Parmenus Watts, a licentiate, April, 1852, 
 to June, 1854, he was ordained June 2, 
 1853 ; Elder Albert Griffith, a Ucentiate from 
 Lewisburg University, September, 1854, was en- 
 gaged for six months, and closed his labors in 
 May, 1855; Elder Vassar, September i, 1855, 
 six months; Elder Edward Tompkins, a licen- 
 tiate from Hyde Park, July 15, 1856, was or- 
 dained December 9, 1857, and remained till May, 
 i860; Elder John W. Crumb, May 18, i860, to 
 February, 1862, returned in 1863, and preached 
 until 1869; Elder Green came about June 5, 
 1869, remained a year ; Elder Joshua Wood, No- 
 vember 5, 187 1; Elder Edward Tompkins cUme 
 as a supply in 1875, which relation he sustained 
 until February, 1876 ; his successor was Rev. 
 Jacob L. Williams, the present incumbent, a Ucen- 
 tiate of Saugerties Baptist Church. He began his 
 labors in March, 1876, and was ordained in April 
 of that year. 
 
 The present church edifice was begun in 1880 
 and completed in the spring of 1 881, at a cost of 
 $5,000.00. It was dedicated Mw 11, 1881. The 
 present membership of the churck is 85. 
 
 The Society of Methodists was organized some 
 little time previous to 1842, but the membership 
 was not large, and the society belonged to the 
 Lower Red Hook charge. Among the early 
 members were, George Gleason, Jacob Van 
 Steenburgh and wife, James Kent and wife, and 
 R. Gleason. The oldest members living to- 
 day are Mrs. Lowe, Mrs. John Feroe, 
 and Mrs. Van Steenburgh. Among the early 
 pastors were Revs. Mr. Gray, Mr. Sing, E. 0. 
 Haven, Mr. Burch and Mr. Daniels. Having 
 been on the Lower Red Hook charge, it*is to be 
 presumed that the pastors who officiated there also 
 preached here. 
 
TOWN OF RED HOOK.. 
 
 193 
 
 The first church edifice was built in 1843, on 
 land given by Eugene Livingston. This in years 
 becoming too small, was sold, and the present 
 edifice was erected about i860. The society is 
 now on the Germantown charge, presided over by 
 Rev. Aaron Hunt. The present membership is 
 between twenty and thirty. The society has num- 
 bered over one hundred members, but from various 
 causes has decreased to its present low status. 
 
 St Paul's Church — St. Paul's Episcopal Church 
 is situated in the extreme N. W. corner of Red 
 Hook (the N. W. town of Duchess county.) The 
 first entry in connection with it, to be found in the 
 records, bears date in December, 1816. 
 
 This church was incorporated agreeably to 
 an Act of Legislature, State of New York, 
 1817, and was admitted into the Union of 
 the Protestant Episcopal Church, October 
 2ist, same year. Rev. Henry Anthon, then 
 Deacon, afterwards Rector of St. Mark's, 
 New York city, — was the first minister, hav- 
 ing commenced his services in the neighbor- 
 hood of Upper Red Hook Landing — now 
 Tivoli— in December, 1816. The first bap- 
 tism noted was that of Mary Kimball, and 
 the first burial, Joseph Kimball, occurred in 
 December, 18 16. 
 
 On the 7th of July, 1818, the corner-stone 
 of the first church building was laid in a lot 
 on the N. W. corner of the main road run- 
 ning east from Tivoli to Upper Red Hook 
 and the Germantown or Telegraph, then 
 known as the River road, crossing the former 
 at right-angles. The unpretending struct- 
 ure was of wood, and was known as the 
 "White Church," in contra:distinction to the 
 Dutch Reformed Church, less than a mile 
 farther to the north, on the same road, which 
 was the oldest place of worship in the town, 
 and recognized far and near as the "Red 
 Church," from its color. 
 
 On the 27th of May, 1819, St. Paul's was 
 consecrated by Bishop Hobart, and was the 
 second Episcopal congregation organized in 
 Duchess county; that of St. James, at Hyde 
 Park, being the first. 
 
 The first Wardens were Edward P. Living- 
 ston, Lieutenant-Governor, State of New 
 Yorkj 1831-32, and John S. Livingston, who had 
 been First Judge of Columbia county. 
 
 After a zealous discharge of his duties for three 
 years, Mr. Anthon was succeeded in his charge by 
 the following gentlemen, several of whom rose to 
 
 high dignities or prominent positions : — Rev. 
 Nathaniel T. Bruce, M. D., 1820-24; Rev. Will- 
 iam Sheldon, 1824- ; Rev. Cicero S. Hawks, 
 D. D., subsequently Bishop of Missouri ; Rev. 
 Revaud Kearny; Rev. John McCarty, D. D., 
 afterwards Chaplain U. S. A., with General 
 Scott, who held the first Protestant services in the 
 capital of Mexico, and preached the first Evangel- 
 ical sermon in the cathedral of that city ; Rev. 
 John Henry Hobart, son of the bishop of the same 
 name ; Rev. Henry de Koven, Rev. R. O. Page 
 and Rev. G. Lewis Piatt, A. M. The latter is 
 still Rector, having officiated twenty-two years. 
 The Rev. Messrs. E. A. Nichols, Adams, Bartlett 
 
 (CHURCH OF ST. PAUL'S.) 
 
 and Punderson also at different times have had 
 temporary charge of the church, but not as 
 
 Rectors. 
 
 The original site was selected on account of its 
 central position as to the congregation, who were 
 
194 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 scattered along the river and River road, north 
 and south, for a distance of over sixteen miles. 
 The building of several other Episcopal churches 
 r— three in this town and one in Clermont, 
 Columbia county, — having drawn off a number of 
 members, it was determined to sell the old and 
 build a new church. The change was not satis- 
 factory to all, because the grounds had been fenced 
 and improved by one member, and a Free School 
 had been erected by several, in union ; the latter 
 finally fell into the hands of General de Peyster, 
 as sole Trustee, in which about fifty scholars were 
 educated by him at one time, many of whom did 
 great credit to the institution. 
 
 On June t6th, 1868, the corner-stone of the new 
 Church of St. Paul's was laid with impressive 
 services, and an apjiropriate address was dehvered 
 by the Rector, Rev. G. Lewis Piatt, A. M. 
 
 The site is beautiful, on the new River road, about 
 a quarter of a mile north of the main road from 
 Tivoli station to Madalin village. The grounds 
 originally contained two acres, of which one and a 
 half were deeded as his subscription to the church 
 by Mr. E. A. Livingston, and half an acre by 
 General de Peyster as a part of his subscription. 
 The latter gentlem.an subsequently added another 
 acre to the west, and two acres mor« were purchas- 
 ed by the congregation to the south. The greater 
 part of the land is handsomely disposed and thickly 
 set with noble trees. The total cost of the struc- 
 ture, including the organ and all complete for 
 consecration, according to one statement was 
 $22,000. 
 
 St. Paul's is a building of rough stone, roofed 
 with slate, about 92 feet long and 57 feet wide 
 outside of all, with a spacious chancel to the rear, 
 and a tower and spire at the northeast corner 90 
 feet high, partly stone and partly timber, sur- 
 mounted by a large gilt cross. The windows are 
 partly of ground and partly of stained glass, be- 
 tween buttresses. There is a semi-hexagonal pro- 
 jection or transept to the south, whose interior 
 constitutes the spacious pews of Johnston Living- 
 ston, Esq., and General de Peyster. The style of 
 architecture is pure original English- or Norman- 
 Gothic, and now that it is almost entirely over- 
 grown with five-leaved or American Ivy, popularly 
 known as the Virginia Creeper— planted for the 
 most part with her own hands and fostered with 
 eare by Mrs. General de Peyster— there is scarcely 
 a church to be seen anywhere throughout the 
 tend which presents a prettier picture. It faces 
 the east and stands on an artificial esplanade. On 
 
 this account and through the judgment exhibited 
 in taking advantage of the natural disposition of 
 the ground, and moreover, from its resting, as it 
 were, upon a long row of substantial vaults in the 
 rear that seem to constitute a portion of the 
 foundation of the edifice, — the church, viewed 
 from the north-west, towers aloft with graceful 
 outline amid the tall, original trees, as if constructed 
 upon an elevated plateau. From every point of 
 view the effect is imposing, and the edifice worthy 
 to rank with many of the religious structures in 
 Europe which are deemed worthy of especial 
 mention in guide books. Thence, from the es- 
 planade, in every direction, the eye of a 
 visitor rests on beautiful or pleasing scenery, 
 and to the westward he enjoys a magnificent pros- 
 pect of the whole range of the Catskills. 
 
 The grading around the church was done under 
 the personal superintendence of General de Peyster, 
 and at the expense of Mr. Johnston Livingston 
 and himself. For this a handsome "Resolution of 
 Thanks " was voted and presented by the Vestry. 
 
 Very peculiar arrangements have been entered 
 into by the original subscribers for the protection 
 for all time of their burial-places, so that this 
 " God's acre " is less liable to probable or possible 
 desecration or vandalism than any other in the 
 country. Even the style of monuments is under 
 the safeguard of a committee, and the jurisdiction 
 of the Vestry is restricted to th& church. itself and 
 a space of only a few feet outside of the walls of it. 
 
 As the grounds are new, the monuments are, as 
 yet, few. One of these, quite imposing from its 
 situation and surroundings, of a peculiarly hard 
 grey marble which seems calculated to last forever, 
 bears the name of John Watts on the east base, 
 and John Watts de Peyster on the west base 
 and the following inscription on* two faces, east 
 and north : — 
 
 In memory of John Watts, born in the 
 city of New York, 27th of August, 1749 (Old 
 Style), and died there 3rd (6th) Sept., 1836 (New 
 Style): (3d Son of Hon. John Watts, Senior 
 Member King's Council, and destined Lt. Gov. 
 Province of New York, and of Anne, eldest 
 daughter of Etienne (Stephen) de Lancey,) Last 
 Royal Recorder, City of New York, 1774-77 ; 
 Speaker of Assembly, S. N. Y., 1791-94; Mem- 
 ber of Congress, U. S., 1793-95; First Judge of 
 Westchester Co., N. Y., 1806 ; &c., &c., &c. 
 Founder and endower of the Leake & Watts 
 Orphan House, New York City. "Vir ^^quan- 
 imitatis." 
 
 In Memory of Mary Justina Watts, youngest 
 Child and Daughter of Hon. John Watts, 2d ; and 
 of Jane, — [the latter] Daughter of Peter de Lan- 
 
TOWN OF RED HOOK. 
 
 195 
 
 cey, " of the Mills," Westchester Co., N. Y., and 
 [of] Elizabeth Colden, Daughter of Cadwallader 
 Golden, Royal Lt. Gov. and Acting Gov. Province 
 N. Y. Born in New York City, 26th Oct., 1801, 
 and died there 28th of July, 1821. 
 
 The west and south sides of the plinth have no 
 lettering. 
 
 Westward of this is a large and extremely tasty 
 marble memorial of a young and handsome Union 
 officer, who died of the ultimate results of exposure 
 and disease contracted during the Peninsular Cam- 
 paign of 1862. On the obverse 
 are a few lines, setting forth his 
 name, rank, etc., as follows : — 
 
 Frederic de Peyster; Jr., 
 Brevet Colonel, N. Y. V., Brevet 
 Major, U. S. V. Born in New 
 York City, 13th December, 
 1842, Died at Rose Hill, in 
 the Township of Red Hook, 
 Duchess Co., 30th October, 
 1874, of diseases contracted in 
 the field, with the Army of 
 North-eastern Virginia in i86t, 
 and with the Army of the 
 Potomac in 1862. 
 
 The reverse indicates where 
 his remains have found their 
 last resting-place, as follows : — 
 
 " ( Fourth Corps Badge, 
 Second Division, A. of the P.) 
 The remains lie in his father's 
 vault, west of the church." 
 
 As he discharged both line 
 and staff, or medical duty, in 
 one of the New York regiments 
 which was considered as be- 
 longing to the artillery, a ten- 
 pounder Parrot gun which had 
 performed service in putting 
 down the "Slave-holders' Re- 
 bellion," is planted at the cor- 
 ner of this monumental plot, 
 which is guarded from intrusion 
 by an apparently simple but costly fence of strong 
 wrought iron standards set in blocks of stone con- 
 nected by heavy rods of the same metal. 
 
 Immediately south of the southern projection of 
 the church, within an enclosure, and guarded by two 
 ten-pounder Parrot guns, perhaps the very ones with 
 which he served, is an obelisk of white marble, 
 sculptured with appropriate military emblems, 
 erected in honor of a young Union artillery officer. 
 It bears the following inscription : — 
 
 In memory of John Watts de Peyster, Jr., 
 Major First New York Vol. Artillery, Brevet Col- 
 
 onel U. S. V. and N. Y. V. " Greatly distinguished 
 for gallantry and good conduct at the battle of 
 WiUiamsburg, (Monday, sth May, 1862, as Aid to 
 his cousin, Maj. Gen. Philip Kearny,) 'and no less 
 remarked for his coolness and courage under me 
 (Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker,) at the battle of Chan- 
 cellorsville,'" (2d, 3d, 4th May, 1863, as Chief of 
 Artillery, 2d Div., 6th Corps,) to Maj. Gen. Albion 
 P. Howe. After nearly ten years unremitted suffer- 
 ing, the consequence of arduous service in the field, 
 he died 12th of April, 1873, in his native City of 
 New York, aged 3 r years, 4 months and 10 days. 
 
 (CHURCH OF ST. PAUL'S-VIEW FROM THE SOUTH.) 
 
 Immediately in the rear of the church and against 
 the chancel wall is another marble tablet, lettered 
 as follows : — 
 
 Third Corps, ist Division, and 6th Corps, 2d 
 Division. 
 
 In the Vault beneath rest the mortal remains of 
 Brevet Colonel John Watts de Peyster, Jr., 
 Major ist N. Y. Vol. Arty. Born 2d Decem- 
 ber 1841, in the city of New York, and died there 
 1 2th of April, 1873. "A young officer" (whom 
 Kearny styled "as brave as himself,") "of zeal, 
 energy, and fired with a patriotic ambition. 
 (Major General Peck.) " A soldier of great force 
 
196 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 in action, and capable by his personal heroism of 
 inspiring others with his own fiery courage." (Brig. 
 Gen. Josh. T. Owen.) "The chivalric gallantry 
 of character and the patriotic devotion to duty 
 which led Col. de Peyster in the voluntary perform- 
 ance of more than duty, to sacrifice upon the altar 
 of his country, his health and the bright promise of 
 a noble manhood, justly entitle him to the favor- 
 able consideration of his government and the kind 
 consideration of his countrymen." (Maj. Gen. A. 
 P. Howe.) In every position, as a Staff, Cavalry, 
 and Artillery officer, equally distinguished, he died 
 a martyr for the Union. " 
 
 (CHURCH OF ST PAULS-VIEW FROM THE WEST) 
 
 In alluding to the vaults, mention should have 
 been made of the plain but enduring appearance 
 of the one m the immediate rear of the chancel 
 andabuttmg against the foundation wall of the 
 church, which belongs to Gen. de Peyster. It is 
 constructed of enormous blocks of Hudson River 
 bluestone, laid in courses, and looks as if it would 
 
 last as long as humanity requires a place of sepul- 
 ture; the entrance is closed with a wrought iron 
 door as strong as the structure itself, and bears a 
 monogram of forged metal. Everything seems to 
 be calculated to insure durability. On either side 
 of the entrance are two other ten-pounder Parrot 
 guns, conceded by the United States Government 
 after the war. They are most appropriate in their 
 position, as they seem to sentinel the last repose 
 of two, who on terrible fields 
 
 " Knew their voices of old." 
 
 The fagade of Gen. de Peyster's vault is sur- 
 mounted by a very handsome sarcophagus in 
 ItaHan marble, bearing the following inscriptions : 
 
 Facing west, obverse — 
 
 In memory of Maria Livingston de Pey- 
 ster, youngest daughter and child of John 
 Watts and Estelle de Peyster, born 7th July, 1852 
 died 24th September, 1^57. ' ' 
 
 Facing east, reverse — 
 
 In memory of our beloved aunt, Elizabeth 
 Watts Laight, daughter of John and Jane 
 de Lancey Watts. Died 23d June, 1866, aged 82 
 years. 
 
 The first, on the obverse, is a record of one of 
 the most remarkable children that ever gladdened 
 the hearts of parents. She reaHzed the hackneyed 
 truism of Shakespeare so often quoted and too 
 often misapplied, 
 
 "So wise so young, they say did ne'er live long." 
 
 The reverse commemorates the name of One 
 of the best of women ; one of the noblest ex- 
 a spies of self-denial and benevolence. Blessed 
 \ th means, she employed them almost entirely in 
 1 'ing good and giving pleasure; not through a 
 llndand indiscriminate charity, but by dividing 
 aiiong the needy and "God's poor" over six- 
 e tenths of her income. Such examples of un- 
 sientatious generosity are very rare ; but her gifts 
 re inherited, for she was the daughter of the 
 H^n. John Watts, of New York, who, becoming 
 I ssessed of a large fortune by the premature 
 leith of a noble son, would not appropriate the 
 i nds that came into his hands through such a 
 calamity, but with them founded a Refuge for the 
 Fatheriess, the buildings of which on a crowning 
 height overlook both Central and Morning-Side 
 Parks. It is known as the Leake and Watts 
 Orphan House, and was so entitled by John 
 Watts, who furnished the endowment. He would 
 not take to himself the sole credit for his disin- 
 terestedness, but associated with his own name 
 that of the connection from whom the fortune 
 was originally derived and also the idea of such an 
 institution. 
 
TOWN OF RED HOOK. 
 
 197 
 
 Barrytown. 
 
 Barrytown lies in the southwestern part of the 
 town, on the Hudson River. It contains a popu- 
 lation of 239,* and is important only as a railroad 
 and river depot for the surrounding country. Not 
 far from this place, near Cedar Hill, is the house 
 erected by the wife of General Montgomery about 
 the beginning of the present century, and known 
 as Montgomery Place. To the south of Barry- 
 town, on the Hudson, is the estate known as 
 "Rokeby," at one time the property of General 
 Armstrong, and now in the possession of his son- 
 in-law, William B. Astor. 
 
 A destructive fire occurred here May loth, 1872, 
 destroying twenty-one buildings. A large paper- 
 mill,! in which a considerable business was done, 
 was burned some two years previous. 
 
 Judge Nathan Peabody Tyler, a prominent 
 citizen of the town, and an old merchant and 
 freighter at this point, died in December, 1864. 
 Captain Phineas Lovejoy Tyler, his son, now living 
 here, is his only immediate descendant. 
 
 The posttn aster here is Robert Gerard Martin, 
 appointed in 1868. 
 
 The place contains the depot, two stores — Wil- 
 liam Strobel, Horace M. ~ Bishop ; the former in 
 business here some fifteen years, the latter three 
 years — the store house of Carnwright, Fraleigh & 
 Co., freighters, the freighting estabhshment of 
 Coon Bros., (Robert A., Virgil E., and Silas W.,) 
 and the ice-house of the Mutual Benefit Ice Com- 
 pany, one of those immense structures so frequent- 
 ly seen along the Hudson. 
 
 Near by is the church of Sf. John the Evangelist, 
 which is the outgrowth of work performed by the 
 St. Peter's Brotherhood, an association of the 
 students of St. Stephen's College, organized to do 
 missionary work in the neighborhood, under the 
 direction of the Warden. 
 
 The Barrytown district was called by them St. 
 Augustine Ward, and was assigned each year, by 
 the Superior of the Brotherhood, to a Ward 
 Master and his assistants.' Services were held by 
 them and by the clergy of the college, on Sunday 
 evenings from time to time in the hotel at Barry- 
 town and elsewhere in 1870 and 187 1, until, in 
 1872, the use of the district school house was 
 obtained, in which services were regularly held by 
 the clergy of the college until October, 1874, ex- 
 cept in the summer vacation, and also for a short 
 period when they were deprived of the use of the 
 * i860, 250. 1S70, 24S. 
 
 t Conducted by David H. Shafer, whtr died in 1881. 
 
 school house, and held their services in a house of 
 Mr. Aspinwall. 
 
 The late John L. Aspinwall manifested always 
 the deepest interest in this work. He attended 
 the services with his family, and gave valuable aid 
 by his counsels, extensive influence, and his gen- 
 erous benefactions. His death on the 5th of May, 
 1873, was a serious loss to the Church and com- 
 munity, and was widely lamented. 
 
 In 1874 Mrs. Aspinwall erected, as a memorial 
 to her husband's memory and a source of [spiritual 
 benefit to the people of Barrytown, the beautiful 
 church edifice now standing here. 
 
 The corner-stone of the Church of St. John the 
 Evangelist was laid May 9, 1874, by the Rev. John 
 A. Aspinwall, in the absence and by the direction 
 of the Bishop of the Diocese. 
 
 The building was carried on to completion dur- 
 ing the summer and fall and was consecrated on 
 the 4th day of October, 1874, by the Right Rev. 
 Horatio Potter, D. D,, LL. D., Bishop of New 
 York, assisted by the Rev. Drs. Fairbairn, Breck 
 and Oliver, and the Rev. Messrs. Aspinwall, Ols- 
 sen and Hopson. 
 
 Much of the furniture of the church was pre- 
 sented by relatives and friends of him to whose 
 memory the church was erected. The chancel 
 window was the gift of William H. Aspinwall; the 
 font was presented by Mrs. Roosevelt ; the organ, 
 by Mrs. Woolsey; the bell, by the Rev. John A. 
 Aspinwall and Mrs. John Minium ; the commun- 
 ion service, by Lloyd Aspinwall, Mrs. Renwick and 
 Mrs. Ambrose Kingsland; the Bible and Prayer 
 Eook, by Mrs. William A. Aspinwall; the alms 
 basin, by Dr. and Mrs. John T. Metcalfe. 
 
 The property, after the consecration of the 
 church, was placed in the hands of trustees 
 selected by Mrs. Aspinwall. These were Rev. Rob- 
 ert B. Fairbairn, D. D., Rev. Henry C. Potter, 
 D. D., Mrs. John L. Aspinwall, Wra. H. Aspin- 
 wall, Samuel Breck, Meredith Howland and 
 Charles E. Sands. The trustees placed the chapel 
 under the pastoral charge of the Warden of St. 
 Stephen's College, Annandale. 
 
 The death of William H. Aspinwall, on the i8th 
 of January, 1875, took from the church a valued 
 trustee. He showed his interest in the work by 
 leaving a bequest of $5,300 in Government bonds, 
 the interest on which is to be devoted towards the 
 expenses of the parish. 
 
 Mrs. William H. Aspinwall, on the 13th of Oc- 
 tober, 187 s, was elected a trustee, to fill the va- 
 cancy occasioned by the death of her husband. 
 
igS - 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 In 1875 the Rev. George B. Hopson was ap- 
 pointed to take charge of the morning services in 
 the church, and the parochial charge of the con- 
 gregation. 
 
 In the winter of 1875-6 Mrs. Aspinwall erected 
 a handsome building near the church, to be used 
 for week-day services and other church purposes. 
 The first service was held in this building March 
 4, 1876. 
 
 On Christmas day, 1879, a new chalice was pre- 
 sented to the church by Mrs. Susan Morrison, as a 
 memorial to her daughter, Miss Fanny Morrison. 
 
 Mr. Samuel Breck died September 10, 1880, 
 and in the following year Mr. Lloyd Breck was 
 elected trustee and treasurer in his place. 
 
 In 1881, Mrs. John L. Aspinwall added $2,000 
 to the former endowment. 
 
 Annandale. 
 
 Cedar Hill and Annandale lie in the western 
 part of the town, near the Hudson River. The 
 two places closely adjoin, the postoffice being at 
 Annandale. The combined population is 221. 
 
 Here, in 1797, General Armstrong had a mill, 
 having, about 1793, become the owner of the Bard 
 farm, on which he built himself a mansion. A 
 large flouring mill here is now run by White & 
 Buckhout. 
 
 The old woolen factory which occupied the site 
 of the present building on the Saw kill, was burned 
 in 1866. In this factory, for many years, a large 
 business had been done. When burned it was 
 conducted by Hanson, Horsefield & Co., who were 
 adding new machinery, and was owned by Mrs. 
 Cora L. Barton. 
 
 The present building was erected by Mrs. Bar- 
 ton shortly after, and for a year or two was run as 
 a woolen factory. It is now used as a mill for the 
 manufacture of mineral paint. 
 
 Cedar Hill has two hotels. The Union Hotel 
 was built by James Conway some twenty years 
 ago, in which he did business until succeeded by 
 John Plass, the present proprietor. 
 
 The hotel kept now by Edward Harris was built 
 by John Robinson over twenty years ago. C. P. 
 Robinson was its first landlord. The store, which 
 is in the same building, was also established by 
 John Robinson and has been conducted by Ed- 
 ward Harris seven years, succeeding Edgar Vin- 
 cent, who, three years previously, had succeeded 
 C. P. Robinson. 
 
 The only other merchant here is Charles H. 
 Sjmmons, who began business here in December 
 1880. ' 
 
 At Annandale* are situated the church and build- 
 ings of St. Stephen's College, in one of the most 
 beautiful sections of Duchess County. The ap- 
 proach to the College from Cedar Hill is over a 
 narrow road usual to this part of the country, 
 shaded on either side by extensive tracts of massive 
 trees. The warden's house, an elegant stone 
 structure, and the college buildings stand on a 
 rise of ground to the east of this road, while on 
 the west is the noble church and the building of 
 the Parish School — the nucleus of the present 
 College. 
 
 The college buildings, thickly covered with ivy, 
 the architecture of the church and warden's 
 lodge, and the grand stretch of sloping, shaded 
 lawn, constitute a picture which forcibly reminds 
 one of the scenery characteristic of England. 
 
 St. Stephen's College grew out of the Church of 
 the Holy Innocents and its Parish School. In 
 1853 Mr. John Bard came to live at Annandale, 
 and almost immediately established a Sunday School, 
 and, shortly after, instituted a religious service ac- 
 cording to the order of the Protestant Episcopal 
 Church. The first service was held by Rt. Rev. A. 
 G. Spencer, the Lord Bishop of Jamaica, who was 
 on a visit to Mr. Bard. From this time the ser- 
 vices were regularly conducted_by the Rev. James 
 Starr Clark until 1854, when he was succeeded by 
 the Rev. G. F. Seymour, now the Rt. Rev. G, F. 
 Seymour, D. D. LL. D., Bishop of Springfield in 
 lUinois. Under him the parish school house was 
 built for a school for religious as well as intellec- 
 tual education. It continued in operation for 
 twenty years. It was also under Mr. Seymour that 
 the Church of the Holy Innocents was built, and 
 which was burned on the day of its completion. 
 It was built at the sole expense of Mr. and Mrs. 
 John Bard, at a cost of $34,000. The church was 
 rebuilt and consecrated Februa^ 2, i860. The 
 Episcopalians were at the time considering the 
 propriety' of estabhshing a training college for the 
 ministry. At the suggestion of the Rt. Rev. Ho- 
 ratio Potter, D. D., LL. D., of Oxford Univer- 
 sity, and a native of the town of LaGrange, in 
 Duchess County, Annandale was ado_pted as the 
 seat of the new college. 
 
 Immediately twenty acres were given by Mr. 
 Bard for the purpose, and the erection of the south 
 wing of the college was begun. In 1868 an addi- 
 tional building of dormitories was erected. In 
 
 *The postoffice was established here, through the influence of Jolin 
 Bard,. in April, 1865. Robert B. Fairbairn was appointed P. M. in 1874 
 but was virtually postmaster from the establishment of the office. 
 
TOWN OF RED HOOK. 
 
 199 
 
 1870 the Ludlow and Willink Hall was completed 
 at a cost of $54,000 as a memorial of Elizabeth 
 Ludlow and Cornelia Ann Willink. The most of 
 the wood-work is made from oak brought from a 
 grove in Duchess County, belonging to these two 
 ladies. A spacious dining hall was erected in 
 1873 from funds left by Miss Preston, a domestic 
 in the family of John L. Aspinwall. In 1875 a 
 building was erected to receive a telescope pre- 
 sented by John Campbell, of New York, one of the 
 trustees of the college. The value of the property 
 of the college in land and buildings was, in 1880, 
 about $150,000. 
 
 Annandale was originally only the name of the 
 estate of John Bard. It has now come to desig- 
 nate the site of the college and the immediate neigh- 
 borhood. 
 
 In 1880 nearly one hundred Episcopal clergy^ 
 men had been educated at this college. 
 
 Besides John Bard the other benefactors of the 
 college, who lived in Duchess County, were John 
 L. Aspinwall, of Barrytown, who was for a long 
 time treasurer. He was succeeded by Col. Stephen 
 Van Rensselaer Cruger. John C. Cruger, Edwin 
 Bartlett and Mrs. Cora L. Barton, daughter of the 
 distinguished statesman, Edward Livingston, were 
 attendants at the service of the chapel. 
 
 The first Warden was the Rev. George F. Sey- 
 mour. He was succeeded by the Rev. Thomas 
 Richey, D. D., in 1861. The third and present 
 Warden is the Rev. Robert B. Fairbairn, D. D., 
 LL. D., who entered on the duties of the office in 
 1863. Robert B. Fairbairn was born in the city 
 of New York May 27,1818. He is the son of 
 William Fairbairn, of Jedburgh, Scotland,' and 
 Mary Mott Fairbairn, daughter of Captain Henry 
 Mott, born in Poughkeepsie, December 25, 1776. 
 He was educated at the Mechanics' School, New 
 York, and at Trinity College, Hartford^ where he 
 graduated in 1840. He studied theology at the 
 General Theological Seminary in New York, was 
 ordained a clergyman of the Episcopal Church in 
 1843, and immediately became the Rector of Christ 
 Church, Troy, N. Y. He subsequently held pas- 
 toral charges on the Hudson, in Saratoga and Greene 
 counties. He became the Professor of Mathe- 
 matics and Natural Philosophy, in St. Stephen's 
 Colleges in 1862, and became Warden in 1863, 
 and also the Professor of Mental and Moral Phil- 
 osophy and of Logic. He was made a D. D. at 
 Trinity College in 1864, and at St. Stephen's in 
 1874, and LL. D. by Delaware College in 1876. 
 He was married to Juliet Arnold, of Troy, N. Y., 
 
 in 1849. He has two daughters, Mary Elizabeth 
 and Alice, and one son, Henry Arnold, who gradu- 
 ated A. B. at St. Stephen's College in 1875, and 
 M. D. at the University of Virginia in 1877, and 
 also at the College of Physicians and Surgeons, 
 New York, in 1878. 
 
 Red Hook in the Rebellion. 
 
 For this record of Red Hook in the Rebellion 
 we are indebted to the labors of General J. Watts 
 de Peyster, who, at his own expense — an expense 
 which each town was by law required to assume, 
 and by so many shamefully neglected — had care- 
 fully prepared an account of the tavm'i personnef'm. 
 that struggle ; and from whose address, delivered 
 November 28, 1866, at the inauguration of a 
 monument to Red Hook's defenders, we gather 
 what may justly be considered a comprehensive re- 
 view of the town's patriotiQ contribution to the 
 suppression of the " Slave-holder's Rebellion." 
 
 When it is considered how general has been the 
 apathy of the towns throughout the State in col- 
 lating and preserving the names and deeds of 
 those who fought and died in their defense — an 
 apathy wholly inexcusable — a generous meed of 
 praise should be awarded the citizen who patriot- 
 ically declines to permit those names to pass into 
 oblivion ; and who, at his own expense, prepares a 
 record so comprehensive in its scope as the one 
 from which we quote. 
 
 In the course of that four years' struggle. Red 
 Hook sent forth as volunteers, by re-enlistment or 
 substitutes, over 500 men. These were distributed 
 in over 47 regiments, as so far discovered, besides 
 four or more vessels of war. 
 
 Even with the first sound of alarm a number of 
 the youth of Red Hook hastened to enroll them- 
 selves, or hurried forward to the scene of the con- 
 flict. 
 
 On April 21, 1861, the 12th N. Y. S. M. left 
 New York city. On the 23d the 8th N. Y. S. M., 
 (Washington Grays,) was- on its way to Washing- 
 ton. In the former was Warren W. Chamberlain, 
 of Lower Red Hook, Lieutenant in the line. In 
 the latter, Frederic de Peyster, Jr., of Tivoli, aged 
 18, Jmiior Assistant Surgeon. 
 
 Almost simultaneously with this enlistment on 
 the 23d-28th of April, the Ulster Guard, 20th N. 
 Y. S. M., was likewise in march for the theatre of 
 hostilities. Eight young men from the village of 
 Madalin volunteered in it, and eight more from 
 the town in this and other regiments. These true 
 patriots, who deserve to be remembered by their 
 
HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 fellow townsmen, were Andrew Decker, Charles 
 Decker, Charles Houghtailing, Montgomery Mar- 
 shall, Adam Moore, Charles Statley, William H. 
 Stocking.* The second eight were, John Clark, 
 Edward Curtis, LeGrand Curtis, Patrick Hayes, 
 William Holdridge, George Kelly, Stephen Sher- 
 wood, John Vradenburgh. 
 
 Previous to the month of August, 1862, volun- 
 teering in the town of Red Hook was only the 
 result of individual, patriotic impulse. This ren- 
 ders the enlistments in the spring of r86i the 
 more remarkable, inasmuch as they were the result 
 of mere energetic thought and action, and conse- 
 quently, are the more worthy of attention and 
 record. 
 
 On the 25th of October, when the 20th N. Y. S. 
 Militia returned to the field as the Both New York 
 Volunteer Infantry, there were twenty-five young 
 men from Tivoli, Madalin, and their vicinity in 
 Company B, besides others in Company A, and 
 dispersed throughout the organization. This consti- 
 tutes one of Red Hook's three representative regi- 
 ments. As representatives of this town in the 
 above regiment, the following have been reported : 
 Andrew Decker, before mentioned, enlisted three 
 consecutive times and served faithfully until killed 
 under Sheridan at Cedar Creek, in the Shenandoah 
 Valley, October 19, 1864; Charles Decker; Mont- 
 gomery Marshall ; Adam Moore ; Edward Snyder, 
 afterwards deserted ; Charles Statley, enlisted three 
 consecutive times, and came home Orderly Ser- 
 geant; William H. Stocking, served faithfully three 
 enlistments, at Gettysburg was shot through the 
 leg above the ankle, and wounded so severely that 
 he was oifered his discharge, but refused it. 
 
 In the fall of i86i, the Ulster County Guard 
 again took the field as a regular United States 
 Volunteer Regiment, and was known as the 
 Eightieth New York Volunteers. There were 
 twenty-five men from the Upper District of Red 
 Hook in Company B. Their names were as fol- 
 lows : — 
 
 Wansbrough Bloxham, shot through the arm 
 while carrying the colors at Gettysburg; John 
 Decker, shot by accident at Upton Hill, opposite 
 Washington, died March 21, 1862, brought home 
 and buried at the Old Red Church, north^st of 
 Madalin ; Oswald Decker, wounded with a buck- 
 shot in the breast at Manassas ; Morgan Denegar; 
 Charles Garrison ; Theodore Garrison, shot through 
 fleshy part of the thigh at Manassas; Christian 
 Grantler, Sr., died after his return home from 
 
 * One deserted. 
 
 the effects of severe service ; Christian Gruntler, 
 Jr., died of wounds received at Manassas ; John 
 Hatton ; William H. Hoffman ; George W. Kelly, 
 killed at Manassas ; Alfred Lasher, killed at Man- 
 assas; Peter W. Lasher; Robert McCarrick; 
 Charles Macriff, wounded twice, slightly in the arm 
 under Burnside at Fredericksburg ist, and above 
 the forehead at Gettysburg, was finally appointed 
 Sergeant ; James (or Jacob) Minkler ; Adam 
 Moore, twice severely wounded ; Frederic Over- 
 mier, (Sergeant,) twice wounded, slightly in the 
 breast at Manassas, August 30, 1862, and in the 
 foot at Gettysbiu-g ; David A. Paulmatier ; Lewis 
 Redder, killed at Manassas, August 30, 1862 ; 
 Hiram Risedorf, died of typhus fever at Upton 
 Hill, opposite Washington, and was buried at Falls 
 Church, Va. ; Frederic Simmons ; John H. Swartz ; 
 Rufus Warringer, killed at Antietam, September 
 17, r862; David Wool, (colored). In Company 
 A, which was entirely composed of Duchess county 
 men, there were several, perhaps quite -a number 
 from the Lower District of Red Hook. Their 
 names have never been furnished, nor have 
 we any means of ascertaining them. From the 
 Upper District there were two brothers : Marcellus 
 Stocking and William H. Stocking. 
 
 The other enlistments in 1861 were as fol- 
 lows : — 
 
 20^5 N. Y. S. J^— Leonard B. Curtis, Con- 
 rad Cookingham, Silas A. Garrison, John W. 
 Moses, Marcellus Stocking, Frederic Simmons, 
 Daniel L. Scott. 
 
 32(/ iV: K Infantry, Co. Z).— Richard E. Bar- 
 ringer, (Sergt.,) Virgil Coon, George Cole, John 
 Carrigan (dead), Absolom Dederick, John Gib- 
 son, William Husted, Richard Haircout (died in 
 service), Patrick Higgins, Carlis Hoffman, George 
 L. Holmes (died at David Island, JJ. Y., Oct 8, 
 1862), Augustus Kipp, George Lown, John P. 
 Lown, Ludlow Lewis, Amos Ludlow, Reuben 
 Miller, William Near, Adam Plass, Edward Swart 
 (wounded at battle of Antietam Sept. 17, 1862, 
 discharged Dec. 19, 1862), Philip E. Strobel, 
 John Vradenbergh, Ephraim Wagner (wounded in 
 leg), John W. Waldorf, James Winford.* 
 
 tth N. Y. Infantry, Co. ^.— John Elenberger, 
 Henry Feller (wounded and discharged by reason 
 of disability), Edward R. Holt (promoted to Cor- 
 poral Sept. I, 1861, to Sergeant Dec. i, i86x, to 
 Orderly Sergt. June r, 1863, wounded at Gettys- 
 burg July 2, 1863, discharged at end of term. 
 
 * All not otherwise mentioned were honorably discharged at expiration 
 of term of service. 
 
TOWN OF RED HOOK. 
 
 Oct. 2, 1864), James Harris, George Lovejoy, 
 George Paulmier, Walter Proper, John Smith, 
 Edward Van Kerwan. 
 
 Co. B. — William Gastin (was in the seven days' 
 fight, died Dec. 4, 1863, and was buried in Red 
 Hook), John N. Hapeman (wounded in the seven 
 days' fight and discharged), James Lane, Joseph 
 Martin (in battles of WilUamsburgh, White Oak 
 Swamp, and seven days' fight before Richmond, 
 discharged July 22, 1862, for disability), Peter G. 
 Miller, John D. Martin (promoted Corporal Dec. 
 II, 1861, died on Lower Potomac, brought home 
 and buried in Red Hook), George Pultz, Sullivan 
 Shaffer, Irving Shoemaker. 
 
 5^4 JV. Y. Cavalry. — Charles Decker, Co. B., 
 Edward Martin, Co. C, (promoted to Corporal), 
 Henry Oatman (deserted twice). 
 
 Scatiering.^]oh.vi Dillon, Co. D, 63d N. Y. Inft.; 
 Edward Curtis, Co. D, 48th N. Y. Inft; Charles 
 Lewis, Co. C, 44th N. Y. Inft.; Nelson Lewis, Co. 
 C, 44th N. Y. Inft; John N. Moses, 2dN. Y. Vols.; 
 Joseph Martin, Co. B, ist N. Y. Inft; Herman 
 Near, Co. F, 12th N. Y. Inft; John S. Stickel, Co. 
 B, s6th N. Y. Inft.; James Seism, Co. C, 3d Md. 
 Inft.; Thomas Murphy, Co. C, ist N. Y. Vols.; Ja- 
 cob Winchell, Co. G, 2d N. Y. Cavalry. 
 
 On the 12th of August, 1862; a war meeting 
 was held at the village of Madalin, which resulted 
 in mustering in nineteen volunteers, as follows : — 
 
 \2%thN. Y. Inft., Co. C— Benjamin H. Coop- 
 er; Geo. A. Norcutt, one of the Forlorn Hope at 
 Port Hudson ; Lewis W. CashdoUor, was with his 
 regiment at Port Hudson on the Red River, and 
 in the Shenandoah Valley in the charge of the 
 One Hundred and Twenty-eighth upon the Lou- 
 isiana Tigers, he was hit at the upper edge of the 
 middle third of the right leg, the ball penetrating 
 six inches along the fibula bone, thence to the 
 tibia, and descending to the ankle joint, necessi- 
 tating amputation ; Jno. H. Hager, rose from pri- 
 vate to First Lieutenant commanding Color Com- 
 pany C, March 28, 1864, he was taken prisoner 
 near Alexandria ; George F. Simmons, wounded 
 twice in battle of Winchester, September 19, 
 1864; Samuel Simmons; Lewis Simmons; Mont- 
 gomery Fingar ; Henry A. Brundage ; John Emory 
 Cole, in battles of Port Hudson, Winchester, 
 Cedar Creek, discharged July 2, 1865 ; Albert Cole ; 
 James Doyle, taken prisoner Oct. 19, 1864, at Cas- 
 tle Thunder, discharged July 12, 1865; Gilbert 
 Dederick, taken prisoner at Cedar Creek and tak- 
 en to Salsbury Prison, was paroled and discharged 
 May 22, 1865; Augustus Golbel, discharged July 
 
 12, 1865 ; William Hover, wounded at Fisher's Hill 
 Sept 22, 1864, discharged July 12, 1865; Norman 
 Heermance; Peter Moore; Daniel Neenan, 
 wounded and taken to hospital, discharged May 22, 
 1865 ; Peter Wyer, (or Dwyer), killed at Winches- 
 ter Sept. 19, 1864; John Van Etten, died at 
 Savannah; George W. Minkler, badly wounded 
 at the battle of Cedar Creek ; John W. Oster- 
 hout. Company K, wounded at Port Hudson, 
 discharged, July 12, 1865 ; Freeman Ostrander, 
 Company A, was a prisoner in the hands of the 
 Rebels five months, discharged July 12, 1865; 
 Robert N. Rector ; Robert M. Harris, Co. K. The 
 majority of these enlisted under Acting Company 
 Commandant, Johnston L. de Peyster, aged 16, at 
 this time a pupil of the Highland Military College. 
 
 In 1864 the following enlisted in Co. C, of this 
 regiment, Henry Miller, PhiUp H. Moore, Wallace 
 Moore, James E. Outwater. 
 
 Enlistments of 1^62, ie,oth N. Y. Inft.,Co. F. — 
 Stephen VanRensselaer Cruger,went out as ist Lieut 
 of this company, but was its actual commander at 
 Gettysburg ; Peter W. Funk was appointed Cor- 
 poral, Company F, participated in the battle of 
 Gettysburg, July 2d and 3d, 1863, and in the bat- 
 tle of Resaca, and served until close of the war ; 
 Thomas B. Paulmier, on August 26, 1862, was 
 appointed Corporal, March, 1863, Color Corporal, 
 June 27th, on the march to Gettysburg Color- 
 Sergeant Brandt having been taken sick, Paul- 
 mier received and carried the State Color ; John 
 McGill, October 15, 1862, was appointed Third 
 Sergeant of Company F, was in the battle of Dal- 
 las, Ga., May 25, 1864, promoted to Orderly Ser- 
 geant July 29, 1864, and again promoted for meri- 
 torious conduct to Second Lieutenant ; Morris O. 
 Connors, enlisted Sept. 12, discharged May 25, 
 1865 ; Robert Dowling, enlisted Sept 29 ; Thomas 
 M. Fraleigh, enlisted Sept. 31, discharged May 25, 
 1865 ; Virgil H. Group, enlisted Sept. 15, was in 
 the battle of Gettysburg, discharged June 8, 1865; 
 William Gahagan, enlisted in September, promoted 
 to Sergeant April 9, 1863, discharged June 8, 1865 ; 
 Nelson F. Hermans, enlisted Sept. 6, discharged 
 June 8, 1865 ; Eli Houghtailing, enlisted in Sept.; 
 Peter Houghtailing, enlisted Sept. 13, discharged 
 June 8, 1865; Thomas Kellon, enlisted Sept 12, 
 discharged June 8, 1865 ; John Kelly, enlisted in 
 September, discharged June 8, 1865; Richard 
 Lown, enlisted September 10, discharged June 8, 
 1865 ; Henry Miller, enlisted September 6, died at 
 Baltimore; John McGill, enUsted Oct. ist, was 
 taken prisoner June 31, 1863, discharged June 8, 
 
202 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 1865 ; Daniel H. Ostrander, enlisted Sept. 12, pro- 
 moted to Corporal, Nov. 26, 1862, to Sergeant, 
 July 27, 1864, discharged June 8, 1865; Virgil 
 Ostrander, enlisted September 6, taken prisoner at 
 Gettysburg, discharged June 8, 1865 ; Andrew Os- 
 trander, enlisted in October, discharged for disa- 
 bility; Martin Ostrander, enlisted in September, 
 discharged June 8, 1865; John E. Pultz, enlisted 
 September 6, was wounded the last of July, 
 1864, before Atlanta, and died Sept. 16, 1864, 
 buried at Chattanooga; Ezra J. Stickel, enlisted 
 September 20, promoted to Corporal in February 
 1863, died of typhoid fever at Raleigh (?) and 
 there buried; Isaac F. Smith, enlisted September 
 6, promoted to Corporal, was wounded, died, and 
 was buried on the battle-field ; James Smith, en- 
 listed September 9, discharged June 8, 1865; 
 James Smith, Jr., enlisted April i, 1863, discharged 
 June 8, 1865 ; John Sleighter, enlisted September 
 16, was wounded, and died at Washington, D. C, 
 June 15, 1864, and was buried in the Capital burial 
 ground ; Peter Showerman, enlisted September 9, 
 discharged June 8, 1865 ; Allen Showerman, en- 
 listed August 25, discharged June 8, 1865 ; Oscar 
 Stickel, enlisted in September, discharged June 8, 
 1865 ; Peter Stickel, enlisted September 6, dis- 
 charged June 8, 1865; Nicholas S. Schammer- 
 horn, enlisted September 13 ; Nelson Shaffer, en- 
 listed in October, lost an eye in the service and 
 was discharged ; John A. Wagner, enlisted Septem- 
 ber 4 ; Robert Wagner, enlisted September 3 1 ; 
 Albert Wagner, enlisted September 31, was wound- 
 ed and discharged ; Alfred Wagner, enlisted in 
 September ; Daniel Wyer, enlisted in September, 
 killed in the service. 
 
 Co. K. — William Simmons, enlisted Oct. 4 ; 
 Henry B. Rynders, enlisted in Sept.; Edward F. 
 Killmer, enlisted Oct. 4 ; Chauncy Bailey, Co. B, 
 enlisted in Sept., wounded in leg ; George W. 
 Breese ; George Bullock, Co. K, enlisted Sept. 6. 
 
 The following are the additional enlistments in 
 1862 :— 
 
 Joseph Carry, Co. B, 6sth N. Y. Inft., enlisted 
 in Sept.; Patrick Hays, Co. B, 6sth N. Y. Inft., 
 enlisted in Sept.; Dewitt Clinton, 25th N. Y. Inft, 
 enlisted January r ; Lewis Henry, (colored,) Co. 
 B, 20th N. Y. Colored Regt., enlisted Aug. 24 ; 
 Frederic Martin, Co. I, 115th N. Y. Inft., enlisted 
 in Aug., was taken prisoner, paroled and exchanged 
 in spring of 1863 ; Beekman R. Near, Co. 1, 115th 
 N. Y. Inft., enlisted Aug. 22, promoted to Sergt. 
 in Feb., 1863. 
 
 Enlistments 0/1863. — William P. Bush, of Mad- 
 
 alin, Assistant Surgeon 6ist N. Y. Volunteers, died 
 in the service from diseases contracted while in the 
 discharge of his duty ; John W. Stickel, Co. G, ist 
 N. Y. Light Artillery, enlisted in Dec; Geo. W. 
 Althiser, Co. E, 15 th N. Y. Engineers, enlisted 
 Dec. 20 ; Michael Yeagal, Co. E, 15th N. Y. En- 
 gineers, enlisted in Dec; William Burhans, Co. B, 
 20th N. Y. Colored Regt., enlisted in Dec; Charles 
 Fingar, Co. D, 14th R. I. Inft., enlisted Sept. 17 ; 
 Henry Hermans, Co. D, 14th R. I. Inft., enlisted 
 Sept. 17 ; Charles Statley, (re-enlisted,) Co. B, 5th 
 N. Y. Cavalry, enlisted Dec. r. 
 
 Enlistments 0/ 1864. — gist M Y. Heavy Artil- 
 lery, Co. A. — Dewitt Clinton, enhsted Sept. 5 ; 
 William C. Cramer, enlisted Sept. 5 ; Freeborn G. 
 Fraleigh, enlisted Aug.'3i ; Andrew Fraleigh, en- 
 listed Aug. 31, was killed March 31, 1865, at Oak 
 Roads, near Petersburgh, and buried on the field ; 
 Peter W. Fraleigh, enlisted Sept. 5 ; Nicholas 
 Hutton, enlisted Aug. 3 1 ; John H. Ham, enlisted 
 Aug. 31; David Ham, enlisted Aug. 31; Charles 
 Lewis, enlisted Aug. 31; WiUiam Near, enlisted 
 Aug. 31 ; Edwarjd H. Stickel, enlisted Sept. 2. 
 
 Co. D. — William Feller, enlisted Sept. 5 ; Isaac 
 Mead, enlisted Sept. 5 ; Alexander Paulmatier, en- 
 listed Sept. 5, died in the service of heart disease, 
 April 29, 1865 ; Adam Plass, enlisted Sept. 5 ; 
 Stephen Paulmier, enlisted Sept. 5, died in the ser- 
 vice, and was buried near Washington, D. C. 
 
 Co. I. — David W. Ostrander, enhsted August 
 31 ; James P. Overbaugh, enlisted Sept. 2, died 
 of typhoid fever at Black and White Station, Pa., 
 April 27, 1865 ; Martin B. Proper, enhsted Aug. 
 31 ; WiUiam F. Pulver, enlisted Aug. 31. 
 
 j^tk N. V. Engineers, Co. ^.— David S. Al- 
 thiser, enlisted Jan. 14; Lafayette Howard, enlisted 
 Jan. 13; Jerome Lyke, enlisted Jan. 14, discharged 
 for disability in September, 1864 j Eleazer Moore, 
 enlisted Jan. 14; Frederic Lasher, enhsted in 
 January ; Silas Van Steenburgh, enhsted in Janu- 
 ary, died at Poughkeepsie a few weeks after en- 
 Hstment. 
 
 Scattering. — Philip H. Proper, Co. E, 6ist N. 
 Y. Infantry, enUsted Aug. 8; Charles N. Lown, 
 Co. G, I St N. Y. L. Artillery, enlisted in October; 
 John Gibson, Co. L, 125th N. Y. Infantry, en- 
 listed in September; John H. Jarvis, (colored,) 
 Co. B, 20th N. Y. Colored Regiment, enlisted in 
 September, Acting Sergeant ; Edward L. Mooney, 
 Co. F, 84th N. Y. Vols., enlisted in August ; Ed- 
 gar Tompkins, Co. A, 6th N. Y. H. Artillery, en- 
 Usted September 8 ; Jacob Whitney, regiment un- 
 known, enlisted Sept. 5 ; John W. Boice, Co. F, 
 
TOWN OF RED HOOK. 
 
 203 
 
 4th N. Y. Cavalry, enlisted in April, was wounded 
 and discharged July 27, 1865 ; James Cole, Co. 
 F, 4th N. Y. Cavalry, enlisted in April, was taken 
 prisoner and has not been heard from since ; David 
 Griffen, Co. F, 4th N. Y. Cavalry, enlisted Oct. 5, 
 promoted to Corporal and Sergeant. 
 
 The various other enlistments in different regi- 
 ments, and in the navy, were as follows : — 
 
 Derick Koedam, Co. F, 96th N. Y. Infantry, 
 enlisted March 21, 1865; Leonard B. Curtis, en- 
 listed Aug. 13, 1862, on the Colorado; Charles 
 Gibson, enlisted March lo^ 1864, on the Benbill; 
 John Bates Lown, enlisted March 10, 1864, on 
 the Benbill ; Philip Lown, enlisted April 9, 1 864, 
 on the North Carolina ; David Rensselaer Pulver, 
 enlisted Dec. 8, i860, on the Minnesota; Clarence 
 Shook, enlisted Aug. 13, 1862, on the Colorado; 
 Andrew Van Steenburgh, entered the service in 
 the Navy Yard, Aug. 13, 1862; Jacob Van Steen- 
 burgh, enlisted in 1863, on the Rescue ; John 
 Stewart, Co. B, " Ulster Guard," killed at Manas- 
 sas, Aug. 30, 1862; Rufus Warrenger, Co. B, 
 "Ulster Guard," killed ,at Manassas, Aug. 30, 
 1862 ; Lieut. Warren W. Chamberlain, 14th U. S. 
 Infantry, from Lower Red Hook, previously held a 
 commission as Lieutenant in the 12th N. Y. 
 Militia, was killed near Groveton, Va. ; Charles 
 Henry Tillottson, aide to Capt. Swarthout com- 
 manding the Portsmouth, in the Mississippi River 
 fight under Admiral Farragut, in 186 1-3. 
 
 J. Watts de Peyster, Jr., in the winter ol 1861- 
 '62, left the law school of Columbia College, and 
 took a prominent place in the ranks of the Army 
 of the Potomac as volunteer aide-de-camp to his 
 cousin. General Philip Kearny. Was First Lieut, 
 in Scott's 900 Cavalry, promoted at his Majority to 
 the First New York (Morgan) Light Artillery, he 
 joined his command at Harrison's Landing, and 
 was present with his batteries during the famous 
 night attack of July 31, 1862, was then stricken 
 with malarial fever ; in the spring of 1863 he was 
 again able to lake the field; at the battle of Chan- 
 cellorsville he was Chief of Artillery of the Third 
 Division, Sedgwick's Sixth Corps. " Fighting Joe " 
 Hooker, under whose eyes de Peyster received 
 his baptism of fire at Williamsburgh, recommended 
 him for promotion to the brevet rank of Lieuten- 
 ant-Colonel, for his coolness and bravery at that 
 battle and at Chancellorsville. Lieutenant-Colonel 
 de Peyster never recovered from the effects of the 
 fever, and he was honorably discharged August 14, 
 1863. He died April 12, 1873, in New York. 
 
 Louis Livingston was appointed additional aide- 
 
 de-camp U. S. Army, with the rank of Captain, he 
 was assigned as senior aide to Brigadier-General S. 
 W. Crawford. At Antietara, his first battle, his 
 courage was so conspicuous that he received the 
 brevet of Major ; and at Gettysburg, the decisive 
 battle of the war, he is said to have accompanied his 
 General leading a decisive charge, for which he was 
 brevetted Lieutenant-Colonel. Captain Augustus 
 Barker was commissioned Second Lieutenant, De- 
 cember 4, 1861, in the sth N. Y. V. Cavalry. 
 Twice promoted for gallant and honorable service, 
 he was shot by guerrillas at Hartwood Church, 
 near Kelly's Ford, Va., on September 17, 1863, 
 and died on the ensuing day. 
 
 At MadaUn-Tivoli is erected a monument to 
 the patriots who died in their country's cause. 
 Four cannon, partially embedded in the ground, 
 breech uppermost, serve for posts, to which is at- 
 tached a chain enclosing the shaft. The cannon 
 were presented by Johnston Livingston, Eugene 
 A. Livingston, William Chamberlain, and Brevet 
 Major-General de Peyster. Upon its western side 
 it bears this inscription : — 
 
 " This Immediate Neighborhood 
 
 to her 
 
 DEFENDERS, 
 
 Who lost their lives in Suppressing the 
 
 SLAVE HOLDERS' REBELLION 
 
 and sustaining the 
 
 GOVERNMENT 
 
 OF THE PEOPLE, FOR THE PEOPLE, 
 
 BY THE PEOPLE." 
 
 The southern and eastern sides bear the follow- 
 ing names of those who were killed in battle or 
 died of wounds received upon the battle-field : — 
 
 "At Upton Hill, March 17, 1862, John Decker, 
 20th N; Y. S. M. 
 
 ''Manassas, Aug. 30, 1862, Lieut. Warren W. 
 Chamberlain, 14th U. S. I.; Alfred Lasher, George 
 Kelly, Lewis Redder, C. Gruntler, June 20th, N. 
 Y. S. M. 
 
 "ChanHlly, Sept. i, 1862, Major-General Phihp 
 Kearny, U. S. V. 
 
 ''Antietam, Sept. 17, 1862, Rufus Warringer, 
 20th N. Y. S. M. 
 
 "CkanHlly, June, 1863, John Shleterer, isoth 
 N. Y. V. 
 
 "Keliys Ford, Sept. 17, 1863, Capt. Augustus 
 Barker, 5th N. Y., C. 
 
 "Dallas, May 24, 1864, Corporal I. F. Smith, 
 iSoth N; Y. V. 
 
 "Cold Harbor, June, 1864, Henry Khne. 
 
 "Atlanta, Sept. 12, 1864, J. E. Pultz, isoth N. 
 
 Y. V. 
 
 "Winchester, September 19, 1864, Peter Wyer, 
 
 128th N. Y. V. , ^ , 
 
 "Cedar Creek, Oct. 19, 1864, Andrew Decker, 
 6th N. Y. V. Cav. 
 
204 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 "Five Forks, March 31, 1865, Andrew Fraleigh, 
 91st N. Y. V." 
 
 The north bears the names of those who died of 
 disease while in the army, or after their return 
 home, immediately in consequence of maladies in- 
 curred in the service : — 
 
 " John Corrigan, May 22, 1861. 
 
 "John D. Martin, 7th N. J. V., on Lower Poto- 
 mac, January [June?] 3, 1862. 
 
 " Hiram Risedorf, 20th N. Y. S. M., at Upton 
 JEBU, March 4, 1862. 
 
 "Eugene Livingston, 95th N. Y. V., December 
 31, 1862. 
 
 " H. N. Fisher, Assistant Surgeon, March 1 2, 
 1863. 
 
 "H. C. Muller, May 14, 1863. 
 
 "W. P. Bush, Assistant Surgeon, Oct. 3, 1863. 
 
 " Wm. Gaston, 7th N. J. V., June, 1864. 
 
 " Christian Gruntler, Sr., 20th N. Y. S. M., July 
 4, 1864. 
 
 "John Showerman, 128th N. Y. V., in New Or- 
 leans, 1864. 
 
 "Stephen H. Paulmier, 91st N.Y. V., in Wash- 
 ington, May 21, 1865. 
 
 "Ezra J. Stickle, isoth N. Y. V., in Raleigh, N. 
 C, May, 1855. 
 
 "John Van Etten, 128th N. Y. V., at Savannah, 
 Julys, 1865." 
 
 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 
 
 THE DE PEYSTER FAMILY. 
 
 It is somewhat remarkable that the idea presented 
 by Solomon as to physical progression in a circle — 
 " Unto the place from whence the rivers come, 
 thither they return again " in many instances applies 
 to families. It has certainly applied to the owner 
 of Rose Hill. Two hundred years ago his ances- 
 tors owned much land, and successive generations 
 of progenitors resided where they are now to be 
 found. In the very mansion in which his grand- 
 father, Frederic de Peyster, married his wife, Helen 
 Hake, about ninety years ago, General de Pey- 
 ster found his wife, Estelle Livingston, belonging 
 to the same race. The fact is^ all the leading 
 families in the Colony of the New Netherlands, af- 
 terwards the Province of New York, had not only 
 become connected by marriage before the com- 
 mencement of the Revolution, but in many instan- 
 ces they were knit together by the strongest and 
 closest additional ties of blood. 
 
 Brig.-Gen., Brevet Major-Gen. S. N. Y., John 
 Watts de Peyster, is the immediate representa- 
 tive of two families who exercised a leading in- 
 fluence in the Colony and Province of New York, 
 and filled the most important offices under the 
 Dutch and EngUsh administrations, through his 
 paternal and maternal, as well as collateral lines, 
 
 by reciprocal marriages with Wattses, de Lanceys, 
 Coldens, Livingstons, Beekmans, Schuylers, van 
 Cortlandts and other prominent stems. 
 
 The first of the de Peyster name, Johannis I., 
 who came to this country about 1645, was the scion 
 of an exiled or refugee French Protestant family, 
 and was a young man of means for the period and 
 of unusual ability. He was descended from one of 
 the unhappy Huguenot famiUes who were com- 
 pelled to leave France after the Massacre of St. 
 Bartholomew, August 24, 1572. The other mem- 
 bers of this circle were scattered far and wide by 
 this cruel, crimson cataclysm. One wandered as 
 far east as. Greece (?), others settled in Holland, 
 another in England. 
 
 Johannis, born in Haarlem (Holland) — ^where he 
 married his wife, Cornelia Lubbertse, a native of 
 the same place — transferred his fortunes to the 
 New World. He brought with him many curious 
 articles of furniture, some beautiful pictures, por- 
 traits, and articles of silver, which for their concep- 
 tion and execution are equal to any manufactured 
 at this time. His first commission on record, was 
 that of Adelborst (Cadet) in one of the city com- 
 panies. This shows he must have been very young 
 when he first came over, and consequently it is 
 likely that he returned to Holland for his wife, who 
 survived him. He was one of "The Six," who 
 were associated to draw up the first charter for the 
 city of New Amsterdam, now New York. He 
 filled, successively, between 1655 and 1677, the 
 offices of Schepen, Burgomaster, Alderman and 
 Deputy Mayor. On the 15th of October, 1677, 
 he was appointed Mayor of New York, but de- 
 clined the promotion in consequence of his imper- 
 fect acquaintance with the English language. His 
 descendants were all distinguished for their public 
 spirit and activity in connection with the affairs of 
 the city. One of his grand-daughters was the mother 
 of William Alexander, titular Earl of Stirling, Ma- 
 jor-General in the Continental ai-my. Griswold, in 
 his rare work, " Washington and his Generals of 
 the Revolution," (I., 165,) observes, "his mother 
 was an extraordinary person." Those who knew 
 her personally, and lived to relate their early expe- 
 riences to individuals still alive, confirmed this re- 
 mark, adding that her unusual mental charms and 
 capacity were not more striking than her graces of 
 face and figure. 
 
 The eldest son of Johannis I., Abraham I., was 
 one of the most distinguished men in the Colony 
 in which he was born, July 8th, 1647. April sth, 
 1684, during a visit to Amsterdam, he married his 
 kinswoman, Catherina de Peyster. Abraham held 
 successively the offices of Alderman, 1685 ; Mayor, 
 169 1 -'95 J Judge of the Supreme Court j Member 
 of the King's Council; and as presiding officer.of the 
 same, was acting Governor in 1700. He was also 
 Colonel commanding the MiUtia (one company 
 Horse, and eight companies Foot, 685 men,) be- 
 longing to the city and county of New York. In 
 1 706, he was appointed Treasurer of the Provinces 
 of New York and New Jersey. Few men have 
 exhibited more patriotism than he did in crises. 
 
'T'^?^, W^^ 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 
 
 205 
 
 Although this sketch is coniined to direct de- 
 scent, still it is impossible to refrain from men- 
 tioning other members of the family who have 
 peculiarly distinguished themselves. One of the 
 grandsons of Abraham I. was the good and gallant 
 Col. Arent Schuyler de Peyster, who received his 
 first commission as Ensign in the deservedly cele- 
 brated Eighth, "the King's" Regiment of British 
 Foot, (known in 1688, as " Princess Anne's Regi- 
 ment,") June loth, 1755, and rose through a long 
 period of interesting and important service to its 
 command, October 12th, 1793. 
 
 For many years, as Captain and Major, he was 
 stationed on the remote frontier, particularly at 
 Michilimackinac. While at this post his control of 
 the Indian tribes was exercised for good. After 
 the Revolution became a certainty, he more than 
 once was called upon to bring them from the re- 
 motest points of the West and North-west, to par- 
 ticipate in operations which culminated in conflicts 
 on Lake Champlain and on the Hudson and its 
 affluents. Curious to state, one of his first orders 
 in this connection was dated July 4th, 1776. As a 
 subaltern he was one of the first British officers to 
 explore the region about Lake George, and he re- 
 corded the incidents of his visit in his " Miscella- 
 nies." This rare work — now almost unattainable 
 — containing a large amount of valuable and inter- 
 esting information in connection with the Indians 
 and the period, published at Dumfries some ninety 
 years ago, has been a mine te historians. Colonel, 
 then Lieutenant de Peyster built, on the site of 
 the Porter mansion, a saw-mill, worked by the 
 water-power of " the Rapids," at Niagara Falls in 
 1767, one of the first, if not the first civilized con- 
 struction at that point. 
 
 About the end of the eighteenth century. Col. 
 de Peyster settled at Dumfries, Scotland, and re- 
 sided at a country-seat named " Mavis (Lark) Hall." 
 He hes buried under an imposing monument in the 
 chapel-yard of " St. Michael's " in that city. Here, 
 " towards the close of his life, he was called upon 
 to embody, disciphne and command the First Regi- 
 ment of Dumfries Volunteers, organized to defend 
 the United Kingdom against the successive French 
 revolutionary governments. The poet Burns car- 
 ried a musket in this regiment, and to this Col. de 
 Peyster, he addressed in 1796, his sparkling verses 
 sometimes entitled " A Poem on Life." 
 
 The nephew and namesake of the colonel, Arent 
 Schuyler de Peyster, junior, was quite a distin- 
 guished navigator and explorer of the Pacific and 
 the western coasts of America, when both as yet 
 were little known to our people. No sensational 
 romance ever written, could embody more start- 
 ling adventures than fell to his lot. During one 
 voyage, in 1809, he discovered several groups of 
 islands to the north of the Fiji Archipelago, one 
 of these comprising seventeen islands. One of 
 considerable size bears his name, the de Peyster 
 or Peyster Group. Another circlet of islets, sur- 
 rounding a large lagoon, in the South Pacific, he 
 named after a friend, Mr. EUice. He was on the 
 South American coast at the same time when the 
 
 celebrated Admiral Cochrane was operating against 
 the Spaniards; and the one in blockading the ports, 
 then Spanish, and the other in running the block- 
 ade, came in contact more than once. 
 
 Abraham II., eldest son of Abraham I., married' 
 Margaret, eldest daughter of Jacobus van Cortlandt. 
 He succeeded his father as Treasurer of New 
 York and New Jersey. His benevolence has 
 been celebrated in the work devoted to a 
 description of the startling " Adventures of Mons. 
 Viaud. The whole city turned out to accom- 
 pany his remains to their last resting-place. He 
 was a gentleman of large means, and very com- 
 manding influence, both personally and through 
 his powerful connections, as Smith in his history 
 admits — although the historian was a bitter polit- 
 ical enemy of the de Peyster, Watts, and de 
 Lancey families, and those united to them through 
 blood or marriage. He died September 17, 1767, 
 universally respected, regretted and beloved. His 
 fifth son, Frederic — from his elegance of dress and 
 deportment, known as the " Marquis," — was ap- 
 pointed Treasurer in his room. This son Frederic 
 did not serve, but resigned the position to go to 
 France to inherit an estate left him by Madame 
 van der Hulst de Peyster of Rouen. 
 
 James I., the eldest son of Abraham II., mar- 
 ried Sarah, daughter of Hon. Joseph Reade, Mem- 
 ber of the King's Council. Her brother, John 
 Reade, was the owner of the land and point now 
 in possession of Johnston Livingston, known as 
 Reade Hoek; and from this circumstance the 
 town of Red Hook took its name. Margaret, 
 the eldest daughter of James, married Colonel 
 Thomas James, commandant of the (single) Brit- 
 ish Regiment of Royal Artillery. Of her three 
 brothers, Abraham III., at the age of 23, was senior 
 captain in the 4th or King's American Regiment ; 
 James II., about 20, was Captain-Lieutenant, com- 
 manding Colonel's Company, Grenadiers, of the 
 same regiment; and Frederic I., before he was 18, 
 was Captain of an Independent Loyal Company, 
 known as the "Nassau (Long Island) Blues," 
 and afterwards Captain in the N. Y. Vols, or 
 King's (third) American Regiment. All these 
 troops were organized by the British government 
 to oppose the rebellion or revolution of the 
 Thirteen Colonies. 
 
 The line through Abraham III.— the oldest sur- 
 viving son — failed through the successive death of 
 all the males, without male issue. James II. left 
 no children ; and James (III.) F., the eldest son of 
 Frederic I., became the head of the family, although 
 Frederic, III., the youngest surviving son, is much 
 the best known and most eminent. 
 
 Frederic (I.) de Peyster married, in the house 
 of her great-uncle Gilbert R. Livmgston, Helen, 
 only daughter of Commissary-General Samuel 
 Hake, B. A. The house referred to, and doubtless 
 known in 1800 as "Green Hill," was purchased 
 about 1 8 1 o by John S. Livingston. This was the only 
 edifice in this neighborhood spared by the British 
 when they ascended the Hudson in 1777. It was 
 preserved because the owner was a Loyahst and 
 
206 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 had been an officer in the Royal service. The 
 mother of Helen (Hake) de Peyster was Helen 
 Livingston, eldest daughter of Robert Gilbert Liv- 
 ingston, eldest son of Gilbert, second son of the 
 first Lord of Livingston Manor, who settled in 
 Duchess County; his brothers having their estates 
 in what is now known as Columbia County. Rob- 
 ert Gilbert Livingston married Catherine McPhead- 
 res, daughter of a rich landed proprietor, who at 
 that time resided in Duchess County. Captain 
 McPheadres, like the Gilbert Branch of the Liv- 
 ingston family, the de Peyster, Watts, and other 
 kindred stocks, adhered to the Crown, and like all 
 the Loyalists atoned for his adherence to principle 
 by the confiscation of his property. 
 
 Frederic IL, youngest and only (1881) surviv- 
 ing son of Frederic (L) de Peyster, married Mary 
 Justina, youngest child and daughter of Hon. John 
 Watts, II. 
 
 Robert Watt or Watts, the first of his family in 
 America, was the second son of John Watt, of Rose 
 Hill, thus styled — mentioned in Burke's Peerage, 
 1850, (p. 836.) and other similar works — in connec- 
 tion with the marriager of his daughter, Margaret, 
 with Sir Walter Riddell, Bart. This Robert, born 
 in Edinburgh, came out to New York towards the 
 close of the seventeenth century and married, 
 about 1706, Mary, daughter of William NicoUs 
 or NicoU, Esq., of NicoU Manor, or IsUp, 
 on Long Island, N. Y. Robert Watts intended to 
 return to, and re-settle in Scotland, but the death 
 of his first two children at Edinburgh, in 1724, 
 determined his remaining in America. John Watts, 
 the son of the above Robert and Mary, was one 
 of the most noted men in the Colony or Province 
 of New York. After fiUing a number of public 
 offices with credit to himself and benefit to his 
 fellow-citizens, he was made a member of the 
 King's Council, and, had the mother country suc- 
 ceeded in putting down the Rebellion, he was des- 
 tined to be the Lieutenant-Governor and acting 
 Governor of the Province. He was the first Pres- 
 ident of the New York City Hospital. His town- 
 house was in Pearl street, near Whitehall, and was 
 consumed in the great fire of 1776, and his coun- 
 try residence. Rose Hill, between the Bloomingdale 
 and Old Post Roads and the East River, and be- 
 tween Twenty-first and Twenty-seventh streets, 
 covered about fifty-four whole and half blocks in 
 the 1 8th ward of the city of New York. 
 
 His letters to Gen. Monckton, accidentally dis- 
 covered in England, and published by the Massa- 
 chusetts Historical Society, present the best pic- 
 tures of men and manners, politics and public 
 feeling, just previous to the outbreak of the Amer- 
 ican Revolution, of any that have been preserved 
 or recovered. Like his son John, he was a monu- 
 ment of affliction. Driven into exile by an un- 
 grateful populace whose rights he had always en- 
 deavored to maintain, his elegant property was con- 
 fiscated ; although, through absence from the coun- 
 try.he should have been excepted from the effects of 
 such an iniquitous act of spoliation and vengeance. 
 His noble, stately, and handsonae wife,' Ann de 
 
 Lancey, died of a broken heart in New York and her 
 husband a martyr to duty and loyalty in exile in 
 Wajes, Jan. 22, 1794, and was buried in St. James 
 Church, Piccadilly, London. Of their children, 
 Robert, the eldest son, married Mary, eldest daugh- 
 ter of William Alexander, Ma:jor-General in the 
 Continental Army, and titular Earl of Stirling ; 
 Ann, their eldest daughter, married Hon. Archi- 
 bald Kennedy, and became Countess of Cassilis ; 
 Susan married PhiUp Kearny and was mother of 
 Major-General Stephen Watts Kearny, the conr 
 querorof New Mexico and CaUfornia ; Mary mar- 
 ried Sir John Johnson, Bart., and like her father, 
 suffered the pains of exile and confiscation of proper- 
 ty ; Stephen, was the famous Major Watts, of Oris- 
 kany; and John, the public benefactor, married Jane 
 de Lancey, youngest daughter of Peter de Lancey, 
 "of the Mills," Westchester county, N. Y., and 
 was, — through his youngest child and daughter, 
 the lovely and' intellectual Mary Justina, — the 
 grandfather of General John Watts de Peyster, of 
 Rose Hill. ' 
 
 Frederic (II.) de Peyster — father of General 
 de Peyster — occupies an enviable position. After 
 attaining a ripeness of years — 85 — which is reached 
 by very few in the fullness of health and intelli- 
 gence, he is reaping a full harvest, the fruits of a 
 life of virtue, industry and ability. He is, and has 
 been for years, President of the New York His- 
 torical Society, of the Board of Trustees of the 
 New York Society Library and of the St. Nicholas 
 Club. In addition to these he occupies important 
 positions in connection with a number of societies 
 — charitable, literary and business. He has been 
 President of the St. Nicholas Society. He is au- 
 thor of a number of historical works of the highest 
 merit, which have won for him a reputation at 
 home and abroad such as few amateur writers 
 enjoy. 
 
 Frederic de Peyster (II), LL. D., H. F. R. H. 
 S. G. B., has been a Member of the N. Y. Histor- 
 ical society since January, 1824; Corresponding 
 Secretary, i827-'28, 1838-1843; Secretary, 1829- 
 '37; Foreign Corresponding Secretary, 1844; Sec- 
 ond Vice-President, 1850- '63; President, 1864- 
 '66, 1873-81 ; Member of Executive Committee, 
 either by appointment or ex-officio, since 1827. 
 
 He was also Vice-President of the Association 
 of the Alumni of Columbia College, Vice-Presi- 
 dent of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty 
 to Children; for over fifty years Clerk of the 
 Board of Trustees of the Leake and Watts Or- 
 phan House, founded by the father of his wife, 
 Mary Justina Watts; Senior Warden of Ascension 
 Church ; Vice-President of the Home of the In- 
 curables; one of three, Committee on Instruction, 
 Institution for the Instruction of the Deaf and 
 Dumb; Trustee of the Bible and Common Prayer 
 Book Society; Honorary Member of the Royal 
 Historical Society of Great Britain, &c., &c., &c.; 
 formerly prominently connected with the Soldiers' 
 and Sailors' Home, at Bath, Steuben county, N.Y., 
 and with the Halleck and the Farragut Monument 
 Associations. 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 
 
 207 
 
 He is the author'of a number of obituary notices, 
 pamphlets and addresses, amounting in matter and 
 value to volumes, the latest of the series being his 
 " Address on the Life and Administration of Rich- 
 ard, Earl of Bellomont," an exquisite production, 
 both as a Uterary and publishing effort, illustrated 
 with portraits taken by a peculiar process from 
 originals in possession of the author, and fac- 
 similes of manuscripts from originals among the 
 treasures of tlie New York Historical Society. The 
 most remarkable facts connected with this address 
 are that it was prepared and delivered by a gentle- 
 man 83 years of age, the delivery occupying one 
 hour and three- quarters. How very few persons 
 who have reached this advanced term would have 
 been able to make such a physical effort ; much 
 more prepare for it by long and arduous study and 
 labor. It is probable that Mr. de Peyster has 
 ready for the rostrum and printer, unpublished, 
 ist. A Brief Sketch of the New York Society 
 Library, with Proofs of its [comparative as regards 
 this country] Antiquity; 2d. A Review of the Ad- 
 ministration of Governor, Col. Benjamin Fletcher, 
 the iaii predecessor of the gooei Bellomont. Mr. 
 de Peyster's five principal works : — ist. The Cul- 
 ture Demanded by the Age; 2d. William III. as 
 a Reformer ; 3d. Prominent Men ef the English 
 Revolution ; 4th. Life and Administration of Earl 
 Bellomont; 5th. Early Political History of New 
 York ; have been pronounced by a competent 
 . judge as " worthy productions — accurate, logical 
 and scholarly." 
 
 Gen. de Peyster, like his father, has been one of 
 the most industrious of literary workers. He has 
 published a small library of volumes and pamphlets 
 on historical, military and miscellaneous subjects, 
 incliiding poems, besides contributing long series 
 of articles to monthlies, weeklies and dailies, par- 
 ticularly in connection with the American Revolu- 
 tion and " Slave-holders' RebelUon." 
 
 He married Estelle Livingston, daughter of 
 John S. Livingston and Anna Maria Martina 
 Thompson, only daughter of Capt. William 
 Thompson, an officer in the Pennsylvania Line of 
 the Revolutionary army. Strange to say, the 
 General and his wife belong to the same generation 
 — the seventh — the first through the second and 
 the second through the first— from the first Lord 
 of Livingston Manor, and they both resided and 
 still live on land, or adjoining that of ancestors 
 who owned it six generations previous. They have 
 had five children — two daughters, the eldest, Estelle 
 Elizabeth, married to James B. Toler, Esq., and 
 the youngest, Maria Livingston, who died a child; 
 also three sons, all of whom were in the Union 
 service. 
 
 Just as, in 1775, the de Peysters adhered to the 
 government under which they had prospered, and 
 "paid the last full measure of devotion " to Loyalty 
 and duty to the Crown, just so, in 1861-5, they 
 were found, again, in the front rank of loyalty 
 and duty to the Union. 
 
 The services rendered to his country by Col. J. 
 Watts de Peyster, Jr., born December z, 1841, 
 
 and who died April 12, 1873, in his native city 
 of New York, are best told in the reports and by 
 the attests of his superiors, and are almost suffi- 
 ciently summed up through the quotations inscribed 
 upon his monument, hereinbefore cited. 
 
 One piece of duty, however, performed by this 
 young officer, has never been sufficiently dwelt 
 upon, and is best told in the language of another 
 Union officer, Major-General Alexander Shaler, 
 U. S. v., who had the amplest opportunities of 
 judging of its value. 
 
 Just after this gallant soldier came back from' 
 the war, he met Gen. de Peyster- in the Street and 
 got to talking to the latter about the battle of Chan- 
 cellorsville, or, rather, Fredericksburg ad. Shaler 
 said, " de Peyster, when we were marching down 
 to Bank's Ford, I can recall with what attention 
 we listened to the thunder of Howe's artillery on 
 the heights above. I said to myself, as long as 
 those guns keep on talking at that rate, I feel that 
 we are safe, for they are holding off the Rebs, that 
 would otherwise press us as we continue on down 
 to the bridge of boats. I kept my ear fixed on 
 those guns and, while we were crossing, still on 
 those guns. When we were safely over the river, 
 Howe's artillery was still bellowing away, but the 
 sound came nearer and nearer, and more and 
 more distinct. Pretty soon the leading regiments 
 of Howe's Division came filing down to the bridge, 
 but the guns were still going. Those guns saved 
 the Sixth Corps. The man who handled those 
 guns must have been a brave and a capable 
 fellow." 
 
 Upon this Gen. de Peyster remarked, " Shaler, 
 you are paying me a great compliment." 
 
 Shaler looked surprised. "Why? How so? 
 What had you to do with those guns ?" 
 
 "A' great deal,", de Peyster answered, "the 
 Chief of Howe's Division Artillery was my eldest 
 son and namesake. He handled those guns." 
 
 " Well," said Shaler, " I did not know that your 
 son was there. This, however, is a fact, Howe's 
 artillery saved the Sixth Corps that day, and, if 
 your son was in command of that artillery, he 
 proved himself a brave and capable officer." 
 
 Gen. Howe sent Gen. de Peyster the most magnifi- 
 cent attest in regard to his son's behavior on this 
 occasion, and Gen. Owens was hardly less eulo- 
 gistic ; Owens told and wrote Gen. de Peyster that 
 his son. Watts, behaved in such an admirable man- 
 ner that he remained under fire at the risk of his 
 life to see him handle his artillery and give the 
 Rebels fits. 
 
 Gen. Shaler also furnished, about the same time, 
 a communication to this, the same effect : 
 
 " I am not aware of the name of the officer who 
 commanded Howe's Division Artillery, but all I 
 can say is that Ae did his duty well and in the most 
 admirable manner. Had not Howe been the obsti- 
 nate and superior officer he ever proved himself to 
 be. the Sixth Army Corps would have 'gone in' 
 under the Rebel pressure at the Bank's Ford. Howe 
 fought his division with distinguished ability and 
 tenacity, and the combined action of his infantry 
 
2g8 . 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 and Chief of Artillery deserve the highest praise 
 for the admirable manner in which they discharged 
 their responsible duties. The Howe Division ar- 
 tillery was handled with great gallantry and effect, 
 and, in conjunction with its infantry supports, they 
 together had a marked effect in preserving the 
 Sixth Corps and in enabling it to make a success- 
 ful retrograde in the face of a victorious [as to gen- 
 eral results] enemy." 
 
 Col. Frederic de Peyster, Jr., — born December 
 i2, 1842, at New York, died October 30, 1874, at 
 Rose Hill, — served comparatively but a short time 
 in the " Great American Conflict," but sufficiently 
 long, to entail what Lincoln styled the "last full 
 measure of devotion," and finally, through the con- 
 sequences of his loyalty, died a martyr to duty 
 faithfully performed. Like his elder brother, how 
 he carried himself in the presence of the enemy 
 and in the field has its best attest in the language 
 of officers of rank and experience who saw and ad- 
 mired him there. Perhaps the most extraordinary 
 ■achievement in which he participated, was when 
 Gen. B. F. Butler, on the night of JMay, 13-14, 
 1 86 1, with a wing of the 8th New York Militia and 
 another of the 6th Massachusetts MiUtia and Va- 
 rian's Battery of Artillery belonging to the 8th New 
 York MiUtia, took the perfidious' city of Baltimore 
 by the throat and choked it into a sullen submis- 
 sion, which kept it from farther exhibitions of its 
 innate wickedness during the rest of the war. 
 
 Col. Frederic de Peyster, Jr., married Mary, 
 only daughter of Clermont Livingston, (eldest 
 grandson of Chancellor Livingston,) of Clermont, 
 proper, and Cornelia, only daughter of Herman 
 Livingston of Oak Hill. They had two children, 
 Mary, who died a few days before her father, and 
 Clermont Livingston, who survives. 
 
 * * * » » * 
 
 Within the last thirty-five years the United States 
 has been engaged in two wars which resulted tri- 
 umphantly for the National and Union arms. Both 
 of these were virtually terminated by the capture of 
 the Capital (1847) of Mexico, and of the "Slave- 
 holders' Rebellion," Richmond, (1865). In both 
 instances the colors of the United States were 
 hoisted by officers born immediately adjoining, or 
 in the town of Red Hook ; in the first place by 
 Major-General John Quitman, in the second by 
 Lieutenant (now Colonel) Johnston L. de Peyster. 
 The former was the son of the pastor of the Luth- 
 eran — known as the " Stone Church" — at Pink's 
 Corner, or Monterey, on the Old Post Road, about 
 a half a mile below the southern limit of the town- 
 ship of Red Hook, who after the war, returned and 
 had a re-union of his friends at Lower Red Hook, 
 as the representative center of the neighbohood to 
 which he felt that he belonged. The latter was 
 born at Rose Hill, near Tivoli station, and is now 
 the owner of the " Chateau of Tivoli," from which 
 the locality takes its name. He was brevetted Lieut - 
 Col. U. S. v., and Colonel N. Y. V. for this deed 
 done by him in his eighteenth year. According to 
 the decision of General Scott in 1848 (as cited by 
 Rear-Admiral Preble in his " History of the Flag 
 
 of the U. S. A." p. 537), the grateful service of a 
 formal occupation of Mexico was reserved to Gen- 
 eral Quitman by his hoisting the colors of the 
 United States on the National Palace. In the 
 same manner the honor of raising the '■'■first real 
 American flag, " to use the words of Major-General 
 G. Weitzel, over the Capitol of the Confederate 
 States, and the formal occupation of that edifice, 
 belonged to Lieut. Johnston L. de Peyster. This 
 feat he proposed to do nearly a week before the 
 opportunity was really presented ; and he carried 
 on his saddle-bow the flag entrusted to him, ex- 
 pecting to encounter the perils of an assault, and 
 he hoisted it assisted by Capt. Langdon, ist U. S. 
 Artillery. General Shepley looked forward with 
 horror to the storming, which he considered inev- 
 itable, as he set forth in an article entitled, " Inci- 
 dents of the Capture of Richmond," published in 
 the Atlantic Monthly Magazine for July, 1880. 
 Admiral Farragut gave it as his opinion, that the 
 fact that the assault did not take place did not 
 detract in the slightest degree from the credit due 
 to Lieut, de Peyster for his act, which General 
 Grant observed put the seal to the termination of 
 the RebeUion. General Adam Badeau, author of 
 the " Military History of U. S. Grant," wrote to 
 General de Peyster from Jamaica, L. I., Dec. 24, 
 1880, that General Grant decided that the cavalry 
 guidons are not to be considered " National flags." 
 " I shall therefore state [as Gen. Badeau did in his 
 History] that Lieut, de Peyster raised the first flag 
 over Richmond." In his " Life of Gen. Grant" 
 (Vol. III., page 543) Gen. Badeau uses the follow- 
 ing words, " Lieut, de Peyster, of Weitzel's staff, a 
 New York stripling, eighteen years of age, was the 
 first to raise the National colors, and then in the 
 morning light of the 3d of April, the flag of the 
 United States once more floated over Richmond." 
 
 A great many invidious persons have undertaken 
 to detract from the glory of the capture of Rich- 
 mond by Weitzel, on Monday morning, April 3, 
 1865, because it was achieved at no cost of blood 
 or life. Ignorance is their only excuse. Weitzel 
 had orders from Grant to assault on the 3d, a. m., 
 and not only to assault, but to do so at the immi- 
 nent risk of being bloodily repulsed. The idea was, 
 that by this active demonstration, this terrible sac- 
 rifice — Longstreet occupying the strongest works 
 in front of Richmond, on the north side of the 
 James, with numbers superior to those under Weit- 
 zel — ^would, if thus assaulted boldly and persistent- 
 ly find himself unable, not knowing Weitzel's com- 
 parative feebleness of force, to send re-enforcements 
 across the James to Lee, and thus the latter [Lee] 
 would not have men enough to garnish, adequately, 
 the defences of Petersburgh, and consequently 
 Grant could at length carry his entrenchments and 
 overwhelm the Rebel Army of Northern Virginia. 
 
 Is was under these circumstances that Colonel- 
 then Lieutenant — Johnston Livingston de Peys- 
 ter, Aide-de-Camp to General Shepley, and con- 
 sequently attached to the staff of General Weitzel; 
 wrote a letter to one of his friends, a letter dis- 
 patched in the firm conviction that he was about to 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 
 
 209 
 
 venture his life in a supreme effort, in which the 
 vast majority of the chances were adverse to his 
 success and to his escaping unscathed. 
 
 The narrative of this exploit is told at length by 
 Rear Admiral George Henry Preble, U. S. N., in 
 his " History of the Flag of the U. S. A.," pp. 536- 
 8, and through the official attest of Hon. Geo. W. 
 McCirary, Secretary of War, Washington, May 25, 
 
 1877. 
 
 Admiral Preble observes that Lieut, de 
 Peyster, then in the eighteenth year of his 
 age, was a member of one of the oldest 
 families of colonial New York, and aUied 
 with nearly every family of consequence in 
 that State. He entered the army to seek 
 glory, and doubtless felt that the honor of a 
 long line of ancestors was placed in his 
 especial keeping. 
 
 Two small guidons, belonging to the 
 Fourth Regiment of Massachusetts Cavalry, 
 were found on the roof of the Capitol by 
 Lieutenant de Peyster and CaptainrLangdon, 
 which had been placed there by Major, 
 Stevens and Major Graves, members of the 
 military staff of General Weitzel, who had 
 accompanied the party of cavalry which was 
 sent forward in pursuit of the fugitive enemy. 
 By an unauthorized detour they raised the 
 guidons of their party on the roof of the 
 abandoned Capitol. 
 
 The hoisting of these guidons failed to 
 secure the "grateful service," as it was styled 
 in Mexico by General Scott, of a formal pos- 
 session of the Capitol at Richmond, and as 
 was reserved to General Quitman, in the 
 former case, the honor of formal occupation, 
 by "hoisting the colors of the United States 
 on the National Palace," so to Lieutenant de 
 Peyster and Captain Langdon rightfully be- 
 longs the honor of hoisting the colors of the 
 United States over the Capitol of the Con- 
 federate States and the formal occupation of 
 that edifice. 
 
 Two days after the event, (April sth,) 
 General Weitzel wrote to the father of de 
 Peyster : — 
 
 "Your son, Lieut. J. de Peyster, and 
 Captain Langdon, my Chief of Artillery, 
 raised the first real American flag over the 
 Capitol in Richmond. It was a flag formerly 
 belonging to the Twelfth Maine Volunteers. Two 
 cavalry guidons had, however, been placed over 
 the building previously by two of my staff officers ; 
 these were replaced by the flag that de Peyster 
 and Langdon raised. Yours truly, 
 
 " G. Weitzel, Maj.-Gen." 
 
 April 2 2d, General Shepley wrote his father : — 
 
 "Your son, Lieut, de Peyster, raised i}a& first 
 flag in Richmond, replacing two small cavalry 
 guidons on the Capitol. The flag is in the pos- 
 session of Major-General Weitzel; I enclose a 
 small piece of the flag. The history of the affair 
 is this : I brought with me from Norfolk an old 
 
 storm-flag, which I had used in New Orleans, re- 
 marking sportively, that it would do to float over 
 the Capitol in Richmond, where I hoped to see it. 
 De Peyster, who heard the remark, said, ' General 
 will you let me raise it ?' I said, 'Yes, if you will 
 bring it with you, and take care of it, you shall 
 raise it in Richmond.' As we left our lines to ad- 
 vance towards Richmond, Lieut, de Peyster said, 
 ' General, do you remember your promise about 
 
 Hoisting First Real American Flag over the Capitol of the captured Rebel Capital, 
 Richmond, Monday, 3d April, 1 865, by Lt-Col. Johnston Livingston de Peyster, A.D.C. 
 
 the flag ?' I said, 'Yes, go to my tent and get the 
 flag, and carry it on your saddle, and I will send 
 you' to raise it.' The result you know." 
 
 On the I St of May, 1865, the Governor of the 
 State of New York honored Lieut, de Peyster with 
 a brevet Lieutenant-Colonel's commission, for 
 gallant and meritorious conduct, and for hoisting 
 the first American flag over Richmond, Va., after 
 the capture by the Union forces, April 3d, 1865, 
 and as a testimonial of the zeal, fidelity and cour- 
 age with which he had maintained the honor of the 
 State of New York in her efforts to enforce the laws 
 of the United States, the supremacy of the Con- 
 stitution, and a republican form of government. 
 
 On Christmas day, 1865, the city of New York 
 by a formal vote, tendered to him the Thanks ot 
 
HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 the City, for giving to New York this historic 
 honor. The United States Senate subsequently 
 confirmed his nomination as a brevet Lieutenant- 
 polonel of United States Volunteers for the same 
 service. The Governor of New York finally gav'e 
 him a brevet of full Colonel for this achievement, 
 which could only be performed once and by one 
 man in the history of the country. 
 
 Admiral Farragut, whose 
 name is a synonym for patri- 
 otism and every heroic quali- 
 ty, and who endorsed the rec- 
 ommendation for Lieut, de 
 Peyster's brevets, expressed 
 the opinion that the fact that 
 the Union troops were not 
 opposed in their occupation 
 of Richmond, and that 
 Lieut, de Peyster hoisted 
 "Z'^if FIRST REAL American 
 FLAG " over the rebel Cap- 
 itol, did not detract from the 
 merits of the deed. He said 
 the intent was all sufficient ; 
 that when Lieut, de Peyster 
 undertook the performance' 
 he expected — as he previ- 
 ously wrote home — to fulfil 
 it at the peril of his Ufe, and 
 therefore the altered condi- 
 tion of circumstances be- 
 yond his control could not 
 lessen his credit or claims 
 to reward. Other military 
 chiefs took the same view of 
 the case. In the light of such 
 opinions Lieut, de Peyster promptly received from 
 the United States, his native. State, and the City 
 for which his direct ancestor assisted in framing its 
 first charter, the rewards and acknowledgment to 
 which he was clearly entitled, and which to obtain 
 he had bravely and cheerfully put his young Ufe in 
 the most iniminent peril.* 
 
 ROSE HILL, the country-seat of Gen. John 
 Watts de Peyster, is one of the loveliest spots con- 
 ceivable. It is especially so through the care taken 
 to preserve the primeval trees, of which there were 
 nearly fifty varieties upon the grounds. The latter 
 are suffered to remain, as far as possible, in their 
 natural and romantic wildness. There are ravines 
 spanned/by simple bridges, precipices, a small arti- 
 ficial lakelet, hills, dales, dells, and curious roads 
 climbing rough elevations ; all under the shade of 
 a forest in which evergreens predominate, so that 
 the demesne, overhead, appears almost as green 
 
 * Comijare ! i. " The American Conflict : a History of the Great Re- 
 belhon " in the U. S. A., by Horace Oreeley, II , 1867, pp. yjyS. i. 
 ' Harpers' Pictorial History of the Great Rebellion," 1868, part II., pp. 
 765-6. .,. " Pictorial History of the Civil War in the U. S .''^ by Benson 
 i. ■^o,¥"&„™'- III' ;868, pp. 547-50. 4. "History of the American 
 Civil War," by John Wilham Draper, M. D., LL. D., N. Y., 1870, pp. 
 577-8. j. Atlantic Monthly ; " Incidents of the Capture of Richmond," 
 by Maj.-Gen. George F. Shepley, July, 1880, pp. 18-28. 6. "The His- 
 tmyofthe First Regiment of [U. S] Artillery," Fort Preble, Portland, 
 Maine, 1879, pp. Ji8, 46J. etc. 7. "Boys in Blue." 8. "The Volun- 
 teer." 9. " The Soldier's Friend." 
 
 after the deciduous trees have shed their foliage as 
 when they were in full leaf. 
 
 The long avenue is another striking feature, and 
 the color of the roadbed, bistre-grey, harmonizes 
 with the bordering trees, deciduous and evergreen 
 alternating, that form a long continuous arch over- 
 head ; midway one patriarchal white oak throws an 
 enormous branch across the road to meet the op- 
 
 ("ROSE HILL"— RESIDENCE OF JOHN WATTS de PEYSTER.) 
 
 posite trees^-wild pear and silver pine — which 
 spring up and mingle their varied green to consti- 
 tute a massive span such as is rarely seen without 
 the assistance of careful cultivation. 
 
 The domain takes its name from the country- 
 place of the owner's great-grandfather, Hon. John 
 Watts, Senior, in the city of New York, on a por- 
 tion of which property the General's city residence 
 is erected. This original estate gave its name to a 
 large district of N. E. New Yojk a half century 
 since, and embraced the grounds now occupied by 
 Belle vue Hospital. The original title was derived 
 frsm an estate in Scotland, just outside, but now 
 within the limits of Edinburgh, wherein the old 
 mansion, " Rose Hill," is ttill standing, massive 
 and almost intact, although the grounds have been 
 perverted to utilitarian purposes. About two 
 hundred years ago its owner was known fronj this 
 property as " John Watt, of Rose Hill," in con- 
 nection with the marriage of his daughter, 
 Margaret to Sir Walter Riddell, Bart, whose 
 family - charter dates back to between 1 124 and 
 II 53, and to David, King of Scotland. A number 
 of poems by Burns were addressed to members of 
 this family. * 
 
 So dear was their original home, " Rose Hill," 
 to all the " Watt " or " Watts " family, that, wher- 
 ever they locate, they testify their affectionate re- 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 
 
 2It 
 
 gard by naming their country-places after the ances- 
 tral house near " Auld Reekie." 
 
 Few private residences, on any river, stream or 
 estuary, have been or could be placed in such a 
 position as the Rose Hill Mansion on the Hudson, 
 exactly loo miles above New York. It stands on 
 a bluff between seventy and eighty feet above tide- 
 water, and about the same dis- 
 tance from the original edge of 
 the steep bank. It commands 
 a view up and down the Hud- 
 son of about twenty miles of 
 water, although the eye can 
 detect the course of the stream 
 much farther than this, as the 
 eminences, on either side, which 
 mark its course, are plainly visi- 
 ble from the piazza for nearly 
 twenty-five miles to the south- 
 ward. From the same spot a 
 sea of mountains are in sight ; 
 the highest summits of the 
 Catskills ; " Hunter Mountain 
 or the Liberty Cap," or " Round 
 Top," 4,050 feet, and "High 
 Peak or the Man of the Moun- 
 tain," are almost directly oppo- 
 site, while to the south-west 
 stretches away the Shawangunk 
 range. On the night of a 
 National festival, for instance 
 the 4th of July, the symbols of 
 rejoicing, such as bonfires, 
 illuminations and rockets, are 
 plainly visible throughout a 
 vast area. 
 
 Rose Hill House itself has 
 grown like one of the old Eng- 
 lish family houses, with the 
 increase of the family, until in 
 strange but picturesque out- 
 line — the prevailng style being 
 the ItaUan — somewhat in the 
 shape of a croSs, it is now 114 
 feet long by 87 feet deep. The 
 tower in the rear, devoted to 
 library purposes, rises to the 
 height of about sixty feet. This 
 library, first and last, has con- 
 tained between twenty and 
 thirty thousand volumes. Such 
 indefinite language is used, because the owner has 
 donated over half this number to the New York 
 Historical Society, the New York Society Library, 
 and a number of other similar institutions in dif- 
 ferent parts of the United States. As a working 
 library, replete with dictionaries and encyclopaedias, 
 in many tongues and on almost every subject, it is 
 a marvel. It is likewise very valuable for its col- 
 lections on miUtary and several other special topics. 
 From it was selected and given to the New York 
 Historical Society, one of the finest possible collec- 
 tions on the History of Holland, from the earUest 
 period down to the present time. In spite of all 
 
 these donations it is still a curiosity shop, not only 
 for a bibliophile, but for a curio-seekeT. 
 
 The figures vary from the vast basalt image of 
 Centeotl, the Aztec Goddess of Plenty, from the 
 " House of the Gods," at Toluca — brought thence 
 by Maior-General (then Major, U. S. A.) J. W. 
 Phelps — down to exquisite miniature modern 
 
 bronzes; the swords from the most valuable 
 Damascus blades down to the rude Javanese wood- 
 knife, and Kabyle yataghan brought home from 
 Algiers by the General himself; the firearms, from 
 the first breech-loading rifle ever used by troops m 
 line of battle— invented in 1775, and a present 
 from the inventor. Col. Patrick Ferguson, (who fell 
 in command at King's Mountain, October 7, 1780) 
 to the General's grandfather, a young and trusted 
 captain under him— down to the most approved 
 breech-loaders of the present time ; the pistols, 
 from diminutives of exquisite workmanship (one 
 pair richly inlaid) presented by Governor, the l-arl 
 
HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 of Bellomont, to Colonel de Peyster, over i8o 
 years ago, down through a series representing vari- 
 ous changes of locks and mountings, to the "level- 
 ing" last improvements in revolvers; the flags, 
 from Union colors which bear the marks of years 
 of battle, down to Rebel standards brought out of 
 captured Richmond by the General's youngest 
 son, who hoisted the first real American FLAG 
 over the captured Rebel capitolahd capital; the 
 curios, from the seal, cup and fork of the first de 
 Peyster, through seven generations and changes of 
 form and engraving, to curiosities of similar kinds 
 
 early youth, was one of the first British officers 
 to visit and record in verse the beauties of 
 Lake George, embodied in his rare and valuable 
 " Miscellanies." 
 
 Among the portraits referred to, embracing 
 likenesses of a number of distinguished soldiers, is 
 one of the General's uncles, George Watts, who, 
 as First Lieutenant, First U. S. Light Dragoons 
 and Aide-de-Camp to General Winfield Scott, by 
 his coolness and courage saved the life of his su- 
 perior officer from the tomahawk and scalping- 
 knife of Indians in British pay — as Scott has often 
 
 (THE OLD CHATEAU OF TIVOLI-RESIDENCE OF COL. JOHNSTON L. de PEYSTER.) 
 
 of recent date. A long series of family portraits 
 cover the walls, beginning with a reproduction rep- 
 resenting " The Six Worthy de Heers," who drew 
 up the earliest charter of the city of New York — of 
 whom one was Johannis de Peyster, first of the 
 name and race in the country — through many a 
 distinguished civiUan and soldier down to the like- 
 nesses of the General's three gallant song, who, 
 between the ages of eighteen and twenty-two, won 
 the brevet of Colonel during the bloody war to 
 suppress the " Slave-holders' Rebellion." The 
 log-books of Arent Schuyler de Peyster, an adven- 
 turous navigator, the discoverer of the de Peyster 
 and other groups of islands in the Pacific, giving 
 the details of his voyages— lie beside records 
 of the even stranger life of his uncle, Colonel 
 Aent Schuyler de Peyster, of the 8th, or the 
 Kmg's Regiment of (British) Foot, who, in 
 
 related to friends — when the General had been in- 
 vited out to breakfast for the very purpose of be- 
 traiyinghim to the savages. This was jnst previous 
 to the battle of Chippewa. General Scott said 
 that on this occasion he made quicker running 
 than at any other time during his life, after setting 
 down untasted the cup of coffee he was just raising 
 to his lips, and a,bandoning his cocked hat as a 
 trophy to the enemy. 
 
 About half a mile south of Rose Hill is "the 
 Chateau of Tivoli," the dwelling of his son, Colonel 
 Johnston Livingston de Peyster, from which the 
 landing, postoffice, station and incorporated village 
 take their name. It was built shortly after the 
 Revolution. * 
 
 This old home, remodeled so that merely the 
 original octagon centre remains, is now in the pos- 
 session of Col. Johnston Livingston de Peyster. 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 
 
 213 
 
 CALLENDAR HOUSE. 
 
 The country seat of Jphnstorv Livingston, at 
 Tivoli, Red Hook, called "Callendar House," was 
 originally in the town of Rhinebeck, and is situated 
 upon what was in colonial times known as the 
 Hoffman Patent. The house was built by Henry 
 Gilbert Livingston, and the frame, as originally 
 erected, is still standing ; the exterior as well as the 
 interior has been changed and adapted to the times, 
 but the proportions, elevation of rooms, etc., are as 
 first constructed. 
 
 In June, 1844, Mr. Auchmuty sold to William 
 E. Toler, who, about ten years afterwards, sold to 
 Jacob R. LeRoy, who presented it to his daughter, 
 the wife of the Rev. Henry de Koven, and they 
 disposed of it to the present proprietor in the 
 autumn of i860. Mr. LeRoy re-arranged the in- 
 terior of the house, and expended a large amount 
 m the_ erection of spacious out-buildings, and 
 otherwise greatly improved the place. 
 
 At the point may still be seen the remains 
 of the old dock, whereon was the first freight- 
 ing establishment, of which Reade & Bogardus 
 
 
 ^'kiS^ 
 
 (CALLENDAR HOUSE— RESIDENCE OF JOHNSTON LIVINGSTON, ESQ., TIVOLI, DUCHESS CO., N. Y.) 
 
 In October, 1795, H. G. Livingston sold the 
 house and forty acres to Philip Henry Livingston, 
 who had about that time married Maria, eldest 
 daughter of Walter Livingston. Philip H. was a 
 grandson of Philip Livingstpn, the signer of the 
 Declaration of Independence. Mr. Livingston and 
 wife called this seat "Suniiing Hill," and Uved 
 here many years ; and after all their children had 
 grown up, sold it to Mr. Robert Tillotson, May, 
 1828. Mr. Tillotson purchased various lots and 
 parcels of land adjoning, extending to the bay on 
 the south as well as to the west; he also changed 
 the exterior of the house, adding a lofty colonade to 
 the west, fronring the river, with wings to the north 
 and south. Mr. Tillotson sold to Mr, Richard T. 
 Auchmuty in the autumn of 1835. 
 
 were the proprietors. From here ran the first' 
 ferry to the west side of the river, and known 
 as Hoffman's Ferry. On the bank to the east 
 of the wharves was the old Hoffman Mansion 
 built of stone, and here for a time Peter Dela- 
 begarre lived while the Chateau of Tivoli was 
 being built ; he at this time owning much of what 
 is now the south lawn at "Callendar House." 
 It was Delabegarre whOj after purchasing what has 
 been known as the Elmendorf property since 18 10, 
 laid out the village of Tivoli, and had prepared an 
 engraved map, entitled "Plan of Tivoli, 1795, laid 
 out in town lots — Memin Sculptor." 
 
 Upon the shore of the bay bounding this estate 
 on the south may be seen the remains of the dock 
 where Chancellor Livingston repaired one of his 
 
2l4 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 first steamboats. At this time it is accessible only 
 for skiffs and ducking boats. 
 
 The old stone house — the home of the Hoffman 
 family — was in ruins previous to 1824, and all 
 traces removed by Mr. Tillotson during his occu- 
 pancy of the place. 
 
 The store houses and wharf had previous to this 
 time (1824) gone to ruin — the rival freighting 
 establishments known as the Upper and Lower 
 Docks, being more accessible, had drawn away all 
 the business. 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 History of the Town of Milan. 
 
 THE town of Milan lies on the northern bor- 
 der of Duchess County, west of the center- 
 It is bounded northerly by Gallatin (Columbia 
 County), on the east by Pine Plains, on the south 
 by Clinton and Stanford, and on the west by Red 
 Hook and Rhinebeck. The town contains a popu- 
 lation of 1,275,* 3-ndan area of 22,805 acres. Mi- 
 lan was formed from North East, March io,t 1818, 
 and comprises the western portion of that tract of 
 land originally owned by the Little or Upper Nine 
 Partners. Why it bears the name of an ancient 
 Italian city is not known. 
 
 Johannes Rowe, in the year 1760, located in 
 this town, north of what is now known as LaFay- 
 etteville, on nine hundred and eleven^acres of land 
 which he purchased of Chancellor Robert R. Liv- 
 ingston. Much of this land is still in the posses- 
 sion of the Rowe family. For this land he paid 
 _;^75o, on which, in 1766, he built the stone house 
 now standing on land owned by Benjamin Shelly. 
 Johannes Rowe died in 1771, and was buried in 
 the family ground across the road from the church 
 which bears the family name. He had four sons, 
 John, Sebastian, Philip, Mark^here given in the 
 order of their birth, who settled around on the land 
 of their father's purchase, and to each of whom 
 he gave a farm. The only descendant of those 
 sons now living in Milan is the widow of Leonard 
 Rowe, grand-daughter of Philip Rowe. 
 
 Among other early settlers . were Maltiah and 
 Macey Bowman, who also located at La Fayetteville, 
 John White, Jeptha Wilbur, Timothy Briggs and 
 John Pells. 
 
 John Hicks, Robert Martin and Joseph Mott 
 settled near the east part and John Link, Garrett 
 Holsopple, John Rhybenburgh, Jacob Killman, 
 John Fulton, John Stalls, John Feller, John Hope- 
 
 •1111870,1.474, In 187J, 1,414. 
 + French's Gazetteer says March i6. 
 
 man, Zachariah Phillips, Alexander Teats and 
 Andrew Frazier, mostly Germans, near the north 
 part of the town. Alexander Teats and Andrew 
 Frazier lived to the old age of one hundred years. 
 
 Perhaps the oldest mill in the town is the one 
 some two miles west of LaFayette built by Robert 
 Thome. 
 
 The farming interests of Milan are much em- 
 barrassed, arising from the fact that a large portion 
 of the land is occupied by lease holders. The 
 history of these lands may be briefly told as fol- 
 lows : Some time before the Revolutionary war, 
 George Clarke, who was commissioned Lieuten- 
 ant-Governor, July 30, 1736, purchased several 
 tracts of land in this vicinity. At the time of 
 the Revolution he remained loyal to the King and 
 sailed to England. Not wishing to lose this vast 
 landed property, he senlt his son to America to take 
 charge of it and at the same time to profess deep 
 sympathy with the Whig element. Upon the suc- 
 cessful termination of the struggle, the son retained 
 full possession of the estate. At his death this 
 property was willed in such a manner that it has 
 been impossible to give a clear title with the trans- 
 fer of any of it. Hence it has not been occupied 
 except by tenant farmers, whose tendency has 
 been to impoverish rather than to build up the 
 town. 
 
 The first town meeting for Milan was held at the 
 house of Stephen Thorne on the first Tuesday in 
 April, 18 1 8. The proceedings of this meeting, 
 other than the election of officers, relate to the 
 raising of money for the support of the poor, and 
 for building and repairing bridges. The officers 
 elected were as follows : Supervisor, Stephen 
 Thorne ; Town Clerk, John F. Bartlett ; Assessors, 
 Jonas Wildey, John Fulton, Jr., John Stall ; Com- 
 missioners of Highways^ Evert ,N. Van Trogner, 
 Daniel Morehouse, James Turner ; Commissioners 
 of Schools, Henry Peck, John Thorne, Jr., Jeptha 
 Wilbur ; Overseers of Poor, Jacob Shook, James 
 I. Stewart ; Inspectors Common Schools, Joshua 
 CoUens, John Darling, James Adams, John R. 
 Heermance, Peter Snyder ; Constable and Collec- 
 tor, Philip Rider ; Constablej Henry Witherwax ; 
 Fence Viewers, Tobias Green, in the southern 
 neighborhood, Obediah Quimby, in the north-east, 
 and Jacob Bachman, in the north-west. 
 
 In that year the number of children taught in 
 the districts, (Nos. t, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8 and 9,)|Was246. 
 
 The following has been the succession of Super- 
 visors and Town Clerks from the succeeding year 
 to 1881:— 
 
TOWN OF MILAN. 
 
 "S 
 
 1S19. 
 1820. 
 1821. 
 1822. 
 1823. 
 1824. 
 1825. 
 1826. 
 1827. 
 1828. 
 1829. 
 1830. 
 
 1831- 
 1832. 
 
 1833- 
 
 t83S- 
 
 1836. 
 
 1837. 
 
 1838. 
 
 1839. 
 
 1840. 
 
 1841. 
 
 1842. 
 
 1843. 
 
 1844. 
 
 1845. 
 
 1846. 
 
 1847. 
 
 1848. 
 
 1849. 
 
 1850- 
 
 1852- 
 
 t8s4- 
 
 1856. 
 
 1857- 
 1858. 
 1859. 
 i860. 
 i86i- 
 1863. 
 1864. 
 1865. 
 1866. 
 1867. 
 1868. 
 1869. 
 1870. 
 1871. 
 1872. 
 
 1873- 
 1874. 
 
 1875- 
 1876. 
 1877. 
 1878. 
 1879. 
 1880. 
 1881, 
 
 Supervisors. 
 
 Stephen Thorn e, 
 
 do do 
 Jacob Shook, 
 
 do do 
 
 do do 
 Richard Thorne, 
 
 do do 
 Stephen Thorne, 
 
 do do 
 Henry Fulton, 
 Stephen Thorne, 
 Ephraim Fulton, 
 Stephen Thorne, 
 Eph'm Herrick, Jr. 
 '34. do do 
 
 Leonard Rowe, 
 
 do do 
 
 John Thorne, 
 
 do do 
 John P. Teats, 
 
 do do 
 George White, 
 
 do do 
 Stephen Thorne, 
 
 do do 
 Clinton W. Conger, 
 
 Town Clerks. 
 
 John F. Bartlett. 
 Benjamin Thorne. 
 John N. Darling. 
 Richard Thorne. 
 
 do do 
 
 Phineas Carman. 
 Leonard Rowe. 
 
 do do 
 
 Peter B. Guernsey. 
 
 do do 
 
 Hiram Simmons. 
 Wm. H. Wakeman. 
 Wm. I. Stewart. 
 
 do do 
 
 Ambrose L. Pinney. 
 Cyrus Blood. 
 John H. Carroll. 
 Herrick Thorne. 
 Henry P. Teats. 
 
 do do 
 
 H. Knickerbacker. 
 
 do do 
 
 Rensselaer Case. 
 
 do do 
 
 Rowland Story, 
 do do 
 
 '5 = 
 'S3- 
 
 do do 
 Otis E. Bowman, 
 Leonard Rowe, 
 John Ferris, 
 Rensselaer Case, 
 Benj. S. Thorne, 
 -'55. William Ferris, 
 John Teats, Jr., 
 
 do do 
 
 Rensselaer Case, 
 Alexander Best, 
 do do 
 
 -'62. Herrick Thorne, 
 
 Henry Teats. 
 
 do do 
 Archibald Shook. 
 
 do do 
 
 Gilbert T. Cornelius. 
 
 do do 
 
 Jacob Knickerbacker. 
 Edward Killmer. 
 John S. Bowman. 
 Gilbert Cornelius. 
 Henry Underwood. 
 Henry Killmer. 
 
 do do 
 
 Peter Rissebbraek, Gilbert Cornelius. 
 Lewis M. Smith, Edmund J. Wriglft. 
 
 John W. Stickle, 
 Alexander Best, 
 Herrick Thorne, 
 Henry A. Feller, 
 H. B. Sherwood,* 
 do do 
 
 Horatio Rowe, 
 Albert Bowman, 
 Nicholas Phillips, 
 E. L. Morehouse, 
 W. E. Shoemaker, 
 James Herrick, 
 Uriah Teator, 
 
 do do 
 Horatio Rowe, 
 
 do do 
 John W. Stickle, 
 
 Cyrus Couse. 
 
 Edmund J. Wright, 
 do do 
 
 do do 
 
 Albert Feltz. 
 
 Cyrus Couse. 
 
 Gerard P. Haviland. 
 
 T. Knickerbocker. 
 
 Gerard P. Haviland. 
 
 Cyrus Couse. 
 do do 
 
 Gilbert T. Cornelius, 
 do do 
 
 Hiram Bentley. 
 
 Gilbert T. Cornelius. 
 
 Pedro Sweet. 
 
 Cyrus Couse. 
 
 Jackson's Corners. 
 The town of Mila n has no large or important 
 
 Harmon B. 
 
 * M. R. Green (Detn.) and Albert Feltz (Rep.) tie vote. 
 Sherwood was elected by the Justices as Supervisor March 9. 
 Feltz was cliosen as Clerk for 1869. 
 
 Albert 
 
 villages. Jackson's Corners, in the northeastern 
 part, is a hamlet of uncertain population. John 
 & William Cole are the only merchants here, and 
 have been engaged in that business here some 
 seven years. The postoffice is also kept by them. 
 The only other business of importance here is a 
 distillery, conducted by John Yeomans — who has 
 run it three years, succeeding Ezra Couse ; a 
 blacksmith shop (Philip Edleman), and a grist- 
 mill, known as the " Scriver Mill," Alonzo Scriver, 
 proprietor, who has been in that business here 
 over thirty years. 
 
 Rock City. 
 
 Rock City which derives its name from the 
 rocky nature of the surrounding soil, lies in the 
 western part of the town. It contains a popula- 
 tion of fifty-six, according to the census of 1880. 
 
 Henry D. Ostrom is the postmaster here, ap- 
 pointed fourteen years ago. He is also the only 
 merchant, succeeding Chancellor Wildey, who had 
 previously conducted the business some four years. 
 
 A hotel is kept here by Ralph A. V. Hoffman, 
 who has been in that business here nearly fourteen 
 years. 
 
 This place has also a saw and grist-mill — the 
 property of John G. Schultz — the former run by 
 David Tipple, the latter by William A. Coons, and 
 a saw-mill conducted by Nicholas Eighmy. 
 
 A shoe-sho[) (Eli Feroe), and a blacksmith shop 
 (Andrew J. CaroU), concludes the list of the busi- 
 ness places of the hamlet. 
 
 MiLANVILLE. 
 
 Milanville, another hamlet, Ues in the southern 
 part, southwest of the center of the town. This 
 place contains a saw-mill, blacksmith shop (William 
 Dedrick), a store and the postoffice. 
 
 The postmaster is William R. Ostrom, appointed 
 under Johnson's administration in 1868. The 
 only merchant here is Rensselaer Case, who has 
 been in that business since 1867, succeeding John 
 Crandall, who had previously conducted the busi- 
 ness ten or twelve years. About the first mer- 
 chant at this point was Stephen Thorne. 
 
 The only physician here is Dr. Herrick, who 
 has been in practice in this vicinity some sixteen 
 years. 
 
 LaFayette, or LaFayetteville. 
 
 LaFayette, or LaFayetteville, in the southeastern 
 part of the town, contains a population of seventy- 
 
2l6 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 nine, according to the last census, and is the most 
 important of the hamlets in the township. 
 
 This, in its earlier days,* was quite a business 
 place, but the introduction of railroads around and 
 beyond it has robbed it of its prestige. 
 
 Among the early merchants here, probably the 
 first, were Otis Bowman and Benjamin Hicks, 
 who, some fifty years ago were general merchants in 
 this probably most ancient section of the town. 
 They, at least, were about the first who did any 
 considerable business in that line, although pre- 
 viously a merchant, of the name of George N. 
 Martin, conducted business here. The latter did 
 a small business here for a few years and left, and 
 when last heard of was in Elkhart, Ind. Bowman 
 and Hicks failed in a short time. The former 
 died about twenty-five years ago. He was a 
 practicing lawyer for some years previous to his 
 death. Hicks died in Poughkeepsie about two 
 years ago. 
 
 The present merchants here are Jordan Corne- 
 lius and Pedro Sweet, the former having been en- 
 gaged in that business here five years, succeeding 
 P. R. Carroll, who had conducted the business 
 some eight years. In this store is the postoffice, 
 Benjamin C. Yeomans postmaster, and Jordan 
 Cornelius, assistant. 
 
 Pedro Sweet began business here in the spring 
 of 1 88 1. 
 
 How this place came by the name of LaFay- 
 ette, or LaFayetteville,t is not clearly known. 
 Smith's History of Duchess County t informs us 
 that the "LaFayette House," the only hotel here 
 " was built about the time of the visit of the Mar- 
 quis de LaFayette to this country, for whom it was 
 named." If that were true, then the hamlet de- 
 rived its name from the hotel, and, indirectly, from 
 the Marquis de LaFayette. But the visit to this 
 country of this celebrated Frenchman, and America's 
 friend, occurred in 1824; and, according to the 
 statement of people living in this vicinity, and who, 
 it may be presumed, are conversant with the facts, 
 this hotel was built by William Waltermier in 
 1837, thirteen years after LaFayette's visit. That 
 it might . have been named for' so distinguished a 
 man as LaFayette, even though thirteen years had 
 passed since his visit, is quite probable ; but, as at 
 the time of his visit a cluster of houses had sprung 
 up here, in whose vicinity some considerable busi- 
 ness was done, it would seem more probable that 
 
 *About 1837, and, probably, for some years previous. 
 t This latter name is seldom used, the tendency being to shorten the 
 name. 
 tHist. Duchess County ; Philip H. Smith, p. 239. 
 
 the hamlet derived its name from that illustrious 
 patriot, and that in the course of time, the hotel 
 took its name from the hamlet. 
 
 LaFayette being a somewhat important place of 
 business in the earlier days, before the birth of 
 railroads in this section — as it was on the main 
 road from Ancram and other business places, to the 
 Hudson River, — William Waltermier conceived the 
 idea of building this hotel for the accommodation 
 of the traveling public and as a resort for people 
 who, during the summer months, wished to escape 
 from the heated air of over-crowded places to the 
 cooler atmosphere^ of a healthy country region. 
 The hotel is a long, rambling, two story structure, 
 with an upper and lower stoop running across the 
 entire length of the frontage. Here for some ten 
 years Waltermier conducted a quite extensive busi- 
 ness in the entertainment of travelers and summer 
 boarders. He was succeeded, it is said, by Jacob 
 Knickerbacker, who kept the hotel about two 
 years.* Elansing T. Mosher was the next propri- 
 etor, remaining eight years ; then Alonzo Buell, 
 one year ; Nelson Mott, two years. Nelson Mott 
 traded it to Ambrose L. Smith, but it is not known 
 just how long he conducted it. John Friday came 
 next and kept it a year or so ; then Henry I. Keifer, 
 two years ; Alonzo Buell, one year ; then Henry I. 
 Keifer again a year or so ; then Henry K. Thomp- 
 son, who remained but a short time. The place 
 was then closed a year or two, and Henry I. 
 Keifer bought the property and run the hotel 
 nearly two years, when he died. His son, WiUiam 
 Keifer, conducted the business until the spring of 
 1 88 1, when he sold the property to Clement and 
 Pedro Sweet, the former being the present pro- 
 prietor. 
 
 The other business interests of LaFayette are a 
 blacksmith shop (John Davis), a wagon shop 
 ' (Cyrus Couse), and a shoe shop "(Gilbert T. Cor- 
 nelius, who has been in that business here thirty- 
 five years.) 
 
 It is said that the Methodists had organized a 
 society in Milan as early as 1790, and that their 
 church edifice was located not far from the present 
 M. E. Church, near Milanville. It was a large, 
 square building, two stories high and was never 
 painted. 
 
 The Methodist society here referred to is evi- 
 dently that which was organized soon after the set- 
 tlement of Johannes Rowe in 1790, and whose 
 first house of worship, built about the year 1800, 
 
 * We give this succession of landlords as it was given us by old residents 
 {torn recollection, not vouching for its entire accurateness. 
 
TOWN OF MILAN. 
 
 217 
 
 stood near, if not on, the Rowe estate, a mile or 
 two north of LaFayette. Among the early mem- 
 bers of this organization were Philip Rowe, S. 
 Rowe, John Rowe and Solomon Darling. 
 
 A substantial church edifice now stands near the 
 site of the old building, and is known as the Rowe 
 Methodist Episcopal Church. This building was 
 erected in 1838, chiefly through the generosity of 
 John Rowe, whose home was the stopping place of 
 all the itinerant Methodist preachers. The par- 
 sonage was built by John Rowe at his own ex- 
 pense. The present membership of the church 
 is seventy-five. 
 
 For the past twenty years the society has been 
 served by the following pastors : Revs. O. Havi- 
 land, O. B. Turner, N. Hubbell, T. Ellis, J. H. 
 Phillips, H. B. Mead, F. J. Belcher, S. P. Gallo- 
 way. The present pastor is Rev. Jesse Ackerman, 
 who resides in Bangall, town of Stanford. 
 
 The First Christian Church* — A gentleman of 
 the name of Herrick, who owned a farm in the 
 hollow or valley, which bore his name, built a con- 
 venient house of worship not far from his dwelling, 
 and gave the use of it to' the Baptist church, he 
 being at the time in strong sympathy with that 
 people. Having become a member of that society 
 he was raised to a deaconship in the church. 
 
 The " Christian Denomination," or " Christian 
 Connection," as it is more frequently called, had its 
 rise about the beginning of the present century. 
 The denomination originated from three of the 
 more popular sects of the time, the Methodists in 
 the Carolinas and Virginia, the Presbyterians 
 in the north-western portion of Ohio and the 
 Baptists in New England. 
 
 Levi Hathaway and Daniel Call were among the 
 first to break denominational ground in Milan. 
 Deacon Herrick of the Baptist denomination, be- 
 fore mentioned, was also among the first to declare 
 for religious liberty and Christian union. 
 
 The church was organized in the autumn of 1820 
 by the last named elder and consisted of but four 
 members — two husbands and their wives. 
 
 As the most of the ministers of this new order 
 were revivalists, these men traveled into adjoining 
 neighborhoods and towns, their meetings being at- 
 tended by constant conversions. In less than two 
 years, it is understood, the church had increased its 
 membership to over one hundred names. 
 
 About this time Elder John L. Peavey, of New 
 England, was called to the oversight of the church. 
 
 * For this synoptical sketch we are indebted to Rev. Fhiletns Roberts, 
 of Clinton, for years pastor of the Christian church in this Comity. 
 
 He was not only a talented man, but a kind and 
 successful pastor. His friends assisted him in 
 purchasing a pleasant home near Rock City, in the 
 same town. His time was now about equally divided 
 between pastoral work and itinerant labors. His 
 circuit of labor embraced this and three other con- 
 gregations, located in Stanford, Union Vale and 
 Beekman. Dr. Joseph Hall, a physician and min- 
 ister, settledin Union Vale in the winter of 1825-6, 
 and relieved Mr. Peavey of his labors in that 
 region. The greatness of his labor, however, im- 
 paired his health, consumption fastened upon him, 
 and he died in the fall of 1829. 
 
 Dr. Abner Jones, of New England, the first min- 
 ister of the regular Baptist denomination who 
 declared for "Christian union, no name but Chris- 
 tian, and no creed but the Bible," was next called 
 to the pastorate in Milan. The church greatly 
 increased under his ministration, which continued 
 between four and five years, when he was recalled 
 to New England, His subcessor was Rev. Joseph 
 Marsh, who remained about the same length of 
 time. He supplied the church at Herrick's chapel 
 and also held monthly services with a branch of 
 the church which had been organized at Stan- 
 fordville, in an adjoining town. In 1842, Mr. 
 Marsh was called to take editorial charge of the 
 denominational organ, published at Broadalbin, 
 Saratoga county, and the church then called to 
 the pastorate the Rev. Horace V. Teall. Suc- 
 ceeding him were Revs. John N. Spoor, Geo. N. 
 Helton, R. B. Eldridge, E. B. Rollins, and many 
 others. 
 
 During the pastorate of Mr. Spoor, the old, 
 small chapel gave place to the present more com- 
 modious house of worship. The old families, 
 members and supporters of the church, embracing 
 the names of Massanneau, Westfall, Lamoree, 
 Cookingham, Wilson, Morehouse, Sherwood, Wiley, 
 Boice, Husted, Stewart, Bentley, Hicks, Schultz, 
 Wilber, Case, Crandell, Thome, Rowe, and others 
 not here mentioned, are now succeeded by their 
 children and grand-children, who with some incom- 
 ing strangers, make up a large congregation, who 
 attend at the old place of worship. 
 
 Out of the family of Crandell one was chosen 
 to .the ministry— C. B. Crandell. His ministry, 
 though talented, was short. He died of consump- 
 tion, surviving Mr. Peavey but three or four 
 years. 
 
 The present pastor is the Rev. C. B. Haner, of 
 Canada, recently a student of the Christian Biblical 
 Institute, at Stanfordville. 
 
zi8 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 Milan in The Rebellion. 
 
 The services which Milan rendered in the war of 
 the Rebellion, as far as concerned her ability, were 
 second to those of no other town in Duchess 
 County. Not only did the town respond gener- 
 ously to the call for volunteers, but it kept, in a 
 manner greatly above the average towns, a com- 
 plete and interesting record of its proceedings re- 
 lating to enUstments, and of the men who went 
 forth to imperil their lives in defense of the com- 
 mon flag. 
 
 The first meeting at which steps were taken to 
 raise a war fund was held at the house of Nelson 
 Motts on Saturday, November 29, 1862. At this 
 meeting it was 
 
 "Resolved, That the sum of $2,265.66 be levied 
 on the town, and the same be assumed as a debt 
 upon the town and the taxable property therein. 
 
 " .Resolved, That the sum of $900. 00 be levied 
 on said town, to be paid to the volunteers who en- 
 listed previous to the 26th of August, 1862, the 
 said $900.00 to be paid to John Ferris, Alonzo 
 Carroll and Philo Sherwood, to be kept by them 
 for the benefit of the volunteers who enlisted pre- 
 vious as above stated." 
 
 At a special town meeting held at the house of 
 Ambrose L. Smith, August 9, 1864, it was 
 
 " Resolved, That the Supervisor of the town 
 shall have the power to borrow money' on the credit 
 of the said town sufficient to pay to volunteers to 
 fill the quota of the town under the call of the 
 President for 500,000 men. 
 
 "Resolved, That to every man who shall volun- 
 teer and be mustered into the United States service 
 for the term of three years shall be paid as a town 
 bounty the sum of $500.00, and to every man that 
 is drafted under this present call shall be paid, as 
 a bounty from this town, the sum of $400.00. 
 
 "Resolved, That every man who is liable to a 
 draft, and not taxable, shall pay to the committee 
 appointed the sum of $25.00, on or before the 
 25th of August, 1864. 
 
 " Resolved, That any person who shall enlist for 
 one year, or two, shall receive the same as a drafted 
 man — $400.00, and that the Supervisor in procur- 
 ing men for the quota shall have the power to pay 
 to all enUsted by him for one year the sum of 
 $400.00. 
 
 "Resolved, That a committee of three be 
 appointed by the Chair to draw the money upon 
 the order of the Supervisor to pay to those men 
 who are drafted. 
 
 [Alexander Best, Nicholas Phillips, and John 
 Ferris were appointed such committee.] 
 
 "Resolved, That the Supervisor* and H. B. 
 Sherwood be appointed to procure volunteers to fill 
 the quota of this town under the present call, and 
 
 • Lewis M. Smith, 1864. 
 
 that they be allowed for their time $3 per day each, 
 and expenses. 
 
 Herrick Thorne, Moderator. 
 
 E. J. Wright, Town Clerk." 
 
 On August 25, 1864, at a special town meeting, 
 an additional sum of $100.00 was voted to be 
 added to the $500.00 before raised to be paid to 
 volunteers for three years ; and it was voted that 
 all the one-year men credited to the town should 
 be paid $500.00. It was also left discretionary 
 with the committee to pay bounties for volunteers 
 to fill the quotas of the town not to exceed $600.00 
 for one-year men, and $800.00 for three-year men. 
 
 "Resolved, That the money raised for bounties, 
 together with the interest accruing on the same, be 
 paid in three equal annual installments. 
 The first in fall and winter of i864-'5. 
 " second " " " " i865-'6. 
 " third " " " " i866-'7. 
 The last installment coming due in 1867. 
 
 Herrick Thorne, Moderator. 
 E. J. Wright, Clerk." 
 
 The proceedings of this meeting were ratified 
 at a special meeting September 2, 1864. 
 
 Under the call of the President for 300,000 
 men of December 19, 1864, the town voted a 
 bounty of $600.00 for one-year men, $700.00 for 
 two-years' men, and $800.00 for those who entered 
 the service for three years. • It was also resolved 
 to have this bounty remain uniform for all future 
 calls to avoid the necessity for special meetings. 
 
 The following is the record of enlistments : — 
 
 i2&th Regiment. — Henry. K. Hicks, born in 
 Milan, April 30, 1846; Co. C; enlisted August 
 1 6, 1862 ; served three years j took part in battles 
 of Port Hudson, Cedar Creek and Winchester; 
 discharged July 26, 1865. 
 
 Jacob S. Bowman, born in Milan, November 
 24, 1841 ; Co. C; enlisted August 14, 1862; 
 was in hospital in Louisiana from April ist to July 
 I, 1863 ; was in battles of Cane River, Halltown, 
 and Alexandria; discharged July 26, 1865; now a 
 druggist in Pine Plains, N. Y. 
 
 William Milhroy, Co. C; enHsted August 14, 
 1862 ; was in battles of Alexandria, Halltown and 
 Cane River; discharged July 26, 1865. 
 
 Elijah D. Morgan, born in Milan, April i, 
 1847; Co. C; enlisted August 14, 1862; took 
 part in battles of Port Hudson, Winchester and 
 Cedar Creek ; was promoted corporal; discharged 
 July 26, 1865. 
 
 Gilbert D. Morgan, born in Milan, Septem- 
 ber II, 1839; Co. C; enlisted August 14, 1862; 
 was in battles of Port Hudson, Winchester and 
 
TOAVN OF MILAN. 
 
 219 
 
 Cedar Creek ; was promoted corporal ; discharged 
 July 26, 1865. 
 
 David Feroe, born in Milan, April 6, 1832 ; 
 Co. C ; enlisted August 14, 1862 ; was in battles 
 of Cane River, Halltown and Alexandria; dis- 
 charged July 26, 1865. 
 
 Isaac Burdick, Co. C; enlisted September 14, 
 1862; was in service four months and deserted, 
 and afterwards enlisted in Co. E, 47th Pennsyl- 
 vania Regiment. 
 
 Elansing G. Hicks, born in Milan, January 20, 
 1843; Co. C; enhsted August 16, 1862; took 
 part in battles of Port Hudson, Cedar Creek, Win- 
 chester and Fisher's Hill; discharged July 12, 1865. 
 
 Robert Millroy, Co. C; enlisted August 14, 
 1862; was wounded at battle of Berryville, and 
 was in hospital at Alexandria nearly three months; 
 returned to his regiment and was with it in battle 
 of Cane River; discharged July 12, 1865; now 
 a tailor in Rhinebeck. 
 
 Hiiam Couse, born in Milan, April 16, 1839; 
 Co. C; enlisted August 16, 1862; was in battles 
 of Port Hudson, Cedar Creek, Winchester, Fisher's 
 Hill and Cane River ; was promoted corporal ; 
 discharged July 12, 1865. 
 
 Gilbert Warner, Co. C; enhsted August 16, 
 1862 ; was wounded at -battle of Port Hudson and 
 carried to hospital where he remained from May 
 27, to August 29, 1863, when he was discharged ; 
 re-enlisted August 4, 1864, and was again wounded 
 at battle of Cedar Creek ; was carried to Sheridan 
 Hospital, where he staid until February 6, when 
 he was discharged; now in Binghamton, N. Y. 
 
 George Wagoner, Co. C; enlisted August 16, 
 1862 ; was in battles of Port Hudson, Cedar Creek, 
 Cane River and Fisher's Hill ; discharged July 12, 
 1865. 
 
 Hiram B. Eddy, Co. C; enlisted August 16, 
 1862 ; took part in battles of Cedar Hill, Win- 
 chester and Fisher's Hill; now harness-maker in 
 town of Amenia, N. Y. 
 
 Albert Feltz, Co. C; enlisted August 16, 1862; 
 was in battlee of Port Hudson, Cedar Creek and 
 Winchester; discharged July 12, 1865. 
 
 Norman Killmer, Second Lieutenant, Co. F; en- 
 listed Aug. 16, 1862 ; now a mason in Pine Plains. 
 
 Thomas N. Davis, Co. C; enlisted August 
 21, 1862 ; was commissioned Second Lieutenant 
 August 22, 1862, and promoted to Captain 
 September 15, 1863; was engaged in eleven bat- 
 tles ; now in Delhi, Delaware county, N. Y., pas- 
 tor in the Christian denomination. 
 
 Walter Rockefeller, enlisted February 2, 1865. 
 
 150^ Regiment— ]o\vsx J. Killmer, born in Mi- 
 lan, December 8, 1827; Co. F; enlisted Septem- 
 ber 3, 1862; was in battles of Gettysburg, Peach 
 Tree Creek, Kenesaw Mountain; in hospital at 
 Alexandria six months. 
 
 William H. Stickle, enlisted September 3, 1862; 
 served three years and was discharged. 
 
 Alfred Wagoner, born in Milan, April 6, 1845 ; 
 Co. C; enhsted Aug. 14, 1862; served his time 
 and was honorably discharged. 
 
 Peter Shoemaker, Co. C ; enlisted January 23, 
 1865; discharged August 30, 1865. 
 
 John Allendorph, Co. C; enhsted August 31, 
 1864; was in service six months and was dis- 
 charged. 
 
 John W. Myers, Co. F ; enlisted September 5, 
 1864; after being in the service two months was 
 taken to the hospital at Chattanooga, and has not 
 been heard of since. 
 
 Charles B. Burdock, Co. F; enlisted Septem- 
 ber 6, 1862; was in seven different battles and 
 was discharged with his regiment June i, 1865. 
 
 Peter MiUins, Co. F ; enlisted October 11, 1862; - 
 was in battle of Gettysburg, and with Sherman in 
 the campaign of 1864-65. 
 
 Benjamin Dykeman, enlisted October 11, 1862; 
 served his time and was discharged with the regi- 
 ment, June I, 1865. 
 
 Henry MiUins, Co. F ; enlisted October 1 1, 1862 ; 
 was in battle of Gettysburg, and in Sherman's cam- 
 paign. 
 
 David H. Waltermier, Co. F ; enlisted October 
 II, 1862; in battle of Gettysburg and in Sherman's 
 campaign. 
 
 Joel D. Hustis, Co. F; enlisted October 11, 
 1862 ; also in battle of Gettysburg and in Sher- 
 man's campaign of i864-'65. 
 
 20th Regiment. — Abraham Warner, Co. A; en- 
 hsted September 14, 186 1 ; was in battle of Gettys- 
 burg; discharged September 15, 1864; still living 
 in Milan. 
 
 John R. Morgan, born in Milan, July 9, 1843; 
 Co. A; enlisted September 12, 1861 ; was in 
 battles of Bull Run and Antietam ; wounded 
 in battle of Fredericksburg; in Washington hos- 
 pital two months, was promoted to sergeant ; 
 discharged September 14, 1864; now in Pine 
 Plains, N. Y. 
 
 James Dykeman, born in Milan, April 6, 1843 ; 
 Co. A; enlisted September 12, 1861; was in the 
 battle of Bull Run, wounded in battle at Chantilly, 
 and afterwards in battle of Gettysburg; discharged 
 September 14, 1864; died in June, 1878, 
 
HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 Duane S. Bush, born in Milan, April 20, 1839; 
 Co. A; enlisted September 13, 1861 ; was in the 
 battle of Bull Run, mortally wounded in battle of 
 Gettysburg, and was buried on the field. 
 
 Alexander Millroy, enlisted September 12, 1861 ; 
 was in service about two and one-half years when 
 he deserted, subsequently arrested and taken back ; 
 died in California in 1881. 
 
 Frank Hermance, Co. C ; enHsted in September, 
 1861 ; died in Andersonville prison. 
 
 Abraham See, Co. K; enlisted September 13, 
 1861 ; re-enlisted Feb. 6, 1863. 
 
 2,2nd Regiment. — Curinias Hoffman, Co. D ; en- 
 listed September 28, 1 86 1; was in the battle of 
 Harrison's Landing ; served fourteen months and 
 re-enlisted in the regular service, December 12, 
 1862; served in nineteen engagements, discharged 
 September 28, 1864. 
 
 Ephraim Wagoner, born in Milan, April 6, 1842 ; 
 Co. D ; enlisted in 1861 ; was in the battle of West 
 Point ; wounded at South Mountain, and was in 
 hospital six months ; returned to regiment and was 
 discharged at the expiration of his term of service. 
 
 144//^ Regiment. — John A. Raymond, enlisted in 
 1861 ; was in battle of the Wilderness; was taken 
 prisoner at battle of Laurel Hill, afterward ex- 
 changed and re-entered the service. 
 
 87/^ Regiment. — Freeman Myers, born in Milan, 
 in 1 846 ; Co. F ; enlisted in October, 1 86 1 ; was 
 in battle of Fair Oaks; was taken to hospital June 
 ist, 1862, where he died; buried at White House 
 Landing. 
 
 Guerret Tobias Myers, born in' Milan, in 1839 ; 
 Co. F ; enlisted in October, 1861 ; was in the bat- 
 tle of Williamsburgh, and in Seven days' fight 
 before Richmond ; in hospital at Fortress Monroe 
 six months ; returned to regiment, and was dis- 
 charged November i, 1864. 
 
 91^/ Regiment. — Reuben R. Tanner, born in 
 Milan in 1844; Co. K; enlisted November 10, 
 i86i ; was in battles of Indian Bend and Port Hud- 
 son ; remained in the service two years and six 
 months, and was honorably discharged ; re-enlisted 
 in same company and regiment in April, 1 864 ; was 
 in Frederick City Hospital two months, and was 
 discharged in July, 1865. 
 
 George TenEyck; enlisted February 22, 1865 ; 
 nothing further known of him. 
 
 William AUendorph, Co. A ; enlisted September 
 1, 1864; discharged June 10, 1865; now in Milan. 
 
 Theodore Couse, born in Milan in 1847 ; Co. H ; 
 enlisted Septembers, 1864; discharged June 10, 
 1865. 
 
 Ezra Couse, born in Milan, January i, 1833 ; Co. 
 H; enlisted Septembers, 1864; discharged June 
 
 10, 1865 ; died in Milan in 1880. 
 
 ie,<)th Regiment. — Stephen Killmer, Co. I; en- 
 listed September 9, 1S62 ; was in nine different en- 
 gagements, and in hospital two months ; was dis- 
 charged June 20, 1864, and died nine days after 
 his arrival home. 
 
 William Moon, Co. I ; enhsted September 7, 
 1 86 2; was taken to the hospital May 15, T863; 
 discharged August 10, 1863, died in New York city 
 on his way home, arid was buried in Milan, N. Y. 
 
 Abraham Palmer, Co. I ; enlisted September 7, 
 1862. 
 
 i^ith Regiment — Pulaski Bowman, Co. G ; en- 
 listed August 20, 1861 ; served one year and was 
 discharged; re-enlisted in Co. F, isoth Regiment, 
 October II, 1862; served as Second Lieutenant 
 one year, and was promoted to First Lieutenant ; 
 was in battles of Resaca, Dallas and Port Royal ; 
 now in the town of Washington. 
 
 472!^ Regiment — Cornelius Killmer, born in Mi- 
 lan, February 12, 1847 ; Co. H; enlisted February 
 7, 1864; discharged July 6, 1865. 
 
 Martin Killmer, born in Milan, April 6, 1841; 
 Co. H; enlisted February 12, 1865. 
 
 William Killmer, born in Milan, April 6, 1843; 
 Co. H; enlisted February 23, 1865. 
 
 Scattering. — Matthew Knickerbacker, born in 
 Milan in 1819; 98th Regiment; enlisted January 
 
 11, 1864; discharged on account of physical dis- 
 ability ; died about four years ago. 
 
 David Teator, 125th Regiment; enlisted March 
 30, 1864 ; now in Pine Plains. 
 
 Jacob Frank, Veteran Reserve Corps ; enlisted 
 September 21, 1864. 
 
 Tom. Steele Sheepcott, looth Regiment; en- 
 hsted Febuary 3, 1865. 
 
 Alexander D. Hutson, i92d Regiment; enlisted 
 February 7, 1865. 
 
 ' John Garvey, Co. I, 3d Infantry ; enlisted Sep- 
 tember 6, 1862 ; was in battles of Chapin's Farm, 
 Atlanta and Savannah ; discharged September 14, 
 1865 ; now in Bangall, N. Y. 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 History of the Town of Pine Plains. 
 
 THE town of Pine Plains lies in the northern 
 part of the county, east from the center. It 
 is bounded on the nortli by Gallatin and Ancram 
 (Columbia County); on the east by North East; 
 
TOWN OF PINE PLAINS. 
 
 on the west by Milan, and on the south by Stan- 
 ford and North East. The town contains a popu- 
 lation of 1,352. Its name was derived from the 
 extensive plains in the vicinity of Pine Plains 
 village, which at an early day were covered with 
 forests of pine. 
 
 The town originally formed a portion of the 
 Little Nine Partners Tract. A considerable por- 
 tion of the land is still held by the heirs of the 
 original owners, and is leased to the occupants. 
 Efforts have been made to convert these remaining 
 leasehold tenures into a freehold, but have thus 
 far proved unsuccessful. The surface of the town 
 is a hilly upland, the ridges being separated by 
 broad valleys. The highest elevation is Mount 
 Stissing, in the western part, which rises from 600 to 
 1,000 feet above the valleys. At the east foot of 
 this mountain lie Thompson's, Stissing and Mud 
 Ponds. Buttermilk Pond and several smaller ones 
 lie in the southern part of the town. The prin- 
 cipal streams are Roelaff Jansen's killj which 
 crosses the northwest corner, and the Sha-ca-me- 
 co Creek, which flows north through near the 
 center. 
 
 It is not definitely known who were the first 
 settlers of this town. In 1740, John Rau, a Ger- 
 man, lived on a hill northeast from what was then 
 known as Sha-ca-me-co. The following were 
 among the names of early settlers :-=-Gerardus 
 Winans, John Tise Smith, Job Carban, Jacob 
 Husted, David Winans, John Harris, Israel Harris, 
 Isaac Smith, Caleb Reynolds, Hendrick Keifer, 
 Abner Case, John Richter,* Hendrick Hoffman, 
 Matthias Hoffman, Job Stephenson, Peter Husted, 
 Wilhelmus Pulver, Jonathan Deuel,Henry Hiservelt, 
 David Sheldon, Ebenezer Dibblee. The latter came 
 here in 1781. The most of the others also came 
 previous to the year 1800, some of them as early 
 as 1789-90. 
 
 Probably the earliest and most important his- 
 torical event in the history of Pine Plains was the 
 settlement of the Moravian Missionaries at Sha-ca- • 
 me-co, — or "Little Mountain," — one of the ranges 
 of hills three miles south of the village of Pine 
 Plains. 
 
 As an integral portion of the history of the 
 country, and being the first successful mission 
 established by the Moravians in North America, 
 the record of the missionary settlement here is 
 both important and interesting. 
 
 The name of the locality made famous by the 
 settlement and labors of the Moravian Christians, 
 
 * A family name now known as " Righter." 
 
 has, since 1859, been generally believed to be cor- 
 rectly given as " Checomeco," or " Shecomeco ; " 
 but after an investigation it is discovered to be in- 
 correctly spelled. The correct rendering would 
 appear to be that previously given — Sha-ca-me-co.* 
 The authority for such spelling is found in a col- 
 lection of names which the Lenni Lenape or 
 Delaware Indians gave to rivers, streams, and 
 localities within the States of Pennsylvania, New 
 Jersey, Maryland and Virginia, with [their signifi- 
 cations, prepared from a MS. of John Heckewel- 
 der, by William C. Reichel.f Mr. Reichel has also 
 drawn from an " Essay of a Delaware Indian, and 
 an English Spelling Book for the use of the Christian 
 Indians and the Muskingum,"J for the purpose of 
 confirming and illustrating Heckewelder's interpre- 
 tation. 
 
 In this collection Heckewelder gives the word 
 " Sha-cha-meek " — an eel.§ Zeisberger confirms it, 
 saying — " Scha-cha-meek, an eel, compounded of 
 Scha-chach-ge-u, straight, and na-mees, a fish — the 
 straight fish." Scha-chameki, or Shachameko, signi- 
 fies " where there are eels, or, the place of eels," 
 the suffixes i, o, ink, or ing, not changing the sig- 
 nification, either one being correct. Putting the 
 word in our modern orthography, it would properly 
 be given as Ska-ca-tne-co, the place of eels, the 
 accent being given on the penult. The stream to 
 the east of the mission site, rising at the " Federal 
 Square," and emptying into the Roelaff Jansen 
 kill, is properly rendered Sha-ca-meek-hanne, the 
 eel stream. At the forks of the Susquehanna in 
 early times the place was called Schachameki, the 
 place of eels, and the creek was known as Scha- 
 chamekhan, the eel stream. It was afterwards 
 called Shamokin, and now Lunburg. That the 
 EngUsh settlers gave it this pronunciation appears 
 from the proceedings against the Moravians in 
 1744, as published in the Documentary History of 
 New York, Volume III : " His Excellency also 
 communicated to the Board a letter from Col. 
 Beekman, that there were four Moravian priests 
 and many Indians at Shacomico." Again. " Eight 
 other persons were at Shacomico." In the sheriff's 
 return, " he went on ye 17th to Shacomiko." And 
 again, "Budner [Biittner] is chief preacher at 
 Shacamico." The sHght variation of the orthog- 
 raphy from the original word, in these instances, 
 does not change the pronunciation materially, if at 
 all. Lavina Carter, of Scaticoke, near Kent, who 
 
 * From Isaac Huntling on Indian Words and their Significance. 
 
 t The full work from Heckewelder was published in i8z2. 
 
 X Published in Philadelphia, 1776. 
 
 § Sch, according to the rule given, has the sound of Sk. 
 
HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 is now (1879) over seventy and nearly the last of 
 the race, learned the word from her grandmother, 
 Eunice Mawesema, the daughter of Choose, alias 
 Joseph, or Jo, the son of Capt. Gideon Choose, 
 who was living at the time the missions at Sha-ca- 
 me-co and Scaticoke were established, she, there- 
 fore, had the word as given by the Indians at the 
 time, through her grandmother. Her musical pro- 
 nunciation settles the origin of the word as given 
 by Heckewelder and Zeisberger. The topography 
 of the country embracing the site of the mission 
 also makes its name and signification singularly 
 appropriate. Within a mile northwesterly are three 
 lakes, and a mile further in the same direction is 
 the chain of Stissing lakes at the base of Stissing 
 mountain, all of which were noted for their eels, as 
 well as other kinds of fish. The outlet of the 
 Stissing lakes passed through the lowlands a mile 
 west of the mission town, on its way southward to 
 the valley of the Wappinger, and furnished eels in 
 abundance. East of the missionary site, within a 
 mile, is the Shacameek, or eel stream, noted even 
 in modern times for its numerous and excellent 
 eels. It would be impossible to find in any country 
 a locality more appropriate for the name — Sha-ca- 
 me-co. 
 
 Here, on land thus defined and named, the 
 Moravian Missionaries made their first settlement. 
 There is scarcely any history which enlists the sym- 
 pathies of the reader more than that of the Mora- 
 vian Mission among the North American Indians.* 
 It relates to an unfortunate people; to a scat- 
 tered people whose deplorable national calami- 
 ties have, at last, excited the commiseration of 
 even their destroyers. There is, perhaps, no sad- 
 der history written ; for it is a continual recital of 
 hope and success, resulting in disappointment and 
 disaster; a quickly changing scene, in which noon- 
 day clouds inevitably darken the sky that was 
 serene and clear in the morning's dawn, and storms 
 sweep over fields white for the harvest, rudely 
 scattering the ripening grain to the winds of heaven. 
 And yet the zeal, the devotion, the patience and 
 christian love that mark the unobtrusive efforts of 
 those messengers of peace to the red man, could 
 not have been greater had the narrative of their 
 labors comedown to us an uninterrupted succession 
 of triumphs.! 
 
 In 1769 James Win ans purchased lot number 
 
 * History of the Mission of the United Brethren among the Indians of 
 North America; by George Henry Loskiel, 1788. Translated from the 
 ^erman by Christian Ignatus Latrobe : London, 1794. 
 
 t For a detailed account of their sufferings and persecutions, and the 
 final abandonment of their missions, see Chap, v, p. 1%. 
 
 twelve * of the Little Nine Partners, upon which 
 was located the grave of Gottlob Biittner, the most 
 prominent man of the Moravian Missionaries, and 
 who has been termed the Luther of Shacameco. 
 Biittner's grave was still there, and the owner of 
 the land enclosed the grave with a rude fence to 
 preserve it from destruction. Mr. Winans died 
 and Lot Twelve passed into other hands. Unable 
 to translate the German inscription on the tomb- 
 stone of Biittner, they took it to be the grave of 
 an Indian chief The fence was removed ; the 
 plow passed over the grave ; the stone was broken 
 by vandal hands, piece by piece, even to below the 
 surface of the ground, and not a vestige was left to 
 mark the spot where slumbered the Moravian 
 missionary. In 1829, Lot Twelve was again sold, 
 passing into the possession of Edward Huntling, 
 its present owner and occupant. Apple trees 
 which the Indians planted were still standing, 
 scattered here and there as faithful sentinels over 
 the departed dead. A century passed and nothing 
 remained to mark the site of that once prosperous 
 mission. Its precise locality had become a theme 
 of speculation. The tombstone which the mourn- 
 ing Indians erected to the memory of Biittner 
 had long before disappeared, and strange feet un- 
 wittingly trod on the forgotten grave. About 1855 
 a piece of the original stone, with a few letters en- 
 graved thereon, found its way into the museum at 
 Poughkeepsie. This was the first gleam of light 
 after the darkness of a century. Rev. W. J. 
 McCord and Rev. Sheldon Davis began about this 
 time to take a deep interest in the discovery of the 
 missing,. and the latter was confident that this was 
 a portion of the original stone erected at the grave 
 of Biittner. The original inscription had been 
 preserved by the Moravian Society at Bethlehem, 
 Penn., and by comparison this piece proved to be 
 a portion of the original stone. The next en- 
 deavor was to find the grave. Very few persons 
 could be found who had ever seen it when stand- 
 ing, and none could mark the spot. At length 
 Josiah Winans, a man of close observation and 
 remarkable locality, one of the former owners of 
 Lot Twelve, was asked to define the spot. When 
 a boy he had tried to pull out the stone, using two 
 teams for the purpose, but only succeeded in giving 
 it an angular position. Walking as near the spot 
 as possible, he pointed out the probable location 
 
 •In 1 744 Charles Clinton had made a map of the tract of land known 
 as the Little Nine Partners, which was purchased by Sampson Bough- 
 ton and others from the Crown, April lo, 1706. According to that map 
 the present monument stands on Lot iz, and Biittner's grave was also oa 
 this lot. 
 
TOWN OF PINE PLAINS. 
 
 223 
 
 of the grave. A plow was brought by Edward 
 Huntling, and after a few furrows the stone was 
 struck. Digging commenced at once, when some 
 fragments of the original stone, with letters in- 
 scribed thereon, were found. At a depth of five 
 feet an arm bone and some pieces of a pitch-pine 
 coffin were found, as evidence conclusive that this 
 was the grave of Gottlob Biittner. Here, then, on 
 the land of Edward Huntling, south of his residence, 
 one hundred and forty-one years ago was situated 
 Sha-ca-me-co Moravian Mission and Indian Vil- 
 lage. Here, on what is now a cornfield, were lo- 
 cated the huts of the mission. Just below, a little 
 to the west, where now are a few scattering apple 
 trees, was the garden of the Moravians. South- 
 eastward, on a knoll, was their orchard, of which 
 not a vestige now remains. The village* proper 
 was composed of baptized Indians, each family 
 having a bark house. The number of dwellers 
 here in 1745 amounted to seventeen families. 
 Their names were John, Jacob, Boaz, Peter, Dav- 
 id, Joseph, Cornelius, Nicodemus, Solomon, Jonas, 
 Susanna, Jeptha, Philip, Isaac, Nathaniel, Zacche- 
 us and Ruth. In addition to these dwellings there 
 was a mission house, church, bake-oven, cellars, a 
 barrack and stable. 
 
 The church stood a' little south of west from 
 the present monument, very near the dividing line 
 between lots eleven and twelve, where there is now 
 a line fence. The barrack and stable were on the 
 flat below. All the land near by was under culti- 
 vation. There were "missionaries' fields,'' and 
 " Indian brethren's fields." They had all things in 
 common. Theirs was a colony united, and of one 
 faith, to which were added none but baptized Indi- 
 ans. This was their condition when the mission- 
 aries were ordered before the Court at " Pikipsi, 
 December 17, 1744." 
 
 North of this field of historic interest stands the 
 monument erected to the memory of Gottlob Biitt- 
 ner by the Moravian Historical Society in 1859.! 
 
 Probably the first house ever erected in the 
 town, was that known as the " Booth-Lasher 
 House," or " Dibblee " house, which stood on 
 land now owned by George Clarke, near the village 
 of Pine Plains. The original building was about 
 24 by 60 feet, but one story high, built of hewn pine 
 square timber, from ten to twelve inches thick, 
 
 * South of the knoll on which was the Moravian orchard, was situ- 
 ated, contemporaneous with the Moravian Mission, a small Indian village 
 of the Mohicans, whose chieftains were Wasamapa (Tschoop) and Sha- 
 oash, both converts to the Moravian faith. 
 
 t That society has been extinct for some twenty years. Of this society 
 Benson J. Lossing, the historian, was a conspicuous member. 
 
 erected in log cabin style, the ends of the timber 
 halved, and the whole fitting together as closely as 
 hewn timber ordinarily does. This house was 
 taken down in 1878, and in the jamb, or chimney, 
 was found a brick stamped 1728, which is supposed 
 to have been made in Holland and imported with 
 those used by the Dutch settlers on the Hudson. 
 Probably the date on this brick is very near the 
 time of the erection of the house. Doctor Lewis 
 occupied this dwelling as far as can be traced back, 
 which was about the time of the Revolution. He 
 was a Tory, and in consequence left during the 
 war, and is said to have resided in Nova Scotia. 
 After the war he returned but the reproaches of 
 the successful party, added, it is supposed, to re- 
 morse, were too much for him, and he hung him- 
 self in the garret. The next occupant was Eben- 
 ezer Dibblee, from Connecticut, and of French 
 origin. He kept a store in one part of this house 
 toward the close of the last century. In taking 
 down the building a coarse shell comb was found 
 with the letters "E. D." set in a scroll, and 1799 
 on the opposite side, both cut in apparently with 
 a knife. These initials were probably of some 
 member of the family, and the date is important as 
 showing the time of occupancy. Next Mr. Booth 
 and Mr. Lasher occupied the house in turn, until 
 near the time of its being torn down. 
 
 The very earliest settlers of Eastern Pine Plains, 
 and that portion of North East west of Winchell 
 Mountain, were drifts from the early Dutch colonists 
 who located on the Hudson, between Rhinebeckand 
 Catskill. The disappointment and failure of the 
 Palatines imported from England from 17 10 to 17 13 
 under the auspices of the land monopolists,— to 
 make a Uving in the manufacture of " Naval Stores," 
 pitch tar, turpentine and resin, from the stinted 
 pitchless white pines on the six thousand acres 
 purchased for that purpose by Gov. Hunter of 
 Robert Livingston, — compelled these poor emi- 
 grants to seek other localities, and other sources 
 of labor for the sustenance of themselves and 
 families. Some chose the west side of the Hudson 
 and drifting into the valleys of Schoharie county, 
 and south to the Delaware and Susquehanna rivers, 
 located in Southern New York and Pennsylvania. 
 Others drifted east to the fertile flats of the Tacon- 
 ics, and south-east to the Little Nine Partners, in 
 the county of Duchess. 
 
 Adjoining the Little Nine Partners tract on the 
 east, and at the extreme north end of that tract, 
 was 'the Oblong, which the New England colonists 
 pushing west obtained and possessed, establishing 
 
224 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 the villages of Spencer's Corners and Sichem, in 
 what is now the township of North East. Winchell 
 Mountain was a barrier to further immigration from 
 that direction, being then, as now, the natural com- 
 mercial boundary between the Connecticut and 
 Hudson river colonists. 
 
 In religion the Connecticut border settlers were 
 Episcopal or Presbyterian, and they early organized 
 societies and built churches, as denominational 
 views and ability gave interest and opportunity. 
 Different from these, the Hudson river colonists 
 were generally Lutherans, and to the churches of 
 this denomination on the Hudson and at Clermont 
 and Churchtown, they rightfully claimed and owed 
 allegiance. To these, twenty miles or more, they 
 went to church in the primitive pioneer manner 
 on horseback, holding a child on the horse in front 
 and one or more behind. Once on such a journey 
 a settler from near Carman's mill, in fording the 
 Shacameco, near what is now the Risedorf farm, 
 met with some difficulty, and a child intended for 
 baptism in the parish church fell into the stream 
 and was drowned. But, despite accidents and in- 
 conveniences, they kept up these church relations 
 until about 1744 or 1746, when an effort was made 
 to build a church at the village of Bethel, in Pine 
 Plains. This was one of the earliest of the ham- 
 lets and was in those early days a business centre 
 of no inconsiderable pretensions. It has the oldest 
 cemetery in the town, in which, undisturbed by the 
 clangor and changes of modern times, " the rude 
 forefathers of the hamlet * sleep." The place is 
 now almost deserted. Its past greatness in the 
 life of the town has departed. Its mechanics, and 
 merchants, and schools, and quaint churches are 
 numbered am.ong the names and things that were, 
 and the hamlet Uves only in history. 
 
 In the ancient cemetery are seen the moss- 
 grown tombstones of those who early peopled this 
 section and made possible the present prosperity 
 of the town. One of the oldest of these tablets 
 is: — 
 
 "In memory of Sarah, wife to Henry Yonk- 
 honce, died April 25, 1770." 
 
 And another, — 
 
 " In memory of Hendrick Hoffman, who de- 
 parted this life Feb. 4, 1789, in the 70th yr of his 
 age." 
 
 Beside him rests 
 
 " Sibel M., wife to Hendrick Hoffman, who died 
 July 26, 1805, aged 83." 
 
 • Hendrick Hoffman and Matthias Hoffman were 
 among the earhest settlers in the town. Previous 
 
 to 1740 there were but few inhabitants in this 
 section, and not until after the Revolutionary war, 
 probably not until 1 784, did the influx of settlers 
 begin. 
 
 The cemetery mentioned is known as the Round 
 Top Cemetery, which name was derived from the 
 first church built in the town, and at this place, 
 the effort to erect which, in 17.44 or '46, has 
 already been noticed. 
 
 Previous to that date an imperfect title, or, 
 more properly, no title to the lands, was a serious 
 impediment to their settlement and to the parties 
 living upon them. The Little Nine Partners 
 Patent, comprising Milan, Pine Plains and North 
 East, was granted in 1706, but failing to apportion 
 the lands among the grantees, about 1744, or 
 shortly previous, the assembly of the province of 
 New York passed an act " for the more easy par- 
 tition of lands, a part of tract of land called the 
 second Nine Partner tract." In conformance to 
 this act a survey was made by Charles Clinton, 
 and a map also made bearing date May 7, 1744. 
 This made sixty-three lots of the whole tract. By 
 the above act Commissioners were appointed to 
 apportion this tract according to this survey, 
 among the owners who were not now the original 
 grantees, as some of them had sold their interest 
 in whole or in part, and one or two that were 
 dead. 
 
 The apportionment duly made settled the title 
 to the Little Nine Partners Tract, and the settlers 
 began to make homes and permanent improve- 
 ments. They were no longer squatters and tenants, 
 but sovereigns and lords, and under their labors 
 the forest and cabin disappeared, and were suc- 
 ceeded by thrift and a higher civilization. 
 
 The deed that conveyed the Round Top Church 
 property and Cemetery bears date May 15, 1769, 
 and is from Peter Van Brugh Livingston,* " mer- 
 chant, of the City of New York, of the first part, 
 and John Tise Smith and Michael Raugh of the 
 North Precinct in the County of Duchess, in the 
 colony of New York, yeomen, of the second parts." 
 In the apportionment of the Little Nine Partners 
 Tract, about 1744, James Alexander, of New York 
 city, received several lots, among which was a 
 portion of Lot No. 30. He in his lifetime made 
 a verbal promise to the people of the Lutheran 
 denomination in this section that he would donate 
 to their congregation about one acre of his part of 
 Lot No. 30 for the erection of a churclf and for 
 
 • Peter Van Brugh Livingston was President of the First Provincial 
 Congi-ess, 177s. 
 
TOWN OF PINE PLAINS. 
 
 22S 
 
 burial purposes. He died soon afterward, before 
 the promise was fulfilled, and the property passed 
 into the hands of his son-in-law, Peter Van Brugh 
 Livingston, who, in honor of the memory of James 
 Alexander, carried that promise into execution. 
 The considerations were five shillings, lawful 
 money of New York, and the yearly payment on 
 the first of each May of one ear of Indian corn to 
 him or his heirs'if lawfully demanded. 
 
 The conditions of ownership were that the con- 
 gregation should, within two years of the date of 
 the deed, inclose the said piece of ground by a 
 good and sufiicient fence, to keep it forever after 
 in good repair, "and erect a new edifice or church 
 thereon, or keep the old church in repair, for the 
 worship of Almighty God as practiced by the 
 Lutheran Evangelical Churches, or use the same 
 for a cemetery or church-yard for the burial or 
 interment of the dead, and shall not appropriate, 
 apply or convert the same at any time forever 
 after to private secular uses." In the event that 
 these conditions were not complied with, the 
 property was to revert to the donator or his heirs. 
 
 The pertinent facts brought out by this deed 
 are, that this church was built by the Lutherans, 
 and designed for the worship of God as practiced 
 by that denomination. Tradition is in accord 
 with this fact, but it is not known if there was ever 
 an organized membership, and if there was, it is 
 unknown when the organization took place and 
 who were its members.* It is not known who 
 were the Lutheran ministers who ministered here. 
 
 Ministers of that denomination came with the 
 Palatine emigrants, and a Lutheran church was 
 founded at Germantown, Columbia County, co- 
 eval with the founding of the colony in 1710, 
 but even of this church no record is known earlier 
 than 1746. It is a reasonable supposition that the 
 earliest Lutheran ministers who officiated among 
 the Palatines either occasionally or periodically 
 ministered here in the Round Top Church from 
 175010 1815. 
 
 Of one man who preached here in 1753 there is 
 a well authenticated record. This was the Rev. 
 Abraham Reinke, who, four years after the death 
 of David Bruce the Moravian missionary, was s^nt 
 from Bethlehem, Penn., by the United Brethren to 
 minister to the white people in Sharon and in this 
 vicinity. In his diary f he states that during his 
 sojourn of eight weeks he preached twenty times to 
 
 * As late as i8j6 one person, at least, was living who claimed identity 
 with this church — Hendrick Keifer. 
 tSee Prof. Reichel's "Moravians in New York and Connecticut." 
 
 large audiences, his appointments being at Salisbury 
 and Sharon, Conn., in the Oblong, in Nine Partners, 
 and at Livingston Manor. The " Oblong" to which 
 he refers was probably the old church at Amenia 
 Union, and " Nine Partners" must have been this 
 Round Top Church, as this was the only church in 
 this section everywhere known and called Nine 
 Partners. 
 
 Another pertinent exhibit in the deed has 
 reference to the date or time of the erection of the 
 building, found in the phrase — " and erect a new 
 edifice or church thereon or keep the old church in 
 repair." There is nothing to establish the precise 
 date of the erection of the building. It was thought 
 by some that its erection occurred in 1746; by 
 others it was placed at an earUer date, 1740. The 
 inferential evidence is rather in favor of the former, 
 if not even of a later date. From the promise of 
 James Alexander as mentioned in the deed, the 
 inference is plain that the building was not erected 
 previous to 1744. If he had purchased an undi- 
 vided interest in the Little Nine Partners tract, 
 which in all probability he had, previous to the 
 award of the commissioners in 1744 he could not 
 have known where his interest would be located, 
 and therefore could make no promise of one acre 
 on lot No. 30. It did not become his property 
 until after the award. The presumption that it 
 was built earUer than this award would be to illy 
 judge the close, practical business natures of these 
 Dutch descendants. It is quite improbable that 
 they would locate a burial ground and build a 
 church, without definite knowledge as to who was 
 the owner of the land selected for that purpose. 
 Contemporaneous with these years— 1742 to 1746 — 
 existed the Shacameco Moravian mission to the 
 Indians, whose location was less than a mile dis- 
 tant, where a church was built or finished in 1743. 
 These missionaries were famiUar with the Dutch 
 language, and in religious belief were closely allied 
 to the Lutherans. From their diaries, with whose 
 exhibit tradition harmonizes, it is learned that they 
 visited and were famiUar with the settlers, who, in 
 turn, attended their meetings and heard them 
 preach. It is inferred from these facts that 1745 
 or '46, certainly not later than 1750, is the proba- 
 ble date of the building of Round Top Church. It 
 would hardly be probable that there was a neces- 
 sity for its erection during the life of the mission, 
 which lasted until 1746. Nothing more than has 
 been stated is positively known of its occupancy 
 during the last century, and but little more is known 
 of the present up to its demoUtion. 
 
226 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 In 1816 the present Presbyterian church at Pine 
 Plains, two and a half miles distant, was completed, 
 which in its then four denominational unity ab- 
 sorbed the Lutheran element throughout what is 
 now the limits of the town. All the early Palatine 
 settlers were dead, and their descendants drifted 
 naturally to this growing business center. The 
 Quaker Church, built here in 1806, also had an 
 organization which more or less divided the neigh- 
 borhood in church attendance. These and other 
 natural causes gradually drew away all interest in 
 the Round Top church. The building began to 
 decay. The clapboards became loose and were 
 soon gone. What were left nailed to the frame 
 were -torn off in 1837, when the frame was taken 
 down and the timber sold a,t auction. A portion 
 of the timber was bought by Henry Hoysrodt and 
 subsequently used in building a barn. The church 
 stood on the east side of the road, where now is a 
 cemetery, covering the spot where the present Wm. 
 Anson Rowe monument stands. 
 
 The Quaker Church alluded to was another old 
 building here, years ago used as a house of wor- 
 ship by the Society of Friends. It is known as 
 the Quaker Meeting House, and, in all probability, 
 ante-dates any church building now in the town. 
 Charles Hoag was the principal originator and 
 founder of this church. He was the son of John 
 and Mercy Hoag, of the town of Washington. 
 They came from Connecticut. Charles Hoag was 
 one of the most useful men of those early settlers 
 who gave to the town its intellectual and moral 
 status. He was born December 25, 1771. He 
 married Betsey Denton, November 21, 1793, and 
 settled at Bethel about 1798, on the farm now 
 owned and occupied by John Case. From the 
 records of this old church * the first mention of a 
 meeting of this society held at "Bethel" — or North 
 East, as it was then called — ^^was at the first monthly 
 meeting held at Stanfordville, 23d of fourth 
 month, 1803. Stanford had been lately set off, 
 either from " the Creek '' Society— near Clinton 
 Corners— or from the "Nine Partners," near 
 Mechanic, it is not certain which, and this was 
 the first monthly meeting held at Stanford, April 
 23, 1803. 
 
 From a report presented by a committee at 
 this meeting, it appears that Charles Hoag had 
 been allowed to hold a meeting at his house, pre- 
 vious to this meeting, either from the consent of 
 the " Nine Partners " or '" the Creek." This date, 
 1803, is probably ve ry near the first meeting of the 
 
 X In the possession of Levi Arnold, of Stanforclville. 
 
 Society held at Bethel, and the place is fixed as 
 the house of Charles Hoag. In his house meet- 
 ings were held until the Society built a small 
 church, 26 by 30 feet with ten-foot posts, which 
 was begun in 1806, and completed by June 20, 
 1807. 
 
 The old church, weather-worn by time, is still 
 standing, and is now used as a dwelUng house. 
 The house in which Hoag lived is also standing 
 near by. The church was built by Ezra Bryan, an 
 early member, and its original shape, with its long 
 steep roof and high gables, is still preserved. 
 
 Thomas Ellison about this time — 1807 — became 
 a preacher according to the form of the Society of 
 Friends. He was the first preacher to the Society 
 at Bethel, and this was one, among others, of the 
 fields of his earliest labor. There was no other 
 church organized in Ihe town at this time, and to 
 this society and community was Thomas Ellison 
 known above all men in his church connections for 
 a quarter of a century. Of actual members in this 
 society there were twenty-five or thirty, possibly 
 more, among whom were Charles Hoag, Ezra 
 Bryan, WiUiam Arnold, John Ellison, Daniel 
 Weaver, Michael Wanzer and his father, Richard 
 Carman, John Tweedy, from Ancrara, Isaac and 
 John Reynolds, Benjamin Mosher, Jacob Down- 
 ing, Mrs. Daniel Lewis, and Gerardus Winans. 
 The latter was expelled from the Society in 1807 
 for marrying a woman not a member of the denom- 
 ination. The years from 1807 to 1830 were the 
 brightest in the history of this society. Thomas 
 Ellison moved away about 1827, and the society 
 was left without a regular preacher. This vacancy 
 was filled by various preachers from the parent 
 society at Stanfordville, when possible, and among 
 those Henry Hull filled the most appointments, 
 Thomas Ellison preaching occasionally. These 
 supplies became less each succeeding year, and, in 
 the mean time, — 1835 to 1840 — other denomina- 
 tions had erected churches and organized societies 
 at Pine Plains which drew away support from this. 
 Most of the original members had died, and as 
 the members continued to decrease, the meetings, 
 now occasional, became less so, until 1875, when 
 it was deemed best by the Society to sell the prop- 
 erty, which was accomplished by Peter Dorland at 
 private sale to Phoenix Deuel in the spring of that 
 year. John Carman, the youngest son of Phineas 
 Carman, and grandson to Richard Carnjan, one of 
 the first members of this society, died in 1879. 
 He was the only living male member, and with his 
 death is finished the record of the Friends' Society 
 
TOWN OF PINE PLAINS. 
 
 227 
 
 established in " North East " * three-quarters of a 
 century ago. 
 
 Charles Hoag, besides his zeal in religious mat- 
 ters, was much interested in the cause of educa- 
 tion. In 18 1 2 or '13 he employed Jacob Willets 
 and Deborah, afterwards so well known in this 
 county, to come to his house and open a school 
 for boys and girls. In this step he took the ad- 
 vance, for in this part of the county there were 
 none else in the field. The girls' school was in a 
 building adjoining the south-west corner of his 
 dweUing,"!' the boys' school being in an addition 
 adjoining the main building on the north. Here 
 Jacob Willets and Deborah, his wife, taught some 
 three years, and then went to Mechanic, and Enoch 
 Haight succeeded them as teacher for a few years, 
 when he left and estabUshed or taught a school on 
 the site of the present County Poor House. 
 Haight was succeeded at Bethel by Ambrose Eg- 
 gleston, the eldest children of Charles Hoag now 
 being assistants. They afterward conducted the 
 school alone until about 1824, when it was closed. 
 The building which was used for the girls' school was 
 afterwards sold and converted into a dwelling, in 
 which Hiram Davis, a shoemaker, formerly Uved, 
 and is now (i88o) occupied by the venerable Josiah 
 Johnson. Again, in 1835, Charles Hoag opened 
 a boarding school in his dwelling, principally for 
 ladies, his youngest daughter, Mary, being the 
 principal. This also was a successful school, all 
 the young ladies of the vicinity attending as boarders 
 or day pupils, while the adjacent towns were well 
 represented. In 1838 the school was suspended, 
 Miss Hoag going to Flushing to spend a year at 
 school. She returned in 1 839, reopened the school 
 and continued it one year after her father's death, 
 which occurred in 1840, when it was closed, never 
 to be reopened. 
 
 Charles Hoag's wife died August 30, 1852. Of 
 their children— Annie, John, James, Henry, Phebe, 
 Ezra, Benjamin, Deborah and Mary, born in the 
 order named— only three are Uving : Benjamin, in 
 Elgin, 111., Mary in New York, and Ezra in Stan- 
 ford, this county. 
 
 The Union Bethel Church, from which the 
 hamlet derives its name, is the third and last 
 church erected here. The present church stands 
 about one hundred feet north — as the road runs— 
 of the site of the old Round Top Church. This 
 was brought about by an exchange of property 
 
 • Pine Mains, it will be remembered, was a part of North East until 
 1813. 
 t Where John Case now lives, 1881. 
 
 between Andrew and John P. Rowe, as heirs of 
 Michael Raugh, deceased, and Samuel Deuel, the 
 property exchanged being a portion of the lot of 
 land conveyed by Peter Van Brugh Livingston to 
 John Tise Smith and Michael Raugh, in 1769, 
 which was on December 5, 1829, given for a strip 
 of land belonging to Samuel Deuel, on the west 
 side of the latter's land. This exchange took about 
 two rods from the north side of that part of the 
 old church lot lying east of the road. Mr. Deuel 
 gave a like amount adjoining the same lot on the 
 east, which increased its width and made pleasant 
 surroundings to the Bethel Church. Michael 
 Raugh was one of the grantees in the deed from 
 Livingston for the old church in 1769, and his 
 heirs insisted that the site of the old church, when 
 it should be taken down, should be used for burial 
 purposes. To this there was some opposition, and 
 it was not until the peaceful solution of the difficulty 
 that the old church was taken down. This, as has 
 been mentioned was in 1827, and two years after- 
 ward this exchange of property was made. Hith- 
 erto the burial ground used as such was on the 
 west side of the road. After the exchange the en- 
 closed lot on the east side was devoted to burial 
 purposes, and, in consequence of the just and 
 proper tenacity of the heirs of Michael Raugh in 
 this matter, it was called the " Rowe * burying 
 ground." The majority of the head-stones there 
 bear that name, but others are not excluded, from 
 using the ground for burial purposes if they so 
 desire. 
 
 The first definite movement toward the erection 
 of the church was made in the spring of 1838, 
 when three subscription papers were put in circula- 
 tion to raise funds for the purpose. The heading 
 to each of these papers set forth the object of the 
 enterprise, and was as follows : "Subscription for 
 erecting a church near the burying ground south 
 of the Friends' meeting house, to be called Pine 
 Plains Union Church, free for every Christian de- 
 nomination. Seats free. To be commenced the 
 ensuing winter and completed during the year 1839. 
 We, the subscribers, promise to pay Edward Hunt- 
 ling, John P. Rowe, George Smith or Abraham 
 Dibble, the several sums annexed to our names for 
 the uses and purposes above mentioned." This 
 bore date April 25, 1838. The lists contained six- 
 ty-four names, among whom were those of Samuel 
 Deuel, Michael M. Raugh, Hendrick Hoifman, 
 Edward Huntling, Benjamin S. Wilber, Abraham 
 Dibble, WiUiam Woodin, Ezra B. Hoag, Benjamin 
 
 • This family name was originally spelled Raugh. 
 
228 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 F. Hoag, Stephen G. Guernsey and Nathaniel Rey- 
 nolds: The amount subscribed was $1,064, and 
 for this sum Carman Cornelius took the contract 
 for building the church, which he completed in the 
 winter of 1839-40. The edifice is 26 by 36 feet, 
 with a square tower. The house was dedicated in 
 the spring or early summer of 1840. Rev. Jacob 
 Berger preached the sermon, taking for his text 
 the paragraph in Genesis, 28th chap, from the i6th 
 to 19th verses. In his application to the occasion 
 he chose the first half of the 19th verse—" And he 
 called the name of that place Bethel." Through 
 that text the church received the name of " Union 
 Bethel," and the name was applied to the hamlet, 
 by which it has since been known. For the next 
 decade or two after the building of the church the 
 pulpit was supplied by the different denominations 
 at Pine Plains, and occasional supplies from other 
 places. At length a season of apathy succeeded, 
 appointments became less frequent, and for the 
 past ten years no regular service has been held, ex- 
 cept during a brief period by students from the 
 Biblical Institute at Stanfordville. 
 
 Less than a mile distant, on the farm of Edward 
 Huntling, is the site of the ancient Moravian mis- 
 sion and the monument to the memory of Gottlob 
 Biittner. On this farm is also the home of Isaac 
 Huntling, whose writings have shed much light on 
 the trials, persecutions and other events connected 
 with that unfortunate mission and its unfortunate 
 people. To him we are indebted for much of the 
 earlier history of the town, notably that which has 
 relation to the Indian mission and the earlier church 
 history. To the history of the town he has devoted 
 much time and research. 
 
 Isaac Huntling was born in 1825 in Chatham 
 Four Corners, now known as Chatham Village, 
 Columbia county, N. Y. His father, Edward, 
 was a farmer and in 1829 moved to Duchess 
 county with his family and settled on a farm two 
 miles south of the village of Pine Plains, where he 
 still lives. Isaac received an academic educa- 
 tion, went to Michigan in 1853, and engaged in 
 the lumbering business in the western part of that 
 State. In 1862 he was commissioned as Major in 
 the 2ist Michigan Infantry. He was in the ser- 
 vice nearly a year when on account of a chronic 
 difficulty he was compelled to- resign. He soon 
 after returned to Pine Plains where he has since 
 resided, and devotes his time to historical and gen- 
 eral literary work. 
 
 Another hamlet of importance in an earlier day, 
 whose industries are among the things that were, 
 
 was Hammertown. It contained a tannery and 
 the scythe works founded by John Harris. The 
 tannery was built somewhere about 1776. Peter 
 Husted, grandfather to Walter W. Husted, of 
 Pine Plains, conducted the business some twenty- 
 five years, probably being there in 1776. He was 
 succeeded by Joshua Culver * and Cornelius Hus- 
 ted,! father of W. W. Husted, who for ten or 
 fifteen years ran the business. Cornelius Husted 
 succeeded to the sole proprietorship, which he 
 retained about fifteen years, when he connected 
 with him his son, Peter, who after a few years 
 assumed the management and continued the busi- 
 ness until 1 86 1. He then associated with him his 
 brother, W. W. Husted, for three years, when the 
 latter sold his interest to Peter who conducted the 
 business alone until 1871. Since that time the 
 tannery has remained idle. In j 871 the property 
 was sold to William Sadler, who bought it for the 
 purpose of reviving the business of tanning. 
 
 The Harris Scythe Manufactory has a more 
 extended history. This was one of the most 
 important industries in the town, in the days when 
 scythes were the mowing machines, and the mower 
 had not yet appeared to contest the field with the 
 swinging blade. John Harris, the founder of this 
 industry, was born about 1745, at the " Lawrence 
 Place," in what is now the town of NorthEast. 
 His ancestors were from Litchfield, Conn. In early 
 life he learned the trade of blacksmith and, from a 
 mulatto slave and skilled workman owned by 
 Joseph Harris, his uncle, living in Rhode Island, 
 he learned to make scythes, which, in those days, 
 were made by blacksmiths on the anvil. 
 
 In 1770 he emigrated to Washington county, 
 N. Y., and settled near Fort Ann, then an import- 
 ant military post sixty-seven miles north by east 
 from Albany, where fortification^ were erected in 
 1756 during the French war. The danger from 
 Indians and the uncertain tenure of life and prop- 
 erty attending a settlement there induced him to 
 remove, in the spring of 1780, to "Little Nine 
 Partners," in Duchess county. Arriving safely, he 
 with his vnfe and children settled not in the 
 Little Nine, but in the Great Nine Partners 
 Tract, in the precinct of Amenia, at what is known 
 as the Andrus Rowe Corners, about a mile north of 
 Shacameco Station, on the N. D. & C. Railroad. 
 Here for three years he worked at his trade of 
 blacksmithing and scythe making, when he moved 
 to the " Harris Mills," in this town. Here on the 
 
 * Died about 1850. 
 t Died ill March, 1859. 
 
TOWN OF PINE PLAINS. 
 
 229 
 
 19th of December, 1783, he purchased of Adam 
 Snyder, for ^£42^, what was afterward known as 
 the " old Harris farm," which embraced the present 
 saw-mill and dwelling near by. The grist-mill prop- 
 erty below was conveyed to him in 1787, by William 
 Snyder, of East Camp, Columbia county, for the 
 consideration of " one hundred and fifty pounds 
 New York currency."* The Revolutionary War 
 now being ended, industry and enterprise received 
 an impetus. Harris continued to make scythes, 
 his shop being located on the island next adjoining 
 and below the grist-mill. 
 
 About 1786 his brother-in-law, Hugh Gamble, 
 came from Westchester county, N. Y., and engaged 
 with him as an apprentice. Edmund Reynolds, a 
 resident of this town, well known years ago, was 
 also an apprentice here at this time. Scythe mak- 
 ing in the shop on the island below the mill, was 
 now prosecuted with more vigor, and they were still 
 made by hand. The trade-mark which John Harris 
 put on his early-made scythes was still retained. 
 This was the stamp of a heart on the heel of the 
 scythe with the letters " J. H." in the center of the 
 heart. About 1790 a race was cut on the east bank 
 of the Shacameco, intersecting it near the present 
 residence of Anthony I. Barton, and the water 
 thereby conducted to a shop erected on the decliv- 
 ity of the hills a short distance southeasterly of the 
 present residence of Giles H. Duxbury, formerly 
 the Joshua Culver home. The highway at that 
 time turned to the right at Mr. Duxbury's, hug- 
 ging the base of the hill, passing through the small 
 ravine northeasterly, crossing the main present 
 highway at the bridge, and thus northerly to the 
 then Hoysrodt settlement. Thus the shop was on 
 the highway. It was built and used principally as 
 a shop for turning which was, in substance^ to take 
 the plates from the anvil, or trip-hammer, fix the 
 points, turn the back, shape the heel, and put the set 
 in the plate ready for tempering. At these localities 
 the work was continued by Harris & Gamble for 
 several years. 
 
 To facilitate the primary rough or heavy work 
 a trip-hammer was needed, and besides a suitable 
 and convenient location for an enlargement of the 
 business. About 1810, perhaps earlier, a site for 
 shops was secured on the west bank of the Shaca- 
 meco, near the bridge at Hamrnertown, adjoining 
 the " Rhinebeck and Salisbury Turnpike." 
 About this time Seth Harris, from Kingsbury, 
 
 * On this lot, about 1808, a new grist-mill was erected which is the 
 present William Carman mill. John Harris conveyed this property to 
 his son, Israel, April ZS, iSio, and the Harris farm to the same son, No- 
 vember Mt 1814. 
 
 Vermont, came here and took an interest in the busi- 
 ness with Harris & Gamble. The three brothers- 
 in-law, John and Seth Harris and Hugh Gamble, 
 now commenced the works on the new site on the 
 west side of the stream, cutting a race to intersect 
 the main stream, about eighty rods above. A dam 
 was built at the new site, and a framed shop erected 
 near the present highway bridge. In this shop a 
 trip-hammer was placed, which was used for the first 
 time in the manufacture of the Harris scythes. 
 
 The shop on the east side, before mentioned, 
 was used in connection with this for turning and 
 finishing, which was still done by hand. About 
 1812 Cyrus Burnap came from New England and 
 worked for the Harris Company at a salary of 
 $500 a year. He was a master workman and 
 worked the trip-hammer. He married Eunice, the 
 daughter of the founder, John Harris ; left the shops 
 about 1820, and purchased a farm about one mile 
 south of the village of Pine Plains, on which he 
 lived until his death, March 4, 1876, aged 84. 
 
 Hugh Gamble and John Harris, the founder, 
 both died soon after starting the works on the 
 west side, the former January i, 18 14, and the lat- 
 ter November 27, 1814. 
 
 The business was now left to Seth Harris and 
 his two sons, John and Silas. About 18 16 the 
 stone shop was built and a finishing trip was put 
 in and used, making two trips in the works. The 
 finishing shop on the east side was still used in con- 
 nection with the shops on the west side. Solomon 
 Ferris, John Hall, and John Deuel were the prin- 
 cipal finishers, and among their helpers was Lud- 
 low E. Lapham, then a lad. At this time about 
 five hundred dozen scythes were made annually. 
 But little change occurred in the business from 
 
 18 1 7 to 1820, except the abandonment of the shop 
 on the east side. Seth Harris retired from the 
 company about this time, and went to Sahsbury, 
 Conn., where, with a James Harris, he engaged in 
 the same business, leaving the work here with his 
 sons. Col. Silas Harris now became sole proprie- 
 tor and manager of the business. John, his 
 brother, remained as foreman eight years, and in 
 
 1 8 18 retired from the Works and went to Winsted, 
 Conn., where he made scythes and harpoons for 
 whaling vessels. 
 
 To increase the facilities for grinding, Col. Harris 
 secured a site four miles south-east from Pine Plains 
 village, on the road to Sharon, where " grinding 
 works " were erected. He also purchased land on 
 Stissing mountain for the wood it bore, which he 
 had converted into charcoal 
 
230 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 February 2, 1842, Seth Harris died in his eightieth 
 year. In the fall of 1849, Jonas Knickerbacker, 
 who had for fifteen years worked in these shops, 
 became an equal partner with Col. Harris in the 
 works at Hammertown and at Salisbury. They 
 continued as partners twelve years, when Col. 
 Harris died, April 19, 1862. At his death, Jonas 
 Knickerbacker conducted the business under a two 
 years' lease from the heirs of Col. Harris. At the 
 expiration of the lease he left the shops, built a 
 store in the village of Pine Plains, and became a 
 hardware merchant, in which business he is now 
 engaged. The shops at Hammertown remained 
 unoccupied, still owned by the heirs of Col. Harris, 
 until the spring of 1879 when the land including 
 the shops was sold to Mrs. Giles H. Duxbury, of 
 Hammertown. The buildings have been taken 
 down, and only ruin is left of the industry founded 
 a hundred years ago. 
 
 The town contains no villages of commercial 
 importance except Pine Plains. 
 
 Mt. Ross. 
 
 Mt. Ross, about four miles northwest of Pine 
 Plains, is a small settlement containing a store 
 (Wright & Guernsey), a grist-mill, and a few 
 dwellings. 
 
 Pulver's Corners. 
 
 Pulver's Corners, named for William W. Pulver, 
 who died in 1861, aged 87, is a small hamlet con- 
 taining a few scattering dwellings, a hotel owned 
 by Herman W. Pulver, and conducted by Edward 
 Simmons, and a Union Church, built some twenty- 
 five years ago for afternoon meetings, in which, 
 until a few years, the Presbyterians mostly held 
 services. 
 
 Pine Plains Village. 
 
 Pine Plains Village, the business center of the 
 town, is situated in one of the most beautiful 
 sections of the county. To the south of the 
 village three miles is the range of Shacameco 
 Hills. The highest of these rounds up gradually, 
 terminating in a somewhat abrupt sugar-loaf 
 top, capped with a grove of small oaks. To the 
 northwest a short distance, standing on this 
 mount, lies Halcyon Lake, with its milky way, 
 and further on is Stissing Mountain, rising abruptly 
 yet smoothly, and near its base lie three small 
 lakes. To the right of these is the village, and 
 beyond is the Shacameco kill, winding its way at 
 the base of the Ancram Hills to the Roelaff Jan- 
 
 sen's kill, with which, in its crooked way, it travels 
 to .the Hudson. 
 
 The village lies on a broad plain. Its streets 
 are well shaded and level, and many of the dwell- 
 ings are fine. The population at the last census 
 was 529. The village has had its gro^^th within a 
 comparatively few years. Eighty-three years ago 
 the buildings here were those now kept as a saloon 
 by William Toms ; the house known as the Myers 
 House ; the log hotel ; the house where Stephen 
 Eno used to live, now torn down ; a house on the 
 site of the present dwelling of Mrs. Prester; one 
 where Mr. Stocking now owns ; a house just below 
 the Duchess depot, near where the widow of Ben- 
 jamin Streever now lives ; the dwelling in which 
 John Rowe now lives ; a house now owned by 
 Mrs. Walker Bostwick ; a portion of the Rev. Mr. 
 Sayres' house ; the house in which WiUiam Toms 
 now lives ; one just east of where Jonas Knicker- 
 backer now lives ; an old house a little east of the 
 Presbyterian Church; the house known as the 
 "Brush" house, and the old "Booth-Lasher" 
 house. All the other buildings have been erected 
 since. As early as 1800, and for some years 
 previous to that time. Pine Plains was a favorite 
 spot for horse racing. One Elmendorph kept the 
 hotel now opposite the Ketterer House and known 
 as the Myers House. On the site of the Ketterer 
 House was then an old log hotel, kept by a man 
 named Haskins. Among the noted horses here dur- 
 ing those years were " Black and All Black," owned 
 by David Winans, " Old Janus," " Old Drown," 
 and " Speculator," owned by Harry Hutchinson. 
 William Herriman Conklin, an old resident, whose 
 family were quite noted in this region of country, 
 was the chosen rider for these races. He was 
 born September 30, 1791, and died in Pine Plains 
 April 22, 1 88 1. The town is still noted for its 
 fine horses. 
 
 The postoffice here was established previous to 
 181 2. The first postmaster was Israel Reynolds.* 
 The present postmaster is Frederick Bostwick, who 
 was appointed in 1878. 
 
 The Ketterer House was built about 1804. 
 Among the first to keep hotel in this building was 
 a man named Ruggles, then Almon Bostwick, then 
 in succession a Mr. Trowbridge, and a man of the 
 name of Page. The present proprietor is Charles 
 DeWitt Ketterer, who has conducted it three 
 years, succeeding his father, Charles, who had pur- 
 
 * Among old documents is found the following receipt : ^^ Received of 
 Israel Reynolds, this lo day of Nov. 1797, the fum of eight shillings 
 for the Poughkeepfie Journal, from No. 612 to No. 637, by me, Samuel 
 Wightman." 
 
TOWN OF PINE PLAINS. 
 
 231 
 
 chased the property seven years before of Charles 
 Morgan. 
 
 The village contains one newspaper, the Pine 
 Plains Flerald, a weekly, which was established in 
 1859 by Charles J. Ackert. He conducted it a 
 little more than a year and sold to Levi Piester, 
 who, two years later, sold it to his brother, John 
 Piester. He remained as its proprietor until April, 
 1864, when he sold to Jay Jackson, who conducted 
 it until December, 1864, and sold to Samuel T. 
 Hoag, the present editor and proprietor. 
 
 Banks. — The Pine Plains Bank was organized in 
 1839. The first officers were Reuben W. Bostwick, 
 President ; Frederick W. Davis, Cashier. The 
 number ot stockholders was forty-two, and the capi- 
 tal was $100,000. Under the above title this bank 
 existed until 1857, when in the financial crash of 
 that year it was closed by voluntary action, paying 
 a dividend to its stockholders of one hundred and 
 twenty-seven per cent. 
 
 On May 29th, 1858, the Stissing Bank was or- 
 ganized, with a capital of $90,000. The officers 
 were Justus Booth,* President; Reuben Bostwick,t 
 Cashier. This was organized chiefly by the origi- 
 nal stockholders of the Pine Plains Bank. As 
 Stissing Bank it continued until it was converted 
 into a National Bank, March 4, 1865, under the 
 title of Stissing National Bank of Pine Plains. 
 
 The first officers under the new departure were 
 William S. Eno, President and Reuben Bostwick, 
 Cashier. 
 
 After the death of Reuben Bostwick, in 1870, 
 his son Frederick was appointed cashier, which office 
 he has since retained. The Pine Plains Bank con- 
 ducted business in the store now occupied by Isaiah 
 Dibble. In 1858 the Stissing Bank erected the 
 fine and substantial building in which the business 
 is now conducted. 
 
 Schools. — The Seymour Smith Institute, a quite 
 celebrated institution of learning, was incorporated 
 here in 1874. The first Board of Trustees was as fol- 
 lows : Walter W. Husted, Frank Eno, Jonas Knick- 
 erbacker, Phoenix N. Deuel, John A. Herrick, 
 Willianj S. Eno, Henry Myers, John A. Thompson, 
 Harman W. Pulver, John Righter, Leander Smith, 
 Ury Hicks; President, Walter W. Husted; Secre- 
 tary, Frank Eno ; Treasurer, John A. Thompson. 
 
 This building was erected to carry into effect 
 the bequest of Seymour Smith, who bequeathed 
 his entire estate to the town of his birth, " for the 
 special purpose of aiding said town in establishing 
 
 * Died March 7, 1878. 
 t Died July 9, 1870. 
 
 an Academy for the promotion of science and use- 
 ful knowledge." 
 
 The Institute is under the control of the Board 
 of Regents of the University of the State of New 
 York. The school was opened in the spring of 
 1879, with some sixty pupils, and thus far has had 
 a successful existence. The building of the Insti- 
 tute was erected in 1877, and is a wood frame, 40 
 by 68 feet, two stories and a mansard in height, 
 resting on a high brick basement, making four 
 stories, including basement and mansard. 
 
 The corps of instructors is as follows : — 
 
 Rev. Abraham Mattice, Principal, Ancient Lan- 
 guages ; Lyman H. Hoysradt, Mathematics and 
 Sciences ; Julius Nehab, Ph. D., Modern Languages ; 
 Mrs. Harriet C. Smeallie, Preceptress, Grammar; 
 Drawing, Oil Painting ; Harry B. Conklin, Assist- 
 ant in English Department; C. Louise Gamer, 
 Common English ; Margaret V. D. See, Musical 
 Instructor. 
 
 Seymour Smith, the founder of the Institute 
 which bears his name, was born August 7, 1779, in 
 the town of Pine Plains. He was one of twelve 
 children — six sons and six daughters — bom to 
 Peter and Sarah Smith, who were among the earli- 
 est settlers of this town. The father of Seymour 
 Smith was born in 1729, and lived during the 
 French and Indian wars and the subsequent strug- 
 gle resulting in our national independence. Like 
 all pioneers he was poor, and his sons were thrown 
 upon their own resources in early life. The ad- 
 vantages for an education were limited then. 
 There were fewer authors and books than now, and 
 it is a reasonable presumption that the difficulty 
 and lack in this regard produced on the mind of 
 Seymour an impression never to be effaced, and 
 had some influence in determining the munificent 
 bequest to his native town. He died in German- 
 town, Columbia County, November 26, 1863, and 
 lies buried in the cemetery in Pine Plains village. 
 
 Among the early merchants in this place was 
 P'yler Dibblee, who about 1804 built the store now 
 occupied by Enos J. Chase. The Bostwicks, 
 Reuben Walker and his sons, Reuben and William, 
 were the next to run this store, conducting it for 
 many years. 
 
 The present merchants doing business here are : 
 
 Enos J. Chase, general merchant, in the " Old 
 Bostwick Store," who has been in business here 
 nineteen years ; Jacob S. Bowman, druggist, in 
 business here since 1875 ; Irving W. Rowe, a 
 native of Stanford, born in 1851, dry goods, who 
 established the business four years ago ; Jay Jack- 
 
332 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 son, a native of the town, born in 1843, jeweler, in 
 business here fifteen years ; Robert D. Hicks, fruit 
 and confectionery, in business one year; Walter S. 
 Halstead, harness and horse furnishing goods, in 
 business one year, succeeding R. D. Hicks, who 
 had run the business some twenty-one years ; Jonas 
 Knickerbacker, general hardware, in business eleven 
 years ; Underwood & Frost, (Edgar R. Underwpod, 
 Charles W. Frost,) general merchants, who estab- 
 lished the business in December, 18 18; David B. 
 Miller, stoves and tinware, who began business in 
 1881 ; Dibble Bros., (Isaiah and Edward,) general 
 merchants, in business since spring of 1865 ; George 
 M. Keller, stoves, tin and hollow ware, in business 
 since 1862, succeeding James A. Bennett, who es- 
 tablished the business about 1850; Henry Engelke, 
 furniture and undertaking, in business here thirty- 
 six years ; John Rowe, coal and lumber, who es- 
 tablished the business in 1870; Merwin Spencer, 
 coal and lumber, in business since 1872-3. 
 
 Besides these is the manufactory of fanning mills, 
 sash, doors and blinds, of Amos Bryan, who has 
 been engaged in that business here twelve years. 
 
 One of the earliest physicians of the town was 
 Dr. Israel Reynolds, who practiced here previous 
 to and after 1797, as the following certificate will 
 show : — 
 
 "Duchess County,) 
 
 [l.s.] State of N. Y. J 
 
 I, Isaac Bloom, one of the Judges of said county 
 do pursuant of the directions of a statute entitled 
 'An act to regulate physic and surgery in this 
 State,' passed the 2^d day of March, 1797, certify 
 that Israel Reynolds, of the town of NorthEast, in 
 Duchess County, has produced satisfactory evidence 
 to me, by the oath of Stephen Reynolds, of the 
 town of Amenia, in said county, that he, the said 
 Israel Reynolds, has practiced physic and surgery 
 within this State for more than two years preceding 
 the first day of October, 1797. Given under my 
 hand and seal this 13th day of October, one thous- 
 and seven hundred and ninety-seven. 
 
 Isaac Bloom." 
 " This is to certify that the above is a true copy 
 of the certificate remaining on file in the Clerk's 
 oifice of Duchess County, Oct. 25, 1797. 
 
 Teunis ToPpin, 
 
 Dep. Clerk. 
 Other early physicians were Dr. Davis, born in 
 179s, in this town, and who died in 1851 ; Dr. 
 Benjamin Adams, who was born about 1734, and 
 who was an army surgeon during the Revolutionary 
 war;* Dr. Benjamin S. Wilber, who practiced here 
 from 1836 to about 1870, and who died June 
 26, 187 r; Dr. Cornelius AUerton [or AUiston], 
 
 • Bufied at Vedder Churcli, in Gallatin, Columbia County. 
 
 before and contemporaneous with Dr. Wilber ; Dr. 
 Bartlett, who practiced here somewhere about 1850 
 or 1851 ; Dr. Peter S. Cole, who practiced from 
 1844 to 1868, and died at Jackson's Comers No- 
 vember 4, 1870; Dr. Cornelius AUerton, Jr., who 
 practiced here some ten years, went to New York, 
 and died in January, 1867. 
 
 The present resident physicians are Dr. Henry 
 Clay Wilber, a native of the town, born in 1845; 
 graduated from Bellevue Hospital Medical College 
 in 1867. 
 
 Dr. George S. Beckwith, a native of Litchfield, 
 Conn., born in 1841 ; graduated from the College 
 of Physicians and Surgeons of New York City in 
 1866, and came from Saratoga to Pine Plains in 
 1878. 
 
 Dr. Charles Edwin Cole, a native of the town, 
 born January 29, 1856 ; graduated from the Med- 
 ical College of Bellevue Hospital in 1872, and began 
 his practice in the town in 1876. 
 
 Dr. Egbert D. Seaman, a native of Pleasant 
 Valley, born in 1846; studied dentistry with Dr. 
 James E. Miller, the oldest dentist of Brooklyn, 
 and one of the most eminent Quaker preachers of 
 that city, and came to Pine Plains in March, 1879. 
 
 Lawyers. — Of the early legal men, Stephen 
 Eno was a quite celebrated lawyer of the town and 
 county, who practiced here some fifty years ago. 
 His office was in the building now occupied as a 
 law oflSce by his grandson, Frank Eno. Stephen 
 Eno was born in Simsbury, Conn., October 4, 
 1764. He died August i, 1854, in the 90th year 
 of his age. His son, William Eno, was also a 
 prominent member of the Duchess County bar for 
 forty years, and had an extensive practice.* He 
 was a member of the Legislature in 1836, and 
 District Attorney for Duchess County two terms, 
 at a time when the office was filled by appointment 
 by the Justices of the Supreme Court. He was 
 born in Pine Plains April 2r, 1800, and died No- 
 vember 17, 1874. Two of his sons, William 
 Stewart Eno and Frank Eno, are now practicing 
 lawyers in Pine Plains. The former was admitted 
 to the bar in 1850, and practices principally in the 
 higher courts. Frank Eno, born in Pine Plains 
 in 1845, was admitted to practice in May, i868. 
 The only other resident lawyer is George G. Titus, 
 who studied law with Charles Wheaton, .of Pough- 
 keepsie, County Judge, and was admitted to the 
 bar in 1864. He came to Pine Plains ii| 1879. 
 
 Churches. — The village contains four churches, 
 the Methodist, Presbyterian, Baptist and Episco- 
 palian. 
 
TOWN OF PINE PLAINS. 
 
 233 
 
 The class nucleus of the present Methodist 
 Church was organized by the Rev. Freeborn Gar- 
 retson, according to the tradition of the oldest 
 Methodists here, about 1798. There were at first 
 but three members. One of these was Ira Winans, 
 the others are not known. Soon afterward others 
 were added, so that about 1805 the following per- 
 sons are remembered as the earliest Methodists in 
 this locality : — Ira Winans, Mrs. Tommy Mead 
 Smith, wife of Isaac Smith — the father of Reuben 
 and Silas Smith — Ann Landon, wife of Edward 
 Thomas, the father of Richard Thomas, one 
 of the founders of the present church, 
 Josiah Finch, Lizzie Finch, Walter Mead and 
 Elizabeth Winans, his wife, Philip Rowe and Elijah 
 his son, David Dabol and wife, and John Harris* 
 and his wife Mary Gamble. Probably there were 
 others, either members, or at least in sympathy 
 with this denomination. 
 
 In 1805, Walter Mead, one of theearhest mem- 
 bers of this society, purchased the lot in Pine Plains 
 village where Mrs. Elizabeth Bostwick now resides. 
 He was a cabinet-maker, and on this lot was his 
 shop in which Methodist meetings were held. 
 Meetings were also held at other places out- 
 side the village. At John Harris', then living near 
 the present William Carman saw mill, it is said 
 seats were made from slabs to accommodate the 
 hearers when there was preaching at that place. 
 Daniel Dabol, a plow maker, living at the outlet of 
 Halcyon lake, had meetings in his shop, which 
 stood to the right in crossing the outlet from the 
 main road. About 1814, in a grove a few rods 
 west of this shop, the Rev. Fitch Reed, then about 
 twenty-one, preached a sermon. There was also 
 preaching at the house of " Tise Hoffman,'' where 
 Mr. Ten Eyck now lives. Here about 1805, Miss 
 Sarah Wilber, now the oldest living memberf in 
 connection with the present church, and her brother 
 Theron, were baptized by Rev. John Culver, a 
 minister then well known in Northern Duchess. 
 Methodist meetings were also held in a church 
 building then standing four miles south of the 
 village, near Sackett's Corners. Rev. John Culver 
 preached here also, and quarterly meetings were 
 held there. Peter Powers and "Tommy" Ingra- 
 ham, from Amenia, exhorted here between times. 
 From 1816 to about 1835 there was not much 
 change in- temporal matters nor great addition in 
 numbers. In that year Dr. Benjamin S. Wilber 
 moved from the town of Washington, Duchess 
 
 * Founder of the "Harris Scythes." 
 + Not the oldest by admission. 
 
 County, to Pine Plains. He was an inteUigent, 
 zealous Methodist, and a successful physician. 
 With his wife and children, came also, as a part of 
 his family, his father and mother and one sister, 
 Matilda, — an acquisition of five to the Methodist 
 Society. At this date, 1835, Pine Plains and 
 Copake were in one circuit, and the preachers were 
 D. B. Ostrander and W. Lull. At Pine Plains 
 there were now but eight members. These were 
 Richard Thomas, his wife Harriet Mead Thomas, 
 his mother Ann Landon, widow of Edward 
 Thomas, John Peter Keeler and wife. Tommy 
 Mead, Electus B. Chamberlin, and Mrs. Maria P. 
 Harris, wife of Col. Silas Harris. Thus the real 
 work for the Methodist Episcopal Society and 
 church building at Pine Plains commenced in 
 183 s, with thirteen members, including the five in 
 the family of Dr. Wilber, before mentioned. 
 
 On the i6th of February, 1837, the contract for 
 building a church was signed. The edifice was 
 completed and dedicated in the fall of that ) ear. 
 The site was purchased from Dr. Cornelius Alliston, 
 and Richard Thomas broke the ground for the 
 foundation. In 1871 the church edifice was re- 
 paired and enlarged by an addition to the front, 
 on which a fine steeple was erected, and a small 
 addition on the rear. The original frame was not 
 changed. An excellent pipe organ was also placed 
 in the choir gallery, and the result of the repairs 
 then made is the present neat edifice and its fur- 
 nishings. The church was re-dedicated November 
 15, 1 8 7 1 , by Rev. Dr. Ridgeway, of New York, and 
 Rev. T. B. Wakely, D. D. The following ministers 
 have presided over this church since 1835 : — 
 
 Rev. D. B. Ostrander. ) 1835 
 
 Rev. W. Lull, j 
 
 Rev. A. Bushnell, ) 1836 
 
 Rev. A. G. Shears, ) 
 
 Rev. E. S. Stout | 1837 
 
 Rev. A. G. Shears, | 
 
 Rev. David Holmes, ) 1838 
 
 Rev. David Plumb, ) 
 
 Rev. David Holmes, 1839 
 
 Rev. M. Van Duzen 1840-1841 
 
 Rev. Aaron Hunt 1842 
 
 Rev. William Gothard 1843 
 
 Rev. Charles Chittenden 1844-1845 
 
 Rev. Stephen M. Vail 1846 
 
 Rev. Albert Nash 1847 
 
 Rev. Thomas Ellis 1848-1849 
 
 Rev. M. R. Lent 1850-1851 
 
 Rev. A. H. Ferguson 1852-1853 
 
 Rev. W. G. Browning 1854-1855 
 
 Rev. J. N. Shaffer 1856-1857 
 
 Rev. L. W. Walsworth 1858-1859 
 
 Rev. Z. N. Lewis 1860-1861 
 
 I Rev, William Bloomer 1862-1863 
 
234 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 Rev. F. S. Barnum 1864-1866 
 
 Rev. H. B. Mead 1867-1868 
 
 Rev. G. D. Townsend 1869-1871 
 
 Rev. B. H. Burch 1872-1873 
 
 Rev. W. E. Ketcham 1874-1876 
 
 Rev. W. F. Brush 1877-1879 
 
 Rev. B. N. Lewis 1880-1881 
 
 The nucleus of the Presbyterian Society began 
 about 1816. In 1815 a movement was made 
 toward the erection of a church edifice. It was to 
 be 34 by 50 feet. Henry Hoffman, Israel Harris, 
 Col. Silas Harris, Fyler Dibblee, Isaiah Dibble, 
 Isaac Huntling, William Woodin, Aaron E. Win- 
 chell, Walker Bostwick, Joshua Culver, Wilhehnus 
 Pulver and William Tanner were among the lead- 
 ing and active men, representing in belief Luther- 
 ans, Dutch Reformed, Presbyterians, Episcopahans, 
 Baptists and Universalists. 
 
 The building was completed in nine months, and 
 was called a " Union House." Since then the 
 Lutherans have built a church about six miles 
 north of Pine Plains, the Dutch Reformed have 
 become Presbyterians or Lutheran, the Baptists and , 
 Episcopalians have each a church in this village, 
 and the Universalists go where they please or not 
 to either of them. The " Union Church " has, 
 therefore, become virtually Presbyterian, which will 
 explain the irregularity and denominational supply 
 in the following account of this church.* Among 
 those who preached here prior to 1816, were Revs. 
 Clarke, Hyde and Price. Soon after the erection 
 of the church building, the stated services of Rev. 
 Mr. Blair, a Presbyterian minister, were enjoyed for 
 about six months. Soon after he left, the Rev. Mr. 
 Gale, also a Presbyterian, supplied the pulpit for a 
 time. About the year 1817, Rev. Mr. Anthron, an 
 Episcopalian, residing at the time in Red Hook, 
 supphed the pulpit one-fourth of the time for about 
 two years. In the spring of 1819 Rev. R. G. 
 Armstrong, a Presbyterian, labored as stated sup- 
 ply for three years. About the year 1826, Rev. Mr. 
 Grear, also a Presbyterian, labored for a short time, 
 and there were occasional supplies from the Pres- 
 bytery and the Dutch Classis. The after supplies 
 were as follows : The Rev. Mr. Morgan,'Universalist, 
 six months, about 1829 or '30 ; Rev. Mr. Kettle, 
 of the Reformed Dutch Church, a portion of the 
 time for some two years, about 1830; Rev. Mr. 
 Beech, Episcopalian, one-fourth of the time for one 
 year, about 1832 ; Rev. Dr. Wackerhagen, a Luther- 
 an, one Sabbath in the month during the summer, 
 continuing his labors for several years, about 1833. 
 
 • * Preparefl by Rev. Win. Sayre, and by him read the Sunday previous 
 to July 7, 1879. 
 
 On September i, 1833, Rev. William N. Sayre, 
 of the North River Presbytery, the present pastor, 
 began his labors in the congregation. There was 
 here then no regular church organization other 
 than a few members constituting a Methodist class. 
 Religion was in a low state, and very little was 
 contributed for the support of the gospel. In the 
 spring of 1834, a Presbyterian church was organ- 
 ized, consisting of seven members only two of the 
 seven being male members. Eight more were 
 added in 1834, six in 1835, and fifteen in 1836. 
 From 1837 to 1839, fifty more were added to the 
 membership. 
 
 Mr. Sayre has been pastor over this church forty- 
 eight years. 
 
 During the years from 1833 to 1873, Mr. 
 Sayre baptized one hundred adults and forty-three 
 infants ; officiated at .three hundred and twelve 
 weddings, and six hundred and sixty-seven funerals. 
 
 The Baptist Church had its virtual organization 
 in 1835. It is recorded that at least two Baptist 
 members resided in this vicinity as early as 1810. 
 About 1815 they were in sufficient numbers to join 
 with those of other denominations in the erection 
 of the "Union Church," before mentioned, in 
 which, by special permission, they held services one 
 Sabbath afternoon in each month. Elder John 
 Buttolph, pastor of the Baptist Church, North East,* 
 was their preacher at this time, and in 18 18 he 
 began more connected labors, which were continued 
 about two years. Elder Luman Burtch, pastor of 
 the Baptist Church in Stanford, was afterwards en- 
 gaged, and continued his services a number of 
 years. On the 7th of June, 1835, at a special 
 meeting at the meeting house in Stanford^ there 
 were approved and baptized in the stream near 
 Cornelius Husted's, the following persons: — Cor- 
 nelius Husted, Alfred Brush, Milton Smith, Frederick 
 Couch and wife, Henry Gillum, Caroline Thomp- 
 son, Salvina Boothe. 
 
 On the 1 8th of July, 1835, at the house of Cor- 
 nelius Husted, was held the first Baptist Church 
 meeting in the town of Pine Plains, Elder Burtch 
 presiding. 
 
 Peter W. Husted, Julia Husted, Julia Ann 
 Woolsey, Aaron E. Winchell and Lydia L., his 
 wife, Charlotte Conklin and Leonard Boothe, were 
 accepted as members of the church, and were bap- 
 tized by Elder Burtch the first Sabbath in August, 
 1835- 
 
 On account of the opposition against the Bap- 
 tists at this time they were debarred the use of the 
 
 * Probably the vicinity of Spencer's Corners. 
 
TOWN OF PINE PLAINS. 
 
 235 
 
 meeting house and school house, and their meet- 
 ings were now held in private dwellings. 
 
 On the 4th of April, 1836, the Baptist Society 
 was incorporated, and the act was recorded in the 
 County Clerk's office on the 28th of June. Cor- 
 nelius Husted, Charles Couch, Justus Booth, Niles 
 Hartwell, Alfred Brush and Aaron E. Winchell 
 were the first trustees. In 1836 they began the 
 construction of a house of worship. They pur- 
 chased a lot for $600, and a contract was made 
 with a carpenter to build a house 34 by 50 feet, 
 with basement and tower, to cost from $1,000 to 
 $1,200. The house was to be completed by July 
 I, 1837. The work was begun and the building 
 was nearly finished when, on the 3d of June, 1837, 
 about 6 p. M., a fearful tornado passed through 
 the town,* most destructive in its effects, and the 
 Baptist Church was leveled with the ground. Dis- 
 couraged, but not disheartened, they began again, 
 and through the aid of Elder Burtch, who came to 
 their assistance, and in connection with the neigh- 
 boring ministers and churches, who encouraged 
 them to proceed, another edifice was erected in 
 eleven months from the time of the catastrophe. 
 It was dedicated May 7, 1838, by the celebrated 
 Elder John Leland, then in the 84th year of his age. 
 Elder Burtch continued to have the oversight of 
 the Baptist interests in Pine Plains, and occasion- 
 ally preached for the Friends there, as did also El- 
 der T. Winter of North East, and Elder A. Smith of 
 the Second Dover Church. 
 
 In 1838 Rev. George Kempton, then a student 
 at Hamilton, and afterward a pastor in North East, 
 ministered here from August i8th to October. In 
 April, 1839, ^ call was extended to Elder Nathan 
 D. Benedict, of Woodstock, Conn., which was ac- 
 cepted, and he began his labors here in that month. 
 Up to this tim^ the Pine Plains Church had been 
 a branch of the Stanford Church. It was now 
 deemed best to form themselves into an independ- 
 ent Baptist Church. According to notice previ- 
 ously given, the Baptist members living in and 
 around Pine Plains met in their house of worship 
 May 8, 1839, where they voted to embody them- 
 selves into a regular Baptist Church, to be called 
 the " Baptist Church of Pine Plains." 
 
 The constituent members numbered twenty-six, 
 as follows : Rev. N. D. Benedict, Polly Ann Bene- 
 dict, Mary Ann Benedict, from Woodstock, Conn., 
 Cornelius Husted, Peter W. Husted, Julia Rey- 
 nolds, Julia A. Woolsey, Aaron E. Winchell, Lydia 
 
 * A (^ui'te serious tornado passed through the vicinity of the village in 
 July, 1881. 
 
 L. Winchell, Carohne Thompson, Mary Thomp- 
 son, Smith B. Couch, Amy G. Couch, Charles 
 Couch, Frederick Couch, Margaret Couch, Alfred 
 Brush, Sophia Brush,* W. H. Conklin, Elizabeth 
 Conklin, Leonard Boothe and Salvina Best, by 
 letter from Stanford; Niles Hartwell, Mary Hart- 
 well, Mary McLane, and Phebe Husted by letter 
 from North East. 
 
 The church was duly recognized by the council 
 invited, May 30, 1839. June 8, 1839, Alfred 
 Brush t and Charles Couch were elected deacons, 
 and Aaron E. Winchell.f church clerk. The 
 church was received into the Duchess Association 
 October 2, 1839. Elder Benedict continued his 
 services with the church until April, 1843. 
 
 The next pastor was Elder J. B. Breed, from 
 Rah way. N. J., who began his labors the last Sab- 
 bath in May, 1843. He resigned his charge in 
 April, 1849, but returned in March, 1850, and re- 
 mained until October i, 1851. He served the 
 church seven years, during which time some thirty- 
 one were added to the membership by baptism. 
 From October, 1851 to May, 1853, the church was 
 without a settled pastor, and much of the time 
 without regular preaching. Rev. S. B. Willis, of 
 Maryland, Otsego county, N. Y,, became the next 
 pastor, May i, 1853, and remained until April, 
 1855. The church was then without a pastor a 
 year and one-half A portion of this time services 
 were rendered by E. Weed and Elder Lucas, pas- 
 tor of the Stanford church, who in May, 1856, bap- 
 tized six into the membership of the church. Rev. 
 John Reynolds became the next settled pastor De- 
 cember 7th, 1856. His pastorate extended over a 
 period of seventeen years, with the exception of 
 one year, when, feeling discouraged, he resigned 
 to accept a call from the Port Byron Baptist Church. 
 In a little over a year he returned to Pine Plains, 
 and remained with this church until his death. May 
 14, 1873, in the 79th year of his age. 
 
 In 1870 the church repaired and improved the 
 house of worship, at an expense of some $3,500. 
 In 1874, the trustees^ by a vote of the church, sold 
 the parsonage and lot, to build another parsonage, 
 and with the surplus pay off the church debt. 
 There was but little preaching from the time of 
 Mr. Reynold's death until March 4th, 1874, when 
 Rev. S. L. Holman became the pastor, and re- 
 mained in charge some fifteen months. He was 
 succeeded by Rev. Everett D. Stearns, who re- 
 m ained a year and a half, when he left to become 
 
 * Died Dec. 8, 1875. 
 t Died March 6, 1871. 
 % Died Aug. 10, 1S48. 
 
236 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 pastor of the Baptist church in Conway, Mass., 
 where he died in May, 1880, in the twenty-ninth 
 year of his age. The next pastor was J. B. Nairn, 
 then a student in Madison University, who sup- 
 plied the pulpit from June i, 1878, to September 
 of that year. His successor was Rev. E. D. Craft, 
 who began his labors October 6, 1878. He re- 
 mained one year and then moved to Kansas. The 
 present incumbent, the Rev. Joseph Burnett, en- 
 tered upon his duties with the church March i, 
 1880. The membership of the church is about 
 sixty. 
 
 The church officers are : Pastor, Joseph Burnett ; 
 Deacons, W. W. Husted, J. Massey ; Church Clerk, 
 W. W. Husted; Superintendent of Sunday School, 
 J. Massey. 
 
 The Society of the Church of the Regeneration 
 was formally organized November 14, 1859. On 
 a previous Sunday, November 6, the following 
 public notice had been given : — 
 
 "That a meeting of all persons attached to or 
 desirous of attaching themselves to the, Protestant 
 Episcopal Church, will be held in this place on 
 Monday, 14th inst, at 10 o'clock a. m., for the 
 purpose of organizing a Parish by the election of 
 Wardens and Vestrymen, in accordance with the 
 Statute of the State of New York, made and pro- 
 vided for the organization of Parishes in com- 
 munion with the Protestant Episcopal Church. 
 " Signed, 
 
 Samuel Deuel, 
 H. F. Smith, 
 Theron Wilber." 
 
 The books of record contain the following : — 
 
 " Pine Plains, Duchess County, N. Y. 
 " This is to certify that we whose names are here- 
 unto annexed do attach ourselves to the Protestant 
 Episcopal Church of this place, under the present 
 pastoral charge of the Rev. Samuel K. Miller, 
 Missionary of the Parish of St. Peters of Lithgow, 
 in the town of Washington, N. Y. 
 
 H. F. Smith, Theron Wilber, 
 
 Samuel Deuel, R. Peck, 
 
 Lawrence Banett, Jas. Henry Pitcher, 
 Silas I. Deuel, Josiah Johnson. 
 
 " This is to certify that the above named per- 
 sons are acknowledged by me as members of the 
 church, and duly authorized to act in the formation 
 of a Parish and church at this place. 
 
 " Signed, Nov. 14, 1859. 
 
 Samuel K. Miller." 
 
 At this meeting of November r4, 1859, the fol- 
 lowing officers were elected : Vestrymen,— Samuel 
 Deuel, Phoenix Bockee, Edward Huntling, Silas I. 
 Deuel, Horace Vibbert, Richard Peck, Lawrence 
 fianett, James H. Pitcher ; Wardens,— Theron 
 Wilber, H. F. Smith. 
 
 At this meeting the name and title of the church 
 was chosen as " The Church of the Regeneration." 
 The corner-stone of the church edifice was laid 
 Wednesday, August 5, i860. Rev. James Starr 
 Clark, of Madalin, laid the stone. Rev. Samuel 
 Buel, of Christ Church, Poughkeepsie, delivered 
 the sermon. Rev. Frederic Sill, together with 
 others of the clergy, took part in the services. 
 
 Rev. Frederic Sill was the first rector to hold 
 services in this locality, at the Bethel, his first ser- 
 vice being held on the first Sunday in Advent, 
 1857. Rev. Samuel K. Miller officiated frorn 
 August I, 1859, to the spring of i860. After 
 which, and before the Rev. Mr. Pattison came, 
 the services were conducted by Rev. William A. 
 Leach, of Copake, two Sundays, the Rev. James 
 Starr Clark, of Madalin, one Sunday. 
 
 Rev. Eugene. C. Pattison came June 6, i860. 
 His first service was on the first Sunday after Trinity, 
 June 10, i86o. He remained until April, 1863. 
 Thereafter for some months services were con- 
 ducted by different rectors, and in that year a call 
 was extended to Rev. Mr. Kenney, who came and 
 stayed a short time. The next rector was Rev. J. 
 H. Nimmo. The church is now {1881) without a 
 pastor. The membership is small, and no regular 
 services are held. 
 
 A few miles from the village is the Christian 
 Church of Pine Plains. This church was organized 
 November 7, 1858, at a special meeting held at 
 the house of Stephen Tomkins. The constituent 
 members were Stephen Tomkins, Benjamin Wil- 
 ber, Ury Hicks and others, who, by Elder Philetus 
 Roberts and R. B. Eldridge, were duly organized 
 a Christian Church. The following were elected 
 officers of the church: Deacons, Benjamin Wilber. 
 Stephen Tomkins; Trustees, Jeptha S. Wilber, 
 Samuel O. Hicks, Stephen Tomkins ; Clerk, Ben- 
 jamin Wilber. The act of organization was re- 
 corded in the Clerk's office of Duchess County, 
 October 22, i860. The church edifice was built 
 in 1859 by John W. Link, and was dedicated by 
 Eli Fay, of Yellow Springs, Ohio, June 16, 1859. 
 The following have been pastors in this church :— 
 Rev. Philetus Roberts, Stanfordville. 
 Rev. R. B. Eldridge, Milan, 
 
 Rev. W. B. Hote, 
 Rev. Gardner Dean, " 
 
 Rev. George B. Fuller, 
 Rev. L. D. Worth, " 
 
 Rev. J. Q. Evans, supply, Schultzville. ,. 
 These from the Biblical Institute at Stanford- 
 ville, have acted as supplies : Wellington Stearns, 
 James Wright, Thomas Holmes, D. M. Fuller, 
 
>'•/• 
 
 *" s -SSi •* -J 
 
 ( s 
 
 11 i 
 
 »^.;!«, 
 
 iiiM,. S, 'f 
 
 1 
 
TOWN OF PINE PLAINS. 
 
 237 
 
 Wm. Lane, A. Henry, E. A. Hainer, W. F. Peters, 
 Thos. A. Quaile, and W. C. Rimer, the present in- 
 cumbent. The present membership is sixty-two. 
 Town Meetings. 
 
 The first town meeting after the formation of 
 the town was held at the house of Israel Reynolds 
 on Tuesday, April 1st, 1823. 
 
 The following has been the succession of Super- 
 visors and Clerks : — 
 
 1823 
 
 1824-25 
 
 1826. 
 
 1827. 
 
 1828. 
 
 1829. 
 
 1830. 
 
 1831. 
 
 1832. 
 
 1833- 
 1834. 
 
 1835- 
 1836. 
 
 1837. 
 
 1838. 
 
 1839. 
 
 1840. 
 
 1841. 
 
 1842. 
 
 1843. 
 
 i844-'4S. 
 
 1846. 
 
 1847. 
 
 1 848-' 49. 
 
 1850. 
 
 1851. 
 
 1852. 
 
 1853-54 
 
 1855- 
 
 1856. 
 
 1857. 
 
 1858. 
 
 1859. 
 
 i860. 
 
 186 r. 
 
 i862-'63. 
 
 1864. 
 
 1865. 
 
 i866-'67. 
 
 1868. 
 
 1869. 
 
 1870. 
 
 1871. 
 
 1872. 
 
 1873. 
 1874. 
 
 1875- 
 
 i876-'77. 
 
 1878. 
 
 1879. 
 
 1880. 
 
 1881. 
 
 Supervisors 
 
 Israel Harris, 
 . R. W. Bostwick, 
 Israel Harris, 
 
 do do 
 Ely Hambhn, 
 Samuel Russell, 
 R. W. Bostwick, 
 
 do do 
 
 do do 
 
 Daniel Sherwood, 
 Edward Huntling, 
 Wm. H. Bostwick, 
 Daniel Sherwood, 
 Wm. H. Bostwick, 
 Abraham Dibble, 
 
 do do 
 
 Backus Culver, 
 H. R. Hammond, 
 
 do do 
 
 Fred'k T. Ham, 
 William Eno, 
 
 do do 
 John H. Mosher, 
 do do 
 
 Clerks. 
 
 Reuben W. Bostwick. 
 Henry Husted. 
 Chas. W. Bdstwick. 
 Niles Hartwell. 
 Adam Streever. 
 
 do do 
 Benj. Streever, 
 Niles Hartwell. 
 William Woodin. 
 Wm. H. Bostwick. 
 
 do do 
 
 Adam Streever. 
 
 do- do 
 Samuel B. Fairchild. 
 
 do do 
 
 Henry C. Myers. 
 
 do do 
 
 Benj. Streever. 
 David Dikeman. 
 Hiram Fish. 
 Aaron E. Winchell. 
 Hiram H. Davis. 
 
 do do 
 
 Wm. H. Hoffman. 
 
 Edward Huntling, Wm. Angevine. 
 
 do do 
 
 do do 
 
 Anthony Pulver, 
 Walter Herrick, 
 John Righter, 
 John H. Mosher, 
 H. W. Pulver, 
 Eli Knapp, 
 do do 
 John Thompson, 
 
 Wm. W. Smith. 
 George Bunnell. 
 
 do do 
 
 do do 
 
 Giles H. Duxbury. 
 William H. Smith. 
 
 do do 
 
 do do 
 
 Perry Loucks. 
 do do 
 
 Cornelius Pitcher, Henry Silvernail. 
 Walter W. Husted, C. H. Reynolds. 
 Cornelius Pitcher, do do 
 
 A. D. Miller, 
 C. H. Reynolds, 
 
 do do 
 
 do do 
 John A. Herrick, 
 
 do do 
 Silas I. Deuel. 
 George M. Keller. 
 Robert D. Hicks. 
 George M. Keller. 
 
 Phoenix N. Deuel, Niles J. Engelke, 
 John A. Herrick, Jay Jackson. 
 Henry H. Ham, - - - 
 
 William Toms, 
 
 do do 
 
 William B. Jordan 
 
 do do 
 
 do do 
 
 Edward E. Place. 
 Irving W. Rowe. 
 B. VanBenschoten. 
 Edward C. Dibble. 
 Robert D. Hicks. 
 George M. Keller. 
 
 Pine Plains in the Rebellion. 
 
 In that eventful struggle, although a large num- 
 ber entered the service, no record was kept of the 
 enlistments. The few names here given were 
 gathered partly from official records at large, and 
 partly from the citizens of the town. 
 
 150/^ N. Y. S. Vol. Infantry, Co. Z».— Captain, 
 William R. Woodin; ist Sergeant, Thomas F. 
 Handy; 2d Sergeant, William B. Hayes; 3rd 
 Sergeant, John M. Rowe ; Privates, Daniel Bishop, 
 John Brennan, Morgan Clum, Samuel B. Fish, 
 James C. Keefer, John M. Mackay, William Mcin- 
 tosh, William B. Phillips, William Scott, Sidney F. 
 Wilkinson, David B. Wheeler, Peter Weaver, Jesse 
 B. Foster, John W. Jones, James H. Corray,* 
 George Haight,* Calvin Rowe,* Walter Allen 
 (died), Daniel Glancy (died), Joseph E. Near 
 (died). 
 
 Companies unknown. — William Owens, Michael 
 Rowe. 
 
 128M Regiment, Co. B. — H. A. Courtney, Nich- 
 olas P. Hammond, Walter A. Loucks, John S. 
 Pitcher, James Story, George Story. 
 
 Co. D. — Philetus Kater, John Scherman, Mi- 
 chael Fitzgerald, Albert Kellerhause. 
 
 Co. i?.— WiUiam J. Allen,t John H. Hosier, 
 Everett Knickerbacker,t Byron Stacey, John C. 
 Thome, James H. Washburne. 
 
 47^/5 Regiment. — George Loucks, Jr., Nelson 
 Killmer, Hiram Pulver, Niles J. Engelke, Michael 
 O'Mara, Pulver Cline, Frederick Davis, William 
 Hiserodt. 
 
 Scattering. — Sanford Near, Reuben Clume, 3d 
 N. Y. Battery ; Wm. Clume, 3d N. Y. Battery ; 
 Perry Knickerbacker, Richard Knickerbacker, 
 William Johnston, Richard Smith, D. Johnston, 
 Grosvenor Smith, Charles Davis, Edward Ham, 
 Henry Hammond, Walter Stocking. 
 
 ^ 
 
 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 
 
 James T. Germain, Robert D. Hicks. 
 
 WILLIAM S. ENO. 
 
 William S. Eno is descended from a line of legal 
 and prominent men. His grandfather, Stephen 
 Eno, who is mentioned more fully in the general 
 history of the town, became a resident of Pine 
 Plains at an early day, and ranked high as a citizen 
 and a jurist. His family consisted of four sons all 
 
 •Those marked with an asterisk had been transferred to other regi- 
 ments and to the Veteran Reserve Corps, 
 t Died April 14, '86j. 
 t Sentenced for ten years to Dry Tortugas for desertion. 
 
238 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 of whom attained their majority. William Eno, 
 the father of the subject of this sketch, became a 
 lawyer and succeeded to his father's practice. 
 William S., studied law with his father and on the 
 2d of January, 1849, was admitted to the bar, since 
 which time he has followed his profession in con- 
 nection with the numerous business enterprises in 
 which he has been engaged. In 1850 he married 
 Jennie, daughter of Rev. Thomas Ellis, a minister 
 of the M. E. Church, by whom he had three chil- 
 dren : Belle, Minnie and NeUie. The first daugh- 
 ter married William Bostwick, of Pine Plains. 
 Minnie married C. W. Frost, of Amenia, and NelUe 
 became the wife of E. R. Underwood, of Pough- 
 keepsie. 
 
 In the year 1858, the Stissing Bank was organ- 
 ized in .the village of Pine Plains, and in 1864, 
 William S. Eno became its president. In 1865, 
 the bank was incorporated as a National Bank,* 
 with Mr. Eno as its president, which position he 
 stills retains. In 1878, he built the fine and capa- 
 cious residence which he now occupies, a view of 
 which appears in connection with thissketch. The 
 building contains all the modern improvements, 
 possesses all the comforts and conveniences of a 
 city residence of the first class, and is an orna- 
 ment to the beautiful and thriving village in which 
 it is situated. 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 History of the Town of North East. 
 
 THE town of North East Ues on the extreme 
 northeast border of the County. It is 
 bounded northerly by Ancram (Columbia county;) 
 on the east by Connecticut ; on the south by 
 Amenia; and on the west by Pine Plains and 
 Stanford. Its name was derived from its geo- 
 graphical position in the County. The surface is 
 hilly and broken, while along the eastern border 
 extend the Taconic Mountains. 
 
 In old documents this name is written Tachhan- 
 ick, Taghhanick, Tahkanick, Tachkanick, and 
 some other ways. "It is probably impossible 
 now," says Isaac Huntling, " to get the true Indian 
 word and its signification, as in this case, like 
 many others, the true Indian word has been cor- 
 rupted and abbreviated for the convenience of 
 writing and ease of pronunciation by the early 
 settlers." The stream running through the gorge 
 at Bash Bish, having its origin on the mountain 
 elevations in the town of Washington, was the In- 
 dian Tankhanne or Takhanne, "the Small 
 Stream," as it united with a greater near what is 
 now Copake village, the site, or near it, of the 
 " Toghkanick " of Colonial times. It is presum- 
 
 *See History of Stissing Bank, page zji. 
 
 able that the mountain as well as the old village 
 derived its name from this stream. Probably the 
 oldest document containing this word is " Frag- 
 ment of an Indian deed, 17th Feb., 1687," (Doc. 
 Hist. N. Y., Vol. 3, p. 628), where it is written, 
 " Toghhanick," " Tachhanick," and " Tachhanik," 
 which evidently are corruptions of the old Indian 
 name of this stream, Tankhanne or Takhanne. 
 Confirming this view it is significant that in this 
 old document the second syllable commences in 
 every instance with the " h " instead of the " k," 
 which is an additional recent corruption and now 
 used in the word " Toghkanick." This view leads 
 to the conclusion that the mountain,the old village 
 and the surrounding country, repeatedly referred 
 to in the Livingston papers, derived their names 
 from this stream. It was a stream probably as 
 greatly celebrated among the Indians before the 
 appearance, of the white man as well as after. 
 That the surrounding lands were thus named is 
 proven by the records. It was applied to the 
 " Flats " west of the mountains, and to other lands 
 embraced in the Livingston patents for some con- 
 siderable distance northwest and south, and was 
 applicable and appropriate, so far as the papers 
 show, to them as to the mountain. The name as 
 applied to this range, according to the earliest 
 records, had reference only to the mountain 
 locality adjoining the stream mentioned. The 
 prominent points north and south had other Indian 
 names. The Moravians who established missions 
 in New York and Connecticut in 1740, put the 
 name " K'takanahschan," and give the signification 
 simply as " Big Mountain," which is really no sig- 
 nification. Others give it from the Indian signify- 
 ing " Mountain of trees," but the opinion is inclin- 
 ed to, that the name is derived from the stream 
 which has its origin on its highest plateau and 
 summits, and is applied to the "mountain as local 
 and not generic. The deviation being so in- 
 definite there has appeared among intelligent 
 writers a tendency to transpose the spelling to the 
 plain English Taconic and not mutilate with a 
 mongrel " Taghkanick," our own language, and 
 also that of the race which now lives in the dreams 
 of romance. 
 
 North East was formed as a town, March 7, 
 1788; Milan was taken off in 1818, and Pine 
 Plains in 1823. North East Precinct was formed 
 from the North Precinct, Dec. 16, 1746, and em- 
 braced the Little or Upper, Nine Partner's Tract. 
 In the earlier or Precinct records is found the fol- 
 lowing : — 
 
TOWN OF PINE PLAINS. 
 
 239 
 
 "On the loth day of April, 1769, Then the 
 Overseers of the Poor of the North East Precinct 
 for the year 1768 meet at the Dwelling House of 
 Caleb Atwater in said Precinct and Rendered their 
 accounts for the said year 1768, being examined 
 and allowed by Elisha Colver, one of his Majesty's 
 Justices of the peace in said precinct, and for 
 Duchess County, viz : Hantice Couse, James At- 
 water, John Truesdell, and John Collins, Overseers. 
 First agreed Between the overseers of the Poor, 
 Esq. Colver and John Collins, that the said Collins 
 shall pay unto the Overseers for the poor of the 
 Precinct two pounds. Money of New York, for the 
 service of the wife of Jacob Carpender for the 
 year ensuing. 
 
 "Second, agreed that John Truesdell shall take 
 old Ellis' wife and keep her at the rate of _;^i5 qr. 
 year. 
 
 " Hendrick Hoffman's am't examined & allowed 
 for the maintainance of John Ellis & wife 
 ^30: 17: 6." 
 
 The earliest settlers in that portion of the Ob- 
 long now contained within the boundaries of 
 North East, from 1-730 to 1737, when the first 
 civil divisions of the county were made, were 
 simply inhabitants of the State of New York, 
 freeholders perhaps, but it is doubtful if they were 
 tax-payers, for they were not included even in 
 North precinct until December 17, 1743, at which 
 time Beekman's, Crom Elbow, South and North 
 Precincts were extended across the Oblong to the 
 Connecticut line. North East Precinct first ap- 
 pears with definite boundaries December 16, 1746, 
 being bounded on the south by the northern line 
 of the Great Nine Partners Tract, granted to Caleb 
 Heathcote and others, May 7, 1697, and by an east 
 line from the northeast corner thereof to Connecti- 
 cut, and on the west by the westerly line of the Little 
 Nine Partners Tract, the patent of which was 
 granted to Sampson Boughton and others, April 
 10, 1706. Hence adjoining North East Precinct 
 on the south, from its formation until Masch lo," 
 1762, when Amenia Precinct was formed, was 
 Crom Elbow Precinct. By an act of March 7, 
 1788, the north lines of Amenia and Washington 
 are described as the north line of Lower or Great 
 Nine Partners Tract, and the easterly line of 
 Rhinebeck as the westerly line of the Little or 
 Upper Nine Partners, and " all that part of the 
 said County of Duchess bounded westerly by 
 Rynbeck, northerly by the County of Columbia, 
 easterly by the Connecticut and southerly by the 
 towns of Washington and Amenia shall be and 
 hereby is erected into a town by the name of 
 North East Town." Notwithstanding that act, 
 the then town clerk persisted in keeping the old 
 
 name, for his records say "town meeting was held 
 at the house of Cornelius Elmendorph, on Clinton 
 Plains, for the North East Precinct, on the first day 
 of April, 1 788." These, then, were the boundaries 
 of North East for about thirty years, until Milan 
 was set off in i8i8, and 1823 when 18,176 acres 
 were taken off for the erection of the town of 
 Pine Plains. 
 
 Among the earliest settlers was Samuel Eggles- 
 ton, who located in the vicinity of what is now 
 known as Spencer's Corners, and who was the an- 
 cestor of all the families in North East who bear 
 that name. The emigrant ancestor of that name 
 was Bigot Eggleston, who was born in Exeter, 
 England, in 1585, and who in 1630 came to Dor- 
 chester, Mass., bringing his twin sons, James and 
 Samuel, aged ten years. In 1635 he removed to 
 Windsor, Conn. In 1661 Samuel married Sarah, 
 daughter of Nicholas Disbro, of Weathersfield,' 
 Conn., and settled in Middletown, in that State, 
 where he died in February, 1691, leaving his real 
 estate to his eldest child, Samuel, born March 6, 
 i662-'63, who on the 8th of July, 1703, married 
 Patience Payne, and by her had eight children- 
 Samuel, John, Joseph, Susannah, Abigail, Sarah, 
 Patience and Mary. Samuel died in Middle- 
 town, Dec. 24, 1736. Some time prior to his 
 death (Feb. 9, i727-'28) he had executed a deed 
 of certain premises situated in Middletown, to his 
 said son, Samuel, with this proviso— that the prem- 
 ises should not be sold except upon the recom- 
 mendation of two judicious persons. This restric- 
 tion so displeased young Samuel that he refused to 
 have anything to do with the land thus conveyed, 
 although he had in part paid for the same. Very 
 soon thereafter he married Abigail Ribbins and 
 removed to Salisbury, (now North East, as the 
 boundary line was changed,) and there reared 
 John, Martha, Abigail, Joseph, Prudence, Nicholas, 
 Benjamin, Amos, Ruth, and Samuel, born June 8, 
 1738, [O. S.,J who married Hester Buck, daughter 
 of Israel Buck, of Amenia, March 18, 1761, and 
 who is the ancestor of all thefamihes of that name 
 in this section of the country. He died January 
 24, 1822, and Hester, his wife, died January 10, 
 1828. They were buried in the cemetery near 
 Spencer's Corners. 
 
 The Dakin family * came here from what is now 
 known as Putnam County. Elder Simon Dakin 
 
 * The major portion of the facts relating to early settlers was taken 
 from MS. of Alanson Colver written in 1874, and furnished through the 
 kindness of James Winchell, whose influence had induced Mr. Colver to 
 put on paper his knowledge of the early history of North East. Aiansoq 
 Colver died Oct. 24, 1874, aged 84 years. 
 
24° 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 came to North East about 1776, and formed the 
 first Baptist church at Spencer's Corners. He had 
 three sons, Joshua, Caleb and Simon ; Joshua mar- 
 ried and had two sons, Jacob and Benjamin, and three 
 daughters. Caleb had one son, also nanied Caleb, 
 and a number of daughters. Simon had six sons, 
 Ebenezer, Harvey, James, Homer, David, Talma, 
 and three daughters, Ruth, Hannah and Phebe. 
 
 Three brothers of the name of Colver came from 
 France and settled in this country. By some of 
 them the name was spelled Culver. It is supposed 
 that all the families of that name in this section of 
 country descended from these brothers. Some of 
 them settled in the western part of Massachusetts, 
 and the historical accounts of the early settlers of 
 that State speak of a family who spelled the name 
 Colver. Elisha Colver was a descendent of one of 
 these three brothers. He lived at one time near 
 the old Baptist Church near Spencer's Corners, and 
 at one time on a farm afterward owned by Noah 
 Gridley, called the Eggleston farm. He and his 
 wife were members of the Episcopal Church. He 
 was a Justice of the Peace under King George the 
 Third, and used to do a great deal of the legal 
 writing for the inhabitants of the town. In the 
 family of Alanson Colver is a deed drawn up by 
 him 117 years ago. He had three sons, Elisha, Jr., 
 Joseph and John, and four daughters, Hannah, 
 Sarah, Martha and Polly. His son, Elisha, mar- 
 ried Betsy Ketcham, and had three sons, Henry, 
 Elisha and Hiram. The first went south, the sec- 
 ond went to Brooklyn, and Hiram became a sea 
 captain and died on his passage from Batavia to 
 Philadelphia. His son, Joseph, married Miss Reed, 
 a relative of James Reed, of SaUsbury, by whom 
 he had two sons and one daughter. John Colver 
 became a Methodist minister. He was received 
 into the Methodist Church July 8, 1788, and was 
 licensed as an exhorter by the Rev. John Blood- 
 good, July 31, 1790. He was accepted as a local 
 preacher by Rev. Freeborn Garretson, August 7, 
 1 79 1. He was ordained Deacon by Bishop Asbury, 
 July 14, 1793, and as Elder, May 17, 1829. He 
 was an ordained minister for 44 years, and was 72 
 years, 5 months and 20 days old when he died, 
 July 23, 1835. When he began to preach there 
 were but few Methodists in this part of the coun- 
 try. He used to hold his meetings in private 
 houses, school houses and barns, as the Methodists 
 had no church in the town. Besides preaching 
 here he held services in the surrounding towns. 
 • From his journal it is learned that he married 
 over two hundred couples, and it is supposed he 
 
 preached over eight hundred funeral sermons. He 
 was preacher at the time of the epidemic in Ancram 
 when the death rate averaged three per week. 
 
 Thomas Haywood came to this town about the 
 year 1802. He had five sons and nine daughters, 
 the most of whom, together with himself and wife, 
 were members of the Methodist church. At his 
 house were held once a fortnight the services of 
 the itinerant Methodist preachers. About this 
 time a man named Williams died and gave his 
 property to School District No. 3, for the erection 
 of a school house. Toward this project Thomas 
 Haywood agreed to give $50.00, provided the 
 district would build a house large enough for re- 
 ligious services. The offer was accepted and in 
 1807 the school house- was built. Mr. Haywood 
 was a resident of this town twelve or fourteen years, 
 when he moved to Pleafant Valley, where he died. 
 
 Josiah Halstead lived on what was known as the 
 Wilcox Place. He was a blacksmith and worked 
 at his trade. Before the year 1800 he moved to 
 the town of Ancram, near tbe line, where he en- 
 gaged in farming. He had six sons, Benjamin, 
 John, Samuel, Joel, Joseph and James, and three 
 daughters, Nancy, Betsey and Lavina. John was 
 a man of considerable abiUty. He studied medi- 
 cine under Dr. Dodge, and died of consumption 
 when young. 
 
 Elisha Driggs came from Middletown, Conn. 
 He was a tanner and currier, and lived on the 
 James Halstead place. He married Charity Dakin, 
 a daughter of Joshua Dakin, and moved to near 
 Cooperstown about the year 1800. 
 
 Among the prominent famiUes of North East 
 was that of the Winchell's, descendants of Robert 
 Winchell, who came to Dorchester, Mass., as early 
 as 1634, and removed to Windsor, Conn., about 
 1635. He died January 3i, 1669, and his wife 
 died July 10, 1655. The first to settle in this 
 town was James Winchell who located on what is 
 known as Winchell Mountain, in 1760. He came 
 from Turkey Hills to North East a little before at- 
 taining his majority. His father, Martin, is said 
 to have aided him in effecting a location. Wheth- 
 er from a love of mountain slopes and mountain 
 summits, imbibed from a residence upon the flanks 
 of the "Turkey Hill Mountain," or "Copper 
 Mountain, " or from a shrewd intuition of the ex- 
 traordinary attraction of the soil and the situation, 
 James and his father seem to have alighte^ upon a 
 mountain farm which certainly must have appeared 
 in their day infinitely less inviting than the industry 
 of thrqe generations has made it. " Winchell Moun- 
 
TOWN OF PINE PLAINS; 
 
 241 
 
 tain," so called from the family which has contin- 
 ued to possess and cultivate its surface, is one of 
 the ridges of the Taconic range. The summit is a 
 fertile plateau, about half a mile in width. In the 
 middle of this, on the highway from Salisbury to 
 Rhinebeck, James erected his dwelling, the traces 
 of which are now extinct. He took an active part 
 in the measures which resulted in the independency 
 of the States, and was one of the principal supporters 
 of the cause of Liberty in the town and county of 
 his residence. His death was caused at the early 
 age of thirty-nine, by camp fever taken from a suf- 
 fering soldier whom he quartered one night in his 
 house. He was buried in the public cemetery "on 
 the mountain," within a few rods of his home. He 
 was born at Turkey Hill, Conn., in 1741, and died 
 February 13, 1778. 
 
 From him descended Martin Ezer, Philo Mills, 
 John, Aaron Ely. Martin Ezer had five sons, James 
 Manning, Abraham, Horace, Lewis, Rensselaer, 
 George R., and six daughters, Mary, Sylvia, Thirza, 
 Elmira, Louisa, and Sally Emraeline. 
 
 Of these children James Manning was a Baptist 
 minister in Boston. He was graduated from Brown 
 University in 181 2, and was licensed to preach by 
 the Baptist church in North East, October 4th of 
 that year. In June, 18 13, he was ordained at 
 Bristol, R. I. On the 14th of March, 1814, he 
 was installed pastor over the First Baptist Church 
 in Boston, "where he accepted the difficult position 
 of successor to the great Dr. SkeUman." He died 
 Feb. 22, i8zo. 
 
 Abraham was a lawyer of some prominence. 
 He was educated at Yale, studying there in 1815- 
 '17, and at Harvard College. He studied law for 
 three years under General James Talmadge, of 
 Poughkeepsie, and settled in his native town, but 
 seems not to have made any great efforts to secure 
 a large practice. He was remarkably well read in 
 law, and would have made an excellent judge. He 
 possessed a calm judicial mind, regulated at all 
 times by the keenest sense of justice and the purest 
 principles of morality. He died in Dryden, N.,Y., 
 April 4, 1843. 
 
 Horace Winchell, father to Alexander Winchell, 
 the celebrated geologist and scientist, was born in 
 North East August 12, 1796. He inherited a 
 competency from his father, but manifested 
 throughout his life a contempt of secular posses- 
 sions, and devoted himself to labor in the cause of 
 humanity and ecclesiastical reform. Destined by 
 his father for a collegiate education, he completed 
 the preparatory course at a somewhat famous clas- 
 
 sical school, conducted by the Rev. Daniel Parker, 
 at Ellsworth, in Sharon, Conn., but becoming dis- 
 satisfied with certain tenets and practices of the 
 Baptist church, of which he had been a member 
 from the age of twelve, he became absorbed in 
 the effort to correct reforms within his church, and 
 finding this impracticable, he set himself to his 
 life-long endeavor to reform the ecclesiastical world 
 at large. He labored by personal appeals, by pub- 
 lic addresses, and by printed works. He died 
 June 26, 1873. 
 
 James Winchell was born March 5, 1763. ' He 
 settled, originally as a carpenter, in the valley east 
 of Winchell Mountain. On Ten Mile River which 
 flowed past his residence — at first a simple-framed 
 dwelling, afterward enlarged to an elegant man- 
 sion — he built a large flouring mill, which he con- 
 tinued to run for many years in connection with 
 his farming operations.* By industry and good 
 management, he accumulated a large estate which 
 he expended liberally in the cause of education 
 and of the church. His parents and all his ances- 
 try had belonged to the Presbyterian or Congrega- 
 tional church. In 1773, however, the influence of 
 the revival spirit inaugurated by Whitefield, result- 
 ed in the establishment of a Baptist society in 
 North East, and in 1775 a chapel had been opened 
 on a site which is now embraced in the south part 
 of the burial ground, half a mile west of Spencer's 
 Comers. In the enlargement of his residence in 
 1826-7, befitted up a large room in the second sto- 
 ry, where the society were in the habit of holding 
 their meetings, during the winter months. In 1829 
 a new brick meeting house was built at Spencer's 
 Corners, costing about $4,700. "Toward this 
 sum there was received from the society about 
 $750.00, andfrom Deacon James Winchell $1,700." 
 During the same year through his influence and 
 liberality a scholarship was raised, and a room fur- 
 nished for the Theological Seminary at Hamilton, 
 N. Y. He lived a pure and useful life, and died 
 in North East, April 8, 1834, and was buried 
 near Spencer's Corners. His real estate was be- 
 queathed to the church for the support of her min- 
 istry. 
 
 Philo Mills Winchell, born in North East, Octo- 
 ber 14, 1767, was another prominent citizen of the 
 town. He united with the Baptist church in North 
 East in 1786, and soon took rank among the most 
 promising members. In 1829 he was elected to 
 the Legislature of the State, and proved himself a 
 
 » Subsequently, for j8 years, he rented the miU to Alexander McAll- 
 ister. 
 
242 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 competent and useful member. He died April 
 
 ". 1833- 
 John Winchell, born in North East July 31, 
 
 1794, was a farmer of some importance. His 
 
 children were Harriet, James Marcus, Philo Mills, 
 
 Caroline, Homer. He died March 4, 1876. 
 
 James Marcus, one of the sons, now living in 
 Millerton, was born in this town June 11, 1818, 
 and has passed his life mainly in farming pursuits. 
 The farm of his family at one t^me embraced part 
 of the present site of Millerton. He was a con- 
 tractor in the construction of the Harlem and other 
 railroads through this vicinity. 
 
 A prominent member of this family, and one of 
 the most eminent natives of North East, is Alexan- 
 der Winchell,* the celebrated geologist, whose 
 writings are widely known both in this country and 
 in Europe. 
 
 Alexander Winchell, son of Horace, was born 
 December 31, 1824. He was at first destined for 
 the profession of medicine, and after acquiring a 
 primary education, went in November, 1838, to 
 South Lee, Mass., where he remained two years, 
 attending the Stockbridge Academy in the summer, 
 and the village school during the winter. In 1840 
 he returned to North East and began teaching in 
 the common schools of the town. In 1842 he en- 
 tered Amenia Seminary, graduated in the teachers' 
 course, and received the diploma in July, 1844. In 
 September of that year he entered the Sophomore 
 class, Wesleyan University, from whence he was 
 graduated in August, 1847, and accepted a posi- 
 tion as teacher of Natural Sciences in Pennington 
 Male Seminary, N. J. In 1848 the chair of Natural 
 Sciences at Amenia Seminary was proffered him, 
 which he accepted in August of that year.f De- 
 cember 5, 1849, he was married to Miss Julia Fran- 
 ces Lines, of Utica, N. Y. From Amenia he went 
 to Newbern, Hale county, Ala., in October, 1850, 
 to take charge of an Academy at that place. In 
 1 85 1 he assumed charge of the "Mesopotamia 
 Female Seminary, at Eutaw, Ala., where he entered 
 at once upon that course of scientific investigation 
 which had always been the unrealized vision float- 
 ing before his mind. Here he remained until 1853, 
 when, having been elected President of the " Ma- 
 sonic University " at Selma, Ala., he sold out his 
 affairs at Eutaw, and in July entered a new field, 
 which proved to be an important step forward. 
 This institution suddenly suspended operations on 
 account of the ravages of the yellow fever in the 
 
 *- * To whose MSS. and printed publications kindly placed to our use, 
 we are indebted for the facts relating to himself and the. Winchell family, 
 t To this Seminary he presented i,ooo botanical specimens. 
 
 vicinity, and he then accepted the position of Pro- 
 fessor of Physics and Civil Engineering in the Uni- 
 versity of Michigan, November 16, 1853, andentered 
 upon his duties January 24, 1854. In 1855 the 
 University created the chair of Geology, Zoology 
 and Botany, to which Prof. Winchell was transferred 
 in July of that year. In 1859 he was State Geolo- 
 gist of Michigan, and editor and publisher of the 
 Michigan Journal of Education. In August, 1872, 
 he was elected to the Chancellorship of Syracuse 
 University, and entered upon his duties January 17, 
 
 1873- 
 
 Professor Winchell was, perhaps, the very first 
 scientist in America who descended before popular 
 audiences from that high-caste and stately, but 
 dry and unpopular, style in which the older scien- 
 tists had thought it fit to cloak the dignity of science. 
 Prof. Winchell has been also a popular and volum- 
 inous author. Among the numerous works which 
 have emanated from his able pen are "Leaves from 
 the Book of Nature," (1858), "Voices from Na- 
 ture" (1863), " Geological Surveys" (1867), "The 
 Geology of the Stars" (1873), " Sketches of Crea- 
 tion" (1870;, and "Sparks from a Geological 
 Hammer," published in i88r. The "Sketches of 
 Creation " had, perhaps, the largest sale of any 
 scientific work ever published in America. His 
 work on " Preadamites," published in April, 1880, 
 was received with universal favor, both as a literary 
 production and for its scientific importance. 
 
 At the meeting of the Board of Regents of the Uni- 
 versity of Michigan, on the 2Sth of June, 1879, he 
 was called to the chair of Geology and Paleontology 
 in the University, which position he still retains. 
 
 His grandfather, Martin E. Winchell, was Colonel 
 of militia, and represented his district in the Leg- 
 islature of New York in 1826 and 1827. His sur- 
 viving brothers, all graduates o| the University of 
 Michigan, are Newton H., who is professor of 
 Geology in the University of Minnesota, and State 
 Geologist; Samuel R., founder, editor and proprie- 
 tor of the Educational Weekly, Chicago; and 
 Charles M., for some years connected as civil en- 
 gineer, with the United States Survey of the Lakes. 
 His surviving sister, Antoinette C, is the wife of 
 Prof. Edward Johnson, of Lynn, Mass. 
 
 Josiah Willcox lived on the farm afterwards 
 owned by Alanson Colver. He had one son, 
 Elisha, and six daughters. It is said that Ethan 
 Allen assisted at the " raising " of the house in 
 which he lived, and John Armstrong had the 
 wound dressed in it which he received in a duel at 
 Boston Corners in August, i8n. 
 
TOWN OF PINE PLAINS. 
 
 The old Hartwell burial ground, in which many 
 of the early settlers were buried, was in the forks 
 of two roads leading easterly therefrom, one to 
 Spencer's Corners, and the other to Dakin's Cor- 
 ners. This old graveyard was formerly left open to 
 commons, but about the year 1825, it was fenced 
 into the field by the owner of the Hartwell farm, 
 who afterward removed the gravestones which had 
 been placed there, used the stones for a fence, and 
 plowed over the ground as if it were never used 
 for the sacred purpose of the burial of the dead. 
 There are now few if any traces left of the old 
 graves. 
 
 John Rau, who emigrated from Germany with 
 the Palatines about 1712 or '15, built, it is sup- 
 posed, about 174s, the original mill which stood on 
 the site of what is known as the Phineas Carman 
 mill.* This is believed to be the oldest mill site 
 in this locality. In 1740, if not earlier, John Rauf 
 had a residence northeast from this mil), where 
 Chauncey Rowe now lives. He was a carpenter 
 by trade, and is said to have built the old portion 
 of the house in which Chauncey Rowe, a descend- 
 ant, now (1879) lives. The pine beams in the 
 house, which were cut and hewn in the forest on 
 the " pine plains," over a century and a quarter ago, 
 are doing duty now and are in a good state of 
 preservation. Peter Rau, a son of John Rau; is the 
 first positively known owner of the Carman mill. 
 He sold it to his brother Mattice or Mottice,i and 
 soon after the sale emigrated to Scaticoke, Rens- 
 selaer county, N. Y. One or two men, of the 
 name of Reynolds, succeeded Mattice Rau in the 
 ownership of the mill. Then Mr. Ellison, then 
 Richard Carman, then Phineas Carman, .his son. 
 At the death of the latter it came into the posses- 
 sion of his sons ; John, the youngest lately deceased, 
 being the last owner. According to the surveys of 
 the Little Nine Partners and Great Nine Partners 
 grants, a strip of land, triangular in shape, was left 
 between them, the point being at the western 
 boundaries, which strip widened as the boundaries 
 extended eastward to the Oblong, and was known 
 as the " Gore." The mill stands on this gore. 
 Here the Sha-ca-me-co creek, which furnishes the 
 mill-power, runs through an opening or pass in a 
 range of hills of considerable note, which rise on 
 either hand perhaps four hundred feet. The Indian 
 name for this locality was "Puck-ka-puck-ka,"' rock 
 
 * This property was sold at auction aud Hd in by Walter Loucks, for 
 ^2,5ZO,oo, November i, iSyg. 
 
 t In old documents this name is written Rau. Raugh, and Row. It is 
 now almost universally written Rowe. 
 
 t A name now known as Matthias. 
 
 243 
 
 against rock, signifying two rocky hills or moun- 
 tains bearing down upon each other, with a stream 
 intervening.* Tradition has preserved the Indian 
 name, somewhat corrupted, in the mountain north 
 of the mill as " Buck-ka-barrack," while the moun- 
 tain south of the gap is known as " Fish Mountain," 
 after an early settler at its eastern base. A short 
 distance down the stream stands an old one-story 
 house, 16 by 18 feet, with the wall of stone, which 
 forms the back of the fireplace, and part of the 
 chimney and fireplace exposed to the weather, 
 fiUing half of the end of the building. This 
 building also stands on the " Gore," and tradition 
 has it that John Rau was the builder. The nails 
 used were wrought, and imported from Germany or 
 Holland. Here in an early day settled John Flynn 
 — the father of Old John Flynn — whose wife, 
 familiarly styled " Aunt Molly," was well known in 
 the neighborhood. Her husband left her in the 
 early days of their married life, and she paid for 
 the building of the now old house. She died about 
 1 81 7, hot far from ninety years of age. 
 
 The earhest town record that can now be found 
 bears date of April loth, r772, and is a record of 
 a bill of sale dated the third day of April, 1772, 
 given by John Hulburt to Joseph Ketcham both 
 of Oblong, and County of Duchess, for and in con- 
 sideration of the sum of forty pounds current law- 
 ful money of New York, to the said John Hulburt 
 in hand paid, in which Bill of Sale is mentioned 
 seventy-eight acres of wheat all of which wheat is 
 made over to the said Joseph Ketcham : — Byron 
 Morris Graham, Town Clerk. 
 
 The name of Morris Graham appears as clerk 
 until December 12th, 1774, when the name of 
 Charles Graham appears, he being elected to that 
 office the previous April, f As the following rec- 
 ords of the first town meeting now to be found 
 will show : — 
 
 " At a meeting of the Freeholders and inhabit- 
 ants of the North East Precinct, Duchess County, 
 on Tuesday the sth of April, 1774, after choosing 
 James Atwater, Esq., Moderator, made choice of 
 the following officers : Morris Graham, Supervisor ; 
 Charles Graham, Clerk ; James Bryan and Han- 
 tice Couse, Assessors of County Taxes ; Hantice 
 Couse and Israel Thompson, Assessors for Quit 
 Rents ; George Head, Constable and Collector; 
 Middle Constable, James Young ; East Division, 
 Josiah Holly; James Hedding, Hantice Couse, 
 
 * Isaac Huntling on Indian Names and their significance. 
 
 t The earlier records of the town have been loosely cared for. Some 
 of the books are undoubtedly lost. North East Precmct was formed as 
 before stated, December 16, 1746, and embraced what is now Pine 
 Plains, Milan, North East, and a portion of Amenia, The town offi- 
 cers for years were undoubtedly from various parts of the now separate 
 townships. 
 
244 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 and James Bryan, Overseers of the Poor ; Lewis 
 Bryan, Daniel Wilson, and Israel Thompson, Com- 
 missioners of Roads ; John Collins, Collector of 
 Quit Rents." 
 
 The following has been the succession of Super- 
 visors and Clerks from 1775 to i88t : — 
 
 Supervisors. Clerks. 
 
 1775. Israel Thompson, Charles Graham. 
 
 1776. do do Jonathan Landon. 
 1777-78. Hugh Rea, do do 
 1779-81. Lewis Graham, do do 
 
 1782. Hugh Rea, do do 
 
 1783. Uriah Lawrence, do do 
 
 1784. Lewis Graham, do do 
 1785-87. John White, Andrew White. 
 1788-92. Josiah Holly, Ebenezer Dibblee. 
 
 1793. Ebenezer Dibblee, Jesse Thompson. 
 
 1794. Josiah Holly, do do 
 1795-96. do do Ebenezer Dibblee. 
 
 1797. Ebenezer Dibblee, Cor. W. VanRaust. 
 
 1798. do do Peter Husted. 
 
 1799. Peter Husted, Hugh Gamble. 
 
 1800. do do Charles Hoag. 
 
 1 801. [No record of this year.] 
 
 1802. Isaac Sherwood, Peter Husted. 
 
 1803. do do Fyler Dibblee. 
 
 1804. Martin E. Winchell, do do 
 
 1805. do • do Peter Husted. 
 
 1806. Jonathan Deuel, do do 
 
 1807. Benj. R. Bostwick, Stephen Eno. 
 1808-09. Jonathan Deuel, do do 
 
 1810. Enos HopkinSj John W. Righter. 
 
 181 1. do do Fyler Dibblee. 
 181 2-1 3. Isaac Sherwood, Israel Harris. 
 
 1814. Uri Judd, do do 
 
 1815. do do Cornelius AUerton. 
 
 18 16. Martin Lawrence, do do 
 
 1817. do do Aaron E. Winchell. 
 
 1818. Fyler Dibblee, do do. 
 
 1 8 19. do do William Woodin. 
 1820-21. Philo M. Winchell, do do 
 1822.* Israel Harris, Reuben W. Bostwick. 
 
 1823. Philo M. Winchell, Piatt Smith. 
 
 1824. David Sheldon, Peter Mills. 
 
 1825. do do William H. Bostwick. 
 
 1826. Amos Bryan, do do 
 
 1827. Abraham Bocker, Piatt Smith. 
 
 1828. do do Nicholas Holbrook. 
 1829-30. Douglass Clark, do do 
 
 183 1. do do Joseph Horton. 
 
 1832. Alanson Colver, William Winchell. 
 1833-34. Eli Mills, Nicholas Holbrook. 
 
 1835. David Sheldon, do do 
 
 1836. do do William Winchell. 
 1837-38. John H. Conklin, do do 
 1839-40. Moses Clark, do do 
 
 1841. Eben Wheeler, do do 
 
 1842. do do John G. Caulkins. 
 
 1843. Jeduthan Roe, do do 
 
 1844. Hiram Wheeler, do dp 
 
 1845. do do do do 
 
 « : 
 
 * In this year Pine Plains was taken off, and the town meeting was 
 held at the house of Alexander Neeley. 
 
 1846. Abrahan Bockee,* John G. Caulkins. 
 
 1847. James Hammond, Edward Crosby. 
 
 1848. Abner Brown, John G. Caulkins. 
 
 1849. George Douglass, Alva Roe. 
 
 1850. Geo. R. Winchell, John G. Caulkins. 
 
 1851. Gerard Pitcher, Chas. P. Capron.t 
 
 1852. John Winchell, Harvey Roe. 
 
 1853. Edgar Clark, Edward W. Simmons. 
 
 1854. Jeremiah W. Paine, do do 
 
 1855. Piatt A. Paine, John M. Benedict. 
 
 1856. Hiram Rogers, Lucius P. Woods. 
 
 1857. Edw'd W. Simmons, do do 
 
 1858. John F. Wheeler, Theron I. Paine. 
 
 1859. Phoenix Bockee, do do 
 i860. George Clark, James Finch. 
 
 1861. David Bryan, Lucius P. Woods. 
 
 1862. John Campbell, Selah N. Jenks. 
 
 1863. George F. More, Delancey M. North- 
 
 1 864. Edw'd W. Simmons.Collins Sheldon, [rup. 
 
 1865. do do Sterling Moore. 
 
 1866. do dp Edward Cook. 
 
 1867. do do John G. Caulkins. 
 
 1868. William H. Barton, Chas. H. Gilbert. 
 
 1869. William L. Pratt, John R. Winchell. 
 
 1870. James Collins, Nathan C; Beach. 
 
 1871. do do William R. Smith. 
 
 1872. do do James Finch. 
 
 1873. George Dakin, Hilem B. Eggleston. 
 1874-75. Daniel McElwell, Nelson A. McNeil. 
 
 1876. Michael Rowe, do do 
 
 1877. Jeremiah W. Paine, Selah N. Jenks. 
 
 1878. Hirani Rogers, do do 
 
 1879. James M. Winchell, do do 
 r88o. George E. Crane, Nelson A. McNeil. 
 1881. Wheeler Rowe, Chas. N. Watson. 
 
 This section of the county is rich in iron ore. 
 Numerous valuable mines have been opened and 
 worked, the iron yielded being peculiarly adapted 
 to certain of the mechanical arts. The Dakin Ore 
 Bed, one of the most prominent of tho^e found in 
 this section, was discovered in 1846 by Henry and 
 Gideon Dakin, sons ofOrville Dakin, on land owned 
 by the latter. They at once sunk shafts for min- 
 ing the ore, and a company was farmed to develop 
 the industry, under the title of the Duchess County 
 Irpn Company, under the management of Moses 
 C. Wells, Phineas Chapin,J Charles C. Alger. On 
 the ten acres of land adjoining the ore bed sold to 
 them by Orville Dakin, this company built in 1848 
 the furnace now in operation there. The furnace 
 was run'by them until 1850 or '51, when the com- 
 pany failed, and the furnace was sold to Orville 
 Dakin who conducted the business until 1856. He 
 failed through the mismanagement of his partner, 
 and the property was sold to Silas Harris, Henry 
 C. Myers, Cornelius Husted and George Barton. 
 
 * Member of Assembly, and Sheriff about 1850. 
 
 t Resigned vice Harvey Roe appointed to fill unexpired term, 
 
 X The founder of Chapinville Furnace- 
 
TOWN OF NORTH EAST. 
 
 245 
 
 They sold the furnace to George Morgan who 
 worked the ore bed from 1858 to i860 or '61, the 
 furnace in the meantime lying idle. The entire 
 property was then sold to Caleb S. Maltby who has 
 since conducted the business.. The ore bed 
 has proved to be very valuable. The principal 
 production of the furnace is a fine grade of car- 
 wheel iron. 
 
 The Couch mine, in the northeastern part of the 
 town, leased and discovered and now being worked 
 by Orville and Gideon Dakin, is another valuable 
 mine. The Dakin brothers also purchased, in 
 1872, a farm known as the Lloyd farm in the 
 northern part of the town, and there developed a 
 profitable ore bed which is now being successfully 
 worked and which contains perhaps the richest iron 
 ore in the Oblong. 
 
 Settlements. 
 
 One of the first settled localities in the town 
 was that portion known as Spencer's Corners, a 
 little north of the old line of Amenia. The place 
 derived its name from PhiHp Spencer, father to the 
 Hon. Ambrose Spencer, who lived there many 
 years. He came to North East previous to 1769, 
 and even ai that time this section had become 
 quite an old settlement. In 1773 the place was 
 known as " Spencer's Clearing." Before that date 
 even, art and science had to some extent flourished 
 there, rapid advancement had been made in agri- 
 culture, and it is recorded that there were in ex- 
 istence there some fine orchards in 1744.* 
 
 Elder Simon Dakin, who came from the vicinity 
 of Boston, previous to 1751, located here, where 
 he organized a Baptist Church, of which for many 
 years he was pastor. 
 
 An earlier settlement in the town was knoivn as 
 " Sichem." How the name was derived is not 
 known. The place was established earlier than 
 1750, and in 1797 it was numbered among the 
 places that the forefathers once knew, but for 
 many years even then had known no more. In 
 Morris' American Gazetteer, 1797, Sichem is 
 described as "formerly a settlement of the 
 Moravians on the east Une of New York State, 
 twenty-five miles southeast of Kingston, on Hud- 
 son's River." 
 
 After the white settlers had driven the Morav- 
 ians and the Christianized Indians from their 
 settlement at Sha-ca-me-co,t the Indians formed a 
 colony at Wechquadnach on the eastern border of 
 Indian Pond, and a congregation of them was 
 
 *" Field notes of the Survey of the Oblong."— Vol. 4J. 
 t See History Town of Pine Plains. 
 
 formed under the charge of the Moravians. 
 David Bruce, a Scotchman, was appointed to the 
 station, and here he died July 9, 1749, and was 
 buried on the scene of his labors. From this 
 mission also, the Indians were driven, and after their 
 dispersion the white settlers established a congrega- 
 tion on the western side of Indian Pond, in North 
 East, on land owned by Hiram Clark. Here they 
 built a church which in after years was converted 
 into a school-house. After the dispersion of the 
 Indians, Rev. Joseph Powell, one of the mission- 
 aries, ministered to a congregation of the early 
 settlers in this vicinity. He died and was buried 
 here in 1774. Rev. Abrah<im Reinke, another of 
 the Moravian brethren, ministered to the people 
 in different parts of this town and Amenia. 
 
 Of the Moravian mission house no vestige 
 remains, and its site is now covered by fields of 
 grain. Even the tombstones, which in an ad- 
 joining burial ground once designated the graves 
 of some of those early missionaries, have disap- 
 peared from view. One indeed a few years since 
 was reset, in a slate rock, near the former site of 
 the Mission house, but unprotected except by the 
 fences enclosing the pasture field in which it stood, 
 the " unconscious herd " in time displaced it, and 
 in its fall it was broken in fragments. In 1859 a 
 monument was erected to the memory of David 
 Bruce and Joseph Powell, a short distance from 
 the eastern border of Indian Pond, near the site 
 of the ancient settlement of Wechquadnach. The 
 monument bears this inscription on the north 
 side : — 
 
 " Joseph Powell, a minister of the Gospel in 
 the Church of the United Brethren, born 1710, 
 near White Church, Shropshire, England, Died 
 September 22, 1771, at Sichem, in the Oblong, 
 Duchess County, New York." 
 
 On the south side : — 
 
 " David Bruce, a minister of the Gospel in the 
 Church of the United Brethren, from Edinburgh, 
 Scotland, Died July 9, i749. at the Wechquad- 
 nach Mission, Duchess County, New York." 
 
 The west side bears the following inscription :— 
 
 " Erected by the Moravian Historical Society, 
 October 6, 1859." 
 
 On the east side is a selection from Isaiah. 
 
 The more modern settlements are neither large 
 or numerous. 
 
 Mount Riga. 
 
 Mount Riga is a small hamlet. The postmaster 
 here is Abram B. Couch. A general merchandise 
 business is conducted here by Ward B. Grey, of 
 Millerton. 
 
246 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 Shacameco. 
 
 Shacameco is a station on the railroad. The 
 postmaster is R. D. Bertine, who has held that of- 
 fice some four or five years. He also runs a store 
 and a coal yard. 
 
 Coleman Station. 
 
 Coleman Station, on the Harlem Railroad, has 
 the depot and post-office, the latter kept by Oliver 
 Barrett. 
 
 W1NCHEI.LS. 
 
 Winchells, on the Newburg, Duchess & Colum- 
 bia Railroad, is merely a stopping place. The 
 postmaster here is James M. Winchell who has 
 held the office some eight years. 
 
 Iron Junction. 
 
 Iron Junction is at the junction of the Connec- 
 ticut Western, Poughkeepsie & Eastern, and Rhine- 
 beck & Connecticut Railroads. The postmaster 
 and sole merchant is James Campbell. 
 
 Irondale. 
 
 Irondale contains a few houses, and the popula- 
 tion consists chiefly of those who work in the mill 
 and furnace, the sole business features of the place. 
 The postoffice was established here some six years 
 ago. The present postmaster is Charles H. Wat- 
 son, appointed in 1879. The buildings of the 
 Millerton Iron Company were erected in 1854 or 
 '55, by Julius Benedict, now an iron manufacturer 
 in New York. . He sold to Barnum & Richardson, 
 the former of whom is now the president of the 
 company. The mills employ about one hundred 
 and fifty hands. The ore is procured from the im- 
 mediate vicinity, and is peculiarly adapted to the 
 making of car wheels. A general store is also run 
 by the Company. The grist mill here, controlled 
 by the Millerton Iron Company, was built in 1880. 
 The old mill which stood here previously, and which 
 gave way to the present building, was that built by 
 James Winchell about 1803. After his death in 
 1834, the property went into the hands of Charles 
 Paterson. Then Bailey Bowditch, then Curtis 
 Potter, then Julius Benedict were owners, and it is 
 now owned, as stated, by the company owning the 
 furnace. 
 
 Millerton. 
 
 ■ Millerton, in the northwestern part of the town, 
 is the largest and most important of the villages. 
 
 It derived its name from Sidney G. Miller, one of 
 the contractors and builders of the extension of the 
 New York & Harlem Railroad from Dover Plains to 
 Chatham.* It is on the Harlem Road, thirty-six 
 miles from Chatham on the north. The Duchess, 
 Newburg & Conn., the Poughkeepsie & Eastern, 
 and the Connecticut Western railroads also touch 
 here. 
 
 In 1 85 1 there were no houses where the village 
 of Millerton now stands. The place now contains 
 a population of six hundred. The village was in- 
 corporated June 30, 1875. The first officers were 
 Nathan C. Beach, President; Orrin Wakeman, 
 Hilem B. Eggleston, Ward B. Grey, Trustees ; 
 John M. Benedict, Treasurer ; William E. Penney, 
 Secretary. 
 
 The postmaster here is John H. Templeton, 
 who was appointed in 1879; William E. Penney 
 deputy, who has acted in that capacity ten years. 
 The office was estabUshed here thirty years ago. 
 The first postmaster was Selah N. Jenks. Harvey 
 Roe, Henry Bunnell, Edward W. Simmons and 
 Ward B. Grey, make up in the order named the 
 succession of postmasters. The building in which 
 the postoffice is now located, was the first erected 
 in Millerton. t In that building E. W. Simmons 
 was probably the first to keep a store. He traded 
 until four years ago when he was succeeded by the 
 present merchant, James Finch. The other mer- 
 chants now doing business here are: — Beadi, Haw- 
 ley & Co., (Nathan C. Beach, Cyrus F. Hawley, 
 Elias B. Reed and Alonzo A. Bates,) general mer- 
 chants, in business here fourteen years, — another 
 store at Sharon is also conducted by this company ; 
 Ward B. Grey, a native of Pine Plains, born May 
 19, 1832, general merchant, in business here 
 since 1867, and who also has another store at Mt. 
 Riga, which was established in i§8o; Eggleston 
 Brothers, (Hilem B. and William T. Eggleston,) 
 general merchants,t in business eight years ; Levi 
 P. Hatch, druggist, in business here nine years; 
 Charles P. Suydam & Co., general merchants, who 
 began business in April 1879 ; Dwight Stent, deal- 
 er in stoves, tinware and house-furnishing goods, 
 establishing the business in February, 1879; Jo^^n 
 M. Benedict & Son, dealers in lumber, lime, brick, 
 etc., in business since 1878; James R. Paine & 
 Son, general hardware, in business as a firm since 
 February, 1879; Sylvester Tripp, a native of Scho- 
 harie county, born 1837, jeweler, in business here 
 . — — *' 
 
 * The meeting at which the village was named was held in the house 
 of Walter Wakeman in 1851, 
 t Built in 1851. 
 t The store was built by them in 187J, 
 
TOWN OF NORTH EAST. 
 
 247 
 
 since 1865; L. A. Knickerbocker, harness and 
 horse-furnishing goods, in business some four 
 years ; Thomas Dye, merchant tailor, in business 
 since 1872, succeeding his father, Thomas Dye, 
 who established the business in 1869 ; Sarah Hull, 
 millinery, in business here four years ; L. A. Brown, 
 confectionery and fancy goods, in business ten 
 years ; Charles P. Capron, photographs, in busi- 
 ness since 1865; Bernard Carney, marble works, 
 in business since 1876, succeeding William Coon ; 
 Joseph Harris, merchant tailor, in business since 
 July 15, 1875 ; Stillman & Hoag, (Sidney Still- 
 man, Arthur F. Hoag,) druggists, in business since 
 August, 1879. 
 
 Hotels. — The village contains three hotels. 
 The Millerton Zf^^wj^ was built in 1852 by Alex- 
 ander Trowbridge, Alexander HoUey and James 
 M. Winchell. The first to keep it as a hotel was 
 George Cole, who remained six months or a year; 
 James M. Winchell then conducted it two years 
 and a half, and then sold to Harrison Gilbert in 
 1855, who kept it until 1862, put on the addition 
 where the store now is, and built the barn. He 
 sold to Hoffman Sweet, who probably ran it three 
 years and sold to Ebenezer Sherman, who conduct- 
 ed it a short time and died. The property then 
 went into the hands of Norman E. Wheeler, and 
 so remained three years, when he sold to Myron 
 Pitcher, who kept it two years and sold to EUas 
 B. Reed. In his possession the property remained 
 five years, Noah G. Clark running the hotel as 
 lessee. The latter then purchased it, kept it five 
 years and sold to Beach, Hawley & Co., who now 
 own the property. The present landlord is Noah 
 G. Clark, the lessee. 
 
 The Planet Hotel was built in 1859, by Edward 
 Shinners. James Bird was the first to keep hotel in 
 the building, running it a year or more. Henry 
 Dayton then purchased the hotel, and, in company 
 with his son-in-law, James Paine, conducted it two 
 or three years. An addition to the building was 
 built by Dayton in 1861. Sterling More and 
 Marshall Doty were the next successors in Une, 
 each remaining but a short time. The hotel went 
 into the hands of William Card, who run it some 
 ten years, *and the property was then sold under 
 mortgage to Myron HamUn, who is the present 
 owner. The hotel is now kept by Perry Loucks, 
 who has been its landlord three years. 
 
 The Brick Block Hotel was erected by James 
 Conlan in 1872.* The first to keep a hotel here 
 was Charles A. Correy, who rema ined two years. 
 
 • James Conlan died in 1873. 
 
 Michael Rowe succeeded him, and is the present 
 landlord. The store which occupied the site of 
 this hotel was built by James M. Winchell in 1856, 
 and was burned down on the night of July 4th, 
 1871. 
 
 The Central Hotel ^z.^ built in 1865, by George 
 Greathead,* and was used until 1871 as a storage 
 house. The building was moved to its present 
 site in 1872, and was run as a hotel by Mr. Great- 
 head from the spring of 1873 '^"'•'^ ^^ spring of 
 1876. Rowland and Eugene Simmons, Seymour 
 L. Buckley, and Barnum, were the -succes- 
 sors in Une. The present proprietor [1881] is 
 Franklin Silvernail, who has been here two years. 
 Newspapers. — The Millerton Telegraph, a 
 weekly newspaper, was established in 1876, by 
 Cooley James, who conducted it some three 
 months and sold to Van Scriver & Deacon, the 
 present editors and pubUshers. 
 
 Webotuck Lodge No. 480, F. and A. M., was 
 organized June 11, 1860. The Charter officers 
 were : — Lucius P. Woods, W. M. ; Samuel L. Bag- 
 ley, S. W. ; J. Curtis Smith, J. W. The present 
 Secretary is Levi f. Hatch. The lodge meets 
 every other Friday. 
 
 North East Library Association.— The vil- 
 lage contains a fine library under the control 
 of the North East Library Association, which 
 had its origin in the Millerton Reading Room As- 
 sociation, organized January 10, 1876. It was 
 changed to the present association, April 10, 1876. 
 The first officers were Andrew J. Copp, President ; 
 Mrs. Jeremiah W. Paine, General Walter Phelps, 
 Jr., Darius Penney, Vice Presidents; William E. 
 Penney, Treasurer, Secretary and Librarian. The 
 library contains about 350 volumes. 
 
 Physicians — Among the past physicians of the 
 town, was Curtice J. Hurd, who practiced here 
 from 1820 to 1834 or '36, and who had an exten- 
 sive patronage. He went to Manlius, Onondaga 
 County, N. Y., about 1837, and practiced for some 
 time there, where he died a number of years after. 
 Two of his sons, George and Darwin, were also 
 physicians, and for a short time practiced here. 
 Both are now dead. Dr Samuel Robertson, a na- 
 tive of Windham, Greene County, N. Y., practiced 
 here from 1830 until 1846 or '47. He went to 
 near Albany, and in i88r, was living in Canisteo, 
 N. Y. Dr. Bull was also a prominent physician 
 here previous to 1820. Other physicians were Dr. 
 
 * a native of Yorkshire, England, bom April lo, 1830, came to Amer- 
 ica in 1849, and to MiUerton in i8S4- For some years he was prominent 
 as a speculator and merchant. 
 
248 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 Northrop, previous to 1864-5; Dr. Tibbies, 1865- 
 '67 ; Dr. Chamberlain, 1870, died in 1873 ; and Dr. 
 James F. Preston, who practiced here from the fall 
 of 1878 to 1880, and removed to MinneapoHs, 
 Minnesota. 
 
 The physicians now in practice here are. Dr. 
 Sidney Stillman, who graduated from the Berk- 
 shire Medical College, Pittsfield, Mass., in 1837, 
 and who came to North East, July 4, 1846. 
 
 Dr. Henry A. Hart, a native of New Britain, 
 Conn., born in 1828, graduated from the College 
 of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, in 1853-4, 
 and came to Millerton in 1874. 
 
 Dr. Arthur F. Hoag, a graduate from the 
 College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, 
 1879. 
 
 William Selleck, M. D., a native of Dover 
 Plains, graduated from New York Homeopathic 
 College in 1875, and came to Millerton in 
 1880. 
 
 Frank G. Hugins, a native of Sheffield, Mass., 
 Surgeon Dentist, came to Millerton in 1881. 
 
 Dr. Frederic V. Clarkson, a native of New York, 
 graduated from the College of Physicians and 
 Surgeons of that city in 1852, and came to North 
 East in 1865. 
 
 Lawyers. — The lawyers are Edward W. Sim- 
 mons, a native of North East, born in 1816, ad- 
 mitted to the bar in 1867. 
 
 Collins Sheldon, a native of Copake, Columbia 
 County, admitted to practice in May, 1862, and 
 came to North East in February, 1863. He is 
 Surrogate of the County, to which position he was 
 elected in 1877. 
 
 William R. Smith, a native of Ancram, Columbia 
 county, born in 1827, became a resident of this 
 town in 1868. He was admitted to the bar in 
 1873- 
 
 Churches. — Millerton contains four churches, 
 the Baptist, Presbyterian, Methodist and Roman 
 Catholic. The history of the Baptist Church em- 
 braces a period of a century and a quarter. The 
 organization was begun on the 6th day of Novem- 
 ber, 1751, when nine persons, who had been bap- 
 tized on a profession of their faith, entered into 
 church relationship. The names of the original 
 nine members are as follows : — 
 
 Simon Dakin, Elijah Calkin, Josiah Baker, 
 Maltheo Rowlee, Reuben Cloos, Barzillai King, 
 Stephen Pepper, Elisha Cole. 
 
 A church covenant and articles of faith were 
 adopted, and these nine disciples became the 
 "Baptist Church of Phillips' Patent, Government 
 
 of York."* There were at that time less 
 than fifty Baptist churches in North America, 
 with a membership of less than 4,000. But few 
 then could be found to sympathize with Baptists, 
 and the movement was generally regarded as the 
 illustration of a fanaticism that would soon expend 
 itself The church appears' to have been destitute 
 of a settled pastor until 1753. In that year an 
 invitation was given to Simon Dakin, one of the 
 nine constituent members, to assume the pastoral 
 charge. He accepted the call, and at once began 
 his labors as the first pastor of the Baptist Church 
 of Phillips' Patent. He was ordained by a coun- 
 cil, and for fifty years was a faithful minister in 
 that denomination. Up to 1761, the society was 
 without a house of worship, but in that year a be- 
 ginning was made, and in the following year the 
 house was finished aad dedicated. At this time 
 the membership had become increased to thirty- 
 three. In 1770, the society joined the Phila- 
 delphia Association of Churches, and had then a 
 membership of sixty-five. 
 
 In 1773 they were invited to remove to the sec- 
 tion of country lying north of them, known as the 
 " North East Precinct of Duchess County." Owing 
 to numerous difficulties, and the invitation to re- 
 moval being so cordial, they decided that the change 
 should at once be made. Previous to removal, 
 however, they dismissed some of their number to 
 form another church in the same county, over 
 which Nathan Cole was ordained as pastor. By 
 the last of April the removal was effected, and on 
 the first of May, 1773, they held their first cove- 
 nant meeting in North East, at the house of Rev. 
 Simon Dakin, the pastor, near " Spencer's Clear- 
 ing." During 1774, seven were baptized and ten 
 received into membership. In 1775, Rev. Elijah 
 Wood, a Congregational minister over a church in 
 Amenia Precinct,t was baptized" and received into 
 the Baptist Church. During this year the sever- 
 ance of the colonies from Great Britain was declared 
 accomplished. The storm of patriotic indignation 
 burst, and every day added intensity to its force. 
 The patriots of Duchess County called a meeting 
 at Poughkeepsie, and a pledge was adopted " that 
 under all the ties of religion, honor and love to 
 country, they would adopt and carry into execu- 
 tion whatever might be recommended by the Con- 
 tinental Congres s." 
 
 * PhUlips' Patent, in which the church was first located, was a tract 
 ofland in Westchester county, lo miles square, lying south of a line 
 running due east from the mouth of Croton River. It was granted by 
 Charles II., of England, to Frederic Phillips, who settled upon its 
 western limits in 1680. 
 
 t See History of Baptist Church in Amenia. 
 
TOWN OF NORTH EAST. 
 
 249 
 
 On the Sth of July, 1775, this pledge was sent 
 into the precinct of North East for signers. The 
 response was enthusiastic, and among the names 
 of those who signed we find James Winchell, Ben- 
 jamin Covey, Eusly Simmons, Elisha Mead, David 
 Hamblen, the Knickerbackers, John Fulton, Eben- 
 ezer Crane, Smith Simmons, Israel Thompson^ 
 Nathaniel Mead, and others. The ore bed, now 
 known as the Maltby, formerly the Dakin, ore bed, 
 had been opened several years before, but aban- 
 doned. It was this year re-opened, and iron taken 
 out for the casting of cannon for the patriot army. 
 
 In 1776 the society prepared to build a house 
 of worship. Rev. Simon Dakin donated to them 
 the land now occupied as the old burial ground at 
 Spencer's Corners, and on this they laid the found- 
 ation of their second meeting house, which was 
 completed and dedicated the following year. 
 
 In 1778 the church recorded its protest against 
 slavery, and at a church meeting, held September 
 24th, they declared it to be contrary to the gospel, 
 and voted that they would do nothing to uphold it. 
 Few events of more than ordinary interest occurred 
 until the year 1780, when Elder Wood, with others, 
 withdrew from tiie North East church, and organ- 
 ized a church in the Amenia Precinct. Elder 
 Wood was ordained their pastor. Hezekiah East- 
 man was Hcensed to preach, being the third thus 
 authorized by this church. 
 
 In 1787 occurred a serious division of senti- 
 ment, which was continued into the following year, 
 when, by invitation of the church, a council met at 
 their house of worship to advise with them. As a 
 result, fifteen were dismissed to form anew church, 
 which they did at what is known as North East 
 Centre. 
 
 In 1797 the membership had decreased, by 
 deaths and removals, to sixty-four. In this year 
 Rev. Simon Dakin died. During this time Rev. 
 John Leland moved into the town, purchased land, 
 and took charge of the church. He preached on 
 the Sabbath in the meeting house, and on week' 
 day evenings in the kitchen of the house now the 
 Presbyterian parsonage. 
 
 In 1812, James M. Winchell, having graduated 
 at Brown University, was licensed to preach by 
 the Church. He was ordained the following year 
 at Bristol, R. I., and the next year was installed as 
 pastor of the First Baptist Church in Boston. In 
 this same year John Buttolph was licensed to 
 preach, and on the 4th of May, 18 1 4, he was or- 
 dained, and began his labors as pastor, which he 
 continued for eleven years. 
 
 In 1828 the erection of a new house of worship 
 was begun, and was finished in 1829, the dedica- 
 tion taking place on the 12th of August, Rev. 
 Thomas Winter preaching the sermon, and Rev. 
 Rufus Babcock assisting in the services. 
 
 The edifice cost about $4,000, of which sum 
 James Winchell donated $1,700. 
 
 In 183 1, Jamfes Winchell and wife gave to trus- 
 tees a house and fourteen acres of land, to be for 
 the use and assistance of the pastors of the church. 
 
 In April, 1839, Rev. Thomas Winter resigned 
 the pastorate, and was succeeded in 1840 by Rev. 
 Andrew M. Smith, who remained till 1843. He 
 was succeeded by Rev. John LaGrange, who be- 
 gan his labors, as the sixth pastor, in April, 1843, 
 and remained until March, 1846. His successor 
 was the Rev. C. C. Williams, who remained as 
 pastor till 1847, and was followed by Rev. H. L. 
 Grose, who began his labors in 1848, and closed 
 them the 20th of December, 1851. 
 
 Rev. C. B. Keys succeeded to the pastorate in 
 March, 1852, and resigned in 1853. In 1854, 
 Rev. G. Anderson, a licentiate from the Baptist 
 church in Lewisburgh, Penn., came here, and the 
 church called him to the pastorate. He was or- 
 dained November 21st, and remained until 1857. 
 Rev. George Kempton succeeded him in 1857, 
 and closed his labors in i860. 
 
 In 1 86 1, Eugene M. Byrnes was called to the 
 pastorate and began his ministry. He was follow- 
 ed by Rev. Thomas Winter, who, in August, 1863, 
 was the second time called to serve the church. ' 
 He remained until 1865, when he removed to Rox- 
 boro, Penn. The pulpit was then for some time 
 supplied by different pastors who officiated for 
 brief periods. Rev. W. C. McCarthy supplied the 
 pulpit a few weeks and Rev. J. B. Simmons, of 
 Philadelphia, officiated a month. 
 
 In 1866, the church voted to sell the meeting 
 house, purchase a new site, and erect a new edi- 
 fice in the growing village of Millerton. On the 
 1 9th of August, the church met for the last time 
 in the old house at Spencer's Corners. Novem- 
 ber 4, 1867, a hundred and sixteen years after its 
 organization, the church met to lay the corner 
 stone of its fourth house of worship. 
 
 In November, 1873, Rev. S. L. Holman began 
 his labor as pastor, and on the 20th of Novem- 
 ber, the new house of worship was dedicated. Mr. 
 Holman's pastorate lasted until the 23d of May, 
 1875. His successor was Rev. A. C. Lyon, the 
 present incumbent, who began his ministerial work 
 in June, 1875. 
 
2SO 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 The Presbyterian Church, formerly known as 
 the North East Congregational Church, was or- 
 ganized January 15, 1829, with nine members, 
 six by letter, and three by their profession of faith. 
 
 The names of these members were : — Elihu 
 Paine, Ezra L. Barrett, Rhoda Barrett, Phillip J. 
 Jenks, Julia Ann Jenks, John G. Douglass, Eliza- 
 beth Clark, Mary Hotchkiss, Myra Coleman [Mrs. 
 Pitcher]. The original church was formed and 
 located at North East Centre. The old church 
 edifice there was torn down in 1866. During the 
 year there were fourteen additions to the mem- 
 bership, eight by letter and six by profession of 
 faith. Phillip J. Jenks was elected Deacon. 
 
 The first to preach to the society was Rev. Mr. 
 VanDyke, who remained six months. In 1830, 
 the first regularly installed pastor. Rev. Thomas 
 Fletcher, began his labors. On the 21st of May, 
 1833, Rev. Thomas Fletcher was dismissed for 
 want of adequate support. On the 30th of Sep- 
 tember, 1834, the church became connected with 
 the Litchfield North Association of Connecticut. 
 There is no account of a ministerial supply for that 
 year. July 3, 1835, Rev. Mr. Gaylord was en- 
 gaged for one year. In 1841, Rev. Mr. Howe 
 was the pastor. Rev. Joel Osborn was invited to 
 become the pastor, and was installed May 27, 
 1846. In 1848, Rev. Joel Osborn was dismissed 
 on account of ill-health. The church was closed 
 the greater portion of the time from his with- 
 drawal to March, 1850. In that year Rev. Isaac 
 DeVoe was engaged for one year. Mr. DeVoe was 
 again engaged for 1852, and remained until 1855. 
 
 From April, 1855, until the summer of 1858, the 
 church was for the most part closed.- In the latter 
 year Rev. E. W. Stoddard, pastor of the church in 
 Amenia, commenced preaching every Sunday af- 
 ternoon, and under his labors the church was gath- 
 ered together again, after being seemingly almost 
 scattered. Mr. Stoddard supphed the desk until 
 September, 1859, when the Rev. George R. Fer- 
 guson took his place. 
 
 In October, 1863, the church secured the ser- 
 vices of Rev. O. Parker, who held for three weeks 
 a series of revival meetings. 
 
 In 1866 the church was removed to Millerton. 
 The last sermon in the old house was preached 
 February 1 1 th. The corn er stone of the new house 
 was laid August ist, with appropriate ceremonies. 
 Services were held in the basement of the Metho- 
 dist church, at the Centre, while the work of build- 
 ing was in progression. The new house of wor- 
 ship was dedicated February 17, 1867. 
 
 In 1873 the church severed its connection with 
 the Association of Litchfield North, in Connecti- 
 cut, and was received under the charge of the Pres- 
 bytery of North River. Mr. Ferguson closed his 
 labors about 1874, and September 2 ist, of that year 
 a call was extended to Rev. John J. Walsh, who ac- 
 cepted it and remained until March 5, 1876, when 
 on account of failing eye-sight he was compelled to 
 cease preaching. From that time for a considera- 
 ble period the desk was variously supplied by Revs. 
 Beebe, Phillips, Territt, Cleveland, Brown, Acker- 
 man, Woodruff, Westervelt, Lent, Cooper, Shaw. 
 William E. Westervelt was called in February, 1877, 
 and remained until 1880. He was succeeded by 
 Rev. J. Y. Marsh, one year. 
 
 The Methodist Episcopal Church records are very 
 meagre. The Methodists were the first to hold re- 
 ligious services here after the departure of the Mor- 
 avian missionaries. Their first meeting was held in 
 this town about 1750, and the first sermon was 
 preached in a house just east of Sharon Station, by 
 whom it is not known. One of the early Metho- 
 dist itinerants of Northern Duchess was " Billy " 
 Hibbard, who probably preached in this vicinity. 
 
 One of the early members of the church here 
 was Thomas Haywood, who lived near what is 
 now known as Mt. Riga. He had a family of five 
 sons and nine daughters, nearly all of whom were 
 Methodists. At his house the traveUing preachers 
 were wont to stay, and services were held there 
 once a fortnight. This was probably from the 
 year 1790 to 1807, as the school house near there 
 was built in 1807, to the erection of which Mr. 
 Haywood gave fifty dollars on condition that the 
 building be made large enough to be used 'as a 
 place of religious worship. The first original 
 document as yet . discovered is a certificate of in- 
 corporation of the chapel which stood at Spencer's 
 Corners. It reads as follows : — 
 
 "At a meeting of the members and supporters of 
 the Methodist Episcopal Church at Spencer's Cor- 
 ners, at the house of Orville Dakin, Nov. 5, 1842, 
 at 7 o'clock p. M., the meeting being duly called' 
 Rev. A. F. Selleck, preacher in charge, was called 
 to the chair, A. Winchell was chosen secretary 
 and Nathaniel Gridley and Orville Dakin officers 
 to preside at the meeting. Upon motion of N. 
 Gridley, it was voted that the number of trustees 
 of said church be five, two of whom should be 
 chosen for the term of one year, one for the term 
 of two years, and two for the term of three years. 
 Orville Dakin and Alexander McAllister were 
 then chosen for one year, Alanson Colver, for two 
 years, and Nicholas D. Eggleston and Nathaniel 
 Gridley for three years. 
 
TOWN OF NORTH EAST. 
 
 251 
 
 " It was then voted that the church be known by 
 the name of 'Spencer's Ccyners Methodist Episco- 
 pal church. 
 
 Alonzo F. Selleck, Chairman. ^ 
 Alexander Winchell, Secretary. 
 Nathaniel Gridley, ^ Presiding officers of 
 Orville Dakin, j said meeting." 
 
 This was duly recorded February 7, 1843, in 
 the Clerk's office of Duchess County. 
 
 The next is an agreement for the land, and then 
 the minutes of another meeting in which John W. 
 Snyder figures in procuring a vote for a gallery in 
 the house, and these are all the records which have 
 been discovered relating to the Spencer's Corners' 
 chapel. 
 
 The first record of the North East Centre 
 church, of which anything is known, is under date 
 of 1842, and is a record of an election of trustees. 
 The first mention of pastor is of Rev. D. C. Ben- 
 jamin. In 1847 appear the names of sixty-four 
 members, divided into classes, under different 
 leaders, with Denton Keeler as pastor. 
 
 Under date of April 2, 1859, is found the follow- 
 ing.:— 
 
 " The trustees of Millerton beg leave to report 
 that they have purchased a lot on which they have 
 erected a church edifice which costs, with the said 
 lot, the sum of $4,500. That they have paid 
 $3,700. That there is now in subscriptions 
 $450.00. That there is a debt of $350.00." 
 
 This relates to the present church edifice. 
 
 From 1842 to 1881 the succession of pastors 
 has been as follows : — 
 
 Rev. A. F. Selleck 1842 
 
 Rev. D. C. Benjamin 1845-46 
 
 Rev. Denton Keeler 1847-48 
 
 Rev. J. Keys 1849 
 
 Rev. J. L. Dickerson 1850-51 
 
 Rev. J. N. Robinson 1852 
 
 Rev. A. N. Mulnix 1853 
 
 Rev. A. H. Ferguson 1854-5S 
 
 Rev. W. G. Browning 1856-57 
 
 Rev. A. E. Gallahue 1858-59 
 
 Rev. W. E, Clarke i860 
 
 Rev. Thomas Edwards 1861-62 
 
 Rev. T. B, Andrews 1863-64 
 
 Rev. Philip Germond 1865-67 
 
 Rev. Robert Hunt 1868-70 
 
 Rev. Aaron Coons 1871-72 
 
 Rev. Marvin R. Lent 1873-75 
 
 Rev. Wm. A. Mackay 1876-78 
 
 Rev. James H. Michell 1879-81 
 
 The War of the Rebellion. 
 
 No complete record was made of the men who 
 served from this town in the late war. The fol- 
 lowing list was gleaned partly from official and 
 
 partly from private sources, and is manifestly in- 
 complete. We give it, however, as it was given 
 us, to preserve at least a few of the names of those 
 who fought for their country in that eventful 
 struggle. 
 
 gisf Regt. N. Y. S. Vols. Enlistments of 1861; 
 Co. E. — John McGinnis ; Thomas O'Haran, died 
 in the service in 1865; John Taylor, died in the 
 service in 1863 ; Henry F. Benedict, died in 1866 ; 
 Michael Farlin, Co. H., died in 1862 ; Jeremiah 
 Price; Perry Knickerbacker,* and Michael Rowe.f 
 
 \2%th Regiment, Co. B. — William E. Hamilton, 
 (Corporal,) William H. Spielman, Edward Cairn, 
 Michael Sullivan, James Campbell, L. Van Al- 
 styne, Leonard Loucks, Charles H. Ferris, 
 George Bishop, Jacob Burch, John R. Wooden, 
 Walter H. Loucks and William Palmer. 
 
 Co. i^— Theodore V. Smith, Theodore Simp- 
 son and Patrick Connors. 
 
 Company unknown. — George S. Drake, E. 
 Knickerbacker, Seneca H. Marks, George M. 
 Luban, William Parker, George Storey, John C. 
 Thome,! Edgar J. Caine, Jacob Coon and Walter 
 Fish. 
 
 ■Lt^oth Regiment, Co. Z>.§— Theodore Templeton, 
 Corporal ; Francis [or Frank] Wood, Corporal. 
 
 Irving E. Ayres, James DeLancy, Sanford 
 Eggleston, Charles E. French, Henry Mayhew, 
 William H. Myers,! Joseph McGhee, John Mc- 
 Laughlin, John . Mayhew, William W. Palmer, 
 Lewis Reed, George M. Scribner, Charles H. 
 Scribner, George N. Birch, Martin C. Palmer, || 
 George Cook,|| James E. Myers, || Patrick Mc- 
 Cune.|! George Reed and Freeman Thurston died 
 in the service. 
 
 Company unknown.— (^QO^g^ Brusie, Edward 
 French, Theodore H. Myers, M. C. Palmer, 
 Robert W. Phelps, Chauncy Phelps, J. C. Smith,** 
 George F. Wilson, Phoenix Bockee,tt Daniel 
 Bishop, Peter Melius and George T. Wilson. 
 
 Scattering.— M.. Woodin, 47th Regiment ; John 
 Wooden, 5th Conn. Regiment; David Killmer, 
 9th Conn. Regiment ; Samuel Reed, First N. Y. 
 Mounted Rifles; Horace Gilbert, i6th Artillery; 
 John Lindsey.tt 20th B attalion. __^__ 
 
 * Enlisted in 1864. 
 
 t Michael Rowe was a Corporal. He is now a landlord in Millerton. 
 
 X Died in Pine Plains in 1865. 
 
 § This company was mustered into the service October 11, i86j, and 
 was mustered out June 8, 1865. 
 
 t Died about 1866. 
 
 II Those marked with a parallel were transferred to other regiments 
 and the Veteran Reserve Corps 
 
 »• Now a dentist in Washington, D. C. 
 
 tt Assistant in Q. M. Department. 
 
 XXJixA about i879- 
 
252 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 Regiments unknown. — Henry Smith, * John Swart, 
 Chandler C. Dresser, Levi Van Wagner, H. S. New- 
 comb, W. E. Ostram, Francis Frank, Joseph Frank, 
 T. J. Gilbert, Ira Marshall, Cornelius Morris, John 
 H. Fuller and Sidney Pratt. 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 History of Rhinebeck. 
 
 THE town of Rhinebeck lies in the north- 
 western part of the county, on the Hudson 
 River. It is bounded on the north by Red Hook ; 
 on the east by Milan and Clinton ; on the south 
 by Hyde Park and CUnton ; the Hudson River 
 forming the western boundary. 
 
 The principal streams are Rhinebeck creek and 
 Landsman's kill. Rhinebeck creek is named because 
 it has its main springs in that part of the town which 
 was laid out for the " High Dutchers," and called 
 "Rein Beek," or " Rynbeek." Its course runs 
 through level meadow land. Landsman's creek was so 
 named either from the fact that all its waterfalls, 
 capable of turning a mill, were reserved by the 
 "landsman," or landlord, in his sales to the settlers; 
 or because it was first settled upon by Casper Lands- 
 man, whose name is found in the old church records. 
 These two streams meet in the Fritz mill-pond, at 
 which point the Rhinebeck creek terminates, and 
 from there to the river is known as Landsman's 
 creek. Just below this junction, the stream falls 
 over a rocky precipice some sixty feet, forming a 
 beautiful cascade known as Beechwood Falls.f 
 This creek at one time turned a grist and saw-mill 
 at the river; a grist-mill and woolen factory in Fox 
 Hollow; a paper-mill at the falls; a saw-mill, oil 
 mill and a woolen-mill at the junction; a grist- 
 mill west of the post-road ;| a grist-mill and woolen 
 factory east of the post-road ; a grist-mill east of 
 the village;! a saw-mill and Schuyler's woolen 
 factory further east; and Rutsen's grist and saw- 
 mill at Mrs. Miller's place. Of these mills, that at 
 Fox Hollow was burned many years ago, the paper 
 mill at the falls later, Ludekke's mill at the junc- 
 tion, and the two mills at the post-road a few years 
 ago. A grist and saw-mill at the junction are all 
 now remaining to the town. 
 
 Rhinebeck was formed as a town March 7, 1788, 
 It contains 21,636 acres, and at th e last census had 
 
 *Dead. ' ' 
 
 t Called by a Rhinebeck poet the " Buco Bush," (Beechwood). 
 » } Built by Gen. Richard Montgomery. 
 J Known as Isaac Davis' mill. 
 
 a population of 3,902.* Red Hook was taken off 
 and formed into a separate township in i8i2.t 
 These two towns — Rhinebeck and Red Hook — 
 formed a part of Rhinebeck Precinct. Rhinebeck 
 Precinct, which, in addition to these towns, em- 
 braced a portion of Hyde Park, was organized De- 
 cember r6, 1734. The viritual existence of this 
 section, then, as a legally organized area, began in 
 1734 — one hundred and forty-seven years ago. 
 
 It is not known who were the first officers of the 
 precinct. 
 
 The first deeds for lands in Rhinebeck were 
 granted by the Indians in 1686. The first deed 
 bears date of June 8, r686, and is a transfer on the 
 part of Aran Kee, Kreme Much, and Korra Kee, 
 Indians, to Gerrit Artsen, Arie Rosa and Jan 
 Elton, of " a certain parcell of land, lying upon 
 the east shore, right ovgr against the mouth of the 
 Redout Creek, bounded between a small creek and 
 the river." The considerations of this purchase were 
 six buffaloes, four blankets, five kettles, four guns, 
 five horns, five axes, ten cans of powder, eight shirts, 
 eight pairs of stockings, forty fathoms of wampum, or 
 sewant, two drawing knives, two adzes, ten knives, 
 half anker rum, one frying pan, with which pay- 
 ment, to be made on the first of November ensuing, 
 the Indians were bound to give a free transport 
 and license to the purchasers. 
 
 " Upon ditto the sale of the land the same In- 
 dians acknowledge to have given unto Gerrit Art- 
 sen, Arie Rosa and Jan Elton-, a valley situate 
 eastward from the land bought by them, named 
 Mausakenning, and' a path to the same, upon ap- 
 probation of his honor, on the 8th day of June, 
 1686, Kingston. 
 
 His 
 
 Aran m Kee, 
 
 mark. 
 His 
 
 Kreme O Much, 
 
 mark. 
 * His 
 
 Korra — Kee." 
 
 mark. 
 
 This was signed in the presence of Benjamin 
 Provoost, Jan Jorken and Henry Elison, Commis- 
 sioners. This land, called by the Indians " Mau- 
 sakenning, " was a meadow now known as Jaco- 
 myntie's Fly.| . 
 
 The second, and only other Indian deed, is to 
 Hendrick Kip. It bears date July 28, 1686, states 
 no consideration or boundaries, and is not on record 
 
 • 1870—3,719; 1875—5,763- 
 
 t According to the census of 187s, the combined area of the two towns 
 is 42,243 acres. 
 
 X Probably so named for the wife of Jan Eltinge, one time the owner of 
 the Fly. He conveyed it to Henry Beekman, in 1689, who conveyed it 
 back to his heirs in 1705. 
 
TOWN Ot kUlNJEBfeCIt. 
 
 2S3 
 
 in the Clerk's office of Ulster county. What is 
 said to be the original deed is in the possession of 
 William Bergh Kip, of this town. 
 
 The land conveyed to Artsen, Rosa and Elton, 
 by the first deed, lies below a line run due east from 
 the river where it is entered by the small creek 
 between the Radclift and Hutton premises, to the 
 Rhinebeck Creek, and includes all that lies be- 
 tween the said creek and river to Vanderburgh's 
 Cove. On the north of this tract lies the land con- 
 veyed to Hendrick Kip by the second deed, which 
 includes all between the said creek and river to a 
 line run due west to the river from the Hog Bridge. 
 The Artsen ante-dates the Kip deed by forty-eight 
 days, but, one referring to the other, the lands were 
 doubtless purchased from the Indians on the same 
 day, with the understanding that they were to be 
 covered by the same Royal Patent, which, cover- 
 ing both, was granted by Thomas Dongan, Gover- 
 nor-in-Chief over the Province of New York, on 
 the second day of June, 1688.* The original of 
 this patent fell into the hands of the Rosa family, 
 and descended from them, through the Van Elten 
 family to John N. Cramer, from whom it passed 
 into the possession of the late Hon. William Kelly, 
 whose lands are all within the limits of the territory 
 which is conveyed; The lands conveyed by it lie 
 between Landsman's and Rhinebeck creeks and 
 the river, and extend from Vanderburgh's Cove 
 north to a line drawn directly west from the Hog 
 Bridge to the river. 
 
 There is no evidence that the lands conveyed by 
 this patent were occupied by the owners before 
 the year 1700. It is not certain that there was a 
 single settler in the town of Rhinebeck anywhere 
 before that year. The lands were divided among 
 the partners May 26, 1702, by deeds to each from 
 all the others, on record in the office of the Ulster 
 county Clerk, in Kingston.! ' Of the lands pur- 
 chased from the Indians by the Kips, Hendrick 
 Kip took two-thirds of his share on the south and 
 one-third on the north of the tract, Jacob taking his 
 share in one lot between Hendrick's two parcels. 
 
 Having set over to the Kips their share, the 
 other three partners divided their share into six 
 parcels, and assigned two to each. In this assign- 
 ment, lots one and four became the property of 
 Arie Rosa ; two and five of Roeloff, oldest son of 
 Jan Elton, deceased ; and three and six of Gerrit 
 Artsen. 
 
 * Recorded in the Secretary's office for the Province of New York, in 
 Lib. No. 2, begun i6S6, page 349. 
 
 t Duchess County, organized in 1683, was provisionally attached to 
 Ulster county, because of its scanty population, until 1713. 
 
 The Kips were the first to build and settle in 
 what is now the town of Rhinebeck. A small 
 stone house was built on Hendrick Kip's south 
 lot, with what are supposed to be two port holes 
 under the eaves, looking toward the river. On the 
 east side of this house is a stone lintel with this 
 inscription distinctly cut : " 1 700 H K A K," 
 which are evidently the initials of Hendrick Kip 
 and Annatje Kip, his wife. The time of the erec- 
 tion of the house evidently accords with that year.* 
 The house at the Long Dock, now the property of 
 Frederic G. Cotting, is near the south side of the 
 land which fell to Jacob Kip. The stone part of 
 this house has in the front wall a stone very dis- 
 tinctly inscribed, "1708."- This was, doubtless, 
 Jacob Kip's house, built in this year. The name 
 of the Kips was given to the whole of the grant to 
 Artsen, Rosa, Elton, and Hendrick Kip, and it 
 was for a long time known as " Kipsbergen." This 
 name is met for the first time in 17 12, in a deed 
 from Laurens Osterhout, the owner of lot number 
 one, the south end of the patent, to Jacobus Van 
 Elten, for a lot of land in Hurley, Ulster county, in 
 which he refers to himself as a resident of " Kips- 
 bergen in Duchess County.'' In 1714, Gerrit Art- 
 sen became the owner, by purchase from the heirs 
 of Jan Elton, of nearly two-thirds of the land 
 covered by the Indian deed to Artsen, Rosa and 
 Elton. 
 
 In 1 7 16, he sold to his son-in-law, Hendricus 
 Heermance, all the land included in number three, 
 and referred to it as a part of the land called 
 " Kipsbergen,'' " bounded northerly by lot num- 
 ber four, easterly by a creek on which Henry Beek- 
 man's corn-mill stands, southerly by lot number 
 two, and westerly by Hudson's river." 
 
 Again, in the record of the marriage of Roeloff 
 Kip to Sarah Dumon, January 9, 1721, it is said 
 " He was from Kipsbergen, she from Kingston ; " 
 and, later still, the record of the marriage of Nicho- 
 las VanWagenen to Maria Kip, November 31, 
 173 1, says they were "both born and living in 
 Kipsbergen." It is therefore clear that the name 
 was applied to the whole patent from 17 12 to 
 1 73 1, and that at the latter date the name of Rhine- 
 beck had not yet been applied to that immediate 
 section. 
 
 The name Rhinebeck came through the Pala- 
 tines who settled on the Beekman patent. A pre- 
 
 *This is the house Tjetween the village of Rhinebeck and the river, 
 which Lossmg says was built by William Beekman, the first settler, and 
 of which Martha J. Lamb, the historian of New York, says: " William 
 Beekman purchased all the region of Rhmebeck from the Indians, and 
 built a small stone house, which is still standing."- 
 
254 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 viously written history,* says William Beekman, 
 settled several poor families from the banks of the 
 Rhine, in the autumn of 1647, "and founded the 
 Httle village of Rhinebeck. " There is no record 
 of lands purchased from the Indians in 1647, or at 
 any other time by William Beekman, in what is 
 now the town of Rhinebeck. Henry Beekman, the 
 son of William, in 1695, according to the "Calen- 
 dar of Land Papers, " petitioned the government 
 for a patent for land in Duchess County, lying op- 
 posite Esopus creek, and known by the name of 
 Sepeskenot, for which lands he received a patent 
 April 22, 1697. They were defined as "lying to the 
 north of Hendrick Kip, and alongst Hudson's river, 
 to the bounds of Major Peter Schuyler, containing 
 in length about four miles, and in breadth into the 
 woods as far as the bounds of the said Major 
 Schuyler, " for the which he was to pay every year 
 forever next and after the expiration of seven years, 
 upon the first day of annunciation (March 25th), 
 at the city of New York, the yearly rental of forty 
 shillings. This bears date April 22, 1697. Lord 
 Bellomont, in a letter to Secretary Popple, July 7, 
 1698,1 says of this patent: — 
 
 " One Henry Beekman, a Lieut. Coll : in the 
 Militia, has a vast tract of land as large as the 
 Midling county of England, for which he gave 
 Fletcher^ a hundred dollars, about 25 pounds En- 
 glish, and I am told he values his purchase at 
 ^S,ooo." 
 
 This patent, however, did not define, as fully 
 and accurately as Beekman desired, the bounda- 
 ries of the lands, and he obtained another in the 
 place of it June 25, 1703. The new patent gave 
 the boundaries as : — 
 
 " All that tract of land in Duchess County * * 
 situate * * on the east side of Hudson's river, 
 beginning at a place called by the Indians Quan- 
 ingquious, over against the Klyne Sopuseffly, be- 
 ing the north boupds of the land called Pawhng's 
 purchase ; from thence extending northerly by the 
 side of the Hudson's river aforesaid, until it comes 
 to a stone creek, over against the Kallcoon Hoek, 
 which is the southerly bounds of the land of Col. 
 Peter Schuyler ; from thence so far east as to reach 
 a certain pond called by the Indians Waraugh- 
 keemeek, and from thence extending southerly by 
 a line parallel to Hudson's river * * until a line 
 run from the place where first began easterly into 
 
 * By Peter A. Jay. 
 
 t Doc. Hist., Vol. IV., Page 327. 
 
 t Col. Benjamin Fletcher was Governor over New York, and was one 
 of the most corrupt officials the province ever had. Lord Bellomont 
 compUinsofhim that he made grants to persons of no merit. Under 
 his mismanagement it is quite probable that numerous extensive grants 
 were obtained, if not fraudulently, at least under conditions far from 
 ju^ as regarded remuneration. Even this patent, as the text shows, 
 covered land already patented by others, which, it should seem, could 
 not have been the result of mere ignorance. 
 
 the woods does meet the said parallel line. 
 Bounded westerly by the Hudson's river, northerly 
 by the lands of the said Peter Schuyler, easterly by 
 the said parallel line, and southerly by the line 
 drawn from the place where it was first begun, and 
 meeting the said parallel line, which is the north- 
 ern bounds of the said land before called Pawling's 
 purchase." 
 
 Henry Beekman's lands, then, by the terms of 
 this patent, were carried to the point where the 
 Saw kill enters the river, — to the creek between 
 the Bard and Barton property, in Red Hook, — 
 and included the lands patented to Artsen, Rosa 
 and Elton, called Kipsbergen, and thus embraced 
 more than Beekman was entitled to or able to 
 hold. Schuyler crowded him back to the Kttle 
 creek called " Stein Valetie," the point on the 
 river which divides the present towns of Rhinebeck 
 and Red Hook. There \s no evidence that Henry 
 Beekman ever disputed the vaUdity of the Arisen 
 patent or claimed any part of the land covered by 
 it. But his son, Henry, evidently pretended to 
 have a claim to the whole or part of the land ; 
 and when, in 1726, he procured the land which 
 fell to the share of Hendrick Kip, the son of the 
 patentee, by an exchange of lands therefor in his 
 purchase from Peek DeWitt, in the Schuyler 
 patent, he went through the formaUty of waiving 
 his claim to "all such right, estate, interest and de- 
 mand whatsoever, as he the said Henry Beekman 
 had or ought to have in or to all that certain tract 
 or parcel of land in Duchess county, which tract of 
 land is heretofore granted to Captain Arie Rosa, 
 John Elton and others in company." * * » 
 
 In 17 10, when Col. Robert Hunter came from 
 England to assume the governorship of New York, 
 he brought with him some four thousand Germans 
 from the Palatinate, on the Rhine. An account of 
 these people who settled on the Hudson river, which 
 was rendered to the British government by Gover- 
 nor Hunter, August 7, 1718, placed thirty-five 
 families, containing one hundred and forty persons, 
 besides the widows and children, in Rhinebeck. It 
 is not definitely known in what year these people 
 entered upon Beekman's patent, but it is quite 
 certain that they gave the name to the town. 
 
 November 29, 17 14, the elder Henry Beek- 
 man sold to Peter and William Ostrander a tract 
 of one hundred and twenty-four acres of land, "the 
 whole being bounded to the northwest by a hillj 
 to the northeast by the lands of said Beekman 
 Md out for the High Butchers'' The deed further 
 describes these lands as lying in Duchess County, 
 at Ryn Beek. Part of this land is now included 
 
TOWN OF RHINEBECK. 
 
 25s 
 
 in the farm of Thomas Reed. The other part 
 reached the post-road, is now the property of 
 William Van Steenburgh, and was owned by Dr. 
 Ananias Cooper, before the Revolution, who built 
 the brick and stone house now thereon, af the 
 post-road, still known as the "Cooper House." 
 On February 28, 17 15, Henry Beekman gave to 
 Jacob Kip, of " Kipsbergen," a deed for eighty- 
 nine acres of land in Duchess County, at Ryn 
 Beek. This land joined that of the Ostranders, 
 and embraced the land about the Hog Bridge, 
 and doubtless the homesteads of Charles I. 
 Kramer and William Van Steenburgh, and a part 
 of the Hoffman farm. The deed says, "The said 
 Beekman has further bargained and sold unto ye 
 aforesaid Kip * * * all the high land that 
 lies between ye said Jacob Kip's east bounds or 
 lyne to ye southern bounds of Peter and William 
 Ostrander." The survey for these lands was made 
 by John Beatty, Deputy Surveyor, November 29, 
 1714; and he says, on his map, "On ye bounds 
 of ye said Coll. Beekman, called Reinebaik, in 
 Duchess County." 
 
 The "High Dutchers" above mentioned were 
 the Palatines placed in Rhinebeck by Governor 
 Hunter's report in 17 18, and the lands laid out for 
 them lay north of the Hog Bridge, and principally 
 about the old German Reformed Church at Pink's 
 Corner. The name Ryn Beek was confined to 
 these lands for many years by the early settlers, 
 and is thought to be written for the first time in the 
 deed to Peter and William Ostrander, in 1714. 
 They did not get their deeds until October 20, 1 7 1 8, 
 two years after the death of Henry Beekman, the 
 patentee. There are now to be seen about a 
 dozen of these deeds, all bearing that date. A 
 census of the county, taken in 17 14, found but 
 sixty-seven heads of families in the county. The 
 names of those located in what are now Rhinebeck 
 and Red Hook are easily distinguished. They are 
 Holland and Huguenot, and thus tell us that the 
 Palatine founders of Rhinebeck had not taken 
 possession of their lands when this census was 
 taken. They probably came here in 17 15. It is 
 possible that Beekman intended that the name 
 Ryn Beek should apply to the whole of his grant, 
 as the name of the Kips applied to the entirety 
 of the grant to Arisen, Rosa, Elton and Kip. 
 The adoption of the name was gradual. When, 
 in 1729, the German Reformers bought out the 
 interest of the I.utherans in the old Rhinebeck 
 church, in the mutual conveyances the church was 
 located at "Rhynbeek." When, in 1730, the 
 
 lands on the Flats were laid out for the " Low 
 Dutchers " or Hollanders, they were described as 
 being " in Duchess County, in the North Ward, 
 situated on the southwesterly side of a large plain 
 near the now grist-mill of the said Henry Beekman." 
 Nothing was said of Rhinebeck. Apparently, the 
 name was confined to the land laid out for the 
 High Dutchers until the organization of the 
 Precinct, December 16, 1734. The name Rhine- 
 beck was then legally applied to the entire territory 
 embracing all of Pawling's purchase on the South;* 
 all of the present town of Red Hook, on the 
 north; and all of the patent of Artsen, Rosa, 
 Elton and Kip, which then ceased to be distinct- 
 ively known as Kipsbergen. f 
 
 The first installment of these Palatines came in 
 the ship Lyon, which arrived in the Port of New 
 York in June, 17 10. Governor Hunter purchased 
 from Robert Livingston a tract of land on the 
 Hudson River, "consisting of 6,000 acres, for 
 ;^4oo of this country money, that is ^^266 En- 
 glish, for the planting of the greatest division of the 
 Palatines." 
 
 On November 14, 17 10, Governor Hunter 
 addressed the Board of Trade, in England, as 
 follows : — 
 
 " I have now settled the Palatines on good lands 
 on both sides of the Hudson River, about one 
 hundred miles up, adjacent to the pines. I have 
 planted them in five villages, three on the east side 
 of the river, upon the 5, 000 acres I have purchased 
 of Mr. Livingston, about two miles from Rowlof 
 Jansen's Kill, the other two on the west side, near 
 Sawyer's Creek. ***** The land on the 
 west side belongs to the Queen, and each family 
 hath a sufficient lot of good arable land, and ships 
 of fifteen foot draught of water can sail up as far 
 as the plantations. In the spring, I shall set them 
 to work preparing the trees according to Mr. 
 Bridges' directions." 
 
 The settlement of these people on this side of 
 the river was known as East Camp, and that on 
 the other side as West Camp. The object in set- 
 tling them on good land near the pines was to ena- 
 ble them to make tar and pitch for the English 
 Navy, and support themselves by cultivating the 
 land on which their tents were pitched. From these 
 sturdy Germans came the Palatine settlers of 
 Rhinebeck. Unlike many of the English, French 
 and Hollanders, who had come here solely to make 
 
 * Then knovm as Staatsburgh. 
 
 t Although the name was thus broadly applied and legalized, people 
 long continued to, and even to this day still distinguished between Rhine- 
 beck and the Flats. The road from Mrs. Mary R. Miller's to Pink's 
 Comer is still the road to Rhinebeck. St. Peter's Lutheran Church it 
 the Rhinebeck Church, while the Reformed Church is still the church or 
 the Flats. 
 
2^6 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 money in commerce and trade, and who, according 
 to Sir John Knight,* "would be Protestants, Papists 
 or Pagans for a guilder a head," the Palatines came 
 here to maintain the freedom and purity of their 
 consciences, and their " ingenuity and their dili- 
 gence could not fail to enrich any land which 
 should afford them an asylum ; nor could it be 
 doubted that they would manfully defend the coun- 
 try of their adoption against him whose cruelty 
 had driven them from the country of their birth, "j 
 They had attained that moral and intellectual ele- 
 vation in which they knew that their masters and 
 rulers were tyrants, — men who had been debased 
 by luxury, and who, by the long exercise of usurped 
 or hereditary power, had lost all sense of human 
 responsibility, — and that it had become their duty 
 to themselves and to their fellow -men to resist them, 
 and, failing of success, to escape the yoke by flight to 
 more congenial shores. They had thus developed 
 within them a power of will and purpose to which un- 
 just governments, and the world of cunning and ve- 
 nality must sooner or later succumb. While they 
 were laboring to subjugate the earth, shrewd and ava- 
 ricious men were absorbing their lands, limiting their 
 opportunities, crippling their skill, appropriating 
 the profits of their toil and endeavoring to secure 
 in their bondage the source of a princely and per- 
 petual income. But they had imbibed the spirit of 
 resistance to unjust demands; they had within 
 them the elements of progress and growth, and 
 soon " swelled beyond the measure of their chains, " 
 attained to the mastership of their own per- 
 sons, and became the owners of the soil they had 
 conquered. 
 
 Vast areas of land were acquired by the patentees 
 for nothing save a trifling quit-rent at the end of 
 seven or ten years, by which they assumed to some 
 extent the claims if not the dignity of feudal lords, 
 or through which they absorbed the subsistence of 
 others. " They toiled not neither did they spin,'' 
 and yet during their existence they lived, in too 
 many instances, lives of semi-barbarous luxury. 
 But, notwithstanding their ostentation, and the 
 position and power to which their wealth entitled 
 them, theirs were not the hands whose labors re- 
 deemed the forests and planted the villages. 
 Lesser men, yet sturdier, felled the forest, 
 sowed the fields and formed the nucleus of 
 the hamlets and villages which grace the 
 County to-day, and in Rhinebeck those tasks 
 
 * A member of Parliament, in a debate on a bill to naturaliie these 
 people in England. 
 
 + Lord Macaulejr, in his Hist, of England, on the French and German 
 Protestants who had been driven into exile by the edicts of Louis. 
 
 were performed by the sturdy German set- 
 tlers and their descendants ; by those who, exiled 
 from their native land, had here sought a refuge, 
 and were here designed to become mere hewers 
 of wood and drawers of water, but who, seeing the 
 doom which was preparing for them, resisted it; 
 which shows that they had attained a development 
 of mind and soul beyond the reach of the measure 
 which many have accorded them. 
 
 Henry Beekman, the patentee, died in 1716, 
 apparently intestate.* In 17 13, he gave a deed to 
 his son, Henry, for all of his Rhinebeck patent 
 lying south of a line run from the junction of 
 Landsman's and Rhinebeck creeks in the saw-mill 
 pond, directly east to the end of the patent, and 
 including the mill at the mouth of the first-named 
 creek. On August 30, 1737, the balance of the 
 patent was divided between him and his two sis- 
 ters. For the first step a middle line was run 
 from the saw-mill pond to Schuyler's Fly, on the 
 north ; from this line as a base the land was 
 divided into six parts — intended to be equal — by 
 lines to follow the angle of the Schuyler patent, 
 those on the west reaching the river, and those on 
 the east extending to the end of the patent. This 
 gave to each of the parties a lot fronting on the 
 river. In this division lots one and six fell to 
 Henry; two and five to Catherine, wife, first of 
 John Rutsen and now of Albert Pawling ; three 
 and four to Cornelia, wife of Gilbert Livingston. 
 Number one included the "Flats" where Rhine- 
 beck now stands, which thus became the property 
 of Henry Beekman, the Second. 
 
 William Beekman, the father of the patentee of 
 "Ryn Beek," was born at Hasselt, April 28, 1623, 
 and came to New Amsterdam, now New York, at 
 the commencement of Governor Stuyvesant's 
 administration, being then in the employ of 
 the Dutch West India Company. He married 
 Catherine, daughter of Frederic Hendricks de 
 Boogh, Captain of a Hudson River trading vessel, 
 September 25, 1649, by whom he had seven chil- 
 dren — three sons and four daughters. In 1653, 
 '54, '55, '56, '57, he was elected one of the 
 Schepens (assistant aldermen) of New Amster- 
 dam. In 1658 he was appointed Vice-Director 
 of the Dutch Colony at the mouth of the Delaware 
 River. On July 4, 1664, he was appointed 
 Sheriff at Esopus, now Kingston. In 1670 he 
 purchased the farm formerly owned by Thomas 
 Hall, and then occupied by his widow, in the 
 vicinity of the present Beekman street, and front- 
 
 * His wife was living in 17Z4. 
 
TOWN OF RHINEBECK. 
 
 257 
 
 ing on the road along the East River shore — now 
 Pearl street, New York. He was Alderman at 
 twelve different dates under the EngUsh, until 
 1696, when he retired from public life. The old 
 New York records inform us that the business by 
 which he lived and prospered was that of a brewer. 
 He resided in New York in high repute among the 
 citizens of his day until his death in 1707, at the 
 age of eighty-five. His sons were Henry, Gerard 
 and John. Henry, the eldest, the patentee of 
 Rhinebeck, married Joanna de Lopes and settled 
 in Kingston, Ulster county, where he became 
 County Judge,* Member of the Legislature, Col- 
 onel of the militia, and deacon and elder in the 
 Protestant Reformed Church. He died, as before 
 stated, in 1716.! His children were: William, 
 born in Kingston in 1681, died in Holland aged 
 eighteen; Catharine, born September 16, 1683, 
 married John Rutsen, of Kingston ; Henry, born 
 in 1688, married Janet Livingston, daughter to 
 Robert, a nephew of Robert, the patentee, and 
 first lord of Livingston manor; Cornelia, born 
 1690, married Gilbert Livingston, son of Robert, 
 the lord of the manor. 
 
 John Rutsen and Catharine Beekman had four 
 children, baptized in Kingston: Johanna, born 
 April II, 1714; Jacob, born April 29, 1716; 
 Hendrick born March 9, 17 18; Catharine, born 
 May 24, 1719. There is no evidence that John 
 Rutsen ever lived in Rhinebeck. He was living 
 in 1720, and in that year as justice of the peace in 
 Kingston, witnessed a deed from Hendricus Heer- 
 mance to Gerrit Artsen. He died before 1726. 
 In that year his widow, Catharine Beekman, at the 
 age of forty-three, married Albert Pawling, of 
 Kingston. There is no evidence that he Hved in 
 Rhinebeck. He died in 1745. From a letter [in 
 Dutch] from Henry Beekman, in New York, to 
 his sister, Mrs. Catharine Pawling, in Rhinebeck, 
 dated 1746, it is assumed that she was a resident 
 in Rhinebeck at this date, bjit in what particular 
 locality is not known. Albert Pawling and Catha- 
 rine Beekman Rutsen had no children. 
 
 Jacob Rutsen, son of Jacob Rutsen and Catha- 
 rine Beekman, married his cousin AUda, daughter 
 of Gilbert Livingston and Corneha Beekman. It 
 is said that he built the mill known as Rutsen's 
 mill, on the premises now owned by Mrs. Mary R. 
 Miller. This mill was in existence in 1750 as 
 
 • He was one of the Justices in Ulster county in 1693. Doc. Hist., 
 
 VoU-. P-»7. 
 
 + He never lived in Rhinebeck, ahhough it was he who laid out the 
 land for the " High Butchers," and settled on his patent the Palatines 
 who founded and gave name to the town. 
 
 Rutsen's mill.* Jacob Rutsen died before 1755, 
 and therefore, before he was forty years old. He 
 was not a freeholder in the town in 1740, when he 
 was twenty-four years old. If he built the mill 
 after he became of age, he built it after 1737. It 
 is assumed that he built it when he became a resi- 
 dent of the tow.n, and, therefore, after 1740. 
 Jacob Rutsen and Alida Livingston had two 
 children : John, born October 23, 1745; Cornelia, 
 born May 31, 1746. He died after this date, and 
 his widow after 1755, married Henry Van Rensse- 
 laer, of Claverack, by whom she had seven children. 
 
 Catharine Rutsen, daughter of John Rutsen and 
 Catharine Eeekman, married Peter Ten Broeck. 
 They lived in Rhinebeck as early as 1751, he being 
 road-master here at this date. In 1765 he lived 
 on the Barrytown road, his gate being the end of 
 V the road district from the post -road, William Feller 
 being road-master. He therefore lived north of 
 the Feller homestead. He was Supervisor of the 
 precinct in 1763, '64, '65, '66, '67. In 1755 Peter 
 Ten Broeck and his wife conveyed to Wm. Schep- 
 moes part of the farm now occupied by Thomas 
 Reed, and in the same year we find him Colonel 
 of a regiment of Duchess County soldiers. If they 
 had children the fact is not now known, and, be- 
 yond their baptism, there is no existing knowledge 
 of Johanna and Hendrick, the other two children 
 of John Rutsen and Catharine Beekman. 
 
 John Rutsen, son of Jacob Rutsen and Alida 
 Livingston, married Phebe Carman. They had two 
 children: Catharine, born September 18, 1768; 
 Sarah, born 1770. John Rutsen, we are told, died 
 at the age of twenty-eight, and therefore in the year 
 1773. His widow married Robert Sands, January 
 25, 1779, by whom she had five children, (Christina, 
 Joshua C, John R., EUza, Grace). She died No- 
 vember 23, 1819, aged seventy-two. Robert Sands, 
 the husband, died March 3, 1825, aged eighty. 
 
 Catharine Rutsen, daughter of John Rutsen and 
 Phebe Carman, married George Suckley, an En- 
 gUsh merchant in the city of New York, by whom 
 she had seven children : Rutsen, Mary, EHzabeth, 
 George, Sarah, Catharine and Thomas. George 
 died at nine, and Catharine at nineteen years. 
 George Suckley was a widower with two children 
 (George and John L.,) when he married Cath- 
 ari ne Rutsen. 
 
 * One of the first mills— if not quite the first— erected in Duchess 
 County was that known as the old Tillotson mill, or one on the same 
 site, built, it is supposed, by Henry Beekman, the elder, as early as 
 1710, on land purchased from Arie Rosa. It was located near the 
 river where grain could be taken to it, and flour away from it, by water as 
 well as by land, and was thus serviceable to settlements on both sides of 
 the river. 
 
2S8 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 Sarah Rutsen, the only other child of John Rut- 
 sen and Phebe Carman, married Philip J. Schuyler, 
 son of General Philip Schuyler. He built the man- 
 sion now the property of his niece, Mrs. Mary R. 
 Miller. He was a resident of Rhinebeck, and a 
 Member of Congress from Duchess County in 1 8 1 7, 
 '18. They had five children: Philip P., John 
 Rutsen, Catherine, Robert and Stephen. Sarah 
 Rutsen Schuyler died October 24, 1805, aged 
 thirty-five. 
 
 Philip P. Schuyler married Rosanna, daughter 
 to Abraham Livingston, and great-granddaughter 
 to Robert, the nephew, and a distant relative of the 
 late Hon. Peter R. Livingston, of this town. He 
 died May 6, 1822, aged thirty-three years. 
 
 John Rutsen Schuyler died, unmarried, June 22, 
 1813, at the age of twenty-two. Catharine Schuy- 
 ler married Samuel Jones. She died November 20, 
 1829, at the age of thirty-six. Robert Schuyler 
 was distinguished as a railroad operator and officer. 
 The date of his death is unknown. Stephen Schuy- 
 ler married Catharine M. Morris. He was born 
 April 18, 1 80 1. He was a local Methodist preach- 
 ' er, and was at one time the owner of the farm now 
 in the possession of John H. Lambert. He was 
 highly respected, and died in Livingston street, 
 Rhinebeck, Nov. i, 1859, in a house now owned 
 by Henry Clay Williams. Thus far is traced the 
 descendants of Catharine Beekman, daughter of 
 Henry Beekman, the patentee. 
 
 Henry Beekman, son of Henry, the patentee, 
 and Janet Livingston had two children : Henry, 
 baptized May 13, 1722, died young; Margaret, 
 baptized March i, 1724, married Robert R. Liv- 
 ingston, the grandson of Robert, the lord of the 
 manor. Janet Livingston, the wife of Henry Beek- 
 man, born in 1703, died in 1724, at the age of 
 twenty-one. Born in 1688, Henry Beekman was 
 fifteen years her senior when he married her, and 
 thirty-six years old when she died. His second 
 wife was Gertrude Van Cortlandt, by whom he had 
 no children. He became a resident of Rhinebeck 
 after 1728, and probably not until after his second 
 marriage. The old Kip house, of which he became 
 the owner in 1726, was in the meantime, greatly 
 enlarged, and became his residence when he came 
 to Rhinebeck as a dweller. He died January 3, 
 1776, aged eighty-eight years. It is not known 
 where he was buried. There is a tradition here 
 that he died in Rhinebeck and was buried under 
 the old edifice of the Reformed Dutch Church. 
 
 i^ccording to another tradition, (in which he is 
 sometimes confused with Henry Beekman, the 
 
 elder,) he was buried in the cemetery of the old 
 Reformed Dutch Church at Pink's Corner, now 
 known as Monterey. But if he was buried there 
 his grave has been ploughed up, and there is no 
 stone to mark the spot. His first wife was cer- 
 tainly not buried in Rhinebeck, and if his second 
 wife was, there is no existing knowledge of the 
 fact. His sisters, Catherine and CorneUa, so far 
 as can be learned were not buried in this town. 
 There is also a tradition that he had a residence 
 in Kingston as well as in Rhinebeck, and that in 
 the former place he passed his winters. In the 
 absence of evidence, it is fair to presume that, as 
 his ancestors' home was in Kingston where the 
 family place of interment probably was, he was 
 taken there for burial. If he was buried under 
 the Rhinebeck church or in the cemetery at Pink's 
 Corner, there would prdbably have been in the 
 former a tablet stating the fact, and in the latter a 
 monument of some kind whose memory would have 
 reached the present day. It is not known who be- 
 came the occupant of the Rhinebeck mansion im- 
 mediately after Henry Beekman's death. Pierre 
 Van Cortlandt, in 1778, was road-master "from 
 the Hog Bridge to Beekman's Mills, and from 
 thence to Kip's Ferry." It is assumed that he 
 was a relative if not a brother, of Mrs. Henry 
 Beekman, and that he was Hving at this date in 
 the Rhinebeck mansion in charge of her affairs. 
 Colonel Henry Beekman Livingston, a grandson 
 to Henry Beekman, was road-master from the 
 Hog Bridge to Livingston's MiUs, and from thence 
 to the river, in 1786, and it is supposed that 
 from this date to that of his death he was the oc- 
 cupant of the Beekman mansion, and the owner 
 of the Beekman mills. The lands attached to the 
 mills, embracing about forty acres, were surveyed 
 and laid out for him in 1796. 
 
 It IS not definitely known in what year or at 
 what date Margaret Beekman was born. She was 
 baptized March i, 1724, and, her mother dying in 
 that year at the age of twenty-one, it would seem 
 probable that she was born in that year. Left 
 without a mother, she found a parent in her 
 maternal aunt, Angelica, and -another home in 
 Flatbush. Robert R. Livingston, her husband, 
 whom, it is said, she married at the age of eighteen, 
 was the grandson of the elder Robert, and the 
 only child of his father. He and his father died 
 in the same year, 1775. His father, born in 1688, 
 attained the age of eighty-seven; he, born in 
 17 19, attained the age of fifty-six years. By the 
 death of his father, he became the owner of all the 
 
TOWN OF RHINEBECK. 
 
 259 
 
 land of Clermont, and of " one-fifth of the great 
 Hardenburgh patent." He was a Justice of the Su- 
 preme Court of the Colony, and a member of the 
 Stamp Act Congress, and in his day was a man of 
 prominence and influence in the affairs of State. 
 Having espoused the cause of the people against 
 the Government, he was greatly distressed at the 
 loss sustained by the patriots at Bunker Hill, 
 receiving a shock which carried him to his grave. 
 
 Robert R. Livingston and Margaret Beekman 
 had ten children : Janet, born in 1774, died 
 November 6, 1828 ; Hobert R., bom in 1747, died 
 February 25, 1813 ; Margaret, born in 1749, died 
 March 19, 1823 ; Henry B., born in 1750, died in 
 1831 1 Catharine, born October 14, 1752, died 
 July 14, 1849 ; John R., born in 1754, died in 
 1851; Gertrude, born in 1757, died in 1833; 
 Joanna, born September 17, 1759, died March i, 
 1829; Alida, born in 1760, died December 25, 
 1822 ; Edward, born in 1764, died May 23, 1836. 
 
 Janet Livingston, the first of these children, 
 married General Richard Montgomery in July, 
 1773. Soon after their marriage they moved to 
 Rhinebeck Flats, on the domain of her grand- 
 father, Henry Beekman, and occupied the house 
 on the premises of Thomas Edgerley, which he took 
 down and re-erected on East Livingston street, in 
 i860. This was their residence when General 
 Montgomery took command of the expedition 
 against Canada, in which he lost his life in the as- 
 sault on Quebec, December 31, 1775; and this 
 is why the part of the post-road on which this 
 house stood is now Montgomery street in the 
 village of Rhinebeck. 
 
 Before the war, General Montgomery had begun 
 the erection of a mansion on the premises now in 
 the possession of Lewis Livingston, south of the 
 village. This was on the property now known as 
 "Grasmere," which originally formed part of the 
 Beekman patent, and which was included in that 
 part of it which fell to Henry Beekman, Jr., when, 
 after his father's death, the property was divided 
 between him and his two sisters. Through what 
 hands the property passed before it is found in the 
 possession of a descendant of Col. Beekman is not 
 known. The first that is definitely learned of it is 
 in 1773, when General Montgomery was in posses- 
 sion, and built mills upon it. The house, planned 
 and begun under the General's auspices, was not 
 completed until after his death. 
 
 After his death, the house was occupied by Mrs. 
 Montgomery, who was accustomed to walk around 
 the farm with the seeds of the locust, then a new 
 
 tree in this country, in her pocket, and strew them 
 along the fences. From these seeds have come 
 the numerous fine locusts now on the place. 
 After a time she desired a house on the banks of 
 the Hudson, and built the house known as " Mont- 
 gomery Place," above Barrytown, where she 
 resided until her death. Grasmere, then called 
 Rhinebeck House, was rented to Lady Kitty Duer 
 (Lord Sterhng's daughter) and her family. After 
 that it was rented to Mrs. Montgomery's brother- 
 in-law, General Morgan Lewis, who occupied it 
 nine years. After the expiration of General Lewis' 
 lease, Mrs. Montgomery sold the property to her 
 sister Joanna, wife of Peter R. Livingston, who 
 lived there twenty-five years. In 1828, during 
 their occupancy, the house burned down. It was 
 rebuilt, but Mrs Peter R. Livingston died before 
 the new building was finished. 
 
 Peter R. Livingston died here in 1847, and, 
 having no children, bequeathed all his property to 
 his brother, Maturin, who, dying the following year, 
 left it to his wife, Margaret Lewis Livingston, who 
 gave the Grasmere estate to her son, Lewis Livings- 
 ton, who has lived on it since 1850. In 186 1-2 
 the house was rebuilt, enlarged, and a third story 
 added.* 
 
 Peter R. Livingston was prominent in his day as 
 a politician, and, if not a statesman, he had taken 
 an active part in State affairs. He was a State 
 Senator from Duchess in i82o-'2i-'22, and again 
 in i826-'27-'28-'29. He is named as a Member of 
 Assembly in 1823, in the civil list of the State. 
 He was president of the Whig National Conven- 
 tion which nominated General Harrison for Presi- 
 dent in 1840. He died in 1847, and was buried 
 in the vault in the rear of the Reformed Dutch 
 Church in the village of Rhinebeck. 
 
 Margaret Livingston, the third child of Robert 
 R. Livingston and Margaret Beekman, was mar- 
 ried to Dr. Thomas Tillotson, of Maryland, a 
 surgeon in the Revolutionary Army, by Rev. 
 Stephanus Van Voorhees, of the Rhinebeck Re- 
 formed Dutch Church, February 22, 1779. 
 Thomas Tillotson was a prominent man in the 
 politics of the State, soon after the close of the 
 war. He was State Senator from 1791 to 1800, 
 when he became Secretary of State, and Robert 
 Sands was elected Senator in his place. He 
 retained the office of Secretary of State until 1805, 
 and held it again in 1807. He died in May, 
 1832. Mrs. Tillotson was the best known, and is 
 the best remembered of all Margaret Beekman's 
 
 * Martha J. Lamb's " Homes of America." 
 
2.6o 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 children by the old people of Rhinebeck. Her 
 funeral sermon was preached by Rev. David Par- 
 ker. It was printed in pamphlet form, and copies 
 of it are still preserved among things cherished by 
 families in the town. Her body and that of her 
 husband, were laid in the vault in the rear of the 
 Dutch Reformed Church in Rhinebeck village. 
 
 Their children were: — Jannette, born in 1786, 
 married Judge James Lynch, died August 26, 
 1866, and was buried in Rhinebeck; Robert L., 
 born in 1788, died in Rhinebeck July 22, 1877, 
 was buried in New York; John C, born May 16, 
 1791, died in New York, December 18, 1867, was 
 buried in Rhinebeck ; Howard, the youngest son, 
 entered the navy as a midshipman, and was 
 killed in battle on Lake Erie, in the war of 1812. 
 Henry B. Livingston, the fourth child of Robert 
 R. Livingston and Margaret Beekman, was the 
 first Livingston in what is now the town of Rhine- 
 beck. Among the warrants issued by the Provin- 
 cial Congress in June, 1775, to persons in Duchess 
 County to recruit for the Revolutionary Army, is 
 found the name of Henry B. Livingston as Cap- 
 tain, with Jacob Thomas as First Lieutenant, and 
 Roswell Wilcox as Second Lieutenant. 
 
 In Holgate's genealogy of Leonard Bleeker, we 
 are informed that on the first of January, 1777, the 
 army being newly organized, he was appointed 
 First Lieutenant in the Fourth New York Regi- 
 ment, under Col. Henry B. Livingston. He mar- 
 ried Miss Ann Horn Shippen, niece to Henry 
 Lee, president of the First Congress. Colonel 
 Harry, as he was called, was the owner, from 1796, 
 of the two grist-mills in the south of the village, 
 and also of an oil-mill on the site of the grist-mill 
 below the " Sand Hill, " now in the possession of 
 P. Fritz. 
 
 Catharine Livingston, fifth child of Judge Robert 
 R. Livingston and Margaret Beekman, married in 
 1793, the Rev. Freeborn Garrettson, celebrated in 
 his day as an earnest preacher in the Methodist 
 Church. It is said that he came to Rhinebeck, on 
 the invitation of Dr. Thomas Tillotson, who had 
 known him in their native state of Maryland, and that 
 while a guest at the Doctor's house he preached to 
 the people of the neighborhood in the stone house 
 on the post-road, now the property of Mrs. Ann 
 O'Brien. It was on the occasion of this visit that 
 he made the acquaintance of Catharine Livingston. 
 They began their married life on a farm which was 
 a gift from her mother, east of Mrs. Mary R. Mil- 
 ler'^ Here they remained four or five years, and 
 having built a small Methodist Church on the main 
 
 road, near their residence, they exchanged farms 
 with Johannes Van Wagenen, father of Captain 
 William Van Wagenen, of Rhinebeck village, whose 
 farm was on the patent of Artsen, Rosa and 
 Elton, and thus with a frontage on the Hudson 
 River. They at once built a new, large and hand- 
 some house on this property, into which they moved 
 in October, 1799. This is now "Wildercliff," on 
 the banks of the Hudson, one of the celebrated' 
 country seats in the town of Rhinebeck. 
 
 They had but one child — the late Miss Mary 
 Garrettson, who was born September 8, 1794, and 
 died March 6, 1879, and who was buried with her 
 father and mother in a vault attached to the Meth- 
 odist Episcopal Church in the village of Rhinebeck. 
 Gertrude Livingston, the seventh child of Rob- 
 ert R. Livingston and Margaret Beekman, married 
 Morgan Lewis in May, 1779. They had one child, 
 Margaret, born February 5, 1780. This was Mar- 
 garet Beekman's first grandchild. She married 
 Maturin Livingston, May 29, 179^. 
 
 Morgan Lewis was the son of Francis Lewis, a 
 member of the Continental Congress, in 1776, and 
 a signer of the Declaration of Independence. He 
 was Aide to General Gates and Quartermaster- 
 General of the Northern Army in the Revolution. 
 He received a thorough education, and became a 
 lawyer. In i789-'9o-'92, he was a member from 
 New York city of the lower house in the State 
 Legislature, Attorney-General in 1791, and in 
 1 80 1, Chief Justice from' Rhinebeck. In 1804, 
 he was elected Governor over Aaron Burr, and 
 in 1807 was defeated by Daniel D. Tompkins. 
 In i8ii-'i2-'i3-'i4, he was State Senator for the 
 Middle District, which included Duchess County. 
 He was made Quartermaster-General of the United 
 States Army in 181 2, by President Madison, which 
 office he resigned in March 1813, accepted that of 
 Major-General, and served honorably in the war 
 then being waged with England. Margaret Beek- 
 man gave to her daughter Gertrude, a deed, bear- 
 ing date January 5, 1790, for the Rhinebeck lands, 
 which covered nearly, if not entirely, all the lands 
 deeded to Henry Beekman by his father in 17 13. 
 In that same year, Morgan Lewis bought from 
 Johannes Van Wagenen, for five dollars, the privilege 
 to build a dam in the creek where it ran against 
 his premises. He did not build the mill at once 
 and probably not before 1800. The road through 
 Fox Hollow was not in existence in 1798, and 
 there was no mill there at that date. The road to 
 Governor Lewis' landing is first named in the old 
 town records in i8o6. Several miles south of his 
 
TOWN OF RHINEBECK. 
 
 261 
 
 wife's Rhinebeck lands, in the town of Clinton, which 
 became Hyde Park in 1821, Governor Lewis built 
 a mansion, on lands which he purchased from the 
 executor of Mrs. Lewis Morris, of Morrisania, in 
 1792. In what year he built this house is not 
 known, but it is learned that it was destroyed by 
 fire in 1832. Governor Lewis died in New York, 
 April, 7, 1844, aged ninety, and his remains were 
 interred in the Episcopal cemetery at Hyde Park. 
 
 Edward Livingston married twice : first Mary 
 McEvers, in April, 1798 ; second Louise Moreau 
 de Lassy, in June, 1805,* He had three children 
 by the first wife and one by the second. Those 
 by the first were, Charles Edward, born in 1790 j 
 Julia Eliza Montgomery, born in 1794; Lewis, 
 born in 1798. All of these died young and un- 
 married. The child by the second wife was Cora 
 L., who married Thomas P. Barton, of Philadel- 
 phia, in April, 1833. They had no children. 
 Mary McEvers, the first wife, died in March, 1801. 
 The second wife died in October, i860. Thomas 
 P. Barton died in April, 1869. Cora Livingston 
 Barton died in May, 1873, ^^'^ thus passed away 
 the family of Edward Livingston, the tenth and 
 last child of Margaret Beekman. 
 
 Edward Livingston was one of the most promi- 
 nent men of his day. He was Member of Congress 
 from the City of New York in 1794, re-elected in 
 1796-98, and appointed Attorney-General of the 
 United States for the district of New York, in the 
 same year, and filled both offices. He was Mayor 
 of New York in 1798. He moved to New Orleans, 
 from whence he was elected to Congress in 
 r822, and re-elected twice thereafter. In 1829 he 
 was State Senator for Louisiana; Secretary of 
 State for the United States in May, 1831 ; resigned 
 the office on the 29th of May, 1833, and on the 
 same day was appointed Minister to France. 
 This office he retained until 1835, when he re- 
 turned to America and retired to Montgomery 
 Place, in Red Hook, where he purposed to pass 
 the remnant of his life in the pursuit of agriculture, 
 and diqd, as before stated. May 23, 1836. 
 
 On the I St of October, 1836, Mrs. Louise Liv- 
 ingston sold all the lands in the village of Rhine- 
 beck, which became hers by the will of her hus- 
 band, to William B. Piatt, John T. Schryver, Free- 
 born Garrettson, Rutsen Suckley.f John Armstrong 
 and Walter Cunningham, for $19,600. 
 
 Of the Kips who were the first to settle in what 
 is now the town of Rhinebeck, John, the eldest 
 
 • This was the young widow of a gentleman from Jamaica, whose 
 maiden name was D'Avezac. 
 
 son of Hendrick Kip,* was baptized at Kingston, 
 March 31, 1678. He married Lysbet Van Kleeck, 
 at Kingston, September 28, 1703. They had chil- 
 dren baptized at Kingston as follows : Hendri- 
 cus, September 3, 1704; Baltus, March 17, 1706; 
 Baltus, May 23, 1707'; Matthew, October 31, 
 1708; Tryntje, May 7, 1710; Barent, January 
 27, T712 ; Annatje, January 24, 1714; Baltus, 
 September 4, 1715 ; Jacob, January 12, 17 18. 
 
 Jacob Kip, the patentee, died in 1733. He had 
 nine children as follows : — Isaac, baptized Febru- 
 ary 9, 1696, married Cornelia Lewis, January 7, 
 1720; Roeloff, born October 31, 1697; Jacobus, 
 born November 26, 1699; Rachel, twin sister to 
 Jacobus; Eva, born April 15, 1707; Catalyntie, 
 baptized at Albany, February 18, 1705; Johannes; 
 Maria, born February 18, 1709; Abraham, born 
 January 24, 17 14. 
 
 The landed estate of Jacob Kip was divided 
 among these nine children at his death. The chil- 
 dren all married, and the five sons all had families, 
 and gave a large infusion of Kips to the early pop- 
 ulation, and yet the name, like that of nearly all of 
 the old Holland settlers, has nearly died out. 
 There is but one of the name left on the territory 
 of ancient Kipsbergen, nearly all of whose lands 
 have come to him by right of inheritance from his 
 ancestors. 
 
 Isaac Kip's wife, Cornelia Lewis, was the daugh- 
 ter of Leonard Lewis and Elizabeth Hardenburgh, 
 his wife, born November 9, 1692. He died July 
 2, 1762 ; she July 10, 1772. Their children were : 
 Elizabeth, born April 9, 1721; Leonard, 1725; 
 Rachel, 1726; Elizabeth, 1728; Isaac, 1732; 
 Abraham ; Jacobus. Of these, Leonard, married 
 Elizabeth Marschalk, April 11, 1763. He died in 
 1804; she in 1818. Their son, Leonard, married 
 Maria Ingraham. He was born in 1774, she in 
 1784. Their son, WiUiara Ingraham, married 
 Elizabeth Lawrence, and became Bishop of Cali- 
 fornia. Their son, Isaac, married Sarah Smith. 
 Rev. Dr. Francis M. Kip was their son, and Sarah 
 Smith Kip, wife of William C. Miller, of Albany, 
 their daughter. The latter were the parents of 
 William A. Miller, at one time pastor of the Re- 
 formed Dutch Church of Rhinebeck. 
 
 Roeloff', the second son of Jacob Kip, the 
 patentee, married Zara, daughter of John the 
 Baptist Du Mont, of Kingston, February 9, 1721. 
 They had ten children, of whom John the Baptist 
 
 * In Col. Hist. Vol. I, p. 432, in the "Remonstrance from New 
 Netherland," we find this regarding him : " Hendrick Kip is a tailor, 
 and has neversuffered anything in New Nctherland to our knowledge." 
 It is not known when he died ; but he was dead in 17'9- 
 
262 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 Kip, baptized February 28, 1725, married Catha- 
 rine, probably the daughter of Andries Heermance 
 and Neeltje Van Wagenen, baptized April 14, 
 1728. They had seven children. Of these seven, 
 Andrew, born 1761, married Sarah, daughter of 
 Jacobus Kip, born 1772, and had children as follows: 
 Clarissa, John, James, Catharine, Andrew, Sarah 
 and Jane. Of these there are no descendants. 
 Gerritt, son of John the Baptist Kip, baptized June 
 12, 1767, married Clarissa, daughter of Jacobus 
 Kip, and had as children : Catharine, Henry James, 
 Clarissa and William. Of these, Henry James, 
 born June 15, 1805, alone had a descendant — 
 William Bergh Kip, born October 14, 1846. Will- 
 iam Bergh Kip is, therefore, a lineal descendant 
 from Jacob, the patentee, in the sixth generation. 
 He is the possessor of nearly two hundred of the 
 ancestral acres, and a fine country seat on the 
 Hudson, which he has named " Ankony," in honor 
 of the Indian chief from whom the land was 
 originally purchased. He is the present supervisor 
 [i88i,J of the town, and is an intelligent, public- 
 spirited man. 
 
 Gerrit Arisen, the patentee, married Clara, 
 daughter of Evert Pels and Jannetje Symens, 
 who was baptized in New York September 10, 
 1651, and became a member of the Kingston 
 church in 1666. He had ten children who took 
 Van Wagenen for a family name, after the Dutch 
 custom, because his father came from a place in 
 Holland called Wageninge, in Gilderland, ten 
 miles west of Arnheim. Of these ten children, 
 four, (^Evert, Barent, Annatje and Goosen Van- 
 Wagenen) are known to have become the owners 
 and settlers upon the Artsen, and the larger part of 
 the Elton share of the patent. 
 
 Of these four, Annatje Van Wagenen married 
 Hendricus Heermance, who bought and settled on 
 lot number three, the original Ellerslie farm. In 
 his will, dated March 23, 1750, he gave to his 
 wife during her widowhood, the use of one-half of 
 the farm, and to his son, Hendricus, "all that 
 whole piece of land or farm whereon we now at 
 present are both residing, with all that depends 
 thereon." How long Hendricus Heermance, 
 Jr., continued in the possession of the property 
 after the death of his father, in 1750, is not 
 learned. 
 
 In 1789 the property is found in the possession 
 of Jacobus Kip, the grandson of Jacob Kip, the 
 patentee. From him, after his death in 1795, this 
 pr|)perty passed to his son-in-law, Major Andrew 
 Kip, who retained it until 1814, when he sold it to 
 
 Maturin Livingston,* the son-in-law of Governor 
 Morgan Lewis, for $5,000. Maturin Livingston 
 retained the property two years, and built the 
 present Kelly mansion. In 18 16, the Ellerslie 
 farm was sold to James Thompson, who retained 
 it until his death, when it became the property of 
 his son James. In his possession it remained 
 until 1837, when he sold it to James Warwick, 
 who retained it three years, when becoming 
 pecuniarily embarrassed, he made an assignment 
 to William B. Piatt, of Rhinebeck village. In 
 1 84 1, Mr. Piatt sold the estate to William Kelly, 
 of New York, for $42,000. The property at this 
 time embraced four hundred acres, Mr. Thompson 
 having added one hundred acres to his original 
 purchase. Mr. Kelly, by additional purchases, in- 
 creased the estate to seven or eight hundred acres. 
 He must, therefore, have*become the owner of lots 
 three and four of the original division. 
 
 Mr. Kelly not only multipHed his acres, but he 
 did what money, taste and enterprise could do to 
 adorn them and increase their fertility. The man- 
 sion, though of an ancient type, is stately and ca- 
 pacious, and commands a river and mountain 
 view of great extent and beauty. It stands in the 
 borders of a park of five hundred fenceless acres, 
 embracing wood and meadow land, lakes and 
 streams, and every variety of natural and charming 
 scenery. There is nothing for which Rhinebeck is 
 so widely and favorably known as the presence 
 within its borders of the Ellerslie park and gardens. 
 
 Among the earliest settlers of Rhinebeck was a 
 branch of the Benner family, of which the descend- 
 ants in this County are somewhat Umited. This 
 was perhaps one of the largest German families, 
 and in the early baronial times . had a remarkable 
 history. The first family of this name in the town 
 of Rhinebeck, of which there is any tradition, was 
 that of Valentyn Bender t and Margaret, his wife, 
 who, with their two sons, Johannes and Henrich, 
 came to Rhinebeck from Upper Bavaria, in the 
 beginning of the eighteenth century. He obtained 
 of Col. Henry Beekman the usual life-lease of a 
 farm on the Hudson River, about three miles 
 north of Rhinebeck Landing, being that farm after- 
 wards the residence of Gen. Armstrong, and now 
 owned by the heirs of his son-in-law, William B. 
 Astor. Col. Beekman and his family wishing to 
 possess this, the finest situation on the banks of 
 
 * A map of the farm when it was sold to Maturin Livingst<)8<, in 1814, 
 made in 1795, shows an oil-mill on the site of the present grist-mill. 
 This is the only grist-mill left on the creek, and the only one in the 
 town of Rhinebeck. 
 
 t This name was indifferently written Benner or Bender. 
 
RESIDENCE OF WM. BERGH 
 
', ESQ., RHINEBECK, N. Y. 
 
TOWN OF RHINEBECK. 
 
 263 
 
 the river, gave him in exchange for it a deed* for 
 a piece of land about one mile southwest of Lower 
 Red Hook village, which forms a part of the farm 
 that became the Benner homestead, and which, 
 from the time Valentyn Bender took possession, 
 under his deed, until about four years since, was 
 uninterruptedly owned and occupied by the Ben- 
 ner family. Valentyn Bender died soon after 
 taking possession of this farm. He left two sons 
 and two daughters. One of the daughters, Anna 
 Maria Bender, married Zacharias Schmidt, the an- 
 cestor of Edward M. Smith, of Rhinebeck village. 
 The last Benner owner and occupant of the home- 
 stead in Red Hook was Jacob Benner, who died 
 November 5, 1869. He was Supervisor and Jus- 
 tice of the Peace of his town, and for several years 
 was Justice of the County Court of Sessions. 
 
 Zacharias Schmidt's name is the first to be 
 found in the oldest church records in the town of 
 Rhinebeck. But there is nothing to show that he 
 had living either father, mother, brother or sister, 
 in this or any other country. He owned the farm, 
 now the property of James Way, at a very early 
 date, but was preceded in the ownership by Jo- 
 hannes Backus, whose deed was dated October 20, 
 1718, and who was thus one of the " High Butch- 
 ers " who founded Rhinebeck. He was Voor Leser 
 (fore-reader) in the old German Reformed Church, 
 and many of its records are in his handwriting. 
 He sold a lot of his land to Ryer Schermerhorn in 
 1773. It is said that Ryer Schermerhorn built the 
 house now known as " Shop's oM store house," 
 at the corner north of Walter L. Ten Broeck's, on 
 this land, and conducted a mercantile business 
 therein during the Revolutionary War. After 
 Zacharias Schmidt's death, this place was occupied 
 for awhile by his son, Wilhelmus, and in 1798 was 
 Moul's tavern. 
 
 In a letter now before us, Edward M. Smith, 
 the author of the " History of Rhinebeck," — pub- 
 lished in 1 88 1 — says of his family and himself 
 what follows : — 
 
 "The old German Reformed Church, whose grave- 
 yard is still to be seen at Fink's Corner, came into 
 the town of Rhinebeck with the German people 
 from the Camps, in Columbia and Ulster counties, 
 between 17 13 and 17 18 — probably in 17 15. This 
 church was at first the joint property of the 
 Lutherans and German Reformers, the Lutheran 
 pastor being Rev. Joshua Kotcherthal, of New 
 Town, one of the villages in West Camp, and the 
 German Reformed pastor the Rev. John Frederic 
 Hager, of Kingsbury, one of the villages in the 
 East Camp. The Rhinebeck church and cemetery 
 
 * This deed was given January 25, 1721, 
 
 were the joint property of the Lutherans and Re- 
 formers until 1729, when ' contentions arising be- 
 tween them they thought best for both parties to 
 separate, and to have each a church for them- 
 selves. ' , If these parties kept records of the work 
 done by them respectively, prior to their separa- 
 tion, they have not come to my knowledge. After 
 the separation, they opened books which I have 
 seen. The first record in the German Reformed 
 book is that of the baptism of my grandfather, 
 Johannes, the son of Zacharias Schmidt and his 
 wife, Anna Maria Bender, on the sth of April, 
 1730 ; and this is the oldest baptismal record to be 
 found in the town of Rhinebeck. 
 
 " Where Zacharias Schmidt lived at the date of 
 this baptism I do not know. In 1747, he owned 
 the farm adjoining the church lands, now the prop- 
 erty of James Way, and it is very probable that he 
 became the owner of this farm immediately after 
 his marriage, and thus very soon after, if not in the 
 year, 1730. Besides Johannes he had sons, Phil- 
 lippus, Petrus and Wilhelmus ; and daughters, 
 Catharine, Annatjen, Anna Maria, and Anna Mar- 
 greda. 
 
 " My grandfather, Johannes, married Ehzabeth 
 Zipperlie, February 3, 1761, and had sons Zacha- 
 rias, Frederick, Philip and Johannes, and daugh- 
 ters, Catharine and Anna. He settled in Red 
 Hook, near the Columbia county line, on the farm 
 which is now the property of William C. Cooper- 
 nail. He paid a rent of twenty-four sceppels of 
 wheat and four fowls to Marija Van Benthuysen, 
 widow of Jan Van Benthuysen, from 1768 to 1780 ; 
 to Peter Van Benthuysen in 1781-2; and to 
 James Bogardus in i783-'4-'5-'6. This I learn 
 from a remnant of an old receipt book, now in my 
 possession. He retained this farm to the day of 
 his death, April 18, 1813, when it passed into the 
 possession of my father, who retained it until 1823, 
 when he sold it to William Coopemail and moved 
 into the town of Ancram, now Gallatin, Columbia 
 County, with a family of twelve children, increas- 
 ing the number to thirteen by the birth of another, 
 April 20, 1823. He remained in Ancram six 
 years, when he removed to Milan, in Duchess 
 County, on a farm of eighteen acres, which is still 
 in the family. In process of time the children 
 grew up, married and scattered, some to learn 
 trades, and others to work on the farm, and all to 
 contribute their full share to the wealth and 
 strength of the country. 
 
 "My father, Philip Smith, born June 27, 1773, 
 married December 4, 1796, Anna Coopemail, born 
 October 26, 1778. He died December 13, 1851, 
 and his children,* all living, were at his funeral. 
 She died April 17, 1864, and her children, all liv- 
 ing, the youngest forty-one years old, were all at 
 her burial. 
 
 * These children were : Sophia.born March 3,1798; Ehzabeth, June 
 9, 1800 ; John, April 16, i8oz ; Catharine, October 29, 1803 ; Henry, 
 September 6, 1805 ; Anna, December 29, 1807 ; Margaret, April 9, 
 1809 ; William, Dec. 25, 1810 ; Philip, June 17, 1812 : George, Oct. 8, 
 1815; Edward M., March 29, 1817; Zachariah, March 5, 1819 ; 
 j;tene!;er, April 20, 1823. 
 
264 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 " I was born on the old homestead in Red Hook, 
 March 29, 181 7. At the age of twelve years I 
 went to live with my uncle, John Coopernail, in 
 the town of Milan. I remained with him four years, 
 working the farm in summer and going to the 
 district school in Rock City a month or two in the 
 winter. At the age of sixteen I went as apprentice 
 to Jabez Davis, a tailor in the village of Upper 
 Red Hook. At the age of twenty- one I came to 
 the village of Rhinebeck, a journeyman tailor. I 
 learned to cut soon after, and began business for 
 myself in 1841. On the 13th of September, 1842, 
 I was married to Mary Elizabeth Davis, daughter 
 of my former employer. With the exception of 
 six months spent in the City of New York as a 
 cutter, in 1849, my residence since the first of April, 
 1838, has been in the village of Rhinebeck." 
 
 During his residence of forty-three years in 
 Rhinebeck Mr. Smith has collected from various 
 sources the material included in his history of this 
 old town. It is a work of years, in the prepara- 
 tion of which much time, labor and money have 
 been expended, and to which, through the kindness 
 of the author, we are indebted for nearly all the 
 data relating to Rhinebeck. His work, more com- 
 plete in its minuticE than can be any history of the 
 county at large, may be justly regarded as a valua- 
 ble contribution to the historical data of the County 
 and State. 
 
 Christian Bergh was another of the early settlers. 
 He was a resident of what is now the town of 
 Rhinebeck in 1723. He was born in May, 1700. 
 On the 7th of August, 1722, he was married to 
 Anna Margretta WoUeben, who was one year and 
 six months his senior. Hans Felten, Peter and 
 Peter WoUeben, Jr., were in Rhinebeck at the 
 same time. It is supposed that Anna Margretta 
 was the daughter of one, and perhaps the sister of 
 the others. They were doubtless among the 
 Palatines brought over by Governor Hunter, and 
 of the thirty-five families settled on . the land laid 
 out for the "High Dutchers," by Henry Beekman, 
 and called "Rein Beek." One of them was the 
 owner of a farm now included in the property of 
 Walter L. Ten Broeck, by a deed bearing date 
 October 20, 1718. Christian Bergh had nine 
 children, one of whom. Christian, married Catha- 
 rina Van Benschoten, March 11, 1762, and had 
 eleven children, one of whom, also named Chris- 
 tian, born April 30, 1763, was the father of 
 Henry Bergh, the president of the New York 
 Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. 
 
 Dr. Hans Kierstead, born in 1743, came to 
 Rhinebeck in 1769, at the age of twenty-six. He 
 manied Jane, daughter of Anthony Hoffman and 
 Catharine Van Graasbeck, of Kingston. Their 
 
 daughter, Sally, baptized August 15, 1773, married 
 Martin Heermance, June 15, 1789. Dr. Hans 
 Kierstead's first residence was the old stone house 
 which stood on the south of the Wager lot and 
 which was taken down by Martin L. Marquet 
 some years since. A record in Martin Heer- 
 mance's family bible says : " We moved into our 
 new house October 19, 1793." It is now known 
 that this new house was the brick dwelling now the 
 residence of Eugene Wells, and sold to John I. 
 Teller by Martin Heermance in 18 16. Dr. Hans 
 Kierstead died September 29, 181 1, aged 68. His 
 wife died January 18, 1808, aged 64. Martin 
 Heermance died July 31, 1824, aged 59, and his 
 wife, Sally, July 18, 1838, aged 65. 
 
 Christian Schell was baptized by Dominie 
 Johann F. Ries, of the Rhinebeck Lutheran 
 Church, August 11, 1779. He married Elizabeth 
 Hughes, of Hyde Park, widow of Captain Pope, 
 by whom he had eight children : Emily, Richard, 
 Julius, Robert, Augustus, Edward, Francis and 
 Julia. In 1805, he kept a store on the post-road 
 where Ezra Van Vradenburgh now lives — a place 
 known at this date as " Bear [Bare .?] Market." 
 In 181 2, he bought of Col. Henry B. Livingston 
 the mill property at the junction of Landsman's 
 and Rhinebeck creeks. 
 
 In 18 16 he was on the Flats, and built the 
 stone store and dweUing on Piatt's corner, in which 
 he conducted a prosperous mercantile business to 
 the close of his life. He died March 18, 1825, 
 aged 46. His wife died July 16, 1866. His son, 
 Augustus, was graduated at Union College, and 
 bred to the law, beginning his studies with John 
 Armstrong, in the village of Rhinebeck. He was 
 Collector of the port of New York, and is widely 
 known as a lawyer and politician. Robert is 
 president of the Bank of the Metropohs, and 
 Edward of the Manhattan Savings Bank. Richard, 
 born May 29, 1810, died November 10, 1879. He 
 was elected State Senator in 1856, and Representa- 
 tive in Congress from New York in 1875. 
 
 Besides these famiUes mentioned at length were 
 other families of importance to the town in their 
 day,— the Zipperlys (now Sipperly), one of whom, 
 Barent Zipperly, in 1726, purchased from Hans 
 Adams Frederick the lease of the farm which em- 
 braced the land which is now the church and 
 cemetery lot of the " Rhinebeck Stone Church, "* 
 and from whom in all probability were descended 
 all the Zipperlies who have had birth, have lived 
 and died, and are now living in Rhinebeck ; the 
 
 * St. Peters Lutheran Church. 
 
CO 
 
 w 
 
 PQ 
 < 
 H 
 <Ji 
 
 < 
 
 H 
 
 U 
 
 oi 
 
 [14 
 
'FERNCLIFF." 
 
TOWN OF RHINEBECK. 
 
 265 
 
 Berringers (now Barringer), of whom Johannes 
 Berringer, whose name appears, among the heads 
 of families taxed in the North Ward in 1723, was 
 possibly the common ancestor of all the Barringers 
 now in Duchess and Columbia counties; the 
 Welch family who came into Rhinebeck about 
 1740, whose first residence, it is said, was in a 
 house at the corner, now occupied by the residence 
 of Guernsey Crandall, and whose descendants have 
 long since died or departed; the Eckerts (now 
 Ackerts), who came into the town probably with 
 the Palatines who founded Rhinebeck ; the Eschers 
 (now Asher), who came into the town in 1739; 
 the Tetor family, one of the High Dutch families 
 for whom Henry Beekman laid out the lands of 
 Rhinebeck; the Van Ettens, who were brought 
 into Rhinebeck by Henry Beekman, the second, 
 probably in 1721 ; the Traphagens, of whom Wil- 
 liam Traphagen bought a small tract of land from 
 Henry Beekman in 1706, and a larger one in 1710, 
 which included part of the Hager, and, it is 
 thought, all of the Teller farm, and all the land south 
 of the river road, west of the post-road and south 
 to Landsman's kill, and whose residence was 
 doubtless the old stone house known as the " Old 
 State's Prison, " on the Flats, which was probably 
 built by him soon after 18 10; the family of 
 Froelich (now Fraleigh), a member of which, 
 Stephen Froelich, was a freeholder, and the only 
 one of the name in what is now the town of 
 Rhinebeck, in 1723, and who doubtless was the an- 
 cestor of all the Frolichs and Fraleighs who have 
 had existence arid are now living in Duchess 
 County ; the family of Schriber (now Schryver), 
 a member of which, Alburtis Schriber, undoubtedly 
 the first of the name here, was a freeholder, and 
 the only person of the name in what is now Rhine- 
 beck, in 1723. He was probably the ancestor of 
 all who bear that name in Duchess and Ulster 
 counties, and possibly in all the State. He was a 
 German, and doubtless a Palatine. His wife was 
 Eva Lauerman, A tombstone in the cemetery of 
 the Reformed Dutch Church says: Mrs. Eva 
 Schryver died July 28, 1817, aged 87. There is 
 none to the memory of her husband. John T. 
 Schryver, for many years a prominent and success- 
 ful business man in Rhinebeck, was a descendant 
 from Alburtis Schriber, the Palatine, but through 
 which one of the sons is not positively known. His 
 father was Jacob Schryver. His mother's name 
 was Ten Broeck. He married Helen Conklin. 
 Their children were Nicholas Van Vranken, 
 Mathew Van Benschoten, George Washington, 
 
 and Rachel. Nicholas died unmarried. Mathew 
 married, first, Margaret Teller, second. Miss 
 Sleight. George married Maria Fellows, whose 
 ancestors, on both her father's and mother's side, 
 were Palatines. Rachel married Stephen A. DuBois. 
 Mathew is childless. George died leaving one son 
 and three daughters. Rachel and her husband are 
 both dead, and have left but one child. Dr. John 
 C. Du Bois, of Hudson, N. Y. 
 
 The houses of the settlers in the wilderness of the 
 New World, we are told, were at first of the rudest 
 description. A square pit was dug in the ground, 
 after the shape of a cellar, six or seven feet deep. 
 This was cased around with timber, and Hned with 
 the bark of trees or something else to prevent the 
 caving in of the earth. This cellar was then floored 
 with plank and ceiled overhead. A roof of spars 
 was then reared, which was covered with green 
 sods or bark, so that they could live dry and warm 
 in their houses with their entire families for two, 
 three and four years. According to the Dutch 
 Secretary, Van Tienhoven, "the wealthy and prin- 
 cipal men in New England, in the beginning of the 
 colonies, commenced their first dwellings in this 
 fashion for two reasons : first, in order not to waste 
 time building, and not to want food the next sea- 
 son ; secondly, in order not to discourage poor, 
 laboring people, whom they brought over in large 
 numbers from Faderlandy Of the ninety-seven 
 people in Rhinebeck in 1723, nearly all who built 
 houses probably built them in this fashion. All 
 trace of them disappeared in • the next generation, 
 and the houses built later, and of stone, are all 
 that remain as the dwelling places of these pio- 
 neers. The house occupied by Abraham Brown, 
 south of Rhinebeck Village, was built, it is said, 
 in parts at different dates, the north part by Adam 
 Eckert, in 1719, and the south part in 1763. The 
 initials on the north part are " A. N. E." Peter 
 Brown's house, we are told, was built by Heerman 
 Brown, the common ancestor of those who bear 
 that name in Rhinebeck, in 1753. The stone 
 house now occupied by Jacob L. Tremper has a 
 stone inscribed "Jan Pier, 1774." The stone 
 house now owned by Ann O'Brian, on the post- 
 road in the south of Rhinebeck Village is on lands 
 leased to Johannes Benner in 1739, ^"'i ™^y ^^"^^ 
 been built by him about this date. The house 
 known as " Old Tammany " was kept by a Kip in 
 1798, and the stone part of the house was prob- 
 ably built many years before this date. The date 
 on the knocker of the old Montfort Tavern is 1760. 
 The Bergh House, formerly the residence of 
 
266 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 Major John Pawling, has a stone over the door 
 inscribed "J. P. N. P., July 4, 1761." The stone 
 house below Monroe's, now the property of Lewis 
 Livingston, once Van Steenburgh's, and later 
 Smith's Inn, is also an old house, but there exist 
 no records to tell us at what date it was built. 
 
 The Precinct records commence in 1748. In 
 that year eight justices of the peace, of whom one 
 was Arnout Velie, held a Court of General Ses- 
 sions at Poughkeepsie, and 
 
 " Ordered that all and every precinct clerk in this 
 county, to be chosen yearly on every first Tuesday 
 in April, do, within ten days thereafter, make due 
 return of the election of their respective precincts 
 of the officers chosen, on the said first Tuesday in 
 April, unto the clerk of the peace, under the pen- 
 alty of thirty shillings, to be paid by every such 
 precinct or town clerk omitting, the same to be re- 
 covered by the clerk of the peace, who is hereby 
 empowered to sue for and recover the same. 
 " Duchess County, ss: — After a true copy signed, 
 Pr. Henry Livingston, Clerk. 
 Pr. Johannes A. Ostrander, Precinct Clerk." 
 The first election in the precinct of Rhinebeck, 
 under this act, was thus recorded : — 
 
 ^'■Duchess County, ss: — Att the election held in 
 Rynbeek precinct on the first thursday in Aprill, 
 and in the year Anno Dom. 1749, PURSUANT 
 by an act of General Assembly Made in the third 
 year of the reign of the late Majesties, King Will- 
 iam and Queen Mary, to the freeholders of said 
 county and precinckt, on behalf of themselves and 
 others, for the electing of officers for said pre- 
 cinckt of Rynbeek, the following officers of this 
 present year New Elected, viz : — 
 
 "Supervisor, Jan Van Deuse; Assessors, Ger- 
 rit Van Wagenen, PhiUp Feller ; Constables, Jo- 
 hannes Seever, Jacob Ostrander, Frederick Haaver ; 
 Masters of the Poor, Frederick Strydt, Roelof 
 Kip ; Pound Master, Johannes Kip ; Fence view- 
 ers, Jacob Sickenaer, Johannes Herkenburg, 
 Gerrit Van Wagenen ; Surveyors of the Highways, 
 Isaac Kip, Peter Tiepel, Joseph Craford, Michail 
 Siperlie, Godtvret Hendrick, John Maris, Lawrens 
 Rysdorf, Petrus VeUe, Joliannes Van Wagenen, 
 Christian Dederick. 
 
 Pr. Johannes Ostrander, Clerk." 
 From that date to the organization of the town 
 the precinct supervisors and clerks were as 
 follows : — 
 
 Supervisors. 
 
 John Van Dense i749-i7';i 
 
 Gerrit Van Benthuysen i7S2-i7i;i; 
 
 Petrus DeWitt 1756-1757 
 
 Gerrit Van Benthuysen i7i;8-i76o 
 
 Petrus DeWitt i^gj 
 
 Peter Van Benthuysen jy53 
 
 Peter Ten Broeck jy5,_jygg 
 
 John Van Ess 1767-1771 
 
 James Smith 1772-1774 
 
 John Van Ess , . 1 775 
 
 Peter DeWitt 1776-1780 
 
 Anthony Hoffman 1781-1785 
 
 Precinct Clerks. 
 
 Johannes A. Ostrander 1749-1756 
 
 Peter Ostrander 1757-1765 
 
 Abraham Glimph 1765 
 
 William Beam 1 766-1785 
 
 Lodowick Elsever 1 786 
 
 The town was organized March 7, 1788. From 
 that time to date the supervisors and clerks have 
 been as follows : — 
 
 Supervisors. 
 
 Peter Contine 1786-88 
 
 William RadclifF 1789-91 
 
 David Van Ness ^ 1792-94 
 
 Peter Contine, Jr 1795-97 
 
 Isaac Stoutenburgh 1 798-1 800 
 
 Andrew Heermance 1801-03 
 
 Peter Contine, Jr 1804-05 
 
 David Van Ness 1806-08 
 
 John Cox, Jr 1808-12 
 
 [Red Hook taken off June 2, 181 2. J 
 
 John Cox, Jr. 1813-18 
 
 Koert DuBoise 1819-20 
 
 Christian Schell 1821-24 
 
 Garret Van Keuren 1825-29 
 
 Isaac F. Russell 1830-32 
 
 Frederick I. Pultz 1833-34 
 
 Henry S. Quitman 1835-36 
 
 Conrad Ring ." 1837-39 
 
 John Armstrong Jr jg^o 
 
 James A. A. Cowles 1841-43 
 
 Nicholas B. Van Steenburgh 1844 
 
 Moses Ring 1845 
 
 Tunis Workman i846-«47 
 
 James Montfort 1848 
 
 Isaac I. Piatt J849 
 
 Jacob G. Lambert 1850 
 
 Ambrose Wager ^ 1851 
 
 James C. McCarty 1852 
 
 James Montfort 1853 
 
 John M. Cramer 1854-55 
 
 Richard B. Sylands 1856 
 
 Theophilus Nelson 1857 
 
 Richard J. Garrettson 1859 
 
 James C. McCarty 1860-61 
 
 Andrew J. Heermance •. 1862-63 
 
 Ambrose Wager 1864-65 
 
 Smith Quick 1866 
 
 William M. Sayer , 1867 
 
 Robert L. Garrettson 1868 
 
 Virgil C. Traver 1869-72 
 
 John G. Ostrom 1873 
 
 Joseph H. Baldwin 1874-76 
 
 James H. Kipp 1877-78 
 
 William Bergh Kipp 1879-80 
 
 Martin Heermance i88i 
 
TOWN OF RHINEBECK. 
 
 267 
 
 Town Clerks. 
 
 David Elsever 1787-90 
 
 William Radclift, Jr 1791 
 
 Henry I>yle 1792 
 
 John Cox 1 793 
 
 Henry Shop 1794-1812 
 
 [Red Hook taken off.] 
 
 Henry Shop 1813-16 
 
 Henry F. Talmage 1817-19 
 
 Garret Van Keuren 1820 
 
 John Fowks, Jr 1821-25 
 
 Jacob Heermance 1826 
 
 William B. Piatt 1827-28 
 
 Henry De Lamater 1829-30 
 
 Henry C. Hoag 1831 
 
 Conrad Ring 1832-34 
 
 Stephen A. Uu Bois 1831; 
 
 Henry W. Mink 1836 
 
 Tunis Wortman 1837-43 
 
 George W. Schryver 1844 
 
 Tunis Wortman 1845 
 
 George W. Bard 1846-47 
 
 John C. McCarty 1848-49 
 
 Albert A. Rider , 1850-52 
 
 Tunis Wortman 1853 
 
 Albert A. Rider 1854 
 
 Tunis Wortman 1855 
 
 Harvey M. Traver 1856 
 
 Tunis Wortman 1857 
 
 Calvin Jennings 1 858 
 
 Tunis Wortman 1859 
 
 Geo. H. Ackert 1860-61 
 
 John D. Judson 1862 
 
 Geo. W. Hogan 1863 
 
 Simon Welch 1864 
 
 ] araes A. Montfort 1865 
 
 ' acob H. Pottenburgh 1866 
 
 Jacob Rynders 1867 
 
 Edward Brooks 1868 
 
 William H. Sipperly 1869-70 
 
 Tunis Wortman 1871-72 
 
 Jacob Rynders. 1873 
 
 William H. Hevenor 1874-76 
 
 Jacob H. Pottenburgh 1877-81 
 
 United States Senator from Rhinebeck. 
 
 John Armstrong, by appointment of the Gover- 
 nor in 1803; by election in 1804. Appointed 
 Minister to France in 1804^ and resigned the office 
 of Senator. 
 
 Representatives in Congress. 
 
 Egbert Benson 1st and 2d Congresses. 
 
 Isaac Bloom 8th Congress. 
 
 Philip J. Schuyler 15th Congress. 
 
 In 181 2 the towns of Rhinebeck and Clinton in 
 Duchess County, voted with Columbia county in 
 the election of a Member of Congress, 
 
 State Senators. 
 
 Anthony Hoffman 1788-90 
 
 Thomas Tillotson : 1791-99 
 
 Robert Sands 1797-1800 
 
 Peter Contine, Jr 1798-1801 
 
 Morgan Lewis 1811-14 
 
 Peter R. Livingston 1820-22, 1826-29 
 
 William Kelly 1856-58 
 
 Members OF Assembly. 
 
 Thomas Tillotson 1788-90 
 
 William Radcliff 1792-93 
 
 Philip J. Schuyler 1798 
 
 Abraham Adriance 1800-02 
 
 Koert DuBois 1810-11, 1820-21 
 
 David Tomlinson 1819 
 
 John Cox 1822 
 
 Peter R. Livingston 1823 
 
 John Armstrong, Jr 1825 
 
 Francis A. Livingston 1828 
 
 George Lambert 1833 
 
 Freeborn Garrettson 1838, 1845 
 
 Ambrose Wager 1855-58 
 
 Richard J. Garrettson i860 
 
 John N. Cramer 1864 
 
 Alfred T. Ackert 1868 
 
 Rhinebeck Village. 
 
 A map of Rhinebeck Flats, laid out in village 
 lots, was made by John Cox, Jr., as early as 1792. 
 In an old deed in the possession of Jacob L. 
 Tremper, we are told that on March 20, 1799, 
 Nathan Brownson and his wife sold to William 
 Tremper " all that certain lot of land * * lying 
 * * in the town of Rhinebeck, at the Flatts, and 
 distinguished in a map thereof, made by John Cox, 
 as lot No. II, beginning at the southwest corner of 
 Butler and Bartholomew's lot, known as No. 9." 
 This lot was bounded on one side by the post- road, 
 and contained one acre of land. In a deed to 
 WiUiam Carroll for the Mathias lot, all the west 
 side of the post-road, we are told that it was con- 
 veyed by Margaret Livingston to Abraham Adri- 
 ance, and by said Adriance to Henry Du Bois, 
 and known as lot number four in a survey made by 
 John Cox, Jr. A copy of a portion of this map, 
 covering the land laid out on the east side of the 
 post-road, shows that East Market street was laid 
 out as early as 1792, as far as the church lands, 
 now Mulberry street. In 1801, the commissioners 
 of highways carried this street through the church 
 lands as a public road, beginning at Ptiltz's corner, 
 which was then in the possession of Abraham 
 Brinckerhoff. In 1802, it became the Ulster and 
 SaUsbury turnpike. Before this date no evidence 
 can be found that there was a single building on 
 
268 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 East Market street. The village seems to have been 
 laid out in acre lots. The southeast corner lot 
 extended south to the church lot, and the same 
 distance east, being an exact square, and was pur- 
 chased by Koert and Henry Du Bois. The next 
 lot east, also a square, was purchased by a Mr. 
 Jones, probably Gen. Montgomery's nephew. The 
 next lot east was purchased by Philip Bogardus, 
 probably son of Everardus. The northeast comer, 
 also a square acre, was purchased by John T. 
 Schryver and Tunis Conklin. The next square 
 east by Asa Potter, and the square next east of 
 his, by Frederick Kline. North, the lots had the 
 depth of two squares, and the width of half a 
 square. The lot next east to Schryver and Conk- 
 lin's comer was purchased by Gen. Armstrong. 
 The old building on the corner was built and used 
 for a store and postoffice before 1800, possibly 
 many years prior to that date. The old house re- 
 built by Dr. Van Vliet was the residence of Asa 
 Potter at an early date, and was probably built by 
 him. It was, at one time, the residence of Koert 
 Du Bois, and at another, of Henry F. Talraage. 
 The residence of Jacob Schaad was on the lot of 
 Frederick Kline, occupied by him at an early 
 date, and was probably built by him. The pur- 
 chasers of these acre lots subdivided them and 
 sold to other parties. On November 23, 1807, 
 Elisha R., son of Asa Potter, sold his lotto Peter 
 Brown and Christian Schell, then in the occupation 
 of Schryver and Conklin, and bounded westerly by 
 Spaulding and northerly by General Armstrong. 
 Whether Koert and Henry Du Bois built the first 
 store on their comer or not, is not learned. They 
 were merchants there at an early date, and had 
 for successors, John Fowks, Christian Schell, John 
 Davis, Henry and James Hoag, George Schryver, 
 John Benner, Moses Ring, George Fellows and 
 George Storm. John Benner rebuilt the corner, 
 and rented the second story to John Armstrong 
 for a law office. John T. Schryver, William Tel- 
 ler, Benjamin Schultz, Henry DeLamater, Free- 
 man Jennings, William Bates, Simon Welch and 
 John M. Sandford, were merchants on the north- 
 east corner. On the hotel corner Henry F. Tal- 
 mage. Smith Dunning, John C. Ostrom, Isaac F. 
 Russell, William Bates and George Bard, sold dry 
 goods, groceries and hardware at different times. 
 Piatt's comer was purchased by Christian Schell, 
 who erected the present stone building thereon. 
 It is not learned from whom he made the pur- 
 ♦ chase. The old people here tell us that this was 
 an open field prior to this date. It was conveyed 
 
 to William B. Piatt by Richard Schell in 1835, and 
 is still in the possession of his family. The next 
 building west was for many years the well-known 
 store-house of William S. Cowles & Co., the first 
 proprietor of whom we get knowledge was James 
 Teller, whose executors conveyed it to Thomas 
 and Albert Traver. It is now owned by Martin 
 Dilchelman, and occupied by David E. Ackert, 
 mercantile successor to the Cowles Brothers. 
 
 Rhinebeck was incorporated as a village by 
 legislative enactment April 23, 1834. In 1867, 
 by an act of the Legislature passed that year, the 
 limits of the village were extended. The first 
 election for village officers was held May 22, 1834. 
 The officers elected were as follows : — Trustees, 
 Eliphalet Piatt, Peter Pultz, John Drury, John I. 
 Smith, John T. Schryver, Jacob Heermance, John 
 Jennings; Assessors,' John A. Drum, Theophilus 
 Nelson, Stephen McCartyj Treasurer, Nicholas 
 Drury. 
 
 On the 17th of June following, John T. Schry- 
 ver was elected president of the board of trustees, 
 and Nicholas V.- Schryver, secretary. 
 
 The following has been the succession of presi- 
 dents and clerks : — 
 
 Presidents. Clerks. 
 
 1834. John T. Schryver, Nicholas V. Schryver. 
 
 1835. do do Stephen A. DuBois. 
 
 1836. David Pultz, William I. Stewart 
 
 1837. Abraham DeLamater, do do 
 
 1838. John Benner, Tunis Wortman. 
 1839-40. do do William J. Stewart. 
 
 1841. Joshua Traver, Peter G. Quick. 
 
 1842. Barnet Wager, William J. Stewart. 
 ■ 1843-44. John Benner, do do 
 
 1845. Henry DeLamater,* do do 
 
 1846-47. do do Tunis Wortman. 
 
 1848. John Benner, do do 
 
 1849. Stephen McCarty, do do 
 
 1850. John Benner, do do 
 1851-52. Henry DeLamater, James C. McCarty. 
 
 1853. John G, Ostrom, do do 
 
 1854. Ambrose Wager, do do 
 1855-57. Henry DeLamater, Tunis Wortman. 
 1858-60. John G. Ostrom, do do 
 
 1 86 1. N. W. H. Judson, do do 
 
 1862. Homer Gray, do do 
 
 1863. Martin L. Marquet, do do 
 
 1864. Reuben Hanaburgh, do do 
 
 1865. John G. Ostrom, George W. Hogan. 
 
 1866. Edwin Hill, James C. McCarty. 
 
 1867. Homer Gray, do do 
 
 1868. N. W. H. Judson, do do 
 
 1869. Rensselaer Barton, do do 
 
 1870. Eugene Wells, T. W. Bates 
 1 87 1., John G. Ostrom, do do 
 
 1872. William M. Sayre, Frank T. VanKeuren. 
 
 • To fiU vacancy e/are John Benner, resigned. 
 
TOWN OF RHINEBECK. 
 
 269 
 
 1873. William M. Sayre, George Fellows. 
 
 1874. Benjamin Lansing, Chas. E. McCarty. 
 
 1875. E. M. Smith, do do 
 
 1876. George Esselstyn, Frank Van Keuren. 
 1877-81. do do Chas. E. McCarty. 
 
 In 1872 the people of Rhinebeck at a special 
 election voted to build a town hall.* Virgil C. 
 Traner was supervisor of the town in that year, and 
 his term of office being about to expire, the board 
 of town auditors, on the isthof February, 1873, 
 authorized him to superintend the construction of 
 the building until completed. It was finished in 
 that year, at a cost of $20,500. It is a handsome 
 and substantial edifice, and a credit to the town. 
 
 Newspapers. — The village contains one news- 
 paper, the Rhinebeck Gazette, the history of whose 
 origin is as follows : — 
 
 In 1844 a man named Robert Marshall, a Scotch- 
 man, started here a small sheet under the title of 
 the Rhinebeck Advocate. In the spring of 1846, 
 Edward M. Smith and Edward A. Camp started 
 the Rhinebeck Gazette, purchased the interest of 
 Marshall, and merged the Advocate into their newly 
 established paper. The Gazette was conducted 
 by Smith & Camp less than a year, when the former 
 bought out Camp's interest and conducted the paper 
 alone for about three years, or until February, 1849, 
 when he leased the establishment to William Luff 
 to the first of May, 1850. At the expiration of his 
 lease. Luff started a rival paper, under the name of 
 the Rhinebeck Gazette and Duchess County Adver- 
 tiser, and E. M. Smith re-assumed control of the 
 Rhinebeck Gazette, which he conducted several 
 months and then disposed of it to George H. Clark, 
 of Poughkeepsie, publisher of the American Me- 
 chanic. He continued the publication of the Gazette, 
 in connection with the Mechanic, for a number of 
 years. He finally bought out Luff's Gazette and 
 Advertiser, took his subscription list, and that paper 
 ceased to exist. The paper eventually passed into 
 the hands of Thomas Edgerley, who held a chattel 
 mortgage on it, and who conducted it until he dis- 
 posed of it to I-.IcGrath & Ackert in 1879, who are 
 the present editors and proprietors. It is a weekly, 
 of considerable merit, pubhshed every Saturday. 
 
 Libraries. — The Starr Institute had its virtual 
 origin in 1857, when in that year there was estab- 
 lished in the village a free reading-room and a cir- 
 culating library, in a small building opposite the 
 present edifice of the Institute. This experiment 
 of a free reading-room and circulating library, was 
 successful, and the founder was thereby encour- 
 aged to ensure their continuance, on a permanent 
 
 * The vote was 138 to Ii8 on that question. 
 
 basis, by the erection of the present commodious 
 and substantial building, which was completed in 
 1 86 2. On the 1 8th of April, that year, an act incor- 
 porating the Starr Institute and naming the first 
 trustees was passed by the Legislature, in which 
 the purpose of the corporation is declared to be 
 " to furnish facilities for the intellectual and moral 
 inprovement of the inhabitants of the town of 
 Rhinebeck." July 24, 1862, the first meeting of 
 the trustees was held to organize under the act of 
 incorporation. William Kelly was elected presi- 
 dent ; Theophilus Gillender, secretary, and N. W. 
 H. Judson, treasurer of the board.* 
 
 The Institute is a gift to the people from Mrs. 
 Mary R. Miller, a grand-daughter of Gen. Philip 
 Schuyler of Revolutionary fame, in memory of her 
 hustand, the Hon. William Starr Miller, who died 
 in New York in 1854. 
 
 The Institute property consists of the real and 
 personal property connected with the building, 
 and the lot on which it stands, which were con- 
 veyed to the Trustees by Mrs. Miller, by deed 
 bearing date May 20, 1862, delivered at the first 
 meeting of the Trustees, thus vesting the title ab- 
 solutely and forever in them for the benefit of all 
 the inhabitants of the town. The property was 
 purchased and this building erected and furnished, 
 at a cost of about $15,000. It contains a large 
 free public reading room, a circulating library, a 
 large and handsome lecture hall, and a kitchen and 
 dining hall in the basement. The second story 
 consists of one room, which is given to a standard 
 library. The price of membership is fifty cents 
 per year, which entitles the holder to draw books 
 from the circulating library, and to consult at his 
 leisure those in the standard library. 
 
 Schools. — The De Garmo Classical Institute 
 had its origin in the Rhinebeck Academy which 
 was established in 1840. Its existence as an 
 Academy was maintained, under different teachers, 
 until i860, when it became the property of Prof. 
 James M. De Garmo, under whose name it has 
 since been conducted. He erected the present 
 large and substantial building in 187 1. The school 
 has everywhere an excellent reputation for its 
 worth and prosperity. 
 
 The lands for the Union Free School were 
 procured and the building erected in 1869. The 
 districts were united and the school made free 
 several years earlier. The number of children in 
 the district between the ages of five and twenty- 
 
 * James A. A. Cowles, Freeborn Garrettson, Theophilus Nelson and 
 William Kelly, four of the members of the original Board, have died since 
 the organization. 
 
270 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 one, is 655. The full valuation of property in the 
 district is $1,162,789. 
 
 Societies. — Rhinebeck Lodge, 432, F. and A. M., 
 was organized July 9, 1 85 7. The charter was granted 
 June s, 1858. The first officers under the dispen- 
 sation were : Smith Quick, W. M.; James Hogan, 
 S. W.; DeWitt C. Marshall, J. W.; Richard R. 
 Sylands, Treas.; Ambrose Wager, Sec'y.; Henry 
 N. Taylor, J. D. The first officers under the 
 charter were : Smith Quick, W. M.; James Ho- 
 gan, S. W.; Homer Gray, J. W. The lodge has 
 fine rooms on Main street, in which it meets every 
 Friday evening. 
 
 Rhinebeck Lodge No. 162, L O. O. F., was 
 organized July 16, 1845. The charter members 
 were, Ambrose Wager, John Pultz, Edward Hold- 
 ridge, Woodward Frisbie, Jacob M. Hogan. The 
 first officers were: Ambrose Wager, N. G.; Wood- 
 ward Frisbie, V. G.j Edward Holdridge, Sec'y; 
 Jacob M. Hogan, Treas. The records of the 
 lodge were destroyed by fire in 1864. The order 
 is in good condition. The meetings are held every 
 Monday evening, in Judson's Building. 
 
 Hotels.— 7%« Rhinebeck Hotel is situated on 
 what were once the lands of William Traphagen, 
 who was the first owner of lands on Beekman's 
 Rhinebeck patent. These lands were purchased 
 from Henry Beekman, the elder, before 1706. 
 They reached from the Rhinebeck kill to the post- 
 road, and from the junction of Landsman's and 
 Rhinebeck kills in the saw-mill pond north of the 
 north bounds of the land sold by him to Jacob Kip 
 in 1706. The hotel corner fell to Arent Trapha- 
 gen at the death of his father, and at his own 
 death, about r769, it was conveyed by his heirs to 
 Everardus Bogardus, who was a merchant here, and 
 probably an inn-keeper also, from 1769 to the close 
 of the century. In 1802 the property was in the 
 posession of Benjamin Bogardus, and on October 
 7 th, in this year, was conveyed by him to Asa Pot- 
 ter, who, according to the Institute map, was an 
 inn-keeper in a house in the vicinity of the present 
 residence of Mrs. W. B. Piatt. Asa Potter died 
 October 9, 1805. November 25, 1807, Philip J. 
 Schuyler, as administrator of Asa Potter, sold the 
 property to Elisha R. Potter, of Kingston, Rhode 
 Island. November 1 1, 1834, Ehsha R. Potter sold 
 it to Richard Schell, who, on the first of May, 1837, 
 sold it to Jonathan Wilson. Sepember 7,' 1839^ 
 David Seymour, Master in Chancery, sold it 
 to Elisha R. Potter, son of Elisha R. He, on 
 the^first of May, 1848, sold it to Garrett Van 
 Keuren, Henry DeLamater and William B. Piatt. 
 
 From 1802, when this property passed from the 
 possession of the family of Bogardus, to the pur- 
 chase by Van Keuren, DeLamater and Piatt, in 
 1848, it seems to have been in the possession, or 
 under the hen of the Potters. William Jacques, by 
 whose name the house was known during the most 
 of the period between 1805 and 1848, appears in 
 the old town records as early as 1794. He died 
 October 9, 1835, aged 67 years. The house ceased 
 to be Jacques' hotel in 1837. It was rebuilt a few 
 years since and greatly enlarged, and is now kept 
 by Harry Tremper, and is one of the best hotels 
 in the county. 
 
 Banks. — The Bank of Rhinebeck was established 
 in 1853. The subscriptions to the stock were 
 procured in the previous year by Theophilus Gil- 
 lender, on a paper, the heading to which was 
 drawn up by Gouverneurj,TilIottson, Esq., who 
 came into the practice of law here on the death of 
 John Armstrong. The bank was begun on a 
 capital of $150,000, which has since been increased 
 to $175,000. Its first officers were: — Henry De 
 Lamater, President; William R. Schell, Vice- 
 President; DeWitt C. Marshall, Cashier. It has 
 always been a well managed and prosperous insti- 
 tution. 
 
 The Rhinebeck Savings Bank was also estab- 
 lished through the enterprise of Theophilus Gil- 
 lender,* who was its first Secret^'y and Treasurer. 
 If was organized in 1862. Its deposits are now 
 $248,150. The present officers are :— Joshua C. 
 Bowne, President; Simon Welch, Secretary and 
 Treasurer. 
 
 Lawyers. — The lawyers now in practice here 
 are: — 
 
 Esselstyn & McCarty, (George Esselstyn,* 
 James C. McCarty). The former, a native of 
 Claverack, Columbia county, was born in 1841. 
 He was graduated from Rutledge C*ollege, N. J., 
 m 1 86 1, studied law with Gaul & Esselstyn, in 
 Hudson, about four years, was admitted to prac- 
 tice December 10, 1863, and came to Rhinebeck, 
 March 20, 1865. 
 
 James C. McCarty, a native of Rhinebeck, born 
 in 1824, studied, law with Ambrose Wager, Esq., 
 from 1844 to 1847, in which year he was admitted 
 to the bar, and remained with Ambrose Wager ' 
 until 1857. -^ 
 
 Charles E. McCarty, son of James C. McCarty, 
 studied law with his father, and was admitted to 
 practice in 1880. 
 
 thil^ii^s^^:^^::^^^'- "- ^ ^"""" ^-^ "^-^^p"-' ^^-^ -^ 
 
TOWN OF RHiNEBECIt. 
 
 271 
 
 Ambrose Wager, born in Hillsdale, Columbia 
 county, in 1815, graduated from Union College, 
 Schenectady, in 1839, ^.nd came to Rhinebeck as 
 a resident in 1841. 
 
 Ambrose Lee Wager, born in Rhinebeck in 
 1858, graduated from Yale College in 1878, 
 studied law with his father, Ambrose, and was ad- 
 mitted to practice in May, 1880. 
 
 Physicians. — The resident physicians are : — Dr. 
 Francis H. Roof, a native of Cooperstown, N. Y., 
 born in 1842, graduated from the College of Phy- 
 sicians and Surgeons, New York, in the course of 
 1862-3. He began his practice in Kings County 
 Hospital, Brooklyn, where he remained a year and 
 a half. In January, 1865, he entered the U. S. 
 service as Acting Assistant Surgeon of the 19th 
 Army Corps, under General Grover, which position 
 he retained until June, 1865. He came to Rhine- 
 beck in 1876. 
 
 Dr. William More Decker, born in Margaret- 
 ville, Delaware county, N. Y., in 1855, graduated 
 from the Homeopathic Medical College, New 
 York, in 1879, and came to Rhinebeck in 1880. 
 
 Dr. Pierre A. Banker, a native of Poughkeepsie, 
 born in 1845, graduated from the New York 
 Homeopathic College in 1879, and came to 
 Rhinebeck in January, 1881. 
 
 Dr. Cornelius S. Van Etten, born in Pike 
 county, Pa., in 1846, graduated from the Uni- 
 versity of Pennsylvania, at Philadelphia, in 1873, 
 and became a resident of Rhinebeck in March, 
 1876. 
 
 Dr. Frank Latson, a native of Rhinebeck, born 
 in 1853, graduated from the New York College of 
 Dentistry in 1880, and began his practice in this 
 village. 
 
 Churches. — German Reformed Church. — The 
 first church in Rhinebeck, and probably in Duchess 
 County, was the " High Dutch Reformed Protestant 
 Church," which, until the year 1800, stood near 
 the old cemetery, on the post-road, three miles 
 north of the present village of Rhinebeck, at what 
 is now known as " Pink's Corner." It came into 
 the town with the German Palatines, and undoubt- 
 edly as early as 17 15. There were among these 
 people both Lutherans and Calvinists, and they 
 built the first church together, and remained joint 
 owners until 1729, when contentions arose between 
 them, and they separated to have each a church to 
 themselves. December 10, 1729, the Lutherans 
 sold out to the " Reformed Protestants," receiving 
 for their interest in the church and four acres of 
 land, " twenty-five pounds, current money of New 
 
 York." The money was paid to Hendrick Shever, 
 Joseph Rykart, Barent Sipperly and Karell Neher, 
 for the Lutherans ; by France Kelder, Ccenradt 
 Bearinger, Wendell Polver and Jacob WoUeben 
 for the Reformers. In a bond given by the Luther- 
 ans to the Reformers, a deed is quoted from Henry 
 Beekman, the younger, and other heirs of Col. 
 Henry Beekman, deceased, to Barent Sipperly, Jr., 
 for a farm at Rhynbeek, March 5, 172 1, contain- 
 ing fifty-six acres of land, in which was reserved 
 four acres of land whereon the Church of Rhyn- 
 beek then stood, for the use of a church and 
 church yard, " and so to remain forever for that 
 use ;" and, also, that " Gilbert Livingston and his 
 wife, with the consent of the said Barent Sipperly, 
 Jr., did, on the first day of August, 1724, lease the 
 said farm unto Hendrick Beam, with the said res- 
 ervation of the said four acres for the church." 
 
 It is learned from this that four acres had been 
 assigned for the church, and the church built 
 thereon before 1 7 2 1 ; that the reservation was 
 again made in 1724, when the land changed own- 
 ers, and that joint ownership continued to 1729, 
 when the German Reformers became sole proprie- 
 tors. 
 
 December 4, 1747, "Catharine Pawling, of Rhine, 
 beck Precinct, * * * widow " gave to Nicholas 
 Stickell, Jacobj Sickener, Philip More, Hendrick 
 Berringer, Jacob Drum and Jacob Berringer, 
 "being the present Elders and Deacons of the 
 High Dutch Reformed Protestant Church of 
 Rhinebeck," a deed for this church and lands, (in 
 which is again recited the leases to Sipperly and 
 Beam,) for the use of the inhabitants of "Rine- 
 beek " professing the Protestant religion according 
 to the rules of the Reformed Church. When the 
 church was discontinued on these premises, in 
 1800, the land reverted to the heirs of Catharine 
 Pawling, or to the sole use of the cemetery. It is 
 now, with the exception of about one-fourth of an 
 acre, appropriated for farming purposes, and cattle 
 are herded among the tombstones in the old cem- 
 etery. By what right this is done is not known, 
 unless it is by the right of possession. The rec- 
 ords of this church while in union with the Luth- 
 erans, if any were kept, are lost. Johannes Spal- 
 ler, a.Lutheran, was minister at the " Kamps and 
 Rinback" in 1723, and doubtless ministered to the 
 Lutherans in the Union Church at that date. 
 There is no definite knowledge of the minister who 
 served the German Reformed people during the 
 union. John Frederick Hager came to the Camps 
 with the German people in 17 10. October 8, 
 
272 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 1715, he with John Cast and Godfrey de Wolven, 
 on behalf of themselves and upwards of sixty fara- 
 iUes of the Palatines in Duchess County, petitioned 
 Governor Hunter for license to build a church in 
 Kingsbury. Corwin, in his Manual, classes him 
 with the Reformed ministers. This being so, he 
 probably served both the Kingsbury and Rhine- 
 beck people ; and the Rhinebeck may have been 
 the Kingsbury church. After the separation in 
 1730, a book of records was opened in the Re- 
 formed Church. The first baptisms were recorded 
 April 5, 1730, and the first in the list is Johannes,* 
 the son of Zacharias Schmidt. 
 
 The title page to this book, now in existence, is 
 in German, in the hand-writing of George Michal 
 Weiss, and, translated, is as follows : — 
 
 "General Church Book of the Reformed Con- 
 gregation in Reyn Beek, organized and estabUshed 
 by G. M. Weiss, Preacher for the time being for 
 the Two Low Dutch Congregations at Kats Kill 
 and Kocks Hocky. Ao. Christi, 1734, May 23d." 
 
 June 27, 1742, the record is again in the hand of 
 Dominie Weiss, and this is the beginning of a pas- 
 torate of four years in the German Church at 
 Rhmebeck, and the Dutch Church on the Flats, 
 the churches being a joint charge during this 
 period. His record in the German Church termi- 
 nated on the 32d, and in the Dutch on the 29th 
 of June, 1746. Casper Ludwig Schnorr, of the 
 Camp Reformed Church, installed the officers of 
 the Rhinebeck Church May 2, 1747, and presided 
 at the reception of members therein on April 
 26th. He evidently served both churches during 
 this period, and thus established a union which 
 endured for a century. At the close of his labors, 
 Mancius resumed the charge of the church, and 
 did all its work until February; 15, 1755. His suc- 
 cessor was Johan Casper Rubel, whose first bap- 
 tism in Rhinebeck is recorded May 18, 1755, ^^d 
 his last on September 30, 1759. At the close of 
 his pastorate, Mancius was again pastor. He 
 remained until May 31, 1762. June 25, 1763, 
 there is a record of thirteen baptisms and four 
 additions to the church in the hand of Rubelj and 
 that is the last found of his hand in the records of 
 the church. 
 
 Gerhard Daniel Cock came to America, on invi- 
 tation of the Camp Church, in November, 1763 
 and at once took charge of both churches. He 
 recorded his first baptism i« the Rhinebeck church 
 December 11, 1763, and his last July 24, 1791. 
 At the close of his pastorate, between July 24 
 
 •Grandfather to Edward H- Smitb, author of the "History of 
 RhlBebepU. " 
 
 1791, and June 15, 1794, there are 24 baptisms in 
 an unknown hand. Johan Daniel Schefer came 
 into the pastorate in 1794, and remained until 
 October 9, 1799. Between July- 8, 1800, and Sep- 
 tember 26, 1802, there are nine baptisms in an 
 unknown hand. In this period, it is thought that 
 the new edifice was built four miles further north, 
 in what is now Red Hook, on land donated by 
 General Armstrong, to which the church moved. 
 It did not cease to be the Rhinebeck German 
 Reformed Church by this change of location.* 
 
 Valentine Rudiger Fox came into the pastorate 
 in 1802, and doubtless commenced it in the new 
 church. His last baptism was recorded July 27, 
 1823. John Rudy succeeded Fox in 1823. He 
 remained until 1835. Cornelius Gates succeeded 
 Rudy in the pastorate of the Red Hook church, 
 the Camp church having passed under the care of 
 the Classis of Poughkeepsie April 25, 1837, during 
 the pastorate of Rev. Jacob WiUiam Hangen, who 
 served thenceforth in connection with the Upper 
 Red Hook Dutch Reformed Church. This church 
 having thus taken the Camp, the Lutherans in a 
 short time thereafter took the Red Hook charge, 
 and this was the end of the German Reformed 
 Church in Duchess county.f All that is left of it 
 in Rhinebeck, where it had its birth, and passed 
 the most prosperous period of its existence, is the 
 old grave-yard, now a cow-yard, at Pink's Corner 
 within the limits of the old Palatine village of Rein 
 Beek. Stranded between the Dutch church on the 
 Flats, and that erected in the village of Upper Red 
 Hook, in 1785, it fell an easy prey to the Luther- 
 ans, with whom its people had freely inter-married, 
 and toward whom they naturally gravitated. 
 
 TAe Rhinebeck Lutheran Church came into ex- 
 istence simultaneously with the German Church at 
 Pink's Corner. If it kept any <»records while in 
 union with the latter, before 1729^ they are not 
 now extant. It sold out its interest in the church 
 at Pink's Corner, as before stated, December 10, 
 1729. On the fourth of November preceding, ap- 
 pUcation had been made to Gilbert Livingston for 
 a lot for a church and cemetery, which received the 
 following response : — 
 
 "Memorandum — This 4th day of November, 
 1729, have Francis Near, and Michael Bonesteel 
 asked of me, in behalf of the Lutheran congrega- 
 tion m Rhinebeck, Duchess County, a piece of 
 ground for the purpose of build ing a church and 
 
 * The Precinct of Rhinebeck, organized in 1734, extendeif to the Co- 
 lumbia County line untU i8ii, when Red Hook received a separate 
 organization. 
 
 tits ministers always resided at the Camp, now the Germantown 
 Church. 
 
TOWN OF RHINEBECK. 
 
 273 
 
 making a burying-place for the said congregation, 
 which ground, so said, lies by Barent Sipperly's. 
 For the encouragement of so good a work, I promise 
 in this the same ground in my lot lying, and at a 
 convenient time to measure off to them and to 
 give a transfer for the Lutheran congregation dwell- 
 ing on land of the late Col. Henry Beekman. 
 
 "In witness whereof, I have undersigned this, 
 date as above, at Kingston, Ulster County. 
 
 Gilbert Livingston." 
 
 "The above promissory note was translated 
 from the original Low Dutch by me, the under- 
 signed, at Clermont, Columbia Co., N. Y., this 
 second day of May, 1857. 
 
 Augustus Wackerhagen." 
 
 The fruit of this promise was the present church 
 lot and cemetery, containing five acres, three roods 
 and eighteen perches. There is no deed for it 
 among the church papers, but - possession was 
 doubtless at once obtained. In the grave-yard 
 here are tombstones dating back to 1733. On the 
 first of May, 1768, Michael Sipperly sold to Henry 
 Tator, Lodewick Elsever and Philip Bonesteel, 
 trustees of the Rhinebeck Lutheran Church, 
 twenty-nine and one-half acres of land for two 
 hundred pounds New Y^rk money. On the same 
 day, Robert G. Livingston gave the same parties 
 a hfe lease for two pieces of land, both pieces to 
 contain seventeen acres, subject to a rent of six 
 bushels of wheat a year, and to continue during 
 the lives of George Tator, Jr., David Elsever and 
 Frederick Sipperly, the son of George Sipperly. 
 On the first of June, 1798, John Crooke deeded to 
 Peter Traver, Jost Neher, Frederick Pister^ John 
 Seaman, David Lown, Jr., and George Elsever, 
 trustees, and their successors forever, two acres of 
 land for fifty dollars, subject to an annual rent of 
 three pecks of wheat. On the eighth of Decem- 
 ber, 1807, Robert G. Livingston and his wife, 
 Martha, sold to Nicholas Bonesteel, Zacharias 
 Traver, Johannes Simmon, Zacharias Feller, An- 
 dries Teal and John R. Feller, of the town of 
 Rhinebeck, trustees of St. Peter's Church, for the 
 sum of fifty dollars, three acres and three roods of 
 land for a parsonage lot. There is found, also, a 
 map of the church lot, for five acres, three roods, 
 eighteen perches, with a map of seven acres, two 
 roods, five perches, on the east side of the road, 
 for a parsonage lot. These maps are without date, 
 and were probably made in 1760. A lease for 
 one year, dated May i, 1797, given by the trustees 
 of the church to Charles Reinold, says he is to 
 have all the lands lying on the east side of the 
 post-road, belonging to the church. The church 
 now owns no lands on the east side of the road. 
 
 On the eighth of January, 1808, the church lands, 
 aside from the church lot, were the property of 
 Robert G. Livingston and his wife, Martha, who, 
 in a conveyance bearing that date, disposed of 
 them to Samuel Hake. These lands were then in 
 the possession of the church, and consisted of 
 thirty-two acres. The church held these lands un- 
 der a perpetual lease, and paid an annual rent of 
 ten bushels and twenty-eight quarts of wheat On 
 the first of May, 1857, this rent was due to James 
 de Peyster, Frederick de Peyster and Robert G. 
 L. de Peyster, heirs of Samuel Hake, and they 
 released the land from the incumbrance at this 
 date, in a deed of absolute ownership to Henry 
 Cotting, Michael Traver, John A. Traver, Stephen 
 Traver, Jacob Teal, Philip Sipperly, John H. 
 Rikert, Henry A. Cramer and Lewis D. Elsefifer, 
 trustees of the church, for $275.00. 
 
 The first church edifice was built in 1730. Of 
 the cost and character of the house there exist no 
 records to give us information. 
 
 " The Stone Church," the name by which it has 
 been distinguished for more than a century, was 
 built some time before the Revolution. In 1824 
 this edifice was remodeled and enlarged, and em- 
 belished with its present tower. The expense of 
 this improvement was about $3,000.00, and the 
 name of PhiHp Schuyler is recalled as one of the 
 building committee, and that of Stephen McCarty 
 as the builder. In 1843, it was again improved at 
 a cost of some $1,100.00. The present parsonage 
 was built in 1798, for Dominie Quitman, and is a 
 commodious dwelling, well preserved for its years. 
 
 Undoubtedly the first pastor over the Luther- 
 ans, and when they were united with the German 
 Reformers in the occupancy of the church at Pink's 
 Corner, was Rev. Joshua Kotcherthal. He was 
 a Lutheran minister, and came to this country 
 with the first company of Palatines, whom he set- 
 tled at Quasack Creek, near Newburgh, in Orange 
 County. He knded in New York January i, 1709, 
 from the ship Globe, Capt. Congreve. In that 
 same year he returned to London on an errand to 
 the Queen, and came back with the Palatines who 
 came over with Governor Hunter in 17 10, on the 
 ship Midfort, Capt. Fowles. He took up his resi- 
 dence in New Town, one of the Palatine villages, 
 on the west side of the Hudson, in the West 
 Camp. He served as Lutheran pastor for the 
 Palatines, settled in New York, at Quasack Kil, at 
 the West and East Camps, and at Rhinebeck. He 
 began his records on shipboard, September 14, 
 1708, and they cover a period of eleven years, 
 
274 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 beginning in 1708, and ending at his death in 
 1 7 19. 
 
 Johan Christoval Hartwick * was pastor over the 
 church, after the separation, from 1746 to 1758. 
 His successor was Johannes Frederick Reis, whose 
 pastorate began March 7, 1760, and ended Jan_ 
 15. 1783. He died in 1791, and was buried at 
 Churchtown. George Henrich PfeifTer succeeded 
 Reis. He served the church from 1784 to 1798- 
 A tombstone in the Rhinebeck church yard closes 
 his history in these lines : — 
 
 "Sacred to the memory of GEO. H. PFEIF- 
 FER, a native of Germany, pastor of the Lutheran 
 congregation in Rhinebeck, who died Oct. 26, 1827, 
 aged about eighty years." 
 
 Frederick Henry Quitman was the next pastor, 
 coming in 1798 and remaining until 1830. Rev. 
 William J. Eyer succeeded him in the pastorate. 
 His first baptism was recorded Oct. 24, 1828, and 
 his last March 17, 1836. Rev. N. W. Goertner 
 was the next pastor. He recorded his first bap- 
 tism in January, 1837, and his last Oct. 24, 1845. 
 It was during his ministry that the Red Hook 
 German Reformed Church was brought into the 
 Lutheran fold, and added to his charge. 
 
 The after pastors were : — Rev. Dr. Charles 
 Shseffer ; Rev. Dr. Strobel, after whose pastorate 
 the Red Hook and Rhinebeck churches became 
 independent charges; Rev. Frederick M. Bird, 
 1860-62 ; Rev. George W. Schmucker, 1862 to 
 April, 1 871; Rev. Charles Koerner, 1870; Rev. 
 Samuel G. Finkel, i87i-'78; Rev. J. A. Earnest, 
 the present incumbent. 
 
 The Reformed Dutch Church had practically its 
 origin in 1730. On August 26th, of that year,_ 
 Henry Beekman presented to Lawrence Oster- 
 hout, Jacob Kip and William Traphagen, for 
 themselves and "the rest of the inhabitants of the 
 North Ward, a deed for two pieces of land, one 
 containing two acres, and the other forty-four 
 acres, for church and burial purposes. The deed 
 recites as conditions that two elders and two 
 deacons shall annually be chosen by a majority 
 vote of the members of the said denomination, to 
 act as trustees until they are able to call a minister 
 of their own, when they were entitled to act ac- 
 cording to the rules of the Reformed Church in 
 Holland ; and, likewise, that within the sp ace of 
 
 •Johan Christoval Hartwick obtained a grant of 21,500 acres of land 
 from the government in 1754- He died at the residence of Mrs. Judge 
 Livingston, in Clermont, July 17, 1796, aged 82 years, 6 months, and was 
 
 buried at the Camp Lutheran Church. His 
 
 remams were subsequently 
 
 removed to Albany and bnried under the pulpit of the Ebenezer Lutheran 
 
 Church. Hartwick Seminary, at Cooperstown, named for him, was 
 
 erected and IS largely supported with means left for that purpose in his 
 will. 
 
 three years ensuing they shall build on two acres 
 of the said land a church, in neglect of which con- 
 ditions and provisions the lands were to revert to 
 Henry Beekman or his heirs." 
 
 The first election of church officers under this 
 deed was held June 28, 1731. The elders chosen 
 were Hendricus Heermance and Jacob Kip. The 
 deacons were Jacobus Van Etten and Isaac Kip. 
 The elders and two deacons were thus elected an- 
 nually and approved by the minister and consistory 
 of the Kingston church, as required by the terms 
 of the deed, until 1742, when the church on the 
 " Flatts " found " itself in quahty," as the deed ex- 
 presses it, to support a minister in connection with 
 the German Reformed Church, at Rhinebeck. The 
 church was probably built as early as 1 733. The deed 
 required it to be built by that time, and old monu- 
 ments, still to be found in its graveyard, show that 
 the ground was appropriated for burial purposes in 
 that year. It is not probable that this step would 
 have been taken in advance of the erection of the 
 edifice necessary to secure the title to the property. 
 It is assumed, therefore, that the house was built 
 in due time, and that services were conducted in 
 it, as occasion required, by the minister from 
 Kingston. 
 
 George Michael Weiss came into the pastorate 
 of this church in 1742, and served it, in connection 
 with the German Reformed Church, until 1746. 
 From April 15, 1746 to 1750, there was, appar- 
 ently, no settled pastor. 
 
 Eggo Toukens Van Hovenburg came into the 
 pastorate December 23, 1750, and remained until 
 February 26, 1763. From the close of his pastor- 
 ate to March 26, 1769, there was no settled pastor. 
 
 March 26, 1769, Warmaldus Kuypers came into 
 the pastorate, and remained until September 29, 
 1771- From that time to 1776, the church was 
 again without a settled pastor. 
 
 June 2, 1776, one month before the Declaration 
 of Independence, Gerhard Daniel Cock was evi- 
 dently pastor, and continued thus until December 
 i8, 1785, one year after the close of the war. 
 From this date to October 28, 1787, there was no 
 pastor. 
 
 Petrus DeWitt was Cock's successor, and John 
 Broadhead Romeyn succeeded DeWitt, coming 
 into the pastorate in 1799, and going out in 1803. 
 October i, 1801, Mrs. Montgomery presented the 
 church with an acre of ground to take the place of 
 that taken by the extension of East Market street 
 through the church lands, which was done in this 
 year. It was also during the pastorate of Dominie 
 
TOWN OF RHINEBECK. 
 
 375 
 
 Romeyn that the church lands were released, or 
 attempted to be released, from the restriction in 
 the deed forbidding their occupancy by liquor 
 sellers, shopmen and peddlers, in an indenture 
 bearing date September 2, 1801. Romeyn's suc- 
 cessor was Rev. Jacob Broadhead, who served the 
 church from 1804 to 1810. The present substan- 
 tial church edifice was built in 1807-8, and during 
 the ministry of Jacob Broadhead. 
 
 Jacob Broadhead was succeeded in the pastor- 
 ate by Dominie McMurray, who served the church 
 from 1812 to 1820. Thereafter the succession 
 was as follows: David Parker, from 1820 to 1827; 
 George W. Bethune, from 1827 to 1830, during 
 whose pastorate the present parsonage was com- 
 pleted in which he was the first occupant ; James 
 B. Hardenbergh, 1830 to 1836; James LiUie, 1837 
 to 1841 ; Brogan Huff, 1842 to 1851; Peter 
 Stryker, 1851 to 1856, durinj whose pastorate the 
 recess and a new pulpit were built, the heaters put 
 in and the building otherwise improved ; William 
 A. Miller, 1856 to 1859; Herman R. Timlow, 
 1859 to 1866 ; Goyn Talmage, 1867 to 1871 ; 
 Alonzo P. Peeke, 1872 to 1879, and Rev. L. Wal- 
 ter Lott, the present incumbent, who was ordained 
 and installed pastor of this church October 7, 1879. 
 
 The old cemetery was abandoned in 1845, not 
 because it was full, but because it lies near the 
 center of the village and interments were prohibited 
 by the corporate authorities. There is a tradition 
 among the people of this church that Col. Henry 
 Beekman, the donor of the church lands, was buried 
 in its cemetery, near the old church, and that the new 
 edifice was built over his grave. His descendants 
 have no knowledge at variance with this tradition. 
 If this were so, it is singular there is no tablet or 
 monument to be found to establish the fact. He 
 died January 3, 1776, six months before the Dec- 
 laration of Independence by the American Con- 
 gress. His daughter and only child, Margaret, 
 widow of Robert R. Livingston, died in June, 
 1800. 
 
 Excepting the Episcopal Church property and 
 the Francisco premises, all the village of Rhine- 
 beck lying east of Mulberry street and south of 
 Chestnut street, is built on church land. It is 
 traversed by South, East Market, Livingston, Par- 
 sonage and Beach streets. On the laying out of 
 these streets this land was laid out in lots which 
 have all been sold under durable leases, subject to 
 a yearly rent. There are over ninety houses on 
 this land. On the church and cemetery lot of two 
 acres, the houses of William Bergh Kip, Levy 
 
 Leroy and Mrs. John Killmer, on Mill street, pay 
 rent to the church. 
 
 S(. Paul's of Wurtembergh. — March 20, 1759, 
 two farmers residing in the part of the precinct of 
 Rhinebeck then called " Whitaberger Land," ad- 
 dressed a letter to Henry Beekman, the proprietor 
 of the said land, to which they received this an- 
 swer : — 
 
 "New York, April 17, 1759. 
 
 "Messrs. Wager & Boltz: — Having received 
 your letter of the 20th ult., concerning leave 
 to build a church, etc., which reasonable re- 
 quest I willingly grant, and give you what further 
 assurance that shall be adjudged for such purpose 
 necessary. Wishing you good prosperity in the 
 meanwhile, am and remain 
 
 Your well-wishing friend, 
 
 Henry Beekman." 
 
 To conduct a church in those days required a 
 government license, and to receive and collect 
 subscriptions for the erection of a church edifice, 
 a special charter. That these were at once ob- 
 tained and the edifice erected is certain. And it is 
 equally certain that the edifice was erected and a 
 grave-yard opened on the premises of said Wager 
 and Boltz. Sept. 5, 1774, Henry Beekman con- 
 veyed to Johannes Markwat, Michael Pultz and 
 Adam Dipple, trustees for the time being of said 
 church, 19! acres of land for the use of "the Pro- 
 testant Church now erected in the southeast part of 
 Rhinebeck, commonly called ' Whitaberger Land.' " 
 June I, 1785, George and Sebastian Pultz, and 
 Paul and Sebastian Wager, also deeded to the 
 church two acres of land. In this conveyance the 
 church is designated as the " Wirtemburg church." 
 Neither of the deeds refer to the church as " St. 
 Pauls," or " Lutheran." It was certainly not 
 known by these names until some time after the 
 Revolution. 
 
 A new church building was erected in 1802, and 
 in 1807 the church sold the i9f acres obtained 
 from Henry Beekman, and devoted the proceeds 
 to the payment of a debt incurred in the erection 
 of the new edifice. The church edifice was thor- 
 oughly repaired in 1832, and in 1 861 it was en- 
 larged and remodeled into its present condition. 
 The first baptism was recorded October 22, 1760. 
 The first pastor named in the record was Rev. J. 
 F. Reis, who served the church from 1760 to 1785. 
 George Henrich Pfeiffer served as pastor from 1785 
 to 1794, and was succeeded for a brief period by 
 John Frederick Ernst. 
 
 Dr. Frederick H. Quitman came into the pas- 
 torate in 1798. From that date to 1815, he 
 
276 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 preached not only here, but in the church at Rhine- 
 beck, at East Camp and Tarbush. February 4, 
 1815, Dr. Quitman agreed to preach in the Wur- 
 tembergh church " on every third Sunday during 
 the year — one Sunday excepted — namely, during 
 the winter season one sermon, and from May until 
 October, two sermons, one in the German and one 
 m the Enghsh language," upon condition that they 
 payhim "every year, in semi-annual payments, $200, 
 and between twenty-five and thirty cords of wood," 
 the congregation in Rhinebeck to make up what 
 will pay for the remaining Sundays. They do this 
 at his request, that he may be " freed in his ad- 
 vancing years from the tedious task of continued 
 traveling." It would, therefore, appear that he 
 gave up the East Camp and Tarbush churches in 
 1815. He continued to serve the Rhinebeck and 
 Wurtembergh churches until 1825. Toward the 
 close of his ministry he had to be carried to the 
 pulpit, and retained his seat while preaching. He 
 died in the parsonage of the Rhinebeck church, 
 and was buried in the Rhinebeck graveyard. He 
 is well and reverentially remembered by all who 
 knew him. His successors in turn were William 
 J Eyer, 1825 to 1839, who, shortly after his settle- 
 ment, preached altogether in the English language, 
 and ministered exclusively to the Wurtembergh 
 church; A. T. Geissenhainer, 1838 to 1840; phas. 
 A. Smith next, to 1850; W. N. SchoU, to 1855; 
 George Neff, 1855 to 1876; and Rev. J. G. Grif- 
 fith, the present pastor, who came in September, 
 1876. 
 
 The Methodist Church came into Rhinebeck 
 with Rev. Freeborn Garrettson, about 1793. A 
 map of the town of Rhinebeck, made in 1797, 
 shows a Methodist Church on a hill facing the 
 road to Milan, a short distance beyond the house 
 recently erected by Edwin Knickerbacker. In 
 the immediate vicinity of this church was the 
 residence of the Garrettson's, a httle to the south- 
 east, in a stone house built in 1772 by Thomas 
 Conner, for a man by the name of Hagadorn. At 
 what date this church was built, and with what 
 funds, there lives no person, nor exists any docu- 
 ments to tell us. That it was there because the 
 Garrettsons were there, no one can doubt. The 
 first knowledge gleaned of the presence of the 
 Methodists in the viUage of Rhinebeck, is con- 
 tained, in a deed from Mrs. Janet Mont- 
 gomery to Rev. Freeborn Garrettson,' Robert 
 Sands, Simon Johnson Myers, Charles Doyle and 
 Daniel McCarty, trustees of the Methodist Epis- 
 copal Church at Rhinebeck Flatts, dated August 
 
 I, 1801, for one rood and six perches of land. 
 This lot is now owned and occupied by John E. 
 Traver, in Centre street. The lot on which the 
 present church edifice stands was also a gift from 
 Mrs. Janet Montgomery, in 1822. The corner- 
 stone of the building was laid by Rev. Freeborn 
 Garrettson, May i, 1822, and the edifice was com- 
 pleted October 6, following. The cost of the 
 building was $3,559.88. The subscriptions 
 amounted to $3,234.00, leaving the committee in 
 debt $325.88, which indebtedness was assumed, 
 and finally presented to the church, by Rev. Free- 
 born Garrettson. 
 
 Rev. Freeborn Garrettson entered the ministry 
 in 1775, and, we are informed, was appointed pre- 
 siding elder over the district extending from Long 
 Island to Lake Champlain in 1788. In 1827 
 while at the house of a friend in New York, he 
 was taken suddenly ill and soon died, in the 76th 
 year of his age, and the 52nd of his ministry. The 
 church was incorporated with Freeborn Garrett- 
 son, the nephew, William Cross, Nicholas Drury, 
 Jeffery H. ChampHn and William Mink as trus- 
 tees, June 2, 1829, and the certificate thereof re- 
 corded on the eleventh of the same month, in Liber 
 No. I of Records of Church Incorporations, pages 
 97-98, in the Clerk's Office, of Duchess County. 
 A deed for one rood and thirteen perches of land 
 for a parsonage lot, in the rear of the church lot, 
 was presented to the Church by Hon. Edward 
 Livingston, November 12, 1829. 
 
 On this lot in the same year a new parsonage 
 was built, at a cost of $1,305.79. June 30, 1832, 
 Mrs. Catharine Garrettson presented the church 
 with half an acre of ground south of the village, for • 
 burial purposes, on condition that the church 
 should enclose it with a suitable fence and permit 
 no more burials in the ground attached to the 
 church. The deed for this ground bears date 
 March 27, 1835. A deed for half an acre of land 
 adjoining the parsonage lot was presented to the 
 church by Mrs.Louisa Livingston, widow of the Hon. 
 Edward Livingston, Nov. 7, 1838. In 1834 the 
 church found itself in debt in the sum of $954.00, 
 and appealed to the court for leave to sell the old 
 parsonage and lot, the proceeds to be applied in 
 payment of the debt. An order permitting the sale 
 was obtained by John Armstrong, Esq., October 
 I, 1834, a strip on the north of the lot, 32 feet 
 front and rear, on which there was a " new school 
 house," to be reserved. The sale was not im- 
 mediately effected, and the premises continued in 
 the possession of Harvey Seymour as tenant. 
 
TOWN OF RHINEBECK, 
 
 277 
 
 November 12, 1838, it was resolved to sell the 
 premises, with the reservation on the north, to 
 Robert T. Seymour, for $600. Failing in this, it 
 was rented to Mr. Seymour for another year at $50, 
 and in 1839 was sold to Rev. Benjamin Griffin, 
 presiding elder of the Methodist church, at the time 
 for the Rhinebeck district, for $500, he to pay the 
 expense of a second application to the court, and 
 fence the lot reserved for the school house. In 
 this house a classical school was taught by Rev. 
 Samuel Bell, a Methodist minister from the east. 
 That was the beginning of the Rhinebeck Academy. 
 The credit for building up the Academy is due to 
 the Methodists, and very largely to Rev. Mr. Grif- 
 fin. Bell, Marcy, Park, Comfort, Powers, Stock- 
 ing and Schuyler, were all Methodists. 
 
 The school house on the old church lot was the 
 property of Miss Mary Garrettson, probably be- 
 cause it had been built with her money. Super- 
 seded by the Academy, in the building of which 
 she had taken an active interest, she offered it to 
 the Methodist church, with a lot fifteen feet wide 
 on the west of the Methodist church lot, in 1842, 
 to be fitted up exclusively for religious meetings 
 and purposes. The removal was eflfected, and the 
 old lot sold to Rev. Benjamin Griffin, for five dol- 
 lars per foot, in 1843. March 12, 1848, Miss 
 Mary Garrettson transferred her trust of the church 
 lot to the trustees of the church, having held it as 
 sole trustee for twenty-six years. June 14, 1849, 
 Mrs. Catharine Garrettson, widow of Freeborn 
 Garrettson, died suddenly at Montgomery Place, 
 the residence of her sister-in-law, Louisa, widow of 
 Hon. Edward Livingston. Born July 13, 1752, 
 she was in the 97th year of her age when she died. 
 
 In 185 1 the portico and steeple were added to 
 the church edifice, at an expense of $1,100. In 
 1853 the church received a donation of five acres 
 of land in the Buco Bush * from Miss Margaret B. 
 Livingston, which was sold for $70 per acre, and the 
 proceeds appHed to the payment of Church debts. 
 
 In 1854 the church obtained an order from the 
 court to sell the lot purchased from Gilbert Akerly 
 May I, 1845, the proceeds to be appUed to the 
 payment of other indebtedness. On the 19th of 
 February, 1856, Miss Mary Garrettson f made a 
 gift to the church of five acres of land for an addi- 
 tion to the cemetery, and the cemetery thus en- 
 larged was called the " Rhinebeck cemetery of the 
 Methodist Episcopal Church." 
 
 * Beech-Woods. 
 
 t Miss Mary R. Garrettson, only chUd of Rev. Freeborn Garrettson 
 and his wife Catharine Livingston, died March 6, 1879. She was bom 
 September 8, 1794. 
 
 In 1863 the church edifice was greatly enlarged, 
 internally reconstructed, and grealtly improved, at 
 an expense of six or seven thousand dollars. In 
 1868 the church received a gift from Miss Mary 
 Garrettson of the Akerly lot, upon which was built 
 the present commodious Sunday School and lec- 
 ture room. In 1 87 1 the parsonage was recon- 
 structed and enlarged, and is now, with its fine 
 situation, a very desirable residence.* With its 
 enlarged premises and improved buildings the 
 Methodist church property is now one of the most 
 attractive features in the village. 
 
 The Baptist Church was brought into Rhine- 
 beck by Robert Scott, an Englishman. His fami- 
 ly, it is said, were Episcopalians, and he was 
 brought up in the faith of the EngUsh Church. 
 He received a classical education, but learned the 
 trade of a cabinet maker in his native country. 
 At an early age he became a Wesleyan, and trav- 
 eled about in his own country preaching as a min- 
 ister of that denomination. In the progress of 
 his ministrations he became a Baptist, joined the 
 Baptist Communion, and settled down to his trade. 
 He came to America with his family, in company 
 with the Vassars and Slatens, arriving in New 
 York October 6, 1794, where he went to work for 
 Gen. Morgan Lewis, in Leonard street, as a car- 
 penter. On the persuasion of Margaret Beekman 
 Livingston, he moved to Rhinebeck with his fami- 
 ly, and opened a school in 1796. He shortly after 
 became a merchant, in which business he remained 
 four years, when he gave up that business and 
 opened a boarding school, and for the balance of 
 his Ufe followed the occupation of teacher and 
 surveyor. 
 
 His ministerial life, it is said, never ceased from 
 eighteen years of age. The first beginning of 
 church organization was June 2, 1821, when Elder 
 Freeman Hopkins preached at Rhinebeck Flatts, 
 and baptized the following persons : John Reed, 
 William Styles, Calvin O'Hara, Wadsworth Brooks, 
 Jacob Dedrick, Elizabeth Thompson, Ann Logan, 
 Catharine Thompson, EUzabeth Ann Thompson 
 and Caty Myers. These, with Robert Scott, 
 James Canfield, Ann Cook, Elizabeth Scott, Mary 
 Scott, Jane Scott, James Styles, Jr., and Sarah 
 Styles, agreed to walk together in church fellow- 
 ship, and were formally recognized as a church of 
 the Baptist denomination in Rhinebeck on the 4th 
 of July, 1821. Robert Scott, then at the age of 
 60, became their first pastor. There was then no 
 
 • In the fall of 1876, the organ was put into the gallery, at an expense 
 of (2, 500, and was a memorial gift from Thomas Suckley,for his brother, 
 Rutsen, who died the previous year. 
 
278 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 house of worship for the Baptists, and their early 
 meetings were held in various places. June 30,1825, 
 James Canfield was chosen as the first deacon. In 
 1823, Janet Montgomery gave to them a lot of 
 land on which to erect a church, which was begun 
 in 1824, completed in 1825, and the first service 
 held therein on the third of July of that year. The 
 building was 30 by 34 feet, 18 foot posts. During 
 the following winter, the house being devoid of 
 stoves, meetings were held in the school house. 
 
 Rev. Robert Scott died September 24, 1834, in 
 the 74th year of his age. His successor as a settled 
 pastor was Rev. Isaac Bevan. He came in 1842 
 and continued his pastorate to January, 1848. His 
 successor was Terry Bradley, from Wilmington, 
 Del. He lost his health, and resigned his call 
 April 7, 1850. 
 
 Dr. James Lillie, having become a Baptist, and 
 entering the service of the American Bible Union 
 as a translator, took up his residence in Rhine- 
 beck. He and his wife joined the church here 
 June 19, 1852, and he for a short time supplied the 
 pulpit. Rev. Samuel W. Culver came as Dr. 
 Lillie's successor in 1854, and remained until Jan- 
 uary, 1857. Rev. M. R. Fory preached several 
 months during the year 1858. William I. Gill 
 came to Rhinebeck from the University at Roch- 
 ester, and was ordained here September 2, 1858. 
 He remained until October 15, 1859. Thereafter 
 for several years the records are meagre. It is 
 recollected, however, that during this period the 
 desk was supplied at different times by Rev. J. N. 
 Smith, a missionary of the Hudson River Central 
 Association, and Messrs. Harriman and Coit, from 
 the Rochester University. In 1867, the baptistry 
 and dressing rooms were built under the direction 
 and at the expense of Hon. William Kelly. Rev. 
 A. M. Prentice, a student in the Seminary at 
 Hamilton, was called to the pastorate and ordained 
 September 9, 1869. He served the church until 
 January, 1874. Benjamin Franklin Leipsner was 
 his successor. He preached his first sermon July 
 26, 1874, and his last June 13, 1875. Rev. 
 George W. Barnes succeeded Mr. Leipsner, begin- 
 ning his pastorate October 11, 1875, and ending it 
 May I, 1880. 
 
 The original church lot was 5 1 feet wide and 
 180 feet deep, a gift, as before said, of Mrs. Janet 
 Montgomery in 1823. The deed for it was given 
 after her death by Edward Livingston, her brother 
 and heir, July 25, 1829, in fulfillment of her inten- 
 tions.'' It was given to Scott, Reed and Canfield, 
 and their successors in office, as trustees, forever. 
 
 In 1869, at the widening of Livingston street, 
 WiUiam Kelly purchased what remained of the 
 corner lots, and added the purchase, as a gift, to 
 the church lot, which was thereby increased to 89 
 feet front and made a corner lot. It is located on 
 the corner of Montgomery and Livingston streets, 
 and is the most eligibly situated church lot in the 
 village. 
 
 The Village Lutheran Church has a recent ori- 
 gin. It was founded by Rev. Charles A. Smith, 
 who came into Rhinebeck the successor of Rev. 
 Augustus T. Geissenhainer in the pastorate of the 
 Wurtembergh Lutheran Church. 
 
 The church edifice was built in the summer of 
 1842. The lot on which it stands was the gift of 
 John T. Schryver. The house was built at a cost 
 of $5,500, and when completed was, by common 
 consent, the handsomest church edifice, in its in- 
 terior finish and steeple, in the town. 
 
 Rev. Charles A. Smith continued to minister to 
 both the Wurtembergh and the Village church until 
 1849, when he took charge exclusively of the lat- 
 ter church, and continued his services until 1851. 
 His successor here was Rev. John McKron, of 
 Maryland, for two or three years. Those who 
 came after were Revs. J. W. Hasler, Jacob Heck, 
 Ernest Lubekert, William H. Lukenbach, Reuben 
 Hill, Henry L. Zeigenfuss, who afterward became 
 an Episcopalian, and Rev. William D. Strobel, 
 who came into the pastorate in 1873, and is the 
 present incumbent, and a man of much power and 
 influence. In the summer of 1876, under his di- 
 rections, important alterations and repairs were 
 made in the interior of the church building. 
 
 The Rhinebeck Episcopal Church was organ- 
 ized in 1852. For many years prior to this 
 Episcopal services were held at intervals in differ- 
 ent places. The first service was held'by the Rev. 
 Mr. Johnson, of Kingston, who, by courtesy of the 
 Metho(Jist Society, held service in their church 
 once a month. Subsequently, services were held 
 in the " Baker Building " by Rev. Sheldon Davis, 
 Rev. Mr. Wyatt, Rev. Dr. Sherwood, Rev. Dr. 
 Montgomery and Rev. J. C. Talbot, the present 
 Bishop of Indiana. In the year 1852, Rev. Rich- 
 ard S. Adams became a resident in Rhinebeck, 
 and under his endeavors the church was formed. 
 Among the constituent members who, on the nth 
 of August 1852, attached themselves to the Protes- 
 tant Episcopal Church, under the pastoral care- of 
 Rev. Richard S. Adams, were James M. Pendleton, 
 A. Wager, Gouvernuer Tillotson, E. Piatt, Theoph- 
 I ilus Gillender, Julius Bellard, G. W. Clarke, M. E. 
 
TOWN OF RHINEBECK. 
 
 279 
 
 A. Geer, Isaac F. Van Vliet, R. S. Adams, Wil- 
 liam Betterton. The church was incorporated 
 August 1 8, 1852. 
 
 The first officers were also chosen at that date 
 as follows : Eliphalet Piatt and Isaac F. Van Vliet, 
 church wardens. James M. Pendleton, Gouverneur 
 Tillotson, George W. Clark, Ambrose Wager, 
 Julius Bellard, Isaac F. Russell, George Lorillord 
 and Marshall E. A. Geer, vestrymen. 
 
 The corner stone of the church was laid Sept. 
 16, 1852, by Rev. Reuben Sherwood, D. D., rector 
 of St. James' Church, Hyde Park. The lot on 
 which the church stands was given by Rutsen 
 Suckley. The church was consecrated October 
 6, 1855, by the Rt. Rev. Horatio Potter, D. D., 
 provisional bishop of the diocese. Rev. Richard 
 Adams was the first pastor, elected December 18, 
 1852, and resigning December 24, 1853. He was 
 succeeded by Rev. George Herbert Walsh, who 
 was elected June i, 1854. and who resigned June 
 18, 1866. During his pastorate the lecture room 
 and the chapel at Rhinecliff were built, and the 
 rectory purchased. The Rev. A. F. Olmsted suc- 
 ceeded Mr. Walsh. He was elected rector Sep- 
 tember 29, 1866, and entered upon his duties on 
 the first of November of that year, and is the 
 present incumbent. During the past year the 
 church has been thoroughly repaired and painted, 
 the interior decorated, and has received as agiftfroni 
 Mrs. Francis H. Delano, four costly oil paintings, 
 by celebrated artists of Rome. 
 
 The Rhinebeck Catholic Church was founded 
 by the Rev. Michael Scully, in 1862, who, in 
 that year, held services in the hall of the Starr 
 Institute. A lot was purchased, and steps were 
 taken to build a church in this village, on the 
 northwest corner of Livingston and Mulberry 
 streets. This lot was sold, and finally became the 
 property of Henry Latson, the present owner and 
 occupant. In 1863, George Rogers, of Tivoh, 
 bought of Charles H. Russell six acres of land 
 at Rhinecliff, for $4,000, and deeded them to 
 Rev. Michael Scully, the parish priest, for a 
 church lot and cemetery. St. Joseph's Church, 
 at Rhinecliff, was erected on this lot, under 
 the direction of Father Scully, in 1S64, with 
 George Veitch, as architect, and John Bird, as 
 master mason. 
 
 Rhinebeck in the Rebellion. 
 
 In the Civil War which broke out between the 
 Free and Slave States, on the election of Abraham 
 
 Lincoln to the presidency of the United States in 
 i860, Rhinebedc contributed the following soldiers 
 to the Union Army : — 
 
 \2%th Regiment, Co. C. — Francis S. Keese, 
 Captain ; Howard H. Morse, First Lieut. ; Charles 
 W. McKown, Orderly Sergeant; J. Howard Asher, 
 Second Sergeant (wounded); John W. Keese, 
 Fourth Sergeant; George Tremper, Second Cor- 
 poral; Frank W. Rickert, Third Corporal (was in 
 Saulsbury prison) ; Derrick Brown, Fifth Corporal; 
 Clement R. Dean, Sixth Corporal; David H. 
 Hannaburgh, Eighth Corporal (was in Saulsbury 
 prison); James M. Braley, Color Sergeant, (was 
 wounded). Privates : John W. Kip (died in hos- 
 pital); Lemuel Marquart, George W. Hamilton 
 (wounded); John H. VanEtte; Charles Rynders ; 
 Martin V. B. Hawkins; William H. Hawkins; 
 James A. Fraleigh (wounded); John W. Myers 
 (wounded) ; William A. Noxon (died in hospital); 
 Calvin Rikert, John Gay, Edward F. Tater, Evert 
 Traver, Charles W. Marquet, (wounded); Albert 
 Ostrom, Robert P. Churchill (killed in battle); Jas- 
 per De Wint (died in hospital); Charles Wooden 
 (wounded); Patrick Lyden, Robert H. Hayner 
 (died in hospital) ; Benjamin H. Brown, Peter 
 Scally; John E. Cole; Nathan Day; Robert Ris- 
 ely ; James L. H. Holdridge ; James K. Brown, 
 WiUiam B. Brown (was in Saulsbury prison); Jo- 
 seph Brown (killed in battle). 
 
 150M Regiment, Co. D. — James W. Baxter, 
 Stephen S. Tater. 
 
 Co. F. — John L. Green, Captain; Isaac F. 
 Smith, Corporal (killed in battle) ; Elias A. Briggs, 
 Corporal ; James M. Sheak, Corporal ; William T. 
 Francisco, Wagoner. Privates : Philip Bowman, 
 Jefferson Champlin, William B. Doyle, Thomas M. 
 Fraleigh, Joseph LaBonta, John E. Odell, Stephen 
 H. Rynders, Samuel K. Rupely, John McKinny. 
 
 Co. G. — Rensselaer Worden, Alexander Wor- 
 den (died in hospital). Philander Worden (died in 
 hospital), Walter R. Bush. 
 
 Co. X.— Wade H. Van Steenburgh, First 
 Lieut.; Landon Ostrom, First Sergeant; Enos B. 
 Sylands, Third Sergeant; Henry Lamp, Fourth 
 Sergeant ; Jacob Heeb, Fifth Sergeant ; Benjamin 
 J. Hevenor, Corporal. Privates : Charles M. 
 Buckland, Leopold Oswold, George A. Clark, Wil- 
 liam H. Dederick, John Griner, Amos T. Lillie, 
 Jacob Miller, DeWitt Shaffer, Charles Winans, 
 Lawrence O'Brien, Frederic W. Pottenburgh, Ste- 
 phen R. Tater, Harvey M. Traver, George A. 
 Wager (died in hospital), Alfred Wooden, George 
 W. Buckmaster. 
 
28o 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 Co. ^.— William Holdridge, Edward Tater, 
 Elisha Holdridge, Adam Weishauph. 
 
 44^/5 Jiegiment.— ]a.co\) Z. Hegeraan, Charles 
 Luff (killed in battle), Edward Luff, Peter Norris, 
 Samuel Risely, John Raymond, Philip Sylands, 
 Stephen Hamilton. 
 
 20th Regiment, N. Y. S. Militia.— ]z.coh Teal, 
 (wounded,) Andrew J. Kip, George Mann, Charles 
 Asher, William Norris, William Rikert, George 
 Traver, Douglass Marquardt, Thomas Price, 
 (killed in battle.) 
 
 Unknown Hegiments. — KVoexi Prosins, 
 (wounded,) Thomas O'Brian, Alfred Lewis, 
 (died in hospital,) Avnor Proper, James W 
 Lewis, (died in hospital,) Samuel DeWint, 
 (died in hospital,) Ambrose Ostrom, John 
 DeWint, (died in hospital,) Richard Sylands, 
 Andrew Fraleigh, (died in hospital,) David 
 Wager, George Gay, Jacob Handschule, 
 David McCarty. 
 
 Poughkeepsie and assumed charge of the " Pough- 
 keepsie American," a weekly paper. In 1848 he 
 removed, with his family, to New York in order to 
 take a position in the Custom House under the 
 administration of Taylor, and under the collector- 
 ship of the late Hugh Maxwell. In 1852 he re- 
 moved with his family to Rhinebeck, where he has 
 since resided. He was postmaster of Rhinebeck 
 four years under the administration of James 
 Buchanan. 
 
 In 1862 he obtained a charter from the Legisla- 
 
 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES 
 
 THEOPHILUS GILLENDER. 
 
 Theophilus Gillender, to whose enterpi I'^i. 
 the public are indebted for numerous bent 
 ficial projects, was born in New York July 
 31,1814. His father, Capt. James Gillender, 
 was a resident for seventy years of New 
 York, a large ship-owner, and a successful 
 navigator. At the age of twelve years 
 Theophilus went to England, and for 
 two years attended school at Prior's 
 celebrated school in Liverpool, and on 
 his return to this country was placed in 
 the Moravian School at Nazareth, Penn., 
 where he remained four years. In 1832, 
 his father having purchased the Slate 
 Dock and Slate Quarries in Rhinebeck, Theophilus 
 came to Rhinebeck and engaged in the business of 
 freighting, under the firm name of Dunning, Gillen- 
 der & Co., he being the junior partner. The firm 
 was dissolved in 1843. In 1834 he was united in 
 marriage with Jane Ann, eldest daughter of the late 
 William Schell. His children were : Mary S., who 
 married Richard J. Garrettson, son of the late Free- 
 born Garrettson ; WilUam C, now residing in- 
 Philadelphia ; Augustus T., a successful lawyer in 
 New York, and Caroline, wife of Robert Lane of 
 New York. 
 
 In 1^37 Mr. Gillender engaged in mercantile 
 _ business in Hyde Park. In 1846 he removed to 
 
 ture for the " Starr Institute," of which he is one of 
 the trustees. He was one of the originators of the 
 Episcopal Church in Rhinebeck, in which he is at 
 present the Senior Warden. 
 
 He was the originator of the Bank of Rhinebeck 
 and obtained all the subscriptions to the stock of 
 that institution. In i860 he obtained a charter 
 from the Legislature for, and organized, the 
 " Rhinebeck Savings Bank," and was its first 
 Treasurer and Secretary. He has been Justice of 
 the Peace for . twenty-five years. For thirty yeairs 
 he was a prominent member of the Democratic 
 party in Duchess Co., but has now retired from all 
 active participation in politics. 
 
FERNCLIFF 
 is the ro- 
 mantic and 
 appropriate name 
 of the country- 
 seat of Mr. William Astor, of New York. The charm- 
 ing spot that bears^this title, is situated on the eastern 
 bank of the noble old Hudson, about two and one-half 
 miles above Rhinecliff, and about the same distance 
 from the village of Rhinebeck. 
 Theboundaries of FerncUff now enclose about five 
 hundred acres of land, — an estate which is so surrounried by beautiful 
 and picturesque natural scenery, and has been so lavishly improved 
 artificially, that it is now justly ranked as one of the most attractive 
 and desirable country-seats upon the Hudson. So unstinted has been 
 the UberaUty of Mr. Astor in hi^ efforts to render FerncUff an ideal 
 
282 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 American country home, that little is risked in the 
 assumption that it is the one spot towards which' 
 his thoughts most frequently turn, and which is 
 esteemed by him as is no other earthly home. 
 
 This is borne out by the fact that Mr. Astor's 
 father, William B. Astor, was the owner of a beau- 
 tiful couhtry-seat, "Rokeby," near Barrytown, 
 where the present owner of Ferncliff spent rriany 
 happy summers in past years. There he imbibed 
 an ardent love for the Hudson, the towering Cats- 
 kills opposite, and all the surrounding adjacent 
 scenery upon which Nature worked with so prodi- 
 gal a hand, and passing years have only intensified 
 this love. 
 
 Moreover, Mr. Astor's mother was a Miss Arm- 
 strong, daughter of General Armstrong, once Am- 
 bassador to France. His family made Duchess 
 County their home, being among the most distin- 
 guished of that period, and there some of the de- 
 scendants now live. As connected with the 
 , Armstrong and the Livingston families, we may, 
 therefore, properly consider the Astor family as of 
 Duchess 'County extraction ; and as such, it is 
 natural to expect in any of its members, an ardent 
 partiality for this locality. Here Mr. William 
 Astor first experienced and learned to fully appre- 
 ciate the manifold comforts and attractions of 
 country life, which were, doubtless, the chief in- 
 centives to the purchase and improvements result- 
 ing in Ferncliff. 
 
 In tracing the growth, improvements and pres- 
 ent appearance of this beautiful summer residence, 
 we must first go back about twenty-seven years, to 
 the date when Mr. Astor first began spending his 
 summers in this locality. His first purchase com- 
 prised a farm of about one hundred and five acres 
 of rough, unattractive (except in the surroufldings) 
 and unproductive land. The broad plateau where 
 now stands the commodious mansion, was then 
 barren of trees, and bore the general character of 
 the roughest and the least enticing of the clay hills 
 that are still to be seen at points along the banks 
 of the Hudson. Much of the farm itself was des- 
 titute of trees and made up of stony knolls, bogs 
 or devastated timber lands. To an eye that could 
 not see far beyond this immediate aspect of com- 
 parative desplation, to the grand old beauties of 
 scenery about the noble river — beauties that no 
 ill-conceived act of man could obUterate — the 
 scene of the despoiled farm at that date must 
 have been anything but encouraging, and little 
 significant of what it was soon to become. 
 
 But the location was all that could be desired ; 
 the material, so to speak, was there, and to the 
 appreciative owner and his efficient co-worker, 
 Louis A. Ehlers, the well known landscape garden- 
 er, the natural attractions of the place and the 
 loveliness and grandeur of the surrounding scenery 
 offered ample inducements to the liberality of the 
 one and the genius of the other. So the work of 
 improvement began about twenty-six years ago, and 
 theresults are now seen in Ferncliff, which our en- 
 gravings show to be just what it is— an almost 
 perfect country residence. 
 
 Mr. Ehlers is a landscape gardener and rural 
 architect, the results of whose handiwork and 
 genius are to be seen at many points on the Hud- 
 son, always with credit to himself, and whose work 
 has also exterided to different parts of the States 
 of New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Massa- 
 chusetts and Connecticut. This is mentioned as 
 indicating the purpose of the owner of Ferncliff to 
 place the superintendence of all its improvements 
 in the most competent hands to be obtained; and 
 Mr. Astor's confidence in his superintendent was 
 not misplaced. Ferncliff as it now appears, is in 
 all particulars the work of Mr. Ehlers' genius; that 
 it is most creditable to him need not be reiterated. 
 
 It was not very long after the improvements be- 
 gan before it became apparent that the extent of 
 the grounds was not sufficient to warrant the ex- 
 tended operations desired ; accordingly at different 
 dates the adjoining farms on the northern, south- 
 em and eastern boundaries were purchased, thus 
 building up the present spacious domain of over 
 five hundred acres, comprishig sweeping lawns, 
 commodious pleasure grounds, extended drives, 
 delightful park scenery, flower gardens, parterres,' 
 conservatories, besides the extensive system of 
 barns and stabling, with all the other accessories of 
 a princely country- home. 
 
 The main entrance to Ferncliff from the river 
 road is shown in one of our engravings ; this road 
 passes directly through a portion of the grounds, 
 and here assumes the character of a private drive 
 through an extensive park. It is walled from the 
 grounds by massive lines of masonry five feet 
 high, of cut bastard-granite, which lead up from 
 either direction to the Lodge and the entrance 
 gates. The Lodge itself is built of the same qual- 
 ity of stone used in the wall ; its architecture is 
 approprigje, its appearance substantial, and at 
 the same time picturesque ; while from its porch 
 many fine views are obtained. 
 
 To the right of the entrance are seen extensive 
 green-houses, conservatories and vegetable-houses 
 with their surrounding flower and vegetable gar- 
 dens. There are three graperies, a rose-house, a 
 large flowering-plant house, a carnation-house and 
 conservatory, all beautiful in design apd suppUed 
 with everything for the perfect rearing of their fra- 
 grant and many-hued occupants. The plateau in 
 front of the green-house is the most elevated por- 
 tion of the grounds, and commands wide and en- 
 chanting views of the Ferncliff estate, its broad 
 acres studded with evergreens, in the foreground, 
 and a fine view to the westward and northward of 
 the blue mountain range. 
 
 The carriage road from the main entrance to 
 the mansion is nearly a mile long and about twen- 
 ty feet in width. It is, of course, kept in the most 
 perfect condition, and it is a rare pleasure to ride 
 over it and note its many windings over hills, 
 through secluded copses and leafy dells, present- 
 ing varied and enchanting pictures at each new 
 point of view. It is clearly evident that it was 
 laid out by a master hand. Our engraving shows 
 one of the picturesque views in this carriage road 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 
 
 283 
 
 where a straight avenue leads up toward the 
 mansion. 
 
 The mansion itself is a fine example of Italian 
 architecture in brick. Standing, as it does, upon 
 an extensive plateau above the Hudson, its loca- 
 tion is all that the lover of nature could desire. It 
 is surrounded by lawns laid out by an artist and 
 perfectly kept, lighted up by masses of evergreens, 
 and beautified by many varieties of green or blossom- 
 ing shrubbery and variegated flowers. The front en- 
 trance to the mansion commands the eastern or 
 inland view which reaches out over a broad extent 
 of lawn, with the country in the distance. 
 
 Entering the mansion beneath a massive, brown 
 stone portico, supported by Corinthian columns, 
 the visitor finds himself within a spacious hall, and 
 passing onward through the beautiful vestibule, 
 makes an exit upon the verandah which passes along 
 the eastern or river side of the mansion, to the 
 south side, where it is shaped into a roomy pavil- 
 ion, and from which one of the grandest of views 
 may be had. 
 
 Southward, the foreground landscape is most 
 attractive, with the river to the right and Ron- 
 dout Creek and the Shawangunk Mountains in the 
 distance. Westward the lawn is beautifully diver- 
 sified, as it stretches away toward the river, while 
 off toward the north-west are seen the hoary Cats- 
 kills. When all the beauty of the landscape is con- 
 sidered, with the comparatively short time for its 
 transformation from a condition of barrenness and 
 desolation, one is constrained to marvel how it has 
 been accomplished. 
 
 Of the mansion in its interior aspects, it may be 
 said that it is planned upon a scale of magnificence 
 and furnished with a degree of luxuriousness, per- 
 fectly in keeping with its outward surroundings. 
 Nothing that a lavish expenditure combined with 
 cultivated taste could suggest, has been left un- 
 done to render it a model of comfort and conven- 
 ience. From its spacious and lofty halls leads a 
 stairway fitting for such a mansion. The parlors 
 are large and elegantly furnished and decorated. 
 A magnificent dining-room, billiard-room and the 
 minor apartments, go to make up this representa- 
 tive American country-seat. The engraving of the 
 mansion and its immediate neighborhood gives a 
 clear idea of its outward appearance. 
 
 Ferncliff is not only a gentleman's country-seat, 
 but is a carefully managed and productive farm. 
 
 The so-called farm entrance is shown in our en- 
 graving with another, of the breeding estabUsh- 
 ments, which will help the reader to comprehend 
 these features of the estate. The barns upon this 
 part of the farm are for the farm teams and work- 
 horses. The henneries and poultry yards are also 
 here situated with their numerous inmates of the 
 different feathered tribes. 
 
 The quarters known as the breeding and race 
 stables, comprising a group of buildings tasteful in 
 appearance, are admirably adapted to their pur- 
 pose. Here as many as fifty and more horses and 
 mares are kept, with every possible provision for 
 their improvement in all respects. Mr. Astor has 
 
 been an enthusiast as far as the noble horse is 
 concerned. His partiality in that direction is 
 guided by the desire of improving the breed of 
 these noble animals, and he spares no money to 
 accompUsh this end. Although the estabhshment 
 is as yet a new one, some valuable horses have 
 been turned out of the Ferncliff stud, of which 
 the noble race horse " Ferncliff" has done honor 
 to his name. Surrounding the race stable is a 
 covered track, about one-twelfth mile in length, for 
 the exercise of the youngsters. Warmth, ventila- 
 tion, sunlight, pure water, all are provided for the 
 animals so fortunate as to be domiciled in these 
 model stables. 
 
 Nearly a mile distant from the breeding and 
 race stables, upon the north division of the farm, 
 the cattle barns and dairy are situated. The cattle 
 barns comprise a group of four buildings, 
 three of which may be seen in our sketch, with 
 barn-yards and other accessories. The middle 
 one is devoted to cattle and cows, the east- 
 ern one to young stock, and the western one 
 is for regular breeding purposes for cattle, horses 
 and sheep. These structures are furnished with 
 all known improvements, are perfectly ventilated 
 and drained, and the stock to which they are de- 
 voted, of which there are about one hundred head, 
 receive a degree of care known to but few similar . 
 establishments in the country. 
 
 Ferncliff has a river front of a mile and a half, 
 and even a cursory description of it would be in- 
 complete, if we did not mention the substantial 
 dock that connects the grounds with the river that 
 washes its boundary. At this dock may be seen 
 moored the beautiful yacht. Ambassadress, the 
 largest saihng pleasure yacht in the world, and the 
 most magnificently appointed vessel of the New 
 York Yacht Club. This beautiful craft and her 
 surroundings are correctly shown in a previous 
 engraving. 
 
 Of course, it is impossible within the brief limits 
 at our disposal here, to give a comprehensive and 
 detailed description of the country-seat and its sur- 
 roundings, upon which a fortune has been lavished, 
 with the years of labor devoted to it by its owner 
 and his competent assistants ; but this brief sketch, 
 with the aid of the finely wrought illustrations, will 
 enable the reader to gain a tolerably clear concep- 
 tion of the magnificent estate. Here the owner, 
 with his family, pass most of the summer months, 
 while to his many friends is extended the hospitali- 
 ties of Ferncliff. 
 
 MARIENRUH. 
 
 Marienruh adjoins Ferncliff to the north. This 
 name has been given it in reference to remi- 
 niscences regarding the owner's late wife whose 
 given name was Mary. " Ruh " in German signifies 
 " rest," and thus " Marienruh." The place is 
 composed of about 135 acres. The house is situ- 
 ated close to the river upon one of its naturally 
 
284 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 most beautiful banks. It has magnificent and 
 most peculiarly soft and picturesque views, both to 
 the south, north and east, as well as inland. The 
 ships, steamers and large tows, peculiar to the 
 Hudson, pass close, under its shore, so that the 
 tide of navigation fills its surroundings with life and 
 dreamy beauty. Through its extreme point the 
 trains of the Hudson River R. R. pass through a tun- 
 nel, but cannot be seen from any part of the place. 
 The house is surrounded with beautiful lawns 
 studded with large and rare trees. The place is 
 one of the oldest in its vicinity, and was formerly 
 called Clifton Point. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 History of the Town of Clinton. 
 
 THE town of CHnton lies near the western 
 border of the County, being the second 
 town back from the Hudson River. It is bounded 
 north by Milan; south by Pleasant Valley; east 
 by Stanford and Washington ; west by Rhinebeck 
 and Hyde Park. 
 
 The principal bodies of water are Round Pond, 
 in the extreme northern part. Long Pond in the 
 northern part, about three miles south of the for- 
 mer, and Wallace Pond in the western part. Salt 
 Point Creek flows north and south through the 
 center of the town, and enters Wappingers Creek 
 in the northern part of the town of Pleasant Valley. 
 The soil in the north is a sandy loam, but in the 
 center and south it is a productive, slaty loam. 
 
 This town was formed from Charlotte and Rhine- 
 beck Precincts, March 13, 1786. Hyde Park and 
 Pleasant Valley were taken from it on the 26th 
 day of January, 1821. The town was named for 
 George CUnton, the first Governor of the State. 
 It contained at the last census a population of 
 1,640. In 1870 the population was 1,708, in 1875, 
 1,691, of whom 1,601 were native, 90 foreign, 
 1,687 white, and 4 colored. 
 
 This town was originally included in what was 
 known as Crom Elbow Precinct, formed in 1737, 
 and so named from Crom Elbow Creek,* the divid- 
 ing line between this town and Rhinebeck. Crom 
 Elbow Precinct passed into Charlotte Precinct 
 before it became the town of Clinton. 
 
 We find in some of the early town documents 
 
 records of births dating back to 1748, as follows : 
 
 "Ruth Bull, Daughter of nathan bull was bom 
 In Crom Elbow precinct in Duchess County & 
 province of new York the fourth Day of August 
 1748 & recorded by me Isaac Germond, Clerk. 
 
 •Dutch— Krom EUeboge, crooked elbow. 
 
 " Joseph Harris son of Moses harris was born in 
 Crom Elbow precinct the 6th Day of May, 1750. 
 
 " Nicol Lewis son of Lent Lewis was born in 
 Crom Elbow precinct the 13th Day of August, 
 
 1751- 
 "Jeremiah bull son of nathan Bull was born 
 
 * * the 7th Day of June, 1752. 
 
 " John Earll son of John Earll Deceased was 
 born * * the 28th Day of December, 1748. 
 " Ezekiel Spricor son of Jacob Spricor was Born 
 
 * * * the first Day of March, 1751. 
 
 " Lusse Spricor wife of Ezekial Spricor Deceased 
 the nth June, 1756. 
 
 " Isaiah bull son of nathan Bull was born * * 
 the Second Day of May, 1756." 
 
 These are all recorded by Isaac Germond, and 
 the parties mentioned were among the first dwellers 
 in this vicinity. 
 
 Another early recorded settlement is that of 
 Derrick VanVliet, who located in the town about 
 17SS- Jonathan Lyon was also an early settler. 
 He came from Westchester County and purchased 
 a farm one mile northeast of CUnton Hollow. The 
 land is now included in the estate of Amos Lyon. 
 
 Another early settler was Isaiah Sherman, who 
 purchased a portion of the Creed patent of the 
 Nine Partners Tract. His descendants are now 
 living in the town, among whom are Smith Sherman, 
 Arthur Sherman and Richard Sherman, great- 
 great-grandchildren. 
 
 It is not known when the first town meeting 
 was held. The earlier records, which undoubtedly 
 would contain much of historical interest, have, 
 through the frequent changes of officials and fre- 
 quent removals from place to place, been lost or 
 destroyed, and those records now in the possession 
 of the town are fragmentary and disconnected. » 
 From the records extant we gather the following 
 succession of supervisors and clerks from 1847 
 to 1 88 1 :"'— 
 
 Sdpekvisoks. Clerks. 
 
 1847. Elnathan Gazley. Wesley Butts. 
 
 1848. Wesley Butts, ' Thomas J. Sands. 
 
 1849. Daniel H. Schultz, do do 
 
 1850. Stephen H. Smith, John F. B. Stouten- 
 
 1851. Fred C. Filkins, Alberts. Ring, [burgh. 
 
 1852. Gilbert Bentley, Martin H. Combs. 
 
 1853. Robert D. Cornell, do do 
 
 1854. do do Mark Wilber. 
 
 1855. Jonathan P. Shel- Maurice Traver. 
 
 1856. do do [don, David Bedell. 
 1857- John G. Halstead, John F. Schultz. 
 1858. do do John D. Wilber. 
 i8s9-'6o. Fred B. Schultz, Geo. H. Gazley. 
 1861. Wilson Hicks, John F. Schultz. * 
 i862-'63. John S. Wing, Theodore J. Crouse. 
 
 1864. Egbert C. Butler, Hiram J, Wing. 
 
 1865. J. F,B. Stoutenburgh, do do 
 
 1866. Philip Cookingham, Jacob Z. Frost. 
 
TOWN OF CLINTON. 
 
 285 
 
 1867., David B. Haight, George Van Vliet. 
 i868-'69. do do Theodore J. Grouse. 
 
 1870. Jacob Z. Frost, Harvey S. VanDyne. 
 1871- do do J. E. AUendorf. 
 
 1872. H. R. Van Vliet, Daniel H. Carhart. 
 
 1873. do do Mandeville E. Bur- 
 
 1874. John H. Otis, do do [ger. 
 187 5-' 7 6. do do Isaac H. Halsted. 
 
 1877. Mandeville Burger, William H. Sleight. 
 
 1878. TimothyG. Palmer, LeGrande Graham. 
 
 1879. Duane Story, Chas. W. Carpenter. 
 
 1880. Smith Sherman, LeGrande Graham. 
 
 1 881. Duane Story, Geo. H. Gazley. 
 Clinton contains no villages of any commercial 
 
 importance. The chief post hamlets are Clinton 
 Hollow, Clinton Corners, Hibernia, Schultzville, 
 and Pleasant Plains. 
 
 Clinton HoLLOvif. 
 
 Clinton Hollow lies in the southern part of 
 the town, and contains two stores, postoffice, 
 wagon shop (Henry Lattin), blacksmith shop 
 (Leonard I. Tripp), shoe shop (George C. Briggs), 
 and a saw and grist-mill (LeGrande Graham). 
 
 The postmaster here is Seneca Butts, who has 
 held that office some four years. The merchants 
 are George H. Gazley, a native of Hyde Park, 
 born in 1834, who has been in business here four 
 years, and William E. Knickerbacker, who has 
 been in business here three years. A family of 
 this latter name were early settlers near this place. 
 
 Clinton Corners. 
 
 Clinton Corners, in the southeastern part of the 
 town, contains one store, a post-office, church, 
 blacksmith shop, (Samuel C. Briggs), harness shop 
 (Edward Weed), and a few dwellings. 
 
 The postmaster is Gilbert T. Pearsall, who was 
 appointed ten years ago. 
 
 The merchant is Arthur D. Buckley, a native of 
 Amenia, born in 1856, who began business here in 
 April, 1 88 1. 
 
 An early merchant here was Abel Peters, who 
 in his day was a man of wealth and prominence, 
 and who, sometime about 1792, built quite a 
 spacious i^house, which is still standing, near this 
 place. He also kept a hotel, an institution now 
 unknown in this town, but both the hotel and the 
 store in which he did business, have since passed 
 from existence. At this place stands the venera- 
 ble Quaker Meeting House, known as the " Creek 
 Meeting House," an old gray, stone building, 
 which was built in 1777. 
 
 The society was organized in 1777, but at what 
 date cannot be definitely ascertained. Among the 
 early members were George Harris, Isaac Hallock 
 and Paul Upton. The latter we assume to be the 
 Upton so prominent in the early days of the 
 .Quaker Society in Stanford. It is quite probable 
 that the Society of Friends in Stanford had its 
 origin in this locality. 
 
 In 1828 a separation occurred on account of 
 the dissention of Ehas Hicks, and those who did 
 not adhere to him — called the Orthodox Quakers 
 — formed a new society, and in 1829 built the 
 church which stands a mile or so north of this old 
 stone building, and which is known as the Ortho- 
 dox Meeting House at the Creek. The old house 
 has stood against the storms of over a century 
 and seems yet to be in good condition, and able to 
 pass through the changes of another hundred 
 years. This is one of the few landmarks of the 
 pioneer times. A new slate roof has been added 
 to the building within a comparatively few years, 
 on which the date of its erection is imprinted. The 
 present membership of the society is between sixty 
 and seventy. The old, gray building stands a 
 monument to the patieiice and perseverance of the 
 peaceful people who erected it. It was built in a 
 time of danger and distress. Their early 
 attempts at worship here, as elsewhere through- 
 out the country, were met by scoffs and 
 persecution. They were made the by-word 
 and the reproach of people educated in 
 other forms of belief; and, as if to add the cli- 
 max to their troubles, during the erection of their 
 building the thunder of Revolutionary cannon 
 broke in upon the rural stillness,* and the contin- 
 ued demand for soldiers involved them in newer 
 difficulties. Theirs was a religion of peace, not of 
 war ; and on different occasions the hammer and 
 the adze were silent, and the course of construc- 
 tion was suspended while they withdrew from the 
 danger of impressment to the work of bloodshed, 
 for which, as a people, they have ever had such an 
 abhorrence. 
 
 Their perseverance was at last rewarded. Their 
 church was built, even amid the tumult of war, 
 and here the early fathers calmly heard of the de- 
 feat at Brandywine and the triumph of Yorktown ; 
 and here they worshiped until one by one their 
 generation^passed away, and the children of the 
 succeeding generation came upon the stage to 
 play their part in the drama of events. 
 
 * The British, under Vaughan, passed up the river on their marauding 
 expedition during this year. 
 
286 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 HiBERNIA. 
 
 - Hibernia, in the extreme southeastern part, is a 
 post-hamlet containing a few dwelUngs. There is 
 nothing of interest here but a grist-finill and a house 
 which were built over a century ago by two men of 
 the name of Everson. Whether father and son, or 
 brothers, is not known. To this locaUty they gave 
 the name of Hibernia, in honor of Ireland, the 
 land of their birth. 
 
 SCHULTZVILLE. 
 
 Schultzville, in the eastern part of the town, is 
 probably the most important of the hamlets. 
 
 The postmaster is Timothy G. Palmer, who was 
 appointed ten years ago. 
 
 The only merchant is WilUam H. Sleight, who 
 has been in business here nine years, succeeding 
 Hiram Bentley, who had for some five years con- 
 ducted the business. 
 
 This place derived its name from the Schultz 
 family. Theodore A. Schultz, son of David H. 
 Schultz, was born here March 8, 1838, and died 
 January 22, 1862. He was one of the most promi- 
 nent young men of the town. He was the donor 
 of the edifice erected here for the Christian Church 
 in 1865. He also donated funds for the purpose 
 of purchasing a site and erecting a hall for Warren 
 Lodge, F. and A. M., and a fine building was erect- 
 ed, which stands as a monument to the generous 
 donor, who died here twenty years ago. 
 
 Warren Lodge, No. 32, is one of the oldest 
 lodges in the State. It had its origin in Pine 
 Plains, from whence it was transferred to this 
 place. It was re-organized here in 1865. 
 
 First Christian Church of Clinton* — This 
 church, located at Schultzville, in the town of 
 Clinton, was organized in the spring of 1863. 
 Like many of the Christain churches it never be- 
 came a branch of any neighboring church. The 
 ministers of the Milan church had supplied this 
 community with preaching for several years, first at 
 monthly, and afterward at semi-monthly intervals. 
 In the spring of 1846 several gentleman, among 
 whom were David H. Schultz, Benjamin Conger, 
 Peter Denny, M. D., Edward Pultz and Smith J. 
 Gildersleeve, invited the Rev. Philetus Roberts to 
 hold regular services in the lecture room over the 
 store. These services continued for several years, 
 other denominations holding occasional services 
 there also. In 1864, Theodore A. Schultz, who had 
 
 * For the history of this church we are indebted to the Rev. Philetus 
 Roberts,_of Clinton Corners, for many years a pastor in the Christian 
 denomination. 
 
 inherited a handsome property from his father's 
 estate, and who had for the two preceding years 
 lingered with the consumption, decided a short 
 time before his death to bequeath to the church 
 two and a half acres of land for a public ceme- 
 tery, and on a portion of it also to have erected a 
 house of worship, towards the building of which 
 he made a bequest of three thousand dollars. 
 The Supreme Court appointed the three acting 
 trustees of the church — S. J. Gildersleeve, E. Pultz, 
 and , G. Budd — as receivers of the property, a 
 proper title being executed, and they proceeded 
 to erect the church building, which was done in 
 1866. Immediately on occupying the chapel a 
 number of the members of other churches in the 
 place changed their relation to the Schultzville Clin- 
 ton Church. 
 
 The increase of the membership during the next 
 three years was such that the congregation decided 
 to build a parsonage and settle a minister. At •■ 
 this time Rev. J. Q. Evans succeeded R. Mosher 
 as pastor. Sheds for a large number of teams, 
 and a lecture or Sabbath- school room, were erect- 
 ed soon after. Mr. Evans remained in charge of 
 the church more than twice as long as his prede- 
 cessor, and aided in organizing a strong Sabbath- 
 school, which has marked a new era in the work 
 of this religious body. 
 
 The Abbott brothers, Alonzo F. and Emerson 
 T., succeeded Mr. Evans from five and a half 
 to six years, each filling the pastorate for about 
 the same length of time. Like Mr. Evans, they 
 were men of considerable talent. 
 
 The church was blessed with some revivals, but 
 the larger additions to the body were secured dur- 
 ing Mr. Evans' and the first part of Mr. A. F. 
 Abbott's pastorate. Rev. B. F. Fanton succeeded 
 the Elders Abbott. Having spent a few years in 
 the Theological School at Meadvifle, Pa., he 
 brought to this people the cultured thought he had 
 there secured. He served the church two years, and 
 although few were added to the body by membership, 
 the congregation being sustained was much profited 
 by his able ministry and exemplary life. E. T. Ab- 
 bott, of whom we have spoken, followed Mr. Fan- 
 ton. The church had held its own numerically for sev- 
 eral years. If correct, the highest Conference report 
 was from 150 to 160 members. During the fall 
 and winter of 1880 and i88r, the desk was sup- 
 plied by two or three applicants for the place, but 
 as spring. approached it was more frequently sup- 
 plied by Osmun R. Allen, a student of the " Chris- 
 tian Biblical Institute" of this county. He soon 
 
TOWN OF CLINTON. 
 
 287 
 
 became the choice of the entire community. He 
 having united with the N. Y. Eastern Christian Con- 
 ference at its June session, the church requested 
 his ordination by that body. The ordaining 
 council met at the Chapel by appointment ; and 
 by an imposing ceremony in the presence of a large 
 assembly he was publicly set apart to the religious 
 and official work of the Christian ministry. As a 
 young man of talent, of piety, and withal, a worker 
 in each department of religious labor, we predict 
 for him, in the not far future, well earned and 
 praise-worthy success. 
 
 The only physician here is Dr. Edwin S. Hoyt, 
 a native of Clinton, born in April, 1845, who 
 graduated from the Albany Medical College 
 December 22, 1874, and began here his practice. 
 
 LeRoy's Mills, or Corners. 
 
 LeRoy's'Mills, or Corners, in the western part 
 of the town contains a store, postoffice, a grist-mill, 
 and a few dwellings. 
 
 This mill was built about the year 1775, by a 
 man named DeWitt, and used as a country grist- 
 mill. It was afterward bought by a Mr. Lyons 
 and then by John LeRoy, who, in connection with 
 his son, run it for upwards of forty years as a mer- 
 chant and custom mill. It was afterwards owned 
 by George Cookingham, then by Morris & LeRoy. 
 The latter named partner, LeRoy, then bought out 
 and repaired the whole property. It then passed 
 into the hands of the present firm, J. Z. Frost 
 & Co., (J. Z. Frost and Phillip D. Cookingham.) 
 It is a frame building 35 by 55 feet, three stories 
 high, costing about $8,000, and comprising a 
 flour and feed mill. This firm also own a saw- 
 mill, which is operated by the same water-power. 
 
 The postoffice was removed from Pleasant 
 Plains to this place a few years ago, and still re- 
 tains the name of its former location. The post- 
 master is Phillip D. Cookingham, who was ap- 
 pointed three years ago. 
 
 Frederic Hicks, the only merchant, has been in 
 business here three years, succeeding Daniel H. 
 Carhart, who had traded here for some seven 
 years. 
 
 A little north of this place stands an old, low- 
 roofed, cobble-stone house, now owned by James 
 Uhl, which was built in 1768. 
 
 Pleasant Plains. 
 
 Pleasant Plains lies in the western part of the 
 town, and is a name given to a locality rather than ' 
 
 to a hamlet of any extent. The name is in every 
 respect appropriate, for it is one of the most 
 pleasant portions of the township^ the land level 
 and fertile, and bearing evidence of thrift and 
 abundance. The dwellings are few but comfort- 
 able. There is no business transacted here save 
 that which pertains to agriculture, and no public 
 building, except the sedate church, which seems 
 to stand as a drowsy sentinel over the quiet neigh- 
 borhood. 
 
 At this place is one physician, Dr. Edwin Barnes, 
 a graduate of Albany Medical College, who was an 
 Assistant Surgeon in the army during the late war, 
 and who came to Pleasant Plains thirteen years 
 ago. 
 
 The earliest recorded effort for the establish- 
 ment and maintenance of religious worship in this 
 neighborhood is found in the "Book of Records of 
 the Trustees for Providence Society, in Charlotte 
 Precinct." 
 
 By a deed dated September 15, 1784, "in con- 
 sideration of the good will and affection he bears 
 unto the inhabitants in this neighborhood of Lot 
 No. 4 of the small division of the Great Nine 
 Partners, in Duchess county, for the encouragement 
 of religion and vital piety, and for the encourage- 
 ment of education, Richard Alsop, of Newtown, 
 Queens county. New York, gave, granted, con- 
 veyed and confirmed unto Timothy Doughty, 
 Henry Humphrey, and John DeWitt, Jun., Trus- 
 tees for a Society of the Reformed Church of 
 Holland, as now constituted in America, or, agree- 
 ably to the constitution of the Kirk of Scotland, 
 to them and their successors forever, trustees of 
 said Society, in this neighborhood of said Lot No. 
 4, for the express purpose of having a house 
 erected for the worship of Almighty God, and a 
 school-house for the education of youth on the 
 premis.es, — a certain parcel of land, being part of 
 said Lot No. 4, to contain two acres." 
 
 December 5, 1785, the inhabitants of the neigh- 
 borhood above mentioned, assembled, after due 
 notice according to law, to avail themselves of the 
 provision of Mr. Alsop, and to elect trustees to 
 care for the temporalities of the congregation. The 
 following persons were elected trustees : — ^John 
 Lawrence, Cornelius Van Vliet, David Knapp, 
 John DeWitt, Jr., Jesse Bell and Timothy Doughty, 
 and the name by which they were to be known 
 was declared to be "The Trustees of the Presby- 
 terian Providence Society. " These trustees were 
 divided into classes of two, one class going out 
 annually, and renewed up to October, 1789. 
 
288. 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 April 27, 1787, a committee was appointed to 
 attend the meeting of the Duchess County Pres- 
 bytery to be held on the second of the following 
 May, to petition that body for a stated supply of a 
 quarter of his time. The committee reported May 
 Sth that they had discharged their duty — that the 
 Presbytery gave them no decided answer, but ex- 
 pressed a hope that the Rev. Wheeler Case would 
 be able to serve them. 
 
 On the records of August 20, 1787, there is a 
 minute^of an agreement with Rev. Wheeler Case 
 to devote one-third of his time to them, beginning 
 July 1st, 1787, in consideration of the payment of 
 £27,, 7 s., July I, 1788. 
 
 This record of the Trustees of Providence Soci- 
 ety terminates in October, 1789, and with it the 
 Presbyterian Providence Society of Charlotte Pre- 
 cinct passes from sight. 
 
 Well authenticated tradition shows that the Rg- 
 formed Church of Hyde Park, of which the Van 
 Vliets were prominent and active members, occu- 
 pied the field some years subsequently. A church 
 was organized and kept up for a time, but under 
 adverse circumstances. It was finally abandoned, 
 and its membership transferred to Hyde Park. 
 
 During the existence of the Reformed Church 
 it was ministered to by the Rev. Drs. Bethe- 
 rus, Broadhead, and others. It is the tradi- 
 tion that it was the desire of the donor of the 
 property that the Reformed Church should have 
 priority in the effort to organize a religious 
 society. 
 
 Divine service seems to have been kept up, after 
 the withdrawal of the Reformed Chyrch from the 
 field, as often as a supply could be obtained. 
 Coming down to within the memory of the present 
 time, we find that services were occasionally held 
 in the school-house on the property where the 
 church now stands, and at the residence of John 
 LeRoy, of LeRoy's Mills, by the Presbyterian 
 ministers of this region, among whom were the 
 Rev. Dr. John Johnston, of Newburgh, Rev. 
 Messrs. Price, of Fishkill, Clark and Wile, of 
 Pleasant Valley, Hall, Tuckerman and others. 
 
 The first official record in connection with the 
 present church, is that of its organization, and is as 
 follows:— The Presbyterian Church of Pleasant 
 Plains was organized on the 28th day of March, 
 1837, by Rev. Alonzo Welton, of Poughkeepsie, 
 and consisted of the following thirteen persons, 
 viz : John LeRoy, Isaiah VanKeuren, John Piatt, 
 William Odell, Stephen LeRoy, Thomas DeWitt 
 LeRoy, Hannah LeRoy, Gertrude Van Keuren, 
 
 Malinda LeRoy, Welthy LeRoy, Jane M. Odell 
 and Phebe Ann McAvery. 
 
 The above named persons were, at their own 
 request, dismissed from the Presbyterian Church of 
 Pleasant Valley, on the 15th day of March, 1837, 
 for the purpose aforesaid. 
 
 John LeRoy and Isaiah Van Keuren were set 
 apart and ordained elders of the church. John 
 Piatt was chosen and set apart as deacon. The 
 following persons then appeared before the session, 
 were examined and admitted to the church mem- 
 bership, to wit : Henry Hewitt, George DeWint, 
 John McAvery, Rosella DeWint, Barnet LeRoy, 
 Stephen Odell, Abigail Odell and Emma Hewitt. 
 
 The church since its organization has had the 
 following stated suppUes and pastors : — 
 
 First the Rev. William N. Sayre, stated supply 
 for a year and a quarter, beginning December 30, 
 1837. He was succeeded by Rev. William Hill, 
 called April 27, 1837, installed in June, remaining 
 one year. 
 
 Rev. Mr. Heath succeeded Mr. Hill as a supply 
 for six. months. 
 
 The Rev. Sherman Hoyt was then called to the 
 pastorate. Mr. Hoyt was born March 2t, 1807, 
 and came to Pleasant Plains in 1843. For eighteen 
 years he was pastor over this church, and on 
 account of failing health he was compelled to leave 
 the ministry. He purchased a small farm near the 
 church where he now resides. The Rev. Joshua 
 Collins succeeded Mr. Hoyt as supply, remaining 
 two years. Then came Rev. EUsha D. Bates, one 
 year, and Rev. Sumner Mandeville, one year. 
 
 May ist, 1865, the Rev. Austin P. Stockwell 
 was invited to the pastorate. He was installed ■" 
 October 11, 1865, and resigned July 5, 1869. 
 The Rev. Messrs. Parsons and Fisher succeeded, 
 Mr. Stockwell as supphes, each for^six months. 
 The present pastor, the Rev. S. Nye Hutchuson,* 
 began his labors April ist, 1872. 
 
 Of these various laborers, those who left the 
 deepest impression on the minds of the people were 
 the Revs. Sayre, Stockwell and Hoyt. Mr. Sayre 
 was laborious, earnest and effective. His ministry 
 is represented as having been one of great power. 
 The Rev. Mr. Stockwell came into the church from 
 the seminary, and by his attractions as a man and 
 a preacher he soon secured the affection of the 
 people. His was a successful ministry, and the 
 hearts of his people still follow him in his separa- 
 tion from them. But to the Rev. Sherman Hoyt 
 
 » To this latter gentlemanly clergyman we are indebted for the history 
 of this church, which, by his consent, has been taken from a historical 
 sermon delivered by him July i, 1876, but somewhat condensed. 
 
'-^:(^^U^ y^ ^^;?^et 
 
 ^n',lLBmiS,S<nu.l',-Bmlo.,j SrMT. 
 
TOWN OF CLINTON. 
 
 289 
 
 the church owes more than to any other for what 
 it is and will be. During an active ministry of 
 eighteen years, and an additional period of fifteen, 
 in which he has resided in their midst, his pure 
 guileless life has exemplified the doctrines he pro- 
 claimed. ' In addition to his labors in the pulpit, 
 he has exercised a powerful influence over the 
 minds of the young throughout the entire region 
 by means of the school which he has so successful- 
 ly maintained for many years, and in which a large 
 proportion of the youth of the town have been 
 educated. 
 
 The church has had fourteen Elders, beginning 
 with John LeRoy and Isaiah VanKeuren, under 
 whom the church was organized. 
 
 Abraham LeRoy, William Odell and David 
 Traver, Jr., were elected Aug. 17, 1839; B. I. 
 VanKeuren and Stephen LeRoy, Aug. 18, 1839; 
 Messrs. Sheriger, P. D. Cookingham and M. L. 
 Traver, Nov. 7, 1857; Jesse Merritt, Feb. 18, 
 1866; Nathaniel Lamoree, Michael Cookingham 
 and Luther Lloyd, July 6, 1872. 
 
 The Deacons have been John Piatt and Mark 
 Wilber. 
 
 Beginning with the twenty-one members of its 
 first organization the church has had about four 
 hundred members. The first services, prior to the 
 erection of the church edifice, were held in the 
 school house formerly located on the south side of 
 the building. The present church was built in 
 1837, at an expense of $2,000. It was enlarged 
 to its present size in 1859, at a cost of $1,250. 
 
 It is but just to record here that the society 
 were greatly aided in the construction of the 
 church by the munificence of John LeRoy, who first 
 contributed $300.00, and then advanced $1,200 
 to pay the balance due. The interest on the latter 
 was left unpaid until principal and interest 
 amounted to about $z,ooo. Mr. LeRoy then 
 generously cancelled the entire obligation in ton- 
 sideration that the church would raise $500.00 
 with which to build sheds and fence. 
 
 The parsonage was built in 1866, on a piece of 
 land purchased of H. R. VanVliet, and at an 
 entire cost of about $3,000.00. 
 
 Clinton in the Rebellion. 
 
 The records of Clinton's participation in the war 
 of the Rebellion have never been kept, or if kept, 
 have never been preserved. We append, however, 
 the few names that could be gathered from miUtary 
 records and other sources, of those who repre- 
 sented the town in that struggle. 
 
 i2^th'Eegiment, Company C. — Derrick Brown, 
 corporal'; William B. Brown, Robert A. Day, Jas. 
 M. Hewitt, Augustus Ashorn, James K. Brown, 
 John S. Hadden, Murray Howard, Roger T. Jones, 
 Charles E. Kissover, Charles Ketterer, Charles P. 
 Murch, Alvin G. Murch. 
 
 Company D. — J. W. Myers, J. J. Marshall, Chas. 
 Boyce, Martin Rickett, Morgan S. St. John. 
 
 Company I. — Stephen Moore, Isaac P. Smith, 
 John G. Moore, John Donnelly, Lawrence TaafFe, 
 Roberto. Smith, David Chase, George E. Thomas. 
 
 Scattering. — Matthias Graff, Co. K ; James A. 
 Hewitt, Co. E ; WilUam T. Parker, Patrick Tier- 
 ney, Herman Liebald, Jacob VanDecker, George 
 W. Jacobs, George F. Browning, J. G. French, J. 
 R. Clark, F. R. Tower, John Doyle, Charles Myers, 
 William White. 
 
 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH, 
 
 COLONEL GILBERT BENTLEY. 
 
 Colonel Gilbert Bentley of the town of CUnton, 
 was born in Pine Plains, at the romantic little vil- 
 lage of Mount Ross, January 22, 1810, where he 
 remained until eight years of age when his father 
 exchanged his place for the one on which Col. 
 Bentley now lives. His father Major Henry Bent- 
 ley was the youngest son of William Bentley of the 
 town of Beekman, who came from Rhode Island 
 about one hundred and thirty years ago. He was 
 of English descent. Henry was born in the town 
 of Beekman (now Union Vale) in 1771. He was 
 married to Catharine Hall, of Union Vale, by whom 
 he had nine children — five sons and four daughters 
 — of whom Gilbert was the sixth child and 
 youngest son. 
 
 After studying at the common school Gilbert at- 
 tended an educational institution in the town of 
 Washington, and subsequently a select school in 
 Bethlehem, Litchfield Co. Conn. He ranked high 
 as a student, and at the age of eighteen was quali- 
 fied to teach school, and soon after attaining to his 
 majority, became inspector of schools. 
 
 Nov. 21, 1828, his father died leaving him at the 
 age of eighteen, to grapple alone with the world as 
 best he could. The following spring Gilbert reluct- 
 antly entered into the business of farming which 
 he has followed ever since with order and system. 
 At the age of twenty he became interested in the 
 cause of temperance which was then in its incip- 
 iency and has always been a fearless and open 
 advocate of the abolition of intoxicating liquors as 
 a beverage. He opposed the system of granting 
 licenses ; and when, after his election as Justice of 
 the Peace, he became a member of the Board of 
 
290 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 Excise, he stated his views so effectively at the first 
 meeting that no reply was made. In two or three 
 years thereafter there were no appUcations for 
 license in the town ; and but two licenses, both of 
 which proved abortive, have been granted smce, 
 during some forty-five years. He was the first in 
 his vicinity to break through the old estabhshed 
 and pernicious custom of using intoxicating bever- 
 ages during haying or harvest— a course which at 
 that time caused much speculation. His services 
 as a public speaker were in great demand at the 
 various'temperance gatherings where he was hs- 
 tened to with most profound respect. 
 
 May 27, 1831 he was appointed Adjutant of the 
 141st Regiment New York State Infantry under 
 the command of David W. Carroll; E. T. Throop 
 being Governor and John A, Dix, Adjutant- 
 General. May 3, 1834, he was promoted to the 
 position of Major and Sei)t. 8, 1835, to the rank of 
 Colonel, while WiUiam L. Marcy was Governor 
 and Levi Hubbell, Adjutant-General. In miUtary 
 tactics he was qualified and efficient. Order and 
 obedience were his stern requisites. Having had 
 regular instructions in sword exercise, and under- 
 standing the art as well as the theory of handling 
 infantry, he was often supposed to have received 
 his military education at West Point. 
 
 Early in hfe he took a deep interest in political 
 matters, casting his first vote in 1831, and voting 
 for presidential electors in 1832. He was a dele- 
 gate in the Young Men's County Convention for 
 the ratification of the nomination of Andrew Jack- 
 son as President, and to appoint delegates to a 
 State Convention for the same purpose. In 1836 
 he was appointed one of the representatives from 
 this county to the Young Men's State Convention 
 at Utica, on the 6th of October, for the ratification 
 of the nomination of Martin Van Buren, and on 
 his return, at the request of General Mason, Sen- 
 ator from this district, he visited Governor Marcy 
 at his residence where the distinguished nominee 
 for President was then stopping. 
 
 Dec. 12, 1838 he was united in marriage with 
 Catharine Stewart of the town of Chnton, daughter 
 of WiUiam W. Stewart, a son of Major WiUiam 
 Stewart who was in service in the Revolution. 
 They had five children : Mary, Elizabeth, Emma, 
 Irving, and Henry, — Mary dying at the age of 
 twenty-three and Henry at seventeen. 
 
 In 1842 Col. Bentley was elected to the Legisla- 
 ture where he was made member of the Committee 
 on Militia and Public Defence. On account of 
 duties at home demanding attention, he declined 
 a nomination the foUowing year, much to the dis- 
 satisfaction of his warm friends and supporters. In 
 1844 he was a delegate to the Senatorial Conven- 
 tion at Newburgh. The Democratic party, in 
 1843, entered upon a stormy period in its history. 
 Following the financial panic of 1837 and the defeat 
 of Van Buren in 1840, came the internal plagues of 
 " Barnburnerism " and " Hunkerism. " With the 
 disintegration of the old parties new political issues 
 arose. 
 
 In 184^, as the " Free Soil" spirit took political 
 
 form, Colonel Bentley, opposed the extension of 
 slavery into free territory and advocating the right 
 of freedom for all, became an active " Free Boiler. " 
 Distrusting Buchanan's integrity, he voted for 
 Fremont in 1856, thus after much serious reflec- 
 tion, breaking from his party on conscientious 
 grounds ; holding that principles vital to a nation's 
 interests are of more importance than mere^ party 
 supremacy. The index of his character is well 
 presented in the following Unes whichhave been 
 one of his ruling maxims : 
 
 " what conscience dictates to be done, 
 Or warns me not to do. 
 This teaches more than hell to shun, 
 That, more than heaven pursue. " 
 
 Accordingly, he supported Mr. Lincoln for Pres- 
 ident, and both at home arid as a delegate to the 
 Republican Convention in Philadelphia, vigorously 
 sustained his administration,— the National colors 
 constantly floating from the top of the flag-staff at 
 his residence, that aU might see in those dark days 
 when many wavered, where he stood in the great 
 struggle. Early and earnestly he advocated a proc- 
 lamation for emancipation as a war measure justi- 
 fiable and right under.the circumstances. In 1872 
 he acted with the Liberal wing of the Republican 
 party, and was Chairman of the County Conven- 
 tion of that party when the union of the Demo- 
 crats with it for the support of the presidential 
 election for Horace Greeley was accomplished. 
 
 Many minor public trusts have been thrust upon 
 him by his fellow citizens, who have long known his 
 ability and integrity of character. Thus, in 1852, 
 he was elected Supervisor ; was chairman of the 
 board of canvassers ; was a member of the com- 
 mittees on Sheriffs' and Surrogate's accounts and 
 printer's biUs, and the following year was chosen 
 Clerk of the Board of Supervisors. Several times 
 he has been chosen Inspector of Election; has 
 served two terms as Assessor of his town ; has fre- 
 quently been appointed foreman of grand juries, 
 and has had much to do as administrator and ex- 
 ecutor in the settlement of estates. In the dis- 
 charge of the duties of these varied positions he 
 has ever proved faithful and efficient, thus, by his 
 fidelity and sound judgment, meriting the honors 
 so frequently bestowed. 
 
 Col. Bentley, in these and many other ways, has 
 had much to do, in his long and useful life, in 
 shaping pijbUc opinion and directing the public 
 affairs of his town and county; while his influence 
 has also reached far beyond these limits. As a citizen 
 he has been public-spirited and a leader. He aid- 
 ed in organizing the Milan Union Cemetery Asso- 
 ciation and has been President of its Board of 
 Trustees more than twenty years. He regards his 
 political life with satisfaction, inasmuch as he has 
 lived to see the accomplishment of that for which 
 he has labored — a nation without a slave from sea 
 to sea. In probity and uprightness, in his private 
 and pubUc life, in social and in business relations, 
 he has few superiors. Accepting the great funda- * 
 mental truths of revelation as embodied in the 
 christian religion, and a member of a christian 
 church, and decided in his convictions, he at the 
 
TOWN OF STANFORD. 
 
 291 
 
 same time recognizes the right of others to determ- 
 ine their beliefs, and to enjoy the fullness of their 
 own honest convictions likewise ; so that, with him, 
 theological differences constitute no bar to good 
 fellowship. In the cause of temperance, morality 
 and humanity, his infliuence for many years has 
 been great ; and though, as an actor in human 
 event, he passed away, his work will abide to bless 
 the world. For truly his life has been one of honor 
 and of worth, and such a hfe is ranged on the side 
 of ultimate victory. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 History of Stanford. 
 
 THE town of Stanford lies in the northern part 
 of the county, a little north and east from 
 the center. It is bounded on the north by Milan 
 and Pine Plains ; on the east by North East and 
 Amenia ; on the south by Washington, and on the 
 west by Chnton. 
 
 The chief bodies of water are Wappinger's 
 Creek, Hunn's Lake — formerly known as Thomp- 
 son's Pond, in the northeast, and Upton's Lake in 
 the southwest corner of the town, the latter deriving 
 its name from Paul Upton, one of the early pion- 
 eers of the town, who came from Lynn^ Massa- 
 chusetts, and settled near the lake. The highest 
 point is Carpenter Hill in the northeastern corner. 
 The soil of the town is a gravelly and slat^ loam. 
 
 The population of Stanford at the last census was 
 2,092.'* 
 
 This town, which was included in the Great Nine 
 Partners tract, granted to Caleb Heathcote and 
 others, May 27, 1697, was formed from Washing- 
 ton, March i3, 1793. 
 
 It is not known who were the first to settle in the 
 present limits of the town, but settlements were 
 made here some time previous to the year 1755, 
 by people who had immigated from Massachusetts. 
 In 1759, on some old church records, we find the 
 names of Ephraim and Comer Bullock, and these 
 are the earliest recorded names of which anything 
 is known. 
 
 The family of Dibble was a quite noted family 
 here at an early day. Christopher Dibble, the an- 
 cestor immigrated from Long Island and settled in 
 the northern part of Stanford, and, in 1782, built a 
 house on what is now the Titus farm. This house 
 was taken down some forty years ago. Many of 
 the descendants of Isaah Dibble, his son, are now 
 
 • In 1870, 1,216, 1875, 2,137. 
 
 living in Stanford and Pine Plains. In the old 
 family burial ground is his grave, bearing the fol- 
 lowing inscription : — 
 
 " In memory of Christopher Dibble, who died 
 May 27, 1804, in 63d yr. of his age." 
 
 And one 
 
 " In memory of Elizabeth Dibble, wife of above, 
 who died December i, 1803, M 70 yrs." 
 
 Isaah Dibble died in 1827. 
 
 The first town meeting for Stanford was held in 
 the dwelling house of Ephraim Paine in 1793. The 
 officers elected were: — James Tallmadge, Super- 
 visor; Solo [mon] Sutherland,Town Clerk; William 
 Cash, James Hildreth, Lewis Barton, Assessors; 
 John Sherwood, Collector; John Sherwood, William 
 Bockee, Benjamin Dimmie (or Dimmick,) Con- 
 stables ; Zachariah Mosher, Elias Walbridge, Over- 
 seers of Poor ; Gurdon Miller, Jeremiah Sherril, 
 John Thompson, Commissioners of Highways ; Wm. 
 R. Sutherland, Amos Knapp, Asa Allen, George 
 Adsit, Samuel Lovett, Pound-masters. 
 
 The following has been the succession of super- 
 visors and town clerks from 179S* to 1881 : — 
 
 Supervisors. Clerks. 
 
 1795. Ezra Thompson, Solomon Sutherland. 
 
 1796. Joseph Carpenter, Amos Knapp. 
 
 1797. Zachariah Mosher, Leonard Barton. 
 
 1798. do do Rufus Bark. 
 1799-1801. do do John R. Green. 
 1802. do do Amos Knapp. 
 1803-04. Isaac Huntling, do do 
 r8os-'o6. John Thompson, do do 
 
 1 807-' 1 2. Jeremiah Sherril, do do 
 
 1 8 13. do do Jonathan Haight. 
 
 i8i4.t 
 
 1815. do do Josiah Sutherland. 
 
 1816-17. Jehiel Sackett, Jonathan Haight. 
 
 1818-19. Leonard Barton, Henry Bushnell. 
 
 1820. do do John Purdy. 
 
 1821. Gilbert Thorne, Ebenezer Mott. 
 1822-23. do do John Purdy. 
 
 1824. Leonard Thompson, do do 
 
 1825. Jonathan Haight, do ' do 
 
 1826. do do Silas I. Deuel. 
 1827-28. Jacob Sisson,(?) Joseph Gildersleeve. 
 
 1829. Leonard Barton, do do 
 
 1830. do do Silas I. Deuel. 
 
 1831. Gilbert Thorne, Henry Gildersleeve. 
 
 1832. do do Wm. H. Stewart. 
 
 1833. Isaac Thompson, do do 
 
 1834. Benjamin Conger, do do 
 
 1835. do do Newton Deuel. 
 
 1836. Morgan Huntling, do do 
 
 1837. John Thompson, do do 
 
 1838. do do Wm. H. Stewart. 
 1839-40. Wm. H. Stewart, Newton Deuel., 
 
 1 841. Harris Smith, Henry Tallmadge. 
 
 * 1794 does not appear in the records. 
 
 t Record lost from book, but probably Jeremiah Sherril was super 
 
292 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 1842. 
 
 1843. 
 
 1844. 
 
 1845. 
 
 1846- 
 
 1847. 
 
 i848-'49. 
 
 1850. 
 
 1851. 
 
 1852. 
 
 1853. 
 1854. 
 
 i8SS- 
 1856. 
 
 1857. 
 
 1858. 
 
 1859. 
 
 i860. 
 
 1861. 
 
 1862. 
 
 1863. 
 
 1864. 
 
 1865. 
 
 i866-'67. 
 
 1868. 
 
 1869, 
 
 1870. 
 
 1871. 
 
 1872. 
 
 1873. 
 1874. 
 
 1875- 
 1876. 
 
 1877-79- 
 i88o-'8i. 
 
 Egbert Austiiij Morgan Huntling. 
 
 do do Nehemiah Halsted. 
 Rufus(?) Smith, Joseph Gildersleeve. 
 Steph'nG.Guerasey,Alonzo Buel. 
 
 John H. Otis, 
 
 do do 
 Orville Sackett, 
 Amos B. Knapp,* 
 Alfred Mosher, 
 Hafiry Rikert, 
 Ezra Bryan, 
 
 do do 
 Jacob B. Carpenter, 
 C. N. Campbell, 
 
 John S. Thorne. 
 Alonzo Buel. 
 
 do 
 do 
 do 
 do 
 do 
 Howard 
 do 
 do 
 
 do 
 do 
 do 
 do 
 do 
 T. Tripp, 
 do 
 do 
 do 
 
 E. M. Vanderburgh, do 
 
 do do Wm. H. Tripp. 
 Isaac S. Carpenter, Henry C. Haight. 
 C. N. Campbell, Wm. H. Tripp. 
 Isaac G. Sands, Wm. H. Cowdrey. 
 
 do do Wra. G. Odell. 
 Wm. H. Tripp, Edward B. Gregory. 
 George Peck, John N. Bullis. 
 
 Mulford Conklin, Charles Gregory. 
 Andrew C. Warren, Lewis Palmer. 
 Wm. H. Tripp, David Shelden. 
 
 do do T. Knickerbacker. 
 Mulford Conklin, Sands D. Underbill. 
 Andrew C. Warren, do do 
 
 do do Henry K. Sikes. 
 
 do do Sands D. Underbill. 
 Silas W. Germond, T. Knickerbacker. 
 Silas O. Rogers, J. E. Bowen. 
 Oliver K. Smith, T, Knickerbacker. 
 Isaac Carpenter, Joseph E. Bowen. 
 John W. Butts, T. Knickerbacker. 
 
 We find in these town books records of slave- 
 holding and slave births as late as 1817. The 
 first bears date May 16, 1801, and is a record of 
 the birth of a "male child, named Sigh, of Sail, a 
 negro slave to Israel Lewis, farmer," and recorded 
 May 24, 1802, by Amos Knapp, town clerk. 
 
 " Sept. the 13th, was born a male child, named 
 Simon, of Phebe, a negro slave to Daniel Lewis, 
 farmer. Recorded this ist day of Aug., 1803. 
 Amos Knapp, Clerk." 
 
 "Feb. the 3d 1799, was born a male child, 
 named Leonard, of Bills,.a Negro Slave to Gurdon 
 Miller, farmer, " and recorded April 3, 1804. 
 
 Another record certifies that 
 " Lewis Barton in the town of Stanford, in the 
 Co. of Duchess and State of New York, is Dis- 
 posed to manumit his Black woman named Rhoda, 
 being under the age of fifty years, and of sufficient 
 ability to Provide for herself, in our opinion. 
 "Stanford Town, March 26, 1805. . 
 
 Thomas Platt, ") Overseers 
 Jahael Sackett. J of Poor. 
 William Bell, Justice of Peace. 
 " Recorded this 27, d. March, 1805. 
 
 4 Amos Knapp, Clerk." 
 
 * No choice by electors, A. B. Knapp appointed by the justices. 
 
 Whether this liberation was the result of magna- 
 nimity, or whether the advancing age of the slave 
 foreshadowed a possible burden in the future, the 
 records unfortunately do not show, It was, how- 
 ever, in those days no uncommon thing for a slave 
 owner to shift the burden of responsibility from 
 his own shoulders to the shoulders of the many, — 
 to rid himself of the entire burden of a future tax 
 by liberating his slave to become at last a tax upon 
 the citizens at large. It would throw much light 
 upon the thoughts and feelings of people in those 
 times did we but know the motives which actuated 
 these liberations. 
 
 The succeeding Article of Freedom would seem 
 to indicate a spirit of magnanimity. 
 
 " Know all men by these presents, that I, Dan- 
 iel Lewis, of the town of Stanford, in Duchess 
 Co. & State of New York, d% this day manumit 
 my slave, Adonijah Buckingham, and set him at 
 his Liberty, to Do and Act for himself as a free 
 manj as witness my hand and Seal this 19 of 
 December, one thousand eight hundred and ten. 
 in presants of Asa A. Thompson, 
 
 "Accepted by us. Overseers of Poor of said town, 
 the above named Adonijah Buckingham as one of 
 the free men of said town. 
 
 Robert Rider "> Overseers 
 Asa H. Thompson ) of Poor. 
 
 "Recorded March the nth day, i8ii." 
 
 And a femal slave, .named Dine Varnam, is 
 likewise set free by Elizabeth Bunkerhoof. 
 
 The last of the records is of the birth of a 
 female child named Gin, of Susan, a negro slave 
 to Samuel Hunting, farmer, May 29, 181 7, and 
 recorded March 24, 1818, by Jonathan Haight, 
 town clerk. 
 
 The principal villages in the town are Stanford- 
 ville and Bangall. Attkbury P. O., in the north- 
 eastern part and Old Attlebury, in the northern 
 part, are names given to locaHties in the town 
 rather than names of hamlets. Attlebury is a rail- 
 road station. The postmaster here is Wesson 
 Haight. 
 
 Stissingville. 
 
 Stissing, or Stissingville, in the north-east, is at the 
 junction of the Poughkeepsie, Hartford & Boston, 
 and the Newbiirgh, Duchess & Connecticut rail- 
 roads. Samuel Ambler is the postmaster and only 
 merchant here. 
 
 McIntyre. 
 
 Mclntyre is also a station on the Poughkeepsi^ 
 Hartford & Boston Railroad. The postmaster 
 here is J. W. Butts. Willett Hicks is the only 
 merchant. 
 
TOWN OF STANFORD. 
 
 293 
 
 Hulls Mills P. O. 
 
 Hulls Mills P. O., in the eastern part of the 
 town, contains one store and a few scattered dwell- 
 ings. The postmaster is Smith P. Tompkins, 
 appointed some twelve years ago. The merchant 
 is Simon Losee, who has been in business here ten 
 years. 
 
 Bare Market. 
 
 Bare Market,* in the western part, contains a 
 small number of houses. It derived it name, 
 according to the people of the town, from the bare- 
 ness of the cuisine and tap-room of an old citizen 
 who kept here, at an early day, a sort of grocery 
 and liquor store. Being visited one night by a 
 party of convivialists who consumed all the edibles 
 and liquor, and not being able, even at their 
 earnest request, to replenish his stock, the party 
 went away piqued and disappointed, and derisively 
 named the place " Bare Market," by which appel- 
 lation it has since been known. 
 
 Stanfordville. 
 
 Stanfordville, in the southern part of the town, 
 on the Poughkeepsie, Hartford and Boston rail- 
 road, has a population of 340, and is a place of 
 some considerable business importance. 
 
 The postmaster here is Henry J. Knickerbacker, 
 who was appointed in 1875. He is also a dealer in 
 general merchandise, in which business he has 
 been engaged since April, 1873. The building in 
 which his business is transacted was built by Elder 
 Philetus Roberts, pastor of the Christian church, 
 about fifteen years ago, and in which his son-in-law, 
 Charles Waltermier, was the first to keep a store. 
 He was here some two years, and was succeeded 
 by Melius & Link, who kept it about a year ; then 
 Carroll & Knickerbacker, one year, then Carroll 
 alone for two years, from whom the present pro- 
 prietor purchased. Mr. Knickerbacker is a native 
 of Milan, born in 1842. 
 
 The only other merchant here is John H. Miller, 
 who has been in business here sixteen years, suc- 
 ceeding David P. Ketcham, who had conducted 
 the store six years. The business was established 
 by William Stewart in 1835, by whom it was con- 
 ducted until 1856. Mr. Miller is a native of Clin- 
 ton born in 1842, and has been a resident of 
 Stanford thirty-one years. 
 
 Hiram J. Wing, harness and horse furnishing 
 goods, has been in business here since 1875. His 
 
 * This, on the maps, is often incorrectly spelled " Bear Market." 
 
 place of business is in a part of the building 
 erected for the lodge of Good Templars, and 
 abandoned by them in the fall of 187 1. 
 
 The other business interests of Stanfordville are 
 two wagon and blacksmith shops (Edwin Juckett, 
 James VanTassel) ; a manufactory for wheels, fel- 
 loes, shafts, etc., established by David P. Ketcham 
 in 1879; Silas Rogers & Co.'s axle manufactory ; 
 and a paper and grist-mill. 
 
 The manufactory of Rogers & Company was 
 fo.unded by Silas Rogers in 1843. He began first 
 at wagon making, blacksmithing, and the manufac- 
 ture of edge tools, and in 1854 started the busi- 
 ness of manufacturing axles, which has become an 
 important industry. He died July 8, 1878, and the 
 business is now conducted by his family. 
 
 The paper-mill was originally a grist-mill, and 
 was converted into a steam drying paper-mill by 
 Whipple Newell, about forty-five years ago. It was 
 burned down in 1844, and on a portion of the site 
 a cotton-batting mill was erected, which had but a 
 brief existence. In 1852, H. B. Gildersleeve built 
 additions to this mill, and began the manufacture 
 of loft-dried, straw wrapping-paper. In 1862 David 
 P. Ketcham bought the mill, enlarged it, and con- 
 tinued the business until 1865, when he changed 
 from loft drying to steam drying and run until 
 November 29, 1865, when the mill was burned. 
 He immediately rebuilt the mill and, in May, 1866, 
 resumed the business, which he has since con- 
 ducted. The mill runs steadily, with a yearly pro- 
 duction of 600 tons of wrapping paper. 
 
 The grist-mill was built by Seaman & Northrop 
 in 1857, and by them was run until the spring of 
 1 86 1, when Northrop went out of the business, and 
 Seaman traded the property to George T. Pierce 
 for a hotel at Port Ewen. Pierce owned the mill 
 until 1 864, leasing it to John Tweedy, who ran it 
 a short time, when he sold it to Shelden & 
 Scriver. They run the mill until the dam was 
 swept away. May 15, 1865, which ended their 
 ownership. The property passed to the possession 
 of the City National Bank, of Poughkeepsie, and 
 the mortgagees rebuilt the dam, engaged a man 
 named Rifenburgh to run the mill, and, in the 
 spring of 1866, sold the property at private sale to 
 Alonzo Buell. Buell owned the mill one year and 
 sold it to Tomkins & Justus, who run it until 
 1872, when James Haight bought out Justus, and 
 under the firm name of Haight & Company (Geo. 
 P. Tompkins) the mill is now conducted. 
 
 Stanford Lodge, No. 150. K. P., was organized 
 December 20, 1870. The charter members were: 
 
294 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 M. S. Duncan, D. W. Hitchcock, S. O. Rogers, 
 William Barrett, James H. Haight, L. H. Williams, 
 R. Mosher, F. M. Tallmadge, G. E. Rogers, Hiram 
 J. Wing, Henry J. Knickerbocker, D. W. Guern- 
 sey and T. G. Palmer. The Lodge meets each 
 Wednesday evening. 
 
 At Stanfordville is located The Christian Bibli- 
 cal Institute, a free school founded "for the purpose 
 of educating pious individuals for the Gospel Min- 
 istry. " Christian men and women of whatever 
 denomination, who come with suitable capacity, 
 proper commendations, and purpose of life work in 
 the ministry, are welcomed to the advantages 
 offered by this Institute. There is no charge for 
 tuition, nor for the use of class-books, reading-room 
 and library. A three years' course of studies is 
 offered to students having requisite preparation. 
 
 This Institute also seeks to be useful to worthy 
 students who have not had ample opportunities for 
 education. For such there is a preparatory year. 
 The Institute was incorporated by the Legisla- 
 ture of New York, in 1868. The school was open- 
 ed October 6th, 1869, at Starkey Seminary, Yates 
 County, where for three years the Institute remain- 
 ed. In October, 1872, the Institute was removed 
 to its present locality, on the avenue between the 
 villages of Stanfordville and Bangall. 
 
 The Institute Corporation own a farm of sixty 
 acres, whereon are farm buildings, a dwelling for 
 the President of the school, two tenement houses 
 for students, and the " Student's Home," and the 
 school building called the Christian Biblical Insti- 
 tute. The two costly and beautiful buildings last 
 named were built at the expense of the Hon. 
 David Clark, of Hartford, Conn., who, in 1874, 
 gave them both as a free gift to the corporation. 
 
 The Christian Biblical Institute was founded by 
 the American Christian Convention, at a quadren- 
 nial session held at Marshall, Michigan, in 1866. 
 Rev. Austin Craig, D. D., the late venerable 
 President and Biblical Lecturer of this Institute 
 was born in Peapack, Somerset County, N. J., July 
 14, 1824, and was the only son of Moses and 
 Rachael Craig. He enjoyed the usual educational 
 advantages of his native village, and at the age of 
 sixteen entered LaFayette College, at Easton, 
 Penn., where he finished his course in 1844. In 
 that year he united with the New Jers'ey Christian 
 Conference, with which body he held his member- 
 ship until his death. 
 
 By this Conference he was licensed to preach, 
 and soon after was ordained to the ministry. He 
 then spent two years more at LaFayette College, in 1 
 
 which he acquired so thorough a knowledge of the 
 languages connected with Jewish literature that 
 he has been regarded by such eminent scholars as 
 Horace Mann, and others, as one of the foremost 
 scholars in biblical science in America. 
 
 In 1847 he preached in Feltville, N. J. In 
 1848 he was called to the Pearl .Street Christian 
 Church in Fall River., Mass., where he preached a 
 year. He then accepted a call to the church in 
 Blooming Grove, Orange county, N. Y. In this 
 large and influential church he remained until 1854, 
 when, at the urgent solicitation of Hon. Horace 
 Mann, President of Antioch College, he accepted 
 an important trust in that new institution. . Here 
 he remained one year, and then returned to the 
 Blooming Grove Church, returning again to the 
 College in 1857, for another season of educational 
 work. In 1858 he again resufted his labors in the 
 Blooming Grove church, remaining there seven 
 years. In 1865 he was a third time called to An- 
 tioch College and remained there three years 
 during a part of which time he was Acting Presi- 
 dent. In 1868 he was called to the North Chris- 
 tian Church, New Bedford, Mass., the largest and 
 most influential church of the Christian connec- 
 tion. This pastorate was brief (as was expected 
 by the church), as he was to take the Presidency 
 of the Christian Biblical Institute whenever the 
 trustees of this institution were ready to open the 
 school. This was done in October, 1869, at Ed- 
 dytown, Yates county, N. Y. He died suddenly, 
 after a few hours' illness, at his residence in Stan- 
 fordville, August 27, r88i, a few days before the 
 opening of the thirteenth school year of the Insti- 
 tution of which he had been the President and 
 father from its beginning. 
 
 The Christian Church of Stanfordville, was or- 
 ganized about the year 1837. This was a branch 
 of the Milan Christian Church which was organ- 
 ized in the fall of 1820, and was organized by Rev. 
 Joseph Marsh, who at that time preached at Milan 
 and held monthly meetings with this church in 
 Stanfordville. 
 
 Amos Knapp and a Mr. Sherril were among the 
 first members when the church was organized. 
 About 1843 Amos Knapp gave the land upon 
 which the church now stands, and it was deeded to 
 
 the organization with this proviso : 
 
 " That it was given to the First Christian Church 
 of Stanfordville, to be used by them whenever they 
 chose, and, when not in use by them the house 
 could be used by worshippers of any denomination : 
 and m the event that the organization ceased to 
 exist, the property was to revert to him or his heirs " 
 
TOWN OF STANFORD. 
 
 295 
 
 Mrs. Abigail Roberts preached here after Elder 
 Marsh. Rev. Philetus Roberts was pastor over 
 this church for thirty years. Then came Elder 
 Elias Jones, three years ; David I. Putnam, seven 
 years ; WiUiam Lane, one year ; A. N. Henry, 
 student of Christian Biblical Institute, four 
 months, and Alva H. Morrill, the present pastor, 
 now in his third year. The church edifice was 
 built about 1843. The present membership is 
 about 153. 
 
 The Society of Friends was organized here some 
 time previous to the year 1800. The first meeting 
 house was built in that year, and is still standing, 
 the lower part being used as a tenement house and 
 the upper part as a pubUc hall. Among the early 
 members of this denomination were the Hulls, 
 Wings, Guernseys, Moshers and Uptons, Paul Up- 
 ton being a zealous member, and his house the 
 stopping place of the Friends at the time of Quar- 
 terly meetings. At the Elias Hicks separation, in 
 1828, those who did not follow that dissenter built 
 the house which is now used for worship, and 
 which stands on the brow of the hill near the vil- 
 lage of Stan ford ville. This meeting has thirty- 
 seven members. 
 
 Among old physicians of the town were, Dr. 
 Leonard Barton, who practiced here previous to 
 thirty years ago, and whose name appears on the 
 town records as town clerk in 1797, and as super- 
 visor in iSiS, '19, '20 and '29; Dr. Buckman, who 
 died nearly thirty years since at an advanced age, 
 and who had practiced many years ; Dr. Guernsey, 
 who also practiced here previous to thirty years 
 ago ; and Drs. Benjamin and John Thome, broth- 
 ers, who, between thirty and forty years ago, were 
 practitioners of some note. Benjamin died some 
 four years ago, and John died in the town of 
 Washington in 1879. 
 
 The physicians now residing here are: — Dr. 
 Isaac M. Huntling, a native of Stanford, born in 
 1817, graduated from University of Pennsylvania, 
 at Philadelphia, in 1841, and began his practice in 
 the town of Amenia, where he remained nine 
 years. In the fall of 1863 he entered the United 
 States service as contract surgeon, employed by 
 the Freedman's Bureau, and was stationed at St. 
 Helena twenty-three months. In the spring of 
 1866 he resumed his practice in Stanford, remained 
 six years and went to Pine Plains where he lived 
 five years, when he returned to Stanford, where he 
 has since practiced. 
 
 Monroe Traver Pultz, M. D., was born in Rhine- 
 beck in 1843, graduated from the College of Phy- 
 
 sicians and Surgeons, New York city, in 1868, in 
 which year he began his practice in Stanford. 
 
 Dr. Augustus Angell, a native of Salt Point, 
 Duchess county, born in 1854, graduated from the 
 New York Homeopathic Medical College in 1881, 
 and began his practice in this village. 
 
 Bangall. 
 
 The village of Bangall Ues near the center of the 
 town, on the Newburgh, Duchess and Connecticut 
 Railroad. It has a population of 154. The name 
 of this place was derived from a Yankee phrase. 
 At . an early day, according to the older residents, 
 a Yankee tin peddler, driving the attenuated horse 
 peculiar to that traffic, passed through here pl3ang 
 his trade, and was made the sport of a crowd of 
 mischievous boys, who, after badgering him awhile, 
 concluded their fun by knocking his horse in the 
 head. This was a climax of persecution for which 
 he was unprepared, and, as he stood contemplat- 
 ing his dead animal, he gave vent to the character- 
 istic-Yankee ejaculation, "Well, this does bang 
 all ! " The story, with its droll expression of the 
 superlative in persecution, was handed around 
 until the phrase became the appellation of this lo- 
 caUty. 
 
 Among the earliest settlers here at Bangall were 
 the Sutherlands, who, in 1815, built the house in 
 which John BuUis now lives.* 
 
 The postmaster here is John BuUis, who was 
 appointed under Lincoln's first administration. 
 
 The parties now engaged in business are : — 
 Thaddeus Knickerbacker, general merchant, who 
 has been in business here seven years ; Charles H. 
 Humphrey, general merchant, a native of Pough- 
 keepsie, born in 1828, who began business here in 
 1865, succeeding Charles Gregory, who previously 
 conducted the business for seven years ; John June, 
 stoves and general tinware, who began business 
 here in 1869 ; Henry Mills, a native of Stanford, 
 born in 1851, cigars, tobacco and confectionery, 
 in business ten years ; Edward Ham,t a native of 
 Pine Plains, born in 1842, harness shop and horse 
 furnishing goods, in business here four years. 
 
 Besides these, are the shoe shop of Isaac Clark, 
 who has been in that business here thirty years ; 
 the blacksmith shops of Colby & Condon, and 
 Marvin ; the wagon shop of John Cassedy, and the 
 painting rooms of Milton P. Badger. 
 
 Bangall has one hotel, an old stand, the memory 
 
 * BuiJt by Colonel Sutherland. 
 
 t Volunteer from New York in i86i, in 5th N. Y. Heavy Art., served 
 3 years and 7 months. 
 
296 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 of the oldest citizen not being able to locate the 
 precise date of its erection. It is superior to many 
 hotels in much larger places than this. Erastus 
 Hicks, who has been here three years, is the present 
 proprietor. 
 
 The only physician at this place is Dr. Elmore 
 Losee, a native of Saratoga County, born May 23, 
 182 1, who graduated from Castleton Medical 
 College, Vermont, November 25, 1846. In 
 1850, he came to Duchess County and practiced 
 two years in Red Hook, then removed to Bangall 
 where for thirty years he has been an attentive 
 practitioner. 
 
 Daniel W. Guernsey, a prominent lawyer of the 
 County, and whose home is in the village, was born 
 in Stanford March 29, 1834. He was educated at 
 a private school maintained by his father and Col. 
 John Thompson, and at Newburgh Academy. He 
 studied law at Buffalo with George W. Houghton, 
 Judge of the Superior Court, and D. F. Clark, his 
 partner, and was admitted to practice in March, 
 1856. From that year until 1861 he was in Kan- 
 sas, when he returned home, joined the 47th Regt. 
 N. Y. Vols., and remained in the army until the 
 close of the war, enlisting as a private and pro- 
 moted to a captaincy. 
 
 The village has three churches, the Methodist 
 and First and Second Baptist. 
 
 The Methodist Episcopal Church was erected in 
 the year 1843. Previous to that year meetings 
 were occasionally held in the neighboring school- 
 house. As near as can be^learned the Rev. Will- 
 iam Thatcher was the first pastor; at any rate he 
 assisted in organizing the society, and was chair- 
 man of the first meeting held for that purpose. 
 
 The first meeting to effect an organization was 
 held July 22, 1843, at the residence of Benjamin 
 R Myers, in this town. The first Board of Trus- 
 tees were Leonard Winans, Samuel D. Rider, 
 Jacob Davis, Benjamin Myers and Joseph Shelley. 
 Leonard Winans gave all the timber for the frame 
 of the church edifice, drawing a large portion of it 
 from Poughkeepsie, boarded free of charge the 
 workmen who built the house, and donated one 
 hundred dollars. But for his exertions it is doubt- 
 ful if there would ever have been a Methodist 
 Episcopal Church in Bangall. Samuel D. Rider, 
 Benjamin Myers and others, also did much toward 
 the building of the church. 
 
 From the organization of the society until about 
 i860, it was united under one pastorate with the 
 M. E. church at Pine Plains. In about that year 
 this connection was severed, and this society was 
 
 united under one pastorate with the M. E. church 
 at Milan, and so remains at this date. 
 
 From the organization up to about i860, the list 
 of pastors is incomplete,* but the following served 
 as pastors during that period: — Mathew Van 
 Dusen, S. M. Vail, Thomas Ellis, M. R. Lent, 
 A. H. Ferguson, Mr. Murphey. From i860, the 
 following has been the succession of pastors : Revs. 
 
 0. Haviland, D. B. Turner, N. Hubbell, Thomas 
 Ellis, J. H. Phillips, H. B. Mead, F. J. Belcher, 
 S. P. Galloway, and the present pastor, the Rev. 
 Jesse Ackerman.f 
 
 The Second Baptist Church, at Bangall, was 
 organized February 2, i860, at the house of Isaac 
 
 1. Wright. 
 
 The church edifice was erected in the fall and 
 winter of i860 and '61. The society was recog- 
 nized by a council of the .Baptist denomination 
 April 18, 1861. The first officers were Phineas K. 
 Sackett, Chapel Robinson, William Crandall, 
 Deacons; Isaac I. Wright, Phineas K. Sackett, 
 Chapel Robinson, Trustees ; Joel S. Winans 
 Clerk. 
 
 The pastors have been as follows: Rev. Mr. 
 Perkins, as supply, six months ; Rev. G. F. Hen- 
 drickson, from October 19, 1861, to 1866; Rev. 
 Halsey Moore, 1866 to 1869; Rev. LaFayette 
 Moore, March, 1870 to Sept. 12, 1872 ; Rev. James 
 W. Grant, Sept. 19, 1874, to March 24, 1875. 
 The last pastor was Rev. Mathew Johnston, who 
 served three years and a half. The church was 
 also supplied by the Rev. George B. Vosburgh. 
 The present membership is 51. 
 
 The First Baptist Church is the oldest in the 
 town, and possesses considerable historic interest. 
 Its first records are dated Great Nine Partners. 
 Charlotte Precinct, N. Y. 
 
 The first members appear to have emigrated 
 from Massachusetts. The first record dates back 
 to the year 1755, and reads as follows :— 
 
 " Whiereas, there were a few of us, of the Bap- 
 tist faith and order, settled in this wilderness as 
 sheep having no Shepherd, being destitute of the 
 glorious privileges which our dear Redeemer hath 
 purchased for us, of having the gospel Preached 
 among us and the ordinances administered under 
 His law and Solemn cause, we thought it needful 
 to meet together and to give up ourselves to God 
 by^prayer and supplication, with continuance. 
 
 " God was pleased to add unto us some more 
 souls, which gives us great reason to hope God did 
 own this our free-will offering, whereupon we con- 
 tinued ass embling together till in the year 1759, 
 
 •During the connection with Pine Plains, whose pastors also served 
 here. 
 
 t To whom we are indebted for the history of this church. 
 
TOWN OF STANFORD. 
 
 297 
 
 on the 15th day of October. Then we were em- 
 bodied together here in Duchess County, and in 
 the province of New York, and did make choice 
 of two, viz.: Ephraim Bullock and Comer Bullock 
 to be as under Shepherds over us, to preach the 
 gospel, and administer the ordinances among us, 
 which were established, and authorized, by the in- 
 finite goodness of God. 
 
 " We had the presence and assistance of Elder 
 Jabez Wood and Elder Robert Wheaton, who 
 were Elders of the First Baptist Church m the 
 town of Swansea, in the County of Bristol, and in 
 the province of Massachusetts Bay, in New Eng- 
 land." 
 
 The next record is dated June 6th, 1772, when 
 the Church chose two brethren to draw lots for 
 one to serve as deacon, which lot fell upon 
 Richard Bullock, Jr., who some time after was 
 authorized. 
 
 Then follows an account of a withdrawal of 
 some members from the Mother Church because 
 the latter " sang by rule Watts' Psalms," together 
 with an account of the uneasiness which fell upon 
 some of the withdrawing members, who afterwards 
 desired to make recantation to the Mother Church, 
 find were informed by the other seceding members 
 that they " could not walk with us if we made our 
 confession to them and allowed the singing of 
 Watts' Psalms, which thing we find it our duty to 
 do." Thereupon twenty-four brethren and sisters 
 left assembling with them and for some time did 
 not meet together for worship, but having a con- 
 ference thought it their duty to attend the worship 
 of God as soon as there was a door open. Soon after 
 there was a fervent call in the neighborhood which 
 they readily accepted, and appointed a conference 
 for those scattered members, who, when assembled 
 together, were found to be of one opinion, and who 
 after several conferences thought it " our duty to 
 give up ourselves to God and each other as fellow 
 members, to walk together in visible communica- 
 tion, which we entered into on this 9th day of May, 
 in the year 1778." Then follows the names of 
 twenty-four more, as being willing to walk together 
 in the Order of the Gospel with singing of Psalms 
 and Hymns as a part of Divine worship. 
 
 For fifty years from the first gathering of Baptists 
 in this then wilderness, we find the church incul- 
 cating its principles and establishing branches 
 throughout the surrounding country. During that 
 period they had organized branches in eight differ- 
 ent places :— Kinderhook, Oswego, Noble Town, 
 Dover, Daniel Jones', West Branch, South West 
 Branch andRhinebeck. 
 
 The first record of Elder Luman Burch is that 
 
 he closed a church meeting by prayer February 23, 
 
 1805. On the 30th of August the church proposed 
 his ordination which he declined, but June 14, 
 
 1806, a council was convened consisting of Elders 
 Leland, Wood and Johnson, and on the day follow- 
 ing they ordained Luman Burch, the same time 
 they ordained Comer Bullock; a son of Elder Co- 
 mer Bullock, a deacon. 
 
 Among the first whom Elder Burch baptized 
 were Samuel Sackett and Asa Thompson, who 
 became a deacon and for nearly fifty years was a 
 pillar in the church. Thus Elder Burch began his 
 labors with the church, and most of his life as a 
 minister of the gospel was passed here. A new 
 house was raised in July, 1814, andin Aug. 1815, the 
 church met in this house, which was located about 
 one-fourth mile south of the first. Elder Burch 
 followed to a great extent the example of his 
 predecessor. Elder Bullock, in preaching in dif- 
 ferent places, holding services at Fishkill, Amenia, 
 Pleasant Valley and Pine Plains. 
 
 Elder Burch lived in the community for a num- 
 ber of years, and by industry and economy secured 
 a small farm, thus in a great measure supporting 
 himself. He received from the church but a 
 meagre compensation for his services, and, fore- 
 seeing that his successor in the pastoral office must 
 necessarily have a scanty support, and feeling that 
 he himself was responsible for not having educated 
 the church to give more liberally for ministerial sup- 
 port, proposed to the church June 26, 1852, to 
 raise the sum of $r,ooo to build a parsonage, drew 
 up a subscription for the same, and headed it with 
 his own name for $100. The money was raised, 
 and the parsonage built, owing mainly to his sug- 
 gestions and through his influence. He was a 
 worthy successor to the former pastor. The two 
 were the only pastors for the space of a century 
 from 1755 to 1855, when Elder Luman Burch 
 closed his labors as pastor, having been stricken 
 with palsy. He lingered until November 17, 1858, 
 when he died, aged 81 years. 
 
 Elder Elijah Lucas was his successor, beginning 
 his labors Sept. 23, 1855. In January, 1859, a 
 difficulty occurred in which the pastor was involved. 
 At a special meeting held to consider the matter, 
 February 2, 1859, it was found that the charges 
 against Elder Lucas were not sustained by the evi- 
 dence. On the 13th of March, 1859, the pastor 
 asked for a letter of dismission, which was granted. 
 
 Efforts were made to settle the difficulties, even 
 to caUing a council of the Baptist churches in the 
 county, but without avail. As a result a number 
 
298 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 withdrew from the church, and afterwards organ- 
 ized what is now the Second Baptist Church, whose 
 history, in brief, has been given. 
 
 Elder Lucas' successor was John Vassar, who 
 labored for the church several months. October 
 29, 1859, Elder J. Holman's name appears on the 
 record as moderator in the church meetings. He 
 labored with the church as a supply until the last 
 of March, i860, when he became the duly elected 
 pastor, sustaining that relation until November 
 25, 1865, when he tendered his resignation which 
 was accepted, to take effect January ist, 1866. 
 
 The church then invited Elder E. C. Ambler 
 to supply them until the first of April, and on the 
 first of January he began his labors. On the 24th 
 of February the church extended a call to him 
 to become its pastor, and on the first of April 
 he moved his family and took charge of the 
 church. The second house of worship was occu- 
 pied for about fifty-three years. 
 
 In the fall of 1867, a survey was made for the 
 Duchess & Columbia Railroad, which passed 
 through the pulpit, so that subsequently they were 
 obliged to move the house a little more than the 
 width of it to give way for the work on the road. 
 In December the agents for the road met the trus- 
 tees and a committee of the church, when a prop- 
 osition was made to give the church $1,650, which 
 was accepted, when they proceeded to build the 
 present house of worship. This is a fine edifice, 
 65 by 38 feet, and, with the parsonage, is free from 
 debt. The last service in the old house was held 
 December 20, 1867. The new church was dedi- 
 cated May 26, 1869. This house is located about 
 half a mile south of the first church building, and 
 one-fourth mile south of the second, and cost 
 $ 1 2,000. 
 
 Rev. E. C. Ambler remained as pastor of the 
 church seven years, and then resigned. Rev. W. R. 
 Connelly, his successor, came in June, 1874, and 
 remained until April, 1880. He was succeeded 
 by the present pastor, the Rev. Jabez Marshall, 
 who began his labors in September, 1880. The 
 present membership (1881) is 115. 
 
 Stanford in the Rebellion. 
 
 In the War of the Rebellion, Stanford sent quite 
 an array of soldiers to the battle-fields of the south, 
 but in no town records, or other official docu- 
 ments, were kept either the names or the number 
 of the volunteers. 
 
 From a citizen of the town* who kept a partial 
 record, we gather the following n ames :— 
 
 * William Tripp. 
 
 ^Ith Regiment. — Peter Schoonover (dead), 
 Joseph Cox, George B. Kirby, Daniel W. Guern- 
 sey, Joseph C. Gildersleeve, Cyrus E. Hofftail- 
 ing, Henry Cox, Gardener Morris (died in service), 
 John Risedorph, John Manion, Walter Powers, 
 John Broaderick, Henry Phillips, James Coyle 
 (died in service), Norman Cornelius, Michael 
 Wager, James Brady, George Traver, James Dun- 
 bar, Harvey Schoonover, Franklin Risedorph, 
 Josiah A. Stringham (died in the service), William 
 Pendergrass, Peter Wilsey. 
 
 20th Regiment. — Ory S. Payne, Hiram Sackett, 
 George T. Tripp, Amos Travis (killed at Antie- 
 tam), Edgar Risedorph, George Mead (died in the 
 service), John W. Ferris. 
 
 Ira Harris Cavalry. — Adam See (killed in the 
 service), Charles Waldron, John Teator, Philip 
 Fulton, Morgan Strict, Byron Sackett, Kelly 
 Braley, Benjamin Briggs. 
 
 \2Zth Regiment, Co. B. — Rensselaer Mosher, 
 George C. Payne, Curtiss L. Porter (died at Port 
 Hudson,) John E. Anderson, William H. Snyder, 
 Landon P. Rider (died in the service,) Edgar 
 George (died at Baton Rouge,) John M. Mclntyre, 
 Sherman H. Williams, Barton [or Bartlett] H. 
 Bishop, Henry V. Wood, Isaac T. Winans, Charles 
 Travers (died in the service), William B. Sackett 
 (dead,) Oliver J. Walters (killed at Winchester,) 
 John H. Palmatier, George A. Drury and John H. 
 Payne. 
 
 Company C— Robert D. Dykeman, Benjamin 
 T. Churchill, Samuel G. Morgan, William Porter, 
 William C. Millroy, Gilbert H. Warner, W. E. 
 Churchill. 
 
 Scattering. — L. Van Wagoner, Co. D ; Adam 
 Waldron, Co. F; Philetus Teator (died in the 
 service,) William Teator, John H. Hoshier and 
 Alfred Shaffer. 
 
 \'i,Qth Regiment — CorneUus N. Campbell, Thos. 
 Wallace, Tallmadge Wood (died in the service,) 
 Alexander Worden, Nicholas Whiteley, Reuben A. 
 Husted, Henry Sigler (died in the service,) Thos. 
 BulHs, Jesse B. Foster, Henry Hicks, Alfred 
 Seeley, William Briggs, John Briggs, Rensselaer 
 Worden, James Newman, Albert Knapp, George 
 Lovelace (died in the service,) William Gurney, 
 George Dunbar, James Horton, (died in the 
 service,) Henry T. Smith, (died in the service,;^ 
 Nicholas Hickey, William Ackert, John Schoon- 
 over, (died in the service,) Albert Allen, Patrick 
 Griffin, Alonzo Vanderburgh, Robert Wagoner, 
 (deserted,) Walter L. Allen, (died in the service,) 
 Sidney D. Boughton, (died in the service,) Abraham 
 
(iZ£-6.e_- 
 
 -'Z-^^^-^ 
 
 &ig^ bil H tlHnV ^Sms 1:\ fiim-lai, ,V N ;, 
 
TOWN OF HYDE PARK. 
 
 299 
 
 N. Hull, (deserted,) Henry Teator, Joseph Mc- 
 Dowell, William Cash, Oscar Parks, (died in the 
 service,) Philander Wordon, (died in the service,) 
 William Barton, Richard N. Hapeman, (died in 
 the service,) and H. F. Roberts. 
 
 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 
 
 HON. ISAAC S. CARPENTER. 
 
 Isaac Smith Carpenter, son of Morgan and 
 Maria Bockee Carpenter, resides in Stanford, at 
 the homestead formerly occupied by his father and 
 grandfather, where he was born June 24, 1828. 
 He was liberally educated, having pursued an 
 academic and classical course of study for six 
 years. 
 
 In 1851, he married Julia Wilson, daughter of 
 Hiram Wilson, Esq., of Pine Plains. She having 
 died May 22, 1858, he was married Sept. 5, 1861, 
 to Sarah R., also a daughter of Hiram Wilson. 
 He has six children, three from each marriage, 
 viz.: Eliza, Maria B., Morgan, Wilson, Julia and 
 S. Louisa. 
 
 Originally a Whig he joined the Republican 
 party at its organization. He was Supervisor of 
 Stanford in 1859, and from 1877 to '79 inclusive, 
 and chairman of the Board in 1878-79. He was 
 elected to the Assembly 1879, and again in 1880, 
 receiving each year a very large majority, and serv- 
 ing each term as a member of the Committee on 
 Ways and Means. He is a member of ' the Pres- 
 byterian church and has for many years taken an 
 active interest in whatever pertains to the moral 
 elevation and spiritual welfare of the community. 
 In 1880 the desire was very generally expressed by 
 the RepubUcans of Duchess County, that he should 
 be their candidate for State Senator, but he would 
 not consent to the use of his name at the conven- 
 tion. Probably no citizen of the county possesses 
 to a greater extent the confidence and respect of 
 the people. 
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 History of the Town of Hyde Park. 
 
 WHEN we look back through the misty 
 past to reflect upon the scenes and in- 
 cidents pecuHar to the early settlement and pros- 
 perity of a locality, we find much that to the 
 matter-of-fact inquisitor, is left in obscurity 
 through the absence of documents to verify the 
 truth. It is then that tradition steps forward, 
 though a fickle chronicler, and relates her pleasing 
 
 reminiscences, that far too often are found to be 
 exaggerated. 
 
 In the early days of our country the extreme 
 poverty of the pioneers and other uncontrolled 
 circumstances, made it impossible for them to 
 leave a record of their business and social transac- 
 tions. It was enough for them to leave their 
 native land where royal exactions kept them in 
 poverty and ignorance, and brave the labors at- 
 tending the removal of the forest and the rearing 
 of homes, while struggling on in the rut of dis- 
 advantage to eke out a livelihood. While thus 
 battling, their industry and perseverance gave to 
 them an independence that was sweet to their 
 burdened souls, and awoke at last their spirits to 
 cry liberty, and nerved the arms of their children 
 to battle manfully the minions of tyranny, and 
 plant freedom upon our soil. 
 
 Tradition does not tell us who were the first 
 settlers of this town, nor the time they located. 
 In 1687, we find a goodly share of the lands com- 
 prising the town, was purchased by nine men 
 who formed a co-partnership under the name of 
 " Nine Partners.'' In surveying the same, they 
 divided it in such a manner that nine of the lots 
 were bounded by the river on the west and were 
 called the "water lots,'' of which the town chiefly 
 consists. A few of the "partners'' located upon the 
 lands and induced many Germans that immigrated 
 in 1709-10, to settle as tenants. A few purchased, 
 whose descendants are still to be found within the 
 county. In the course of a few years, as specula- 
 tion in lands became rife, one Jacob Stoutenburgh, 
 a Hollander and trader from Westchester, pur- 
 chased an interest in one of the " water lots,'' and 
 began the first settlement of Hyde Park village 
 near the present landing. He became interested 
 in these lands about the year 1735, and undoubt- 
 edly located a few famihes soon after, as in 1740 
 we fiiid he had a storehouse and a shop, but of 
 what nature we have been unable to learn. We 
 may presume, however, that being a tradesman, he 
 furnished the settlers with the necessaries of life, 
 in exchange for which he obtained the common 
 barter of hunters, farmers and Indians. He may 
 have removed to this place at that time, but the 
 impression is he did not until the year 1792, when 
 he must have been a very aged man. 
 
 Jacob married Margaret Teller, a direct de- 
 scendant of Anneke Jans, the marriage taking 
 place in New York city soon after their arrival. 
 
 In 1752, he with several others, sold a tract of 
 land to Barent Lewis, which undoubtedly was the 
 
3°° 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 land Morgan Lewis afterwards owned and lived 
 upon, and now occupied by N. Pendleton Rogers. 
 He may have been sole owner of one of the water 
 lots, as P. H. Smith states in his History of 
 Duchess Co., but we think he owned in part, as 
 all conveyances of large tracts or farms from him 
 mention others as being connected with him. 
 
 The same author says, " He gave to his son 
 Luke, three hundred and fifty acres located about 
 Hyde Park. " One of the houses he built, perhaps 
 for himself, is still standing south of the village and 
 is a monument of his enterprise and the architect- 
 ure of that early day. Tradition's pleasing story 
 is to the effect, that General Washington, the 
 sainted chieftain, once made his home within its 
 time-honored walls for several weeks. Following 
 the wearied steps of the General, we can but think 
 it was at the time that Gates stood before Burgoyne 
 upon the upper Hudson in 1777, to contest his 
 passage to Albany. Withdrawing to this place of 
 quiet, accessible to all facts and near the Council 
 of Safety — perhaps he here laid the plans to which 
 he adhered during the campaign of that and the 
 succeeding year. Perhaps he was here when the 
 shout of victory from Bemis Heights echoed along 
 the historic valley, and awoke the proud Clinton to 
 a sense of the patriots strength and fortitude. May 
 the intelligence and patriotism of Hyde Park pre- 
 serve the old building thus consecrated, without a 
 mar or change, as but few such relics are to be 
 found. Modern enterprise and vandalism have 
 nearly annihilated them all, with their eager fingers 
 of demolition. 
 
 Another of Stoutenburgh's houses still stands at 
 Union Comers, which was built for his son 
 William, and is now occupied by Mr. VanWagener. 
 The family are yet to be found within the town and 
 vicinity and have been identified with the political 
 interest of the town and county for a long terra of 
 years. Isaac Stoutenburgh was a member of the 
 second, third and fourth Provincial Congresses ; was 
 State Senator from 1779 to 1787, and was elected 
 to the "Council of Appointments " in 1781. The 
 Legislature appointed him Commissioner for the 
 building of Newgate Prison in 1796, and he was 
 appointed by the Governor, Inspector of Prisons in 
 1797- T. S. Stoutenburgh was Member of 
 Assembly in 1807 and 1808, and others of the 
 the same family have held offices of less note. 
 
 When the Council of Safety was sitting at 
 Poughkeepsie, they received for the forts below, 
 supplies from the Mohawk and Schoharie valleys! 
 These were drawn by teams belonging to the 
 
 patriots living in the section that contributed. 
 Such was their zeal in the cause of liberty, that 
 they voluntarily drew such articles as the sub-com- 
 mittee collected, long distances, which incurred 
 many hardships and often dangers. A son, long 
 since dead, of a revolutionary farmer and patriot 
 of Schoharie, related to the writer an incident that 
 occurred at " Stoutenburgh's Landing,'' in which 
 the father took an active part. There were several 
 teams in company and they reached this place 
 near night, but desired to reach Poughkeepsie be- 
 fore nightfall. In order to do so with "lively 
 spirits," they stopped to take a " horn of grog," 
 and while enjoying the beverage a "stump" to 
 wrestle was made by one of the occupants of the 
 bar-room, which was readily accepted by the 
 Schoharie teamster. The parties clinched, and for 
 a while it was an even match, but the Schohariean 
 becoming impatient, hurried matters and threw his 
 man, upon which the party residing here decided 
 the fall to be unfair. Having an eye upon Pough- 
 keepsie, the teamster refused to try again, and 
 when passing out the door, was caught and roughly 
 handled by a burly fellow. The ire of the Scho- 
 harieans became aroused, and turning upon the 
 party they all enjoyed a free knock-down. After 
 taking another " horn all round " they again com- 
 menced, and not until ten o'clock at night did they 
 release their visitor. He being " too long winded, 
 they were severely chastised, but separated the 
 best of friends." 
 
 Where now stands Staatsburgh, during the Revo- 
 lution resided the Staat family, whose circle of 
 acquaintances and relations was large in the 
 Mohawk Valley. Their residence was another 
 stopping place for those of that section, and there 
 many a gala time was enjoyed, regardless of the 
 "troubled political waters." 
 
 Many of the old German stock, as we "have in- 
 timated, were partial to the King. They were 
 conscientious in their loyalty, through gratitude 
 towards that government for transporting them 
 from their native country to America, and placing 
 them upon fertile lands for a nominal sum, which, 
 as they became able, they paid. They were but 
 delving, heavy taxed tenants of extravagant Pala- 
 tines, and were kept under the yoke of oppression 
 by the general government. They lived in poverty 
 and ignorance, and when brought here, they felt too 
 grateful to ask for greater blessings. Their con- 
 sciences led them to remain, as they, by solemn ' 
 oath affirmed, to be true to the King. As a class, 
 they were not desperate in their loyalty, and dese- 
 
"THE LOCU 
 
:usTS.' 
 
TOWN OF HYDE PARK. 
 
 301 
 
 crated not the principles of honor and reason 
 by committing atrocious deeds ; on the contrary 
 they were quiet and inactive. An occasional 
 "evil spirit" among them, embraced the oppor- 
 tunity given, to commit inhuman crimes under 
 the guise of loyalty and necessity, which in those 
 days were placed to the credit of the whole High 
 Dutch race, by the less magnanimous Low Dutch; 
 but we are too far advanced in intelligence and 
 reason, to accuse the many of the evil deeds of the 
 few. There were also many faithful patriots 
 among that class, and we invariably find they were 
 those, or the children of those, who were led to 
 mistrust the honesty of the EngUsh government, 
 through the dishonorable peculations of the officials 
 placed over them, in their first emigration to this 
 country. 
 
 We have already mentioned the fact that Bar- 
 ent Lewis purchased of Jacob Stoutenburgh and 
 others, a tract of land lying near Hyde Park. In 
 the division of the Nine Partners, we think the 
 lands lying here fell to Hendrick TenEyck, of 
 whom Jacob Stoutenburgh and others purchased. 
 In 1797, Jacob and Catharine Lewis conveyed the 
 property, purchased by Barent, to Morgan Lewis, 
 then living at "Rombout." Here Gen. Lewis 
 lived many years in a manner becoming his sta- 
 tion, and exhibited that generous hospitality for 
 which he became noted. His life was a busy and 
 useful one, and a worthy example for the youth 
 to notice. From " Jenkins'" Governors of New 
 York " we cull the public life of Duchess' honored 
 son. 
 
 He was born in the city of New York, October 
 16, 1754, and educated at Elizabeth Academy and 
 Princeton College, from which he took his degree. 
 He afterward entered the law office of John Jay, 
 one of the brightest professionals of the day. 
 While engaged in his studies, he joined (1774) a 
 volunteer company composed mainly of his asso- 
 ciates, or those about the same age as himself, 
 who had united together for the purpose of per- 
 fecting themselves in military discipline under the 
 instruction of one of the soldiers of the " Great 
 Frederick." The ability of the teacher and the 
 manner in which they profited by his tuition, may 
 be inferred from the fact that this one company 
 furnished to the army of the Revolution more than 
 fifty of its best officers. 
 
 Soon after the battle of Bunker Hill, young 
 Lewis was found in arms before Boston, as a vol- 
 unteer in' a rifle company commanded by Captain 
 Ross, of Lancaster, Penn. He soon returned to 
 
 New York, as he was appointed to a command of 
 volunteers, whose first duty was to remove the 
 arms, ordnance, etc., from the battery, in the face 
 of the British ship Asia, sent from Boston to 
 " overawe the city." 
 
 In November following, Capt. Lewis was com- 
 missioned as first Major in the Second Regiment 
 of foot, as the New York militia was organized by 
 the Provincial Congress. He accompanied Gen. 
 Gates to the northern frontier in 1776, as the chief 
 of his staff, with the rank of Colonel, and was soon 
 appointed Quartermaster-General of the Northern 
 department. He was through the Saratoga cam- 
 paign, and rendered as a soldier in common with 
 others of that noble band such efficient duties 
 as marked an event that will resound to all coming 
 time. At the close of the war, he resumed his 
 studies in the city of New York, and was soon 
 admitted to the bar. At this time began his polit- 
 ical career. The Federalists elected him to the 
 State Assembly from New York. Dissolving his 
 connection with the Federalists in 1790, he was 
 elected by the " Repubhcans" to the same position 
 that year. Removing to this county, the electors 
 re-elected him in 1792. He was appointed Attor- 
 ney-General of the State in 1791. The year 1792 
 elected him fourth Judge of the Supreme Court, 
 and in 1801 he rose to the Chief-Justiceship. It 
 is well known that the " Repubhcans " were at that • 
 time the party of the day, so far exceeding the 
 "FederaHsts" in strength, that the latter werebut a 
 shadow of their former greatness. In the campaign 
 of 1804, the Repubhcans were divided and placed 
 two candidates in the field for the gubernatorial 
 chair, Aaron Burr and Morgan Lewis ; the Fed- 
 eralists fading from existence without a candidate. 
 Lewis, being connected with the most powerful 
 family of the State, the Livingstons, also favored 
 by the Clintons, and drawing a large vote from the 
 Federalists, was elected, with the worthy John 
 Broome as Lieutenant-Governor. He was again 
 nominated to the office of Governor, but having 
 displeased the Clintons, was defeated by Daniel D. 
 Tompkins. 
 
 In 1 810, he was elected State Senator. In 
 181 2 he was once more appointed Quarter- 
 master-General, with the rank of Brigadier- 
 General, and was promoted to Major-General 
 in 1813, which position he held till the close of the 
 war. Becoming advanced in years, he retired to 
 private hfe, but was honored in 1835 by being 
 elected President of the New York Historical So- 
 ciety, which position he graced with interest and 
 
302 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 dignity. At the time of his death, which occurred 
 on the sth day of February, i860, he was the pre- 
 siding officer of the State Society of Cincinnati, 
 and the Grand Master of the Masonic Grand 
 Lodge of New York. He married in 1799, Ger- 
 trude Livingston, sister of Robert R. and Edward 
 Livingston. 
 
 His only child, Margaret, married Maturin Living- 
 ston, and lived at Staatsburgh until her death, which 
 occurred on the 9th of February, i860, at the age 
 of eighty years. Throughout her life she endeared 
 herself to those around her, by her affability and 
 charity. 
 
 Maturin, her husband, preceeded her in death 
 many years. Their children were : Maturin, Mor- 
 timer, Lewis, Mrs. Col. Alex. Hamilton, Mrs. Will- 
 iam Lowndes, Mrs. Major Lowndes, Mrs. Henry 
 Livingston and Mrs. G. L. Hoyt. Maturin occu- 
 pied the old mansion at Staatsburgh, a fine resi- 
 dence, where the leading society of the early part 
 of the century often assembled and enjoyed the 
 hospitality for which the family have long been 
 noted. 
 
 The Lewis mansion was long owned by Hon. J. 
 K. Paulding, to whom the literary world owes 
 much for many fine productions in both poetry 
 and prose. He was a close associate of Washing- 
 ton Irving, and in sentiment and expression of the 
 same school. The residence is now owned and 
 occupied by N. Pendleton Rogers, a nephew of 
 the late Judge Pendleton. 
 
 About the year 1790, Dr. John Bard, a native 
 of New Jersey, removed to this place, having pur- 
 chased, many years previous, a portion of one of 
 the water lots. He was born in Burlington in 
 1 7 16, and practiced in the city of New York many 
 years, as leading physician and surgeon, and was 
 also President of the State Medical Society for a 
 long time. He passed his last days here, upon the 
 place now owned by Mrs. Kirkpatrick, upon which 
 he spent large sums of money, making it the finest 
 estate of the vicinity for that early day. He died 
 April I, 1799, and was followed by his son. Dr. 
 Samuel Bard, who was born in the city of New 
 York in 1742. He was the originator of the hos- 
 pital and of the medical school of that city, and 
 long a professor of the latter. After acquiring a 
 portion of his education he pursued his studies in 
 the best schools of France, England and Scotland, 
 and received his degree in Edinburgh in 1765. In 
 1813 he was elected President of the Medical 
 College, which position he held until his death, 
 which o«curred here on the 24th of May, 1821. 
 
 His last request was complied with, by burying him 
 beneath a tree in front of his mansion, where he 
 had spent many days in study and meditation. 
 His remains were, however, re-interred in the St. 
 James cemetery, where they he with the ashes of 
 his kindred. The Doctor was deeply interested 
 in educational matters, and with other gentlemen 
 who had purchased retreats near him, established 
 a fine school under his son WilUam as principal. 
 The school building stood to the south of the rail- 
 road depot, and was one of the best institutions 
 found outside of the city of New York. Among 
 those that gave a helping hand to the enterprise, 
 was Nathaniel Pendleton, a native of Virginia, a 
 scholar and jurist. He held various offices before 
 he left that State for the North, and after locating 
 in New York City was elected to the Assembly, 
 (181 6- 17) and held other positions of trust. He 
 was taking a ride upon the old Poughkeepsie road 
 on the 20th of October, 182 1, when his horse be- 
 came frightened as he was descending a hill and he 
 was thrown from the carriage. His head striking a 
 stone he was instantly killed. He was sixty-six 
 years of age, and a true type of the old Virginians, 
 intelligent and hospitable. His son, Edmond Hen- 
 ry, also studied law, and was Judge of the Court of 
 Common Pleas of Duchess County from January 
 6, 1830 to January 20, 1840. In 1831 he was 
 elected to Congress, and held his seat until March 
 3, 1863. As a jurist. Judge Pendleton was just, 
 expeditious and thorough. As a lawyer, practical, 
 conscientious and most honorable. 
 
 Another gentleman of taste and culture that 
 established a country home at Hyde Park, was the 
 late Dr. Hosack, long a professor in the New York 
 Medical college, and author of several medical 
 works of great value to the profession. He built 
 the fine residence now occupied by Walter Lang- 
 don, and here spent his latter years in quiet enjoy- 
 ment, surrounded by all the pleasures that wealth 
 and a rSfined taste could command. Being a 
 healthy and romantic locality and easy of access to 
 New York city, the grounds l)ing between the old 
 Kings road and the river, within the town of Hyde 
 Park, have long been occupied by wealthy fami- 
 lies as country residences. At present, beside 
 those already named are those of ex-Lieutenant- 
 Governor Dorsheimer, James Roosevelt, the heirs 
 of Elias Butler, Stuyvesants, Smiley the bank note 
 engraver, Mrs. Daniel S. Miller, Mrs. Kirkpatrick,^ 
 Mrs. Hoyt, and William Dinsmore the president 
 of the Adams Express Company. From each of 
 these mansions can be seen a long stretch of the 
 
"THE LOCUSTS"— THE LAW 
 
m IN FRONT OF RESIDENCE. 
 
TOWN OF HYDE PARK. 
 
 303 
 
 Hudson, upon which are continually floating in 
 summer time, boats of every description from the 
 ancient canoe to majestic steamers whose grace 
 and elegance surpass the dreams of ancient 
 fancy. The shrill whistle of the steam car is sent 
 forth from the river's edge below them as if to 
 awaken the very air to greater motion and keep 
 pace with the mighty strides that progress here 
 exhibits. 
 
 While enterprise presents its most pleasing pic- 
 ture, nature, not to be outdone, unfolds the grand- 
 est panorama before the eye that she ever presented; 
 mountain, hill, crag and gorge chiselled in romantic 
 grandeur, loom up to the right and left with 
 marked boldness, beauty and impressiveness. 
 
 The eastern part of the town adjoining Pleasant 
 Valley and CHnton, was settled at an early day by 
 Quakers from Rhode Island, Connecticut and Long 
 Island. Among them, were the Moshers, Waters, 
 Frosts, Marshalls, Bakers, Briggs, Halsteads, 
 Hoags and Stringhams. Families by the name of 
 Barber, VanValin and Dickinson, removed from 
 that section to Schoharie county in 1804 and '6, 
 and united with the Friends of Charlestown, 
 Montgomery county, and those of Quaker street, 
 Schenectady county, in their meetings. The old 
 members who removed have long since passed 
 away, leaving their children to unite and conform to 
 the manners and discipline of other sects. The 
 Friends' house of worship was for a long time called 
 the " Crom Elbow meeting house." Author Smith 
 says: "This edifice was erected about the year 
 1780," but we are laboring under the impression 
 that its erection will date back a few years, at least, 
 previous to that date. An old lady living in Scho- 
 harie county in 1856, at the age of eighty-five, 
 attended church here when she was a very small 
 child, not more than four or five years of age, but 
 did not remember the erection of the building. 
 This society like all others of that faith is fast 
 dwindling away, much to the regret of all lovers of 
 honesty, meekness and sobriety. While their life 
 principles are admired and highly respected, their 
 quaint garb and expressions are not agreeable to 
 the taste of the people of to-day. The world pre- 
 sents too many fascinations that are antagonistical 
 to the Friends' biblical doctrine, and hence, but few 
 additions are made to their numbers, while death 
 fast removes those who have " long lived in the 
 faith." No sect, that ever adorned the christian 
 world goes out of existence with so worthy a record, 
 as that of the Friends, socially, morally and spirit- 
 ually. 
 
 The act passed on the 26th day of January, 
 182 1, to divide the town of Clinton, reads as 
 follows : — 
 
 " That from and after the last day of March 
 next, all that part of the town of Clinton lying 
 west of the following line, towit : Beginning in the 
 north line of the town of Poughkeepsie, at the 
 southeast corner of the water lots of the nine part- 
 ners patent, from thence along the east line of the 
 said water lots to the northeast corner thereof, and 
 thence in the same course until it intersects a line 
 running due east from the southeast corner of the 
 farm of John LeRoy, then due west to the said 
 southeast corner of the farm of the said John 
 LeRoy, then along the south line of the said farm 
 of John LeRoy to the Crom Elbow creek, then up 
 said creek to the line of the town of Rhinebeck, 
 shall be known and distinguished as a separate 
 town by the name of Hyde Park, and that the first 
 town meeting in said town shall be held at the 
 house of Philip Bogardus, on the first Tuesday of 
 April next." 
 
 The Hamlet, now the pleasant village of Hyde 
 Park, bore that name as early as 1795, and was 
 so called by Dr. John Bard. Previous to that 
 date its landing was called " Stoutenburgh."* 
 Agreeable to the above Legislative act, on the 
 twenty-fifth of March following, a commission was 
 chosen by the new town and surveyed the same : 
 " Beginning at the southeast corner of the water 
 lots in the Nine Partners patent and run from 
 thence north two degrees and fifty-five minutes 
 west in a direct line to the farm of Ichabod Will- 
 iams and made a monument directly east from the 
 southeast corner of John LeRpy's farm," thereby 
 cutting off the southwest part of the old town of 
 Clinton. The first general town meeting was held 
 as by act, over which P. B. Collins presided as 
 moderator and inspector and the following were by 
 a majority of ballots cast declared elected : James 
 Duane Livingston, Supervisor; Reuben Spenser, 
 Clerk ; Peter A. Schryver, Tobias L. Stouten- 
 burgh and Christopher Hughes, Assessors ; Isaac 
 I. Balding, Collector ; John Lamoree, Abraham O. 
 VanWagenen, Overseers of the Poor; Cornelius 
 VanVleet, Jr., Isaac Stoutenburgh, Willett Mar- 
 shall, Commissioners of Highways ; Rev. Peter S. 
 Wynkoop, Rev. David Brown and Luther Clark 
 Commissioners of Schools ; John Caswell, I. Tom- 
 kins, F. Russell, Inspectors of Schools ; Charles A. 
 Shaw, William Wagenen, Constables. The records 
 continue : — 
 
 "And the following gentlemen were chosen 
 vive voce or by lifting up of hands, viz : David Mul- 
 ford, Peter A. Schryver, Abraham O. VanWagenen, 
 
 * In l77o-'79-'85-'90 there were two distinct places. ** Stoutenburgh" 
 and/' .Staatsboro." 
 
304 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 Peter I. Schryver, Andrew Philips, Nehemiah, 
 Hoag, and Benjamin DeLamater, Fence-viewers ; 
 Garrett P. Lansing, Abraham Lansing, Barent 
 VanWagnen, Pound-masters." 
 
 It was resolved that sheep and hogs " shall not 
 be allowed to run at large unless well yoked and 
 rung.'' " A vote was taken and passed that eight 
 hundred dollars be raised in the town for the sup- 
 port of the poor for the ensuing year." 
 
 The following is the list of supervisors and clerks 
 elected in the town, and the date of serving : — 
 
 Supervisors. 
 
 Clerks. 
 
 182I- 
 1824- 
 1826. 
 1827. 
 1828. 
 1829. 
 1830. 
 183I. 
 1832. 
 
 1833- 
 1834- 
 
 1838. 
 1839. 
 1840. 
 1841. 
 1842. 
 1843. 
 1844. 
 1845. 
 1846. 
 1847. 
 1848. 
 1849' 
 18.SI. 
 1852 
 
 1853 
 1854 
 1856. 
 
 1857- 
 1858. 
 1859. 
 i860. 
 1861- 
 1863. 
 1864. 
 1865- 
 1867. 
 
 i868. 
 
 1869. 
 
 1870. 
 
 187 1-' 
 
 1873- 
 
 1875- 
 
 1876. 
 
 1877. 
 
 1878. 
 
 1879. 
 
 1880. 
 
 1881. 
 
 Jas. D. Livingston, Reuben Spenser. 
 
 '37. 
 
 -SO- 
 
 ■-SS- 
 
 do do 
 
 John Johnston, 
 
 do do 
 
 do do 
 
 J. D. Livingston, 
 Elijah Baker, 
 
 do do 
 J. D. Livingston, 
 David Barnes, 
 L. S. Stoutenburgh, do 
 W. W. Woodworth, do 
 James Russell, 
 
 do do 
 W. W. Woodworth, 
 Nelson Andrews, 
 
 do do 
 
 James Russell, 
 Elias Tompkins, 
 David Collins, 
 
 do do 
 Isaac Mosher, 
 L. T. Mosher, 
 Henry Green, 
 Elias Tompkins, 
 
 do do 
 D. H. Mulford, 
 Brooks Hughes, 
 Morris G. Loyd, 
 
 do do 
 
 T. L. Stoutenburgh. 
 
 do do 
 
 S. V. Hoffman. 
 James Rogers. 
 John Johnston. 
 R. Stoutenburgh. 
 John Johnston. 
 
 do do 
 Alex. McClelland, 
 do 
 do 
 Nelson Andrews. 
 John Hinchman. 
 Wm. B. Cutwater. 
 
 do do 
 
 Theop'ilus Gillender. 
 David Johnston. 
 
 do do 
 
 do do 
 
 J. A. Parker. 
 H. C. Stoutenburgh. 
 
 do do 
 
 do do 
 
 Jas. P. VanWagener. 
 George Westfall. 
 Isaac W. Wood. 
 John A. Parker. 
 M. R. Vedder. 
 Walter S. Brown. 
 
 A. V. W. Tompkins, Isaac L. Green. 
 
 Morris G. Loyd, 
 '62. John M. Friss, 
 Elias Tompkins, 
 John Russell, Jr., 
 '66. J. N. DeGraff, 
 Elias Tompkins, 
 David H. Mulford, 
 
 do do 
 
 John A. Parker. 
 
 do do 
 
 JoelN. DeGraff". 
 Albert B. Schryver. 
 
 do do 
 
 do do 
 
 Albert S. Schryver, WilUam H. Riley. 
 
 do do 
 
 72. James Roosevelt, 
 74. Timothy Herick, 
 John A. Marshall 
 do do 
 
 Henry K. Wilber, 
 do do 
 
 do do 
 
 Edw'd H. Marshall, H. B. Manning, 
 do do Casper Deyo, 
 
 James A, DeGraff'. 
 Michael Smith. 
 William Riley. 
 
 do do 
 
 G. W. Meyding. 
 do do 
 
 Isaac DeGraff". 
 G. W. Meyding. 
 
 Churches. — The Reformed Presbyterian. — The 
 first meetings held within the town outside of the 
 Quaker society, of which we have any knowledge, 
 were by the Reformed preachers of Poughkeepsie 
 and Pleasant "Valley — in private houses, until the 
 year 1790, when a church edifice was erected near 
 the present Reformed church of Hyde Park village. 
 It was built as a Union church, in which various de- 
 nominations worshipped, the Reformed Presby- 
 terians however, having the preference. At what 
 time that society was organized we are unable to 
 tell, undoubtedly about 1785. Rev. Cornelius 
 Brower of Poughkeepsie, occasionally preached pre- 
 vious to 1794, when he was called and accepted as 
 the regular pastor, .and continued as such until the 
 year 18 15. Besides officiating here, he preached in 
 private and school houses in the outskirts of the 
 town, as was usual for ministers of all denomina- 
 tions of that day. Rev. Mr. Brower supplied the 
 Poughkeepsie church, also, during that time, ex- 
 cepting the last three years, from 1812 to '15, 
 when he was relieved from the latter. From 1815 
 to '17, the pulpit was occasionally supplied by 
 other churches, but in the latter year Rev. P. S. 
 Wynkoop commenced his labors, which ended in 
 1822. In the fore part of 1823, Rev. F. H. Van- 
 derveer was called and remained till 1829. It was 
 during his pastorate that the church was rebuilt, 
 (1826.) Rev. Mr. Cahone followed and officiated 
 four years. The following year (1834) Rev. S. V. 
 Westfall came and successfully preached three 
 years, when Rev. J. C. Cruikshank followed and 
 closed his services in 1843. The society was then 
 in a prosperous condition and immediately called 
 Rev. A. Elmandorf, who remained till 1848, when 
 Rev. Mr. Ten Eyck succeeded him to the forepart 
 of the year 1853. Rev. Henry Dater then settled 
 and remained till 1877, followed by Rev. Geo. R. 
 Garretson in 1878-80, and Rev. C. R. Blauvelt, 
 the present pastor. 
 
 St. Jame^ Episcopal Church. — This church was 
 established in 181 1, by Rev. Wm. A. McVickar, 
 D. D., for over fifty years a professor in Columbia 
 College. He married a daughter of Dr. John 
 Bard, and was one of the most brilliant scholars 
 of his day. The society worshipped in the Union 
 church for many years. In 1 844, the present edi- 
 fice was built. It is a very substantial structure of 
 ancient architecture, giving it the appearance of a 
 Scottish kirk. Around it lie, beneath the shade of 
 stately trees and creeping myrtle, those who were 
 early connected with the organization as pastors 
 and members. Here lie Rev. Mr. McVickar, Revs. 
 
"TI^E LOCUSTS"— THE FLOWER-C 
 
■GARDEN AND CONSERVATORIES. 
 
TOWN OF HYDE PARK. 
 
 3°S 
 
 Johnson and Sherwood, whose pastoral relations 
 were long and the most pleasing, as earnest work- 
 ers and accomplished scholars. Beside them lie 
 the Bards, Livingstons, Lewises, Pendletons, Benja- 
 min Allen and others of prominence, whose lives 
 were useful, active and successful. 
 
 The Rectors of this Church from the organiza- 
 tion have been as follows : Rev. John McVickar, 
 D. D.; Rev. Samuel R. Johnson, D. D.; Rev. 
 Reuben Sherwood, D. D.; Rev. Mr. Brown, Horace 
 Stringfellow, Jr., D. D.; Rev. James S. Purdy, 
 D. D., and Rev. Philander K. Cady, D. D. 
 
 The Parish includes a chapel at Staatsburgh and 
 one within the village of Hyde Park for the con- 
 venience of those who live at a distance from the 
 church. 
 
 The Methodist Episcopal Church. — To Rev. S. 
 P. Gallaway, the present pastor (1881), we are 
 indebted for the following history of this church. 
 
 Methodism was introduced in Hyde Park in the 
 year 1829, through the labors of Brother Alonzo F. 
 Selleck, then a layman in the Methodist Episcopal 
 Church, and afterward a useful member of the New 
 York Conference. In the month of June, 1833, 
 John Albertson became interested in the cause, 
 and generously deeded the lot on which the pres- 
 ent church stands. Joseph WiUiams, John Giles, 
 Wm. Armstrong, Alonzo F. Selleck and Henry S. 
 Bacus, were the first Board of Trustees, through 
 whose untiring zeal and great liberality the chiurch 
 edifice was completed. 
 
 In 1834 Rev. A. F. Selleck, then a local preacher, 
 supplied the pulpit. In 1835 Denton Keeler and 
 his colleague, appointed to the Milan circuit, were 
 the preachers at this village. In 1834 and 1837, 
 S. Cochran labored here. In 1838 and 1839, C. 
 C. Keys was the preacher in charge. In 1840 and 
 
 1841, I. N. Shaffer and Young faithfully and 
 
 sucessfuUy preached to this people. John Albert- 
 son, Jr., son of John Albertson, before mentioned, 
 was converted about this time, and, following in 
 his father's footsteps, presented the trustees of the 
 church a lot adjoining it, for a parsonage, retaining 
 it in his possession, until they should be ready to 
 build. This they were not prepared to do until 
 1856, at which time John Albertson had died. 
 His heirs refused to sanction the gift of this lot, thus 
 defeating his generous intentions. In 1842, Con- 
 ference sent Rev. R. A. Chalker and L. E. Pease, 
 whose ministry and goodly examples were greatly 
 blessed here. In 1843, Hyde Park was formed 
 into a station and Brother C. Chittendon was ap- 
 pointed to the charge. In 1844 and 1845, R. A. 
 
 Chalker was re-appointed pastor. In 1846 the 
 Rev. Cyrus Bolster became the pastor. He died 
 soon after leaving here. In 1847 the Rev. B. M. 
 Genung was pastor. In 1848 and 1849, Rev. Wm. 
 Ostrander served the charge acceptably and profit- 
 ably. In 1850 and 185 1 the Rev. Andrew J. 
 Hunt was preacher in charge. In 1852 the Rev. 
 J. H. Champion labored faithfully in this place. 
 In 1853 the gifted George Kerr was appointed. 
 In 1854 the Rev. George Daniels was sent to this 
 charge. In 1855 and 1856 the Rev. A. C. Fields. 
 Under his administration the present parsonage 
 was built, at a cost of $2,200. 
 
 In 1857 and '58 the Rev. W. B. Mitchell receiv- 
 ed his last conference appointment, and it was to 
 Hyde Park. Here,- in the autumn of 1858, Mi. 
 Mitchell died, beloved and regretted by all. The 
 remainder of the conference year, by the unanimous 
 call of the society, I. L. Green, a very worthy local 
 preacher residing in Hyde Park, supplied the pul- 
 pit. In 1859 and '60 the Rev. Thomas Ellis, the 
 warm-hearted Welsh Methodist, was sent here. He 
 died in 1873. In 1861 and '62 the Rev. I. W. 
 Edmons became preacher in charge. In 1863 the 
 Rev. J. W. McComber spent a very pleasant year 
 with the people. In 1864 the Rev. Van Ness 
 Traver was appointed pastor. His public services 
 and pastoral work were highly appreciated by the 
 members of the church. In 1865 Rev. A. H. 
 Saxe was pastor. 1866 Rev. W. L. Pattison 
 served the church as pastor, and was followed by 
 the Rev. R. L. Tarleton in 1867. In 1868 no 
 preacher was appointed to this charge. The church 
 was then thrown on its own resources, heavily in 
 debt. Israel L. Green, a local deacon, volunteer- 
 ed to preach every Sabbath morning, if his health 
 permitted, and Wm. B. Outwater pledged himself 
 to take charge of a prayer meeting every Sunday 
 evening. Thus divine service was held throughout 
 the conference year. In the meantime the church 
 edifice, within and without, was sadly in need of 
 improvement and change. Mr. WilUam Mallory, 
 unsolicited, generously offered to repair the walls 
 of the building, and did so at his own expense, 
 thereby stimulating the trustees to go on and make 
 further improvements. Brothers Green and Out- 
 water resolved to modernize the whole interior, and 
 after laying before the official boards their plans, 
 the work was begun. The whole inner part was 
 remodeled ; the side walls and ceiUng were fres- 
 coed; the vestibule, as now standing, was con- 
 structed, and the church was made attractive and 
 comfortable. 
 
3o6 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 Brother I. L. Green served the church for five 
 years without salary and giving his donations 
 towards the church indebtedness ; preaching — 
 during this, the longest pastoral service connectedly 
 known throughout the N. Y. Conference — over 
 600 sermons ; delivering many hundreds of exhorta- 
 tions and freeing from debt, with the hearty co-op- 
 eration of the sisters, brethren and friends, the 
 entire property, valued at $6,500. In April, 1873, 
 Brother I. M. Richards, at the conference held in 
 Hudson, received his first appointment to this 
 charge. 
 
 In October, 1873, Bishop Andrews transferred 
 Brother Richards to the Nebraska conference, 
 stationing him at Fremont. Again the pulpit was 
 vacant. The Presiding Elder-, Rev. S. I. Fergu- 
 son, with approval of the official board, appointed 
 Rev. J. K. Wardle to supply the charge for the re- 
 maining conference year. He commenced his 
 work Sunday, October 19th. 
 
 In the year 1874, Brother G. B. Clark was 
 appointed to Hyde Park, and for three years he 
 served the church faithfully. It was during his 
 pastorate here that the beautiful church at Staats- 
 burg (Plyde Park) was built, which proves a great 
 blessing to the people in that community and adds 
 great strength to the charge. The plan of build- 
 ing this church originated between George Lam- 
 oree, (a former member at Hyde Park,) and his pas- 
 tor. In September, 1876, the following brethren 
 met at the house of George Lamoree : Stephen 
 Uhl, R. Schoden, Wm. Gowen and Geo. Lamoree, 
 and they were appointed trustees. September 3, 
 1876, the church was dedicated, free of debt, and 
 the whole a gift of our worthy and honored Brother 
 Lamoree. A society of about sixty members and 
 a congregation of about 150, worship here every 
 Sabbath. 
 
 In 1877, Brother S. J. McCutchen was appointed 
 to this church. 
 
 At this time all indebtedness on parsonage and 
 church property was entirely liquidated. In 1879 
 the Rev. Wm. Stephens was appointed, and served 
 the charge for two years. In April, 1880, the pres- 
 ent pastor, S. P. Gallaway, was appointed. The 
 people received him cordially, and pastor and 
 people are harmoniously working together. 
 
 The following statements taken from a paper fur- 
 nished recently by Rev. Alonzo F. Selleck, will be 
 of interest in this connection : — Rev. Mr. Selleck 
 and his wife came to Hyde Park in the spring of 
 1828. There being no Methodist Episcopal Church 
 in Hydtf Park at that time, he opened his house for 
 
 preaching and prayer. The Revs. Butts and 
 Smith, local preachers, came from Poughkeepsie 
 and preached a few times. Rev. Mr. Selleck also 
 held a prayer meeting every Sunday. This drew 
 large numbers, so that the house and door-yard 
 would be full and often part of the road in front. 
 The church of Poughkeepsie gave him authority to 
 hold meetings for prayer, etc., by licensing him to 
 exhort. In the spring of 1829, Hyde Park was 
 placed on the Milan and Duchess circuit, with 
 Revs. Marvin Richardson and A. M. Osborn, 
 (now Dr. Osborn,) preachers. The first class was 
 formed during this year, numbering eight souls ; 
 Mr. Selleck was appointed leader. In 1830, a new 
 school-house was opened for use, that would ac- 
 commodate about 150 persons. Ten dollars a 
 year was paid for the use of the same by the 
 society. During this year foi^y persons were con- 
 verted, and the attendance upon divine service 
 greatly increased. 
 
 Baptist Church. — At a meeting held in the 
 early part of April, 1844, by those who favored the 
 Baptist faith, it was voted to call a council accord- 
 ing to the rules of the church to organize a society 
 at Hyde Park. On the i8th of that month the 
 council met at the house of Garrett G. Lansing, 
 and organized the church with the following mem- 
 bers :—G. G. Lansing, W. H. Lansing, L. L. 
 Lansing, A. Hoyt, William Hewitt, A. Lent, J. B. 
 F. Lansing, Malinda Lansing, Susan VanWagener, 
 Lucretia Manning, Morilla E. Lansing, Caroline 
 Vail, Mrs. Phebe G. Traver, Eliza M. Parker, and 
 Mary A. Finch. Upon the 30th of the month, at 
 a meeting held at the house of Mrs. Finch, Alex. 
 Vail, James S. Odell, W. H. Lansing, Thomas Van- 
 dyke, James Finch and C. W. Teller, were elected 
 Trustees; WiUiam H. Lansing, Clerk. 
 
 Rev. David Morris was called to officiate as 
 pastor in 1844, and remained one year, %hen Rev. 
 Philip Roberts, of Pleasant Valley, followed and 
 also remained one year. 
 
 During 1846, the Rev. Charies VanLoon of the 
 First Baptist Church, of Poughkeepsie, officiated 
 as "a supply." It was during that year the present 
 and first church edifice was built. The year fol- 
 lowing. Rev. E. Fay was called and closed his 
 labors in the early part of 1851. The pulpit was 
 again vacant until the spring of 1852. Rev. M. A. 
 Brown then began his ministry, which continued 
 one year and six months, when he resigned and 
 gave place to J. W. Jones who remained till the 
 spring of 1856, when he removed to Glenville, 
 where he labored till the spring of 186 1. He was 
 
"THE LOCUSTS"— THE FARM-^ 
 
- — * — ^ -'^^r^ '^ 
 
 I-YARD. BARN AND STABLES. 
 
TOWN OF HYDE PARK. 
 
 307 
 
 again called and officiated about six years, and 
 proved the last resident pastor of the church. Mr. 
 Jones still resides within the parish, but owing to 
 ill health and the few members left to sustain the 
 church, occasional service only is held. At one 
 time this organization numbered about fifty mem- 
 bers, but it has proved to be a migratory one, — 
 attaining a respectable membership in numbers 
 and enjoying prosperity for a while; suddenly a re- 
 moval to other parts would be made by many of 
 the active members, and the progress of the 
 church paralyzed. It has experienced several such 
 shocks since its organization ; yet its seeming 
 groping along the path of religious duty has not 
 been in vain, as we find that from its fold, three 
 young men have been sent forth to preach the 
 gospel, and many times have reported their suc- 
 cessful work in the vineyard. E. Tompkins, Pen- 
 dleton Weed and Lewis Lansing each spreading 
 the "glad tidings" as conscientious and zealous 
 workers. 
 
 Roman Catholic Church. — The churches of 
 Hyde Park, Staatsburgh and others of the vicinity 
 were not regularly organized until the year 1862. 
 During that year Mrs. Kirkpatrick, a daughter of 
 the late , Mortimer Livingston, a lady of wealth, 
 erected the present edifice at Hyde Park as a 
 memorial to her deceased husband, at the ex- 
 pense of many thousand dollars. She furnished 
 the building in an elaborate style, purchasing and 
 giving to the church statues, paintings and the 
 whole paraphernalia used in the worship of the 
 Roman Catholic Church in the city of Rome. 
 The vestments are of the original Roman pattern, 
 and excel in richness and beauty any other to be 
 found along the Hudson. 
 
 A new parish was established, or the old one re- 
 established, in the latter part of November, 1881, 
 including Staatsburgh and other places, under Rev. 
 T. F. Riley as pastor, making the parsonage connect- 
 ed with the church his residence. The membership 
 is about two hundred and fifty. 
 
 Beneath the floor of this edifice is the Kirkpat- 
 rick vault, where lie the remains of the donor's 
 husbands — Mr. Wm. S. Drayton and Mr. Kirk- 
 patrick. 
 
 Societies. — During the " Washingtonian" ex- 
 citement many years ago, a small society was formed 
 here but soon faded from existence and nothing 
 worthy of notice was done in the cause of temper- 
 ance until a "Good Templar" organisation was 
 eflfected. While the charter is still held, the society 
 in reality is a dead letter and unable to form a 
 
 quorum for business. Feeling the need of a reform 
 in behalf of the young people of the vicinity, a few 
 of the people convened and concluded to make a 
 call for a meeting to organize a Temperance xinion. 
 Accordingly, on the 19th of September, 1877, the 
 first meeting was held in the lecture-room of the 
 Reformed church, and the " Hyde Park Temper- 
 ance Union,'' organized. The following were the 
 first permanent officers : — President, Cecil E. Par- 
 ker; First Vice-President, Cyrus W. Northrup; 
 Second Vice-President, Darwin G. Marquart; 
 Third Vice-President, Simeon Williams; Fourth 
 Vice-President, Michael Leonard ; Secretary, John 
 T. Coxhead; Treasurer, Wm. J. Finch. The mem- 
 bership now numbers six hundred and fifty, prov- 
 ing the " Union" to be the first successful enter- 
 prise of the kind in the town. 
 
 The present officers are: — Theodore Barnes, 
 President ; Wm. Storms and Jerome Mires, Vice- 
 Presidents ; Wm. J. Finch, Secretary ; James Finch, 
 Treasurer. There is also a Temperance Union at 
 Chapel Corners, holding their meetings in the 
 school-house, that is in a prosperous condition and 
 doing a noble work in the cause. 
 
 I. O. O. ^.— The Odd-Fellows Lodge of Hyde 
 Park, is one of the most enterprising of that order 
 to be found in the interior. 
 
 Schools. — The wealthy gentlemen that early 
 selected this town as a summer retreat were men 
 of culture and appreciated the benefits arising 
 from cultivated intellects. The schools that were 
 first formed were as mere shadows of the poorest 
 common schools of to-day, and it was not until 
 about the year i8iothat a wide-spread interest was 
 taken. These not yet having reached that degree of 
 perfection to meet the desires of the more wealthy, 
 many of them patronized the schools of New York 
 and Poughkeepsie until Benjamin Allen, an accom- 
 plished scholar, opened a private school at Hyde 
 Park village about the year 1820. It was a classi- 
 cal school, and was considered one of the best 
 along the Hudson. William Bard organized a 
 Seminary, and was very successful. The date of 
 its commencement we have been unable to learn, 
 for a certainty, but several aged people to whom we 
 were referred think it was about 1830. From 
 Bard's the interest was drifted into the village school 
 which was divided into two apartments, male and 
 female, and continued so for many years, upon the 
 principle of the present Union school. It will be 
 seen that but few localities have been blessed with 
 sucli educational advantages as this, and in looking 
 over old school reports we find the schools already 
 
3o8 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 referred to, exerting an influence over the common 
 schools of the surrounding country, by furnishing a 
 higher grade of teachers and adopting standard 
 series of books at a much earlier period than the 
 district schools of other parts. 
 
 Staatsburgh. 
 
 This hamlet, near the north line of the town, was 
 formerly named Staatsboro, in honor of the Staats 
 family who settled here about the year 1715 or '20, 
 a portion of whom removed to the Mohawk Valley 
 about the year 1750. The lands they here held 
 in possession, were so held by lease, and when they 
 acquired sufficient funds, they purchased near 
 other families with whom they immigrated in 17 10. 
 It is thought by Smith in his History of Duchess, 
 that the word Staatsburgh is a corruption of 
 Stoutenburgh. But we are creditably informed by 
 tradition in the family, and through old documents, 
 that our assertion is correct. By a map before us, 
 drawn in 1770, the two places are distinct from 
 each other. Many times the name was written 
 Stauts, as is done by a branch of the family at the 
 present time. 
 
 The amount of ice yearly cut and stored upon 
 the river bordering this town is immense, and may 
 be estimated only by millions of tons annually. In 
 the harvesting of this product, not only laborers, 
 but ingenious utensils are required that not only 
 save labor, but turn it to more profitable account. 
 The business tact of J. H. Bodenstein, saw the 
 necessity of such implements, and in 1858 he 
 established at Staatsburgh a srqall manufactory, 
 with but two hundred and fifty dollars as capital. 
 His rustic machinery was driven by a common 
 horse power, but his articles being of great service 
 the orders he received were greater than he was 
 capable of filling, and compelled him to place a 
 six-horse-power engine in the shop, which soon 
 proved to be of equal incompetency with the 
 horse-power to meet the demands for " ice tools," 
 as they are famiUarly called. Mr. Bodenstein con- 
 nected with himself his sons, J. G., Henry and 
 Frederick, and placed a twelve-horse-power en- 
 gine in the work shop. They were soon driven to 
 increase the number of laborers, so great was 
 the demand for such tools. The present firm is 
 J. G. Bodenstein & Bro., (Henry,) who by strict 
 application to business and in meeting the wants 
 of the trade, have become known throughout the 
 United States wherever ice is harvested. They 
 give ste^y employment to several skilled workmen, 
 which adds much to the business interest of the 
 
 place, and is a great convenience to the ice harvest- 
 ers of the Hudson, the greatest in the United 
 States. 
 
 The grand old forests which covered the hills and 
 valleys of this town have long since disappeared, 
 and but few of the giant trees remain that swayed 
 in their primeval grandeur and witnessed the 
 mighty changes that the past centuries have 
 brought about. But little of the necessary timber 
 and lumber used in the construction of buildings 
 can be obtained from them, but other distant parts 
 supply the demand and form successful business 
 enterprises. The waste of timber has been pro- 
 digious; much to the detriment of the country at 
 the present time, which, although late to learn, 
 proves a lesson for the inhabitants to care for that 
 which remains-, and devise means to increase the 
 acreage of wood land. The firm of Cudner & Co. 
 are fast working upon the remnant of the old 
 forest. Their machinery is for sawing, planing 
 and turning ship timber. The establishment w.as 
 founded in 1850, upon a small scale, but for sever- 
 al years their cash receipts have been from $12,000 
 to $30,000 annually and employing from five to 
 ten hands, and an outlay of about $3,000 for 
 teams and necessary implements. It has become 
 one of the established enterprises of the county, 
 through the able management of the concern, and 
 one which adds much to the business prosperity of 
 the town. 
 
 Hyde Park in the Rebellion. 
 
 The hst of those who enlisted in the early part 
 of the Rebellion is but partial, as we are unable to 
 obtain the whole, from the fact that many joined 
 regiments in other parts and were not credited to 
 the town. The following are those of the 128th 
 and 150th Regiments: — 
 
 Company C. — George D. Cronk, George H. 
 Hadden, John Schryver. 
 
 Company D. — Jacob Armstrong, Sergeant; 
 William Briggs, Corporal ; Ethan S. Lattin, John 
 W. Earle, Abram W. Ostrom, Richard Ganley, 
 Alexander Mosher, F. E. Cramer, John Burrows, 
 Privates. 
 
 Company H.—Yi. A. Husted, Robert F. Hasted, 
 Privates. 
 
 Company /—John I. Schouten, Peter S. Baker, 
 Privates. 
 
 Company K. — Vleric Eshlernan, Sergeant; Fer- 
 nando Hilliker, Thomas B. Foster, Martin Stengle, 
 Wm. H. H. Traver, John Fitzpatrick, Franklin M. 
 Sherow, William Hall, Jesse Foster, Joseph Brown, 
 
^^>^><>» //|X 
 
 i^8nS»SSmS2nS2riSSPS2rS2rS2rS2r?SanS2!:Si!S2T7SSK»<r?£2!rS2rS2« 
 
S^TOWN OF HYDE PARK. 
 
 309 
 
 Edgar Hilliker, William More, Edward Stouten- 
 burgh, David J. Wesley, Privates. 
 
 One Hundred and Fiftieth N. Y. S. Vol. In- 
 fantry mustered into the service of the United 
 States October 11, 1862, and mustered out June 
 8, 1865 :_ 
 
 Company D. — Frank Malory, First Lieutenant; 
 James B. Furvey, Second Lieutenant ; Richard 
 Germond, Orderly Sergeant ; James Bell, Fourth 
 Sergeant ; Wm. H. Riley, First Corporal ; Fred- 
 erick Hopper, 
 
 Third Corp'l; 
 
 Hiram Wood, 
 Seventh Co'p'l; 
 Abr'm Schultz, 
 Eighth Cor- 
 poral ; John 
 Goss, Musi- 
 cian ; Henry 
 ■ Mackert, Ezra 
 
 H. C rapser, 
 
 Alva A. Cronk, 
 
 Thomas Jones, 
 
 Hiram Mc- 
 
 Namee, John 
 
 Mahan, Geo. 
 
 Ralston, Levi 
 
 Schultz, Sam'l 
 
 Sherrat (?) Pri- 
 vates. 
 Private Benj. 
 
 S. Sherar was 
 
 discharged for 
 
 wounds and 
 
 disabili t y . 
 
 Rich'd Cassidy 
 
 and Martin 
 
 Wicker were 
 
 transferred to 
 
 other regi- 
 ments. Private 
 
 James Todd 
 
 died of disease 
 
 while in ser- 
 
 The 150th was at Baltimore till June 2Sth, 
 1863, and removed to Gettysburgh, July 4th. It 
 was with Sherman in the Atlanta campaign, from 
 Atlanta to Savannah, Raleigh and Washington. 
 
 As in most of the towns of the county, and we 
 may say State, the records relating to volunteers 
 and bounty money were neghgently managed, so it 
 is found to have been the case in this. They are 
 imperfect, and do not give such facts as should 
 have been recorded and which are becoming of 
 
 more and 
 
 deeper interest 
 
 to the people 
 each year, as 
 time carries us 
 on from that 
 eventful period 
 in the history 
 of our country. 
 As the records 
 of the Revolu- 
 tionary strug- 
 g le are of 
 great value to 
 UP, the great- 
 grand-children 
 of those pat-, 
 riots who per- 
 formed their 
 part, so the re- 
 cords of the 
 late Rebellion 
 will be valued 
 by our grand 
 and great- 
 grand-children 
 in their on- 
 coming time ; 
 and it is indeed 
 a blot upon our 
 intelligence 
 that we hand 
 down to them 
 such meagre 
 records. 
 
 ("THE LOCUSTS"— VIEW OF AVENUE FROM POST ROAD.) 
 
316 
 
 HISTORY OF DtJCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 U L U b 1 b , DINSMORE PLACE, 
 is one of the most charming of the many fine 
 residences which line the banks of the Hudson, 
 and contribute by their aesthetic surroundings to 
 the attractiveness of a landscape, whose natural 
 beauty has ever elicited the admiration of the 
 tourist or traveler of cultivated tastes. In its 
 delightful situation, the extent of its grounds, the 
 number, magnitude and character of its build- 
 ings, and the elegance of its varied attractions, 
 we doubt if it is surpassed by any of the mag- 
 nificent estates which adorn the banks of that 
 noble and historic stream. All its appointments 
 indicate not only "a generous expenditure of 
 means, but an intelligent application of them. 
 They evince also the possession of great culture 
 and refinement, and a high order of artistic skill 
 employed to minister to their gratification. 
 
 It is located just above Staatsburgh, and 
 comprises nearly a thousand acres, whose 
 diversified surface admirably adapts it to ornate 
 purposes. It has a river front of fully a half 
 mile, while a portion of it extends back from the 
 river fully three-fourths of a mile, and the 
 remainder about half a mile. With the varied 
 industries which it directly or indirectly sup- 
 ports, it constitutes in itself a village of no 
 mean pretensions ; and from the fine locust 
 grove in the immediate vicinity of Mr. Dinsmore's summer residence, it has been called The Locusts. 
 
 The grounds surrounding the spacious mansion, which commands a charming view of the Hudson, 
 and was built by Mr. Dinsmore in 1873, form a beautiful lawn of fifty to sixty acres, extending from the 
 river to the Hudson River Railroad, which extends through the farm at a convenient distance from the 
 river ; thus obviating an objection which obtains with many fine estates along its line. This spacious 
 lawn is studtled with forest trees and shrubbery, supplemental to the locusts and large black-walnut trees 
 which were on the premises when purchased by Mr. Dinsmore ; while extensive and magnificent drives 
 are laid out through these and the adjoining grounds. In summer the grounds are additionally beautified 
 by extensive and exquisite floral displays, and a great profusion of bedding plants. In this is exhibited 
 one of Mr. Dinsmore's most marked characteristics. His interest in horticulture, and especially floricul- 
 ture, amount almost to a passionate fondness ; and it is safe to say that no private grounds in this State, 
 if indeed in the country, present so extensive, rare and costly a collection of plants as his. His green- 
 houses aggregate a thousand feet in length and vary in width from eighteen to thirty feet. The grapery 
 occupies 140 feet in length ; the rest is devoted to flowering and bedding plants, vines, ferns, etc., and 
 these are generally classified, a system which admits a more faithful treatment of the plants according to 
 their natural habits, and promotes a more perfect development. Thus one department, 230 feet in 
 length, is devoted to tea-roses ; 150 feet, to tropical plants, a department which is especially fine; 50 
 feet, to orchids, a department embracing many rare and costly specimens ; while a very large space is 
 devoted to bedding plants, which are a specialty. One dep^tment is filled with palms, another with 
 crotons, another with ferns, mainly Adianiums, another with smilax, another with bouvardia and another 
 with carnations. A separate house, 20 by 35 feet, is devoted exclusively to cucumbers. These houses 
 are heated with hot water, nine boilers and about 10,000 feet of pipe being used for that purpose. 
 
 The orchid house possesses a special interest, from the variety of the plants it contains, principally 
 Cattleya, Phalanopsis, Shilleriana, Dendrobium, Stanopea, Oncidium, Laelia, Cypripedium, brides, 
 Saccolavium, Odontoglossum, Lycaste, Cymbidium, and Celogyne, of all of which there are many varieties. 
 Among the bedding plants we were shown the Achyranthus emersonii, which was raised on this place by 
 the gardener, Thomas Emerson, from whom it was named in the catalogues. Its distinguishing peculi- 
 arity-is a crimson stem and vein through the leaf, while the other plants of that species have generally 
 black stems. It was hybridized by crossing the Achyranthus acumunate and the Achyranthus lindenii, 
 the latter of which was raised by Linden, a florist in Brussels. 
 
 The farm is essentially a stock farm, but is conducted more with a view to excellence than profit, 
 the whole vast farm being made to cater to an aesthetic 'taste. There are about 200 head of cattle, 
 tall Jersgys — a breed Mr. Dinsmore "greatly admires, and prizes for the quality rather than the quantity 
 
TOWN OF PI.EASANT VALLEY. 
 
 311 
 
 of milk given. It is believed to be the largest, 
 and is, perhaps, the finest herd of Jerseys in the 
 country. All were imported or raised on the 
 farm, as many as 75 head having been imported 
 from first to last. The first importation was made 
 in i860. The herd has been very much improved 
 within the last ten years, both by importation and 
 by methods adopted and in use on the farm. All 
 the milk produced is manufactured into butter on 
 the farm, about 25,000 pounds of butter per annum 
 being made, or 200 pounds from each of 125 cows. 
 The butter is marketed in New York, to which city 
 it is shipped twice a week, and brings about double 
 the price ordinarily received for butter. There are 
 nearly too acres of Woodland on the farm, about 
 300 acres are devoted to meadows, the rest to graz- 
 ing, except about 75 acres, which are plowed and 
 under cultivation each year, and planted to corn, 
 oats, rye, potatoes and carrots. About ij acres 
 are devoted to vegetable gardening, to supply the 
 table of Mr. Dinsmore's family. Fully 500 tons 
 of hay are raised annually, the amount of stock kept 
 being governed by the grazing and producing 
 capacity of the farm. The fields are alternately 
 used as meadow and grazing lands, being subjected 
 to three years cultivation before they are again used 
 as meadows. The grain fed to the stock is ground 
 on the farm. About forty persons are employed 
 on the farm and gardens in various capacities, while 
 many mechanics find more or less constant em- 
 ployment on the premises. There are eleven 
 dwelling houses on the farm, all occupied by per- 
 sons employed thereon, six of them having two 
 families each. 
 
 A stream fed by springs on the farm runs 
 through the grounds ; but water for the stock is 
 conducted through about a half mile of pipe from 
 springs on the hills in the eastern part of the farm. 
 On the hill in the western part of the farm and 
 near the river is a reservoir 40 feet in diameter, 
 and si feet deep, which is filled from the river by 
 one of Knowle's pumps, worked by an engine with 
 a fourteen inch cyliiider. From this, water is con- 
 ducted by means of pipes to the several houses, 
 the green-houses, and various parts of the farm ; 
 also to the stock barns for use in dry times, though 
 it is only used there in such emergencies, as the 
 spring water is preferred. This supply is found to 
 be inadequate, however, and it is proposed to en- 
 large the reservoir in the spring. 
 
 Since 1857 the farm has been under the general 
 supervision of Timothy Herrick, a native of An- 
 trim, N. H. Mr. Herrick was brought up on his 
 father's farm. He enjoyed an extensive acquaint- 
 ance with the Dinsmore family, and through that 
 influence gained his appointment to his present 
 position, though he had not then attained his ma- 
 jority. By persistent and intelligent application he 
 has shown himself admirably qualified for the re- 
 sponsible duties which devolved upon him. Previous 
 to 1857, the grounds were under the supervision 
 of James Downing, a native of Ireland, who had 
 lived in this locality for many years, and was for 
 a long time Williani C. Emmet's gardener. Little 
 
 attention, however, had been given to farming and 
 farm improvements, only a few cattle being kept 
 and a little hay cut. Mr. Herrick found the fences 
 down, and the land neglected and in bad condition. 
 To him, therefore, next to Mr. Dinsmore, whose 
 instructions he has faithfully carried out, is due the 
 high state of perfection which the farm exhibits. 
 The present gardener is Thomas Emerson, a na- 
 tive of Dumfries, Scotland, who had spent his life 
 as a gardener on gentlemen's estates in that coun- 
 try. He came to this country in March, 1870, 
 and in April of that year engaged with Mr. Dins- 
 more, as assistant gardenener, under A. L. Black, 
 whose place he took in 1871, Mr. Black having 
 engaged in business in Philadelphia. Under the 
 able management of Mr. Emerson, who has elab- 
 orated and executed Mr. Dinsmore's ideas, the 
 lawn has assumed its present artistic appearance, 
 and the hot-house capacity been more than 
 doubled. 
 
 CHAPTER XXVI. 
 
 History of the Town of Pleasant Valley. 
 
 THE oldest monument of the past in the town 
 of Pleasant Valley is the cemetery opposite 
 the Methodist Church at Washington Hollow, 
 where lies the dust of many that were the first set- 
 tlers of this town and Washington. While the 
 settlers lived principally upon the territory belong- 
 ing to the latter, yet their meeting house was built 
 within a few feet of the site of the Methodist 
 Church, which stood for a long time, and was a 
 witness of many scenes and incidents of interest, 
 both of a political and religious character. Several 
 aged inhabitants of the vicinity are positive they 
 have seen a grant from Queen Anne, to the 
 " church of Pittsberry, " of a piece of land upon 
 which to erect a church, bearing date 1710. Were 
 it not that the lands lying here were granted to the 
 Nine Partners in 1697, we might be satisfied as to 
 their correctness ; but such being the case, and 
 having been given without reserve with the excep- 
 tion of timber for naval purposes, we are led to 
 think the granf was a permit, or certificate of 
 organization granted to the Nine Partners, for the 
 purpose of encouraging a settlement. However, if 
 the date of the instrument is remembered correctly, 
 it gives the settlement of this locality an earlier 
 date than has generally been supposed. In search- 
 ing for that document we were successful in find- 
 ing the church record in the hands of Rev. A. B. 
 Prichard, beginning Sept. 19, 1746. From it we 
 copy the following, verbatim : — 
 
312 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 " Crom Elbow Precinct in Dutchess County 
 September 19th 1746 we the subscribers do Cove- 
 nant and Promise for ourselves Heirs and Assigns 
 to pay towards Building and Erecting of a Presby- 
 terian meeting house the sum or Sums Enexed to 
 Each of our names Under Written and it is to be 
 Understood that said meeting house is to Stand 
 about twenty or thirty Rods to the South East 
 from Henry Filkins Sheriff and said money is to be 
 paid to Mr. Jacob Hall, Capt Samuel Jackson, 
 Joseph Barber Esqr. Henry Lott and Thomas New 
 Court who being a committy chosen to Receive 
 said money and it to be understood that any of the 
 Subscribers Under Written have Liberty to pay 
 what they Subscribe in work according to the 
 acceptance of the said committy and Said Com- 
 mitty are Obliged to Render a true account of their 
 disbursements of the money to a committy which 
 shall be hereafter chosen." 
 
 The next meeting was In July, 1747, when 
 articles of agreement were drawn up for the build- 
 ing of the church. It says : "The majority of the 
 Committee met and agreed With Joseph Barton 
 Esqr. to build the frame of the Presbeterian meet- 
 ing house and are to give him twenty-five pounds 
 and — " Here the record stops and nothing is 
 recorded until "ye 19th September 1763." With- 
 out doubt the building or the frame, was erected 
 that year, and the society's affairs passed along 
 without any unusual occurrence. 
 
 At the last mentioned date, another meeting was 
 held in the " Presbeterian meeting house near 
 Henry Filkins of Charlotte Precinct, Duchess 
 county,'' with Rev. Benoni Bradner, as moderator, 
 for the purpose of electing trustees. A resolution 
 says : " That Frederick Hanum, Simon Flagler, 
 William Allen, John Gazely and Daniel Ward Jun. 
 be trustees, assistant to the old ones to have the 
 custody of this said meeting house and Lands be- 
 longing to it &c according to the original deed and 
 Plans" and also, " That the same persons who are 
 Trustees, all be appointed as a committee to invite 
 ministers to preach as supplies, to us on Proba- 
 tion." Joseph Hoff was chosen " Clark to keep 
 the Records of the Society's Proceedings." The 
 next meeting was held "ye 30th August 1769," 
 and then it was agreed, " That John Piatt John 
 Carpenter and Melancthon Smith be chosen to 
 Garry on, Seat and Repair the said meeting house 
 and that after the said work be accompUshed, the 
 Seats be Sold at Publick Vendue to the highest 
 bidder." In December of that year the church 
 was finished and auction held, at which twenty- 
 three of the pewSj and the small seats in front of the 
 pulpit, were sold for eighty-four pounds, as 
 follows*! — 
 
 Pew No. I Reserved for the pastor. 
 
 " 2 To Simon Flagler £S 'os. 
 
 " 3 " Israel Piatt and Wilmott Oakley 410s. 
 
 " 4 " Frederick Ham 5 
 
 " 5 " Noah Smith and Jessee Wood 310s. 
 
 " 6 " Sam'l and Melancthon Smith 3 'Ss. 
 
 " 7 " Daniel Carpenter, Sen., and Joseph Carpenter.. 317s. 
 
 " 8 " John Carpenter and John Ward 3 'M. 
 
 " 9 " James Harris and Isaac Pettit 3 I8s. 
 
 " 10 " Timothy Beedle and Albert Adrieance 4 
 
 " II *' John Gazely and Isaac Hoff 4 
 
 " iz " David Bedford, Isaac Bloom and Harris Griffin 3 
 
 " 13 " Daniel Ward, Jun. 219s. 
 
 " 14 " Thomas Rabblee 2 iSs. 
 
 " 15 " John Rabblee 3 
 
 " 16 " William Allen 3 
 
 " 17 " Zachariah Flagler 3 
 
 " 18 *' Joseph Hoff— paid three pounds, and Simon 
 
 Loose the rest .. . 315s. 
 
 *-^ 19 ^' Henry Bush and Jacob Sharpenstones 4 is, 
 
 " 20 " William Beedle 4 
 
 " 21 " John Piatt and Isaac Veal 3 I6s. 
 
 " 22 *' Eliphalet Piatt and Jacob Everson 4 
 
 " 23 " William Allen 4 
 
 Small seats in front of pulpit, to Daniel Ward, Jun I 2s. 
 
 The expense of repairing W|3,s ^jS, is., 8d. In 
 1774, at one of the regular meetings, the church 
 was first called in the Records the " Pittsberry 
 Church." 
 
 During the summer of 1777, a band of Tories 
 from the the lower part of the county, to the num- 
 ber of nearly four hundred, came to the neighbor- 
 hood and made their head-quarters at the church. 
 Throughout the border settlements such parties 
 were sent out to intimidate the patriots, and obtain 
 supplies for the British army. Then too, such 
 invasions, would naturally frighten the patriot 
 families, and lead them to throw themselves upon 
 the Government for protection, and have a ten- 
 dency to draw the volunteers from Gates' army 
 and thereby weaken it, and ensure success to Bur- 
 goyne's invasion. That General's success in reach- 
 ing Albany was the great point to be gained, and 
 everything was resorted to, that would ensure it. 
 Gates had drawn upon every locality, this not 
 excepted, but not to such an extent as to leave 
 their famiKes unprotected. The Tories doubtless 
 were great braggarts and very impudent, and gave 
 their edicts with threats of extermination if not com- 
 plied with. While they were thtis showing author- 
 ity, and anticipating submission, the patriots sent a 
 messenger to Sharon, Connecticut, where lay a 
 small company, which immediately marched to the 
 reUef of their patriotic brethren, receiving additions 
 to their numbers as they passed along the route. 
 
 When the force arrived at the Hollow the Tories 
 were upon the interval to the south of the church 
 " on parade, " and did not observe the patriots 
 until they were before them with cocked guns and 
 "glistening bagonets" A demand to surrender 
 put the " brave paraders " in an excitement, that 
 
TOWN OF PLEASANT VALLEY. 
 
 313 
 
 led them to charge upon the hill, with "quickened 
 tread. " The Yankees fearful of losing their com- 
 pany, gave them a broadside and killed several, 
 which changed the resolution of quite a number of 
 their companions, who saw they could not escape, 
 and ended the afifair by giving themselves up as 
 prisoners of war. They were about thirty in num- 
 ber and were placed in file and marched to Sharon, 
 from whence they were taken to safe quarters, 
 principally to New Hampshire, and held until the 
 war closed. 
 
 Having occupied the church, they injured the 
 same, which a committee was appointed to repair 
 in 1778. 
 
 On the 20th of November, 1780, another meet- 
 ing was held at the house of Rev. Wheeler Case, 
 at Pleasant Valley, and a subscription taken to 
 pay the expense of such repairs. In 1803 they 
 commenced again to repair the old building, and 
 finished in 1805. Here the records close, and, as 
 will be seen, the church at Pleasant Valley re-or- 
 ganized this one at a later date. Why the original 
 organization was not continued can not be ascer- 
 tained, but in all probability that village became 
 the leading centre, and either society not being 
 able to sustain a church, that society consumed 
 this one. We are assured by Mr. Milton Ham, 
 that for several years after 1805, this church was in' 
 connection with that at Hughsonville. , The old 
 building stood until the year 1858, when it was 
 taken down, and the property drifted into the hands 
 of the Methodists, who built the present edifice 
 that year. It will be novel, perhaps to those inter- 
 ested, to learn that each page of the old church 
 book bore the stamp of King George the Third 
 according to the famous stamp act. 
 
 During the war of 181 2, the sacred walls of the 
 old church were again the quarters of a large com- 
 pany of soldiers who were on the march to the 
 northern borders. About twenty cannon were in 
 their charge to be taken to Sackett's Harbor, 
 and they rested here, using the church as a sleep- 
 ing apartment. 
 
 The next settlement of importance within the 
 town was near the village of Pleasant Valley, 
 about the year 1740, by both Quakers and Presby- 
 terians from Rhode Island and Connecticut. The 
 latter, in the year 1765, united with those of the 
 Hollow in worship, when they built a church un- 
 der the pastorate of Rev. Mr. Case. The earUest 
 settlers were the Aliens, Marshalls, Harrises, Sel- 
 lecks, Formans, Beadles and Flaglers. Soon fol- 
 lowed several more families of Quakers, among 
 
 whom were the Deans, Brights, Adees, Abbotts 
 and others, who began to make us^ of the mill 
 privileges afforded by the Wappinger creek. But 
 nothing of much importance, more than for the 
 convenience of the immediate settlers was built 
 before 1808-10. 
 
 John Kenyon built a fulUng mill east of the vil- 
 lage in 1808, where now stands Bowers' factory. 
 It was afterwards run by William Buckley. Thom- 
 as Carpenter built a carding mill, where George 
 Everson erected a woolen factory the year follow- 
 ing. In 1810, Daniel Dean commenced printing 
 calico, near " Bowman's Mills," in a small way. 
 The ground work of the cloth was blue and by a 
 device of his own, he varied the color by putting 
 on white spots, of paste, which when dampened 
 would disappear. Being a Quaker and partial to 
 fair dealing, he would invariably say to his custom- 
 ers,' " I will warrant the blue to be a fast color but 
 the white may wash out. " In 1809, Robert 
 Abbott established the present cotton factory near 
 the bridge. He erected two buildings, one a grist 
 and cotton mill, the other for mechanical shops. 
 The former was 34 by 80 feet and the latter 36 by 
 102 feet in dimensions. The enterprise became a 
 stock concern and did a lucrative business, but 
 January 27, 181 5, it was burned. The same year 
 the present structure was rebuilt by Delavergne & 
 Thwing, who, either as owners of the property or 
 building contractors, failed. We think it was a 
 stock concern up to the year 1820, when John 
 Gibbons and George Everson purchased it, and 
 from that time up to the purchase of Garner 8c Co., 
 the present owners, it oscillated from individual to 
 stock control. Since the estabUshment of this 
 factory, the Farrington family have been connected 
 with it in various capacities. At the present time 
 Edward Farrington is the superintendent, under 
 whom fifty hands find steady employment. Thirty- 
 five hundred spindles are kept busily in motion, 
 driven by a powerful engine. 
 
 The cloth here manufactured, is printed at Wap- 
 pinger's and compares favorably with other American 
 products of the kind. The village becoming quite 
 a manufacturing centre, and increasing in popula- 
 tion, Israel Dean a Quaker and son-in-law of Rob- 
 ert Abbott, organized a boarding school in 1809, 
 similar to the "Nine Partners school." It was 
 well attended by the youth of the place in addition 
 to about twenty boarding pupils, and was kept in 
 operation about ten years. The season following, 
 the " Friends " becoming numerous, built the pres- 
 ent church edifice. Their meetings previous tq 
 
3'4 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 that year had been held in private houses, princi- 
 pally in that of Jonathan Dean's. When the church 
 was built, the supports in the inside were turned 
 with a bead near their top, as an embellishment j 
 this, modest John Bright thought to be vanity, 
 and to show his repugnance to such things, he 
 whittled them off with his jack-knife. The village 
 still growing and the inhabitants anticipating a 
 briUiant future, they petitioned to the Government 
 for a postoffice, which was answered, and establish- 
 ed in 1813. Another petition went to the Legis- 
 lature for ah act of incorporation as follows : — 
 
 "Beginning at the Eighth mile board from 
 Poughkeepsie on the Duchess Turnpike road, 
 thence due south sixty chains, thence west along 
 the line of the 8th and 9th Nine Partners lot to a 
 station, ten chains from the East Shore of the great 
 Wappinger Creek — thence southerly in a direct 
 line ten chains to a point where the lands of Peter 
 Flagler Dan'l Carpenter and Halstead Price join 
 each other, — thence North seventy-five degrees 
 west, forty chains or to the west side of the said 
 turnpike road — Thence due north to a point bear- 
 ing due west from the mile stone aforesaid^ thence 
 due east to the said mile stone being the place of 
 beginning." 
 
 It was further enacted that : — 
 
 "John Robert Abbott, John Beadle, Israel Dean, 
 Hubby Adee and Joshua Ward, be and hereby 
 appointed the first trustees in and for the said vil- 
 lage of Pleasant Valley to serve from and after the 
 passing of this act, until the second Tuesday of 
 May, which will be in the year one thousand eight 
 hundred and fifteen inclusive, or until others shall 
 be elected in their stead." 
 
 There seems to be no record of the doings of 
 the corporation until May 9, 1843, when William 
 Thorn, Franklin Dudley, Zachariah S. Flagler, 
 Gilbert Noxen and Joel Terrill were elected trus- 
 tees; Franklin Dudley, president, Joel Terrill, 
 clerk. In 1 844, another meeting of the free-holders 
 was called for the election of officers, but so few 
 responded that nothing was done. 
 
 The board, then consisting of Franklin Dudley, 
 Zachariah Flagler and Joel Terrill, convened on 
 the 27th of March 1851, but feeUng delicate about 
 taking the responsibihty of transacting any business 
 without the presence of freeholders, they adjourn- 
 ed, and nothing was done until the excise law was 
 passed in 1862, when by that act, "special pro- 
 ceedings should be taken in incorporated villages." 
 A meeting was called, and Z. Flagler was the only 
 member of the old board left. Upon Mr. Jere- 
 miah Clearwater being chosen chairman of the 
 meeting, Mr. Flagler resigned the office of trustee, 
 and the following were duly elected: David L 
 
 Jackson, WiUiam Pattee, Joel O. Holmes, John C. 
 Velie and George W. Forman. From 1862 to 
 May 13, 1873, no elections were held, and upon 
 that day the excise law was acted upon and Charles 
 DeGraff, Danvers Osborne, John B. Duncan, John 
 Lester and Albert Devine were elected trustees, 
 with John B. Duncan as president, and Albert 
 Devine, clerk. It was the last election of officers, 
 and consequently the above gentlemen are the legal 
 officials of the corporation. 
 
 From the incorporation of the village up to the 
 formation of the town, nothing occurred more than 
 a slow, but steady increase of population and 
 buildings. The town of Clinton being large, and 
 political objects and interests becoming weightier, 
 it was considered advisable by the citizens of this 
 village and Hyde Park, in union with those in the 
 vicinity of each, to petition for the division of the 
 town. Accordingly upon the 26th of January, 
 1 82 1, a bill was passed to that effect. After 
 giving the boundaries of Hyde Park, it reads as 
 follows : — 
 
 " And be it further enacted that the remaining 
 part of the said town of CUnton shall be divided 
 into two separate towns by the following division 
 line to wit: Beginning on the west line of the town 
 of Washington in the corner made by lots number 
 five and six in the great division of the Nine Part- 
 ners Patent and running westerly along said lot 
 line until it intersects (he east line of the aforesaid 
 town of Hyde Park, and that the north of the two 
 last mentioned towns shall be known by the name 
 of Clinton, and that the first town meeting in said 
 town shall be at the house of John F. Schultz, esqr. 
 on the first Tuesday in April next, and that the 
 south of the two last mentioned towns shall be 
 known by the name of Pleasant Valley, and that 
 the first town meeting in said town last mentioned 
 shall be held at the house of Cyrus Berry, on the 
 first Tuesday of April next." 
 
 The records of this town, with the exception of 
 the official canvas of 182 1, '22 and '23, are entire 
 and have been kept with greater care than is usually 
 bestowed upon such documents. The officers in 
 1824 were as follows : Samuel M. Thurston, Super- 
 visor; Oliver D. Collins, Clerk; Anthony G. 
 Badgley, John Humphrey and Enoch Lewis, As- 
 sessors. A list of jurors is given in which nine are 
 competent and fourteen incompetent. 
 
 The town has been fortunate in the selection of 
 officers, as the public business has been success- • 
 fully managed, and enables it to stand in the front 
 rank with the sister towns of the county. 
 
 As evidence of the town's prosperity, better ex- 
 ample cannot be given than in its " bonding " for 
 the construction of the Poughkeepsie railroad, 
 
TOWN OF PLEASANT VALLEY. 
 
 315 
 
 built to Pleasant Valley in the fall of 1872. The 
 amount contributed was $30,000, which was levied 
 and collected in one season, beside the usual State, 
 County and Town taxes. The "pay as you go " 
 policy has always been adhered to by this town, 
 and hence its healthy financial prosperity. 
 
 Presbyterian Church of Pleasant Valley. — This 
 organization is the oldest landmark within the 
 village, and is an outgrowth, no doubt, of the 
 Pittsberry church of Washington Hollow, and the 
 one that consumed it by the village becoming the 
 business center. The first meeting we find of the 
 branch was in 1765, which date is the one set 
 down as the organization. It is a fact, that while 
 the parent church was built and for several years 
 meetings held at Washington Hollow, no regular 
 church organization was actually formed, that the 
 records speak of, until the year 1765. 
 
 Previous to 1763, one Deliverance Smith served 
 the Pleasant Valley church as stated minister about 
 three years, and also a Mr. Thompson (uncle to 
 Hon. Smith Thompson), but how long is not 
 known. Their services were rendered, no doubt, 
 in connection with some other church or churches, 
 undoubtedly as missionaries. In November, 1765, 
 Rev. Wheeler Case was ordained and installed as 
 pastor, in connection with the Poughkeepsie 
 church, which stood about half way between Pough- 
 keepsie and Pleasant Valley. 
 
 In 1770 was erected a new meeting house in the 
 now village of Pleasant Valley. It was a wooden struc- 
 ture and stood on the main street a few rods north- 
 west of the present building. Parties now Uving 
 recall its quaint octagonal pulpit, which was sup- 
 ported by a single wooden pillar at an elevation 
 sufficient to allow seats for the church officers and 
 choristers underneath it. 
 
 The ground upon which this church stood and 
 which continues the property of the present corpo- 
 ration, was given to the congregation, in consid 
 eration of 10 shillings, by Jacob Everson and his 
 wife, neither of whom appear to have been mem- 
 bers of the church at the time. The deed of the 
 property is dated " the tenth day of April in the 
 tenth Year of the Reign of our Sovereign Lord 
 George the Third, by the Grace of God, of Great 
 Britain, France and Ireland, King, Defender of the 
 Faith, &c., and in the year of our Lord Christ One 
 thousand seven hundred aiid seventy ;" and is chiefly 
 remarkable for its redundacy of substantives. 
 
 This change of the location of the churches from 
 Washington Hollow to Pleasant Valley, taken with 
 other known particulars, would indicate the ten- 
 
 dency of the settlers to migrate toward the latter 
 place, where the central village was ultimately lo- 
 cated, although the Washington Hollow Church 
 was maintained for a number of years. 
 
 October 12, 1769, " Mr. Case requests with the 
 consent of his people in Poughkeepsie that he be 
 freed half his time from his labors with them till 
 our next stated Presbyter," which was granted. The 
 same request was repeated and granted May 9, 1770. 
 
 October 11, 1770, " Mr. Case requested to be 
 discharged from his pastoral relation to the Pres- 
 byterian Church in Poughkeepsie. Messrs. John 
 Wolsey, John Ward and Melancthon Smith being 
 present declare that the Church and congregation 
 at Poughkeepsie considering their inability to com- 
 ply with Mr. Case's proposals, the Presbytery 
 having considered the matter, judge it reasonable 
 that Mr. Case should he liberated from his pas- 
 toral relation to that people, and do Uberate him 
 accordingly.'' 
 
 The meeting-house at Pittsberry (Washington 
 Hollow) was still retained as an adjunct, and re- 
 paired and cared for by the same body politic, as 
 is seen by the following, under date of November 
 21, 1771: "Agree that we appoint collectors for 
 all the subscriptions to collectors for the Hollow 
 salary of Mr. Case jointly as one congregation ; " 
 and again on same date, "Voted that Mr. Case's 
 labors shall exactly be divided for the present 
 year." 
 
 The residence of Mr. Case was located about 
 one mile east of the village of Pleasant Valley, on 
 the road to Washington Hollow. During the war 
 of the Revolution the safety of himself and family 
 being endangered, he removed with his household 
 goo4s to the Hollow; but, notwithstanding this 
 precaution, "was robbed of nearly all he possessed 
 by the British soldiers or by their allies." 
 
 In common with most of the churches of these 
 times, the Psalms of David furnished the musical 
 part of the worship, as appears from a number of 
 references to the election of readers, whose duty 
 after the custom of the time, was to read the 
 Psalms line by line as they were sung. Reference 
 is also made to the choice of persons to "set" the 
 tune. 
 
 Thus, "Pittsberry, November the 9, 1779, voted 
 that David Ostram, Joshua Owen and Joseph Nap 
 be singing clarks at Pleasant Valley, John Walsh 
 and Mr. Piatt, readers." 
 
 The next item of historic interest is the incor- 
 poration of the congregation. The records con- 
 tain the following : — 
 
3i6 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 I St Class. 
 2d Class. 
 
 " At a meeting of those persons usually attending 
 public worship in Pleasant Valley, notified agreeably 
 to an act of the Legislature of the State of New 
 York, authorizing the inhabitants thereof to form 
 themselves into Religious Societies and choose a 
 Clerk and Trustees tokeep a proper account and 
 take care of the Teniporalites of the Church, 
 which shall be a Lawful Incorporate Body, &c. 
 Cornehus Humphrey and EUphalet Piatt were 
 unanimously chosen Inspectors; John Everson, 
 Clerk ; and the following persons Trustees : — 
 
 Cornelius Humphrey,') 
 
 Eliphalet Platt, j" 
 
 Lemuel Conklin, \ 
 
 John M. Thurston, ) 
 
 John Everson, "( , „. 
 
 Joshua Ward, ] 3^ "-'ass. 
 
 "Voted, That this Congregation be known by 
 the name of the ' Presbyterian Congregation of 
 Pleasant Valley.' Charlotte, Jan. 28, 1785." 
 
 The seal of the Congregation, which cost j£\ 
 4s., has as an inscription the words. Seal of the 
 Pleasant Valley Church, in a circle about a raised 
 figure of a church. 
 
 Mr. Case remained as pastor of the church until 
 his death, which occurred August 31, 1791, his 
 labors with this congregation being, therefore, ex- 
 tended over a period of twenty-six years. That he 
 had much to discourage him is well known. The 
 unsettled state of the country, the war of the Rev- 
 olution, and the want of a stable population were 
 very great hindrances. Nevertheless, as we have 
 seen, the church grew and increased. 
 
 There is no record of the two years ensuing Mr. 
 Case's death. 
 
 Revs. John Davenport and Jehu Minor assisted 
 the church officially, but to what extent is not 
 known. 
 
 On April 4, 1793, Rev. Methusaleh Baldwin was 
 called, and on November 6th of the same year 
 was installed pastor. He continued as such until 
 the summer or fall of 1798. The following is the 
 only minute of especial interest found in the rec- 
 ords during the period of Mr. Baldwin's incum- 
 bency : — 
 
 "At a.meeting of the trustees, held March nth, 
 1794, for taking into consideration the subject of a 
 parsonage, it was agreed, after some debate, to 
 drop the idea of building and to give the JRev. Mr. 
 Baldwin a settlement of ^^ 100 in lieu of a parson- 
 age. The money was subscribed and Mr. Bald- 
 win accepted it. " 
 
 Rev. John Clark, formerly of Patterson, became 
 the pastor in 1800, continuing until 1806, when he 
 resigned his charge to accept a call to Pittsgrove, 
 N. J., where he remained for about two years. In 
 May, 1808, Mr. Clark was re-called and installed 
 
 pastor Oct. 6, of the same year. From this time 
 until Sept. 29, 1829, Mr. Clark continued as pas- 
 tor of this church : his ministry here thus extend- 
 ing over a period of about twenty-eighty years. 
 August 5, 1814, thirty persons were dismissed for 
 the purpose of forming a separate organization aj, 
 Pittsberry, (Washington Hollow.) 
 
 Rev. Benj. F. Wile was called to the pastorate 
 Oct., 24, 1829, and was ordained and installed 
 Dec. 10, of the same year. This relation con- 
 tinued till Jan. 7, 1867, a period of thirty-seven years. 
 Rev. Henry J. Acker received a call to become 
 pastor of the church Nov. 11, 1868, and was in- 
 stalled April 28, 1869. He remained pastor 
 until the winter of 1875. He died at Brainard, 
 N, Y., Jan. i, 1874, and was buried in the grave- 
 yard adjoining the Pleasant Valley church, where 
 also lie the bodies of Revs. Messrs. Case, Clark and 
 Wile. 
 
 Rev. Wra. Whittaker was installed by the Pres- 
 bytery of North River, Nov. 3, 1873, and con- 
 tinued as pastor of the church until April 22, 
 1879. The present pastor. Rev. Augustus B. 
 Prichard* was installed May 4, 1880. Rev. Mr. 
 Wile, was widely known both as an earnest advo- 
 cate of temperance, and as a successful revivalist. 
 By his influence very largely the moral tone of 
 this community was elevated almost entire by 
 the aboUshment of the liquor traffic from the 
 place. He received ' during his pastorate of 
 thirty-seven and one-half years, over 700 persons 
 into the communion of this church ; the member- 
 ship of which at one time numbered over 400. 
 The present membership of the church is 2 19. The 
 following persons are known to have gone out 
 from this church at various times into the stated 
 work of the ministry : — 
 
 Edward F. Ross, James J. Helm, Wip. N. Sayre, 
 now, and for over forty-five years pastor of the 
 Presbyterian church at Pine Plains, in this county ; 
 James ttervey Howe, before alluded to in con- 
 nection with Pittsberry; Robert? Laird, James 
 Jones, now of Hyde Park; Joseph Wood, now 
 stationed at Shandaken, Ulster Co., of this State, 
 and James Van Wagner. 
 
 The first house of worship was a wooden struc- 
 ture, erected in 1770, on the main street, a few 
 rods northwest of the present building. In 1812 it 
 was repaired and considerably enlarged, at a cost 
 of $2,500. A list of the 126 persons who sub- 
 scribed and paid this amount is on record in the 
 Congregational Book. The present brick edifice 
 
 *To whom we are indebted for the history of thisghurch. 
 
Photo, by Vail, Fougbkeepsie- 
 
 aEORQE IxAMOREE. 
 
 The Lamoree family were among those 
 hardy French pioneers who came to this 
 county prior to the Revolution. Isaac 
 Lamoree, the grandfather of George, came to 
 America, with his two brothers, in 1772. In 
 1774 he purchased and settled upon the farm 
 now owned by the subject of this sketch. 
 
 Isaac Lamoree's son, Timothy, was born 
 on this farm, and succeeded his father in the 
 title thereto and passed his entire life thereon. 
 George Lamoree was one of the eight chil- 
 dren of Timothy. He was born on this farm 
 December i6th, 1816, and has owned it since 
 his father's death. He chose farming as a 
 business and has always, save when entrusted 
 with public affairs, followed it with the vigor 
 and judgment which always insure success. 
 
 August 13th, 1846, he was united in mar- 
 riage with Jane M., a daughter of Simon H. 
 Pells, Esq., of Rhinebeck. To them were 
 born four children and the only son, Franklin, 
 now occupies the old homestead. 
 
 Mr. Lamoree first appeared in politics in 
 
 the year 1855, when he was elected by the 
 Whigs as a Justice of the Peace of his town. 
 In the following year he was elected to the 
 office of Supervisor for his town. He filled 
 that office for three terms with such ability as 
 to call especial attention to his executive 
 power. At the commencement of the Rebel- 
 lion he was appointed U S. Revenue Col- 
 lector, and held that office until 1864, when 
 he was elected by the Republicans, as Sheriff 
 of Duchess County, which office he held dur- 
 ing the three succeeding troublous years. He 
 was also Brigadier Paymaster under General 
 Isaac I. Piatt. 
 
 He was one of the founders of the City 
 Natioftal Bank of Poughkeepsie, and has 
 been a director thereof during its existence. 
 Mr. Lamoree has now retired from active 
 political life, and from the direct management 
 of his lands, devoting his time to the direction 
 of his private affairs and .quietly advancing 
 the interests of the party in the principles of 
 which he is a firm believer. 
 
TOWN OF PI,EASANT VALLEY. 
 
 317 
 
 was erected in 1848. The building committee 
 were : Joseph Holmes, Joshua O. Ward, Joshua 
 Barnes, George Badgley, Garrison ConkUn, M. De 
 L. F. Phillips, Collins Peters. In 1801, the con- 
 gregation secured a parsonage with about twenty 
 acres of land attached, one mile east of the village. 
 In 1840, a new parsonage was built on the site of 
 the old one. In 1869, this farm was sold and in 
 the winter of 1869-70 the present parsonage was 
 erected near the church at a cost of $4,500. A 
 part of the avails of the sale of the farm was used 
 for this purpose. The remaining $2,000 was fur- 
 nished by subscriptions. The building committee 
 were : J. Osborn Holmes, William E. Badgley, 
 David T. Barnes. 
 
 April 10, 1770, Jacob and Margaret Everson 
 gave the congregation the deed of a parcel of land 
 to be used for burial purposes and as a site for a 
 church building. The first house of worship was 
 erected on the northeast portion of this land. 
 
 The Pleasant Valley Baptist Churchy near 
 Salt Point Village. — The Newcombs, VanVoor- 
 hees, Harrises, Frosts and other families settled at 
 this point about the year 1765, and were princi- 
 pally of the Baptist faith. They procured the ser- 
 vices of Elder John Lawrence, who preached to 
 them in private houses and the school house, and 
 during the summer months in the woods. A reg- 
 ular organization was not formed until the early 
 part of 1770, when the Elder organized the society 
 at the house of Zaccheus Newcomb. Joseph 
 Harris was chosen as deacon, and regular appoint- 
 ments were made until the war of the Revolution 
 commenced, when a division of political sentiments 
 led the church to dwindle away without interest. 
 Rev. Alex. MacGeorge informs us that " Elder 
 BuUoek, of Stanford, afterwards began to preach 
 (about 17 16 or '17) and was blessed with a revival. 
 Some 40 or 5owere baptized and became a branch 
 of his church." The first record of the branch 
 was made in 1792, and Elder John Dodge became 
 their first pastor in 1795, and continued until 1813. 
 He died April 13, 181 6. In 1790, Mr. John Van- 
 Voorhees gave the Society a deed for one-half an 
 acre of landj and the first church was built. 
 
 After the resignation of Elder Dodge, in 1813^ 
 Elder Robers followed as the next regular pastor, 
 but the time is not given. He officiated seven 
 years, and after his pastorate until 1847, the pulpit 
 was filled by " supplies." In the latter year Elder 
 C. Ambler came and remained two years, when E. 
 Fay followed as a supply for one year. In the 
 spring -of 1850, Elder' N. S. Benedict was called 
 
 and continued until the fall of 1851, and gave 
 pldce to Elder A. M. Brown, who remained until 
 the spring of 1858. . Meetmgs were not held regu- 
 larly during the remainder of that, and the fore- 
 part of the following year ; but Elder Van Freden- 
 burgh preached a few months in the latter part of 
 1859, and Elder Heppeou through the year i860. 
 Elder MacGeorge says, "from i860 to 1878, there 
 was no settled pastor. The church dwindled from 
 a membership of one hundred and four in 1843,10 
 twenty-nine in 1878." In the latter year Elder 
 MacGeorge took the charge of the church. The 
 present membership is sixty-three, and the sabbath 
 school numbers seventy-eight. 
 
 George W. Houghton, a member, was licensed 
 to preach in 1842, and ordained as an Evangelist. 
 E. T. Weed was licensed in 1847, S. T. Frost in 
 1858, and A. MacGeorge in 1878. 
 
 The Methodist Episcopal Church of Pleasant 
 Valley. — From Rev. T. S. Lent the pastor of this 
 church in 1879 and '80, we have obtained the fol- 
 lowing,: It is not known when the Methodists first 
 came to Pleasant Valley, but probably about 1788, 
 the year the Duchess circuit was formed. For 
 many years the public meetings of these people 
 were held in the school-house on the hill one mile 
 east of the valley, which came to be known far and 
 near as " the Methodist school-house." July 27, 
 1825, this society bought of James Odell for $150 
 one acre of land situated on the "Duchess Turn- 
 pike," and proceeded at once to build a church in 
 the style of the times, about forty feet square, two 
 and one-half stories in height. The deed of this 
 property was given to William Dize, Solomon 
 Sleight and William Harris as trustees. Rev. Sam- 
 uel Cochran, Nicholas White and William M. Wil- 
 lett were pastors of the Duchess Circuit at this 
 time. Pleasant Valley remained a part of this 
 circuit until 1843, when Milan and Pleasant Val- 
 ley were formed into a separate charge with Rev. 
 William Thatcher as pastor. In 1744 and '45, 
 Jeremiah Ham was pastor. It was during Rev. Mr. 
 Ham's second year that the church edifice was 
 removed from the hill to the village on Main street. 
 The usual changes were made in pastors from 
 1845, °f which we have no means of ascertaining 
 up to the year i860, when Rev. Aaron Hunt was 
 followed in 1861 by M. R. Lent ; in 1862, by John 
 R. Edmonds; in 1863, by J. H. Wood; in 1864, 
 by L. J. Collins ; in 1865 and '66, by Thomas Ellis ; 
 in 1867, by N. Hubbell; in 1868 and'69, by Thom- 
 as Elliott; ini87o and'7i,byl. H. Lent; in 1872, 
 by William Hall; in 1873 and '74, by A, Davis ; in 
 
3i8 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 187s and '76, by C. Sager; in 1877 and '78, by R. 
 Decker ; and in 1879 and '80, by T. S. Lent. 
 
 In 1833, Lorenzo Dow preached in the Metho- 
 dist edifice at Pleasant Valley. During an even- 
 ing service two young ladies sitting in the gallery 
 chanced to whisper, and were instantly heard by 
 the eccentric preacher, upon which he made a 
 pause in his discourse. " It was thought " — he 
 said — " by some, there were no women in Heaven 
 for this reason : The Revelator says there was 
 silence in Heaven for the space of one-half an 
 hour, which could not have happened if women 
 had been there." At the close of that service he 
 announced to preach, again in the morning at 
 sunrise, prompt. The doors would be closed at 
 that time, and no one allowed to enter. Long be- 
 fore the appointed time the house was filled with 
 anxious people to hear the renowned Evangelist, 
 but many who were dilatory, were compelled to 
 remain outside, as he had the key of the door in 
 his pocket. 
 
 Christian Church of Washington Hollow. — A 
 meeting of the " Friends of Christian Union and 
 Religious Liberty" was held at the Ensign House 
 on December r, i860, to council upon the or- 
 ganization of a society and build a house of wor- 
 ship. But few were present, and they adjourned 
 without taking action, and appointed a meeting on 
 the 3d, following. A goodly assemblage met upon 
 that day, and were addressed by William W. Stewart 
 and Rev. P. Roberts, after which Enos Northrup, 
 Jacob Vail and Reuben C. VerVlanck, of Pleasant 
 Valley, and Charles McCormac and Elias N. 
 Haight, of Washington, were chosen trustees. 
 Arrangements were made for the building of a 
 church, which was soon commenced. During Jan- 
 uary and February of 1861, Rev. P. Roberts held 
 meetings in " Floral Hall " upon the agricultural 
 grounds. 
 
 The church was dedicated on the 23d of Octo- 
 ber, 1861, by Rev. P. Roberts and Rev. M. Cum- 
 mings, of New York City, of the Christian Church, 
 and Revs. Lent and Lyman, of the Methodist. 
 
 The pastors have been as follows : Rev. P. Roberts, 
 Rev. E. Jones, Rev. Teller, Rev. D. P. Putnam, 
 Rev. P. Roberts and Rev. Jesse Card, at present 
 officiating. 
 
 Physicians. — Who the first practicing physician 
 of this town was is not definitely known, but in all 
 probability was Dr. Beldon, who died in 1815 at 
 an advanced age. The oldest inhabitants of the 
 town well remember him, and think he settled here 
 about I77&. During the latter part of his prac- 
 
 tice Dr. Ely located here and gained a large prac- 
 tice, but became intemperate and neglected his 
 profession, which brought him to the alms-house, 
 where he died. Contemporary with him, in the 
 last years of his usefulness, was Dr. Downs, who 
 remained several years after Ely died. Drs. Can- 
 field and Nelson followed, the latter taking Dr. 
 Downs' place and practice. The last two were 
 here about 1825-30. About the latter year Dr. 
 Hurd came, and for a short time the last four phy- 
 sicians were here together. They were followed 
 by Dr. Traver, who still remains, being the only 
 one of the old school left. Drs. Do wan and Wilson 
 afterwards followed. The latter removed to Pough- 
 keepsie, and Dr. McClorey fills his place. 
 
 Schools. — -The schools of this town are most 
 promising. Long years ago a deep interest was 
 taken in the cause of education, as has been inti- 
 mated in the founding of high graded schools. 
 From time to time "select schools" have been 
 kept by proficient teachers and very liberally pat- 
 ronized, but not to the detriment of the common 
 school. It is a fact worthy to be considered that 
 such are an advantage to the common schools sur- 
 rounding them, and wherever is found such a school 
 of a few years' standing, the district schools near 
 are far ahead of those more remote. A better 
 class of teachers are furnished, and competition of 
 scholarship is invariably indulged, the consequences 
 of which are regular attendance, studiousness and 
 thoroughness. The records for the common 
 schools for the year 1821, show that there were 
 six hundred and twelve children under the age of 
 fifteen, and over five years, in the town, and the 
 amount of public money received by the commis- 
 sioners, Thomas Berry and James Mott, was three 
 hundred arid ninety-two dollars and thirty cents. 
 From the commissioners certificate of apportion- 
 ment to the Supervisors for the year 1881, we learn 
 that the number under twenty-one and over five in 
 the twelve districts was eight hundred and forty-two, 
 and the amount ot public money apportioned was 
 $1,480.38. 
 
 The supervisors and town clerks of Pleasant 
 Valley, since the year 1824, have been as 
 follows : — 
 
 Supervisors. Clerks. 
 
 i824-'2S. Sam'lM. Thurston,©. D. Collins. 
 
 1826. Peter K. Debois, Jacob Emott. 
 
 1827. do do O.D.Collins. 
 
 1828. Anthony Badgley, do do 
 i829-'3i. do do Joel Terrill. 
 1832. do do Henry Flagler. 
 1833-34. Robert Lawrence, Joel Terrill. 
 
TOWN OF PLEASANT VALLEY. 
 
 319 
 
 1835- 
 1836. 
 
 i837-'39- 
 1840-41. 
 
 1842-43- 
 
 1844. 
 
 1845. 
 
 1846. 
 
 1847. 
 
 T848. 
 
 1849. 
 
 1850. 
 
 1851. 
 
 1852. 
 
 1853-54- 
 
 1855. 
 
 i856-'s8. 
 
 1859. 
 
 i860. 
 
 i86i-'62. 
 
 i863-'64. 
 
 1865. 
 
 1866. 
 
 1867. 
 
 i868-'7o. 
 
 1871. 
 
 1872. 
 
 1873- 
 1874. 
 
 1875-78- 
 1S79. 
 1880. 
 1881. 
 
 Charles Brown, Joel Terrill. 
 Thomas Welling, do do 
 Charles Brown, do do 
 John H. Newcomb, do do 
 Isaac Van Wagner, do do 
 Oliver Devine, John B. Dinekin. 
 
 do do Seneca Dean. 
 
 Daniel O. Ward, do do 
 
 George Holmes, do do 
 
 do do Isaac F. Collins. 
 
 Franklin Dudley, do do 
 
 do do Joel Holmes. 
 
 Isaac F. Smith, Samuel Welde. 
 do do John O. Holmes. 
 
 Isaac Van Wagner, Thomas Wiggins. 
 Isaac P. Marshall, George W. Forman. 
 
 [Records lost.] 
 William Herrick, 
 George Lamoree, 
 John W. Lattin, 
 
 Joel O. Holmes. 
 John C. Velie. 
 do do 
 
 V. M. Townsend, Joel O. Holmes. 
 Thomas Alley, do do 
 
 V. M. Townsend, do do 
 
 Dewitt Webb, John B. Duncan. 
 
 Isaac P. Marshall, Wright Devine. 
 George E. Bower, Joel O. Holmes. 
 
 do do 
 
 Anthony Briggs, 
 John M. Bowman, 
 
 do do 
 
 Abram Divine, 
 
 do do 
 
 Frank L. Akerley, 
 
 Albert Devine. 
 
 do do 
 
 David Hastings. 
 Albert Devine. 
 B. F. Badgley. 
 Henry McLaurey. 
 do do 
 
 Pleasant Valley in the War of the Rebellion. 
 
 When the late Rebellion broke out, her sons 
 stepped forth with firm patriotism and alacrity 
 worthy of the blood of revolutionary sires, to defend 
 the stars and stripes and assert their supremacy 
 to float over our ramparts. Many left their 
 homes and endured the fatigue, privations and 
 dangers attending a soldier's life and fell by dis- 
 ease. Many fell before the cannon's mouth and 
 lie sleeping upon the field of their glorious deeds. 
 Many returned with scars as evidence of patriot- 
 ism, while others having passed through the struggle 
 without an injury, returned with a love of country 
 of deeper root and with many tales peculiar to the 
 camp and battle-field, that will be re-iterated by 
 their children and grandchildren long after they 
 have passed away to join their comrades beyond 
 strife and contentions. Those who enlisted from 
 and in behalf of the town, as near as can be ascer- 
 tained, were as follows : — 
 
 William Palmatier, Charles E. Dennis, Edward 
 Vail, Collins Jackson, Theodore Williams, Isaac 
 Leroy J. F. Bevits, John Silvernail, Leonard 
 Mitchell, John Corumph, Lawrence Russell, Pat- 
 
 rick Mangin, Aaron N. Plain, Thomas Jones, 
 Henry L. James, William Genet, Alfred Williams, 
 Horace Millard, William H. McFarlin, Henry P. 
 Williams, Allen J. Velie, Theodore Lockwood, 
 William H. Cary, James Murphy, Smith Allen, 
 Henry Peters, William Jones, Fred Gerard, 
 James E. Mastin, Rowland Marshall, William B. 
 Place, Joseph Wooley, Charles E. Florence, 
 Thomas F. Gibbons, Benjamin Burrows, William 
 C. Wiles, Charles Pells, John L. Haight, John H. 
 Smith, William H. Mackey, Oliver Underhill, 
 William Tablemen, Daniel B. Rider, Thomas 
 Williams, William Walker, Riley Crocker, James 
 Gibbons, Howard Tihen, Charles F. Wilkeson, 
 Thomas Murrey, Seth Wheeler, John Brennan, 
 Christopher Burt, John Williams, Lewis Lawrence, 
 Corporal John Lockwood, Archibald Ostram, S. 
 Glensal, Edward Waters, John Townsend, James 
 A. Leroy, Morris Wagner, William Knowlton, 
 John A. Simone, J. Stewart, Charles Baker^ Philip 
 Duncan, John C. Bradley, Spencer Duncan, Isaac 
 Green, Charles E. VanLock, Elijah Weldon, Will- 
 iam H. Branne, James O. Lake, John McCord, 
 William E. Lawrence, George Williams, Nelson 
 Gray, James Storms, George L. Mastin, James 
 Rue, Andrew Spencer, Nathaniel Horton, Benja- 
 min James, Walter Mastin, George F. Abbott, 
 Richard R. Hawkins, Matthew Shilborne, Peter 
 H. Fanander, Jacob Webber^ Jacob F. Miller, 
 Charles Smith, John Hammond, Robert Vance, 
 Harmon Goodeck, Christopher Bliri, Edward Mat- 
 thews, 2d Corporal John Taff, 2d Corporal Will- 
 iam Walker, Adam McHahna, Martin L. Riggs, 
 Daniel Kepp, William C. Williams, William Mar- 
 tin, William Webb, Thomas Casey, Allen S. Clark, 
 John Welsh, Charles Moore, William McMachin, 
 Charles Tager, Michael Brennen, William Jones, 
 Frederick Gerard, John Parke, John J. Marshall, 
 Walter Palmatier, Abram Turner, Benjamin H. 
 Vanwyck, Joseph E. Lockwood, Edward Waller, 
 Peter G. Hemlett, Walter Smith, John H. Smith, 
 Walter P. Mastin, Charles H. Mastin, Matthew 
 Foster, Everett Storms, John H. Mastin, Bartlet 
 H. Bishop, George S. Cady, Edward Cady, James 
 E. Mastin and ten others, who received a bounty of 
 $300, and were credited to the town. 
 
 John Hart Mastin was taken prisoner after 
 taking part in eighteen battles, and died in Salis- 
 bury prison. Walter Mastin died of chronic dys- 
 entery at Fort Schuyler, immediately after the bat- 
 tle of Savannah. John Henry Smith, died of 
 chronic dysentery after the battle T)f Fort Hudson, 
 in which he was engaged. Wm. P, Smith served 
 
320 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 in the Peninsula campaign, and after two years 
 service was killed at Malvern Hill, July i, 1863. 
 
 Peter G. Hemlett was promoted to Hospital 
 Steward, June 9, 1864. Abram Turner, was taken 
 prisoner in 1864, and confined in Libby prison, was 
 removed to Salisbury, and at the close of the war 
 was discharged but died at Savannah, Ga. Row- 
 land Marshall was promoted from private to 2d 
 Lieutenant, Sept. i, 1862, and died at Georgetown, 
 September, 1863. Henry P. Williams, (colored) 
 served two and one-half years, participating in the 
 battles of Gettysburg, Ringgold, Atlanta, Black 
 River Swamp, and received a gun-shot through the 
 body, and returned home. 
 
 The total sum paid to the volunteers noticed 
 was $27,490, but the whole cost of the war to the 
 town cannot be ascertained, as no record of it was 
 kept. Each quota was promptly filled and the ex- 
 pense incurred, as promptly met by taxation, 
 which, though heavy, was a much less burden 
 upon the people than the simple town expenses 
 have been since the close of the war. It is a 
 fact worthy to be chronicled that the vast ex- 
 pense to which our county was driven to incur 
 through the Rebellion, was the most cheerfully met 
 and easily paid of any since the organization of 
 the government. During the whole struggle, the 
 crops throughout the Northern States were large, 
 and every article of production brought exorbitant 
 prices, which, through the economical and temper- 
 ate habits of the agriculturists, as a class, enabled 
 them to meet every requirement with promptness 
 and without financial embarrassment. 
 
 CHAPTER XXVII. 
 History of the Town of Washington. 
 
 IN 1697 the lands of this town were purchased 
 from the Crown by nine men, who formed a co- 
 partnership, and were known as the Nine Partners. 
 They were Caleb Heathcote, Augustus Graham, 
 James Emott, Henry Filkins, David Jamison, 
 Hendryck Ten Eyck, John Aaretson, William 
 Creed and Jarvis Marshall. The territory they 
 purchased was large, and upon the division of it 
 Henry Filkins' portion lay in the western part of 
 the town, and was for a long time called Filkin- 
 town. He settled at Washington Hollow, and was 
 a very prominent man of that day. In 1743 he 
 was appointed sheriff of Duchess County, and held 
 that offica until the year 1748. He was member 
 
 of the Assembly from 1751 to 1758, But few of 
 the family remain within the county ; their num- 
 bers are small, and none possess any of the original 
 tract. From a writing bearing date 1745, we find 
 that James Emott also was a near neighbor, and 
 sold to Frederick Ham a tract which per- 
 haps is the same upon which Milton Ham, 
 a grandson, now resides. Mr. Ham is nearly 
 eighty years of age, and was born upon the 
 same farm as his father, Conradt, before him. The 
 old mansion is still standing, near the present fam- 
 ily residence, and presents a marked contrast to 
 the progress of the age in wealth and architeqtural 
 designs. A settlement was made here at an early 
 day, at least as early as 1730, but did not make 
 any advance to the west till the year 1750. The 
 original settlers were from the eastern states, 
 and people of refinement and intelligence. Among 
 their children was Malancthon Smith, who became 
 a representative man, a strict churchman and politi- 
 cal leader. He was sheriff of the county in 1777 
 and '78, receiving the appointment from the Pro- 
 vincial government, and also member of the First 
 Provincial Congress in 1775. But few of the set- 
 tlers found in this part of the town were disloyal 
 to the Provincial government. -They early formed 
 a church, as before stated, to which they strictly 
 adhered and lived in unity and fellowship. 
 
 The Hudson becoming the great thoroughfare of 
 the day, along which large settlements were being 
 made, many of those who located near the " Hol- 
 low " removed to the river during the Revolution 
 and after, breaking up in a measure, the original 
 social circle, and giving room for others whose fam- 
 ilies are now to be found the most prominent of 
 the vicinity. The most noted among those 
 who removed were the Oakleys and Platts, whose 
 children became popular in the political fields as 
 worthy representatives. Nothing of inaportance 
 occurred within the town during the Revolutionary 
 war, in a hostile point of view, except the skirmish 
 referred to in the annals of Pleasant Valley, which 
 occurred upon the territoiy held by that town, 
 but indulged in by the inhabitants chiefly of 
 Washington. 
 
 On the 7th of March, 1788, the county was re- 
 organized and eight towns formed, of which Wash- 
 ington was one; named in honor of that noble 
 general whom the world reveres. 
 
 The act defining the boundaries of the town is 
 as follows : — 
 
 "All that part of the said County of Duchess 
 bounded southerly by the town of Beekman, wes^ 
 
TOWN OF WASHINGTON. 
 
 321 
 
 terly by Poughkeepsie and Clinton (now Pleasant 
 Valley) northerly by the north bounds of a tract 
 of land called the Lower or Great Nine Partners, 
 and easterly by the easternmost line of lots laid 
 out in the general division heretofore made of the 
 said tract of land called Lower and Great Nine 
 Partners shall be, and hereby is erected into a 
 town by the name of Washington." 
 
 The surface is rolling, and over it are strewn 
 water-worn pebbles, giving it the appearance of 
 having been inundated in the prehistoric past, 
 beyond the vision of man, when hills and moun- 
 tains were the " habitation of the deep." 
 
 Considering the intelligence of the people of 
 this town from the first settlement down to the 
 present time, we are at a loss to account for the 
 negHgent manner in which the Records have been 
 kept. There is evidence that no regular set of 
 books have been kept until a recent date, but that 
 all transactions have been entrusted to loose papers, 
 which have from time to time been wafted away, 
 perhaps to swell the bulk of some economical 
 housewife's "paper-rag bag," and thereby add to 
 the culinary department many useful articles which 
 are usually obtained in that way from the "Yankee 
 tin peddler." 
 
 There is not a survey of a road in this town 
 to be found, and when questions of doubt arise, in 
 which these limits are connected — the doubt must 
 be cleared by conjecture and be doubtful still. 
 The records of such ancient towns are usually in- 
 teresting and instructive and it is deeply regretted 
 that those of this town have not been preserved. 
 
 The ofificials previous to 1866, failed to preserve 
 a record, and we have only the names of that date 
 and after : — 
 
 Supervisors. Town Clerks. 
 
 1866. Geo. H. Brown, Geo. F. Lawton, 
 i867-'69. Geo. Titus, Geo. H. Warner, 
 
 1870. Walter Woodin, do do 
 
 187 1. John P. Anderson, Charles H. Loosie, 
 
 1872. James B. Sisson, F. C. Tompkins, 
 ^873. John P. Anderson, Charles H. Loosie, 
 
 1874. TimothyW.Preston, F. C. Tompkins, 
 
 1875. James Deming, Chas. H. Loosie, 
 
 1876. Geo. P. Tompkins", Andrew J. Sembler, 
 
 1877. do do Fred Warner, 
 
 1878. do do J. Frank Tripp, 
 1879-81. Lewis D.Germond, do do 
 
 The Ductless County Agricultural Society. — The 
 Duchess, Co. Agricultural Society was organized in 
 1841 ; receiving as its first State appropriation $rs7, 
 which was to be granted yearly, providing the society 
 raised an equal yearly amount by voluntary sub- 
 scription. 
 
 At a meeting held Oct. 16, 1841, at the then 
 Emigh's Hotel, upon a call of the County Clerk, 
 
 Henry Staats of Red Hook was elected President 
 of the Society ; John Wilkinson, of Union Vale^ 
 Thomas Swift, of Amenia and Stephen Thorn, of 
 Fishkill, Vice-President's; Geo. Wilkinson, Treas- 
 urer, and Obadiah Titus of Washington, and Edgar 
 Sleight, of Fishkill, Secretaries. Later in the same 
 year George Kneeland, of Poughkeepsie, was ap- 
 pointed secretary in place of Obadiah Titus, re- 
 signed. 
 
 Ample funds having been raised by voluntary 
 subscription the society was considered a perma- 
 nent organization, and a meeting of the Board of 
 Managers was held February 8, 1842, at which it 
 was decided that a fair should be held the first 
 Wednesday and Thursday of the following October. 
 A premium list was then issued amounting to $373, 
 upon farm productions. The first fair was held at 
 the time appointed, upon the grounds and at the 
 hotel of Daniel P. Emigh, Washington Hollow. 
 
 The table for the display of fruits, vegetables, 
 domestic goods, needlework, flowers, etc., was set 
 in the parlors of the hotel and was twenty-six feet 
 long and about four wide. 
 
 The farm stock was tied to stakes or shut in 
 temporary pens on the meadow in the rear of 
 the house. The fair was considered highly suc- 
 cessful ; the prizes actually paid amounting to $294. 
 The fair for the year 1843, was held in the village 
 of Poughkeepsie ; the live stock being airanged on 
 a vacant lot, corner of Mill and Catharine streets, 
 and the tables set in the village hall. 
 
 The premiums awarded this year amounted to 
 $419. At the fair of 1844, which was held at 
 Washington Hollow, the Treasurer made his re- 
 port for the three years that the society had been 
 in existence. He stated that the sum appropri- 
 ated by the State for this period had been $471, 
 voluntary subscription, $796; prizes paid in cash, 
 plate and books, $1,014.75; expenses for the time, 
 $109.58; total payments for the three years, 
 $1,124.23. The fair of .1845 '^'^ "i^^^ in Pough- 
 keepsie ; those of 1846, '47 and '48 in Washington 
 Hollow; that of 1849 in Poughkeepsie; and 1850, 
 '51 at Washington Hollow. 
 
 In 1852, the society made a permanent loca- 
 tion of its grounds, and erected thereon a suitable 
 building and fixtures for holding its fairs; leasing 
 of Mr. TomUnson, of Washington Hollow, seven 
 acres of land which were enclosed, and a hall fifty 
 by eighty feet erected for an exhibition building, 
 with suitable pens, stables, etc., built. The cost 
 of these improvements amounted to $2,000, which 
 was mostly raised by voluntary subscription. The 
 
322 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 fair for the year was held upon the new grounds, 
 and the receipts from all sources amounted to 
 about $i,ooo. 
 
 In 1859, suitable sheds and stables for stock 
 were built at an expense of $500, which sum was 
 raised by voluntary subscription. This year on 
 account of storms the receipts of the fair did not 
 meet expenses, which were over $150, but money 
 was borrowed and premiums paid. In 1862 the 
 grounds were enlarged ; twenty-one acres of land 
 being enclosed. A half-mile track was laid out and 
 graded, more stables were built and sheds re- 
 arranged, at an expense of $1,650, which was most- 
 ly raised by subscription. In 1866 the grounds 
 and buildings proving inadequate for the increas- 
 ing business of the society, it was decided by a 
 committee held January 10, 1867, consisting of 
 the officers of the society, together with John 
 Trowbridge, Charles E. Sands, John S. Thorn and 
 Stephen Angell, to agree upon a plan of 
 new buildings and grounds, and they directed the 
 Secretary to take general charge of the work. The 
 work was completed in time for the annual fair of 
 this year, at an expense of over $7,000. The two 
 exhibition buildings cover an area of over 9,000 
 square feet, and the grounds contain something 
 over thirty acres of land. The receipts for the fair 
 of this year amounted to $4,000. The year 1869, 
 was the most successful in point of attendance, 
 and receipts that the society has yet held ; the re- 
 ceipts all told amounting to about $6,000. About 
 this time the success of the society led to the for- 
 mation of rival organizations. The first of these 
 was the Rhinebeck Association, meeting at Rhine- 
 beck village, next the " East Duchess," located at 
 Amenia, and last the " Hudson River," which held 
 its meetings at Poughkeepsie. These rival or- 
 ganizations seriously injured the prosperity of the 
 society, there being a gradual decHne for several 
 years in the attendance and receipts. In the years 
 of 1878-9, the president's chair was filled by Mr. 
 Benson J. Lossing,the eminent historian. About 
 this time the society had reached its lowest plane 
 in point of support and general interest; its re- 
 ceipts falling below $2,600 with expenses above 
 the ability of the society to pay. But the other 
 associations were also proving unsuccessful finan- 
 cially; the Rhinebeck Society being the first to 
 disband, and the "Hudson River" after many 
 pecuniary reverses soon following its example. 
 
 The old society now soon began to show decid- 
 ed signs of prosperity ; the last year of Mr. Los- 
 sing's pre^dency showing a decided increase in the 
 
 attendance, receipts and general interest. The 
 years 1880-81, find the society eminently success- 
 ful, the receipts each year amounting to over 
 $4,000. 
 
 The following is a list of the officers of the asso- 
 ciation since its organization: 1841-44, Henry 
 Staats, president, George Wilkinson, treasurer, 
 Obadiah Titus and Edgar Sleight, secretaries ; 1845, 
 Stephen Thorn, president, George Wilkinson, treas- 
 urer, and Henry Mesier and Edgar Sleight, secreta- 
 ries; 1846-47, Stephen Haight, president, George 
 Wilkinson, treasurer, Henry Wyck and Henry 
 Mesier, secretaries; 1848, CorneUus Dubois, pres- 
 ident, George Wilkinson, treasurer, and Barclay 
 Haviland and James Wilkinson, secretaries; 1849, 
 Cornelius Dubois, president, Henry A. Field, 
 treasurer, Barclay Haviland and James Wilkin- 
 son, secretaries; 1850-51, Cornelius Dubois, 
 president, George Wilkinson, treasurer, Barclay 
 Haviland and Samuel T. Tabor, secretaries; 
 1852-53, Elnathan Beekman, president, Bar- 
 clay Haviland, treasurer, and S. T. Tabor 
 and John Bloom, secretaries; 1854-55, Edgar 
 Thome, president, G. W. Coffin, treasurer, and 
 G. W. Payne, secretary, (removed and George 
 Sweet appointed to fill his place;) i856-'57, Dan- 
 iel B. Haight, president, S. C. Clinton, treasurer, 
 and George Sweet, secretary; 1858-59, Peter 
 R. Sleight, president, John G. Halstead, treasurer, 
 and George Sweet, secretary; 1860-61, James 
 Haviland, president, C. S. Wainright, treasurer, 
 and George Sweet, secretary; 1862 -'63, Abraro 
 Staats, president, W. H. Beekman, treasurer, and 
 George Sweet, secretary; i864-'65, John C. 
 Halstead, president, W. W. Haxton, treasurer, 
 George Sweet, secretary; i866-'67, John U. 
 Able, president, W. W. Haxton, treasurer, George 
 Sweet, secretary; i868-'69, W. W. HaxtQn, pres- 
 ident, Thomas Jaycox, treasurer, and George 
 Sweet, secretary; i87o-'7i, John W. Storm, presi- 
 dent, Thomas Jaycox, treasurer, George Sweet, 
 secretary; i872-'3, Stephen Angell, president, 
 Thomas Jaycox, treasurer, George Sweet, sec- 
 retary; i874-'7s, David Barnes, president, Thom- 
 as Jaycox, treasurer, and George Sweet, secretary; 
 i876-'77, Thomas Jaycox, president, Henry Bost- 
 wick, treasurer, and George Sweet, secretary; 
 i878-'79, Benson J. Lossing, president, Henry 
 Bostwick, treasurer, and George Sweet, secretary ; 
 1880-81, Edward Gridley, president, Henry Bost- 
 wick, treasurer, George Sweet, secretary. 
 
 The last exhibition of the society was its fortieth. 
 Like all other associations of the kind it has had 
 
':§m^mm^^?MMS^^MM^^^^M' 
 
 SUMMER RESIDENCE OF HON. JACOn I 
 
CARPENTER. LITTLE REST, N. Y. 
 
TOWN OF WASHINGTON. 
 
 323 
 
 its successes and its reverses. The Eastern Duchess 
 association still holds its fairs, but its grounds are 
 far removed from those of the society, and they 
 interfere but little with each other. It has always 
 been the aim of its managers to treat all branches of 
 industry alike. Mere sporting has not been en- 
 couraged. Trotting has been allowed for small 
 premiums, but only so far as it has been thought 
 necessary to encourage the production of an im- 
 proved class of animals. 
 
 Thus it encourages improvements in all kinds of 
 farm stock, farm machinery and farm productions 
 of every kind, the useful and the ornamental. It 
 is believed that the systenj so far followed is in the 
 true interests of agricultural industry. In its efforts 
 it has ever had the cordial support of the true 
 farmer. With the continuance of that support it 
 cannot fail to succeed. From its small beginning 
 it has reached its present proportions. With the 
 present good feeling, with the State aid, with its 
 ample grounds, its exhibition buildings, its stables, 
 sheds, its many other fixtures, all in good order ; 
 the steadfast support of its many friends, the expe- 
 rience of the past, it is believed that its future 
 career will be one of permanent success, usefulness, 
 and honor. 
 
 Physicians. — It is impossible, at this time, to 
 tell who were the first physicians of the town. Un- 
 doubtedly the settlers near Washington Hollow, 
 who were the earliest, had a physician previous to 
 the coming of Dr. Ely at Pleasant Valley, who at- 
 tended to all the inhabitants. Dr. Ely was long 
 the attending physician of many of the old inhabi- 
 tants throughout the town and during the last year 
 of his practice he was contemporary with Dr. La- 
 throp, who located in this section about the year 
 1790. With Dr. Lathrop was Dr. Benj. De- 
 lavergne, and later ' still Dr. Treadwell. Drs. La- 
 throp and Delavergne were the leading practitioners 
 of the county for several years. They were of the 
 allopathic school, which was known in those days 
 as "Pothecary," and much against the custom of 
 to-day, carried a hi^ hand in bleeding and vom- 
 iting their patients, or as a comic writer once 
 said : — 
 
 " Physic, bleed and sweat em. 
 Then if they choose to die, 
 Why, verily, let 'em." 
 
 Dr. Orton, Dr. Ensign, Dr. Charles Haight and 
 Dr. Thorn followed each other in succession, and 
 added to the corps ability and respectability. Dr. 
 Ranker came next and was followed by the present 
 practitioners. Dr. Sydney Henry, of Mabbettsville, 
 Dr. J. O. Pingry and Dr. J. F. Goodell, of Mill- 
 
 brook, and Dr. C. H. Tripp of Washington Hol- 
 low. 
 
 Early Settlers. — Among the early settiers 
 were the Harts, who built the first grist mill in the 
 town about the year 1755. ^^ ^T^°! Tripp Mo- 
 sher built a large grist mill with all the " modern 
 conveniences," upon or near the site of the pres- 
 ent "Haight mill." The old building stood till the 
 year 1858, two years before it reached its cen- 
 tennial anniversary, when it was torn down by Geo. 
 P. Tompkins to give room for the present "Haight 
 mill," which he immediately built. Mr. Tomp- 
 kins' father was for a number of years the "Miller" 
 in the old mill, commencing his labors about the 
 year 1815. 
 
 The Harts as we notice built their mill back of 
 the present "Anson mill," down by the brook and 
 it was reached only by driving down the steep bank. 
 It was a small affair at first, but in 1790, was en- 
 larged by Philip Hart, who had then become the 
 owner of the property. 
 
 Mr. Hart was an energetic man and took a very 
 active part in the church and town business, besides 
 doing much for the small settlement he drew around 
 his place, and which is one of the most pleasant 
 retreats to be found in the county. He died at his 
 home on the 30th of September, 1837, at the age 
 of eighty-eight, and was buried in the Friends' 
 cemetery, where his ashes lie with many of his 
 kindred. 
 
 In 1 809, a fulling-mill was erected here and was 
 followed by an establishment for the cutting of dye- 
 woods by Gifford, Sherman & Innis about the year 
 1820. Soon after that date quite an interest was 
 awakenened throughout the county in manufacture- 
 ing, especially of cotton goods. The Yankee genius 
 had awakened to the utilizing of the numerous 
 streams for such purposes, and whenever a " privil- 
 ege " could be found, it was brought into action, if 
 not in an extended, most surely in a small way, and 
 the stream at this place presenting required facili- 
 ties, a cotton mill was built about the year 1830, 
 and for a while bid fair to be a success, but at last 
 the firm failed, and the mill was closed. 
 
 The building was divided and a portion used in 
 the construction of the flouring mill, now owned by 
 the heirs of Benjamin Anson. The latter mill was 
 erected in 1856. For many years the people 
 throughout the surrounding country did their trad- 
 ing at Mechanic, there being no other store nearer 
 than Pleasant Valley, but about the time the "Dye- 
 woodworks," were in progress, Dr. Treadway com- 
 menced the mercantile business in one part of his 
 
324 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 house and continued a number of years. He also 
 practiced medicine, but took greater pleasure in 
 attending to the store, as it brought him in contact 
 with the ladies to whom he showed great respect 
 and never allowed one to leave his store without 
 " treating " her to some Uquor. Many of the old 
 residents still remember his generosity and regards 
 to the ladies. That store was made by circum- 
 stances subject to the usual changes experienced 
 in stores of this kind, until the business was con- 
 ducted by George P. Tompkins and Wm. E. Smith 
 as partners, who removed it to Millbrook in July 
 1870, as the first " store" in the new village. They 
 were soon followed by Eugene Andrew as the first 
 druggist. 
 
 Millbrook. 
 
 Upon the building of the Newburgh, Duchess 
 & Connecticut Railroad, in 1869, the enterprise 
 gave birth to a village a little to the south of Hart's, 
 named Millbrook, which is fast robbing the former 
 of its ancient business. Doubtless, ere long, both 
 settlements will be included in one, and bear the 
 modern appellation, regardless of old time associa- 
 tions. Millbrook owes its existence as does the 
 Railroad in a great measure, to the enterprise and 
 Uberality of Mr. George H. Brown a gentlemen of 
 wealth and culture who settled in this town in 1864. 
 
 One of the first projects established at the new 
 centre for the advantage of the farming com- 
 munity was the condensing of milk. A company 
 was formed under the title of " United States Con- 
 densing Company," with a capital of $40,000. 
 The property changed ownership and was con- 
 ducted by another firm known as "The National 
 Condensing Company of New York City. In the 
 fall of 1881, Henry T. Canfield purchased the 
 concern and again changed its name to " Canfield 
 Condensing Factory." The milk is purchased of 
 the dairymen in the surrounding neighborhoods at 
 an average price of three cents per quart, through 
 the year, and delivered daily at the factory in a 
 sweet and pure condition. About 125,000 quarts 
 are condensed each month and put in the market 
 in two ways, — condensed and plain condensed. 
 The former is prepared with the aid of the finest 
 sugars, and sealed in one-half and one pound tin 
 cans, and intended to be capable of being trans- 
 ported to any part without being affected by either 
 climate or time. The latter, or "plain," is simply 
 the milk condensed without mixture for immediate 
 use, and is shipped daily to New York City in 
 forty-quart cans. The power is both steam and 
 
 water. The former is used principally for con- 
 densing, which requires a boiler of ninety horse- 
 power. The whole process is conducted in a tidy 
 manner, the greatest caution observed in the 
 purity and cleanliness of the milk and vessels used. 
 
 Hart's village is upon the Sharon branch of the 
 old Duchess turnpike, chartered in 1805. Here 
 we may, perhaps refer, without digressing too far, 
 to the fact that after the bill was passed granting a 
 charter to the Turnpike Company, several per- 
 sons through whose lands the road passed, peti- 
 tioned to have it changed at several points, and 
 the change being made, in some of the law books 
 only the statute so changing the road is noticed. 
 The change was made within a few days of the 
 statute granting the charter. 
 
 Millbrook Ues between that and the Dover 
 branches chartered at the same time, and consists 
 of two churches. Episcopal and Roman Catholic, 
 several stores and about fifty houses, besides rail- 
 road buildings, etc. 
 
 Another monument to the generosity of Mr. 
 Brown, that adds greatly to the appearance of the 
 neighborhood, is the Millbrook Reformed Church. 
 
 The Millbrook Reformed Church was organized 
 in 1864. Mr. Brown first organized the two Sab- 
 bath Schools, one at Washington Four Corners, 
 the other at " Titus' Factory " or " Anson's Hill." 
 The former, from a few, soon numbered sixty schol- 
 ars, with eleven teachers, and held their services in 
 Mrs. Samuel Brigg's parlor, both growing to such 
 proportions that it became necessary to build a 
 church edifice. Those who clung to the reformed 
 faith being scattered over a large territory, it was 
 agreed to centrally locate the building and place 
 it at Washington Hollow. In February, 1865, 
 about forty families assembled to take in consider- 
 ation the building and expense to be incurred, 
 when Mr. Brown agreed to furnish the necessary 
 funds. Upon the ist day of April following, the 
 ground was first broken, and on the 1st of June 
 the walls were ready for the laying of the corner 
 stone. A delegation from the churches of Drs. 
 Hegemans and McEckeson, of Poughkeepsie, with 
 their choirs, attended on the day the corner stone 
 was laid. The edifice was finished during the sea- 
 son. Mr. James Brown gave the parsonage 
 grounds to the society, besides donating Uberally 
 toward the parsonage and church. In fact, the 
 church has been blessed by having members of 
 large generosity, whose culture is shown in the taste" 
 displayed in the edifice and its surroundings, as 
 well as in the business transactions relating to the 
 
TOWN OF WASHINGTON. 
 
 325 
 
 church. A circulating Ubrary of one hundred 
 volumes was given to the society by Mr. George 
 H. Brown, which he afterwards increased to three 
 hundred. 
 
 From 1864, to November, 1865, Rev. J. L. Zab- 
 riskie supplied the pulpit, and from January, 1866, 
 to May, 1867, Rev. Henry L. Cobb. On the i3th 
 of the latter month Rev. Mr. Cobb was received 
 as the pastor. Rev. A. P. Stockwell officiated as 
 assistant from June, 1869, to December, i87i,and 
 William J. Hill as missionary, from September, 
 1872 to 1875. In May, 1881, Rev. H. N. Cobb's 
 pastorate ceased, and in October following. Rev. 
 J. Edward Lyall was ordained as the present pas- 
 tor. 
 
 Roman Catholic Church. — The spacious and 
 costly Roman Catholic Church located here was 
 built in 1872, and is connected with the Church of 
 Amenia in pastoral charge. It is one of the strong- 
 est societies of the faith in the county, and a 
 proud mark of the energy and magnanimity of the 
 organization. 
 
 Grace Church. — A prosperous and earnest Epis- 
 copal organization of which Rev. J. C. F. Weills in 
 a communication says: "About the year 1849, 
 occasional services were held in Hart's village, by 
 various clergymen of the Protestant Episcopal 
 church." In 1863, the Rev. E. C. Pattison, rector 
 of St. Peter's church of Lithgow, commenced regu- 
 lar services, once a Sabbath. On the 6th of Sep- 
 tember, 1864, he organized a parish and the follow- 
 ing persons were elected as vestrymen : Henry 
 Peck, Senior Warden ; Isaac Haight, George N. 
 Brown, James Mastin, Samuel Thome, E. C. Cur- 
 tis, Howard Tripp, Silas Tripp and George P. 
 Tompkins, vestrymen. 
 
 Sept. 13, 1866, the corner-stone of a church was 
 laid and during the year 1867, the building was 
 erected and consecrated. It was of wood, with 
 slate roof, forty feet in length by twenty in width, 
 with a chancel about twelve by fifteen feet. This 
 church was burned on the 28th of September, 
 
 1870. A new lot in a more central location was 
 secured and a new church was built during the 
 latter part of that year and the fore part of 187 1, 
 which is gothic in style, sixty-four feet long 
 by thirty in width and cost about $6,000. It 
 was consecrated by the Right Rev. Horatio 
 Potter, D. D., D. C. L., LL D., Bishop of 
 the Diocese of New York, on November 23, 
 
 187 1, Its rectors have been as follows: Rev. 
 E. C. Pattison from 1864 to '68; Rev. B. F. Mil- 
 ler from 1869 to '75; Rev. J. C. S. Weills from 
 
 1876 to '78; Rev. J. H. Nimons, 1878 to '8i, and 
 J. C. S. Weills the present pastor. Connected with 
 this church in pastorship is "St. Peter's Church" of 
 Lithgow, which is one of the oldest parishes of the 
 Episcopal church in the State of New York. Rev, 
 Mr. Weills says : — 
 
 " It existed under Royal Charter. The land 
 upon which the first church was erected was given 
 to the parish by one of the Nine Partners. In its 
 earliest days, services were held in private houses 
 and a church edifice was erected in 1834, which 
 was destroyed by fire on the 22nd of March, 1880." 
 
 A new church was built upon the site and was 
 consecrated August 4, 1881. It is a gothic 
 structure and though smaller than the one destroy- 
 ed is much more ornate and better suited to the 
 services of the church. The first services were 
 held by rectors residing in the State of Connecticut. 
 Since its consecration it has been under Rev. J. C. 
 S. Weills, as rector. 
 
 Between Millbrook and Washington Hollow, 
 Beriah Swift established a coffee-mill factory in 
 1845, which was the first and only enterprise in this 
 part of the county. Attached to his works was a 
 small foundry to cast such parts of his invention 
 as were required. He associated with him his son, 
 and upon the father's death in 1866, the firm be- 
 came " Swift & Brothers," and continued in the 
 manufacture of the same line of goods, and at 
 present with more extended facilities, are turning 
 out the largest line of any firm in the United 
 States. In 1875 they began in addition, to man- 
 ufacture horse wheel-rakes of Mr. W. J. Lane's in- 
 vention, one of the members of the firm. In the 
 rake enterprise, is connected Mr. Fields, after whom 
 the rake is named. 
 
 Mabeettsville. 
 
 In the fore part of the present century, James 
 Mabbett, long a resident of New York city, and a 
 commission auctioneer, purchased a tract of land 
 at that hamlet and settled upon it as a farmer. 
 Soon a small settlement sprang up around him and 
 the name of Mabbettsville was given to it. An 
 " Inn " or house of entertainment was built, and 
 for the convenience of the neighborhood a post- 
 office was estabhshed. Whether James Mabbett 
 was of the family that settled at Mechanic or not 
 we are unable to say, positively, but think he was 
 a nephew of Joseph S., who sold the old Mabbett 
 dweUing and store to the Quakers. He was elect- 
 ed to various town offices and represented the 
 county in the Assembly, in 1834. It will not be 
 out of place, to here mention, that the settlement 
 
326 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 of " Mabbetts " when referred to at a date previous 
 to 1820, does not, or should not refer to Mabbetts- 
 ville of to-day, but to Mechanic, which at an early 
 day was spoken of as " Mabbetts." We have 
 found several documents that spoke explicitly of 
 " Mabbetts " as a place, and referred to Mechanic, 
 which was understood to mean the present loca- 
 tion of Mabbettsville. Therefore we present the 
 fact, that the places may not be confounded. 
 
 Mechanic. 
 
 Upon the Dover branch of the Duchess Turn- 
 pike, at or near the hamlet of Mechanic, a settle- 
 ment was made by Friends or Quakers, about the 
 year 1750. They were intelligent, thorough-going 
 people, and upon their coming were in very com- 
 fortable circumstances, financially speaking, which 
 enabled them to push their settlement forward, and 
 estabUsh such enterprises and conveniences as were 
 necessary for their comfort and prosperity. The 
 families that settled here and near, were the 
 Thornes and Tituses from Long Island, Coffins, 
 Mitchells and Pinkhams from Nantucket, the Com- 
 stocks. Aliens, Rogers, Hulls, Coleraans, Ricket- 
 sons, Willetts, Congdons, Haights and Talcotts. 
 from Rhode Island, Connecticut, Westchester 
 County, N. Y., and elsewhere. 
 
 There were three brothers of the Thornes, of 
 whom Isaac was the eldest, and we are led to think, 
 the possessor of the most land. He built a gambrel- 
 roofed house upon the hill east of the Brick Meet- 
 ing-house, and was a very energetic, business and 
 straight firm meeting-man. 
 
 In 1760, or a short time previous, one Samuel 
 Mabbett, a Quaker, came to this place and opened 
 a small store and inn for the accommodation of the 
 townsmen and the travelling public. It must be 
 remembered that the immigration from the Eastern 
 States, to the counties bordering the river, espec- 
 ially upon the west side, began to be of respectable 
 proportions at this time, and the travelling being 
 done with horse and ox teams, made quite a brisk 
 trade along the thoroughfares of the day, and this 
 hamlet being upon one of the rude routes usu- 
 ally taken, accommodations for such travellers were 
 necessary ; and who would learn the fact sooner 
 than a Yankee ? 
 
 Mabbett became ambitious, and in 1762 pur- 
 chased of Isaac Thome, ten acres of land, upon which 
 he intended to erect a large building to meet the 
 demands of his trade. The building was forty by 
 fifty feet, and was to be a dwelling, inn and store. 
 The prospective expense was greater in amount than 
 
 he could readily command, and he was forced to de- 
 lay the undertaking for some time. He visited 
 New York city, and pictured to his monied friends, 
 a "bonanza" from which wealth would be produced, 
 and they formed a company to carry out his plans. 
 The building when completed was two stories in 
 height, with a stone basement and gambrel roof. 
 The dwelling part was finished oif at great expense 
 and was the finest dweUing in that part of the State. 
 Here Mabbett did a large mercantile business, as 
 it was the first and only store in the town or for 
 many miles around. 
 
 Among the commodities from which he derived 
 the greatest profit was Uquor, chiefly rum, an arti- 
 cle that was considered indispensable in those 
 days. The reader will, doubtless, imagine such a 
 trade was rather poorly patronized in a Quaker 
 settlement, but it is not unlikely that many of 
 their members may have fallen into the then prev- 
 alent custom of partaking sparingly for the "stom- 
 ach's sake." We find that his trade was not con- 
 fined to this particular locality, but for a number 
 of miles around. The free-and-easy Dutch and 
 German settlers found near the river, were Mab- 
 bett's substantial customers ; and when the Revo- 
 lution broke out, and during that eventful period, 
 "Mabbett's" was the rendezvous of a certain class 
 whose loyalty to the Crown could only be measured 
 by the long draughts of "Flip and Nod" they dis- 
 posed of. The patriots were watchful of the ren- 
 dezvous and their vigilance drove the proprietor to 
 make an excavation near the fire-place in the 
 basement, in which he retreated occasionally to 
 avoid arrest. The cellar or basement of his 
 building was arranged so that he could drive a team 
 and wagon within and unload, and many aged 
 people remember their fathers telling of the num- 
 berless hogsheads of rum that were there drawn 
 at the close of the war. 
 
 The Nine Partners Boarding School. — At the. 
 close of the war, the foregoing property became 
 that of a son, Joseph Mabbett, and the father re- 
 moved to Lansingburgh, N. Y. The son contin- 
 ued the business until the 1st of May, 1795, when 
 he sold the building and ten acres of land belong- 
 ing to it, to a committee of Trustees appointed by 
 the Friends' Yearly Meeting, for the purpose of 
 establishing a boarding school. The considera- 
 tion was ;^i,6oo. New England money. 
 The committee was composed of Isaac 
 Thorne, Tripp Mosher and Joseph Talcott. 
 The building after undergoing some alterations 
 was opened in the fall of 1796, as a boarding 
 
NINE PARFNERS BOARDING SCHOOL (From a Sketch bv Alex. H ComK, 1820.] 
 
TOWN OF WASHINGTON. 
 
 327 
 
 school, under the superintendence of Tripp Mosher, 
 as Stewart, and Jonathan Talcott as principal 
 teacher. The basement was changed to a dining 
 room, the attic to sleeping apartments, and the 
 west part, formerly the store, to a school room. 
 
 The stricture having been lengthened by the 
 erection of a considerable addition at its eastern 
 end of the same height and style as the original 
 portion, presented an imposing front of ninety- 
 nine feet to the main street of the modest Uttle vil- 
 lage. We have the authority of one of the venerable 
 mothers of the place, for the allegation that Joseph 
 Mabbett was wont to state as a fact that ninety- 
 nine feet instead of one hundred, was fixed upon 
 as the extreme length " because it sounded longer" 
 to him. 
 
 The engraving of the " Old Quaker Gaol," as it 
 was sometimes called, which accompanies this ar- 
 ticle, is a faithful representation of it as if appeared 
 at that period. The illustration is taken by us 
 from a drawing made by Alexander H. Coffin, Esq., 
 now a resident of Poughkeepsie, when a student 
 at the old school in 1820. 
 
 The school was well patronized by the society 
 of Friends and was opened especially for those 
 who were in indigent circumstances. The pupils 
 numbered as high as one hundred and were trained 
 in a thorough academic course. Samuel Mab- 
 bett, the father, still owned land adjoining the ten 
 acres upon which the building stood, and in 1796 
 sold to Tripp Mosher,John Allen and Matthew Com- 
 stock, a committee appointed by the Society of 
 Friends, fifty-six acres for the use of school. This 
 was deeded to Tituman Hull, Charles Coleman, 
 Jethro Coleman and Shadrach Ricketson, as Trus- 
 tees of the Nine Partners School, on the i8th of 
 May, 1797, and iri the fall following, the ten acres 
 with buildings, were also conveyed to the same 
 trustees. 
 
 The institution prospered remarkably well for 
 those days until 1828, when the Society of Friends 
 was divided by reason of differences in religious 
 belief, which resulted in what was called the 
 " Separation." While there may have been rufHed 
 feelings in the breasts of those good old fathers, a 
 quiet division of the meeting and school property 
 was ultimately made. 
 
 The so-called " Orthodox" portion held the ten 
 acres with the school buildings, while the other 
 branch, the so-called " Hicksites," remained in pos- 
 session of the fifty-six acres and the brick meeting 
 .house. In 1820 or '30 the Orthodox branch built 
 another house of worship, and purchased eighty 
 
 acres of land from the Thome property as an 
 addition to the school tract. The Hicksites also 
 established a like school under the principalship 
 of Jacob Willets and his wife Deborah,* who were 
 among the first pupils who attended the old school 
 in 1796. 
 
 After the separation, the original school, then 
 under the management of the Orthodox branch, 
 was resumed, but we imagine that it had received 
 a shock which was keenly felt, and from which it 
 never fully recovered. Among the students of 
 1815, was James Congdon, who became Superin- 
 tendent in the fall of 1842, and retired in 1849. 
 In 1851 he was recalled, and remained until 1853, 
 in which year the school closed under the regime 
 of the Friends' yearly meeting, or their trustees. 
 The establishment was rented to individuals, who 
 were somewhat restricted as to the rehgious views 
 to be inculcated, and was continued until the year 
 1864, when it was closed, undoubtedly forever, as 
 but few individuals among the Friends are now left 
 to recuperate and sustain such an enterprise. 
 
 The building has been divided and removed, a 
 part of it having been used in the construction of 
 the private residence of John D. Wing, Esq., which 
 stands a Uttle to the northeast of the old site. A 
 miniature lake now occupies a portion of the 
 space where the ancient edifice stood, and the pure 
 spray of a fountain of spring water now rises and 
 falls above the place where the great hogsheads of 
 rum were stored in " the good old days." 
 
 Friends' Meeting House. — Next to the remnant 
 of the old school building, the Friends brick meet- 
 ing house is the oldest landmark to be found at 
 Mechanic, unless we except the sunken mounds 
 and moss-grown tombstones that are found near it. 
 There lie the good old fathers and mothers, who 
 in their quaint garbs braved the labors and priva- 
 tions attending the first settlement, to rear homes 
 for themselves and children ; and after years of 
 patient toil, quietly, as they had lived, 
 
 '* Lay down to peaceful dreams." 
 
 As we stand by their honored ashes, how plainly 
 imagination pictures their sturdy forms, tidy dress 
 and comely expression as they systematically delved 
 from day to day and from year to year, shedding^ 
 the light of charity, meekness and patience along 
 their path, exempUfying each hour their faith and 
 religious principles. When such die and pass away, 
 the world should surely mourn. In this crowding, 
 bustling, selfish world, such are as lone stars in a 
 cloudy night, peering through the darkness to as- 
 
 * The portraits of Jacob Willets and his wife Deborah, together with a 
 short sketch of themselves and their school, maybe found on page 329, 
 
328 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 sure the stumbling traveler that even through the 
 blackness there is a silvery path leading to a fount 
 of purity, light and peace ! 
 
 At what time the Friends organized a society, we 
 are unable to tell, but undoubtedly as soon as they 
 settled and held their meetings in private houses, 
 and perhaps in the school house. They must have 
 been quite numerous, as in building a house for 
 worship in 1780, they constructed a large edifice. 
 It is a substantial, plain, red-brick building, char- 
 acteristic of the simple tastes of the peculiar sect 
 that erected it. Within its modest walls were held 
 the semi-weekly and monthly meetings, so punctu- 
 ally attended by all the Friends of the surrounding 
 country for over forty years, in brotherly unity. 
 Aged fathers and mothers have here communed 
 with sons, daughters and neighbors, and infused by 
 precept and example within their hearts all those 
 finer qualities that make the conscientious disciple 
 of truth, love, forbearance, simplicity and childlike 
 faith. 
 
 After being thus united and prosperous for at 
 least fifty years, a dark cloud hovered over the 
 Society of Friends, from which a riving thunder- 
 bolt descended causing a separation from which it 
 never has fully recovered. EUas Hicks, a very 
 popular, sincere and inteUigent preacher, entertain- 
 ed and forcibly advocated certain sentiments 
 antagonistic to those so strictly and conscientiously 
 adhered to for over a century, by a portion of the 
 members of the society. While there was not 
 so great a difference of opinion as often exists in 
 many other religious organizations, yet it caused a 
 division in the society. At one of the crowded 
 quarterly meetings in the " old Brick," after an 
 unusually warm discussion of differences as to 
 beUef, a large number of dissatisfied members rose 
 in a body and left the meeting. They afterwards 
 assumed the name of " Orthodox Friends," to dis- 
 tinguish them from the "Hicksite Friends," as 
 stated in an article entitled " Mechanic and the 
 Friends' Boarding School," inserted in another part 
 of this work. 
 
 A division of the property of the society was 
 made in 1828. The brick meeting house fell to 
 the Hicksite branch, and the Orthodox branch 
 built a new house of worship, between the old one 
 and the boarding-school building the same year 
 which is still standing. Many of the men and 
 women of both sides felt but too deeply the mis- 
 fortune of the separation and passed down to their 
 graves with hearts burdened with sorrow. It is 
 questionable whether any sect ever existed that 
 
 was more united and happy in its associations than 
 that of the Friends previous to its division, and we 
 cannot wonder at the deep regret its members ex- 
 perienced when it was broken asunder, not to be 
 again united. 
 
 The Old Store Building in Mechanic, Nine 
 Partners. — The illustration accompanying this arti- 
 cle represents the "Old Store building" still stand- 
 ing on the south side of the street, opposite the site 
 of the Friends' Boarding School, in Mechanic. It 
 is quite a spacious building, and in a good state of 
 preservation. Until within a few years, back to a 
 time beyond the memory of any now living, a por- 
 tion of it was always used for mercantile purposes. 
 As early as 1795, it was occupied by two brothers 
 under the firm name of " William and Isaac 
 Thorne." They were active, enterprising mer- 
 chants and enjoyed the confidence and esteem of 
 the entire community. They dealt extensively in 
 pork and other farm products which they received 
 in exchange for the variety of merchandise then 
 usually kept in a country store. 
 
 William possessed a kindly, genial nature, and 
 was alike popular in business and social life. He 
 was also a pubUc spirited citizen and was some- 
 times engaged in public business. The late emi- 
 nent lawyer Elisha Wilhams, of Hudson, once re- 
 marked — " that old Friend in Duchess county you 
 call ' Uncle Billy,' is the pleasantest traveUing 
 companion I ever met." He was associated with 
 Judge Jonas Piatt, (one of the founders of Platts- 
 burgh,) and other commissioners in laying out the 
 State road from Albany through the upper Hud- 
 son valley, and thence through the wilderness along 
 the west side of Lake Champlain, to the mouth of 
 the Saranac River, now Plattsburgh. Isaac and his 
 wife, Anna Titus, were among the original trus- 
 tees of the Nine Partners Boarding School. 
 
 Samuel Thorne, son of WilUam, became the suc- 
 cessor of William and Isaac, in the business which 
 they had established at Mechanic, and which in 
 his hands became very extensive, customers com- 
 ing from fifteen to twenty miles, even from Con- 
 necticut, to sell their produce and make purchases. 
 
 Samuel became quite a large importer, woolens 
 from England, and cotton cloths from India, were 
 always to be found upon his shelves. At one time, 
 in 1809, it is said that he had fifteen hundred open 
 accounts upon his books, and that he purchased 
 and packed eight hundred barrels of pork in one 
 autumn. Gradually, after the Duchess Turnpike 
 was completed, the bulk of his trade passed away 
 to Poughkeepsie, the county seat, and soon after the 
 

 c;:tyny' .. 
 
TOWN OF WASHINGTON. 
 
 329 
 
 death of his father, he removed to the old home- 
 stead, " Thorndale," where he resided during the 
 remainder of his Ufe. The business was still con- 
 tinued at the store by other parties, but upon a 
 much smaller scale. 
 
 Jonathan Thome, son of Samuel, was born in 
 this store building in 1801. Nearly seventy years 
 ago, he and the writer of this sketch attended, at 
 the same time, the district school taught by Lydia 
 Treadwell, in the school-house then standing near 
 the residence of the late EUas Haight, on the cross 
 road leading southerly from Mechanic. At a later 
 period, he was for a long time a student at the 
 " Boarding School." 
 
 (JACOB WILLETS.) 
 
 Among the boys of that day and vicinity, the 
 old Brick Meeting House, was considered the very 
 best place in the world to play the game of "barn- 
 ball," and the flying balls would often be pursued 
 over among the mounds in the adjoining grave- 
 yard, where most of the aged forefathers of the 
 hamlet have long been sleeping. Upon attaining 
 the age of manhood, Jonathan embarked in busi- 
 ness in New York, where, after a long and emi- 
 nently successful business career, he still lives, hale 
 and hearty, at the age of eighty-one years. But' 
 neither age nor worldly success has banished from 
 his mind the memories of his early years, for he is 
 always interested when any mention is made of the 
 ancient landmarks of Nine Partners, and of the 
 " good old days when we were young." 
 
 Of Willets and his school Benson J. Lossing, the 
 historian, says : — 
 
 " Jacob Willets entered the Nine Partners Board- 
 ing School on the day it was opened for the first 
 term. He was then in the eighth year of his age, and 
 on the day he was eighteen [1806] he was installed 
 as head teacher. Deborah Rogers, a lineal de- 
 scendant of the martyr, Rev. John Rogers, entered 
 the school as a pupil some time afterwards and be- 
 came a teacher there. Among her pupils from 1804 
 to 1806, was Lucretia Coffin of Nantucket, after- 
 wards Lucretia Mott, lately deceased, who for full 
 half a century was one of the most distinguished 
 members of the Society of Friends in this country. 
 Miss Rogers became the principal teacher in the 
 department for girls. In 1812 Willets and Deborah 
 were married. He was a successful mathemati- 
 
 (DEBORAH WILLETS.) 
 
 cian, and she was equally so as a grammarian. 
 Gould Brown, author of ' Institutes of EngUsh 
 Grammar &c.,' with whom she became acquainted 
 early in life, often consulted her on disputed ques- 
 tions in grammar. In after years, when his im- 
 portant work was finished, he paid her the compli- 
 ment of saying that she rendered him great assist- 
 ance in its preparation. 
 
 "Jacob Willets was the author of a popular 
 arithmetic and geography. The first edition of the 
 former was pubUshed in 18 13. Both works had 
 strong official recommendations and were exten- 
 sively used throughout the country for many 
 years. 
 
 "Jacob and Deborah Willets left the boarding 
 school and went to the island of Nantucket. In 
 1824, having returned to Duchess county, they 
 opened a school near Mechanic, chiefly for the 
 education of young men, which was continued, by 
 
33° 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 them until 1852. Jacob was born in the town of 
 Fishkill in 1 785, and while in his infancy his parents 
 removed to the town of Washington, where he 
 remained a resident until his death. Deborah, his 
 wife, was born in Marshfield, Mass.,' in August, 
 1789, and died at her homestead near the scenes 
 of her life-long labors in 1870, retaining her great 
 mental vigor to the last." 
 
 Washington in the Rebellion. 
 
 The records of the town were very negligent- 
 ly kept and we have no other opportunity of get- 
 ting at the names of the volunteers from the town 
 than by taking their names from " proxies " that 
 were sent home by them during the political cam- 
 paign of 1864. Whether the following list includes 
 all of those who volunteered or not, we are unable 
 to determine. That the quota was greater is evi- 
 dent, but the majority of towns filled theirs with 
 foreigners by paying bounties, and this town un- 
 doubtedly did so in a measure. The following is 
 the list with the company and regiment to which 
 they belonged: — 
 
 iSoM Regt., Co. C. — John J. Raymond, Lewis 
 Place, Wm. J. Noxen, Charles H. Pond, W. H. 
 Oakley; Co. A, John L. Carlow, J. L. Place, 
 John JoUenbeck, Thomas O'Neil, Geo. Rymes ; 
 Co. I, Edward L. Florence, Piatt C. Curtis, Chas. 
 H. Smith, Daniel W. Wheeler, Wm. Hall, Gilbert 
 Seaman, Seneca Humeston, John N. Meller, Theo- 
 dore Wicks ; Co. E, Alva Brown, Simon Freer; 
 Co. F, Wm. H. Sacoe. 
 
 \2ith Regt., Co. D. — Charles Bois, Cornelius 
 Rust; Co. B, Lewis Holmes, (Sergeant,) Good- 
 man Nobles, (4th Sergeant,) Wm. E. Haight, (4th 
 Corporal,) Dewitt Duncan, (7th Corporal,) David 
 Welden, Manassa Benson, Egbert Rowe, Geo. L. 
 Bartlett, John Hart, Orvill L. Davis, Nicholas 
 Piatt, Alfred Nobles, Wm. H. Applebee, Peter 
 Carlow, Harrison LeRoy, Lewis Rossell, Chas. H. 
 Ensign, (Privates ;) Co. C, Chas. H. Draper ; Co. 
 F, Edgar Risedorf, Tenance Laughlin, Moses W. 
 Lake ; Co. H, Alonzo Hill. 
 
 16M Regt., Co. C— Ira E. Davis; Co. B, Har- 
 rison Moore, (transferred to 128th Regt. Co. F.) 
 
 44th Regt, Co. G. — Abraham McGoeffin. 
 
 ^d Regt., Co. M.—Levi Mabee. 
 
 The amount of money raised for war purposes 
 is not kliown as no record was kept, but is supposed 
 to hjve been in the neighborhood of forty thou- 
 sand dollars, arising from bounties ranging from 
 
 three to five hundred dollars in the main, and a 
 fee of one thousand dollars. 
 
 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 
 
 JARVIS CONGDON. 
 
 [JARVIS CONGDON.J 
 
 James Congdon and Lydia Southwick, parents 
 of Jarvis Congdon, moved into this county from 
 the state of Rhode Island, and settled in the town 
 of Beekman. They were members of the Society 
 of Friends, and parents of seven children of 
 whom Jarvis was the fifth. He remained at 
 home until twenty-seven years of age. March 27, ' 
 1828, he was united in marriage with Lydia, daugh- 
 ter of John Wing, of South Dover, by whom they 
 had one child, James, who died when at the age 
 of eight years. * 
 
 After a short sojourn in different towns in the 
 county^ Mr. Congdon was called, in 1842, to 
 Superintend the Nine Partners Boarding School of 
 Friends located at Mechanic in the town of Wash- 
 ington. Many of the students of that institution 
 afterwards occupied prominent positions in the 
 financial, litetary, commercial, and political history 
 of the country. He conducted the affairs of that 
 school sucessfully for nine years when he resigned 
 his position and purchased his present residence. 
 
 Mr. Congdon possesses in a remarkable degree 
 the vigor which is the result of an exemplary Chris- 
 tian life, and is much beloved by many of his old 
 studeiits and acquaintances at whose request«his 
 portrait and biography are here published. He 
 and his wife are both worthy members of the So- 
 ciety of Orthodox Friends. 
 
iT»g THORNE i^AMiLY were 
 I among the earliest settlers of 
 Long Island, but the first au- 
 thentic record that we find of them 
 in Duchess County, is of Isaac and 
 Hannah Thome, who settled upon what 
 is known as the "Nine Partners Patent" 
 in 1725. To them were born ten 
 children, five of whom attained their 
 majority, among whom was numbered 
 William, the great-grandfather of Edwin 
 Thorne, the present proprietor of Thorn- 
 dale. 
 
 William took up four hundred acres of 
 land, now occupied as Thorndale, and was 
 the father of five children, of whom 
 Samuel succeeded him in the occupancy 
 of the farm, but died in 1849; his mother 
 having preceded him at the advanced 
 
332 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 age of ninety-nine years. Samuel was the father of 
 three children who grew to maturity, May, Jonathan 
 and Anna. Jonathan entered into the dry goods 
 business in New York with his uncle Nicholas 
 and while there became acquainted with Lydia 
 Ann Corse, who afterward became his wife. Soon 
 after his marriage he returned to his home in 
 Duchess County, his father having given him half 
 of the four hundred acres comprising the home- 
 stead farm. 
 
 Here he remained until 1830, when he went 
 to New York where he succeeded his father- 
 in-law in the hide and leather business located 
 in what is known as the " Swamp " and was 
 very successful in accumulating a fortune. He 
 continued there till 1880, conducting his farm at 
 the same time for several years. At the death of 
 his father Jonathan succeeded to the property and 
 in 1850 began improvements with a view of mak- 
 ing a summer residence of the farm. 'Always 
 having a fondness for fine stock and failing after 
 numerous attempts to secure by importation such 
 as suited him, he decided to send some one to Eng- 
 land who using proper judgment would procure for 
 him desirable stock. Having obtained the services 
 of Francis M. Rotch who was universally admitted 
 to be an excellent judge and breeder of short-horn 
 cattle and south-down sheep, he despatched him, 
 accompanied by his son Samuel, with an unlimited 
 order to buy the best animals that could be pro- 
 cured in Great Britain, regardless of price. 
 
 The result of this order after a long and press- 
 ing negotiation, was the purchase of the bull 
 "Grand Duke" for r,ooo Guineas; being at that 
 time the highest price ever paid by a single indi- 
 vidual for an animal of that breed. Three cows 
 of the same Duchess family, viz: Duchess 59th, 
 64th, and 68th, and also six other very superior 
 cows selected as the best to be obtained in Eng- 
 land were purchased. 
 
 In 1854 his son Samuel located on the place and 
 took possession of the herd, adding to its number 
 by another importation that same year of ten more 
 cows. In 1855 he himself selected in England, 
 and brought out from there, the celebrated bulls 
 2d Grand Duke and Neptune, with several cows. 
 In this year the homestead was increased by the 
 purchase of an adjoining farm of 150 acres. In 
 1856 another importation was made and in 1857 
 the stock was largely added to by the purchase of 
 the Mount Fordham herd, which included among 
 others the Duchess bull, "Duke of Gloster" and 
 several females both of this and the Oxford fami- 
 lies. The Thorndale herd then took its stand not 
 only as the best but as the most valuable in the 
 world. So well was the fact recognized in Great 
 ■ Britain that a demand came from the best short- 
 horn breeders there for bulls from Thorndale, and 
 the first sale ever made of an animal of the kind to 
 cross the water was the bull "Our American Cous- 
 in," selected in person by a gentleman herding in 
 Ireland. This shipment was made in 1861 and in 
 the ToUowing year some fourteen or fifteen head 
 were exported and Thorndale became as well 
 
 known among short-horn breeders on that as on 
 this side of the Atlantic. 
 
 In 1867 Mr. Samuel Thome sold his entire herd 
 to J. O. Sheldon of Geneva, and by him it was 
 subsequently transferred to Messrs. Wolcott & 
 Campbell and was scattered by them at the famous 
 New York Mills sale, when the good judgment 
 shown in forming the original Thorndale herd, and 
 in its herding afterward, was fully proven by the 
 fabulous prices realized there by its descendants, 
 one of these bringing the enormous price of 
 $40,600, and several over $30,000 each. 
 
 Mr. Edwin Thorne was born on the farm, and 
 when four years old moved with his father to New 
 York. After attaining to his majority he entered 
 into business with his father and continued with 
 him fifteen years. In May 1857 h'e was united in 
 marriage with Charlotte, daughter of Thomas W. 
 Pearsall, of New York, and to them were born three 
 sons, Thomas Pearsall, Chester and Oakleigh. 
 
 In 1862 Mr. Thorne retired from business in 
 New York and at the death of his wife in 1867, 
 spent the following year in Europe. On his return 
 home he purchased the Thorndale farm from his 
 father and moved his stud of horses, with the stal- 
 lion Hamlet at its head, from his farm in Orange 
 County to Thorndale and gave his attention more 
 closely to the breeding of trotting horses and Jer- 
 sey cattle. At the present time he has a fine herd 
 of fifty Jersey cattle. Always having considered 
 the Mambrino family the best family of trotting 
 horses his attention has been given to the bringing 
 together the different branches of that family. 
 In furtherance of that idea he purchased in 1 868 the 
 three year old colt, Thorndale, [sired by Alexander's 
 Abdallah, the sire of Goldsmith Maid, (record 2:14) 
 1st dam Dolly, by Mambrino Chief,(the sire of Lady 
 Thorne, record 2:i8J) 2d dam by a son of the thor- 
 oughbred horse Potomac, 3d dam by the thorough- 
 bred horse Saxe Weimar,] that has since occupied 
 the position at the head of the Thorndale stud. After 
 keeping him eight years in the stud without training- 
 he put hira in the hands of a trainer and in less than 
 three months he won a race of five heats and se- 
 cured him a record of 2:22^.-' He is the only stal- 
 lion with a record below 2:23^ that has two repre- 
 sentatives with a record below 2:20, viz: Daisy- 
 dale, who scored a heat in 1880 of 2:19!, and 
 Edwin Thorne, who scored the three fastest con- 
 secutive heats with one exceptioij, trotted in a race 
 in 1881, viz: 2:17^, 2:18^, and 2:18^. This was 
 in his race against Piedmont and six others at 
 Hartford July 25. It created a sensation amongst 
 those who witnessed it that will be long remem- 
 bered by them as a remarkable performance, and 
 one tl^at not only stamped him as a race-horse of 
 no common merit, but added additional luster 
 to the name of his already noted sire. The name 
 of Thorndale among the breeders and lovers of 
 trotting horses is becoming as well known an^ong 
 horsemen as that name among the Dukes and 
 Duchesses to the short-horn breeders. The Thorn- 
 dale stud at present numbers about fifty head, 
 comprising in its numbers matrons of renown and 
 
"THORNDALE," THE F^M BARNS AND TRAININGS' 
 

 
 TABLES OF EDWIN THORNE. MILLBROOK, N. Y. [ 
 
Photo, by Vail, Pouglikeepsie. 
 
 HON. JACOB B. CARPEKTER. 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 
 
 333 
 
 young things that are destined to rank with their 
 half-brother and sister Edwin Thome and Daisy- 
 dale, on the trotting tracks. 
 
 The farm Ues in a fertile valley and is watered 
 by the essential requisite of a well ordered stock 
 farm, those running streams which are fed by never 
 failing springs. It adjoins Millbrook Station 
 on the Duchess and Columbia Railroad, and the 
 house which is located in the midst of a grove of 
 pine, oak and maple is approached through a lodge 
 and winding drives. A beautiful lake which is 
 stocked with trout, and on the border of which is 
 a large conservatory, is in view from the house. 
 
 Mr. Thome pays close attention to the minutest 
 details in connection with his large farm, and the 
 buildings and improvements are in perfect accord 
 with the reputation the place sustains. 
 
 Mr. Thome is well known in the agricultural 
 and trotting-horse breeding world, having been 
 President in 1876, of the New York State Agri- 
 cultural Society, and First Vice-President of the 
 National Trotting Association for many years. 
 
 Hon. JACOB B. CARPENTER. 
 
 Jacob Bockde Carpenter belongs to a family 
 which for generations has been identified with the 
 history of Duchess County. Its representatives 
 have for the most part been actively engaged in 
 business, and have usually been successful, and 
 have always maintained the position and influence, 
 which an honorable and prosperous business life 
 commands. 
 
 Benjamin Carpenter the grandfather of Jacob B., 
 was living upon his farm in the town of Stanford, 
 more than a hundred years ago, largely engaged in 
 agricultural pursuits, raising blooded horses and 
 various other enterprises. He was a member of 
 that most remarkable " Federal Company," which 
 early in the present century, was conducting man- 
 ufacturing and commercial enterprises second to 
 none in the county at that day. With a business 
 centre at the " Square," a small hamlet in the town 
 of North East, and with a water front twenty-five 
 miles distant in the city of Poughkeepsie, at the 
 Main street landing, of which the company was 
 part owner, this company exported to other coun- 
 tries the products of fields and factories, sending 
 out its own vessels and returning with the produce 
 of other climes, which in the course of business 
 supplied Eastern Duchess and Western Connecti- 
 cut. His honorable career was closed by death in 
 
 1837. 
 
 Morgan Carpenter, the youngest son of Benja- 
 min, inherited the homestead, as he did the business 
 activity and sound judgment of his father. The 
 Royal sheep flocks of France and Spain becoming 
 accessible for the first, about the commencement 
 of his business life, he soon purchased additional 
 lands and, increasing his flocks to thousands, be- 
 came one of the leading wool growers of the State. 
 
 He was also a stock-holder in the old Whaling 
 company and many other financial and commercial 
 enterprises, and one of the Judges of the County 
 Court under the old constitution. Always avoid- 
 ing litigation and controversy, he was a man of 
 clear sound judgment in business affairs; of great 
 liberality and public spirit as a citizen, and affec- 
 tionately devoted to his family. Twenty of the 
 last years of his Hfe were passed in the city of 
 Poughkeepsie, where he died in 1871, at the age 
 of seventy-six. 
 
 In early life he married Maria Bockde, a woman 
 of much culture and refinement, possessing a vig- 
 orous mind, tempered with an amiable and lovely 
 disposition. The union of more than half a cen- 
 tury, was unusually prosperous and happy and 
 closed by her death in 1870, her husband surviving 
 her but a short year. 
 
 Catherine B. the oldest of the seven children 
 of Morgan and Maria Carpenter who survived 
 their parents, became the wife of George B. Lent, 
 of Poughkeepsie, and died in 1879. She is re- 
 membered as a lady of high literary and social 
 distinction ; her ready pen being often recognized 
 in the public journals of the day, and her charities 
 were frequent and liberal to the needy and suffer- 
 ing. Mary is the wife of Edward G. Tyler, of 
 Canandaigua ; Louisa resides in Indianapolis ; 
 Sarah M. dwells in her home in Poughkeepsie, and 
 is a member of the State Board of Charities, dis- 
 tinguishing herself by her zealous and efficient 
 work in the cause of fallen humanity ; Isaac S. 
 and B. Piatt Carpenter are spoken of in other 
 pages of this worK. 
 
 Hon. Jacob B. Carpenter, the oldest son of 
 Morgan and Maria Bockde Carpenter was born 
 in the town of Stanford, where his father and 
 grandfather had been established before him. 
 His birth occurred on the i6th day of July, 1826. 
 He graduated at Union College in 1845. For 18 
 years subsequent to that time he followed his in- 
 herited rural tastes and business activities on his 
 farms in the towns of Stanford and North East. 
 These occupations did not, however, prevent his 
 taking an active interest in the public affairs of his 
 native town and county. In 1855, he was a 
 representative of Stanford in the Board of Super- 
 visors. In 1856, he became a member of the 
 State Legislature. He was a Presidential Elector in 
 1 860 casting his vote in the Electoral College for 
 Abraham Lincoln. In 1864, he retired from ac- 
 tive agricultural pursuits, and removed with his 
 family to the city of Poughkeepsie. From 1 866 to 
 x868, he was engaged in large financial enterprises 
 in the then Territory of Colorado and during that 
 comparatively brief period, crossed the plains 
 back and forth twelve times by stage. In 1870 
 he became again a member of the County Board 
 of Supervisors^ and in 1872 was elected to the 
 State Legislature for the second time. In 1875, 
 -'76 he was Mayor of the city of Poughkeepsie, 
 and also Receiver of the Poughkeepsie & East- 
 ern railroad. Since the latter period he has 
 moved upon one of his farms in the town of Wash- 
 
334 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 ington during the summer, and spends his winters 
 in the city of New York, and is now one of the 
 managers of the Hudson River State Hospital. 
 
 In January, i860, he married Miss Sarah Thorn, 
 daughter of the late Stephen Thorn of Pough- 
 keepsie, by whom he has two children. Minnie T., 
 the oldest of these has recently returned from an 
 European tour, and the younger, May, is yet a 
 school-girl. Taken together these facts present a 
 particularly typical and honorable American hfe. 
 It is of the highest credit to the educated Ameri- 
 can farmer, as well as to the man. The measure 
 of every calling has been filled, farmer, executive 
 officer, legislator and statesman. To have been 
 easily equal to these is a just encomium. Had 
 there been a desire in that direction his official 
 life might readily have been advanced or pro- 
 longed, but in every case the office has sought 
 the man and not the man the office, he having re- 
 fused oftener than accepted public employment. 
 The county has at no time produced a man of 
 higher integrity, of more solid judgment, or of more 
 intimate acquaintance with questions of public 
 business and private interest. Nor has it pro- 
 duced any who have been more frequently invoked, 
 or more implicitly relied upon by individuals or 
 by the community at large. The whole record is 
 clear and comprehensive, every relation of life has 
 been filled, private and public, and in all there is 
 yet neither criticism or blemish. 
 
 EDGAR M. VANDERBURGH. 
 
 Edgar M. Vanderburgh was born in Columbia 
 County. His ancestors were old residents of 
 Duchess County, his father having removed from 
 there to Columbia County in 1820. Edgar M. 
 was married in 1843 to Hannah Sutherland, of 
 Stanford, by whom he had three children : Anna, 
 Amelia and Henry. Mr. Vanderburgh moved to 
 Duchess County in 1845, and settled in the town 
 of Stanford. He was elected Superintendent of 
 common schools in 1849, and again in 1850, '51,, 
 '52 and '53. In 1857 and '58, he was elected 
 Supervisor of the town, serving two years. In 
 1864 he was elected to the office of Superinten- 
 dent of the county poor, which position he held 
 for six consecutive years. Mrs. Vanderburgh died 
 in 1853, and for his second wife he married Kate 
 Lockwood, widow of John F. Lock wood, in 1871, 
 when he moved on the place he at present occu- 
 pies. 
 
 Mr. Vanderburgh has retired from the political 
 field and devotes his time to the supervision of his 
 large farm, situated in the village of Lithgow, town 
 of Washington. The farm is in a fine state of cul- 
 tivation, the house and grounds presenting a pic- 
 turesque appearance, as an examination of the 
 picture of his residence, in this volume, will 
 prove. 
 
 Mr. Vanderburgh is a firm believer in the Chris- 
 
 tian religion ; that Christian unity should embrace 
 the faithful of all denominations ; that Christ is 
 more than the creed; that Christianity is more 
 than the sect, and that Christian character should 
 be the test of Christian fellowship. 
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII. 
 History of the Town of Amenia. 
 
 THE town of Amenia lies on the extreme east- 
 ern border of Duchess County. It is 
 bounded on the north by North East ; south by Do- 
 ver ; east by Kent and Sharon, (Conn.); and west 
 by Washington and Stanford. 
 
 Weebutook, or Ten Mile River, flows through 
 the eastern part of the town, rising in the town of 
 North East, and flowing south. The only other 
 streams of importance are Wassaic creek and 
 West brook. 
 
 In the eastern part extend the Taconic Moun- 
 tains, while the western part is broken up by the 
 highlands belonging to the Fishkill range. Be- 
 tween these two ranges lies a broad and exception- 
 ably fertile valley. 
 
 The New York & Harlem Railroad passes 
 through the town from northeast to the extreme 
 southwest corner, running through the two princi- 
 pal villages — Amenia and Wassaic. 
 
 The town of Amenia was formed March 7, 1788. 
 
 The Precinct of Amenia was formed by an act 
 of the Colonial Legislature, March 20, 1762. 
 
 This territory had been included in Crom Elbow 
 Precinct, and was about twelve miles in length 
 and of an average width of four and a half miles. 
 The Prficinct of Amenia was to consist of the nine 
 easternmost tier of lots of the Lower or Great 
 Nine Partners tract, and of that part of the Ob- 
 long lying between these lots and the Connecticut 
 line. This included the present town of Amenia 
 and all th|t part of the present town of North East 
 south of a line running through the northern part 
 of the present town of Millerton. The town of 
 Amenia, when organized, had the same geograph- 
 ical Umits, which it retained till March 26, 1823, 
 when the towns of Amenia and North East were so 
 reorganized as to change the boundary between 
 them as it now exists. 
 
 / The Great Nine Partners Patent, granted in 
 /1697 to Caleb Heathcote and others, embraced ; 
 /very nearly the territory now included in the towns, | 
 I of Clinton, Pleasant Valley, Washington, Stanford, 
 Amenia, except the Oblong, and the south part of / 
 
" ROSE-LAWN "—RESIDENCE OF EDGAR M, 
 
 V 
 
VANDERBURGH. WASHrNGTON. N. Y. 
 
TOWN OF AMENIA. 
 
 335 
 
 North East, except the Oblong. This grant was 
 made before the Oblong was ceded to New York, 
 and was bounded east by what was then the colony 
 line. 
 
 The Oblong, or " Equivalent Land,"* ceded in 
 1731, after years of controversy, to New York by 
 Connecticut, was 580 rods in width, and was 
 divided into two tiers of square lots, called five 
 hundred acres each, though exceeding that. It 
 was sold by the Colonial government of New York 
 to Hawley & Co., and allotments were made to the 
 individuals of the Company, and by them sold to 
 emigrants, "who received a guarantee of title from 
 the Colonial government." " It was this security 
 of title which caused these lots to be eagerly sought 
 after by emigrants." The Crown also gave a deed 
 of these lands to an English company, which en- 
 deavored to maintain its claim in the EngUsh court 
 of chancery, and the suit was brought to an end 
 only by the Revolutionary war. This land was 
 surveyed and divided by Cadwallader Colden, Sur- 
 veyor-General and Lieutenant-Governor of New 
 York, who was one of the Commissioners, An- 
 other of the Commissioners was Gilbert Willett. 
 They became owners of some of the land. The 
 Oblong lots included in Amenia were numbers 43 
 to 72. 
 
 The name " Oblong," which at first was applied 
 to the whole tract, became, after a few years, limit- 
 ed to that valley in Amenia, of some six or seven 
 miles in extent, now Amenia Union and South 
 Amenia. The name of this town originated in the 
 poetical fancy of Young, the American poet, and 
 was first appUed about the time of the organization 
 of the Precinct. It is derived from a Latin word, 
 which signifies pleasant. " Aammna." Pleasant. 
 De loeis prcRcipue dicitur "— appUed principally to 
 places, and though so appropriate a name, and 
 agreeable, it had not been given to any other town 
 or locality in the county. 
 
 Dr. Thomas Young, the poet, was a gentleman 
 of learning who lived some years at Amenia Union, 
 where he married a daughter of Capt. Garrett 
 Winegar. He was highly distinguished as a phi- 
 losopher, philanthropist and patriot, and for his 
 erudition and brilliancy of imagination. 
 
 The first settlers in this region found several 
 scattered remnants of the Indian race, generally 
 beUeved, on the authority of Trumbull, the histo- 
 rian, to be remnants of the Pequot Tribe, whose 
 hunting grounds extended up and down these 
 valleys. ^ 
 
 • 61,440 acres. 
 
 In 1740, the Moravian missionaries began among 
 these Indians their successful labors ; but charged 
 with being Jesuits and emissaries of the French, 
 they were persecuted by the officers of the colonial 
 government, and in a few years were driven from 
 their field of labor and from the State. 
 
 After the dispersion of the Moravian Indians, 
 one of the missionaries, Rev. Joseph Powell, 
 ministered to a congregation of the early settlers 
 at the station in Amenia, near Indian Pond, where 
 he died in 1774. Here on the field of his labors, 
 in the burial ground of the brethren, near their 
 house of worship, he was buried, with some of his 
 people. Here also the monumental stone says 
 James Alworth died, 1786, aged 73, and Mary 
 Alworth died 1797, aged 79. Others were also 
 buried here. This ground consecrated by mission- 
 ary work and christian burial, is on the farm of 
 Col. Hiram Clark, in the present town of North 
 East, not far east of his house, and on the west 
 side of Indian Pond. 
 
 The first white man who had a dwelling here 
 was Captain Richard Sackett. He was here some 
 years before any other settlement was made, 
 though the precise year when he brought his family 
 is not known. He had been an EngUsh sea-cap- 
 tain, and was a man of intelligence and capabil- 
 ity. It would seem that he attempted to do here 
 what his friend Livingston had done in Columbia 
 County — bargained with the Indians for a consid- 
 erable tract of land, and endeavored to cover it 
 with a confirmation by the colonial government. 
 In this attempt he failed and came to poverty, 
 while Livingston succeeded and became the lord 
 of an extensive manor. 
 
 The place now known as the " Steel Works," on 
 the Wassaic creek and the Harlem Railroad, was 
 where Richard Sackett made his settlement, which 
 is said to have been previous to 1711. 
 
 In the Colonial Records we find that on the 
 nth of March, 1703, " Richard Sackett petition- 
 ed government for license to purchase [of the 
 Indians] a tract of land in Duchess County, east 
 of Hudson's River, called Washiack." The license 
 was granted October 20, 1703. "November 2, 
 1704, Patent to Richard Sackett & Co., for said 
 land, containing about seven thousand five hun- 
 dred acres, or thereabouts." "April 10, 1706, 
 Patent to Sampson Boughton & Co., for a tract 
 of land joining on north side of above patent, and 
 extending east to the Colony Une of Conn., and 
 Waantinunk river, and north to the manor of 
 Livingston." 
 
336 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 Mr. Sackett was a resident of New York City 
 when he obtained the license and patent of 1703 
 and 1704. In 1711 and 1712, he was one of the 
 Commissioners with Robert Livingston in setthng 
 the Palatines at East Camp, or Germantown. This 
 occupied so much of these two years that he could 
 not have passed much of his time here in his new 
 home at " Washiack." 
 
 The patent of 1704 must have been covered by 
 the Great Nine Partners Grant, made May 27, 
 1697, making Mr. Sackett's subsequent title in- 
 valid. The patent of April 10, 1706, to Sampson 
 Boughton & Co., was that of Little Nine Part- 
 ners, and Mr. Sackett was one of the nine. In 
 1726, Mr. Sackett made application to the Con- 
 necticut Legislature for license to purchase of the 
 Indians a tract of land in the west of the town of 
 Sharon, but his petition was denied, though re- 
 peated several times. He was never able to main- 
 tain his title to any of the Oblong lots, nor could his 
 heirs, who, through his son, Dr. John Sackett, at- 
 tempted, in 1750, under the grant of 7,5°° acres, 
 to hold some of these lands against Lieutenant- 
 Governor Colden and others. 
 
 Richard Sackett died in 1746, and was buried 
 on the liill not far from his place of residence, in a 
 little cemetery now greatly neglected, and in which 
 there is no stone to mark his grave. He had three 
 sons and two daughters, Richard, John, Josiah 
 Crego, Mary and Catharine. 
 
 A long interval elapsed between the first ingress 
 of a white man and the immigration of the New 
 Englanders. For thirteen years or more the family 
 of Richard Sackett was entirely alone, and only a 
 few German families were added during the next 
 period of equal length. 
 
 In 1724, Captain Garrett Winegar came to that 
 part of Amenia now known as Amenia Union. 
 His enterprise and excellent personal character 
 made him a leading spirit, and it may be consid- 
 ered that he was the principal in this emigration 
 rather than his father, Uldrick Winegar, who came 
 with him, and who was then seventy- two years old. 
 They came here from The Camp, now German- 
 town, on the Hudson River, in Columbia County, 
 and were of that company of Palatines who were 
 forced, destitute, from their native country in the 
 interior of Germany by the hand of Papal persecu- 
 tion. 
 
 Befriended by the British Government, they were 
 sent to America, and made their settlement at the 
 Camp in 17 10. It is a reasonable conjecture that 
 Mr. Wi!iegar's acquaintance with Richard Sackett 
 
 at the Camp may have led him to come to Amenia, 
 and it is evident that he was actuated by a spirit of 
 independence and enterprise, and not by any de- 
 sire for speculation. He settled at Amenia 
 Union, where he built his house, upon land .to 
 which he had no title except from the Indians 
 until the Oblong was confirmed to New York and 
 surveyed, when he received a title at a reasonable 
 price, from the proprietor of these lots. 
 
 In 1739, Mr. Winegar purchased of Daniel Jack- 
 s6n three or four hundred acres of land in Con- 
 necticut, adjoining his own, and removed into the 
 house built by Mr. Jackson on the hill above the 
 site of the brick factory, thus becoming a citizen of 
 the town of Sharon. He built a mill above the 
 present mill sites of the place, which was not only 
 the first mill in this part of the country, but was 
 the first building erected in the town of Sharon.* 
 With the Indians by whom he was surrounded he 
 was always on friendly terms, and was regarded by 
 them with the greatest respect, and it is worthy of 
 note that, notwithstanding the early settlers lived 
 in the midst of large numbers of Indians, there is 
 no mention of any block-house or other means or 
 defence against them ; while in Litchfield, between 
 1729 and 1730, there were five houses surrounded 
 by palisades, and " soldiers were stationed there to 
 guard the inhabitants while at work and at worship 
 on the Sabbath." 
 
 Garrett Winegar died in 1755, in the midst of 
 his enterprises. His father, Uldrick Winegar, had 
 died the year previous, at the advanced age of 102 
 years. Their graves, and those of many of their 
 descendants, are in the burial ground near Amenia 
 Union. Over the grave of the patriarch of this 
 family is an old stone bearing the following inscrip- 
 tion : "In memory of Mr. Uldrick Winegar, Died 
 March 3, 1754, J&. 102." This stone is much older 
 than the date given. It had evidently 'been recut 
 to mark the grave of Mr. Winegar, for there are 
 still visible the tracings of the original inscription, 
 a portion of which consists of the date 1664 — 
 ninety years before. Near by is the stone which 
 marks the grave of " Captain Garrett Winegar who 
 died July 22, 1755." 
 
 Hendrick Winegar, the oldest son of Garrett, 
 had his residence for several years near the foot of 
 the West Mountain, and in 1761, built the large 
 stone and brick house just west of Amenia Union. 
 He was the ancestor of the families of that name 
 in Kent, Conn. 
 
 * This mill has sometimes been erroneously confounded with Esq. 
 Kellogg's old mill, which was built in 1773. 
 
TOWN OF AMENIA. 
 
 337 
 
 Uldrick, another son, was the grandfather of 
 Capt. Samuel Snyder Winegar. Conrad Wine- 
 gar, another son of Garrett, was a magistrate and 
 prominent citizen of the town. His antique and 
 quaint looking old house, which stood near the 
 rocks in the rear of Samuel Hitchcock's house, re- 
 mained until about 1820. His only son, Gerhard, 
 or Garrett, the grandfather of Garrett H., was an 
 officer in the Revolution, and died before the close 
 of the war. 
 
 Lieutenant Samuel Snyder, who was one of the 
 Palatines, and came here with them, was brother- 
 in-law to Garrett Winegar, and his wife was the 
 daughter of Henry Nase. His "house was where 
 John D. Barnum lives. He died in 1808, at the 
 age of ninety-five. 
 
 Another family who it is supposed came to this 
 town soon after the Winegars, and previous to 
 1731', were the Rows. They also were Ger- 
 man, and are supposed to have been of the Pala- 
 tines. "Johannes Rouh died in 1768, aged 72 
 years." He lived where the brick house now 
 stands built by Henry Morehouse. He was the 
 father of Nicholas, Sr., and William. The sons 
 of Nicholas, Sr., were Nicholas, Jr., Samuel, 
 Conrad and Garrett. Conrad lived where Walter 
 Sherman lives, and Garrett built the HiUiard house, 
 a stone building where Shadrac Sherman's house 
 now stands. 
 
 The old houses built by these early settlers, of 
 which there were as many as seven or eight near 
 Amenia Union at the beginning of the present 
 century, were objects of especial interest. 
 
 A pen and ink map * of the Nine Partners, ex- 
 ecuted previous to- 1 73 1, shows the dwellings in 
 Amenia at that time. The dwelling of Mr. 
 Sackett is shown, and Henry Nase's four near 
 Amenia Union confirm the supposition that Mr. 
 Row was here previpus to 1731, and the location 
 of one of the houses agrees with that of Mr. 
 Row. 
 
 In 1725, Henry Nase settled in the south part of 
 the town. His memorial stone, in the cemetery at 
 Dover, says : " Henry Nase, born in High Ger- 
 many, died Dec. 14, 1759, about 64 years old." 
 His residence was near where his grandson, Cor- 
 nelius, lived, but on the opposite or east side of 
 the river. Here also his son, Philip, Sr., resided, 
 who was the father of Henry, John, Philip, Cor- 
 nelius and William. Henry, the oldest of these, 
 being a Tory, emigrated to Nova Scotia after the 
 
 In the possession of Mrs. Caroline Germond, a descendant of Henry 
 Filkin, one of the Nine Partners. 
 
 Revolutionary war. The others occupied four 
 contiguous farms in that beautiful agricultural 
 district. 
 
 The families of Knickerbocker and Van Deusen 
 were in the south part of the town at an early 
 period. There is a deed, written in the Dutch or 
 Holland language, bearing date 1711, from Herman 
 Knickerbocker to Cornelius Knickerbocker. It 
 appears to be of land occupied by Van Deusen, 
 whose house was a short distance east of George 
 T. Belding's. 
 
 Capt. Isaac Delamater came here previous to 
 1740, from Kingston, Ulster County, where the 
 family had lived several generations. His father 
 was Jacob, and his grandfather, Claude, who 
 came to America after 1645 and before 1650. 
 They were Huguenots, driven from France by the 
 revocation of the edict of Nantes. They fled first 
 to Holland and from thence came to America. 
 
 Capt. Delamater was a man of prominence in 
 the town. He was famous as an eccentric magis- 
 trate. Many quaint things were said and done by 
 him, but his integrity and good sense were never 
 questioned. It is an accredited tradition that in 
 judicial cases of importance he consulted his wife, 
 who sometimes sat by his side in court. He was 
 an extensive land owner. Martin remained at the 
 homestead ; Benjamin built a stone house north of 
 Horace Reed's ; John (Honnes), built at LeedsviUe 
 the first mill erected in the town, and in 1761 he 
 built the brick house now the property of Myron 
 B. Benton. On the wall of this antique building 
 are still to be seen the initials " J. M. D." — John 
 and Mary Delamater. Isaac, Jr., lived on the farm 
 now owned by Newton Reed, where he built a 
 house, a portion of which is the residence of the 
 present owner, and is now the oldest building in 
 the town of Amenia. 
 
 The farm of Edward E. Cline also belonged to 
 Capt. Delamater. Some quite celebrated men 
 have descended from this family. A grandson of 
 John Delamater of LeedsviUe, John Delamater, 
 M. D., LL. D., was a distinguished physician and 
 surgeon, and a professor in the medical institutions 
 of Pittsfield, Mass., Fairfield, N. Y., and Cleveland, 
 Ohio, in which latter place he died in 1867. Ex- 
 Governor Todd, of Ohio, Ex- Vice President Col- 
 fax and WilUam M. Evarts, are also members of 
 this family. Capt. Isaac Delamater died April 20, 
 1775, the day after the battle of Lexington, and 
 was buried in his own field. 
 
 Besides the settlers whose names have been 
 given there was one named Baltus Lot, who lived 
 
338 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 awhile in the northern part of Amenia, and on the 
 public lands in the town of Sharon. Adam Show- 
 erman is also mentioned as being, at about the 
 same time, a resident in the northern part of the 
 town. These then constituted the pioneers of the 
 town of Amenia. 
 
 The first important immigration to these new 
 lands from other parts of New York and from New 
 England was not until about 1740. The land of 
 the Nine Partners had for some time been in mar- 
 ket and was sold at first in rather large tracts. The 
 Oblong lots brought into market in 1731, had at- 
 tracted many immigrants from the adjoining State 
 of Connecticut, and . from Massachusetts. From 
 1740 to 1750, the immigration was evidently large, 
 from the significant fact that about 1750 the pop- 
 ulation was sufficiently numerous to encourage the 
 people to institute pubHc worship in three different 
 places. 
 
 Abraham Reinke, one of the Moravian Mission- 
 aries who in 1753 preached at Nine Partners and 
 Oblong, says in his journal : " The people came 
 here five years ago in expectation of bettering 
 their fortunes by the purchase of cheap farms, and 
 for the enjoyment of religious liberty." This, from 
 his estimate shows that a considerable portion of 
 the people came here about 1748. 
 
 Hezekiah King and Abraham Paine were among 
 the eariiest settlers from New England. They came 
 previous to 1740, as Mr. King died in that year, 
 and he had built a house a short distance west of 
 Amenia Union, which was afterward known as 
 the "Karner House." This house was built after 
 the style prevaiUng then in Connecticut, high in 
 front and very low in the rear. It was built of 
 white wood, from which timber all the early houses 
 were constructed. But few log-houses were built. 
 Abraham Paine, of Canterbury, settled in the 
 northern part of the town, and also Joshua Paine, 
 Jehoshaphat Holmes and Elisha Cleaveland. 
 Nathan Mead came frpm Horse Neck, or Green- 
 wich, about 1740, and purchased the land now in 
 the possession of the family. 
 
 Stephen Kinny, from New Preston, settled in 
 1740, near what was known as the "Separate," 
 where his family is still represented. Elisha 
 Adams was the first resident in that part of the 
 town called Adam's Mills, and the first in the west 
 part of Lot 32 of the Nine Partners. 
 
 In 1741, Benjamin HoUister, from Sharon, set- 
 tled near Leedsville, where six generations of the 
 family Ijjave lived. Joel Gillett settled on the 
 Delavergne farm in 1742. Gardner Gillett lived 
 
 north of the present residence of Hiram Cooper, 
 and on a road now discontinued. Abner Gillett 
 was here previous to 1748, probably as early as 
 1742. He owned the farm of George D. James. 
 
 Capt. Stephen Hopkins, a grandson of Edward 
 Hopkins, one of the first settlers of Hartford, 
 Conn., and second governor of the Colony under 
 the charter, was born in Hartford in 1707, and 
 came from Harwintown to Amenia about 1742. 
 He purchased a tract of land about a mile north 
 of Amenia village, and including the land on 
 which the Old Red Meeting House stood. He 
 was the first Supervisor of' the town in 1762, and 
 held that office in i764-'5-'6. He died in 1766. 
 Michael Hopkins, of this family, was the first Town 
 Clerk, and served in that office until 1773. Then 
 Roswell Hopkins was elected and he filled the of- 
 fice until 1783. He was Supervisor in 1777 and 
 1778, and for more than thirty years was a Magis- 
 trate of the town. 
 
 The Hopkins family played a distinguished part 
 in the Revolutionary war as officers and soldiers in 
 the Continental army. Col. Michael Hopkins died 
 in 1773, aged thirty-nine. His wife died in 1771. 
 Roswell Hopkins died in Verm ont in 1 8 1 7 . The only 
 descendant of this family now living in Amenia is 
 Mrs. Peter B. Powers, daughter to J. Milton 
 Wheeler, whose mother was a daughter of Roswell 
 Hopkins. 
 
 Captain Thomas Wheeler came from Woodbury, 
 Conn., in 1749, and settled in the place now 
 owned by his great-grandson, Erastus Wheeler. 
 Captain Noah Wheeler, son to Thomas, was a 
 patriot, and distinguished himself in battle at Fort 
 Independence. Captain Thomas Wheeler was en- 
 gaged in the French war, and while serving on the 
 northern frontier was taken sick, and on his way 
 home died at Fite Miller's tavern, in Columbia 
 County, September i, 1757, aged forty-four years. 
 Col. Anthony Wheeler was a prominent man in polit- 
 ical affairs during the war of 1 8 1 2. Elijah Wheeler, 
 the father of William and Cyrus Wheeler, was from 
 New Marlborough, Mass. He died in 1774, 
 aged forty-one. 
 
 Soon after 1750, Abraham Bock^e came from 
 New York, where he had been a merchant, to Nine 
 Partners, and located on land which had been pur- 
 chased by his grandfather in 1699, and which has 
 been in the possession of the family to the present 
 time. He was one of the Colonial Justices, ap- 
 pointed by the Crown, as early as 1 761, at which 
 time he is mentioned as " a Mr. Bokay,* a Justice 
 
 • Doc. Hist. Ill, 985. ~~ ~" 
 
TOWN OF AMENIA. 
 
 339 
 
 of the Peace at Nine Partners, near a place called 
 the City." The ancestor of Abraham Bock^e was 
 Johannes Bockde, who came to this country in 
 1685, and who was of that "noble Huguenot stock 
 that has contributed so many families of worth and 
 distinction.'' Abraham Bockde was the father of 
 Jacob Bockde, and grandfather to the late Judge 
 Abraham Bockee. Jacob Bockde, a graduate of 
 King's College, N. Y., was Captain in the Revolu- 
 tionary war of a company in Col. Marinus Willet's 
 regiment. He was a Member of the Assembly 
 from 1795 to 1797, where he introduced a bill for 
 the abolition of slavery in this State. His wife was 
 sister to the late Judge Isaac Smith. Phoenix 
 Bockde, a brother to Abraham, was Lieutenant in 
 the war of 18-12. He died in Poughkeepsie in 
 1814. 
 
 CorneUus Atherton, a son of James Atherton, 
 who came here from Canterbury, Conn., was an 
 iron manufacturer, and had a contract with the 
 government during the Revolutionary war to make 
 fire-arms for the soldiers. During the early part of 
 the war he removed to Wyoming, and with his 
 family barely escaped death at the time of the 
 massacre. 
 
 Col. William Barker was the father of the late 
 John Barker, and lived on the same farm. He 
 held several civil offices ; was active in the military 
 during the Revolution, and was a Member of the 
 Legislature in 1 798-1800. He married Chloe, 
 daughter of John Bronson, in 1763. 
 
 Deacon Moses Barlow and his brother, Nathan, 
 came from Sandwich, or Cape Cod, in 1756, 
 and purchased of Meltiah Lothrop the farm after- 
 wards the home of the Swifts, and which they 
 exchanged for the- one where Moses Barlow 
 settled, a portion of which is still held by his 
 grandson, Franklin Barlow. Their father, Peleg 
 Barlow, came with them at the age of sixty-seven, 
 and died in 1759. Moses Barlow was the father of 
 Elisha and Thomas and several daughters. 
 
 Elisha Barlow was a Member of the Legislature 
 in 1800-02; a Member of the New York Senate 
 from 1807 to 1 8 10, and in 1808, was one of the 
 Judges of the County Court. 
 
 Daniel C. Bartlett, from Redding, Conn., bought 
 of Joel Gillett, in 1803, the farm now owned by 
 his grandson, W. S. Bartlett. He was the father 
 of William and Collins Bartlett, and Mrs. John 
 Barker, Mrs. Thomas Paine, and Mrs. William 
 Paine. 
 
 Zera Beach resided a few years near South 
 Amenia, where be was engaged in trade about 
 
 1790. He was one of the leaders at Wyoming 
 who signed the Articles of Capitulation. One 
 of his daughters was the wife of James Warren. 
 
 Caleb Benton, of Guilford, Conn., purchased of 
 Capt. Lasell, in 1794, the place now owned by his 
 grandson, Myron B. Benton. He was the father 
 of Joel and William. The emigrant ancestor of 
 Mr. Benton was Edward Benton, one of the first 
 settlers of Guilford, the most of whom were from 
 Kent, England. Joel Benton, Esq., was quite 
 prominent in public affairs, and was four times 
 elected to the Legislature. 
 
 Silas Belden, from Wethersfield, Conn., settled 
 about 1743, near the foot of Plymouth Hill, on a 
 tract of land which his father purchased in New 
 York, and which was afterwards described as situ- 
 ated in Charlotte and Amenia Precincts. His 
 sons were Silas, Jr., and Lawrence. Joseph Bel- 
 den was the son of Silas, Jr., and the father of Taber 
 Belden, whose home in the south part of the town 
 is now occupied by his son. Taber Belden was 
 twice a Member of the Legislature, and often 
 served the public as a wise counsellor. 
 
 Captain John Boyd came here from Orange 
 County previous to 1769. He married the daugh- 
 ter of Conrad Winegar, and lived a little south of 
 Amenia Union in a house which he built, now 
 standing, and in which he died in 1817. He was 
 the father of Samuel, Gilbert, David, and others. 
 
 Lemuel and William Brush, sons of Reuben 
 Brush, from Long Island, lived in the west part of 
 the town, not far from the City. Lemuel married 
 Mary Perlee, and his sons were Perlee, Jesse, Piatt, 
 John and Henry. 
 
 Judah Burton came from Horse Neck, now 
 Stamford, Conn., previous to 1762. The house 
 which he built is the brick house now the residence 
 of Edmund P. Carpenter. He was an officer in 
 the war of the Revolution, in the Commissary De- 
 partment, and is spoken of as "Commissary- 
 General." 
 
 Ezra Bryan, one of the true Whigs of the Revo- 
 lution, and father of the late Amos Bryan, lived in 
 the north part of the town, where the family have 
 since resided. Ezra Bryan, David, and others, are 
 of that family. Amos Bryan was Member of 
 Assembly in 1840. 
 
 The ancestors of the Carpenter family of this 
 town and vicinity came from England to Massa- 
 chusetts in 1638, and from there to Long Island 
 in i686. In 1752, Daniel Carpenter purchased 
 land in Crom Elbow Precinct, near Salt Point, 
 where he died in 1777. His 5on, Benjamin, being 
 
34° 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 excessively persecuted by the Tories, sold his land 
 there, and purchased the lands which, with subse- 
 quent additions, made in part the farm of his son, 
 Hon. Morgan Carpenter, now of Isaac S. Carpen- 
 ter. Benjamin Carpenter also purchased for his 
 sons, S. Pugsley and Daniel, the Evartson farm in 
 Amenia, south of the City, where Daniel remained 
 until his death. Daniel married Zaydee Perlee. 
 Morgan married Maria, a daughter of Jacob 
 Bockde. 
 
 Joseph Chamberlain came from Tolland, Conn., 
 in I7SS, ^iid settled on the farm afterwards owned 
 by the Nye family, where he is supposed to have 
 built the house, now on the place. He was buried 
 near the Steel Works, in 1765. His sons were 
 Colbe, James, John and William. Col. Colbe was 
 the father of Joseph, Conrad and Henry. John 
 was a physician of skill and prominence. Capt. 
 William Chamberlain, the father of Oliver and 
 James, lived on the farm now owned by J. H. 
 Cline, and kept a tavern there, which was much 
 frequented in the time of the Revolution. He 
 was in the battles of Bennington, Saratoga, and 
 others, and both he and his brothers were zealous 
 patriots. 
 
 Peter CUne,* a native of Germany, came here 
 from Rhinebeck in 1760. He came from Ger- 
 many to this country about 1752 or '53. He was 
 one of the " Redemptioners," who paid for their 
 passage to America by their service here after- 
 wards, tp which they were bound by the captain 
 who brought them over. Mr. Cline purchased of 
 Capt. Isaac Delamater, where his great-grandson, 
 Edward E. CHne, now lives, one-half of Oblong 
 Lot No. 49, for $10.50 per acre. He left one son, 
 John Cline, who died in 1845, aged eighty-nine, and 
 one daughter, the wife of Allen Hurd. The sons of 
 John Cline were Peter, Allen, Philo and Ebenezer. 
 One of his daughters was the wife of Asa Hurd, 
 and another was the wife of Thomas Swift. 
 
 Major Nathan Conklin came from East Hamp- 
 ton, L. I., in 1781, and settled in the northern part 
 of the town. He was an intelligent and public 
 spirited man, and was frequently Moderator of 
 town meetings. In those days to be Moderator of 
 town meetings was considered a high honor. 
 Capt. Benjamin Conklin, the father of Dr. Ebene- 
 zer Conklin, of Amenia Union, was from Nor- 
 walk. Conn. He lived in Sharon many years, and 
 in the later years of his life near Amenia Union. 
 
 Captain David Collin, father of the late Capt. 
 James Collin and others, was born in Milford, 
 
 •This name was originally Klein. 
 
 Conn., in. 1734, and came to Amenia previous to 
 1764. He was the son of John CoUin, who was 
 born in France in 1706, and who came to America 
 on account of religious persecutions and settled 
 in Milford. 
 
 Rev. John Cornwall, father of Eden B. Corn- 
 wall, and grandfather of Hon. W. I. Cornwall, was 
 from Cornwall, Conn. He Uved at the "Separate" 
 and ministered there, and at the City, and occasion- 
 ally at the Red Meeting House. 
 
 Jacob Evartson, a native of New Jersey, came 
 to Amenia in 1762, and purchased the south half 
 of Lot No. S3, of the Nine Partners, about 1,700 
 acres. In 1763 he built the large brick house, 
 afterwards the residence of Daniel Carpenter, 
 about a mile south of the City pbstoffice. He 
 owned a' large number of slaves. He was for 
 some years a merchant in the City. His ancestors 
 were from Amsterdam, in Holland, ,where for 
 three generations they had held the position of 
 Admiral in the Dutch Navy. 
 
 In 1776, Jacob Evartson was one of the Depu- 
 ties from Duchess to the First Provincial Congress 
 of New York. He died in 1807, in Pleasant Val- 
 ley, to which town he had removed about 1795. 
 
 John Garnsey, father to Deacon John Garnsey, 
 Dr. Ezekiel Garnsey, and others, came from New 
 Haven county. Conn., and settled where the fam- 
 ily still remain. He was a courageous and con- 
 scientious patriot. 
 
 Roger Gale lived in the western part of the town 
 as early as 1776. One of his descendants went 
 from Amenia and founded the town of Galesburgh, 
 Illinois. 
 
 Deacon Asa HoUister a native of Glastonbury, 
 Conn., came here about 1780, and settled on the 
 hill west of Noah Wheeler's place. He was a dis- 
 tinguished Christian of Puritan stamp. His father 
 and a brother were killed at the massacre of 
 Wyoming, and other members of the family es- 
 caped. He was father to the Rev. Allen HoUis- 
 ter, Asa, Jr., and Timothy. 
 
 The family of Ingraham came from Bristol, 
 Rhode Island. Jeremiah Ingraham, the father of 
 George and Thomas, purchased lands of William 
 Davies in 1 789. George purchased land of Davies 
 in 1794, and Thomas purchased of Evartson about 
 1772- There were many descendants of this fam- 
 ily who ranked prominent as exemplary citizens. 
 
 In the latter part of the century Sanmel Jarvis, 
 of Redding, Conn., came to Amenia and located 
 on the farm where Hiram Cooper lives. He lived 
 in the old house near Mr. Cooper's. He was of ^ 
 
TOWN OF AMENIA. 
 
 341 
 
 an English family of good standing, many of whom 
 adhered to the Crown during the Revolution. 
 
 Justus Powers, a native of Naumburg, Ger- 
 many, born in 1731, emigrated to America in 1752, 
 and settled first in Rhinebeck, where he married 
 Ehzabeth Moule. He came to Amenia about 
 1758, and purchased lands at different times, some 
 of which are still occupied by the family. His sons 
 were John, Jacob, Frederic, David and Peter. His 
 daughter, Christine, was the wife of Jonathan 
 Pennoyer. His daughter Catherine married David 
 Rundall. Jacob Powers was a soldier in the Rev- 
 olution. David removed to Saratoga County ; 
 the other sons and the two daughters died in 
 Amenia. Peter Powers, son of Justus, was born 
 in Amenia in 1776. He was one of the pioneers 
 of Methodism in this town. He died in 1848, 
 leaving several daughters and one son, Charles W. 
 Powers who was born in 1797, was married to Jane 
 A. Benjamin in 1819, and died in 1866. Peter B. 
 Powers, now living here, is his son. 
 
 Elijah Park, who was of EngKsh ancestry, came 
 to Amenia from Rhode Island in 1768. At the 
 close of the Revolutionary war he purchased a 
 tract of land which had been confiscated to the 
 government, near what is now Sharon Station 
 where he built a commodious house which is yet 
 standing. He was a man of great stability of 
 character, and a public spirited and influential citi- 
 zen. He died in 1795. His children were Thom- 
 as, Daniel, Rufus, Elijah B., James, John, George, 
 Louisa and Olive. Elijah B., died in Amenia; the 
 other sons removed to Broome county. Louisa 
 Park, who was the wife of BelaE. Benjamin, died in 
 Amenia, in 1863, aged eighty-eight years. Her 
 grandson Peter B. Powers, is the only representa- 
 tive of the Park family now living in this town. 
 
 John Balis was one of three brothers who came 
 over from England at an early day. He settled in 
 Amenia, and was the father of several sons, one of 
 whom, William Balis, was born May 18, 1781, 
 and who married Polly Culver, also a native of this 
 town. William Balis held various offices of public 
 trust. He was quite extensively known as a man- 
 ufacturer of grain-cradles. The house in which he 
 lived stood in the rear of what is now the Baptist 
 parsonage. He was the father of a large family of 
 girls and one son, Abiah P. Balis, who was born 
 January 10, 1805. Abiah P. Balis followed for 
 many years the business of his father. He was 
 also a farmer, and owned the farm just south of 
 the Amenia ore-bed, which he sold to N. Gridley 
 in 1854, and afterward moved to a farm two miles 
 
 east of Amenia village, where he lived the remainder 
 of his life. He was married twice ; first to Jane Case, 
 of Amenia, and next to Mary J. Gregory, of Sand 
 Lake, Rensselaer County. He had a large family 
 of children, six of whom are still living. He died 
 March 20, 1873, leaving a daughter and son by the 
 first wife, and two sons and two daughters by the 
 second wife. The second son, Franklin Balis, was 
 born September 14, 1846, married Hattie A. Cline, 
 of Amenia, in May, 1878, and lives on the old 
 homestead farm. He has two sons, making the 
 fifth generation born in this town. The third son, 
 William Balis, was born March 12, 1857. 
 
 Thomas Mygatt, the father of Preston and 
 Thomas, came from New Fairfield in 1772, and 
 purchased the lands where he resided, and which 
 are still in the possession of the family. He was a 
 descendant in the sixth generation of Deacon Jo- 
 seph Mygatt, one of that company of Puritans who 
 emigrated to this country in 1633, and who came 
 with Rev. Mr. Hooker and his company in 1636, 
 and began the settlement of Hartford. 
 
 The Paine family of this town are descendants 
 of EUsha and Joshua Paine. Abraham Paine, son 
 of Elisha Paine, of Canterbury, Conn., came to 
 Amenia in 1841 or '42. Joshua Paine, nephew to 
 Elisha, and father of Judge Paine and Barnabas, 
 Sr., settled here in 1849, in the eastern part of 
 the town, on lot 59 of the Oblong. Ichabod Paine 
 was the son of Rev. Solomon Paine, of Canterbury, 
 and grandson to Elisha. These were all descend- 
 ants of Thomas Paine, who came to Plymouth 
 from England, in 1621. 
 
 The Reeds of Amenia were from Norwalk. In 
 1759, James Reed was one of a company of Con- 
 necticut troops who passed through this town on 
 their way to Canada to the aid of General Wolfe 
 in the conquest of Quebec. While on the way the 
 company received news of the capture of Quebec, 
 and were ordered to return. Mr. Reed was so 
 pleased with the Oblong Valley, through which he 
 leisurely returned, that he induced his father, Dan- 
 iel Reed, to purchase for him some land here, 
 which he did, where the late Philo Reed, son of 
 James, resided until his death. The brothers of 
 James Reed, who came here a few years later, 
 were Ezra, who lived where Huldah Bump did and 
 who with his family went afterwards to Hudson and 
 Coxsackie; Elijah, who owned the farm which he 
 left to his son, Elijah, Jr., and EUakim, who set- 
 tled where his grandson, Newton Reed,* now re- 
 sides. Mrs. Stephen Warren, was a sister of these. 
 
 * Author of History of Amenia. 
 
342 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 The emigrant ancestor of this family was John 
 Reed, who came from England in 1660. He had 
 been an officer in the army of the Commonwealth, 
 and came away at the Restoration. HediedatNor- 
 walk in 1 730, aged ninety-seven. James Ree4 mar- 
 ried the daughter of Daniel Castle in 1759, and built 
 his house on the present site of James H. Swift's 
 residence. This house was removed many years 
 ago, and is now a tenant-house belonging to Mr. 
 M. F. Winchester. 
 
 Eliakim Reed's sons were EUakim, Jr., who 
 went to Greene County ; Simeon, who settled in 
 Vermont; Silas and Samuel, who settled in 
 Ontario County; Phineas, who lived in Hills- 
 dale, and Ezra, who remained on the homestead. 
 Eliakim Reed came to Amenia in 1773. 
 
 Capt. Reed was a man of great sagacity and 
 enterprise, and was widely known for his honora- 
 ble dealing. He enlarged his estate, conducted a 
 store, a mill, and a manufactory of iron, and, dur- 
 ing the war, of steel. He was also one of the 
 first in sustaining a .religious society. His sons 
 were Daniel, Reuben, Stephen, Elijah, Amos, Gil- 
 bert, Jesse, Jacob, James and Philo. Only Reu- 
 ben, Stephen and Philo died in Amenia. The 
 others removed to the western part of the State. 
 The daughters were Mrs. Northrop and Mrs. 
 Rose. They all left families except Philo. 
 
 Judah Swift, came from Barnstable County, Mass., 
 to Amenia in 1769, and settled on the farm 
 where his son, Moses, continued to reside. His 
 son, Seth, built the house where Thomas W. Swift 
 now resides, and continued there until his death. 
 Samuel Swift and Nathaniel, sons of Judah, re- 
 moved to the western part of the State. The son 
 of Moses Swift was Thomas. The sons of 
 Seth were Moses, Henry, Eleazer, Morton, and 
 Thomas W. Henry was a lawyer in Poughkeepsie, 
 E. M. Swift was a lawyer in Dover. The others 
 were residents of Amenia. 
 
 Many of these early settlers owned slaves who 
 were kindly cared for and instructed in the facts 
 and duties of religion. It is said that Jacob Evart- 
 son held as many as forty slaves. 
 
 The most of the slaves in the town were manu- 
 mitted according to the manner and the conditions 
 prescribed by law. Ezra Reed, in 1788, set at lib- 
 erty his slaves, Joel and his wife, and their son, 
 Jeduthan. The latter lived on the Darling place, 
 near Wassaic, and became a respectable citizen. 
 , In 1792, Samuel Swift gave freedom to his 
 slaves. Pomp and Mela, " in consideration of their 
 faithful Services ;" and in 1795 to his slave, Han- 
 
 nah, and her child, Zephaniah. In 1794, Judah 
 Swift manumitted his "negro man, named York." 
 
 In 1794, Jacob Bockde discharged from his ser- 
 vice, and that of his heirs forever, a certain slave, 
 named Simon LeGrande. It was an appropriate 
 action on the part of Mr. Bock^e to thus give 
 practical expression to his views of slavery, for a 
 few years later he introduced in the Legislature a 
 bill for the abolition of slavery in this State. This 
 important beginning resulted in the complete aboli- 
 tion of slavery July 4, 1827. 
 
 Those who held slaves were not permitted to set 
 any at liberty, and thus cast them off, who were 
 unable to provide for themselves. In consequence 
 of that measure there were in 1824, a few years 
 before the final termination of slavery in New 
 York, thirty-two slaves in Amenia. 
 
 As may be supposed, agriculture was the princi- 
 pal occupation of the pioneers of the town. Those 
 who settled here were men who looked to agricul- 
 ture as the only means of subsistence. Much of 
 the tillable land was easily cleared, and yielded 
 bountifully to the simplest cultivation. Timber 
 for building and all other necessary uses was plenty. 
 The land was well watered with springs and rivu- 
 lets, and larger streams for mills. The first mill 
 was built at what was known as Leedsville about 
 1740, and soon after one at the Steel Works by 
 Waterman, and several others at various places in 
 the town. In 1760, Henry Clapp, of Rombout 
 (Fishkill), sold to Thomas Wolcott, of Crom Elbow 
 (Amenia, then a part of Crom Elbow,) a mill site, 
 where the stone mill now stands, on which Simeon 
 Kelsey built a mill. This mill was purchased by 
 Capt. Reed, who enlarged it by adding to it the mill 
 at the Steel Works. 
 
 All of the early settlers gained a comfortable 
 subsistence from their farms. None of them attain- 
 ed extravagant wealthj but through the stibsequent 
 generations of the citizens of Amenia there has 
 been a more equal distribution of property among 
 the people than in most of the towns in Duchess 
 County. 
 
 The means of travel and communication in the 
 last century were meagre. There were then no 
 stage coaches or mail carriages known in this part 
 of the country. The only post-road in the State 
 in 1789 was between New York and Albany, and 
 there were then but seven postoffices in the State. 
 It required a journey of two days to reach New 
 York, and the distance was traversed on horsebacks 
 Goods were brought by sloops to Poughkeepsie. 
 The Duchess Turnpike was made in 1805, and 
 
TOWN OF AMENIA. 
 
 343 
 
 proved useful to the citizens of Eastern Duchess 
 and Litchfield. Several of the mile-stones erected 
 in early days are still standing. One by the road 
 leading from the Steel Works to Dover, where the 
 stream comes down from Tower Hill, is marked 
 " 183 miles to Boston.'' Another near the parson- 
 age in South Amenia is inscribed " 35 miles to 
 Fishkill," '' 179 miles to Boston," " 29 miles to 
 Poughkeepsie." The stones were set up during 
 the Revolution, while the British held the country 
 below the Highlands, and this was one of the prin- 
 cipal routes between the Eastern and Southern 
 States, by the way of Fishkill, where they crossed 
 the Hudson. Officers of the American and French 
 armies passed this way between the Eastern States 
 and the headquarters on the Hudson. The Hes- 
 sians were marched through the town on this road 
 to Fishkill, where they crossed the river, when they 
 were removed from Massachusetts to Virginia in 
 
 1778. 
 
 One of the first stores established in Amenia 
 was built by Capt. James Reed, some years before 
 the war of the Revolution. It stood a short dis- 
 tance north of his dwelling, and was resorted to 
 for trade by the citizens of a wide extent of the 
 country. The place is marked now by a few 
 locust trees, the offspring of those planted at the 
 time the building was there. Other stores 
 were kept at an early day at the Square, and near 
 the City, at Neeley's, Delavergne's, Adam's Mills, 
 and near the Red Meeting House. 
 
 The traffic was limited to a few articles of for- 
 eign manufacture, tea, wine, brandy, and the 
 products of the West Indies. Domestic manu- 
 factures supplied many of the articles now ob- 
 tained, wholly by exchange. Cotton was then 
 scarcely known, and there was very Uttle traffic 
 in woolen fabrics.. Hats, shoes, mittens, and all 
 ordinary clothing were unknown to their com- 
 merce. The most of their exchanges were by 
 barter, as money was scarce, and what little was 
 used was of silver. 
 
 In the latter part of the last century a company 
 was formed in the northwest part of the town, 
 called the Federal Company, for the purpose of 
 general trade. They conducted the Federal store. 
 Judge Smith was a;t the head of the company, and 
 there were some nine other associates in the bus- 
 iness. About 1803 another company was formed, 
 including several members of the Federal Com- 
 pany, with William Davies at the head. Previous 
 to 1817, an association was incorporated, includ- 
 ing some of the members of the former companies, 
 
 and the headquarters were also at the Federal- 
 store. They began the carding of wool by horse- 
 power, in which they were not successful, when 
 they removed to the stream near Adam's Mills, 
 where they erected a building for the manufacture 
 of woolen cloth. The late Capt. Robert Willson 
 was president of this company, and they issued a 
 considerable amount of small bills as currency. 
 This business of the company was also unprofit- 
 able,and the property was sold to Lawrence Smith, 
 who continued the work of cloth-dressing. 
 
 It was a notable advance in the use of machinery 
 when John Hinchliffe set up his carding machine 
 at the Steel Works, in 1803. The wool which 
 had previously been carded by hand was now 
 brought from a great distance to this novel and 
 curious machine, which was the first in this part of 
 America. 
 
 The important business of making leather was 
 conducted at different places in the town. This 
 was an industry exactly suited to the wants 
 of the people, who utilized the hides of their 
 cattle for boots, shoes and harness. They neither 
 bought nor sold to any extent. Their leather was 
 in exact ratio to their consumption of beef, veal 
 and mutton, and the bark for tanning was conven- 
 iently near. 
 
 There was a tannery at South Amenia, estab- 
 lished by Joseph and Gersham Reed ; one at 
 Amenia Union, by WiUiam Young ; one at the 
 Square, one near Thomas Ingraham's, and several 
 others in different parts of the town. 
 
 The first tow nmeeting for the Precinct of Amenia 
 was held at the house of Roswell Hopkins, on the 
 first Tuesday in April, 1762. This place of meet- 
 ing, and of the subsequent town meetings for many 
 years, was near where the Old Meeting House 
 stood. The officers chosen at this meeting were : 
 Capt. Stephen Hopkins, Supervisor; Michael 
 Hopkins, Town Clerk; Samuel Doty, Jonathan 
 Reynolds, Assessors; Benjamin Benedict, Abraham 
 Paine, Moses Barlow, Overseers of Poor; Conrad 
 Winegar, Constable and Collector ; Samuel Shep- 
 herd, Rufus Herrick, Ichabod Rogers, Constables ; 
 Thomas Wolcott, Jonathan Reynolds, Pound Keep- 
 ers; Miles Washburn, Benjamin Benedict, Roswell 
 Hopkins, Fence Viewers ; Thomas Wolcott, John 
 Beebe, Joseph Pennoyer, PhiUp Pitts, Samuel 
 Shepherd, William Barker, William Roberts, Ed- 
 mund Perlee, Moses Harris, Job Milk, Overseers 
 of Highways. Captain Stephen Hopkins and Sam- 
 uel King were chosen to take inventories of in- 
 testate estates for the ensuing year. 
 
344 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 The succession of Supervisors and Town Clerks, 
 from 1763 to date, has been as follows.: — 
 
 Supervisors. Clerks. 
 
 1763. Edmund Perlee, Michael Hopkins. 
 1764-66. Stephen Hopkins, do do 
 
 1767. Edmund Perlee, do do 
 
 1768-72. Ephraim Paine, do do 
 
 1773-75. ^° '^° Roswell Hopkins. 
 
 1776. Silas Marsh, do do 
 
 1777-78. Roswell Hopkins, do do 
 
 1779-80. John Chamberlain, do do 
 
 1 781. Colbe Chamberlain, do do 
 
 1782-83. Ephraim Paine, do do 
 
 1784-86. Isaac Darrow, William Barker. 
 
 1787-93. Barnabas Paine, do do 
 
 1794-97. Edmund Perlee, do do 
 
 1798-1800. Cyrenus Crosby, Allen Wardwell. 
 1801-02. Philip Spencer, Jr., do do 
 
 1803. Elisha Barlow, Barnabas Paine. 
 
 1804. Benjamin Herrick, do do 
 i8oi;-'o6. Benajah Thompson, do do 
 
 1807. do do John Freeman. 
 
 1808. do do Abiah Palmer. 
 
 1809. Isaac Smith, do do 
 
 1810. Benajah Thompson, do do 
 1811-12. Elisha Barlow, do do 
 1713-15. do do William Balis. 
 1816. do do Sturgis Sanford. 
 1817-18. do do Joseph Ketcham. 
 
 1819. Abraham Bockde, do do 
 
 1820. Joel Denton, Jr., Thomas Paine. 
 
 1 82 1. Thomas Barlow, do do 
 
 1822. Abraham Bockde, Joseph D. Hunt. 
 
 1823. Joel Benton, Thomas Paine. 
 
 1824. David Nye, do do 
 1825-27. Tabor Belden, do do 
 
 1828. Joel Brown, do do 
 
 1829. Joseph D. Hunt, William Faxon. 
 1830-31. PhiloCline, do do 
 1833. Walter Perlee, Barak Mead. 
 
 1833. PhiloCline, do do 
 
 1834. do do John WiUiams. 
 
 1835. do , do Thomas Wilson. 
 
 1836. William A. Benton, do do 
 
 1837. do do- Elijah D. Freeman. 
 183 8-' 40. Philo Cline, Thomas Wilson. 
 1841. John K. Mead, Hiram Brown. 
 1843. Wm. N. Merritt, Thomas Wilson. 
 
 1843. do do Hiram Brown. 
 
 1844. Hiram Vail. George Conklin. 
 
 1845. do do Luke W. Stanton. 
 i846-'47. Noah Gridley, John C. Paine. 
 i848-'49. John H. Perlee, George W. Center. 
 1850. Philo Cline, Edward Reed. 
 
 1 85 1-'53. George H. Swift, George W. Center. 
 
 '•853 -'54- John C. Paine, John Hiscock. 
 1855-56- Robert Grant, do do 
 
 1857-58. Judah Swift, Hiram Piatt. 
 
 i859-'6o. Walter P. Perlee, Chas. M. Benjamin. 
 
 1 86 1. M. F. Winchester, do do 
 
 1862. Chas. E. Bostwick, do do 
 
 1863. Wm. H. Grant, do do 
 
 1864. ' B. P. Carpenter, do do 
 
 1865. John H. Cline, do do 
 
 i866-'67, 
 
 1868. 
 
 1869. 
 
 1870. 
 
 1871. 
 
 1872. 
 
 1873- 
 1874. 
 
 1875- 
 1876. 
 
 1877-78. 
 1879. 
 1880. 
 1881. 
 
 M. F. Winchester, Chas. M. Benjamin. 
 Isaac H. Conklin, do do 
 
 C. M. Benjamin, Jacob A. Davis. 
 Isaac H. Conklin, C. M. Benjamin. 
 Chas. M. Benjamin, Jno. W. Hoysradt. 
 Hiram Cooper, Henry I. Taylor. 
 
 do do Eugene Kempton. 
 
 George Williams, Charles P. Davis. 
 Eugene Kempton. 
 do do 
 
 do do 
 
 Philo F. Winchester, Charles Walsh. 
 John W. Putnam, Eugene M. Kempton. 
 Philo F. Winchester, do do 
 
 do do 
 Ambrose Mygatt, 
 John W. Putnam, 
 
 Amenia Union. 
 
 The village of Amenia Union Hes in the extreme 
 eastern part of the town, a portion of it being in 
 the town of Sharon, Connecticut. Many of the 
 early settlements were made in this vicinity. This 
 place was, and is now to some extent, known as 
 "Hitchcock's Corners," so called from a family of 
 that name who Uved in this vicinity, one of whom, 
 Solomon Hitchcock, traded here as early as 1800. 
 This family was from Norwalk, Conn., and came 
 to Sharon, adjoining, in 1750, and settled on the 
 farm where the late Southard Hitchcock resided. 
 
 The postmaster here is Amariah Hitchcock, who 
 was appointed in 1841, in which year he came to 
 this place, having for two years previous been 
 assistant postmaster at South Amenia. The office 
 was estabhshed here in 1823, and it was on a mail 
 route which extended from New Milford, Conn. 
 toPownal, Vermont, through Sharon and Sahsbury, 
 and the principal towns of Berkshire County. The 
 mail was carried through each way, once a week, 
 most of the time in a one-horse wagon. Previous- 
 ly the few letters that were written were car- 
 ried by private hands, and the newspapers — 
 principally from Hartford and Pougljkeepsie— 
 were carried by mounted post-riders. Mr. 
 Hitchcock is probably the oldest postmaster 
 in Duchess County. When he came here he en- 
 tered the mercantile business, in which he con- 
 tinued until 1874. The house in which he lives 
 was built in 1783, by Daniel Reed, father of the late 
 WiUiam Reed, Mrs. Nancy Reed, Jerome and others. 
 The old homestead of the Hitchcocks in Sharon, 
 about one-half mile east of Amenia Union, has been 
 in the family since 1765. It was located by Capt. 
 Samuel Hitchcock, grandfather to Amariah. 
 
 An earlier merchant here was Solomon Chaiv 
 dler, who kept a store near here in 1791. He 
 lived in the John Reed house. 
 
 The merchants now engaged in business here 
 
TOWN OF AMENIA. 
 
 345 
 
 are Mr. E. Lambert and Allen Wiley, the latter 
 having been in business three years. Another 
 early settler near this place was John Reed, father 
 to Charles and others, who came from Redding, 
 Conn., in 1804, and purchased the farm where the 
 old stone house stands, and where he died in 1821. 
 
 Captain William Young came to this place from 
 Leedsville and set up an extensive tannery. He 
 built the house which is part of the hotel, and after- 
 wards built the house which became the property 
 of Dr. William Young Chamberlain. The hotel 
 was built in 18 ig, by Solomon Winegar, who kept 
 it until 1823. Peter Hurd succeeded Winegar as 
 proprietor, remaining one year, followed by Isaac 
 Crane from the spring of 1825 till 1834; then by 
 Ephraim H. Chamberlain, one year. Milo Winches- 
 ter then bought the stand of Winegar, of whom 
 these others had leased, and run the hotel from 
 1835 to February, 1862, when he died, and the 
 estate sold the property to Albert Pray, who kept 
 it three years. The present proprietor is Benett 
 B. Humeston, who, with his son, has kept the hotel 
 twelve years. 
 
 Among the early physicians of this place and of 
 the town was Dr. Reuben AUerton, son of Isaac 
 AUerton, of Windham, Conn., who purchased the 
 farm of Abner Gillet, now the James farm, in 1787. 
 Dr. Reuben AUerton preceded his father here a 
 few years, and began the practice of medicine 
 about 1778. In 1785 he removed to Oblong, 
 where for a time he lived in the John Reed house, 
 and afterwards, until his death, near the Presbyte- 
 rian church, now of South Amenia. It was prob- 
 ably immediately after the completion of his medi- 
 cal studies that he entered the service of the Col- 
 onies as Surgeon in the regiment of Col. Hopkins, 
 in 1777. He died in 1806, aged fifty-four. Doc- 
 tors Cyrenus Crosby and Alpheus Leonard were 
 the successors of Dr. AUerton. Dr. Leonard died 
 in 1829. 
 
 Dr. Ebenezer H. Conklin began his practice 
 herein 1820. He remained until 1832, and re- 
 moved to Michigan. Dr. Roberts studied with 
 Conklin, and practiced until his death in about 
 1842. Dr. WiUiam Young Chamberlain succeeded 
 Dr. Roberts, and remained till his death in 1863. 
 
 The present physicians here are Dr. Chapman, 
 who came here six years ago, and Dr. Lewis C. 
 Green, a graduate of Albany Medical College, in 
 1855, who came to this town in 1859.- 
 
 At this place, but across the line, in Connecticut, 
 is the stationary house and tobacco manufactory 
 of J. D. Barnum, the most important industry of 
 
 this vicinity. The business employs from sixteen 
 to twenty hands. 
 
 Methodist Church. The edifice of this society 
 was built in 1859, ^'^ corner stone having been 
 laid on Monday,July i8th, of that year. The building 
 is thirty-five by fifty-five feet, with a grand tower and 
 bell, costing upwards of $4,000. The beU weighs 709 
 pounds. The lot on which the building stands was 
 purchased of George H. Swift for $250.00. This 
 society was formed in Sharon, Conn., in 1822. The 
 original members who signed the first records on 
 the books of the society were, Daniel Braton, An- 
 san Norton, Thomas Wing, Joseph Soiile, Cunard 
 W. Boyd, Landius Lathrop, Horace Clark. Other 
 members of the society were Aaron Hunt, Orrin 
 Clark, John Williams, Oliver Kellogg, Henry 
 Haines, Ebenezer Wing, Elihu Chamberlain and 
 Harry Chamberlain. 
 
 Methodism was introduced into this locality by the 
 preaching of Rev. Cornelius Cook in the year 1788. 
 From that date to 1812, there were no regular 
 meetings held, but from that time meetings were 
 held in the school house which stood near the 
 place. In 181 2, Rev. Marvin Richardson, being 
 in connection with the Duchess Circuit, came here 
 and preached. 
 
 The worship was continued in the school house 
 until the year 1822, when a place of worship was 
 built and dedicated. The house stood just across 
 the Une in Connecticut. The building is now used 
 as a district school house, with a public hall above. 
 In 1859, the society decided to build a new house 
 of worship. A lot was secured on lands of George 
 H. Swift, and a neat and commodious edifice was 
 erected. It was dedicated January 26, i860, by 
 Rev. E. O. Haven. A farewell service was held in 
 the old church in Connecticut, January 2Sth, of that 
 year, Rev. L. H. King, one of the former pastors, 
 preaching the sermon, and W. J. Dedrich giving 
 the historical address. 
 
 The Society of St. Thomas' Episcopal Church 
 was organized in 1848-49. Rev. Homer Wheaton 
 was a missionary here at that time. Their first 
 meetings were held in a school house in New York 
 State, in District No. 6. The church edifice was 
 erected in 1849. The first wardens elected were 
 Stephen Knibloe and Henry Reed. The first ves- 
 trymen, Eli S. Jarvis, Harry Morehouse, George 
 D. Griffin, John Boyd, Robert Grant, David Doug- 
 lass, WiUiam H. Ingraham, Amariah Hitchcock. 
 Rev. Homer Wheaton became the first rector. 
 The present membership is small, and with no 
 located rector. 
 
346 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 South Amenia. 
 
 South Amenia contains a church, a store, a post- 
 office, grist-mill, built in 1846, (George B. Lam- 
 bert,) blacksmith shop (William Earnhardt,) and a 
 population of less than a hundred.* 
 
 The postmaster here is Mile F. Winchester, who 
 was appointed July 10, 1849. 
 
 The merchants are Winchester & Nase, in busi- 
 ness as a firm fifteen or more years. Mr. Win- 
 chester has been in the mercantile business here 
 since 1847. The first merchant here was probably 
 Philo Cline, from 1820 to 1825. He was the first 
 postmaster here. 
 
 An early landlord here was Daniel Castle, who 
 came from Roxbury, then a part of Woodbury, 
 Conn., some time previous to 1758, and settled at 
 South Amenia, where he was keeping a tavern at 
 that date. His son, Gideon Castle, built a house 
 where the postoffice stands, and afterwards pur- 
 chased the James Tanner farm, where he remained. 
 Daniel Castle's daughter was the wife of Capt. 
 James Reed. 
 
 Between South Amenia and Amenia Union is 
 the residence of Newton Reed, the author of the 
 " Early History of Amenia," a most valuable con- 
 tribution to the historical data of the County, to 
 whose kindness we are indebted for the facts re- 
 lating to the earlier history of this town. Newton 
 Reed is a native of Amenia, and has always lived 
 on the farm where his father and grandfather lived 
 and died. He was born in 1805, and received his 
 classical education in the old academy of Kinder- 
 hook, and while young spent a few years in teach- 
 ing. He has been a frequent contributor to the 
 agricultural and other periodical Hterature of the 
 time. This family, with the other families of 
 the name in the town, are the descendants of 
 John Reed, of Norwalk, Connecticut, who was an 
 officer of the Commonwealth in the English, civil 
 war, which resulted in the overthrow of the royal 
 power. 
 
 The first preaching of the gospel here, of which 
 there is any record, was by Rev. Abraham Reinke, 
 a Moravian Missionary, in 1753. He preached 
 to the Indians in this vicinity. 
 
 Previous to 1755, a house of worship was erected 
 in Amenia Union which, from the fact that the roof 
 had four sides, terminating at the top in an orna- 
 mental cupola, was widely known as the " Round 
 Top Meeting House." It stood about twenty 
 yards west of the colony line, on the hill west of E. 
 Lambert's store, on land now owned by William 
 
 *82, at last census. 
 
 Blithman.* December 11, 1759, a church was 
 organized, and Rev. Ebenezer Kniblbe became its 
 pastor. The congregation was composed of people 
 of very diverse origin : Palatines, Huguenots, and 
 Puritans, while the pastor was from Scotland, 
 where he was born in 1729. Mr. Knibloe was pas- 
 tor of this church about sixteen years, and the 
 breach of this relation was occasioned because of 
 his apparent loyalty to the King at the beginning 
 of the Revolutionary War — an attitude entirely 
 contrary to that of the Presbyterian ministers of that 
 day. The evidence, however, was clearly against 
 the suspicion, and it afterward became the con- 
 viction of the people that he was not disloyal, and 
 from about the end of the war until the close of his 
 life in 1785, he continued to preach to the accept- 
 ance of the people. He died December 20, r785 
 aged fifty-six. 
 
 While the British army held New York, the dis- 
 tinguished Rev. Dr. John Rodgers, pastor of a 
 Presbyterian church there, left the city, as many 
 others did, and found a safe retreat in the country. 
 He came here ini778, and ministered to the people 
 about two years. The distinguished Rev. Dr. Liv- 
 ingston, who in like manner found a retreat in 
 Sharon, for a time preached to this congregation. 
 
 Rev. David Rose, who was obliged to leave his 
 congregation on Long Island, also preached here. 
 Besides these were Revs. Mr. Everitt, Mr. Emerly, 
 Mr. Thompson and Mr. Williston. 
 
 The names of about a hundred and sixty heads 
 of families are recorded, most of whom were pa- 
 rishioners of Mr, Knibloe, which indicates a popu- 
 lation nearly equal to the present in the same limits.t 
 The number of marriages by Mr. Knibloe was 320, 
 of baptisms, 581,— suggestive testimonials to the * 
 prosperity of that generation. 
 
 Among the members of the church during Mr. 
 Knibloe's pastorate were: Alexander Spencer, EUis 
 Doty, Meltiah Lothrop, Daniel Rowley, James 
 Reed, Reuben Swift, Margaret Chamberlain, Pris- 
 cilla Lovel, Jediah Bumpus, Hannah Swift, Dorcas 
 Belding, Joanna Barlow, and the following gentle- 
 men and their wives : Silas Belding, Samuel Wa- 
 terman, Isaac Hamlin, Benjamin HoUister, Daniel 
 Castile, Ezra Reed, Elijah Reed, Stephen Warren, 
 Colbe Chamberlain, Moses Barlow, Eliakim Reed. 
 The leading members of the society in 1786, 
 when they removed and rebuilt the church edifice, 
 and in 1796, when they purchased the parsonage 
 farm, were : James R eed, Moses_Barlow, Walter 
 
 •In 1786 this edifice was taken down and another erected near where 
 the present building of the society stands, in South Amenia. 
 t The population of Amenia in 1790, was 3,078. In 1880, 1,697. 
 
TOWN OF AMENIA. 
 
 347 
 
 Lothrop, Stephen Warren, Gideon Castile, Eliakim 
 Reed, Elisha Barlow, Seth Swift, Moses Swift, Ben- 
 jamin Delamater, Conrad Row, Samuel Row, Oli- 
 ver Kellogg, Elisha Tobey, Ebenezer Hatch, Reu- 
 ben AUerton, John Cline, John Boyd, Amariah 
 Hitchcock, Sylvanus Nye, William Young, Samuel 
 Hitchcock, Ezekiel Sackett, Martin Delamater, 
 Gersham Reed, Jedidiah Bump and Azariah Jud- 
 son. 
 
 After the death of Mr. Knibloe several minis- 
 ters were engaged temporarily and for brief periods 
 until 1802, when Rev. John Barnet, A. M., was 
 engaged for an indefinite time, and his ministry 
 was acceptably continued to 18 12. 
 
 June 28, 1815 Rev. Joel Osborn was installed as 
 pastor. The first Sabbath school in this section 
 was established by him in that year. He was dis- 
 missed in 1825, at his own request. 
 
 His successor was the Rev. Asahel Bronson, 
 who was installed as pastor by the Presbytery of 
 North River, June 12, 1827, and remained two 
 years. 
 
 Rev. John G. Lowe became the next pastor in 
 1830. He came here from Bethel, Conn., and 
 continued his services until the autumn of 1842, 
 when he was dismissed at his own request. He 
 was succeeded by the Rev. A. Cogswell Frissell, 
 who began his youthful ministry here in Decem- 
 ber, 1842, and was installed June 7, 1843, He 
 remained as pastor until 1858, when on account of 
 impaired health he was obliged to relinquish the 
 charge. 
 
 Rev. Harvey Smith, a native of Coventry, Che- 
 nango County, and a graduate of Auburn in the 
 class of 1840, came next, and was installed pastor 
 September 15, 1859. He died September 21, 1872, 
 aged sixty-one. Rev. J. Ludlow Kendall began 
 his labors here in April, 1874, and was succeeded 
 by Rev. Theodore F. Burnham, the present incum- 
 bent. 
 
 The present membership in the church is about 
 one hundred. 
 
 The parsonage was built by Mr. Osborn in 18x5. 
 The church edifice now standing was built in 
 1849. 
 
 Leedsville. 
 
 Leedsville, two or three miles from Amenia 
 Union, was in its day an important location. After 
 the beginning of the present century, when the 
 hazardous condition of American commerce, and 
 the high price of imported woolen fabrics, induced 
 enterprising men to associate togetherfor the man- 
 
 ufacture of woolen cloth, a woolen factory was 
 established here in 1809. The principal men of 
 the company were Rufus Park, of Amenia, and 
 Judson Canfield, of Sharon, Conn. The name of 
 the place was suggested by a workman engaged in 
 the factory who had come from Leeds, in England. 
 The peace with Great Britain, in 1815, put an end 
 to the profits of manufacturing woolens in this 
 country, and the company at this place failed. 
 The property was sold to Selah North, who estab- 
 lished the business of cloth-dressmg. 
 
 Wassaic. 
 
 Wassaic lies a little south-west of the center of 
 Amenia, on the line of the New York & Harlem 
 Railroad. It contains a postoffice, hotel, church, 
 milk factory and blast furnace, and a population of 
 nearly three hundred.* 
 
 The postmaster here is Miles K. Lewis, who 
 was appointed some twelve years ago. He is also 
 a dealer in general merchandise, beginning that 
 business here fifteen years since. The other mer- 
 chants here are George F. White, a native of 
 Amenia, born in 1852, who has been in the mer- 
 cantile business here three years ; Edwin Marcey, 
 dealer in notions, who began business in i88i; 
 Wilson & Eaton (George T. Wilson, L. F. Eaton), 
 dealers in lumber, feed, &c., in business here three 
 years ; William Williams, dealer in general tinware 
 and manufacturer of milk cans, who established 
 that business in i86g. 
 
 The Wassaic House was built in 1851, by Noah 
 Gridley. The first lessee proprietors were D. F. 
 and T. L. Atkins, who kept hotel several years. 
 The present proprietor is Joseph B. Dewey, who 
 has been here three years. This is quite a resort 
 for summer tourists. 
 
 The sash and blind manufactory located here 
 was established in 1850, by Daniel Piatt, who con- 
 ducted the business some four years, and sold to 
 Lucius S. Pendleton, who has since been the 
 manager. 
 
 The manufactory of the New York Condensed 
 Milk Co., was established in 1861, by Gail 
 Borden. He died in the winter of i873-'4, and 
 his interest passed into the hands of his children, 
 one of whom, John G. Borden, is now one of the 
 principal proprietors.f The buildings were erected 
 in the spring of 1861. The factory receives daily 
 24,000 quarts of milk, which are condensed, in 
 the proportion of four to one, into what is known 
 
 * 1880, Zl8. 
 
 t Borden & Millbank. 
 
348 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 as condensed milk. The factory contains six 
 large boilers and numerous copper vats. 
 
 The Wassaic Chapel was built for Union ser- 
 vices in 1873, by Noah Gridley & Son, to afford a 
 place of public worship to the neighborhood. 
 Services are here held by all denominations, but 
 principally by the Presbyterians, Baptists and 
 Methodists. The chapel cost $5,000.00. 
 
 Noah Gridley, to whose exertions and bene- 
 factions this place owes much of its importance 
 and prosperity, was born in the town of North 
 East, in 1802. In 1825 he came here and in the 
 following year began making iron. At that time 
 there were no houses here, nor any buildings, ex- 
 cept the remains of an old saw-mill near the fur- 
 nace dam. The furnace was begun and built up 
 by Noah and Nathaniel Gridley, Josiah M. Reed 
 and Leman Bradley. 
 
 The site fpr the furnace and the ore bed was 
 purchased by Elijah B. Park and sold to the above 
 parties for $6,000. In 1825, the youngest of these 
 parties began alone among the rocks, with a single 
 yoke of oxen, the construction of the works which 
 have attained so much importance, and which have 
 contributed greatly to the common wealth of the 
 town. In 1844 the property came into the hands 
 of Noah and William Gridley, and on the death of 
 William, into the possession of the survivor. 
 
 Near this place is the locality known as " Steel 
 Works," where, near the beginning of the Revolu- 
 tionary War, — when the importation of iron and 
 steel was cut off, and home manufacture thereby 
 necessarily stimulated, — Capt. James -Reed and a 
 man of the name of Ellis began the manufacture 
 of steel. The business was for some time success- 
 fully prosecuted. The iron for their use was ob- 
 tained in pigs from Livingston's Furnace at Ancram, 
 which was a blast furnace, and the first in this part 
 of the country. Isaac Benton was a skilled work- 
 man in this newly organized industry, and received 
 a high compensation. 
 
 Here, also, John Hinchliffe, from Saddle worth, 
 Yorkshire, England, set up the first carding ma- 
 chine in this part of the land, in 1803. 
 
 Amenia. 
 
 The village of Amenia is on the Une of the New 
 York & Harlem Railroad, about three miles north 
 from the center of the town. This is the largest 
 and most important village in the town, and con- 
 tains a population of nearly four hundred.* 
 
 • 18S0, 39J. 
 
 The old village of Amenia was about a mile 
 north of the present village, there being no road 
 where the road now is that runs east and west 
 through the village. A road then came over Del- 
 avergne hill, ran from a point just east of the old 
 Delavergne, now Parson's place, up through where 
 the ore mine now is, over the hill in the vicinity of 
 the late A. W. Palmer's residence ; thence up 
 through the village and through the farm now in 
 the possession of Abram Mygatt, thence over the 
 hill by the old Powers' place, down through the 
 farm of Frank Baylis and through the Narrows. 
 
 The postmaster here is Eugene M. Kempton, 
 who was appointed in September, 1872. He is 
 also dealer in books and stationery, in which busi- 
 ness he has been engaged since 1872. 
 
 The other merchants and business men in trade 
 here now are : Northrop Ruse, dealer in notions, 
 who has been in different mercantile transactions 
 here since 1 833 ; Bartlett & Mead (William H. 
 Bartlett, Isaac N. Mead), drugs and general mer- 
 chandise, in business as a firm eight years, succeed- 
 ing Chapman & Bartlett; M. E. Chamberlain, 
 general merchant, in business four years, succeed- 
 ing OUver Chamberlain who had been in trade 
 since 1855 ; John J. Capron, jeweller, in business 
 since 1867; Piatt B. Caulkins, dry goods and 
 clothing, who began' in April 1880, succeeding F. 
 M. Treat ; Miles B. Farlin, drugs, confectionery, 
 etc., in business since 1880; Rosa A. Hall, millin- 
 ery and fancy goods, in business here two years ; 
 James Newman, tobacco and cigars, in business 
 since 1867; Lewis H. Guild, furniture and under- 
 taking, in business twelve years; Earl S. Guild, 
 general merchant, in business since 1872; William 
 R. Thompson, boots and shoes, who began busi- 
 ness in July, 1867 ; Benjamin H. Fry, stoves and 
 tinware, in business three years, succeeding his 
 father Simeon, who had conducted business some 
 thirty years ; Thomas G. Abrams, harness and 
 horsemen's goods, in business since January, 1877; 
 Daniel D. Caulkins, general merchant, in business 
 three years; Henry Morgan, stoves and tinware, 
 began business in April, 1877 ; John McHugh, 
 merchant tailor, in business five years ; Charles M. 
 Benjamin & Co., (Enoch G. Caulkins) general 
 merchants, in business as a firm since 1866;* 
 Curtis H. Hall, a native of New Jersey, photogra- 
 pher, in business here since 1872 ; Wilson & Eaton 
 (George Wilson, Frederic Eaton), millers, sash 
 and blinds, lumber dealers, in business as a firm 
 four years, succeeding Barat Wils on & Son. 
 
 •The store was built in 1851 by Mr. Caulkins. 
 
TOWN OF AMENIA. 
 
 349 
 
 The Amenia House, one of the best hotels in 
 the county, is beautifully situated near the New 
 York & Harlem R. R., and commands a fine view 
 of the village and the surrounding country. The 
 building was erected twenty-two years ago, and the 
 first to keep hotel therein was William Kirby. The 
 property is owned by Mrs. Nathan Hewett. The 
 present proprietor is Lewis Barton, who has been 
 here two years. 
 
 The Pratt House, a large and commodious hotel 
 in the heart of the village, was rebuilt in 1875 by 
 Peter Pratt, the present proprietor, who has been 
 here twelve years. On this site once stood the 
 hotel built by Major Cook, for his son, Solomon, 
 from portions of the house which stood where the 
 Seminary now is. 
 
 Amenia Lodge, No. 672, F. & A. M., was or- 
 ganized January 11, 1868. The Charter members 
 were John H. Thompson, Isaac N. Mead, first W. 
 M.J James T. Upington, W. C. Payne, William 
 Reed, A. B. Vedder, J. G. Husted, E. H. 
 N. Warner, Henry S. Chapman, John J. Cap- 
 ron, Peter W. Husted, Roswell B. Taylor, Abiah 
 W. Palmer, Allen Wiley. Lodge meets the second 
 and fourth Wednesdays in each month. 
 
 The Amenia Seminary was organized in 1834, 
 by leading Methodists in the town. It has had for 
 its principals and teachers some of the most noted 
 men of the M. E." Church, namely : Revs. Charles 
 K. True, Frederic Merrick, Bishop Davis W. 
 Clark, Joseph B. Comings, Erastus O. Haven, the 
 late M. E. Bishop ; Gilbert Haven, cousin to the 
 former, John W. Beach, Andrew Hunt, Bishop 
 Cyrus D. Foss, and D. P. Kidder. Prof. Alexan- 
 der Winchell, the eminent scientist, was also an 
 instructor here. The school remained under 
 Methodist control until 1857 or '58, when the 
 property was sold to private individuals — Henry 
 Rundell and George W. Center — under whose con- 
 trol the school was continued some three years. 
 The property was then purchased by some of the 
 prominent citizens of Amenia — notably among 
 whom were the late Senator Palmer and Dr. 
 Guernsey — who bought it for Prof S. T. Frost, of 
 Claverack, who conducted the school until 1877. 
 In that year Prof. Frost re-deeded the prop- 
 erty to several of the citizens of Amenia, who have 
 since conducted the school under the control of 
 the Regents of the University of New York State. 
 
 The Amenia Times, a weekly paper of more 
 than ordinary merit, was established in 1852 by 
 a company styled the Amenia Times Association, 
 composed of the following members : Hiram Vail, 
 
 John Ingraham, John H. Perlee, Geo. W. Coffin, 
 John B. Baker, Luke W. Stanton, Simeon B. Ben- 
 ton, Geo. W. Center, John C. Payne, George 
 Conklin, Joel Benton, the latter being the editor. 
 By this association the paper was conducted two 
 years, when its proprietors became known as 
 Benton & Co., Joel Benton still the editor, which 
 position he retained two years. The present pro- 
 prietors are H. C. Rowley & Co., who assumed 
 ownership two years ago. 
 
 The First National Bank, of Amenia, was char- 
 tered January 14, 1865. The present officers are 
 George H. Swift, President ; Newton Hebard, 
 Cashier. 
 
 There have been but few lawyers in Amenia, and 
 scarcely any who made the practice of the profes- 
 sion their sole business, though a considerable 
 number who were natives of the town, and who 
 received their early education here, have become 
 prominent at the bar and on the bench. The only 
 resident lawyers are George H. Swift and George 
 W. Ingraham, neither of whom make their profes- 
 sion their chief business. The latter was bom in 
 Amenia in i8ii, and was admitted to practice in 
 1870, but had, since 1836, practiced in the courts of 
 the county. He was a magistrate of the town for 
 eighteen consecutive years. 
 
 The physicians are, Doctor Desault Guernsey.* 
 
 Dr. Isaac N. Mead, a native of Amenia, born in 
 1840, graduated at the College of Physicians and 
 Surgeons, New York city, in the spring of 1866. 
 
 Dr. Lyman E. Rockwell, born in Stockbridge, 
 Madison County, N. Y., in 1846, graduated from 
 the Medical Department of University of New 
 York in 1874, and immediately came to Amenia to 
 enter upon the practice of his profession. 
 
 Among the prominent men of the town who have 
 added to its standing and prosperity was Senator 
 Palmer, who died January 10, 1881. 
 
 Abiah W. Palmer was born in this town January 
 25, 1835, on the farm where — except when tempo, 
 rarily absent — he made his life-long residence. 
 
 He received his academic education at the 
 Amenia Seminary, and afterward at the Seminary 
 of Cazenovia, and at the age of nineteen entered 
 the Sophomore Class at Union College. In 1859 
 he received the Republican nomination for Member 
 of Assembly, from this District, and was elected by 
 a majority of over 700. He at once took high 
 rank in that body, and in i860 was renominated, 
 but declined. In 1865 he was again elected to the 
 Legislature by a large majority, and was appointed 
 
 * See Biographical slcetcli at close of chapter. 
 
35° 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 by the Speaker to a membership on the Committees 
 of Ways and Means, and Revisions and Rules. 
 One of the Acts which he at this time introduced 
 and carried through was that which finally estab- 
 lished the Hudson River State Hospital for the 
 Insane, at Poughkeepsie, and from Governor Fen- 
 ton he received the appointment of Chairman of 
 the Board of Commissioners for locating that insti- 
 tution. He was again renominated for the Assem- 
 bly and again decUned. Ini 867 he was nominated 
 to the Senate, and while the RepubUcan State 
 ticket was beaten in the District by two hundred 
 majority, he was elected by a majority of nearly 
 seven hundred. 
 
 In the Senate he was made Chairman of the 
 Committees on Banks, and Charitable and Re- 
 ligious Societies, and a member of those on Mu- 
 nicipal Affairs and Agriculture. He was re- 
 elected to the Senate two years later by a ma- 
 jority unprecedented, and he was continued a 
 member of that body in the term following this. 
 In July, 1872, he sat with the Senate at Saratoga, 
 as a member of the Court of Impeachment, 
 which tried New York Cit/s unfaithful Judges. 
 He had been for years President of the First 
 National Bank of this village, and was re- 
 elected to that position the day after his death, 
 before the intelligence of that event had reached 
 the village. He was long known as a member of 
 the Board of Trustees of Amenia Seminary, and of 
 the Amenia Cemetery Association. The gener- 
 ous gift of the land to the Cemetery twenty-two 
 years ago, was one of his early tributes of regard 
 for this village and town. His was not a long life, 
 counting by years, but it was full of good deeds 
 and^ thoughtfulness for the public interest. He 
 died at Manitou Park, Colorado, where, in 1879, 
 he had gone for his health. 
 
 The village contains four churches, the Presby- 
 terian, Baptist, Methodist and Roman Catholic. 
 
 The Presbyterian Church. — The Presbyterian is 
 the oldest denomination. The Society was organ- 
 ized in May, 1748. The name of the church was 
 known as " Carmel, in the Nine Partners." The 
 first minister appears to have been Abraham Paine, 
 Jr., who " was set apart to the work of the ministry 
 by Ordination" June 14, 1750. Mr. Paine does 
 not seem to have been educated for the ministry, 
 but was called to that position to meet the imme- 
 diate wants ojF the newly organized congregation. 
 This society was organized at a time when in New 
 England the churches were agitated by the zeal of 
 the "New Lights," or " Separatists," and Mr. Paine, 
 
 and a considerable portion of his church, became 
 affected with their notions, which led to some disa- 
 greement between them and the more conservative 
 of the congregation. The house of worship which 
 was always known as the "Red Meeting House'' 
 was built in 1758. The place where it stood is a 
 triangle at the convergence of the highways about 
 a mile northeast of the village of Amenia, and near 
 the burial ground. It was a building nearly square, 
 two stories high, with a gallery on three sides, and 
 was seated with square pews. The site for the edi- 
 fice was presented by Capt. Stephen ^Hopkins, who 
 gave the first land for the burying ground. The 
 house was built and afterwards repaired partly by 
 the contributions of those not strictly adherents of 
 the Congregational polity, and was in later years 
 occupied harmoniously by the Congregationalists, 
 Baptists and Methodists. The number of those 
 who contributed to the building of the church was 
 seventy-nine, and the amount contributed was 
 _;^35o, 17s., 4d. Among the names of these con- 
 tributors is found that of Stephen Hopkins, who 
 gave ;^2o. Joshua Paine, Elias Shevilear, and 
 Benjamin Benedict, gave each ;^i3, Samuel King, 
 _;^9, and Jedidiah Dewey and Roswell Hopkins, 
 each ;^io. Other names are Robert Freeman, 
 Joab Cook, Nathan Mead, Jr., Simeon Cook, Noah 
 Hopkins, Job Mead, Barnabas Pyine, Samuel 
 Shepard, John King, Grover Bu'el, John Brunson, 
 Robert Wilson, Weight Ilopkins. In iSri this 
 church was connected with the Associated Presby- 
 tery of Westchester, and in 1 8 r 5 with the Presby- 
 tery of North River. Rev. Elijah Wood, a Bap- 
 tist, preached to the congregation from 1800 to 
 1809. His successor was Rev. Mr. Wilson, from 
 1809 to 181 r. He was succeeded by Rev. Oliver 
 Tuttle, from 1811 to 1813. The Rev. JoelOsborn 
 became pastor of the church in 18 r4, and gave to 
 it his services one-third of his time. It is not 
 known ^ how long he officiated, but probably till 
 1 8 16. The next pastor mentioned in the records 
 is Rev. O. H. P. Deyo, whose name appears as 
 Moderator of a meeting held April 4, 1855, "for 
 the purpose of organizing a Presbyterian church, ■ 
 and electing the officials thereof," but it does not 
 appear how long he remained. The next on the 
 records is E, W. Stoddard, May 31, 1856, whose 
 name is signed to a receipt for " balance in full of 
 $200.00, for half yearly salary." He is again men- 
 tioned December 30, r858. The name of Rev. 
 Mr. Schermerhorn appears next as resigning his 
 pastorate in 1869. He was succeeded by Rev. Mr. 
 Page, "at a salary of $2,000 per year, with the rent 
 
TOWN OF AMENIA. 
 
 3SI 
 
 of the parsonage, and six weeks vacation in- 
 cluded." The Rev. William R. Territt was called 
 January 26, 1874. A call to the Rev. A. Jackson 
 comes next, dated April 11, 1876. He remained 
 until 1878, and was succeeded by Rev. Mr. 
 Thomas, as a supply, who remained two years. 
 
 The church is now {1881) without a settled 
 pastor. 
 
 The Baptist Church. — Of the Baptist Church, 
 the information concerning its organization is scan- 
 ty,since the earlier records of the church have been 
 lost. It was organized in 1790, and appears to 
 have been composed partly of some from the old 
 Congregational Church, and of others who had 
 been educated in the Baptist system, and who had 
 been members of the Baptist Church of North East. 
 The names of the constituent members were James 
 Palmer, Deborah Palmer, David AUerton, Jennett 
 AUerton, Richard Shavalier, Jonathan Shepard, 
 Elizabeth Holmes, Mary Cook, Reuben and 
 Thankful Hebard. On the second of June, of the 
 same year, the church called the Rev. Elijah 
 Wood to be its pastor, who, on the twenty-seventh 
 of June, administered the ordinance of the Lord's 
 supper to them for the first time. 
 
 Elijah Wood was a native of Norwich, Conn., 
 born in 1745, and went in early life to Benning- 
 ton, Vt., where he was Ucensed to preach in a 
 Congregational Church. From Bennington he 
 came to Amenia, before the Revolutionary war, 
 and was counted among the active patriots. 
 
 He continued as pastor of the church until his 
 death, February 11, 1810. 
 
 The only house of worship in this part of the 
 town was the Red Meeting House, before men- 
 tioned, and which was used by the Congregation- 
 alists, Baptists and Methodists. 
 
 At the beginning of this century the Baptists 
 appear to have been jn the majority, and the 
 Baptist Church was an organization entirely dis- 
 tinct from the Red Meeting House Society, ob- 
 serving its own ordinances, and choosing its own 
 pastor, although the prominent members of the 
 church were at the same time members of this 
 Union Society, contributing to the support of the 
 preacher of the Red Meeting House. In 1 810 the 
 first step was taken in the division of the congre- 
 gation. At a meeting of the Union Society, held 
 March 26, 1810, it was voted : — 
 
 " That the Baptist Church occupy the Meeting 
 House one-half the time, the Congregational Church 
 the other half, that Oliver Wilson, Baptist, preach 
 one-half the time, and that John Cornwall, Con- 
 gregationalist, preach for half the time," 
 
 The rights of the Methodists in the Red Meet- 
 ing House were afterwards purchased, though the 
 privilege of holding services there was granted 
 them, and circumstances, which it would be im- 
 possible at this distance of time to relate with en- 
 tire accuracy, led to the separation of the three 
 denominations which had made up the one con- 
 gregation of the Red Meeting House, and the 
 building was left in the possession of the Congre- 
 gational Society. 
 
 It became necessary, therefore, for the Baptist 
 church to erect a house of worship, and in further- 
 ance of this object, a meeting was held, November 
 4,. 1823, at the house of Captain Abiah Palmer. 
 Of this meeting Solomon Cook was chairman, and 
 William Balis, secretary; subscriptions to the 
 amount of $1,900 had already been made, which 
 was increased to $2,779.46. To this fund ninety- 
 one persons in all contributed. The meeting- 
 house was finished in the following year, and was 
 probably occupied by the church in November, 1824. 
 The pastor of the church at this time was Rev. 
 Caleb P. Wilson. In this house the- church wor- 
 shipped twenty-seven years. Early in the year 
 1851, it was decided to remove the building to its 
 present location, a change which the growth of the 
 village rendered necessary. The work of tearing 
 down and rebuilding occupied the entire summer, 
 and during this interval the church met each Sun- 
 day in the meeting-house of the Presbyterian 
 church. The new church was dedicated Decem- 
 ber 17, 1851. 
 
 Twenty years later, the meeting-house under- 
 went extensive repairs, equivalent to a reconstruc- 
 tion, by which it was enlarged and greatly beau- 
 tified. The work, begun in the summer of 1870, 
 was completed in the following spring. The church 
 held its first covenant meeting in the new lecture 
 room Saturday afternoon, April 8, 187 1. There- 
 dedication services were held on the afternoon and 
 evening of April 12, 187 1, under the direction of 
 the pastor. Rev. T. W. Crawley. From its con- 
 stitution to the present time the church has had 
 twenty pastors. This number does not include all 
 who have supplied its pulpit for brief intervals, but 
 only those who have been members of the church. 
 The succession has been as follows : — 
 
 Rev. Elijah Wood June, 1790— Died February 11, 1810 
 
 Rev. Calvin Philleo 1811—1814 
 
 Rev. John M. Peck February, 1814— March, 1816 
 
 Rev. Oliver Wilson July, 1816— December (?) 1816 
 
 Rev. C. P. Wilson December (?) 1821— July, 1829 
 
 Rev. Wm. Hutchinson May, 1831— April, 1833 
 
 Rev. Luman W. Webster November, 1S34 — August, 1839 
 
 Rev, Isaac Bevan April, 1840— March, 1841 
 
 R?v. Alexander Sroitll ■ April, 1842— 1845 
 
352 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 Rev. Moses I. KeUy July, 1845— December, 1S45 
 
 Rev. James Johnston May 1846— October, 1848 
 
 Rev. Wm. E. Locke September, 1849— August, 1850 
 
 Rev. Joshua Fletcher April, 1851— AprU, 1856 
 
 Rev. Thos. E. Vassar September, 1857— February, 1865 
 
 Rev. J. W. Wilmarth June, 1865— 1866 
 
 Rev. A. C. Lyon July, 1866— September, 1867 
 
 Rev. C. E. Becker . .March, 1868— January, 1S69 
 
 Rev. T. W. Crawley, August, 1S69— October, 1871 
 
 Rev. Alonzo K. Parker October, 1871— AprU, 1879 
 
 Rev. Horace H. Hunt August, 1879 
 
 The Methodist Society of Amenia, which was 
 one of the earliest in this part of the country, 
 seems to have been formed in 1788, and numbered 
 eight members. These were David Rundall, his 
 wife Catharine, his wife's mother, Ruth Powers 
 wife of Peter, Ruth Powers wife of Frederic, and 
 three others, David Rundall being the only male 
 member for several years. The first sermon was 
 preached in a private house, half a mile east of 
 Sharon Station. The meetings were held in that 
 house, or in the neighborhood, until the settlers 
 from Rhode Island came here, when a society was 
 formed near the Old Red Meeting House. It is 
 understood that Mr. Garrettson formed the first 
 class, but he did not preach the first sermon. Capt. 
 Allen Wardwell was the first class-leader. 
 
 The important position of this Society may be 
 inferred from the fact that in 1808 the New York 
 Annual Conference was held here. The sessions 
 were held in the Round Top school house, about half 
 a mile northeast of the Old Red Meeting House. 
 Rev. Bishop Asbury presided, and occupied the 
 teacher's chair,* with the school desk before him, 
 and the preachers sat upon the benches of the 
 pupils. 
 
 The church organization was formed in 181 1, 
 "by certificate of incorporation dated May 13, 
 181 1." The first Trustees were George Ingraham, 
 Frederic Powers, Peter Powers ; Geo. Ingraham, 
 Society Clerk. 
 
 The first church edifice of the Society was built 
 in 181 2, a short distance east of the residence then 
 of Thomas Ingraham, of whom the site was pur- 
 chased. That house remained there until 1845, 
 when it was removed to its present site on a lot 
 donated by George W. Ingraham, and remodeled 
 and enlarged. Rev. Samuel W. King, was the 
 pastor at that time. In 1867, under the pastorate 
 of Rev. William E. Ketcham, the house was again 
 enlarged, a steeple added, and a bell put in — 
 donated by George Reynolds — at a cost of $500.00. 
 
 Up to 1 82 1, the church was embraced in the 
 Duchess Circuit. In that year Amenia Circuit 
 was formed from Duchess Circuit, and the church re- 
 
 •This chair is preserved as a relic of those days. 
 
 mained under the Amenia Circuit until formed as a 
 station in 1845. It afterward became connected 
 with a circuit known as the Amenia and Sharon 
 Circuit, which connection it retained some ten 
 years, and was again formed as a station. The 
 first Sunday school was organized in 1827 and in 
 1828 contained, including bible-class, sixty-four 
 scholars. 
 
 The following, so far as can be ascertained from 
 somewhat imperfectly kept records, has been the 
 succession of pastors from 1821 to date : — 
 
 Rev. Daniel Brayton, 1821-22 
 
 Rev. Cyrus Stillman, 1823-24 
 
 Rev. John Reynolds, 1825-26 
 
 Rev. William Jewett, 1827-28 
 
 Rev. Fiteh Reed, 1829-30 
 
 Rev. Samuel Cochrane, 1831-32 
 
 Rev. U. Fisher, 1833 
 
 Rev. Richard Wyman, 1834-35 
 
 Rev. Fitch Reed, ." i836-'37 
 
 Rev. Bradley Sellick, 1838 
 
 * ****«*» 
 
 Rev. George W. Knapp, 1862-64 
 
 Rev. James Birch, 1864-66 
 
 Rev. Clark M. Eggleston, 1866 
 
 Rev. Wilham E. Ketcham, i867-'69 
 
 Rev. Charles Shelling, 1869-70 
 
 Rev. Silas Fitch, 1870-72 
 
 Rev. G. H. Hawxhurst, 1872-74 
 
 Rev. F. Mason North, 1874-76 
 
 Rev. Fields Hermance, 1877 
 
 Rev. W. G. Browning 1878 
 
 Rev. James N. Ramsey, 1879-81 
 
 The present membership is about one hundred 
 and ten. 
 
 The Church of the Immaculate Conception was 
 organized permanently under Rev. Charles T. 
 Slevin, about 1859. He was succeeded by Father 
 John Osenego, he by Father Tandy, about 1868. 
 The present pastor is the Rev. Daniel J. Corckery. 
 The church edifice was erected in 1868. 
 
 The City. 
 
 The City, so named at the first settlement of the 
 place, because three log-houses were built there 
 near each other, lies in the northwestern part of 
 the town. It contains a postoffice, church, and a 
 few dwellings. The postmaster here is Robert R. 
 Thompson, who has held the office a number of 
 years. 
 
 The history of the Presbyterian Church here 
 goes back beyond the memory of any one now 
 living. In the year 1750, one hundred and thirty- 
 two years ago, and fifty years after the formation 
 of the first Presbytery in America by the Rev. 
 Francis Makeniel and his associates, a plain 
 
TOWN OF AMENIA. 
 
 353 
 
 church edifice was erected upon the ground now- 
 occupied by the present building. At an early 
 date two churches occupied the ground now cover- 
 ed by the Smithfield Church and Society. Both 
 were originally Congregational, and remained so 
 until the one ceased to exist and the other became 
 Presbyterian in 1824. After the Revolutionary 
 war, there was a successful effort to unite the two, 
 for the opening record of Smithfield Church is in 
 these words : — 
 
 " The records of the church of Christ in the 
 towns of Amenia, Washington and Stanford, 
 Duchess County, A. D. 1787, commonly known by 
 the name of the United Congregational Church 
 of Christ, in Westfield Society." 
 
 The use of the words, " United Congregational 
 Church," clearly reveals a successful effort to unite 
 the two societies, as the Rev. John Cornwall, it is 
 beheved, preached in both places from this time to 
 his death. No evidence has been found that a 
 settled pastor served this church from 1750 to 1775, 
 and it is probable that during this long period the 
 gospel was preached only by such ministers as 
 might journey through this section of country. 
 Among these was the celebrated Rev. George 
 Whitefield.* Tradition tells us that the church 
 edifices here could not hold the people who as- 
 sembled to hear him. Near the church was a 
 grove of oaks, under whose shade the masses lis- 
 tened to this most wonderful preacher of the age. 
 Five years after this, in 1775, the church gave a 
 call to the Rev. Job Swift, D. D.,t who preached 
 here for more than seven years. He was born in 
 Sandwich, Mass., June 17, 1743, but in early life 
 his father removed to Kent, Conn. He entered 
 Yale College in 1761, and graduated four years 
 later. He pursued his theological studies under 
 the eminent theologian, Rev. Joseph Bellamy, D.D., 
 of Bethlehem, Conn. His first pastorate was over 
 the Congregational Church in Richmond, Mass., 
 where he remained several years. He went from 
 the church here at the City, to Bennington, Vt., 
 where he was pastor for fifteen years. He died at 
 Enosburg, October 20, 1804. From 1782, the 
 year when the labors of Dr. Swift closed in this 
 church, to 18 12, the church was without a pastor. 
 He died March 18, 1812. July 7, 1812, a call was 
 given by this church to Rev. Eli Hyde, which was 
 accepted, and he remained as its pastor until May, 
 1 82 1. During his pastorate, in 18 r4, the second 
 church edifice was built on the site of the present 
 building. From the close of Mr. Hyde's ministry 
 
 * He preached herein tno. 
 
 i His son, Hon. Samuel Swift, LL. D., was born here- 
 
 the church was without a pastor for more than 
 three years, when the Rev. Robert G. Armstrong 
 receivedand accepted a call, and wasjnstalled pas- 
 tor by the Presbytery of North River, September 
 20, 1824. He had, however, served the church 
 nearly two years as stated supply. He remained 
 until June 21, 1831. Under his pastorate this 
 church was duly organized as a Presbyterian church, 
 January 25, 1824. 
 
 From the close of his ministry here in 1831, the 
 church for four years was served by Rev. Geo. W. 
 Kennedy and by Dana Goodsell, a Hcentiate from 
 the Eastern Association of New Haven. 
 
 The Rev. WiUiam J. McCord was sent by the 
 Presbytery of North River to supply this church, 
 then vacant, the second Sabbath in January, 1835. 
 In June of that year he was installed pastor, and 
 served the church until April, 1847. 
 
 The Rev. George T. Todd became pastor in 
 1848, and remained until the spring of 1855. Dur- 
 ing the early part of his ministry the present 
 church edifice was erected. Rev. Dwight K. Bart- 
 lett was the next pastor, in 1759, and he remained 
 until February, 1862. Rev. A. H. Seeley, the 
 present pastor, began his labors here in 1863. 
 
 Amenia in the War of the Revolution. 
 
 The patriotism of Amenia in the war of the 
 Revolution was both prompt and generous. The 
 pledge adopted by the association formed in New 
 York City, April 29, 1755, to oppose the oppres- 
 sive acts of British government, was presented to 
 the citizens of this town for signatures in June and 
 July of 1775, by Roswell Hopkins, Samuel King 
 and Silas Marsh, a committee appointed for that 
 purpose. To this pledge four hundred and twenty 
 citizens at once subscribed, and only six delayed 
 or refused to sign. Those who were persistent in 
 their refusal to subscribe to it were Joel Harvey, 
 Philip Row, Samuel Dunham, Judah Swift, and 
 Peter Slason. The latter, who lived in South 
 Amenia, near his brother-in-law, Capt. WiUiam 
 Chamberlain, who was a staunch patriot, never 
 accepted the situation. After the war, when a 
 pole was raised in that part of the town, crowned 
 with the cap of Liberty, Mr. Slason was brought 
 before it with a rope around his neck and required 
 to confess his loyalty. He kneeled before the 
 emblem of the nation's freedom and cried out 
 "Great art thou, O Baal!" 
 
 Those who signed the Pledge of the Association 
 — sometimes called the "Roll of Honor." — were 
 
354 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 known. as " Associators," and the Pledge was 
 pressed upon individuals, at times with some de- 
 gree of rigor, as a test of their loyalty. A Com- 
 mittee of Safety was appointed, whose vigilance 
 was particularly directed to the movements of the 
 Tories, or those suspected of a want of loyalty to 
 the country. A rude log prison, used for confining 
 Tories and other suspected persons, was built 
 about half a mile east of the present village of 
 Amenia, and north of where the turnpike now runs. 
 The remains of this prison were there a few years 
 ago. In all there were four hundred and thirty- 
 five names appended to the pledge, of whom one 
 hundred and fifty, or more, were independent, sep- 
 arate land-holders. 
 
 The following, as far as now known, are the 
 names of the officers and soldiers of the Revolution 
 who were residents of Amenia : — 
 
 Waight Hopkins, chosen Captain, July 27, 1775, 
 in a regiment of Green Mountain Boys under Col- 
 onel Ethan Allen and Lieutenant-Colonel Seth 
 Warner. 
 
 In Regiment No. 6, of Militia of Duchess 
 County, were the following officers, whose commis- 
 sions were dated Oct. 17, 1775 : — 
 
 David Southerland, Colonel. 
 
 Roswell Hopkins, Lieutenant -Colonel. 
 
 Simeon Cook, Major. 
 
 Richard de Cantelon,* Major. 
 
 Joseph Carpenter, Adjutant. 
 
 Dapiel Shepherd, Quarter-Master. 
 
 First Company. — William Barker, Captain ; Job 
 Mead, First Lieutenant ; Noah Hopkins, Second 
 Lieutenant ; Abner Gillett, Ensign. 
 
 Second Company. — Brinton Paine, Captain; Sam- 
 uel Waters, First Lieutenant ; Ichabod Holmes, 
 Second Lieutenant ; Jesse Brush, Ensign. 
 
 Third Company. — Joshua Laselle, Captain 
 Colbe Chamberlain, First Lieutenant; David Doty, 
 Second Lieutenant ; Elisha Barlow, Ensign. 
 
 Fourth Company. — Robert Freeman, Captain 
 Elijah Smith, First Lieutenant; Ezra St. John 
 Second Lieutenant; Noah Wheeler, Ensign. 
 
 Minute Men of Amenia Precinct. — James Reed 
 Major; Reuben Hopkins, Adjutant; Josepl: 
 Ketcham, Jr., Quarter-Master; Increase Child, 
 Captain ; John Lloyd, First Lieutenant ; WiUiam 
 Blunt, Second Lieutenant; Josiah Morse, Ensign. 
 
 Officers in General Clinton's Brigade. — Colonel 
 Graham, Captain Brinton Paine, Lieutenant Hop- 
 kins. 
 
 In 1775, Rufus Herrick was appointed Captain 
 in a Duchess County regiment. 
 
 In January, 1777, the following officers were 
 
 * Not a resident. Probably a professional soldier appointed to the 
 regiment for the instruction of the soldiers in the science of arms. 
 
 recommended for commissions according to their 
 rank in Colonel Humphrey's regiment : — 
 
 Brinton Paine, Major. 
 
 William Chamberlain, Captain. 
 
 John McNeil, First Lieutenant. 
 
 Edmund Perlee, First Lieutenant. 
 
 Reuben Doty, Second Lieutenant. 
 
 David Doty, Adjutant. 
 
 The following served in the capacity of soldiers : — 
 Benjamin Hopkins, Jacob Bockde, 
 
 Jabez Flint, Jacob Powers, 
 
 Job Mead, Jr., Moses Harris, 
 
 Alex. Spencer, Jr., Daniel C. Bartlett, 
 
 David Rundall, Ruger Southerland, 
 
 Joseph Mitchell, Judah Burton, 
 
 Silas Reed, Simeon Reed, 
 
 Samuel Reed, Nathan Conklin, 
 
 Lemuel Hatch, OUver Hatch, 
 
 Peter CUne (Klein), James Bump, 
 Conrad Chamberlain, Samuel Gray, 
 
 Garret Winegar, ^— Mackey, 
 
 Jones Knapp, Silas Ray, 
 
 Barzilla Andrews, Isaac Osborn, 
 
 Dr. Reuben AUerton, Ephraim Lord, 
 Bezaleel Rudd, Joshua Newman, 
 
 Isaac Delamater, John Congdon, 
 
 Warum Kingsley, (?) Stephen Edget, 
 Amos Pennoyer, Jeduthan Gray, 
 
 Asa Holhster, Samuel Benedict, 
 
 WiUiam Brush, John Ford, 
 
 John Benedict, Joel Denton, 
 
 Jesse Pennoyer. 
 
 Of these and others who entered the service of 
 the Colonies, Simeon Cook was an influential citi- 
 zen, and one of the first to give himself to the 
 work of the war. He was promoted to the rank of 
 Major, and distinguished himself in battle near 
 Fort Independence, near Peekskill, in 1777. Of 
 the five sons of Capt. Stephen Hopkins, Waight 
 and Benjamin, who joined the Green Mountain 
 boys under Ethan Allen, were both killed by the 
 Indians. Roswell Hopkins was a Colonel and 
 participated in the battle of Saratoga, r Dr. Reu- 
 ben AUerton was Surgeon of the regiment in that 
 campaign. Reuben Hopkins,* the youngest of the 
 brothers, was Adjutant in Col. Graham's regiment. 
 Major Brinton Paine was a prisoner in the hands 
 of the British in April, 1777. 
 
 Moses Harris, Jr., was a spy and was held in 
 much confidence by Washington. After the war 
 he was rewarded for his service by a grant of land 
 in Westfield, Washington County, N. Y., now the 
 town of Fort Ann. 
 
 Alexander Spencer, Jr., was a volunteer in 
 Arnold's expedition to Quebec, and died on tte 
 march. 
 
 * Born in Amenia in 1748. In the war of l8la he was appointed one of 
 the eight Brigadier-Generals of this State, He then lived in Orange 
 County. 
 
TOWN OF AMENIA. 
 
 3SS 
 
 Jabez Flint entered the service at the beginning 
 of the war, and joined the army near Boston. He 
 was in service near New York, when the retreat 
 was made from Long Island, and his company es- 
 caped with peril from Governor's Island. In 1777, 
 he entered the regular army for three years, and 
 the next winter was one of the heroic sufferers of 
 Valley Forge. He became Assistant in the 
 Quarter-Master's Department, and then Assistant 
 in the Commissary's Department. He died in 
 1844, aged eighty-eight years. 
 
 Capt. James Reed, Capt. Isaac Delamater and 
 Judah Burton were in the Commissary Depart- 
 ment. 
 
 Mackey, mentioned in the general list, 
 
 was a colored man who had been a slave, and 
 whose freedom had been gained by patriotic ser- 
 vice. He lived near Amenia Union in a little 
 home which had been bestowed upon him for his 
 services. 
 
 The War of 18 12. 
 
 In this war there was but a partial response to 
 the call for men. A few men entered the regular 
 army, one or two volunteer companies were rais- 
 ed, and sent to New York, and drafts were made 
 from the uniformed companies and other militia. 
 Col. John Brush commanded the troops from 
 Duchess County, which were stationed at Harlem 
 Heights. 
 
 Henry Perlee, son of Edmund Perlee, who re- 
 sided at the City, was Captain of one of the com- 
 panies. Edmund Perlee had served in the Revolu- 
 tionary War, and two more of his sons were in this 
 war of 181 2, Edmund and Abraham, the latter of 
 whom was severely wounded in a battle on the 
 northern frontier.* 
 
 Capt. Jacob Rundall, William Barker, and 
 Samuel Russell served under Col. Anthony Dela- 
 mater. 
 
 Jesse Barlow was Captain of a volunteer com- 
 pany, and was stationed on Staten Island. 
 
 Archibald AUerton served as Lieutenant in a 
 company of light horse. There are but few names 
 known of others who served in this war, and we 
 give them, as follows : — 
 
 William Snyder, Elijah Stevens, Russell Stevens, 
 John Jenks, Elijah Andrews, Ashbel Porter, Cor- 
 nelius Jordan, Isaac Latimer Seymour Haskins, 
 Alexander Haskins, Asa Hollister, Hezekiah Lewis, 
 Eben Wheeler, Solomon Wheeler, Simeon Hall, 
 George Reynolds, Jonathan P. Reynolds, Milton 
 Mason, Enoch Anson. 
 
 * The other sons were Walter and John. 
 
 Lieut. Obed Barlow died near New York of 
 fever, at the age of twenty-one. Lieut, Phoenix 
 Bock^e was taken sick and died in Poughkeepsie. 
 Caleb Chamberlain returned and died at home. 
 
 Colonel Henry Brush was Captain of Ohio vol- 
 unteers in this war. 
 
 Captain Ambrose Spencer, aide to General 
 Brown, was mortally wounded at the battle of 
 Lundy's Lane, July 25, 1814. 
 
 The War of the Rebellion. 
 
 A complete record of the soldiers in this war 
 was never kept. So far as can be ascertained, 
 from official documents and private sources, the 
 following men entered the service from Amenia to 
 aid in the suppression of the Rebellion. 
 
 \2%th Regt, Co. B. — Charles E. Bostwick, Cap- 
 tain ; Henry L. House, Seargent ; George H. Gor- 
 ton, Corporal; J. VanHovenburgh, Francis Mitch- 
 ell, George Haight, Riley Burdick, Seneca S. 
 Marks, William H. Haskins, Edwin Johnson, 
 Charles Tweedy, Oscar F. Parks, Charles H. 
 Baker, George L. Drake. 
 
 Co. Z).— Archibald Field. 
 
 Co. 7^.— Charles H. Pinder, William Teator. 
 
 Co. I. — Daniel Hawes, James O'Donnell. 
 
 \^oth Regt, Co. A. — Lieutenant Henry Gridley, 
 [a graduate from Amherst in 1862, enlisted in that 
 year. He was one of the best officers in the ser- 
 vice and greatly beloved. He was killed at the bat- 
 tle of Gulp's Farm, south of Kenesaw Mountain, 
 June 22, 1864.J George Ingraham, William Wat- 
 tles now in U. S. Marshall's office, New York ; 
 John L. Hofftailing, Amos T. Bates, John Hart, 
 died in the service; Seabury Birdsell, William 
 Chamberlain, Hamilton Bramin, Charles Benton, 
 Abiah B. Hall, William H. Bartlett, Isaac M. 
 Mead, transferred to the sth N. Y. Cavalry, now a 
 druggist in Amenia ; Edwin Davis, Miles K. Lewis, 
 now a merchant in Wassaic ; James H. Vasser, 
 now in Custom House, Boston ; Thomas Dye, 
 dead ; Milo D. Rogers, Benjamin Buckley, William 
 E. Salisbury, Ira Fish, died in 1880 ; Chester A. 
 Andrews, Isaac N. Palmer, Charles E. Griffin, 
 Michael Fitzpatrick, John Davis, Thomas Benham, 
 died in the service in 1864; WiUiam Reed, dead ; 
 John CoUer, George T. Wilson, Nelson Wilson, 
 John Van Alstine, killed at Gettysburg, July, 1863 ; 
 John G. Borden, J. Curtiss Smith, Nathan W. 
 Reed, Albert Reed, died in service ; Henry Winans, 
 died in service ; James I/yman, Nicholas Sheldon, 
 Eugene M. Kempton, enlisted in August, 1862, 
 discharged in July, 1865, now postmaster at 
 
3S6 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 Amenia village ; Horatio S. Chamberlain, Andrew 
 T. Winters, died in the service. 
 
 Company £.— Oscar W. Fiero, John Tallman. 
 
 Company /—Levi King (dead), Thomas Mack, 
 Edward Hart, Joel Dykeman. 
 
 Scattering.— \)d.\\ii Watts, ist Conn. Heavy Ar- 
 tillery; Miles St. John, Sergeant-Major, 48th N. Y. 
 Infantry ; Thomas Batlers, Co. B, 4th N. Y. Heavy 
 Artillery ; Albert Buckley, Co. G, 48th N. Y. In- 
 fantry; William Davis, Co. E, 12th N. Y. Cavalry; 
 John W. Teator, Co. H, 6th N. Y. Cavalry; 
 George Dewey, Co. C, 26th Reg't., U. S. Colored 
 Troops; Aaron H. Ingraham, enlisted in i86r in 
 Co. C, 48th N. Y. Infantry, killed at battle of 
 Cold Harbor, Va., June r, 1864, and buried on 
 the field. 
 
 In the Presbyterian church, in the village of 
 Amenia, is a memorial window, the gift of the 
 church, to the memory of the soldiers "slain in 
 i"863, '64, '65, Amenia's offering on the Altar of 
 National Unity.'' 
 
 The following names are there inscribed: — 
 
 Lieutenant Henry Gridley, George Flint, Aaron 
 Ingraham, George H. Couch, John Van Alstyne, 
 Albert Reed, Charles R. Wilbur, naval service, 
 died and buried at sea ; Thomas Benham, Charles 
 IngerSoU, Henry Dykeman, William H. Haskins, 
 died from wounds received at Cedar Creek ; Rob- 
 ert Watts, John P. Van Hovenburgh, John Hart, 
 Willis Chamberlain, John P. Wing, George Wing, 
 Charles W. Bishop, Riley Burdick, Andrew T. 
 Winters, William Frost, Charles Mitchell, John 
 Pitcher, John C. Welsh, John Flaherty, Frank 
 Cleaveland, John Clark, Harrison M. Leroy, Hez- 
 ekiah Lee. 
 
 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 
 
 DESAULT GUERNSEY. 
 
 Dr. Desault Guernsey was born in the town of 
 Milan, Duchess Co., June 13, 1830, but at an 
 early age removed to the city of New York with his 
 father, Dr. Peter B. Guernsey, who for many years 
 was a prominent physician in that city. He was 
 educated and fitted for college at the grammar 
 school of the New York University, at that time 
 under the control of Chancellor Frelinghuysen. 
 His medical education was obtained in the offices 
 of his father and Dr. Willard Parker, and in 
 attendance on the lectures of the College of Phy- 
 sicians and Surgeons, Medical Department of 
 Columbia College, receiving his degree of Doctor 
 of Medicine in the year 1850. 
 
 Shortly after, he was appointed House Surgeon 
 to Bellevue Hospital. Completing the term of 
 service here, he received the appointment of As- 
 sistant Physician to Marine Hospital Quarantine, 
 when his health, after a little over one year's ardu- 
 ous labor, became seriously impaired by an attack 
 of ship fever. Resigning his position, he returned 
 to Duchess county, locating at Pine Plains, where 
 for several years he was successfully engaged in the 
 practice of his profession. Just before the outbreak 
 of the war he was unanimously chosen delegate to 
 the State Convention called for the purpose of 
 nominating Daniel S. Dickinson as a candidate for 
 Presidential honors; the project being in the inter- 
 est of pacification, with the hope of avoiding im- 
 pending national calamities. 
 
 In 1862, the the Doctor was appointed surgeon 
 of the 174th Regiment, N. Y. S. V., by Gov. 
 Morgan, having before served as volunteer surgeon 
 with Gen. McClellan during the memorable con- 
 flict of Antietam. He went with his regiment to 
 New Orleans in the Banks Expedition and served 
 with it up to the attack on Port Hudson, when he 
 received a severe injury from the fall of his horse, 
 causing a fracture of the leg, which incapacitated 
 him from futher service. 
 
 Returning home he located at Amenia, and 
 from the first has been most successful in his pro- 
 fession, taking at once a high position among the 
 business men of the town. The Doctor is an 
 indefatigable worker, for in addition to a large 
 practice as physician and surgeon, he holds the 
 responsible position of President of the First Na- 
 tional Bank of Amenia ; is President of the Board 
 of Trustees of the Amenia Seminary, and also 
 owns and manages one of the largest* dairy farms 
 in the County. Besides these he has extensive 
 property interests to look after in other directions. 
 
 In his profession he has won by his native 
 worth and merit not a few responsible positions, 
 among which may be mentioned: President of 
 the Duchess 'County Medical Society, Member of 
 the State Medical Society, Member of the Ameri- 
 can Public Health Association, and many other 
 offices of trust and -responsibility. 
 
 His home in Amenia was formerly known as the 
 " Reynolds Cottage," the homestead of his wife, 
 the eldgst daughter of the late Joseph Reynolds, 
 Esq. The cottage, which is well preserved, has 
 been greatly improved in later years. It is now 
 combined with a large imposing mansion, which 
 embraces among other architectural features, a 
 tower, parte cochere, and all the equipments of a 
 palatial country home. The landscape in connec- 
 tion with the grounds, and the stream and lake 
 which adjoin the place, and in which are to be 
 found some very fine trout springs, combine to 
 make it one of the finest residences in Eastern 
 Duchess. 
 
 The Doctor's only child is a son of sixteen, now 
 fitting for college, and whose studies in Ornithology 
 and Oology are something remarkable for one so 
 young. But the Doctor and his family inherit the 
 scientific tendency from hi? father and grandfather, 
 
"LAWNBROOK"— RESIDENCE OF DR. D. GU 
 
JERNSEY.AMENIA, DUCHESS CO., N. Y. 
 
TOWN OF POUGHKEEPSIE. 
 
 357 
 
 who were early physicians, as well as residents and 
 practitioners in Duchess County. His mother was 
 the second daughter of the late Judge Stephen 
 Thome. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIX. 
 
 History of the Town of Poughkeepsie. 
 
 Topography of the Town — Derivation and 
 Signification of Name — Streams — Soil — 
 Population — Area — Schools — First Settle- 
 ment — Early Land Transfers Affecting 
 THE Town and City of Poughkeepsie — Tax 
 List of Poughkeepsie Precinct in 1771 — 
 Wappingers Falls (Channingville) — New 
 Hamburgh — Rochdale — Manchester — East 
 Poughkeepsie — Brick-Yards — Clinton Point 
 — Milton Ferry — Van Wagners — Locust 
 Glen — The War of the Rebellion. 
 
 THE town of Poughkeepsie, like the city of 
 the same name, which was formerly com- 
 prised within its border, derives its name from an 
 Indian word, about which, as well as its significa- 
 tion, authors differ.* It was formed as a precinct 
 Dec. 16, 1737, and as a town, March 7, 1788. The 
 city of Poughkeepsie was taken off March 28, 
 1854. It lies upon the west border of the county, 
 south of the center, in the angle formed by the 
 confluence of the Hudson River and Wappingers 
 Creek, the river forming its western and the creek 
 its eastern and southern borders. The town of 
 Hyde Park lies upon the north border, and Pleas- 
 ant Valley, LaGrange and Wappinger lie upon the 
 eastern and southern borders. 
 
 The surface is an undulating upland, but mod- 
 erately uneven, except near the river, where its 
 streams cut through the embankment, which con- 
 sists, in places, of steep and rugged bluffs. The 
 streams, in addition to Wappingers Creek, are 
 small, and, like it, empty into the Hudson. The 
 principal of these are Fall and Casper's Kills. The 
 former was called by the Indians the Wynogkee or 
 Winnikee ; but the Dutch gave it its present name 
 from the cascades, which formerly made it a good 
 mill stream. It rises in the town of Clinton, and 
 enters the town near the center of the north border, 
 
 * Schoolcraft, says Ruttenber, a critical student, derives the name from 
 Atoktepsing, signifying safe harbor ; but, he adds, the interpretation is 
 open to question. He further states that the name was applied to a pond 
 of water, lying in the vicinity of the city, to which was given the significa- 
 tion of " muddy pond ;" "an explanation which accords with the ac- 
 cepted interpretation of Ramepogh—^ simple generic term for pond, or 
 ponds, modified by locality or character." Authors generally conform to 
 this oxWiOpztf'a-j—Apokeepsing; though Mr. Lossing (Pictorial Field- 
 Book of the Revolution, I, 383, note,) says the name ( Poughkeepsie, ) is 
 a corruption of the Iroquois word Ap'O-keep-sinck, to which he attaches 
 the same signification— J<i/i harbor; while French, (State Gazetteer, 
 174, note,) adopting very nearly the same orthography (Apo-keep-sink,) 
 makes it signify " pleasant harbor." 
 
 flowing thence in a south-westerly direction to the 
 Hudson, and passing in a circuitous course through 
 the city of Poughkeepsie. Casper's Kill flows in a 
 south-westerly direction through the central part of 
 the city. Hudson River and Wappingers Creek 
 have previously been described. 
 
 The town is wholly underlaid by the rocks of the 
 Hudson River Group. Limestone was formerly 
 extensively quarried and burned on the river, at 
 Clinton Point, and proved a valuable fertilizer on 
 the sandy soils of New Jersey, to which State it was 
 mostly shipped. The soil is composed of sand, 
 clay and loam, underlaid by limestone, clay pre- 
 vailing on the west border. It is made fertile by 
 the use of gypsum. In 1874, this town surpassed 
 all others in the county, not only in the value of 
 farms, in proportion to the area of cleared land, but 
 in the value of its farm products, in the same pro- 
 portion ; a fact, however, which is largely influenced 
 by its proximity to the city and the ready and fa- 
 vorable market thus opened to it. The soil is 
 adapted to a wide range of crops, but these are de- 
 termined perhaps more by the demands of the 
 market than by adaptation. 
 
 The town is traversed along its entire west bor- 
 der by the Hudson River Railroad, and in the 
 northern portion by the Poughkeepsie, Hartford & 
 Boston Railroad, Which connects with the former 
 at Poughkeepsie. Thus the town is abundantly 
 supplied with railroad facilities, no point within its 
 borders much exceeding four miles distance from a 
 railroad station. 
 
 It is one of the most populous towns in the 
 county, being exceeded in that respect only by 
 Fishkill and Wappinger. Its population in 1880 
 was, according to the census of that year, 4,628, a 
 gain of 619 during the last decade. This gain is 
 doubtless to be attributed mainly to the overflow 
 from the city and the thriving manufacturing vil- 
 lage of Wappingers Falls. In 1875 the popula- 
 tion was 4,496; of whom 3,416 were native, 1,080 
 foreign, 4,391 white, 105 colored, 2,162 males, 
 2,334 females, and 429 aliens. 
 
 The following table shows the population of the 
 town at different periods : — 
 
 1790 
 1800 
 1810 
 1814 
 1820 
 1825 
 
 2,529- 
 3.246. 
 4,669. 
 
 5.673- 
 5.726. 
 
 5.935- 
 
 1830 7,222. 
 
 1835 8.529- 
 
 1880 
 
 1840 10,006. 
 
 184s 11,791- 
 
 1850 13.944- 
 
 1855 *i5,873. 
 
 i860 3.122. 
 
 1865 3,073. 
 
 1870 4.009- 
 
 1875 4,496. 
 
 . ..4,628. 
 
 * Up to this year the population of the city is included. 
 
3S8 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 In area it is the smallest town in the county, with 
 the exception of Wappinger. In 1875 it contained 
 16,596 acres;! of which 14,057 were improved, 
 1,428 woodland and i,iii otherwise unimproved. 
 The cash value of farms was $2,853,825 ; of farm 
 buildings other than dwellings, $324,400 ; of stock, 
 $202,019; of tools and implements, $59,810; the 
 amount of gross sales from farms in 1874, $175,- 
 804. In the value of its farms it was exceeded 
 only by the town of Fishkill, which then embraced 
 the town of Wappinger. It is one of the towns in 
 the county which has no bonded indebtedness. 
 
 There are ten common school districts in the 
 town. The number of children of school age 
 residing in the districts September 30, 1880, 
 was 1,467. During the year fifteen Kcensed 
 teachers were employed at the same time, seven of 
 whom were males and eight females. The num- 
 ber of children residing in the districts who attended 
 school was 735 ; the average daily attendance dur- 
 ing the year, 42Z,2r2; the number of volumes in, 
 district libraries was 1,830, the value of which was 
 $970; the number of school houses was ten, four 
 frame and six brick, which, with the sites, valued 
 at $4,760, were valued at $23,800; the assessed 
 value of taxable property in, the districts was $1,- 
 984,000. 
 
 The following is a statement of the receipts and 
 disbursements for school purposes during the year 
 ending Sept. 30, 1880 : — 
 
 Receipts. 
 
 Amount on hand Oct. i, 1879, 
 " apportioned to districts, 
 " raised by tax, 
 " received from other sources, 
 
 Total receipts. 
 
 $ 769.61 
 
 2,429.34 
 
 6,927.70 
 
 7.61 
 
 $10,134.26 
 
 Disbursements. 
 
 Paid for teachers' wages, $6,554.24 
 " " libraries, 43-25 
 " " school apparatus, 96.49 
 " " school houses, sites, fences, out- 
 houses, repairs, furniture, etc., 2,310.35 
 " " incidental expenses, 582-59 
 Amount remaining on hand Sept. 30, 
 
 1880, 547.34 
 
 Total disbursements, $ i o, 1 3 4. 2 6 
 
 The settlement of the town was commenced 
 
 about the beginning of the eighteenth century by 
 
 * Census of 1875. The published Pioceedings of the Board of Super- 
 visors ^Duchess County for the year 1880, state the number of acres to 
 be 17,781. the equalized value of which was ^1,134.611, which was ex- 
 ceeded only by the town of Fishkill. 
 
 the Dutch ; but there is little definite and authen- 
 tic information regarding these first settlers to be 
 gleaned, even from their descendants. That they 
 were a sturdy, enterprising, thrifty, inteUigent and 
 progressive people is evidenced by the associations 
 which have clustered around the little village then 
 planted, which soon became and has continued 
 during the interval of nearly two centuries the 
 agricultural and political center of the county, 
 though geographically far distant therefrom. 
 
 From the records of early land transfers and 
 other similar documents we glean some interesting 
 facts. That portion of the town lying west of a 
 line extending from the mouth to the source of 
 Casper's Creek, avoiding the eastern curvatiure of 
 that stream, was included in the patents granted 
 to Col. Peter Schuyler, June 2, 1688, and to Henry 
 Ten Eyck and eight others. May 7, 1697 ; and the 
 remaining portion, in the Rombout Patent, which 
 was granted to Francis Rombout, Jacobus Kipp 
 and Stephanus Van Cortland, Oct. 17, 1685. 
 
 On page 278, Book A., Duchess County Deeds, 
 is recorded the following transfer from the origi- 
 nal proprietor : — 
 
 " To ALL Christian People, to whome this Pres- 
 ent writteing shall come Peter Schuyler of the 
 Citty of Albany Gentn. Sendeth Greeting Know 
 yee that for Diverse Good Causes and other Con- 
 siderations him thereunto moveing hath Granted 
 Bargained Alienated Enffoeffed Conveyed and 
 Transported and these Presents doth Grannt Bar- 
 gain Alienate Enffoeffe Convey & Transport unto 
 Robert Sanders and Myndert Harmense* both late 
 of Albany, All that Certain Tract or Parcell of 
 Land Scituate Lying and being on ye East side of 
 the Hudson's River in Duchess County at A Cer- 
 taine Place Caled ye Long Reach Slenting Over 
 Against Juffrows Hook At a Place Called the Rust 
 Plaest. Runs from Thence East Ward into the 
 wood to a Creek Caled by The Indians Pietawick- 
 quasick Knowne by the Christians for Jan Cas- 
 perses Creek Northwarde to a Water fall where the 
 Saw Mill belonging to Myndert Harmense Afore- 
 said ^ands Upon and so Southwarde Alongst 
 Hudson's River Aforesaid to said Rust Plaets with 
 all and singular his Right Title Property Claime 
 and Interest and other the Profiles Commodities 
 Appurtenances Whatsoever to ye said Tract or 
 parcel of Land belonging or in any wise Apper- 
 taining To HAVE AND Ttt HOLD the Said Tract or 
 Parcell of Land unto the said Robert Sanders and 
 Myndert Harmense There Heirs and Assigns to 
 the only Proper use Benefite and behooffe of the 
 said Robert Sanders and Myndert Harmense their 
 Heirs and Assigns for Ever, which said Tract or 
 Parcell of Land the said Pieter Schuyler doth con- 
 
 * This a name of varied orthography in the early records ; but its 
 bearer was doubtless the progenitor of the Hermances, who now form a 
 highly respectable family in the county. 
 
TOWN OF POUGHKEEPSIE. 
 
 359 
 
 vey unto ye said Robert Sanders * * * and 
 Myndert Harmense by Virtue of A Patent unto 
 him Granted By the Late Governor, Thomas Don- 
 gan, Dated the 2d of June 1688 In witnesse 
 WHEREOF the said Pieter Schuyler hath hereunto 
 sett his hand and Scale in Albany this 30th Day of 
 August and in ye Eleventh of ye Reigne of Souver- 
 eign R. Lord William ye 3d by ye Grace of God 
 King over England &c. Defender of ye faith 
 annoq Do. 1699. 
 
 Pa: Schuyler. 
 
 Signed Sealed & Delivered ) 
 in presence of j 
 
 Evert Wendel 
 
 Rt. Livingston Junr." 
 
 Acknowledgment of the above was taken before 
 Jacobus TerBoss, Judge of the Inferior Court of 
 Common Pleas of Duchess County, May 18, 1738. 
 Jan. 28, 1698, Henry Ten Eyck, of New York 
 City, mariner, conveyed to John Rodman and Will- 
 iam Huddleston, both of New York City, one- 
 fourth part of his undivided ninth part of a tract of 
 land " called Pokepsink," which was granted to 
 him and eight others May 7, 1697 j and May 31, 
 1699, Rodman and Huddleston conveyed to Thom- 
 as Rathbon, of Block Island, yeoman, this same 
 tract of land. 
 
 July 20, 1702, "Myndert Harmonse," of Duchess 
 County, and Robert Sanders, of New York City, 
 conveyed to "Barent Van Cleeck," of Duchess 
 County, a tract of about eighty-five acres lying " to 
 the south of land of Jan Oosterom, adjoining the 
 lands of Baltus Van Kleeck on the north-east, along 
 the east bounds of Baltus Van KleecK," thence east 
 to a bridge " called the Sparr bridge Slinck," thence 
 south along said "Sparr bridge slinck" as it runs 
 " to a certain fountaine Creeke, and along said 
 Creek easterly and northerly as ye Creek Runns to 
 ye marked trees of the eastern part of said l^and 
 commonly Called or Known by ye name of 
 f'Vlackie or small plaine. " 
 
 June 17, 1707, " Myndert Harmcen, of Pogkeep- 
 sink,'' yeoman, and Helena, his wife, Elsie San- 
 ders, widow of Robert Sanders, then " late of ye 
 Citty of New Yorke, Deceased," and Thomas 
 Sanders, " of ye Citty of New York, mariner, 
 Eldest son of ye said Robert Sanders," conveyed 
 to " Jan Oosterom of Pogteepsink," husbandman, 
 a tract of land north of the land of Barent Van 
 Kleeck and on the south bank of the " ffall Kill," 
 receiving in consideration ^£^6. June 8, 1708, the 
 same parties, in consideration of ;^4S, conveyed to 
 Peter U. Ziele, of Duchess County, yeoman, a 
 tract of land on the Fall Kill, to the south of and 
 adjoining the lands of Michael Palraentier, and ex- 
 
 tending to the river. Ziele was required to pay, 
 when demanded, a yearly quit rent of half a bushel 
 of good winter wheat, commencing Sept. 5, 1700. 
 In July, 1709, " Myndert Harmonse" and Hel- 
 ena his wife, " for divers good causes and consid- 
 erations them thereunto moving, but more especially 
 for and in consideration of ye Love and affection 
 which they bare unto their Eldest Sunn Jacobus 
 Vandenbogaert of Pogkeepsink/' conveyed a tract 
 of land "formerly in possession of Jan Buys to 
 Runn from the River to ye Land of Baltus Van 
 Kleeck;" another tract "which formerly was in 
 possession of Jan Oosterom and likewise to Run 
 from ye River to ye land of said Baltus Van Kleeck ; 
 likewise another Lott which was formerly in pos- 
 session of Ariaen Buys and to run from said River 
 Easterly as farr into the woods as ye east bounds 
 of ye Land of said Baltus Van Kleeck." 
 
 September 9, 17 10, Myndert Harmense and 
 Helena, his wife, in consideration of ;^i4o, con- 
 veyed to Leonard Lewis, a merchant of New York 
 City, parts of two tracts, one of which was the 
 tract conveyed by Col. Peter Schuyler to Harmense 
 and Robert Sanders, August 30, 1699, as previ- 
 ously recited, and the other, containing 12,000 
 acres, which was granted to the same parties by 
 Gov. Thomas Dongan, October 24, 1686, which 
 was "called Minnesinck," and was situated "on the 
 East Side of the Hudson's River, to the North of 
 the land of Soveryn Alias, called the Bakers, with 
 Arrable lands. Woodlands and marshes with the 
 creek called Wynagkee, with Tree Tones, Range 
 and out-drift for cattle and the fall of waters called 
 Pendanick Reen, and another" marsh lying to the 
 north of the fall of waters, called Wareskeehin." 
 The lands thus conveyed to Lewis are thus de- 
 scribed: "the one beginning at the South Side of a 
 certain Pond on the Partition Line of Baltus Van 
 Kleeck, with a west Line to the Water Side, and so 
 along the water side to the land of John Kips to 
 the Northward of the Creek having Water Falls, 
 and so east along John Kips land to the hill unto 
 the Pine Trees, and thence southerly to the east of 
 the Pond to the place where it began, with the 
 whole creek and all the waterfalls thereof, as well 
 without as within the boundaries aforesaid, as also 
 one other tract beginning on the north side of a Piece 
 of meadow that lyes by the River Side, and runs 
 easterly along the meadow and marsh to the Sprout 
 called the first Sprout which makes the bounds on 
 the south side of Peter Viele and Runns along the 
 said Sprout Easterly unto the most Easterly Part 
 of the first Sprouts Plain, and thence East North 
 
36c 
 
 HIStORY Ot DUCttESS COtJNtV. 
 
 East to the Greek Having Waterfalls, and so along 
 the said Creek Southward to the Land of John 
 KipSj and so by the said Land Westerly to Hud- 
 son's River, and so along the River Northerly to 
 the meadow where it began." 
 
 Dec. 27, 1712, " Jacobes Van den Boogert, Myn- 
 dfert Van den Boogert and Neeltie Van den Boogert, 
 of Duchess County, in consideration of ^24^ con- 
 veyed to John De Graef of the same county, ' cord- 
 winder,' " a tract of land bounded on the west " by 
 Myndert Harmesos," north by the fence of "Baltes 
 Van Kleeck," east "by the bounds of Leonard 
 Dewis," and south " by John Kip," " excepting 
 any right to the mill kreeck, which belongs to * * * 
 Leonard Lewis." The same date, Thomas Sanders 
 and his wife, Jacobes Vandenboogert, Myndert 
 Vandenboogert and Neeltie his wife, of " Pogh- 
 kepse," in consideration of ^go, conveyed to 
 Johannes Van Kleeck, of the same place, "about 
 42 morgain"* at " Poghkepsen," adjoining on the 
 south the land of " Barendt Van Kleeck." 
 
 April 25, 17T3, Pieter U. ZioUee, of Duchess 
 county, yeoman, and Corneha his- wife, in consid- 
 eration of ;^i40, conveyed to William Fietsoor, 
 blacksmith, of Orange county, a tract of land with 
 " dwelling house, Baern orcherd Cottage and fens- 
 eng," situated " on the east side of hutching 
 Rever," extending from the river on " the south 
 Bounds of the Land of Magiel Palmetier," into the 
 woods to the Fall Kill. March 8, r772-'73, 
 " Neltye Tietsoor," widow of " William Tietsoor," 
 then late of Duchess county, deceased, and 
 "Abram Tietsoor," of Raritan, N. J., eldest son of 
 William Tietsoor, conveyed this property for the 
 same consideration, to Abraham De Graffe, of 
 Duchess county, " cordwyner.'' 
 
 Dec. 2, 1716, Thomas Sanders and Aeltie his 
 wife conveyed to "Isack Fietsoort," blacksmith, a 
 tract of land in " Pokkepsen '' on "John Casperses 
 Kill," containing "by computation forty morgin 
 more or less." Oct. 12, r7i7, Fietsoort conveyed 
 the same tract of land to " Marck Van Boomelen," 
 of Duchess county, yeoman ; and the latter, to Dr. 
 Peter Vass, of Kingston, Feb. 2, 17 19. 
 
 March 7, 1716, Thomas Sanders, High Sheriff of 
 Duchess county, in consideration of ^^20, con- 
 veyed to "Baltes Van Kleeck, of said county, 
 yeoman, 27 acres adjoining on the east the land 
 of "Baltes Van Kleeck" in " Pochkeepse." 
 
 June 14, 1718, Thomas Sanders and Aeltie his 
 wife conveyed to "Aret" or "Aert" Masten, of 
 Duclaess county, y eoman, in consideration of ;^8o, 
 
 * A " lEorgain " equals two acres. 
 
 a tract containing "by computation forty-two mor- 
 gin more or less." March 12, i724-'5,* Masten 
 conveyed the same tract to Simeon " Frare," of 
 Ulster county, yeoman, in consideration of ;^i4o. 
 
 Nov. 2T, 1 7 19, Thomas Sanders and Aeltie his 
 wife, and Henry Van Derburgh and Magdalen his 
 wife, in consideration of ^^i, los., conveyed to 
 " Elias Bunschotten," of Duchess county, yeoman, 
 a Certaine Slith or angel of Ground," containing 
 by computation one acre, adjacent to "a Spring or 
 fountain Called or known by the name of Seeker 
 fountain," " at a place called pockepsing." 
 
 Sept. 7, 1721, Thomas Saunders and wife, in 
 consideration of ;^27, conveyed to Jonathan Oglee, 
 of "Pockepsink, Teller," thirty-eight acres and 
 sixteen roods, bounded on the north and west by 
 the land of Thomas Sanders, on the east by " a 
 Lane of Tow Rodd in wedeth that Thomas San- 
 ders has Given for the use of the Naberhood," on 
 the south by the land of Barnardus Swartwout. 
 
 July 30, 172 1, Thomas Sanders and wife, in 
 consideration of ;^3o, conveyed to Anne Crego 
 and her sons Stephen and John, of " Pockepsink," 
 land lying in the angle formed by the junction of a 
 small stream with the Hudson, " oposit against 
 Juffrous Hook." May 8, 1727, Josias Crego and 
 Anna his wife, and their sons Stephen and John, 
 all of " Pakeepson," conveyed the same tract to 
 Jacob Low, of Kingston. 
 
 March 8, 1722, "Neltye Tietsoor," widow of 
 " William Tietsoor " or " Fietsoor," deceased, and 
 Abraham Tietsoor, eldest son of William Tietsoor, 
 conveyed to Abraham De GraeflF, of the " Precinct 
 of Poghkeepsie, cordwainer," a tract of land ex- 
 tending east from the Hudson River along the^ 
 south bounds of the landing of Magiel Parmentier 
 to Fall Kill, which tract was conveyed by Wyndert 
 Harmance and Helena his wife, Elsie Sanders, 
 widow of Robert Sanders, deceased, and Thomas 
 Sanders, oldest son of Robert Sanders, to "Peter 
 Uziele," then late of Duchess county, June 3, 
 1708, and by Uziele to William Fietsoort, April 
 5, i7r3. Feb. 27, 1739-40, De Graeff and his 
 wife Elizabeth conveyed to John Emmons, of 
 Jamaica, N. Y., this tract and another tract whic|i 
 was conveyed to De Graeff by " Pieter Damon and 
 Magiel Parmentier,'' Feb. 2, 1735-6, and is 
 described as lying on the east bank of the 
 Hudson, beginning six yards north of what was 
 
 * It is not Unusual, in documents bearing date subsequent to the year 
 1582, the epoch of tlie Gregorian year, and prior to 1752, when the Gre- 
 gorian year was alone officially used, to observe this system of double 
 dates betweet. December Jist and March isth, the former being the end 
 of the Gregorian year and the latter of the civil year.. 
 
TOWN OP POUGHKEEPSIE. 
 
 361 
 
 commonly called "Abraham De Graeff' s Land- 
 ing," and extending thence east to a small run on 
 the north side of said De GraefF's orchard, and 
 thence directly east to the Fall Kill. 
 
 April 30, 1722, Evert Van Wagoner, of Duchess 
 County, yeoman, and Hellegont his wife, in con- 
 sideration of £^ 6, conveyed to Josias Crego, six 
 acres of land bounded west by the King's highway, 
 north by the land of Evert Van Wagoner, east by the 
 land of Thomas Sanders, and south by the land of 
 Stephen and John Crego. 
 
 February 8, 1682, Governor Thomas Dongan 
 granted to Francis Rombout and Gulian Verplanck 
 license to buy a tract of land of the Indians, and 
 on the 8th of August, 1683, they purchased under 
 that license the land covered by the Rombout 
 Patent ; but before the patent was issued Ver- 
 plahck died, and Jacobus Kipp was substituted 
 as the representative of his children, while 
 Stephanus VanCortland joined with Rombout in 
 proprietorship of the patent. Kipp subsequently 
 married Henrica the widow of Gulian Verplanck, 
 and on the 6th of March, 1695, Kipp and his 
 wife conveyed to the children of Verplanck, (Sam- 
 uel, Jacobus and Hannah, the wife of Andries 
 Teller,) one-third part of that tract. About the 
 20th of March, 1722, the representatives of Ver- 
 planck's children divided that third part, which 
 had been previously surveyed and laid out into 
 lots, by casting lots. 
 
 March 20, 1722, Gulian, Mary and Anne Ver- 
 planck, children of Samuel Verplanck, deceased, 
 and William and Phihp Verplanck, children of 
 Jacobus Verplanck deceased, conveyed to Andrew 
 Teller, a merchant of the city of New York, lot 
 No. 3, containing 1,337 acres, on the north side 
 of Wappingers Creek. March 28, 1730, Teller 
 conveyed to Mattliew Debois, of Ulster county, the 
 same tract, except two hundred acres, previously 
 sold by him to Barnardus Swartwout, of " Poch- 
 keepsy," yeoman, September 13, 1723, and sixty- 
 three acres of upland and seven acres of swamp- 
 land, which Teller bargained Sept. 16, 1723, to sell 
 to Henry Vanderburg. The consideration in the 
 latter transaction, between Teller and Dubois, was 
 
 February 1, 1722-3, Thomas Sanders and 
 Aeltie his wife conveyed to " Jacob Fitsoort, " in 
 consideration of £ 24, eighty acres on the west side 
 of "John Kaspers Kill," south of and adjoining 
 the land of Marcus VanBomel, and bounded west 
 by the land of Thomas Sanders, south " by a run 
 of water," and east by "John Kaspers Kill." 
 
 March t6, 1726, "Jacob Titsort" and wife, in 
 consideration of ^^123, conveyed the same tract 
 to Evert Van Wagoner, of " Poeghkeepsink, " 
 "cordwiner, " who, in conjunction with his wife, 
 "Helegont," in consideration of £,is°, conveyed 
 the same to Marcus VanBomel, of the same place, 
 yeoman. May 27, 1730. 
 
 September 15, 1723, Catharyna Brett,* "of the 
 Fishkill in the County of Duchess, " in considera- 
 tion of ;^4S, conveyed to Barnardus Swartwout, of 
 "Pochkeepsey," forty-five acres, with improvements, 
 on "Jan Kaspers Kill," adjoining on the north the 
 land conveyed by Andrew Teller to Barnardus 
 Swartwout, September 13, 1723, mines and miner- 
 als being excepted, as was customary in these 
 early deeds. 
 
 January 12, 1726, Jacobes VanDenBogert, 
 Sheriff of Duchess County, " for and in Good will 
 Love and afecksion to my Bloved Brother Myn- 
 dert VanDenBogart * * * hie beeing an 
 Equall partoner thereof as may appier by a Diety 
 gift signed by our father to us * * * about 
 fourtien years paest," conveyed a tract of land 
 "Lieing and beieng att poghkepse butted and 
 bounded at the west seid of the Land of Capt. 
 Barent VanKleeck on the out seid of the Land of 
 Omie DeLagransie beginning on the noort corner 
 of said Legransie from thens sudderly to an East 
 Corner of a meddow that Lies on the fotpath that 
 goes to FranSois VanDenBogert and thens to the 
 East seid of a smael water [a word illegible] sud- 
 derly and thens sudderly to the Land on the 
 flackte and soo Round the Said Land as the fens 
 now stand to the Sout Cornor from thens sudder- 
 ly to a Small Run on said vlackte from thens west 
 to Capt. Barendt VanKleeks Beieng in all about 
 fifty morgen more or Less. " 
 
 August 31, 1726, Catharyna Brett, in consider- 
 ation of ;£96, conveyed to Adrian VanVUet, of 
 Fishkill, yeoman, eighty acres contiguous to a 
 tract of land owned by her "and commonly 
 called the Steen Vlackte or Stoney plaineadjoyne- 
 ing upon " and north of Wappingers Creek. 
 Sept. I, 1726, the same lady, in consideration of 
 jQi 10, conveyed to Christofel Wambone, of Ulster 
 county, 1 20 acres of land, contiguous to a piece of 
 land owned by Andrew Teller, " commonly called 
 Cuylers Flat," adjoining and north of Wappingers 
 Creek,and east of land conveyed by her to Bar- 
 nardus Swartwout. 
 
 * Catharyna Brett was sole daughter and heir of Francis Rombout, 
 the patentee of the Rombout tract, and her name figured prominently 
 in the early conveyances of Fishkill. 
 
362 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 April 23, 1726, Thomas Sanders and Aeltie his 
 wife, conveyed to their son-in-law, Adolph Swart- 
 wout, of Duchess county, yeoman, 100 acres lying 
 upon the river, and bounded on all sides, except 
 the west, by the lands of Thomas Sanders. 
 
 June 6, 1727, Thomas Lewis and Anna Mary 
 his wife, of Duchess county, yeoman, in considera- 
 tion of ;^ioo, conveyed to Barnardus Swartwout, 
 100 acres lying "at a place called poghkeepsinck," 
 south of the thousand acres of Henry Van Den- 
 burg, and extending south to the place called " the 
 Steen Vlackten." July 20th of the same year, they 
 conveyed to " John De Grafe,'' " corddwiner," in 
 consideration of ;^i4, forty acres, " butted and 
 bounded on the east to the land of Barnadus 
 Swartwout." August 15, 1727, they conveyed to 
 " Gerardus Lewys," of "Pocghkeepsing," yeoman, 
 no acres situated at a place " called in Dutch the 
 Riet Vly,'' southward from " Pocghkeepsink," ad- 
 joining on the west i,ooo acres belonging to, Henry 
 Vanderburgh, and on the south and east 100 acres 
 conveyed to Barnardus Swartwout by Thomas 
 Lewis. This tract " Gerardus Lewys " conveyed 
 to "Tunis Slengerland," Oct. 27, 1733, to secure 
 the payment of £,^2. 
 
 Feb. 28, 1723, Leonard Lewis, of Duchess 
 county, by his last will and testament bequeathed 
 to his wife, so long as she remained his widow, all 
 his real and personal estate, and in the event of 
 her re-marriage, one-half was to be divided among 
 his children, " Geesie, now the wife of Thomas 
 Roberts, Jersie, now the wife of Lowrens Van 
 Kleeck, Cornelia, now the wife of Isack Kip, 
 Thomas, Sara, now the wife of Isack Titsoor, Ger- 
 rardus, Catharina, now the wife of Pieter Van 
 Kleeck," Leonard, Johanna, Barendt and Johan- 
 nes, in such manner that Thomas, the eldest son, 
 should have six shillings more than his equal share, 
 and the others equal portions. 
 
 Sept. 25, 1729, "JacobesVan den Boogert " 
 and " Greetie " his wife, and " Mindert Van den 
 Bogert" and "Neeltie" his wife, of Duchess 
 county, in consideration of J^xo, conveyed to Ja- 
 cobes Steenberge, of said county, " cordwinder," 
 three "morgen" of land at "pocghkeepsing," on 
 the north of John ConckUn's land, east of " the 
 King's hy Rode," beginning at a " certain bridge 
 and Run of water." 
 
 March 24, 17 29 -'30, Jonathan Oaklee of 
 "Pocghkeepsink," and " Antyie " his wife, in con- 
 sideration of £ 80, conveyed to Augustinus Turk, 
 of Utster County, blacksmith, thirty-eight acres and 
 sixteen roods, conveyed by Thomas Sanders and 
 
 wife to Oaklee, and bounded north by lands of 
 Thomas Sanders & Co., east by a lane given by 
 said Sanders for the use of the neighborhood, south 
 by the land of Barnardus Swartwout, and west by 
 the lands of John Concklin and " John Bookhout." 
 
 May 5, 1730, Bartholomeus Hogeboom, of 
 Duchess County, carpenter, and " Saramyn wyf," 
 in consideration of " eyty pounds currant mony of 
 the provence of Niew Yorck," conveyed to John 
 DeGrsef, of said county, " ccerdwyner," land at 
 " pogh Keepsinck," " butted and Bounded on the 
 south syde of tJie land of baltes VanKleeck," and 
 extending to the river, which tract was deeded to 
 said Hogeboom by " Myndert Harmonse" and 
 Helena his wife in July, 1 709. 
 
 Thomas Rathbun, "of New Shoreham (alias 
 Block Island,) R. I." conveyed to each of the fol- 
 lowing named individuals, at* the time designated, 
 one-seventh of all his right to land in the town of 
 "Pecapsha, " viz : Feb. 4, 1730, to his son-in-law, 
 Samuel Eldridge, of North Kingston, R. I., " cord- 
 winder," and Content, his wife Dec. 24, 1730, to 
 his sons-in-law, Benjamin Bentley, of Greenwich, 
 R. I., and Patience, his wife, and Jonathan Rath- 
 bun, of Lyme, Conn., and Sarah, his wife ; and 
 Feb. 10, 1730-31, to his daughter "Sybill Wil- 
 cocks," widow, residing with him in Shoreham, R. I. 
 
 Feb. 25, i73o-'3i, Thomas Sanders and his 
 wife, in consideration of ^25, conveyed to their 
 son-in-law, " Redolphus Swartwout, "j, of Duchess 
 County, and Elsie, his wife, thirty acres, bounded 
 north by Frederic Fisher's land, east by " Jan Kas- 
 pers Kill," west by lands previously in possession 
 of " Rodolphus Swartwout." 
 
 Nov. 9, 1730, "Jacobes Van Den Boogert " and 
 " Grietie " his wife, and " Mindert Van Den Boo- 
 gert and Nelee " his wife, in consideration of £,'^0, 
 conveyed to Johannis Van Kleeck fifty acres loca- 
 ted at " Pochkeepsen," to the west of the land of 
 said Van Kleeck." 
 
 July 4, 1732, Christophel Warabome, of Duchess 
 County, " Tailor," in consideration of ;^i6o, con- 
 veyed to Matthew Dubois, of same county, yeoman, 
 one hundred and twenty acres contiguous to a 
 piece of land bought by Dubois of Andrew Teller, 
 commonly called Cuyler's Flat, adjoining and 
 north of Wappingers Creek. 
 
 Dec. 4, 1832, Isaac Fietsoort, of Duchess Coun- 
 ty, blacksmith, conveyed to Samuel Taylor, Jr., 
 four acres " near the place called Pocghkeepsingk 
 and on the east side of the Kings Heigh Road.'' 
 March 26, 1735, Isaac Fietsoort, in consideration, 
 of ;£ii5, conveyed to Timothy Low, shopkeeper, 
 
TOWN OF POUGHKEEPSIE. 
 
 363 
 
 " in the Middle Ward at Pocghkeepsingk,'' eighty 
 acres "in the Middle Ward of Duchess County," 
 "near the place called Pocghkeepsingk and on the 
 east side of the Kings Heigh Road," and Oct. 29, 
 1736, Lowe, in consideration of ;^ii8, conveyed 
 the same to "Symon Freer," of "the Middle 
 Ward at Pocghkeepsingk," yeoman. 
 
 April 15, 1735, Jacobus Vandenbogert, of 
 Duchess county, yeoman and wife, and Myndert 
 Vandenbogert, of the same county, and wife, in 
 consideration of ;£ioo, conveyed to Jan de Graeff, 
 of said county, land in " poucghkeepsinck," on Fall 
 Creek, adjoining the land of the widow of John 
 Kip, deceased, also of Col. Leonard Lewis, then 
 late of Duchess county, deceased, and of Baltus 
 Van Kleeck, then late of Duchess county, de- 
 ceased, and then in possession of Franc Filkin, 
 excepting and reserving the mill creek, called Fall 
 Kill, and a road down to the mill. 
 
 May 19, 1735, Henry Filkins, of "Poghkeep- 
 sinck," merchant, conveyed to John Marshall, of 
 New Vork City, merchant, land " lying and being 
 at Poghkeepsinck," on the East side of the King's 
 highway and north of the land of Lawrence Van 
 Kleeck, to secure the payment of _£5s, 'os-J the 
 payment of which was acknowledged Feb. 24, 
 1738-9, by Johannes Marshall. 
 
 The following list, which appears in an old tax 
 list of the county in 1771, and is on file in the 
 clerk's office in Poughkeepsie, is the fullest and 
 earliest list of the names of the inhabitants of the 
 town which has come under our observation. It 
 has a further interest in showing the comparative 
 wealth of those early settlers, many of whose names 
 are perpetuated in their descendants of the present 
 generation. The list which also includes the Pre- 
 cints of Pawling, Rhinebeck, North East, Amenia, 
 Beekman, Charlotte, Rombout and Southern, is 
 preceded by the following extract from a record of 
 a meeting of the Supervisors, at Poughkeepsie, on 
 Tuesday, June 4, 1771 =— 
 
 "The Assesser being met the same time were- 
 qualified by Justice Hopkins proceeded to their 
 business of assessing, signed all the Lists they then 
 delivered them to the Supervisors, Who having 
 signed the warrents directed to the Collectors, 
 Ordered the Clerk to Calculate the four days, who 
 finding the General County Charge to be at 3f d. 
 pr pound, and as each respective precinct have 
 their peculiar Charge causeth a variation in the 
 poundage." 
 
 The vote for the Precinct of Poughkeepsie, which 
 is the only list we subjoin, was 4s., 9d. per pound. 
 Following is the list : — 
 
 Assessment. 
 
 James Livingston j£i6 ^^3 
 
 Peter Jobs. Lassing 6 i 
 
 Peter Wm. Lassing's widow 2 
 
 Casparus Westerfelt 3 
 
 Matthew Van Keuren ........ 6 i 
 
 Henry Wilsie 3 
 
 Jacob Van Bunschoten 7 i 
 
 Ehas Van Bunschoten 9 2 
 
 John Concklin 10 2 
 
 Henry Livingston 38 9 
 
 Robert Hoffman 22 5 
 
 Nathan Freer 3 o 
 
 Simeon Freer 4 
 
 Baltus Van Kleeck 7 i 
 
 Peter Van Kleeck 12 2 
 
 Leonard Van Kleeck 32 7 
 
 Henry Vanderburgh 6 i 
 
 William Jaycocks 8 i 
 
 William Cipher's estate 4 
 
 William Lassing 3 
 
 John Vanderburgh 8 i 
 
 Jeremiah Dubois i 
 
 Peter Dubois 2 
 
 Clear Everitt 3 
 
 Peter Laroy 8 i 
 
 Boudewyn Lacount's widow .... 4 
 
 Robert Kidney i 
 
 Henry Pells 3 
 
 Everet Pells 10 2 
 
 Michael Pells 9 2 
 
 Peter Palmetier 2 
 
 Jacobus Palmetier 10 2 
 
 Arie Van Vliet 10 2 
 
 Tennis Tappen 2 
 
 John Swartwout 5 i 
 
 John De Graafif . ... 3 
 
 Cornelius Vielie 6 i 
 
 Peter Low 7 i 
 
 James Lucky 3 
 
 Abraham Freer 2 
 
 John Ferdon 4 
 
 Barent Kip i 
 
 John Miller 2 
 
 John Ferdon Jr 4 
 
 Gulian Ackerman 9 2 
 
 Robert ChurcheL 8 i 
 
 Henry Bush's estate 3 
 
 Michael Palmetier i 
 
 William Erwin i 
 
 John Freer 11 2 
 
 Cornelius Van Keuren 4 
 
 Cornelius Westerfelt 6 i 
 
 Isaac Concklin 2 
 
 Jacobus Van Kleeck 3 
 
 Benjamin Westerfelt 5 i 
 
 Thomas Dearing 3 
 
 John Seabury i 
 
 Myndert E. Vandebogert 3 
 
 Markus Van Bomel 2 
 
 Bartholomew Crannell 17 4 
 
 Zachary Ferdon 5 1 
 
 Mathias Moss i 
 
 Peter Vandebogert 1 
 
 Tax. 
 
 1 6s. 
 
 od 
 
 8 
 
 6 
 
 9 
 
 6 
 
 14 
 8 
 
 3 
 6 
 
 14 
 
 3 
 
 13 
 
 3 
 
 2 
 
 7 
 
 
 9 
 6 
 6 
 
 4 
 
 6 
 
 14 
 
 3 
 
 19 
 
 
 
 13 
 
 3 
 
 17 
 
 
 
 12 
 
 
 
 8 
 
 6 
 
 10 
 
 
 
 19 
 
 
 
 14 
 18 
 
 3 
 
 
 4 
 9 
 
 9 
 6 
 
 18 
 
 3 
 
 
 19 
 
 
 
 4 
 
 9 
 
 14 
 7 
 
 3 
 6 
 
 2 
 9 
 7 
 7 
 9 
 
 9 
 6 
 6 
 6 
 6 
 
 3 
 
 9 
 
 14 
 8 
 
 3 
 6 
 
 13 
 
 3 
 
 14 
 9 
 
 3 
 6 
 
 19 
 
 
 
 4 
 9 
 
 9 
 6 
 
 19 
 
 
 
 2 
 18 
 
 9 
 
 
 14 
 
 3 
 
 4 
 
 9 
 
 4 
 
 9 
 
 12 
 
 3 
 
 19 
 8 
 
 
 6 
 
 9 
 
 6 
 
 14 
 
 3 
 
 3 
 
 9 
 
 14 
 
 3 
 
 4 
 
 9 
 
 14 
 9 
 
 3 
 6 
 
 
 
 9 
 
 3 
 
 9 
 
 4 
 
 9 
 
 4 
 
 9 
 
3^4 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 Assessment. 
 
 Joshua Owen ^ii ^2 
 
 Bartholemew Noxon 2 
 
 Richard Davis 10 2 
 
 Jacobus Freer 5 i 
 
 John Midler 5 i 
 
 Wines Manney .'. 5 i 
 
 Murray Lester's House i 
 
 Karl Hoffman 2 
 
 John Hoghteling 2 
 
 Jury Michael 2 
 
 WiUiam Low 3' 
 
 Richard Snedeker 22 5 
 
 Myndert Rynders i 
 
 John Fort 2 2 
 
 Abraham Van Keuren 1 
 
 Simon W. Lassing 2 
 
 Benjamin Jaycocks i 
 
 Elisha Adams i 
 
 William I. Lassing i 
 
 John Romer i 
 
 Thomas Burnet i 
 
 Jacob Ferdon 5 i 
 
 John Crookes farm i 
 
 Isaac VanBunschoten i 
 
 Simon Bartley 1 
 
 John Low 2 
 
 Barent Van Kleek 3 
 
 The Minister's house i 
 
 James Weldon 1 
 
 Isaac Fitchet i 
 
 Hans Palmetier 2 
 
 Francis Jaycocks, Jr. i 
 
 Henry Ellis 2 
 
 William Vanderburgh's estate . . 5 i 
 
 Mathew Dubois, Jr. 2 
 
 Zephaniah Piatt „.. 16 3 
 
 John P. VanKleeck 3 
 
 Peter M. Palmetier i 
 
 Isaac Palmetier i 
 
 Johannis P. Lassing 3 
 
 Johannis W. Lassing 1 
 
 Cornelius Brewer 2 
 
 John Bailey, Jr. 13 3 
 
 James Winans 2 
 
 Alex. Griggs i 
 
 Wyndert VanKleek 8 i 
 
 Michael Weldon i 
 
 Eh Emmons 2 
 
 John Coupman Jr 2 
 
 Jacob D. Palmetier. 3 
 
 John B. Kip i 
 
 Henry Hendrickse 4 
 
 John Hunt 4 
 
 Henry Vanderburgh Jr i 
 
 Isaac Balding 16 
 
 Jacob Bush i 
 
 Leonardus Lewis i 
 
 William Burnet i 
 
 Parson Beardsley 3 
 
 Nicholas Brewer's place i 
 
 Edward Schoonmaker, 7 i 
 
 Francis Hegemen 2 
 
 Thomas Dubois i 
 
 Tax. 
 
 I2S 
 
 9 
 
 7 
 
 • 3d 
 6 
 6 
 
 3 
 
 9 
 
 3 
 
 9 
 
 3 
 
 9 
 
 4 
 9 
 9 
 9 
 
 9 
 6 
 6 
 6 
 
 14 
 4 
 
 3 
 6 
 
 4 
 
 9 
 
 t7 
 
 
 
 4 
 9 
 
 9 
 6 
 
 4 
 
 9 
 
 4 
 
 9 
 
 4 
 
 9 
 
 4 
 
 9 
 
 4 
 
 9 
 
 3 
 
 9 
 
 4 
 
 9 
 
 4 
 
 9 
 
 4 
 9 
 
 9 
 6 
 
 14 
 
 3 
 
 4 
 
 9 
 
 4 
 
 9 
 
 4 
 9 
 
 9 
 6 
 
 4 
 9 
 
 9 
 6 
 
 3 
 
 9 
 16 
 
 9 
 6 
 
 
 14 
 
 3 
 
 4 
 
 9 
 
 4 
 
 9 
 
 14 
 
 3 
 
 4 
 9 
 
 9 
 6 
 
 I 
 9 
 
 9 
 6 
 
 4 
 18 
 
 9 
 
 
 4 
 9 
 9 
 
 9' 
 6 
 6 
 
 14 
 
 3 
 
 4 
 
 9 
 
 19 
 
 
 
 4 
 
 9 
 
 4 
 3 1 
 
 9 
 6 
 
 4 
 
 9 
 
 4 
 
 9 
 
 4 
 
 9 
 
 14 
 
 3 
 
 4 
 
 9 
 
 13 
 9 
 
 3 
 
 6 
 
 4 
 
 9 
 
 Tax. 
 
 " The Estate S. Pinckney is on," £ i 
 
 John Joh's VanSteenbergh i 
 
 Joseph Gale i 
 
 Richard Warner. i 
 
 James Armstrong 2 
 
 Maurice Smith 2 
 
 Henry and George Sands 16 
 
 Samuel Smith 3 
 
 Abraham Bartley i 
 
 John Jaycocks i 
 
 Jacob Low, Jr 2 
 
 Jacob Coapman i 
 
 John M. Retser 3 
 
 Isaac Baldwin, Jr 1 
 
 Ezekiel Cooper 3 
 
 Isaac Harris -. i 
 
 George Dallis i 
 
 Henry Van Vlarum 4 
 
 Barent Lewis, Jr i 
 
 Simeon Freer, Jr i 
 
 Isaac Romyn i 
 
 Robert Patton 1 
 
 John Paiton i 
 
 John Wilsie i 
 
 John Barns .' i 
 
 Peter Kip 1 
 
 Rooliff Westervelt's farm i 
 
 Thomas Newcomb i 
 
 Thomas Freer i 
 
 Gale Yelverton i 
 
 Samuel Dodge 6 
 
 Samuel Curry i 
 
 Thomas Jaycocks r 
 
 Casparus Romyn i 
 
 John Lovot I 
 
 Matthew Van Keuren, Jr i 
 
 Isaac I. Lassing 1 
 
 Jerry Hardman i 
 
 John Buys i 
 
 Caleb Carman o 
 
 Thomas Poole 2 
 
 William Terry 2 
 
 Ezekiel Pinckney 2 
 
 Samuel Cooke 3 
 
 Thomas Pinckney 2 
 
 Peter Harris «. 14 
 
 Joshua Moss e 
 
 Arie M|dler ', 2 
 
 CorneUus Buys i 
 
 Joel Dubois 2 
 
 Peter Andries Lassing 3 
 
 Isaiah Wildey 2 
 
 Stephen Wildey i 
 
 William Furraan 2 
 
 Mr. Schoonmaker 2 
 
 Hugh Van Kleek 2 
 
 Gilbert Livingston c 
 
 Lewis Dubois e 
 
 Samuel Pinckney i 
 
 David Ackerman j 
 
 William Barns 4 
 
 Barent Dutcher "4 
 
 Martin Bush , j 
 
 £ 4S 
 
 i. gd 
 
 4 
 
 9 
 
 4 
 
 9 
 
 4 
 
 9 
 
 9 
 
 3 16 
 
 9 
 6 
 6 
 
 
 14 
 
 3 
 
 4 
 
 9 
 
 4 
 9 
 
 9 
 6 
 
 4 
 9 
 
 9 
 6 
 
 4 
 
 9 
 
 14 
 
 3 
 
 4 
 
 9 
 
 4 
 
 9 
 
 19 
 
 
 
 4 
 
 9 
 
 4 
 
 9 
 
 4 
 
 9 
 
 4 
 
 9 
 
 4 
 
 9 
 
 4 
 
 9 
 
 4 
 
 9 
 
 4 
 
 9 
 
 4 
 
 9 
 
 4 
 
 9 
 
 4 
 
 9 
 
 4 
 I 8 
 
 9 
 6 
 
 4 
 
 9 
 
 4 
 
 9 
 
 4 
 
 9 
 
 4 
 
 9 
 
 4 
 
 9 
 
 4 
 
 9 
 
 4 
 
 9 
 
 4 
 
 9 
 
 14 
 9 
 9 
 9 
 
 3 
 6 
 6 
 6 
 
 14 
 
 9 
 
 3 6 
 
 3 
 6 
 6 
 
 I 3 
 9 
 
 9 
 6 
 
 4 
 9 
 
 9 
 6 
 
 14 
 9 
 
 3 
 6 
 
 4 
 9 
 9 
 9 
 
 9 
 6 
 
 6 
 
 6 
 
 I 3 
 
 9 
 
 1 3 
 
 9 
 
 . 4 
 
 9 
 
 I 3 
 
 9 
 
 19 
 
 
 
 19 
 
 
 
 4 
 
 9 
 
TOWN OF POUGHKEEPSIE. 
 
 36s 
 
 Assessment. 
 
 Tax. 
 
 Benjamin Dubois ^ 
 
 John Bush 
 
 Nathaniel Brooks 
 
 William Terry, Hatter 
 
 Jonas Kelsie 
 
 Philip Cooper , 
 
 John Childs 
 
 William Emott 
 
 John Mc Bride 
 
 Anthony Hill 
 
 Zephaniah Hill 
 
 John Davis 
 
 John Emmons, Brickmaker 
 
 Peter B. Van Kleek, Jr 
 
 John Van Bunschoten 
 
 Phonix Lewis 
 
 Isaiah Bartley 
 
 John M. Palmetier 
 
 Jacobus Rynders 
 
 Peter Luyster 
 
 John . Carman 
 
 - Richard Everitt 
 
 Sands & Company's miller .... 
 
 Aaron Reade 
 
 Peter B. Van Kleek's farm 
 
 Peter Ab'm Lassing 
 
 Wm. Ab'm Lassing , . .... 
 
 Joseph Scott 
 
 Francis S. Laroy 
 
 Francis Jno. Laroy 
 
 Simon Laroy, Jr 
 
 Henry Bailey 
 
 Matthew Concklin 
 
 Peter Velie 
 
 Barnardus Swartwout 
 
 Richard Spraight 
 
 Alex. Barr 
 
 Jacob Kip 
 
 Francis Pells 
 
 Wm. Yeats . 
 
 Lodowick Cipher 
 
 David Cipher 
 
 Andrew John Ostrum 
 
 Joseph Sprague 
 
 Francis Harris 
 
 £ 
 
 4s. gd 
 4 9 
 
 4 
 4 
 4 
 4 
 9 
 4 
 4 
 4 
 4 
 14 
 4 
 4 
 4 
 4 
 4 
 4 
 4 
 4 
 4 
 4 
 4 
 4 
 4 
 4 
 4 
 4 
 4 
 4 
 4 
 4 
 4 
 4 
 4 
 4 
 4 
 4 
 4 
 4 
 4 
 4 
 4 
 4 
 4 
 
 9 
 9 
 9 
 9 
 6 
 
 9 
 9 
 9 
 9 
 3 
 9 
 9 
 9 
 9 
 9 
 9 
 9 
 9 
 9 
 9 
 9 
 9 
 9 
 9 
 9 
 9 
 9 
 9 
 9 
 9 
 9 
 9 
 9 
 9 
 9 
 9 
 9 
 9 
 9 
 9 
 9 
 9 
 9 
 
 Total £^o?>^ 191 8s. od 
 
 The town contains several small villages, none 
 of them, however, of much commercial importance. 
 The principal of these are New Hamburgh and 
 Channingville, the latter being the most populous, 
 and now forming a part of the corporation of Wap- 
 pingers Falls. 
 
 Wappingers Falls. 
 
 Wappingers Falls is situated in the south part of 
 the town, on and about one and one-half miles 
 above the mouth of the creek from which it derives 
 its name, but mainly on the east side of the creek, 
 in the town of Wappinger. It is an incorporated 
 
 village of a little more than 4,000 inhabitants, 
 about seven-eighths of whom are operatives in 
 mills, and about one-third in the town of Pough- 
 keepsie. It is to this one-third portion that we 
 shall confine ourselves here, as the village will be 
 more properly described in connection with the 
 town of Wappinger. 
 
 That portion of the village lying north of the 
 creek was formerly known as Channingville, which 
 name is derived from the Channing family, who 
 owned the farm on which it mostly lies,* and pre- 
 viously as Ednamville. It contains one church 
 (Catholic), a union school, ten stores, mostly small, 
 one hotel, (the North American, kept by Patrick 
 Kennedy,) the Empire Overall Manufactory, the 
 Fancy Dye Works, a branch of the Duchess Co.'s 
 Print works, a wagon shop, kept by Brower Bros., 
 a blacksmith shop, kept by Alonzo Vannosdall, 
 three tailor shops, kept respectively by Messrs. 
 Baum, Louis Diamond and Leopold Lippman, two 
 bakeries, kept by Edward W. Eagan and Edward 
 Odell, one photographer, (Walter Smith,) one un- 
 dertaker, (Richard F. Delaney,) two builders, 
 (John O'Farrell and Jeremiah Pardee,) and 
 Eagan's opera house, which was built in 1876 by 
 John Eagan, and has a seating capacity for five 
 hundred people. 
 
 Merchants. — The first merchant in this portion 
 of the village was John Crilley,who came here from 
 Glenham in 1842. He was a native of Ireland and 
 a cooper by trade. He built for his use, in 1842, 
 the store now occupied by John Eagan as a grocery. 
 It was the first brick building erected in the village, 
 on either side of the creek. Crilley did business 
 here some twenty years. James Roy, who had 
 previously kept a drug store on the east side of the 
 creek, succeeded Crilley in the Eagan store. He 
 removed after a few years to the store now occu- 
 pied by his widow and sons, who succeeded him 
 in business at his death. Samuel Brown, a native 
 of Ireland, was engaged for some years in the 
 print works, and about 1848 or '49 embarked in 
 mercantile business where his son John H. Brown 
 is now located. He continued in business till his 
 death January 22, 1876, at the age of seventy- 
 two, when his son succeeded him. John Eagan, a 
 native of London, England, emigrated thence to 
 New York in 1836. In 1847, he came to Wap- 
 pingers Falls, and was employed in the print 
 works till 1865, when he purchased the Crilley 
 store of the Crilley heirs. He was engaged in mer- 
 
 * The Channing farm is bounded on the north by Delaware street and 
 on the south by North South street. 
 
366 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 can tile business until his death, November 15, 
 1881, at which time he was the oldest merchant 
 on the west side of the creek. His eldest son, 
 John F. Eagan succeeds him in business. When 
 Mr. Eagan came here in 1847, there were only 
 about a dozen houses, and Crilley's was then the 
 only store. The present merchants are John F. 
 Eagan, grocer, James Roy, druggist, John H. 
 Brown, general merchant, William Hanrahan, 
 grocer, William Eagan, grocer, John J. Hughes, 
 grocer, Michael Cary, grocer, Michael McCluskey, 
 grocer, John H. Dakin, stationer and tobacconist, 
 and Barlow & Stevenson, stove dealers and 
 plumbers. 
 
 Postmasters. — The first postoffice in Wappingers 
 Falls was established, says Mr. Eagan, about 1 840, 
 and was kept in 1847 by Joseph Blackburn, who 
 also kept the hotel now kept by Patrick Kennedy, 
 in Channingville. James Roy afterwards kept the 
 office for a short time in the Crilley store. Elias 
 Brown, who was and still is engaged in the manu- 
 facture of combs, next kept the postoffice in the 
 store now occupied, by John H. Dakin. He kept 
 the office about four years, till its removal to the 
 east side of the creek, about eight years ago, 
 where Clinton Sweet kept it some eight years, 
 and was succeeded in the latter part of 1880, by 
 Armenius Armstrong. 
 
 Professional Men. — Dr. Wm. H. Proal, who was 
 born February 9, 1822, and whose father was an 
 Episcopal minister at Utica, was the only physician 
 who has located on the west side of the creek. He 
 was here in 1847, and continued in practice till his 
 death, July 16, 1858. Not a single lawyer has 
 taken up his abode here. 
 
 The Empire Overall Manufactory, was estab- 
 lished in 1878, by John Eagan & Co., who con- 
 ducted the business till the death of Mr. Eagan, 
 Nov. 15, 1881, when his son, John F. Eagan suc- 
 ceeded to its management. The building is of 
 brick, is two stories high, and about forty feet 
 square. The rear portion was built for a tene- 
 ment house by John Gibbons over forty years ago ; 
 the front addition was erected by John Eagan in 
 1863, since which time till 1878, it was variously 
 occupied as a dwelling, barber shop and hotel. In 
 T878, it was converted to its f)resent use. Some 
 sixty persons are employed in the factory, the major 
 portion of whom are adult females. About 300 
 dozens of overalls are made per week. 
 
 Schools.— Iht first school house in Channing- 
 ville stopd on the corner of Main and Church streets, 
 on the site of the brick building now owned by 
 
 James Lynch. It was a long, low, wooden build- 
 ing, and was in use till the present brick building 
 was erected in 1866. John Meaney, if not the first, 
 was one of the first teachers on the west side of the 
 creek. John Farrington, now a physician in Pough- 
 keepsie, and Walter, his brother, now a lawyer in 
 that city, were early teachers in the old school 
 house. The union school was organized about 
 twenty years since. The first, principal was proba- 
 bly Mr. Howarth. He was succeeded by S. Mans- 
 field, who filled the position from 1862 to 1877. 
 Mr. MaccledufF next filled the position for one 
 term, and was succeeded by Thomas G. Schriver, 
 the present principal. William Dakin and Miss 
 Jane Dakin were among the early teachers before 
 the organization of the union school. 
 
 St. Mary's Church of Wappingers Falls ( Chan- 
 ningville). — Father Miles Maxwtell, who was locat- 
 ed at Poughkeepsiej' is believed to have been the 
 first priest who ministered to the people in the vi- 
 cinity of Wappingers Falls. He came here occas- 
 ionally and held mass in a private house, which is 
 known as the " black house," from the dark colored 
 paint used in its exterior decoration. The house 
 is still standing. It is located . on Clinton street, 
 and is the property of John Murray. It is believed 
 that the first church owned by the society was built 
 during the ministration of Father Maxwell, in 
 1840. That church is the central portion of the 
 building standing directly west of the parsonage, 
 which was used for pubUc worship until the present 
 church edifice was erected, additions having been 
 made to it on both ends. The church was origi- 
 nally twenty-four by thirty-six feet. Two ad- 
 ditions, one of thirty-two feet and the other of 
 thirty-five feet, were subsequently made, one on 
 either end of the original structure, with which they 
 are uniform in width. A further addition of four- 
 teen by sixteen feet was made about 18*70, to ac- 
 commodate the choir, and the fine organ, bought 
 about that time, which is still in use in the present 
 church. This old building, made disproportionately 
 long by its additions, is now used for Sunday school 
 purposes, for church meetings, and various kinds 
 of parish work. It is not known in what year it 
 was built, but Father Maxwell was here prior to 
 1846, and the church was erected previous to that 
 year. 
 
 Father John Smith, who was located at Pough- 
 keepsie, succeeded Father Maxwell in monthly ser- 
 vices for a short time. He was followed by Father 
 Michael Riordan, whose advent dates from June, 
 1844, in which year he located at Poughkeepsie, 
 
TOWN OF POUGHKEEPSIE. 
 
 367 
 
 where he was the first resident priest. He extend- 
 ed his labors to this place once a month, and con- 
 tinued them about four years, also ministering to 
 the people at Rondout, which was equally true of 
 Fathers Maxwell and Smith. 
 
 In 1846, the Clinton Mill at Wappingers Falls, 
 (which was burned June 19, 1855,) was in process 
 of erection by James Ingham and others, and soon 
 after, the construction of the Hudson River Rail- 
 road was begun through this locality. These en- 
 terprises attracted many persons to Wappingers 
 Falls and its vicinity, both as employes in the mill 
 and as laborers on the railroad, and among them 
 many who were adherents of the Catholic faith. 
 In 1848-49 the cholera prevailed among the rail- 
 road employes at New Hamburgh, and was quite 
 fatal. The presence and services of a resident 
 priest thus became very desirable, and Anthony 
 Russell was deputized to visit Archbishop Hughes 
 in this behalf. In response to this solicitation the 
 Bishop sent to this locality Father J. Scollon, who 
 was the first resident priest at this place. 
 
 Father Scollon heroically devoted himself to the 
 arduous duties these labors devolved on him, gen- 
 erously sacrificing personal comfort in his minis- 
 trations toward the sick and dying. At times, for 
 a week together, he was known to have gone with- 
 out removing his clothing, lying down and snatch- 
 ing a few moments rest in the intervals of duty, so 
 constant were the demands on him. His services 
 during a period of about one and a half years, the 
 length of his stay here, form a strong feature in the 
 church history. 
 
 Father George R. Brophy succeeded Father- 
 Scollon and remained about three years, dividing 
 his labors between this place, Matteawan, and the 
 ore-beds in Beekman. He also, as well as those 
 who have succeded him on this charge, was a resi- 
 dent pastor. 
 
 In 1853, Father Dennis Sheehan entered upon 
 a pastorate of twenty-two years, continuing till his 
 death, Oct. 27, 1875. During his long and faith- 
 ful labors the church increased in numbers, making 
 necessary the two additions to their house of wor- 
 ship already referred to. He also built the churches 
 at Matteawan and Beekman, the former about 
 1856, and the latter about 1859, to both of which 
 stations he extended his labors. 
 
 Father Hugh S. O'Hare next supplied the pulpit 
 for a few months, and was succeeded in July, 1876, 
 by the present pastor. Father Charles M. O'Keefe, 
 who entered upon the work of the parish with such 
 spirit and energy that, by May, 1877, he had ex- 
 
 tinguished a church debt of $5,182, and prepared 
 the plans for a new church. During the second 
 year of his ministry, in 1877-8, he erected, at a 
 cost of about $26,000, including rich stained glass 
 windows, steam heating apparatus and other fix- 
 tures, the present magnificent structure, which 
 compares favorably with any similar structure, even 
 in the city of Poughkeepsie, where the churches 
 are generally exceptionally fine, and we doubt if it 
 is equaled in any place of its size in the State or 
 country. The corner-stone of the new church was 
 laid by Cardinal McCloskey,* Sept. 22, 1877, and 
 the church was dedicated by Vicar General Will- 
 iam Quinn, Oct. 27, 1878. The seating capacity 
 of the church is about 850. The congregation 
 now numbers from 1,300 to 1,400. 
 
 New Hamburgh. 
 
 New Hamburg, known at an early day as Wap- 
 pinger Creek postoffice, is finely situated on the 
 Hudson, at the mouth of Wappingers Creek, in 
 the angle formed by the junction of these streams. 
 It is a station on the Hudson River Railroad, by 
 which it is 835 miles south from Poughkeepsie, 
 and is connected by a ferry with Marlborough, 
 in Ulster county. It contains two churches, 
 (Presbyterian t and Methodist,) and an Episcopal 
 chapel, which is occasionally supplied by the rector 
 at Wappingers Falls, a union school, one private 
 school, of five or six pupils, kept by Miss Caroline 
 Brower, three hotels, % five stores, two shoe shops, 
 kept by Abraham Myers and H. B. Merritt, two 
 tin shops, kept by T. S. Merritt and William 
 Parker, two blacksmith shops, kept by John V.an- 
 nosdall and John Terwilliger, one wagon shop, 
 kept by Hobert VanNostrand, a cooper shop, kept 
 by John B. Moore, and employing several men. 
 W. Millard & Son, are dealers in lumber and 
 building materials, including hardware and coal. 
 The village has a population of about 500. 
 
 New Hamburgh has considerable commerce. 
 There are two landings, an upper and a lower, the 
 former kept by William Hasbrook, and the latter 
 by Vermilyea & Jackson, both of whom do a 
 freighting business between here and New York, 
 Albany, Newburgh and Poughkeepsie. The Bud- 
 son Taylor, Capt. Wm. P. Drake, leaves at seven 
 o'clock every morningh for Newburg and Pough- 
 
 * This was the first comer-stone laid by him as Cardinal. 
 
 t Owning to our inability to obtain access to the record of this church, 
 we are unable to give its history. 
 
 t VanAnden's Hotel, kept by Marvin VanAnden i the Central House, 
 kept by Jacob Madison, and the Perrine House, kept by Charles H. 
 Ferrine. 
 
368 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 keepsie, sloping at intermediate landings. The 
 Mary Powell, stops here in the morning on the 
 trip down,and in the afternoon on the up trip. 
 
 Wappingers Creek is spanned within the village 
 by a fine iron swing-bridge, which was erected in 
 1879, 3.t a cost of about $10,000. It is the only 
 county bridge in Duchess County, being the only 
 one which crosses tide water. The Hudson River 
 Railroad also crosses it on a draw-bridge. This 
 was the scene of a dreadful accident on the night 
 of Feb. 6, 187 1,* which resulted in the loss of many 
 Uves by fire and water, the number who perished be- 
 ing variously stated at from twenty-two to forty. 
 The accident was caused by the coUision of an up 
 passenger train with the wreck of a down oil train, 
 which was thrown from the track by a broken axle. 
 Fire was conmunicated to the wreck of the two 
 trains by the furnace of the passenger locomotive, 
 and from these to the railroad bridge, which soon 
 fell with a crash, carrying with it, and burying in 
 the ice and water the burning cars, from one of 
 which the passengers, too much stunned and in- 
 jured by the coDision, were unable to escape. 
 David Simmons, the brave engineer of the passen- 
 ger train, doubtless saved many lives, though at 
 the sacrifice of his own, by adhering to his trust. 
 
 The growth of the village was neither early nor 
 rapid. The first impulse was given to it about 
 i8io, by John Drake, who is believed to have 
 been the first merchant at this point. He first 
 did a mercantile and freighting business on the 
 east side of the creek, in the locality of the east 
 end of the iron bridge, on the site of Disbrow & 
 Brown's foundry. About 1808, he built the first 
 bridge across Wappingers Creek. He obtained a 
 charter, which required him to keep the bridge a 
 certain number of years at his own expense, after 
 which it became a county charge. The present 
 bridge is still known as Drake's bridge, though it 
 is the third one on that site. 
 
 About 1 810, Mr. Drake removed to the site of 
 New Hamburgh village, which then had only two 
 houses — the house at the lime kiln, which was then 
 occupied by Ephriara Dubois, and stood on the 
 site of the brick house now owned by A. Tower 
 of Poughkeepsie ; and one which stood near the 
 east end of Millard's coal shed, to which place it 
 was removed from its original site, and which was 
 torn down by Mr. Millard when the shed was built. 
 The former house was torn down about thirty years 
 ago, by Adolphus Bower, who then erected the 
 
 * Rough's Gazetteer 0/ the State of New Yor^, 1872, erroneously 
 states the date of this accident to be the night of Feb. s— 6, 1871, 
 
 present brick house, which, with the lime kiln prop- 
 erty, was sold by Bowers' heirs to Milton Griffin, 
 by whom it was sold to .Mr. Tower, who demolish- 
 ed the old lime kiln, which was in operation for 
 many years. There were three kilns, all of which 
 have been torn down. The adjacent quarry, which 
 is owned by Mr. Tower, furnishes a good lime- 
 stone, which is used as a flux in the furnaces in 
 Poughkeepsie. 
 
 About 181 2, Mr. Drake, in company with Sam. 
 uel Bogardus, built the dock and warehouse at the 
 Lower landing. Both were then quite diminutive 
 affairs, but have since been very much enlarged. 
 Drake's store was in the north part of the hotel, 
 now kept by Mr. Van Anden. In 1816, he erected 
 directly opposite it for a store, the stone building 
 now occupied by W. Millard & Son, for a sash and 
 paint house. He was ac^vely engaged in busi- 
 ness here for twenty-five or thirty years, and resided 
 here till his death. 
 
 Bogardus, Dearin & Co., did a mercantile and 
 freighting business in the building now occupied 
 by John Vermilyea. They were in business several 
 years, contemporary the latter part of the time with 
 Drake. They failed before 1818. 
 
 Peter Oakley, Monfort & Swards, and Millard 
 & Mills (Walter Millard and Uri Mills,) were early 
 and prominent merchants. Oakley remained here 
 several years. He removed to the vicinity of 
 Hopewell and died there. Monfort & Swards did 
 not stay long. They failed. Waltei- Millard was 
 interested in the freighting and lumber business 
 here till his death, since which time the property 
 has been owned by his heirs, though the dock 
 property — ^the Lower landing — has been rented to 
 various parties. His son, William B. Millard, who 
 was in company with his father at the time of his 
 death, has since carried on the lumber business. 
 Walter Millard was a native of Marlborough and 
 removed thence to New Hamburgh in 1824. He 
 was prominently identified with the business in- 
 terests of the village till his death, in August, 1880. 
 His heirs own a large portion of the productive 
 property of the village. 
 
 John Bishop is the oldest merchant now doing 
 business here. He was born about a mile north 
 of Barnegat. His grandfather, Caleb Bishop, came 
 here from Mount Pleasant, back of Sing Sing, soon 
 after the close of the Revolutionary war, and set- 
 tled on the river bank about a mile north of Barne- 
 gat, where he was engaged in quarrying and burn- 
 ing lime, an occupation which also employed his 
 sons John, William, Conrad, Caleb, Joshua and 
 
TOWN OF POUGHKEEPSIE. 
 
 369 
 
 Gabriel. The homestead is still in the hands of 
 the family, belonging to the heirs of his son Philip, 
 whose widow is now living in Poughkeepsie, aged 
 seventy-eight. The merchants now engaged in 
 business here are: John Bishop, Marvin Van 
 Anden, John Myers, Francis Myers, all doing a 
 general mercantile business, and A. T. Williams, 
 druggist. 
 
 Soon after Drake's store was opened here, as 
 early as 1813, a postoffice was established and 
 called Wappingers Creek,* a name which seems 
 rlso to have been applied to the office at Wappin- 
 gers Falls at a later date. We were advised, how- 
 ever, by the best informed of the present inhabi- 
 tants that the office was estabhshed some forty 
 years ago, and that Walter Millard was the first 
 postmaster, being succeded in the office by Samuel 
 H. Jones, Francis Myers and William Ferris, the 
 latter of whom is the present incumbent. 
 
 Spafiford's Gazetteer of 1824, speaks of New 
 Hamburgh as " busy httle village,'' with " a hand- 
 some collection of houses,'' a landing, and "an 
 extensive store,'' which, he says, " has lately sprung 
 up" at the mouth of Wappingers Creek. Gordon, 
 writing in 1836, said it contained about twenty 
 dwelUngs, on both sides of the creek, an extensive 
 store, tavern and postoffice. The village suffered 
 from a disastrous fire May 3, 1877, involving the 
 loss of seven buildings, including Francis Myers' 
 " large store," the Madison House, four dwellings 
 and a barn, which were valued at nearly $40,000. 
 
 H. C. Millard & Co. are engaged in the manu- 
 facture of Knight's patent cement pipes, drain 
 pipes, chimney flues and stench traps, in which 
 Rosendale cement is chiefly used. The business 
 was established some thirteen years ago. 
 
 The village has neither lawyer nor physician. 
 No lawyer ever settled here, nor a physician for 
 any considerable period. 
 
 The M. E. Church of New Hamburgh was or- 
 ganized about twenty-five or twenty-six years ago, 
 a few weeks previous to its incorporation, by Rev. 
 Alonzo F. Sellick, who was for two years the pastor 
 of the church. Theodore Van Sicklen, Charles 
 GriflSn, Milton Griffin, John R. Vannosdall, John 
 M. Brower, Peter Brower, James H. Lawson and 
 John Brooks were prominent male members. 
 
 The church edifice was erected the same year as 
 the organization, at a cost of $800, the subscrip- 
 tions for the whole amount having been collected 
 by John R. Vannosdall. 
 
 Mr. Sellick's successors in thp pastorate have 
 
 • Spaford.s Qamtteer of 2few York, 1813, 176, and 1824, 415. 
 
 been : Matthew Van Duzeri, two years ; David B. 
 
 Turner, two years ; John Luckey, two years ; 
 
 Osborn, two years; Gould, one year;. Daniel 
 
 O. Ferris, two years ; Gilbert Townsend, one year ; 
 
 Horace Wood, one year ; Ferris, father of 
 
 Daniel O. Ferris, two years; Rev's. Morehouse and 
 
 Bishop, each two years ; " Happy David" and 
 
 Elgin, each one year; Rev's. Hauxhurst, Sagerand 
 Lent, each two years, and Abraham Davis, the 
 present pastor, who came upon the charge in the 
 spring of i88r. He resides at Low Point, in the 
 town of Wappinger, which is on the same charge 
 as New Hamburgh. The present number of mem- 
 bers is about thirty-five. The Sunday School was 
 discontinued in 1880. 
 
 Rochdale. 
 
 Rochdale is a small manufacturing village, situ- 
 ated in the northeast part of the town, on Wappin- 
 gers Creek, distant five miles northeast of the 
 court house, in Poughkeepsie, and about two and 
 a half miles east from Pleasant Valley and Van 
 Wagner's Station, both on the Poughkeepsie, Hart- 
 ford & Boston Railroad. There is no postoffice 
 and never has been. Mail is received from 
 Poughkeepsie. 
 
 Rochdale was formerly known as Whippleville, 
 from a family of that name who were interested in 
 manufacturing enterprises here. Its present name 
 was given by James Taylor,in honor of his native 
 place, the great center of the co-operative indus- 
 tries in England. It contains a district school, a 
 woolen mill and a population of about i6o, all of 
 whom are families connected with the woolen mill. 
 There is no church here, but religious services are 
 held in the school house. Episcopal services . are 
 held once in two weeks by Rev. John Henry 
 Nimnis, who is stationed at Lithgow. He also 
 preaches at Millbrook and Pleasant Valley. 
 Ministers of other denominations occasionally 
 preach here. 
 
 The history of the place centers in its manufac- 
 turing enterprises, more especially its cotton and 
 woolen manufactures. The water-power at this 
 point was used to propel a grist mill at an early 
 day, probably about the beginning of the present 
 century. This old mill was converted into a cot- 
 ton factory by Messrs. Taylor & Forbus, the 
 latter of whom ' has been dead for many years. 
 James Taylor, the senior partner, was bom in 
 Rochdale, England, in 1798, and in early life was 
 engaged in business in Poughkeepsie. In company 
 with Mr. Forbus he carried on an extensive busi- 
 ness at Rochdale, where he died April 14, 1877. 
 
37<5 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 About 1850, Messrs. Taylor & Forbus were en- 
 gaged in litigation, during which time the property 
 at Rochdale lay idle. About 1854, John Goff 
 rented it, and run the mill for three years, when it 
 again lay idle for six years. In 1863, Elias Titus 
 bought the property, in company with his sons, 
 Robert, Richard and Henry, and the business has 
 since been conducted under the name of Elias Ti- 
 tus & Sons. The Messrs. Titus found the dams in 
 a dilapidated condition, and rebuilt them. They 
 are upon both arms of the stream, which is here 
 divided by an island of three or four acres. One 
 is of stone, about sixteen feet in height ; the other 
 of wood, about five and one-half feet. The build- 
 ings were then in pretty good repair, and to these 
 an addition forty-five by fifty feet was made by the 
 Messrs. Titus about 1867. The original grist- 
 mill now forms the rear portion of the present 
 mill. The first addition was made to the north 
 end of that building ; the second one, in the form 
 of an L, to the west end. The Messrs. Titus 
 changed it from a cotton to a woolen mill when 
 they first took possession. They commenced 
 with two sets of machinery, which have since been 
 increased to four. About sixty-five persons find 
 employment in this mill, nearly half of whom are 
 females, and about a thousand yards of white flan- 
 nel are made per day. 
 
 Elias Titus was a native of the town of Wash- 
 ington, in this county, and a son of John Titus, a 
 blacksmith, who lost his property during the Revo- 
 lution, but pursued his trade at Washington Hol- 
 low, where he also established the woolen business, 
 which he continued in a building now used as a saw- 
 mill, till his death. About 1830, EUas removed to 
 La Grange, where he and his brothers established 
 the woolen business on the east side of Wappingers 
 Creek, about five miles below Rochdale, which lo- 
 cality has acquired from this family the name of 
 TitusviUe, He afterwards carried on the business 
 alone for many years, but was latterly associated 
 for some ten years with his brother-in-law, Cyrus 
 Sweet, (who died in Poughkeepsie at an advanced 
 age,') and subsequently with his sons Robert, Rich- 
 ard and Henry, who now constitute the firm which 
 operates the factories both at Rochdale and Titus- 
 viUe, and with which he (EUas,) was connected till 
 his death. He died at TitusviUe, July 8, 1880, in 
 his 76th year. The TitusviUe factory contains four 
 sets of woolen machinery, and gives employment to 
 about forty persons ; but the finishing for the pro- 
 duct of this factory is done at the Rochdale Woolen 
 Mills, while previous to the increased facilities at 
 
 Rochdale, the finishing for that factory was done 
 at TitusviUe. 
 
 Manchester. 
 
 Manchester, named from Manchester, England, 
 is situated about three miles south-east of Pough- 
 keepsie, on Wappingers Creek, which, while every- 
 . where a picturesque stream, is, says Lossing, at no 
 point more lovely than along this plain. The 
 place, though never of overshadowing importance, 
 was of far more consequence at an earlier period 
 than at present, having been the seat of a respect- 
 able manufacturing industry. It now contains a 
 district school, an Episcopal chapel, (not now in 
 use,) fifteen dwellings, and a postoffice named 
 Manchester Bridge. There has been a postoffice 
 here for a great many years, though it has lapsed 
 at intervals for short periods. ' David S. Halstead, 
 the present postmaster, has held the office for a 
 number of years. On the east side of the creek is 
 a smaU grist-miU and blacksmith shop, the latter 
 kept by Isaac Wolever. The former, known as 
 the Manchester MiUs, of which Richard Kinworthy 
 is proprietor, contains two runs of stones, which are 
 propeUed by a smaU stream which empties into 
 Wappingers Creek at this point, and has a faU of 
 twelve feet. 
 
 East Poughkeepsie. 
 
 East Poughkeepsie consists of a few stores, two 
 taverns, and a meat market just east of the limits 
 of the City of Poughkeepsie, and two brick-yards, 
 the only remaining representatives in the town of 
 an industry once of greater importance than at 
 present. The Bull's Head, a somewhat noted » 
 hostlery at this place, has been kept for the last 
 eight years by H. H. Owen. It has been a tavern 
 stand for a great many years. The o^er tavern 
 is known as Ballard's Hotel, and is kept by Caleb 
 BaUard. 
 
 The two brick-yards are designated by the 
 names of their proprietors, Flagler & Wing and 
 Rose. The former was established thirty-four 
 years ago by Charles Vassar, who carried on the 
 business for something like a dozen years. His 
 successors have been Herman Ferguson, Abel 
 Adams, BedeU, Flagler & Wing, the latter of whom, 
 the present proprietors, have carried on the busi- 
 ness some fourteen years. In this yard eighteen 
 to twenty persons are employed and seventeen 
 thousand brick made per day. Rose's brick-yard 
 was started in the spring of i88i, by H. R. Rose, 
 who had previously carried on the business on the 
 
TOWN OF POUGHKEEPSIE. 
 
 371 
 
 Davies farm twelve or thirteen years. Some twelve 
 persons are here employed and about fifteen 
 thousand brick made per day, 
 
 Clinton Point. 
 
 Clinton Point, formerly known as Barnegat, is 
 situated on the Hudson River railroad, about five 
 miles south of Poughkeepsie, and was once famous 
 for the quantity and quality of the limestone quar- 
 ried and burned in its vicinity, but is now deserted 
 and gone to decay. The business of quarrying 
 and burning lime at this place was commenced 
 about the beginning of the present century, and 
 continued till within some six years, since which 
 time no lime has been burned there. There were 
 at one time as many as ten kilns in operation here,* 
 and a very extensive business was done, lime being 
 shipped in large quantities during the latter part of 
 the time to New Jersey for use as a fertilizer. There 
 was formerly a postoffice here, but it was discon- 
 tinued about a year ago. George Piatt was the 
 last postmaster. 
 
 Milton Ferry. 
 
 Milton Ferry is a station on the Hudson River 
 railroad about four miles (3.89) soutlj of Pough- 
 keepsie and opposite Milton, in Ulster county. 
 Whitney & Sons, formerly had a berry-box manu- 
 factory at this place, but it was burned June 2, 
 1876, and the material saved from destruction was 
 immediately removed to Marlborough, where they 
 resumed business. The factory was an old struc- 
 ture and at the time of its destruction was giving 
 employment to thirty-six persons. 
 
 Van Wagner's. 
 
 Van Wagner's is a station on the Poughkeepsie, 
 Hartford & Boston Railroad, midway between 
 Poughkeepsie and Pleasant Valley. It derives its 
 name from Egbert Van Wagner, who owns nearly 
 all the property thereabouts, and gave the railroad 
 company the right of way through his lands, a dis- 
 tance of nearly three-fourths of a mile, in consid- 
 eration of their locating a station at that point. 
 
 Locust Grove. 
 
 Locust Grove, two miles below Poughkeepsie, 
 was the residence of the late Prof. Samuel F. B. 
 Morse, the inventor of the electric telegraph, and 
 is still the home of his family. Prof. Morse died 
 April 2, 1872, aged eighty years. 
 
 • Gordon sayj that in 1836 there were some twenty Itilns. 
 
 The old residence of Gov. George CUnton, six 
 miles south of Poughkeepsie, was standing till 
 within the last year or two. It was burned down, 
 and has not been rebuilt. The premises are now 
 owned by a person in New York City. 
 
 Town of Poughkeepsie in the War of the 
 Rebellion. 
 
 We cannot, in the space allotted us, hope to 
 give more than the legislative action of the town, 
 and in a condensed form, its results, during this 
 eventful period ; but this, perhaps, sufficiently re- 
 flects that unwritten history which is, in a measure, 
 indicated in the general history of the country. 
 
 The first recorded public action was on the 3d 
 of September, 1862, when an application was made 
 for a special town meeting to provide means for 
 paying a bounty to volunteers who had enlisted 
 since July 2d of that year, or who should thereafter 
 enlist to fill up the town's quota, and thus relieve 
 it from a draft. 
 
 The meeting was held at the house of Caleb 
 Ballard, Sept. 13, 1862, and presided over by the 
 Board of Town Officers : Anthony D. Woolsey, 
 Supervisor ; Thomas W. Jaycox, George L. Den- 
 nis and Henry Burroughs, Assessors ; and Samuel 
 Matthews, Town Clerk. Wm. S. Johnston, Stephen 
 Baker, Walter Millard, Samuel Brown and Samuel 
 Matthews were appointed to prepare resolutions 
 for the consideration of the meeting. The resolu- 
 tions so reported, were, after some emendations, 
 adopted. They provide, 
 
 " That a bounty of $100 be paid to all volunteers 
 who have enlisted prior to the 6th day of Septem- 
 ber, 1862, and that a bounty of $150 be paid to 
 all volunteers who have enlisted of may hereafter 
 enlist from and after the 6th day of September, 
 1862, to fill up the quota of said town under the 
 calls of July 2, 1862, and 5th of August, 1862, and 
 that the sum . necessary to pay said bounties be 
 levied and assessed upon the taxable property of 
 said town in the same manner as ordinary town or 
 county taxes are assessed, levied and collected." 
 
 The money thus raised was paid out in the fol- 
 lowing manner : — 
 
 To members of the 150th Regiment : — 
 
 Wm. M. Stilwell ; $150.00 
 
 Adna H. Jones 150.00 
 
 John Cass 150.00 
 
 Ambrose D. Albertson 150.00 
 
 Edmurid I. Van Wagner 150.00 
 
 James W. Myers 150.00 
 
 James Van Nosdall 150.00 
 
 Josiah Budd,. 150.00 
 
 Robert Wright 150.00 
 
 John Grade, , , , , ■ • • • 150.00 
 
372 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 Joseph Moore $150.00 
 
 Thomas Newman 150.00 
 
 Robert Birth 150.00 
 
 Peter Shook 150.00 
 
 George C. Washburn 150.00 
 
 Wm. Kniffin 150.00 
 
 Briggs E. Smith 150.00 
 
 Rauson E. Bennett 150.00 
 
 John H. Smith 150.00 
 
 John Ward 150.00 
 
 John CoUin 150.00 
 
 Daniel S. Dubois 150.00 
 
 James Welch 150.00 
 
 Total $3,450.00 
 
 To members of the 167th Regiment: — 
 
 James R. Lee, Sr $ 150.00 
 
 James R. Lee, Jr 150.00 
 
 Jordan N. Lee 150.00 
 
 Wm. Brown 1 50.00 
 
 Henry Smith 150.00 
 
 Charles Dutcher 150.00 
 
 John Williams 150.00 
 
 Richard Tessell 1 50.00 
 
 George Storm 7S-oo 
 
 Total $1,275.00 
 
 To members of the 5th N.Y.V. (Corcoran Legion :)- 
 
 Edward Flynn $100.00 
 
 Peter Finerty 100.00 
 
 John Brady 100.00 
 
 John Murphy, No. i 100.00 
 
 Thomas Slowey 100.00 
 
 James Clark 100.00 
 
 J. W. Randall 100.00 
 
 Henry Can 100.00 
 
 John Murphy, 2d 100.00 
 
 James Graham 100.00 
 
 John Roach 100.00 
 
 Total $1,100.00 
 
 To members of the 4th N. Y. Cavalry : — 
 
 David Klein $100.00 
 
 Andrew Patterson 100.00 
 
 Robert Williams 100.00 
 
 Augustus StoUe 60.06 
 
 John Eraling /[ fiojoo 
 
 Wm. Barney 6000 
 
 Louis MuUer. 60.00 
 
 Charles Mainer \ 6o!oo 
 
 Charles Fisher ' 6o!oo 
 
 Henrie Huther [ 60 00 
 
 Herman Jones .• .■.■.■■.'.■ golgo 
 
 F. W. Endman 60 00 
 
 Benedict Abend 60 00 
 
 Henry Conlan .'.'.'.'.'.'.'.' 6o.'oo 
 
 Christian Schouten 60 00 
 
 Frederick Myer .".'.'.".'.'.'."." 6o'oo 
 
 Silas B. Adams 60 00 
 
 Thomas Healy 60 00 
 
 ■r"**' $"^^ 
 
 To members of the i68th N. Y. Vols :— 
 
 Charles H. Scott $75.00 
 
 Barnard McLaughlin 75-oo 
 
 Wm. Upright 75-oo 
 
 Charles McCormack 75.oo 
 
 Albert Mansfield 75:°° 
 
 Robert McBarney 75-oo 
 
 John B. Phillips 75-oo 
 
 Cromaline Diamond 7S-°° 
 
 Total $600.00 
 
 The total amount paid to volunteers to Feb. 26, 
 1863, was $7,625. 
 
 The following named persons enUsted prior to 
 Sept. 6, 1862, were applied on the quota of the 
 town under the call of July 2, 1862, and were en- 
 titled to the $100 bounty, as per resolution of 
 Sept. 13, 1862 : Charles W. Brower, George W. 
 Brower, Alonzo Barrett, J. W. C. Blauvelt, J. C. 
 Burhans, William Partington, William Conlan, 
 Edward S. Drury, I. B. Hielman, Silas Partington, 
 Thomas Jones, Andrew Jackson, Leonard Lawson, 
 Solomon Lawson, A. W. Myers, James Mowris,. 
 James H. Underdunk, Isaac E. Pye, George H. 
 Pollock.* 
 
 At a special town meeting held at the house of 
 William J. Bishop, on Monday, August i, 1864, it 
 was unanimously resolved that a bounty of $600 
 be paid to each volunteer credited on the quota of 
 the town under the call of July 18, 1864, for five 
 hundred thousand men ; that the disbursing com- 
 mittee have discretionary power to pay such sum 
 in excess of $600 as in their judgment was neces- 
 sary to secure the volunteers and fill the quota of 
 the town ; " that any person who shall have pro- 
 cured at his own expense, in anticipation of the 
 action of this meeting, or any person who may 
 hereafter so procure, a substitute, [who] is or shall 
 be credited on the quota of the town under the 
 above call, shall be entitled to receive from the dis- 
 bursing committee a sum equal to the average of 
 the aggregate amount paid for volunteers." 
 
 Following are the names of the seventy-four men 
 to whom the bounty was paid : — 
 H. C. Herring, Diebold Marching, 
 Thomas Duffy, Samuel Williams, 
 Charles Wolcott, John Pigeon, 
 Andrew Decker, Charles Dudley, 
 William Murphy, James P. Quigley, 
 Louis Mills, George Snyder, 
 Theodore Mosher, Joseph Hanan, 
 Charles Kent, Robert Ferdon, Jr., 
 ' ' ^ ~ -~p — 
 
 * Nov. 10, 1864, Samuel Speedling, Horlon Van Nosdall, Edward 
 Van Nosdall and Theodore Simpson appeared before the board of town 
 auditors and claimed Jioo bounty under the resolution of Sept. 13, i86i. 
 It was found to be due and was paid to the former three. 
 

 ,,.m I -v ' > 
 
 
 
 h 
 
CITY OF POUGHKEEPSIE. 
 
 373 
 
 Henry Wilson, Adelbert N. Burtis, 
 
 Patrick Hughes, John Williamson, 
 
 James L. France, Barney Tierney, 
 
 Stephen H. Warner, James Tierney, 
 Christian W. Frederick, James Johnston, 
 James De Lancy, Patrick H. Griffin, 
 
 Charles Weaver, William O'Riley, 
 
 George Walston, Alex. Deven, 
 
 John Smith, Francis Myers, 
 
 Hiram Halsted, George Stockhein, 
 
 John Moore, Robert T. Gill, 
 
 Michael McDonald, John F. Halstead, 
 Charles Martin, Augustus Doughty, 
 
 James Reves, Charles I. Howell, 
 
 E. J. Millard, Galen Overacker, 
 
 John Ring, Tunis Conklin, 
 
 Wm. B. Millard, Wm. S. Johnston, 
 
 R. D. Harris, Wm. B. Nixon, 
 
 Thomas Parish, J. P. Rhyne, 
 
 Wm. Thompson, Clarkson Underhill, 
 
 Michael Downing, George L. Dennis, 
 
 Daniel Dauson, P. B. Underhill, 
 
 D. B. Harris, Silas DeGarmo, 
 
 PhiUp Collins, Reuben Townsend, 
 
 D. T. Barnes, Walter VanAmburgh, 
 
 James Simmonds, John Ritter, 
 
 Alonzo B. VeUe, Andrew J. Gilbert, 
 
 Patrick Grogan, Robert Johnson, 
 
 Sylvester Perkins, Wm. Paulding. 
 
 The town of Poughkeepsie furnished during the 
 war 338 men, 48 of whom belonged to the naval 
 service. 230 enlisted for three years, and 38 for 
 one year ; the period of service of the remaining 
 70 is not indicated. The number enlisted in the 
 town and city of Poughkeepsie was 82. The rest, 
 where indicated, were, with one exception, enlisted 
 in New York. Only nine, it appears, were natives 
 of the town. A town bounty of $150 was paid to 
 sixty; of $100 to fourteen ; of $60 to fifteen; of 
 $75 to eight ; of $300 to three ; of $200 to three. 
 A county bounty of $600 was paid to four; of $540 
 to one; of $500 to three; of $525 to one; of 
 $425 to one; of $415 to two; of $400 to three; 
 of $350 to four ; of $312.50 to three ; of $300 to 
 eighty-six ; of $250 to one ; of $200 to one ; of 
 $150 to two. They were distributed through va- 
 rious organizations and branches of the service, as 
 follows : Twelve in the 5th, one in the 7th, one 
 in the 8th, three in the 20th, one in the 43d, three 
 in the 4Sth, two in the 52d, one in the s8th, one in 
 the 69th, three in the 80th, four in the 91st, six in 
 the 98th, one in the 99th, two in the io6th, one in 
 the 127th, four in the 128th, fifty-nine in the 150th, 
 seven in the 156th, five in the 159th, nine in the 
 167th, eight in the i68th, and eight in the 193d in- 
 fantry regiments; two in the ist, seven in the 20th, 
 and two in the 31st U. S. C. T.; eighteen in the 
 4th, three in the 5th, one in the 6th, five in the 
 
 i2th, one in the isth, three in the i8th, three 
 in the 21st, and one in the 28th cavalry regiments; 
 two in the ist, four in the 2d, (heavy,) one in the 
 4th, three in the 5th, one in the 7th, six in the 8th, 
 one in the 15th, and thirty-four in the i6th (heavy) 
 artillery; and one in the V. R. C. 
 
 CHAPTER XXX. 
 History of the City of Poughkeepsie. 
 
 Poughkeepsie City — Its Delightful and Eligi- 
 ble Situation — First Settlement — The Van 
 Kleeck House — Its Historic Associations 
 — Poughkeepsie in 1799 — Tax Lists of 1805, 
 1849 •'^ND 1880 Compared — Poughkeepsie in 
 1812 and 1824 — LaFayette's Visit — Pough- 
 keepsie AS Seen Through Gordon's Eyes 
 IN 1836 — The "Improvement Party" — 
 Poughkeepsie in 1841 — Disturnet.l's De- 
 scription of Poughkeepsie in 1842 — Elec- 
 tric Telegraph First Introduced Into 
 Poughkeepsie — Population of Poughkeepsie 
 AT Different Periods — Village and City 
 Officers from the Date of Incorporation. 
 
 POUGHKEEPSIE is one of the most beauti- 
 ful and attractive cities in the State, and 
 one of the most dehghtful of the many charming 
 localities in the valley of the Hudson with its va- 
 ried associations, its mountains of wondrous gran- 
 deur, its fruitful plains, and vales of rare scenic 
 beauty. In varied natural scenery it is scarcely 
 surpassed by any ; while for wealth, culture, refine- 
 ihent —all those qualities which adorn a noble life 
 — it is the peer of alL 
 
 It is located on the steep slopes of the rolling 
 hills which form the east bank of the Hudson, and, 
 mainly, on the elevated table-land above, the 
 greatest average elevation of which is 202 feet above 
 high water in the river. It lies nearly midway be- 
 tween Albany, the capital of the State, and New 
 York, the commercial metropohs of the United 
 States ; and enjoys an unrivalled land and water 
 transportation. Some of its streets have the fault 
 of most old Dutch towns, in being crooked and 
 contracted, but its more modern streets are 
 tegular and spacious. The principal ones are kept 
 scrupulously clean, and nearly all are profusely 
 shaded with handsome trees, so that the city, when 
 viewed frorp the river or a distant eminence, pre- 
 sents in spring, a mass of foliage from which only 
 
374 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 the steeples and taller buildings protrude; and 
 when the autumn has tinted them with its rich and 
 varied tracery, it presents a scene of indescriba- 
 ble beauty. Many of the streets are neatly paved, 
 and most of them are lighted by gas. Its eligible 
 situation, the salubrity of its chmate, and the ad- 
 vantages afforded by its excellent institutions of 
 learning and religion, have led many people of 
 wealth and culture to take up their abode here. 
 Of its peculiar institutions and varied industries we 
 shall speak in subsequent chapters. 
 
 The settlement of the city dates, according to the 
 best authorities consulted, from the last decade in 
 the seventeenth century, but in precisely what year 
 and by whom the first settlement was made is not 
 known. The first settlers were Dutch, and among 
 the first, if not the first, was Baltus Van Kleeck, * 
 who, it is generally conceded, built the first sub- 
 stantial house on the site of the city in 1702. It 
 was constructed of rough stone, and stood on the 
 south side of Mill street, a little east of Vassar 
 street. In its gables and just beneath its eaves its 
 walls were pierced with loop-holes for musketry, as 
 a means of defense against the Indians, who were 
 then numerous in the county, though, such were 
 the pacific relations which subsisted between the 
 natives and the early Dutch settlers, its defensive 
 properties were never called into requisition ; for, 
 happily, this locality was free from the frightful 
 massacres and devastating agencies which, at an 
 early period, harassed the settlers in the Hudson 
 Valley, and later those in the Mohawk Valley and 
 what was then the western frontier. 
 
 This old house, around which clustered so many 
 of Poughkeepsie's most hallowed associations " was 
 strong enough to resist the busy fingers of decay 
 for centuries ; but, like many another building in 
 our changeful land, hallowed by events that touch 
 the sympathies of our higher nature, it was com- 
 pelled to give place to more modern structures." 
 It stood for nearly a century and a half a venerable 
 old relic of the long ago past ; but, having come, 
 by inheritance, into possession of the Vassar family, 
 it was torn down in 1835, ^^ response to the de- 
 mand of a progressive impulse. The rough hewn 
 stone lintel of the main door, on which is cut the 
 date of its erection and the initials in duplicate of 
 the name of its original owner, is preserved in the 
 basement wall, close to and partially below the 
 
 * The true name of Baltus Van Kleeck was Balthazar Barntz. The 
 name by which he is known to the present generation was acquired by 
 the elimination of the surname Barntz, a common practice among the 
 early iDutch, and the addition of the words von (from) and Kleeck, (the 
 name of the place in Holland from whence he came, ) 
 
 pavement on the Vassar street side of the resi- 
 dence (on the corner of Mill and Vassar streets,) 
 of the late Matthew Vassar, Jr., who was a lineal 
 descendant of Van Kleeck, his father, John Guy 
 Vassar, the elder brother of Matthew Vassar, the 
 founder of Vassar College, having married Mar- 
 garet, daughter of Baltus Van Kleeck, and great- 
 grand-daughter of the pioneer of that name. 
 
 Little is known of the antecedents or personal 
 history of Baltus Van Kleeck ; and of his many 
 descendants not many are left in the county. He 
 was a brother of Moriahakin, wife of John Har- 
 berdrink or Harberiing, of New York, He repre- 
 sented this county in the Colonial Assembly from 
 17 15 till his death in 17 17, being the second rep- 
 resentative in that body from this county. His 
 children were: Barent, who married Antinetha 
 Talmater ; Johannes, who tnarried, first Alida Ter 
 Boss, and, second, Catharine Van Der Bogart ; 
 Lawrence, who married Jacoba Lewis, and died in 
 r769; Peter, who married Gertrude Lewis ; Sarah, 
 who married Peter Palmatier ; and Elizabeth, who 
 married John Kip. Descendants of his to the 
 eight generation are now living in this county, and 
 are numbered among its most thrifty and respecta- 
 ble inhabitants. Mr. George M. Van Kleeck, of 
 Poughkeepsie, father of John, Henry, Robert, 
 Richard and Hester, wife of Jacob V. Overocker, 
 of that city, and a great-great-grandson of the 
 pioneer Baltus, has a diagram in his possession 
 showing many of the descendants to the seventh 
 generation. 
 
 Other early settlers were Dutch famiUes named 
 Van De Bogart, Van Benschoten, Van De Bergh, 
 Van Wagenen, De Graaif, Le Roy, Parmentier, 
 Messier, Ostrom, Hogeboom, Filkins, Swartwout, 
 Freer, Hegeman, and Livingston, and others who 
 have been named in connection with the early land 
 transfers in the town of Poughkeepsie. The names 
 of most of these, though having undergone slight 
 orthofraphic changes, are perpetuated to the pres- 
 ent generation, and are borne by some of the most 
 worthy and honored residents of the county. 
 
 The growth of the httle settlement was slow. A 
 view of Poughkeepsie in 1736 shows only eleven 
 houses on two streets, and the Reformed Dutch 
 Church, which was a conspicuous object in the 
 sparse settlement now so populous and beautiful. 
 In 1 7. "5 6, Smith the historian of New York, said it. 
 then scarce deserved the name of a village. But 
 in 1715, when the construction of a court house 
 and jail was authorized, it was made the county 
 seat, and in 1734, when the first courts were estab- 
 
CITY OF POUGHKEEPSIE. 
 
 375 
 
 lished in the county, it was continued such because 
 as the ordinance said, it was near the centre of the 
 county, which was doubtless true of the settled 
 portion of the county, which was then confined to 
 a narrow selvedge along the west border. 
 
 In 1758, says Henry D. B. Bailey, " Poughkeep- 
 sie made but a sorry appearance. On the south 
 side of Main street, east of the Dutch Church and 
 burying ground, was the residence of Paul Schanck ; 
 his store stood adjacent the burying ground. East 
 of his residence was the school-house, a small 
 building painted red. West of the Dutch Church 
 was the court house. * * * -phe next 
 building west of the court house was the Dutch 
 parsonage, and along the sloping hillsides to the 
 river there were some twenty houses. The Vaq 
 Kleek house * * * ^as the most prom- 
 inent hotel. * * * On the north side of 
 Main street, east of where the Poughkeepsie Hotel 
 is now located, there were a few houses and stores, 
 and west of the hotel were a few lawyers' offices, 
 and you have all there was of Poughkeepsie in 
 1758."* 
 
 From a map of the village made from a survey 
 of Henry Livingston, May 10, 1799, (in which year 
 it was incorporated,) and now on file at the cle-k's 
 office in Poughkeepsie, we gather much interesting 
 and authentic information respecting the village at 
 that early day. 
 
 The north corporation line then extended from 
 the river a little above the mouth of Kidney's 
 Creek, due east 37 chains, 30 links, to the point 
 where that stream is crossed by the post-road, and 
 thence due east 92 chains, 70 links, (in all 130 
 chains from the river;) thence south 1° 30' west 
 135 chains, 90 links to the south-east corner of the 
 corner of the corporation ; thence due west 130 
 chains to the river, at the mouth of a small stream 
 emptying into it a little below " Ship-yard Point," 
 nearly midway between the " Ship-yard Point " and 
 the old Livingston House to both of which refer- 
 ence has been made in the history of the county 
 during the Revolutionary period. 
 
 On this old map, Main street is not laid out west 
 of the post-road, which corresponded with Wash- 
 ington street north of Main, and with Market 
 street south of it. The river was reached mainly 
 by the "Upper Landing Road," which corresponds 
 with the lower part of Mill street, which was not 
 opened at that time east of Washington ; the 
 "Union Store Road," corresponding with Union 
 
 street, and "Davis's road," corresponding with 
 
 . 1 _ 
 
 * Historical Sketches, 13-24. 
 
 Pine street, and named from Davis' store at its ter- 
 minus on the river. At the terminus of " Union 
 Store Road," at the Lower Landing, was a union 
 store, which gave name to the road. At the foot 
 of the " Upper Landing Road," was the store and 
 mills of R. L. Livingston. 
 
 The residents of the post-road, beginning on the 
 north, were, on the east side, T. N?lson, H. A. Liv- 
 ingston, (the only two named till we reach Main 
 street,) V. Barber, at the north-east corner of the 
 post-road and Main street, Roye V. Kleeck, 
 
 Bailey, Noxon, A. Smith, 
 
 Smith, (between Main street and the " Road to 
 
 John V. D. Burgh's,") Romine, 
 
 Myer, P. Freer, Vielie, N. Freer, I. Freer, 
 
 E. Freer, S. Freer and S. S. Freer to the south 
 corporation line; on the west side, I. Nelson, near 
 
 the north line, N. Meyer, Oferom, 
 
 DofFie, and Ellison (to Main street) 
 
 Baker, Hendrickson, Allen, Cooke, Hofman, Deyo, 
 Harris, Kip, Davis, Mott and Tappen, (to Pine 
 street,) and I. Reade, a little back from the road, 
 and the only one living on the west side below 
 Pine street. On the west side of the road, nearly 
 midway between Kidney's creek and the Fallkill, 
 on the old Thomas Nelson property, now the estate 
 of Mr. Orrin Williams, stood the "Gallows Tree," 
 which Mr. William S. Morgan, of Poughkeepsie, 
 who was born in 1807, recollects as having been 
 standing in his early manhood. Near the junction 
 of Main street was a tannery. An Episcopal 
 Church stood on the site of Christ Church on the 
 north-east corner of Church and Market streets. 
 A little below this, on the same side, was the 
 clerk's office. The court house stood on the pres- 
 ent site. 
 
 The residents on Main street, then known as the 
 " Filkin Town Road," beginning at Washington St., 
 were, on the north, Radclift, Hofman, Davis, Van 
 Kleek, Duykinck, Thompson, Livingston, Tappen, 
 Clouse, Nash and Yelverton, to H. A. Livingston's 
 Mills, at the junction of Main and Mill streets, 
 and Everit, De Reimer, Beckwith, Seabury and M. 
 V. Brommel to the east line, while just over the 
 line was F. Harris, and a little north of him, E. 
 Free ; on the south side were Bosworth, Billings, 
 Bramble, Curry, Hobson, Caldwell and Emott to 
 Livingston's Mills, and the last within the limits. 
 Near the east line and back from the road was L. 
 B. Lewis. The Dutch Reformed Church then 
 stood opposite Market street, on the north side of 
 Main street, on the site of the Poughkeepsie 
 Hotel. 
 
376 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 On the " Upper Landing Road," on the north 
 side, resided DeGrafT and Bayeux, the only ones 
 named, and on the south, Bowman and B. Van 
 Kleeck. On the west side of a road correspond- 
 ing with Bridge street north of Mill, lived two 
 families named Lansing, the southerly one being 
 P. Lansing. No other residents are named north 
 of the Upper Eanding Road and west of the Post 
 Road within the corporation. 
 
 On the north side of the Union Store Road, 
 near Market street, (or on the south side of what 
 is now Main street, west of Washington,) lived a 
 man named Brower. On the same side of the 
 road, and near the river lived M. Tappen, North 
 and Everson, with a pottery between the former 
 two. On the south side were Arden, McKeen and 
 Johnson in the central part, and Carpenter, near 
 the river. 
 
 On the north side of " Davis's Road," near 
 Market street, lived famiUes named Myer and 
 Oak, but none on the south side. I. Stevens lived 
 a little north east of "Shipyard Point," and was the 
 only one named south of "Davis's Road" and west 
 of the Post road. 
 
 On the south side of Cannon street were families 
 named Smith, Nott, Cooke, Thomas and Weaver(?) 
 while in the angle formed by Academy and Cannon 
 streets stood the old academy. On the east side 
 of Academy street, which was then opened only 
 to Montgomery street, lived families named Smith 
 and Graham ; and south of Montgomery street, 
 (which then together with Southeast Avenue formed 
 the "Road to John V. D. Borgh's,") near what was 
 then the south terminus of Academy street, lived a 
 family named Whitehouse. These, with a family 
 named Boyce, living on the west side of Southeast 
 Avenue, near the south corporation line, were the 
 only others living (or named,) in the territory com- 
 prising the sixth ward and half of the fourth ward. 
 N. Freer lived just south of the corporation line, a 
 little east of the Post Road. West of Smith street, 
 (then called the "Road from Crom Elbow Creek,") 
 nearly midway between Main street and the cor- 
 poration line, lived a family named Norris ; and on 
 the east side, near the corporation line, one named 
 S. Freer. These, with the exception of those named 
 on the east side of the Post Road, (Washington St.,) 
 and on the north side of the "Filkin Town Road," 
 were the only ones living in the corporation in the 
 angle formed by those roads, comprising the pres- 
 ent fifth ward and the third, except that part lying 
 between Bridge and Washington streets. 
 
 The Post Road, south from the corporation line, 
 
 extended through the lands of Henry Livingston, 
 and on this, near the head of " Rust Plaets Kill," 
 lived William Freer, while near the river, at the 
 mouth of that stream, Uved T. Mitchel. Further 
 south on the Post Road was the H. Livingston 
 place, and still further south, the residence of E. 
 Paine. 
 
 The tax list of the village of Poughkeepsie for 
 1805 contains 368 names. The entire assessment 
 of real and personal property was $399,650, and 
 the rate of tax four mills on each dollar, making 
 the entire amount of tax collected, $159.86. At 
 that time the population may be supposed to have 
 been about 2,500, as in 1810 it was 2,981, In 
 1849, at which time the population had increased 
 to n,o8o, the corporation expenses amounted to 
 $16,096.80, which was a fair average as they 
 appeared from year to year.* * Thus while the popu- 
 lation had increased only about four- fold, the cor- 
 poration expenses had increased more than a hun- 
 dred-fold. In 1880, when the village had more 
 than a quarter of a century before become a city, 
 and the population had increased to 20,207 inhabi- 
 tants, while the equalized valuation of its real and 
 personal estate had increased to $11,833,167, more 
 than a fourth of the entire valuation of the county, 
 the municipal tax had increased to $245,339.01, 
 and the State, County and City tax combined, to 
 $317,203.20. 
 
 In the same book in which appears the tax list 
 for 1805, is the following somewhat remarkable 
 document, which, we may venture to say, was 
 among the first temperance efforts put forth in this 
 County. Coercion however was substituted for 
 moral suasion, which is now the prevalent aggres- 
 sive weapon. We quote : — 
 " To Mr. John N. Carman : — 
 
 Pursuant to an Act of the Legislature of New York 
 entitled An Act concerning the estate's of habitual 
 drunkards, passed March 10, 182 1, we do hereby des- 
 ignate,and describe [here follow thirty names of per- 
 sons] of the town of Poughkeepsie, Duchess County, 
 in said State, to be habitual drunkards, and we here- 
 by require you not to give or sell under any pretence, 
 in any way or manner, spirituous liquors to said 
 drunkards, except by direction or on the certificate 
 of a regularly Ucensed physician, that the same is 
 necessary for the preservation or recovery of the 
 health of said drunkard, under the penalty for 
 every offence of the sum of ten dollars. 
 
 John Nelson, } Overseers of 
 RoBT, C. NoxoN, J the Poor." 
 
 " N. B. — The names of those that give suffi- 
 cience of a thorough reformation will be blotted 
 out of this list." 
 
 * The Sunday Courier^ of Poughkeepsie, Feb. a, 187J. 
 
CITY OF POUGHKEEPSIE. 
 
 377 
 
 In 1812, the village which was then growing 
 rapidly, had a population of about 3,000, five 
 churches, (a gain of three since its incorporation 
 in 1799,) four hundred and twenty-two inhabited 
 dwelhngs, (many of the older ones of stone but 
 the later ones of wood or brick,) forty-nine stores, 
 shops, &c., an academy, two well-sustained week- 
 ly newspapers, (the Poughkeepsie Journal and 
 Republican Herald^ Paraclete Potter's (now Ar- 
 chibald Wilson's,) book-store, an "elegant and 
 spacious" hotel, (the Poughkeepsie Hotel,) then 
 recently built, and " five serpentine roads " con- 
 nected the village on the plain " nearly a mile 
 east" with the river. Its commerce employed 
 " eight large sloops or packets," which sailed 
 weekly to New York.* 
 
 The war of this period was a disturbing element, 
 and here, as elsewhere, where the opinions touch- 
 ing the questions at issue were sharply defined, 
 tended to retard the development of its industries, 
 though in some respects, perhaps, it stimulated for 
 a time an abnormal development. This was es- 
 pecially true of domestic manufactures, which 
 were fostered by the heavy duties imposed on im- 
 ports for purposes of revenue. On the restoration 
 of peace and the removal of these import duties 
 the country was flooded with foreign goods; man- 
 ufacturing industries consequently became stag- 
 nant. The large imports which followed depleted 
 the country of specie. The currency greatly de- 
 preciated, values were affected, and trade and 
 commerce were generally disturbed. 
 
 In 1824, however, the village had made some 
 progress. The number of its houses, stores and 
 shops had increased to six hundred. It had the 
 same number of churches, (one each for the 
 Methodists, Baptists, Friends, Episcopalians and 
 Presbyterians,!) ^ bank, a Lancasterian school, in 
 addition to the academy, three cotton factories, 
 "two extensive breweries and a distillery," and 
 two or three printing establishments. It had the 
 same number of " serpentine roads " leading to 
 the landings, but its commerce required "ten large 
 sloops or packets."! 
 
 The population was then about 5,000. None 
 of the streets were paved, except Main, from Aca- 
 demy to Washington, and Cannon, from Academy 
 to Market. Its commerce was carried on by 
 
 * Stafford's Gazetteer of 1815, 176 ; Vassnr College and its Founder^ 
 z8. 
 
 t No mention is made of the Reformed Dutch Church, and singularly 
 enough, for it had then had a continued existence of a century . Hence 
 it would appear that there were six instead of five churches. 
 
 X Stafford's Gazetteer., of 18Z4, 425, 416. 
 
 sloops of about one hundred tons burden, and 
 four of these left for New York each week. 
 Steamboats landed at the foot of Main street every 
 night, to take passengers for New York or Albany, 
 but many people still traveled by sloops. The 
 thoroughfares which were regarded as streets were 
 few, only Main, Market, Cannon, Academy, Wash- 
 ington, Mill and Union being considered any- 
 thing more than roads. Two-thirds of the streets 
 which were in use forty years later were not opened, 
 but occupied what was then an agricultural coun- 
 try.* 
 
 One decidedly marked event occurred this year 
 (1824.) Gen. LaFayette,the distinguished French- 
 American patriot, who visited this country that 
 year as the nation's guest, to review the scenes 
 and services of his younger days and renew the 
 pleasing acquaintances then formed here, honored 
 the little village with his presence, on his trip up 
 the Hudson from New York to Albany. He ar- 
 rived in New York, in company with his son and 
 secretary, on the 15th of August, in the packet 
 ship Cadmus, preferring, with his customary sim- 
 plicity, the accommodations of an ordinary pas- 
 senger in a packet ship to those of a United States 
 frigate, which the Government had tendered him. 
 
 After a most brilliant reception in New York, 
 he embarked on the steamboat James Kent, 
 which was chartered by that city for the occasion, 
 and after a brief detention at West Point and 
 Newburgh, arrived at Poughkeepsie at half-past 
 two o'clock in the morning. His approach was 
 announced by the discharge of cannon from the 
 bluff just below the landing ; upon which also, a 
 fire from large piles of seasoned wood, saturated 
 with tar and turpentine, which was kindled and 
 fed by hundreds of boys who were entrusted with 
 the duty, blazed high and filled the air with lurid 
 smoke till daylight. 
 
 The expected arrival of the distinguished noble- 
 man had filled the streets with people. There was 
 a constant stream of wagons and carriages coming 
 in from all parts of the country, and whole regi- 
 ments, as it were, of young men galloping in on 
 horse-back. Before the dawn of day all the mili- 
 tary, consisting of one company of artillery, one 
 of cavalry, two of infantry and one of riflemen, 
 were in line in full uniform. Gen. Brush and 
 staff'. Gen. Davies and staff", Gen. VanWyck and 
 staff, and Col. Cunningham with the regimental staff 
 of the 84th, were also out in full uniform and 
 mounted. All were on Kaal Rock at the first 
 
 * Isaac Piatt, in the Poughkeepsie Eagle of May S, >854, 
 
378 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 gleam of day, and the General was saluted by 
 a battery of artillery while still on board the 
 steamboat, which displayed the flags of various 
 nations. 
 
 On landing, LaFayette accompanied by Gens. 
 Van Courtland, Fish and Lewis and Col. Huger, 
 of South Carolina, (the latter of whom was noted 
 for his attempt to rescue the Marquis from the 
 prison of Olmutz,) was conducted to a splendid 
 barouche drawn by four white horses, and escorted 
 through Main, Academy, Cannon and Market 
 streets to the Forbus House, where he addressed 
 and inspected the military, and listened and feel- 
 ingly replied to an address of welcome tendered 
 him by Col. H. A. Livingstone. As he passed 
 down the lines of military he recognized an old 
 soldier, and regardless of the signs of poverty his 
 appearance displayed, cordially shook his hand. 
 After receiving the respects of the ladies in the 
 central hall of the hotel, where they impatiently 
 awaited an opportunity to greet him, he was es- 
 corted to the Poughkeepsie Hotel, where an ex- 
 cellent breakfast was served. Opposite LaFayette, 
 who sat at the head of the table, sat Major Swart- 
 wout, a soldier of the Revolution, then ninety-five 
 years of age. The intermediate seats were occu- 
 pied by some of the most prominent residents of 
 the village, among whom were James Tallmadge, 
 Thomas J. Oakley, James Emott, Henry A. Liv- 
 ingston, Smith Thompson, Matthew Vassar, Gen. 
 Brush, Paraclete Potter, Nathaniel P. Tallmadge, 
 Alexander J. Coffin, John Armstrong, Jr., Dr. 
 Thomas, and that "Nature's nobleman," Walter 
 Cunningham, who acted as marshal of the day. 
 
 LaFayette and his party re-embarked at ten 
 amid salutations of artillery and musketry and other 
 demonstrations of joy and proceeded to the beau- 
 tiful residence of Gov. Morgan Lewis, at his county 
 seat at Staatsburgh, where they partook of a sump- 
 tuous collation; and thence, after touching at 
 Kingston, proceeded to Clermont, the residence of 
 Chancellor Livingston.* 
 
 In 1829, the population of Poughkeepsie was 
 about 7,000. There were three weekly newspapers, 
 all issued on Wednesday. " By such an arrange- 
 ment," says S. P. Heermance, " the people of the 
 village and county received news but once a week. 
 The reason assigned for issuing all the papers the 
 same day was to accommodate the mail carriers 
 and to have them all carried around the village at 
 one time by the same carrier. John Cornish was 
 
 *IHS; Local Reminiscences in Tht Sunday CourUr of June M, 
 187J ; Clarksan^s Clermont or Livingston Manor, 155. 
 
 the carrier. It was a long time before the astute 
 publishers discovered that each office might circu- 
 late more papers, and at the same time accomo- 
 date the public, by choosing different days of the 
 week for publication." 
 
 Gordon, in his Gazetteer, published in 1836, 
 gives us a most minute description of the village, 
 which was, he says, " one of the handsomest and 
 most thriving of the State." The village plot con- 
 tained about 1,768 acres, upon which some forty 
 streets were laid out, several of them well paved 
 and compactly built upon. Many of the stores 
 in Main street " might be admired in Broadway," 
 whilst many dwelHngs in more private parts 
 of the town showed " wealth and taste." On the 
 1st of January, 1835, there were seven hundred and 
 eight dwellings, seven churches, (Baptist, Episco- 
 pal, Methodist, Presbyterian, !^utch Reformed and 
 two Quaker,) an academy, a Lancasterian school, 
 a powder house, two markets, four banks, with an 
 aggregate capital of $850,000, (the Bank of Pough- 
 keepsie, Duchess County Bank, Farmers' and 
 Manufacturers' Bank and the Poughkeepsie Sav- 
 ings Bank,) the Poughkeepsie Whaling Co. and 
 Duchess Whaling Co., each with a capital of $200,- 
 000 and two ships at sea. April 10, 1835, a com- 
 pany was incorporated for the manufacture of silk, 
 with a capital of $200,000, and were " pursuing 
 their object with great spirit." There were ten 
 licensed physicians, twenty-one practising attor- 
 neys, eighteen dry goods stores, thirty-five grocer- 
 ies, two china and crockery stores, four jewelry 
 stores, three book, two drug, three hardware, six 
 hat and cap, three chair, eight boot and shoe, nine 
 miUinery and four merchant tailor stores, twelve 
 tailor shops, seven saddle and harness -making es- 
 tablishments, three establishments for wagon and 
 carriage making, three printing offices, each issuing 
 a weekly paper, two tanneries, two leather stores, 
 two tallow chandleries, two furnaces, two marble 
 and stone yards, two "ship yards, two brick yards, 
 three machine shops, three tobacco and cigar 
 manufactories, five stove and tin-ware establish- 
 ments, two furniture ware-rooms, one brewery, two 
 malt-houses, one pump and block factory, one Ve- 
 netian bUnd factory, five cooper shops, nine black- 
 smith shops, eight public houses, fifteen victualing 
 shops, three plow factories, four freighting estab- 
 lishments, two potteries. There were on the Fall- 
 kill, in addition to the industries already mentioned, 
 four flouring mills, one dye-wood mill, one saw 
 mill, one cotton factory, one pail factory, two build- 
 ings used as machine shops, in which were four 
 
CITY OF POUGHKEEPSIE. 
 
 379 
 
 establishments fitted up with turning lathes, a sash 
 factory and a planing mill. 
 
 This was a period of great activity in the devel- 
 opment of Poughkeepsie's enterprises, and the vil- 
 lage is said by Gordon to have increased nearly 
 one hundred per cent, during the last preceding six 
 years. The population in 1836, as we learn from 
 the Poughkeefisie Eagle of Jan. 6, 1866, was be- 
 tween 7,000 and 8,000. There were, says that 
 paper, seventy-nine streets, thirty-eight of which 
 were opened in that year, four reading rooms, four 
 newspaper offices, nine places of worship, five en- 
 gine houses and three schools. 
 
 The great impetus given to the development of 
 the village at this period was due to what is known 
 as the " Improvement Party," which was composed 
 of such men as Paraclete Potter, George P. Oak- 
 ley, Nathaniel P. Tallmadge, Walter Cunningham 
 and Gideon P. Hewett. With the help of John 
 Delafield, of New York, and other enterprising 
 men, they projected and accomplished great things 
 for the village. They cleared the forest from Col- 
 lege Hill, gave the eminence that name, and 
 erected upon its summit an imposing edifice for 
 educational purposes, seventy-seven by one hundred 
 and thirty-seven feet. They laid out and planted 
 Mansion Square. They caused to be surveyed, 
 mapped and named, at an expenditure of more 
 than $roo,ooo, twenty-six new streets north of the 
 Fallkill, and half as many south of Montgomery 
 street, on the farm of Bronson French, all of 
 which appear 'on a map of Poughkeepsie, made in 
 1836, by Henry Whinfield, an English civil engi- 
 neer, then in the employ of the " Improvement 
 Party.'' They organized and put into operation a 
 whaling company, of which the late Capt. Barnard 
 was the managing agent; built the large wharf 
 known as the " Whale Dock" ; constructed the fine 
 barque N. P. Tallmadge for the whaling service, 
 and sent several ships to sea. Upon the Parker 
 and Williams estates north of the Fallkill and 
 east of the old Albany post-road, now North Ave- 
 nue, they laid out lines of streets and gave 
 them the following names : William, Green, Star, 
 Willow, Morton and Falls, running parallel with 
 North street. At right angles with that street were : 
 First, Second, Third, Fourth, Hamilton and Clin- 
 ton, the northerly extension of the latter from 
 North street being the present Buckingham Ave- 
 nue. East of Clinton street and south of College 
 Hill, were Oakley, Emott, Cottage, Mansion and 
 Thompson streets, all terminating at Smith street. 
 
 Other improvements made during the five years 
 
 from 1 83 1, were the construction of a reservoir, 
 with pipes, &c., to supply the village with water for 
 fire purposes, at a cost of over $25,000 ; one thou- 
 sand feet of dock and bulkhead, including the new 
 ship yard and dock of the whaling companies, 
 which alone had a water frontage of four hundred 
 and fifty feet; a new brick brewery nearly two 
 hundred feet long ; a silk factory of brick, thirty- 
 six by one hundred feet, four stories high; anew 
 market and village hall, at a cost of $20,000 ; two 
 Episcopal churches ; a new Baptist church on the 
 site of the old one; a CathoHc church ; a second 
 Presbyterian church; a large coach factory; a 
 young ladies' seminary of large dimensions ; two 
 elegant banking houses; a new postoffice and 
 range of offices attached ; a splendid mansion 
 house opposite the park, which was highly orna- 
 mented and stocked with deer ; about forty fash- 
 ionable modern dwellings, mostly of brick, in the 
 immediate vicinity of the new park. During the 
 latter years upwards of one hundred and sixty 
 dwellings were built. Property had risen greatly 
 in value, and in 1835, there was not a single unoc- 
 cupied tenement in the village. 
 
 In 1841, Poughkeepsie had seventy-nine streets 
 and one thousand and fifty-five dwelling houses, ex- 
 clusive of other buildings, thirty of which were erect- 
 ed within the year, mostly fine brick or frame 
 buildings. There were twenty-five dry goods, fifty- 
 one grocery, four drug, and two crockery stores, 
 fourteen shoe stores and shops, six hat stores, ten 
 public houses, twelve victualing rooms, ten milli- 
 nery, three hardware, five stove and tin, two glove, 
 five watch and jewelry, two confectionery, and two 
 book stores, twelve tailoring estabUshments, two 
 chair ware-rooms, one book bindery, nine markets, 
 (two of them public,) five saddle and harness, nine 
 carriage and wagon, ten blacksmith, three paint, 
 three machine, two turning, two toy, and five bar- 
 ber shops, three furnaces, two brass foundries, two 
 gun factories, four grist, two saw, and one dye- 
 wood mill, three plow factories, two leather stores, 
 two tanneries, three tobacco and cigar factories, 
 three malt houses, two breweries, three livery sta- 
 bles, four coal, six lumber, two marble, and two 
 ship yards, three freighting companies, three print- 
 ing offices, issuing five papers, ( Telegraph, Eagle, 
 Journal, Casket and Thomsonian,) five bakeries, 
 two carpet and two lock factories, one rope walk, 
 two woodware and four cooper shops, three pump 
 factories, two brick yards, two soap and candle 
 factories, one sperm candle and oil factory, three 
 sash and blind factories, two frame making establish- 
 
38o 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 ments, one morocco establishment, one paper 
 hanging establishment, two potteries, one comb, 
 one pin, one paste blacking, one umbrella and one 
 band-box factories. 
 
 There were four banks, (Duchess County, 
 Farmers' and Manufacturers', Poughkeepsie and 
 Poughkeepsie Savings Bank,) with an aggregate 
 capital of $ 1,050,000. The other incorporated com- 
 panies were the Poughkeepsie Silk Co., the Duchess 
 Whaling Co., the Duchess Mutual Insurance Co., 
 and the Duchess Guards. There were twelve 
 churches, (Baptist, Congregational, two Episcopal, 
 two Friends, two Methodist Episcopal, one Presby- 
 terian, one Reformed Dutch, one Roman Catholic, 
 and one Zion Methodist — colored,) a collegiate 
 school; the Duchess Academy, a Lancasterian 
 school, five female seminaries, a male boarding 
 school, a high school, and eighteen other schools, a 
 lyceum and reading room with a cabinet and stated 
 lectures, three other reading rooms, a circulating 
 library, thirty-two lawyers, sixteen physicians, (three 
 ThomsoniaUj) three dentists, and a population 
 in 1840 of seven thousand seven hundred and 
 ten.* 
 
 Disturnell, in 1842, speaks of an incorporated 
 company for the manufacture of locomotive engines 
 and railroad machinery, which had then erected 
 " large buildings, not surpassed by any in the State." 
 The Duchess Whaling Co., then owned five ships 
 engaged in the whaling trade. One of the two brew- 
 eries is described as being " very extensive, per- 
 haps the largest in the State, being capable of 
 making 30,000 barrels of beer annually." Three 
 plaster-mills had been added to its manufacturing 
 industries j and at its three brick yards were 
 " manufactured the finest kind of brick in large 
 quantities." In addition to its whale ships, three 
 steamboats, three freight barges and eight sloops 
 were engaged in transporting produce and mer- 
 chandise to and from New York and other places 
 on the river. " No place on the Hudson," adds 
 Disturnell, " exceeds this village for beauty of loca- 
 tion, and preeminence in refinement and wealth 
 of its inhabitants ; surrounded as it is by one of 
 the richest agricultural districts in the Union, it 
 may justly be ranked as the queen of villages in 
 the Einpire State." In 1843 its schools became 
 free. 
 
 The year 1846 marks an epoch in the history of 
 
 the village, for on the 19th of October in that year, 
 
 the magnetic telegraph was introduced into Pough- 
 
 ' keepsie, at an ea rlier period than in New York city. 
 
 ♦ The Sunday Courur, of Poughkeepsie, August 3, 1875. 
 
 The office was located over the postoffice in Gar- 
 den street, and a Mr. Curtiss was the operator.* 
 
 In 1850, Messrs. Mather and Brockettf name 
 carpets, cutlery and firearms as principal articles 
 among its varied manufactures. The product of 
 its brick-yards was large in quantity and superior 
 in quality. Its population was then about 9,000. 
 Four years later (March 28, 1854,) the village was 
 incorporated as a city ; and the following year, 
 (1855,) its population was increased to 12,763. In 
 i860, its population had increased to 14,726; its 
 churches, to eighteen in number. It had five 
 banks, and its principal manufactures, consisting 
 of pig iron, carriages, carpets, pins, chairs, drugs, 
 files, sewing silk and ale, required a capital of 
 something like a million of dollars, and employed 
 625 men.J In 1872, the number of its banks had 
 increased to seven, and their capital to $1,585,000. 
 It had three daily and three weekly newspapers. 
 A street raikoad connected its two depots, the one 
 in the western, and the other in the northeastern 
 part of the city. An iron bridge of fifty feet span 
 had been erected over the Fallkill, whose tortuous 
 channel through the city, proving a cause of sick- 
 ness, had been straightened and certain of its dams 
 and ponds removed. Its excellent water-works 
 were then in process of construction. Its popula- 
 tion which, in the meantime, had increased to 16,- 
 699 in 1865, and 20,080 in 1870, has since re- 
 mained almost stationary, decreasing in 1875 to 
 20,022, and again increasing in 1880 to 20,207. 
 
 An incident of historic interest transpired in the 
 city in 1880, in the removal of the remains of the 
 Irish patriot, Neilson, who suffered imprisonment, 
 exile, poverty and death, in consequence of his de- 
 votion to civil and religious liberty. The plain 
 slab which marked his grave in the Episcopal ceme- 
 tery in Poughkeepsie, where he had so long lain, 
 bore the following inscription : — 
 
 SAMUEL NEII,SON. 
 A native of Belfast, in Ireland, and 
 Editor of the Northern Star, 
 WHO DIED August 29, 1803. 
 If the memory of a man who discharged 
 all the duties of his station in life as 
 a father, husband and persecuted 
 patriot, claims artear, here 
 the tribute is due. 
 In the presence of five of his descendants— his 
 only surviving daughter, Mrs. McAdam, of Yonkers, 
 N. Y., and her four daughters— and a large con- 
 course of ladies and gentlemen, his remains, which 
 
 * PeugAkeepste Weekly Eagle, April 8, 1876. 
 
 + Geographical Histoiy of the State of New York, 190. 
 
 i French's Gazetteer oj New York, 274, 175. 
 
"WOOD-CLIFF"— RESIDENCE OF JOHN F. WINSLOW, ESQ., POUGHKEEPSIE,. N. Y. 
 
^4<t^'it^l^AJ^•A.■^\A'i^X*A'h^^^■J^i^A'>^A.'^^i^',^^rM'l'A.'l^^^^^ 
 
 
 "WOOD-CLIFF"— RESIDENCE OF JOHN F. WINSLOW, ESQ., POUGHKEEPSIE, N. Y. 
 
CITY OF POUGHKEEPSIE. 
 
 381 
 
 were converted to dust, were carefully gathered, 
 inclosed in an urn, and conveyed, under the escort 
 of a procession, to the Rural cemetery, where they 
 were re-interred with appropriate ceremonies. 
 
 Poughkeepsie was incorporated as a village 
 March 27, 1799;* and as a city, March 27, 1854. 
 As a city it originally comprised four wards, but in 
 1 865, the number was increased to six. Unfortunate- 
 ly the earlier records of the village, like those of the 
 town of Poughkeepsie, are either lost, or have not 
 been preserved ; but we are able to give the names 
 of most of the village presidents, and the principal 
 city officers from the time of the incorporation : — 
 
 Village Presidents. 
 
 1799. James S. Smith. 
 
 1 80 1. Gilbert Livingston. 
 
 1803. Andrew Billings. 
 
 1804. Thomas Nelson. 
 1805-6. William Emott. 
 1807-8. James Tallmadge, Jr. 
 
 1809. John Brush. 
 
 1810. David Carpenter. 
 1811-12. William Emott. 
 
 1813. George Bloom. 
 
 18 1 4. Reuben B. Rudd. 
 
 1815. Gilbert Ketcham. 
 
 1816. Clapp Raymond. 
 
 181 7. Thomas Brownjohn. 
 i8r8, '20. Benjamin Forbus. 
 1819. Samuel Pine. 
 
 1821. William Plummer. 
 
 1822. Richard Draper. 
 
 1823. Thomas L. Davies. 
 
 1824. Solomon V. Frost. 
 
 1825. Oliver Holden. 
 
 1826. John S. Myers. 
 
 1827. Nathaniel P. Tallmadge. 
 1828-29. Stephen Cleveland. 
 1830. Walter Cunningham. 
 1831-32. Henry Conklin. 
 
 1833. George P. Oakley. 
 
 1834. Alexander Forbus. 
 
 1835. Matthew Vassar. 
 1836-8. Jacob Van Benthuysen. 
 1839-40. Gideon P. Hewitt. 
 1841. Gilbert Wilkinson. 
 1842-3. Hubert Van Wagenen. 
 1844, '51- John M. Cable. 
 1845-6. Matthew J. Myers. 
 1847-8. Adam Henderson. 
 
 1849. Samuel B. Johnston. 
 
 1850. George B. Adriance. 
 1852. George Innis. 
 1852. E, Q. Eldridge. 
 1853-4. Jacob' De Groff. 
 
 The first city officers, from April 17, 1854, to 
 March 12, 1855, were: Mayor, James Emott; 
 
 * Many authors among them Mr. Lossing, erroneously state the date 
 of the village incorporation to be 1801. 
 
 Aldermen— ist ward, Benjamin B. R'eynolds, Wm. 
 H. Tallmadge ; 2d ward, James T. Hill, James H. 
 Seaman; 3d ward, Henry S. Martin, Wm. A. Fan- 
 ning ; 4th ward, Lewis F. Street, Henry D. Varick; 
 Chamberlain, Robert N. Palmer. 
 
 The following have filled the offices of Mayor 
 and Chamberlain since the incorporation of the 
 city : — 
 
 Mayors. Chamberlains. 
 
 i854-'5- James Emmot, Robert N. Palmer. 
 1855. H. D. Varick, do do 
 
 1856-7. Geo. Wilkinson, do do 
 
 1858. Chas. W. Swift, do do 
 
 i859-'6o. do do Robert E. Taylor. 
 
 1861-2. James Bowne, 
 1863-4. George Innis, 
 i865-'6. do do 
 i867-'8. do do 
 1869-70. George Morgan, W. Morgan Lee. 
 1871-3. H.G.Eastman, do do 
 
 1874. do do Joseph G. Frost. 
 
 i875-'6. J. B. Carpenter, George H. Williams. 
 1877-8. H.G. Eastman,* Lewis Baker. 
 1879-80. William Harloe, do do 
 1881. Ezra White, Sherman H. LeRoy. 
 
 do do 
 
 do do 
 
 Joseph G. Frost. 
 Frederick W. Pugsley. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXI. 
 
 Poughkeepsie's Mercantile Interests. 
 
 THE mercantile and commercial interests of 
 Poughkeepsie have, during the present century, 
 been of considerable magnitude and importance. 
 Previous to the construction of railroads, although 
 its population was small, it was the natural center 
 of business for a large extent of country; and since 
 that epoch, though its mercantile business has been 
 restricted very nearly to the natural demands of its 
 own citizens and the country immediately contig- 
 uous, the large and rapid increase in its population 
 has maintained the volume of trade. 
 
 The earliest merchants of whom we have seen 
 any mention, were Timothy Low and Henry Fil- 
 kins, both of whom were engaged in business here 
 as early as 1735. Filkinswas Sheriff of the county 
 from 1743 to 1748, and represented it in the Colo- 
 nial Assembly from 1752 to 1758. John I. Van 
 Kleeck was trading here in 1773; and Beekman 
 Livingston and Archibald Stewart, during the Rev- 
 olutionary period. Each of the latter two kept a 
 general assortment of dry goods, groceries, drugs 
 and hardware. Livingston's store was located on 
 the corner of Market and Cannon streets, on the 
 
 * Died in Denver, Col., July 13, 1878, 
 
382 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 Park House site, and Stewart's, adjoining the Dutch 
 Reformed church, which occupied the site of the 
 Poughkeepsie Hotel. Stewart soon after removed 
 to New Jersey, and, notwithstanding his loyahst 
 proclivities here, was a delegate from that State to 
 the Continental Congress in 1784 and 1785, to fill 
 a temporary vacancy. 
 
 John S. Freer, a descendent of the Freer family, 
 who were among the first settlers in this vicinity, 
 was engaged in mercantile business here about the 
 beginning of the century, and continued till about 
 1828. His store was two or three doors west of 
 Bowne's carpet store, on the site of the building 
 which was occupied for a number of years by the 
 Eagle office, and subsequently in that building, 
 which was£rected by him about 1820. He was a 
 single man, and resided here till his death, which 
 occurred several years after he closed out his busi- 
 ness. 
 
 Within the first decade of the present century 
 fully a score of persons were engaged in mercantile 
 business here. Andrew J. Billings, who was then 
 quite a celebrated man, was located here in 1797. 
 He was the first watchmaker and jeweller in 
 Poughkeepsie. Elijah Morgan came to Pough- 
 keepsie in- that year and served an apprenticeship 
 with BiUings. Mr. Morgan was a native of West- 
 chester county, whence his father of the same name 
 removed to and settled in East Fishkill about the 
 close of the Revolutionary war, becoming by his 
 intelligent industry, one of the first farmers in 
 that town. The younger Morgan commenced busi- 
 ness as a jeweller on his own account about 1805, 
 in a building which stood on the south-east corner 
 of Main and Liberty streets; continuing till 1855, 
 within two years of his death, which occurred 
 April 27, 1857, at the age of seventy-four years. His 
 son, William S. Morgan, was associated with him 
 in 183s and '36. The latter year. May 12th, Pough- 
 keepsie was visited by a fire, the most disastrous it 
 has suffered before or since. Some fifteen stores, 
 mostly wooden buildings, were destroyed. They 
 extended from the old Eagle building, (312 and 
 314 Main street,) to near Academy street, a block 
 of wooden buildings then occupying the corner of 
 Main and Academy streets, but since torn down, 
 escaping the fire. The block which escaped the 
 fire was the property of Leonard Davis, one of the 
 pioneer merchants, and the buildings which have 
 been erected on its site are still owned by his heirs. 
 
 In 1836, William S. Morgan commenced the 
 erection, on the site of the smouldering ruins, of 
 the store 322 Main street, now occupied by Hiram 
 
 S. Wiltsie. This step was taken by Mr. Morgan 
 against the advice of his friends, who predicted 
 that he would never do any business there, as the 
 business of the village then lay mostly towards the 
 river; but, singularly, that store is now the very 
 center of the business part of the city. In April, 
 1837, Mr. Morgan opened the store, commencing 
 business on his own account. He continued to oc- 
 cupy it till April, 1881, when he sold to William B. 
 Carpenter, who rents to Mr. Wiltsie, the pres- 
 ent occupant. Mr. Morgan at the close of a very 
 active and successful business career, is living in 
 retirement in Poughkeepsie, enjoying the respect 
 and confidence of his associates in business and 
 the citizens generally. 
 
 Charles and WiUiam Livingston purchased of 
 Peter R. Mason the land east of Mr. Morgan's 
 store, to the Davis block, the eastern limits of the 
 fire, and erected at the same time the building oc- 
 cupying that site, but subsequently sold the stores 
 to other parties. West of Mr. Morgan's store, in 
 the fire district, other stores were built by Jacob 
 Rowe, William Frost and Capt. William Broas, 
 the latter adjoining the Eagle office, while a fourth 
 party built the store now occupied by John W. 
 Candee, with dry goods. These buildings, cover- 
 ing the entire district ravaged by the fire, were 
 erected at the same time, and patterned after a then 
 famous block in Philadelphia, the distinguishing 
 characteristics being circular windows and hollow 
 iron columns. These peculiarities presented a novel 
 and attractive appearance but have since given way 
 to the flat windows now in vogue. 
 
 Joseph and Caleb. Morgan, brothers of Elijah, 
 were contemporary with him, and occupied a store 
 opposite on the west corner of Main and 
 Liberty streets. They dissolved May 5, 1818. 
 Joseph died many years ago , but Caleb survived 
 and resided here till a recent period. 
 
 Thomas W. Tallmadge came here from Connec- 
 ticut about 1805 and was an extensive dealer in 
 stoves till about 1840. He was a highly respected 
 citizen and successful merchant. For twenty-three 
 years he was President of the Poughkeepsie Savings 
 Bank, retaining that position till his death, August 
 II, 1856, at the age of seventy-five years. His 
 widow survived him till about a year since, and died 
 here aged over ninety years. 
 
 Jesse Oakley & Son as appears from the Political 
 Barometer of July 1, 1806,* "were among the 
 heavy merchants of this place" at that time. 
 " They kept dry goods, groceries, cloth and kersey- 
 
 * From the Poughkeepsie Eagle, August i«, 1876. 
 
CITY OF POUGHKEEPSIE. 
 
 383 
 
 meres, wines, Jamaica spirits, tea, puffs and tippets, 
 pickled cod, dye-woods, etc. John Field was also 
 a prominent merchant, and David Brooks and 
 Benjamin Hunger. * « * Elisha Brown 
 carried on the sole-leather and hide business and 
 slaughtered cattle. » * * Samuel Myers 
 was a repacker of pork and beef, as was also 
 Thomas Bayeux. Nathan Myers kept a dry 
 goods and grocery store, and an iron mongery. 
 Charles H. Dunscombe kept a dry goods and gro- 
 cery store. James Trivett kept dry goods, grocer- 
 ies and shoes. All took produce in payment for 
 goods. John Everett was also a dealer in dry 
 goods, groceries, hardware and crockery. Hayt & 
 Fuller kept glass, oil and paints. * * * 
 Van Kleeck & Mannery were dealers in dye-wood, 
 cam-wood, copperas and press-papers. David 
 Gladd kept a grocery. Peter R. Maison kept a 
 dry goods store and sold 'women's straw hats, feath- 
 ers and plumes.' Valentine Bakei kept a dry 
 goods store in Market street. G. H. Cunningham 
 kept a seed store. George Parker advertised 'Par- 
 ker's Mills ' flour, plaster, wheat, etc." 
 
 Jesse Oakley was a Member of Assembly from 
 this county, from 1794 to 1797. John Field was 
 a Deputy to the Provincial Congress from Duchess 
 in 1776. David Brooks was born in 1736 ; enter- 
 ed the army in 1776, as a Lieutenant in the Penn- 
 sylvania line ; was captured at Fort Washington, 
 and remained a prisoner for two years. Upon 
 being exchanged he was appointed Assistant 
 Clothier-General at headquarters — an office of re- 
 sponsibility, which he so filled as to secure the 
 friendship of Washington. After the close of the 
 war he removed to New York and subsequently to 
 this county, both of which he represented in the 
 Assembly, the former in 1788, and the latter from 
 1794 to 1796, and again in 1810. He was a Rep- 
 resentative in Congress from 1797 to 1799; 
 County Judge of this county from 1795 to 1807; 
 and was appointed Clerk of this county June 5, 
 1807 ; again Feb. 9, 1810; and again Feb. 23, 
 1813. He was one of the Commissioners who 
 made the first treaty with the Seneca Indians, on 
 the site of the city of Utica. He died at his home, 
 where he was universally esteemed, in August, 
 1 838.* Elisha Brown represented Putnam County 
 in the Assembly in 1820 and '21. 
 
 Paraclete Potter, who was a native of this coun- 
 ty, established himself in business here as publisher 
 and book-seller in 1806. He was likewise, a jour- 
 nalist, publishing the Poughkeepsie Journal. He 
 
 * Lanman's Dictionary of Congress, SJ. 
 
 was an exemplary journalist; for "with talent and 
 taste combined rare judgment and candor and the 
 most unswerving morality." He once asserted 
 that he "never as a rule admitted into \ht. Journal 
 a paragraph that he would be ashamed to read to 
 [his] wife and daughters." His store was located 
 next to the corner of Main and Garden streets, 
 and was afterward known as Wilson's book store. 
 It was destroyed by fire in the winter of 1870, and 
 was, at that time, said to be the oldest business 
 establishment in Poughkeepsie where the same 
 kind of trade had been carried on continuously. 
 No place in Poughkeepsie, except the court house, 
 had so many interesting associations connected 
 with local celebrities in politics, the liberal profes- 
 sions and literature as that modest little store. 
 The brick building which now occupies its site was 
 erected in 187 1. 
 
 William Wilson, who succeeded Paraclete Potter 
 in the book store and bindery, was a native of 
 Crieff, a Scotch village at the foot of the Grampian 
 Hills. His childhood was passed in poverty, and 
 he never entered a school as pupil, but received 
 his scholastic and religious training from his moth- 
 er, a high-spirited Scotchwoman, who was left a 
 widow when he was five years old. In early life 
 he was apprenticed to a cloth dealer in Glasgow. 
 He sedulously devoted his spare moments to read- 
 ing and studying and the cultivation of his taste 
 for music, and acquired some distinction both in 
 literature and music. He successively became 
 contributor and assistant editor of the Dundee 
 Review and sole editor of the Dundee Literary 
 Olio. Through the kindly offices of Feldburg, a 
 Danish author, he formed the acquaintance of the 
 literati of Edinburgh. He enjoyed the warm 
 friendship of Mrs. Grant, of Laggan, the author of 
 Memoirs of an American Lady, and formed an 
 intimate acquaintance with Robert and William 
 Chambers. In 1833, he emigrated to America, 
 and in the summer of that year engaged in the 
 business above referred to, which he continued till 
 his death, August 25, i860. He contributed many 
 poems to American and British periodicals, but 
 seldom over his own name. His chosen signatures 
 were " Alpin " and "Allan Grant.'' Some of these 
 appear in a collection of Scottish poetry published 
 at Glasgow in 1844. At his death, he left quite a 
 large collection of his poems, in manuscript, from 
 which a selection, made and arranged by an inti- 
 mate friend, was published by his eldest son. He 
 also left in manuscript, an unfinished work on the 
 Poets and Poetry of Scotland, which was afterwards 
 
384 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 edited by his son, James Grant Wilson, and pub- 
 lished by Harper & Brothers. Mr. Wilson not 
 only possessed literary talent, but he evinced an 
 earnest desire to elevate the moral and intellectual 
 standard of the people, an end to which his circu- 
 lating library contributed in no small degree. 
 
 Dr. Elias Trivett was engaged in the drug busi- 
 ness in Poughkeepsie as early as 1807, and did an 
 extensive business for a great many years, continu- 
 ing till within a short time of his death, which oc- 
 curred April 12, 1866, in his seventy-eighth year. 
 Latterly he was associated with his son Robert, 
 under the name of E. Trivett & Son, the latter of 
 whom died about 1865. Dr. Trivett's successors 
 are Wood & Tittamer, who represent the 
 most prominent and by far the oldest estabUsh- 
 ment of the kind in the city. 
 
 Benjamin Herrick was the first prominent mer- 
 chant in Poughkeepsie, says James Bowne, who 
 was for many years one of its leading men and 
 merchants, as he is now one of its most honored 
 citizens. Mr. Herrick was a native of North East, 
 in which town his parents were early settlers. He 
 came to Poughkeepsie from that town about 
 1810 or '12, and did business in the building now . 
 occupied by Wood & Tittamer as a drug store. 
 
 James Bowne, who was born in East Fishkill, 
 Dec. 25, 1798, came to Poughkeepsie in 18 14 
 and engaged as clerk in the hardware store of 
 Albert Cox, which was kept where the Taylor House 
 now stands, in the old Carman House, which was 
 torn down in 1878. In March, 1816, he engaged 
 as clerk with Nathan Conklin, who had served an 
 apprenticeship with Benjamin Herrick, and then 
 kept a country store where the Messrs. Trowbridge 
 are located.* 
 
 Edmund Morris came here from Danbury, Conn., 
 in the year 181 1, and was engaged in the shoe 
 trade for some years. He was afterwards engaged 
 in farming, and was very successful, acquiring a 
 handsome property by transactions in real estate. 
 
 Abraham G. Storm, who died Dec. 22, 1863, 
 aged eighty-four, years, was a member of the firm of 
 Storm & Wilson, who were doing business in the 
 city during the war of 1812. 
 
 Thomas S. Hopkins was an active and enter- 
 prising business man here in the early part of the 
 century. In 18 12, as appears from the Republican 
 Herald of July first of that year, he had no less 
 than three stores. 
 
 Major Isaac T. Doughty was e ngaged in the 
 
 * For a brief account of the business and social career of Mr. Bowne 
 wenouldrefertohisbiography at the close of the history of the city of 
 Poughkeepsie. 
 
 book and stationery business in Poughkeepsie in 
 18 19, being located under the office of the Z'a!A:/4i?jj- 
 Observer. 
 
 John M. Cable, who was born in Poughkeepsie, 
 April 8, 1800, was engaged in the shoe business in 
 this city from 1822 to 1865. 
 
 George Van Kleeck, says our informant, was 
 probably the most prominent merchant in his day 
 in Poughkeepsie. He was born in Poughkeepsie 
 of a highly respectable family, July 4, 1803. His 
 father was Tennis Van Kleeck, the pioneer hatter of 
 Poughkeepsie. The house in which he was born 
 was a little frame structure which stood on the site 
 of Levi Arnold's foundry on Main street, and its 
 eaves were so low that he could touch them with 
 the tips of his fingers. He died at his residence 
 on Cannon street in Poughkeepsie soon after his 
 retirement from active busiBess, Oct. 17, 1878. He 
 was Director and Vice-President of the Bank of 
 Poughkeepsie. 
 
 John B. Forbus died here Oct. 28, 1865, aged 
 seventy-eight. John Adriance was for over half a 
 century closely identified with the interests of 
 Poughkeepsie. He died in April, 1873. "He 
 was a gentleman of generous impulses, with ever a 
 kind word and helping hand for the struggling 
 needy. We seldom find one going to his rest and 
 leaving behind him fewer enemies, or more sincere, 
 earnest friends. His many noble acts of kindness 
 will be gratefully referred to in the years to 
 come." * 
 
 David B. Lent and Stephen H. Bogardus were 
 early merchants in Poughkeepsie. David B. Lent 
 was the pioneer harness maker, and became a 
 prominent man. He was born May i, 1788, and 
 died June 20, 1869. Stephen H. Bogardus learned 
 the saddlery trade of Mr. Lent, and has been for 
 a great many years engaged in it. His is among 
 the oldest business houses in the city. He is the 
 only one who was doing business herein 1836, still 
 engaged in it. 
 
 John I. Innis, who was born in Poughkeepsie in 
 1832, was a brother of Hon. George Innis, and 
 was for some years a prominent merchant here. 
 
 James H. Mills, grocer, John H. Dobbs, mer- 
 chant tailor, John McLain, grocer, Elsworth & 
 Dudley, hardware dealers, Carpenter Bros., grocers, 
 and L. Carpenter's sons, grocers, are among the 
 older of the present mercantile estabUshments in 
 Poughkeepsie; while Hayt & Lindley, merchant 
 tailors, Wm. R. Farrington, dealer in crockery, 
 Walter Van Kleeck, dealer in dry goods, John W. 
 
 * The Sunday Courier, of Poughkeepsie, April 20, 1875. 
 
CITY OF POUGHKEEPSIE. 
 
 38s 
 
 Candee, Luckey, Piatt & Co., John Parker Heath, 
 dry goods dealers, Charles Bowne, dealer in car- 
 pets, Charles Dates, dealer in dry goods. Van 
 Kleeck, the hatter, together with those named as 
 among the older establishments, are among the 
 most prominent merchants now doing business in 
 Poughkeepsie. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXII. 
 
 Poughkeepsie' s Commerce and Water Trans- 
 portation—Persons Prominently connected 
 
 WITH PoUGHKEEPSIE'S FREIGHTING AND COM- 
 MISSION Business. — The Poughkeepsie Trans- 
 portation Company. — The Poughkeepsie & 
 Highland Ferry Co., Limited. — The Express 
 Business in Poughkeepsie. 
 
 THE extent and growth of Poughkeepsie's 
 early commerce has been indicated in some 
 measure in a previous chapter; but a more par- 
 ticular account of this and the early methods of 
 water transportation will be of interest to the gen- 
 eral reader, and is too important to be omitted in 
 a work of this character. We find in The Sunday 
 Courier, of Poughkeepsie, March 29, 1874, an 
 article bearing so directly upon this subject, that, 
 with the permission of the publisher, to whom we 
 are indebted for many other similar favors, we 
 transcribe it to these columns. The materials 
 therefor were furnished by Capt. Abraham Chat- 
 terton, of Poughkeepsie, who commenced his 
 "boating career" in 1806, and was then believed 
 to be the oldest Hudson River boatman living. 
 
 " Capt. Chatterton's recollections of affairs 
 along our river front extend back to 18 11, when 
 what is known as the Upper Landing was called 
 ' Hoffman's Landing.' At that time two sloops, 
 the Mary and Driver, formed one of the packet 
 lines between Poughkeepsie and New York. They 
 left here alternate weeks. The first named vessel 
 was commanded by Capt. Benjamin, and the sec- 
 ond by Capt. Hoffman. The freighting firm at 
 . this landing was composed of James Reynolds, 
 father of the late W. W. & J. Reynolds, Jr., and 
 Aaron Innis, father of ex-Mayor Jnnis. Capt. 
 Hoffman also had a share in it. 
 
 " The above vessels were run from this landing 
 until about the year 18 16, when they were replaced 
 by new ones, the Huntress, built at Ponckhockie 
 near Rondout, taking the place of the Mary, and 
 the Counsellor^ built on Elting Dock, opposite 
 Poughkeepsie, being substituted for the Driver. 
 In this year Capt. John VanValkenburgh, father 
 of Mr. Edwin VanValkenburgh, of this city,bought 
 Capt. Hoffman's interest in the concern, and our 
 
 informant thinks he also took the captaincy of the 
 Cou7iseUor, of which vessel Capt. Chatterton was 
 sailing master. 
 
 " Messrs. Innis & Reynolds continued to use 
 sloops for the transportation of freight and passen- 
 gers until about the year 1820 or 1821, when they 
 had built expressly for their line the barge Clinton. 
 This vessel was built on the site now occupied by 
 one of the dye-wood buildings on the south side 
 of the Fallkill, at the entrance of that stream into 
 the Hudson, and continued in service until re- 
 placed by the barge Republic at a late day. In 
 the meantime the landing and its business passed 
 into new hands. The Upper Landing is next to 
 the oldest in the city, and was always looked upon 
 as one of the best for the freighting business. 
 
 "In 181 1, the sloops Polly and Sally Ann 
 formed the freight and passenger line from the 
 ' Main street Landing,' which was in the hands of 
 Dean & Killey, the latter the grandfather of the 
 late proprietor of the Dutchess Farmer. 
 
 " The former was in command of Capt. Killey, 
 and the latter of Capt. Joseph Smith. A few years 
 subsequently they were sold and replaced by the 
 Defiance and Egbert Benson, and these in turn, af- 
 ter a few years service, were Tep\a,cedhy the Ameri- 
 ca and Merchant. The latter vessel was built at 
 the Lower Dock. 
 
 " Our informant is not positive, but thinks that all 
 the landings introduced barges the same year, either 
 in 1820 or '21. The America and Merchant y^ext 
 sold and a barge called the Duchess County was 
 bought and put on the route. This vessel was 
 replaced by the barge Utiion, built at the Union 
 Landing, at the foot of Union street, and the Union 
 in the course of a few years was followed by the 
 barge Exchange, which vessel continued to run from 
 this landing up to about fifteen years ago. The 
 firm changed several times. 
 
 " The first freighting establishment of any note 
 was established at ' Union Landing,' when Union 
 street, leading to it, was the principal business 
 thoroughfare in the village. In 181 1 two sloops, 
 the Duchess and Anna Maria, plied between this 
 landing and New York. The first was commanded 
 by Capt. Harris, father of the late Joseph C. Har- 
 ris, and the second by Capt. North. About the 
 year i8i6, the firm had a new vessel, the JRobt. 
 North, built at their landing, and put her on the 
 route in place of the Anna Maria, and a few years 
 subsequently both sloops were sold and an old 
 steamer called the Lady Richmond bought. Shortly 
 afterwards the firm changed hands and the new 
 owners sold the steamer, replacing her with the 
 barge Union, which was subsequently sold to the 
 Main Street Landing people. The steamer Ga- 
 zelle was the last vessel run from this landing. 
 
 "Richard Davis, father of the late Hon. Richard 
 D. Davis, carried on the freighting business at the 
 ' Lower Landing.' His line was composed of the 
 sloops Jay and President. These were followed in 
 the course of time by the Sally Francis ax\d. Ameri- 
 ca. The former was built on Mr. Davis' grounds, 
 and the latter at what was known in later years as 
 
386 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 Cramer's ship-yard. A few years later these were 
 disposed of and two new sloops, the Richard Davis 
 and William Henry, built at Sands' dock, Milton, 
 put on the route. These were replaced by the 
 barge Poughkeepsie, which vessel was the last to 
 run from the landing estabUshed by Mr. Davis." 
 
 As early as the Revolutionary period, the Lower 
 Landing was the property of the Davis family ; and 
 in 1777, when the British under Vaughan ascended 
 the Hudson and destroyed Kingston, its proprie- 
 tor, we are told by Mr. Lossing, " saved his prop- 
 erty by standing on his dock, waving his hat and 
 shouting lustily, ' Hurrah for King George ! ' as the 
 British ships sailed by." * 
 
 The introduction of steamboats on the Hudson 
 River introduced a new era in the internal com- 
 merce of the State. The passage of the Hudson 
 by means of sloop navigation was a tedious and 
 laborious undertaking, and was as much thought 
 of, says Washington Irving, in his description of 
 the voyage of Dolph Heyhger up that stream, as 
 a voyage to Europe is at present. " The sloops,'' 
 says that author, "were often many days on the 
 way ; the cautious navigators taking in sail when it 
 blew fresh, and coming to anchor at night ; and 
 stopping to send the boat ashore for milk for tea ; 
 without which it was impossible for the worthy old 
 lady passengers to subsist. And there were the 
 much-talked of perils of the Tappan Zee, and the 
 Highlands.- In short, a prudent Dutch burgher 
 would talk of such a voyage for months, and even 
 years, beforehand, and never undertook it without 
 putting his affairs in order, making his will, and 
 having prayers said for him in the Low Dutch 
 Church," 
 
 But the innovation of steamboats scarcely pre- 
 sented a greater contrast with the sloops which 
 they superseded — only gradually however — than 
 with the palatial steamboats with their magnificent 
 appointments, which now cater to the demands of 
 the traveling public. They were uncomfortable, 
 unwieldy and unreliable, and those who ran them 
 were unused to their requirements. 
 
 Messrs. Reynolds & Innis, "(James Reynolds and 
 Aaron Innis,) to whom reference has been made in 
 connection with the Upper Landing, were the most 
 prominent and reliable business men of their 
 period, not only in the city, but in the entire coun- 
 ty. They were men of strict integrity, and their 
 character and standing as business men have not 
 been surpassed here to the present day. They did 
 a very extensive forwarding and freighting busi- 
 ness'in the early part of the century, and as la te 
 
 •Sketches qf Local Hutory, in The Dutchess Farmer, Dec. il, 1S76. 
 
 as about 1830. Mr. Reynolds was from Wickford, 
 R. I., and lived in retirement here till his death. 
 Mr. Innis died Nov. 10, 1838, continuing his resi- 
 dence here till his death. He was the father of 
 George and Aaron Innis, of this city, of which the 
 former was Mayor from 1863 to 1869. 
 
 Wm. W. and James Reynolds, sons of James Rey- 
 nolds, of the firm of Reynolds & Innis, established 
 a commission business at the Upper Landing in 
 1820. On the death of Wm. W. Reynolds, April 
 27, 1873, the surviving members of the firm asso- 
 ciated with themselves George E. Cramer, and 
 have since continued the business under the name 
 of Reynolds & Co. 
 
 In 1873, the freighting business at the Upper 
 and Main Street Landings, the former of which 
 had been conducted for some years by Doughty, 
 Cornell & Co., and the latter by Gaylord, Doty & 
 Co., was consolidated. Doughty, Cornell & Co. 
 sold their business in that year to Homer Rams- 
 dell, of Newburgh, who united his interest with 
 Gaylord, Doty & Co., under the name of the 
 Poughkeepsie Transportation Co., which was in- 
 corporated Dec. 34, 1873, with a capital of $ioo,- 
 000, and completed its organization Feb. i, 1874. 
 The company transact their business at the Main 
 Street Landing, and run two boats — the Hasbrouck, 
 which was formerly run from the Upper Landing, 
 and the Daniel S. Miller, formerly run from the 
 Main Street Landing. 
 
 A ferry has been in operation between Pough- 
 keepsie and New Paltz, (now Highland Landing,) 
 in Ulster county, from a very early period. The 
 Poughkeepsie & New Paltz Ferry Co. was organ- 
 ized for that purpose in 1829. The Poughkeepsie 
 & Highland Ferry Co., Limited, which now con- 
 trol this ferry, was incorporated August 14, 1875, 
 by John W. Brinkerhoff, George Innis, Leonard 
 M. Vincent, George E. Cramer and Wm. T. 
 Reynolds, with a capital of $25,000, " for the pur- 
 pose of operating and running a ferry by means of 
 vessels propelled by steam power and to transport 
 persons and property thereon across the Hudson 
 River, from some landing place within the bounda- 
 ries of the city of Poughkeepsie, on the east shore, 
 to some landing place on the west shore of said 
 river, between the ferry landing of the Pough- 
 keepsie & New Paltz Ferry Co., as established 
 prior to March 19, 1861, and a point on said west 
 shore one mile north therefrom." The steam ferry 
 boat, / C. Doughty, the property of John" H. 
 Brinkerhoff, is run on this line. The landing on the 
 east side is at the foot of Main street. A trip 
 
b*^ 
 
 N-:i 
 
 \*^ 
 
 *^ 
 
 > * 
 
 w 
 
 ^ M- 
 
 P 
 
 
 1%/ *"*• ^* ■'■" 
 
 "■re w»i^ 
 
 ^/ i^iJ^fej^ i 
 
 ./ 
 
 l€lM 
 
 
CITY OF POUGHKEEPSIE. 
 
 387 
 
 across the river on this boat aflfords a most charm- 
 ing view of the city. 
 
 The express facilities of the city are an important 
 adjunct to its mercantile and commercial interests, 
 and may very properly be considered in this con- 
 nection. 
 
 The first express office in Poughkeepsie was 
 opened by the American Express Co., June i, 
 1851, and was under the supervision of a Mr. 
 Reynolds, who was superseded on the 12th of July, 
 1851, by the present efficient agent, A. A. Ver 
 Valen, who, during twenty-nine years' supervision 
 of the office was absent from his post only twenty- 
 nine days. The office was located where the di- 
 rectors' room of the City National Bank is now 
 situated. It was a small affair, but was ample for 
 the accommodation of the business, as one man 
 sufficed for its transaction, and the daily receipts 
 amounted to only $2 to $2.50, while they now 
 average about $75, and the business requires the 
 attention of eight persons in addition to that of 
 the agent. 
 
 The enterprise was considered ephemeral, and 
 only gradually won the confidence and patronage 
 of the business community. The merchants, hav- 
 ing previously been dependent on the' line of boats 
 and barges in summer and the stage coach in win- 
 ter, had not acquired the habit of replenishing 
 their stock with light orders, as is so frequently 
 done at the present day ; but Mr. Ver Valen em- 
 braced every favorable opportunity to impress on 
 them the many advantages the express afforded, 
 and labored diligently to increase the business. 
 The first package that passed through this office 
 was for Col. Wright, who was then engaged in the 
 dry goods business at 314 Main street, and the 
 second was delivered to W. W. White, a dry goods 
 merchant at 308 Main street. At the end of the 
 first year the business of the office had increased 
 sufficiently to require an assistant. It has continued 
 to increase to the present time, and the business 
 men of Poughkeepsie, at first so reluctant to avail 
 themselves of its benefits, would now be more loth 
 to forego them. 
 
 During this long period of service, only three 
 articles expressed by Mr. Ver Valen have gone 
 astray, and those were lost through the negligence 
 of other agents. The company has sustained a 
 loss of only $300, and that was abstracted by 
 burglars from the safe in the office in its first 
 location.* ^_ 
 
 * Letter from Mr. A. A. Ver Valen, the agent, June i6, 1881 ; The 
 Sunday Courier, Feb. l5, 1875 ; and the Poughkeepsie DaUy Eagle, 
 July 14, '880. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIII. 
 
 Poughkeepsie's Manufactures. 
 
 THE manufactures of Poughkeepsie, if never 
 very extensive, have always been respecta- 
 ble, both as regards the number of establishments 
 and the quantity and value of manufactured pro- 
 ducts. The excellent, but limited water power 
 furnished by the dashing Fallkill, with its numer- 
 ous cascades, formerly of much greater volume 
 than at present, was early utilized ; but steam has 
 superseded water power as a motor, and notwith- 
 standing this natural force has been vastly dimin- 
 ished, the manufacturing interests of the city have 
 increased. 
 
 The manufacturing interests of the city are va- 
 ried and important as to value and magnitude. 
 They furnish one of the staples of its commerce 
 and give life and activity to its other industries. 
 They give direct employment to more than twenty- 
 two hundred persons,* and require a capital of per- 
 haps fully three millions of dollars, — thus demand- 
 ing the labor of more than one-tenth of the popu- 
 lation of the city, or, taking the statistical average 
 as a basis of calculation, of more than one from 
 every second family. With these facts before us, 
 it is not difficult to understand how vitally is the 
 prosperity of Poughkeepsie affected by the activity 
 or depression of its manufactures, which, from its 
 position with respect to the great highways of travel 
 and commerce, must continue to be its chief de- 
 pendence. 
 
 The Establishment of Wm. Whitehouse &> Co. 
 — This is among the largest and most complete es- 
 tablishments for the manufacture of boots and shoes 
 in the country. No individual proprietor, at all 
 events, has conducted one upon a more extensive 
 scale. 
 
 It was originally constructed and put in opera- 
 tion by the Hon. John O. Whitehouse in 1870. It 
 was located upon the main street in the city of 
 Poaghkeepsie at the corner of Cherry street, and 
 upon the line of the City Railroad with rear upon the 
 Fallkill. This structure was two hundred and ten 
 feet in length, ninety feet in width on Main street, 
 and five stories high, with a French roof, and was 
 capable of giving employment to a thousand hands 
 and of turning out from three to four thousand 
 pairs of shoes daily. 
 
 The first factory was completely destroyed, with 
 all its valuable machinery and stock, in July, 1879, 
 
 * This number does not include the large number of females — from 200 
 to 50c — who find employment in caning chairs at their homes. 
 
388 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 the result of a stroke of lightning. In consequence 
 of a strong appeal on the part of his fellow citizens 
 who were anxious for a continuance of an industry 
 so valuable to the city, Mr. Whitehouse was in- 
 duced to rebuild. The new structure was com- 
 pleted and occupied by him the same year upon an 
 enlarged scale and upon the same plot. The new 
 factory building is two hundred and fifty feet long; 
 forty feet wide and four stories high. Partly in 
 front is a building containing offices, store rooms, 
 and the steam engine. This is one hundred and 
 fifty feet long by forty feet wide, three stories high, 
 and is finished with a handsome tower. Across 
 the rear of the lot extends the box factory, one 
 hundred and ten feet long. 
 
 During the lifetime of Mr. Whitehouse he con- 
 tinued the production of shoes, and supplied them 
 to his wholesale warehouse in the city of New York. 
 All the modern inventions applicable to this work 
 were supplied by him with a liberal and enterprising 
 hand, and exhibit in a high degree the best results 
 of inventive and mechanical skill. Soon after the 
 death of Mr. Whitehouse the works were reopened 
 by his son-in-law, Mr. Eugene N. Howell, of Phil- 
 adelphia, who continues its operations under the 
 superintendence of Mr. G. M. Hine, who acted in 
 that capacity under the former principal. The 
 value of such an enterprise to the city where it is 
 located can scarcely be over-estimated, and it is 
 properly regarded as a great beneficence, and bet- 
 ter than charity. 
 
 The Buckeye Mower and Reaper Works rank 
 next in the number of employes. They were es- 
 tablished in Worcester, Mass., in 1855, by John P. 
 Adriance. The first experience of Mr. Adriance 
 in this line dates back to 1852. His father, John 
 Adriance, who had a large experience in the iron 
 and foundry business, sold during that year a few 
 " Ketcham " machines, and arranged during the 
 same fall to manufacture the " Forbush " machine, 
 which many remember as a serviceable one-wheel 
 machine. In the fall of 1854, John P. Adriance 
 purchased the '• Manny patents," of New England, 
 and manufactured that machine at Worcester, 
 Mass. At the great national trial of mowers and 
 reapers at Syracuse, in 1857, the " Aultman & Miller 
 Mower," now known as the " Buckeye," was in- 
 troduced, and in an exciting contest, continuing 
 through several days, was awarded the grand gold 
 medal. Messrs. Adriance & Co., convinced that 
 a two-wheel, flexible floating-bar machine was an 
 improvement on any hitherto introduced, purchas- 
 ed the patents for the States and other territory, 
 
 and commenced its manufacture also at Worcester. 
 The first year they built less than three hundred 
 machines. From the first the "Buckeye" was a 
 success, and the careful manner with which it has 
 been constructed has kept it in the front rank. 
 The "Buckeye" of to-day bears but httle resem- 
 blance to that of 1857. For its improvements 
 Messrs. Adriance, Piatt & Co., the present propri- 
 etors, are greatly indebted to their able superin- 
 tendent, Thomas S. Brown, who is a thoroughly 
 educated mechanician. 
 
 In the fall of 1859, Messrs. Adriance, Piatt & 
 Co., removed their works to Poughkeepsie, locating 
 at the Red Mills, at the junction of Main and Mill 
 streets. In the spring of 1865, they removed to 
 their present location, on the bank of the Hudson, 
 on South Water street, in the south-west of the 
 city. The works occupy a dock and water front- 
 age of five hundred feet. They comprise; three 
 large buildings, viz: a machine and work shop, of 
 four stories, fifty by three hundred feet ; a foundry, 
 fifty by two hundred feet ; and a two-story black- 
 smith shop, knife-shop and store-house, fifty by 
 two hundred and twenty-five feet ; besides lumber 
 and other sheds, occupying altogether nearly four 
 acres of ground. These buildings were erected in 
 1864, but an additional story was built on the first, 
 in 1873. 
 
 The materials annually worked up in this estab- 
 lishment are as follows : pig iron 1,300 tons j bar 
 iron, 200 tons; cold and rolled iron, 100 tons; bar, 
 sheet and spring steel, 100 tons ; malleable iron, 200 
 tons ; coal, 800 tons ; ash and oak lumber, 300,000 
 feet ; pine lumber 400,000 feet ; spruce boards, 
 50,000 feet. 
 
 The annual product of this mass of materials is 
 about six thousand mowers and reapers, which, in 
 addition to the home demand, find their way to 
 nearly all parts of the globe. Reside those 
 manufactured by Adriance, Piatt & Co., there are 
 several large establishments in the West engaged 
 in building the Buckeye mowers and reapers. The 
 works in Poughkeepsie give employment to about 
 two hundred men. The pay roll foots up $10,000 
 per month. The motive power is furnished by a 
 hundred horse-power engine. 
 
 The local office is in the main building, but the 
 general sales-office is at 165 Greenwich street, New 
 York city. The firm is composed of John P. Ad- 
 riance, of Poughkeepsie, and Samuel R. and Isaac 
 S. Piatt, of New York. 
 
 The Poughkeepsie Iron Co., represents one of 
 Poughkeepsie's most important industries. The 
 
" FALLKILL IRON WORKS," POUGHKEEPSIE, N. Y, 
 
(ALBERT TOWER PROJECTOR AND BUILDER.) 
 
CITY OF POUGHKEEPSIE. 
 
 389 
 
 company was incorporated March 26, 1875, for 
 " the manufacture of pig iron and the products 
 thereof," with a capital of $150,000, by J. B. Brins- 
 made, A. Tower and Henrie M. Bryem, who were 
 the first trustees. It is the successor of the Pough- 
 keepsie Iron Works Co., which was organized in 
 1848, and in that year erected the furnace now de- 
 signated No. I, at the Union Dock, at the foot of 
 Union street. That furnace was constructed for 
 the purpose of smelting ores by the use of char- 
 coal, but owing to the difficulty in procuring that 
 fuel, was adapted to the use of anthracite coal. 
 Joseph Tuckerraan and Wm. Bushnell were the 
 parties interested. Mr. Tuckerman retained his 
 interest but a short time, though, after a few years, 
 the property passed into his hands, and he asso- 
 ciated with himself Edward Bech, with whom he 
 continued till the close of 1854, when he sold his 
 interest to Mr. Bech and others from Hamburgh 
 and Copenhagen, who, with some changes in indi- 
 vidual ownerships, continued operations until the 
 present stock company was formed in 1875. A. 
 Tower was made President of the latter company, 
 Henrie M. Braera, Treasurer, and J. B. Brinsmade, 
 Secretary. There has been no change in the offi- 
 cers. The second stack in this locahty was built 
 in 1854, and operated by Edward Bech. The 
 works have been under the supervision of A. Tow- 
 er since 1850. The capacity of the first stack is 
 25 tons, and of the second, 30 tons per day — their 
 capacity having been doubled as compared with 
 former years by improvements in the method of 
 treating ores. 
 
 In i860, the two stacks at the foot of Hoffman 
 street were erected by the Poughkeepsie Iron Works 
 Co., and before the expiration of the year a stock 
 company was formed under the name of the Fall- 
 kill Iron Co., which was composed of the same 
 parties as constituted the Poughkeepsie Iron Works 
 Co., with the addition of Judge James Emott. 
 The capital was $200,000; but in May, 1867, it 
 was increased to $700,000, and other partners ad- 
 mitted, among whom were George A. Parker, of 
 New Vork, and J. B. Brinsmade. The two stacks 
 owned by this company are of equal capacity, and 
 have a joint capacity of eighty tons per day. The 
 first directors and officers of the Fallkill Iron Co., 
 were James Emott, President ; Edward Bech, 
 Treasurer; and A. Tower, who is also the Super- 
 intendent. Mr. Emott still holds the office of 
 President. The present Treasurer is Henrie M. 
 Braem ; the Secretary, J. B. Brinsmade. 
 
 Both companies manufacture pig iron, the Fall- 
 
 kill Iron Co., producing 25,215 tons per annum, 
 and the Poughkeepsie Iron Co., 19,463 tons. They 
 unitedly employ 160 men, to whom between $6,000 
 and $7,000 is paid on monthly wages. 
 
 The Fallkill Iron Co., own a hematite mme in 
 ■ Union Vale, and an interest in a magnetic ore bed 
 on Lake Champlain. The principal towns in this 
 County in which ore is obtained are Fishkill, Beek- 
 man and Union Vale, the production in 1880, ex- 
 ceeding that of any previous year. Limestone, for 
 a flux, is obtained from Duchess, Ulster and 
 Greene counties. 
 
 J. Silberman dv Co's. manufactory of silk thread 
 for weaving, though a recent enterprise, is among 
 the more important manufacturing estabUshments 
 in Poughkeepsie. It is located on the corner of 
 Main and Smith streets, and is a branch of this 
 company's manufactory in New York city, the 
 thread for the warp and fiUing being prepared for 
 the weaving, which is done in New York. The 
 business here gives employment to about 150 per- 
 sons, about two-thirds of whom are females. That 
 branch of it conducted in New York gives employ- 
 ment to between 700 and 800. 
 
 G. D. Eighmie is doing an extensive business in 
 the manufacture of the Eighmie Imported Patent 
 Bosom Shirts and the Eighmie Patent Elastic 
 Seamless Drawers, both of which are his own in- 
 vention. He commenced this business in 1876. 
 In 1878 he erected a building at his present loca- 
 tion, Nos. 15, 17, 19, 21 and 23 Crannell street, 
 commencing operations therein on Monday, 
 August 26, 1878. But the increase in his business 
 has necesitated four additions to that within the 
 last two years, thus trebUng his facilities in his 
 present location, and giving the works a present 
 capacity of fifteen hundred shirts per day. He 
 now employs some one hundred and fifty persons, 
 all of whom, except about twelve are females. The 
 value of the manufactured products is about $300,- 
 000 per annum. The monthly pay roll averages 
 about $2,600. 
 
 The works of the Dutchess Manufacturing Co., 
 were estabUshed in the fall of 1875, by Lasher, 
 Haight & Kelly, (Warren P. Lasher, Louis Haight 
 and Timothy G. Kelly,) for the manufacture of 
 ladies' cotton and woolen skirts, and was conduct- 
 ed by them till January, 1878, when they closed 
 out the business and were succeeded by Forby & 
 Lasher, (Wm. F. Forby and Warren P. Lasher,) 
 who continued it till the death of Mr. Forby in 
 the early part of 1879, when J. Frank Hull, Jr., 
 acquired Mr. Forby's interest, and the business 
 
39° 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 has since been conducted under the name of 
 Lasher & Hull. 
 
 Gifford, Sherman &• Innis, manufacturers of 
 dye woods and logwood extracts, represent one 
 of the oldest as well as one of the most important 
 industries in Poughkeepsie. The .business was 
 established in 1813, by Nathan Gifford, who, in 
 1838, associated with himself H. R. Sherman, un- 
 der the firm name of Gifford & Sherman. In 
 1842, George Innis became a member of the firm, 
 and the business has since been conducted under 
 the name of Gifford, Sherman & Innis, though 
 Mr. Gifford severed his connection with it in 1852, 
 and Mr. Sherman died in 1858, having maintained 
 his connection till his death, while Aaron Innis, 
 brother of George, acquired an interest in 1849. 
 The business is now conducted by George and 
 Aaron Innis. 
 
 The business was established on the present 
 site, in a building which had been previously used 
 as a grist and plaster-mill. That building was de- 
 stroyed by fire in 1849; and in that year the build- 
 ing now known as "the old mill" was erected. 
 Since then four additional buildings have been 
 erected from time to time, as the demands of an in- 
 creasing business required, the last in 1880. 
 Employment is given to about one hundred and 
 twenty-five persons. Connected with the estab- 
 lishment, also, is a machine shop, in which five 
 men are employed. This is the oldest establish- 
 ment of its kind in this country, and with the ex- 
 ception of one at Green Point, and another at 
 Bull's Ferry, near New York, is the only one in the 
 State. There are only seven other establishments 
 of the kind in the country. The dye wood is 
 manufactured for the use of the dyers, and is im- 
 ported — the logwood from the West Indies, and 
 the other woods from the East Indies, South and 
 Central America, Africa and Europe. 
 
 C. M. &' G. P. Pelton are engaged in the 
 manufacture of two-ply and three-ply ingrain car- 
 pets and pins, at the lower end of Mill street. 
 This business was established in 1837, by Charles 
 M. Pelton, who remained the senior partner till 
 his death, Jan. 14, 1878. He was born Oct. 15, 
 1805, and spent his early life in Monticello, SuUi- 
 van county, removing to Poughkeepsie in 1837. 
 His brother, G. P. Pelton, became associated with 
 him as partner about 1848, and the business has 
 since been conducted under the above name. 
 
 The business was established on the present 
 site, in a building which was partially destroyed 
 by fire July i, 1854. A portion of the front part 
 
 of the present building is that portion which sur- 
 vived the fire. The manufacture of carpets alone 
 was commenced in 1837. The manufacture of 
 pins was added about 1848. The carpet business 
 has more than doubled. It is conducted on the 
 lower floor, and pins on the upper. About one 
 hundred persons are employed in both depart- 
 ments, more than one-half of whom are females. 
 Two turbine water-wheels and two steam engines, 
 with a united capacity of one hundred horse- 
 power, constitute the motor. Steam was first in- 
 troduced about 1848, previous to which time water 
 alone was relied on. 
 
 The Poughkeepsie Glass Works are one of 
 Poughkeepsie's more recent, but most valuable in- 
 dustries. They were established some eighteen 
 months since by a stock company, with a capital 
 of $85,000, for the manufacture of hollow glass- 
 ware. They are located on the river bank, in the 
 north part of the city, near the upper furnace, and 
 give employment to about one hundred persons. 
 The following are the trustees named in the articles 
 of association, which are dated Poughkeepsie, 
 Nov. 19, 1880, viz: Wm. P. and Charles D. Ely, 
 Charles W. Reed, George O. Baker and George 
 H. Hoyt, all of Clyde, N. Y., and Henry C. Wis- 
 ner and Evan R. Williams, of Rochester. 
 
 Arnold &= Go's Chair Factory is an old estab- 
 lished industry and one of considerable magnitude. 
 The business was commenced in 1844, by S. 
 Chichester, who conducted it for two or three 
 years, and was succeeded by Strong & West, and 
 later by West & Frost. About 1852, David Ar- 
 nold succeeded West & Frost, and continued the 
 business till his death in 1864, ,when Wm. C. 
 Arnold, his son, C. N. Arnold his grandson, and 
 C. S. Andrus succeeded to the business, which 
 has since been conducted under the n^e of Ar- 
 nold & Co. The factory is located on the west 
 side of North Water street, near Mill street. Fif- 
 ty persons are employed in the factory, while from 
 two hundred to five hundred women and children 
 are employed in caning chairs. In i88o, 60,000 
 chairs were made, with either cane or perforated 
 veneer seats. 
 
 M. Vassar 6- Go's Brewery is one of the old- 
 est, and, from the noble benefaction it has virtu- 
 ally evolved— Vassar College— the most remarka- 
 ble of Poughkeepsie's business enterprises. In 
 1805, James Vassar began the brewing business in 
 Poughkeepsie. He purchased of the heirs of 
 Baltus Van Kleeck a lot of land lying between 
 Main and Mill streets, the former of which, west of 
 
CITY OF POUGHKEEPSIE. 
 
 39t 
 
 Washington street, was then recently opened. On 
 that lot, says Mr. Lossing, he built a brewery, in a 
 part of which his family dwelt while he was erect- 
 ing the house which became their future residence. 
 The first Vassar brewery, says a contemporary 
 writer,* was built in 1806. It was a very small 
 building, situated on the Fallkill, and contained a 
 small tub and kettle, the capacity of which was 
 "the traditional two barrels." The brewing was 
 "repeated as often as the population, which at 
 that time was 1,500 all told, required it." 
 
 In 1809, Mr. Vassar built a larger and more 
 commodious brewery to meet the demands of his 
 increasing business. This building, which stood 
 on Vassar street, was destroyed by fire May 10, 
 
 181 1. Mr. Vassar had no insurance, and the loss 
 proved a serious one. It was followed two days 
 after by the death of his eldest son, John Guy Vas- 
 sar, who was suflfocated amidst the ruins, in a re- 
 cently emptied beer- vat charged with carbonic acid 
 gas, into which he descended with the hope of 
 saving some hops it contained. Other losses of 
 property followed, and business ventures failed, and 
 when past fifty years of age, James Vassar and his 
 wife with their family, which then numbered seven 
 children, were reduced to comparative poverty. 
 Almost disheartened by the gloomy and unpromis- 
 ing future, he finally leased and closely tilled four- 
 teen acres of land on the New York and Albany 
 post-road, a Uttle north of the Fallkill, in the sub- 
 urbs of Poughkeepsie, where he and his wife passed 
 the greater part of the evening of their lives in com- 
 fort and serenity. Mrs. Vassar died in March, 
 1837, and her husband survived her only three years. 
 
 Matthew Vassar, their second oldest son, was 
 born April 29, 1792, in East Dereham, in the rich 
 maritime and agricultural county of Norfolk, Eng- 
 land. He revived, in an humble way, the business of 
 brewing, using for that purpose the dye-house of 
 George Booth, the husband of his sister Maria, who 
 was then engaged in the manufacture of woolen 
 cloth in Poughkeepsie. He made three barrels of 
 ale at a brewing, and sold and delivered it in small 
 quantities to the citizens with his own hands. In 
 
 181 2, he hired a basement room in the courthouse, 
 the building now standing, and opened a "saloon" 
 for the sale of ale and oysters — the first oyster sa- 
 loon established in the town. Thus his days were 
 spent over his brewing apparatus in the dye-house, 
 or in disposing of his "grains" about the village; 
 while his evenings, until midnight, were devoted to 
 his customers in his " saloon." 
 
 * The A nurican Brewers' Gazette, May, 1880. 
 
 In 181 2, Matthew Vassar erected on the site of 
 the brewery destroyed in i8ri, a more extensive 
 one, with a capacity of about forty barrels. It is a 
 plain, substantial stone building, and is still stand- 
 ing, though it has been converted from its original 
 use to a storehouse, and is soon to be removed. 
 Additions to these were made from time to time, a 
 principal malt-house having been constructed in 
 1814. These buildings, which extended from Vas- 
 sar to Bridge streets, were, with the exception of 
 that part of the brewery erected in 1812, destroyed 
 by fire on the morning of Oct. 10, 1862. 
 
 Mr. Vassar struggled on alone, unaided by influ- 
 ence or capital, for about two years. In the spring 
 of 1814, he formed a copartnership, under the name 
 of M. Vassar & Co., with Thomas Purser, an Eng- 
 lishman of considerable fortune, and also of some 
 experience in brewing, who furnished the means 
 for increasing the business. The business at the 
 court house was abandoned, and Mr. Vassar's whole 
 attention given to the manufacture of ale. The 
 partnership business was successful, but owing to 
 failing health Mr. Purser withdrew after about two 
 years. His place was supplied by Nathan and 
 Mulford Conklin, who were then carrying on an 
 extensive mercantile business in Poughkeepsie, but 
 in 1829, Mr. Vassar purchased their interest. Dur- 
 ing this period Mr. Vassar experienced various vi- 
 cissitudes, and on two or three occasions losses by 
 fire and flood brought him to the verge of bank- 
 ruptcy ; but after he had conducted the business 
 about twenty years, " a tide of uninterrupted pros- 
 perity bore him on to the possession of a large for- 
 tune." 
 
 In 1832, the business had become too large to be 
 well managed by him alone, and he took in as part- 
 ners his nephews, Matthew Vassar, Jr., and John 
 Guy Vassar, sons of his deceased brother John Guy. 
 The brewery on Vassar street soon became too 
 small for the increasing business, and in 1836, the 
 present extensive " brewery and maltings," with a 
 capacity for sixty thousand barrels annually, and 
 occupying a plot of ground three hundred and fifty 
 feet square on the river bank, was erected. The 
 two "maltings" are capable of producing one 
 hundred and twenty-five thousand bushels of malt 
 during the season, and are run to their full capacity. 
 So great was the increase of their business at this 
 period that it became necessary to use the two 
 breweries in Poughkeepsie, also one in New York, 
 and another in Lansingburgh. 
 
 At various periods Mr. Vassar brought into the 
 business, as partners, his brother James, James 
 
392 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 Vassar Harbottle, Alfred R. Booth, John Guy Vas- 
 sar, 2d, Erastus Reeve, J. L. D. Lyon and Ohver 
 H. Booth, to the latter of whom — one of his 
 nephews — he sold his interest in May, 1866, and 
 devoted the remaining two years of his busy life 
 (he died June 23, 1868,) largely to the fostering 
 care of that grand institution which perpetuates his 
 name, and was founded by him five years previously 
 for the thorough education of women.* 
 
 There are no less than four other breweries in 
 operation in the city. The principal of these is 
 Frank's Sons' Brewery, located at 11 to 21 Tuhp 
 street, which was established in 1858, by Frank & 
 Klady, (V. Frank and Philip Klady,) who erected 
 in that year for brewing purposes a building which 
 stood to the south of the present one, and was 
 burned about 1862. The present building was 
 erected immediately, after the destruction of the 
 other and two ice houses ; a barn and storehouse 
 were subsequently added. Frank & Klady con- 
 ducted the business for seventeen years, till Sep- 
 tember, 1875, when they dissolved, and V. Frank 
 continued it until 1878, when he surrendered it to 
 his sons, W. H. and V. Frank, Jr., who still carry 
 on the business. Ten men and a capital of be- 
 tween $60,000 and $70,000 are employed. In 
 1880, 7,915 barrels of lager were made. 
 
 The Kaal Rock, Gaas's and Beigel's breweries 
 are less extensive. Kaal Rock Brewery, located 
 on Kaal Rock, was established about 1866, by 
 Miller & Winkler, who operated it only about a 
 year. It was bought at sheriff's sale by Frederick 
 Gillman, who has since carried on the manufacture 
 of lager, and whose family are the only ones em- 
 ployed in the business. Gaa^s Brewery,loca.teda.t 
 68 Main street, was established in 1871, by John 
 Gaas, who has since carried on the business. He 
 makes about 500 barrels of lager per annum. Z. 
 Beige/' s Brewery, a.t 116 North Hamilton street, 
 was built about twenty-six years ago, by Jacob 
 Plowl, who carried on the business for five or six 
 years, till 1861, when L. Beigel purchased it, and 
 has since conducted it. The brewery which was 
 at first of small capacity, has been several times 
 enlarged by Mr. Beigel, who now employs three 
 persons and makes 700 to 800 barrels of lager per 
 annum. 
 
 T^e Southwick Tannery, situated on the river 
 bank, in the south part of the city, is not only one 
 of the oldest of Poughkeepsie's many manufactur- 
 ing establishments, but is the only survivor of its 
 
 • Vasmr Colhg, and its /ounder, by Benson J. Lossing, 203-4 ; and 
 The A merican Brewers' Gazette, May 10, 1880. 
 
 kind in the county, which once contained numerous 
 tanneries, Poughkeepsie having not less than four 
 till within a few years. In 1807, Zadock South- 
 wick removed to Poughkeepsie and built the house, 
 and tannery now owned and occupied by his 
 grandson, Willet H. Southwick. He laid down 
 fifty vats, and all of his nine boys worked with him 
 in the tannery and currying shop, or at the store 
 in the village, where the hides and pelts were 
 bought and the leather sold. 
 
 Edward C. Southwick was born in 1797, and in 
 1 81 6, in company with his brothers Willet H. and 
 Robert B., succeeded to his father's business in 
 Poughkeepsie, under the style of W. H. Southwick 
 & Co. The tannery contains fifty-four vats, gives em- 
 ployment to some twelve men, and tans about 
 2,500 to 3,000 sides per annum, mostly harness 
 leather. 
 
 The Poughkeepsie Pottery was established about 
 1820, by John Ball, and has since been conducted 
 successively by Ball & Bogardus, Edward Silbey, 
 John B. Caire & Co., (Jacob and George Caire, 
 sons of John B.,) who acquired possession about 
 1842, Jacob Caire, about 1852, Lehman & Riedin- 
 ger, in 1854, Riedinger & Caire, in 1857, and 
 Adam Caire, who acquired the interest of his part- 
 ner, Philip Riedinger, at the death of the latter 
 Dec. 3, 1878, and has since carried on the business. 
 The works are located on Bayeux and Bridge 
 streets, with the office at 141 Main street. They 
 give employment to thirty persons, and require a 
 capital of $50,000. The annual manufactured 
 product, consisting of common earth and stone 
 ware, drain and sewer pipes, and flower pots, in the 
 construction of which the Woodljridge and South « 
 Amboy clays, both from New Jersey, are used, is 
 valued at $100,000. 
 
 The Dutchess Iron Works, locsXtA 2\ 430 to 438 
 Main street, were established on their present site 
 in 1823, by Woqd & Frost, (Charles Wood and 
 Solomon B. Frost,) the latter of whom afterwards 
 sold to John Adriance, who subsequently pur- 
 chased Wood's interest, and at a later period asso- 
 ciated with himself Richard B. Gilbert. Isaac H. 
 Coller afterwards purchased Gilbert's interest and 
 was associated with Mr. Adriance, under the name 
 of Adriance & Coller, for six and a half years, 
 when Mr. Adriance sold to William Bushnell, who, 
 together with Thomas R. Payne, W. A. Candee' 
 and Edward German, successively held that interest 
 for brief periods, when it was purchased by Mr. 
 Coller, who also bought the interest of David H. 
 Barnes, who was associated with Messrs. Adriance 
 
CITY OF POUGHKEEPSIE. 
 
 393 
 
 and Coller, under the name of Adriance, CoUer & 
 Barnes. Mr. Coller has since carried on the busi- 
 ness, having been associated one year with George 
 Hannah, and for a like period with John S. Shafter. 
 The foundry and a building formerly used as a 
 machine shop, but at present used as a store-room, 
 were erected by Messrs. Adriance & Coller; and 
 the salesroom, office and machine shop, the latter 
 in 1878, by Mr. Coller. A general foundry and 
 machine business is done, and employment given 
 to some six persons. 
 
 The Poughkeepsie Foundry, located at 372 and 
 374 Main street, was established in 183 1, by 
 Solomon V. Frost and Benjamin Vail, who 
 operated it several years. Mr. Frost afterwards be- 
 came associated with his brother Aaron, who had 
 been interested in the Dutchess Iron Works. The 
 business was afterwards conducted successively by 
 Dolan &Farrell, Gregory & Vandewater, Benjamin 
 Arnold and Aaron Frost, in 1844, Benjamin 
 Arnold, Benjamin Arnold & Son, and Levi M. 
 Arnold, who conducted it many years, till his 
 death, Sept. 24, 1864. In 1865, Thompson & 
 Carpenter (Daniel R. Thompson and Benjamin 
 F. Carpenter,) succeeded to the business and con- 
 ducted it till Jan. 1, 1869, when Carpenter sold to 
 James H. Dudley. Thompson & Dudley carried 
 it on till May, 1870, when Thompson sold to 
 John Howe, who died October 16, 1870. Mr. 
 Dudley purchased the interest of his partner, and 
 has since managed the business, with the excep- 
 tion of one year, (1873,) when it was rented to 
 Charles P. Angell, March i, 1874. Mr. Dudley 
 associated with himself as a partner Henry W. 
 BuUard, and the business has since been conduct- 
 ed under the name of Dudley & Co. 
 
 Connected with the establishment is a machine 
 shop, which was started some years after the 
 foundry. The present machine shop was built 
 in 1868, and the foundry soon after. The original 
 foundry, which stood in rear of the present one, 
 was destroyed by fire in January, 1878. 
 
 The estabUshment gives employment to from 
 twelve to eighteen persons, and uses a capital of 
 $30,000. The chief articles of manufacture are 
 cauldrons and sugar cans, though a general jobbing 
 busines is done. 
 
 The Sedgwick &• Stuart Manufacturing Co., was 
 incorporated Dec. 1880, with a capital of $20,- 
 000, "for the manufacture and sale of machinery 
 and tools of all and every kind." The incorpora- 
 tors and trustees were, Alonzo Sedgwick, Robert 
 James Stuart and Annie B. Sedgwick of Pough- 
 
 keepsie, and Wm. Stuart, of Westport, Conn. A. 
 Sedgwick was elected President ; R. J. Stuart, 
 Treasurer, and E. N. Brown, Secretary. 
 
 The company employed some thirty persons, 
 and do a general machine and foundry business in 
 addition to the manufacture of hardware. 
 
 The Albertson Edge Tool Co., which was formed 
 in 1867, was composed of B. Albertson, John T. 
 Halsted, James Wickes, James A. Seward and 
 Wallace Smith. Mr. Albertson had previously car- 
 ried on the business in a small way for a few years, 
 and became associated with the other members of 
 the company, who were capitalists, and expected to 
 build up an extensive business. The partnership 
 business, which was of four years' duration, proved 
 unsuccessful, and was purchased and continued 
 about a year by Mr. Seward, one of the partners. 
 In 1872, Mr. Albertson resumed his former mode 
 of business, first in Catharine street, and in Sep- 
 tember of that year in his present location on 
 Main street. He employs four persons on the 
 manufacture of coopers', ship-carpenters' and 
 butchers' tools. The company employed some 
 ten persons. 
 
 Edward Storm is engaged in the manufacture 
 of carriage hardware at 437, 439 and 441 Main 
 street, which business he established at his present 
 location in 1856. He employs about forty persons 
 and produces annually manufactured goods to the 
 value of about $100,000. The motive power is 
 furnished by a forty horse-power engine. 
 
 Barratt Bros., located on Rose St., are engaged 
 in the manufacture of glazed and fancy papers, 
 which they also import from Germany. The 
 business was established in the fall of 1866, in the 
 building now used as a hat factory on Mill St. near 
 its junction with Main St., and continued there for 
 five years, when (in 1871) the building they now 
 occupy was erected at a cost of $3,500. They 
 give employment to some twelve persons, about 
 one-half of whom are females. The motive power 
 is furnished by a fifteen horse-power engine. The 
 value of their manufactured goods amounts to 
 from $20,000 to $25,000, per annum. Their im- 
 porting business was commenced in 1873, and 
 now amounts to $20,000 per year. 
 
 Wiethan Bros., are engaged in the manufacture 
 of pianos, over 349 Main street. The business was 
 established in 1837, by the father of the present 
 proprietors, Louis Wiethan, a native of Germany, 
 who came here that year from Paris, and continued 
 the business till his death, which occurred Feb. 1 1, 
 1878, since which time it has been conducted by 
 
394 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 his sons. The business was formerly carried on 
 much more extensively than at present by Mr. Wie- 
 than, who was located on Market street, and made 
 a specialty of the upright pianos, which had a wide 
 and favorable reputation. 
 
 E. L. Bushnell is engaged in the manufacture of 
 spring mattresses, springs for car seats, backs and 
 berths, also for carriage and church seats, and hair 
 pickers, for picking curled hair for furniture deal- 
 ers and upholsterers. The patents for the springs, 
 all of which are the invention of Mr. Bushnell, 
 were issued in 1869, and the manufacture was com- 
 menced that year at 390 Main street, by Mr. Bush- 
 nell, in company with James F. Marvin and James 
 A. Seward, under the name of E. L. Bushnell & Co., 
 who also carried on the general upholstering busi- 
 ness for six-and-a-half years, till 1879, when the 
 firm was dissolved by mutual consent, Mr. Bush- 
 nell continuing the manufacture of the springs for 
 the trade, Mr. Marvin continuing the upholstering 
 business, and Mr. Seward engaging in the furni- 
 ture business, which he also conducts in New York. 
 
 In March, 1880, after two intermediate remov- 
 als, Mr. Bushnell established himself in his present 
 location, 383 Main street. The manufacture was 
 commenced with three to five hands. The number 
 has increased at the present to twenty-five or thirty. 
 The value of the manufactured product in 1880 was 
 $30,000 to $33,000 ; during the present year it has 
 been at the rate of $65,000. 
 
 There are three establishments in the city for the 
 manufacture of sash, doors, bhnds and moldings. 
 The oldest of these is that of Swart, Lumb 6" Bro., 
 which is located at Nos. 17, 19, 21 and 23 North 
 Water street, opposite the Hudson River Railroad 
 depot. The business was established in Decem- 
 ber, 1866, by the present firm, who also make 
 builders' materials generally. They employ thirty- 
 two persons and use a capital of about $30,000. 
 This firm commenced the manufacture of wheel- 
 barrows at the same time, buying the establish- 
 ment of William Harloe, who had conducted it 
 between one and two years. June 1, 1869, they 
 sold that branch of their business to Thomas Mc- 
 Whinnie, who has since conducted it. He is located 
 at No. 25 North Water street, renting building and 
 power of Swart, Lumb & Bro. He employs some 
 eight persons, uses a capital of about $6,000, and 
 makes from 7,000 to 8,000 wheelbarrows per an- 
 num. The establishment of Messrs. Swart, Lumb 
 & Bro., was partially destroyed by fire in Septem- 
 ber, 1880. 
 
 The other two firms engaged in the manufacture 
 
 of sash, doors, etc., are Messrs. Brooks, McKean 
 &= Pierce, located at the corner of Mill and North 
 Clinton streets, and Wm. J. Beardsley, at Nos. 54 
 and 56 Main street. The former business was 
 established about 1870, by John R. Brooks, in a 
 building now occupied as a grocery by John Mc- 
 Cann, on Main street. In 1874, he removed to 
 the building now in use, which was built and pre- 
 viously used as a plaster-mill, by David Lent. Jan. 
 II, 1880, Mr. Brooks associated with himself Robert 
 S. McKean and Seth Pierce, and the business has 
 since been conducted under the above name. The 
 firm employ some eighteen persons, and use a capi- 
 tal of about $15,000. Mr. Beardsley established 
 his business in 1880, in which year he erected the 
 building in use. He employs six or eight persons, 
 and uses a capital of about $10,000. 
 
 The Whitney Spring Co., Limited, was incor- 
 porated Nov. 9, 1878, with a capital of $25,000, 
 for the manufacture of wagon and carriage springs 
 and other hardware. This company was formed 
 for the manufacture of the Whitney torsion side- 
 bar spring, invented by W. F. Whitney, who, in 
 company with Edward Storm, commenced their 
 manufacture in the spring of 1876, at the present 
 location, 437 Main street, power being furnished 
 by the same motor used by Edward Storm. Seven 
 persons are employed in the business, which is in- 
 creasing, though the sales are at present confined 
 to this country. About 40,000 sets of springs are 
 now in use, and they are being made at the rate 
 of about 1,700 per month. 
 
 There are four cooperage establishments in the 
 city, doing, in the aggregate, a business of consid- 
 erable magnitude, viz : Wm. Paulding's, Lown 
 & Sons', Wm. H. Weddle's and Otto Faust's. 
 Paulding's was established in 1847, by the present 
 proprietor, who had previously carried on the busi- 
 ness four years in Rhinebeck, and was associated 
 with Jacob T. Sleight from 1 851 to 1868, and with 
 James H. Buckhout from 1868 to 1878. He em- 
 ploys thirty-five persons and a capital of $5,000 to 
 $10,000, turning out about 800 barrels, half-bar- 
 rels and kegs per week ; all tight work, except that 
 m the apple season a good many apple barrels are 
 made, the number last season being 1,700. Lown 
 & Sons are established at No. 9 North Bridge 
 street, and are engaged in the manufacture of oak 
 and cedar wooden-ware, well-buckets, pails, kegs, 
 churns, cedar tubs, &c. The business was started 
 in 1857 by David Lown, who carried it on tilfhis 
 death, Dec. 16, 1876, since which time his sons 
 Clarence and Robert have conducted it. From 
 
CITY OF POUGHKEEPSIE. 
 
 395 
 
 thirty to fifty persons are employed. The motive 
 power is furnished by a twenty-five horse-power 
 engine. Weddle's cooperage was started in 1861, 
 by Wm. H. Weddle and John Hill, who had car- 
 ried on the business in Ulster county some four or 
 five years. Mr. Weddle had previously been en- 
 gaged in the business some thirty-two years. In 
 March, 1881, Mr. Weddle acquired his partner's 
 interest. He employs some twenty-eight men here, 
 and seven in Highland where he also carries on 
 the business, using a capital of about $10,000. 
 Faust's cooperage was started some fifteen years 
 ago, by John Faust & Bros., (John, Tobias and 
 Otto.) Otto Faust continues the business, employ- 
 ing about thirty-five persons, and like the others 
 engaged in this business makes a full line of tight 
 work. 
 
 There are three soap and candle factories in the 
 city, though candles have not been an article of 
 manufacture for some years. One of these, that 
 of Dunwoody Bros., would seem to be the oldest 
 manufacturing establishment in the city, as it is 
 claimed to have been established in 1794, by a 
 German, whose name is not known. The date is 
 assumed, from the fact that the figures represent- 
 ing it were cut in the glass of one of the windows. 
 William Slaytor was the third proprietor, but it is 
 not known when he took possession. His succes- 
 sors were DeGroff & Cable, who carried on the 
 business till 1866, when they sold to the Dun- 
 woody Bros — Samuel, George and William — the 
 latter of whom withdrew from the firm, in which 
 there has been no other change. The front and 
 main part of the building is the original structure. 
 It is one of the oldest buildings in the city, and is 
 located on Main street, a little west of the central 
 portion. Mr. Dunwoody thinks the date 1794 has 
 reference to its conversion to its present use, and 
 is confirmed in that belief by the testimony of old 
 residents, who have now passed away. It was 
 previously used as a school-house. The Dun- 
 woody Bros, have built four additions at different 
 times and greatly enlarged the business, which now 
 gives employment to two additional persons, and 
 turns out about two hundred tons of soap per an- 
 num. A ten horse-power engine is used. 
 
 William Dunwoody, formerly a member of the 
 above firm, established his present business,the man- 
 ufacture of soap and candles, in the same year that 
 he withdrew from the firm, 1879, having erected for 
 that purpose the previous year the brick building he 
 now occupies, at No. 97 North Bridge street. The 
 building is twenty-two by fifty feet, three stories 
 
 high, with a boiler house in the rear, in which is a 
 twenty-horse-power boiler. The capacity of the 
 engine is twelve-horse-power. The building and 
 machinery cost $9,000. Mr. Dunwoody employs 
 five persons, all of whom are members of his 
 family, and makes about 18,000 pounds of soap 
 every three weeks. He uses a capital of about 
 $12,000. 
 
 William Scoffs Soap and Candle Factory, 
 located on Mill street, was established by David 
 Scott, in 1852, and operated by him till 1866, 
 when his son William was admitted to partner- 
 ship, and the business was conducted under the 
 name of D. Scott & Son until 1872, when William 
 acquired his father's interest, and has since con- 
 ducted the business in his own name. He em- 
 ploys two persons; makes 250,000 to 300,000 
 pounds of soap per annum ; and has an invested 
 capital of about $14,000. 
 
 Parker's Mills, located at the corner of Garden 
 and North streets, were erected in 1875, by John 
 G. and E. B. Parker, the present proprietors, the 
 former of whom was proprietor of the old City 
 Mills, at the junction of Washington and North 
 Bridge streets, which were burned in 1870. He 
 also gave the name to Parker's Pond, which sup- 
 plies the motor for these mills. The present mill, 
 which is constructed of stone, with brick trim- 
 mings, is fifty by sixty feet, with four stories and 
 attic, contains four run of stones, and is provided 
 with the most improved machinery, giving it a ca- 
 pacity of 125 to 150 barrels of flour in twenty- 
 four hours. It is a custom and flouring mill, 
 grinding rye and wheat flour, granulated meal, 
 and buckwheat flour in its season, and is in opera- 
 tion most of the time both night and day. 
 
 Millard d^» Guyle^s Machine Works, located at 
 46 Pine street, were estabUshed about 1874, by 
 John E. Millard and John Guylee, the present pro- 
 prietors, who employ four persons in the manufac- 
 ture of steam engines, threshing machines, mill and 
 other machinery, and general machine repairing. 
 They occupy a building erected some eight years 
 since by Wood & Post, for a sash and Wind fac- 
 tory, on the site of a building previously occupied 
 for a like purpose. 
 
 Six firms are engaged in the manufacture of car- 
 riages, employing in the aggregate some sixty per- 
 sons, and a capital of something like as many thou- 
 sand dollars. These are Striet &■• Lockwood, who 
 have been engaged in the business for many years, 
 employing some thirteen men ; Reed &f Husted, 
 employing fifteen men ; E. B. Delamater, some 
 
396 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 ten men ; Schoonmaker &> Co., some nine men ; 
 Horace Sague, some six men ; and Dusenberry Of 
 Smith, some five men. 
 
 The Gifford Folding Chair Co. was organized 
 Dec. 6, 1880, for the manufacture of Giflford & 
 Bates' patent adjustable folding camp-chair. They 
 employ six persons and a capital of about $2,000. 
 The members of the company are Crosby & 
 Spaulding, furniture dealers in Poughkeepsie, 
 Thomas McWhinnie and Wm. H. Gifford. 
 
 .S. D, Gates, manufacturer of fine felt hats and 
 paper boxes of various descriptions, at 37 1 and 373 
 Mill street, represents a business which was estab- 
 lished June I, 1880, by Smith & Gates, who made 
 an assignment after continuing it about six months. 
 S. D. Gates has since continued it as agent. J. M. 
 Wine bought the claims, and is the present propri- 
 etor of the business, which usually gives employ- 
 ment to a hundred persons, about one-fourth of 
 whom are females. The motive -power is supplied 
 by a twenty-five horse-power engine. 
 
 The Hudson River Iron Co. was incorporated 
 August 7, 1872, under the law of February 17, 
 1848, and the acts amendatory thereof, with a cap- 
 ital of $400,000, for the purpose of conducting the 
 business of a roUing-mill and blast furnace. Ground 
 for the building, which is located on the Livingston 
 estate, on the river bank, in the south part of the 
 city, was broken October 31, 1872, and the build- 
 ing was erected during that and the following year. 
 The works were put in operation in 1873. Noth- 
 ing has been done since April, 1878.- 
 
 There are three firms in Poughkeepsie engaged 
 in the lumber business : W. C. Arnold & Co., at 
 the Upper Landing ; D. C. Foster & Sons, at the 
 foot of Main street, and CoUingwood, Millard & 
 & Co., at the Lower Landing. The latter do the 
 most extensive business of the three and wholesale 
 some to yards along the river. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIII. 
 Banks of Poughkeepsie. 
 
 THE banks of Poughkeepsie were the neces- 
 sary outgrowth of its mercantile, commercial 
 and manufacturing business, to the convenient and 
 successful transaction of which they were indispen- 
 sable. Early in the century the want of bank ac- 
 commodations was felt in the growing village, which 
 was the seat of an extensive commerce, and an 
 effort was made to meet that want by the Manhat- 
 
 tan Company, of New York, which was chartered 
 April 2, 1799, for the purpose of supplying that 
 city "with pure and wholesome water," and granted 
 perpetual banking privileges. That company es- 
 tablished a branch bank in Poughkeepsie, (the first 
 institution of its kind in the village,) which was 
 known as the Manhattan Branch Bank. It occu- 
 pied the building on the corner of Market and Can- 
 non streets, now the residence of the widow Akin, 
 which was afterwards occupied by Judge Thomas 
 J. Oakley, and subsequently by Dr. John Barnes. 
 Mr. Fleueling was the first cashier of this bank, a 
 position which was afterwards filled by Daniel F. 
 Cooledge, as early as i8r4, and subsequently by 
 Guy Hyde, who was the first cashier of the Middle 
 District Bank. 
 
 The Middle District Bank was chartered March 
 22, 181 1, with a capital of $200,000, and at an 
 early period in its existence — as early as 1812 — 
 had an office of discount and deposit at Kingston. 
 It was located in the building which occupied the 
 site of the Taylor building, on the north side of 
 Main street. 
 
 Guy Hyde was the first cashier. That position 
 was subsequently held by Daniel F. Cooledge, 
 Abraham G. Storm and John W. Oakley, the latter 
 of whom held the office till the failure. Storm and 
 Oakley likewise filled the office of President. The 
 stock was largely held by Peter Everett, of Pough- 
 keepsie. Judge Verplanck, of Fishkill, father of 
 Gulian C. Verplanck, of New York, was also largely 
 interested in it. November 1 1 , 1 8 1 7 , as appears from 
 an advertisement in the Dutchess Observer of 
 that year, over the names of James Emott and 
 Abraham G. Storm, as a committee of the direct- 
 ors, 12,000 shares of the stock of the bank were 
 "resigned" by the holders, "in order to permit 
 new subscriptions," and these were reserved for "a 
 few weeks, for the benefit of the inhabitants of the 
 county," after which it was to "be offered at large." 
 
 The bank did not afford either ample or eco- 
 nomic accommodations to the business commu- 
 nity, if we may judge from the following, which 
 appeared in the Dutchess Observer" over the 
 signature of Zadock Southwick, a well-known tan- 
 ner of Poughkeepsie: — 
 " To The Farmers of Duchess County : — 
 
 It may be a source of pleasing satisfaction to 
 some of you to hear that the Middle District Bank 
 is now placed, or about to be placed on a firm 
 foundation, by men who have the means as well as 
 the disposition to be useful, as you will see by the 
 sequel. A farmer wanting a six hundred dollar 
 note discounted, at a time when it was not conven- 
 
CITY OF POUGHKEEPSIE. 
 
 397" 
 
 ient for the Bank to do it, (as I suppose,) applied 
 to one of the stockholders, who actually had the 
 goodness to discount it out of his own private 
 funds for one hundred dollars, besides the interest 
 for six months. If he can have the note renewed 
 for six months more, at the same rate of interest, 
 making one whole year, the interest will only 
 amount to two hundred and forty-seven dollars, 
 according to my cast. I beUeve it is not custom- 
 ary, however, to renew those kind of accommoda- 
 tion notes at the same rate of interest. Admit 
 that they can be, who would not give this trifling 
 sum for the use of five hundred dollars to save him- 
 self and family from ruin, and say that we have 
 reason to believe we have good men in . Pough- 
 keepsie yet ? Zadock Southwick. 
 
 " P. S. — The action of good men ought to be 
 held up to the public as stimulus to virtue. * 
 
 "4th Mo. 8th, i8i8." 
 
 This is an example of extortion which it would 
 be difficult to surpass even in this degenerate age. 
 Nevertheless, the bank did a large business, and 
 enjoyed a good degree of confidence, as it was 
 supposed to be a sound and strong institution ; 
 and when, on the 28th of May, 1829, its doors 
 were suddenly closed and an examination showed it 
 to be insolvent, everybody was filled with surprise 
 and consternation. " It was a shaky concern, " 
 says a contemporary,! " and succeeded in 'touch- 
 ing' many Duchess county people to the quick. 
 Its bills were only found of use in papering old 
 trunks." Mr. William A. Davies, however, the 
 gentlemanly President of the Farmers' and Manu- 
 facturers' National Bank of Poughkeepsie, a posi- 
 tion he has held since 1842, says the bank paid the 
 bill-holders and, it is believed, the depositorsiin full, 
 though the stockholders did not receive anything. 
 
 Levi McKean and Nathan Myers were doing a 
 private banking business here about the time of the 
 war of 181 2. " Nathan Myers' Exchange Bank" 
 was located in the basement of the building now 
 occupied by the Fallkill National Bank, which has 
 since been remodeled. 
 
 The Duchess County Bank, of Poughkeepsie, 
 was chartered April 12, 1825, with a capital of 
 $150,000, and opened for business in the building 
 now occupied by the Merchants' National Bank of 
 Poughkeepsie. Soon after the establishment of 
 the " Safety Fund System " the bank was re-char- 
 tered, under that act and the capital increased to 
 $600,000. Henry Davis was president and Walter 
 Cunningham, cashier, during the continuance of 
 the first charter and for some years under the safety 
 fund charter. Henry Swift succeeded to the pres- 
 
 * The Sunday Courier, Poughkeepsie, March i6, 1873, 
 Miid, March 9, '875- 
 
 idencyand held that office till the expiration of the 
 charter, July i, 1845. James H. Fonda, succeed- 
 ed Mr. Cunningham as cashier, and he, likewise, 
 retained the position during the further continuance 
 of the charter. At the expiration of the charter 
 the business was wound up, though a final settle- 
 ment was not reached until the present year, (1881,) 
 when a final dividend of one-fourth of one per 
 cent, was declared on the stock.* The bank paid 
 its circulation at par, but returned only thirty to 
 forty per cent, to the stockholders. 
 
 The Bank of Poughkeepsie, (now the Poughkeep- 
 sie National Bank) was organized under the 
 Safety Fund Act, June 17, 1830, at which 
 time the following directors were chosen : Thom- 
 as L. Davies, James Thomson, Albro Aikin, 
 Thomas Taber 2d, James Hooker, Nathaniel P. 
 Tallmadge, Nathan Conklin, John Lockwood, 
 Aaron Innis, Richard Pudney, Alexander J. Coffin, 
 Matthew Vassar and Gilbert Wilkinson. The 
 capital stock was $100,000. 
 
 The Poughkeepsie Savings Bank. — The idea of 
 a Savings Bank in Poughkeepsie was suggested in 
 1829 or '30, by the Cashier of the New York Sav- 
 ings Bank, to William Davies of Poughkeepsie, 
 who, while on a visit to New York, was commis- 
 sioned by a colored female servant in his family, 
 who had formerly resided in the latter city to make 
 a deposit for her in that institution. Upon his 
 return, Mr. Davies reported his conversation with 
 that official to some of the prominent citizens of 
 Poughkeepsie, and after many preliminary meetings 
 and much discouragement, Mr. Davies, James 
 Emott, James Hooker, Frederick Barnard, Matthew 
 Vassar, Teunis Van Kleeck, Thomas W. Tal- 
 madge, Nehetniah Conklin, Griffin Williamson, 
 Henry A. Livingston and Stephen Armstrong ap- 
 plied to the Legislature for a charter, which was 
 granted April i6, 1831.! 
 
 The bank opened for business on Saturday, the 
 4th of May, 1833, in the office of Mr. Raymond, 
 the treasurer, which was located in the Burrett 
 House, on Main street, on the sife of Robert E 
 Taylor's brick building, where the business of the 
 Middle District Bank was transacted. The first 
 deposit was made that day by David Vosburgh, 
 who is still a depositor with the bank. Two de- 
 posits were received that day, one of $40, the 
 other of $7. The deposits during that year — to 
 Jan. I, 1834 — amounted to $6,922; the number of 
 depositors was fifty. 
 
 •The Poughkeepsie Eagle, AprU Jo, 1881. 
 i Report on Neiv York Savings Banks ^ 1869. 
 
•398 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 The resolutions adopted by the board of man- 
 agers April 23, 1833, provided that the bank should 
 be open during business hours every day in the 
 week, except Sunday ; that on the third Wednes- 
 day of July and January in every year a dividend 
 of at least four per cent, per annum should be 
 paid on all sums above five dollars, on deposit for 
 six months previous to the first of July and first of 
 January, and one-half such per centum on all other 
 sums above five dollars, on deposit for three 
 months or more previous to those dates, but that 
 no dividend should be allowed on any sum or de- 
 posit less than three months ; that no money should 
 be withdrawn, except on the third Wednesday in 
 January, April, July and October, one week's notice 
 was required before the day of withdrawal; and 
 that no sum less than five dollars should be with- 
 drawn, unless the whole amount on deposit was 
 less than five dollars. It would seem that the rule 
 with regard to opening the bank every secular 
 day was subsequently departed from, for July 18, 
 1849, t^^t "^ulfi was re-enacted. Indeed the mag- 
 nitude of its business did not necessitate a daily 
 opening during the early years of its existence. 
 
 Jan. 19, 1853, it was resolved to purchase the 
 building and lot in Market street, then occupied 
 by Alexander Forbus. Thomas W. Talmadge, John 
 B. Forbus and Henry D. Varick were appointed 
 to negotiate its purchase. That building occupied 
 the site of the present banking house, which was 
 erected in 187 1, and first opened for business July 
 18, 1871. 
 
 July 2, 1833, Col. Henry A. Livingston resigned 
 the Presidency, and Thomas W. Talmadge was 
 elected to that office. Mr. Talmadge held the 
 office till his death, August 11, 1856, aged seventy- 
 five, and was succeeded by John B. Forbus, who 
 was elected August 15, 1856, and also continued 
 in it till his death, Oct. 28, 1865, aged seventy- 
 eight. His successor, Henry D. Varick, was 
 elected Jan. 12, t866, and he likewise held it till 
 his death, June 18, 1877, aged sixty-six. David C. 
 Foster, the present incumbent, was elected July 
 16, 1877. 
 
 Alfred Raymond filled the office of treasurer 
 till Jan. 19, 1837, when Peter P. Hayes was elected 
 to it and held it till his death. Josiah Burritt was 
 elected his successor March 30, 1842, but resigned 
 April 23, 1842, when Alfred Raymond was again 
 elected. He was succeeded by his predecessor, 
 Josiah Burritt, Oct. 2, 1846, the latter of whom 
 held^the office till his death. E. B, Benjamin was 
 elected to the office as Mr. Burritt's successor 
 
 April 14, 1851. Chandler Holbrook was elected 
 Feb. 25, 1853 ; Josiah I. Underbill, July 31, 1856; 
 A. Van Valine, Oct. i, 1867; and Isaac Smith, the 
 present incumbent, Feb. 3, 1879. 
 
 The assets of the bank, as per statement of July 
 I, 1881, amounted to $4,517,538.29. Its liabili- 
 ties, consisting of $3,884,527.02, due 12,171 de- 
 positors, and $76,046.79, for interest credited to 
 depositors July I, 188 1, amounted to $3, 960,573. 81, 
 leaving a surplus of $556,964.48. 
 
 The Farmer^ and Manufacturer^ Bank was 
 organized under the Safety Fund System, April 26, 
 1834, with a capital of $300,000. July 19, 1834, 
 the following (the first) directors were elected: 
 James R. Cary, Nehemiah Sweet, William A. 
 Davies, Henry Conklin, Matthew Vassar, Wm. 
 W. White, Stephen Southwick, James Grant, 
 Jr., James Hooker, William ^gchell, Wm. H. Bost- 
 wick, Homer Wheaton and Daniel D. Akin, of 
 whom W. A. Davies, the present President, is the 
 only survivor. The bank erected their present 
 banking house, on the corner of Market and Can- 
 non streets, and commenced business in 1835. 
 The charter of the bank expired January 1, 1864. 
 December 31, 1863, the papers belonging to it were 
 formally transferred to a new organization, which 
 continued business under the same name and offi- 
 cers. The new bank was organized under the gen- 
 eral banking law, October 10, 1863. January 30, 
 1864, it was resolved to increase the capital $100,- 
 000. June 3, 1864, the bank was changed from a 
 State to a National bank under the name of The 
 Farmer^ and Manufacturer^ National Bank of 
 Poughkeepsie. July 15, 1865, the same officers were 
 continued. April 7, 1874, the capital was reduced 
 to $250,000. 
 
 James Hooker resigned the Presidency Dec. 9, 
 1834, and Matthew Vassar, who was elected to that 
 position the same day, held it till July 9, 1839, 
 when James Hooker was re-elected. Nov. 29, 
 1842, Mr. Hooker's resignation was accepted, and 
 Wm. A. Davies, who was then elected, has since 
 held the office. 
 
 James Grant, Jr., was cashier till his death, in 
 June, 1844, and was succeeded in that office by 
 Elijah P. Benjamin, who was elected June 27, 
 1844, and resigned August 16, 1847, at which 
 time Frederick W. Davis, who has since held the 
 office, was elected. 
 
 April 10, 1834, Samuel B. Johnston was elected 
 the first vice-president, a position he held till Jan. 
 30, 1865, when Charles W. Swift was elected and 
 held the office till his death in November, 1877. 
 
CITY OF POUGHKEEPSIE. 
 
 399 
 
 Henry L. Young was elected his successor Jan. 8, 
 1878, and still holds the office. 
 
 The Merchant^ Bank in Poughkeepsie was or- 
 ganized July 2, 1845, with ^ capital of $110,000, 
 which was subsequently increased to $150,000. 
 The first directors were Matthew J. Myers, Alex- 
 ander Forbus, Isaac Merritt, Abraham G. Storm, 
 Caleb Barker, John Adriance, Thomas M. Vail, 
 John T. Schryver, Alexander J. Coffin, James 
 Emott, Jr., Solomon V. Frost, George Pomeroy 
 and David Arnold. The first officers were Mat- 
 thew J. Myers, President, and James H. Fonda, 
 Cashier. 
 
 The banlc commenced business July 1,1845, at 
 287 Main street, in the building now occupied by 
 the Merchants' National Bank of Poughkeepsie, 
 (which succeeded it,) and succeeded the old 
 Dutchess County Bank in the same building. 
 
 July I, 1865, it was organized as a national bank 
 under the name of the Merchants' National Bank 
 of Poughkeepsie, with the same capital, which was 
 increased June i, 1870, to $175,000. 
 
 Matthew J. Myers was president of the bank until 
 his death. May 22, 1852. His successor is James 
 Emott, who was elected July 6, 1852, and has held 
 the office to the present time under both organiza- 
 tions. James H. Fonda was cashier till March 2, 
 1854. He was succeeded by Joseph C. Harris, 
 who held the office during the further continuance 
 of the old organization, and under the new one till 
 Jan. 30, 1869, when Waltei: C. Fonda was elected 
 and has held the office continuously to the present 
 time. 
 
 The Fallkill Bank was organized April i, 1852, 
 with a capital of $150,000. The capital was sub- 
 sequently increased to $200,000. It was re-organ- 
 ized as a national bank in January, 1865. 
 
 The City National Bank of Poughkeepsie was 
 organized March 3, i860, as the City Bank of 
 Poughkeepsie, with a capital of $200,000, which 
 was subsequently decreased to $130,000. The 
 first directors were John P. H. Tallman, Joseph F. 
 Barnard, Daniel Matthews, George Lamoree, 
 Christopher Hughes, Milton Ham, Moses C. Sands, 
 Nicholas Strippel, Wm. R. Schell, Ambrose Wy- 
 gatt, Wilson B. Sheldon, David D. Vincent, Benja- 
 min Hopkins, John Brill, Benjamin Halstead, 
 William Doughty and C. A.VanValkenburgh. Jo- 
 seph F. Barnard was the first president, and held 
 the office till Jan. 10, 1880. Aaron Innis (who, 
 after serving as director for many years, was 
 elected Vice-President of the bank about 1870,) 
 was elected President Feb. 6, 1880, and still holds 
 
 the office. Hudson Taylor was elected Vice- 
 President at the same time and still holds the 
 office. John T. Banker was the first cashier, and 
 held the office till November 3, 1864, at which 
 time A. H. Champlin, the present incumbent, was 
 elected his successor. 
 
 The bank commenced business in its present 
 location, on the corner of Main and Market 
 streets, purchasing the building, which had pre- 
 viously been occupied for many years as a jewelry 
 store. It was changed to a National Bank 
 June 3, 1865. 
 
 The First National Bank of Poughkeepsie was 
 organized April 25, 1864, with a capital of $125,- 
 000, which was increased in 1865 to $160,000. 
 The stockholders numbered about a hundred at its 
 organization, and the number has always been un- 
 usually large. 
 
 The first directors were : Cornelius DuBois, 
 Robert Slee,* Levi M. Arnold, George B. Lent, 
 Daniel H. Tweedy. Cornelius DuBois was the 
 first president. He held the office till January, 
 1875, when Robert Slee was elected his successor, 
 and has since held it. Robert Slee was the first 
 vice-president. John P. Adriance, who suc- 
 ceeded him, still holds that office. Zebulon Rudd, 
 the Cashier, Frank E. Whipple, Teller, and 
 Jerome Deyo, Book-keeper, have each filled 
 their respective positions since the organization of 
 the bank. 
 
 The bank first opened for business July 7, 1864, 
 in its present location, on the corner of Main and 
 Catharine streets, in a building which is leased for 
 its use. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIV. 
 The Press of Poughkeepsie. 
 
 IN this chapter we have to consider what has 
 been very appropriately termed the " art of 
 arts — the art preservative." The press reflects, 
 and in no small degree molds, the character of the 
 community from which it derives its patronage. A 
 low and venal Press impUes a base and truculent 
 people ; while a Press which is characterized by 
 purity, truthfulness and nobility of sentiment as 
 certainly implies corresponding qualities in the 
 people of its neighborhood. The influence exerted 
 by the Press, whose power, says Douglas Jerrold, 
 
 * Mr. Slee is the only one of the original directors remaining with the 
 bank, and, with the exception of George B. Lent, who is still a resident 
 of Poughkeepsie, is the only survivor. 
 
400 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 "is as boundless as that of society," is scarcely 
 surpassed by the school and church, to both of 
 . which it should be supplementary. 
 
 Poughkeepsie owes the establishment of its first 
 newspaper, like the distinction of having been the 
 State capital, to the exigency of the Revolutionary 
 war, and these interesting incidents were nearly 
 synchronal in their occurrence. "The New York 
 Journal and the General Advertiser," the first 
 number of which was issued in Poughkeepsie, 
 Monday, May, n, 1778, until recently, was erro- 
 neously supposed to be perpetuated in the " Pough- 
 keepsie Journal," and at present in the "Pough- 
 keepsie Eagle," and is assumed in the " Docu- 
 mentary History of New York," (HI., 119S,) on 
 the authority of a communication from Isaac Piatt, 
 of Poughkeepsie, Dec. 28, 1850, then publisher 
 of the " Eagle," to have been the first paper pub- 
 ished in Duchess County; but Mr. Benson J. 
 Lossing,{Sketches of Local History in The Dutchess 
 Farmer, Dec. 12, 1876,) says that the "New 
 York Packet," which was started in Fishkill, Oct. i, 
 1776, and published there during the Revolution- 
 ary war, by Samuel Loudon, who fled from New 
 York with his type and press on the approach of 
 the British in 1776, was the first paper published 
 in the county. It was the successor in a direct 
 and unbroken Une of the first newspaper printed in 
 the Province of New York — -the "New York 
 Gazette" — which was started Oct. 16, 1725, by 
 William Bradford, whose son,* Andrew Bradford, 
 started the first newspaper published in Philadel- 
 phia, "The American Weekly Mercurie," Dec. 22, 
 1719, and the third one in America. 
 
 Bradford continued the pubHcation of the " Ga- 
 zette" till the close of 1742, when he retired from 
 business. The paper was continued by James 
 Parker, a native of Woodbridge, N. J. Parker 
 added to the title, which then read : " The New 
 York Gazette, Revived in the Weekly Post Boy. 
 Containing the freshest Advices, Foreign and Do- 
 mestick." Parker continued to publish it, but in 
 i7S3i when William Weyman became his partner, 
 the title was changed to " The New York Ga- 
 zette ; or, The Weekly Post Boy." Weyman with- 
 drew from the partnership in February, 1759, and 
 was succeeded in 1760, by John Holt. Parker 
 withdrew in April, 1762. Holt continued the pa- 
 per, and October 16, if 66, changed the name to 
 "The New York Journal, or General Advertiser." 
 
 Holt was an ardent patriot, arid in September, 
 
 Poiigkkeepsie Daily Easli,Uiy ii, 1878. The American Cfch- 
 pedia [Article on Printing) says Bradford himself, not his son, started 
 the Mercurie in Philadelphia. 
 
 1776, when the British took possession of New 
 York, he fled with such of his effects as he could 
 move to Kingston, where the newly organized State 
 Government was formed, and there, being the first 
 State printer, reissued his paper July 7, 1777. Oc- 
 tober 16, 1777, the British burned Kingston, and 
 Holt followed the fugitive State Government to 
 Poughkeepsie, where he resumed the publication of 
 his paper May 11,1778. It was printed on a single 
 sheet, of two pages, about twelve by eighteen inches, 
 with three columns to the page. The following, 
 which appeared in that number, may be regarded 
 as Mr. Holt's salutatory : — 
 
 " The Printer sends his respectful compliments 
 to his customers, and informs them that after an 
 interval of near seven months, he has again re- 
 sumed his publication of a weekly news-paper. 
 But in order to make his small stock of paper, 
 (which at present he knows not how to recruit) go 
 as far as possible, and continue till he can obtain 
 regular supplies, he is constrained to reduce the 
 quantity from a sheet to a half sheet. He pro- 
 poses to' supply all those with his paper, who were 
 his customers at Kingston on the memorable 16th 
 of October, (when the most generous terms of 
 capitulation were granted to Gen. Burgoyne's cap- 
 tured army at the same time that Gen. Clinton's 
 acting in concert with it, under Vaughan, Tryon, 
 etc., needlessly and maliciously burnt and destroyed 
 that httle defenceless town.) But as there seems 
 to be no regular conveyance by posts, he must 
 generally depend more upon the gentlemen them- 
 selves who take the paper, for the means of send- 
 ing them, than on his own endeavors, which how- 
 ever will not be wanting. It was intended to take 
 some notice of remarkable events since the last 
 publication in Kingston, but this, with many other 
 matters, must be left to future papers." 
 
 A copy of this paper is preserved in the archives 
 of the New York Historical Society. On the 17 th 
 of August, Mr. Holt made the following appeal to 
 his patrons : — 
 
 "The PRINTER 
 
 "SENDS his compliments to his customers, and 
 informs them that he finds himself under a neces- 
 sity of adopting a new mode of receiving payment 
 for his newspapers, and other printing work ; or of 
 discontinuing the business. 
 
 " The exhorbitant and incessantly rising prices 
 of every necessary of life, and the proportionable 
 depreciation of our money, without reason, or ad- 
 vantage to any but engrossers and other enemies 
 to America, has almost deprived the public of the 
 convenience of a common circulating medium, 
 to be given and received in exchange for the 
 necessaries and conveniences that individuals 
 have occasion to procure or part vnth in a social 
 intercourse. 
 
 " And the printer being unable to carry on his 
 
CITY OF POUGHKEEPSIE. 
 
 401 
 
 business without the necessaries of life, is obliged 
 to fix the following prices to his work, viz : — 
 "i^(?r a quarter of news. 
 
 "12 pounds of beef, pork, veal or mutton, or 4 
 pounds of butter, or 7 pounds of cheese, or 18 
 pounds of fine flour, or half a bushel of wheat, or 
 one bushel of Indian corn, or half a cord of wood, 
 or 300 wt. of hay, or other articles of country 
 produce, as he shall want them, in hke proportion, 
 or as much money as will purchase them at the 
 time. 
 
 " For other articles of printing work, the prices to 
 be in proportion to that of the news-papers. 
 
 " All his customers, who have to spare, any of 
 the above, or other articles of country pro- 
 duce, he hopes, will let him know it, and afford him 
 the necessary supplies, without which his business 
 here must very soon be discontinued." 
 
 This must have met with a response, for Decem- 
 ber 27, 1779, we read: — 
 
 " The Printer sends his Thanks to such of his 
 customers who have sent him sundry necessary Ar- 
 ticles of Country Produce ; and will be obhged to 
 other Subscribers for his Paper for the like Favour, 
 which the Weather this Winter (or at present) will 
 probably give them frequent opportunities to send 
 him in Sleighs."* 
 
 The second newspaper in Poughkeepsie was "The 
 Poughkeepsie Journal," which was started April 
 II, 1785, by Nicholas Power, and published in the 
 old building which occupied the site of 265. and 267 
 Main street. It remained in the hands of Mr. 
 Power until 1806, but its name was changed in 
 1786, to " The Country Journal and Poughkeepsie 
 Advertiser," and in 1789, to " The Country Journal 
 and Dutchess and Ulster Family Register." In 
 1806, it was purchased by Bowman, Parsons & 
 Potter, (Godfrey Bowman, Chester Parsons and 
 Paraclete Potter,) and removed to the second story 
 of the building then occupied by Mr. Potter as a 
 book-store. In 1808, Mr. Potter became its sole 
 proprietor and changed its name to " The Pough- 
 keepsie Journal and Constitutional Republican." 
 In 18 1 2, the name was again changed to "The 
 Poughkeepsie Journal," under which title Mr. Pot- 
 ter continued to pubUsh it until 1834, when he sold 
 it to Jackson & Schram, and removed to Milwau- 
 kee, Wisconsin. In point of literary merit and 
 mechanical execution his paper was the best then 
 published in the village.f He also printed from 
 stereotype plates Willett's Geography, Webster's 
 Spelling Book and Almanac, and did con- 
 siderable other book work. Jackson & Schram 
 continued the publication of the " Journal " until 
 
 • Poughkeepsie Eagle, May ll, 1878. 
 
 t S. P. Heermance's Reminiscences, in The Sunday Courier, of 
 Poughkeepsie. 
 
 the close of 1843, when Jackson's interest was pur- 
 chased, and in January, 1844, it was united with 
 the " Poughkeepsie Eagle," under the title of the 
 " Journal and Poughkeepsie Eagle," the first num- 
 ber of which was issued the first Saturday in Janu- 
 ary, 1844, by Piatt & Schram. The " Journal " was 
 at first the organ of the Federal party, and after- 
 wards of the Clintonian. _. 
 
 The " Eagle" was the successor of the " Dutchess 
 Intelligencer," which was founded April 30, 1828, at 
 which time there was a breaking up of old parties 
 and the political outlook was peculiar. The Dem- 
 ocrats and Clintonians, who had contended for 
 years on State questions, found their platforms gone 
 when national questions came up. Most of the 
 Democratic party declared for General Jackson, 
 but a large minority refused to do so. Of the 
 Clintonians the majority adhered to Mr. Adams. 
 Under these circumstances the two old party or- 
 gans in this county formed themselves on the same 
 side. The " Journal " had declared for Jackson in 
 the fall of 1827. Early in 1828, the " Telegraph," 
 which had remained non-committal, followed the 
 example of the "Journal," and for full three 
 months the people of Duchess heard httle but 
 panegyrics of ^General Jackson, and denunciations 
 fearfully vindictive, against Mr. Adams and his 
 Secretary of State, Henry Clay. 
 
 The friends of the administration were aroused 
 to the necessity of establishing a party organ ; "but 
 while possessing ample means, and resolved, as 
 they said, to get up a first- class paper," they "came 
 quite feebly to the work, displayed a marked want 
 of spirit, and secured only funds sufficient to issue 
 a small paper in the humblest style of. the times, 
 using old material principally, with an old Clymer 
 press gathered from among the rubbish around the 
 old establishment of Robert Hoe, in Liberty street, 
 New York, and a small quantity of type. With 
 hard labor and slow progress and the aid of a pair 
 of balls, it served to send forth a small weekly 
 sheet." Charles T. Ames, a young man of Hud- 
 son, was hired to act as editor, and Frederick T. 
 Parsons, previously of Poughkeepsie, but then of 
 New York, engaged to assist in the mechanical work. 
 It was started in the second story of the building 
 on Market street, known as Lawyers' Row, over 
 the office of William R. Woodin. Being, in- 
 efficiently managed, in less than three months 
 it lost caste. Its supporters, being left with more 
 indebtedness than was agreeable, demurred at con- 
 tributing further to its aid. 
 
 At this juncture Isaac Piatt, who had served an 
 
402 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 apprenticeship in the " Journal " office, with Para- 
 clete Potter, was induced to take hold of the 
 paper. He received some pecuniary encourage- 
 ment from John H. Davis, a resident lawyer, and 
 leader of the Adams party and a member of the 
 Adams committee, which was additionally composed 
 of Judge Edmund H. Pendleton, Abraham G. 
 Storm, Alexander J. Coffin, Stephen Cleveland 
 and Gen. John Brush. Mr. Parsons reluctantly 
 consented to remain in the office as a partner of 
 Mr. Piatt's, under the name of Piatt & Parsons. 
 It was a start without flattering prospects. All the 
 material in the office would not have commmanded 
 $300. "Without five dollars in cash," says Mr. 
 Piatt, " without job type, a chase, or furniture to 
 print a hand- bill or card, or any head letter for 
 advertisements, we launched our bark on the 
 stormy ocean of politics, but we had as capital an 
 unbending resolution and a determination to suc- 
 ceed whatever might oppose." 
 
 May I, 1829, the office was removed to Main 
 street, to the site of the old Carman building, 
 which occupied the site of the building now owned 
 by M. Schwartz, erected about a year ago. Mr. 
 Parsons, being thoroughly discouraged, now pro- 
 posed a dissolution, as he could not live on the 
 profits of the office, but he was prevailed on to 
 stay as an employ^, at $7 per week. This disso- 
 lution was effected April 22, 1829. In the spring 
 of 1832 the office was removed to the second story 
 of the store on Main street, then occupied by 
 Frost & Gridley. 
 
 In 1830, the paper gained a good foothold in 
 the county and made its influence felt in local pol- 
 itics. In the early part of 1831, several proposi- 
 tions were made to join the press with the anti- 
 Masonic party, but all were dechned. In conse- 
 quence, in the spring of that year, the " Dutchess 
 Inquirer," which was started in August, 1829, by 
 Peter K. Allen, in the building in Market street, 
 now occupied by WiUiam McLean, was changed 
 to " The Anti-Mason," which was published a few 
 months by John M. Vethake and Stephen Butler 
 and discontinued. It was soon after revived by 
 Eliphaz Fay, and was issued a short time as " The 
 Independence." In August, 1 831, inconsequence 
 of a Hke refusal to join the "anti- Regency " or 
 Jackson party, a fifth paper, " The Dutchess Re- 
 publican," was started by Thomas S. Ranney, in 
 conjunction with Dr. William Thomas and Richard 
 D. Davis, the latter of whom were called " The 
 Twins;" b ecause they furnished the capital.* In 
 
 ♦ S. p. Heermance's Reminiscettces. 
 
 April, 1833, Mr. Ranney united the " Republican" 
 with the " Intelligencer," forming a co-partnership 
 with Isaac Piatt, and the first number of the united 
 papers was issued by Piatt & Ranney the last 
 Wednesday in April, 1833, as the " Intelligencer 
 and Republican." In the spring of 1834, the 
 name was changed to '•' The Poughkeepsie Eagle." 
 In the spring of 1837, the " Eagle" broke through 
 the old fogy customs of the day and changed the 
 day of publication from Wednesday to Saturday. 
 All papers in this county had previously been 
 issued on Wednesday. In the spring of 1839, as 
 expanding business demanded increased accommo- 
 dation, the office was removed to 310 Main street. 
 In the spring of 1843, the firm of Piatt & Ranney 
 was dissolved, Mr. Piatt continuing the paper. In 
 January, 1844, the " Eagle" was united with "The 
 Poughkeepsie Journal," as previously stated. The 
 new paper was much enlarged and improved, and 
 in 1850 its name was changed by the elimination 
 of the word "Journal." 
 
 At the close of the campaign of i86o, it was 
 thought advisable to print a daily, owing to the 
 increased business of the city and the great de- 
 mand for news consequent on the exciting events 
 of that period. The first number of the " Daily 
 Eagle" was issued Dec. 4, i860. The venture 
 was a success from the first. 
 
 On the night of Nov. 23, 1862, the office was 
 destroyed by fire, which commenced in the mil- 
 liner shop under it. Most of the material of the 
 office was lost, except the presses. One of those 
 was destroyed and the others considerably damaged. 
 But by an arrangement with the "Telegraph'' 
 office the daily and weekly issues were continued. 
 Arrangements were speedily made with the city 
 authorities whereby the city hall was occupied for 
 the pubUcation of the paper until ApSril i, 1863, 
 when the former quarters having been repaired 
 and improved were reoccupied. 
 
 After a successful and harmonious partnership 
 of twenty-one years and three months, Mr. Piatt 
 purchased the interest of his partner, Mr. Schram, 
 and in 1865, associated with himself as partner 
 his son, John I. Piatt, under the name of Isaac 
 Piatt & Son, who issued their first paper April i 
 1865. 
 
 Becoming cramped in their new quarters the 
 firm resolved to select a site and erect a building 
 suited to the needs of the office. In 1867, the 
 building now occupied, No's. 10 and 12 Liberty 
 street, was erected, and was occupied in March 
 1868. 
 
CITY OF POUGHKEEPSIE. 
 
 40s 
 
 Isaac Piatt .continued his connection with the 
 paper till his death, June 5, 1872, at the age of 
 sixty-nine years. His son J. F. Piatt had been 
 admitted to the firm a few years previously under 
 the name of Isaac Piatt & Sons. On the death 
 of Mr. Piatt, his sons succeeded to the sole manage- 
 ment of the, paper, and have since conducted it, 
 publishing both daily and weekly editions, under 
 the name of Piatt & Piatt. The circulation of the 
 daily is about 1,900, and of the weekly, 1,800. 
 The size of the daily is twenty-six by forty-one 
 inches, and of the weekly, thirty-one by forty-six. 
 The paper has been conducted in the interest of 
 the Repubhcan party since its organization. 
 
 Several ephemeral papers were published prior 
 to the commencement of the " Dutchess Intelli- 
 gencer," and one which is continued through vari- 
 ous changes to the present time. " The American 
 Farmer and Dutchess County Advertiser" was 
 commenced in August, 1798, by John Woods, and 
 was continued a short time. " The Barometer " 
 was commenced in May, i8oa, by Isaac Mitchell, 
 who subsequently changed the name to " The Po- 
 litical Barometer," and published it as late as July, 
 1806, " every Tuesday morning, five doors south of 
 the court house." In 1806, it became the property 
 of Thomas Nelson. Its name was changed in 1 809 
 to " The Northern Politician," and soon after it 
 was discontinued. "The Farmer" was published 
 here in 1806-7. In November, i8ii, Derick B. 
 Stockholm and Thomas Brownjohn started " The 
 Republican Herald," which was a strong supporter 
 of Daniel D. Tompkins, who was then Governor 
 of the State. It was continued until 1823 under 
 the charge of Johnston Verplank and William Orr. 
 
 " The Dutchess Observer " was started May 10, 
 181 5, by Charles P. Barnum and Richard Nelson. 
 Nicholas Jaycocks, Nathan Myers, Jr., and Orrin 
 Osborne were successively interested in its publica- 
 tion until 1826, when it was united with " The Re- 
 publican Telegraph, which was estabUshed May 5, 
 1824, in charge of William Sands and Isaac Piatt. 
 
 The " Telegraph " was a Democratic paper. " Its 
 issue produced a marked sensation throughout the 
 village and county, as it was in some respects, espec- 
 ially in appearance, far in advance of the country 
 papers of the day, the material of the office being 
 entirely new. The office was not owned by the 
 publishers, as both were entirely destitute of means, 
 but belonged to the Democratic party of the county, 
 the funds being raised by subscription, and placed 
 in charge of the party central committee, who es- 
 tablished the office and were to control the politi- 
 
 cal character of the paper." This committee con- 
 sisted of James Hooker, Leonard Maison, Abraham 
 G. Storm, John S. Myers, Jacob Van Ness, Ebene- 
 zer Nye and Obediah Titus, all of whom are long 
 since dead, Mr. Storm having outlived his asso- 
 ciates. The great political revulsion of 1824, 
 which snatched from the Democrats a power they 
 had wielded for twenty-four consecutive years, put 
 an end to their control of the "Telegraph" as a 
 party, for in the spring of 1 825 they sold the estab- 
 Kshment to Charles P. Barnum. 
 
 The united papers were published under the 
 name of "The Poughkeepsie Telegraph and Ob- 
 server," and was successively under the charge of 
 Charles P. Barnum, Egbert B. Killey, Aaron Low 
 and Benson J. Lossing. It was printed in the 
 frame building on the site of the Myers Block, just 
 east of the drug store occupied by Brown & Doty, 
 till their dissolution. May 15, i88r. In 1841, it 
 was changed to " The Telegraph," and was pub- 
 Ushed by Killey & Lossing. Albert S. Pease and 
 E. K. Olmsted were afterward interested in its pub- 
 lication. In 1856 itw^as united with the "Dutchess 
 Democrat." 
 
 The " Dutchess Democrat " was the successor of 
 " The American," which was started in November, 
 1845, by Augustus T. Cowman, in the interest of 
 the American party, and. was published weekly by 
 him till 1849, °" the corner of Main and Market 
 streets; its name having, soon after its establish- 
 ment, been changed to " The Poughkeepsie Amer- 
 ican." In 1849, it passed into the hands of Elias 
 Pitts,* who sold it in 1853 to Edward B. Osborne, 
 by whom it was published under the name of the 
 "Dutchess Democrat," in the interest of the "hard 
 shell" branch of the Democratic party until 
 August, 1856, when it was merged with "The Tel- 
 egraph," which was then published in the interest 
 of the " soft shell" branch of that party by Killey 
 & Pease, (the widow of Egbert B. Killey, its former 
 publisher, who died March 17, 1852, aged forty^ 
 eight, and Albert S. Pease, the present publisher 
 of the " Saratoga Sun.") 
 
 The united papers were published under the 
 name of "The Poughkeepsie Telegraph and 
 Dutchess Democrat," by Osborne & Killey, (Ed- 
 ward B. Osborne and Egbert B. Killey, a son of 
 
 * Statement of Mr. Edward B, Osborne, the present publisher. French 
 in .his Gazetteer of New York and Mr. S. P. Heermance, in his Remin- 
 iscences, published in The Sunday Courier, both state that Isaac Tomp- 
 kins was interested,in the publication of The Poughkeepsie A Tnerican ; 
 but while the former makes him precede Elias Pitts, the latter ;nakes him 
 succeed him. Mr. Heermance has been a. journeyman job printer in 
 Poughkeepsie for more than half a century, and is, perhaps, as conver- 
 sant with the general history of the Press as any man now living. 
 
404 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 the former publisher of "The Telegraph,") till 1859, 
 when Mr. Killey withdrew, and Mr. Osborne asso- 
 ciated with himself as partner Charles J. Gaylord, 
 under the name of Osborne & Gaylord. In 1862, 
 Mr. Gaylord accepted a Lieutenant's commission 
 in the 150th Regiment, and his interest in the pa- 
 per was purchased by John H. Otis. Otis & Os- 
 borne published it about six months, when it passed 
 wholly into the hands of Mr. Osborne, who still 
 publishes it weekly under the name of " The Pough- 
 keepsie Telegraph." 
 
 In 1863, Mr. Osborne also became the proprie- 
 tor of the " The Poughkeepsie Daily Press," which 
 was established as "The Daily City Press," May i, 
 1852, by Nichols, Bush & Co., who soon after 
 changed the name to " The Daily Press," and in 
 1858 sold it to Spaight, Holden & Pease, (John 
 W. Spaight, John P. H. Holden and Albert S. 
 Pease,) who published it but a short time. It soon 
 passed into the hands of Mr. Pease, who published 
 it until 1863, when Edward B. Osborne, the present 
 proprietor, acquired possession. This was the first 
 daily paper published in Poughkeepsie. It was 
 published as a morning paper until it passed into 
 the hands of Mr. Pease, in 1858. He changed it 
 to an evening paper about a year later, and it is 
 still published as such. There was a brief hiatus 
 in its publication, from July 29, 1863, to August 
 22, 1863. May I, 1881, the office was removed 
 from its old location over the corner of Main and 
 Mechanic streets to Nos. 11 and 13 Garden street. 
 Mr. Osborne publishes the leading, and with the 
 exception of the "News," of Poughkeepsie, the 
 only Democratic paper in the county. The circu- 
 lation of the "Press" is about 500, and its size, 
 twenty-six by thirty-seven inches. The circulation 
 of the "Telegraph," which is published on Satur- 
 day, is 1,850, and its size, thirty by forty-six and 
 one-half inches. 
 
 " The Dutchess True American " was pubUshed 
 in 1828, by Peter K. Allen. "The Poughkeepsie 
 Casket" was published by Killey & Lossing in 
 1836. "The Branch" was issued a short time 
 the same year, by Joseph H. Jackson. "The 
 Youth's Guide," a semi-monthly, was issued 
 in 1837 by Isaac Harrington, Jr. "The Thom- 
 sonian," a semi-monthly, eight-page quarto, was 
 commenced in 1839, and published in the in- 
 terest of the Thomsonian school of medicine. It 
 was edited for four years by Thomas Lapham, and 
 for three years by Abial Gardner. It was printed 
 by S.^. Heermance, who commenced the printing 
 business in Kingston in 1828, and in 1829 removed 
 
 to Poughkeepsie, where, with the exception of a 
 year or two, he has since resided and been en- 
 gaged in the printing business as journeyman and 
 job-printer. "The Temperance Lifeguard" was 
 started in 1843 by G. R. Lyman, and was contin- 
 ued for two or three years. " The Safeguard," 
 also a temperance sheet, was published in 1845, by 
 William Patton. " The Independent Examiner " 
 was started in February, 1855, by Henry A. Gill, 
 and was discontinued in 1858. "The American 
 Banner" was started in 1856, by Charles J. Ackert. 
 In 1857 it was removed to Fishkill, and there pub- 
 Ushed by J. Carpenter Mills as " The Dutchess 
 County Times." " The American Mechanic " was 
 started in 1849 by George W. Clark. In 1850 it 
 was removed to Rhinebeck and united with the 
 "Gazette" of that village. "The Poughkeepsie 
 Gazette" was published in 1859, and was edited 
 by B. L. Hannah. "The Daily Poughkeepsian " 
 was started as an evening paper July i, 1863, by 
 Hager & Holden, (Jacob Henry Hager and J. G. 
 P. Holden, the former of whom afterward pub- 
 lished the " Tobacco Leaf" in New York, and the 
 latter of whom is the present publisher of the 
 "Yonkers Gazette.") It was published in the old 
 Morris building, (recently burned,) just west of the 
 city hall. 
 
 The "Daily News" was established May 4, 1868, 
 by T. G. Nichols, as a morning paper, and was 
 conducted by him as such until July, 1871, when 
 it was sold to Hegeraan & Wilbur, '(Wallace W. 
 Hegeman and Edmund J. Wilbur,) who changed 
 it from an independent to a Republican paper, and 
 published it until the fall of 1872, when it passed 
 into the hands of Hon. John O. Whitehouse, who ,, 
 conducted it as a Democratic paper, with Cyrus 
 Macy as editor, until April 18, i88r, when its man- 
 agement was assumed by " The News Publishing 
 Company," composed of James A. Rooney, Cor- 
 nelius F. Sweeny, Samuel P. Flagler, William T. 
 Leary and WiUiam A. Nyce, four of whom are 
 practical printers, and the former of whom is editor. 
 It is published at 291 Main street, as the "Pough- 
 keepsie Daily and Weekly News." It "will advo- 
 cate the grand principles of Democracy," but 
 will "be independent enough to refuse to 'speak 
 or write according to the dictates of any master.'" 
 
 "The Dutchess Farmer" was established April 
 6, 1869, by Egbert B. Killey, Jr., who published it 
 till his death, February 11, 1873, since which time 
 it has been continued by his widow, Mrs. N? S. 
 Killey, who is assisted in the editorial management 
 by J. H. Swertfazer. The paper was enlarged with 
 
CITY'OF POUGHKEEPSIE. 
 
 405 
 
 the beginning of the second volume. It is, and has 
 been since it was started, devoted to agriculture and 
 to family reading. It is the only paper of its char- 
 acter in the county. It is published every Tuesday 
 at 283 Main street. Its circulation is 1,000; its 
 size twenty-eight by forty-two inches — eight pages 
 of five columns each. 
 
 "The Sunday Courier" was estabhshed Decem- 
 ber 15, 1872, by T. G. Nichols, who still pubhshes 
 it. Mr. A. G. Tobey is assistant editor and busi- 
 ness manager. It is the only Sunday paper on the 
 Hudson between New York and Albany. It is is- 
 sued from Nos. 5, 7 and 9 Market street. Its cir- 
 culation is S,ooo; its size twenty-eight by forty-two 
 inches. 
 
 The " Wochentliche (Weekly) Post" was started 
 June 26, 1878, by William Wolff, who still pub- 
 lishes it every Saturday, in the interest of the Dem- 
 cratic party. It is printed in German, and is the 
 only German paper printed on the Hudson be- 
 tween New York and Albany. It is dated Pough- 
 keepsie and Newburgh, but printed at the former 
 place. Its circulation is 1,500; its size, thirty- 
 eight by forty-two. 
 
 Two other German papers were published here 
 for very brief periods a few years since ; one by a 
 man named Konitzko, and the other by one named 
 Mohring. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXV. 
 
 Educational Measures and Institutions in 
 PouGHKEEPSiE — The Public Library of 
 
 POUGHKEEPSIE — PRIVATE SCHOOLS OF POUGH- 
 
 KEEPSiE — Duchess County Academy — Pough- 
 KEEPSiE Female Academy — Poughkeepsie 
 Collegiate School — Riverview Academy — 
 Cottage Hill Seminary — The College Pre- 
 paratory School — Cook's Collegiate Insti- 
 tute FOR Young Ladies — Eastman Business 
 College — Vassar College — Bishop's Select 
 School for Bovs— Dr. Warring's Board- 
 ing School — Pelham Institute — Bockb's 
 School for Young Ladies — The Home Insti- 
 tute-^Literary Societies and Institutions 
 of Poughkeepsie — The Poughkeepsie Lyceum 
 of Literature, Science and Mechanic Arts 
 
 The Poughkeepsie Literary Club — The 
 
 Poughkeepsie Society of Natural Science— 
 Vassar Brothers' Institute. 
 
 WE shall not deem it important to detail 
 the history of the public schools in 
 Poughkeepsie prior to 1843,. in which year the 
 present system, substantially, was adopted. 
 
 The act authorizing the establishment of free 
 schools provided for the election of twelve com- 
 missioners, who should " constitute the Board of 
 Education for the village of Poughkeepsie," and 
 have " the entire control and management of all 
 the common schools of the village and the proper- 
 ty connected therewith." Three of these were 
 required to " visit each school once a week and 
 render such assistance to the teachers and advice 
 to the pupils as [might] be expedient ;" but this 
 requirement was afterwards repealed. June 13, 
 1843, the following commissioners were elected: 
 George C. Marshall, Benjamin Gile, WiUiam P. 
 Gibbon, Ira Armstrong, Thomas Austin, Egbert 
 B. Killey, Christopher Appleton, James Reynolds, 
 Jr., Barnet Hawkins, Isaac Piatt, David L. Stare 
 and Henry Angevine. The latter, it is beUeved, 
 is the only one who survives. On the 20th of that 
 month the commissioners met in the room of the 
 village trustees, and organized the first Board of 
 Education, by chosing Wm. P. Gibbon, President, 
 and Thomas Austin, Clerk. 
 
 The act of 1843 continued until the incorpora- 
 tion of the city, in 1854, when its main provisions 
 were embodied, and with some modifications have 
 since continued in the city charter. 
 
 In 1843 the village corporation did not own a 
 school building. The Board supphed the want by 
 the rental of " the building formerly occupied as 
 a theatre, situated in Market near Jay street, for 
 the term of three years and nine months, at eighty 
 dollars per annum;" also "a room in the building 
 situated on the corner of Clinton and Thompson 
 streets," for the like rent and same term. About 
 the ist of August, 1843, a primary school was 
 established in each of these places ; and on the 
 ist of December, 1843, a third primary school 
 was established in " a room in a coach factory at 
 the junction of Mill and Dutchess avenue."* 
 
 The necessity for a higher grade school seems 
 to have been felt, and in July, 1843, the Board 
 purchased the lot on the corner of Mill and 
 Bridge streets, and erected upon it the brick build- 
 ing now standing there. Jan. 29, 1844, "the first 
 grammar school for boys under the free school 
 act in the village of Poughkeepsie " was opened 
 in that building, with 119 "quaHfied scholars" in 
 attendance, under the superintendance of Josiah I. 
 
 *Board of Education Report^ 1879. Mr. Reynolds' diary, before 
 quoted, says under date of August zi, 1843 ; " The first primary school 
 under the Free School act was commenced in the room on the comer of 
 Smith and Thompson streets in this village. It is denominated No. 1 , 
 and one hundred children were admitted the first day. No. 1 was opened 
 in Market street, No. 3 in Mill street, junction of Duchess Avenue, 
 each holding 150 children." 
 
4o6 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 Underbill, who was assisted by his son. The 
 property has ever since been in use for school pur- 
 poses, and is known as school No. i. 
 
 May I, 1844, the board "rented the Primitive 
 Methodist Church room, in Church street," and in 
 it established a school for colored children, with 
 thirty-five pupils in attendance. This school was 
 continued in various rented buildings until 1875, 
 when it was discontinued, and the pupils of that 
 class "permitted" to enter the other schobls. 
 There has since been ho distinction made on ac- 
 count of color. In November, 1844, the Board 
 rented a basement room in the Universalist church 
 and there organized a fourth primary school. 
 With the exception of the removal of some of the 
 schools into other rented buildings, no material 
 change seems to have been made until 1856-7, 
 when school No. 2, in church street, between Acade- 
 my and Market streets, was erected, upon the site 
 of the " old Lancaster school building." In 
 1858, the lot in Church street, west of Clover, was 
 purchased, and the building now designated as 
 School No. 3, erected. In 1861, School No. 4, in 
 Bayeux street, was erected on a lot purchased by 
 the city. No. 5, in North CHnton street, was 
 erected in 1862, and the school in the rented 
 building, on the corner of CHnton and Thompson 
 streets, transferred to it, the Board then ceasing to 
 occupy any of the originally rented School rooms. 
 School No. 6, located in the Hoffman street 
 chapel, is now rented by the Board from the Bap- 
 tist Society, for school purposes during school 
 hours, being reserved for church and Sunday school 
 purposes at other times. For some years prior to 
 1876, Faith chapel in Union street, was rented 
 and used for a public school, known as No. 7, but 
 it was discontinued in that year, and the pupils 
 transferred to other schools. No. 8 was organized 
 in 1874, in the rented building on the cprner of 
 Main and Cherry streets, and continued there un- 
 til the building in Cannon street was purchased 
 and completed in 1878, when the school was trans- 
 ferred from the rented premises. The colored 
 school, before referred to, was designated as No. 9. 
 No. 10 is organized and conducted at the Home 
 for the Friendless, in South Hamilton street. No. 
 II is located in North Clover street, and No. 12 
 in lower Mill street. Both the latter were organ- 
 ized in 1873, and are in buildings owned by St. 
 Peter's church, rented in 1873, at the nominal 
 rent of one dollar per annum, the Board keeping 
 the buildings insured and in ordinary repair. 
 With the proceeds of the sale of the Duchess 
 
 Qounty Academy property, and funds raised by 
 the city, the High School building was commenced 
 in 1871, and completed in 1873. It has since 
 been used for High School and library purposes. 
 In 1880, one of the new stores in the Whitehouse 
 block, 523 Main street was rented and an introduc- 
 tory school, designated No. 7, established there. 
 
 Nearly all the buildings erected for the use of 
 the schools were originally constructed upon the 
 plan of having on each floor one large noom, in 
 which all pupils were to be seated, with two small 
 class rooms adjoining, into which the pupils were 
 to pass from time to time for recitations. Ex- 
 perience demonstrated that the best results were 
 not obtained in the lower grades by this system, 
 and gradually changes have been made in the 
 buildings, until at present no class rooms exist 
 other than in the High School. At present all 
 pupils of the grammar or lower grades are seated 
 with and under the exclusive control of the teacher 
 to whom they recite, the teacher being held 
 responsible for their conduct and advancement. 
 
 Before 1877, the only supervision had of the 
 Schools was such as the Commissioners personally 
 gave them. Under an act passed in that year the 
 Board was enabled to appoint a Superintendent, 
 who went into office Nov. 15, 1877, and has since 
 remained in charge. His earnest efforts have ac- 
 complished much in increasing the efficiency of the 
 schools, and their present favorable condition is 
 largely due to his action. 
 
 The schools are graded aud designated in pro- 
 gressive order as — Introductory, Primary, Gram- 
 mar and High School. The enrollment in 1845, 
 the first year in which it is indicated, was i,i24j 
 the average monthly enrollment in 1880 was 2,406. 
 The average attendance at the schools in 1843, 
 was 471; in 1845, 912; and in 1880, (average 
 monthly,) 2,020; the percentage of attendance in 
 1880 being 83.9. The entire seating capacity of 
 the schools, exclusive of the Home of the Friend- 
 less, is 2,930. The expenditures for school pur- 
 poses in 1880 were $36,461.22. 
 
 The following are the members of the Board of 
 Education : President, A. B. Smith ; Commission- 
 ers, A. L. Allen, O. D. M. Baker, Henry Bartlett, 
 G. C. Bayley, Henry Booth, B. S. Broas, C. Du- 
 Bois, Jr., Edward Elsworth, J. I. Jackson, E. B. 
 Parker and J. S.VanCleef; Clerk, Russell Osborne ; 
 Superintendent, Edward Burgess. The office of 
 the Board is in the Library building, on the corner 
 of LaFayette and Washington streets. 
 
 TAe Public Library of Foughkeepsie was estab- 
 
VIEW OF THE HUDSON RIVER A: 
 
 » FROM RESIDENCE OF CAPTAIN L. Ei 
 
D CATSKILL MOUNTAINS, 
 
 NG, POUGHKEEPSIE, N. Y. 
 
CITY OF POUGHKEEPSIE. 
 
 407 
 
 lished in 1840 in a building on Union street. The 
 act of 1843, which established the free school sys- 
 tem in Poaghkeepsie, gave the Board of Educa- 
 tion control over this library, with authority to em- 
 ploy a librarian, and under that law it passed to the 
 Board Sept. 12, 1843. For several years the hbrary 
 was located in what is now known as the " Library 
 Building," opposite the Western Union telegraph 
 office, though now occupied as law offices. Early in 
 1862, the Board leased the two south rooms on the 
 first floor of the court house, now occupied by 
 Judge Barnard, and into these they commenced 
 to remove the library, April i6th of that year. 
 There it remained until the completion of the High 
 School building in 1873, in April of which year it 
 was removed to the lower floor of that building, 
 which it still occupies. The building is a hand- 
 some brick structure, with Ohio stone trimmings, 
 three stories high, and was erected at a cost of 
 $40,000, including site, which cost $12,000, some 
 $13,000 of which was realized from the sale of the 
 old Duchess County Academy property which was 
 transferred to the Board of Education in 1870. 
 The two upper floors are occupied by the High 
 School. 
 
 In 1843, the library comprised less than a thous- 
 and volumes. It now contains 10,822 volumes of 
 well selected Hterature. In 1874, Hon. George 
 Innis presented the Board a sum of money, which 
 at his suggestion, was expended in the purchase of 
 carefully selected mechanical and scientific works 
 for the use of mechanics and trades-workers. The 
 collection now contains 176 volumes, which are 
 placed in a part of the library designated "Innis 
 Alcove." At various times Hon. James Emott, a 
 former member of the Board, has presented an ag- 
 gregate of 332 volumes of valuable miscellaneous 
 works, which are similarly placed and designated 
 " Emott Alcove." 
 
 James VanKleeck was the first Hbrarian in the 
 old " Library Building," a position he held for sev- 
 eral years. He was succeeded for short intervals 
 by Isaac Smith, now Treasurer of the Poughkeep- 
 sie Savings Bank, and D. W. B. Marsh, the latter 
 of whom was succeeded in October, 1869, by Rus- 
 sell Osborne. 
 
 Connected with the library, which is open from 
 10 a. m. to 8 p. m., is a free reading room, which 
 was established and has been maintained since 
 April 8, 1872. On its tables are kept the principal 
 current periodicals and reviews— some forty in 
 number — published in this country and Europe. 
 There is a uniform appropriation of $750 per an- 
 
 num for the addition of new books — $250 from the 
 State and $500 from the city. 
 
 The pioneer among Poughkeepsie's private edu- 
 cational institutions was the Duchess County 
 Academy, which was incorporated by the Regents, 
 Feb I, 1792, and was the seventh institution char- 
 tered by that body. The germ of this institution 
 was started in Fishkill some years previous to the 
 Revolution, and there Dr. John H. Livingston 
 and other distinguished men in Church and State 
 are said to have received their early academic edu- 
 cation.* It was the first academy in the county, 
 and shortly after the close of the Revolution was 
 removed to Poughkeepsie, where it was located on 
 the corner of Academy and Cannon streets, to the 
 former of which it gave its name. The site is now 
 occupied by the residence and office of Dr. Parker 
 and the Hull block. The first principal of whom 
 we have any knowledge, says a writer in the 
 Poughkeepsie Weekly Eagle, 1871, was Rev. 
 Cornelius Brower, who was then (1794 to 1807) 
 pastor of the Reformed Dutch Church. His suc- 
 cessors in that building were Daniel H. Barnes, 
 John Mcjimpsy, Stephen Hasbrouck, Edwin 
 Holmes, Eliphaz Fay and R. B. Gregory. 
 
 In 1836, an unimproved lot two hundred feet 
 square, situated on the corner of Montgomery and 
 Hamilton streets, was purchased for $1,000, and 
 in that year a brick building, rectangular in form, 
 sixty-eight by forty-three feet, exclusive of projec- 
 tion of portico, and four stories high, was erected 
 at a cost of $10,364.13. The old site was sold to 
 the late Alexander Forbus. The old building was 
 removed to the north-east corner of North Clinton 
 and Thompson streets, and in 1843 ^^^ leased for 
 a term of years by the Board of Education, and 
 occupied as a public school. 
 
 WiUiam Jenny was engaged as principal in the 
 new building. His compensation consisted of the 
 income of the school and the appropriation from 
 the Literature Fund, except $40oper annum, which 
 was to be applied to the payment of the debt and 
 the insurance on the building, which he was re- 
 quired to keep in ordinary repair, and, under 
 direction of the trustees, to employ and pay all 
 teachers required to carry on the school. The 
 number of pupils then attending the school was 
 one hundred and twelve, of whom sixty-four pur- 
 sued classical studies or the higher branches of 
 English education. Mr. Jenny resigned the prin- 
 cipalship April 6, 1843, and was succeeded by 
 
 * Local Reminiscences in The Sunday Courier^ of Poughkeepsie, 
 June 1, 1873. 
 
4o§ 
 
 MlStORY OF DTJCHESS COUNTV. 
 
 William McGeorge, who was employed on the same 
 terms. William B. Wedgewood was principal for 
 a short period. Rev. Raynard R. Hall was the 
 principal in 184s, and until April 13, 1847. He 
 was followed by Peter S. Burchan. Mr. Burchan 
 was the prmcipal until 1851, when Mr. McGeorge 
 again assumed these duties and exercised them 
 until 1864. Stewart Pelham succeeded to the 
 principalship and held the position during the fur- 
 ther continuance of the school, which, it was 
 evident, had outlived its usefulness. 
 
 August 2T, 1869, the trustees — T. L. Davies, 
 James Bowne, H. D. Varick, John Thomson, L. 
 G. Dodge, J. B. Jewett, George Van Kleeck and 
 C. W. Swift — having received a petition from Will- 
 iam C. Sterling and others, also from the Board of 
 Education of the city of Poughkeepsie, by which 
 many citizens united in asking them to apply to 
 the Legislature for authority to sell their real estate 
 at public auction and give the proceeds to said 
 Board for the purchase of a lot in the central part 
 of the city, and the erection thereon of a building 
 for a Public Library and a High School, " resolved, 
 that in the opinion of this meeting the interests of 
 the public will be best promoted by a comphance 
 with such petition." A committee was appointed 
 to make application to the Legislature, or unite 
 with the Board of Education in such application^ 
 for authority to pay over to said Board " whatever 
 funds or moneys we may then have and also to 
 bestow on said Board the library and philosophical 
 apparatus, desks and all other personal property of 
 said academy." The academy building was con- 
 verted into the Old Ladies' Home in 1871, and is 
 still used for that purpose. 
 
 The decade between 1830 and 1840 was, per- 
 haps, the period of Poughkeepsie's greatest activity, 
 and a vast imjjulse was given to its educational as 
 well as its more material interests. The Duchess 
 County Academy was not only removed to more 
 commodious quarters, but three other institutions 
 of a .similar character were chartered — the Pough- 
 keepsie Female Seminary, March 19, 1834, the 
 Poughkeepsie ■ Female Academy, May 10, 1836, 
 and the Poughkeepsie Collegiate School, May 
 26, 1836. In 1842, there were no less than twelve 
 male and female schools in the village, all " of a 
 superior order." 
 
 The Poughkeepsie Female Academy is the 
 oldest of the present schools in the city. It was 
 incorporated by the Legislature May 10, 1836, and 
 by the Regents Feb. 28, 1837. The erection of a 
 suitable building was at once commenced and was 
 
 ready for occupancy that year. Miss Arabella 
 Bosworth, who had kept a select school for some 
 years previously in the building on the corner of 
 Cannon and Mechanic streets, became the first 
 principal, and continued for several years in that 
 position. She was followed by Rev. Joseph Wilson, 
 Mr. Galpin, Miss Curtiss, Mrs. Holt and Dr. C. 
 H. P. McClellan. 
 
 Up to this time there had always been more or 
 less conflict of authority between the trustees who 
 had control and the principals of the school, which 
 interfered somewhat with its prosperity, but when 
 the next principal, Jacob C. Tooker, was appoint- 
 ed, the management passed more completely into 
 his hands. The result of the new plan was shown 
 in quite a considerable increase in the attendance. 
 Some additions were made to the building, and 
 the institution becamewidelyand favorably known. 
 Mr. Tooker continued at its head until his death, 
 after which Mrs. Tooker occupied the place for a 
 short time. In 1858, Rev. D. G. Wright, S. T. D., 
 the present rector, took charge. Smce that time 
 the building, which is a fine brick structure, situ- 
 ated on Cannon street, near Market, has been fur- 
 ther enlarged and refitted, and is now one of the 
 most complete in accommodations and appoint- 
 ments. The heavy Doric columns of the porch 
 give it an imposing appearance, and make it an 
 ornament to that part of the city. 
 
 This academy has always ranked among the best 
 in the State. It has a laboratory, with ample phil- 
 osophical and chemical apparatus, a skeleton and 
 physiological charts, and library of more than fif- 
 teen hundred volumes; also a large and fully fur- 
 nished gymnasium. 
 
 The Poughkeepsie Collegiate School, a classical 
 and commercial school, perpetuated in the River- 
 view Academy, a classical, English and military 
 boarding school, was incorporated by "the Legisla- 
 ture May 26, 1836, and by the Regents Feb. 9, 
 1839. It was one of the fruits of the " Improve- 
 ment Party " in Poughkeepsie, with whose assist- 
 ance it was founded by Charles Bartlett, a graduate 
 of Union College, who had' previously conducted 
 for some six years in Utica, N. Y., a school on es- 
 sentially the same principles as were embodied in 
 this. Mr. Bartlett was burned out in Utica about 
 183 s, when he removed to Matteawan in this 
 county, and was associated with Rev. Mr. Wick- 
 ham in the management of a school in that place 
 for a year. In 1836, having been invited to open 
 a school in Poughkeepsie, he casually visited that 
 village and the afterwards classic grounds of Col- 
 
:fi^<ltA~±^AK*i^;A^±^*J<*A^i^AJtA^^^^^ 
 
 m 
 
 
 j^ t ,'«T?- 
 
 ^^SS 
 
 &r ^1. 
 
 ^ » » -^ j/^ 
 
 ^'i 
 
 r^if^ 
 
 'Ta 
 
 ^ 1 j 
 
 IS \d 
 
 w 
 
 S! 
 
 h^ 
 
 Kgr.fr T^^^T.^,Ttfp|,^|.^f„,■^-.,.^^^.,l'■.■i-■.■^^..^^..SI.„.^^.,^^f ^ 
 
 ^^^^^^^^^^^ 
 
CITY OF POUGHKEEPSIE. 
 
 409 
 
 lege Hill, which he remarked to friends who ac- 
 companied him, (members of the Improvement 
 Party,) would be a beautiful site for a school. He 
 was asked if he would take charge of a school if 
 one was built for him, and answered that he would. 
 
 In 1836, the brick building now on College Hill 
 was erected, at a cost of $40,000, and rented to 
 Mr. Bartlett, who opened a school there in Novem- 
 ber of that year, assisted by eight teachers. The 
 structure was modeled after the Parthenon, a cele- 
 brated temple of Minerva at Athens, in Greece. 
 Mr. Bartlett continued at the head of the school 
 until his death April 24, 1857, at the age of sixty 
 years. 
 
 On the death of Mr. Bartlett, he was succeeded 
 in the management of the school by Charles B. 
 Warring and Otis Bisbee, who conducted the 
 school for five years, when, in 1862, Mr. Warring 
 retired and established the Institute of which he is 
 now the efficient head. Mr. Bisbee continued the 
 school, and in that year (1862) introduced the 
 military feature, which is now a prominent one in 
 the school. 
 
 Riverview Academy is one of a number of 
 schools in the country which have come under the 
 management, not of a board of trustees who pro- 
 cure a principal by the payment of a salary and 
 retain the control and direction of the details 
 themselves, but which rather in all their appurte- 
 nances and property relations belong to the princi- 
 pal. What characterizes particularly such schools 
 is the personal interest and responsibility for the 
 management, and the entire freedom from dicta- 
 tion by any board of direction. The principal 
 in such a school wins his own reputation as a man- 
 ager of boys, and stands or falls as he is approved 
 or disapproved. 
 
 Riverview Academy is not a local school. Its 
 pupils are gathered from all parts of the Union, 
 and there are but few sections that have not at 
 different times been represented. Such a school 
 necessarily involves a large outlay of private means, 
 and cannot be expected to compete in cheapness 
 with schools that are endowed. These unendowed 
 private schools, many of them, are preferred be- 
 cause of some excellencies and peculiarities either 
 of discipline or instruction. In the care and over- 
 sight of pupils as to their moral and physical well- 
 being, such schools are claimed to excel. The fol- 
 lowing is taken from a recant catalogue : — 
 
 " Riverview Academy is beautifully situated on 
 an eminence near the Hudson River, in the out- 
 skirts of Poughkeepsie, and immediately contigu- 
 
 ous to the most finely laid out streets and parks in 
 the city. It occupies an extent of about six acres, 
 bordered with many hundred forest trees of various 
 kinds, deciduous and evergreen, circling the entire 
 place, the grounds rising in a gentle curve to the 
 summit, which the building crowns with its admi- 
 rable proportions. It commands a magnificent 
 view over many miles of river and forest, from the 
 Catskill mountains on the north to the Highlands 
 on the south. 
 
 "The building was erected in t866, has large 
 rooms with high ceilings, provided with hot and 
 cold water on every floor, is heated with steam and 
 lighted with gas ; and great pains is taken to make 
 the boys comfortable and happy. 
 
 " It is believed that the building is unrivalled by 
 any in the State for elegance, spacious accommo- 
 dations, and provision for conveniences of school- 
 boy life. The study and school-room is a beauti- 
 ful hall with a fine outlook on either side through 
 lofty windows and is remarkably sunny and cheer- 
 ful. The drill and exercise hall is a spacious room 
 fifty-six by fifty-two feet, heated in cold weather 
 and easily ventilated. It commands a prospect 
 over river, field and forest. 
 
 " All proper recreations that do not encroach 
 upon the work of the school, whether furnished by 
 the city and its life, or originating in the school, 
 are sanctioned. Care is taken to teach the boys 
 how to study ; and mere memorizing, unaccompa- 
 nied by an idea of the reasoning processes, is 
 treated as a fault and patiently corrected. If boys 
 begin here young, and continue, a thorough ground- 
 ing, whether in the classics or in English branches, 
 is guaranteed. Boys may be fitted here for any 
 college, scientific school or government academy. 
 Boys of corrupt moral influences are not re- 
 tained." 
 
 Speaking concerning the military training pro- 
 vided for by the Government in several schools 
 throughout the country, Adjutant-General Drum, 
 in his annual report says: — 
 
 " I do not think the importance of this early and 
 partial introduction of the youth of the country to 
 military studies and habits can be over-estimated. 
 The course of study does not interfere with the 
 scholastic duties of the curriculum, nor prevent 
 them from entering any of the several walks of 
 civil life for which they are preparing themselves. 
 It, however, leads them to affiliate in after life with 
 the militia of their respective States, and enhanc- 
 ing their value as members of such organizations, 
 increases immeasurably the capacity of the States' 
 National Guards to furnish trained officers to the 
 country in its hour of need. 
 
 "Aside, however, from all considerations of mili- 
 tary service, it is generally conceded that a proper 
 training in military drill results in an improvement 
 in the address of the student, in the habit of atten- 
 tion and readiness, and in neatness of person and 
 quarters. The instances are many in which the 
 writer has observed great improvement in the form 
 of the student resulting simply from military drill 
 
410 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 Stooping forms have become erect ; narrow chests 
 have expanded; an uncertain step has become 
 positive and elastic, and the whole bearing more 
 manly." 
 
 Many young men who have spent a happy por- 
 tion of their lives at Riverview, stand ready to give 
 testimony concerning its excellence as a school for 
 training boys. 
 
 Cottage Hill Seminary, was nearly contempo- 
 rary in its establishment with the latter institutions. 
 It was founded by Miss Lydia Booth, (who had for 
 years held a prominent place among the thorough 
 educators of girls in Poughkeepsie,) in a dwelling 
 on Garden street, on the northern verge of the 
 city, purchased for her use by her uncle Matthew 
 Vassar, who afterwards founded Vassar College. 
 The building was spacious and surrounded by 
 ample grounds. It had once belonged to one of 
 the Livingston family, and had acquired a little 
 local fame for having sheltered the exiled Bourbon 
 of the Orleans line, Louis Philippe, afterwards 
 king of France, who was accompanied by Prince 
 Talleyrand, the peerless diplomat, and political 
 Vicar of Bray.* It stands on an elevated knoll 
 overlooking much of the city and surrounding 
 country. 
 
 Miss Booth was succeeded in charge of the 
 school by Miss Arabella Bosworth, on her retire- 
 ment from the Poughkeepsie Female Academy, 
 and the latter, after an interval, by Prof. M. P. 
 Jewett. Prof. Jewett purchased and reopened the 
 Seminary in the spring of 1855, and during the 
 five years of his management succeeded in placing 
 it in the front rank of the schools of the time. 
 Having been made his associate by Matthew Vassar 
 in the development of his plans for the projection 
 of a college for the higher education of females on 
 a magnificent scale. Prof. Jewett sold the Seminary 
 property and relinquished the school at the close 
 of the summer term of i860, in order that he 
 might devote his whole time to that great labor. 
 Rev. George T. Rider took the Seminary from the 
 hands of Prof. Jewett, and continued it under the 
 same name as an Episcopal church school for 
 young women as late as 1872. He largely increased 
 the sphere of its usefulness. 
 
 The College Preparatory School is the successor 
 (in location) to Cottage Hill Seminary. It was 
 established in September, 1878, by John Miley, at 
 No. 23 South Liberty street. In May, 1879, it 
 was removed to the Hooker place, in Market 
 street, and from thence in Ma:y, 1880, toils present 
 locafion. Cottage Hill, Mr. Miley having reta ined 
 
 ♦ Vassar College and Us Founder, J8. 
 
 its management to the present time. It is designed, 
 unUke its predecessor, for the instruction of boys, 
 having classical, scientific, Enghsh and primary de- 
 partments. The average number of pupils is about 
 sixty, about one-third of whom are accommodated 
 with board. 
 
 The main building stands on Garden street, be- 
 tween Mill and Mansion streets, in a very pleas- 
 ant location, and in its arrangements and that of 
 its grounds, resembles a large and elegant suburban 
 residence. Connected with it by a covered way 
 is another building, which is also used for the ac- 
 commodation of pupils, and was formerly the resi- 
 dence of Mr. Benson J. Lossing. 
 
 The Poughkeepsie Female Collegiate Institute 
 now ; CooKs Collegiate Institute for Young Ladies, 
 was founded in 1848, by Dr. Charles H. P. Mc- 
 Lellan. Dr. McLellan continued the school in 
 successful operation for a little more than ten 
 years, during which time the building was doubled 
 ill size, and a library, cabinets, and a complete set 
 of philosophical apparatus added. He retired from 
 its management on account of ill health at the 
 close of i860, and died April 2, 1862, aged sixty. 
 In January, 1861, Rev. C. D. Rice purchased the 
 property, and again added to its accommodations 
 for pupils and to its play grounds, making the es- 
 tablishment one of the most perfect for educational 
 purposes. Under his management the prosperity 
 of the school was even greater than before. He 
 relinquished its charge in 1870, in which year 
 Prof. G. W. Cook, Ph. D., and Miss Johnson pur- 
 chased the property. After continuing it one year 
 in partnership, Prof. Cook assumed and has since 
 retained its entire management. The average num- 
 ber of pupils in attendance is one hundred and fifty, 
 about forty of whom are non-resident boarding 
 pupils. The school has been very successful under 
 its different managements. 
 
 Eastman Business College was founded in 1859, 
 by Harvey G. Eastman, who was born in the town 
 of Marshal, Oneida county, Nov. 16, 1832. He re- 
 ceived a common school education, but when a 
 young man became a pupil and afterwards a 
 teacher in a commercial school taught by his uncle 
 in Rochester. Mr. Eastman elaborated a system 
 of business education, and on the 19th of Decem- 
 ber, 1855, opened in Oswego the first commercial 
 college of any prominence in this country. In the 
 spring of 1858, he opened a similar institution in 
 St. Louis, Mo., and had but just entered upon a 
 promising business career, when an undesired pop- 
 ularity, originating in an unpopular course of lee- 
 
CITY OF POUGHKEEPSIE. 
 
 411 
 
 tures instituted by him in connection with his 
 school, which had also been a feature of his school 
 in Oswego, constrained him to leave that city. 
 
 Mr. Eastman then selected the newly constituted 
 city of Poughkeepsie as the scene of his future 
 labors, and, having previously directed public at- 
 tention to his projected 
 enterprise through the 
 means of thousands of 
 circulars sent through 
 the mails at St. Louis, 
 arrived in the former city 
 in October, 1859. He 
 rented a room in the 
 old Library building for 
 seventy - five cents a 
 week, and with tempo- 
 rary desks started his 
 school on the 3d of 
 November of that year, 
 with three students in 
 attendance. He met 
 with much opposition 
 
 and distrust at first from a class of citizens who 
 regarded him as an adventurer, and were loth to 
 see merit in him or his system of instruction, but 
 the school increased in patronage and favor, and 
 soon required increased accommodations. ' In 
 ,1861, the number of students had increased to 
 
 one room to five distinct buildings, used for instruc- 
 tion alone, and sixty-four teachers were employed 
 besides numerous assistants. A secretary and six 
 assistants were required to attend to the official 
 correspondence, the average number of letters 
 daily received and answered being from 300 to 500. 
 
 (SOUTH AVENUE APPROACH TO EASTMAN PLACE.) 
 
 paid 
 
 year, 
 
 returned him 
 
 He also distributed 
 
 500; in 1863, to 1,200, "every State, Territory 
 and several foreign countries being represented ;" 
 while in 1864-65, the daily attendance had reached 
 the extraordinary number of "more than 1,700 
 students." 
 
 In 1864, the college proper had increased from 
 
 (EASTMAN PLACE.) 
 
 Each building was supplied with a stationery store 
 to supply students, and a bindery belonging to the 
 college was devoted exclusively to ruling, making 
 and binding the blank books used. The entire 
 boarding capacity of the city was taxed to accom- 
 modate this great number of transient young men, 
 
 who filled up the 
 churches, and by their 
 support stimulated 
 every trade and indus- 
 try. At this time Mr. 
 Eastman was one of the 
 most extensive if not 
 the largest advertiser in 
 the United States. His 
 newspaper advertising 
 alone reached mam- 
 moth proportions. He 
 was the first advertiser 
 bold enough to use an 
 entire page of the 
 Weekly Tribune, at an 
 expense of $1,500 for 
 a single insertion. He 
 papers $60,000 in one 
 he often asserted, 
 
 five New York 
 
 an investment which, 
 
 a profit of more than $100,000. 
 vast numbers of cata- 
 logues, papers and circulars, which found their 
 way to almost every section of the globe, 
 
412 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 and brought him patronage from the remotest 
 
 parts. 
 
 The college, which now numbers about 400 
 pupils, occupies a building on Washington, near 
 Mill street. The building, which was formerly 
 seventy-five by fifty feet, two stories high, and once 
 the spiritual home of the Methodists, was enlarged 
 in 1876 by a three-story rear addition of equal 
 dimensions, and a two-story front addition, the 
 lower part of which is used as a stationery depart- 
 ment, and the upper part, as the general ofiice of 
 the institution. The upper floors of the original 
 building and front addition are connected with the 
 intermediate floor of the rear addition, thus making 
 the main business floor one hundred and sixty-two 
 feet in length and fifty feet in width. The lower 
 floor of the original building, also of the rear addi- 
 tion, which corresponds with it, are used as recita- 
 tion rooms ; and the upper floor of the rear addi- 
 tion as a department for special penmanship and 
 telegraphy. 
 
 Mr. Eastman died July 13, 1878, at Denver, 
 Colorado, whither he had gone for the benefit of 
 his health. He was a man of prodigious energy, 
 and through his enterprise became one of Pough- 
 keepsie's most prominent citizens. He was ap- 
 apointed a Commissioner of Charities for the Sec- 
 ond district, June 17, 1867, and again March 19, 
 1873. He represented the zd district of. this Coun- 
 ty in the Assembly in 1872, and again in 1874 ; 
 and was elected Mayor of Poughkeepsie in March, 
 1871, and again in December, 1876. The school 
 is continued under the presidency of E. White, 
 with A. J. Cass as secretary, and nine instructors. 
 
 Vassar College* was incorporated January 18, 
 1 86 1, under the name of Vassar Female College, 
 but at the request of the trustees, in compliance 
 with an expressed wish of its founder, the name 
 was changed by the Legislature, February i, 1867, 
 by the omission of the word " Female." Of all 
 Poughkeepsie's cherished educational institutions 
 this reflects on it the highest honor and has given 
 it the greatest renown. 
 
 Vassar College was founded and endowed through 
 the munificence of the late Matthew Vassar, of 
 whom specific mention has been made in the chap- 
 ter on the manufactures of Poughkeepsie. • Mr. 
 Vassar, having no children to inherit his property, 
 had long contemplated the application of a large 
 portion of his estate to some benevolent object, 
 
 * The materials for this sketch are drawn from Vassar College and 
 Its Founder-, by Benson J. Lossing, LL. D. ; a Historical sketch of 
 Vassar College ; Catalogue of Vassar College^ i88o-*8i ; and the 
 Treasurer's Report to July i, i860. 
 
 and in 1845, having visited Guy's Hospital in Lon- 
 don, an institution founded by a kinsman more 
 than a century before, and made himself familiar 
 with its history and economic arrangements, 
 returned home strongly impressed with the idea of 
 establishing a similar institution in the place where 
 he had accumulated his wealth. For years this idea, 
 though it had acquired no definite shape, remaineda 
 fixed purpose in his mind. Subsequently another 
 
 .,., _-^ •'=*-. ■^^-.•>_ ~~ 
 
 (BIRTHPLACE OF MATTHEW VASSAR.) 
 
 project claimed his attention, but he had, at first, 
 less inchnation to execute it. His niece. Miss 
 Lydia Booth, ( a daughter of his sister Mariah,) 
 who was a prominent educator in Poughkeepsie, 
 and the founder of Cottage Hill Seminary, suggested 
 "that he might be a substantial benefactor by 
 appropriating a part of his wealth for the founding 
 of an institution for the education of her sex, which 
 should be of a higher order than any then existing." 
 At a late period Miss Booth's noble idea was am- 
 plified by Prof. M. P. Jewett, who succeeded to the 
 management of Cottage Hill Seminary in 1855, 
 and enjoying a warm friendship with Mr. Vassar, 
 suggested to him that by founding an institution 
 which should be to young women what Yale and 
 Harvard are to young men, he might become a 
 greater benefactor to his race then by any other 
 act. 
 
 The project at once commended itself to Mr. 
 Vassar's judgment and awakened a desire to carry 
 it out on a scale commensurate with his liberal im- 
 pulses. A correspondence, oral and epistolary, 
 was opened with some of the leading educators of 
 the land, chiefly of the Baptist denomination, with 
 which he had enjoyed life-long associations. This 
 gave color to the idea that he purposed placing the 
 College under the control of the Baptists, but when 
 asked if such was his intention, his catholic spirit 
 
CITY OF POUGHKEEPSIE. 
 
 413 
 
 instantly dissented; and in his address to the trus- 
 tees of the College at the organization of the board, 
 five years later, he expressed his wishes on that 
 point in the following brief sentence : "All sectarian 
 influences should be carefully excluded ; but the 
 training of our students should never be intrusted 
 to the skeptical, the irreligious or immoral." 
 
 Architects were consulted ; plans for buildings 
 were submitted and examined with the most rigid 
 scrutiny ; and the result was a determination to 
 erect and endow, during his life-time, a college for 
 young women, on a large scale, in the most per- 
 fect manner then attainable, and upon the most 
 liberal basis, in which no sect, as such, should have 
 a controlling influence. 
 
 In the spring of i860, Mr. Vassar, then nearly 
 seventy years of age, determined to carry out his 
 long-cherished plan at once. On the 18th of 
 January, 1861, a charter was obtained, and named 
 as his associates in the first board of trustees, the 
 following named gentlemen, all of whom were his 
 personal friends, and half of them his fellow-towns- 
 men : Hon. Ira Harris, Hon. William Kelly^ Hon. 
 James Harper, Martin B. Anderson, LL. D., 
 Hon. John Thompson, Rev. Edward Lathrop, D. 
 D., Hon. Charles W. Swift, Rev. EUas L. Magoon, 
 D. D., Stephen M. Buckingham, Milo P. Jewett, 
 LL. D., Nathan Bishop, LL. D., Matthew Vassar, 
 Jr., Benson J. Lossing, LL, D., Rev. Ezekiel G. 
 Robinson, D. D., Samuel F. B. Morse, LL. D., 
 
 Mr Vassar formally transferred to the trustees, 
 bonds and mortgages, certificates of stock, and a 
 deed of conveyance, representing $408,000. 
 
 Matthew Vassar, Jr., a nephew of the founder, 
 was chosen treasurer of the board, a position he 
 held at his death, the present year (1881.) Prof 
 Milo P. Jewett was elected the first president of 
 the college, John H. Raymond, LL.D., was elected 
 
 (HIS FIRST RESIDKNCE IN POUGHKEEPSIE.) 
 
 Samuel S. Constant, John G. Vassar, Rev. WiUiam 
 Hague, D. D., Rev. Rufus Babcock, D. D., Cor- 
 nelius DuBois, John H. Raymond, LL. D., Mor- 
 gan L. Smith, Cyrus Swan, Hon. George W. Sterl- 
 ing, Hon. George T. Pierce, Smith Sheldon, 
 Joseph C. Doughty and Augustus L. Allen. 
 
 (HIS LAST RESIDENCE.) 
 
 his successor. Dr. Raymond remained at the 
 head of the institution until his death, August 14, 
 1878. Rev. Samuel L. Caldwell, D. D., was chosen 
 his successor in September, 1878, and still retains 
 the position. 
 
 A part -of the property conveyed by Mr. Vassar 
 consisted of two hundred acres of land, lying nearly 
 two miles east of the court house in Pough- 
 keepsie healthfully situated in the midst of beau- 
 tiful rural scenery. This had been selected as 
 the site for the college, and on Tuesday, June 4, 
 1 86 1, Mr. Vassar "broke ground" for that 
 structure — lifting a spadeful of earth from its 
 bed, and tracing with the plow a portion of the 
 trench which was to receive its foundation 
 stones. That spadeful of earth was placed in 
 a jar, and, with the implement with which it was 
 raised, is preserved in the college museum. The 
 college building was built after plans and under 
 -" the supervision of the distinguished architect, 
 James ' Ren wick, Jr., by WiUiam Harloe, of 
 Poughkeepsie, and the first collegiate year of 
 Vassar College was begun Sept. 20, 1865, with 
 more than three hundred students, a faculty of 
 eight professors, besides the president and lady 
 principal* and twenty assistant teachers in the 
 various departments of instruction. Three of the 
 faculty and all the assistants, were women. This 
 
 •The first lady principal was Hannah W. Lyman, who held the 
 position till her demise in 1871, when Harriet W. Terry was chosen her 
 successor. . Mrs. Julia A. Ray is the present incumbent. 
 
414 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 was in accordance with the expressed wish of the 
 founder, who especially desired the full co-opera- 
 tion of women in the institution and discipline of 
 the college. 
 
 The main college building is five hundred feet 
 in length, with a breadth through the center of 
 about two hundred feet, and at the transverse 
 wings of one hundred and sixty-four feet. It is 
 constructed of dull red brick, the joints pointed 
 with black mortar. The water-tables, and trim- 
 mings of the doors are of blue freestone. The center 
 building and the wings are five stories high, and 
 the connecting portions, four stories. Within the 
 edifice are six independent dwellings for resident 
 oflScers; accommodations for about four hundred 
 students ; apartments for a full complement of 
 managers and servants ; suites of rooms for class 
 recitations, lectures, and instruction in music and 
 painting; a chapel, dining-hall, parlors, and 
 other appurtenances of a first-class college. The 
 height of the center building from the foundation 
 to the top of the dome is ninety-two feet. All the 
 partitiqn- walls are of brick, and are carried up from 
 the ground to the top of the upper story. There is a 
 corridor in each story twelve feet in width and five 
 hundred and eighty-five in length, affording room 
 for exercise in inclement weather. These corridors 
 may be instantly divided into five separate parts, 
 by iron doors connected with eight fire-proof walls. 
 The latter are in pairs, standing ten feet apart, 
 and cut the building into five divisions. They are 
 connected only at the corridors, where the floors are 
 of brick and stone, over which the iron doors may 
 slide and be closed, so that, should a fire occur in 
 one portion of the building, the other parts would 
 be secure. For further security from accident by 
 fire, iron pipes, from water tanks on the attic floor, 
 pass down through the different stories. To these 
 hose is attached on each floor, and conveys water 
 with great force. A steam or water pump may be 
 speedily brought into use, if needed. A watch- 
 man traverses the building at night, and the 
 engineer or his assistant is always within call. 
 There are nine stairways from the top to the bot- 
 tom of the building, and eight passages for egress. 
 The building is protected by 6,000 feet of light- 
 ning rods ; and running through it are pipes for con- 
 veying gas, heat, water and waste, about twenty- 
 five miles in the aggregate length. The general 
 arrangement throughout the building is to have 
 one study-parlor for the common use of the occu- 
 pants of three lodging-rooms connected with it. 
 
 About 800 feet north-east of the college build- 
 
 ing is the observatory, standing on the summit of 
 a knoll, at the eastern verge of the campus. It 
 consists, in altitude, of a basement, principal story 
 and dome; and in area, of an octagonal center and 
 three wings, each of the latter being twenty-one by 
 twenty-eight feet in extreme dimensions; making 
 the entire length of the building eighty-two feet. 
 The vertex of the dome is thirty-eight feet above 
 the foundation, which is about ten feet above the 
 general level of the plain, which is 200 feet higher 
 than the Hudson. All the walls are of brick. The 
 piers for the instruments are of stone, except those 
 for the small collimating telescopes, which are built 
 of brick. The dome is made to revolve by an ar- 
 rangement of cast-iron pulleys, running on a circu- 
 lar track of iron. 
 
 Southward of the observatory, and 350 feet east- 
 ward of the college building, is Uhe steam and gas 
 house. Four boilers, whose furnaces consume 
 about 1,600 tons of coal in a year, send steam suf- 
 ficient through an iron main to give to all the 
 buildings (except the observatory,) a temperature 
 not lower than 65° F. A fifth boiler, larger than 
 the others, and set apart from them, serves as a 
 relay in emergencies, and in the hot season may 
 perform the entire service required. 
 
 The museum, still further to the south, was for- 
 merly known as the gymnasium, and contained 
 rooms for a riding-school, calisthenic hall and bowl- 
 ing-alley, a society hall, music rooms and apart- 
 ments for employes; but the experience of eight 
 years having satisfied the trustees that the riding- 
 school could not be made for the students gen- 
 erally an economical and efficacious means, either 
 of exercise or of instruction, it was determined to 
 discontinue that school, and to utilize for other 
 much-needed purposes the large portion of the 
 gymnasium which it occupied. In the summer of 
 1874, therefore, the building was altered at an ex- 
 pense of $27,000, and put into complete order for 
 the departments of natural history, drawing and 
 music, (the former two of which had been accom- 
 modated in the main college building,) with their 
 valuable collections and necessary lecture-rooms, 
 laboratories and studios. The center building, 
 sixty by one hundred and twenty feet in area, and 
 forty-six feet in height, formerly the riding-arena, was 
 divided into two spacious halls, the larger of which, 
 seventy-eight by fifty-four feet, is appropriated to 
 all the collections connected with the department 
 of natural history. 
 
 The cabinet of minerals, rocks and fossils is 
 especially remarkable for completeness and sym- 
 
CITY OF POUGHKEEPSIE. 
 
 415 
 
 metry, numbering more than 10,000 specimens, 
 besides models, restorations, relief-maps, sections, 
 landscapes, etc. 
 
 The cabinet of zoology illustrates all the sub- 
 kingdoms, comprising about 500 mammals, birds, 
 and reptiles from South America; representative 
 vertebrates from our own country ; a collection of 
 insects ; a choice collection of shells and corals, and 
 other radiates ; a fine osteological series, and some 
 of Auzoux's elastic anatomical models for illustrat- 
 ing structural and comparative zoology. The cabi- 
 net is especially rich in ornithology, as it includes 
 the Giraud collection of North American birds 
 well known as one of the most valuable in the 
 United States. It contains about 1,000 specimens, 
 all mounted, representing over 700 species, among 
 which are several type specimens and many of 
 historical interest as the originals of Audubon's 
 drawings. The representation of South American 
 birds, though not so complete, is rich, embracing 
 probably the largest series of humming-birds in 
 any college museum. 
 
 The herbarium consists mainly of plants from 
 New York and New England, arranged on a 
 unique plan for convenient reference. A cabinet 
 of archaeology and ethnology has recently been 
 commenced, including thus far for the most part 
 South American antiquities, collected by Professor 
 Orton. 
 
 To the east of the hall of natural history, and 
 occupying the rest of the riding-arena, is the art 
 gallery, fifty-six by thirty-seven feet. The original 
 art collection was purchased by Mr. Vassar in 
 i864-'5, just before the college opened, from Rev. 
 Elias L. Magocn, D. D., then of Albany, for nearly 
 $20,000, and presented to the college as a supple- 
 mentary gift. It comprised more than 400 pic- 
 tures, mostly of cabinet size, in oils and water- 
 colors, representing many of the best known con- 
 temporary artists, American and English. 
 
 By a generous gift from Matthew and John Guy 
 Vassar, nephews of the founder, a large and com- 
 modious laboratory of chemisty has recently been 
 erected. It is of two stories, with attic and base- 
 ment, and has rooms of ample size for lectures, 
 laboratory practice, and chemical and philosophi- 
 cal apparatus. It is completely arranged and 
 equipped for all demands of the course in chem- 
 istry and physics. The college library is located 
 in the main building, contains 14,000 volumes, se- 
 lected with special reference to the needs of the 
 various departments. 
 
 Bishops Select School for Boys, located at 50 
 
 Academy street, was estabUshed about i860, by 
 Col. John R. Leslie, who conducted it about one 
 and one-half years, when he entered the army as 
 Lieutenant in the 20th regiment, of which he after- 
 wards became Colonel. The school was afterwards 
 continued by William McGeorge and George W. 
 McLellan until 1870, when S. H. Bishop became 
 principal and has since managed it. Col. LesUe 
 erected a small brick building on the site of the 
 present one, . most of which is still standing, and 
 forms the rear part of the present school, the front 
 portion of which was erected by Mr. Bishop in 
 1875. This addition nearly doubled the capacity 
 of the school, which will now accommodate from 
 forty to fifty pupils. 
 
 Dr. Warring' s Boarding School, (for boys of all 
 ages,) located on the corner of Smith and Mansion 
 streets, was established as The Poughkeepsie Mili- 
 tary Institute, by Charles B. Warring, Ph. D., who 
 withdrew in 1862 from the Poughkeepsie Colle- 
 giate School, which he had conducted in company 
 with Otis Bisbee, and in that year erected a build- 
 ing at his present location, in which he opened his 
 school Jan. 14, 1863. From the outset the school 
 was very popular. It filled so rapidly with pupils 
 that within a few months an additional building 
 became necessary. It was continued with marked 
 success until 1871, when it was closed for a year 
 during Mr. Warring's absence in Europe. It was 
 then sold to Prof. H. S. Jewett, under whose charge 
 it remained until August, 1878, when it was re- 
 purchased by Mr. Warring, who still conducts it. 
 Pupils are prepared for college, West Point, or the 
 Naval Academy. The average number in attend- 
 ance is about fifty. 
 
 Pelham Institute, 108 Montgomery street, was 
 established about 1866, as Cary Institute, and 
 acquired its present name from Stewart Pelham, 
 who assumed its management in 187 1, and has 
 since conducted it. Mr. Pelham was for several 
 years principal of the old Duchess County Acad- 
 emy. The school rapidly grew into considerable 
 prominence, and has a present attendance of 
 about fifty pupils, most of whom are residents of 
 the city, the non-resident pupils being boarded in 
 the house. The school is designed for boys,'"Tvho 
 are prepared for college and for business. 
 
 Bocktes School for Young Ladies, 106 Mont- 
 gomery street, was established in 1866, by the pres- 
 ent proprietor, Mrs. C. W. Bock^e, who has since 
 conducted it, and with her husband, Dr. Jacob 
 Bockde, and daughters, Phebe and Mary, as assist- 
 ant teachers, students are prepared for college. 
 
4i6 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 The average attendance is thirty-five to forty, most 
 of whom are residents of the city. 
 
 The Home Institute, conducted by Miss Sarah 
 V. H. Butler, at 82 and 84 Academy street, was 
 established at Stanfordville, in 1870, by the present 
 proprietor, and removed to Poughkeepsie in 1878. 
 It is designed to educate young ladies and prepare 
 them for college, and at the same time surround 
 those who attend from abroad with the comforts 
 and safe-guards of a good home. It provides three 
 courses of study, primary, intermediate and classi- 
 cal, and a special course is prepared for those who 
 do not wish to take the full course. 
 
 The high character of Poughkeepsie's literary 
 institutions are but in keeping with its educational 
 interests. 
 
 The Poughkeepsie Lyceum of Literature, 
 Science and Mechanic Arts, the oldest of 
 Poughkeepsie's literary institutions, was incorpo- 
 rated April 6, 1838, "for the purpose of establish- 
 ing and maintaining a library, cabinet, philosophical 
 apparatus, reading-room, literary and scientific 
 lectures, and other means of promoting moral and 
 intellectual improvement, and of accumulating a 
 fund for the benefit of its members, and the fami- 
 lies of deceased members, as a resource in case of 
 sickness, infirmity or misfortune; with power for 
 such purposes to take by purchase, devise or other- 
 wise ; and to hold, transfer and convey, real and 
 personal property to the amount of twenty thou- 
 sand dollars ; and also further, to take, hold and 
 convey, all such books, cabinet, library, furniture 
 and apparatus, as may be necessary for attaining 
 the objects and carrying into effect the purposes of 
 the said corporation." 
 
 It is an outgrowth of two similar institutions — 
 the Mechanics' Literary and Benevolent Associa- 
 tion and the Lyceum of Natural Sciences — which 
 had been in existence for several years. A friendly 
 conference was had by many of the active members 
 of the two associations, and at a joint meeting held 
 March 5, 1838, of which Alexander J. Coffin was 
 chairman and E. F. Grant, secretary, a union was 
 effected under the above name. A constitution 
 and by-laws were unanimously adopted, and on 
 motion of B. J. Lossing, a committee was appoint- 
 ed to obtain a charter, and another, of which 
 Thomas L. Davies was chairman, to nominate 
 officers. 
 
 At the next meeting, held March 12, 1838, the 
 first officers were elected, as follows : Paraclete 
 Potter, president; Edward K. James, first vice- 
 president ; Alexander J. Coffin, second vice-presi- 
 
 dent ; Virgil D. Bonesteel, corresponding secretary ; 
 James H. Fonda, recording secretary ; William 
 Wilson, treasurer ; Thomas L. Davies, Edmund F. 
 Grant, Albert Ball, Benson J. Lossing, Charles W. 
 Swift, Robert B. Fanning, Charles Delafield, John 
 !6.eed and J. D. Williamson, directors. The first 
 lecture committee consisted of Charles W. Swift, 
 Rev. F. W. Hatch and Jacob Von Benthuysen. 
 
 Among the members were : Matthew Vassar, 
 John Adriahce, Charles Bartlett, W. Cunningham, 
 Henry Conklin, William A. Davies, Richard D. 
 Davis, Peter P. Hayes, James Hooker, Gideon P. 
 Hewitt, Thomas W. Harvey, Egbert B. Killey, 
 Henry A. Livingston, George P. Oakley, William 
 I. Street, Ehas Trivett, Nathaniel P. Tallmadge, 
 Richard A. Varick, Jacob Van Ness, Matthew 
 Vassar, Jr., Alex. M. Mann, William Wilkinson, 
 Josiah Williams, WiUiam W. Reynolds, Charles H. 
 Ruggles and Charles Johnson, nearly all of whom 
 have since deceased. 
 
 At the time of the union, the Lyceum, besides 
 the furniture of its rooms, had a cabinet of 1,500 
 choice minerals, some curiosities and a few books, 
 all in six cases ; and the Mechanics' Association 
 had a library of 270 volumes, in a single case. 
 
 In July, 1847, the reading room was closed, 
 debates were abandoned, and the furniture was sold. 
 The relics and library were distributed, in part to 
 the Board of Education, and in part to the Young 
 Men's Christian Association. On the final distri- 
 bution, in 1873, one hundred and sixty-seven vol- 
 umes were given to that Association and one 
 hundred and thirty-seven volumes, with fifty un- 
 bound numbers of Blackwood's Magazine were 
 placed in the city library. The Lyceum now 
 maintains only an annual course of lectures. The 
 receipts during the year ending April 13, 1881, 
 were $2,003.32; the expenditures, i$i, 952.12. 
 The amount of invested funds was $3,207.66. 
 
 The present officers, elected April 18, 1881, 
 are : Rev. J. Elmendorf, D. D., President ; M. 
 Vassar, Jr., First Vice-President; J. P. Adriance, 
 Second Vice-President; G. Dudley, Recording 
 Secretary; S. H. Bishop, Corresponding Secre- 
 tary; J. V. Wright, Treasurer. 
 
 St. Peter i Library and Literary Society was or- 
 ganized in 1 862. The library contains 1,600 volumes 
 of a miscellaneous character, and is kept in a room in 
 the rear of St. Peters' church. It is open on Sundays 
 only, from 10 a. m. to 8. p. m., and is in charge 
 of a Librarian. The membership is limited to 
 Catholics, but non-members may enjoy its benefits 
 by the payment of ten cents per month. The 
 
CITY OF POUGHKEEPSIE. 
 
 417 
 
 society meets for literary exercises every Monday 
 evening during the fall and winter months, no 
 meetings being held in warm weather. Until the 
 winter of 1880-81, meetings were held in the 
 library room, but the society has outgrown that, 
 and now meets in the basement of St. Peters' 
 church. Richard Beck, now Mayor of Vicksburg, 
 was an early member and officer of the society. 
 The officers are : Patrick E. Owens, President ; 
 Michael Doyle, Vice-President; Thomas Shana- 
 han. Recording Secretary; Thomas Tobin, Finan- 
 cial Secretary ; Charles J. Rook, Treasurer ; Felix 
 Gallagher, Librarian. 
 
 The Poughkeepsie Literary Club was organized 
 Oct. 18, 1869, with Dr. E. W. Avery as President, 
 . and under, the successive presidencies of Edward 
 Elsworth, Dr. Dewitt Webb, C. A. Brewster and 
 J. I. Jackson, it maintained in an unostentatious 
 way the object for which it was founded, viz : in- 
 tellectual and social improvement. In 1876 the 
 club reorganized, and its by-laws were changed 
 and its object made to promote the study of liter- 
 ary, philosophic and social topics by its members, 
 by means of public discussions, essays and read- 
 ings. Edward Burges was elected President, and 
 with a membership of sixteen active workers soon 
 drew the attention of the community to its worthy 
 character and work. The year was a successful 
 one and marked a new era in the history of the 
 club. In 1877, W. G. Stevenson, M. D., was 
 elected President and increased the membership 
 to thirty-nine. The merits of the club were now 
 fully recognized, and its weekly literary exercises 
 called forth large and appreciative audiences. In 
 1878, Dr. Stevenson was re-elected and inaugur- 
 ated the plan of arranging in advance the appoint- 
 ments for the season extending from October to 
 May. The membership was increased to seventy. 
 The club had made a deep impression on the 
 thinking minds of the community and was recog- 
 nized as a local institution, whose influence had 
 awakened thought, stimulated the intellectual ener- 
 gies and advanced knowledge in the community. 
 In 1879, Edward Elsworth Esq., was elected Pres- 
 ident and advanced the interests of the club, in. 
 creased its membership and maintained its intel- 
 lectual status. Mr. Elsworth was re-elected in 
 •1880, and closed another successful year leaving 
 the club a strong and substantial factor in the 
 intellectual world of Poughkeepsie. In 1881, 
 Prof. T. J. Backus was elected President, but 
 prior to the time for the literary exercises to begin, 
 the club was merged into the Literary Section of 
 
 Vassar Brothers' Institute, over which Prof. Backus 
 was elected chairman. 
 
 The Poughkeepsie Society of Natural Science. — 
 Sept. 28, 1874, the following named gentlemen 
 met at the office of Dr. W. G. Stevenson to con- 
 sider the expediency of organizing a society of 
 natural science, viz : Dr. W. G. Stevenson, C. Van 
 Brunt, W. R. Gerard, H. T. Hickok and L. V. 
 Cortelyon. After choosing Dr. Stevenson chair- 
 man and Mr. Gerard secretary, the question was 
 discussed and it was decided to organize such a 
 society. Sept. 30, 1874, the same gentlemen with 
 the addition of Rev. Dr. A. P. Van Gieson and 
 Dr. J. Bockde met at the rooms of Mr. Van Brunt 
 and appointed Dr. Stevenson and Mr. Gerard a 
 committee to draft a constitution and by-laws. Dr. 
 Bock^e presented two stellate crystals of calcite, 
 which were the first contributions to the museum 
 of the Society. Oct. 27, 1874, the Society was 
 organized by the election of C. Van Brunt Presi- 
 dent, Dr. W. G. Stevenson Vice-President, W. R. 
 Gerard Secretary and C. N. Arnold Treasurer. 
 The constitution and by-laws as reported by the 
 committee were adopted. Dr. Stevenson, Mr. W. 
 R. Gerard and Mr. C. N. Arnold each donated a 
 number of specimens, and thus started what has 
 since grown to be a large and valuable collection 
 in the various departments of natural history and 
 mineralogy. 
 
 Oct. 12, the Society met for the first time in its 
 rooms in the club house in Garden street. Oct. 
 28, 1874, the Society resolved to become incorpo- 
 rated, and appointed a committee to revise the 
 constitution and by-laws and to take the necessary 
 steps to effect the incorporation. Dec. 14, 1874, 
 the revised constitution was adopted, and Dec. 
 28th the incorporation was effected. The incor- 
 porators and first trustees were Cornelius Van 
 Brunt, W. G. Stevenson, W. R. Gerard, A. T. 
 Hickok and C. N. Arnold. 
 
 May 17, 1875, the Society moved into a room 
 in the Pardee building and occupied that until 
 May, 1878, when they removed to their present 
 rooms in the Young Men's Christian Association 
 building. The Society met every two weeks from 
 October to June, and papers prepared by the mem- 
 bers on all subjects pertaining to natural science 
 were read and discussed. The Society has done 
 original work and presented many papers of in- 
 terest, and its meetings were kept up with a good 
 degree of enthusiasm. A system of exchange was 
 established with other scientific societies in this 
 country and Europe. The present membership is 
 
4i8 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 about forty. The museum contains about 5,000 
 mineralogical, paleontological and archaeological 
 specimens. 
 
 Mr. Van Brunt was succeeded in the presidency 
 by Dr. W. G. Stevenson in 1878, by Dr. E. H. 
 Parker in 1879, ^"<i by Rev. A. P. Van Gieson in 
 1881. 
 
 In January, 1882, the Society discontinued all 
 regular meetings and practically became absorbed 
 in the Vassar Brothers' Institute, to whose custody 
 all its property was transferred. 
 
 Vassar Brothers' Institute. — In the year 1881, 
 Mr. Matthew Vassar, Jr., and his brother Mr. John 
 Guy Vassar, fully appreciating the meritorious 
 character of the objects and work of the Pough- 
 keepsie Society of Natural Science and the 
 Poughkeepsie Literary Club, and recognizing the 
 fact that both organizations stood in need of better 
 accommodations and increased resources for the 
 prosecution of the work they sought to do, express- 
 ed their intention to erect a building and present 
 the same to these societies — provided that they 
 would unite in one society under one corporate 
 name. The large majority of both societies favored 
 this plan — but its execution was prevented by the 
 action of a few members in each society. Practi- 
 cally however, the result was the same as if a 
 union of the two organizations had been consum- 
 mated, for individual members gave their support 
 to the new movement and permitted the old 
 societies to practically die from inanition. The 
 Vassar Brothers' Institute was incorporated June 
 13, 1881, the following being the incorporators 
 and first trustees : Matthew Vassar, Jr., John Guy 
 Vassar, Rev. A. P. Van Gieson, Dr. W. G. Stev- 
 enson, Prof. T. J. Backus, Edward Ellsworth, Esq., 
 Prof. L. C. Cooley, S. M. Buckingham, John P. 
 Adriance, Prof W. B. Dwight, Charles N. Arnold, 
 Henry V. Pelton. 
 
 The object of the Institute is to "promote educa- 
 tion and useful knowledege in the departments of 
 science, literature and art, by investigating and 
 discussing subjects appertaining thereto, and by 
 establishing and maintaining a museum, a library 
 and a collection of works of art and objects of his- 
 toric interest in furtherance of such object." 
 
 In June, 1881, the following were elected officers 
 of th^ Institute : Matthew Vassar, Jr., President • 
 John Guy Vassar, Vice-President; Dr. W. G. 
 Stevenson, Secretary; Edward Ellsworth, Esq., 
 Treasurer ; Prof W. B. Dwight, Curator of the 
 Museum; Prof H. Van Ingen, Art Director; 
 Joseph I. Jackson, Esq., Librarian. 
 
 That the object of the Institute might be better 
 attained three distinct sections were formed of 
 Science, Literature and Art, and the following 
 elected officers of the respective sections : Scien- 
 tific Section, — Prof. L. C. Cooley, Chairman, C. 
 N. Arnold, Recording Secretary; Literary Section, 
 —Prof T. J. Backus, Chairman, H. V. Pelton, 
 Recording Secretary ; Art Section, — Prof H. Van 
 Ingen, Chairman, G. E. Bissell, Recording Sec- 
 retary. 
 
 Each of these sections is fully organized and in 
 successful operation. The sudden death of Mr. 
 Matthew Vassar, Jr., August 10, i88r, without 
 having made provision for the execution of his 
 purposes, threatened to defeat the completion of 
 the plan thus far so favorably inaugurated, but his 
 brother, Mr. John Guy Vassar, generously assumed 
 the entire responsibility and began to erect on the 
 site of the old Vassar brewery, on Vassar street, a 
 beautiful brick building, fifty by eighty feet at a 
 cost of not less than $25,000, which will not only 
 be an ornament to the city, but a fitting monument 
 to the liberality of its founders. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVI. 
 Churches of Poughkeepsie. 
 
 THE First Reformed Church of Poughkeepsie 
 was organized in 17 16, by Rev. Petrus Vas, 
 who was then pastor of the church at Kingston, 
 and who also organized the same year the church at 
 Fishkill. For several years neither of these churches 
 -had a settled pastor, but both enjoyed the occa- 
 sional services of Mr. Vas, likewise Rev. Vincen- 
 tius Antonides, of Kings county. Long Island, 
 and Rev. Johannes VanDriessen, of Albany, who 
 also administered the rites of baptism and the 
 Lord's supper.* 
 
 At a meeting of the "Reformed Low Dutch 
 Church at Poughkeepsie," held at the house of 
 Clear Everitt, March 22, 1774, "it was conceived 
 advisable " to petition for a charter of incorpora- 
 tion, and Rev. Stephen VanVoorhees, "one of 
 the ministers," and Gilbert Livingsto n, "one of 
 
 * This sketch is prepared from a history of the Church, by Rev. A. 
 P. VanGieson, the pastor, as pubHshed in The Dutchess Farmer at 'i^iow 
 6, 1S77. A writer in the Rhineiech Gazette^ in 1878, alleges that the 
 Reformed Dutch Church in Rhinebeck, which was organized Jan. 28, 
 173', antedates the Dutch Church of Poughkeepsie and Fishkill bv sev- 
 eral months, and surpassed them in numbers at the time when it was 
 assumed to have had no existence. The records of the church, however 
 says Mr. VanGieson, date back to 1716, and continue with few interrup- 
 tions from that date to the present time. Previous to 1770, they were 
 kept wholly in the Dutch language. 
 
CITY OF POUGHKEEPSIE. 
 
 419 
 
 the elders of said congregation," were delegated 
 to present a petition prepared for that purpose to 
 his Excellency William Tryon, and " to apply to 
 the Consistory of the Reformed Low Dutch Con- 
 gregation at New York, in order to obtain their 
 favor and assistance in the premises." 
 
 The first minister called and settled over the 
 churches of Poughkeepsie and Fishkill, was Rev. 
 Cornelius VanSchie, who was sent over from Hol- 
 land by the Classis of Amsterdam, in 1731. The 
 call, in response to which he was sent was signed 
 by Rev. Vincentius Antonides, of Long Island, 
 and the following persons, who then constituted 
 the Consistories of Poughkeepsie and Fishkill, viz : 
 Peter Palmatier and Johannes VanKleek, elders, 
 and Laurens VanKleek and Myndert VandeBo- 
 gaart, deacons, of the Church of Poughkeepsie ; 
 and Pieter duBoys and Abraham Buys, elders, and 
 Abraham Brinkerhoff and Hendrik Phillips, dea- 
 cons, of the Church of Fishkill. The churches were 
 thus united under the care of one pastor for many 
 years. P-ev. Mr. Schie was installed over these 
 churches Oct. 4, 1 73 1 ,and continued his ministry un- 
 til about 1 738, when he removed to Albany, where 
 he died in 1744. 
 
 About 1760, violent contentions arose in most 
 of the churches belonging to this denomination, 
 between the two parties known as Coetus and 
 Conferentie. The former desired a separation 
 from the Classis of Amsterdam, so as to save the 
 trouble, delay and expense of sending to Holland 
 for ministers. The latter, comprising many of the 
 older ministe'rs, were bitterly opposed to the meas- 
 ure, thinking apparently, that an ordination could 
 scarcely be valid unless it came from the Classis 
 of Amsterdam. These churches shared largely in 
 these difficulties. Two consistories were formed 
 in each, and the excitement ran very high. 
 
 Dec. II, 1763, the Coetus party called Rev. 
 Henricus Schoonmaker; ljut so vehement was the 
 opposition of the other party to him, that at the 
 time of his installation at Poughkeepsie, the church 
 doors were forcibly closed against him, and the 
 service took place under an apple tree, not far 
 from the place where the present church edifice 
 stands. Mt. Schoonmaker continued his ministry 
 
 until 1774- 
 
 In 1763, the Conferentie party, not only in these 
 churches, but in those of Hopewell and New 
 Hackensack, sent a call to the Classis of Amster- 
 dam, to be placed in the hands of such persons as 
 they might see fit to select. They presented the 
 call to the Rev, Isaac Rysdyk, who was regularly 
 
 installed as the pastor of these four churches 
 about 1765. 
 
 This state of things continued until 1771, 
 when a reconcihation took place between the con- 
 tending parties, brought about chiefly through the 
 influence of Dr. John H. Livingston. The articles 
 of union were adopted in 1772. Soon after this 
 it is beheved that Rev. Mr. Rysdyk relinquished 
 his charge of the church in Poughkeepsie, and con- 
 fined himself mainly to the care of the churches of 
 New Hackensack, Hopewell and Fishkill, until 
 about 1788. 
 
 So far as can be ascertained from the records 
 and from tradition, says Rev. Mr. Van Gieson, the 
 church has erected and occupied ■ three church 
 edifices. The first stood on the north side of 
 Main street, with its rear adjoining the front of the 
 old bur5dng ground, which lies back of the store 
 next east of the Poughkeepsie Hotel. It is said 
 to have been erected in 1723, and to have been 
 the first church edifice erected in the county.* 
 From a plan contained in the records it appears 
 to have had fifty-six pews, thirty- eight on the 
 ground floor and eighteen in the gallery, furnishing 
 three hundred and eighty-six sittings. 
 
 During the ministry of Dr. Cuyler the church 
 and congregation grew so rapidly that increased 
 accommodations were found necessary; therefore 
 the first edifice was torn down and a new and 
 larger one erected on the south side of Main street, 
 very nearly on the ground occupied by the present 
 building. The corner stone of the new edifice was 
 laid May 6, 1822, and the dedication took place 
 on Dec. 24th of that year. On Sunday Jan. 18, 
 1857, about ten minutes past twelve o'clock, this 
 second edifice was discovered to be on fire. The 
 day was bitterly cold, so cold, it is said, that some 
 of the water thrown by the engines, froze in the 
 air and fell to the ground in the form of ice. By 
 this intense cold, those who strove to subdue the 
 flames were so benumbed, that their efforts were 
 quite ineffectual, and the building was totally 
 destroyed. 
 
 Prompt and vigorous means were taken to meet 
 the exigency thus occasioned, and a third edifice, 
 which still stands, was erected. The corner stone 
 was laid August 25, 1857. The edifice was dedi- 
 cated Sept. 7, 1858. 
 
 One of the most important events in the his- 
 tory of the church was the dismission in 1849 o^ 
 twenty-seven members to form the Second Re- 
 
 * Poughkeepsie Weekly Eagle, July S, 1876; Bailey's Historical 
 Sketches 19, 
 
42 o 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 formed Church. The following have been the 
 successive pastors of the church : — 
 
 Revs. Cornelius Van Schie, 1731 to 1738; 
 Benjamin Meinema, 1745* to 1758; Jacobus 
 Van Nist, 1758 to 1761 f; Henricus Schoonmaker, 
 1763 to i774t; Isaac Rysdyk, 1765 to 1772!; 
 Stephen Van Voorhies, 1773 to 1776; Solomon 
 Freligh, 1777 to 1780; Dr. John H. Livingston, 
 1781 to Nov. 23, 1783; Andrew Gray, 1790 to 
 1793; Cornelius Brower, July 13, 1794 to 1807; 
 Cornelius C. Cuyler, 1808 to Dec. 1833; S. A. 
 Van Vranken, D. D., 1834 to Dec. 4, 1837; Alex. 
 M. Mann, March 27, 1838 to January 15, 1857; 
 George McEkron, March 26, 1858 to Feb. 1867 ; 
 A. P. Van Gieson, Oct. 15, 1867, to present time. 
 
 Christ Church, (Episcopal,) of Poughkeepsie, 
 was incorporated March 9, 1773, as "The Rector 
 and Inhabitants of Poughkeepsie in Dutchess 
 County in communion of the Church of England 
 as by Law Established," by a patent given by 
 George III. of England, which vested in the 
 church the right to a glebe of eighty-seven acres, 
 held by deed of trust, and an additional 200 acres 
 adjoining it, on petition of Rev. John Beardsley 
 and other inhabitants of Poughkeepsie ; which 
 Tvas read in the Council of the Province of New 
 York Dec. 31, 1771, and " sets forth among other 
 things that the said inhabitants and others adja- 
 cent in Uke communion having long labored under 
 great inconvenience from the want of a regular 
 administration of divine service had some time 
 since procured the petitioner John Beardsley, a 
 clergyman of the Church of England to be sent 
 by the incorporated society for the propagating 
 of the gospel in foreign parts as a mission- 
 ary to reside among and officiate for them in the 
 pubUc worship of Almighty God." The charter 
 names Bartholomew Crannell and Samuel Smith 
 as church wardens, and Richard Davis, John 
 Child, John Davis, John Ferdon, Jr., John Medler. 
 Zachariah Ferdon, Isaac Baldwin, Jr., and David 
 Brooks as vestrymen. It makes reservation of 
 " all mines of gold and silver and also all white or 
 other sort of pine trees fit for masts, of the growth 
 of twenty-four inches in diameter and upwards at 
 twelve inches from the earth, for masts for the royal 
 navy " ; and requires the annual payment for lands 
 conveyed, a rent of 2s., 6d. for each hundred acres 
 of the grant or part thereof May 4, 1792, the 
 
 * Mr. Meinema's call bears date 174s, but the first account of him in 
 Consistorial records is in 1749. 
 
 t Mr. Van Nist died April 10, 1761, in his i7th year, and was buried 
 at Fishkilf. 
 
 X Called by the Coetus party. 
 
 § Called by the Conferentie party, 
 
 corporate name was changed by the Legislature 
 to " Rector and Inhabitants of Poughkeepsie in 
 communion with the Protestant Episcopal Church 
 in the State of New York." 
 
 Rev. John Beardsley began his labors in Duchess 
 county in 1766, and was the first to introduce the 
 rituals of worship in the Anglican or English 
 Episcopal Church in this county. He preached 
 his first sermon at the house of Cornelius Hum- 
 phrey, in Beekman. Oct. 4, 1771, he signed a 
 petition, as minister of that church, for the incor- 
 poration of Trinity Church, Fishkill. He married 
 Miss Kane, a sister of Mrs. Gilbert Livingston 
 and Mrs. Bartholomew Crannell, after whom Cran- 
 nell street in Poughkeepsie was named.* 
 
 The purchase of the original glebe was designed 
 for the benefit of the Precincts of Poughkeepsie, 
 Nine Partners, Beekman and Rombout, but was 
 completed for the benefit of Poughkeepsie and 
 Rombout Precincts only, with the consent of the 
 other Precincts. It was agreed between Pough- 
 keepsie and Rombout Precincts that the glebe so 
 purchased should ever remain for the use of the 
 rector having the care of the churches in those 
 Precincts ; but in case the congregations should at 
 any time find themselves able to support two rec- 
 tors, then the church of Poughkeepsie should re- 
 fund to the church of Rombout (Fishkill,) such 
 sum of money as they had advanced both for the 
 purchase of said glebe and the building thereon, 
 which was erected in 1774. The vestry deeming 
 this agreement "just and reasonable," assumed the 
 obligation of fulfilhng it. But this arrangement 
 did not, it would seem, meet the views of the Fish- 
 kill church, and the minutes of several succeeding * 
 meetings are burdened with efforts to adjust the 
 difference. 
 
 December 14, i777j by order of the*Council of 
 Safety, the Rev. Mr. Beardsley, the rector, was 
 removed to New iTork, abd John Davis, a member 
 of the vestry, entered upon and took possession of 
 the glebe with the consent of the festry. A letter 
 of Mr. Beardsley's to the vestry, dated New York, 
 June 2, 1783, reveals the cause of his removal 
 from Poughkeepsie, which he there refers to as 
 "my banishment on account of my loyalty." 
 
 Henry Van Dyke, or Van Dyck, a candidate for 
 
 * Ms. communication from Benson J. Lossing, LL. D., to Mr. T. 
 Van Wyck BrlnkerhofF, in A Historical Sketch of the Town of Fish- 
 hill, says on the authority of Rev Dr. Buel, the Rector of Christ Church 
 of Poughkeepsie, that the first services were held by Rev. Samuel Sea- 
 bury, father of Bishop Seabury, in 1756, and that Rev. John Beardsley 
 accepted an appointment to the Precincts of Poughkeepsie, Beekman 
 and Rombout Oct. i6, 1766, and preached his first sermon at the house 
 of William Humfrey, in Beekman, Dec. ii, 1766, from Luke ii, 32. 
 
CITY OF POUGHKEEPSIE. 
 
 421 
 
 holy orders, performed Divine service at Christ 
 church June 20 and 24, 1784. The church had 
 been for nearly eight years destitute of a pastor in 
 consequence of the war. A subscription was 
 started for the support of Mr. Van Dyke, whose 
 services the congregation wished to retain, " and," 
 says the record, " though' we are but few in num- 
 ber and far from being wealthy, yet, with the kind 
 assistance of our neighbours of other denomina- 
 tions who admire his performances, have got sub- 
 scribed for his annual salary ^£50. Provided we 
 give him a call, this we suppose, with one-half of 
 the old glebe, will be sufficient inducement to him 
 for the half of his services." Trinity church, of 
 Fishkill, was invited and urged to unite with them 
 in this call. 
 
 Mr. Van Dyke officiated here again August i, 
 1784, and the following Sunday at Fishkill, by invi- 
 tation of that church. August 3, 1784, Isaac 
 Baldwin, Richard Davis, Thomas Poole, William 
 Emott and Isaac Baldwin, Jr., were appointed a 
 committee to wait on the congregation at Fishkill 
 the following Sunday and receive their answer with 
 regard to the settlement of Mr. Van Dyke. Ac- 
 cordingly a consultation was had with Major Dan- 
 iel Ter Bos, Jonas Halstead, John Halstead, John 
 Cook and Mr. Pine, of Fishkill, August 8, 1784, 
 and a mutual agreement was entered into whereby 
 Mr. Van Dyke, when ordained, should "be re- 
 ceived as miriister of the two churches, to preach 
 at Poughkeepsie two-thirds of the year, and Fish- 
 kill the other third." The Poughkeepsie church 
 agreed to pay him ^80 New York currency per 
 annum, a part in cash and the residue in fire 
 wood; and the Fishkill church ;^40. In addition 
 he was to have the use of the glebe so long as he 
 remained "their teacher.'' Mr. Van Dyke was or- 
 dained September 16, 1785, but under various de- 
 lays and other difficulties, which made him liable 
 for trespass in this State, (for debt,) he never per- 
 formed the duties of rector under this agreement. 
 Another agreement with a like object was entered 
 into November 21, 1786, substantially on the same 
 terms, except, however, that his services were to be 
 divided equally between this church and Fishkill. 
 He commenced his services as rector May 27, 
 1787. 
 
 Up to 1784, it appears, the church was not pro- 
 vided with pews, for December 6th of that year the 
 vestry "resolved upon pewing the church," and a 
 subscription was started for that purpose. It was 
 provided that the money subscribed should " be 
 paid as soon as wanted to persons appointed by 
 
 the vestry to be by them applied immediately in 
 building the pews ;" and that as soon as the pews 
 were finished they should be rented by public ven- 
 due from year to year and the money arising there- 
 from paid to the subscribers in proportion to the 
 amount subscribed by each, until the whole amount 
 was refunded. 
 
 The following have been the successive rectors 
 of Christ Church : — 
 
 Revs. John Beardsley, Aug. 17, 1773 to July — , 
 1776*; Henry VanDyck, Nov. — , 1785, only a 
 few months; Henry VanDyke, May 27, 1787, to 
 spring of 1791 ; Geo. H. Spierin, Nov. 13, 1792, 
 to Dec. 9, 179s; John I. Sayre, Jan. 5, 1796, two 
 years; Philander Chase, Nov. — , 1799 to Oct. 1805; 
 Barzilla Bulkley, Aug. 27, 1806, to Aug. 17, 1809; 
 Joseph Prentice, Feb. 18, 18 10, to July — , 1810; 
 John Reed, D. D., Aug. 19, 1810, to July 6, 1845; 
 Homer Wheaton, July — , 1846, to June 1, 1847 ; 
 Samuel Buel, D. D., Sept. 15, 1847 to 1866 ; Phi- 
 lander K. Cady, D. D., 1866, to 1875 ;t Henry L. 
 Ziengenfuss, Nov. i, 1874, to present time, 
 
 Christ Church Parish School, on the corner of 
 Market and Pine streets, an ornate two-story brick 
 structure, was built in 1857, at a cost, including 
 lot, of about $7,000, and deeded to the parish by 
 Wm. A. Davies and his wife. Two teachers are 
 employed in this school, and in 1880, there were 
 fifty-eight males and fifty-six females in attendance. 
 The tuition is free, and the children are largely 
 clothed by the parish. They are taught sewing and 
 other useful branches of household work. The 
 school has an endowment of $4,000, bequeathed 
 by Mrs. Robinson, who also left $5,000 for the 
 preaching of the gospel in Christ Church Parish. 
 
 The number of communicants is about 400 ; the 
 attendance at Sunday school, which is under the 
 supervision of the rector, 250. 
 
 Society of Friends. — Numerous persons of this 
 persuasion had settled in the County, niostly in 
 the eastern portion, before the Revolution, and a 
 few had located in Poughkeepsie about the begin- 
 ning of the present century. Prominent among 
 these were the families of David and Benjamin 
 Arnold, the former of whom was the father of Will- 
 iam Arnold, the chair manufacturer, Levi McKeon, 
 a wealthy but unsuccessful banker in Poughkeep- 
 sie at an early day, Isaac and Henry Powell,and 
 
 Gardner, a sea captain. These were joined in the 
 early part of the century by Zadock Southwick, 
 who was for many years a prominent tanner in 
 
 * Rectorship vacant during the Revolutionary period. 
 + Rev. Henry L. Ziengenfuss supplied tlie pulpit in 1874. 
 
423 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 , Poughkeepsie. Meetings had been held here in 
 private houses shortly previous to his coining, but, 
 impressed with the importance of having a suitable 
 meeting-house, Mr. Southwick bought land and 
 erected one on South Clover street, near where the 
 Hedding M. E. church now stands, the use of 
 which he gave to the Society of Friends. That 
 was then the only building on that thoroughfare 
 between Main and Union streets. The upper 
 story was used as a school house, in which children 
 gathered together during the week were taught on 
 Sunday not only religious instruction, but also the 
 rudimentary branches now taught in our secular 
 schools. This was the first Sunday school opened 
 in Poughkeepsie, though different in character from 
 those of the present day. The building referred 
 to was erected about 1813-14,* and meetings were 
 held there until the present house of worship on 
 LaFayette street was erected, when they were 
 transferred to it. The school was numerously at- 
 tended and was continued for several years. 
 
 When Anna Berthwaite came here from England 
 and opposed the doctrines and teachings of Elias 
 Hicks, of Long Island, followed in 1828 by the 
 great division in the order, about one-third of the 
 members of the Poughkeepsie society separated, and 
 formed^what has since been known as the Orthodox 
 Society of Friends, the others in contradistinction 
 being known as Hicksite Friends, from their adher- 
 ence to the teachings of Elias Hicks. The Ortho- 
 dox Friends were then few in number, and it was 
 not until many years after, in 1862, that they built 
 their house of worship on Montgomery street, 
 between South Hamilton and Cannon streets. It 
 was first opened for public worship on Sunday, 
 May 10, 1863. 
 
 Washington Street M. E. Church.\ — Freeborn 
 Garrettson was the pioneer Methodist evangelist in 
 the valley of, the Hudson. His field was vast, ex- 
 tending to Canada on the north, to the borders of 
 New England on the east, and included the towns 
 on the west bank of the Hudson. As early as 
 1788 and '89 societies were organized in Rhine- 
 beck and adjacent places, and in the former year 
 
 * Statement of Edward C. Southwick, of Poughkeepsie. It would 
 seem, however, that this is too early a date, for Nov. 27, 18 19, a com- 
 munication appeared in the Dutchess Observer over the signature'of 
 Zadock Southwick, which complains of a species of proscription practiced 
 towards the Friends of that day, which denied them the use of the court 
 house, while it was accorded without objection to other denominations, 
 also to " play actors," and as a place of exhibition for children who were 
 receiving their education at this place. Had the Friends a meeting house 
 of their own, it is scarcely probable that they would have been applicants 
 for the favor. 
 
 tThe materials for this sketch are drawn from a History of Methodism 
 in Poughkeepsie, by Rev. W. H. Ferris, D. D., delivered in the Wash- 
 ington street M. £. Church, Poughkeepsie, Oct 12, 1878. 
 
 Duchess circuit first appears on the minutes of the 
 New York Conference, with a membership of ten. 
 That circuit then extended south to the Highlands, 
 east to Connecticut and Massachusetts, and north 
 to the vicinity of Albany. But' it was not until 
 1796 that the voice of a Methodist preacher was 
 heard in Poughkeepsie. During that year Mr. 
 Garrettson preached one sermon in the Reformed 
 church, then standing on the north side of Main 
 street. The field was then abandoned for years. 
 In 1800, WiUiam Thacher came to Poughkeepsie, 
 which then had a population of about 4,000, and 
 preached in the court house some half-dozen ser- 
 mons. In 1800 or 1 80 1, Bishop Asbury visited 
 Poughkeepsie, and pronounced it "no place for 
 Methodism." By this time Duchess circuit had 
 been divided, and its dimensions were nearly con- 
 fined to this county. The membership was 321. 
 
 Soon after, Mr. Garrettson made another fruit- 
 less effort to plant Methodism here. At that time, 
 however, there was one Methodist residing here, 
 John Gile.s, who had been a member of the society 
 in Ireland, and was at that time connected with a 
 class on the other side of the river. In 1803 or 
 1804,. the persistant Garrettson made a third and 
 successful effort, and after preaching the first 
 evening, formed a class, consisting of Charles H. 
 Duncomb and wife and John Giles. The next day 
 Peter O. La Dieu and his wife were added. Mr. 
 Duncomb resided at 334 Main street, " and it was 
 probably at his house that the infant class was 
 formed." The garret of his house, which was 
 reached by an outside flight of steps, was the place 
 of worship, and the nursery of Poughkeepsie 
 Methodism. 
 
 James Coleman and Hibbard were the circuit 
 preachers in 1803, and the ktter, aided by Dates 
 and Ensign, in 1804. Under Mr. Hibbard's preach- 
 ing the class increased to eight. Francis Ward 
 and Robert Dillon were the spiritual guides in 
 1805; and in that year a church thirty by forty feet 
 was built on the east side of Jefferson street, south 
 of Church street, on ground now occupied by the 
 Methodist burying ground. 
 
 In 1 8 14, under the preaching of James M.Smith 
 about 200 were added to the Uttle flock, and made 
 it necessary to finish the galleries. The congrega- 
 tion worshipped in the court house while this im- 
 provement was in progress.' Until August of this 
 year, Poughkeepsie remained a part of Duohess 
 circuit, but under the impulse of this revival it was 
 made a station with Mr. Smith as pastor. In 1816 
 Poughkeepsie fell back into Duchess circuit. In 
 
CITY OF POUGHKEEPSIE. 
 
 423 
 
 1823, it again became a station, and has so re- 
 mained to the present time. 
 
 In 1826, the church in Jefferson street was taken 
 down, and such of the material as could be made 
 available was used in the construction of a new 
 one on Washington street, on the site of Eastman 
 College, and opposite the church now occupied by 
 the Methodists on that street. The ground on 
 which the new building was erected was purchased 
 in the interest of the Methodists, for $650, by Jo- 
 siah Williams, a wealthy gentleman, who came to 
 Poughkeepsie the previous year from New York_ 
 and who also loaned the society, then burdened 
 with a debt of $900 on the old church, the money 
 needed in the construction of the new edifice, 
 which was of the same width as the old one, forty 
 feet, and fifty feet in length, with basement and 
 galleries, and a seating capacity for about 500. It 
 was dedicated Dec. 7, 1826. 
 
 In 1853, there were four hundred and two white 
 and forty-seven colored members. In 1836-7 the 
 membership had increased to 616; and in 1840, 
 when the Cannon street church was formed from this, 
 the old church had 318 members and the new one 
 156. The present number of full members is 439; 
 the attendance at Sabbath school, 282. 
 
 During the pastorate of G. S. Hare, the present 
 edifice was erected, and was dedicated September 
 7, 1859. The site cost $6,500. The entire cost 
 of ground, edifice and furniture was $29,400.03. 
 Poughkeepsie has been successively included in the 
 New York, Rhinebeck, Ashgrove, Rhinebeck, New 
 Haven and Rhinebeck districts. In 1835, it gave 
 name to the district in which it has since been 
 included. 
 
 The succession of pastors since 1.806, is as follows : 
 D. Ostrander, F. Ward, R. Dillon, William Vre- 
 denburgh, William Swayze, P. Moriarity, T. Plany, 
 Zenas Covil, J. Crawford, Smith Arnold, E. Wool- 
 sey, Z. Lyon, Peter Bussing, to 1812 ; W. Anson, 
 W. Swayze, Marvin Richardson, Coles Carpenter 
 and Samuel Luckey, 1812-13 ; James M. Smith,, 
 Phineas Cook and Coles Carpenter, 1814; James 
 M. Smith, 1815; William Jewett, 18 16; Samuel 
 Cochran, J. B. Matthias, Aaron Pierce, 1817 ; 
 Samuel Cochran, J. B. Matthias and Luman 
 Andres, i8i8j Luman Andres, Smith Arnold and 
 Jesse Hunt, 1819 ; J. M. Smith, Smith Arnold 
 and Oliver Sykes, 1820; J. M. Smith and John 
 Reynolds, 182 1; Arnold Scofield and John Rey- 
 nolds, 1822 ; Robert Seney, 1823 ; James Young, 
 1824; Aaron Pierce, 1825-6; Marvin Richard- 
 son, i827-'8; W. Jewett, i829-'30j W. Thacher, 
 
 1831-2; George Coles, 1833-4; J. Z. Nichols, 
 1835 ; S. L. Stillman, i836-'7 ; Charles W. Car- 
 penter, 1838-9; P. P. Sanford, Robert Seney, J. 
 Lindsey, B. Griffen, M. L. Scudder, (during whose 
 term the church was remodeled and greatly im- 
 proved,) L. M. Vincent, W. H. Ferris, L. H. 
 King, Z. N. Lewis, M. D. C. Crawford, G. S. 
 Hare, S. D. Brown, J. L. G. McKown, DeLoss 
 Lull, J. E. Cookman, W. G. Lewis, Q. J. Col- 
 lins, William Lloyd, J. F. McClelland, C. R. North 
 and G. S. Hare, the latter of whom, the present 
 pastor, commenced his labors in April, 1880. 
 
 T^e Baptist Church of Poughkeepsie was organ- 
 ized July 12, 1807, by a council which convened at 
 the house of George Parker. The constituent 
 members were sixteen in number, as follows : 
 George Parker, William Young, John Harbottle, 
 John Forbus, Isaac Waddell, Benjamin Bunker, 
 William Goss, Benjamin Fuller, Jonathan New- 
 house, AnnVassar, Abigail Cornish, EdyBullm ore, 
 Ruth Bunker, Eleanor Waddell, Sarah Goss and 
 Naomi Burton. Meetings of the Baptist people 
 had been held in an irregular way from 1800. 
 
 Rev. Francis Wayland, Sr., father of an illus- 
 trous son of the same name and a member of 
 the council by which the church was constituted, 
 was immediately chosen pastor, in which office he 
 continued with fidelity and success about four years. 
 
 In 1808 a house of worship was erected on the 
 site of the present one. The land for that purpose 
 was donated by a venerable citizen — Col.Talmadge. 
 The, house, though small and unpretentious, in- 
 volved pecuniary burdens which were not fully 
 removed until the lapse of fifteen years. 
 
 In 1820 the church instituted a Sabbath school, 
 which is said to have been the first of its kind in 
 the town of Poughkeepsie. 
 
 About 1839 anew church e3ifice was erected in 
 LaFayette place, at a cost of $20,000, one-half of 
 which sum was the generous donation of Matthew 
 Vassar, Sr. 
 
 During the pastorate of Charles Van Loon, 
 from November, 1843, till his death in 1847, 
 large accessions were made to the church, and too, 
 an unhappy division occurred in 1844, which 
 parted the church into two bands, one remaining 
 in the new church in LaFayette place, the other 
 returning to the ancestral home in Mill street, 
 which, in the meantime, had been the property of 
 Universalists, who now own the church in La- 
 Fayette place. The two branches were reunited 
 under the pastorate of Rev. W. H. Wines in 1867, 
 and met together in the LaFayette place house. 
 
424 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 After the division in 1844, Rev. Aaron Perkins 
 became for the third time associated with the 
 Baptist cause in Poughkeepsie. He retained 
 charge of the Central Church (the name adopted 
 by the LaFayette place band,) about two years. 
 Messrs. Fay, Hansell, Green, Goodspeed, Brackett, 
 Lawson and Wines, filled up the years of its exist- 
 ence with faithful services and with varied measures 
 of success. Several were beginners in the ministry 
 when they came here, and in other fields have 
 subsequently achieved a pure and wide renown. 
 The longest pastorate in the Central church was 
 that of J. B. Brackett, D. D., covering a period of 
 seven years. 
 
 In 1875, the building of the present fine church 
 on Mill street was commenced. It was completed 
 in 1877, and dedicated on the i6th of October of 
 that year. Its cost was $58,000, and including fix- 
 tures, $70,000. 
 
 The present membership is about 400; the at- 
 tendance at Sunday school, of which A. A. Dayton 
 is the superintendent, about 150. 
 
 The following is the succession of pastors to the 
 present time : 
 
 Revs. Francis Wayland, Sr., 1808 to 1812; 
 Lewis Leonard, 18 13 to 1822 j Aaron Perkins, 
 1822 to 1823 ; Rufus Babcock, Jr., 1823 to 1826 ; 
 Robert W. Cushman, nearly a year; Aaron 
 Perkins 1829 to 1833; G." Lansing Burrows, D.D., 
 nearly a year; E. W. Dickinson and Thomas 
 Wilkes, brief terms; Rufus Babcock, Nov. 1839 
 to Sept. 1843; Charles Van Loon, Nov. 1843 to 
 1847; J. Hyatt Smith, two years ; Wm. F. Nelson, 
 W. J. Loomis and Thomas Goodwin, brief terms ; 
 Thomas E. Vassar, (supply,) more than a year; 
 Wm.O. Holman, nearly five years from June, 1857; 
 C. W. Chandler, ;* Rufus Babcock, two years to 
 1866; W. H. Wine?, 1866 to 1873 ; J- R- Ken- 
 drick, D. D., Sept., 1873 to July i, 1881. 
 
 First Presbyterian Church. — The organization 
 of this church is of comparatively recent date, 
 but the history of Presbyterianism in Poughkeepsie 
 takes us back to a much earlier period. 
 
 From Presbyterial records, it appears that a 
 Presbyterian church was in existence in Pough- 
 keepsie Precinct in 1749, and that Rev. Chauncy 
 Graham was pastor of it in connection with the 
 church at Fishkill. It joined the Presbytery of 
 New York Nov. i, 1750. Mr. Graham was dis- 
 missed from Poughkeepsie by that Presbytery, with 
 the consent of the people, Sept. 29, 1752, but re- 
 tained his connection with the church of Fishkill. 
 
 % Soon retired to take orders in the Episcopal Church. 
 
 Upon his representation of the state of the con- 
 gregation in Poughkeepsie, however, the Duchess 
 County Presbytery, formed by the sanction of the 
 Synod of New York and Philadelphia May 22, 1763, 
 ordered him to supply them two Sabbaths, and Mr. 
 Peck one, before its next session. Mr. Graham 
 complied, but Mr. Peck did not — for reasons 
 which the Presbytery "sanctioned." , At the 
 second meeting of the Presbytery, May 2, 1764, 
 " Poughkeepsie and Charlotte Precincts applied 
 for a candidate to preach to them on trial " ; but 
 the Presbytery, not knowing of one, permitted 
 them to invite any licensed candidate to preach 
 among them until its next meeting. On their re- 
 quest that the Presbytery " supply them by its 
 members until such candidates should be ob- 
 tained," Mr. Mead was ordered to supply them the 
 last Sabbath but one in June, Mr. Peck the last 
 Sabbath in August, and Mr. Graham the Sab- 
 bath before the next session of the Presbytery. 
 Mr. Peck, who seems to have been quite a recu- 
 sant, either obstinately refusing to obey his Pres- 
 bytery, or declining for some special reasons to 
 preach for the Poughkeepsie church, failed to ful- 
 fill his appointment ; not so, however, the others. 
 Nov. 12, 1765, the Presbytery ordained Wheeler 
 Case at the joint request of the Poughkeepsie and 
 Charlotte precincts, where he had alternately 
 preached for a considerable time, and settled him 
 in the pastorate over those churches. Oct. 12, 
 1769, Mr. Case requested, with the consent of his 
 people in Poughkeepsie, " to be freed half his time 
 from his labors with them till the next stated Pres- 
 bytery, which was granted." May 9, 1770, he was 
 allowed to continue his labors; but Oct. 11, 1770, 
 he was dismissed . at his request from his pastoral 
 relations to the church in Poughkeepsie. For 
 several years before the settlement of Mr. Case, 
 the two congregations of Poughkeepsie and Char- 
 lotte (Pleasant Valley) Precincts were supplied 
 under the care of the Presbytery by Deliverance 
 Smith, a licentiate, and Rev. Mr. Thompson, uncle 
 to the late Hon. Smith Thompson. Oct. 3, 1772 
 the Presbytery, in consideration of the "broken 
 circumstances " of the congregation in Poughkeep- 
 sie, ordered Mr. Kent to supply them the third 
 Sabbath in October, Mr. Graham the second in 
 November and the last in December, Mr. Mills the 
 last in November, Mr. Mead the third in January, 
 and Mr. Close the second in March. 
 
 From this time until 1786, Presbyterian interests 
 in Poughkeepsie were almost altogether uncared 
 for, from the unsettled condition of the country 
 
CITY OF POUGHKEEPSIE. 
 
 425 
 
 incident to the war of the Revolution. In 1786, 
 Rev. Daniel Marsh, from New England, took the 
 pastoral charge of the few Presbyterians who re- 
 mained, and continued his labors for three or four 
 years, when he left them. 
 
 In 18 1 7 an effort was made to rehabilitate the 
 Presbyterian interests. A congregation was organ- 
 ized according to law, and occasional supplies 
 were received from the Presbytery of North River, 
 in which the Duchess Presbytery was merged. 
 
 All efforts to build up a Presbyterian church in 
 Poughkeepsie were abortive till 1826. On the 
 18th of September in that year, the North River 
 Presbytery reorganized the church with eighteen 
 members, and installed Rev. Alonzo Welton as 
 pastor Dec. 20, 1826. 
 
 The oldest of the present members, who num- 
 ber 457, are Hon. James Bowne, who joined the 
 church in 1828, and Hon. John Thompson and 
 Mrs. Mary C. Herrick, who joined in 1830. 
 
 The congregation first worshipped in an old frame 
 building on Church street, on grounds now occu- 
 pied by the Fourth Ward school, formerly known 
 as the Lancasterian school. Their first house of 
 worship, on Cannon street, now St. Mary's church, 
 was dedicated Dec. 19, 1826. It is the oldest 
 church edifice in the city. 
 
 The succession of pastors is as follows : Alonzo 
 Welton, installed Dec. 20, 1826, dismissed Dec. 
 14, 1831; Wm. Page, installed Jan. 23, 1833, 
 dismissed April 15, 1834; Sylvester Eaton, in- 
 stalled Nov. 30, 1836, dismissed April i, 1840; 
 Henry G. Ludlow, installed June 2, 1842, dis- 
 missed Sept. 17, 1858; Francis Brown Wheeler, 
 D. D., the present pastor, installed May 12, 1859. 
 
 The elders have been Joseph Allen, Daniel 
 Hebard, Wm. Williams, M. D., L. F. Philips, 
 Peter C. Tappen, Robert Wilkinson, Alvin Lath- 
 rop, Roderick Andrus, Wm. Sedgwick, Wm. C. 
 Sterling, Wm. Wilkinson, Joseph Bartlett, Sheldon 
 C. D. Raymond; and the deacons, Jeremiah Piatt, 
 James Lockwood, Charles H. P. McLellan, John 
 N. Candee, Jeromus Wiltsie, Wales A. Candee, 
 Isaac Tice, Alfred B. Smith.* 
 
 St PauVs Church, Poughkeepsie. — This church 
 is situated on Mansion Square, at the corner of 
 North Hamilton and Mansion streets. It is sohdly 
 built of stone and its walls, covered with ivy, are 
 pretty and attractive, amid the surrounding trees. 
 
 * We are indebted for the materials of this sketch to a Historical Dis- 
 course, ieWweteihy 'Rev F.B.Wheeler, the pastor, July 7, 1878, to 
 At Paughkeefsie Weekly Eagle of May 12, 1877; to The Sunday 
 Courier ol ^f^- t6. 187} ; and to supplementary information from Bev. 
 Mr. Wheeler. 
 
 The organization to which this building belongs is 
 an offshoot from the older parish of Christ church 
 and was formed in the year 1835. On the 28th of 
 September, 1835, St. Paul's church and parish were 
 duly incorporated by law, and the following gentle- 
 men were elected : John Delafield and George P. 
 Oakley, Wardens; EHas Trivett, N. P. Talmadge, 
 Chas. H. Ruggles, Paraclete Potter, James Grant, 
 Jr., A. S. Hatch, Hiram Veltman, S. B. Dutton, 
 Vestrymen. 
 
 The Rev. Mr. Hatch was called to the Rector- 
 ship, and accepted ; and the Vestry took immediate 
 steps for the erection of a suitable church building. 
 This was accomplished in the year 1836, by the 
 building of a wooden structure, in "the Grecian 
 Doric style," which was then fashionable, at a cost 
 of about $10,000. The Rev. Mr. Hatch continued 
 to be Rector till 1842, when he resigned, and in 
 the following spring the Vestry elected the Rev. 
 Dr. Milledoler, who occupied the position, for four 
 years, and in 1846 was succeeded by the Rev. Al- 
 bert D. Traver. 
 
 The death of Dr. Traver in December, 1866, 
 terminated a pastorship of twenty years' duration, 
 which was of substantial benefit to the church and 
 to the community. Shortly after Dr. Traver's 
 death the Vestry called to the Rectorship the pres- 
 ent incumbent, the Rev. S. H. Synnott, then of 
 Cooperstown, Otsego Co., N. Y., who took charge 
 in Feb. 1867. 
 
 In 1871, the wooden building erected in 1836, 
 was demolished, in order to make room for the 
 stone edifice which now occupies the ground. The 
 total cost of this building, including windows, fur- 
 niture, organ, &c;, was about $32,000, of which 
 one member of the parish contributed nearly $14,- 
 000, and many others in equally generous propor- 
 tions. 
 
 St. Paul's church, though somewhat distant from 
 the center of population in Poughkeepsie, and for 
 that reason disadvantageously located, yet by the 
 beauty of its edifice and the attractive character of 
 its services, has maintained both its prosperity and 
 its usefulness in an increasing degree from year to 
 year.* 
 
 Universalist Church. — The first preaching in 
 this vicinity of the doctrine of final salvation to all 
 men, occurred about sixty years ago, when a 
 teacher of this faith preached under the willows 
 which then stood on the east side of Washington 
 street, a short distance north of the Northern 
 ■Hotel. Who was the preacher, how many were 
 
 * We are indebted to the rector, S. H. Synnott, for this sketch. 
 
436 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 gathered on that occasion, or whether any converts 
 were made, tradition does not inform us, and but 
 for a trifling incident the fact would not probably 
 be remembered. 
 
 Nothing further is known of the preaching of 
 Universahsm in Poughkeepsie until a few years 
 prior to 1836; during which period Rev. T. J. 
 Hillyer, of North Salem, Rev. Thomas I. Sawyer 
 and Rev. Theophilus Fish are known to have 
 preached occasionally in the court house and vil- 
 lage hall, to fair audiences, and by their preaching 
 succeeded in awaking an interest that led to the 
 organization of the First Universahst Society of 
 Poughkeepsie in December, 1836. 
 
 In February, 1837, Rev. J. D. WilUamson, of 
 Albany, was called by the society and became their 
 pastor. During his pastorate, in 1843, the old 
 Baptist church in Mill street, which stood upon the 
 site of the present new edifice owned by that de- 
 nomination, was purchased by James E. Slater, 
 Benjamin Gile, John C. Holmes and H. D. Myers, 
 who put it in thorough repair, when the Univer- 
 salist society took possession, dedicated, and 
 worshipped in it, with Rev. Mr. Bartlett as pastor, 
 until November, 1844, when Mr. Bartlett was suc- 
 ceeded by Rev Gibson Smith, who preached for 
 the society till May i, 1845, when he was succeeded 
 by Rev. L. P. Rand. 
 
 On the division in the Baptist church, one branch 
 of that society, desiring to possess their old spirit- 
 ual home, made a liberal oflfer for it The persons 
 holding the title accepted it, and recovered the 
 property, with the approbation and consent of the 
 Universahst society, which afterwards worshipped in 
 the court, house and village hall, though they had 
 no settled pastor. 
 
 In 1850, the Presbyterian church in Cannon 
 street was purchased by the society and repaired, 
 and regular services were held ; but no pastor was 
 called till 1853, when Rev. W. W. King assumed 
 the charge and retained it till May i, 1855, when 
 he was succeeded by Rev. B. H. Davis, whose 
 pastorate continued until May, i, i860. Rev. H. 
 P. Cutting succeeded Mr. Davis and served as 
 pastor until May i, 1862. The church after that 
 time was rented for various purposes until 1873, 
 when it was sold to the Catholics. 
 
 No effort was made to resume services until 
 1879, though the legal organization was regularly 
 kept up by the election of trustees. In 1879, the 
 society purchased the Baptist church in LaFayette 
 place* and dedicated it November 19th. The 
 pulpit was supplied by the State Missionary Society 
 
 from that time until the spring of 1880, when Rev. 
 James Gorton assumed the pastoral care, but re- 
 mained only three months. The pulpit was again 
 supphed by the State Missionary Society and others 
 until the spring of 1881, when Rev. L. H. Squires 
 became and still remains the settled pastor. The 
 congregation numbers from fifty to seventy-five.* 
 
 The First Congregational Church of Poughkeep- 
 sie was organized in the Carnes building, 310 
 Main street, September 10, 1838, by eighty-six in- 
 dividuals, late members of the First and Secondf 
 Presbyterian churches, who unanimously adopted 
 a confession of faith and " principles of govern- 
 ment and discipline." 
 
 Rev. Almon Underwood was induced to come 
 and labor with the infant church, and commenced 
 his services on the last Sabbath in August, 1837. 
 The church worshipped in the Carnes building, 
 where it was organized, until August 5, 1838, when 
 it removed to the building formerly owned and oc- 
 cupied by the Second Presbyterian church, on the 
 corner of Mill and Vassar streets, now used as a 
 Jewish synagogue, which was purchased for its 
 use. 
 
 During the pastorate of Mr. Rice — 1855 to 
 1 860 — active measures were taken to secure a lot 
 in a more central location, upon which to build a 
 a larger and better arranged house of worship. A 
 desirable lot, situated on the north side of Mill street, 
 between Garden and Washington streets, was 
 purchased, and the corner-stone of the present 
 church edifice was laid June i, 1859. The building 
 was completed and dedicated June 5, i860. The 
 lecture room having been completed, public ser- 
 vice was commenced in it Oct. 9, 1859, and con- 
 tinued there till the dedication of the main edifice. 
 
 Following is the succession of pastors ; Almon 
 Underwood, i837-'44; Levi F. Wal4o, i844-'s4; 
 Chauncey D. Rice, 1855-60; Moses Tyler, 1861- 
 '62; James Leonard Corning, 1863-69; Henry 
 Loomis, Jr., i869-'7i ; James C. Beecher, 187 1- 
 '75 ; and E. A. Lawrence, the present pastor, who 
 commenced his labors Sept. 12, 1875. 
 
 The African M. E. Zion Church was organized in 
 1837, by persons who formerly belonged to the 
 First M. E. Church of Poughkeepsie, which, at 
 
 * This sketch is prepared from a historical discourse delivered by 
 Henry D. Myers at the dedication of the church Nov. 19, 1879, and 
 from S. P. Heermance's Reminhcemes, published in The Sunday 
 Courier. 
 
 t This church disbanded about a year after the Congrej^ational church 
 was organized, many of its members returning to the First Presbyterian 
 church, from which they separated on the question of old and new 
 school ; others uniting with the Congregational church. It was in exis- 
 tence some three or four years. 
 
CITY OF POUGHKEEPSIE. 
 
 427 
 
 one time, numbered fifty-eight colored members. 
 Their first house of worship was erected in 1 843, 
 on the site of the present one, on Catharine street, 
 between Mansion street and Cottage place; and 
 the present one, a brick structure, in 1862, at a 
 cost of about $4,000. The old church was re- 
 moved to the rear of the present edifice, and was 
 soon after fitted up, and rented in 1863, to the 
 Board of Education for the use of a colored school, 
 for which purpose it was used for several years. 
 In 1879 it was fitted up for a public hall, for which 
 purpose it has since been used. The present pas- 
 tor is Rev. Jacob Thomas, who entered upon his 
 present pastorate in June, 1878, having previously 
 served a pastorate of three years from June, 1861. 
 The present membership is sixty ; the attendance 
 at Sabbath school, which is superintended by the 
 pastor, about the same number ; the average at- 
 tendance being about thirty-five. The church is 
 free from debt. 
 
 The Cannon Street M. E. Church, the second 
 offshoot from the Washington street M. E. Church, 
 was organized in April, 1840, by Rev. C. W. Car- 
 penter, with the sanction of the latter church, of 
 which he was then pastor. About one hundred 
 and fifty-six (the number reported to the next 
 Conference) withdrew from the parent church to 
 form the new one. Soon after, Thomas M. Brewer, 
 Thomas Simpson, Wm. Wall Reynolds, Edmund 
 B. Bailey, Henry Way, David Norris and Egbert 
 B. Killey were elected trustees, and assumed the 
 financial responsibilities of the new enterprise. 
 The old Baptist church in Mill street, (from which 
 the Baptists had removed to their new church in 
 LaFayette Place, built in 1839,) was rented for the 
 use of the society. In 1842, that building was 
 sold to the UniversaUsts, and on the first of Novem- 
 ber of that year was vacated by the new society, 
 which worshipped for a while in the village hall, 
 and subsequently in the court house, where they 
 continued to hold services until the completion of 
 the present church on Cannon street, the corner 
 stone of which was laid by Bishop Janes, May 26, 
 1845. The total cost of the edifice and site was 
 $8,650. It was dedicated Dec. 25, 1845. 
 
 The following is the succession of stationed 
 ministers of this church: Revs. Fitch Reed, 
 1840-42; Hart F. Pease, 1842-44; John P. 
 Merwin, 1844-47; Benjamin M. Genung, 1847; 
 Seymour Van Deusen, 1847-49; George F. Ket- 
 tell, i849-'si; D. W.Clark, i8si-'53; W. 
 Jewett, 1853; R. A. Chalker, i8s3-'s4; J. W. 
 Beach, 1854-55 ; L. W. Peck, i856-'57 ; George 
 
 F. Kettell, 1858 ; Wm. J. Foss, 1859 ; George W. 
 Lord, 1859 ; A. D. Vail, i86o-'6i ; A. M. Hough, 
 1862; Alex. Mc Lean, 1863-64; E. R. Keyes, 
 i865-'67; E. L. Prentice, i867-'7o; M.S.Terry, 
 i87o-'73; P. R. Hauxhurst, i873-'76; W. H. 
 Ferris, D. D., 1876-79; Winslow W. Sever, 1879 
 to the present time. 
 
 The German M. E. Church was organized in 
 1847, by C. Lyon, in the Washington street M. E. 
 Church. The late Rev. Daniel Duerstein was the 
 missionary, aided by a German member of the 
 Presbyterian church, Jacob Bahret ; and Mr. Duer- 
 stein was appointed the first pastor. The congre- 
 gation worshipped at Duerstein's house, on the 
 corner of Church and Jefferson streets, (the first 
 floor of which was fitted up for that purpose,) until 
 Oct. 28, 1849, and later, while their church was 
 being built, in the Lancasterian school house in 
 Church street, until March 31, 1850. 
 
 The first sermon in the German language was 
 preached July 18, 1847, by the late Rev. J. Sauter, 
 presiding elder, at the court house, and quite a large 
 number of Germans were present. Mr. Duerstein 
 preached his first sermon in the house of the 
 late Jacob Bahret, in Jay street, to fifteen 
 persons. Their growth was rapid. Their first report, 
 in 1 85 1, shows a membership of fifty-one. 
 
 August 18, 1849, ^ l°t was purchased in South 
 Bridge street, of James Kenworth, for a site for a 
 church. The first service was held in the base- 
 ment of the new edifice — a small frame structure 
 —April 7, 1850, and Sept. 22, 1850, the church 
 was dedicated by C. Lyon, presiding elder. The 
 erection of a parsonage was commenced in 1862, 
 and finished in May, 1863, at a cost of $1,250. 
 Rev. George Abele, who was the pastor, collected 
 the entire amount, $800 of which was subscribed 
 by the generous citizens of Foughkeepsie. 
 
 Mr. Duerstein remained the pastor until May, 
 1850. His successors have been : Revs. Anthony 
 Romig, C. Herdell, Leonard Mayer, F. G. Gratz, 
 John Swahlen, C. F. Grim, J. G. Lutz, G. Abele, 
 John Sauter, George Mayer, Wm. H. Kurth, J. 
 Seidel, John Flad and C. HofFroge, the latter of 
 whom is the present pastor. 
 
 First German Lutheran Church of Fough- 
 keepsie* In the year 1847 the German residents 
 of Foughkeepsie held a religious meeting in the 
 village hall, which drew together Lutherans, Roman 
 Catholics and Methodists. Rev. Mr. Duerstein 
 preached; but when, after several Sundays, it was 
 
 * We are indebted for the materials of this sketch to the pastor, Rev. 
 
 G. C. Berkemier. 
 
428 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 discovered that he was a Methodist, the Lutherans 
 withdrew and secured the basement of the Re- 
 formed church, where they were served by Rev. 
 Gustavus H. J. Derkston, a Ucentiate of the New 
 York Ministerium. His Ucense was not renewed 
 and he disappeared. Feb. 14, 1850, Rev. E. H. 
 Schluster became the pastor and remained until 
 1852. Rev. Aug. Schmidt succeeded him and re- 
 mained until 1856. Up to this time the congrega- 
 tion worshipped in the lecture room of the Re- 
 formed church, but on the destruction of that edi- 
 fice by fire the lecture room of the Episcopal 
 church was secured. Their pastor was succeeded 
 by Rev. J. Hoffman, of Rome, who organized 
 them under the name of The First Evangelical 
 Lutheran German Church of Poughkeepsie. They 
 then hired the Universalist church for services, and 
 an effort was made to secure a church property of 
 their own, but it failed. Mr. Hoffman resigned 
 the pastorate in May, 1857, when a Mr. Wilkin- 
 son offered his services as pastor. In 1858, Rev. 
 G. Manz, a licentiate of the New York Ministerium, 
 became the pastor. A large stone house was pur- 
 chased and the lower part fitted up for church pur- 
 poses, at an expense of $1,500. In April, i860, 
 Mr. Manz resigned and was succeeded by Rev. 
 Aug. A. H. Schubert, who resigned the next year. 
 In October, 1861, Rev. C. H. Siebke, of Rondout, 
 accepted a call. The society abandoned the pur- 
 chased property, which proved burdensome, and 
 again rented the Universalist church. 
 
 In 1864, a lot seventy-six by one hundred and 
 six feet on Grand street was purchased^ and on the 
 13th of June the corner-stone of a church edifice 
 was laid thereon. Nov. 14th, the Rev. H. N. 
 Pohlman, President of the New York Ministerium, 
 dedicated a fine brick church, which was erected 
 at a cost of $8,000, with but $2,500 of debt re- 
 maining. 
 
 In December, 1865, Rev. Mr. Siebke resigned 
 the pastorate. In January, 1866, 'Rev. Frederick 
 Von Rosenberg accepted a call. He terminated 
 his ministry in April, 1869, and was succeeded by 
 Rev. W. Busse, who remained until September, 
 1874, when he was followed by Rev. Mr. Hoeck, 
 who resigned in July, 1878. 
 
 During the ministry of Rev. Mr. Hoeck many of 
 the members felt the necessity of English preaching, 
 and with the consent of their pastor Rev. Geo. 
 Neflf, who had moved from Wurttenberg to Pough- 
 keepsie, preached for them in the English language 
 every Sunday evening for nearly a year, ending 
 September, 1877, when, on account of difficulties 
 
 between the pastor and people, English preaching 
 was discontinued. 
 
 A month after the termination of Mr. Hoeck's 
 pastorate he was succeeded by Rev. G. C. Berke- 
 mier, who had then just returned from Europe, 
 where he finished his studies. Mr. Berkeraier is 
 now successfully working among this people, who 
 number 130 members. 
 
 The Second Reformed Dutch Church of Pough- 
 keepsie. — Nov. 2, 1847, the Classis of Poughkeep- 
 sie met and approved in form of the application 
 for a second church, and the following were ordained 
 as officers : Tunis Brinkerhoff, Charles P. Ad- 
 riance, Abraham G. Storm, Joseph H. Jackson, 
 elders ; James W. Bogardus, Casper D. Smith, 
 Albert Brett and John P. Flagler, deacons. 
 
 The corner stone of the church edifice was laid 
 May 22, 1848, and the church was dedicated Feb. 
 22, 1849. 
 
 Rev. Charles Whitehead, the first pastor, entered 
 upon his labors with this church Sept. i, 1849, and 
 was installed Oct. 7, 1849. Mr. Whitehead re- 
 signed the pastoral charge July 19, 1852, and Nov. 
 16, 1852, Rev. Charles S. Hageman, of Nyack, was 
 called to the pastorate. He was installed Jan. 15, 
 1853. He was succeeded by Rev. Joachim El- 
 mendorf, D. D., the present pastor, who received 
 a call to the pastorate Oct. i, 1872, and was in- 
 stalled Nov. 20, 1872. 
 
 In 1875, the church was altered and repaired 
 and a new chapel built and furnished, at a cost of 
 $12,459.12. The chapel was dedicated in Octo- 
 ber of that year. 
 The original number of members was fifty-two. The 
 number of members on the church roll in 1881, 
 was 331, while the number actually resident in the 
 parish was 229. The church is valued at $24,000; 
 and the chapel, at $7,500; and the parsonage, 
 erected in 1853, at $6,000. 
 
 The Children of Israel, (Jewish Synagogue,) 
 organized in 1848, worshipped for many years in Pine 
 Hall. They now occupy the building erected by 
 the Second Presbyterian church, on Mill and Vassar 
 streets. The present rabbi is Rev, Adolph Ettinger, 
 who has officiated for some six years. The mem- 
 bership numbers only eighteen. 
 
 Bedding M. E. Church. — In the winter of 
 1852-3, the, overcrowded condition of the Wash- 
 ington Street, or First M. E. Church, necessitated 
 the formation of a new society, to which at the 
 May Conference of 1853, a pastor was appointed. 
 The German M, E. Church in Bridge street was 
 rented. A Sunday school was organized May 2 2d 
 
CITY OF POUGHKEEPSIE. 
 
 429 
 
 and a society pn the 30th of the same month. The 
 corner stone was laid late in July. The church 
 was dedicated April 5, 1854, by Bishop Janes. 
 The cost of the church and grounds was about 
 $13,000. This church is now the largest numeri- 
 cally of any Protestant denomination in the city. 
 It reported 600 members in the spring of 1881, 
 and an attendance at Sabbath school of 225. 
 
 The following is the list of pastors : W. H. Fer- 
 ris, S. Fitch, W. C. Smith, J. B. Wakeley, L. H. 
 King, B. M. Adams, D. Buck, W. C. Smith, G. H. 
 Gregory, A. L. Culver, W. H. Evans, Edmund 
 Lewis and F. Hamlin. 
 
 Church of the Holy Comforter. — The establish- 
 ment of a "free church" in that part of the city 
 in which this church is located, had at different 
 times been mentioned as a desirable object, and 
 efforts were made to conduct services in that part 
 of the town in the winter of i854-'5, but were un- 
 successful. The object, however, was not forgot- 
 ten. The project was revived, and in December, 
 1858, a room was procured by the exertions and 
 contributions of members of Christ Church, and 
 conveniently fitted up for divine service. Services 
 were conducted in this room by Rev. S. Buel, on 
 the evening of Jan. 9, 1859, and were continued 
 on successive Sabbath evenings until Jan. 26th, 
 when they were suspended. Decided interest was 
 manifested in them, and the prospect of establish- 
 ing a free church, whose services would be appre- 
 ciated and well attended, was encouraging. 
 
 Wm. A. Davies determined to erect a church 
 which should be the realization of this object. An 
 organization by the above name was effected May 
 10, i860, and by deed and gift of May 20, 1859, 
 Thomas L. Davies and Wm. A. Davies * conveyed 
 to this corporation a plot of land 125 feet square, 
 eligibly and beautifully located in Davies' Place, on 
 which Wm. A. Davies reserved the right to build a 
 church. The corner stone of that edifice, was 
 laid July 14, 1859, by Rt. Rev. Horatio Potter, 
 D. D., LL. D., provisional bishop. 
 
 In November, 1859, services were resumed in 
 Shaw's Hall, on Sunday evenings, and continued 
 till March 25, i860, when they were finally sus- 
 pended in that place, to be resumed in the same 
 
 * Thomas L. and Wm. A. Davies are sons of Wm. Davies, to whose 
 memory a tablet of Caen Stone, with carved and cupsed gablet, and sup- 
 ported by shafts and capitals of black and white marble, is inserted in the 
 nave wall, north of the chancel arch. They are grandsons of Rev. Thomas 
 Davies, a missionary of the Society for the propagation of the Gospel, in 
 Litchfield County, Conn., before the Revolutionary war, whose ancestors 
 were firm adherents of the church, and zealous in the work of church 
 building, and in promoting the welfare E\nd the establishment of the 
 church. 
 
 part of the town in the church of the Holy Com- 
 forter after its opening. Rev. John Scarborough 
 was chosen rector March 3, i860. The church 
 was consecrated Oct. 25, i860, by Rt. Rev. 
 Horatio Potter. Regular services were be- 
 gun in the newly consecrated church Oct. 28, 
 i860. Rev. Mr. Scarborough continued rector 
 of the parish until the fall of 1867 ; and 
 was succeeded in October of that year by Rev. 
 Robert Fulton Crary, the present rector, who is a 
 grandson of Robert Fulton, of steamboat fame, 
 from whom he received his given name. The 
 present number of communicants is two hundred 
 and ninety-seven. 
 
 St. Mary's Church (Roman Catholic) was or- 
 ganized July 20, 1873, by Rev. Edward McSweeny, 
 who came here from New York for that purpose at 
 the instance of Cardinal McCloskey. Mr. Mc- 
 Sweeny has retained the pastoral charge to the 
 present time, assisted since Jan. i, 1881, by Rev. 
 John B. Creedon. 
 
 St. Mary's Church is an offshoot from St. Peter's 
 Church * of this city, and worships in the building 
 on Cannon street, which was erected in 1826, by 
 the First Presbyterian Society. This edifice was 
 purchased of the Universalists by Rev. P. F. Mc- 
 Sweeny, D. D., then pastor of St. Peter's Church 
 in this' city, but now of New York, and in 1873. 
 was purchased by St. Mary's Church for $10,000. 
 It was renovated and beautified, and dedicated by 
 Cardinal McCloskey July 20, 1873. In 1876 the 
 chapel was enlarged, and the church frescoed and 
 painted inside and out. The congregation now 
 numbers 1,200. 
 
 Connected with this church is a parochial school, 
 occupying a large four story brick building on 
 South Hamilton street, near Main street, which 
 was erected in 1880, at a cost of $5,000. The 
 attendance is one hundred and forty. It is a pay 
 school, but it is conducted by the Sisters of Chari- 
 ty in the interest of the church. The attendance 
 at Sunday school is two hundred and forty scholars. 
 
 The Sabbath school which has been supported 
 from the organization of the church, and has always 
 been under the supervision of the rector, numbers 
 about 300 scholars. In 1871 an industrial school 
 for girls was established by the parish, and weekly 
 meetings have since been held under the supervi- 
 sion of the lady teachers of the Sunday school. 
 Here instruction is given in sewing. The average 
 attendance is about seventy-five. 
 
 * Of this church, of which Rev. James Nilan, D. D., is pastor, as well 
 as the CAwrcA of the iVa/K/ufy— of the same denomination— of which 
 Rev. G. Bruder is pastor, we have been unable to get a history. 
 
43° 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVII. 
 
 Auxiliary Religious, Benevolent and Char- 
 itable Institutions — -Young Men's Christian 
 Association — Hudson River State Hospital 
 — Old Ladies' Home — Vassar Brothers' 
 Home for Aged Men — St. Barnabas' Hospi- 
 tal — House of Industry — Charity Organi- 
 zation Society — Poughkeepsie Orphan House 
 and Home for the Friendless. 
 
 YOUNG Men's Christian Association of 
 Poughkeepsie, was formed Aug. 21, 1863. 
 The hbrary, which was estabUshed when the present 
 building was first occupied, in 1872, contains 
 thirteen hundred volumes of a miscellaneous char- 
 acter, mostly contributed by citizens. The reading- 
 room is supplied with sixty-eight papers, of a mis- 
 cellaneous character, and six of the leading 
 magazines of this country. The gymnasium, which 
 was established on a small scale when the building 
 was fitted up, was enlarged in 1880, and supplied 
 with all the modern appliances, at an expense of 
 $1,000. The association numbered two hundred 
 and forty-seven active, seventy-four associate, and 
 twenty-one honorary members, as per report of 
 Dec. 5, 1880. The successive presidents have 
 been: John H. Mathews, 1864-68; Leonard, 
 C. Winslow, 1869; John L Piatt, i869-'7o; 
 Mitchell Downing, 1871-74; E. P. Piatt, i87S-'78; 
 Benson Van Vliet, 1879-81. 
 
 7%e Hudson River State Hospital for the In- 
 sane. — In 1866, the Legislature authorized the 
 Governor to appoint commissioners " to receive by 
 gift or contract for the purchase of a suitable site, 
 on or near the Hudson River, below the city of 
 Albany, upon which to erect the Hudson River 
 Asylum for the Insane." The commissioners ap- 
 pointed under this act were : Hon. A. W. Palmer, 
 of Amenia, Hon. W. S. Kenyon, of Kingston, Dr. 
 J. M. Cleaveland, of Utica, John Falconer, of New 
 York City, and Hon. D. M. Madden, of Middle- 
 town. Jan. 9, 1867, the commissioners reported 
 that they had received " by gift, from the citizens 
 of Duchess County, a site consisting of 206 acres 
 of land," situated a mile north of the limits of the 
 city of Poughkeepsie, a " location geographically 
 central easily accessible by river and railway, and 
 distinguished for its salubrity and commanding 
 beauty." The same year (1867) the Legislature 
 appropriated $5,000, for the purchase of an addi- 
 tional and adjoining eighty-four acres, which " was 
 required to secure the privacy of the exercise 
 
 grounds of the patients, and to ensure the control of 
 the stream rising within its limits." But the tract 
 when surveyed was found to contain 333 acres, 
 instead of 290, owing to the fact that the first 
 deeds were based on old and inaccurate surveys. 
 
 Dr. Joseph M. Cleaveland, who had been pro- 
 fessionally connected with the State Lunatic Asy- 
 lum at Utica some nine years, and previously with 
 the New York Hospital for three years, has 
 been Medical Superintendent from its establish- 
 ment. The building was commenced in 1868 and 
 finished and opened for patients in October, 1871, 
 at an entire cost of $1,215,000. 
 
 The Old Ladies' Home in the City of Pough- 
 keepsie ^2& incorporated Dec. i, 1870, for "the 
 support of respectable, aged and indigent Protestant 
 women who are unable to support themselves, and 
 have been actual residents of the city of Pough- 
 keepsie (as it is now or as it may be hereafter en- 
 larged) for at least five years next preceding their 
 application for such support." The applicants for 
 the charter were Henry L. Young, George Van- 
 Kleeck and Charles W. Swift, of the Reformed 
 church ; Lewis F. Streit and John Thompson, of 
 the Presbyterian church; James H. Dudley and 
 Abraham Wiltsie, of the Congregational church; 
 Matthew Vassar, Jr., and John F. Hull, of the 
 Baptist church ; Stephen M. Buckingham and Ed- 
 gar M. VanKleeck, of the Episcopal church ; Wm. 
 W. Reynolds and Albert B. Harvey^ of the Metho- 
 dist church ; and Joseph Flagler and George Gorlies, 
 of the Friends' Society. These gentlemen, with 
 the exception of Mr. Young, for whom Jonathan 
 R. Warner is substituted, are named as the first 
 trustees. 
 
 This institution was founded by Jonathan R. 
 Warner, who purchased the three story Ionic brick 
 building on the corner of South Hamilton and 
 Montgomery streets, formerly the Duchess County 
 Academy, and fitted it for its present purpose at 
 a cost of nearly $30,000. Mr. Warner likewise 
 contributed toward an endowment fund $10,000, 
 on condition that a like sum should be contributed 
 by the citizens of Poughkeepsie. The latter 
 amount was secured through the exertions of Mrs. 
 Alice Fowler, and the fund has since been increased 
 by legacies and gifts to $27,000. The income from 
 this fund, which in 1880 amounted to $1,954.01, 
 together with entrance fees, annual subscriptions 
 and contributions, supports the institution, the ag- 
 gregate expense incurred for which in 1880, was 
 $3,548.70- 
 
 Vassar Brother^ Home for Aged Men in the 
 
CITY OF POUGHKEEPSIE. 
 
 431 
 
 City of Poughkeepsie was incorporated Oct. 18, 
 1880, for "the support of respectable aged in- 
 digent Protestant men who are unable to support 
 themselves, and who have been actual residents of 
 the city of Poughkeepsie for at least five years 
 next preceding the application for such support." 
 The first trustees, twenty-one in number; were: 
 Matthew Vassar, Jr., John G. Vassar, Adam Caire, 
 Benson VanVliet, Homer A. Nelson, John F. 
 Hull, George H. Tompkins, Edward VanKleeck, 
 Robert E. Taylor, LeGrand Dodge, Albert Tower, 
 Luther Elting, Wm. W. Smith, Jacob Corhes, 
 Wm. C. Smilie, Wm. J. Carpenter, John P. H. 
 Tallman, Wm. T. Reynolds, Frederick W. Davis, 
 Alson Ward and James H. Weeks. 
 
 This institution was founded by Matthew Vas- 
 sar, Jr. and John Guy Vassar. The building was 
 begun in July, 1879, and finished in August, 1880. 
 It is a large, commodious and imposing brick 
 structure, designed for the accommodation of fifty 
 inmates, and occupies nearly an acre of ground 
 on the corner of Main and Vassar streets, extend- 
 ing to LaFayette Place, which was the site of the 
 home of the late Matthew Vassar, the founder of 
 Vassar College. The arrangements for the com- 
 fort of its aged inmates are complete and well con- 
 sidered, and all its appointments are of the best, 
 most comfortable and substantial character. 
 
 St. Barnabas Hospital. — In the winter of 1870 
 -'71, Dr. Edward H. Parker, of Poughkeepsie, in- 
 vited the rectors of three Episcopal parishes in the 
 city to meet at his house to take into consideration 
 the project of establishing a hospital which should 
 be free to all in need of its benefits. The project 
 was discussed and deemed feasible, and the num- 
 ber of trustees determined on — nine. At a second 
 meeting held soon after, the rectors came prepared 
 to nominate trustees — three from each parish — the 
 rector of each parish being one. A charter was 
 obtained under the general act March 16, 1871, 
 and states its object to be "to maintain and sup- 
 port a hosjpital for the care and treatment of sick 
 and disabled indigent patients." The first trustees 
 were Revs. P. K. Cady, R. F. Crary and S. H. 
 Synnott, W. A. Davies, S. M. Buckingham, R. 
 Sanford, Dr. E. H. Parker, Benjamin VanLoan 
 and Winthrop Atwill ; and the first officers : W. 
 A. Davies, President ; Rev. Dr. P. K. Cady, Vice- 
 President; Rev. S. H. Synnott, Secretary; S. M. 
 Buckingham, Treasurer. 'The only change which 
 has occurred in the officers is in the office of Vice- 
 President, to which Rev. R. F. Crary was elected 
 in place of Rev. Dr. Cady, Jan. 3, 1876. 
 
 A building was hired in Garden street from May 
 I, 1 87 1. It was open for inspection and the first 
 services were held therein May 17, 1871. In 1873, 
 the present building, a small brick structure, located 
 at 108 North Clinton street, and formerly occupied 
 as a dwelling house, was purchased for $5,200, and 
 was occupied in October of that year. It is situ- 
 ated in a healthful, pleasant and quiet locality. 
 
 House of Industry* No. 16, Liberty street. — 
 This institution was incorporated April 24, 187 1. 
 The charter names eleven ladies as trustees, and 
 states its objects as being "to aid i)oor women in 
 the city of Poughkeepsie by providing them with 
 sewing and other like employment." Its origin, 
 however, dates back to 1864, in which year a nur- 
 sery was provided wherein children of soldiers' 
 wives could be cared for while the mothers were 
 out at work. This mode of relief was soon changed 
 and the mothers given partial employment at their 
 homes. In June, 1865, the House of Industry was 
 organized, and from its commencement has been 
 productive of good. 
 
 It is supported by "voluntary subscriptions" and 
 the sales of garments made by the workwomen. 
 Orders for sewing are given, after examination, to 
 old ladies, cripples, widows and respectable women, 
 who, having resided in the city of Poughkeepsie 
 six months, are confined at home by sickness or the 
 care of young children, and have neither husband 
 nor children able to support them. The value of 
 orders given is proportioned to the need of the ap- 
 plicant; being at the rate of fifty cents or one dol- 
 lar per week. It is not intended to give full em- 
 ployment, to pay unusual prices, or in any way to 
 offer inducements which might draw from other 
 fields of labor. 
 
 In 1867, a contingent fund was put aside for the 
 reUef of sick women unable to work. The fund 
 now amounts to $1,000, and is deposited in the 
 savings bank ; the interest only is drawn upon. In 
 1873, the moderate sized brick building now occu- 
 pied was purchased, at a cost of $6,000, with 
 money collected in the city, and the title vested in 
 trustees. 
 
 Connected with, the house, and controlled by it, 
 is a training or sewing school, which was organized 
 in 1874, and is in charge of Miss Kate Smith and 
 other volunteer teachers. Weekly sessions are held 
 during the winter. 
 
 Poughkeepsie Charity Organization Society was 
 
 * The materials for this sketch are drawn from an Extract from ike 
 Fourteenth A nnual Report of ike State Board of Charities^ Relating 
 to the Charities of the Second jfudicial District., by Miss Sarah M. 
 Carpenter, Commissioner. 
 
432 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 organized June 9, 1879, by the election of the fol- 
 lowing officers : Stephen M. Buckingham, President; 
 Dr. E. H. Parker, Vice-President ; John H. Mat- 
 thews, Secretary; Alison Ward, Treasurer. A 
 board of twenty managers was likewise chosen. 
 Preliminary meetings had been previously held. 
 The objects of the society are " to />revenf the im- 
 position by beggars, indiscriminate and duplicate 
 almsgiving, and pauperization of the poor, by char- 
 ity," and "to secure relief for the needy, employment 
 for laborers, information for all, and a permanent 
 improvement in the condition of the poor." It is 
 not the aim of the society to give direct relief, but 
 to secure help for the needy through the aid of 
 existing institutions or of private individuals, and 
 to systemize and facilitate the method of affording 
 such aid. It maintains a bureau of application 
 and investigation, with a secretary in attendance, 
 at 27 Garden street, where, also, it has in practi- 
 cal operation a kitchen garden, in which girls are 
 trained in household duties by its members. 
 
 Poughkeepsie Orphan House and Home for the 
 Friendless was organized June 21, 1847, as the 
 Poughkeepsie Female Guardian Society, and was 
 incorporated in 1852. The charter was amended 
 in 1868, and again in 1872. Its object is to pro- 
 vide a home for the destitute and friendless chil- 
 dren of the county until they can be " committed 
 to the guardianship of foster parents, or worthy 
 families, who will train them to respectability and 
 usefulness." It was originally designed also to 
 furnish a temporary home and employment for 
 unprotected and friendless females. It occupies a 
 substantial brick building, sixty by forty-five feet 
 three stories high, with basement and cellar, fur- 
 nishing accommodations for sixty inmates. The 
 building was finished in 1857, and was opened for 
 the reception of inmates on Feb. 2 2d of that year. 
 It is situated on a lot three hundred and sixty-four 
 by one hundred and sixty feet, on the corner of 
 South Hamilton and Franklin streets. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVIII. 
 
 City Water Works — Fire Department 
 
 Fraternities— Poughkeepsie Gas Light Co. 
 —Citizens Gas Co.— City Railroad Co.— 
 Hotels and Taverns. 
 
 PREVIOUS to the construction of the present 
 water works there was no public provision 
 for the supply of water for domestic purposes in 
 
 Poughkeepsie. The earliest dependence for such 
 supply were springs, which were to be found in 
 almost all parts of the city. Many of them still 
 exist in cellars, and are never-failing. Before 
 Main street was graded, at least a dozen steadily 
 flowing springs were to be seen between the old 
 Red Mill and the river. Fine springs were also to 
 be seen on Market, Cannon and Union streets. In 
 the progress of improvement these were all cover- 
 ed up, and the sinking.of wells followed. The first 
 well sunk in Poughkeepsie was that in the yard of 
 the Northern Hotel ; and the second, that on the 
 grounds of Riverview Institute on Pine street.* 
 
 But the causes which produced springs so 
 abundantly were the source of annoyances which 
 were only obviated by the system of sewerage 
 adopted since 1870. At an average depth of ten 
 feet below the surface of the table-land on which a 
 portion of the city is built, lies an impervious 
 stratum of blue clay. Immediately above this is 
 a layer of gravel, then yellow clay and clayey loam. 
 Above this again is sand or gravel, and then the 
 surface soil — vegetable mold ; while a ridge of rock 
 runs along the brow of the hill, varying from a 
 foot or two to ten or fifteen feet below the surface. 
 Consequently, upon this formation after heavy rains 
 and in the early spring, the water-table in the soil 
 is raised, and the water set back by the ridge, forced 
 its way into cellar and basement, causing yearly 
 much inconvenience and expense. 
 
 Water for fire purposes had, however, been sup- 
 plied from a comparatively early day. As early as 
 1819 a system of cisterns was established in differ- 
 ent parts of the village, and these were used until 
 the construction of the old reservoir. Water from 
 the Fallkill was stored in a small reservoir at the 
 head of Cannon street, and was used for that purpose 
 until the present system came into use. That res- 
 ervoir was granted by John-P. Adriance to George 
 P. Oakley, then president of the village, May 25, 
 183 >;■ 
 
 The village trustees had previously contracted with 
 Joseph Harris for a lot of land 200 feet square, on 
 the hill then occupied by Rufus Potter, .immediately 
 east of the land of Jared Smith, on which to build 
 a reservoir; also a lot of land forty feet on the 
 north-east side of Mill street, extending parallel 
 with the channel of the Fallkill and the mill pond 
 of said Harris, contiguous to his Red Mills, "to 
 lay down and maintain pipes for water works from 
 said water lot to said hill lot," paying for the hill 
 lot $1,000, and for the water lot $200. After the 
 
 * The Sunday Ce'MnVr, April 20, 1873. " 
 
CITY OF POUGHKEEPSIE. 
 
 433 
 
 reservoir was built it was found necessary to fill it 
 with water from the Fallkill, and the trustees nego- 
 tiated with the mill owners for water for that pur- 
 pose. These water works were transferred tempo- 
 rarily to the board of water commissioners in 
 August, 1871. "In their day," says the Fou^A- 
 keepsie Eagle of Nov. 2, 1872, "the old water 
 works were considered very valuable and the pretty 
 Uttle reservoir was a popular place of resort for all 
 classes. In the spring it will be leveled to the 
 earth, and what is now a high eminence will then 
 be made into a handsome park with fountain, shade 
 trees, &c." Much of this improvement, however, 
 remains to be done. 
 
 Feb. 21, 1867, the Council adopted an amend- 
 ment to the city charter authorizing the creation of 
 a board of water commissioners and the use of the 
 Fallkill for the purpose of supplying the city with 
 water; but though the Legislature passed an act 
 April 12, 1867, "to provide for a supply of water 
 in the city of Poughkeepsie and sewers therein," it 
 failed of immediate results. 
 
 That act authorized the raising of $200,000, sub- 
 ject to the approval of the people at an election. 
 April 9, 1870, it was so amended as to authorize 
 the Common Council to raise by loan from time 
 to time, as required by the board of water com- 
 missioners, consisting of Stephen M. Buckingham, 
 Edward Storm, Edward L. Beadle, Abraham 
 Wright, Edgar M. VanKleeck and James H. Weeks, 
 a sum not exceeding $200,000, by the creation of 
 a public fund or stock, to be called the "Water 
 stock of the City of Poughkeepsie," to bear inter- 
 est at seven per cent, per annum. The commis- 
 sioners are authorized to acquire the right by agree- 
 ment or approval " to alter the course of, to 
 straighten, widen or contract, to wall in, fill in, 
 control, improve and regulate the Fallkill creek, 
 and the ponds thereon, -and the use of water theres 
 from, and to pass ordinances relating thereto ;" 
 " and to remove all or any of the dams and ponds 
 thereon, and to fill said ponds or creek, or a por- 
 tion of the same if deemed necessary by them, 
 within the territorial limits of said city." April 19, 
 1872, the charter was again amended to empower 
 the council to increase the loan to $350,000 ; and 
 Stephen W. FuUerton and Enoch Carter, of New- 
 burgh, and George Hufcut, of Dover Plains, were 
 " appointed commissioners to determine and assess 
 the benefits conferred upon the owner or owners 
 of lands bordering upon Fallkill creek, or the ponds 
 formed by the same in the city of Poughkeepsie, 
 by reason of the taking down or removal of the 
 
 dams upon said creek, * * * "or any one of 
 them ;" " or by reason of the improvement, altera- 
 tion, or walling in of said creek or ponds * * * 
 or for leaving the beds and sides of said creek or 
 ponds, now overflowed, free and clear from the 
 waters" thereof. 
 
 The first board of officers of the water commission- 
 ers were : Edward L. Beadle, President ; Charles B. 
 Herrick, Secretary and Treasurer ; J. B. G. Rand, 
 Chief Engineer; Theodore W. Davis, Resident 
 Engineer; James P. Kirkwood, Consulting En- 
 gineer. 
 
 The commissioners considered the comparative 
 feasibility of using the waters from the Fallkill and 
 Crum Elbow Creek, the Hudson and Wappingers 
 Creek ; and came to the unanimous conclu- 
 sion " that the waters of the Hudson is the 
 best, and the river system the cheapest and most 
 reliable." Experience has demonstrated the wisdom 
 of that conclusion, at least with respect to the last 
 consideration. 
 
 The estimated cost of the Fallkill plan was 
 $710,000; of the Wappinger plan, $550,000; of 
 the River plan, $200,000, with the interest of an 
 additional $100,000 to do the pumping. 
 
 The commissioners located the pumping and 
 filtering works on the river, two miles above the 
 city on the Swain estate, and the distributing res- 
 ervoir on College Hill. The work of construction 
 was commenced in 1876, and completed during 
 that and the following year. 
 
 Mre Department of Poughkeepsie. — It would be 
 interesting to review the history of the department 
 from the incorporation of the village, to note the 
 varying apparatus — first the conventional leather 
 bucket, next the hand engine, at first without a 
 suction pipe, and the present steam engine and 
 hydrant — and the different organizations which 
 have used them in battling with the devouring ele- 
 ment, some of which have a memorable history, 
 but we have not the space at our command, and, 
 unfortunately, the records do not admit of it. 
 
 From the Poughkeepsie Weekly Eagle of March 
 18, 187 1, we glean the names and occupations of 
 the men who composed Poughkeepsie's first fire 
 company, as follows : Joseph Powell, Captain, 
 silversmith, Richard Harris, tailor, John Nelson, 
 carpet weaver, John Armstrong, carpenter, WilUam 
 Smith, grocer, Wm. R. Barnes and Moses Yelverton, 
 blacksmiths, John Fields, dry goods, Christopher 
 Markle, butcher, Joseph Mason, tobacconist, John 
 E. Pells, tailor, Casper Hillequist, cabinet maker, 
 James Tallmadge, Jr., lawyer, William Kidney, 
 
434 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 tailor, John Hobson, hatter, Matthew Colwell, 
 cabinet maker, John Swartwout, shoemaker, Abe 
 Thompson, Benjamin Howland, grocer, Thomas 
 Carman, saddle and harness maker, Abiah 8. 
 Storm, silversmith, Chester Parsons, bookbinder, 
 Joseph Nelson, grocer, Benj. Banker and Elijah 
 Morgan, silversmiths. The apparatus of the de- 
 partment in 1806, says the same authority, con- 
 sisted of one engine, six hooks and ladders, one 
 trough, one speaking trumpet, four lengths of hose, 
 eight bags and one rope. 
 
 The department in 1880 comprised one chief 
 and two assistant engineers, 128 members of en- 
 gine companies, 130 members of hose companies, 
 41 members of hook and ladder company, and 17 
 fire wardens, making a total of 819; who are 
 divided into three engine, three hose and one hook 
 and ladder companies, and a board of fire wardens. 
 The equipment consists of one first-class rotary 
 steam-engine with hose and tender ; one recipro- 
 cating steam-engine, with hose and fuel tender com- 
 bined, one second-class hand engine, three hose 
 carriages, one hook and ladder truck, and one two- 
 wheel hose cart for extra service, all in good order, 
 and 7,290 feet of hose, 4,000 feet of which is good, 
 2,400 feet, ordinary, and 890 feet, poor. 
 
 The department officers are: William Kaess, 
 Chief Engineer; Arthur L. Todd, First Assistant 
 Engineer ; George G. Williamson, Second Assistant 
 Engineer. 
 
 Fraternities. 
 
 Poughkeepsie Lodge No. 21, I. O. O. F., was 
 organized in 1838, and has a present membership 
 of 225. Regular meetings are held each Tuesday 
 evening at Nos. 10 and 12 Liberty street. It is 
 an incorporated society and has a fund of about 
 $7,000, which is largely drawn on for the relief of 
 sick members, widows, and the education of or- 
 phans. 
 
 Germania Singing Society was organizedin 1850, 
 with the following charter members : A. Kiihn, L. 
 Bantle, P. Meinecke, P. Kiesleer, Charles Peters, 
 L. Schlosser, C. Rausch, L. Kasselberg, A. Ulrich, 
 P. Zimmer, F. Grinling, Otto Rohr and Joseph 
 Bauer. It has a present membership, of 102. 
 Musical conductors : Charles Grube, M. Umlauf, 
 C. Peters, Fred. Reichardt, A. Kuhn, T. Gehrig, 
 L. Lehman. The society meets every Thursday 
 evening at Germania Hall, Nos. 149 and 151 
 Main street, for training in vocal and instrumental 
 mifsic ; and was awarded the first prizes for musi- 
 cal culture at the festivals in Utica, in 1874, in 
 
 Albany, in 1880, and in Kingston, in 188 1. It 
 was incorporated April 27, 187 i.. 
 
 The St. Peter's Catholic Total Abstinence and 
 Benefit Society was founded Nov. i, r866, and in- 
 corporated with thirty-two charter members April 
 5, 1 87 1. The charter names Peter Shields, Mi- 
 chael J. Corcoran and Edward Downey as trustees. 
 Michael J. Corcoran was the first President, and 
 Patrick Kerr the first Vice-President. The society 
 has no members, and about $400 in bank. It 
 meets every Sunday evening at 8 o'clock, in the 
 basement of St. Peters' church. 
 
 Hamilton Post, G. A. R., named from Capt. 
 Hamilton, the grandson of Alexander Hamilton 
 and son of Judge Philip Hamilton, was organized 
 March 23, 1867, with the following members : 
 
 A. B. Smith,C. H. Andrus, George Parker, H. M. 
 Carter, Wm.Platts, W. Harris Johnson, Robert K. 
 Tuthill, Derrick Brown, A. A. Boutell, Charles 
 
 B. Morris, George E. Bissell and Henry F. Bissell. 
 The present number of members is about 125. 
 The Post meets every Wednesday night at the 
 rooms of Battery D, 218 Union street. It is the 
 owner of a plot of ground in the Poughkeepsie 
 Rural Cemetery, large enough for thirty-nine graves, 
 which is designed for those of the members who 
 request burial there. It was purchased in 1879, 
 and is managed by a board of trustees. The 
 Post disburses a very respectable amount annu- 
 ally in the way of charities to the widows and or- 
 phans of deceased comrades and to meritorious 
 comrades. 
 
 Siloam Encampment, No. 36, / O. O. F., was or- 
 ganized August 31, 1867, with the following char- 
 ter members : J. D. Neal, P. S. Rowland, P. G. 
 Beneway, S. Scofield and E. O. Caldwall, who were 
 also the first officers. The present number of 
 members is ninety-five. Regular* meetings are 
 held the first and third Thursdays of each month. 
 
 Excelsior Rebekah Degree Lodge No. 7, /. O. 
 0. F. was organized April 13, 1870, with ninety- 
 seven charter members, twelve of whom have died, 
 and only ten of whom are numbered with the 
 present forty members, who meet the second and 
 fourth Wednesday of each month. The first offi- 
 cers were : Samuel Mott, N. G. ; Mrs. Mary A. 
 Rowland, V. G. ; Mrs. Mary E. Mott, Rec. Sec. ; 
 Mrs. Mary A. VanSiclen, Treasurer ; Mrs. Kate 
 A. Cornell, Fin. Sec. 
 
 Rising Star Lodge, No. 52, was organized* Nov. 
 23, 1870. The charter members, the first ten of 
 whom were also the first officers, were: F. E. 
 Stickle, John Stone, G. W. Lane, C. Potter, W. 
 
CITY OF POUGHKEEPSIE. 
 
 43S 
 
 Broas, A. Schaeffer, N. Winters, Jr., J. Peterkin, 
 D. Lentz, John Bauman, A. Fitchett, Theo. Clark, 
 T. Eckhardt and J. M. Dorland. The present 
 membership is sixty-seven. Regular meetings are 
 held every Thursday evening in Pythian Hall, 333 
 Main street. 
 
 Fallkill Lodge, No. 2()i, I. O. O. F., was insti- 
 tuted Dec. I, 1871, with thirty-three charter mem- 
 bers. The first officers were : Stephen Scofield, 
 N. G. ; Lawrence W. Butcher, V. G. ; Augustus 
 VanSiclen, Rec. Sec. ; John H. Caldwell, Per. 
 Sec. ; George W. Bayer, Treasurer. The lodge 
 has initiated one hundred and ninety-eight mem- 
 bers and admitted eleven by card. It has a pres- 
 ent membership of one hundred and forty-two. 
 Since its institution it has paid for charitable pur- 
 poses $3,000. Regular meetings are held every 
 Friday evening in Odd Fellows' Hall, Johnson 
 Building, Nos. 331, 333 and 335 Main street. 
 
 Poughkeepsie Lodge, No. 266, F. df A. M., was 
 organized May 12, 1852. The charter members 
 were : Abram M. Sweet, John Broas, Samuel 
 Chichester, George Gausman, John E. Eisel, Elias 
 G. Hopkins, George Kent, Isaac F. Russell and 
 Andrew Geutner. The first officers were : A. M. 
 Sweet, Master; John Broas, S. W. ; S. Chichester, 
 J. W. ; John E. Eisel, Treasurer; Isaac F. Rus- 
 sell, Secretary. The lodge has one hundred and 
 seventy-three members and meets in Masonic 
 Hall, Nos. 9, II, 13 and 15 Market street, the first 
 and third Mondays of every month, except July 
 and August. 
 
 Dutchess Temple of Honor, No. 7, was instituted 
 July 18, 1872, with twenty-eight members. The 
 first officers were : W. H. VanBenschoten, W. C. 
 T. ; Robt. S. McKean, W. V. T. ; Walter Farring- 
 ton, W. R.; Jabez Pierce, W. A. S.; Thomas F. 
 Gumey, W. F. S.; Hiram Van Benschoten, W. T.; 
 J. O. Lake, W. U.; Wm. F. Voce, W. D. U.; 
 J. J. Rosekrans, W. G.; Edgar Thorn, W. S. 
 The membership has reached as high as one 
 hundred and thirty-five ; but at present is forty- four. 
 The temple meets on Tuesday evenings at 7:30 
 o'clock, in Wright's Building, 361 Main street. 
 
 The Social Turnverein of the City of Pough- 
 keepsie was incorporated April 18, 1874. 
 
 Poughkeepsie Lodge, No. 572, K. of H., was or- 
 ganized April 6, 1877, with twenty.-eight charter 
 members. The first officers were : Dr. O. M. 
 Shedd, P. D.; Frank W. George, D.; J. H. Mar- 
 shall, V. D. ; W. H. Young, H. D.; James Smith, 
 R.; John P. A. Vail, F. R.; C. E. Patterson, F. 
 The lodge numbers thirty-three, and meets the 
 
 second and fourth Mondays of each month. The 
 lodge has had fifty-eight members, and has lost 
 two by death and twenty-three by withdrawals and 
 suspensions. Dr. O. M. Shedd was Grand Direct- 
 or of the Grand Lodge from April, 1879, to April 
 1 88 1, being unanimously elected each term. Un- 
 der his administration the order increased from 
 ninety to one hundred and eighty lodges, and from 
 3,191 to over 10,000 members. 
 
 Dutchess Lodge, No. 11 28, K. of IT., was organ- 
 ized June 26, 1878, with twenty-nine members, the 
 present number. The first officers were : S. Jacobs, 
 P. D.; P. Melhado, D. ; S. Goldstone, V. D.; S. 
 Beck, A. D. ; C. Joseph, Repr.; J. Jacobs, F. R. ; 
 J. H. Luce, Treas. ; H. Trickett, Chaplain ; C. H. 
 Little, Guide ; P. Sanford, Guard ; J. Leonhart, 
 Sentinel. Meetings are held the second and fourth 
 Thursdays of each month in the Harris building, 
 on the corner of Main and Liberty streets. 
 
 Faithful Lodge, No. loi. Knights and Ladies of 
 Honor was organized Dec. 11, 1878, with thirty- 
 two members. The first officers were : Dr. O. M. 
 Shedd, P. P. ; Gerhard Betz, P. ; J. A. Smith, V. 
 P. The membership has decreased to twenty-six 
 by withdrawals and suspensions. The lodge meets 
 the first and third Wednesdays of each month in 
 Waight's Hall, 361 Main street. 
 
 Azro Goff Lodge, No. 1 2, International Order 
 of Good Templars, was instituted June 23, 1879, 
 with fifteen members, and has increased at the 
 present time to sixty-eight. The first principal 
 officers were : Albert H. Marsh, W. C. T. ; Doria 
 S. Tomb, W. V. T. ; A. Van Nostrand, W. R. S. ; 
 H. C. Stearns, W. A. R. S. ; Annie Ferguson, W. 
 F. S. ; Wm. Ferguson, T. ; Susan A. Steams, Chap- 
 lain. The lodge meets each Tuesday evening at 
 236 Union street. It is under the jurisdiction of 
 the " Right Worthy Grand Lodge of the World," 
 the branch of the order which separated from the 
 American organization when that body recognized 
 the constitution of the Grand Lodge of Kentucky, 
 which excludes the colored man from the Order. 
 
 Hudson River Lodge, No. 251, was organized 
 August 12, 1879, and has sixty-one members. The 
 first officers were : S. R. Rupley, M. W. ; H. Cole- 
 man, P. M. W. ; Henry Van Kleeck, Foreman ; D. 
 C. Whiteman, Overseer ; J. H. Luce, Receiver ; M. 
 B. Osborne, Recorder; A. B. Stockholm, Financier. 
 The lodge meets the second and fourth Tuesdays 
 of each month. 
 
 Temple Legion, No. 5, S. K. of A. O. U. W., 
 was organized Nov. 24, 1879, with seventeen mem- 
 bers, the present number being nineteen. The first 
 
436 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 officers were : E. P. Bogardus, S. C. ; H. Van 
 Kleeck, V. C. ; D. C. Whiteman, L. C. ; M. B. 
 Osborne, R. ; H. Coleman, J. C. ; A. Candee, R. 
 T. Meetings are held the second Wednesday of 
 each month at 311 Main street. 
 
 Dutchess County Division, No. 8, S. of T., was 
 instituted May 22, 1880, with twenty-five members. 
 The first officers were : Walter H. Van Benschoten, 
 W. P. ; Albert G. WiUiams, W. A. ; George T. 
 Smith, F. S. ; Wm. Moore, Treas. The member- 
 ship has increased to 105. Meetings are held 
 every Wednesday evening at 226 Union street. 
 
 The Woman's Christian Temperance Union of 
 the City of Poughkeepsie was incorporated June 7, 
 1880, "to promote the cause of total abstinence 
 from all intoxicating liquors as a beverage, and the 
 suppression of the liquor traffic, by such means as 
 shall from time to time be deemed wise and expe- 
 dient." The incorporators and first managers were : 
 Ad^le D. B. Webb, Sarah M. Tuthill, Mary E. 
 Bennett, Mary G. Underhill, Sarah E. Seaman, 
 Mary C. Gurney, Rebecca A. Thurston, Frances 
 E. Ostrander, Harriet Piatt, Elsie A. Brooks, Ruth 
 C. Flagler and Mary H. Bedell. 
 
 Poughkeepsie Council, No. 9, Chosen Friends, was 
 instituted May 31, i88j, with forty members, the 
 present number. The first and present officers are : 
 Dr. 0. M. Shedd, C. C. ; S. K. Darrow, V. C. ; 
 Peter G. Beneway, P. C. C. ; D. M. Myers, Jr., 
 Recorder; G. P. Robertson, Financier; J. H. Mar- 
 shall, Treasurer ; Jennie M. Daniels, Prelate ; Ves- 
 pasian Briggs, Marshal; Henry Wood, Warden; 
 Charles Dongan, Guard ; Fred. G. Keller, Sentry ; 
 Wm. Moore, E. Blankenhorn and Dr. E. A. Rich- 
 ards, trustees. The council meets the first and 
 third Fridays in each month at 311 Main street. 
 
 Incorporated Companies. 
 
 The. Poughkeepsie Gas Light Co. was organized 
 January 27, 185 r, with a capital of $70,000, 
 which was increased in i860 to $84,000. The 
 works, which are located on Bayeux street, were 
 erected and gas supplied in that year. The first 
 officers were Henry D. Varick, President; and 
 Samuel B. Johnston, Secretary and Treasurer. Mr. 
 Varick held the office of President till his death, 
 which occurred June 18, 1877. He was succeeded 
 by Edgar M. Van Kleeck, the present incumbent. 
 LeGrand Dodge succeeded Mr. Johnston as Sec- 
 retary and Treasurer in July, 1864, and still holds 
 the office. Elvy Deyo was the first superintend- 
 ent and held that position several years. His suc- 
 cessor was John Cartwright, who was succeeded by 
 
 John Tracy, the present Superintendent, who took 
 charge of the works May 15, 1878. 
 
 The Citizens' Gas Co. of Poughkeepsie was or- 
 ganized Dec. 30, 1874, with a capital of $250,000, 
 in shares of $25 each. The incorporators were 
 Charles T. Raynolds,^ H. P. Allen, A. L. Allen, 
 Wm. H. Webb, Wm. J. Valentine, R. J. Dean and 
 James Cambell, and these with the addition of 
 Wm. G. Ackerman and Jacob Horton were the 
 original stockholders. The directors named in the 
 articles of association are : Wm. H. Webb, Charles 
 T. Raynolds, Augustus L. Allen, Wm. J. Valentine, 
 James Cambell, Horatio P. Allen and Robert J. 
 Dean. 
 
 The directors met March 26tb, 1875, and elected 
 Charles T. Raynolds, President; Augustus L. 
 Allen, Vice-President and Superintendent; Wm. 
 J. Valentine, Treasurer; and George W. Harris, 
 Secretary and Engineer. There has been no 
 change in officers, and only one in directors, Wil- 
 lafd H. Crosby having been elected April 4, 1878, 
 in place of James Cambell, who went to California 
 in the fall of 1877. 
 
 The City Railroad Co. of Poughkeepsie is the 
 successor of the Poughkeepsie Railroad Co., which 
 was chartered in 1866, but failed to perfect its or- 
 ganization, and was re-chartered May 6, 1869. 
 The directors named in the charter were : Harvey 
 G. Eastman, Aaron Innis, OUver H. Booth, Alfred 
 B. Smith, Homer A. Nelson, Isaac W. White, 
 Pomeroy P. Dickinson, Robert Frost, John I. Piatt, 
 Edward Storm, Mark D. Wilber, John P. H. Tall- 
 man and George H. Beattys. The road was con- 
 structed through Main street from the Hudson 
 River Railroad depot to Vassar College, a dis- 
 tance of three miles, with a branch line through 
 Smith street to the depot of the Poughkeepsie, 
 Hartford & Boston Railroad, making the total 
 length of tract laid four miles. 
 
 Jan. 25, 1871, the company executed and de- 
 livered to George Innis, as trustee of the first mort- 
 gage bondholders, a mortgage on its railroad prop- 
 erty and franchises, and Dec. 28, 1874, executed 
 and delivered a conveyance of all its property sub- 
 sequently acquired as further security for said 
 mortgage. March 7, 1876, the Supreme Court de- 
 creed that the mortgage should be foreclosed and 
 the property sold at public auction by John P. H. 
 Tallman. The sale was made Dec. 11, 1876, for 
 $40,000. 
 
 The City Railroad Company of Poughkeepsie was 
 organized Oct. 20, 1877, with a capital of $85,000, 
 of which $79,519.17 has been paid in. The first 
 
CITY OF POUGHKEEPSIE. 
 
 437 
 
 directors under the new organization were : Ed- 
 ward Storm, Aaron Innis, Isaac W. White, Mat- 
 thew Vassar, Jr., Alfred B. Smith, H. A. Nelson, 
 Andrew King, Hudson Taylor, John I. Piatt, Geo. 
 B. Adriance, Richard Kenworthy, John McLean 
 and John P. H. Tallman, all of Poughkeepsie ; 
 and the first officers : Aaron Innis, President ; 
 John I. Piatt, Treasurer ; A. B. Smith, Secretary. 
 There has been no change in the officers. Mark 
 H. Hitchcock is the Superintendent. 
 
 Hotels and Taverns. 
 
 Early in the century Poughkeepsie was well sup- 
 plied with taverns, there being five on Market St., 
 and as many, if not more, on Main St. On the 
 former there was one just north of the Episcopal 
 church ; another on the corner of Cannon street, 
 where the Farmers' and Manufacturers' bank now 
 stands ; a third in the old building which was torn 
 down to make way for the CoUingwood building ; 
 the Forbus tavern, (afterwards the Forbus House, 
 and now the Nelson House,) opposite; and Mr. 
 Hatch's tavern in the court house. On Main 
 street there was a tavern at the river ; a couple 
 between Bridge and Pferry streets, in that portion 
 of the village known as Blakesleyville ; another on 
 the north-east corner of Washington street ; another 
 in close proximity to it ; the Poughkeepsie tavern, 
 now the Poughkeepsie Hotel ; the Eastern tavern, 
 on the site of the present Morgan House; and 
 another opposite Crannell street, in the building 
 till recently occupied as a hide and leather depot 
 by W. C. Southwick. In addition to these was 
 the Northern tavern, now the Northern Hotel, on 
 the corner of Mill and Washington streets. These 
 were all patronized, principally by farmers, who 
 coming long distances to riiarket, were obliged to 
 remain over night. Nearly all have long since 
 been swept away in the march of improvement, 
 and what few remain have been so enlarged and 
 improved as to be no longer recognizable by their 
 old-time patrons.* Another famous hostelry in its 
 day was the old Von Beck House, whose site is 
 now occupied by the residence and out-buildings 
 of the widow of the late Hon. H. G. Eastman. It 
 was a quaintly constructed building, the front por- 
 tion having been built with brick, said to have been 
 imported for the purpose from Holland. The 
 rear portion and ends were constructed of stone. 
 It was erected in 1741, by a Swede named Von 
 Beck, who kept it as a tavern for a number of 
 years. It was afterwards occupied for the same 
 
 • The Stmaay CeurUr, March i6, iSyj. 
 
 purpose by a man named Knox, under whose man- 
 agement it acquired a wide and favorable reputa- 
 tion. Another old tavern, located on the corner 
 of Main and Market streets, was kept in 1806 by 
 Ebenezer Baldwin. The " Farmers' Hotel " at the 
 same time was kept by Amaziah Blakeslee. At 
 present Poughkeepsie contains something Uke a 
 dozen hotels, but the principal ones are three in num- 
 ber — the Nelson House, the Poughkeepsie Hotel 
 and the Morgan House. 
 
 The Nelson House was built in 1875-6, by a 
 Mrs. Taylor, and was formally opened by Peter 
 Foland, as proprietor. May 19, 1876. He was 
 succeeded in the proprietorship April 1, 1880, by 
 Capt. A. P. Black. It occupies the site of the old 
 Forbus House, which was pulled down for the pur- 
 pose of erecting the present structure. 
 
 The Poughkeepsie Hotel was the successor of the 
 old Van Kleeck House, which was the first tavern 
 in Poughkeepsie, and was kept as such for nearly 
 a century. It was built in 1797 by a company and 
 mortgaged to Matthew and Jacob Van Benschoten, 
 who acquired the property by foreclosure. About 
 the first, if not the first landlord, was Garwood 
 Cunningham, father of the well remembered cashier, 
 Walter Cunningham. He kept it for several years, 
 and as early as 1806. He was succeeded by Mr. 
 Bennett, grandfather of George Lent, about 181 7. 
 Peter T. B. Myers, a Mr. Budd and Leonard B. 
 Van Kleeck next kept it in succession. Alanson 
 Simpson, Col-. Hatch and John Rutzer were subse- 
 quent landlords, whose successful management 
 contributed to the popularity of this hotel, which 
 '•'was known all over the United States and in 
 Europe," and has given entertainment to " some of 
 the first men of the Nation."* The hotel was par- 
 tially destroyed by fire April 14, 1877, during the 
 proprietorship of Isaac N. Seaman. March 16, 
 1878, the property was sold at auction in two par- 
 cels, the first, the hotel with a frontage of sixty- 
 seven feet extending back 135 feet, to John 
 Hackett, who bid for Richard P. Morgan, Mrs. 
 Rutzer's son-in-law, for $12,175, and the residue 
 to Patrick Ryan, for $6,850. Mr. Morgan repaired 
 and improved the hotel, which was again opened 
 June 10, 1878. It was kept for a little more than 
 a year previous to his death by Milton Bain, who 
 died Jan. 6, 1881. The present proprietor is H. 
 N. Bain. It is located directly opposite the court 
 house on Main street. 
 
 The Morgan House was built in 1852-3, by 
 Theodbrus Gregory, who came to Poughkeepsie 
 
 * PimgUceepsU Weekly Eagle-, April 14, 1877. 
 
438 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 from Sand Lake, Rensselaer County, in 1831, and 
 leased of Judge Smith Thompson, for ten years, 
 Jhe property on the corner of Main and Catharine 
 streets, the latter of which was opened by Mr. 
 Gregory to Mill street in 1831. On the property 
 was a tenement house, then occupied by Dr. 
 
 (EASTMAN NATIONAL BUSINESS COLLEGE.) 
 
 Cooper, father of Dr. John R. Cooper, of this city, 
 in which Mr. Gregory opened a tavern, which he 
 kept until 1836, when he sold the lease and furni- 
 ture to George H. Perry, who soon after sold the 
 furniture to Peter Ostrander. In the winter of 
 1842, Mr. Gregory again acquired the property, at 
 the soUcitation of his friends, for the purpose of 
 keeping a temperance house, purchasing the furni- 
 ture of Mr. Ostrander, and the real property from 
 t^e heirs of Judge Thompson, paying for the latter 
 $8,200. Jan. 16, 1843, the first temperance house 
 in Poughkeepsie was opened in that building, and 
 
 it is the only one which succeeded here on that 
 principlie, except the Northern Hotel, which is now 
 conducted as a temperance house. In 183 1, the 
 house was known as the Eastern Hotel. In 1853, 
 when the present structure was completed, the 
 name was changed to the Gregory House. Mr. 
 Gregory kept the house until 
 April I, 1866, when he sold 
 it to George Morgan, who 
 soon after gave it its present 
 name. There have been 
 many changes in proprietor- 
 ship since 1866. It is now 
 owned by the First National 
 Bank of Poughkeepsie, and 
 has been kept since the 
 spring of 1880, by Messrs. 
 Ney & Co. 
 
 The Northern HotelSs, one 
 of Poughkeepsie's old land- 
 marks, having been built and 
 kept as a public house for 
 more than seventy-six years. 
 It occupies a retired locality 
 in one of the most attractive 
 portions of the city at corner 
 of Washington and Mill Sts. 
 About 1823, it was kept by 
 Leonard Van Kleeck, who 
 during his occupancy built 
 the present dining room. 
 Some fifty years ago the yard 
 in its rear was the favorite 
 spot for tent showmeii. 
 Lewis L. Hutchins, the 
 present proprietor, has kept 
 it for eleven years. It is a 
 temperancahouse, having no 
 bar attached to it. 
 
 The other public houses 
 
 are: the Exchange Hotel, 
 
 located at the foot of Main street, which was 
 
 built in 1834, by Captains Samuel B. Johnston, 
 
 Rosencrans and Gilbert I. Vincent, who 
 
 were then engaged in the transportation business 
 in Poughkeepsie, and has since been owned by 
 their successors in that business, the present owners 
 being the Poughkeepsie Transportation Co. Isaac 
 H. Wood, the present proprietor, has kept it since 
 April I, 1879. He also keeps a receiving depot 
 at the Main street landing for the shad brought in 
 by some thirty-eight persons who engage in shad 
 fishing in this vicinity during the season ; the New 
 
CITY OF POUGHKEEPSIE. 
 
 439 
 
 York Hotel, Nos. 31, 33 and 35 Main street, 
 built by James Sloan, and owned by Michael 
 Gallagher, who purchased it in 1868, and has kept 
 it since 1870J the Hoffman House, No. 20 Main 
 street, kept by V. Hoffman ; the Germania House, 
 21 Academy street, kept by H. Seiter ; the Hotel 
 Brunswick, loi Main street, kept by W. H. Case; 
 the Mansion House, 61 Main street, kept by L. 
 Devendorfj ^t. National Hotel, j,\'] Main street, 
 kept by A. Wimpelberg; the Utiion Hotel, 22 
 Union street, kept by Paul Reichardt ; and the 
 Western Hotel, 50 Duchess Avenue, kept by Mrs. 
 Mulligan. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIX. 
 
 POUGHKEEPSIE IN THE REBELLION. 
 
 THE citizens of Poughkeepsie displayed early 
 activity in meeting the emergencies of the 
 late war, and within three days after the President's 
 call of April 15, 1 861, had raised a volunteer com- 
 pany, which, on the 20th of that month numbered 
 seventy men, and was provisionally commanded by 
 Capt. Wm. Berry, who, a few days later, was ap- 
 pointed to muster in volunteers from this city. Va- 
 rious local military, fire and other organizations 
 were constituted the nuclei of companies, designed 
 to unite with the 21st miUtia regiment in offering 
 their services to the government; but that regiment 
 did not enter the service until the summer of 1863, 
 and then only to meet a temporary emergency; 
 consequently many of those identified with those 
 organizations were dispersed through various regi- 
 ments and companies formed during that period. 
 Money and men were offered with equal generosity ; 
 for on the 22d of April the bank officers of Pough- 
 keepsie met and resolved to tender the government 
 a loan of $100,000, and the city one of $10,000. 
 
 Poughkeepsie's first complete company was 
 organized April 24, 1861, and the following per- 
 manent officers elected: Harrison HoUiday, 
 Captain; Nathaniel Palmer, Ensign; Alfred Sher- 
 man, Orderly Sergeant ; Martin S. Riggs, Second 
 Sergeant; Charles J. Ackert, Third Sergeant; 
 Albert Gillmore, Fourth Sergeant; Marcus B. 
 White, First Corporal ; John R. Brockway, Second 
 Corporal ; Alonzo Case, Third Corporal ; Charles 
 Fink, Fourth Corporal. April 27th, the name of 
 Edgar S. Jennings is added to this list as First 
 Lieutenant, and Joseph WiUiams is named as 
 Second Sergeant, and John C. Ecker, as Fourth 
 Sergeant. 
 
 This company was accepted April 30, 1861, and 
 on Saturday, May 4th, with ninety-seven rank and 
 file, left Poughkeepsie for the seat of war, proceed- 
 ing first to Albany to obtain arms and equipments. 
 The students of Eastman's College and a few citi- 
 zens formed their escort to the cars. Some two 
 or three thousand people gathered at the station to 
 witness their departure. They were quartered in 
 Albany with about two thousand troops in a large 
 building, formerly a church, on the corner of 
 Chapel and Canal streets, where, says the " Pough- 
 keepsie Eagle" of May 30, 1861, they were 
 " almost in a state of destitution as regards cloth- 
 ing." It became Company E, of the 30th Reg- 
 iment, whose services have been briefly referred to. 
 The company was subsequently recruited to one 
 hundred and thirty men. Throughout the two 
 years of its service it was always " favorably men- 
 tioned for accuracy of drill, soldierly bearing, cor- 
 rect discipUne and gallantry in action." It returned 
 to Poughkeepsie with only fifty-five men, June i. 
 1863, and received a most flattering reception. It 
 was escorted through the principal streets, in which 
 the buildings were profusely decorated, by the 7th 
 regiment band, companies of the 21st regiment, a 
 cavalcade of citizens on horseback, a number of 
 returned volunteers, the Poughkeepsie fire depart- 
 ment, and students from Warring's MiUtary Insti- 
 tute and Eastman's College. 
 
 Captain Holliday lost an. arm in the second bat- 
 tle of Bull Run, and diedin the hospital at Washing- 
 ton, September 17, 1862. His remains were removed 
 from the Episcopal burying ground, corner of 
 Montgomery and Academy streets, May 7, i88i, 
 to the burial plot of Hamilton Post, in the Pough- 
 keepsie • Rural Cemetery. Most of this company 
 re-enlisted. 
 
 April 30, 1 86 1, the call for a second volunteer 
 company was issued and the roll left at the office 
 of Recorder Emigh. In May, Arthur Wilkinson, 
 at present a highly respected citizen of Pough- 
 keepsie, opened a recruiting office for the Excelsior 
 Regiment of Sickles' Brigade. His efforts to pro- 
 mote volunteering were ably seconded. 
 
 Capt. Wilkinson's company left for Camp Scott, 
 Staten Island, on the barge Republic, Monday, 
 June II, 1 86 1, and was escorted to the boat by the 
 Poughkeepsie Drill Guards and the Vassar Guard. 
 Just before the boat started Capt. Wilkinson was 
 presented with a splendid revolver by James Smith, 
 in behalf of the " Ellsworth Grays." The following 
 is the roll of the company: Arthur Wilkinson, Cap- 
 tain; Charles Jackson, ist Lieut.; Albert Johnson, 
 
449 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 2nd Lieut.; Matthew Harlow, Orderly; James L. 
 Frazier, 2nd Sergt; B. W. Murgatroydt, 3d Sergt.; 
 Lyman P. Harris, 4th Sergt.; Edward Pardee, 5th 
 Sergt.; John P. Broas, ist Corpl.; I. V. Bloomfield, 
 2d Corpl.; Joseph Conn, 3d Corpl.; John Mead, 
 4th Corpl.; Jacob Best, Andrew Tripp, Orville 
 Denny, P. H. Rider, Russell Wheeler, Wm. Stan- 
 ton, Andrew Dolis, Wm. H. H. Traver, Walter 
 Smith, Chas. A. Potter, Geo. W. Morell, Jno. 
 Dusenberry, Jno. Murgatroydt, Thos. Gibson, Wm. 
 Love, Edgar Buckingham, A. Propson, Hiram 
 Rouse, Geo. Worden, Chas Crum, J. J. Benegar, 
 Chas. Ketcham, Henry S. Roe, Irving Pollock, 
 Smith G. Case, Patrick Draye, P. Herrick, D. 
 MuUodge, Francis Johnston, Milton Smith, R. J. 
 Minard, Ira DuBois, Jno. Halsted, Wm. Gilbraith, 
 Jno. H. Fogin, Chas. E. Mosher, A. E. Potter, T. 
 Larkin, Jno. V. Smith, R. G. Shurter, Jacob Cook. 
 Lieut. Jackson left Poiighkeepsie June 13 th with 
 thirteen additional recruits for this company, which 
 became Co. I of the 74th (sth Excelsior) regiment, 
 which was mustered in in June, 1861, for three 
 years. Capt. Wilkinson severed his connection 
 with the regiment within two years, and soon after 
 became Asst.-Provost-Marshal-General in the de- 
 partment of Missouri, in which capacity he served 
 till the close of the war. 
 
 The subsequent enlistments during this year 
 have, perhaps, been sufficiently indicated in the 
 general history of the county, with which the city 
 concerted during the remainder of the war. 
 
 In 1863, the city, like towns generally, stood the 
 draft. Its quota under the Conscription Act 
 authorized by Congress March 3, 1863, was two 
 hundred and seventy-three, and the number drafted, 
 four hundred and ten. But of this number only 
 sixty-six were held to service ; forty-eight paid the 
 $300 commutation ; and one hundred and five were 
 excused for physical disabiUty. The rest were 
 exempt from various causes. 
 
 February 12, 1864, says the "Eagle," the city's 
 quota of two hundred and five under the call of 
 Oct. 17, 1863 was full and eighty-eiglit additional 
 recruits had been re-enlisted to apply on the quota 
 under the call of Feb. i, 1864. When the call of 
 March 15, 1864, was made the city had a surplus 
 on previous calls of one hundred and three, and by 
 April 7th its quota under that call was full, so that 
 it escaped the draft which took place in this county 
 May 31, 1864, When the call of July 18, 1864, 
 for five hundred thousand men, was issued, the 
 needed stimulus of a bounty was felt. July 19, 
 1864, a meeting of citizens was held at the court 
 
 house to consider the subject, and authorized the 
 Common Council to pay to each volunteer or per- 
 son furnishing a substitute for one year a bounty 
 of $r25 ; for two years $200; and for three years, 
 $350; and the further sum of 25 dollars to each 
 person who presented a volunteer or substitute for 
 enlistment. They were also instructed to pay any 
 further sum as bounty which they deemed neces- 
 sary. A committee was appointed to communicate 
 this action to the council, which was then in 
 session awaiting the action of this meeting, and 
 that body instructed the finance committee to pre- 
 pare plans for the payment of bounties. July 20, 
 1864, the council resolved to pay a bounty of $300 
 to each volunteer credited on the city's quota, and 
 the further sum of $30 to the person presenting 
 him. 
 
 The following is a statement of the bounties paid 
 under the calls of July 18 and Dec. 19, 1864, as 
 reported by the City Chamberlain Feb. i. 1865: — 
 
 SECOND BOUNTY FUND — (CALL OF JULY l8, 1 864.) 
 
 Faidbounty to 181 recruits, at j^yoo each, $126^700.00 
 
 " " " a ** " 650 " 1,300 00 
 
 " " " 9 " " 600 " 5,400.00 
 
 " " " 8 " " 500 " 4,000.00 
 
 " 5 " " 300 
 
 1,500.00 {138,900.00 
 8, 100.00 
 
 " hand money for furnishing said recruits, vary- 
 ing from $30 to J230 each, 
 
 *' on contracts for procuring credits and allow- 
 ances on credits, 650, 
 
 " i persons for procuring substitutes, atj730 
 
 each, { 2,190.00 
 
 " S persons for procuring substitutes, at $530 
 
 each, 2,650.00 
 
 23 persons for procuring substitutes at $220* 
 
 each. 
 
 7,590.00 
 
 " 93 persons for procuring substitutes at f 730 
 
 ssoh, 67,890.00 80,320.00 
 
 " expenses of Nashville committee, f54lS.oo 
 
 " perdiemofTuthilland Wilber(2idays,) 420.00 
 
 " discount and interest on overdraw F. & M. Bank, 446.07 
 
 " expenses of committee to New York, on naval 
 
 recruits, 229.20 
 
 " revenue stamps, 120.85 
 
 " sundries, 365,5 2,128.07 
 
 {230, 108.07 
 
 THIRD BOUNTY LOAN — (CALL OF DEC. I9, 1864.) 
 
 To overdraw charged from 2d bounty fund, 
 cash paid 16 one year recruits, ;f^oo each 
 " for hand money for 15 of above, 
 9 three years' recruits, J500 each, 
 for hand money for same, 
 ' ' I person for securing a substitute for 2 years, 
 
 " I " " " II <c 11 J 1, 
 
 " 2 recruits for Hancock's Corps in addition to 
 
 above amount, (75 each, 
 " on agreement for furnishing credits, 
 " for sundries, 
 Balance on hand Feb. 1st, 
 
 % 1. 21 
 4,800.00 
 450.00 
 4,500,00 
 27000 
 430.00 
 530.00 
 
 150.00 
 
 1,290.00 
 
 126.4S 
 
 2,307.54 
 
 114,855.20 
 
 * Probably a clerical errof and should be J330. 
 
7^s 
 
 HE Residence of Mrs. Cordelia E. Boardman. — 
 In his early professional career,- Andrew Boardman, 
 Esq., purchased a farm on the road leading from 
 Spackenkill to Pudney's Mills, about two and one-half 
 miles southeast of Poughkeepsie. It had rare ad- 
 vantages for improvement and taste. Upon it was a 
 small dwelling, which, in the advance of years, has become the beautiful 
 residence represented herewith. To this first purchase he added farm to farm, 
 until it is now quite an estate, supposed to contain over eight hundred acres. 
 The expensive cultivation made, the opening of water courses, the formation 
 of the " Lake," the erection of fancy observatories, the elevation of various 
 points of outlook, commanding the valley of the Hudson, the Catskill and 
 other mountains, the unique and imposing "Entrance," — all combine to 
 present it to the lover of nature as a winsome country seat. Mr. Boardman 
 long held a prominent position at the New York bar, and this was his fascinat- 
 ing retreat. It was his well-known intention to so rebuild and improve these 
 premises as to make them unsurpassed by any now gracing the Hudson. He 
 died in i88t, universally respected. 
 
442 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 
 
 HON. MORGAN CARPENTER. 
 
 Morgan Carpenter, one of the sixth generation 
 lineally descended from WilUam Carpenter, of 
 Wiltshire, England, who came to America about 
 1636, was born November 4, 1795, in Stanford, 
 Duchess County, and died in the city of Pough- 
 keepsie, November 14, 1871. 
 
 Daniel Carpenter, the first of this farriily who 
 settled in Duchess County, became a resident of 
 Crom Elbow precinct in 1752, having purchased 
 land in the Great Nine Partners upon which he 
 resided untilhis death in 1777. Benjamin his 
 youngest son, born July 11, 1749, resided in Char- 
 lotte precinct upon land inherited from his father, 
 until, because of his loyalty his house had been 
 robbed and plundered three times by Tories, he 
 removed in 1778 to land purchased in Charlotte 
 and Washington precincts, now the town of Stan- 
 ford. He took the oath of "abjuration to the 
 King of Great Britian and allegiance to the United 
 States" in 1784 and died 1837, aged eighty-eight, 
 leaving the home tract to his youngest son, Morgan, 
 the subject of this sketch, having some years pre- 
 vious purchased a farm near the city for his two 
 older sons. 
 
 February 3, 1819, Morgan Carpenter married 
 Maria Bockde, daughter of the Hon. Jacob Bockde 
 and sister of the late Judge Abraham Bockde. 
 She was born January 3, 1794, and died January 
 29, 187 1. Their children were : Benjamin, a boy 
 of unusual abiHty and promise combined with 
 great amiability, who was born November 23, 
 1821, and died while at school in Warren, Conn., 
 December 30, 1836 ; Catharine B., Mary, Jacob 
 B., (for biography see towii of Washington) ; Isaac 
 S., (for notice see town of Stanford) ; Louisa S.; 
 Sarah M., a Commissioner of the State Board 
 of Charities, appointed by Governor Cornell, Jan- 
 uary, 1880, and re-appointed March 16, 1881, for 
 a term of eight years ; and B. Piatt, (for biogra- 
 phy see page 443.) 
 
 Morgan Carpenter was appointed by Governor 
 Seward, in 1841, "one of the County Judges for 
 the County of Duchess," served one term of four 
 years and declined a re-appointment. In 1852 he 
 removed from Stanford where he had lived thus 
 far, to the city of Poughkeepsie, in which he re- 
 sided until his death. As a large landed proprietor 
 he was energetic and enterprising in business 
 affairs. His sterling integrity and high regard for 
 principle always commanded respect. His unusu- 
 ally sound judgment made him a most trusted 
 counsellor, while a tender and sympathetic heart 
 rendered him a kind friend and a revered parent. 
 A firm believer in the truths of revelation he exem- 
 plified its precepts in the uprightness of his life, 
 and was ever a reverant attendant upon the wor- 
 ship ofthe church and a liberal contributor to its 
 support. Thoroughly devoted to his country, in 
 
 all questions of a public nature he took a warm 
 interest, and on all such questions, whether per- 
 taining to City, County, State or Nation, he was 
 always found advocating an honest and liberal 
 policy. While as a member of the Whig and Repub- 
 lican parties, he was earnest in the advocacy of 
 poUtical positions and on one or two occasions de- 
 clined nominations tendered him for important 
 offices. His ambition was not to hold office, but 
 to do his duty to his country and neighborhood to 
 the best of his ability, and so through a long Ufe 
 he acquired and retained the respect and esteem 
 of all who knew him. 
 
 THE B0CK6E FAMILY. 
 
 Johannes Bock^e resided in Albany in 1685. His 
 son Abraham, and wife Tanneke Van Driese, re- 
 sided in New York city in 170?. He died in 1716. 
 By will he disposed of lands in the Nine Partners, 
 Duchess County, and at Aquackanonk, East New 
 Jersey. Their children were : Johannes, who mar- 
 ried Rebecca Pearse in 1722; Jacobus, who mar- 
 ried EHzabeth Burger in 17 16, (after his death she 
 married Alexander Phoenix) ; Abraham, Isaac, Sa- 
 rah, Elizabeth, Mauritie, who married Sampson 
 Benson; Jaquemyntie, who married Hendrick 
 Brevoort ; Catalina, who married Derrick Benson ; 
 and Tanneke, who married Hendrick Pearse. 
 Abraham, son of the above named Jacobus, born 
 17 17, married Maria Carr (or Karr,) and removed 
 to the Nine Partners 1764, upon land purchased by 
 his grandfather in 1697. He was a merchant in 
 New York City and one of the justipes in this 
 county, under the Crown. His death occurred 
 Jan. 23, 1776, six days before that of his wife. 
 They were buried near the Moravian meeting 
 house, which stood between Pine Plains and Pul- 
 ver's corner. Within a few years their headstones 
 were removed to the family cemetery at the Square 
 or Federal store. 
 
 Jacob Bock^e, their son, was born Oct. 18, 1759, 
 and died Oct. 19, 181 9. He was educated at 
 King's College (now Columbia,) and served as an 
 officer in the Revolution under Col. Marinus Willet, 
 and was a Member of the Assembly in 1794, 'gs, 
 '96, and '97, during which terms of office, he, al- 
 though a slave-holder, practically demonstrated his 
 view of the system by introducing into the Legis- 
 lature a bill for the abolition of slavery in this 
 State. He organized the first Temperance society, 
 said to have been the first in the State, the right 
 arm of whose members was pledged to be the for- 
 feit of a broken vow. Of poetical, quiet and 
 scholarly tastes, he passed an honored and respected 
 life. 
 
 In 1783, he married Catherine Smith, daughter 
 of Isaac Smith, ist, and his wife Margaret Piatt, 
 who resided near the Federal store. Of their chil- 
 dren, Phoenix was a Lieutenant in the war of 1812, 
 and died in Poughkeepsie, 1814. Maria married 
 Morgan Carpenter. Abraham the eldest son, born 
 
:E>U}^lfll JIB. ball S. SBii^U^'Sari-Uy St ir.r 
 
/^^< 
 
 Snqt^by TI.B.m,llS,Sim.l--. Barely St KY. 
 
RESIDENCE OF HON. B. PLATT CARPENTER, POUGHKEEPSIE. N. Y. 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 
 
 443 
 
 Feb. 3, 1784, graduated at Union College 1804, 
 and in 1809 married Martha Oakley, sister of 
 Thomas J. Oakley. He- resided and practiced law 
 in Poughkeepsie until 1815, when he retired from 
 professional life to the family homestead in North 
 East, where he resided until his death, June i, 
 1865. An abstract of his history is contained in 
 the following obituary notice in The Daily Press 
 of June 3, 1865:— 
 
 "Abraham Bockde, whose decease, at the ripe 
 age of eighty-two years, we noticed in our obituary 
 of yesterday, was we believe a native of North 
 East, in this county. Graduated at Union College, 
 in one of its earliest classes, he removed to Pough- 
 keepsie, where he studied law, and was for several 
 years thereafter engaged in the practice of his 
 profession. 
 
 He was here married to a Miss Oakley, sister of 
 the late Judge Thomas J. Oakley, and now djdng 
 leaves the bereaved partner of his entire wedded 
 life and five surviving children, to revere the memory 
 of a devoted husband, and a kind and indulgent 
 parent. Though in comparatively early manhood 
 Judge Bockde retired from active professional life 
 to his farm in North East, where he continued to re- 
 side until his decease, he never abandoned the 
 study of legal and political principles, but except 
 when called to the discharge of official duties, his 
 time, little consumed in the cares of agriculture, 
 was devoted to varied reading, to study and reflec- 
 tion, so that in later years, his mind was to 
 the neighborhood a living book of reference, and 
 his conversation, interspersed with history and 
 reminiscence was no less entertaining than in- 
 structive. 
 
 " In earlier life a Federal, he afterwards allied 
 his political faith with the Democratic party, and 
 represented the district in which he lived in the 
 Assembly of 1820, in the 2rst, 23d and 24th Con- 
 gresses of the United States, and in the Senate of 
 New York from 1842 to 1845 inclusive, and was 
 also First Judge of Duchess County in 1826 
 and 1846. 
 
 " There were perhaps few clearer minds in his 
 own or any other State — as a lawyer he could rise 
 above mere forms and technicalities and grapple 
 with the great principles that underlie both society 
 and government, and as a judge his opinions de- 
 livered in the highest court of this State, and many 
 of them reported by Hill, are an enduring monu- 
 ment of his ability. He seemed ambitious only to 
 perform with fidelity any duty or trust that de- 
 volved upon him, and never condescended to 
 seek official preferment, but, to his ability, learning, 
 and experience, had there been added the wily 
 shrewdness of the politician, he might have 
 adorned the executive chair of his native state, or 
 occupied a high and permanent seat in the temple 
 of justice." 
 
 Jacob Bockee the oldest son of Abraham 
 Bockde was born in 1814, and was graduated at 
 Union College,. 1836, and afterwards at the Uni- 
 versity of Pennsylvania, receiving the degree of 
 M. D. October 15, 1839, he married Catharine, 
 
 daughter of Robert Wilkinson. He practiced 
 medicine at Poughkeepsie for many years and in 
 1862 was appointed Brigade Surgeon of Volun- 
 teers and was Medical Director at Pensacola and 
 served as Surgeon in charge of the U. S. Marine 
 Hospital, New Orleans, four years or until the 
 close of the war. 
 
 B. PLATT CARPENTER. 
 
 B. Piatt Carpenter, son of Morgan and Maria 
 Bockee Carpenter (elsewhere referred to) was 
 born May 14, 1837, at Stanford, Duchess County, 
 N. Y., and has resided in Poughkeepsie since the 
 removal of his parents to that place in 1852. 
 Having received a thorough academical prepara- 
 tion in 1854, he entered Union College from which 
 institution he was graduated in 1857. He studied 
 law and was admitted to the bar in 1858. In that 
 year he was elected District Attorney of Duchess 
 County. In i860 he married Esther, daughter of 
 Stephen S. Thorn (now dead) of Poughkeepsie, 
 and has three children, Nina, Catharine and Ste- 
 phen. 
 
 In 1864 he was appointed assessor of internal 
 revenue for the twelfth Congressional District com- 
 prising the counties of Duchess and Columbia, 
 and held the office until 1869 when he resigned it. 
 In 1867 he was elected a member of the New York 
 State constitutional convention and took an active 
 part in the proceedings of that body. In 1872 he 
 was temporary chairman of the Republican State 
 Convention at Utica and his speech on that occa- 
 sion attracted attention throughout the State, hav- 
 ing been published and/circulated among the cam- 
 paign documents of that year. In 1875 he was 
 elected Senator for the eleventh district of the 
 State, and in 1877 having positively declined a re- 
 nomination as Senator, he was elected County 
 Judge of Duchess County, which position he still 
 holds. 
 
 He was a delegate in 1868 to the National 
 Republican Convention in Chicago, and in 1872 to 
 the National Republican Convention at Philadel- 
 phia, having a prominent position in the delegation 
 at each convention. He has frequently been a 
 delegate to Republican State conventions and is 
 now chairman of the Republican State Committee. 
 He has a large and influential State acquaintance. 
 He seldom takes part in the controversies concern- 
 ing local political nominations or appointments 
 but is fearless in the expression of his opinion, 
 which on account of his recognized probity and hon- 
 esty of purpose has much weight. His occasional 
 addresses, and among them his centennial address 
 at Poughkeepsie — delivered July 4, 1876, have 
 been noticeable for clear and compact statement 
 and purity and precision of style. He now devotes 
 himself exclusively to the practice of the law which 
 he has marked out as the work of his life. 
 
444 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 COL. HENRY FROST CLARK. 
 
 One of our most brilliant essayists, comparing the 
 intelligence of our people with that of other na- 
 tions, says, that in estimating the quantity and 
 quality of mental energy we must ascertain the 
 different channels of work and production into 
 which it is poured, and that while work of some 
 kind is the measure of its power and the test of its 
 quality, we must avoid the fallacy of supposing 
 that art and literature are the only expressions of 
 a nation's intellect. American art and literature 
 represent but a meagre fraction of that vast out- 
 pouring from the brains and energies of our people, 
 which has made us known as a nation and given 
 us a quasi exclusive — a proprietary — right to our 
 peculiar characteristic of " go-aheadativeness," a 
 characteristic which has made itself known and 
 felt in every department, whether of art or science, 
 commerce or agriculture; a characteristic which 
 "has hieroglyphed," as Carlyle would say, "America, 
 her mark" on a whole continent. Nor is it with- 
 out reason that it has been said of us that " this 
 Anglo-American race is developing a finer organi- 
 zation than the stock from which it sprung, and 
 that while it is destined to be more sensitive to 
 art, it will be more abundant in nervous energy." 
 This preamble will be pardoned us, when our 
 readers know that the subject of our sketch has 
 been no rival of any in this galaxy of Duchess 
 county — brilliant enough in Uterary splendor to 
 easily grant a page or two to one who, leaving no 
 mean record behind him, and crossing the ocean 
 for a moment's respite from honorable work, left 
 in other lands still another record which becoming 
 part of his country's, made for a moment the pulse 
 of miUions of his countrymen beat more gladly, 
 and gave to the American heart one of those pass- 
 ing pleasures which have^of late been not infre- 
 quent ; of one who is an epitome of the national 
 characteristic we have named, coupled with that 
 " passionate patience of genius " of the Huguenot 
 Palissy; of one whom, if it be true that "the true 
 artist becomes a man of character only when he 
 identifies himself with his profession or art," surely 
 may well be commended to the imitation of his 
 countrymen. 
 
 Henry Frost Clark was born in the town of 
 Hyde Park, Duchess county, N. Y., in the year 
 1839. Unlike most of those who made the shores 
 of the Hudson their home, his ancestry was 
 English. As a boy, his favorite studies were nat- 
 ural philosophy and mathematics. Leaving school 
 at the early age of seventeen, he went to the city 
 of New York, not from necessity, or the consent 
 of his parents, but from a spirit of adventure, and 
 soon found himself an apprentice in a drug store. 
 After a three years' experience there he went to 
 Cincinnati, where he made the acquaintance in 
 i860 of the Chief Engineer of the Russian man- 
 of-war, the "General Admiral," then building in 
 Philadelphia. This acquaintance soon ripened 
 into friendship, and, with that intuitive apprecia- 
 tion of talent which Russian officials possess, 
 
 young Clark was soon enrolled on the list of the 
 Russian war-ship. Some disagreement between 
 the chief engineer and his superiors led to that 
 officer's resignation, or else we should probably 
 now have been chronicling our subject as an 
 Admiral in the Muscovite navy, or regretting his 
 premature isolation in the mines of Siberia. In the 
 same year he came to Poughkeepsie, and after four 
 years close application to the study of dentistry, 
 and honorable graduation, he opened an office and 
 commenced that successful career which has made 
 his name a familiar one in more than one capital 
 of the civilized world. That career may easily be 
 traced by the honors, medals, and diplomas he has 
 received for the splendid specimens of his dental 
 handiwork sent to the several world's exhibitions. 
 In the list of favored exhibitors at the Vienna Exhi- 
 bition we find the name of Henry F. Clark coupled 
 with that of Albert Bierstadt, the world renowned 
 artist, and the medals of both bear the same testi- 
 mony to " good taste," and the scientific dentist is 
 recognized, as he should be, as an artist. From 
 the Vienna Exhibition to the American Institute 
 Fair, in New York, seems but a step, yet the im- 
 mensely superior value of the silver medal awarded 
 him there can easily be appreciated by those who 
 are conversant with the history of dentistry in this 
 country. Not to be tedious we shall only mention 
 Dr. Clark's last and greatest triumph achieved at 
 the International Exhibition in Chili in 1875. We 
 were officially connected witlj that exhibition and 
 well reinember the pleasure we experienced in 
 seeing awarded despite innumerable competitors, 
 from all parts of the dental world, and by acclama- 
 tion too, the first prize to an American, and that 
 American, Henry F. Clark. 
 
 To those who know him, Dr. Clark's success in 
 these and similar efforts is easily attributable to his 
 indomitable perseverance, to his pride in his pro- 
 fession, and to a thorough knowledge of everything 
 pertaining to it, together with a genius for improv- 
 ing upon everything which comes under his hand. 
 But there was not sufficient scope in destiny alone 
 for his inventive genius. Nor has this been wasted 
 in endeavoring to become the happy discoverer of 
 the Blue Dahlia, the solver of the quadrature of 
 the circle, or the greater problem of perpetual 
 motion. His inventions have been many, but in- 
 variably of world-wide utility. Not to mention 
 those of a minor class, and with which his own 
 residence in Poughkeepsie is filled, and others by 
 which his fortunate friends have been benefited. 
 We can only and briefly refer to one which would 
 have made a millionaire of a more pretentious and 
 less modest inventor. That most valuable inven- 
 tion is a post-marking and stamp cancelling 
 machine, which ought to as completely revolution- 
 ize the present slow and tedious method as the 
 sewing machine has the needle and thread. In his 
 own profession he has made so many improvements 
 that to name and describe them would require 
 more space than is given to us. High up as he is 
 on the roll in that profession, having few if any 
 superiors, and gifted in an eminent degree with 
 
IHiiiii;: iii.^:i^s"^-~iijiailil 
 
 22^^uittj 
 
 jmmimimii^ 
 
 ]M:^]Mm:^yM;:^\am;:^]</m^ 
 
Photo, by M. Smith, Poiighkeepsie. 
 
Photo, by M. Smith, Poughkeepsie. 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 
 
 445 
 
 social qualities which go so far toward making life 
 agreeable and a success, he might yet not have 
 been accorded a niche in this Temple were it not 
 for that other record to which we alluded in the 
 early part of this sketch, and which brought him 
 so prominently before the world. As early as in 
 1862, Dr. Clark had joined Company A, of the 
 2ist Regiment, was soon elected Lieutenant, and 
 passing through the intermediate grades with honor 
 to himself and advantage to his Regiment, became 
 Lieutenant-Colonel in 1876, remaining in that 
 capacity for two years and a half, and resigning to 
 the great regret of his command, only that he 
 might have more time to devote to the long range 
 rifle practice, which had become with him, in a 
 very brief period, almost a passion. " When once 
 he decided, says a writer to whom we are already 
 indebted, to become an adept in long range shoot- 
 ing, he made a complete study of everything per- 
 taining to rifles, on which he has made many 
 valuable improvements. He is to-day sought by 
 riflemen all over the country for information, sug- 
 gestions and advice, regarding matters of this 
 nature, to all of whom he is ready to impart the 
 benefits of his experiments and inventions. Many 
 of our foremost manufacturers are in no small 
 degree indebted to him for the excellence of their 
 rifles." His first match was at Creedmoor in 1875, 
 where he made a brilliant record — his team win- 
 ning the first prize. The following year he again 
 won the first prize in a match of two hundred 
 entries. 
 
 In 1878 he made the highest score ever made -at 
 Creedmoor (in the International long range match) 
 again receiving a medal, while in the same year 
 another of bronze was awarded to him for superior 
 marksmanship by the National Rifle Association. 
 He had now a National reputation. In 1880, Col. 
 Clark was elected by the Empire Rifle Club (of 
 which he was president), to represent it at Dolly- 
 mount, Ireland, in the great International match. 
 Here he made not only the highest score of the 
 team, but the highest ever made in Great Britain 
 or Ireland. We all remember the God-speed our 
 country gave Col. Clark when he left us in June 
 of 1880, to take part in that memorable contest 
 for the world's championship ; nor will we easily 
 forget with what anxious hearts we watched the 
 progress of our noble team to victory. And, when 
 at last, the electric message, trembling across the 
 ocean, told us that America had won, and that 
 even among the victors our own fellow townsman 
 ■was facile princeps, few can forget how our hearts 
 thrilled with the gladness of triumph. 
 
 While in Europe Colonel Clark made hosts of 
 friends, and his stay there was a continuous ova- 
 tion. The generous hospitality extended him by 
 our warm hearted " Cousins," his princely recep- 
 tion by Ireland's best and noblest sons, among 
 whom were the Lord-Lieutenant Earl Cowper, the 
 Lord Mayor, the Faculty of Trinity College, Sir 
 John Arnott, and others, whose name is legion, one 
 and all combining to make his stay, while there, 
 one of the brightest spots in the garden of mem- 
 
 ory. He also visited Edinburg as the guest of our 
 U. S. Consul, Colonel Robeson, of whom he 
 speaks in terms of the warmest gratitude and 
 friendship. After leaving Great Britain, a short 
 tour of the Continent, and a hasty visit to many 
 of its principal cities, he more than half reluctantly 
 turned his face toward the land dear to his heart, 
 America. His triumphant return to his home in 
 Poughkeepsie, the hearty cheers of welcome, the 
 warm congratulations of old friends, the fine recep- 
 tion and banquet given by the 21st Regiment to 
 their very own 219 will ever be remembered. 
 
 Colonel Clark married in 1865, Miss Katharine 
 Williams, a native of Westchester County, and 
 daughter of the late Arthur Williams. Two 
 interesting little daughters,Anna Louise and Alice, 
 brighten their home, and to a remarkable degree 
 inherit the versatile genius of their father. 
 
 We would willingly dwell longer on the life we 
 have hurriedly traced, but we have abready tran- 
 scended our limits. 
 
 In conclusion we can only assure our readers 
 that when Duchess County, like another Cor- 
 nelia shall be asked for her treasures and shall 
 point with honest pride to her sons ; while 
 among them will be found those high up on the 
 roll of Fame, men gifted with all that is great and 
 good and generous in manhood, there will be 
 found few nobler exponents of the American mind 
 and American character than Colonel Henry F. 
 Clark. 
 
 JAMES BOWNE. 
 
 It is always the subject of regret when the lives 
 of prominent men are permitted to end in influ- 
 ence as in duration, at the entrance of the grave. 
 A long career of useful labor is an object of con- 
 templation far too fruitful and suggestive to be 
 suffered to pass quickly from memory. The rest- 
 less waves of busy human hfe erase, in spite of us, 
 the most cherished recollection, unless gathered up 
 and crystallized into some more permanent and 
 abiding form. 
 
 It is for the purpose of arresting and in a meas- 
 ure preserving the memory of those whose honor- 
 able and virtuous lives demand reverence ; whose 
 usefulness, gratitude and whose faults are forgot- 
 ten in that excellence which challenges the action 
 of time, that the history of Duchess County is 
 given to the public. That the long, useful and 
 interesting career of James Bowne fully entitles 
 him to honorable mention in these pages, none 
 will deny ; for he was one of those who has aided 
 in giving Duchess County the proud name she 
 bears in the history of the Empire State. 
 
 He was born in Fishkill on the 25th of Decem- 
 ber, 1798. His father dying when he was four 
 years of age, he remained with his mother, work- 
 ing on the farm summers and attending the district 
 school winters until August 14, 1 814, at which 
 time he left home for Poughkeepsie with money 
 
446 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 barely sufficient for his journey. The boy was 
 full of courage and energy, determined to work 
 his way into honorable success. He very soon 
 obtained a place in the hardware store of Albert 
 Cox, where he remained for two years, working for 
 his board alone. On the i6th of March, 1816, he 
 entered into the employ of N. Conklin, Jr. & 
 Bro., remaining with this firm about four and one- 
 half years, until his twenty-first birthday, for the 
 sum of $500 and his board. At the expiration of 
 this period the young man had so commended 
 himself to his employers that they made him a 
 present of $85, and engaged him as their clerk at 
 a salary of $500 a year with board. He contin- 
 ^ ued in this firm until March, 182 1, when he was 
 given an interest therein, which then took the 
 name of Conkhn & Bowne. In 1835, Mr. S. B. 
 Trowbridge purchased the Conklin interest in the 
 firm and the business was carried on until 1848, 
 under the firm name of Bowne & Trowbridge. 
 The firm then dissolved, and Mr. Bowne having 
 purchased the store 318 Main street, continued 
 his former business, making, at last, the carpet 
 trade a specialty ; connecting with him in business 
 his nephew, Charles E. Bowne, who had been in 
 his family since 1826, or about his eighth year. 
 The firm took the name of J. Bowne & Co., and 
 continued its business until March, 1878, at which 
 time Mr. James Bowne retired, selling his interest 
 in the concern to his partner. 
 
 The active business life of Mr. Bowne thus covers 
 a period of sixty-seven years, and during it all, he 
 has held the esteem and confidence of men as an 
 honorable merchant and a trustworthy citizen. The 
 fatherless boy grew into respectable and virtuous 
 manhood ; from a home whose only books were the 
 Family Bible, Book of Common Prayer, and Her- 
 vy's Meditations, he was graduated into a career of 
 far-reaching usefulness. 
 
 In 1833 he became one of the Managers of the 
 Poughkeepsie Savings Bank, which position he 
 still holds; indeed he was one of the originators of 
 that institution. In 1852, he in connection with 
 Josiah Williams, Edgar B. Kelly, and George Van- 
 Kleeck, instituted proceedings which resulted in 
 the establishment of the Poughkeepsie Rural 
 Cemetery. Mr. Bowne, himself by personal solici- 
 tation raising $18,000 for the purchase of suitable 
 grounds and the proper inauguration of the enter- 
 prise. In the Poughkeepsie Bank he has been 
 director since 1853. 
 
 When the Hudson River Railroad project was 
 in agitation, and the people of Poughkeepsie were 
 in suspense as to its construction, it was through 
 the personal efforts of Mr. Bowne that James 
 Boorman of New York gave impetus to the under- 
 taking by the subscription of $125,000. Mr. Boor- 
 man was elected the first President of the Hudson 
 River Railroad and continued to hold that office 
 till his death. 
 
 The Orphan Home and Home for the Friend- 
 less was built under his superintendence and care ■ 
 he having been adviser and counsellor of that in- 
 stitution from the beginning. In all matters of 
 
 general improvement he has been largely active, 
 and in this way his contributed to the prosperity 
 and desirability of Poughkeepsie as a place of 
 residence. 
 
 In i860 and 1863 he was one of the Supervis- 
 ors of the city, and during his term of office with 
 Mr. L. B. Trowbridge inaugurated movements 
 which gave the city a renovated Court House, the 
 new jail and the present almshouse. In 1861 his 
 fellow citizens honored him with the mayorality, 
 which office he held with commanding respect and 
 efficiency. While the civil war was in progress and 
 during his administration a fund of $10,000 was 
 raised, at his suggestion, for the support of soldiers' 
 families in the city. The city also through him 
 issued fractional paper currency to the amount of 
 $50,000, which not only increased the circulation 
 throughout the whole country, but was also a source 
 of profit to the treasury of the city. 
 
 In religious and moral movements Mr. Bowne 
 has been one of the most useful of men. The 
 Presbyterian church of Poughkeepsie is largely 
 indebted to him for its growth and prosperity; as 
 he was an active mover in its organization in 1826, 
 became a member in 1828, and an elder in 1830, 
 which office he still holds, while for fifty-five years 
 he has been a teacher in the Sabbath school, and 
 for many years a prominent trustee of the church. 
 
 As a temperance man his history is one of 
 peculiar interest and especially worthy of record. 
 In May of 1829, Mr. Bowne was in New York for 
 the purchase of goods, hquors among the rest, for 
 then merchants sold and the multitude drank in- 
 toxicating liquors. In the providence of God, 
 Mr. Bowne was led, during this trip, to the old 
 Brick Church, where the National Temperance 
 Society was holding its anniversary. ' Among the 
 speakers were Rev. Dr. Hewitt, Rev. Lyman 
 Beecher and Hugh Maxwell, then District At- 
 torney of New York City. Mr. Bowne became 
 deeply interested in the presentation of the sub- 
 ject by these distinguished men and he resolved 
 to make a smaller purchase of liquors than he had 
 intended. From this time till the first of January, 
 1830, his conviction as to the wrong of dealing in 
 liquors for the purpose of drink was strengthened. 
 On New Year's day he determined to put his 
 liquors in the cellar and by this suppress, in a 
 measure, their free use by customers and others. 
 This was done, still he was not satisfied with his 
 position and practice in regard to the matter. At 
 last, in the following May, the crisis was reached 
 and Mr. Bowne resolved to rid himself altogether 
 from the traffic. One Sabbath evening, on his re- 
 turn from church service, without the knowledge 
 of any one, with lighted candle he descended into 
 the cellar and deUberately turned open the faucets 
 of the several liquor casks, allowing the contents 
 to flow out and waste upon the cellar bottom. 
 
 Thus, under the constraint of conscientious con- 
 viction, Mr. Bowne broke away from the sale and use 
 of intoxicants, at a sacrifice of several hundred dol- 
 lars. The act was a noble one,indicating a Christian 
 spirit and principle. This action was followed by 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 
 
 447 
 
 the formation of the first temperance society of 
 Poughkeepsie, the first three persons to become 
 members being David B. Lent, Isaac Tice and 
 James Bowne, in two weeks there was a member- 
 ship of sixty men and the late Hon. N. P. Tallmadge 
 became its first president. Not only in the tem- 
 perance reform has Mr. Bowne been interested, 
 but in all benevolent and philanthropic work. He 
 is a life member of the Bible Tract, Seaman's 
 Friend, American Board of Commissioners for 
 Foreign Missions, and Home Missionary Societies. 
 The good he has wrought is incalculable as evi- 
 denced by respectful and loving mention of his 
 name by multitudes, who have been in his Sunday 
 school class while at school in Poughkeepsie, and 
 through his eiforts have begun a Christian life. By 
 all that know him Mr. Bowne is considered an 
 honest, upright and thoroughly good man; his 
 ripening years are those of honorable and consider- 
 ate regard by his fellow citizens. Modest and 
 unobtrusive in his manner, he has been a positive 
 force for good in all his relationships. In hale 
 and hearty age, the years have crowned him with 
 their glory, and multitudes ask that he may late be 
 removed from the present field of his activiti'es. 
 
 The long and continued connection of Mr. 
 Bowne with the Sabbath school work, makes it 
 eminently proper that we should give his reply to 
 remarks of Gen. A. B. Smith at a commemoration 
 meeting on the anniversary of the fiftieth year of 
 his Sabbath school service, held May lo, 1877. 
 Gen. Smith had been commissioned by the teachers 
 of the Sabbath school, to present to Mr. Bowne a 
 beautiful copy of the Bible, the cover of which 
 bears the following inscription: — 
 
 "James Bowne, from his fellow-teachers in the 
 Sabbath school of the First Presbyterian church, 
 of Poughkeepsie, N. Y., 1827 — April 18th— 1877." 
 Mr. Bowne responded in the following words : — 
 " I thank you for your pleasant words, your kind 
 wishes, and for the very acceptable gift you bring. 
 Nothing could be more gratifying to me than this 
 beautiful copy of the word of God. I shall prize 
 it for itself, and especially value it as coming from 
 the members of the Sabbath school in which for 
 half a century I have labored as a teacher, with 
 delight and profit. 
 
 " In all these years I have endeavored to lead 
 my class to the Blessed Jesus, so distinctly revealed 
 in that book of all books, and to-day I have no 
 greater joy than the knowledge that some of my 
 pupils have given their hearts to that Jesus, and 
 are now doing good service for him. 
 
 " This Sabbath school work has been a pleasant 
 one, and it is in my heart to follow it as long as 
 God shall give me strength so to do. 
 
 "There are many pleasant memories of the past 
 from which were there time I could discourse for 
 the encouragement and comfort of those who are 
 prosecuting this blessed work, but I forbear. Again 
 I thank you all for your kindness, and my prayer 
 shall be that God the Father, God the Son, and 
 God the Holy Spirit, may bless and keep you all. 
 May I exhort you all my dear fellow laborers, with 
 
 the privilege allowed to age and experience, to 
 faithfulness in your calling, that many souls may be 
 won by you for your Master. By and by there 
 shall be a sweeter gathering on the shore beyond 
 God grant that we all there shall meet, where there 
 shall be no shadows, forever to be with that Tesus 
 whom we here teach and love." 
 
 On the fly leaf of this beautiful volume signed 
 by his pastor, the Rev. F. B. Wheeler, D. D., and 
 by all the teachers, appears a request that Mr 
 Bowne will accept their gift as a "token of their 
 love and esteem," and some highly complimentary 
 remarks expressive of their appreciation of him as 
 a teacher and a christian, and requesting him to 
 accept their best wishes and earnest prayers that 
 the Master will prolong his days and finally welcome 
 him to his rest with "Well done good and faithful 
 servant, enter into the joys of thy Lord." 
 
 WILLIAM T. MERRITT. 
 
 The subject of this sketch was born June 15, 
 1796, on Quaker Hill, town of Pawling, Duchess 
 County, N. Y. He is the son of Nehemiah and 
 Phebe ^Thorne) Merritt. The father who was the 
 son of Daniel and Sarah Merritt, was also born on 
 Quaker Hill, April 26, 1772, and died March 10, 
 1863. The mother, who was born in the town of 
 Washington, Duchess County, N. Y, April 13, 1773 
 and died January 30, 1823, was the daughter of 
 WiUiam and Jemimah Thome. Nehemiah Merritt, 
 the father of Daniel Merritt, and the great-grand- 
 father of our subject, came from Long Island and 
 settled on Quaker Hill at a very early period in the 
 history of Duchess County. It is supposed that 
 he came as the agent of owners, under Letters 
 Patent, of lands in this locality. He selected a 
 spot on Quaker Hill, protected from the west winds, 
 just where the morning sun first touches the land- 
 scape and wakens man to its enjoyment; and here 
 was the paternal home where the subject of our 
 memoir was born. There are those now living who 
 love to visit this spot, endeared to them by many 
 hallowed associations. 
 
 It is supposed that the Merritts are of Welsh 
 origin, and that three brothers of that name emi- 
 grated to this country, one of whom settled in 
 Nova Scotia, and whose descendants are still found 
 in Canada, the Hon. Wm. Hamilton Merritt being 
 one of them. One of the brothers settled in 
 Westchester county, and the other on Long Island. 
 
 WiUiam T. was the second of a family of eight 
 children, all now dead but three; our subject resid- 
 ing in the city of Poughkeepsie, Jacob T. residing 
 in Tuckahoe, N. Y., and M. Franklin, of Stan- 
 ford, Conn. 
 
 In the year 1800, when Wm. T. was four years 
 old, his parents removed to New York City, which 
 then had a population of but 60,000. At an early 
 age our subject was placed in the famous Nine 
 Partners Boarding School, in the town of Wash- 
 
448 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 ington, Duchess County, and here remained several 
 years. He afterwards attended school in New 
 York, where he finished his education, and in the 
 year 1817 he entered into business there and con- 
 tinued thus engaged until 1845, when he moved to 
 Harts Village, Duchess County, and carried on 
 business until 1855. He then came to Pough- 
 keepsie and was engaged in the real estate and 
 insurance business until 1873. 
 
 Mr. Merritt remembers many interesting events 
 of the early part of the present century, one of 
 which was his visit in company with his father to 
 the wharf on the North River side of New York 
 City, to witness the trial trip of Fulton's first 
 steamboat, the " Clermont." There was a large 
 crowd present to witness what was generally be- 
 lieved would be a failure, and many who were 
 interested in sailing-vessels hissed and otherwise 
 manifested their hostility toward the undertaking 
 when a momentary delay in her departure was 
 made, but presently when she moved gracefully 
 out into the stream a great shout went up, and the 
 noble little craft went on her way to Albany, which 
 point she made in about thirty-six hours. 
 
 In 1821, the 1 2th of April, Mr. Merritt was 
 united in marriage with Hannah, daughter of John 
 and Mary R. King, of New York City. She was 
 born April 13, 1802, and died December 22, 1876. 
 They had six children, named in the order of their 
 birth as follows : — William Henry, born February 
 24, 1822, died April i, 1873 ; Mary R., born Feb- 
 ruary 10, 1824, died April i, 1873 ; Caroline, born 
 September 22, 1827, died May 8, 1863 ; Phebe, 
 born May 24, 1830, died October 28, 1831 ; 
 Thomas Jenkins, born May 10, 1833, died Sep- 
 tember 19, 1833, and Rodman, born January 16, 
 1 841 and died October 23, 1873. 
 
 In the death of the two former the parents of 
 these children were visited with a terrible affliction. 
 William Henry, who was married on the 2d of 
 April, 1872, to Miss Louisa Scrymser, daughter 
 of James and Ann Scrymser of New York 
 City, soon after his marriage, accompanied 
 by his bride, set out for a tour of Europe. 
 On reaching the other side, they sent for Mary R. 
 and the sister of the bride, both of whom joined 
 them, and they all visited many places of interest 
 and attraction, enjoying themselves in the fullest. 
 Business affairs at home soon demanded the at- 
 tention of the husband, and they took passage in 
 the ill-fated steamship " Atlantic," which, while at- 
 tempting to enter the port of Halifax, on the early 
 morning of April i, 1873, struck on a rock, and 
 sinking, these four, together with many other 
 precious lives, were lost. The remains of the 
 husband and his sister Mary R. were recovered, but 
 those of the wife and her sister were never found. 
 We give an extract from a letter from the rector of 
 the Episcopal church at Carthage Landing, Duch- 
 ess County, to a friend which gives a vivid picture 
 of one of the many incidents of family desolation, 
 caused by that awful catastrophe: " Just now we 
 feel bruised, depressed, overwhelmed with a dis- 
 aster, which is without one mitigating circumstance. 
 
 Our neighbor's, our friend's whole family, whom 
 we awaited with so much pleasure and anticipated 
 so much enjoyment from having them with us, 
 have all perished in the ' Atlantic' On the 2d of 
 April, a year ago, I went to the city to assist at the 
 marriage of William H. Merritt with Miss Louisa 
 Scrymser. The scene is as fresh to my memory 
 as if it had occurred but yesterday. On the 2d of 
 April this year he and his lovely wife, his own 
 sister and his wife's sister lay dead in their cabins 
 or were floating about among the rocks near Hali- 
 fax. Mr. Merritt lived near us for the greater part 
 of the year, was very wealthy, and his hospitality 
 was most genial. His little entertainments, fre- 
 quently given, were of that peculiar exquisiteness, 
 so often distinctive of such tasteful and refined 
 bachelors. He was in every way a most kind- 
 hearted and friendly gentleman." 
 
 Caroline married Samuel T. Keese, of New 
 York, a son of Peter and Mary (Thome) Keese, 
 of Peru, N. Y. , 
 
 Rodman married Amanda Maria Lanning, of 
 Wilkes Barre, Pa., who is now the wife of Wm. J. 
 Harvey, and is residing at the last named place. 
 
 The Merritts of that branch of the family to 
 which our subject belongs, were generally mem- 
 bers of the Society of Friends or Quakers ; consci- 
 entiously performing all duties, social and religious, 
 in a way that left but little for the historian to 
 chronicle. Certain it is they never did anything to 
 dishonor the name. With them " a good name " 
 was more to be desired than great riches. Always 
 believing in an inward light to guide them in the 
 right, and which, if followed, would make them 
 truer and better men and women, and help to 
 build them up in honesty and integrity. 
 
 And now our venerable subject, the only living 
 member of his own immediate family, in the quiet 
 autumn of his life, surrounded with the comforts of 
 a pleasant home, with friends ready to minister to 
 his every wish, finds his greatest pleasure and com- 
 fort in remembering the unfortunate and in deeds 
 of charity; modestly and unostentatiously using 
 the means at his command, as one who has to 
 answer as a steward for their right use. May his 
 days be lengthened that he may be enabled to do 
 more good and receive the blessings of those who 
 have, and may continue to be, recipients of his 
 bounty and kindness. 
 
 HON. JOHN THOMPSON. 
 
 John Thompson was born in the town of Rhine- 
 beck, Duchess County, July 4, 1809 ; his father, 
 Robert Thompson, then living on a farm about a 
 mile south of the village of Rhinebeck. His 
 mother was the eldest daughter of the Rev. Robert 
 Scott, who for many years kept a boarding school 
 for boys. It was at this school that the subject of 
 our sketch received the rudiments of his education, 
 with such lads as the Stokes, the Colgates, the 
 
W^aJl 
 
 Mn^i'iyii.tiirc'lS S;iiiJJ3iirclmj Slr.XZ 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 
 
 449 
 
 Dubois, of Hudson, the Schells, — Richard, Augus- 
 tus, and Edward, of Rhinebeck, and others 
 who have since become well and widely known. 
 The school was discontinued when Mr. Thompson 
 was about thirteen years old; at which time his 
 grandfather gathered the Baptist Society of Rhine- 
 beck into a church, and becoming their pastor, and 
 doing himself much of the work upon the new 
 church edifice erected by them. For the next four 
 years Mr. Thompson spent most of his time in 
 establishing his health, always extremely delicate, 
 in the light work about the farm, in horse-back 
 riding, in reading and study. 
 
 On October 26, i8r6, he entered the office of 
 Francis A. Livingston, Esq., then District Attor- 
 ney of Duchess County. There, at the age of 
 seventeen he began in earnest, not only the study 
 of law, but of general literature. Within the first 
 year of his clerkship he acquired a perfect knowl- 
 edge of the routine of the duties of the District At- 
 torney's office and attended with Mr. Livingston 
 every term of the Court of Oyer and Terminer, 
 and of the County Court, drew the indictments, 
 issued subpoenas for witnesses and prepared import- 
 ant cases for trial. Mr. Livingston was a man of 
 elegant personal appearance, with a smooth flowing 
 style of oratory, and a most winning and melodious 
 voice. He was not fond of detail, and could try a 
 case with great ability which he found it very irk- 
 some to prepare. Mr. Thompson soon became 
 indispensable to him in these respects ; while he 
 had ample time to pursue his studies in English 
 literature, history and philosophy. His school- 
 master was himself, aided by a good library, both 
 of law and general literature, and stimulated by the 
 counsel and advice of the Rev. George W. Bethune, 
 a man of ripe scholarship. 
 
 Mr. Bethune was warmly interested in the 
 progress of his young friend and admirer ; an inter- 
 est which continued through his life, and exerted 
 no small influence upon the Ufe of Mr. Thompson. 
 On the removal of Mr. Livingston to New York, 
 in 1829, Mr. Thompson, then about twenty years 
 of age, went into the office of Hooker & Tallmadge, 
 in the then village of Poughkeepsie, and upon receiv- 
 ing his license as an attorney was taken into part- 
 nership by James Hooker, Esq., then Surrogate of 
 the county. It is not surprising that in such asso- 
 ciations Mr. Thompson became a Democratic 
 politician and was soon foremost in all the machin- 
 ery of caucus, speech-making, and the appliances 
 of political campaigns. 
 
 In the year 1834, he was married to Mary Smith, 
 youngest daughter of Judge Isaac Smith of Lithgow, 
 in the town of Washington. Mrs. Thompson 
 owned a farm received from her father's estate and 
 much of her husband's time was taken up in its 
 management, but farming not being much to his 
 taste he gave it up in 1840 and devoted himself 
 almost exclusively to his profession. The late 
 Seward Barculo was then at the bar with several of 
 the lawyers of earlier days who still linger in prac- 
 tice : Stephen Cleveland, Henry Swift, Robert Wil- 
 kinson, Charles Johnson and Gen. John Brush, men ' 
 
 of acute minds and well versed in all the technical 
 learning of the old school of lawyers and who gave 
 the young members enough to sharpen their wits 
 and bring all their resources into play. Besides 
 Judge Barculo, the late William Wilkinson, Joseph 
 Jackson and several others, and a little later Hon. 
 Joseph T. Barnard, Charles W. Swift and Judge 
 Emott, made the bar of Duchess County no arena 
 for indolence or presumption. It is but just to say 
 that in this array of legal talent Mr. Thompson held 
 his own place and was engaged in the trial of almost 
 every important case from 1845 to the present time. 
 One of the most arduous as well as important 
 labors of his professional hfe was his employment 
 by the Hudson River R. R. Co., in the condemna- 
 tion of land for the use of the road from Pough- 
 keepsie to Albany, a large part of which had to be 
 taken and appraised by commissioners ; and after 
 the road was completed the trial of a great many 
 cases with contractors and persons sueing for dam- 
 ages by reason of injuries on the road by collisions 
 and otherwise. This labor continued until the road 
 passed into the hands of Commodore Vanderbilt. 
 
 In the summer and autumn of 1856 the Repub- 
 lican party was organized, the great slavery fight 
 in Kansas was coming on, Buchanan was nomi- 
 nated for President and his efforts to aid the slave 
 power were pledged beforehand. New York from 
 one end to the other was electing members to 
 Congress to cope with the trained members from 
 the South. Some of the ablest lawyers in the 
 state were elected and Mr. Thompson was ten- 
 dered the nomination from Columbia and Duchess 
 Counties. The last member from this Congres- 
 sional district was the Hon. Gilbert Dean, elected 
 on the Democratic ticket by 1,200 majority. The 
 present nominee was WiUiam Chamberlain of Red 
 Hook, a man of large wealth and extended influ- 
 ence. With such a Democratic majority in the 
 district the chances seemed dubious, but Mr. 
 Thompson was finally induced to accept the nom- 
 ination and at once organized a series of meetings 
 in the two counties, and by a thorough discussion 
 of the momentous issues then pending so aroused 
 public sentiment that he was elected by over 1,200 
 majority on the side of the Republican ticket. 
 
 During the sessions of '57-58, Mr. Thompson 
 entered into the debates on the floor of the House 
 of Representatives ; a number of his speeches be- 
 ing drculated throughout the district and county. 
 One upon the exciting topic of the hour "The 
 Admission of Kansas," and another on the " Mor- 
 mon question " were warmly received ; thousands 
 of copies being circulated by members all over the 
 Southern as well as the Northern States. 
 
 A second nomination was tendered Mr. Thomp- 
 son but declined by him in a letter saying, that on 
 account of pressing business duties, and because 
 he believed the district was sure to elect a Repub- 
 Ucan in his place, he should be obUged to decline. 
 Since his Congressional career, Mr. Thompson 
 has held no public office of a poUtical nature, but 
 has beside professional duties, given his effiDrts to 
 the benevolent and philanthropic movements of 
 
45° 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 society and in the church, with which he was united 
 while a student at law. 
 
 For some ten years in the earlier history of the 
 organization of Lyceums and Young Men's Asso- 
 ciations he was called upon to lecture in aid of 
 these struggUng institutions, often without expecta- 
 tion or demand of pay, and on these occasions 
 from ten to fifteen times per season, he furnished 
 some of the most finished performances of his life; 
 lecturing frequently at Troy, Albany and through 
 the western cities as far as Buffalo. In later years 
 since lyceums have become well established, he has 
 generally declined such invitations. 
 
 He has twice dehvered the oration before the 
 literary societies at Union College on commence- 
 ment day— at New Brunswick and at Williamstown 
 — was elected a member of the Phi Beta Kappa 
 at Union, and received the degree of A. M. from 
 Union and Yale. 
 
 Mr. Thompson has been a student all his life, 
 devoting his leisure to the cultivation of general 
 literature, especially of theology. He delivered a 
 course of Sunday evening lectures on topics out of 
 the range of pulpit performances, to crowded 
 houses; and also published several essays, one on 
 " Inspiration," another on the "Atonement," and 
 another the " Inner Kingdom." He al^o published 
 an article vindicating the miracles of the New 
 Testament. 
 
 When Matthew Vassar had settled upon devot- 
 ing his wealth to an institution to promote the 
 higher education of woman, Mr. Thompson was 
 among the first persons consulted by him, and 
 chosen one of the trustees of Vassar College, 
 which position he still holds, giving the aid of his 
 time and counsel, and also acting as a member of 
 some of its most important committees. 
 
 He built his residence at the corner of Market 
 and Church streets, in 1835, and has lived there 
 since, a period of 46 years, except that for four or 
 five years past his family have spent the summer 
 at a cottage owned by Mrs. Thompson, his present 
 wife, at New Hamburgh, on Wappingers Creek. 
 Mrs. Thompson was formerly Caroline Bailey, 
 youngest daughter of James Bailey, Esq., of Pratts- 
 burg, now deceased. 
 
 Mr. Thompson spent a year in Europe not long 
 since,both for his health and mental improvement. 
 He was for many years Vice-President of the Fall- 
 kill National Bank, of Poughkeepsie, but is now 
 President of that institution. 
 
 Thus, has the public enjoyed not only his ability 
 in his profession, but, also, his superior business 
 capacities. By a life of strict integrity and perse- 
 vering appUcation, he has built himself in the 
 affections and confidence of the people who resort 
 to him for legal knowledge and judicious advice. 
 
 Mr. Thompson has rare forensic and rhetorical 
 gifts, which give grace to his pen, and beauty and 
 strength to his utterances. His style is ornate 
 without weakness, and philosophical without ob- 
 scurity ; on the platform or at the bar, he is one of 
 the most effective speakers in the land. Felicitous 
 both In manner and matter he compels attention 
 
 and carries conviction. A diligent student, and 
 indefatigable worker, he has thought, written and 
 spoken more than most men of his profession in 
 the several departments of learning, and has drawn 
 his sword to good purpose in theological discussion. 
 Quick and clear in his perceptions, thoroughly 
 sesthetic in his nature, with a broad and generous 
 culture, he has been, and is, a recognized power 
 among men ; having an influence that has gone 
 far and wide from the city and county in which he 
 has lived. His kindness of heart,cheerful tempera- 
 ment, abundant humor and quick repartee, make 
 him an agreeable companion and the best of 
 friends. 
 
 The weight of his character from early man- 
 hood has been on the side of Christian principle ; 
 in this regard he has been of vast benefit to the 
 moral and philanthropic movements of his times. 
 Altogether, in his history, growth and attainments, 
 we consider Mr. Thompson as a model man, of 
 whom his city and county may well be proud. 
 While we write as a friend%ve are sure that our es- 
 timate is not foreign to that of those who have 
 known him from the beginning, and we trust he 
 may long be spared to give to his fellow citizens 
 the ripened fruits of a long and rich experience. 
 
 CEDAR HILL. 
 
 These grounds, which are the residence of R. M. 
 Taggart, Esquire, are situated within one mile of 
 the Court House. Until 1857, they remained an 
 unbroken wild of thickets, rocks, hills and lowlands, 
 and were the property of eight different owners, 
 being a middle "common" between the inhabi- 
 tants of "Bicetown" and the village of Pough- 
 keepsie. Their beauty, which to a casual observer 
 was hidden beneath the rough exterior, had long 
 bfeen perceived by John P. H. Tallman of Pough- 
 kepsie, who in that year gradually obtained the 
 various titles and soon thereafter began to reclaim 
 them, bringing out their latent qualities and ad- 
 hering to nature in their development, uiitil they 
 have become unrivalled. 
 
 In i860 the dwelling and other buildings were 
 erected, and the place continued to be the resi- 
 dence of Mr. Tallman until 1869. In that year 
 their many attractions induced Robert M. Taggart, 
 the present proprietor, to purchase the buildings 
 and ten of the fourteen acres embraced in the 
 original purchases of Mr. Tallman. The grounds 
 abound in fruit and ornamental trees, having thir- 
 teen varieties of evergreen trees. The drives and 
 walks are of the most enduring and ornamental 
 character. The present stable was erected in 1881, 
 and in arrangement and finish is excelled by none 
 in the county, being supplied throughout with 
 city water and gas. 
 
 Mr. Taggart was a native of Paterson, N. J., and 
 resolving to select for a home that which would 
 combine health and all that makes home desirable, 
 
ENTRANCE AND GROUNDS OF R. M. TAGGART, 
 
 POUGHKEEPSIE, N. Y. 
 
o 
 
 w 
 d 
 
 > 
 
 O 
 
 H 
 
 •< 
 
 O 
 -^ 
 
 > 
 O 
 O 
 > 
 
 H 
 
 W 
 w 
 
 O 
 C 
 O 
 
 a 
 
 w 
 w 
 
 M 
 !<! 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 
 
 45 1 
 
 his decision finally and fortunately fell upon 
 "Cedar Hill" with its undulating lawns, hills, 
 dales, trees, overhanging rocks, mountain scenery 
 and city and rural views. The symmetrical cedar 
 at the base of the hill opposite the front entrance, 
 suggested to Mr. Tallman the name "Cedar Hill." 
 Mr. Taggart is grandson of Charles Danforth 
 the founder of the " Danforth Locomotive and 
 Machine Company," of Paterson, N. J., who spent 
 his boyhood in Matteawan, where he acquired the 
 rudiments of that power which led to his eminent 
 success. 
 
 SAMUEL TUTHILL, M. D. 
 
 Samuel Tuthill was born in Blooming 
 Grove, Orange County, N. Y., April 2, 181 1. 
 He was next to the youngest of the ten 
 children of Samuel and Eunice Youngs 
 Tuthill. His father, who was a farmer by 
 occupation and originally from Long Island, 
 died when he was but twelve years of age. 
 He remained on the farm with his mother 
 and elder brother Hiram until his eigh- 
 teenth year, with no other educational ad- 
 vantages than those afforded by the com- 
 mon district schools of the time. He was 
 brought up in the Methodist Episcopal 
 Church in which his father and mother had 
 long been consistent members. 
 
 In 1837, Mr. Tuthill commenced the 
 study of medicine with Dr. Thomas Lap- 
 ham a well-known " Thomsonian " physician 
 in Poughkeepsie, and entered upon his pro- 
 fessional career in Kingston, N. Y.,in 1840. 
 In 1848, he returned to Poughkeepsie where 
 he has since successfully practiced in what , 
 is known as the " Eclectic School of Medi- 
 cine," and in which he has risen to a high 
 rank ; having been licensed and honored 
 as an M. D., by the Syracuse Medical Col- 
 lege, and the Medical College of the City 
 of New York. Since the organization of the 
 District Eclectic Society he has been its President. 
 He is treasurer of the New York State Eclectic 
 Society, and has been its President. 
 
 Although never identified with the " Old School " 
 of medicine, he has uniformly enjoyed the confi- 
 dence and respect of its members. In addition to 
 a large city practice, he has an extensive country 
 ride, and probably no physician in the county is 
 more generally known than he. 
 
 Dr. Tuthill is a man of unusually fine physique, 
 dignified and courteous in manner and a general 
 favorite with all, on account of his kindness of heart 
 and good sense. 
 
 For years he has represented a respectable con- 
 stituency in the common council of the city as an 
 alderman, and in the "County Legislature" as a 
 supervisor, where he is known as a ready, witty and 
 direct speaker. 
 
 He married Sarah M. Kelley in 1833. Five of 
 their six children are now living, two of whom are 
 
 prominent physicians; Robert K. Tuthill, M. D., of 
 Poughkeepsie, and James Y. Tuthill, M. D., of 
 Brooklyn, N. Y. "Doctor Robert" was a surgeon 
 in the Union Army. 
 
 For many years he and his family have been in 
 the communion of the Cannon St. M. E. Church 
 of Poughkeepsie, and for many consecutive years 
 Dr. Tuthill has been one of the District Stewards 
 and Lay delegates in the New York Annual Con- 
 ference and is one of the present Board of Trustees 
 of the Poughkeepsie district. 
 
 7^* 
 
 *^ - 
 
 X 
 
 W^ 
 
 (SAMUEL TUTHILL, M. D.) 
 
 It may be truly said of him that he is a repre- 
 sentative man, in medicine, in politics and in the 
 church. 
 
 CYRUS SWAN. 
 
 Cyrus Swan was born of thorough New England 
 ancestry, in Sharon, Litchfield Co., Conn., March 
 15, 1820. His early education was obtained in 
 Burr's Seminary at Bernardston, Vermont, and at the 
 AmeniaSeminary,until in 1838 when he entered the 
 class of '41 in Yale College. After leaving col- 
 lege he followed the profession of his father, who 
 had been one of the Judges of his native county, 
 and commenced the study of law in Poughkeepsie. 
 He was admitted to the Supreme and Chancery 
 Courts of this State in 1843. 
 
 In 1845, in company with Matthew Vassar, the 
 founder of Vassar College, Mr. Swan spent a year 
 of travel in Europe. On his return he opened an 
 
452 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 office, and began the practice of his profession. 
 During the year prior to the founding of the col- 
 lege he was intimately connected with Mr. Vassar, 
 and deeply interested in aiding him confidentially 
 and professionally in the formation and execution 
 of his plan for the higher education of woman. 
 He was appointed one of the original trustees of 
 Vassar College, and was the General Superintend- 
 ent and Secretary for several years preceding and 
 after the completion of the institution. 
 
 During the existence of the national bankruptcy 
 law he waff extensively employed in cases before 
 the District, Circuit, and Supreme Courts of the 
 United States. He was married in 1855 to Miss 
 Frances S. Walker of Lenox, Massachusetts, and 
 has two daughters and one son. In the Greeley 
 campaign of 1872, and for a few years subsequent- 
 ly he took an active part in local and state politics. 
 He was never a candidate for public office, and 
 never held one. In iSj^-'y^-jS, in connection 
 with his law business, he edited the Poughkeepsie 
 News, then under the proprietorship of the Hon. 
 John O. Whitehouse. On his withdrawal from 
 editorial responsibility he devoted himself entirely 
 to his profession, which involved large interests of 
 municipal, corporate, and individual character. 
 
 For many years he was the Secretary of the 
 Poughkeepsie Lyceum, and afterward he held the 
 office of President for a long time: He has al- 
 ways been recognized as one of the leading literary 
 men of the county, and is one of the most 
 prominent members of the Literary Section of the 
 Vassar Brothers' Institute. During a business 
 career of nearly forty years passed entirely in 
 Poughkeepsie, his reputation as a citizen and a 
 professional man has been honorable and without 
 just reproach. 
 
 JOHN P. H. TALLMAN. 
 
 It is only now and then that enough of unusual 
 interest and action can be found to m'ake the life 
 of any one prominent above the restless surging of 
 the present age. But some there are who catching 
 the first flood of the tide of our modern .life have 
 so well understood its . direction and so industri- 
 ously and successfully kept abreast of it, that they 
 fairly epitomize the movement and become its ex- 
 ponents. To such a life the subject of the present 
 sketch introduces us. 
 
 For several generations the ancestry of John P. 
 H. Tallman were inhabitants of Duchess County, 
 New York. He was born in the town of Wash- 
 ington in that county on the 19th day of March, 
 1820. His great-grandfather Darius Tallman 
 emigrated from Nantucket, married a Miss South- 
 worth, and settled on Chestnut Ridge near the 
 present residence of Benson J. Lossing. His 
 father's maternal grandfather was Capt. Harris 
 of the British army in the Revolution and his wife 
 was a Miss Velie, both of LaGrange. His mater- 
 nal grandfather was a Deacon Benham, of New 
 Haven, Conn., an American soldier in the Revo- 
 
 lutionary war, who became a resident of Wash- 
 ington, and married Miss Comstock, of Connecti- 
 cut. His father, Darius Tallman, Jr., and his 
 mother Almira Benham were united in marriage m 
 181 7, both of whom became octogenarians, and 
 there were four children of this union, a daughter 
 who died in infancy, and three sons, of whom John 
 P. H. Tallman was the eldest. His occupation 
 was farming until his fifteenth year, when he en- 
 tered Amenia Seminary— a flourishing Academy m 
 Amenia, Duchess County. His life at the Sem- 
 inary affords a glimpse of the resolution and 
 strength of character which have stood him so 
 well in stead on many occasions — for we find that 
 he remained there the three years required to ful- 
 fill his course, in considerable part upon moneys 
 borrowed for that purpose, and that out of the first 
 moneys earned subsequently in his profession as a 
 lawyer he discharged the debt thus incurred in his 
 minority. On leaving the Seminary he began read- 
 ing law in the office of James Hooker and Virgil 
 D. Bonesteel, in Poughkeepsie. He now had four 
 years reading before him to attain his profession, 
 having been allowed three years for "classical 
 study." Mr. Hooker was at that time Surrogate 
 of the County. Mr. Tallman's industry in ac- 
 quiring a knowledge of the duties of that office was 
 early rewarded by his promotion to the posi- 
 tion of the first clerkship of the office, and upon 
 the appointment of Robert Wilkinson, Esq., to 
 the Surrogacy in 1840, he became his managing 
 clerk, still reading law. 
 
 In 1843, he was at the General Term in Utica 
 admitted to practice in the State Courts, and was 
 also admitted in the District and Circuit Courts of 
 the United States. The nextyear he was appointed 
 Master in Chancery for Duchess County by the 
 Governor of the State, on the recommendation of 
 a County Convention of delegates ; Owen T. Coffin, 
 the present well esteemed Surrogate of Westchester 
 County, being his competitor, as was also the late 
 Gilbert Dean. In May, 1847, Mr. Tallman was 
 by the Democratic party unanimously nominated 
 to the office of Surrogate of the County ; his elec- 
 tion followed. His opponent was the Hon. John 
 Thompson, the nominee of the Whig party, who 
 was afterwards a distinguished Member of Con- 
 gress. During this canvass and especially subse- 
 quently during the administration of Mr. Tallman's 
 first term, he was assailed most violently by the 
 editor of the Whig organ, and so wanton and un- 
 merited were the attacks deemed to be that at the 
 close of that term his friends, quite independent of 
 party, insisted that he should become a candidate 
 for a second term. He consented, and was re- 
 elected by an increased majority, the nominee of 
 the opposite party then being Richard Peck, Esq., 
 of Pine Plains. Aside from the considerations then 
 urged another term was not desired. 
 
 Prior to the constitution of 1846, which made 
 the office of Surrogate elective, that office had been . 
 regarded as a political one given as a reward for 
 party services, and naturally the people were dis- 
 posed to consider its occupant a political, perhaps 
 
ptq'^ ay R££iiu. iiyj-ns 1} ^c'clay St HY 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 
 
 453 
 
 a party representative. This disposition of the 
 people was one of the weapons used in the editor's 
 vain attack. While no one ever deemed Mr. Tall- 
 man influenced by party bias in his official action 
 or determination, he was nevertheless efficient in 
 the leadership then thrown upon him — his rare 
 tact in party management rendering him almost 
 without a peer in that department. This was ac- 
 knowledged and attested by his prolonged chair- 
 manship of the County Central Committee and the 
 various party compliments bestowed upon him from 
 time to time, and the successful strifes through 
 which' his party and friends were lead under his 
 guidance. Public favor was manifest towards 
 him and for him the partiality of friends had 
 marked out a more enlarged sphere of political 
 activity ; congressional, judicial, and other honors 
 were at his apparent command. But the primary 
 consideration moving him to office was business 
 rather than politics, and while possessing in a 
 marked degree qualifications and adaptations to 
 public life, he had no desire for office, and as 
 soon as an opportunity for manly retirement was 
 presented he embraced it — having tested the truth 
 that it is sometimes more difficult to resign than 
 to obtain office, and at a comparatively early 
 period of life he cast off the responsibility of party 
 service and leadership to resume the practice of 
 the profession to which in boyhood he had aspired. 
 The prospects before him were those which indus- 
 try, probity and fair talent warranted when accom- 
 panied by a cheerful resolution. His first business 
 co-partnership was formed under the title of 
 Tallman & Dean, a firm which soon became well 
 and favorably known. Other co-partnerships 
 have followed, but not for most of the intervening 
 years. 
 
 Captain Pelatiah Ward, who fell in the Union 
 Army, William I. Thorn, Esq., ex-District Attorney 
 of Duchess, and Hon. Homer A. Nelson, the 
 present member of the State Senate, were law 
 students in his office. 
 
 As a lawyer we may perhaps be permitted to 
 say that although no mean practitioner at the bar, 
 Mr. Tallman's chief strength lies in his comprehen- 
 sive grasp of any matter which he takes in hand, 
 and in such a cool and clear estimate of all its 
 bearings near and remote, such an extensive 
 knowledge and familiarity with legal points, that he 
 is eminently wise and trustworthy in counsel — while 
 his unflagging industry and unfailing interest in his 
 client's case leaves nothing to chance and nothing 
 needful undone. In addition to the general law 
 business which has in all these years been his base 
 of operation there has been confided to him a 
 special practice in the District and Circuit Courts 
 of the United States for the New York Districts, 
 as also the care and settlement of estates. During 
 the earlier years of his practice and anterior to the 
 period when that class of investments was taken 
 up by insurance and other large monied institutions, 
 his office was the medium of large annual invest- 
 ments on bonds and mortgages. A large circle 
 of acquaintances with investors was thus formed. 
 
 which resulted in his call to many positions of 
 responsibility and trust. 
 
 In 1856 the office of Treasurer of the then Iowa 
 Central R. R. Company, w^ tendered to him. The 
 road was projected from a point on the Mississippi 
 river where the city of Clinton now stands, to 
 Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Under another name it now 
 forms a part of the great line to California. He 
 declined the office, although he yielded to the re- 
 quest of the officers so far as to accompany the 
 reconnoitering party over- the section named ; he 
 drew the report of the commission to the company 
 as to the feasibility and location of the road, which 
 was accepted. In 1855 he established a Banking 
 House in Davenport, Iowa, in the name of Tallman 
 & Powers. Mr. Powers, who had been his clerk in 
 the Surrogate's court and a former partner,became 
 the resident partner in Davenport ; the credit and 
 extensive relations of the house were such as to 
 place its destiny largely in the hands of Mr. Powers. 
 It was formed for five years and so continued. 
 
 In 1859, Mr. Tallman was mainly instrumental 
 in founding the City Bank of Poughkeepsie, and 
 was chosen President ; this office he did not ac- 
 cept, and favored in his stead Joseph F. Barnard, 
 Esq., now a Justice of the Supreme Court, who re- 
 tained the office for a period of upwards of twenty 
 years. He was, however, upon the establishment 
 of the bank, appointed its attorney, and has con- 
 tinued to act in that capacity to the present time. 
 
 In railroad matters, other than that previously 
 mentioned, Mr. Tallman was actively interested 
 in the advocacy of the Hudson River R. R., the 
 Poughkeepsie & Eastern R. R., and the Pough- 
 keepsie City R. R., of which he was one of the 
 original incorporators. His attention and co- 
 operation have been given to the water and sewer 
 system of the city. In 1853, he was one of the 
 organizers of the Poughkeepsie Rural Cemetery, 
 was designated as a trustee, and so continues. He 
 was one of the People's Committee to procure the 
 location of the Hudson River Hospital for the 
 Insane, and was a member of its first Board of 
 Trustees. 
 
 In 1852, he was one of the founders of the 
 Home for the Friendless, then organized as the 
 Poughkeepsie Female Guardian Society, prepared 
 its act of incorporation and was one of the first 
 Board of Counsellors. He is also a trustee of 
 Vassar Brothers' Home for Aged Men. 
 
 From his youth up, Mr. Tallman has been iden- 
 tified with the temperance cause, signing, when 
 nine years of age what was then known as the par- 
 tial pledge. At the age of twenty he became an 
 officer in the Young Men's Temperance Society, 
 and soon after urged the total abstinence pledge. 
 Still later he was an officer in the Duchess County 
 Temperance Society, and occasionally delivered 
 addresses before it and kindred organizations. He 
 aided in founding the State Inebriate Asylum at 
 Binghamton, N. Y., for which he was several years 
 a trustee. 
 
 In the seventeenth year of his age, Mr. Tallman 
 united with the Methodist Episcopal church at 
 
454 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 Amenia Seminary, under the supervision of Dr. 
 Merrick, now of the Ohio University, and Doctor 
 Clark, afterwards Bishop. In 1840 he was one of 
 the founders of the Second Methodist Episcopal 
 church, now of Cannon street, Poughkeepsie, and 
 from 1842 has been one of its trustees, sustaining 
 its various official relations; was its first repre- 
 sentative to the New York annual conference, and 
 was the presiding officer of the convention. He 
 was for some years an officer of the Duchess 
 County Bible Society. He was a member of the 
 first and only State Council of Methodists ever 
 held, which convened at Syracuse, February, 1870, 
 composed of a representation from most of the 
 churches of the denomination in the State, the 
 delegation numbering about 600, among whom 
 he was not inconspicuous. The council or assem- 
 bly voted over $200,000 for the Syracuse Univer- 
 sity, and instituted various reforms intended for 
 the State as well as the Church, among which was 
 the State Council of Political Reform, one of the 
 auxiliaries of which was a potent factor in the 
 overthrow of the notorious "Tweed Ring" of New 
 York city. He was a member of the State Exec- 
 utive Committee, and although a life-long Demo- 
 crat, he disregarded any prohibition inconsistent 
 with the platform of the council which declared : 
 "We leave the party relations of every man undis- 
 turbed, but when parties command the support of 
 bad principles, bad measures or bad men, we must 
 refuse to obey." His position in reference to the 
 Rebellion was well defined and pronounced. 
 
 To those who have only known Mr. Tallman as 
 a man of affairs, and absorbed through his hours 
 of professional labor in the interests of his clients, 
 it may be a surprise to learn that his " grand pas- 
 sion " has always been in that line which has made 
 Poughkeepsie a synonym for all that is pleasant 
 and inviting as a place of retired and elegant resi- 
 dence; — in this direction he has accomplished 
 more as a matter of pastime and recreation than 
 many have done who have made it the subject of 
 long study and arduous labor. The Cottage Hill 
 property on Garden street, and later and more 
 prominently the Cedar Hill place, now owned by 
 Robert M. Taggart, Esq., and described in other 
 pages of this history, are evidences and expres- 
 sions of his taste and great ability in landscape 
 gardening and rural architecture. 
 
 Personally, Mr. Tallman's kindness of heart has 
 ever been apparent in his countenance and con- 
 duct ; upright in principle and purpose, his benev- 
 olence arid friendship unselfish and enduring. In 
 every department of endeavor known to him he 
 has supplemented the efforts of the industrious 
 and deserving. As church, educational and char- 
 itable institutions have felt his favoring influence, 
 so not a few individuals owe their establishment 
 and success in life to his timely counsel and 
 aid. 
 
 It would hardly comport with proper delicacy 
 to advert at any length to the purity and excep- 
 tional happiness of all his domestic relations, those 
 only who have been the recipients of his hospital- 
 
 ities and enjoyed the friendship of his family cart 
 appreciate their rare excellence. 
 
 Mr. Tallman has been twice married; 111^1843, to 
 Mary Newman of Egremont, Mass., by whom were 
 two children now living, Mary, wife of Theodore 
 W. Davis, of St. Joseph, Mo., and Augusta, wife of 
 John F. Phayre, of New York city; in 1851, to 
 Sarah Anderson, of New York city, by whom were 
 two children, John Francis and Katharine EUot. 
 John Francis graduated from Syracuse University, 
 receiving the degree of A. B., in 1879, and was 
 admitted to the New York bar in 188 1. The hon- 
 orary degree of A. M., was conferred upon John P. 
 H. Tallman by the Wesleyan University in 185 1. 
 
 When it is considered what, to an earnest nature, 
 must have been the amount of work and means 
 involved in the relations already indicated, it may 
 well be concluded that the life of John P. H. Tall- 
 man has been neither idle, ignoble nor obscure. 
 
 HON. JOHN O. WHITEHOUSE. 
 
 John Osborn Whitehouse was born near the 
 village of Gonic, in the town of Rochester, New 
 Hampshire, on July 19, 18 17, and died at the city 
 of Poughkeepsie, Duchess County, New York, on 
 August 24, t88i. Both his father and grandfather 
 bore the christian name of William, and the father 
 succeeded to the farm of his ancestor, the genera- 
 tion to which Mr. John O. Whitehouse belongs 
 being the third which owned and occupied succes- 
 sively the same homestead. 
 
 Mr. John O. Whitehouse was one of a family of 
 thirteen children, two of whom died in infancy. 
 There were seven boys and six girls, Mr. John O., 
 being the second in age. The oldest son remained 
 at home, but the other children who survived 
 infancy all came to this State at an early age. 
 
 The first to migrate was John O. Whitehouse, 
 who at the age of seventeen found his way to 
 Brooklyn, which then (1834) was but a village 
 suburb of New York city, if we compare it with its 
 present proportions in 1881. He there took a . 
 clerkship and a few years later another in New 
 York itself. 
 
 At the age of twenty-two he commenced the 
 shoe business in Brooklyn. At twenty-three he 
 there married Miss Fannie Smith, who is now his 
 widow. He very soon opened an additional store 
 in the city of New York, and. from that on, by rapid 
 steps he became a leader in the manufacture and 
 sale of shoes, maintaining large factories in Dela- 
 ware for the preparation of leather, and in Massa- 
 chusetts and the city of New York for its con- 
 struction into shoes. From a large warehouse in 
 the latter city he supplied the wholesale trade, and 
 from several retail stores at different points brought 
 his wares into private use. * 
 
 His early success tempted four other brothers 
 into the same line, until at one time there were five 
 separate establishments in New York City and 
 
HOK. JOHH 0. WHITEHOUSE. 
 
-Sly'Si) HlSaa i. Sna li Sanlmj SllfT 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 
 
 45S 
 
 Brooklyn, conducted in the Whitehouse name, and 
 together practically controlling that business, and 
 all realizing the profitable fruits of exceptional sa- 
 gacity, activity and thrift, each manufacturing, buy- 
 ing and selling upon his own account, and meeting 
 with eminent success. 
 
 He was the father of four sons and two daugh- 
 ters, all born in Brooklyn. One son and one 
 daughter died before his leaving that city. In i860, 
 he moved with his family which consisted of his 
 wife, three sons and one daughter, to the city of 
 Poughkeepsie to reside permanently. Before his own 
 death he had borne the dead bodies of these three 
 sons back to Greenwood, where the father and five 
 of his six children are now "gathered in." His 
 remaining daughter, the wife of Mr. Eugene N. 
 Howell, resides with her husband and an only child 
 in the city of Philadelphia.. 
 
 Soon after removing to Poughkeepsie, and in 
 1863, Mr. Whitehouse purchased one of the most 
 attractive residences with ample grounds, near tlie 
 city, and soon after added to it the adjoining beau- 
 tiful estate of Mr. Matthew Vassar, senior, known 
 as " Springside." This continues to be the family 
 homestead. 
 
 In 1870, Mr. Whitehouse constructed in the city 
 of Poughkeepsie the largest manufactory of that 
 locality, which gave employment to several hun- 
 dred hands until its destruction by lightning in July, 
 1879. The same year he rebuilt upon a larger 
 scale and conducted manufacturing there and a 
 wholesale warehouse in New York City, with retail 
 stores elsewhere, up to his death, when the business 
 was taken up by his son-in-law, Mr. Howell. 
 
 In 1872, Mr. Whitehouse was elected to Con- 
 gress upon the Greeley ticket, from the District 
 composed of Duchess, Columbia and Putnam 
 Counties, which re-elected him in 1874. His first 
 candidature was perhaps the most exciting and ex- 
 acting of any known in the history of the State. 
 He was the first Congressman to propose and urge 
 the funding of the war debt in a four per cent, 
 bond, but was so far in advance of his colleagues 
 as to be at that time unsuccessful, but the propo- 
 sition received such discussion as to cause its adop- 
 tion years before his death. 
 
 He was the largest investor in the city of his 
 adoption in local enterprises. The rebuilding of 
 his factory was for the benefit of the city rather 
 than for his own. The Poughkeepsie, Boston & 
 Hartford Railroad in all its stages, the City Rail- 
 road, the Hudson River Agricultural and Driving 
 Park, the Iron Works, the Plough Factory and the 
 Poughkeepsie News were all largely indebted to his 
 liberahty and enterprise. 
 
 Of Democratic antecedants, Mr. Whitehouse 
 became a zealous and generous contributor to the 
 success of the civil war, but after the flag which 
 protected his nativity ceased to find an assailant, 
 he was also quick and generous in his advocacy of 
 forgiveness, forgetfulness and peace. 
 
 He was for many years one of the most active 
 and important directors of a prominent National 
 Bank in the city of New York, and as such car- 
 
 ried it through most critical emergencies. He 
 was also director or trustee in a variety of public 
 enterprises to all of which he contributed largely 
 in money, time and skill. 
 . His business life compassed an era; reaching 
 from the bench of the single shoe-maker in the 
 alley, hammering and sewing at a single shoe, to 
 those vast manufactories which severally contain a 
 thousand men and women, whose duty it is to 
 watch and feed the ceaseless activities of those 
 hungry wonders of machinery which perform the 
 most delicate operations with the swiftness and 
 certitude of fate, and which throw daily into the 
 markets of the world thousands of dozens of the 
 most perfect articles of commerce and use. His 
 sagacity was always the first to seize upon the 
 early inventions of science and art which pertained 
 to his business, and which in one lifetime entirely 
 revolutionized everything which related to mechan- 
 ical execution or beauty and fitness of design. 
 
 These facts sufficiently denote the sterling New 
 England stock from which Mr. Whitehouse sprang 
 and indicate the ceaseless activity and the benign 
 conduct of his life. His only successful assailant 
 was death. Obstacles animated him and increased 
 his powers. In his business he was a master. His 
 eye penetrated at a glance, and his judgment was 
 as quick and unerring as his sight. His impulses 
 were genial, generous and indulgent. He en- 
 listed the affections of those who knew him best 
 and commanded the unhesitating respect and un- 
 limited confidence of all who knew him. 
 
 AUGUSTUS SCHELL. 
 
 Augustus Schell was born at Rhinebeck, August 
 I, 1 81 2 — the son of Christian Schell and Elizabeth 
 Hughes. His father was of German descent, as 
 the name indicates — one of that steady and worthy 
 class whose ancestors first settled a large part of 
 Duchess and the neighboring counties. He was a 
 merchant and an active adherent of the Demo- 
 cratic party, who showed his zeal in the cause by 
 service in the second war with Great Britain, and 
 especially in the stirring defense against the antici- 
 pated attack of New York city and its approaches. 
 His death, when the subject of this sketch was 
 twelve years old, left the mother with eight chil- 
 dren, whose character and success in life she hved 
 to enjoy in serene old age, as her own sufficient 
 eulogium. Her diligence, care and economy secur- 
 ed for them the education and practical training 
 for active life, in which they have all achieved posi- 
 tions of honor and trust. Richard Schell was a 
 State Senator and Member of Congress; Robert 
 Schell is a successful merchant and Bank President, 
 and Edward Schell is President of the Manhattan 
 Savings Bank. 
 
 Mrs. Schell was a devoted member of the Re- 
 formed Dutch Church, in which all her children 
 were carefully reared. 
 
4S6 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 Augustus Schell, as a youth, was steadily indus- 
 trious and justly inspired by the generous ambi- 
 tion which comes only of innate power and real 
 worth. He pursued his preliminary studies with 
 diligence and entered Union College in 1827, from 
 which he was graduated with marked distinction in 
 1830. Devoting himself to the profession of 
 law, he pursued ihis studies at that famous institu- 
 tion in Connecticut, the Litchfield Law School — 
 the training school of so many great lawyers and 
 men — under the direction of the late Judge Gould. 
 After subsequently reading for one year with the late 
 John Armstrong, he went to New York in 1832, 
 where he entered the office of the late Judge Slos- 
 son, with whom, after his admission to the bar, at 
 the General Term of the Supreme Court at Albany 
 in October, 1832, he entered into partnership in 
 the practice of law, under the firm name of Slosson 
 & Schell, which won and maintained the highest 
 reputation and success. But it was not only as a 
 lawyer that he was to vindicate his claim to honor 
 and reward. 
 
 Mr. Schell early entered the ranks of the Dem- 
 ocratic party in his native State, taking a warm and 
 active interest in poUtics from his youth. His char- 
 acteristic power and ability were recognized and as 
 early as 1852, he was a conspicuous candidate for 
 the highest office in the State, in the convention 
 which nominated Horatio Seymour as Governor. 
 In the same year he was elected Chairman of the 
 Democratic General Committee, and has continued 
 to hold a controlling influence in party affairs, not 
 only in his own city and native State, but in the 
 wider field of national politics. His connection 
 with Tammany Hall identified him with its man- 
 agement during the greater part of its most signal 
 triumphs; and through all the difficulties which 
 from time to time, it has encountered within and 
 without, he has always been distinguished for his 
 dignified, consistent and magnanimous course, even 
 in the midst of the most bitter partisan strife and 
 even violence. 
 
 He continued Chairman of the Democratic 
 State Committee in 1853, '54 and '55. In 1854, 
 he was unanimously nominated by the Democratic 
 Convention for the office of Mayor of New York, 
 which he declined at that time. 
 
 In 1857, Mr. Schell was appointed by President 
 Buchanan, Collector of the Port of New York. 
 Few men have filled that difficult and responsible 
 office so well. His administration gave the highest 
 satisfaction not only to the Government but the 
 merchants of New York. His uniform courtesy, 
 his unfailing patience, his quiet, yet firm demeanor' 
 his sterling qualities of mind and heart, crowned 
 his pronounced executive abilities with the honors 
 of success, and reputation as one of the first among 
 his fellow citizens. 
 
 Upon his retirement in 186 1, he received from 
 Mr. Chase, President Lincoln's Secretary of the 
 Treasury, a letter of strong eulogy upon his effi- 
 ciency and the admirable state in which he left the 
 office to his successor. 
 In 1867, he was elected a member of the Con- 
 
 stitutional Convention of the State of New York, 
 and took a prominent part in its most important 
 labors. He was a member of the Committee on 
 Finance, of which the late Chief Judge Church was 
 Chairman. In 1872, he was appointed by Gover- 
 nor Hoffman a member of the Constitutional Com- 
 mission to propose amendments to the Constitu- 
 tion of the State, 
 
 During the Presidential election of 1872, Mr. 
 Schell was Chairman of the National Democratic 
 Committee. Upon, the re-organization of the Tam- 
 many Society in the same year, when he took an 
 active part in breaking up the Tweed Ring, he was 
 made Grand Sachem of Tammany without a dis- 
 senting voice, and has held that position to this 
 time (1882). 
 
 In 1877, he was a candidate for the State Sen- 
 ate from the Seventh Senatorial District but was 
 defeated by a singular combination of the Republi- 
 can party with Democratic opponents of Tammany 
 Hall, which resulted in the election of the late 
 John Morrissey. 
 
 Mr. Schell was a Democratic Presidential Elec- 
 tor in 1876, and in 1878 was defeated as a candi- 
 date for the mayoralty of New York, by a combi- 
 nation similar to that of the previous year, result- 
 ing in the election of Edward Cooper. The politi- 
 cal career of Mr. Schell has stamped him as one of 
 the most loyal, efficient, and sagacious leaders of 
 the Democratic party, which owes him a far greater 
 debt than it will ever be able to repay. 
 
 Mr. Schell became a director in the New York 
 & Harlem Railroad Company, in 1863, and soon 
 afterwards (in 1864) in the Hudson River Rail- 
 road Company,' and when the New York Central 
 was consolidated with the latter in 1869, he was 
 made a director of the new organization, which of- 
 fice he stiU holds. In the same year he entered 
 the directory of the Lake Shore Railroad, of which 
 he was soon after made Vice-President. He is a 
 director in the Chicago & Northwestern Railway 
 Company, and the Union Pacific Railroad, as well, 
 as other leading railway companies ; and has been 
 an active member of the Executive Committees of 
 many of these roads. 
 
 He has also been an active director, in the Union 
 Trust Company for several years, as well as the 
 Western Union Telegraph Company. He has also 
 been long connected with many Banks and Insur- 
 ance Companies. 
 
 His ability as a lawyer and wisdom in the con- 
 trol and direction of great corporate interests were 
 early recognized among the greatest of those men 
 who were destined to wield the gigantic power of 
 successful enterprise in developing the resources of 
 the continent, opening the great ways of communi- 
 cation through its vast territories and providing 
 the means of transportation for the products of 
 America to the markets of the world. 
 
 During his half century of active life in New 
 
 York, Mr. Schell has been conspicuous in most of 
 
 the literary, social, and charitable institutions which 
 
 have been so marked a feature of the period. 
 
 He has been for more than forty years one 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 
 
 4S7 
 
 of the most important members of the New York 
 Historical Society. As Chairman of its Execu- 
 tive Committee during the period of its greatest 
 labors and activity, and subsequently as President 
 of the Society, he rendered most valuable services, 
 best known and acknowledged by those who were 
 associated with him in the long and successful eifort 
 to place its treasures in a fire-proof building and 
 the institution on a permanent basis of prosperity ; 
 which will endure so long as the conservative policy 
 is continued which he maintained and aided to 
 estabUsh. 
 
 He has also been for thirty years an active 
 member of the Board of Trustees of the 
 New York Institution for the BUnd, and since 
 1866, its President. In this capacity, he is 
 an ex-officio member of the Board of Trustees 
 of the Roosevelt Hospital. He is also a 
 Trustee of the New York Eye and Ear 
 Infirmary. 
 
 During his long service in the Institution 
 for the Blind, he has been one of the most 
 active and liberal in promoting all improve- 
 ments and the advanced methods of instruc- 
 tion and treatment. Foremost in sympathy 
 for this class of unfortunates, who appeal so 
 strongly to the kindly regard of their fellow 
 men, Mr. Schell's hearty and effective labors 
 have been rewarded with abundant success 
 in this grand field of charitable effort. 
 
 In March, 1873, Mr. Schell married Miss 
 Anna M. Fox, daughter of George S. Fox, 
 and grand-daughter of Thomas Leggett, 
 prominent families belonging to the Society 
 of Friends. 
 
 Mr. Schell's career is a signal illustration 
 of what may be accomplished by a man who 
 is diligent in his caUing, and faithful to the 
 principles of an early training in rectitude 
 and personal honor, as well as just and 
 genuine self-respect. Winning reputation 
 and fortune, unaided by inheritance or 
 family influence, he has commanded success 
 in life, as well as deserved it ; and still enjoys the 
 fruits of his labors, in vigorous health, honored by 
 all who know him, and beloved by those who are 
 admitted to the privilege of his friendship and 
 regard. 
 
 CORNELIUS N. CAMPBELL, M. D. 
 
 Cornelius N. Campbell was born on the 7th of 
 July, 1825, in the town of Amenia, near Dover 
 Plains, Duchess County, N. Y. He attended vari- 
 ous schools in Amenia, and at Dover Plains, and 
 took a preparatory course for college at the 
 Amenia Seminary, then a flourishing, successful 
 institution. 
 
 In 1846 he commenced the study of medicine 
 and graduated from the medical department of the 
 New York University in 1849. He commenced the 
 practice of his profession in Pawling, Duchess Co., 
 and after a short time removed to Stanford, in the 
 
 same county, where he continued its practice, 
 only interrupted by representing his district one 
 term in the State Legislature, and his town two 
 years in the board of Supervisors of the county. 
 
 After the breaking out of the civil war, he 
 received the appointment of Surgeon of the isolh 
 Regiment N. Y. State Vols., on the 25th of Au- 
 gust, 1862, and served with his regiment during 
 the remainder of the war ; acting as Surgeon of 
 Brigade, and Surgeon-in-Chief of the ist Div., 20th 
 Army Corps until after the taking of Atlanta, Ga. 
 
 Photo, by Merritt & Myers, Poughkeepsie 
 
 (CORNELIUS N. CAMPBELL, M. D.) 
 
 He was present and took part in the battle of 
 Gettysburg with the Army of the Potomac, and 
 with the Army of the Cumberland under Generals 
 Thomas and Sherman at the battles of Resaca, 
 Dallas, New Hope Church, Cassville, Gulps Farm, 
 siege of Atlanta, and went with Sherman on his 
 " march to the sea," and did service at the battles 
 of Averysboro, Bentonville and Raleigh, and was 
 mustered out of the army .with his regiment, on 
 the 8th of June, 1865, after which he returned to 
 his home in Stanford. 
 
 The following spring he removed to Poughkeepsie 
 where he has since lived, and where he con- 
 tinues to practice his profession. 
 
 OTIS BISBEE. 
 
 Otis Bisbee, the founder and Principal of River- 
 view Academy, was born Feb. 14, 1822, in the 
 town of Chesterfield, Hampshire County, Mass. 
 
4S8 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 His father Job Bisbee, settled when the son was 
 about eleven years old, in EUicottville, Cattaraugus 
 County, in this State. Here he attended the dis- 
 trict school in his neighborhood from two to three 
 months each winter, till he was fifteen years old. 
 During the spring, summer and autumn he as- 
 sisted his father on the small farm, which, through 
 the combined efforts of father and son yielded but 
 a scanty subsistence to the family. Means were 
 indeed small enough. The country was new, and 
 cultivating the land among the stumps was a rough 
 business. 
 
 An incident may show something of the wild 
 character of the country, and, at the same time, a 
 trait in the character of the boy. At the age of 
 thirteen, being of large size, he was ambitious to 
 prove what he could do unaided, in the making of 
 maple sugar. The farm was long and narrow, ex- 
 tending from Great Valley Creek, on the border of 
 which the log house and barn stood, over rolling 
 ground, across a narrow valley, more than half a 
 mile away. At this end of the farm was a fine 
 growth of maple trees. It was his request to be 
 allowed to locate in this place his " sugar bush " and 
 "boiling place." Here he began in February to 
 dig his troughs, and otherwise get ready. He 
 tapped sixty-five trees, hired a caldron and made, 
 "sugaring off" by himself, a larger proportionate 
 yield of good sugar than was elsewhere made in 
 the neighborhood. One busy day he did not leave 
 the place till about ten o'clock in the evening. On 
 the next morning tracks of wolves following a deer 
 were seen near the " boiling-place." 
 
 The custom of working with his father, who was 
 well informed on a variety of subjects, served to 
 stimulate in the boy's mind a desire to avail 
 himself of any opportunity he might find for 
 improving his mind by reading and study. It would 
 happen in hoeing corn or digging potatoes, for 
 instance, that the attention would be given partly 
 to some discussion wherein questions would run 
 riot, while answers often came limping or failed to 
 appear. But in his case the awakening to thought 
 was doubtless more valuable to him than the acqui- 
 sition of knowledge relating to agriculture. 
 
 During the two years following he was restless, 
 and growing more and more dissatisfied with the 
 fruitlessness of the manner of life he was leading. 
 His schemes of change were incited and encour- 
 aged by the reading he fell upon, in biography and 
 history. In his seventeenth year, a severe axe-cut 
 in the ankle confined him to the house ; and 
 through the encouragement of father and mother, 
 he began to study up the matters, a knowledge of 
 which was supposed to qualify a youth to " teach 
 school." Discouraging work it was. Grammar 
 wouldn't come clear, and arithmetic was very per- 
 verse. Late autumn brought an opportunity and 
 an engagement to teach school in a back-woods 
 district. Then followed the examination by three 
 distinguished committee-men, and then the certifi- 
 cate. Not much boasting would be justified in 
 relation to the qualifications of the young teacher, 
 though he soon won the reputation of having com- 
 
 mon sense enough to manage the school. In March 
 following, the boy teacher, seventeen years of age, 
 set forth on foot, with moistened eyes, and a very 
 heavy heart, from the log-house where the mter- 
 twiningof family affections held him strongly bound, 
 and the associations of the neighborhood were dear 
 to him, to venture among strangers with the hope 
 that he might be able to pay a debt against his 
 father, and afterwards benefit himself. With severe 
 economy, he managed to pay the debt after labor- 
 ing three years. On one of those March days, 
 through mud, footsore, with all his worldly goods, 
 besides the clothes on his back, slung in a cotton 
 handkerchief over his shoulder, our sun-and-wind- 
 tanned youth was trudging through Canandaigua 
 eastward. In the same direction came a man rid- 
 ing a well-saddled horse, and leading one bare- 
 back. " Good Samaritan art thou indeed," thought 
 our youth as the horseman offered to let him ride 
 on the bare-back horse. He was going to Ca- 
 millus, he said, and it would not hurt the horse to 
 ride him. Stiffened by walking and a chilliness 
 that presaged fever, the limbs of our new rider 
 were so inflexible, and the sleek horse was so 
 plump and round that he seemed to himself to 
 require more than the art of a rope-dancer to keep 
 his seat, especially when his companion struck up 
 a trot. At a tavern near Auburn Free Bridge they 
 put up for the night. Supperless, save a dose of 
 brandy and a cracker, recommended to him as a 
 medicine, our young traveler retired. In the morn- 
 ing he awoke much improved, butfoundhis compan- 
 ion had taken a very early start, apparently to be rid 
 of him, and no wonder; for he had been a shiver- 
 ing, tefeth-chattering companion. 
 
 The four subsequent years were spent with his 
 uncles, who were to him then as strangers, in dairy- 
 farming in the county of Herkimer. Of these 
 years the last three were spent in the town of Fair- 
 field, where was located a celebrated academy and 
 a medical college. Here again school teaching 
 became the object of his ambition, and, after an 
 examination said to be satisfactory, he, at nineteen, 
 entered on teaching, which he continued several 
 subsequent winters, having, in the meantime, be- 
 gun study at Fairfield Academy. 
 
 In the spring of 1847 he entered third term 
 ■ sophomore, at Union College, before Dr. Nott had 
 become crippled by rheumatism. Being inclined 
 to steady habits he did not make the doctor's ac- 
 quaintance so soon as did some of his more lively 
 companions ; in fact, he never became intimate 
 with the celebrated doctor. In 1848 the Adelphic 
 Literary Society held its semi-centennial celebra- 
 tion, and for the term of office in which that cele- 
 bration took place, he was chosen president, and 
 thus had imposed on him the duty of welcoming 
 the Alumni back to the halls of the society. On 
 this occasion was seen the tact of Dr. Alonzo 
 Potter, who replied in behalf of the Alumpi, in 
 adroitly commingling reminiscences with express- 
 ions of .welcome in such a way as to encourage 
 confidence in the acting members. Dr. Potter 
 acted as president of the college during Dr. Nott's 
 
Photo, by Vail, Poughkeepsie. 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 
 
 459 
 
 sickness. It was not at this time an uncommon 
 thing for some of the students to make their trips 
 to and from college by the packet canal boat. 
 One such trip our student made with a lot of others 
 who were disposed to be merry on the way. It 
 happened at least once, that a noisy fellow in the 
 berth above felt himself raised by a force below 
 and landed on the floor. 
 
 He left college in the spring of 1849, to teach in 
 Mr. Chas. Bartlett's school on College Hill, and on 
 the graduation of his class was elected to member- 
 ship in the Phi Beta Kappa Society. In the year 
 1851 he married Miss Frances C. Bartlett, and in 
 1853 built a house for a dwelling and school on the 
 south-west corner of Mill and Hamilton streets, 
 Poughkeepsie. In 1857, on the death of Mr. 
 Chas. Bartlett, he became, in company with Mr. 
 Chas. B. Warring, the accomplished principal of 
 Poughkeepsie Military Institute, associate prin- 
 cipal of the Poughkeepsie Collegiate School. 
 
 Mr. Warring having retired in the spring of 1862, 
 he changed the character of the school by intro- 
 ducing the military element which it has since re- 
 tained. In 1866 he erected the building known 
 as the Riverview Academy, and in the spring of 
 the next year removed to the new quarters. 
 
 THOMAS G. NICHOLS. 
 
 Thomas Grier Nichols was born in Boston, 
 Mass., on the 8th of January, 1833. The follow- 
 ing year he removed with his parents to the then 
 village (now city) of Poughkeepsie where his father 
 and mother died in old age and where he himself 
 has since resided. 
 
 Early in life Thomas was apprenticed to the 
 printing business, and thoroughly acquired that art 
 in all its branches. Immediately upon the close of 
 his apprenticeship, and at the age of nineteen he 
 started the first office ever established in Pough- 
 keepsie for job printing exclusively. 
 
 The following May (1852) he founded the 
 Daily Press which was the first successful daily 
 newspaper upon the Hudson River between the 
 cities of Albany and New York. In this early en- 
 terprise he was materially aided by the late Mat- 
 thew Vassar, who was subsequently the founder of 
 Vassar College, and also by the illustrious inventor 
 of telegraphy. Prof. S. F. B. Morse, both of whom 
 continued their friendship through their remarka- 
 ble lives. In 1858 he disposed of his interest in 
 that paper. 
 
 In 1868, at the urgent pressure of many of his in- 
 fluential fellow citizens he was induced to establish 
 another daily under the title of the Daily News 
 which he continued to publish for several years, 
 until he was compelled to retire from its man- 
 agement by broken health. This paper subse- 
 quently passed into the hands of Hon. J. O. White- 
 house. 
 
 In the winter of 1872, Mr. Nichols was suffi- 
 ciently recovered to enable him to accede to the 
 
 desires of his fellow citizens of prominence, by re- 
 turning to his favorite occupation. This he did by 
 establishing the Sunday Courier, the only Sunday 
 paper on the Hudson River between New York 
 and Albany, of which he is still sole editor and 
 proprietor, and which has reahzed altogether un- 
 precedented success. The two editions of this 
 newspaper, Sunday and Monday, seemed to meet 
 exactly the public demand, and have reached a 
 circulation never before known upon the banks of 
 the Hudson between the two cities which hmit its 
 navigable extremes. The Courier became at once, 
 and has continued to be, the representative news- 
 paper of the city and county where it is published. 
 
 (THOMAS G. NICHOLS.) 
 
 The ideal journalist should be free from sectarian) 
 partisan or personal bias, and this idea has been 
 exemplified in and has been one of the main un- 
 derlying causes of the success of the ventures 
 which have marked the career of this successful 
 journalist. 
 
 All the leading enterprises which have marked 
 the career of Poughkeepsie have been inaugurated 
 since Mr. Nichols has been an -active editor, and 
 to all these his pen has actively contributed. All 
 local improvements, public and private, enlisted his 
 energies and advocacy. As early as 1854, he fore- 
 saw the advantages and necessities for a railroad to 
 the Connecticut line, and of a connection between 
 the cities and manufactories of the East and the 
 coal fields of the West by means of a bridge across 
 the Hudson River at Poughkeepsie, and to these 
 important elements of civic prosperity he then be- 
 gan to call the attention of the public through his 
 publications, and he may therefore justly be re- 
 garded as the pioneer in these great undertakings. 
 
 The change of local government from the village 
 to city form, the successful water and sewerage sys- 
 tem, the city railroad and the various manufactur- 
 ing and other enterprises, which have rendered the 
 
460 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 place of his residence most attractive, healthful and 
 prosperous, are all largely indebted to his skillful 
 advocacy. 
 
 At the foundation of this career lies the fact that 
 Mr. Nichols has had a perfect knowledge of the 
 art of printing — past and present in all its forms — 
 a fact which has been exhibited in all his publica- 
 tions. Added to this pre-requisite, are those traits 
 which in such a career are prophecies of success 
 and final public respect. Among these are inde- 
 pendence, fearlessness, sagacity, persistence and a 
 natural sympathy for enterprise, morality and 
 justice toward all, for all and in all. Cruelty, 
 injustice and pretense in all the forms of cant, 
 hyprocracy and sham, the assumptions of wealth 
 and power against the poor or helpless, have 
 always enlisted the utmost critical powers of a pen 
 remarkable for keen and discriminating judgment 
 and force. It is not singular that such a man so 
 endowed and so prepared, should reach his ele- 
 vated rank in provincial journalism, and that the 
 temporary criticism which always follows inde- 
 pendence should prove wholly evanescent and 
 close in the unanimous judgment, that the work of 
 such a life has proved a beneficence to every 
 worthy public and private interest, especially to 
 the community most accessible and most deeply 
 permeated by its influence. 
 
 JAMES HOOKER. 
 
 James Hooker, Esq., the subject of this sketch, 
 was descended from one of the oldest and most 
 influential New England families. The Hookers 
 settled early in or near Hartford, in Connecticut, 
 and are honorably connected with its early history! 
 Thomas Hooker was first minister of Hartford, 
 born in Marshfield, Leicestershire, England, in 
 1586, educated at Emanuel College, Cambridge, 
 of which he was elected Fellow ; was chosen Lec- 
 turer in 1626, but silenced for non-conformity. In 
 1633, he came to New England, preached for a 
 time at Cambridge, but in June, 1636, removed 
 to, and commenced the settlement of Hartford, 
 where he continued his ministry until his death in 
 1647. 
 
 He was eminent for talent and learning — of 
 great dignity and energy as a preacher and one of 
 the best and most useful founders of the Colonies. 
 (Lempriere's Biog. Diet. 2 Vol. page 69.) The 
 venerable President Dwight thus writes of Rev. 
 Thomas Hooker : " On the affairs of the infant 
 colony (Connecticut) his influence was command- 
 ing. Little was done without his approbation, 
 and almost everything which he approved was done 
 of course" (Dwight's Travels p 238.) "He was 
 mvited to be a member of that memorable body, 
 the Westminister Assembly of Divines, which was 
 convened in London, A. D., 1642, and which gave 
 to the world those admirable digests of religious 
 faith and practice. The Larger and Shorter West- 
 mimster Catechism;' (Life of Thomas Hooker 
 page 130.) 
 
 His son. Rev. Samuel Hooker, of Farmington, 
 Massachusetts, married Mary Willet. 
 
 Their son, Nathaniel Hooker, married Mary 
 Stanley. Their son, Nathaniel Hooker, of Hart- 
 ford, married Eunice Talcott, daughter of Gov- 
 ernor Talcott. Their son, James Hooker, married 
 Mary Chaffee, and their son, James Hooker, the 
 subject of this sketch, was born at Windsor, Con- 
 necticut, A. D., 1792. 
 
 He entered Yale College about the year 1806, 
 and was graduated honorably in the year 1810, 
 two of his classmates being the Hon. Prof. S. F. B. 
 Morse and Hon. Severen Bryne Hasbrook, formerly 
 President of Rutgers College, New Jersey. 
 
 In looking round for a suitable place to settle 
 and commence the study of law, to which he 
 intended to devote his life, he selected the then vil- 
 lage of Poughkeepsie, at that time the residence of 
 some of the most influential lawyers of that day — 
 Hon. James Emott, afterwards Supreme Court Cir- 
 cuit Judge J Thomas J. Oakley, for many years 
 Chief Justice of the Superior Court of the city of 
 New York; Hon. James Tallmadge, Lieut-Gov- 
 ernor of New York ; Philo Ruggles Sr., and others 
 of eminence in the profession. 
 
 Mr. Hooker after completing his studies in the 
 office of Philo Ruggles, Sr., where Hon. Samuel B. 
 Ruggles and Philo T. Ruggles were his co-stu- 
 dents, was licensed and became a partner of the 
 elder Ruggles in the practice of the law. He was 
 a close student ; had a keen discriminating mind 
 well stored with the principles of equity and the 
 common law, and was soon regarded as one of the 
 soundest and safest counsellors in the county. 
 
 Among the younger members of the profession, 
 it was like stalking into the presence of the King, 
 to venture upon the dutyofdrawing a bill in equity, 
 but Mr. Hooker was not long in entering upon this 
 field of competition with older counsel, who up to 
 this time held exclusive possession of this almost 
 untrodden domain. 
 
 Mr. Hooker, on January 24, 1816, was married 
 to Helen S. Reade, youngest daughter of John 
 and Catharine Reade, residents of Poughkeepsie ; 
 the eldest daughter of Mrs. Reade being married to 
 Nicholas W. Stuyvesant of New York, and the 
 second, to Robert Kearny. Two daughters were 
 born to Mr. and Mrs. Hooker, Catharine L., after- 
 wards married to John W. Hamersley, Esq., of 
 New York, and Mary, who died in early life. 
 
 Mr. Hooker, on the removal of Mr. Ruggles to 
 the city of New York, formed a law partnership 
 with Hon. N. P. Tallmadge, and together they 
 wielded the power and controlled the patronage of 
 the Democratic party in the county of Duchess. 
 
 Mr. Hooker was appointed Surrogate of the 
 County by the Governor, which office he held to 
 the perfect satisfaction of the bar and of the peo- 
 ple, for sixteen years consecutively. Mr. Tallmadge 
 at the same time held the office of Supreme Court 
 Commissioner, then embracing most of the 
 duties now performed by the Judge of County 
 Courts. They were ardent supporters of General 
 Jackson's administration, and in constant inter- 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 
 
 461 
 
 course with Mr. Van Buren, Governor Marcy and 
 Silas Wright, in fact, the Democratic party in this 
 State under such management was all but invin- 
 cible. As early as the year 1845, having acquired 
 an ample independence, and after the marriage of 
 his daughter, he substantially retired from the active 
 duties of his profession, and spent his leisure in 
 literary studies, and in the care of his extensive 
 landed property, a great portion of which has 
 descended to his wife in an unbroken succession 
 from Queen Anne. He was one of the first pro- 
 posers of the Hudson River Railroad and 
 continued its zealous and unflagging sup- 
 porter till its completion ; was one of its 
 first Board of Directors and continued as 
 such till his decease. 
 
 He anticipated the growth of Pough- 
 keepsie from 1840 to 1865, and made 
 landed investments which became valuable 
 after his decease. 
 
 He died suddenly, September 3, 1858, 
 leaving his daughter and widow surviving 
 him. He had only one grandson, James 
 Hooker Hamersley, Esq., now of the city of 
 New York, to whom he devised his family 
 homestead. Mr. Hooker was a sincere 
 christian, a devoted husband, a tender and 
 affectionate father and grandfather, a loyal 
 friend and an esteemed and respected 
 citizen. He was tall in stature, of noble 
 presence, his bearing was manly, courtly 
 and urbane, combining a cordial manner 
 with great conversational powers, in fact a 
 happy type of the almost extinct " gentle- 
 man of the old school." 
 
 attended the old Duchess Academy in Pough- 
 keepsie until he was eighteen years of age, when 
 he commenced the study of medicine in his father's 
 office. He attended the College of Physicians 
 and Surgeons in New York during the years 1848 
 and '49, and commenced the practice of his pro- 
 fession in Poughkeepsie in 1850. Here he re- 
 mained one year, then practiced at Wappingers 
 Falls one year, after which he returned to Pough- 
 keepsie, where he has continued in practice to the 
 present time. 
 
 JOHN R. COOPER, M. D. 
 
 John Reed Cooper, the subject of this 
 brief sketch, was born in the city of Pough- 
 keepsie, January25, 1828. He is a son 
 of John and Rebecca (Hardenbrook) 
 Cooper. The father was bom in Fish- 
 kill, N. Y., June 6, 1786, and died in 
 Poughkeepsie in 1863. The mother 
 was born in New York City in August, 
 1793, and died in Poughkeepsie in 1862. 
 
 John Cooper, M. D., studied for his profession 
 in Fishkill and graduated from the College of Phy- 
 sicians and Surgeons in New York, after which he 
 came to Poughkeepsie and practiced medicine 
 until the breaking out of the war of 181 2, when 
 he entered the service of the United States. He 
 was stationed at Fort Dearborn, where the city of 
 Chicago is now located, remaining there till the close 
 of the war, when he returned to Poughkeepsie and 
 practiced his profession until his death. 
 
 John and Rebecca Cooper were the parents of 
 thirteen children, eleven daughters and two sons, 
 all now dead except one daughter, Margaret Jane 
 Adams, residing at Bath, on the Hudson, and John 
 Reed, the subject of our present sketch. John R. 
 
 Photo, by M. Smith Poughkeepsie 
 
 In 185 1, Dr. Cooper married Aletta J., daughter 
 of William and Eliza (Fanning) Schenck, of the 
 city of Brooklyn. They have one child, William 
 S.J born in 1852, now living in New York City. 
 
 In 1 86 1, Dr. Cooper entered the service of the 
 Government as Surgeon of the 5th New York 
 Cavalry and was mostly in the Shenandoah Valley. 
 His regiment was in Gen. Banks' Army and was 
 \^th that command in its retreat before Stonewall 
 Jackson's Army from Strasburg to Williamsport. 
 
 He was in the service fourteen months when he 
 was obliged to resign his commission in order to 
 attend business connected with the death of his 
 mother, not being able to obtain a furlough for that 
 purpose. 
 
 In politics Dr. Cooper has always been a Repub- 
 
46 z 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 lican and was elected to the office of Supervisor for 
 one term. He has represented his ward as Alder- 
 man twelve years. In religious sentiment he is an 
 Episcopalian. 
 
 In early boyhood it was said of John R. that he 
 was a "chip of the old block; " his tastes and mental 
 characteristics being so marked and identified with 
 those of his father. In medicine their practice 
 was "heroic." So in their intercourse with men 
 they never occupied equivocal grounds. 
 
 The writer who has enjoyed the acquaintance of 
 both father and son since 
 1838, and who was never a 
 patron of either, calls to 
 mind a somewhat remark- 
 able law suit, in which the 
 elder Dr. Cooper was a 
 prominent figure, which will 
 be given as one illustration 
 of the qualities alluded to. 
 At the time he Was President 
 of the Duchess County Med- 
 ical Society, a young gentle- 
 man had passed the proper 
 examination and was ap- 
 proved for learning ; Presi- 
 dent Cooper refused to sign 
 his license on the ground of ; 
 the immoral character of the 
 applicant, who thereupon 
 brought suit against the' 
 President. The. doctor de- 
 fended himself with his 
 characteristic resolution. It 
 is enough to add, that the 
 subsequent course of the 
 young man more than justi- 
 
 tional Church, at Jericho Centre, Vt., January 22, 
 1845. During his pastorate here, which ended 
 January 2, 1850, he was for two years Superintend- 
 ent of the common schools in Chittenden County, 
 Vt. On the 29th of May, 1850, Mr. Wheeler 
 became pastor of the Congregational Church, in 
 Brandon, Vt. While there he was appointed Sec- 
 retary of the Vermont Sabbath School Union, also 
 one of the examining committee of the University 
 of Vermont. 
 
 On the 7th of September, 1854, he was dismissed 
 from the church in Brandon 
 and immediately removed 
 to Saco, Maine, where on 
 the 6th of December, 1854, 
 he assumed the pastoral 
 charge of the First Congre- 
 gational Church. His pas- 
 torate there was one o 
 marked success and power, 
 resulting in large accessions 
 to his church. During the 
 winter of 181; 7-' 8, there was 
 a wonderful display of Divine 
 grace in his congregation. 
 For three months, meetings 
 were held every day, at 
 which the pastor himself 
 oliiciated, preaching and 
 \ isiting from house to house. 
 In this revival many prom- 
 inent professional and busi- 
 ness men with their famihes 
 were brought into the 
 church; making the sacra- 
 mental days in May and 
 July of 1858, days never 
 
 ^/^^^^i^^ y^. '^A^^^cZc^ 
 
 fied the wisdom of Dr. Cooper's action. He was 
 of the first class of the old school of medicine and 
 may fitly be written a nobleman. 
 
 FRANCIS B. WHEELER, D. D. 
 
 Francis Brown Wheeler was born in North 
 Adams, Mass., of ministerial descent; his father 
 grandfather and four uncles having been clergy- 
 men. He was graduated at the University of 
 Vermont in 1842. Ex- Vice-President Wheeler 
 Hon. John Kasson, late U. S. Minister to Austria, 
 Hon. Robert S. Hale and Hon. E. J. Hamilton 
 were among his class-mates. ' 
 
 Having studied theology at Andover Theologi- 
 cal Seminary, and with the Rev. J. W. Ward, an 
 eminent Theologian of Massachusetts, he was or- 
 dained and installed as pastor of the Congrega- 
 
 to be forgotten in the annals of Maine church 
 history. The health of his family compelled Mr. 
 Wheeler to relinquish this interestinf field to which 
 he was bound by ties stronger than death, and 
 accept a call from the First Presbyterian Church 
 of Poughkeepsie, N. Y., over which church he was 
 installed on the r2th of May, 1859, having been 
 dismissed from Saco, March 2d, r859, against the 
 earnest and affectionate remonstrance of his people. 
 During his ministry in Poughkeepsie there has 
 been a constant and increasing demand for his 
 labors, so that all his powers have been taxed in 
 the accumulating cares and responsibilities of a 
 large congregation and protracted pastorate. Fre- 
 quent additions have been made to his church and 
 at two different times there have been special re- 
 vival ingatherings. He has had many ecclesiastical 
 honors, Hamilton College having conferred the 
 honorary distinction of S. T. D., or Doctor of 
 Divinity, upon him in 1868, the honorary degree 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 
 
 463 
 
 of A. M. having been given him by his Alma 
 Mater in 1845. I"' 1878, President Hayes appoint- 
 ed him as one of the Board of Visitors at West 
 Point Military Academy. 
 
 Dr. Wheeler has been a voluminous writer for 
 the religious and secular press, has published 
 many sermons, given special addresses on many 
 public occasions and is the author of several hymns, 
 some of which have found their way into books of 
 praise. 
 
 In all National affairs he has been earnest and 
 outspoken, though catholic in spirit and conserva- 
 tive in tone ; in the civil war a bold and uncom- 
 promising advocate of governmental rights and 
 securities against all sectionalism. In religion he 
 belongs to the Calvinistic school, but is broadly 
 and thoroughly identified with all true progress, 
 wherever found. 
 
 In his preaching he is simple, practical and 
 emotional, free and unconstrained in manner, with 
 rare gifts in extemporaneous utterance. 
 
 One of the secrets of Dr. Wheeler's uniform 
 success in his ministerial labors, is the fact that he 
 never deals in the cant or the stock phrases some- 
 times found in pulpit oratory. He is earnest with- 
 out wearying and carries a vein of logical common 
 sense to the understanding, so that his appeals to 
 the conscience and sense of duty rest upon stable 
 and lasting foundations. He is never in a tumult, 
 but leaves the truth to work its way into the char- 
 acter; thus accessions to his church, in most in- 
 stances, come to stay, and since his connection 
 with the church at Poughkeepsie it has grown to 
 be Qne of the most stable churches in that -beauti- 
 ful city. 
 
 Another of his peculiar excellencies ought to be 
 mentioned, which is that his pulpit exercises are 
 not permitted to interfere with his pastoral offices. 
 While he is punctual in his visitations during the 
 week, his pulpit does not suffer, and hearts which 
 have been comforted at home are enlightened in 
 the house of God. 
 
 While he adopts the Presbyterian confessions as 
 substance of doctrine, he is not a controversialist, 
 or a dogmatist, but his preaching is practical and 
 is justified by its fruits. His eminent conservatism 
 during the twenty-three years of his ministry in a 
 congregation holding some of the most progressive 
 elements has kept the church harmonious and in 
 good working order. 
 
 May he live long to be their minister and friend. 
 
 GEORGE BOOTH. 
 
 George Booth came to the U. S. A. from Holm- 
 firth, Yorkshire, England, in 1796. He was a 
 cloth manufacturer, and brought the first carding 
 machine ever introduced into this country. He 
 came to Poughkeepsie, thence he went to what 
 was then called the valley of the Connecticut, and 
 
 is now the State of New Hampshire. He returned 
 to Po\ighkeepsie and set up his cloth factory there 
 about 1808. In 1810 he received the second prize 
 for cloths at the State Fair in Albany. In 181 1 
 he received the first prize for the best specimens of 
 cloths manufactured in New York State. Both 
 prizes were silver punch bowls, the larger of which 
 has a capacity of nine quarts. He was the first 
 manufacturer of Woolen cloth in Duchess County. 
 His factory was built on the south side of Fallkill 
 creek, near where Pelton's carpet factory now is. 
 He made the Pond now called Pelton's pond j it 
 was formerly called Booth's pond, and is still used 
 by the various factories situated near it. He 
 married a sister of the late Matthew Vassar, 
 founder of Vassar College. It was in a cellar of 
 George Booth's factory and with money loaned by 
 him that Matthew Vassar began his beer brewery, 
 which in after years led to such extension of the 
 cause of female education. 
 
 George Booth died in Poughkeepsie in 1836. 
 Several U. S. Patents, issued to him in 1812, for 
 improvements in machinery for cloth manufacture 
 are still in existence. Mr. Booth was the father 
 of thirteen children, several of whom with grand- 
 children and great-grandchildren, are residents of 
 the County. 
 
 MEMBERS OF THE POUGHKEEPSIE BAR. 
 
 Among the most distinguished lawyers at the 
 Duchess County Bar prior to 1816, were James 
 Kent, James Emott, James Tallmadge, Stephen 
 Eno, Thomas J. Oakley, James Hooker, Henry 
 Swift, John Brush, Abraham Bockde, Philo Ruggles 
 and Leonard Mason, whose names are historic. The 
 works of Chancellor Kent have long been the stand- 
 ards in jurisprudence. Tallmadge was long promi- 
 nent in law poUtics and letters; Brush as a General, 
 Bockde and Mason as Senators, Emott and Oakley 
 as Judges, Ruggles, Eno and Swift as Lawyers. 
 In 1816 an " Act to suppress dueUing " was passed ; 
 thereafter when the attorney took his oath of 
 abjuration and allegiance and of "honest demean- 
 or in practice," he was also required to swear to 
 sustain this act in regard to duelling. Up to 1824 
 thirty-six attorneys took this oath, among whom 
 are found the following illustrious names : Edward 
 Livingston, Nathaniel P. Tallmadge, Jacob Van 
 Benthuysen, Stephen Cleveland, Samuel B. Rug- 
 gles, Robert Wilkinson, Richard D. Davis, Robert 
 Schuyler, Samuel VerPlanck, David V. N. RadcUff, 
 William Eno and John A. Livingston. 
 
 From 1824 to 1828, eleven attorneys were ad- 
 mitted among whom were, Samuel V. Hoffman, 
 Cyrus Mason, John V. A. Lyle, John W. Knevals, 
 John Rowley, Robert W. Oakley, John B. Van 
 Ness and Ulysses Cole, of whom the latter survives. 
 
 From 1828 to 1844, sixty lawyers were granted 
 licenses and among those whose memories are still 
 
464 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 cherished are the departed Isaac M. Newcomb, 
 V. D. Bonesteel, Joseph H. Jackson, Eliphaz Fay, 
 Robert B. Taylor, W. W. Woodworth,W. I. Street, 
 Seward Barculo, H. D. Varick.WilUam Wilkinson, 
 C. W. Swift, Walter Reynolds, Robert Barnard, 
 Gilbert Dean and Charles J. Ruggles ; and of this 
 classification only the following are in active prac- 
 tice as members of the Poughkeepsie Bar, viz : 
 John Thompson, LeGrand Dodge, Cyrus Swan 
 and John P. H. Tallman, while Joseph F. Barnard 
 is the Presiding Justice of the Supreme Court in 
 this department, and James Emott, Jr. and T. C. 
 Campbell are engaged in professional pursuits in 
 New York City, and Owen T. Coffin is Surrogate 
 of Westchester county; Judge E. Q. Eldridge 
 having honorably retired from practice. 
 
 LeGrand Dodge, born in PawHng, Duchess 
 County, June 29, 1815, was educated at Dover 
 Academy, and admitted to the bar in 1841. He 
 has practiced law in Poughkeepsie since his ad- 
 mission; was six years Master in Chancery; has 
 been thirty years Secretary and Treasurer of the 
 Duchess County Mutual Insurance Company ; is 
 Vice-President of the Merchants' National Bank, 
 and was for many years a director of the Pough- 
 keepsie Savings Bank. 
 
 This latter class and a few of the two preced- 
 ing classes were fortunate in their professional life 
 in the construction of the court, where their attend- 
 ance was most frequent apd important. 
 
 Poughkeepsie was the residence of Charles H. 
 Ruggles who for many years^ was Vice-Chancellor, 
 Circuit Judge and Supreme Court Judge for the 
 circuit including Duchess. In his court respect- 
 ful attention, patient investigation and impartial 
 determination were sure of attainment. Judge 
 Ruggles and his court were always peculiarly popu- 
 lar with the younger members of the Bar. He was 
 dignified in person, kind in heart, clear in intellect 
 and spotless in character. He was a member of the 
 State Constitutional Convention of 1846, and was 
 one of the first members of the Court of Appeals, 
 on the adoption of the new constitution. Those 
 who knew and survive Judge Ruggles, hold his 
 memory in veneration. He was succeeded by 
 Hon. Seward Barculo, who was succeeded by the 
 appointment of the Hon. Gilbert Dean, followed 
 by Hon. James Emott, Jr., on whose retirement 
 the Hon. Joseph F. Barnard was elected. A fitting 
 tribute to Justice Barculo will be found in the 20th 
 Barbour's Supreme Court Reports, page 661. 
 
 At present there are nominally more than eighty 
 members of the Poughkeepsie bar. Many of these 
 are out of active practice and quite a large num- 
 ber have been recently admitted to practice who 
 have not yet fairly estabUshed themselves in busi- 
 ness, or developed a capacity to take a position 
 among their older professional brethren, nor shown 
 the abihty to rise to distinction in their profes- 
 sion. Of those who are, and have for any consid- 
 erable number of years been in active practice, in 
 addition to those above mentioned, we should. 
 
 name as probably the most prominent, James H. 
 Weeks, Leonard B. Sackett, Charles Wheaton, 
 Henry M. Taylor, Milton A. Fowler, Daniel W. 
 Guernsey, Edward Crunmey, Walter Farrington, 
 Robert E. Taylor, William I. Thorn, Orlando D. 
 M. Baker, James L. Williams, William R. Woodin, 
 B. Piatt Carpenter, John Hackett, Henry E. Losey, 
 Alfred B. Smith, and Robert F. Wilkinson. Bio- 
 graphical sketches of Messrs. Thompson, Tallman, 
 Carpenter and Swan are given elsewhere, and only 
 brief reference can be made to each of the others. 
 James H. Weeks is a native of Poughkeepsie, 
 and is now upwards of sixty years of age. His 
 practice has always been carried on in this city, 
 and during the whole of his professional career he 
 has been a partner of Hon. John Thompson. He 
 has filled many public positions of honor and trust, 
 and always acceptably. He at one time repre- 
 sented his district in the Assembly and during his 
 term was chairman of the Judiciary committee. 
 
 Leonard B. Sackett was born in the town of 
 Washington, in Duchess County in 1822. He 
 received his education at Amenia Seminary in this 
 County, and was admitted to practice in 1847. 
 Was at one time the law partner of Hon. Gilbert 
 Dean. Has held the office of County Treasurer 
 for two terms ; was a member of the Board of 
 Education of the city for twelve years, and Presi- 
 dent of the Board for three years. Has several 
 times been the candidate of his party for County 
 Judge and Mayor of the city. 
 
 Milton A. Fowler was born at Claverack in 
 Columbia county in 1835. He was educated at 
 Claverack Academy andRutger's College,and after 
 an attendance at the Albany Law School was ad- 
 mitted to practice in March, 1857. He came to 
 Poughkeepsie in 1868, and has since resided here. 
 Has held the office of Surrogate, President of the 
 City Water Board and other offices of public trust. Is 
 now the Vice-President of the Duchess County 
 Mutual Fire Insurance Company. 
 
 Daniel W. Guernsey was born in Stanford, Duch- 
 ess County in 1834. His education was obtained at 
 the Newburgh Academy. He was admitted to the 
 bar in March, 1856. During the strife in Kansas 
 which preceded the admission of that State into 
 the Union, he was a resident of that territory. He 
 entered the army early in the late war, served three 
 years, and at the close held a captain's commission. 
 He then came to Poughkeepsie, in the neighbor- 
 hood of which he has since resided and carried on 
 a successful practice. 
 
 Charles Wheaton is a native of Duchess County ; 
 was educated at WiUiam and Mary's College, Va. 
 Since his admission to practice he has resided in 
 Poughkeepsie. He is a successful advocate, has 
 creditably filled the office of County Judge, and 
 has received distinguished honors from the Demo- 
 cratic party of which he is a prominent member. 
 
 Henry M. Taylor has also held the office of 
 County Judge of this County. 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 
 
 46s 
 
 Walter Farrington, was born in the town of 
 LaGrange, in this County, in 1829. He is a 
 descendant from one of the oldest families of the 
 County. Nearly a century ago his grandfather 
 was a large real estate owner in the southern part 
 of this County and Putnam. His father served 
 his country in the war of 1812. Mr. Farrington 
 studied in the office of Hon. Homer A. Nelson, 
 and was admitted to the bar in December, 1857. 
 Since that time he has carried on the practice in 
 this City. He has been Supervisor of his ward, 
 and a member of the Board of Education of this 
 City. He has taken an active and prominent part 
 in the temperance movement, andhas several times 
 been nominated by the Prohibition party for some 
 of the highest offices in the State. 
 
 William I. Thorn, is a native of Duchess Coun- 
 ty. Was admitted to practice in 1861. Was at 
 one time the law partner of Hon. Homer A. Nel- 
 son and Hon. Erastus Cooke. He is a prominent 
 politician in this County, an able advocate, and 
 has filled the office of District Attorney for the 
 County and also that of City Attorney. 
 
 Edward Crunmey was admitted to the bar in 
 1856, and has since that time resided and prac- 
 ticed in this City- He has shown but Httle ambi- 
 tion for public office, and has been successful in 
 the practice of his profession. For several years 
 he has been very active in the temperance move- 
 ment, and is a distinguished advocate of that 
 cause. 
 
 Robert E. Taylor, is a graduate of Yale College, 
 and a native of this county. He is an industrious 
 lawyer ; was for several years the City Chamber- 
 lain of the City, and afterwards for twelve years 
 held the office of Recorder. He is now the attor- 
 ney for the Poughkeepsie Savings Bank. 
 
 William R. Woodin, was born in Pine Plains, in 
 this County, and graduated at Trinity College. He 
 was captain in a Duchess County regiment during 
 the war, and since its close has been apractitioner 
 in this City. He is now District Attorney of this 
 County. 
 
 James L. Williams, was born in Duchess County, 
 and has been in practice in this City for about six- 
 teen years. Has been District Attorney of the 
 County. 
 
 O. D. M. Baker was born in Hyde Park July 
 31st, 1842. Was educated in the Duchess County 
 Academy. Admitted to the bar in December, 
 1863, andhas since practiced in this city. Has 
 held the office of City Attorney and for nine years 
 has been a member of the Board of Education. 
 He was the Democratic nominee for Congress in 
 1878. 
 
 Alfred B. Smith is a native of St. Lawrence 
 county. He graduated at Union College. Was 
 admitted to the bar in 1855, since which time he 
 has followed his profession in Poughkeepsie. He 
 has been for thirty years a member of the Board of 
 
 Education, and is now the President of the Board. 
 Has been Postmaster at Poughkeepsie. He en- 
 tered the army as Major of the 150th N. Y. Vols., 
 and rose successively to the rank of Lieut-Colonel 
 and Colonel of the Regiment, and was by brevet 
 Brigadier- General. 
 
 Robert F. Wilkinson was born in Poughkeepsie 
 June loth, 1843. Graduated at Williams College. 
 Was admitted to the bar in 1866, and has practiced 
 in Poughkeepsie since his admission. Served in 
 the U. S. army from 1862 to 1865, as Captain and 
 Major of infantry and as Judge Advocate and In- 
 spector General on Division and Corps Staff. 
 Brevetted Lieut-Colonel and Colonel. Has held 
 the office of Assistant Assessor in the Internal 
 Revenue department, and is at present Recorder 
 of the city. 
 
 Gerome Williams ■washorn in thiscountyin 1824, 
 was for several years town clerk and justice of the 
 peace, was admitted to the bar in 1858, and has 
 continued in successful practice to the present 
 time. 
 
 Tristram Coffin is a native of the County, was 
 admitted to practice in 1864, and has been the 
 County District Attorney. 
 
 Wm. Morgan Lee was born in Poughkeepsie in 
 1838, admitted to the bar in 1866, was connected 
 with the Enrollment Department for this district 
 during the war, has been Supervisor, City Cham- 
 berlain, and is the present City Attorney of Pough- 
 keepsie. 
 
 Hon. Homer A. Nelson is a native of Duchess 
 County, where he has always resided. He was edu- 
 cated at the Duchess County Academy, and read law 
 in the office of Tallman & Dean, Poughkeepsie. He 
 has held the offices of County Judge, Colonel of N. 
 Y. Volunteers, Congressman and Secretary of 
 State ; is a member of the present State Senate and 
 Chairman of its Judiciary Committee. For several 
 years his principal law office has been in New York 
 City, where an extensive and responsible business 
 is transacted. 
 
 Joh7i Hackett is a native of Hyde Park, Duchess 
 County, and from an unpromising beginning, en- 
 countering and overcoming embarrassing obstacles, 
 he has rapidly arisen to better than a fair standing in 
 his profession. As Assistant District Attorney, he 
 is entitled to share in the honor which distinguished 
 the administration of his partner, W. Williams, as 
 the District Attorney of the County. His perse- 
 verence and industry are unsurpassed, and no man 
 in the County is more entitled to the appeUation of 
 a self-made man than John Hackett. 
 
 Edgar Thorn was born Dec. i, 1804, in the 
 town of Poughkeepsie, and his pursuits were agri- 
 cultural until he was about fifty years of age when 
 he was licensed, ex gracia, at Albany, N. Y., to 
 practice law having, at that time, been elected to 
 the office of Surrogate of the County, the duties 
 of which he performed for the whole term credit- 
 
466 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 ably. Since his retirement from oflSce, he has 
 pursued his profession until the present. While a 
 farmer he frequently represented his town m the 
 Board of Supervisors, and was two years President 
 of the Duchess County Agricultural Society. 
 
 Peter Borland was born March 23, 1815, at 
 Fishkill Plains, in this County. His grandfather, 
 Enoch Dorland, was a recommended minister of 
 the Society of Friends. Peter was educated at 
 Tones' Academy, Quaker Hill, and was mainly oc- 
 cupied in teaching school until his thirty-ninth year, 
 when he was admitted to the bar, and removed to 
 Poughkeepsie in the spring of i860, on his election 
 to the office of Surrogate. His administration was 
 so popular that he was twice re-elected and held 
 the Surrogacy fourteen years. 
 
 / S. VanCleef was born at Athens, N. Y., is 
 son of Rev. Cornelius VanCleef, D.D., was edu- 
 cated at Rutger College, and admitted to the bar 
 in 1856, and has practiced law in Poughkeepsie 
 since 1858, with industry and success. Has been 
 a member of the Board of Education seven years, 
 a director of the Merchants' National Bank ten or 
 twelve years and one of its attorneys. Mr. Van- 
 Cleef is an active member of the church of his 
 father, (Reformed Dutch,) and is distinguished 
 as an amateur organist. 
 
 C. B. Herrick is a native of the County, was 
 born August 15, 1845, educated at Yale College, 
 admitted to the bar in 1870, and has practiced law 
 in Poughkeepsie since admission. 
 
 Allard Anthony, a brilliant young lawyer, District 
 Attorney and County Judge, prematurely died three 
 years ago. 
 
 The space allotted to this department will not 
 allow special reference to R. H. Hunter, and 
 others, worthy of a more extended notice. 
 
 THE MEDICAL PROFESSION OF 
 POUGHKEEPSIE. 
 
 Of the physicians practicing in Poughkeepsie, 
 A. B. Harvey, M. D., a descendant from old 
 Revolutionary ancestry in Massachusetts, was 
 born in 181 7. After receiving an education at the 
 Hopkinton Academy, N. H., and graduating in 
 medicine at the Vermont Medical School, he 
 commenced practice in this city in 1844. He was 
 at one time president of the County Medical 
 Society, and is now one of the physicians to St. 
 Barnabas Hospital. 
 
 The next in seniority as to residence, is Dr. 
 John R. Cooper, born in this city in 1828, who 
 commenced practice in 1848. (See page 451.) 
 
 Alfred Hasbrouck, M. D., came to this city 
 in 1848. He belongs to one of the Huguenot 
 families df Ulster county, where he was born, and 
 
 after graduating at Yale College, took his degree in 
 medicine in 1848, at the College of Physicians 
 and Surgeons, New York City. He is one of. the 
 physicians of St. Barnabas Hospital.' 
 
 Dr. Charles Haight, born i8o8, educated and 
 licensed to. practice in the County, came to 
 Poughkeepsie in 1852. 
 
 Per Lee Pine, M. D., commenced the practice 
 in 1852 in this city, where he was born (1812,) and 
 was educated and graduated in medicine at the 
 College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York. 
 He is the President of the Duchess County Medi- 
 cal Society. 
 
 Dr. Samuel Tuthill (see page 451) came to 
 Poughkeepsie in the same year (1852.) 
 
 John C. Payne, M. D., (Berkshire Medical Col- 
 lege 1848,) was born in Amenia (1820,) educated 
 at the Seminary in that town, and came to this 
 city in 1858. He was for a time Surgeon of the 
 Board of Enrollment durii% the war. He is one 
 of the physicians to St. Barnabas Hospital. 
 
 In the same year (1858,) Edward H. Parker, 
 A. M., (Dartmouth and Trinity Colleges,) M. D., 
 (Jefferson Medical College 1848,) removed to 
 Poughkeepsie from New York City, where he was 
 Professor of Physiology and Anatomy in the New 
 York Medical College. He was born in Boston, 
 Mass., in 1823 ; in 1862 he was President of the 
 Medical Society of the State of New York and 
 held commissions from Governors Morgan and 
 Seymour in the corps of Volunteer Surgeons pro- 
 vided by this State. He is one of the surgeons of 
 St. Barnabas Hospital. 
 
 Robert K. Tuthill, M. D., (New York Medical 
 College 1859,) was born in Newburgh, Orange Co., 
 N. Y., (1835,) educated at the Charlotteville Sem- 
 inary, commenced practicing medicine in Pough- 
 keepsie, in 1859. He is a permanent member of 
 the State Medical Society. During the war he 
 went out as Assistant Surgeoif of the 20th N. Y. 
 regiment (Ulster county,) and rose to the rank of 
 Brigade Surgeon. He is one of the surgeons to 
 St. Barnabas Hospital. 
 
 E. L. Beadle, M. D., a native of this County 
 after a long practice in New York City, now lives 
 in Poughkeepsie, having retired from the active 
 duties of the profession. 
 
 Jacob Bock^e, M. D., has also retired. He was 
 born in this County and at one time was engaged 
 m active practice here. He served in the army 
 during the war, and was stationed at one of the 
 New Orleans Hospitals. 
 
 C. N. Campbell, M. D., was born in Amenia, July 
 7, 1825, and came to Poughkeepsie in 1866. (See 
 page 4S7-) 
 
 Besides the reference elsewhere made to the 
 elder Doctor Cooper, deceased, too honorable ref- 
 erence cannot be made to the departed Doctors, 
 Thomas, Varick and Barnes. 
 
f>" V- 
 
 HON. JAMES HOWARD. 
 
 Edward Howard, grandfather of James Howard, the 
 subject of our present sketch, was born Dec. 24, 1724, 
 but at what place we have no authentic record, and came 
 to Pawling, Duchess Co., in the year 1770. He was the 
 father of thirteen children as follows : Stephen, Matthew,' 
 Kuth, Mary, Richard, Sarah, Edward, Patience, Phebe, 
 Thomas, Benjamin, John and William. Thomas the father 
 of James was born at Pawling, May 14th, 1770. He was 
 united in marriage with Lucy Haynes, whose parents 
 were from Ehode Island. To them were born eight 
 children, as follows: Patience, Hannah, Thomas, Laura, 
 Lucy, James, Sophia and Jane. Of these but three are 
 living: Thomas and Laura, who reside in the town of 
 Washington, and James, who lives in La Grange. James 
 was born Sept. 2, 1804, and in Oct. 24, 1827, was 
 married to Ann Dodge of Pawling, to whom were bom 
 ten children, five of whom are now living, viz:— Maria, 
 wife of Beuben S. Haight, of the town of Washington ; 
 Frances H., wife of D. P. Blackstone, of Oneida county; 
 Caroline A., wife of E. J. Hurd, of Pawling; John D., 
 who was married to Adaline Bamers, of La Grange ; and 
 Jay, whose wife, Ruth A. Halleok, of Stamford, died Oct. 
 26th, 1874. 
 
 James Howard assisted his father on the farm until 
 twenty -four years of age, when he moved to Ontario 
 county, from whence, after a residence of two years, he 
 moved to the town of Washington. He remained there 
 six years when he moved to Patterson, Putnam county 
 where he resided two years. For the next nine years he 
 lived in the town of Dover. From there he moved to La 
 Grange^where, for nineteen years following, he occupied 
 the residence which is now the home of his son, John D. 
 Howard, the present Supervisor of that town. 
 
 Mr. Howard always took an active interest in local poU- 
 tics.his first entrance into the political arena being in 1840, 
 when he was elected assessor of the town of Dover, and 
 afterwards, in 1854 and '.59, was supervisor of the town of 
 La Grange. In the years 1864-'.5,he was chosen to repre- 
 sent his district in the Legislature, serving" on the Com- 
 mittee on Railroads as Chairman. The second year he 
 served on the committee for the erection and division of 
 towns and counties. After bis return home he was 
 elected town auditor, which position he held for the thir- 
 teen years following. During the war he was appointed 
 to recruit and fill the quotas of his town, which he did 
 very successfully. 
 
 In 1869 Mr. Howard built the fine residence he now 
 occupies and where his wife died in ApriL 26tb, 1880. 
 Although now in the seventy-seventh year of his age he 
 enjoys goodhealth and possesses remarkable vigor, giving 
 his many friends reason to hope that he will be spared to 
 them many long and happy years. His youngest son. 
 Jay, supervises his farm which is pleasantly situated and 
 in a remarkably good state of cultivation. 
 
 Mr. Howard is a man who always makes friends, and 
 has the rare faculty of keeping them ; and probably has 
 as large a circle of friends and acquaintances among all 
 classes as any man in the county. 
 
 In business he has ever been a shrewd and successful 
 man, and has always retained the respect and confidence 
 of all who knew him. 
 
 In his younger days Mr. Howard dealt a great deal in 
 cattle and horses, and gained a quickness of perception 
 and judgment concerning their good and bad qualities, 
 which he still retains to a marked degree for a man of his 
 advanced years. 
 
TOWN OF LA GRANGE. 
 
 467 
 
 CHAPTER XL. 
 History of the Town of La Grange. 
 
 THE territory comprising the town of La 
 Grange, when the county was first divided intci 
 districts or precincts, lay mostly in that of Rombout, 
 and from 1770 up to 1788, was designated as 
 Oswego. 
 
 Upon the division of the county into towns by 
 the Legislative act in 1778, the present territory 
 formed a part of Fishkill and Beekman. On the 
 9th of Feb. 1 82 1, the town was formed under the 
 name of Freedom, and on the ist of March, 1827, 
 a small portion of it was taken to form the town of 
 Union Vale, and since that date the boundaries 
 have not been changed. The original description 
 of the bounds read as follows : — 
 
 " That from and after the last day of March next, 
 (1821) all that part of the town of Fishkill, lying 
 north of a line commencing at the fording place on 
 the Wappingers Creek, nigh the house of the late 
 Samuel Thome, deceased, from thence running 
 easterly to the division line between Fishkill and 
 Beekman towns, ten chains southerly of the house 
 
 formerly owned by Palmer and now in part 
 
 occupied by John Arthur; and all that part of the 
 town of Beekman, lying west of a line commencing 
 at the point on the division line between Fishkill 
 and, Beekman, where the east and west line afore- 
 said in Fishkill will intersect said division line of 
 Beekman and Fishkill, running from thence north- 
 easterly to a point two chains distance due east 
 from the northeast corner of the house of Seneca 
 Vail, built by Dr. Soffin, (provided it includes the 
 house of Elisha C. Barlow, if not, thence commenc- 
 ing at the point aforesaid, on the division line of 
 Beekman and Fishkill aforesaid, and running from 
 thence to and including the house of Nicholas 
 Tyce; from thence to the point aforesaid, two 
 chains distance, due east from the northeast corner 
 of the house of the said Seneca Vail,) from thence 
 on either of the courses last aforesaid as may be 
 determined by actual survey, to the Washington 
 town line, shall be known and distinguished as a 
 separate town by the name of Freedom, and that 
 the first town meeting in said town of Freedom, 
 shall be held at the house of William Wolven, in 
 said town, on the first Tuesday in April next." 
 
 According to the act, the town election was held 
 and the following officers were elected : John Wilkin- 
 son, Supervisor ; John Clapp, Clerk ; Isaac B. 
 Clapp, Silas Pettit, Reuben Tanner, Israel Fowler, 
 and John Van De Belt, Assessors; Leonard Nelson, 
 Collector ; John Billings, Mynard B. Velie, Over- 
 seers of the Poor ; Baltus Velie, EUas Vail and 
 Henry Dates, Commissioners of Highways ; Eze- 
 kiel Velie, John D. Brown and John G. Dunkin, 
 Commissioners of Schools ; James Congdon, John 
 
 G. Dunkin, Samuel Pettit, Henry D. Sleight, 
 Thomas H. Potter, and Avery L. Herrick, Inspec- 
 tors of Common schools ; Jacob Culver, Daniel 
 Stillwell, James Coles, and Peter Hageman, Con- 
 stables. Roadmasters, fence-viewers and other 
 officers were appointed a few days after, and rules 
 adopted in regard to stock running at large, and 
 the manner of fencing. 
 
 There being postoffices in other sections of the 
 country, bearing the name of Freedom, to which 
 papers and letters belonging to this office were 
 sent and vice versa, the Board of Supervisors 
 changed the name of the town in 1829, to 'La 
 Grange, after the homestead of La Fayette in 
 France. The southern part of this town was the 
 earliest settled as the influx came from Fishkill, 
 and was chiefly made about the years 1750 to 1760. 
 
 One of the earhest points settled was near 
 Morey's Corners, and for a number of years it was 
 the chief business portion of the town. The early 
 settlers were the families of Brundage, Clapp, 
 Shear, Swade and Dean. They were here during 
 the Revolution and took an active part in the con- 
 test, but were divided in sentiment and harbored 
 bitter feelings toward each other. At that time 
 Jesse Clapp owned the place now occupied by 
 Samuel H. Moore, and also the only gristmill in 
 this section of the country. 
 
 When the Tory force, which made the raid upon 
 Washington Hollow — referred to in the annals of 
 Pleasant Valley — was concentrating recruits, they 
 formed an encampment upon this farm and sub- 
 sisted upon the donations of their Tory friends, 
 many of whom living here accompanied them on 
 their march. The meadow upon which they en- 
 camped has ever since been called the "Camp lot" 
 and undoubtedly will be by generations to come. , 
 
 John and Daniel Hosier, two brothers, settled 
 opposite the present parsonage, and were the first 
 actual settlers of the hamlet now known as Morey's 
 Corners. They built a fulling-mill a few years pre- 
 vious to 1815, near the bridge and after running it 
 for several years successfully, sold the same to 
 Daniel Noxen. A much respected son of John 
 Hosier, who was on the ill-fated steamer " Henry 
 Clay " and was drowned, was nearly the last of that 
 family, which is now extinct in this county. Noxen 
 sold the mill to Daniel Haight of the town of 
 Washington, who removed to the opposite side of 
 the creek and added others in which are carried 
 on tanning and currying. The property was sold 
 under foreclosure and purchased by the heirs of 
 John Billings, who resold the same to George 
 
468 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 English. He converted the whole into a gristmill, 
 which is at the present time owned and occupied 
 by Albert Emigh, a distant relative. 
 
 "Morey's Corners" received the name from Jacob 
 "Morey who settled here about the year 1800, and 
 built the present parsonage at least sixty years ago. 
 He was a blacksmith by trade, but in order to add 
 to his income commenced keeping an inn. While 
 Morey made the anvil ring with his honest strokes, 
 Mrs. Morey attended to the affairs of the Inn, es- 
 pecially the " spiritual" part, or the bar, and became 
 her own best customer. Morey was obliged to 
 close the tavern on account of his wife's intemper- 
 ate habits and rely exclusively upon his trade for a 
 livelihood, which added more to his family's repu- 
 tation, as the inn was anything but commendable 
 to him or the neighborhood. He was the first 
 blacksmith in this part of the town and when he 
 died the family name also vanished, except as ap- 
 plied to the hamlet. 
 
 Mr. J. C. Colwell, the only " old resident " of 
 the place now living, says, when he settled in 1827, 
 besides those already mentioned, Joseph Wicks, 
 Elisha C. Barlow, Jonathan Brooks, Elijah Town- 
 send, John Billings and Enoch Borland, were the 
 heads of the families then living. Mr. Colwell has 
 been an active townsman, having officiated as 
 Justice of the Peace for many years, besides being 
 an auctioneer for a period of forty-seven years, 
 attending over six hundred auctions. He is still 
 active and robust at the age of seventy-eight and to 
 his retentive memory we are indebted for many 
 facts relating to the events of the past. 
 
 Mr. Colwell informs us h6 was well acquainted 
 with the last of the Wappinger Indians of this 
 county. They were but two, man and wife, and 
 lived in a hut near Freedom Plains. The Indian 
 was a tall, robust man with keen eye and active 
 limbs, but slovenly in habits and much addicted to 
 strong drink. He was supposed to be a "full 
 blood," as was his squaw, who followed her 
 "warrior" to the spirit-land a few years after 
 his death. 
 
 When the Duchess & Columbia Railroad' was 
 completed and a station established, Morey's Cor- 
 ners vanished as a business center and a new 
 village sprang up under the name of La Grange- 
 ville. J. E. Andrews erected the first store which 
 was the continuation of a business long ago estab- 
 lished at Morey's and at present is the only one of 
 the^hamlet. W. Bodden followed in the tin and 
 hardware line, making the only tradesman at 
 present. 
 
 A coal-yard was soon opened, whose sales in- 
 creased year by year, those of the last year amount- 
 ing to a trifle over five hundred tons. It is under 
 the efficient management of Gregory & Colwell. 
 
 Arthursburg. 
 
 The neighborhood of Arthursburg was settled 
 about the year 1755. At this place was early built 
 a Friend's meeting-house, and as early as 1790 the 
 Oswego yearly meetings were held here. Many 
 Quaker families resided near, among whom were 
 the Dorlands. The most prominent, Enoch Dorland, 
 was a preacher and gave to the old town the name 
 of Freedom and also the present name in honor of 
 La Fayette, of whom he was a great admirer. 
 Enoch was a true patriot and often gave the 
 friends of Royalty sharp cifts upon their revolution- 
 ary acts. He was a very pious and useful man and 
 the main preacher in this part of the country for 
 many years to officiate at funerals and marriages, 
 being very popular with all classes. 
 
 Freedom Plains. 
 
 Freedom Plains was the central point at which 
 the " town Jiome " was located for many long years, 
 but which presents but a shadow of a hamlet to- 
 day. The townspeople being chiefly employed in 
 agricultural pursuits, but little interest has been 
 given to the formation of villages or establishing 
 any enterprise that would cause a close settlement. 
 There was formerly kept at this place a hotel and 
 store, but the "no license" system being adopted 
 by the electors of the town, they closed the portals 
 of the inn, and it can be numbered only with 
 the things of the past. 
 
 Churches of La Grange. 
 
 The oldest religious organization in the town is 
 that of the Society of Friends, of Arthursburg, 
 but at what time it was effected we are unable to 
 learn to a certainty. As before stated the Oswego 
 monthly meetings were held here, at which the ex- 
 emplary fathers and mothers assembled in their 
 modest garb, and worshipped in their quaint way, 
 giving renewed evidences of their sincerity. 
 
 The Methodists were next in the field in mis- 
 sionary work, but the Presbyterians were first in 
 organizing a church, which they did at Freedom 
 Plains. 
 
 Presbyterian Church of Freedom Plains. — The 
 society held a serai-centennial anniversary on the 
 14th of March, 1878, at which time the pastor, 
 
RESIDENCE OF J. C. AND A. SHE> 
 
I, LA GRANGE, DUTCHESS CO., N. Y. 
 
TOWN OF LA GRANGE. 
 
 469 
 
 Rev. J. S. Gilmor, delivered a historical address 
 from which we glean the following facts: In the 
 early records of this church it is sometimes called 
 the Church of Freedom. For years before the or- 
 ganization Freedom Plains was a destitute mis- 
 sionary field on the borders of several congrega- 
 tions, Pleasant Valley, Poughkeepsie, Hackensack, 
 and the West Branch Quakers. There were prayer 
 meetings held with more or less regularity, and 
 occasional preaching by the pastors of the neigh- 
 boring churches, Mr. Clark, Dr.Cuyler, Dr. Dewitt 
 and others. The prayer meetings at private houses 
 and the school house were mainly sustained by the 
 elders and members of the Pleasant Valley church. 
 In the winter of 1827 there was a revival, mainly 
 under the preaching of the Rev. N.' Patterson, 
 which led to the formation of a church. At this 
 time there was no church within the limits of the 
 town except that of the Friends. There had been 
 occasional preaching by the Methodists in the old 
 dwelling house near to that now occupied by J. W. 
 Storm. On the 26th of July, 1827, "Sundry per- 
 sons of Freedom'' did meet at the house of Mary 
 Nelson and chose the following as trustees : Ben- 
 jamin H. Conklin, Baltus Overacker, Eleazer Tay- 
 lor, Baltus Velie, Rickertson Collins, John D. 
 Brown, Abram S. Storm, Isaac B. Clapp and John 
 Clapp. 
 
 The church was regularly organized on the 14th 
 of May, 1828, by the following committee, ap- 
 pointed by the Presbytery of North River, viz: 
 Rev. Messrs. John Clark, James P. Ostram and 
 Alonzo Welton. The organization took place in 
 the barn of Baltus Overacker, with thirty-nine 
 members. Benj. H. Conklin, Baltus Overacker, 
 A. S. Storm and Samuel Thurston, were elected 
 elders, and Eleazer Taylor and Henry Disbrow, 
 Deacons. Services were held in the barn during 
 the most of that year and the church edifice was 
 completed in the latter part of 1828 and dedicated 
 on New Year's Day, 1829. The original cost of 
 which was $2,169.38. 
 
 The parsonage was erected some two years later 
 and the twelve acres of land on which it stands 
 was purchased of Baltus Velie in the year 1831, for 
 $650. Two of the original elders of this church are 
 still living — Abram S. Storm and Samuel Thurston. 
 The former ceased acting early in the year 1829, 
 in consequence of removing to the town of Fish- 
 kill, and has ever since been connected with the 
 Reform Church of Hopewell, and the latter served 
 the church five years and removed to the western 
 part of the State where he still resides. So far as 
 
 known there are but four more of the original 
 members now living : Rev. W. J. McCord, Susan 
 G. ConkUn, Margaret ConkUn and Elizabeth 
 Schoten. 
 
 The first pastor was the Rev. Milton Buttolph, 
 who remained to the year 1837, and was followed 
 by Rev. Sumner Mandeville, who was installed on 
 the 6th of June, 1838, and continued until April, 
 1861, lacking only two months of twenty-three 
 years. Rev. John Ward, a native of New Jersey, 
 followed Mandeville in September, following, and 
 supplied the church until June 3, 1863, when he 
 was installed its pastor. He continued in the pas- 
 toral office but a short time but after the pastoral 
 relation was dissolved he continued to supply the 
 church up to January, 1867. The fourth pastor 
 of the church was Rev. O. Howell Hazard, who 
 was ordained in 1864. During his pastoral duties 
 here the church was repaired (1872) at a cost of 
 $400. 
 
 Rev. Hazard was succeeded by Rev. John S. 
 Gilmor who was called to labor here in the begin- 
 ning of 1876, and remained until May, 1880, when 
 he removed to New York. Rev. George NifF of 
 Poughkeepsie soon followed and continued until 
 September, 1881. Since that time the church has 
 been destitute of a pastor. Among those who 
 may be regarded as the sons of this church and 
 have become ministers of the Gospel, may be 
 mentioned Rev. Wm. McCord and his brother 
 James P. McCord, also Rev. Townsend Taylor.' 
 
 The church has been the recipient of the follow- 
 ing bequests: In 1842, from Mrs. Ceha Taylor, 
 $500; i86r from Eleazer Taylor, $300; 1866, 
 from Amina B. Shear, $ioo; and in 1871, from 
 Adrian Monfort, $200. 
 
 Methodist Episcopal Church of La Grange. — 
 This organization was effected under the old 
 Duchess Circuit and transferred to that of Cort- 
 landt. The first minutes are of the quarterly meet- 
 ing held at Pond Church July 14, 1849, ^"^^ the 
 circuit consisted of Donnsville, Somers, Big Pond, 
 Herman, Mount Zion, North Salem and Carmel, 
 under Elbert Osborne preacher in charge and John 
 Sloat local preacher. 
 
 The following year Lake Mahopac, Croton 
 Falls and Goldens Bridge, were added to the circuit. 
 But long years previous to the above date, meet- 
 ings were held occasionally in different neighbor- 
 hoods by " circuit riders" as they were called and 
 the inhabitants of the Morey vicinity attended chiefly 
 at Potters Hollow where the first church edifice 
 was built, and from which it was removed to Mo- 
 
47° 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 rey's and called the "Trinity church of LaGrange." 
 The minutes of this society are incomplete and 
 fail to give us the pastors from 1849 to 1862, 
 excepting for the year 1851, when Rev. Loren 
 Clarke officiated. From 1862 to the present 
 time, they appear as follows : Loren Clarke, 1862- 
 '64; Isaac H. Lent, 1864-66; George Clarke, 
 i866-'67; O. P. Matthews, i867-'69; A. Vail, 
 i869-'73; W. S. Tuthill, i872-'7S; E. H. W. 
 Barden, i87S-'76 ; R. H. Travers, 1876-79; W. 
 Blake, 1879-80; and the present pastor C. Gorse. 
 The present edifice was built in 1866, and is a 
 wooden structure, comparing favorably with the 
 surrounding country churches. 
 
 Societies. 
 
 The only temperance society in the town is the 
 Independent Order of Good Templars, chartered 
 Oct. 17, 1878. The lodge-room is at LaGrange- 
 ville, and the membership numbers sixty at the 
 present time. Those to whom the charter was 
 granted areas follows : Samuel Borland, Mary Dor- 
 land, V. B. Giddings, Tunis Bartram, J. C. Pultz, 
 Wm. Blake, Sarah Blake, Lizzie Dorland, Frank 
 Lounsbury, AUie Gray, Alfred Holmes, Luther 
 Giddings, Cordelia Bertram, Ella H. Giddings, 
 Geo. W. Emans. 
 
 The society has been a faithful worker in the 
 cause of temperance in connection with the churches 
 as is evidenced by the enforcement of the "no 
 license " system throughout the town. The pres- 
 ent officers are : S. T. Dorland, W. C. T. ; Mary 
 L. Dorland, W. V. T. ; Charles Gorse, S. ; Tunis 
 Bertram, F. S. and L. D. ; Eugene Schryver, 
 Treas. ; Wm. Lounsbury, W. M. ; Geo. Upton, 
 D. M. ; John Roe, G. ; Mattie Elsworth, S. ; AUie 
 Gray, R. S. ; Estelle Kelley, L. S. 
 
 Physicians. 
 
 Who the first medical practitioners were in this 
 town is not definitely known, but in the beginning of 
 the century, Jacob Warner, who was located at 
 Freedom Plains, and Shadrach Ricketson, a Quaker 
 of Beekman, were the leading doctors of this sec- 
 tion. Dr. Sleight followed and located a short dis- 
 tance from Sprout Creek. During Sleight's time, 
 Drs. Lumas and Hughson came and were suc- 
 ceeded by W. H. Hopkins, who purchased the 
 place and practice of Dr. Sleight. Drs. Upton and 
 Hopkins were contemporaries until the death of the 
 latter, when the former removed to other parts and 
 was followed here by Dr. Dorland, who soon af- 
 
 ter sold to Dr. Greene. The latter removed to 
 Buffalo and was succeeded by Dr. George Hunt- 
 ington, who still remains located at Morey's Cor- 
 ners, and withDr. Fink of Freedom Plains attends 
 the ills to which the human flesh is heir. 
 
 Town Officers. 
 
 The following * is a correct Ust of the Supervisors 
 and Town Clerks with the date of their service : — 
 
 Supervisors. 
 
 Clerks. 
 
 182I- 
 1823. 
 1824. 
 1825. 
 1826. 
 1827. 
 1828. 
 1829. 
 1830. 
 1 83 I. 
 1832- 
 1834- 
 1836- 
 1838- 
 1840- 
 1842. 
 1843. 
 1844- 
 1846- 
 1848- 
 1850- 
 1852- 
 1854. 
 
 1857- 
 1859. 
 i860. 
 i86t. 
 1862- 
 1864- 
 1868. 
 1869. 
 1870. 
 1871- 
 
 1873- 
 
 1875- 
 
 1876. 
 
 1877. 
 
 1878 
 
 1879. 
 
 1881. 
 
 ■45- 
 •'47. 
 ■'49- 
 
 ■'53. 
 
 ■56. 
 'S8. 
 
 '63- 
 .'67. 
 
 John Wilkinson, John Clapp. 
 
 John Clapp, Jonathan Lockwood. 
 
 Jon'n Lockwood, Stephen Thorn. 
 
 do do Thomas Potter. 
 
 John Wilkinson, do do 
 
 John Clapp, do do 
 
 Jon'n Lockwood, Oliver Green. 
 
 do d(j[ten,J. C. Hoffman. 
 
 E. T. VanBenscho- Henry D. Sleight. 
 John Lockwood, do do 
 
 E. T. VanBenschoten,do do 
 
 William Storm, ' do do 
 
 Treadwell Townsend, do do 
 
 E. T. VanBenschoten, Brooks Vermilyea. 
 Gideon VanValin, A. R. McCord. 
 do do James G. Pells. 
 
 Tunis Brinkerhofif, do 
 Joseph Wickes, do 
 Silas Sweet, do 
 
 Treadwell Townsend, do 
 
 Albert Emans, 
 John G. Pells, 
 James Howard, 
 Jacob Velie, 
 A. W. Storm, 
 James Howard, 
 
 do 
 
 do 
 do 
 do 
 do 
 do 
 
 Oliver Monfort. 
 Nicholas Baker. 
 Henry Van Benscho- 
 do do[ten. 
 
 Isaac L. Wickes. 
 
 Henry VanBenschoten, do 
 
 John S. Brown, Peter B. Clapp. 
 
 Albert Emans 
 John W. Storm, 
 George Ayrault, 
 A. W. Sleight, 
 do do 
 J. A. Stringham, 
 
 Stephen Monfort. 
 
 do do 
 
 John S. Brown. 
 William D. Smith. 
 John S. Brown, 
 do do 
 
 72 
 
 74. John D. Howard, J. S. Pettit, 
 A. W. Sleight, 
 
 do do 
 F. M. Colwell. 
 
 do do 
 J. V. Genning. 
 -'80. S. H. Moore. J. S. Pettit. 
 do do 
 
 LaGrange in the Rebellion. 
 
 do 
 
 do 
 
 J. M. 
 
 Storm, 
 
 do 
 
 do 
 
 S. H. 
 
 Moore, 
 
 J. D. 
 
 Howard, 
 
 Like many other towns the quota was partly 
 filled by procuring recruits from other localities 
 and paying a bounty which run from $300 to 
 
 * Obtained through Mr. Joseph S. Pettit, the present Town Clerk, 
 together with many other interesting facts concerning the town's 
 history. 
 

 -6.0.^ 
 
 Silj" 5y irtMCa. iSons, 13 Sarclfiy StMX" 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 
 
 471 
 
 $1,000. The following are the names of soldiers 
 from this town : — 
 
 Theodore Clark, Theodore De Groff, Frederick 
 M. Williams, Jacob Lane, Charles H. WilUams, 
 Edward Hoag, John H. Mastin, Alonzo Murphy, 
 Talmage Burhans, Charles W. McCord, W. H. 
 Cash, Amos Teagaura, William Wolven Baker, 
 Benjamin Barrett, Theodore DeGrofF, Henry C. 
 Stillwell, Charles Wilson, W. H. Murphy, George 
 Emigh, Wm. H. Gifford, John P. Williams, Sidney 
 T. Wickson, Harvey Hill, Patrick Leonard, Calvert 
 Abel, George McNeill, Henry PhiUips, W. B. 
 Phillips, Matthew Cramer, John Davison, Charles 
 McCabe, Gilbert Emigh, Alex. Vosburg, Edward 
 Hoag, George L. Masten, B. C. Wilkinson, Gim- 
 bred Roberd, Edward M. Congdon, James John- 
 son, (col.) Moses Jaycox, (col.) William Wolven, 
 John Porter, Robert WilUams, John Murray, James 
 Davison, Uriah Davison, Henry Macey, Jesse 
 Baker, John Wilson, Sylvester Potter, Theodore 
 Wolven, Edward Jones, J. Wolven, W. H. Mosher, 
 Dewitt C. Noxen, Milton Odell, Edgar Sedore, W. 
 H. Hall, Alonzo Tracy, C. W. Wilson, Thomas L. 
 Rogers, Matthew Cram, John B. Cypher, John 
 V. Wilson, Patrick Monahan, James Hayden, 
 Thomas Haight, Privates ; Ambrose B. Hart, J. H. 
 Hill, W. B. Phillips, Leary T. Tracy, Theophilus 
 Humphrey, Corporals ; Hiram Davison, Walter A. 
 Hart, A. J. Wyncoop, Sergeants ; Richard Titus,* 
 David B. Sleight, 1st Lieutenants. 
 
 The following are the names of those enlisted 
 in the naval service : — 
 
 Mchael Moran, Lawrence Donahue, Patrick Day, 
 D. M. Hickney, Christian Frank, Charles Schroder, 
 W. R. Holden, George N. Quinion, Edward H. 
 Fuller, Peter Spenser, John McLoughlin, D. W. 
 Gould, W. D. Birch, Adam Menzman, Kirk W. 
 Farrington, J. B. Kinsley, G. E. Coenhorn, Ernest 
 Hall, J. W. Hoffman, George Green, J. C. Gam- 
 well, John Voght, D. J. Peck, R. T. Walker, James 
 Morrow, James Gill, E. A. Beresford, Hugh Con- 
 way, Napoleon Long, John Nolan, John S. Power, 
 Richard Beard, Olat Ketels, William Robinson, 
 Hugh Murphy. 
 
 The majority of the volunteers mentioned were 
 connected with the 128th Regiment of Infantry, 
 and did service at New Orleans. In order to 
 increase the interest in the enhstment for this 
 Regiment, a meeting was held August 14, 1862, 
 which was largely attended. Addresses were made 
 by Albert Emans and Gilbert Dean. As a result 
 of this meeting sufficient funds were subscribed to 
 
 * Promoted to captain. 
 
 give each volunteer from this town $55 additional 
 bounty. This Regiment was through the Red 
 River campaign under General Banks, and was 
 then transferred to Sherman's command, with 
 whom it closed its services. 
 
 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 
 
 JOHN C. SHEAR. 
 
 Johannes Shear, the great-grandfather of John 
 C, was born in Germany, in 1718, and came to 
 America in 1748. Israel Shear, son of Johannes, 
 was born in America in 175 1. His son, John C, 
 the father of the subject of this sketch, was born 
 in 1776. He married Margaret Cornell, by whom 
 he had seven children, five of whom are living, as 
 follows : Anna, now the widow of James Town- 
 send, of Orange County, N. Y.; Catherine E., the 
 widow of Daniel H. Hosier, of New York ; John 
 C, Abraham and Sarah M. 
 
 John C. was born October 12, 181 1, and was 
 united in marriage with Catherine L., daughter of 
 Caleb Pierce, of Fishkill, by whom she has one 
 child, Anna. Abraham is unmarried and lives 
 with John C. on the farm formerly occupied by 
 their father, and of which a sketch is given in this 
 work. The farm contains two hundred and twen- 
 ty-eight acres, and the house which these brothers 
 occupy was built in 181 2. They also own a farm 
 of one hundred and fifty acres, situated in the 
 town of La Grange, on the Manchester road, about 
 five miles from Poughkeepsie. They have given 
 particular attention to raising fine cattle, among 
 which were a pair of twins, which at the age of 
 four years weighed 2,400 and 2,000 pounds re- 
 spectively. February 16, 1874, they sold in the 
 New York market two choice high bred Durham 
 heifers for $450, their gross weight being 4,616 
 pounds. 
 
 They are also successful breeders of Southdown 
 and Cottswold sheep. In 1870 they raised eight 
 lambs from two ewes, since then they have raised 
 nine lambs from three ewes in one year. Their flocks 
 of these varieties of sheep took the first premium 
 at the Poughkeepsie fair. Their farm is conven- 
 iently and pleasantly situated, about one mile from 
 the Duchess & Columbia R.R. depot at La Grange- 
 ville. 
 
 John C. Shear never left the old homestead, and 
 being in possession of these qualities which are in- 
 dispensable to the successful cultivation of a farm, 
 he has accumulated a competence, and to-day is 
 considered one of the most successful farmers in 
 the county. 
 
472 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 GEORGE AYRAULT. 
 
 The Ayrault family are of French origin and 
 came to America at an early day settling in New 
 England. John Ayrault, father of George, was 
 born in Sandisfield, Berkshire Co., Mass., and 
 moved to Caledonia, Livingston Co., N. Y., where 
 George was born March 6, 1827. His family con- 
 sisted of his wife, whose maiden name was Huldah 
 Smith, and seven children, as follows : Celestia, 
 Emily, John, George, Allen, Warren and Miles. 
 
 George Ayrault remained at home assisting his 
 father in the cultivation of his extensive farm until 
 he was twenty-one years of age, when he left home 
 and was engaged in teaching school two terms. 
 February 5, 1857, he was married to Jennie D., 
 daughter of John Lawrence of Brooklyn, N. Y. 
 Mr. Ayrault started in life without the assistance of 
 as much as a dollar from any one, but in the pos- 
 session of a mind of rare vigor and unusual acute- 
 ness of observation, faculties which in the school 
 or his varied experiences in after life enabled him 
 to become a sagacious judge of human nature and 
 of the diversified business interests which he inau- 
 gurated and successfully carried out. He dealt, 
 for a time, in cattle in a small way, and by practic- 
 ing the strictest economy he saved a few hundred 
 dollars, but his natural proclivities led him to seek 
 a larger field. He accordingly went to New York 
 City where he entered into business as a cattle 
 broker, a business for which he was peculiarly 
 adapted, possessing as he did a clear and accurate 
 judgment of men as well as of stock. An amusing 
 anecdote is told of him by some of the New York 
 cattle dealers who flourished in those days. It 
 having been rumored that a young man from the 
 country had come down to struggle for a place 
 among the cattle kings of the metropolis, a great 
 curiosity was excited to see this "bold young man." 
 He was one day pointed out to one of these kings 
 who remarked : " We will have this young fellow's 
 hide on the fence in less than six months." There 
 were, after this, several of the "hides" of those 
 famous dealers "hung on the fence," but Mr. 
 Ayrault's was not among the number, and with one 
 exception he was the most successful operator who 
 did business in the New York cattle marts * of that 
 day. He was a partner with Geo. A. Toffey for a 
 short time, and among his other business associates 
 were the following men who had a national reputa- 
 tion in their line of business: John A. Merritt, 
 Thos. White, Barney Bartram, Wm. and David 
 Belden, Joseph Williams, Jas. E. Bathgate, David 
 and Archibald Allerton, Simon Ulery, Charles 
 Teed and Thomas Wheeler, men who were consid- 
 ered the cattle kings of New York. Having 
 amassed a handsome competence, Mr. Ayrault 
 turned his attention towards the purchase of a fine 
 farm, which he secured, located about three miles 
 east of Poughkeepsie, off the main turnpike, which 
 was formerly known as the Ver Valin farm, it 
 having been in the possession of that family for one 
 
 * The cattle market at that time was located on Forty-fourth street^ 
 near where the N. Y. C. & H, R. R. R. depot now stands. 
 
 hundred and fifty years. The farm contains four 
 hundred and forty acres of productive land. Mr. 
 Ayrault purchased it in 1859 and moved there with 
 his family from New York. In 1861 he built the 
 fine brick dwelling he now occupies and which is 
 in such perfect harmony that it has frequently gen- 
 erated the remark, " It looks as though the house 
 
 V had grown there." Never, however, was the saying 
 " experience is the best teacher" better illustrated 
 than in the hfe of George Ayrault. After a time 
 he turned his attention to the breeding of large 
 cattle for beef, and to-day he stands without a 
 
 . rival, as the owner of the largest cattle in the world. 
 After settling on his farm he went to Western 
 New York and selected the three finest cows he 
 could find, one from each of three of the largest 
 herds in that part of the State, and from those 
 three cows sprang the cattle that have given Mr. 
 Ayrault a world wide reputation. The four stuffed 
 specimens on exhibition in Central Park, N. Y., 
 were raised on his place, the lightest of which 
 weighed three thousand three hundred pounds, 
 and it is conceded by all, that they were the four 
 largest head of cattle ever raised on one farm in 
 America. Mr. Lalor of New York was the pur- 
 chaser and had them stuffed, and presented to 
 Central Park. There has been no time since Mr. 
 Ayrault came into the possession of the three 
 Western cows but he could show the two heaviest 
 and fattest cattle in the world. He was also the 
 owner and breeder of the celebrated "Queen of 
 cattle" that was exhibited at the Centennial. 
 The receipts from showing her there and at agri- 
 cultural fairs amounted to more than nine thou- 
 sand dollars and her heaviest weight was three 
 thousand three hundred pounds. She was a thor- 
 oughbred Durham beautifully proportioned and 
 was conceded to be the finest animal ever exhib- 
 ited. "The champion ox of the world" weighing 
 about four thousand pounds, "and his mate" 
 weighing nearly the same, may be seen at the 
 commodious stables of Mr. Ayrault and have 
 been exhibited at all the principal fairs in the 
 county, where they have never failed to draw 
 large crowds. 
 
 Ayrault Place which is one of the main attrac- 
 tions to visitors who are interested in cattle, cheer- 
 fully extends its hospitaUty to all who may call, 
 afid after taking a survey of his large oxen and 
 fine herds, one comes away with the feeling that 
 there is one man who is entitled to all the distinc- 
 tion and notoriety he has received, and that man 
 is George Ayrault. In connection with his large 
 farm in Duchess county he grazes several hundred 
 head of cattle in the Genesee valley near Geneseo, 
 Livingston County, where he also owns several 
 farms. His possessions are so widely apart that 
 he does not insure them, being as he terms it his 
 own insurance company. 
 
 Mr. Ayrault is the father of three children : — 
 Emily L., George, Jr., and Sara Belle. Sis father 
 was the possessor of a large property at his death, 
 but in his will he left nothing to George, thinking 
 that as he was richer than himself, he needed no 
 
y^eo^^ey 
 
 :snj>-'btiXBMIltSmsJJ M'ilm: jviin- 
 
■5" . ^'.■^ >'. >■'**■' 
 
 
 Photo, by Vail, Pouglikeepsie. 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 
 
 473 
 
 help. So beginning life with but few advantages, 
 he has by energy and perseverance attained the 
 pinnacle of success. He was the first president of 
 the Hudson River Agricultural and Driving Park 
 Association, and was instrumental in getting the 
 stock subscribed, and under his administration it 
 was a great success. Among many other enter- 
 prises in which he became interested was the 
 erection of the fine soldiers monument at La Grange, 
 which commemorates the death of Lieutenant 
 Sleight. He was the originator of that idea, and 
 through his efforts the amount to defray the 
 expense of the same was raised, and at its unveil- 
 ing he was made president of the meeting. 
 
 Mr. Ayrault is an advocate of early rising, and 
 while in the cattle markets of New York, daylight 
 seldom found him in bed. It was a common say- 
 ing among dealers that if you want to keep up 
 with Ayrault " you must get up in the morning." 
 
 AYRAULT PLACE. 
 
 Ayrault Place is principally noted for the mam- 
 moth cattle that have been raised there since it 
 came into the possession of George Ayrault. 
 
 Mr. Ayrault advances the theory that inasmuch 
 as the United States have become a beef exporting 
 nation no American farmer can really afford to 
 raise cattle merely for dairy purposes, and in order 
 to make cattle raising a success he must combine 
 the qualifications of beef and milch cows, and he 
 has fully shown that it can be done if only proper 
 care and judgment is exercised in the selection of 
 parent stock. That Mr. A)Tault possesses all of 
 the necessary qualifications which place him at the 
 head of successful stock raisers, is evidenced by the 
 immense cattle that roam his fields. They are of 
 extraordinary size and weight and add much to the 
 attraction of the place with its well watered pas- 
 tures, 
 
 Ayrault Place is distant a pleasant drive of three 
 miles from Poughkeepsie, and the fine residence 
 together with its beautiful surroundings, make it 
 one of the most desirable places in the county. 
 
 PETER R. SLEIGHT. 
 
 The ancestors of Peter R. Sleight were among 
 the early and prominent settlers of this country. 
 The first authentic record we find of them was of 
 Cornelius Barretson Sleight * of Holland, who was 
 a man prominent in his day, both in the official 
 life of the colony and in the church. Next we 
 find Abram Vosburg Sleight who was born in 
 Kingston, N. Y., and was captured while defend- 
 ing Rondout from an attack by the Indians, and 
 with two others was burned at the stake. 
 
 • In the earliest records found of Cornelius Barretson Sleight the name 
 was written Slecht and later Sleght and at present Sleigbt.—f/isiary 
 Uhltr County. 
 
 Abram Sleight was born in Kingston, in 1724, 
 and died in 1800. He was the father of six chil- 
 dren — four sons and two daughters — as follows: 
 James, Abram, Betsey, John, Harriet and Peter. 
 James was a lieutenant of volunteers during the 
 Revolution, where he saw a great deal of active 
 service. He was present at the burning of 
 Kingston and was stationed at New Windsor when 
 Vaughn passed up the Hudson. Many of his rela- 
 tives were in Kingston when the torch was applied 
 and he saw them fleeing for their lives, with such 
 household goods as they could remove. Abram 
 and John also took part in the struggle but were 
 not very prominent. 
 
 Peter R. Sleight was the son of James and one 
 of a family of five children as follows : Elsie, born 
 in 1800, became the wife of Abram B. Stockholm 
 of East Fishkill; James E. (deceased), Peter R., 
 Harriett, who married Ricketson Gidley of Pough- 
 keepsie, and is now a widow, and Henry A. (de- 
 ceased), who left a wife and three children (daugh- 
 ters). 
 
 Peter R. was born on the place he now occupies, 
 July 20, 1804. Oct. 3, 1827, he was married to 
 Sarah K. Barnes, by whom he had one child — 
 James E., who died leaving a widow and four 
 daughters. The wife of Peter R., died in 1829, 
 and for his second wife he married her sister Cath- 
 erine S. Barnes. Three children were born to 
 them as follows : Sarah A. wife of Stephen M. 
 Ham, of Pleasant Valley ; David B. who was a First 
 Lieutenant during the Rebellion, and was with 
 General Sherman on his march to the sea. He was 
 killed by a shot through the body, at the battle of 
 Averysborough, N. C. His remains were removed 
 to the LaGrange rural cemetery, where a hand- 
 some monument marks his resting place. The 
 monument was purchased and erected by the citi- 
 zens of LaGrange in recognition of the services 
 rendered and the bravery he displayed in the de- 
 fense of his country. It was unveiled in the pres- 
 ence of a large concourse of people and addresses 
 were delivered by some of the most prominent 
 men in the county. 
 
 Alex. W., the third child of Peter R. Sleight, 
 was married to Mary C, daughter of John G. 
 Pells, of LaGrange. He has figured prominently 
 in politics, and has been supervisor of his town 
 several terms. He is a republican and the fact 
 that he was elected in a strong democratic town, 
 speaks volumes for his popularity. 
 
 Peter R. Sleight is a man well and favorably 
 known throughout the county. He was assessor 
 and commissioner of highways several terms and is 
 now the sole bonding commissioner of the town of 
 LaGrange. June 7, 1881, he was elected presi- 
 dent of the Duchess County Mutual Insurance 
 Company, and although he is now seventy-seven 
 years of age, the business has received a fresh im- 
 petus under his administration. As a proof of the 
 confidence and esteem in which he is held by his 
 neighbors, we will state that he has been adminis- 
 trator and executor for sixteen different estates ; in 
 one instance being called to administer the estate of 
 
474 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 a person whom he had never met. His reputation 
 for fair dealing and the possession of a clear and 
 impartial judgment are widely spread, and although 
 he was never a lawyer he has administered the 
 estates left under his charge with utmost satisfac- 
 tion to all. 
 
 In politics Mr. Sleight is a Repubhcan. He 
 was formerly a Jackson Democrat and afterward a 
 Whig. His home is pleasantly situated in the 
 town of LaGrange about four miles from the court 
 house in Poughkeepsie, and each day he drives 
 into town and attends to the duties of his office, 
 returning home at night. 
 
 Mr. Sleight enjoys good health and a plentiful 
 supply of this world's goods, the latter of which he 
 dispenses hberally to the poor and needy. He was 
 never known to turn anyone from his door empty 
 handed and although now living on "borrowed 
 time " he bids fair to remain a number of years in 
 the enjoyment of his health and faculties, much to 
 the gratification of his family and many friends. 
 
 CHAPTER XLI. 
 
 History of the Town of Union Vale. 
 
 THE town of Union Vale lies southeast of the 
 center of the county. It is bounded north- 
 erly by Washington ; southerly by Beekman ; 
 easterly by Dover; and westerly by LaGrange. 
 The surface of this town is quite hilly, and, in 
 some portions, wild and uninviting. A broad val- 
 ley, in which is some of the finest land in the town, 
 extends north and south through the center. This 
 is known as the valley of the " Clove." This town 
 was included in the patent of Henry Beekman, 
 who, in 17 16, conveyed to his son, also named 
 Henry, one thousand acres in this locaHty. Set- 
 tlements were undoubtedly begun within a few 
 years succeeding this conveyance, but there are no 
 records to show at what precise date, or by whom, 
 settlements were first made in what is now the 
 town of Union Vale. The pioneers to whom 
 credit is given for being the first settlers in the 
 county of Duchess, located in this region, between 
 the Fishkill and Wappingers creek in the summer 
 of 1687. These were a young married couple of 
 the name of Emigh,* who had settled on one of the 
 islands below Albany, and were driven out by an 
 overflow of the Mohawk river in that spring. 
 
 Emigh came to this country in 1686, and was 
 one of the settlers engaged to locate on the Liv- 
 ingston domain purchased in 1685. He, like 
 others, was dissatisfied with Livingston, and with 
 his young wife removed to the location referred to 
 
 * Now spelled Eighmie. 
 
 above. After settling in the precinct ~of Fishkill, 
 Emigh bought from the Indians a tract of land 
 extending from the river to the Connecticut line, 
 including much of the present towns of Fishkill, 
 Beekman, Dover and Union Vale. He soon found 
 that the best of his purchase was covered by 
 the Rombout patent, granted in the fall of 1685, or 
 nearly two years before, and that his " Indian 
 Deed " was worthless. He was permitted to re- 
 tain fifteen hundred acres in the Clove Valley, 
 where he next located, northward of the present 
 hamlet of Beekmanville. Some of his descend- 
 ants now occupy portions of that tract. A daugh- 
 ter was born to them soon after their purchase 
 from the Indians, and while yet residents within the 
 precinct of Fishkill. This was the first white child 
 born in Duchess Counfy. She, when arriving at 
 maturity, married a man of the name of Lossing,* 
 from whom is descended the family of that name, 
 now so worthily represented in this county by 
 Benson J. Lossing, the historian. 
 
 One of the oldest houses in the town, if not the 
 oldest, was built by one of the family of Emigh. 
 This is the house now owned by the heirs of 
 George Brill, at North Clove, and which bears the 
 inscription "N. E., (Nicholas Emigh,) 1740." 
 
 Other early settlers were the KUnes, (or Kleins) 
 Uhles, Reeds, Moreys, Wilkinsons, Abels, Adam 
 and Daniel Crouse, John Mosher and James 
 Skidmore, but the date of their incoming is 
 unknown. The last named was quite an exten- 
 sive land owner, and built at an early date a mill 
 near what is known as the Crouse store.j 
 
 Charles Delafield, of New York, at one time a 
 clerk in the old Duchess County Bank, built in 
 183s, the Delafield or Mansion House, some two 
 and a half miles distance from North Clove. This 
 in its early days was a noted house. Delafield failed, 
 the house passed into other hands, and eventually 
 went to decay. It is now standing in a ruined 
 condition, and belongs, with its lands, to John W. 
 Ross. It is used as a tenant house by David 
 Malrony. 
 
 Captain Bylandt, a retired seaman, built in 
 1838, on land now owned by Robert Dennis, a 
 
 *A son of Peter Lossing, who came from Albany and purchased a 
 tract of land north of Wappingers Creek in 1865. A small map of that 
 region is in the possession of Benson J. Lossing, on which his house is 
 located and the boundary of his lands defined. It is marked '* Lassing's 
 patent," that name being spelled in the earlier records with an "a" in- 
 stead of an "0," as now. The ancestors of Benson J.«' Lossing were 
 from Holland. 
 
 t It is worthy of notice that the late Bishop Alonzo Potter, of the Dio- 
 cese of Pennsylvania, and Bishop Horatio' Potter, now of the Diocese 
 of New York, were born in the present limits of this town. Their 
 parents, Joseph and Anna Potter, were Quakers. 
 
TOWN OF UNION VALE. 
 
 475 
 
 palatial residence, next to the Mansion House the 
 finest dwelling in the town. It has since been 
 partially torn down and rebuilt, and is now owned 
 by Robert Dennis. 
 
 Union Vale was formed from Beekman and Free- 
 dom — now LaGrange — March i, 1827. The first 
 supervisor of the town was John Wilkinson, and 
 the first town clerk was Allen Butler. From that 
 year to 1881 the succession of supervisors and 
 clerks has been as follows : — 
 
 Supervisors. Clerks. 
 
 1828. John Wilkinson, Abraham P. Hoxie. 
 
 1829. Wm. D. Williams, Allen Butler. 
 1830-31. Allen Butler, Abraham P. Hoxie. 
 1 832. Stoddard Judd, do do 
 1833-34. do do Albert Hall. 
 
 1835. Richard Vincent, Willliam A. White. 
 
 1836. do do Gilbert H. Christie. 
 
 1837. John D, Suedecor, Isaac Pine. 
 
 1838. Leonard Vincent, do do 
 
 1839. do do Alex. H. Coffin. 
 
 1840. James Uhle, Nicholas N. Haight. 
 
 1 84 1. do do Reuben L. Coe. 
 
 1842. Andrew Northrop, Gilbert H. Christie. 
 
 1843. Richard Vincent, do do 
 1844-45. David D. Vincent, Wm. D. Ricketson. 
 1846. Isaac Vail, John U. Abel. 
 1847-48. Jarvis Hall, Leonard B. Sherman. 
 
 1849. Reuben L. Coe, Geo. T. Williams. 
 
 1850. Robert Bennett,* Gerome Williams. 
 
 1851. Leonard Vincent, David A. Knapp. 
 
 1852. William W. Abel, Ransom Baker. 
 
 1853. Joseph M. Cutler,t Leonard R. Vincent. 
 
 1854. David D. Vincent, William W. Abel. 
 1855-56. Wilson Hawley, Harrison W. Tilton. 
 1857. Lewis S. Davis, Geo. T. Williams. 
 i858-'6o. Daniel W.,Odell, Reuben L. Coe. 
 1861-62. William R. Bagley, do do 
 1863-66. David D. Vincent, do do 
 1867-70. Joseph M. Cutler, do do 
 1871. Edward Congdon,i do do 
 1872-73. Wesley Butts, do do 
 1874-75. Henry L.Campbell, do do 
 
 1876. Henry Bostwick, do do 
 
 1877. John U. Abel, do do 
 
 1878. Frederic Hicks, do do 
 
 1879. John U. Abel, do do 
 1880-81. Isaac P. Vincent, do do 
 
 Union Vale has no large villages. The town 
 contains a population of but r,4o6.§ Verbank, 
 the most important hamlet, has a population of 
 144. This is in the north-eastern part of the town 
 and at one time had a cotton mill and paper 
 mill, which did a considerable business. There is 
 
 * Died soon after election. John U. Abel, at an especial election, 
 was chosen to fill the vacancy. 
 
 tDead. 
 
 t Died, and Reuben L. Coe served the balance of the term, perform- 
 ing the duties of Supervisor and Clerk. 
 
 § 1870—1,431, total. loj foreign; li colored. 1875—1,442, total. 
 139 foreign; 11 colored. 
 
 here now a grist and plaster mill. The postmaster 
 at this place is Archibald L. Colwell, who has held 
 the office some two years. The merchants are A. 
 
 D. Davis & Son, (Alonzo D. and Charles E.,) gen- 
 eral merchants, who have been in business as a 
 firm twelve years. The business was established 
 by A. D. Davis some thirteen years before. He is 
 a native of LongTsland, born in 1816. Charles 
 
 E. was born in the town of Washington in 1843. 
 Stephen Scott, general merchant, was born in 
 
 Amenia in 1836, and became a resident of this 
 town in 1859. He established the business here 
 nine years ago. A hotel in connection with the 
 store has been conducted by him for three years. 
 In 1861, Mr. Scott entered the United States ser- 
 vice and remained nearly two years, and was dis- 
 charged for disability. 
 
 Nearly a mile from this place is Verbank Station, 
 on the Duchess & Columbia R. R. It contains 
 the station, postoffice, two stores, a church and a 
 few dwellings. The postmaster is Franklin Cf ouse, 
 appointed in April, 1881. The merchants are C. 
 P. Colwell, in business here since June, 1881, suc- 
 ceeding Sherman & Colwell, and Jacob P. Fowler 
 harness and horse furnishing goods, who has been 
 in business here two years. 
 
 The church was built by the Methodist Episco- 
 pal Society in 1878, and formally dedicated 
 December 5th of that year. It is now presided 
 over by the Rev. Harman Coons. 
 
 Oswego. 
 
 Oswego, south of Verbank, on the Duchess & 
 Columbia R. R., is also a small hamlet. There is 
 here a Quaker Church which was established a 
 number of years ago. 
 
 Clove. 
 
 Clove, in the southern part of the town, is situa- 
 ted in a rich farming section and has a scattered 
 population. This is the pretty valley of the Clove, 
 which extends north and south through the town. 
 In this vicinity are quite extensive ore beds. That 
 known as the Clove ore bed was opened about 
 fifty-five years ago. It is conducted now by Albert 
 Tower, the manager of the Beekman ore beds. 
 The work of raising the ore is contracted by Wm. 
 Gregory, under whose supervision the business has 
 been conducted sixteen years. 
 
 The "Brown Ore Mine," at Clove Hollow, Was 
 opened by Jeremiah and William Emigh, about 
 1856. In 1871 the mine was controlled by George 
 
476 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 H. Brown, who gave the contract to raise the ore 
 to Patrick Maher, of Philadelphia, now living in 
 that city. He was succeeded by a man named 
 Mitchell, of Washington, who assumed the duties 
 of Superintendent, with Nicholas Rozell as fore- 
 man. 
 
 In the spring of 1874 Mitchell retired, and was 
 succeded by Samuel Brown, of the Clove Spring 
 Furnace, who remained as Superintendent until his 
 death, in the fall of 1880. The present Superin- 
 tendent is Norman Plass. The mine is owned by 
 a company, and employs some sixty men. From 
 sixty-five to seventy tons of ore per day are un- 
 earthed here. The deposit is that known as the 
 brown hematite, and contains a large per cent, of 
 clayey ochre, which is considered to be the finest 
 and most valuable. 
 
 The postmasters of the Clove are Duane Odell 
 at Clove, appointed some two years since, and 
 William U. Abel, at North Clove, appointed at 
 about the same time. ' The merchants are Reuben 
 L. Coe and S. E. Way, the latter having been in 
 business three years. The building in which the 
 store is kept was built in the fall of 1878. Reuben 
 L. Coe has been engaged in the mercantile busi- 
 ness here since 1849, in which year his store was 
 built. He is a native of Fishkill, born in Johns- 
 ville in 18 16. He became a resident of Union 
 Vale in 1826. Mr. Coe has twice held the office 
 of Supervisor, and for the past twenty-four years 
 has acted as Town Clerk, which office he has filled 
 to the acceptance of both political parties. The 
 wisdom of continuing in office a capable man is 
 shown in the care and completeness with which the 
 records of this town are kept. 
 
 The only resident physician of the town is Dr. 
 David A. Knapp. He is a native of New Fair- 
 field, Conn., born in 1820. He graduated from 
 the Medical University of New York City in 1845, 
 and came to Union Vale in the following year.* 
 
 The churches in this section of the town are 
 those of the Methodist Episcopal and Christian de- 
 nominations. The edifice of the M. E. Church at 
 North Clove was built in 1834. The Society was 
 organized many years previous. The first trustees 
 were Peter G. Emigh, Abram Cline, Jonathan G. 
 Vincent. These trustees, with the addition of 
 Wilham Coe, acted as a building committee when 
 the church was erected. The pastor at that time 
 was the Rev. Samuel Cochrane. The membership 
 
 * Among earlier physicians of the town were Drs. Ricketson, Hall 
 Stoddard, Judd-the latter previous, and after i8jl-Baker,Tallraan and 
 James Cook. The last named wasjocated at Verbank. 
 
 is small and is now presided over by Rev. Charles 
 Gorse of La Grangeville. 
 
 The first edifice of the Christian denomination 
 was erected in 1825. The origin of this society in 
 Union Vale is thus given :* About the fall and 
 winter of 1822 and '23, John L. Peavey, then min- 
 istering to a church in the northern part of the 
 county, held monthly services at the " Old Union," 
 so called, in the adjoing town of Beekman, where 
 a large and influential class of believers were organ- 
 ized under what was then known as the " Christian 
 Liberty Departure." A few years previous to this, 
 there had been manifested throughout Saratoga and 
 Montgomery counties, a revival spirit of marked 
 power, one of the results being the development of 
 a female preacher of unusual character and influ- 
 ence. Plain and unpretending, — for she came of 
 a family known as Quakers, or Friends, — ^yet she 
 exerted a wonderful power on the minds of her 
 auditors, and her services were in constant demand. 
 Passing through Columbia County and the north- 
 ern portion of Duchess, — having been about a year 
 occupied in her work, — Abigail Hoag Roberts f 
 finally appeared within the circuit of Mr. Peavey's 
 labors. Doors opened at her coming, and calls 
 for her services came to her from every direction, 
 many more than she could fill, reaching through 
 Putnam County and a portion of Westchester, on 
 the south, and westward across the Hudson, 
 through Orange County and Northern New Jersey. 
 This was at a time when no house of worship 
 was to be found between the old Beekman town 
 line, on the south, and the " Friends Meeting," at 
 Great Nine Partners, on the north. Mrs. Roberts 
 as a preacher added to her gifts that of a comforter, 
 soothing the afflicted, and Hfting the pall of dark- 
 ness from discouraged minds; sometimes nursing 
 the sick, and always seeking wjierever she went, to 
 relieve pain and to shed a halo of light around the 
 hearthstone where she dwelt. In every home she 
 was welcomed and anxiously looked for, and never 
 did she fail to leave behind her a more favorable 
 impression of the worth of the Christian religion. 
 It was through these considerate and efficient 
 labors that a church was called for by the people 
 of religious faith living in North and South Clove, 
 and also upon the high ground called the " East 
 Mountain." 
 
 In the fall of 1823, an extensive revival occurred 
 at the "Old Union,"— situated at Greep H aven,— 
 
 * For this sketch we again acknowledge thanks to Rev. Philetus Rob- 
 erts, of Clinton, who has given much valuable information relating to the 
 Churches of this denomination throughout the county. 
 
 t Mother to Rev. Philetus Roberts. 
 
TOWN OF UNION VALE. 
 
 477 
 
 and many converts were baptized in Johnson's 
 Pond, now known as Sylvan Lake. This revival 
 and its results produced a feeling in favor of the 
 erection of a house of worship in the northern part 
 of the town ; as many members resided there and 
 were obUged on each Sabbath to ride eight and ten 
 miles to attend religious service. The matter was 
 earnestly discussed, but the plan was abandoned 
 until the next spring, when it was again and more 
 earnestly revived. During the winter, meetings 
 were sustained at the head of the Clove, at Deacon 
 Stephen Force's on the Ridge, three miles east, 
 and occasionally at Caleb Simpson's, two miles 
 south. 
 
 Dr. Joseph Hall, of Westchester County, having 
 moved into this section began about this time to 
 preach occasionally. To the movement in general 
 there was much opposition, but the friends of 
 liberal Christianity steadily increased and the work 
 went successfully forward. 
 
 In the following spring of 1824, Colonel Henry 
 Uhle and Henry Emigh led off in the erection of a 
 house of worship, the latter giving the land, the 
 former donating the timber and furnishing a large 
 share of the board for the workmen engaged in its 
 construction. Many were liberal in the help they 
 bestowed, and in the early fall succeeding, a neat 
 chapel, for those times, appeared. Ageneral meet- 
 ing was appointed to be held in connection with 
 the dedication of the house, in which service Revs. 
 Joseph Badger, I. C. Goff, Mark Fernald, and Dr. 
 Joseph Hall participated. 
 
 Soon after, a society was organized and supplied 
 for the next four or five years with the itinerant 
 labors of Revs. Levi Hathaway, Daniel Call and 
 John Hollister. It was toward the close of this 
 time that Mr. Hall was ordained in the New York 
 Eastern Conference. Dividing his labors between 
 the calls of his two-fold profession, he suppUed the 
 church as a pastor. for three years or more. 
 
 Octobers, 1834, a general meeting was appoint- 
 ed, and Revs. James Andrew, of Western New 
 York, I. N. Walter, of New York city, and Mrs. 
 Roberts and son,* were in attendance. This 
 meeting resulted in several conversions, and in the 
 removal of much prejudice from the minds of 
 certain professors of religion. 
 
 The Rev. Philetus Roberts soon after received 
 from this church and the church in Kingston dis- 
 trict, near Danbury, Conn., a unanimous call, and 
 here entered upon his labors as a christian minis- 
 
 * Rev. Philetus Roberts, whose ordination to the ministry toolc place 
 one month later, by a council from the New Jersey Christian Conference, 
 of which he was at that time a member. 
 
 ter. Nearly thirty members were added to the 
 Union Vale church during the following winter 
 and spring of 1834-35. His pastorate lasted 
 until the ist of April, 1844. 
 
 Rev. J. R. Hoag, — now laboring in Nebraska, — 
 was the next one called to the pastorate, remain- 
 ing one year. During the succeeding year, the 
 chui'ch being without'a pastor. Rev. Mr. Roberts 
 supplied the congregation for a few months. Rev. 
 Burrough S. Fanton next succeeded to the pastorate. 
 Revs. John Showers and Richard Mosher after- 
 wards supplied the pulpit, their labors covering a 
 period of some five years. 
 
 In the early fall of 1863, the Rev. Philetus Rob- 
 erts, who had supplied the church with occasional 
 preaching and communion services, introduced to 
 the congregation Stephen Wright Butler, a young 
 man just entering the ministry. The church soon 
 after called for his ordination, and Mr. Butler 
 supplied the church for four and a half years. 
 After Mr. Butler's retirement. Nelson Putnam, an 
 unordained minister, occupied the desk, and his 
 labors were duly appreciated. 
 
 Some of the members of the Clove Cemetery 
 Association, whose grounds were some two miles 
 south of the Christian church edifice, were anxious 
 to have a church erected at the entrance to the 
 ■ cemetery. They held out liberal inducements to 
 the church people to take down their chapel * and 
 remove it to the proposed location. Between three 
 and four thousand dollars were raised, and a con- 
 tract entered into with the builder to take the old 
 house and build a larger one, and from a different 
 model. This was done in 187 1 and '72. At the 
 completion of the church building it was formally 
 dedicated to the worship of God, Mr. Roberts giv- 
 ing its past history, and Mr, S. W. Butler, of Fall 
 River, Mass., deUvering the dedicatory discourse. 
 Until the fall of 1880 the new church has been 
 supplied with short pastorates : Revs. D. J.Putnam, 
 P. Roberts, Miss H. L. Halsy, J. Q. Helfenstein, 
 and E. D. Hainer, having during that time offici- 
 ated as ministers to the congregation. Since the 
 'fall of 1880 the Rev. J. L. Hainer has held the 
 pastoral charge. The church is prosperous and 
 self-sustaining. 
 
 Union Vale in the Rebellion. 
 
 In the war of the RebeUion, Union Vale did 
 creditable work. Early in 1861, the people of the 
 town raised by voluntary subscription a considera- 
 
 * This was a frame building and stood opposite the present store of 
 Reuben L. Coe- 
 
478 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 ble amount of money, and applied it in sending to 
 the front some twenty-six men. 
 
 In 1862, the people made up a fund of $2,000, 
 which was devoted to filling the quotas to the sat- 
 isfaction of the inhabitants of the town and of the 
 State. In 1863, the matter was assumed by the 
 County. In 1864, the duty came under the juris- 
 diction of David D. Vincent, Supervisor; Reu- 
 ben L. Coe, Town Clerk, and John U. Abel, 
 a War Committee, appointed by the people 
 of the town, and the transactions of that Cotamit- 
 tee were as follows : Under the call of July, 1864, 
 they expended in fiUing the quota, which was 
 mainly of. two and three years' men, the sum of 
 $23,246.34, including expenses, which was assessed 
 upon the town, and paid. 
 
 On the subsequent call of December 19, 1864, 
 they sent out fifteen three years' men, at an ex- 
 pense of $10,372.23, including the expense of re- 
 cruiting. They also expended for soldiers' relief 
 the sum of $326.65. The total ataount of money 
 raised for the expenses of the war was $36,229.39. 
 The following from the record compiled by 
 Reuben L. Coe, agreeable to the law of 1865, is 
 the list of volunteers from this town: — 
 
 150M. Regiment. — John D. Appleby, Matthew 
 Bier, Harris Baker, killed in battle ; Theodore 
 Baker,* killed by accident ; Albert Clements, John 
 Evans, John L. Delamater, Thaddeus Emigh, An- 
 drew J. Emigh, Alexander Ferguson, John Gallen- 
 beck, a native of Germany; Robert G. Gunbert, 
 a native of England ; Casper Gilbert, a 
 native of Germany; David Howard, Silas 
 Howard, George W. Holden, Charles D. 
 Losee, John Lane, a native of Union Vale ; 
 Jeremiah Lane, a native of Union Vale ;t Egbert 
 M. Lee, a native of Dover; Rensselaer Lane, 
 born in Union Vale; Charles K. Odell, Daniel 
 Ousterhout, died since his discharge; Thomas 
 Rossell, a native of Beekman ; John H. Sprague, 
 a native of Union Vale ; William R. Smalley, a 
 native of Putnam , county, color bearer; Richard 
 Still, a native of La Grange; Henry Liman, a 
 native of Germany. 
 
 \2?>th Regiment— Co. H. — Edmund A. Whit- 
 man, born in New York City, and LaFayette 
 Lester. 
 
 Co. I. — David Mclntyre, a native of Dover, 7th 
 Corporal; George W. Gray, 8th Corporal; Ben- 
 jamin Kelly, Patrick Manahan, a native of Ireland; 
 Amos Fraganzie, lost an arm at Port H udson ; 
 
 * It is not definitely known that either he or Harris Baker belonged to 
 this reginient. 
 t Died in June, 1881. 
 
 Charles A. Appleby, Benjamin Barrett, Henry L. 
 Benson, died in the service; Uriah Davidson, 
 Jeremiah Lane, John Lake, Henry Mackey, killed 
 at battle of Port Hudson ; Charles Roselle, a na- 
 tive of Beekman ; David Ryan, a native of Cana- 
 da; Theodore Vail, (Slocum?) a native of Union 
 Vale; Oliver Slocum, Charles E. Dennis and 
 James E. Gifford. 
 
 Company Unknown.* — George Wentworth, en- 
 listed in September, 1862; John Fitzgerald, a na- 
 tive of Ireland, enlisted Sept. 6, 1862; Levi L. 
 Brooks, a native of Beekman ; WiUiam H. Cash. 
 
 <)%th Regiment. — James F. Clark, George H. 
 Cole, William H. Cole, Michael Cushman, a native 
 of Ireland ; John Clements, Marcus L. Dinge, 
 William H. Lane, a native of Connecticut ; Henry 
 J. Proper. 
 
 16th ISr. Y. Artillery.— GWhtxt Emigh, George 
 Robson, a native of Pleasant Valley ; Isaiah Smal- 
 ley, a native of Putnam county ; Stephen Scott, 
 born in Amenia in 1836, enlisted in Co. B in 
 1 86 1, served twenty-two months and was discharged 
 for disability; Jacob See, a native of Milan, N. Y. 
 
 ^tAN. V. Artillery.— Joseph F. Dunham, a na- 
 tive of New Jersey. 
 
 6tA N. Y. Artillery. — Horace Totten, born in 
 New York city. 
 
 i^h Heavy Artillery. — Thomas Lane, a resi- 
 dent of Union Vale, died Dec. 16, 1881, aged 75; 
 Gilbert H. Purdy, enlisted Jan. 4, 1861, re-en- 
 listed in the navy ; Charles Potter, a native of New 
 Milford, Conn. 
 
 20th Colored Regiment. — Augustus Freeman; 
 John J. Freeman, killed ; Perry C. Freeman. 
 
 dist N. Y. Volunteers.— WMam H. Hdght, a 
 native of Sharon, Conn. 
 
 8tA JV. Y. Battalion.— Wi]lia.m H. Burch. 
 
 4&tA JV. Y. Regiment M. ¥. S. F^/j.— Charles 
 Lane, a native of Union Vale; died in 1881; 
 ^, George Lane, a native of Union Vale, killed in 
 Florida. 
 
 ZotA Regiment, IV. Y. S. r<)/f.— Brownell Lee, 
 a native of the town of Washington. 
 
 dtk M Y. Cavalry.— Aaxon Burr Austin, born 
 in Union Vale in 1813, enlisted in 1861, served 
 two years, and was discharged on account of disa- 
 bility, now living at Clove. 
 
 8otk N. Y.S. Volunteers.— Ltyns Stadelman, a 
 native of Germany; Randolph Schermerhorn, a 
 native of Germany. 
 
 joth JSr. Y. S. Volunteers.— WiWisLm H. Wright, 
 
 the*7z8,TR "T"' '"""^''.S'"- ■" *= '°wn's records as having entered 
 the izsth Regt., are not g.ven in the official record of that regiment. 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 
 
 479 
 
 born in Newburgh, N. Y., enlisted in April, 1 86 1 ; 
 wounded at second battle of Bull Run, and had a 
 leg amputated ; was discharged, and re-enlisted in 
 the Invalid Corps in July, 1863; he suffered a 
 second amputation of his leg and was discharged. 
 
 Veteran Reserve Corps. — Jacob Mayer, a native 
 of Germany, Jan. 12, 1865; James Macay, a na- 
 tive of Ireland ; John Uthane, a native of Ger- 
 many. 
 
 Regiments Unknown. — Hiram 
 Acy, John Dufiie, died since dis- 
 charge; WilUam Hartpck, a na- 
 tive of Germany j James Hamil- 
 ton, killed by accidental discharge 
 of a gun ; Edward Lyon, a native 
 of England; Andrew Potter, 
 Clark Stilwell, a native of Pough- 
 keepsie ; Charles Townsend, Jno. 
 H. Townsend, Thomas Tallady, 
 a native of Dover ; William Tal- 
 lady, a native of Union Vale, 
 died in hospital. 
 
 " When the shadow of the approaching Revolu- 
 tion began to darken over the colonies, the exposed 
 situation of Nantucket caused many of the inhabit- 
 ants to emigrate to the main-land. Among them 
 was Abishai Coffin, a descendant of the fourth gen- 
 eration from the patriarch Tristram, who selected 
 a home for his young wife and children in the val- 
 ley of the Hudson. His dread of tide-water, as 
 connected in his mind with the expected Brit;s}i 
 men of war, possibly influenced his choice of 
 location, for he settled far out among windings 
 
 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 
 
 THE COFFIN FAMILY. 
 
 This ancient family, which 
 is numerously represented in 
 Duchess County, is of Norman- 
 French origin, but more direct- 
 ly of English descent. It is 
 said that the lineage of its present younger mem- 
 bers can be traced back through eleven genera- 
 tions, with all the names and most of the important 
 dates (of births, deaths and marriages,) ascertained 
 and reUable, 
 
 pioneer and ancestor of 
 came from Devonshire, 
 located in Massachusetts, 
 the island of Nantucket, 
 of which he was one of the first owners and settlers 
 and where he died in 1681. In Aug., 188 1, two hund- 
 red years after his death, large numbers of his de- 
 scendants, coming from many of our states and 
 territories and from foreign lands, journeyed to 
 Nantucket, and there held a grand memorial 
 re-union, the exercises lasting for three successive 
 days. The following extract from an oration de- 
 livered upon that occasion by Tristram Coffin of 
 Poughkeepsie, contains some interesting informa- 
 tion in regard to the branch of the family trans- 
 planted to this county. 
 
 Tristram Coffyn, the 
 the American branch, 
 England, in 1642, and 
 In 1660 he removed to 
 
 HEMLOCK FARM "—THE FORMER HOMESTEAD OF ALEXANDER H. COFFIN.) 
 
 the hills, beyond the reach and almost beyond the 
 sound of their cannon, which soon after awoke the 
 echoes along the river banks. His low, brown 
 house* with long sloping roof, which stood hard by 
 the country road, disappeared long ago, but the lit- 
 tle spring near at hand is still as fresh and pure as 
 when he first took up his abode beside it. Some 
 among those of his grandsons who are with us here 
 to-day remember him well ; his stout walking-staff, 
 broad-brimmed hat and pleasant "thee" and 
 " thou " are among their earliest recollections, and 
 they speak with affectionate respect of his sincere 
 nature, his upright life and excellent standing in 
 the community in which he lived and died. Sixty 
 years have scarcely elapsed since he was laid at 
 rest in the old Nine Partners graveyard, and 
 already his descendants, now living, number two 
 hundred and forty souls. They are scattered far 
 and wide in many States, from New England to 
 
 * This house stood on what is now known as the " Tristram Coffin 
 farm " near the village of Little Rest, in the town of Washington. 
 
480 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 California, and are represented in this gathering by 
 about one-twelfth of their entire number." 
 
 Robert Coffin, the son of Abishai, died in 1842, 
 aged 64 years, and rests with his father and many 
 other deceased members of the family, in the 
 burial ground attached to the Friends' " Old Brick" 
 meeting house in the hamlet of Mechanic. He is 
 said to have been an exceptionally able, active and 
 successful man, constantly employed in public 
 capacities, political and otherwise, and his memory 
 is yet cherished and held in high esteem by many 
 ameng the older inhabitants throughout the county. 
 His home in Washington, where he Uved and died, 
 is now owned and occupied by Robert G. Coffin, 
 his youngest son. He left ten children, nine of 
 whom are still living, the average of their ages 
 being sixty-eight years. Among them are Alexan- 
 der H. Coffin, of Poughkeepsie, (formerly of Union 
 Vale,) an ex-member of the State Legislature ; 
 Hezekiah R. Coffin, of Washington, who has been 
 a Justice of the Peace in his native town for nearly 
 a quarter of a century ; Owen T. Coffin of Peeks- 
 kill, who is now serving his second term as Surro- 
 gate of Westchester County ; Geo. W. Coffin, of 
 Cahfornia, who is creditably identified with some 
 of the notable public and private undertakings in 
 progress in that distant state, and William H. 
 Coffin of St. Louis, Mo., who has been for many 
 years prominently connected, as President, Director, 
 etc., with railroad building and management upon 
 a large scale, both east and west of the Missis- 
 sippi. 
 
 For about thirty years past the members of this 
 branch of the family, old and young, have annually 
 assembled in joyous reunion at the home of some 
 one of their number in their ancestral county ; thus 
 keeping fresh and warm the affection for each other 
 natural between those of kindred blood. Did our 
 space permit, this article could easily be extended 
 by giving additional particulars relating to this in- 
 telligent and well known family, and further ap- 
 propriate personal mention of others among its 
 individual members of the younger, as well as the 
 older generation, now living, who have done honor 
 to the name and to their native soil in their vari- 
 ous walks in Ufe. 
 
 CHAPTER XLII. 
 History of the Town of Dover. 
 
 THE town of Dover hes on the southeastern 
 border of the county. It is bounded on the 
 north by Amenia and Washington ; on the south 
 by Pawling ; on the east by Connecticut ; and on 
 the west by Union Vale and Beekman. The town 
 abounds in wild and beautiful scenery. On the 
 eastern and western borders are ranges of hills 
 almost mountainous in their dimensions, while the 
 center forms a valley, some four hundred feet 
 
 above tide water, containing thrifty farms and 
 pleasant villages. The principal streams are Ten 
 Mile River and Swamp River. 
 
 Dover was formed as a town from PawUng, Feb- 
 ruary 20, 1807. It is not definitely known by 
 whom the town was first settled, but it is supposed 
 that the first settlements were made by the Dutch 
 who came here from the vicinity of Hudson River. 
 Among the early home makers in this region we 
 find the old Dutch names of Ousterhout, Van Du- 
 sen, Dutcher and Knickerbocker. It is said that 
 the first named — the Ousterhouts — and the Wil- 
 cox's, Dutchers and Bensons were the first settlers, 
 and that they located under the East Mountain ; 
 but there are no dates accessible to define the time 
 of their incoming. 
 
 In the cemetery at Dover Plains are a consider- 
 able number of moss covered tombstones, fast 
 hastening to decay, on which are inscribed 
 the names of those who "were undoubtedly among 
 the earliest to seek a home in this, pleasing valley. 
 As much to preserve from oblivion these names 
 and epitaphs, which will soon pass from the knowl- 
 edge of the living, as to give the names of the 
 pioneers who laid the foundations of the town, we 
 give here some of the oldest of the inscriptions. 
 
 Around a large tree, near the eastern side of this 
 burial ground, are three stones which have been 
 removed from the resting place of those whom 
 they commemorate, and which stand there like 
 hoary sentinels guarding the dead. The first of 
 these is to the memory of an Ousterhout, said, as 
 before stated, to have been one of the first families 
 in this town. The inscriptions, nearly obliterated, 
 read : — 
 
 " In memory of Mr. John Ousterhout, who died 
 Jan'nf- 29, 1759. JE. 55 years." 
 
 " In memory of Denton Wogl/ey, who died May 
 20, 1777, in the 36th year of his age." 
 
 "In memory of Deborah, wife to Nathaniel 
 Gray, died June 13, 1770, M. 31. 
 
 " Here in this tomb interred lies 
 A friend that was mq/"t dear. 
 Although Pale Death has closed her eyes 
 Her memory still is here." 
 
 In this same section of the cemetery are other 
 ancient slabs, some of them bearing quaint in- 
 scriptions. One of them commemorative of a 
 centennarian, reads thus: — 
 
 "In memory of Ephraim Wheeler, who departed 
 this life May 10, 1808, in the lopthyearof hisage. 
 
 " Beneath this monument 1 lie, 
 Intombed in silent dust. 
 When Christ shall raise the dead may I 
 Be found among the just." 
 
TOWN OF DOVER. 
 
 481 
 
 Another is to 
 
 "Capt. Valentine Wheeler, died Aug. 11, 1782. 
 M 42 years." 
 
 And one to 
 
 " MatthewVanDusen, died Sept. 5, 1806. M 65." 
 
 Other inscriptions are as follows : — 
 
 " Jemima Burllinggame, wife of Benjamin Burl- 
 linggame, died June 8, 1790, in the 41st year 
 of her age." 
 
 '* Hannah, wife of William Taber, died June 
 9th, 1792. & 81" 
 
 "Hannah, wife of Job Tabor,* died May i, 
 1800. M 57." 
 
 "Silas Belding, died April 6, 1786. M 69." 
 
 " Elizabeth, wife of Gabriel Butcher, died April 
 
 23, 1793- ^ 73-" 
 
 "H. F. 
 
 "In memory of Mrs. Hannah French, wife of 
 Mr. Jeremiah French, who departed this life Oct. 
 29, 1776. & 61." 
 
 * ' Death is a Debt by Nature due, 
 
 Which I have paid, and fo must you. 
 Our time on earth is yhort we ^e, 
 O 1 then prepare to follow me " 
 
 Other early settlers were : Hans Hufcut,t Mar- 
 tin Preston, the Gilletts,t the Bensons, David 
 Rose, and the Schermerhorns. Hans Hufcut and 
 Martin Preston settled on what is known as Pres- 
 ton Mountain, and the latter is said to have been 
 the first settler on the " Equivalent Land," or the 
 Oblong. 
 
 Thomas and AUce Casey, from Rhode Island, 
 emigrated here about 1750, and located on what 
 is now known as Chestnut Ridge. Their daugh- 
 ter was grandmother to the wife of Benson J. 
 Lossing, the historian. Derrick Dutcher and 
 Jacob VanCamp came here previous to 1731, and 
 located near Plymouth Hill. 
 
 One of the first mills in this section of the coun- 
 try was that known as the Preston Mill, which in 
 early days had an extensive reputation. The orig- 
 inal structure has long since passed away, and the 
 building which now occupies its site was built 
 about a hundred years ago. 
 
 Ebenezer Preston built three grist mills on Ten 
 Mile River. The present one is now owned by 
 WiUiam A. Sheldon, at South Dover. 
 
 One of the eccentric characters of the earlier 
 days was John Preston, who kept a tavern in the 
 town somewhere about the year 18 10. His place 
 was a great resort, and he, with his fund of humor, 
 was widely known. 
 
 Previous to the erection of the town the annual 
 meetings were held "in the tavern of Jackson Wing, 
 
 • Job Tabor died July 2j, iSoj. m 5;. 
 
 t Great-grandfather to Horace Hufcut. 
 
 X The Gilletts came here from Rhode Island about 1742, 
 
 a place of considerable repute in those days. The 
 first town meeting after the erection of the town 
 was held in 1807. The first pages of the book of 
 records, containing the names of the officers 
 elected, have been destroyed. The first Supervisor 
 of the town was George Crary, and James Ketch- 
 am was the first town clerk. The succession of 
 Supervisors and Clerks from that date to i88r has 
 been as follows : — 
 
 Supervisors. Clerks. 
 
 1807. George Crary, James Ketcham. 
 
 1808. Andrew Pray, do do 
 1809-10. do do John Wing. 
 181 1. James Ketcham, Archibald Ross. 
 1812-15. do do Andrew Pray. 
 1816. James Grant, John T. Hotchkiss. 
 1817-20. do do William Hooker. 
 
 1821. WiUiam Hooker, Leonard Vincent. 
 
 1822. James Grant, do do 
 
 1823. Absalom Vincent, Zebulon Ross, 
 i824-'25. do do Benjamin K.Delavan, 
 1826-28. do do Henry Ward. 
 
 1829. William Hooker, John M. Ketcham. 
 
 1830. John M. Ketcham, Hiram K. Whitely. 
 
 1831. do . do Joseph Ross. 
 
 1832. do do Luther Dutcher. 
 
 1833. John M. Ketcham, Thos. H. Stevens. 
 
 1834. William Hooker, do do 
 
 1835. Joel Hoag, do do 
 1836-37. John M. Ketcham, do do 
 
 1838. Absalom Vincent, Jackson W. Bowdish. 
 
 1839. Egbert Shelden, Simeon M. Collier.* 
 
 1840. John M. Ketcham, Jackson W. Bowdish. 
 
 1841. Egbert Shelden, David D. Vincent. 
 
 1842. William Hooker, David Tilton. 
 
 1843. J. W. Bowdish, Richard Chapman. 
 
 1844. David Vincent, do do 
 
 1845. do do George T. Ross. 
 
 1846. Edgar Vincent, do do 
 
 1847. do do Shandanette Wheeler. 
 
 1 848. Ebn'zer' A. Preston, Preston Wing. 
 
 1849. S. Wheeler, A. G. Hungerford. 
 
 1850. Edward B. Somers, George T. Ross, 
 jgei. do do Hiram W. Chapman. 
 
 1852. John M. Tabor, Baldwin Stevens. 
 
 1853. GeorgeHufcut, Jr., J. VanNess Benson. 
 1 854-55. John H. Ketcham, George T. Ross. 
 
 1856. William Hufcut, Allen H. Dutcher. 
 
 1857. John B. Dutcher, Henry W. Preston. 
 
 1858. T. Hammond, Jr., Allen H. Dutcher. 
 
 1859. Wm. S. Ketcham, do do 
 i860. Allen H. Dutcher, Wm. A. Sheldon. 
 
 1 86 1. Obed Wing, Abel C. Benedict. 
 
 1862. do do B. F. Chapman. 
 
 1863. Baldwin Stevens, Hiram W. Dutcher. 
 
 1864. Edwin Vincent, Wm. N. Belding. 
 i86«;. do do Horace D. Hufcut. 
 1866-67. Wm. S. Ketcham, Theo. Buckingham. 
 t868. Cyrus Stark, Andrew J. Ketcham. 
 
 1869. Horace D. Hufcut, Hiram Whitely. 
 
 1870. G eo, W. Ketcham, John M. Tabor. 
 
 • Elected by the Justices of the Peace. 
 
482 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 1871. 
 1872. 
 
 1873. 
 1874. 
 
 1875-76. 
 
 1877. 
 
 1878. 
 
 1879. 
 
 1880. 
 
 1881. 
 
 Edwin Vincent, 
 Obed Wing, 
 M. Edmonds, 
 Cyrus Stark, 
 Myron Edmonds, 
 Andris Brant, 
 William H. Boyce, 
 Geo. T. Belding, 
 Edwin Vincent, 
 Andris Brant, 
 
 Chas. H. Hermans. 
 John H. Baker. 
 Andrew J. Ketcham. 
 Perry Edmonds. 
 Theo. Buckingham, 
 
 do do 
 
 Geo. E. Sherman. 
 John Chamberlin. 
 Theo. Buckingham. 
 Calvin W. Hall. 
 
 Dover Plains. 
 
 The village of Dover Plains Ues in the northern 
 part of the town on the line of the New York & 
 Harlem R. R. This is the most important settle- 
 ment in the town and contains a population of 
 721.* It is situated in the midst of charming 
 scenery and has in its immediate vicinity natural 
 curiosities which have attracted thousands of visit- 
 ors. One of these, a rocky ravine, worn deep in 
 the mountain west of the village, whose arched 
 opening resembles the entrance to some cathedral 
 of mediaeval times is known as the " Dover Stone 
 Church." Within this entrance is a somewhat 
 spacious cavern, roofed and walled by massive 
 rocks, while beyond, pierced deep in the mountain, 
 stretches a mile or two of picturesque ravine. The 
 vicinity looks as though there had been at some 
 time a great convulsion of nature which had lifted 
 the rocks and hurled them into their present fan- 
 tastic and suggestive shapes. It is claimed, how- 
 ever, that the conformation is due wholly to the 
 action of water, which, even now, in a goodly 
 stream courses down the gully. 
 
 The "church" f is reached from the main street 
 of the village by a pleasant lane that crosses the 
 stream and expands into an acre or two of grassy 
 meadow, well shaded, and affording an admirable 
 place for picnics. From this place a short and 
 easy pathway, cut at the foot of a rocky declivity 
 and along the margin of the brook, leads to the 
 door of the church. At a little distance the inte- 
 rior appears black, but it is found tp be illuminated 
 by a sky-light formed by a fissure in the rocks 
 above. This light is pleasantly reflected upon the 
 rocky sides of the church from a pool formed by 
 the brook on the floor, and reveals a fallen mass 
 of rock which the imaginative observer calls the 
 " pulpit." Out of the arched door the brook,— 
 the patient architect of the church,— flows gently, 
 and then leaps in cascades and rapids to the plain 
 
 * The population of the town, according to the census of 1880, is i,i8i. 
 In 1870 it was 2,279, with 244 foreign and 33 colored. In 1875 it was 
 2,173, with 184 foreign and 25 colored. 
 
 t From a sketch by Benson J. Lossing. 
 
 below. From the apex of the roof, many feet 
 above the floor, the cavern gradually widens, until 
 at the base the span of the arch is about twenty- 
 five feet. Altogether, this natural excavation is so 
 wrought as to give the beholder the idea of a 
 temple of worship; and the stillness that reigns 
 within, broken only by the music of gently falling 
 water, and the subdued gloom which there continu- 
 ally abides, is calculated to inspire the contemplative 
 mind with devotional feelings. This "cleft in the 
 rocks" is a fair model of some of the places of de- 
 votion when the world was young, and mankind 
 was in its infancy — in that far off' time known as 
 the " pre-historic ages." 
 
 This spot, like many other weird places in our 
 country, has its traditionary legend. History tells 
 us that Sassacus, the haughty Sachem of the Pe- 
 quods, and Emperor over many tribes between the 
 Thames and Housatonic rivers, where, more than 
 two hundred years ago that nation made war upon 
 the white and dusky people of Connecticut,* was 
 compelled by the destruction of his army, to fly 
 for his life. Captain Mason, with New England 
 soldiers and Indian aUies from Rhode Island and 
 its vicinity, had suddenly invaded the dominions of 
 Sassacus. The proud Sassacus was seated upon a 
 hill overlooking the site of New London, when 
 news of the terrrible disaster reached him. He 
 and his warriors seeing no chance for success in a 
 battle with the invaders, fled across the Thames 
 and westward, hotly pursued by the English and 
 their aUies, and sought refuge in Sasco Swamp, 
 near Fairfield. The beautiful Pequod country, 
 stretching along the shores of Long Island Sound, 
 was desolated. Wigwams and gardens disappeared 
 before the despoiling English, and women and chil- 
 dren were not spared. Sassacus made a stand at 
 the swamp, but at the close of a sharp battle, 
 nearly all of his followers became captives. He 
 escaped with less than a dozen followers, and con- 
 tinued his flight westward. His nation had per- 
 ished in a day, and only the small captive remnant 
 survived to transmit to their posterity the traditions 
 of their national woes. 
 
 Sassacus and his handful of followers fled 
 over the mountains into the beautiful valley of the 
 Housatonic, to Kent Plains, from which they were 
 speedily driven by pursuers, and climbing the 
 great hills westward of that region, descended into 
 the lovely valley of the Weebutook, or Ten Mile 
 River. There, on the site of Dover Plains village, 
 tradition tells us, they encount ered a strong band 
 
 *The latter were the Mohegans, who had rebelled against his authority. 
 
TOWN OF DOVER. 
 
 483 
 
 of Mohegan hunters, who were also trained warriors, 
 from whom Sassacus and his men barely escaped 
 destruction after a fierce conflict, and took refuge 
 in the watery cavern now known as the Dover 
 Stone Church, a cool and safe retreat at that mid- 
 summer time, when the stream was low, and the 
 cavern was mostly dry. The Mohegan hunters 
 did not discover their retreat ; and a week after- 
 wards, when the latter had left the valley, Sassacus 
 and his young braves, who had been joined by a 
 few other fugitives, followed the Weebutook north- 
 ward, substituting on the fish with which it abound- 
 ed, and the berries that grew on the plains. They 
 made their way to the land of the Mohawks, near 
 Albany, craving the hospitality of that nation, 
 which was denied. The sequel is told by Gover- 
 nor Winthrop in his " Journal," in which, under 
 date of August 5, 1637, (two months after the 
 destruction of the army of Sassacus) he wrote : — 
 
 " Mr. Ludlow, Mr. Pincheon and about twelve 
 more, came by land from Connecticut, and brought 
 with them a part of the skin and lock of hair of 
 Sassacus and his brother, and five other Pequod 
 Sachems who, being fled to the Mohawks for shelter, 
 with their wampum (being to the value of ;£'soo) 
 were by them surprised and slain, with twenty of 
 their best men." 
 
 Almost a hundred years after the battle of Sasco 
 Swamp, a descendant of one of the Pequod cap- 
 tives taken there, named "Mah-wee,'' was with a 
 party of hunters who chased a buck to the top of 
 some high hills, from which they looked down into 
 a valley flooded with golden light, and traversed by 
 a winding river. Thither to that valley, in which 
 they found rich corn lands, they took their families, 
 and near the confluence of a small stream and the 
 river, on the site of the village of Kent, they made 
 a settlement and called it Pish-gach-ti-gock,* " the 
 meeting of the waters." The river they called 
 Hoosa-tah-nook, the "stream over the mountains." 
 This settlement was composed largely of Pequods 
 mixed with a few New England Indians, and Mah- 
 wee became their Sachem about the year 1728. 
 Before that event, he was hunting in the mountains 
 west of the Housatonic, and from their summits he 
 discovered the beautiful valley of the Weebutook, 
 or Ten Mile River. He descended into it, and found 
 the river full of fish and the forest swarming with 
 game. Mahwee built there a wigwam for his fam- 
 ily, and brought them to it ; and near the spot 
 where Sassacus, the former sovereign of his nation, 
 had his sharp fight with the Mohegans, he gathered 
 a settlement over which he ruled. Mahwee became 
 
 * Pish-gach-ti-gock has been corrupted into ^^ Scaghticook." 
 
 a Moravian convert to Christianity, and after rul- 
 ing the settlement at Pish-gach-ti-gock with wis- 
 dom, he died greatly respected by the white peo- 
 ple. Mahwee's grand-daughter, Eunice,* who was 
 twice married, died in Kent a few years ago, at the 
 age of about one hundred years, a consistent mem- 
 ber of the Congregational Church, to which she 
 became attached when she was eighty-five years of 
 age. 
 
 Thus through fact and fancy, through tradition 
 and history, is woven the name of the Dover 
 Stone Church — the cathedral fashioned by nature's 
 hand. We know not its beginning; we cannot 
 predict its end. It existed when this country was 
 a wilderness; when the name of Duchess was un- 
 known ; when even our government and the pro- 
 gress of to-day were not so much as the basis of a 
 dream. In the rush of its cascades the Red Man 
 heard the voice of the Great Spirit and his war 
 song was hushed. In the murmur of its waters 
 the White Man heard the melody of a more civil- 
 ized worship, and stood with solemn awe in this 
 house not formed by human hands — the Temple 
 of the Almighty. It has witnessed the changes of 
 centuries. It has seen the Red Man fade and die 
 like some exotic flower. It has seen the White 
 Man come in all the freshness of civilization ; its 
 melodious stream has chanted a requiem over his 
 generations dead and gone, and still the ancient 
 arch guards the wild ravine, and the never tiring 
 stream, as it patiently hews out newer and more 
 fanciful forms, gives to the breeze the song of en- 
 durance : — 
 
 ** Men may come and men may go, 
 But I go on forever, ever, 
 I go on forever. " 
 
 To the south of the Dover Stone Church, possi- 
 bly a mile, where a small stream comes down the 
 mountain, are The Wells — cavities worn to various 
 depths in the rock by the action of the water. These 
 wells range from three to a dozen feet in depth, 
 and the smooth and sloping rocks on either side 
 render access to them quite dangerous.j The 
 scenery in this vicinity is wild and beautiful, and 
 from this point a fine view is obtained of the vil- 
 lage nestling in the valley below. 
 
 It is not definitely known when or by whom the 
 first settlement was made at this point. In 1802 
 the village contained less than a dozen buildings, 
 and among the few residents were Cornelius 
 Dutcher, Jonathan Mabbett, Doctor Berry and 
 James K etcham. Among the first merchants in 
 
 * Her name was also spelled '* Mauwee." 
 
 t In one of these wells, a few years since, a man lost his life in a fool- 
 hardy attempt to cross the stream above it. 
 
484 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 this vicinity if not the pioneers in business — 
 were Stephen, Justus and Uriah Gregory.* They 
 rented from Lawrence Belding a piece of ground 
 some eight rods square, at the foot of Plymouth 
 Hill, upon which they erected a store and black- 
 smith shop. For this ground they paid a yearly 
 rental of forty shillings, their lease, — which was 
 dated April i, 1790, — to continue five years. 
 From this place they commenced business in Paw- 
 lingstown, now Dover Plains. Not long after the 
 removal, Stephen Gregory withdrew, and Justus 
 and Uriah M., conducted the business some time 
 and failed, and with their brothers Ebenezer and 
 Elias, moved to Sand Lake, Rensselaer County. 
 
 Luther Holley succeeded the Gregorys in the 
 business, and for some years was a successful mer- 
 chant. He removed to Salisbury, Conn. James 
 Ketcham, Lawrence and Joseph Belding were the 
 next merchants, beginning as partners, first in the 
 store of the Gregorys, and then in HoUey's store, 
 where for eight years they did a prosperous business. 
 
 James Ketcham was for many years a promi- 
 nent man of the town. He was born July 3r, 
 1777, at Little Rest, in the ,town of Washington, 
 this county. In his infancy his parents removed to 
 Hunting, South, Long Island, where his father 
 kept a small country store, abandoning his trade 
 of shoemaking for mercantile pursuits. In 1789, 
 the family returned to the town of Washington, 
 locating near the farm of the late Judge Isaac 
 Smith, where the elder Ketcham opened a small 
 store. In 1790, the father died, and James was 
 placed in the store. He had some advantages of 
 a common school education, and after his father's 
 death worked for a time on the farms of WiUiam 
 Cornwall and a Mr. Pugsley, for the sum of one 
 shilling per day. His father, however, had express- 
 ed a wish to have him engage in mercantile pur- 
 suits. His uncles, Titus and Jonathan Mabbett, 
 were merchants, and built the house now owned 
 by Walter Haight,t in which they had a store. 
 Justus and Uriah Gregory had a store near Law- 
 rence Belding's, and, failing about this time, the 
 Mabbetts hired the store of Lawrence Belding and 
 installed James Ketcham as their clerk. In 1797, 
 Lawrence and Joseph Belding purchased the stock 
 of Jonathan Mabbett, — who had previously pur- 
 chased the interest of Titus Mabbett,— and James 
 Ketcham became one of the firm of Lawrence 
 Belding & Co. In 1797 he married Lois Belding, 
 and on May 6, 1799, Lawrence Belding bought 
 
 * For this and other facts we are indebted to Uriah Gregory, of Pough- 
 keepsie, a nephew of the Gregorys named, 
 t At Little Rest, town of Washington. 
 
 from Luther Holley the house and store at Dover 
 Plains, to which they removed their stock, and 
 where a prosperous business was done up to 1806. 
 Afterwards Jonathan Mabbett purchased with 
 James Ketcham the interest of the Beldings, and 
 the firm became Mabbett & Ketcham, remaining 
 as such to 1810. In that year John Mabbett 
 retired from the business, and James Ketcham 
 became sole proprietor. When the town of Dover 
 was formed from Pawling he was chosen first town 
 clerk. George Casey became the first postmaster. 
 The mail was carried on horseback once a week. 
 After Mr. Casey left the town, James Ketcham 
 was appointed postmaster, and held the office for 
 thirty successive years. Under the administration 
 of Polk he was removed, and Joshua Rodgers was 
 appointed in his stead, holding the office four years. 
 Mr. Ketcham afterwai'd held the office four years. 
 He was a soldier in the war of r8i2, supervisor of 
 the town five years, and a member of the State 
 Legislature in 181 4. He was a merchant up to 
 1827. He died Saturday, November 11, r87r. 
 
 The store of Lawrence and Joseph Belding was 
 the first in the village. It stood on what is now 
 the property of George N. Allerton. 
 
 The house now occupied as a tenant house by 
 Frederic Reed, and owned by the Lessee family, is 
 the only one standing unaltered, which was here 
 when James Ketcham came. 
 
 General John H. Ketcham, the present Member 
 of Congress from this district, is a grandson of 
 James Ketcham. 
 
 The merchants now engaged in business here 
 are as follows: — 
 
 Belding & Hammond, (Geo. T. Belding, Thom- 
 as Hammond.) general merchants, have been in 
 business as a firm four years. The business was 
 estabUshed by them ten years ago. Mr. Ham- 
 mond withdrew from the firm, and re-entered it 
 about four years ago. In their store is kept the 
 postoffice, Geo. T. Belding, postmaster, who was 
 appointed some six or seven years ago. 
 
 Hanna & Preston, (John A. Hanna, Henry W. 
 Preston,) general merchants, began business in 
 March, 1881. They are both natives of Dover, 
 the former born in 1859, the latter in 1830. The 
 building in which they are conducting business 
 was built by Theodore Wing, in 1868. 
 
 Bartholomew McMurray, also a general mer- 
 chant, began business four years ago. He was 
 born in Ireland in 1847, and came to Dover Plains 
 in 1873. 
 
 William Record, dealer in cigars, tobacco and 
 
HOK. JOHH H. KETCHAM. 
 
 Seldom does History present to us a more pleasing sub- 
 ject than the life and history of the Hon. John H. 
 Eetcham. 
 
 His life of usefulness, in both public and private, is 
 ■worthy of emulation, and it befits History to give it to 
 the world for an example that wonla be well followed by 
 the many. 
 
 His career through life may be likened to a deep flow- 
 ing river, constantly fed, as it pursues its way unturned 
 by any obstacle, by the pure waters of heaven, gathering 
 strength and depth as it nears its destination — the mighty 
 ocean. So Mr. Ketoham has lived, a life of quiet yet 
 busy usefulness, gathering new strength and power from 
 each act of beneficence. 
 
 Happy in the associations of his youth, gifted with a 
 kindly genius attracted to the good and great, beloved 
 by them, and finding nourishment in a heroic history and 
 an amiable life, he stands before us a noble character, one 
 of ' ' Nature's omn noblemen. " 
 
 Mr, Ketcham was born in Dover, Duchess Co., 
 December 21st, 1832, and is a representative of one of 
 the oldest families in Eastern New York. He is the 
 second son and child of John M. and Eliza A. Ketoham, 
 of Dover, Duchess Co. John H. received his education 
 in part at SufBeld, Conn., and at Worcester, Mass., where 
 he was graduated inl8.'51. On his return to his native town 
 he formed a partnership with his older brother 'Wni. S. , 
 engaging in farming and an extensive marble business, 
 which they continued successfully for several years. It 
 was while he was engaged in this, that he was called upon 
 to come out from the retirement of private life and take 
 the ofifioes of Town Supervisor and Member of Assembly 
 for two terms, also representing the State in the Senate. 
 In 1861, at the breaking out of the War, he was appoint- 
 ed by Gov. Morgan a member of the War Committee for 
 the counties of Duchess and Columbia, and was after- 
 wards commissioned to raise a regiment, which he did, 
 filling out his quota with the picked men of the county, 
 largely from the best and most intelligent families. 
 
 His Keginient, (the 1.50th New York Infantry,) was at 
 first ordered to Baltimore, afterwards took part in the 
 ever memorable battle of Gettysburg, suffering severely. 
 Again recruiting and filling up his Eegimeut, he moved 
 
 south-west joining Gen. Sherman, and with him moved 
 on to Atlanta, Ga. in his notable "March to the Sea." 
 While on duty on Argyle Island, near the mouth of 
 Savannah Eiver, he received a wound, from the effects 
 of which he has never entirely recovered, besides his 
 general health becoming much impaired from privation 
 and exposure. 
 
 While at Savannah he was promoted to the rank of 
 Brigadier General by brevet, afterwards to Brigadier- 
 General and subsequently Major-General by brevet. Fol- 
 lowing this when on duty at Atlanta, he received the nomi- 
 nation for member of Congress from his home district, 
 and was elected by a large majority. He has since served 
 six terms in the same office, and now in 1880 has received 
 the seventh proof of the confidence of the people of his 
 District. His nominations have been made by acclama- 
 tion, and he has been supported by the people in his 
 District irrespective of party. He has always been untir- 
 ing and unremitting in his efforts to promote the wishes 
 and interests of his constituents. 
 
 His privilege and pleasure will continue to be to keep 
 the interests of those whom he represents ever foremost 
 and to serve them to the utmost of his ability. 
 
 During the interval — about three years — that Mr. 
 Eetcham was not a representative in Congress, he was 
 appointed by President Grant with Ex-Gov Dennison of 
 Ohio and the late H. T. Blow of Wisconsin, Commission- 
 ers of the District of Columbia, and served with his usual 
 energy and fidelity, and to the great satisfaction of the 
 people of the District. 
 
 Mr. Ketcham was married February 4th, 1868, to Miss 
 Augusta A. Belden, daughter of Wilh'am H. and Sarah 
 Belden, of Amenia, Duchess Co., now residing in New 
 York City. The parents of Mr. and Mrs. Ketcham were 
 among the earliest and representative families of the 
 County. 
 
 The fruit of their marriage has been four children ; 
 two sons and one daughter are living, named Henry, 
 Charles and Ethel. 
 
 He is a man of warm impulses, and always ready to help 
 a friend or do a kind act for a fellow being. He is one 
 of the most popular men of his county, and is known 
 and recognized as the poor man's friend. 
 
TOWN OF DOVER. 
 
 485 
 
 confectionery, began business in October, i88r, 
 succeeding James Brant, who had conducted the 
 business two years. 
 
 Boyce & Son, dealers in coal, flour and feed, 
 began business as a firm in October, 1881. The 
 business was established by William H. Boyce ten 
 years ago. 
 
 Jeremiah Woldren, furnishing undertaker, estab- 
 lished that business here nine years ago. 
 
 David Maher, the proprietor of the Dover Plains 
 Marble Works, has been in business here since 
 1867. He was born in Ireland in 1845, and came 
 to Dover Plains in 1862. 
 
 Among the early physicians was Dr. Thomas 
 Hammond, who began his practice here in 1824, 
 and continued it to 1869. He was a surgeon in 
 the war of 1812. He died in Port Huron, Mich., 
 in May, 1880. Previous to him a Dr. Delavan 
 was a practitioner of the town for a number of 
 years. Dr. Hooker was also an early physician, in 
 the south part of the town, contemporaneous with 
 Dr. Hammond. Dr. Thomas Hammond, Jr., be- 
 gan to practice here in 1844, and continued in the 
 profession until. 1869, when he entered the mer- 
 cantile business, in which he remained three years. 
 He then resumed his medical practice, which he 
 continued three years, and again entered the mer- 
 cantile business in which, .under the firm name of 
 Belding & Hammond, he is now engaged. 
 
 The physicians now practicing here are Drs. 
 Wellman and Berry. Dr. George Marvin Well- 
 man, A. M., was born in Springfield, Mass., 
 in 1837. He graduated from Georgetown Medical 
 College, D. C., in 1868, and came to Dover Plains 
 in 1869. During the Rebellion he was Ward 
 Master in the hospitals at Washington. 
 
 Dr. Charles H. Berry was born at Lake Mahopac, 
 Putnam County, N. Y., in 1842. He graduated 
 from the Medical Department of the University of 
 Michigan, in the class of '68, and in .that year 
 came to Dover Plains, where he has since prac- 
 ticed. 
 
 The lawyers now practicing here are Horace D. 
 Hufcut and Robert A. Mc Glasson. 
 
 Horace D. Hufcut, a native of Dover, was born 
 October 12, 1836. He received his education at 
 Poughkeepsie and in the Amenia Seminary, studied 
 law with his father, George Hufcut, and was ad- 
 mitted to the bar in i860. 
 
 George Hufcut was admitted to practice in 1848, 
 and followed his profession here for some forty 
 years. He died in Dover Plains, in May, 1880. 
 Robert A. Mc Glasson was born in Westchester 
 
 County, in 1833. He came to Dover Plains in 
 i860, studied law with Horace D. Hufcut, was ad- 
 mitted to the bar in 1875, and has since been con- 
 nected with Mr. Hufcut in the practice of his 
 profession. 
 
 The village has one newspaper, the Dover Press, 
 which was established by S. B. Shaw, its present 
 editor and proprietor, in 1878. The first number 
 was issued November 29th, of that year. It is a 
 weekly, published every Friday. 
 
 The Dover Plains Bank was organized in 1857 
 as a State Bank. The officers were: David .L. 
 Belding, President; John H. Ketcham, Vice Presi- 
 dent; George T. Ross, Cashier. 
 
 In 1865, the bank was re-organized as a National 
 Bank with the following officers : David L. Belding, 
 President; John H. Ketcham, Vice President; W. 
 S. Morgan, Cashier. The present officers are: 
 George W. Ketcham, President; Edwin Vincent, 
 Vice-President; A. J. Ketcham, Cashier. The 
 capital of the bank is $100,000; surplus, $35,000. 
 Up to July I, 1881, the bank has paid in dividends 
 $132,000, with a surplus, at that time, of $30,- 
 005.70. The building in which the business of the 
 bank is transacted was built in 1857. 
 
 The Dover Plains Lodge, No. 666, F: &> A. M., 
 was organized August 13th, 1867. The members 
 to whom the Dispensation was granted were : An- 
 drew B. Hammond, Isaac G. Sherman, James Y. 
 Tuthill, Andris Brant, William H. Chapman, The- 
 odore' Wing, Horace D. Hufcut, George T. Beld- 
 ing, John H. Ketcham, Charles F. Segilkin, Wm. 
 B. Ross, Perry W. Chapman, Sewell White, Thos. 
 Arnold and George Hufcut. 
 
 The charter officers were : Andrew B.Hammond 
 W. M.; Andris Brant, S. W.; Isaac G. Sherman, 
 J. W.; George Hufcut, Treas.; Horace D. Hufcut, 
 Secy.; Thonoas Hammond, Jr., S. D.; Robert C. 
 Swift, J. D.; Rev. A. P. Lyon, Chaplain; Isaac A. 
 Morse, Tiler. 
 
 The lodge is in a prosperous condition. It has 
 a membership, according to the last report, of 116. 
 The meetings are held on the evening of every 
 other Thursday. 
 
 The Dover Plains Lodge, No. 423, I. O. G. T, 
 was organized November 17, 1881. The charter 
 officers were : A. J. Ketcham, W. C. T. ; Isaac 
 A. Morse, W. S. ; Mrs. G. M. Wellman, W. V. T.; 
 John Hanna, W. T. ; Rev. M. R. Lent, W. C. ; 
 Dr. G. M. Wellman, P. W. C. T. ; A. E. Bangs, 
 L. D. ; David Hanna, I. G. ; James Foster, O. G.; 
 Mrs. A. T. Ketcham, Financial Secretary ; Mrs. 
 A. Brant, R. H. S. ; Miss Jessie Worden, L. H. S.; 
 
486 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 Frank Brant, W. M.; Miss Laura Davis, A. S.; 
 Miss Louise Morse, A. M. The Lodge meets 
 Tuesday evenings, in Reading Room Hall. 
 
 T/ie Reading Room Association of this village, 
 was organized in 1877, by Rev. James M. Bruce, 
 Horace D. Hufcut, Andrew J. Ketcham, Isaac A. 
 Morse, Andris Brant, George N. Perry, Charles 
 F. Segelkin, Samuel B. Shaw, and others. H. D. 
 Hufcut was elected President. S. B. Shaw was 
 the first Secretary. It was supported by voluntary 
 contributions, up to 1881, when it was merged mto 
 the organization of I. O. G. T. 
 
 The Dover Plains Hotel was built by Beldin 
 Dutcher about 1848, by whom it was kept a num- 
 ber of years. The present proprietors are Sparks 
 & Corwin. 
 
 The hotel known as Preston's Hotel was built 
 by George Robson in 1848. The property is 
 now owned by the heirs of George H. Losee, who 
 died November 25, 1881. 
 
 Reed's block (Masonic Hall Building) was built 
 by Mrs. David B. Reed, of New York, in 1868. 
 
 The Military School at Dover Plains was estab- 
 lished by Arthur E. Bangs. 
 
 On the 1 6th of September, 1880, he commenced 
 holding a select school in the village, which opened 
 with twenty-four pupils, and at the end of two 
 weeks the numter had increased to forty-one. 
 
 Being assured by this manifestation of interest 
 that there was a demand for such an institution, 
 he applied to the State authorities for guns and 
 accoutrements, and through the agency of the 
 Hon. John H. Ketcham, obtained the required 
 number. The number of pupils gradually in- 
 creased until the winter term opened with fifty- 
 seven. The institution is known as the Dover 
 Plains Military Academy, and is still under the 
 principalship of Arthur E. Bangs. 
 
 Dover Plains contains three churches, the Bap- 
 tist, Methodist Episcopal, and Catholic, organized 
 in the order named. In 1774 a Society of Friends 
 was organized in the town, and was known as the 
 Branch Preparative Meeting. It was an offspring 
 of the Friends Society at what is now known as 
 Quaker Hill. . A small church edifice was erected 
 soon after the organization. The society is nearly 
 if not quite extinct. 
 
 The Second Dover Baptist Church was organ- 
 ized in 1794. In the old burial ground at South 
 Dover may be found an old time worn tombstone 
 with the following inscription : — 
 
 "Samuel Waldo, Died Sept. 10, 1793. Aged 62 
 years. " 
 
 Underneath are these quaint Unes.— 
 
 " A dying preacher I have been, 
 To dying hearers such as you ; 
 Tho' dead a preacher still I am 
 
 To such as come my grave to view ; 
 Let this to you a warning be, 
 That you must quickly follow me." 
 
 To this man, perhaps more than to any other, 
 belongs the credit of stimulating the people of the 
 Baptist persuasion, then living in this section, to 
 organize as a church. The earUest records known 
 of this society are dated April 21, 1794. At that 
 date the following persons signed and presented a 
 petition to the Baptist Church of Pawlingstown, 
 now known as the South Dover, or First Dover 
 Church: Edward Southworth, David Simmons, 
 Joseph Belding, Benjamin AUis, Moses Haight, 
 Reuben Allen, Caleb Barnum, Mary Talman, Fre- 
 love Crandell, Mary Haight, Eliphal Belding, 
 Dorcas Gregory, Lydia Benson, Jerusha Sim- 
 raonds, Samuel Elliott, Alse Casey, Elizabeth 
 Koon, Hannah Benson, Jerusha Woolcut, Susanna 
 Benson, Catie Elliott. 
 
 The first church meeting was held on the 24th 
 of that month, when Elder Seth Higby was chosen 
 as moderator ; Deacon Edward Southworth being 
 elected clerk of the church. Elder Higby, Minor 
 Higby, and Mary Crofoot were received into the 
 church by letter. It was also voted that the third 
 Saturday in the month be the regular day for 
 church and covenant meeting. This still contin- 
 ues to be the usage of this church. 
 
 The early meetings of this society were held in 
 a house situated in what is now the Valley View 
 Cemetery, which was built previous to the Revo- 
 lution for the Dutch Reformers, and by them de- 
 serted before its completion. In this house all 
 denominations met for worship. It was badly out 
 of repair, with rough slabs for seats, and with no 
 facilities for heat, or light at night. The frame of 
 this building was torn down some years since. A 
 Union Church was built on the same ground about 
 1844, which has since been taken down and con- 
 verted into a blacksmith and wheelright shop, 
 now standing on Mill street in this village. Elder 
 Higby was the first pastor, remaining until 1799. 
 
 At the meeting in January, 1796, ;^2o 19s. 
 were assigned to Elder Higby for the year's salary. 
 A dissension arose in the church in 1799, and 
 but ;^4 was subscribed for the salary of the pas- 
 tor for that year. Later, seven members sub- 
 scribed two shillings each per month towards his 
 support. 
 
 During 181 5 Job Foss began to preach, holding 
 services in different localities in the town. With- 
 
TOWN OF DOVER. 
 
 487 
 
 out remuneration he labored on, visiting this 
 church at least once a month until 1832. 
 
 On the 17th of December, 1832, a subscription 
 paper was circulated to raise $2,500 with which to 
 build a suitable church edifice. In this movement 
 the Church owes a debt of gratitude to Elder Foss. 
 The desired amount was raised, and James Ketch- 
 am, Ebenezer Stevens and Thomas Hammond 
 were appointed a Building Committee, and the 
 building of the present house was begun. It was 
 finished at a cost of nearly $6,000, Mr. Ketcham 
 and Mr. Stevens meeting the deficiency. The 
 church was dedicated in December, 1833, by 
 Elder Perkins, who had become the pastor. He 
 remained with the church until 1835, when, through 
 dissensions internal, he resigned the pastorate and 
 was succeeded by Elder P. Roberts. Elder 
 Robert's ministry lasted but one year. 
 
 The Church was without a pastor until the fall 
 of 1839, when Elder Alexander Smith accepted a 
 call and remained until the spring of 1842. 
 
 In 1842, Elder Johnson Howard became the 
 pastor, and remained two years. 
 
 In April, 1844, Elder Watrous, of Connecticut, 
 labored for a season with the Church. During 
 the summer and fall of this year the Church was 
 supplied by Rev. E. H. Bailey. In the spring of 
 1845, the Church recalled Elder Smith, • who re- 
 mained one year and a half. Elder Smith was 
 succeeded by Elder Lewis Sellick, who remained 
 with the Church three years. He resigned the 
 pastorate in 1849, and was succeeded by Elder A. 
 T. Chaplin. Elder Chaplin closed his labors with 
 the Church in April 1852. He was succeeded in 
 June by Elder Isaac N. Hill, who resigned in 
 August, 1854. 
 
 From August, 1854, to June, 1855, the Church 
 was without a pastor. The Rev. N. Carpenter 
 supplied for a season. Elder C. B. Post was next 
 called to the pastorate, and remained seven years.* 
 He was succeeded by W. James, a licentiate, who 
 was soon after ordained as a pastor of the Church. 
 From 1864 to 1867 the pastorate was filled by 
 Elder W. Ferris. Elder Ferris lost his voice and 
 was compelled to resign. He was soon followed 
 by Rev. Richard Harris, who resigned the pastor- 
 ate in September, 1869. During his services the 
 church was remodeled at an expense of about 
 $3,000. In December, 1869, the pulpit was sup- 
 plied for a season by a minister from Philadelphia. 
 
 Early in 1870, George Balcum, an evangeUst, held 
 a series of meetings. He was followed in July by 
 
 ♦ He died in 187J. 
 
 Rev. Silas Ilsley, who labored until November i, 
 1875. Rev. James M. Bruce was the next pastor, 
 remaining five years. The present pastor is Rev. 
 John B. Nain, who entered upon the duties of 
 the pastorate December i, 1881. 
 
 The Methodist Episcopal Church of Dover Plains, 
 was organized in 1852. The board of trustees 
 consisted of the following persons : William H. 
 Belding, Darius B. Tallman, WiUiam McKoy, 
 William Sands, Samuel H. Tompkins, J. P. H. 
 Tallman, James G. DeForest, David L. Belding, 
 Darius Tallman. The erection of the church was 
 begun and completed under the pastorate of Rev. 
 William Ostrander in 1853, at a cost of $5,500. 
 The Church then numbered about forty persons. 
 The present number is about one hundred. A con- 
 venient parsonage, costing $2,500, is owned by the 
 church, and the entire property is free from debt. 
 The present board of trustees consists of A. J. 
 Ketcham, A. H. Dutcher, H. D. Hufcut, William 
 Soule, Robert M. Glasson, J. M. Waldron, and 
 J. G. Sherman. The present pastor is Rev. M. R. 
 Lent, who began his labors here in April, 1881 
 The succession of pastors has been as follows : — 
 
 Rev. William Ostrander,* 1852-53 
 
 Rev. George W. Knapp, i854-'55 
 
 Rev. Daniel Carrie, 1856-57 
 
 Rev. E. Ashton, 1858 
 
 Rev. George W. Knapp, i86o-'6i 
 
 Rev. Thomas Carter, 1862-63 
 
 Rev. A. C. Gallahue, i865-'66, 
 
 Rev. A. P. Lyon, i867-'68 
 
 Rev. J. W. Macomber, 1869-70, 
 
 Rev. S. J. McCutcheon, 1871-73 
 
 Rev. R. M. Roberts, , . . i874-'76 
 
 Rev. N. H. Bangs, 1877-78, 
 
 Rev. Silas Fitch i879-'8o. 
 
 Rev. M. R. Lent, 1881 
 
 The Roman Catholic Church was organized 
 about 1859. The first pastor was Rev. Charles 
 Slevin, under whose pastorate the church edifice 
 was erected in the winter of 1859-60. This par- 
 ish formerly consisted of what are now the parishes 
 of Amenia, Dover and Brewsters. This church was 
 the first built between Croton Falls, on the south, 
 to pine Plains, on the north. Among the early 
 members were Terrence Connell, Patrick Whalen, 
 Michael Maher, Patrick Wetheral, and Jeremiah 
 Whalen. The present attendance is between 
 three and four hundred. The pastorate of Father 
 Slevin extended over a period of three years. 
 
 * The laxness with which the records of this church have been kept, 
 renders it difficult to learn with entire accuracy, either the facts relating to 
 its earlier history or the succession of pastors. This list was given partly 
 from memory, and may be imperfect as to dates, but it is doubtless accu- 
 rate as to names The names of both Mr. Knapp and Mr. Lyman are 
 given for l854-*S5. 
 
488 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 After him came the Rev. John Orsenigo, four years, 
 Rev. P. W. Tandy, eight years, and Rev. M. J. 
 McSwiggan, the present incumbent, who has been 
 in charge four years, and whose residence is at 
 Pawling. 
 
 Chestnut Ridge. 
 
 Three miles west of Dover Plains, on an eleva- 
 tion known as Chestnut Ridge, is another Metho- 
 dist Church, which was organized some years pre- 
 vious to 1849. The Church edifice was erected in 
 that year. Among the early members were Robt. 
 Van Wyck and wife, James McCord and wife, 
 Catharine Shears (now White), George Van Wyck 
 and wife, Mariette Hustus, Catharine Tompkins 
 Isaac Benson. The pastors, as a rule, have minis- 
 tered to this Church from Verbank and Dover 
 Plains. 
 
 Chestnut Ridge is also the home of Benson J. 
 Lossing,* the historian, who owns here an excel- 
 lent farm of some three hundred and fifty acres. 
 From his dwelling a fine view is obtained of the. 
 mountain ranges of Ulster, Orange, Greene and 
 Sullivan Counties, and of portions of Con- 
 necticut. Mr. Lossing has here, in a fire- 
 proof library, some five thousand volumes chiefly 
 upon historical and biographical subjects, though 
 he has many of a miscellaneous character. 
 Among the latter is a fine copy of Ovid's 
 " Metamorphoses," translated in Virginia by 
 Edwin Sandys, (the first book ever made in this 
 country,) and bearing the autograph of Miles Stan- 
 dish, 1643. His cabinet of curiosities, composed 
 chiefly of historical relics, is an attractive one to 
 the antiquary. Among these are a portion of Mrs. 
 Washington's wedding-dress; a piece of a curtain 
 brought over in the May Flower; a piece of the 
 flag of Fort Sumter ; a cane made of the wood of 
 Perry's flag-ship, in the battle of Lake Erie ; and, 
 probably, the only photograph copy extant of 
 President Lincoln's original Emancipation Procla- 
 mation. 
 
 Mr. Lossing is a native of Beekman, born Feb. 
 12, 1813. At an early age he was left an orphan 
 and was compelled to rely upon his own resources. 
 A dweller in a rural district, he naturally gravitated 
 to farm work, doing for a year or so such labor as 
 a boy was capable of performing. At the age of 
 thirteen he went to Poughkeepsie to learn the trade 
 of a watch-maker, and in 1833 entered into part- 
 nership in that business with his former employer. 
 But the mind of Mr. Lossing was bent in a diff'er- 
 
 * To whom we are indebted for a kindly interest in this work as well as 
 for information courteously given. I 
 
 ent direction. He had early imbibed a taste for 
 literature, a taste gleaned from stolen interviews 
 with a scanty stock of books ; and in 1835, he be- 
 came part owner of the Poughkeepsie Telegraph, 
 and entered upon his career as a literary man. 
 "Once a newspaper man, always a newspaper 
 man," reads an old maxim of the printing ofiice, 
 but Mr. Lossing was destined for a higher walk in 
 literature than the editing of daily news. The next 
 year, in company with E. B. Killey, he began the 
 publication of a semi-monthly paper, more in uni- 
 son with his tastes. This was the Poughkeepsie 
 Casket, in the management of which he first essayed 
 the art of wood engraving, in order to illustrate his 
 work, and in which art he afterwards achieved an 
 eminent success. 
 
 In 1S38, he beame the editor of the Family 
 Magazine, the first illustrated work of that kind 
 ever published in this country, and which was en- 
 tirely under his Uterary and artistic supervision. 
 His first historical venture was '* An Outline His- 
 tory of the Fine Arts," in 1840-41. His next 
 work, "Seventeen Hundred and Seventy-six; or. 
 The War for Independence," was written in 1846- 
 '47. From that time his life work lay before him. 
 He had found his niche, and most successfully has 
 he filled it. The works on which his fame chiefly 
 rests are the "Field-book of the Revolution" and 
 "Our Country." The former was published in 
 series by Harper & Bros., from June i, 1850, to 
 December, 1852, and had an extensive sale. The 
 latter, a household history of the United States, for 
 all readers, was published later, and still retains an 
 enviable popularity. Mr. Lossing has written over 
 thirty works, historical and biographical, besides 
 numerous articles for magazines and other periodi- 
 cals, in which his pencil did equal duty with his pen. 
 
 Of equable temperament, Mr. Lossing ac- 
 complishes his work calmly and judiciously, without 
 the spasmodic outbursts characteristic of writers of 
 the nervous type. In personal appearance he is a 
 man of medium height, rather heavily built, with 
 kindly features, and with a complexion slightly in- 
 clined to ruddiness. He is still actively engaged 
 in literary work, and has in process of completion 
 some important works. 
 
 The Quaker meeting house on Chestnut Ridge 
 was built before the Revolution, and was formerly 
 filled with worshippers every Sabbath, That class 
 of people have disappeared from the Ridge, and 
 the meeting house is now in ruins. In the posses- 
 sion of Mr. Lossing is one of the stoves used for 
 heating that edifice,— a common box-stove, for 
 
TOWN OF DOVER. 
 
 489 
 
 wood, — which bears the date of 1767. That was 
 probably about the date of the erection of the 
 building. 
 
 Dover Furnace. 
 
 To the south of Dover Plains, on the Harlem 
 Railroad, lies the station of Dover Furnace. Here 
 are located the works of the South Boston 
 Iron Company, established in February, 1881. 
 The buildings of the company were erected in the 
 summer of 1881, and the principal business done 
 here is the manufacture of iron for government 
 cannons. 
 
 The only merchants are Preston & Coyle, who 
 have been engaged in business here since April, 
 1881. 
 
 South Dove^. 
 
 The hamlet of South Dover lies in the southern 
 part of the town, on the Harlem Railroad. The 
 depot at this point is known as Wing's Station, and 
 the settlement here consists of the station, one hotel, 
 two stores, postoffice and a few dwellings. 
 
 The postoffice was estabUshed here about 1852. 
 The present postmaster is Jackson A. Whitely, 
 appointed some seven years ago. The merchants 
 are Chapman & Wing, in business here three years, 
 and whose store was built in 1850; Ebenezer H. 
 Sturges, stoves and tinware, in business here six 
 years. He had previously been in business in 
 Weebutook six years, and in South Dover, proper, 
 three years; 
 
 The hotel at Wings was built in 1858 by John 
 Cornwell, who died in 1864. It is now conducted 
 by Mrs. Cornwell. 
 
 The only physician in this section of the town is 
 Dr. Charles Landon Fletcher, who came here in 
 November, 1881. Dr. Fletcher is a native of 
 Milton, Vt, born in 1851. He graduated from 
 the University of Vermont, at Burlington, in 1873. 
 
 South Dover proper lies to the east of the station 
 some two miles. This is also a hamlet of but few 
 inhabitants, and is quite picturesquely located. 
 The postoffice was established here about 1828, 
 and the first postmaster is said to have been Mott 
 Titus. The present postmaster is William A. 
 Sheldon, who has held the office some twenty-four 
 years. He is also the proprietor of a grist mill 
 here. The only merchant is George T. Ross, who 
 has been in business here twenty-eight years. He 
 had previously been engaged in business at Wee- 
 butook six years. 
 
 Major Ross, grandfather to George T., was one 
 
 of the prominent men in his day, and a gentleman 
 of the old school. . 
 
 Weebutook, or, as it is often spelled, Weebo- 
 tuck, is a small settlement about three miles dis- 
 tant from this place. The merchant there is Wm. 
 C. Camp, who is also the postmaster, appointed 
 in January, 1881. There is also a grist mill at 
 that place, E. A. Preston, proprietor. 
 
 Jacob Harrington, it is said, was about the first 
 settler in the locaUty of South Dover. A house 
 which he built, had in it a stone marked 1763. In 
 that year his wife died, whose tombstone yet stands 
 in the cemetery. His house was torn down some 
 thirty-five years ago, and the residence of the late 
 Alfred Wing * stands on its site. The Wings, the 
 Prestons, the Rosses and Sheldons were also early 
 settlers here, and the Deuels were pioneer settlers 
 in the hollow which bears the family name. 
 
 South Dover has two churches, the Baptist and 
 Methodist Episcopal. The society of the latter 
 denomination was organized some years previous 
 to 1855 ; but there exists no records to show the 
 precise date of its origin or to shed light upon its 
 progress. The church edifice was erected in 
 
 1855- 
 
 For some years the society worshipped in the 
 Union church, which stood where the Baptist 
 church now stands. The succession of pastors, 
 previous to 1854, is unknown. From that date to 
 1 88 1 the following ministers have presided over 
 the church : — 
 
 Rev. J. Croft 1854 
 
 Rev. A. Hunt 1855-56 
 
 Rev. L. M. Knapp f 1857 
 
 Rev. M. M. Curtis i858-'59. 
 
 Rev. J. H. Hawkshurst 1860-61 
 
 Rev. A. N. Mulnix 1862- '63 
 
 Rev. W. H. Evans i864-'6s 
 
 Rev. J. Edmonds i866-'67 
 
 Rev. J. Birch i868-'7o, 
 
 Rev. B. M. Genung 1871-73 
 
 Rev. J. Birch i874-'75 
 
 Rev. J. Elliot i876-'77 
 
 Rev. D. Gibson i878-'8o, 
 
 Rev. R. Decker 1881 
 
 The First Baptist Church of Dover was organ- 
 ized in 1757, and is the oldest church in the town. 
 
 At the meeting of the Philadelphia Baptist Asso- 
 ciation, held October 4th and 6th, 1757, it was 
 resolved: — - 
 
 "In answer to a request from a number of in- 
 habitants in Beekmans Precinct, Duchess County, 
 N. Y. Government; agreed that our brethren, Mr. 
 Miller and Mr. William Marsh visit them, and give 
 
 * Who died November J, 1880. 
 t George W. Knapp? 
 
49° 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 the petitioners such direction and assistance as they 
 shall judge cpnvenient." 
 
 Accordingly, on the 9th of November, 1757, Mr. 
 Marsh visited South Dover, and explained to the 
 people of the Baptist persuasion, who "met with 
 him, the nature of a covenant, to which, "in the 
 most solemn manner," a number subscribed, and 
 were by him constituted into a church. On the 
 first of December, 1757, Ebenezer Cole was chos- 
 en as clerk of the church. On the 4th of January, 
 1758, Samuel Waldo was chosen as pastor, and 
 was ordained May 2Sth by Elders Marsh and Wil- 
 lard. At a conference meeting held September 3, 
 1758, it was voted to build a meeting house thirty 
 by forty feet. To see to the accomphshment of 
 this work, Pelitiah Ward, Manasseh Martin, Benja- 
 min Seeley, Ebepezer Cole and EUab Wilcox were 
 appointed a Building Committee. That building 
 was for many years the only place of worship in 
 the town of Dover. 
 
 September 15, 1764, the church hcensed Daniel 
 Bronson as a local exhorter. In that same month 
 ten members were dismissed to form a church in 
 the upper part of the Oblong. 
 
 June 10, 1775, Agrippa Martin was licensed as 
 an exhorter. 
 
 From 1757 to 1794, during the pastorate of 
 Elder Waldo, there were about 250 members ad- 
 ded by letter and baptism. 
 
 Feb. 15, 1794, it was voted that a call to preach 
 be extended to Elder Freeman Hopkins. 
 
 November 10, 1802, Elder Detherick was or- 
 dained pastor over the church. 
 
 April 10, 18 13, it was voted that Elder EUsha 
 Booth serve as pastor one half of the time and 
 Elder Foss the other half. 
 
 From 1833 to 1840, Elders Job Foss, Daniel 
 Baldwin, Elijah Baldwin and Nehemiah Johnson 
 are mentioned as having served the church with 
 acceptance. On the 17th of April, 1840, a com- 
 mittee reported the engagement for one year 
 of Elder Elijah Baldwin. April 13th, 1844, 
 Elder Johnson Howard became pastor over the 
 church, 
 
 In 1849 Elder John Warren became the pastor 
 for a season. In August, 1854, Elder T. W. Jones 
 became the pastor. Previous to this time (about 
 1833), the old meeting-house was abandoned. A 
 new Meeting-House Society was formed, and a 
 subscription of many names was obtained to buy a 
 new lot and to erect a new building. The trustees 
 were none of them to be members of any church. 
 In the deed and the subscription there were reser- 
 
 vations in regard to the use of the house and the 
 perversions of the property to any other use. 
 
 For more than twenty years this house was used 
 alternately by the Baptists and Methodists. In 
 1854 it was decided to sell the property at auction, 
 the purchaser to be bound by the old reservations. 
 On the 1 6th of September, of that year, the Bap- 
 tists purchased the exclusive right and privilege of 
 the house and lot. A new subscription paper was 
 circulated to repair and enlarge the building, which 
 was done the following summer at an expense of 
 $4,564.74. This sum was given by about sixty 
 subscribers, the largest amount being $599. The 
 house was dedicated free of debt on Saturday, 
 September 22, 1855. The dedicatory service was 
 conducted by Elder Armitage, of New York. In 
 October following, WiUiam G. Hoben was called 
 to the pastoral chargl^. 
 
 On the 4th of May, 1856, a parsonage was pur- 
 chased at a cost of $1,000. Elder Hendrickson 
 became the pastor February i, 1858. In i860, the 
 membership had increased to 124. Elder William 
 P. Decker assumed the pastoral charge July 27, 
 1862. In March, 1873, Rev. Isaac N. Hill be- 
 came the pastor, removing from there to his pres- 
 ent charge in Clinton, N. J., in October, i88i. 
 
 On the nth of April, 1880, Edward S. Merwin 
 was hcensed to preach, and in July of that year he 
 was engaged to preside over the church. 
 
 Dover in the War of the Rebellion. 
 
 In the war of the Rebelhon, Dover contributed 
 hberally both in money and in men; but owing to 
 what should be termed an inexcusable lack of in- 
 terest in matters pertaining to those who directly 
 figured in that eventful period, no records have 
 been kept of the men who enlisted for and from 
 the town, and periled their lives for the general 
 good. A harsh measure of censure for such neg- 
 lect might appear unjust, as apphed to one partic- 
 ular locaUty, inasmuch as many other towns were 
 as culpably derelict. 
 
 The lapse of sixteen years has rendered it 
 almost impossible to obtain in many towns anything 
 like a perfect record of the men who entered the 
 service during that war. Thus it is that in Dover ' 
 and in towns similarly neghgent, we are compelled 
 to rely on information derived from the veterans of 
 the war, and from citizens who were conversant 
 with the transactions of those days. The information 
 thus derived must be more or less imperfect, but 
 it is given with the laudable desire to preserve 
 from the oblivion which a decade more must bring, 
 
TOWN OF WAPPINGER. 
 
 491 
 
 the names of some who participated in that event- 
 ful struggle. For the following record relating to 
 Dover we are indebted to Horace D. Hufcut, Esq., 
 Joshua Rodgers and Alvah Brown — the two latter 
 being veterans of the war. 
 
 150th Regiment. — Co. E. — Captain, Andris 
 Brant ; First Lieut., Obed Wheeler ;* Second 
 Lieut., Perry W. Chapman ; Second Sergt., Joshua 
 H. Rodgers; Fifth Sergt., Philip Brant j First 
 Corporal, William P. Humeston ; Second Corporal, 
 James L. Draper ; Third Corporal, Lon. V. Leach ; 
 Fourth Corporal, George D. Schermerhorn ; Fifth 
 Corporal, DeWitt Thomas ; Sixth Corporal, Oscar 
 Feroe ; Musicians, Charles W. Leonard, George 
 Toffey ; Wagoner, T. J. Burt ; Privates, George 
 Burroughs, Lawrence Burhans, George Burhans, 
 Alvah Brown, George Brown, Jacob Benson, 
 John Case, (Q. M. S.,) George Cooper, Samuel 
 Clements, (Q. M. S.,) Gilbert J. Dutcher, Henry 
 Duncan, (discharged,) WilUam Duncan, Heman 
 Ellsworth, Patrick Garland, Michael GiUigan, 
 Joshua Leonard, Judd Murphy (killed at Gettys- 
 burg), James McGrath (drowned in New York 
 Harbor), Daniel Roe, Matthew Rasell, Sheridan L. 
 Rodgers (wounded and died from effects), Henry 
 Spencer, George D. Sage, William D. Stowe, 
 Alfred Sherman, Henry Sloan, Arthur Sloan, John 
 Tallman, Nelson Tallady, WiUiam Tofifey, George. 
 Wilcox (re-enlisted in Regulars), Denman Whaley, 
 Benjamin Watts. f 
 
 \2%ih Regiment. — Co. B. — Thomas N. Dutcher, 
 First Lieutenant ; Charles Humeston, Third Ser- 
 geant j Gilbert J. Kniffin, First Corporal ; Chand- 
 ler McCarty, Sixth Corporal; Ransom A. White, 
 Eighth Corporal; Privates— Isaac O. Mitchell, Mer- 
 ritt Humeston, Gary Wilcox, Herman Bucking- 
 ham, Charles Smith, Leroy Lineberg, Edward 
 Lineberg, Charles Records, James Brant, Edward 
 Mulhaine, (Co. D,) CorneUus Ireland, (Co. F,) 
 George Coles, (Co. F,) Theron Jones, (Co. F.) 
 
 Scattering.— ^o'bzrX. Watts, (died in the service,) 
 William Leonard, Silas B. Stage, (died in the ser- 
 vice,) Joseph Stage, George Stage, (died in the 
 service,) Henry Lee, LaFayette Dennis, David 
 Cooper, Zachariah Burris, Albert Burris, Jacob 
 Filleo, (98th Regt.,) Michael O'Niel, Daniel Bree, 
 (150th Regt.,) Thomas Redding, (rsoth Regt.,) 
 Haviland Hammond, (i 6th Heavy Art.,) James M. 
 Hewitt, James Dingee, (i6th Heavy Art., killed,) 
 John H. Shaddick, Smith McCord, Herman 
 Wheeler, Andrew J ohnson, James Ross, William 
 
 * Returned as Captain. 
 
 t This list is from the company's roll, and is therefore correct, as is 
 also that of the 128th Regt. following. 
 
 Driggs, John Striker, Thomas Anderson, Samuel 
 Lewis, Geo. W. Howard, Stephen Decker, Robert 
 Williams, (colored,) Alonzo Leach, (150th Regt.,) 
 WiUiam Hall, (150 Regt.,) Silas Howard, David 
 Howard, Matthew Roswell, Roger Moran, (69th 
 Regt.,) William Jackson, George Marshall (150th 
 Regt.) 
 
 CHAPTER XLIII. 
 History of the Town of Wappinger. 
 
 WAPPINGER, though the youngest and 
 smallest town in the County, is, indus- 
 trially, and in point of population and wealth, one 
 of the most important ; and, although its historic 
 importance is mainly reflective, it is connected with 
 some of the earliest and most interesting episodes in 
 the County's history. It derives its name from the 
 beautiful and useful stream which defines the major 
 portion of its western boundary. 
 
 It was erected from Fishkill, May zo, 1875, and 
 the act thus defines its boundaries : — 
 
 " All that part of the town of Fishkill, in the 
 County of Dutchess, situated, lying and being 
 north of a line beginning at a point on the easterly 
 shore of the Hudson River, distant two hundred 
 feet northerly from the residence of Thomas Al- 
 dridge, and running from thence easterly in a straight 
 Une to a point in the center of the public highway 
 leading from Fishkill to Hopewell two hundred 
 feet northerly from the homestead of Lebbeus 
 Chorlock, and running from thence in a straight 
 line due east to the westerly bank of Sprout Creek, 
 is hereby erected into a separate and new town, to 
 be hereafter known and distinguished by the name 
 of 'Wappinger.'" 
 
 It Hes upon the west border of the County, 
 south of the center, and is bounded on the north 
 by LaGrange, on the south by Fishkill, on the east 
 by Sprout Creek, and on the west by Wappingers 
 Creek and the Hudson River. 
 
 The surface is a high rolling ridge, separating the 
 valleys of Wappingers and Sprout creeks, with a 
 general inclination toward the northwest. The 
 highest point is Mt. Hope, a half-mile south of 
 Myers Corners, which attains an altitude of 1,000 
 feet above tide. Its summit affords a beautiful 
 and extended view of the surrounding country ; 
 and a beacon was erected upon it by the Coast 
 Survey, to serve as a point in the triangulation of 
 the Hudson River Valley. A series of bluffs ex- 
 tend along the river from 150 to 200 feet in height. 
 The interior streams, all of which are small, and 
 have their origin in the southern and eastern parts 
 
492 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 of the town, flow in a northwesterly direction to 
 Wappingers Creek. They afford a limited water- 
 power. 
 
 Next to Fishkill, Wappinger is the most popu- 
 lous town in the County. In 1880, when the first 
 official enumeration of the town was made, it had 
 a population of 4,966. 
 
 Its area, as stated in the report of the Com- 
 mittee on Equalization, published in the Pro- 
 ceedings of, the Board of Supervisors in 1880, 
 is 16,001 acres ; but in the report of the same 
 committee, presented to the Board of Supervi- 
 sors Dec. 19, 1881, it is said to be 15,887 acres; 
 while the total equalized value of real and personal 
 property in the town is said to be $1,642,518, 
 which is exceeded by only five other towns in the 
 County. 
 
 The town is wholly underlaid by the rocks of 
 the Hudson River group, and the soil is composed 
 of the detritus of these rocks, intermixed with allu- 
 vion, in which clay is a predominant element on 
 the river border, and is manufactured into brick a 
 half-mile below Carthage Landing, near the south 
 line of the town. The value of the soil for agri- 
 cultural purposes is suflSciently indicated by the 
 fact that only four other towns in the County sur- 
 pass it in the equalized value of real property per 
 acre. 
 
 The Hudson River Railroad passes through the 
 west border of the town and has a station at Low 
 Point, (Carthage Landing ;) while the Newburgh, 
 Duchess & Connecticut, and the New York & 
 New England railroads cross the south-east corner 
 of the town, the latter road using the track of the 
 former. 
 
 There are six common and one union free school 
 districts in the town. The number of children of 
 school age residing therein Sept. 30, t88i, was 
 1,585, of whom 1,025 attended school, the average 
 attendance during the year being 732.468. The 
 number of licensed teachers -employed at the same 
 time during the year was six males and nine 
 females. 
 
 There were 1,000 volumes in the district 
 libraries, valued at $300. There were one brick 
 and six frame schoolhouses in the town, which, 
 with their sites, comprising three acres, valued at 
 $2,700, were valued at $14,700. The assessed 
 value of taxable property in the districts was $1,- 
 432,000. 
 
 Following is a statement of the receipts and 
 disbursements for school purposes during the 
 year : — 
 
 Amount on hand Oct. i, 1880, $ 394.76 
 
 " apportioned to districts,.-. 2,819.08 
 
 " raised by tax, 4i334-97 
 
 " received from other sources, ... . 99.00 
 
 Total, $7,647.81 
 
 Paid for teachers' wages,. $6,177.59 
 
 " " libraries, 52.32 
 
 " " school apparatus 46.41 
 
 " " school houses, sites, fences, out- 
 houses, furniture etc. , . . . 3 04. r 6 
 " " other incidental expenses, 545-47 
 
 Amount on hand, Sept. 30, 1881, 521.86 
 
 Total, $7,647.81 
 
 In conformity with the requirements of the 
 statue by which the town was erected, the first 
 town meeting was held at Brower Bros.' wagon shop 
 in the village of Wappingers Falls, March 7, 
 
 1876, and the following named officers were 
 elected: James A. Seward, Supervisor; Denis W. 
 VanWyck, Town Clerk; Andrew Jackson, Col- 
 lector; Isaac Hall, Cornelius W. Hignell, Charles 
 P. Adriance and Benjamin Vail, Justices of the 
 Peace; Wm. H. Pulling, John DuBois and Wm. 
 H. H. Stoutenburgh, Assessors ; Richard B. Hor- 
 ton, Wm, Seward and Willis Dean, Commissioners 
 of Highways; John B. Jones, Anthony Underbill 
 and John N. Hayte, Town Auditors; Thomas 
 Crosier, George H. Abbott, Jacob S. Ackerman 
 and Alson Scofield, Constables ; Thomas Crosier, 
 Game Constable; Daniel Hayes and Gilbert B. 
 Wood, Overseers of the Poor ; Nicholas Disbrow, 
 Edward M. Pier and Leonard DeGroat, Inspectors 
 of Election ; Wm. Halliwell, John H. Alley and 
 Isaac C. Secore, Commissioners of Excise. 
 
 The following have been the successive Super- 
 visors and Town Clerks since the formation of the 
 town : — 
 
 Supervisors. Town Clerks. 
 
 1875-76. James A. Seward, Denis W. VnaWyck. 
 
 1877. J. W. P. Lawson, do do 
 1878-79. do do Wm. A. Brewster. 
 1880. Elias Brown, G. D. McGregor. 
 i88t. Isaac O. Norris, do do. 
 
 The town lies wholly within the limits of the 
 Rom bout Patent, which was granted Oct. 17, 
 1685, to Francis Rombout, Stephanus VanCourt- 
 landt and Jacobus Kip, the latter, the represen- 
 tative of the children of Gulian Verplanck, to 
 whom and to Francis Rombout, a license was 
 given Feb. 8, 1682, to purchase it of the Wap- 
 pinger Indians, whose name the town perpetuates. 
 Gulian Verplanck died before the patent was 
 issued. This was the first patent granted within 
 the limits of the county, and the Indian title to 
 
TOWN OF WAPPINGER. 
 
 493 
 
 lands it covered was extinguished by purchase 
 Aug. 8, 1683, the price paid being an inconsider- 
 able quantity of inexpensive merchandise, which, 
 however, to the untutored savage, possessed an in- 
 finitely exaggerated value. 
 
 Nevertheless, the settlement of this town was 
 not, it is believed, commenced till many years 
 later ; although the locaUty of the first projected 
 settlement in the county, — by New England colon- 
 ists, in 1659, — was at the mouth of Wappingers 
 Creek. When, where, and by whom the first settle- 
 ment was made is not positively known, and we 
 doubt if it ij possible at this late date to deter- 
 mine these facts. The early history of the town 
 is measurably lost in that obscurity in which the 
 early overshadowing importance of the southerly 
 part of the town from which it was formed buried 
 it. The oldest and best informed of the present 
 inhabitants have only the vaguest traditions re- 
 specting it. Its settlement was probably much later 
 than that of the present town of Fishkill, a cir- 
 cumstance which was influenced by the fact that 
 the existence of minor heirs to the Verplanck 
 portion of the patent, to which it largely belonged, 
 delayed a division until 1722. 
 
 March 6, 1695, Jacobus Kip, and his wife, 
 Henrica, the widow of Gulian Verplanck, con- 
 veyed to the children of the latter, — Samuel, Ja- 
 cobus and Hannah, wife of Andries Teller, — one- 
 third part of the Rombout tract ; and about the 
 20th of March, 1722, that portion, which had 
 been previously surveyed and laid out into lots, 
 was divided by the representatives of Verplanck's 
 children by casting lots. Among other lots, " the 
 Reer lott number one " came to the share of Gu- 
 lian, Mary and Anne Verplanck, in right of 
 their deceased father, Samuel Verplanck, son of 
 the aforesaid Gulian Verplanck; and August 15, 
 1728, they conveyed three hundred acres of this 
 tract to "John Muntross," of Duchess county, the 
 consideration being ^85. This three hundred 
 acres was bounded on the north by the land of 
 Wm. Verplanck, on the west by the land of PhiUp 
 Verplanck, on the south by the land of Gulian, 
 Mary and Anne Verplanck, and on the east by 
 " the spruyt." This is the earliest land transfer 
 affecting this town which has come under our ob- 
 servation, It is probable, however, that settle- 
 ments were made at a somewhat earlier period. 
 
 During the Revolution the town was made 
 memorable by the presence of portions of the 
 American army, and at one period the Brincker- 
 hoff mansion at Swartwoutville was the headquar- 
 
 ters of Gen. Washington. During the war of 
 18 1 2, a ship yard was in active operation on Wap- 
 pingers Creek, and many vessels were built there. 
 
 Wappingers Falls. 
 
 Wappingers Falls is the only important village 
 in the town ; but it is one of the most important 
 and enterprising in the county, and in the magni- 
 tude and value of its mechanical industries and the 
 facilities it enjoys for prosecuting them, as well as 
 in those features which make it attractive and 
 desirable as a place of residence, it is surpassed by 
 but few villages along the Hudson. It challenged 
 the admiration of the French tourist DeChastellux 
 in 1780.* It is delightfully situated at the head of 
 navigation on Wappingers Creek, from the falls of 
 which it derives its name, about one and one-half 
 miles above its confluence with the Hudson, and 
 the same distance from the Httle village of New 
 Hamburgh, a station on the Hudson River Rail- 
 road, with which it is connected by stage, and with 
 all trains and boats stopping there. A daily stage 
 also connects it with Poughkeepsie. It is sur- 
 rounded by rich and productive farm lands and 
 many beautiful sites in its vicinity have been select- 
 ed as residences by persons of wealth and refine- 
 ment. The village is rapidly increasing in pop- 
 ulation, having nearly doubledits population within 
 the last decade. In i86o, its population was 
 stated to be 1,819, °^ whom 1,139 were in the 
 town of Wappinger; in 1870 it had increased to 
 2,263, of whom 1,612 were in Wappinger and 651 
 in Poughkeepsie; while by an enumeration finished 
 June 22, 1880, the population had increased to 
 4,210, about one-third of whom are in the town 
 of Poughkeepsie. 
 
 The village which is a mile square, lies on both 
 sides of the creek, having, by its incorporation, 
 September 22, 187 1, been made to include the vil- 
 lage of Channingville, in the town of Poughkeepsie, 
 for a more particular account of which the reader 
 is referred to the history of that town in this work. 
 The first board of village trustees was composed of 
 Samuel Brown, Joseph D. Harcourt and R. W. 
 Nelson. Matthew Cottam was chosen president, 
 and J. W. Bartrum, clerk of the board. The fol- 
 lowing have been the successive presidents and 
 clerks of the village since its incorporation : — 
 
 Presidents. Clerks. 
 
 i87i-'73. Matthew Cottam, J. W. Bartrum. 
 i874-'75. Hugh Whitehill, do do 
 
 1876. A. W. Armstrong, do do 
 
 * See page 68 of this work, 
 
494 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 1877. 
 1878. 
 1879. 
 1880. 
 1881. 
 
 Elias Brown, J. W. Bartrum. 
 
 Henry Hargreaves, George Wood. 
 Edward M. Goring, do do 
 Henry Hargreaves, Bernard J. Tinney. 
 Nicholas U. Disbrow, do do 
 
 " In 1780," says a writer in The Daily Graphic, 
 of New York, under date of July 18, 1878, "the 
 present Mesier mansion, the county buildings at 
 Clump's Corners and the flour mill were the only 
 buildings in the place." Peter Mesier, though not 
 the first settler on the site of Wappingers Falls, was 
 the first of much importance and the first whose 
 family name has been associated with its history to 
 the present time. He was a native of New York, 
 and a descendant of a Huguenot family, who fled 
 to this country on the revocation of the Edict of 
 Nantes in 1685, to escape the bitter persecutions 
 to which they were subjected in their native France 
 during the reign of Louis XIV. Mr. Mesier mar- 
 ried in New York Miss Catharine Slate, and 
 acquired a valuable property by his mercantile 
 operations in his native city. In 1776, shortly 
 before the British took possession of the commer- 
 cial nnetropolis, he fled thence with his family, and, 
 like many others during that eventful period, found 
 refuge in Fishkill. He purchased a large tract of 
 land, said to have contained nearly seven hundred 
 acres, which lay on both sides of the creek and 
 comprised most of the present village of Wappin- 
 gers Falls. The purchase included the house on 
 Main street at the head of South avenue, which has 
 since been occupied by the Mesier family; and a 
 flouring-mill, which occupied the site now marked 
 by the ruins of the CUnton cotton-mill, and was 
 pulled down about the close of the Revolutionary 
 war, having gone to decay, when the old yellow 
 grist-mill, known to the older of the present inhab- 
 itants, was erected on its site by Peter Mesier. 
 The latter was torn down to make way for the 
 Clinton cotton-mill. Matthew Mesier, a son of 
 Peter's, was a Judge of this county, which he also 
 represented in the Assembly in 1820. He suc- 
 ceeded to the homestead at the death of his father 
 and was succeeded at his death, Sept. 2, 1838, aged 
 sixty-nine years, by his son Henry, who also died 
 there, Jan.' 26, 1 881, aged sixty-eight years. Abram 
 Suydam Mesier, a brother of Henry's, and his 
 sisters Johanna and Maria, are the present owners 
 of the homestead. 
 
 The growth of the village, which has been mainly 
 influenced by its manufactories, in which its present 
 importance centers, was slow till about the opening 
 of the late war, and since that period has been pro- 
 
 moted as much by the increased magnitude as by 
 the increased number of its manufacturing estab- 
 lishments. It now contains five churches, (Baptist, 
 Methodist, Presbyterian, Episcopal and CathoHc,) 
 all brick or stone structures, two fine brick school- 
 houses, three hotels, the extensive print-works and 
 cotton factory of Garner & Co., the extensive 
 works of the Independent Comb Co., two overall 
 factories, one of them, that of Sweet, Orr & Co., of 
 great magnitude, one newspaper office, The Weekly 
 Chronicle, the Wappingers Savings Bank, and sev- 
 eral stores and mechanic shops. It is lighted with 
 gas, and supplied with water for fire pjjrposes. 
 
 Merchants. — As late as 1832 there was only one 
 store in Wappingers Falls. It was built and owned 
 by Benjamin Clapp, and was erected about 1830. 
 It was located on Market street, and is now occu- 
 pied by Wm. J. Dawson & Co. It was kept by 
 Cook & Low and managed by Eleazer D. Sweet, 
 father of Clayton E. Sweet. Sweet & Barlow is 
 the present firm. In 1847, the business was re- 
 moved from the store first occupied to that now 
 occupied by the latter firm. 
 
 Joseph D. Harcourt, on withdrawing from the 
 firm of Harcourt & Sweet in 1870, resumed busi- 
 ness and continued it until May, 1879, when he 
 engaged in the milling and ice business at the 
 Faulkner Mill, near Hughsonville. He was suc- 
 ceeded in the mercantile business by his sons, J. 
 and J. T. Nichols Harcourt, who had been associ- 
 ated with him for a few years previously, and still 
 continue the business of general merchandise. 
 
 John Du Bois was a prominent merchant from 
 about 1847 until his death in 1876, and was suc- 
 ceeded by John B. Scofield, who continued until 
 his death in 1879, when John C. Du Bois, a son of 
 the former, succeeded to the bi^iness and still con- 
 tinues it, dealing in dry goods and groceries. 
 
 WiUiam G. King commenced mercantile busi- 
 ness about 1846. He was the first to occupy the 
 building now occupied by John H. Brown. Samuel 
 Brown succeeded Mr. King in the former store and 
 did business until his death, Jan. 22, 1876, at the 
 age of seventy-two years, when he was succeeded 
 by his son, John H. Brown, who still carries on the 
 business. 
 
 Prominent among the other merchants now en- 
 gaged in business here are: A. W. Armstrong, 
 dealer in house furnishing goods, who ppened the 
 first stove store in the town in 1846, in which year 
 he commenced business here; James S. Roy, drug- 
 gist, who succeeded in 1868, on the death of his 
 father, James Roy, to the business established by 
 
TOWN OF WAPPINGER. 
 
 495 
 
 the latter in 1848— the first drug store in the vil- 
 lage; C. W. Hignell, merchant tailor and dealer 
 in hats, caps and trunks, who erected the store he 
 now occupies in 1869, and as long ago as 1850 was 
 a successful merchant tailor and clothier in this 
 village ; Edward M. Goring, druggist, who is a na- 
 tive of Manchester, England; J. H. E.edfield, fur- 
 niture dealer and undertaker, who succeeded to the 
 business established by his father, at the death 
 of the latter; Dr.| Sylvester Roe, Jr., druggist, a 
 native of Flushing, L. I., who commenced business 
 here in 187 1 ; Manning & Smith, and D. B. Whit- 
 ney, grocers; Thomas Dawson, dry goods dealer; 
 and John L. Shrader, druggist.* 
 
 Manufactures. — The manufactures of Wappin- 
 gers Falls are of pre-eminent importance among its 
 industries. They give employment to nearly 1,600 
 persons, considerably more than one-third of the 
 entire population. Hence it will readily be seen 
 how vital they are to the continued growth and 
 prosperity of the place. Wappingers Creek, which 
 flows centrally through the village, has a fall within 
 its limits of seventy-five feet, and affords a most 
 valuable water-power, which has been utilized to 
 a limited extent from a very early period. 
 
 Previous to the Revolution two flouring mills 
 were in operation at the Falls, both of which were 
 owned at that period by the Mesiers. One of 
 them stood on the site now marked by the ruins of 
 the Clinton cotton mill. It was pulled down about 
 the close of the Revolutionary war, and a yellow 
 building, used for the same purpose, was erected 
 on its site by Peter Mesier. The latter building 
 was torn down on the erection of the Clinton cot- 
 ton mill, which was built in 1846 and destroyed by 
 fire July 19, 1855. The other stood on the same 
 (east) side of the creek. Its site is occupied by 
 the print works. It was purchased in 1819, at 
 sheriff's sale, by Benjamin De La Vergne and John 
 Givens. The purchase also included sixty-six acres 
 of land on the east side of the creek, and a some- 
 what less quantity on the west side. On the par- 
 tition of the property that year, Givens took that 
 part lying on the west side of the creek, and De 
 La Vergne that on the east side. Givens erected 
 on his portion the same year (1819) a stone build- 
 ing for a cotton factory, which wds partially de- 
 stroyed about 1840 by a freshet, which also swept 
 away the large dam of the print works. The build- 
 ing was not rebuilt by those who owned it. The 
 Duchess Company acquired the site and erected 
 on it the building now used as a dye-house. De 
 
 * For an account of other merchants see histoiiy of ChanningviJle. 
 
 La Vergne rented the flouring mill to Joshua Hal- 
 leck, and in 1824, to his grandson, Edwin De La- 
 Vergne, who purchased it of his grand-father in 
 1826. 
 
 In 1829,* Mr. De La Vergne rented the build- 
 ing to James Ingham, a native of Manchester, 
 England, who established that year the present print 
 works, which are said to have been the first of the 
 kind in America. In 1835, Mr. Ingham purchased 
 the building which was subsequently torn down to 
 make room for improvements. 
 
 In the meantime, Mr. Ingham, who died July 8, 
 1872, at the advanced age of ninety-five years, had 
 become associated with James Leslie, who died 
 July 19th, 1870, aged sixty-eight. In 1835 the es- 
 tablishment was sold to the '' Duchess Company," 
 a principal owner in which was Thomas Garner, an 
 Englishman, who came to this country about the 
 time of the establishment of the works and shortly 
 after became Mr. Ingham's agent. Mr. Garner's 
 associates were D. R. Mangam and L. M. Thorn. 
 In 1866 Messrs. Mangam & Thorn withdrew and 
 were succeeded by S. W. Johnson as partner. 
 Shortly afterwards Mr. Garner died and his real 
 estate and business interests were transferred by 
 will to his son, Wm. T. Garner, who was drowned 
 by the capsizing of his yacht, the Mohawk, in June, 
 1876. The business was continued by S. W. John- 
 son, associated with Messrs. Lawrence & Thorn as 
 trustees of the estate of Wm. T. Garner, until the 
 death of Mr. Johnson, Dec. 12, 188 r, and is now 
 as then, carried on under the name of Garner & 
 Co., no change having been made since Mr. John- 
 son's death. 
 
 The works, which originally occupied but a 
 single building of small dimensions, now cover 
 about twelve acres of ground, new buildings and 
 additions thereto having been repeatedly erected 
 in response to the increased demands for their pro- 
 ductions. The principal buildings are located on 
 the east side of the creek, only the fancy depart- 
 ment — the bleaching and dye works — being on the 
 west side. The most improved patterns of ma- 
 chinery known to the trade are employed. The 
 production of the works is about eighty millions of 
 yards of cloth per annum. The works, which were 
 formerly run on cloth manufactured by the house, 
 now print largely on commission for other houses. 
 This naturally decreased the production somewhat, . 
 owing to the intricate combination of shades which 
 they are re quired to imitate. This vast production 
 
 * Statement of Edwin De La Vergne, of Hughsonville, who says that 
 the date 1815, which has been assigned to the establishment of the print 
 works, is incorrect. 
 
496 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 requires the services of about 900 persons, about 
 one-third of whom are females. The works have, 
 however, given employment to some 1,200 persons, 
 when driven to their full capacity. The motive 
 power is furnished by both water and steam, the 
 former by an eighteen feet fall which gives a power 
 equal to about eighty horses. The combined ca- 
 pacity of the several engines in use is about 2,300 
 horse power. Some forty large boilers are used, 
 and about a hundred tons of coal consumed daily 
 in generating steam for their propulsion. 
 
 The first superintendent was James Ingham. 
 The principal superintendent under the Duchess 
 Company was Josiah Faulkner, who held the same 
 position under Mr. Ingham, and until his death in 
 April, 1876, with the exception of a brief period 
 during which it was held by John Wilde. William 
 Bogle, the present superintendent, succeeded Mr. 
 Faulkner at his death. 
 
 The Franklindale Cotton Mill is also the proper- 
 ty of Messrs. Garner & Co., by whom it was pur- 
 chased in 1844, and was the first mill of the kind 
 owned by them. This site and water-power was 
 .first utilized by Benjamin Clapp, who was born in 
 Norton, Mass., Oct, 31, 1789, and removed to 
 Wappingers Falls in 1827. He purchased the site 
 of the Mesiers and erected a building, the lower 
 story of which he occupied in the manufacture of 
 mahogany veneering, while the upper story was used 
 as a drying room for the print works, and the in- 
 termediate one was rented to Cook & Low, who 
 were engaged in the manufacture of combs. Ben- 
 jamin Clapp was one of Wappingers Falls' most 
 active business men. He died Sept. 19, 1872. 
 The building erected by Mr. Clapp was burned 
 , in the fall of 1832, and rebuilt by him the following 
 year. That building now forms the northerly por- 
 tion of the Franklindale Cotton Mill, the southerly 
 portion of which was erected by him soon after. 
 In 1844 these two buildings were connected by 
 means of a central addition made by the Franklin- 
 dale Company, which was incorporated that year, 
 and took possession of the building in the interest 
 of Messrs. Garner & Co. 
 
 This cotton mill contains 10,000 spindles, and 
 is supplied with the most approved machinery. It 
 is run to its full capacity and produces 250,000 
 yards of print cloths per week, giving employment 
 to about 125 persons, about one-half of whom are 
 females. The machinery is propelled entirely by 
 water-power, which was improved and increased in 
 ♦ 1872 from an eighteen feet to a twenty-eight feet 
 head. The overflow these produced covers forty- 
 
 three acres— thirty acres more than it formerly 
 
 did. 
 
 Peter McKinley, a native of Scotland, was the 
 first agent after the mill came into the hands of the 
 Franklindale Co., and his brother Daniel was super- 
 intendent. Both filled these positions till their deaths, 
 the former Feb. 28, 1859, and the latter, having 
 also acted as agent after the death of his brother, 
 in 1870. Matthew Cottam succeeded to the agency 
 and still retains it. Hugh Whitehill, who was con- 
 nected with the mill in a subordinate capacity from 
 1847, succeeded to the superintendency, under Mr. 
 Cottam, and held the position until 1881, when 
 Wm. J. Brown, the present incumbent, received 
 that appointment. 
 
 The Clinton Company is one of the four repre- 
 sentatives of Garner & Co., at this place, each 
 of which is conducted as an entirely distinct 
 and separate establishment. It supervises the 
 water-works and the tenement houses — 460 in 
 number — which are mainly rented to the opera- 
 tives in the print works and cotton-mill, and are 
 mostly two-tenement buildings, though some con- 
 tain as many as ten tenements. 
 
 The Independent Comb Co., was formed in 1828; 
 and was composed of Levi Cook and Emery Low, 
 the latter of whom came here from Leominster, 
 Mass., at the suggestion of Mr. Cook, who was a 
 New York capitalist, and advanced funds to enable 
 Mr. Low, who was then advanced in years, to 
 enlarge his comb business, which, like many other 
 establishments, he had carried on in a small way in 
 Leominster. Mr. Cook sold the goods for him in 
 New York. Mr. Low first occupied the middle 
 floor of a building erected by Benjamin Cl^pp on 
 the site of the Franklindale Cotton Mill, and after- 
 wards in the building erected on its site, which is 
 now the northerly portion of that structure. In 
 1836, Eleazer D. Sweet, I. T. l^ichols and James 
 Shields succeeded Messrs. Cook and Low in the 
 Comb business, which they conducted under the 
 name of Sweet, Nichols & Shields. In 1844, they 
 removed the establishment to a wooden building 
 erected by them near the site of the Cljnton Cot- 
 ton Mill, which was torn down in 1 848, when the 
 latter was' got in operation ; and in 1848, to the 
 upper story of the building now used as the dye 
 mill of the Dutchess Print Works, which was erected 
 by the Franklindale Cotton Co. that year, and the 
 lower story of which was rented to Henry Hughson 
 for a grist mill. In 1854 they discontinued the 
 comb business and sold the establishment to Elias 
 Brown, Abel Gray, Thomas Stevenson and John 
 
TOWN OF WAPPINGER. 
 
 497 
 
 Barlow, who removed it to the island back of the 
 Clinton Cotton Mill, renting a building owned by 
 the Franklindale Cotton Co., a part of which 
 is still standing and in use as a carpenter shop. 
 These gentlemen conducted the business one year, 
 when, in 1855, Mr. Brown purchased the interest 
 of his partners. 
 
 In 1 86 1, Mr. Brown associated with himself as 
 partner, I. T. Nichols, a former proprietor, under 
 the name of Nichols & Brown, and in 1864, re- 
 purchased Mr. Nichols' interest, since which time 
 he has carried on the business alone. In 1867 
 Mr. Brown removed the establishment from the 
 building on the island to one 90 by 30 feet erected 
 by him that year on the site of the central portion 
 of his present building on the corner of Prospect 
 and Market streets. That building was destroyed 
 by fire January 26, 1868, and a new one of like 
 size was erected within three weeks. In 1879 
 Mr. Brown enlarged the building by an addition 
 on both ends to its present size, one hundred and 
 fifty by thirty feet, with a wing of forty feet on 
 each end. 
 
 Sweet, Orr dr- Co!s Overall Factory was estab- 
 lished in the fall of 187 1 by the present firm, which 
 is composed of Clayton E. Sweet, James Orr and 
 Clinton W. Sweet for the manufacture of overalls, 
 sack coats and jackets. Operations were com- 
 menced on the west side of the creek on an upper 
 floor of Stevenson & Barlow's tin store with less than 
 a dozen machines and operators. But the excellence 
 of their goods soon created a demand which neces- 
 sitated increased faciUties and substitution of steam 
 for foot power. Consequently the works were re- 
 moved in 1872 to the building on Mill street occu- 
 pied by the Chronicle office. But these humble 
 quarters were soon outgrown, and the building with 
 its subsequent additions is now 100 by 112 feet, 
 the rear and main portion, including the operating 
 rooms, being three stories high, while the number 
 of machines has increased to 195, and the number 
 of operators to 300, fuUy two-thirds of whom are 
 females. 
 
 The firm have recently commenced the manu- 
 facture of woolen goods, a feature of the business 
 which is increasing in magnitude and importance. 
 
 Physicians. — Dr. Peter D. Schenck is believed to 
 have been the first physician who located at Wap- 
 pingers Falls. He was a son of Paul Schenck, an 
 early merchant in Poughkeepsie, and a Deputy to 
 the third Provincial Congress from this county in 
 1776. He had previously practiced in Fishkill, 
 whence he removed to this place about 1820. He 
 
 was a distinguished physician and continued in 
 practice here till his death. 
 
 Dr. CorneUus Remsen was the next physician to 
 locate here. He was born at Newtown, L. I., 
 Feb. 14, 1789, and removed thence Sept. 7, 1804, 
 to Fishkill, for the purpose of studying medicine, 
 living with his uncles, Peter, James and Thomas 
 Osborn, three bachelor brothers, who resided a 
 half mile north of Fishkill and were then practicing 
 medicine in that vicinity. He pursued his medical 
 studies with Dr. Bartow White of that village, 
 and was licensed by the Duchess County Medical 
 Society, Dec. 12, 1810. He served professionally 
 in the army during the war of 1812. 
 
 William Baxter, who was born in Delhi in 1805, 
 and was a graduate of Union College, graduated in 
 medicine at the College of Physicians and Surgeons 
 in New York about 1833. He established himself 
 in practice in New York city, and removed thence 
 about 1836 to Mt. Upton, Chenango county. After 
 about a year he removed thence to Wappingers 
 Falls, where he practiced till his death, July 3,1875 
 with the exception of three years spent in Cali- 
 fornia. 
 
 Charles Bottsford, from Connecticut, located 
 here soon alter the death of Dr. Schenck, 
 about 1840. He was a highly respected physician 
 and practiced here for some years, until incapaci- 
 tated by sickness, when he returned to Connecti- 
 cut and died of consumption. Benjamin Coit, 
 who came from the East, practiced here a 
 year or two, about 1845, and removed to California. 
 Wm. H. Proal was practicing here in 1847 and 
 continued till his death, July 16, 1854, at the age 
 of thirty-six. 
 
 The present ^ssicians are: James M. Congreve, 
 Wm. Baxter, S.^e, Jr., N. M. Van Duser, Thos. 
 K. Cruse, Edmund Van Wyck, Isaac M. Cornell 
 and Thomas P. Birdsall. 
 
 James M. Congreve was born in Jamaica, in the 
 West Indies, in 1821, and removed thence with his 
 parents in 1828. He studied medicine with Dr. 
 Elliott Boyd, of New York, and removed thence in 
 1857 to Wappingers Falls, graduating the following 
 year at the Eclectic College of New York. Wm. 
 Baxter, son of an earlier physician of that name, 
 was born at Wappingers Falls in 1848. He studied 
 medicine with his father and was licensed by the 
 Homeopathic Medical Society of Duchess County 
 in 187 1, in which year he commenced practice in 
 this village. Sylvester Roe, Jr., was born in Flush- 
 ing, L. I., in 1844. He graduated from the Mt. 
 Vernon College, N. J., in the spring of 1867, and 
 
498 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 from the Eclectic Medical College of, the City of 
 New York, May 6, 1869. After practicing a year 
 in New York and eighteen months in Sag Harbor, 
 he removed in 187 1 to Wappingers Falls. Na- 
 thaniel M. VanDuser, was born in Cornwall, Orange 
 county, in 1820. He studied medicine at the 
 medical department of Vermont University, at 
 Castleton, Vt., and graduated from the College of 
 Physicians and Surgeons in New York, March 4, 
 1852. In 1854, after serving about two years as 
 surgeon for the Co'hns line of steamers between 
 New York and Liverpool, he established himself 
 in practice at Hughsonville, whence he removed 
 about 1873 to this village. Thomas K. Cruse 
 was born in Baltimore, Md., in 1849. He gradu- 
 ated from the College of the City of New York in 
 1868, with the degree of A. M. He studied medi- 
 cine at the Bellevue Hospital Medical College in 
 New York City, and graduated there March i, 
 1870. He served four years in that institution, 
 the first two as house surgeon, and the latter two 
 as surgeon of the Bureau of Relief for the out-door 
 poor. He afterwards spent a year in study at 
 London, Paris' and Berlin. In 1874 he accepted 
 an appointment as surgeon of one of the steamers 
 of the White Star line, and the latter part of that 
 year established himself in practice at Tarrytown. 
 In 1875 he removed thence to Wappingers Falls, 
 where he has since practiced. 
 
 Edraiind VanWyck, son of John VanWyck, 
 was born in New Hamburgh in 1850. He studied 
 medicine with Dr. N. M. Van Duser, of Wappin- 
 gers Falls, and graduated from the College of Phy- 
 sicians and Surgeons of New York in 1873. He 
 spent two years, 1873 to 1875, as assistant phy- 
 sician of the New York City Lunatic Asylum, on 
 Blackwell's Island, and in 1876" established him- 
 self in practice at Wappingers Falls.. 
 
 Isaac M. Cornell was born in Blooming Grove, 
 Rensselaer county, in 1851. He studied medicine 
 with Dr. S. S. Greene, of LaGrange, and gradu- 
 ated from the University Medical College of New 
 York City, Feb. 22, 1877. He commenced prac- 
 tice with his preceptor, who, in the meantime, had 
 removed to Buffalo, and in December of that year 
 he established himself in practice in this village. 
 Thomas P. Birdsall was born in the town of New- 
 burgh, Orange county, Jan. 13, 1856. He studied 
 medicine with his cousin. Dr. S. T. Birdsall, in 
 Brooklyn, and graduated from the New York 
 Homeopathic Medical College Feb. 28, 1878. He 
 commenced practice in PeekskiU and removed 
 thence in 1879 to Wappingers Falls. 
 
 Lawyers. — The first lawyer to locate in Wap- 
 pingers Falls was John W. Bartrum, who was born 
 in Union Vale, in this County, Dec. 25, 1843. He 
 graduated from the State Normal School at Albany 
 in 1863, and read the elementary works on law 
 while engaged in teaching in the Oswego Institute 
 in this County, and in the district schools. He sub- 
 sequently entered the office of Burlingame & Mc- 
 Harg, of Albany, and graduated at the Law De- 
 partment of Albany University in 1868. He was 
 admitted to practice the same year. He formed 
 a co-partnership with one of his preceptors, Mr. 
 Burlingame, which continued two years, during 
 that gentleman's protracted absence in the West. 
 Jan. 1,1871, he opened an office in Wappingers 
 Falls, where he has since practiced. 
 
 Elisha Rusk was admitted in 1879, and in that 
 year opened an office in this village. Bernard J. 
 Tinney, who was born at Wappingers Falls in 1857, 
 and educated in the Channingville Union Free 
 School, read law in the office of J. W. Bartrum in 
 this village, and afterwards with Henry Daily, Jr., 
 of New York, a former partner of Charles O'Con- 
 nor. He was admitted Sept. 12, 1878, and com- 
 menced practice in Wappingers Falls, Oct 7, 1878. 
 He was elected corporation clerk in 1880. T. C. 
 Wakeman, from Towners, Putnam county, read 
 law with J. W. Bartrum of this yillage and was ad- 
 mitted in the fall of 1881. He opened an office in 
 Wappingers Falls shortly after. 
 
 The Wappinger Falls Savings Bank was incor- 
 porated April 23, 1869. 1'he incorporators and 
 first trustees were : J. Nelson Luckey, Irving Grin- 
 nell, Samuel Brown, Thomas W. Jaycocks, Elias 
 Brown, Henry Mesier, Andrew Jackson, WilUam 
 B. Millard, Benjamin Clapp, A. W. Armstrong, 
 Rev. Dennis Sheehan, John R. Phillips, Samuel 
 W. Johnson, Josiah Faulkner,- 1. T. Nichols, J. D. 
 Harcourt, Clayton E. Sweet, Edward M. Goring, 
 Abraham D. Smith, Henry Suydam, Francis 
 Myers, Z. V. Hasbrook and Daniel McKinlay. 
 The first officers were:, Samuel W. Johnson, 
 President ; I. T. Nichols, ist Vice-President ; Rev. 
 Dennis Sheehan, 2nd Vice-President ; Clayton E. 
 Sweet, Secretary and Treasurer. 
 
 Mr. Johnson was_President until his death Dec. 
 12, 1881, and was succeeded by W. Henry Reese, 
 who was elected Jan. 6, 1882. In 1871, when the 
 Wappingers Falls Bank* was organized,- W. Henry 
 Reese, the cashier of that institution, "became the 
 treasurer of the Savings Bank, and held the posi- 
 tion till May, 1881, when he was succeeded by 
 
 * This bank has closed its doors and is now settling up its business. 
 
SOO 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 in 1838; and in 1839 James H. Romer was Mr. 
 Cochran's colleague ; while in 1 840, the circuit re- 
 ceived the joint labors of Henry Hatfield and 
 James H. Romer. In 1841 Henry Hatfield and 
 Robert Travis were on the circuit. In 1842 
 David Holmes and Samuel Weeks were the 
 preachers. In 1843 David Holmes was assisted by 
 John Campbell. 
 
 In 1845, at the request of William Orr, a lot was 
 given by Mr. Given ; and as a condition of • that 
 gift a society was incorporated Nov. i8th, under 
 the name of " The Methodist Episcopal Church 
 of Ednam Village." Steps were at once taken to 
 construct an edifice, which was dedicated in 1845. 
 William Orr, Fowler Rogers and Albert VanTyne 
 were the building committee. 
 
 Rev. Denton Keeler, who preached during the 
 opening of this new church, returned the next 
 year to enjoy service in it. In 1847, A. F. Sellick, 
 was assigned to " Fishkill West," and was returned 
 the following year. Matthew VanDuzen gave 
 two years sucessful labor, in 1849-50. P. L. Hoyt 
 was the preacher in 185 1 ; and in 1852-3, D. B. 
 Turner was in charge, assisted the first year by 
 John W. Munger, and the second year by D. W. 
 C. Van Gaasbeck. 
 
 John Luckey was the preacher in 1854, and 
 Thomas Edwards in 1855. This latter year 
 Joel Cross preached at Wappingers Falls 
 and New Hamburgh. In 1856 Wappingers 
 Falls was a mission, supplied by W. F. Gould. 
 This year P. L. Hoyt was returned to the "Fishkill 
 West " circuit and remained two years. In the 
 spring of 1857 he found an earnest and successful 
 co-laborer in Elbert Osborn, who was stationed at 
 Wappingers Falls and New Hamburgh, and con- ' 
 tinued a second year. A. Davis was the preacher 
 in i858-'9, and the latter year Daniel 0. Ferris 
 ministered at Wappingers Falls and New Ham- 
 burgh. In i860 the circuit was supplied by Wm. 
 F. Gould and Asa P. Lyon, and in i86i, Lyon 
 was associated with Aaron Hunt, the latter of 
 whom returned in 1862. In 1863, Fishkill, Mid- 
 dlebush and Channingville were supplied by H. C. 
 Humphrey. In 1864, C. M. Eggleston preached 
 at Fishkill and Middlebush, and Wappingers Falls 
 was supplied by Horace Wood. In 1865, Mr. 
 Wood was appointed to Middlebush. Ira Ferrisj 
 who had charge the preceding year at New Ham- 
 burgh, was appointed to the charge of New Ham- 
 burgh and Wappingers Falls in i866-'7. 
 
 During the early part of Mr. Ferris' administra- 
 tion began to be agitated, the question of consoli- 
 
 dating the Middlebush and Wappingers Falls 
 churches. The Middlebush edifice was too far 
 from the rapidly growing village, and that at Chan- 
 ningville not large enough to meet the demands of 
 both. The interests of Methodism demanded the 
 change, but it was with much difficulty that the 
 leading members of the two churches were recon- 
 ciled to it. It was decided, however, to consoli- 
 date, and the Channingville church property was 
 sold for $800. Mr. Ferris' health failed in 1867, 
 and E. E. Croft supplied New Hamburgh and 
 Channingville, and Mr. Matthias filled the Middle- 
 bush appointment till the spring. 
 
 In 1868 Wappingers Falls and New Hamburgh 
 were supplied by P. L. Hoyt. In April of this 
 year the lot now occupied by the Wappingers 
 Falls M. E. Church was purchased of the executors 
 of the estate of Margaret Reese, deceased, for 
 $902.50. Measures were at once set on foot to 
 erect a church thereon by the consolidated society, 
 which was done at a cost of $14,865.83, the funds 
 for which were mainly raised by the exertions of 
 A. C. Morehouse, who was appointed to the circuit 
 in the spring of 1869. The church was furnished 
 at a cost of $940, the funds for that purpose having 
 been raised by the Ladies' Aid Society, which was 
 organized May 10, 1869. The old Middlebush 
 church was taken down and the material used in 
 constructing the present barn and sheds at a cost 
 of $752.45. 
 
 In April, 1872, E. S. Bishop was sent as 
 preacher in charge and remained two years. In 
 1874, J. H. Hawkhurst came to the charge and 
 remained three years. In 1877, '78 and '79, the 
 church was served by N. B. Thompson. In 1880, 
 A. H. Ferguson came as preacher. D. H. Hana- 
 burgh, commenced his pastoral labors with the 
 church in April, 1881. The-present number of 
 members is two hundred and fifty; the attendance 
 at Sunday-school, about two hundred, and the 
 average attendance about one hundred and sixty.* 
 Presbyterian Church of Wappingers Falls.— 
 About 1847, at the request of Mrs. J. Fisher 
 Sheafe, Rev. John D. Wells, who was then preach- 
 ing at EUesdie chapel, canvassed Wappingers Falls 
 to learn how many persons wished to form a 
 Presbyterian church. This resulted in the gather- 
 ing of a congregation, which met for worship in the 
 hall in the upper story of the building on the north- 
 east corner of Main and Mill streets, where occa- 
 sional services w ere conducted by neighboring 
 
 * Condensed from Rev. D. H. Hanaburgh's/^«ferK«/Z>iVc«,r« pre- 
 pared m 1 88 1, and from supplementary information received from him. 
 
TOWN OF WAPPINGER. 
 
 SOI 
 
 ministers, and the formation of this church by a 
 committee of the North River Presbytery, June .6, 
 1848. In that year (1848) a pleasant church edi- 
 fice was built for this congregation by Mrs. Sheafe, 
 on Fulton street. In 1871 and '72, the splendid 
 new church edifice in which the congregation now 
 worships was erected. May 5, 1872, the first ser- 
 vices were held in the new building, which was 
 dedicated July 25, 1872. The following have been 
 its successive pastors : Rev. Edwin R. McGregor, 
 July 16, 1848 ; Rev. Reuben Frame, Dec. i, 1850; 
 Rev. Edwin R. Brower, Oct. 30, 1855 ; Rev. John 
 Lowrey, July 10, 1861; Rev. Samuel E. Herrick, 
 Oct. 13, 1863; Rev. William W. Newell, Jr., 
 August 23, 1865 ; Rev. Oliver A. Kingsbury, 
 March i, 1870 ; Rev. William G. Hillman; April 
 28, 1874; and Rev. James Otis Denniston, June 
 
 s. 1877- 
 
 Zion (Episcopal) Church of Wappingers Falls, 
 was organized in 1834, and erected their church 
 edifice the same year. The present rector is Rev. 
 Henry F. Satterlee.* 
 
 The Franklindak Baptist Church of Wappin- 
 gers Falls, was organized in 1838, and erected their 
 church edifice in 1847. The present pastor is 
 Rev. H. A. Cornell.* 
 
 Societies. — LaFayette Lodge, No. i?,,I.O. O. F, 
 was instituted Jan. 4, 1838. The charter members 
 were: Jno. A. Kennedy, P. G. of No. 11 ; J. D. 
 Stewart, P. D. G. M.'; George Chatillon, Joseph 
 R. Young, Wm. A. Tyler, P. G. No. i ; Jno S. 
 Ellison and Joseph Blackburn, all of whom are 
 dead. The lodge numbers 162 members and 
 meets every Thursday evening in Odd Fellows 
 Hall, which was built in 1877 at a cost of $7,000, 
 and is owned by the lodge. This is the only one 
 of the eight lodges in the district which owns the 
 hall in which it meets. 
 
 La Fayette Encampment of Patriarchs, No. 95, 
 /. O. O. F., an offshoot from La Fayette Lodge 
 No. 18, I. O. p. F., was instituted Feb. 26, 1879. 
 The charter members were : James Thornhill, 
 John Robinson, John Halliday, Columbus Van 
 Dyne, James Finley, Thomas J. Mather, Wm. S. 
 Cummings. The present number of members is 
 thirty. Meetings are held the second and fourth 
 Mondays of each month in Odd Fellows Hall. 
 
 Wappingers Falls Division 147 S. of T., was or- 
 ganized March 26, 1867, with the following charter 
 members : Dr. James M. Congreve, Cornelius W. 
 Ki gnell, Clinton W. Clapp, Reuben W. Nelson , 
 
 * Data relative to this church promised has not been supplied ; hence 
 we are unable to give further details. The same is true of the Baptist 
 church. 
 
 Silas Curtis, Peter McGregor, John Gannon, Dar- 
 win W. Woodward, James M. Congreve, Jr., John 
 Boon, John Cole, Armenius W. Armstrong, Rev. 
 Horace D. DooUttle, George H. Clapp, James 
 Marlor, Rev. W. W. Newell, Charles La Due, Wm. 
 Arbuckle, Elias Brown, Emmet P. Manning, 
 Dennis Leach, Jno. W. Mathews. The present 
 number of members is about forty. Meetings 
 are held each Monday in Sons of Temperance 
 Hall in the Young's Building. 
 
 Wappingers Lodge, No. 671, F. &= A. M, was 
 instituted June 16, 1868. The charter members 
 were : B. S. Stradley, W. J. Brown, C. W. Hig- 
 nell, T. W. Goring, J. M. Goring, Thomas Dawson, 
 John Hunter, George Deacon and S. R. Brown ; 
 and the charter oflScers, John Hunter, Master; Geo. 
 T. Deacon, S. W. ; Thomas Dawson, J. W. The 
 resent number of members is 118. The lodge rrieets 
 the first and third Mondays of each month in Man- 
 sion Hall on Main Street. 
 
 The Duchess and Franklindale Mtttual Aid 
 Society, was formed some ten or twelve years 
 since by the operatives of the Duchess Print Works 
 and the Franklindale Cotton Mill, to furnish aid to 
 each other in case of sickness or death. It was 
 formed at the suggestion of the Duchess Company, 
 who now make it obligatory upon all their em- 
 ployes, to join one of three classes, which is deter- 
 mined by the wages of the employe, $2, $3, or $5 
 per week being given in case of sickness the first 
 three months and one-half those amounts the 
 second three months, when it ceases, and in case 
 of death $10, $15, or $25, according to the class 
 to which the employd belongs, none being allowed 
 to enter a class in which the aid given is greater 
 than the wages received. 
 
 The Evening Star I^odge, No. 98, Knights of 
 Pythias was organized April 16, 1873. The char- 
 ter members were : D. S. Dougherty, John Ready, 
 Harvey Pollock, J. W. Bartrum, C. W. Hignell, 
 Robert F. Johnson, Alson Sherwood, William I. 
 Henry, Louis Bartello, John Heald, Edwin Wors- 
 ley, R. H. Conliff, James A. Redfield, Thomas E. 
 Worsley, Thomas J. Pryor. The lodge numbers 
 108, and meets Wednesdays in Knights of Pythias 
 Hall. 
 
 John H. Ketcham Post, No. 88, G. A. R., was 
 chartered Feb. 13, 1876, and was a re- organization 
 of Cushing Post, No. 99, organized some years 
 previously. The charter members of the new 
 organization were : Joseph Grimshaw, Joseph 
 Knichel, Joseph Walsh, Jno. O. Farrell, Edmund 
 Tanner, Thomas T. Beard, Michael Flynn, William 
 
502 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 G. Ferris, John Ridings, John Shine, Henry Bates, 
 William J. Lester, Eugene Johnson, Benjamin Al- 
 verson, F. H. Rossman. Joseph Grimshaw was 
 the first Commander. The Post numbers thirty- 
 six, and meets the first and third Saturdays of every 
 month, in Temperance Hall. 
 
 Wappingers Lodge, No. 1270, Knights of Honor 
 was instituted Nov. 5, 1878, and chartered Sept. 
 17, 1879. The charter members were: Jacob 
 Cole, William Sanders, H. C. Snow, E. Van Nos- 
 trand, David Secor, E. Crawley, F. S. Smith, E. F. 
 Hargraves, S. A. Lonsdale, W. H. Goring, Joseph 
 Roy, Jno. W. Gaunt, John Seares, Jonas Baum, 
 Valentine Valk, T. T. Beard, W. S. V. Roth, 
 Henry Worsley, Lewis Kaune, Philip Brown and 
 J. W. P. Lawson. The lodge numbers thirty-seyen, 
 and meets the first and third ' Tuesdays in Sons of 
 Temperance Hall. 
 
 Wappinger Lodge, No. 347, 1. O. G. T., was or- 
 ganized Feb. 23,1881. The charter officers and 
 members were : Samuel F. Monfort, W. C. T. ; 
 Sarah Nash, W. V. T. ; F. Belding, W. C. ; James 
 fielding, W. S.; Mrs. James Belding, W. A. S.; 
 Jno. L. Sheerer, W. F. S.; E. G. Sweezey, W. T.; 
 Chas. Proctor, Samuel Temple, James Temple, 
 Wm. H. Monfort, Joseph Mabie, Jno. Nash, Mrs. 
 Jno. Nash, Jno. Bell, Wm. Farrer, Edward Smith, 
 Stephen Nash, Irving K. Sheerer, D. B. Whitney, 
 Mrs. D. B. Whitney, John Popper, Jno. C. Haight, 
 F. M. Balding, Ella Nash, Lizzie Belding, Monroe 
 Kipp, David Beck, Robt. Clinton, Els worth Traver, 
 Eddie Nash, Annie Henderson. The lodge num- 
 bers eighty-four, and meets Fridays in Knights of 
 Pythias Hall. 
 
 Triumph Council, No. 73, Legion of Honor, was 
 organized August 10, 1881. The charter mem- 
 bers were : Wm. D. Snow, Harry C. Snow, Geo. 
 Warhurst, Jr., Daniel McKinnon, Dr. S. Roe, Jr., 
 Harvey Pollock, Dr. C. J.^Wood, A. H. Roth, Wm! 
 O. Brower, Wm. Truby, Peter Goers, David Secor, 
 John H. Dakin, Frederick Gussefeld, Timothy 
 Lester, Jno. Huber, Charles M. Pryor, Ladolph 
 Kaune, Frederick Kehler, Frank Richtmeyer, 
 Henry Harting, Gustave Heusser, Frederick 
 Kaune, Geo. T. Williamson, James W. P. Lanson. 
 The Council numbers thirty-three, and meets the 
 second and fourth Tuesdays of each month in 
 Knights of Pythias Hall. 
 
 HUGHSONVILLE. 
 
 Hughsonville is situated about a mile south of 
 Wappingers Falls and contains one church, (Pres- 
 byterian,) a district school, one hotel, two' stores. 
 
 a blacksmith shop, kept by Heber Vannosdall, a 
 wagon shop, kept by John Wiesner, a carpenter 
 shop kept by John Burnett, two shoe shops, kept 
 by John T. Dearing and Alfred Hasbrook, a har- 
 ness shop, kept by Benjamin Vail, and a popula- 
 tion of about 150. The business of the place 
 which was formerly of some little consequence, has 
 been absorbed by Wappingers Falls. 
 
 Hughsonville derives its name from theHughson 
 family, descendants of Wm. Hughson, who took up 
 a large tract of land on the east side of Wappin- 
 gers Creek,extending from the small stream which 
 empties into that creek at Hallock's dock, near the 
 corporation line of Wappingers Falls, to the mouth 
 of Wappingers Creek, and thence down the Hud- 
 son, on which he made the first settlement at 
 Hughsonville before the Revolution. He was one 
 of four brothers wfio came to this country from 
 England, one settUng in the South and becoming 
 the progenitor of the " Houstons," as the name is- 
 then spelt, and another in Ulster county, where 
 his descendants preserve the distinguishing orthog- 
 raphy of " Hewson." William first located at Yonk- 
 ers and removed thence to this place. William, 
 John, Nicholas and Stephen were sons of his, and 
 all, except Nicholas, who went to sea and was never 
 afterwards heard of, married and settled in the 
 vicinity of Hughsonville. 
 
 In 1 847-' 48, the postoffice was established here. 
 The inhabitants had previously obtained their 
 mail at Middlebush, where the first postoffice 
 in this locality was estabKshed about i824-'2S, 
 
 and was kept by Fancher, father of 
 
 Judge Fancher, of New York. Benjamin T. 
 Smith has been engaged in mercantile "business 
 here a year, and was appointed postmaster in the 
 fall of 1880. 
 
 Dr. Nathaniel M. VanDuser, now in practice at 
 Wappingers Falls, practiced medicine here from 
 1854 until about 1873. No other physician has 
 located here since. Dr. Pinckney was an early 
 practitioner near the mill between this village and 
 Wappingers Falls. 
 
 The Presbyterian Church of Hughsonville was 
 formed by persons who had previously attended 
 the church at New Hamburgh. The church edifice 
 was erected in 1840. The membership is small, 
 and there has been no regular pastor for some 
 years, though the pulpit is regularly supplied by Rev. 
 Jesse E. Shafer, of Newburgh. The records of the 
 church prior to 1874 wer^ burned with the house 
 of the clerk of the session, so that we are unable 
 to trace its history. 
 
TOWN OF WAPPINGER. 
 
 503 
 
 Low Point. 
 
 Low Point (Carthage Landing p. o.) is a sta- 
 tion on the Hudson River Railroad in the south- 
 west corner of the town, 3.53 miles above Fish- 
 kill Landing and 2.57 miles below New Hamburgh. 
 Its name was given to designate its low lands in 
 contradistinction from the high lands at New Ham- 
 burgh. It contains two churches, (Episcopal and 
 M. E.,) a district school — a brick structure twen- 
 ty-seven by fifty-four feet, erected in 1875, and 
 employing one teacher, one hotel, kept by Capt. 
 Jacob Hart, one store, kept by Nathaniel Smith, 
 the works of the Wallkill Portland Cement Co., 
 J. Sanderson & Co., proprietors, a blacksmith 
 shop, kept by Richard Morris, two shoe shops, 
 kept by Samuel M. Cook and Basil Hopkins, a 
 brick-yard, and about two hundred and fifty in- 
 habitants. ^ 
 
 In 1854, the second store here was built by 
 Jacob A. Rogers. In 1855, Mr. Rogers was suc- 
 ceeded by John H. Sturges, who continued until 
 his death in 1870, when his wife carried on the 
 business until the spring of 1872. Nathaniel 
 Smith then leased the store, which still belongs to 
 the Rogers' estate, and still carries on the business. 
 
 The postoffice at Low Point was estabUshed 
 about 1840, and Gilbert Budd, who was an old 
 resident of the place, was the postmaster, an office 
 he held for a number of years. John H. Sturges, 
 who was then engaged in mercantile business, 
 succeeded him and held the office till his death in 
 1870. He was succeeded by Nathaniel Smith, 
 the present incumbent. 
 
 James V. Mead has quite an extensive brick- 
 yard a half mile below the village. It was first 
 established by Gilbert D. Collins over thirty years 
 ago and was carried on by him for several years. It 
 was afterwards rented to different parties. In the 
 spring of 1871, it was purchased of the Collins 
 estate by Thos. Aldrich, who ownes three or four 
 yards at Duchess Junction. He fmmediately 
 rented it to Mr. Mead, who purchased it in Decem- 
 ber, 1881. He employs some thirty men and 
 makes about 1,000,000 bricks per annum. It is 
 Mr. Mead's intention to greatly increase the 
 capacity of the works. 
 
 There has never been a resident physician or 
 lawyer at Low Point ; but Dr. John Pinckney ex- 
 tended his practice here from the inception of its 
 business career. He owned a farm about three- 
 fourths of a mile east of the village, which is now 
 occupied by the widow of his son John, though it 
 was sold by the doctor to Isaac Lounsbury. 
 
 The Methodist Episcopal Church of Carthage 
 Landing, was organized in 1823, and erected their 
 church edifice — the first in the village — in 1833. 
 Feb. 6, 1833, it is recorded, the inhabitants of Low 
 Point and vicinity met at the school house and de- 
 cided " that the church to be built should be a M. 
 E. church." The following were elected trustees : 
 Elijah Budd, Jno. H. Brinckerhofif, Felix Shurter, 
 Henry I. Brinckerhofif and Garret B. Brinckerhofif, 
 the latter of whom was chosen treasurer and sec- 
 retary of the society. 
 
 The church has preserved no records by which 
 its history can be traced. The present pastor, Rev. 
 Abram Davis, was appointed to this charge in 
 April, 1881. The present membership is about 
 fifty. The attendance at Sabbath school is about 
 thirty. The superintendent is Abram Reynolds. 
 It is on the charge with New Hamburgh. The first 
 resident pastor was Rev. Merwin Lent, who was 
 stationed here in the spring of 1879. 
 
 St. Marks Church of Carthage Landing. — In 
 1865, a few ladies assembled in the shop of Mr. 
 Taplin and formed a Sunday school, which was or- 
 ganized by Rev. John Scarborough, the rector of 
 the church of the Holy Comforter, in Poughkeepsie, 
 but now Bishop of New Jersey. Mr. Scarborough 
 also held services in Mr. Taplin's shop, but visited 
 the place only once. The instruction then inau- 
 gurated has been continued to the present time. 
 Rev. Henry E. Duncan, the rector at Matteawan, 
 next officiated here a few times, and was followed 
 by Rev. Chandler Hare, of Lebanon, Penn., who 
 remained about a year. Rev. George D. Johnson 
 of Newburyport, Mass., next held services here 
 some months. 
 
 In the meantime a church had been organized, 
 and a house of worship was erected in 1866. The 
 constituent members of the church at its organiza- 
 tion numbered fourteen families, viz: Mrs. C. 
 Ackerman, Samuel Townsend, Jno. Shurter, J. A. 
 Taplin, Charles Adriance, Mrs. Charlotte Constan- 
 tine, Mrs. Eleanor Sturgess, Mrs. Nicholas Rouse, 
 Mrs. Harriet Rouse, William H. Merritt, Mrs. 
 Alex. Bush, Samuel Robinson, Richard P. Hart 
 and Mary A. Verplanck. The church is a neat 
 frame structure twenty-five by sixty feet, very invit- 
 ing in its surroundings. 
 
 On the completion of the church, the services 
 which had occasionally been held in the district 
 school, but generally in Mr. Taplin's shop, were 
 transferred to it. Rev. Jno. B. Pitman, of Malone, 
 N. Y., conducted services for a few months, and 
 Rev. William Walsh, of Newburgh, occasionally, 
 
504 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 when the pulpit was not otherwise supplied. Rev. 
 Jno. Morgan, of New York, officiated a few 
 months, and Rev. Jno. R. Livingston, then rector 
 of St. John the Baptist church, Glenham, occa- 
 sionally. Rev. Frederick Wm. Shelton, LL. D., 
 received a call from the church and entered upon 
 his duties as first rector of the parish August 20, 
 1867. The vestry was then composed of Gulian 
 C. Verplanck and Jno. H. Shurter, wardens; and 
 William S. Verplanck, Robert N. Verplanck, S. B. 
 Knox, William H. Merritt, Charles Adriance and 
 Charles H. Duryea, vestrymen. Mr. Shelton re- 
 signed the rectorship May 22, 1880. Rev. Samuel 
 M. Ackerly, of Newburgh, officiated as Mr. Shel- 
 ton's assistant for fourteen months before the lat- 
 ter's resignation, and continued his services until 
 October, 1881. 
 
 New Hackensack. 
 
 New Hackensack is a village of some two hundred 
 inhabitants, situated in the north-west part of the 
 town, and derives its name from Hackensack, N. J., 
 whence came the first settlers, among whom were 
 the Van Benschotens, the Snadikers and the Van- 
 derbilts. The Van Benschotens, who were large 
 land-holders in this vicinity, apparently preceded 
 the Snadikers and Vanderbilts by many years. The 
 name of "'Elias Van Benschoten " appears in the 
 list of inhabitants in the County in 17 14, while 
 two of that name, Elias and Teunis, appear in the 
 list of freeholders in 1740 ; but neither the Snadi- 
 kers nor the Vanderbilts are represented there. In 
 17 1 4, Elias had a family of five, three of whom 
 were under sixteen. 
 
 The village contains one church, (Dutch Re- 
 formed,) a district school, one store, (F. E. Hop- 
 son,) a grist mill and saw mill, one hotel, a black- 
 smith shop, kept by Joseph Martin, a wagon shop, 
 kept by Isaac Mickle, a shoe shop, kept by F. E. 
 Hopson. The postoffice is kept in the store and 
 Mr. Hopson was appointed postmaster about the 
 time he took charge of the latter. 
 
 The Reformed {Dutch) Church of New Hacken- 
 sack was organized in 1 7 5 6. The services were held 
 in private houses until 1766, when the first houses 
 of worship was erected. No record of the original 
 members has been preserved ; but at the time of the 
 building of the church there were thirty-three in full 
 communion, Capt. Cornelius Luyster and Tunis 
 Wiltsie, as elders, and John the Baptist Kip and 
 Adolph Swartwood, as deacons. At this time the 
 * first regular pastor was settled. Rev. Isaac Rysdyk, 
 who also ministered to the congregations at Ppugh- 
 
 keepsie, Hopewell and Fishkill. He continued in 
 the service of the churches of New Hackensack, 
 Hopewell and Fishkill till his death, Nov. 20, 1790, 
 and was buried in front of the pulpit at New Hack- 
 ensack.* He was succeeded by Rev. Nicholas 
 Van Vranken. He continued his ministrations tillhis 
 death, May 20, 1804, and was succeeded by Rev. 
 George Barculo, who remained from 1805 to 18 10. 
 Rev. Thomas De Witt then became the pastor, and 
 remained in charge of the churches of New Hack- 
 ensack and Hopewell until 1826, when he became 
 the pastor of the latter church alone. After this 
 separation of the two churches. Rev. Maurice 
 Dwight was settled here and remained until 1833. 
 Rev. C. Van Cleef was settled the latter year and 
 remained until 1 866. The next year Rev. Henry 
 Ward was ordained and installed the pastor, and 
 continues his labors with the church to the present 
 time, (1882.)- In 1834, the first church was taken 
 down and the present one was erected. The pres- 
 ent number of members is 160. 
 
 Myers Corners. 
 
 Myers Corners, situated one and one-half miles 
 south of New Hackensack, was once the seat of a 
 store and tavern, but has degenerated to a mere four 
 corners and a farming community. It derives its 
 name from John Myers, who came here from Hol- 
 land when a young man and took up a farm of 150 
 acres at these corners, about the middle of the 
 eighteenth century. 
 
 Dr. Anthony Underbill^ the only physician who 
 has located at the Corners, came here from New 
 York nearly forty years ago, and is still living and 
 practicing here. He boarded during the first eleven 
 years in the house last referred to. He married 
 Charlotte, daughter of William Marvin, who owned 
 a farm of some 200 acres in the vicinity, on which 
 the doctor built the house in which he now resides. 
 His practice extends over a wide range of country. 
 
 SWARTWOUTVILLE. 
 
 Swartwoutville, situated in the southeast corner 
 of the town, is a hamlet of four houses and a dis- 
 trict school, but for many years boasted a flourish- 
 ing store. Though at present devoid of commer- 
 cial importance, it was once the center from which 
 radiated the most pregnant activities of Fishkill 
 patriots during the Revolutionary period. It is 
 intimately connected with some of the dearest and 
 
 • When the church was taken down in 1834, his remains were removed 
 to a plot in the adjoining graveyard. 
 
TOWN OF FISHKILL. 
 
 50s 
 
 most sacred of Fishkill's Revolutionary associations. 
 Here was located the ever memorable Griffin 
 Tavern, where many of the early meetings of the 
 patriots were held to concert measures for the 
 public weal ; and here, too, stands the residence of 
 Col. John Brinckerhoff, which was at different 
 times for short periods the headquarters of Gen. 
 Washington, and at one tirafe of Baron Steuben 
 and other Revolutionary officers. It is a stone 
 building and was erected in 1738 by the gentleman 
 named. On one of its gables, formed of brick im- 
 pprted from Holland, is the date of its erection. 
 
 " Whenever Washington was at Fishkill," says 
 Benson J. Lossing,* " he made Colonel Brincker- 
 hoff 's his headquarters. He occupied the bedroom 
 back of the parlor, which remains the same, ex- 
 cepting a door, that opens into the hall, which has 
 been cut through. The Colonel's wife appears to 
 have been one of those kind-hearted, motherly 
 women, who are never at ease unless every one 
 around them is comfortable ; and there is a tradi- 
 tion in the family that she always went to Wash- 
 ington's room after he had retired and tucked the 
 bed-clothes around him to keep him warm. The 
 Colonel was a religious man, and a devout member 
 of the old Dutch Church at Fishkill Village. He 
 was rigid in his observances of Christian duties." 
 Colonel Brinckerhoff was born in 1702, and died 
 March 26, 1785. He married in 1725, Jannetie, 
 daughter of Johannes Coerte Van Voorhees, who 
 died Nov. 11, 1792, aged 88 years. 
 
 MiDDLEBUSH. 
 
 Middlebush, situated about a mile south-easlrof 
 Wappingers Falls, was an early business center, 
 affording postal facilities for a large extent of coun- 
 try, and an early center of religious enterprise, 
 but now has only a cluster of houses and a hotel 
 kept by James Keely. The first Baptist church 
 in the town, and the second, we believe, in the 
 original town of Fishkill, was organized here Nov. 
 13, 1782, by Elders John Lawrence, of Pawling, 
 and Nathan Cole, of Carmel, with eighteen mem- 
 bers. The services were held at the house of 
 Abm. Van Wyck, who deeded the Society a piece 
 of land for a site for a church and burying ground. 
 The building of a church edifice was commenced 
 at once. Elder Lewis was pastor of the church for 
 several years, preaching here and at the Union 
 meeting house at Green Haven. This church was 
 essentially a perpetuation of the first Baptist church 
 
 * Historical Sketches No. 6i, by Benson J. Lossing, in Poughkeepsie 
 Eagle of Feb. 14, 1874. 
 
 in the town, which was organized prior to the Rev- 
 olution, and had a house of worship at Gayhead, in 
 East Fishkill, which was abandoned when the 
 Society was formed here. But it did not prosper, 
 and in 1826 sold the " meeting house lot " to Wm. 
 B. Phillips, whose farm bounded it on the south. 
 In 1830 that meeting house became the property 
 of the Methodist church, organized that year, and 
 was used by them as a house of worship until the 
 present Methodist church in Wappingers Falls was 
 erected in 1869, when it was taken down and the 
 material used in the construction of the barn and 
 sheds connected with that church. 
 
 The Eagle Foundry of which Disbrow & Halli- 
 well are proprietors, is situated near the mouth of 
 Wappingers Creek, opposite the village of New 
 Hamburgh. Mr. Disbrow commenced to learn 
 the trade in 1849, with Lee, Arnold & Son., who 
 were then proprietors of the Poughkeepsie Iron 
 Foundry. In 1852, he purchased an interest in 
 those works which were then located in Wappin- 
 gers Falls. Mr. Halliwell, who was master me- 
 chanic in the Dutchess Company's print works, ac- 
 quired an interest in 1861. In 1873, the foundry 
 buildings were burned, and the establishment was 
 removed to its present location, the grounds hav- 
 ing been purchased and the buildings erected at 
 that time. 
 
 CHAPTER XLIV. 
 History of the Town of Fishkill. 
 
 FISHKILL is intimately connected with the 
 earliest and most sacred historic associations 
 of the County. Its name, which is a modification 
 of the Dutch word Vis-Kill, meaning Fish- Creek, 
 and is derived from the creek which flows cen- 
 trally through it, suggests a train of reflections 
 which carry us back to the period when the white 
 man first exchanged fraternities with the red man 
 whom he supplanted, and within the fair domain 
 of Duchess County, planted the first seeds of an 
 advancing civilization, destined in the increasing 
 generations to still further circumscribe the limits 
 of his domain, if not eventually to completely 
 absorb it. Later, after years of toil and privation 
 had sanctified the principles of liberty and equality 
 in the minds of the hardy pioneers, we see it the 
 theater of stirring events in the drama which pre- 
 pared the country for their perpetuation and en- 
 joyment, and established that peace which, with 
 unimportant exceptions, prevailed for nearly a cen- 
 
5o6 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 tury — a period during which, mainly, the resources 
 of the town were developed and its wealth, accu- 
 mulated. 
 
 The town was formed March 7, 1788, a cen- 
 tury after its settlement began, and embraced a 
 much greater extent of territory than at present. 
 Its proportions have been curtailed at different 
 times; first Feb. 9, 182 1, when a "paxtoi Freedom, 
 now LaGrange, was set off. Nov. 29, 1849, the 
 eastern portion was set off to form the town of 
 East Fishkillj and May 20, 1875, the town of 
 Wappinger was formed from the northern portiom 
 Apart of Philipstown, Putnam county, was annexed 
 March 14, 1806. 
 
 It lies in the southwest corner of the County, 
 mainly within the angle formed by the Hudson 
 River and the Fishkill or Matteawan Mountains, 
 which are high, rocky and precipitous, the highest 
 summits. Old Beacon and Grand Sachem, in the 
 southeast corner of the town, being respectively 
 1,47 r and 1,685 f^^t above tide. North of the 
 mountains the surface is pleasantly diversified. 
 Broken ridges terminate abruptly on the river and 
 form a series of bluffs from 150 to 200 feet high. 
 Honers Hill, a rounded eminence in the north- 
 east part, derives its name from the first settler 
 who located upon its sumnnit. A break in the 
 mountains in the southeast part, opening toward 
 the south, is known as the Wiccopee Pass, a name 
 of varied orthography, and applied to a principal 
 village of the Highland Indians. This pass was 
 carefully guarded during the Revolution, to pre- 
 vent the British from turning the American works 
 at West Point, and to protect the military stores at 
 Fishkill. A considerable American force was sta- 
 tioned at its upper extremity during the campaign 
 of 1 777. The works erected for its defence during 
 this period, occupying commanding positions, are 
 still discernable. From the crests of the eminen- 
 ces referred to, beacon fires flashed intelligence to 
 the patriots of the surrounding country and warned 
 them of impending danger. 
 
 The only important stream is the Fishkill, which 
 enters the town in the northeast part and flows 
 diagonally through it. It is a valuable mill stream, 
 with numerous cascades, and gives power to many 
 important industries. There are no less than nine 
 danas upon it within the limits of this town, one 
 each at Brinckerhoffville, Glenham, Growville and 
 Tioronda, three at Matteawan, and two at Wic- 
 copee. 
 
 The town is underlaid by the rocks of the Hud- 
 son River group, except in the Highland region, 
 
 where the rocks of the primary system obtain. 
 Graphite is found in the mountains south of Fish- 
 kill Landing. A large bed of talc has been opened 
 near the line of Putnam county and quarried as 
 soapstone. It is both gray and white, very soft 
 and compact, but its uneven structure and the im- 
 bedded minerals render it of little value. Large 
 beds of sand and clay exist adjacent to the river 
 and are very extensively manufactured into brick 
 Ijelow Fishkill Landing. This, indeed, is a most 
 important industry, employing a large capital and 
 many men, and producing nearly 50,000,000 brick 
 per annum. The firms engaged in the brick manu- 
 facture in this town and the capacity of each yard 
 in 1881 is thus stated in the Poughkeepsie Daily 
 News of April 22, 1881 : — 
 
 McLean & Co. 10,000,000 
 
 Wm. D. Budd. 5,000,000 
 
 Gedney, Dow & Polhemus 4,000,000 
 
 Aldridge Brothers 10,000,000 
 
 N. Covert 3,500,000 
 
 James E. Member 5,000,000 
 
 Theodore Brinkerhofif. 7,000,000 
 
 Fishkill is the wealthiest and by far the most 
 populous town in the county ; while its area, 
 18,257 acres, is exceeded by sixteen of the twenty 
 towns in the county. The total equalized value of 
 its real and personal property is $3,505,241 ; while 
 Poughkeepsie, Red Hook and Rhinebeck are the 
 only other towns which exceed two millions. Its 
 population in 1880 was 10,734; while no other 
 town in the county had half that number of inhab- 
 itants. Its soil is a clay and gravelly loam, highly 
 productive, and adapted to a wide range of crops. 
 The Hudson River Railroad extends through the 
 west border of the town, and the Newburgh, 
 Duchess & Connecticut, and the New York & 
 New England Railroads cross it diagonally, along 
 the valley of the Fishkill. The latter road uses the 
 track of the Newburgh, Duchess & Connecticut 
 road to a point a little below Wiccopee, where it 
 deflects to the west, and conriects with the Hudson 
 River road by a curve to the north at Fishkill 
 Landing, while the Newburgh, Duchess & Con- 
 necticut road connects with the same road at 
 Duchess Junction, 1.69 miles below. Monday, 
 Dec. 12, 1 88 1, the first regular passenger train 
 from Fishkill Landing to Boston, over the New 
 York & New England Railroad, left the former 
 place, and the first car-load of freight was trans- 
 ported across the Hudson from Newburgh to Fish- 
 kill Landing without breaking bulk. * 
 
 There are three common and five union school 
 districts in the town. The number of children of 
 
■^i^ 
 
 JOHN Y. STORM. 
 
 To any one who has ever known Mr. Storm this very expres- 
 sive and life-like engraving will readily recall him to memory. 
 
 Notwithstanding his apparent freshness and lite be is believed 
 to be, to-day, the oldest male representative of the Storm 
 family in Duchess Gonnty. 
 
 His early and matured manhood were spent upon lands be- 
 longing to one ot the gld homesteads of the Storm family in 
 East Fishkill, where his younger son, William J. Storm, now re- 
 sides. The site of this old homestead still remains surrounded 
 with trees that lift themselves toward the sunlight and hide 
 in their branches the beautiful outlines ot Wiooopee, and the 
 Beacon heights of the Fishkill mountains,or Highlands, as their 
 soft tracings of shadow and outline are spread out in near and 
 distant view until lost in the valley of the Hudson. 
 
 Here Abraham Storm was born October 1, 1773, and here his 
 son.John V. Storm, was born November S4,1800.and was married 
 to Jeannette E. WooUey December 4, 1839. His life has been 
 mainly spent upon a part of these ancestral acres, which he 
 afterward inherited. Under the touch of his hand they assum- 
 ed new forms ot life, beauty and fertility, until even the pass- 
 ing stranger would be attracted by the neatness and precision 
 of all their surrounding^. 
 
 His stables were filled with the finest horses in the country 
 and his fleldswaved with the finest wheat that grew in the rich 
 and beautiful valley of the Fishkill. 
 
 He held, too, positions of trust and responsibility. He was a 
 Civil Magistrate for many years, and also Supervisor ot his 
 native town, and at the organization of the Fishkill Savings 
 Bank was director and the first president of that institution. 
 
 Mr. Storm is descended from an old and now numerous 
 family. He stands six generations removed from Deriok Storm 
 who came to this country in 1668, from the Mayory of Borch, in 
 Holland, and is the federal head and representative of all who 
 bear the Storm name in America. His wife's name was Maria 
 Pioters. He was at times schoolmaster and in 1670 was Secretary 
 of Brooklyn. He was town clerk of Flatbush, and was clerk of 
 sessions in Orange county from 1691 to 1703. He owned land 
 and paid taxes when Peter Stuy vesant was the Dutch Governor 
 at New Amsterdam. He had sons Goris, Peter and David, and 
 a daughter whose name was JMIaria. Goris married Engletie 
 VanLyok, daughter of Thomas VanLyck, of New Utrecht, and 
 had sons DircS, born in 1695, and Thomas born in 1697. 
 
 Thomas Storm, grandson of the elder Dirck, and son ot Goris, 
 purchased lands of Col. Phillips, of the Manor ot Phillipsburgh, 
 'O y estohester county and resided at Tarrytown, where many 
 ot his descendants still live and where he was burled. He had 
 
 seven sons and two daughters. Two of these sons died in early 
 manhood, leaving children. By his will he gave to his grand- 
 son Abraham, son of Jacob, one hundred pounds. And he 
 gave also to bis grand-daughters, CbrlBtina and Anna, forty 
 pounds. Besides Thomas and Jacob he bad sons Garret, Goris, 
 Abraham, John and Isaac. His two daughters' names were 
 Catherine and Engletie and bis wife's name was Annie. To 
 Garret and Goris he gave by will the lands which he purchased 
 from Madam Brett, in Bombouts Precinct, being the first pur- 
 chase, and lying on the north side of the Fishkill, containing 
 four hundred and six acres. To Garret be gave two hundred 
 and four acres of these lands, and to Goris he gave two hundred 
 and two acres. To his son Abraham be gave the lands of the 
 second purchase, excepting ten acres, lying on the south side 
 of the Fishkill. And by bis will be gave to nis son Isaac his im- 
 provements in Phillips Manor, The two brothers afterwards 
 exchanged possessions and Isaac came to Fishkill. 
 
 This will, now on record in the Surrogate's office, in New 
 York City, was made and executed in Duchess County, being 
 made no doubt, at a time when he was visiting his children. It 
 was made on the 17th day of June, 1763, and probated before 
 Bartholemew Crannett, in Duchess County, on the 15th day of 
 January, 1770. One thing can here be said of -these lands, that 
 now, after a period of more than one hundred and forty years, 
 scarce one acre ot these lands has passed out of the family 
 name. 
 
 In so brief a paper as this only the shadow of an outline can 
 be given of the Storm fainily. 
 
 Mr. John Y. Storm of the sixth generation now resides in Fish- 
 kill village, still healthy and strong and in possession of bis 
 wonted vigorous faculties. 
 
 He has three sons and four daughters. His elder son, Abram 
 J. Storm, wbo is a large land holder and civil engineer in 
 Texas, was married to Miss Eate Fowler, October 29, 1878. His 
 second son, Joseph H. Storm, owning a large farm in Green 
 Haven, Duchess County, was married to Miss Sophia Sheldon, 
 September 4, 1867. William J. Stoim was married to Miss Isa- 
 bell Harpell, October 11, 1872, he having two children, a son 
 named Harpell, and a daughter. Marguerite, Joseph Storm has 
 two children, a son named Wilson and a daughter named Jean- 
 nette. His daughter Elizabeth, was married January 24, 1873, 
 to Charles A. Storm, ot Hopewell. His elder daughter Sarah 
 Frances, was married June 7, 1876, to Sylvester Southard, 
 who have one child named Jane WooUey Southard. They reside 
 in Fishkill. His youngest daughters, Helen and Cornelia Storm 
 reside with their parents. 
 
TOWN OF FISHKILL. 
 
 5°7 
 
 school age residing therein Sept. .30, 1881, was 
 3,509, of whom 1,961 attended school, the average 
 attendance during the year being 1,446.740. The 
 number of licensed teachers employed at the same 
 time during the year was five males and twenty- 
 four females. There were two thousand volumes 
 in the district libraries, valued at $600. There 
 were three frame and five brick school-houses in 
 the town, which, with their sites, comprising seven 
 acres and eighty rods, valued at $6,800, were 
 valued at $49,800. The assessed value of taxable 
 property in the districts was $3,908,000. 
 
 December i, 1873, the fire which destroyed the 
 principal part of the business portion of Fishkill 
 village, also destroyed the town house and the 
 early town records, — nearly all indeed, prior to 
 that date. But one volume of town minutes, we 
 believe, was saved, and that of comparatively 
 recent date. This is a fact much to be regretted, as 
 it removes from the materials of the historian a val- 
 uable source of authentic information. 
 
 The Rorabout Patent, which is elsewhere de- 
 scribed,* covered the original town of Fishkill and 
 a portion of Poughkeepsie. In 1708, by authori- 
 zation of the Supreme Court, a partition was made 
 of the lands embraced in this patent lying between 
 the Fishkill and Wappingers Creek, the lands to 
 the north and south of those streams being still 
 held in common by the patentees or their repre- 
 sentatives or heirs. In this division the southern 
 third fell to the lot of Catharine, wife of Roger 
 Brett, daughter and sole heir of Francis Rombout, 
 and the intermediate third to the children of 
 Gulian Verplanck. 
 
 T. Van Wyck Brinckerhoff, in his History of 
 Fishkill, supposes that, though the patentees came 
 in full possession of their purchase in 1685, several 
 years must have elapsed before any real settlement 
 was made on the patent ; but inasmuch as the con- 
 ditions of the patents required the settlement or 
 improvement of the lands to which they gave title 
 in a given number of years, — usually three, — it is 
 probable that active measures to induce settlements 
 were instituted soon after the issuance of the 
 patent. 
 
 The unfavorable opinion early entertained of 
 the lands in this vicinity, which certain Dutch 
 burghers from Ulster county reported were not 
 worth crossing the river for, doubtless had the 
 effect to retard settlement; for as late as 17 10, 
 says Mr. Brinckerhoff, the number of famiUes on the 
 patent did not exceed a dozen. That portion of 
 
 * See pages 49 and Jo. 
 
 the patent which fell to the lot of Rombout's 
 daughter was settled at an earlier period than that 
 which fell to the Verplancks, for the minor heirs 
 interested in the latter were an additional obstacle 
 to the settlement of those lands ; hence for many 
 years, it is probable, there were few if any others 
 than those located on the former. The exceptions 
 specified in a mortgage deed given by Roger Brett 
 and Catharine his wife, to Robert Watts and Rob- 
 ert Surting, executors of Gylob Shelly, June 3, 
 1713, afford some indication of the sparseness of 
 the settlements at that time. That deed covered 
 all the land secured to thein by the division refer- 
 red to, " excepting and reserving always out of said 
 premises, one tenement, grist-mill and water course 
 thereunto belonging, together with three hundred 
 acres of land adjoining the said mill, now or late in 
 possession of said Roger Brett, or his assigns, and 
 also, one hundred and fifty acres now or late in 
 possession of John Terboss ; one hundred acres of 
 such land, now or of late in possession of John 
 Buys ; one hundred acres of said land now or late 
 in possession of Casper Prime ; eighty acres of said 
 land, now or late in possession of Peter De Boys; 
 sixty acres of said land, now or late in possession 
 of Yowreb Springstead. Also, five thousand acres 
 lying and being in any part of the hereby reserved 
 premises.'' Inasmuch as these are the only persons 
 named in that instrument it is fair to presume that 
 few if any others were located on the lands covered 
 by it. 
 
 Francis Rombout, from whom the first titles to 
 lands in Fishkill were derived by the settlers, was 
 a native of Holland and was sent as an apprentice 
 to New Amsterdam (New York) by the Dutch 
 East India Company. At the expiration of his 
 apprenticeship he engaged in business in that city 
 with Gulian Verplanck, forming a co-partnership 
 which lasted several years. He was for several 
 years alderman of New York and mayor of that 
 city in 1679. In September, 1683, he married 
 the widow Helena VanBall, (nee Teller,) whose 
 first husband was named Bogardus. The only 
 fruit of this marriage was one daughter — Kathar- 
 ina (Catharina) who was born in New York, and 
 at the age of sixteen married Roger Brett, an 
 Englishman, and a merchant of that city. A few 
 years later she and her husband took up their 
 residence in Fishkill, on the lands which, after the 
 death of her father, in 169 1, became her heritage. 
 
 The precise year of their settlement here is not 
 known ; but Jan. 10, 1709, they gave a joint bond 
 (they had previously partitioned the tract between 
 
So8 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 themselves so as to hold it in severalty) to Capt. 
 Gylob Shelly, of New York City, to secure the 
 payment of £z99^ ^s., with which, it is believed, 
 they built a dwelling house and grist-mill the fol- 
 lowing year. That house is still standing in Mat- 
 teawan, opposite the Dibble House, and is known 
 as the Teller mansion from having been for many 
 years the residence of Hon. Isaac Teller and his 
 sisters. It is a long, low, one-story building, 
 eighty-seven by thirty-six feet, its sides and roof 
 having originally been covered with cedar shingles. 
 An extension roof and wing have been added to 
 it; otherwise it remains the same. During the 
 Revolution when it was owned by a wealthy gen- 
 tleman named de Peyster, who succeeded Madam 
 Brett in its occupancy at her death in 17^64, it was 
 often filled with officers and soldiers, and salt was 
 stored in its cellar for the army. It is now owned 
 and occupied by Mrs. Margaret VanKleeck, widow 
 of Rev. Robert B. VanKleeck, a well known Epis- 
 copal clergyman in this vicinity, who died in 1880. 
 Mrs VanKleeck is the only representative left of 
 her father's family. 
 
 The grist mill was located at the mouth of the 
 Fishkill, on its north bank. Its site is now marked 
 by the ruins of the Newlin mill, which was 
 destroyed by fire Sept. 9, 1862. It was the first 
 institution of its kind in the town or county, and 
 exerted an immense and beneficial influence on 
 the settlements in this locality. It was a promi- 
 nent point in geographical descriptions at an early 
 day, for it was the center from which diverged 
 roads in various directions. It ministered to the 
 necessities of a wide section of country and 
 vastly meliorated the harsh conditions of pioneer 
 life. 
 
 Orange county long paid tribute to Madam Brett's 
 mill, as it was familiarly called. As tending to 
 establish the date of its erection, approximately 
 at least, we may state that April 6, 1711, Roger 
 Brett and his wife, then of New York City, condi- 
 tionally conveyed to Thomas George of that city, 
 in consideration of ^^'zso, three hundred acres of 
 land with its appurtenances, including the "tene- 
 ment" and grist mill. This indenture was not 
 recorded in the clerk's office in Poughkeepsie until 
 May 17, r867. 
 
 The name of Verplanck is one of great import- 
 ance in the annals of this State, and the old Ver- 
 planck mansion is one of great historic interest to 
 this town. Philip Verplanck, who was a son of 
 Jacobus Verplanck and a grandson of Gulian, was 
 a native of the patent, but his public life graced 
 
 other fields. He was an engineer and surveyor, 
 and a man of great ability and attainments. Ver- 
 planck's Point, in Westchester county, (opposite 
 Stony Point,) on which Fort La Fayette was erected 
 during the Revolution, was named after him. He 
 represented the Manor of Cortlandt in the Colonial 
 Assembly from 1734 to 1768. Wra. B. Verplanck 
 was a Member of Assembly from this County from 
 1796 to 1798. Daniel C. Verplanck, who was 
 likewise a native of Fishkill, was a Representative 
 in Congress from this County from 1803 to 1809, 
 and was appointed Judge of this County March 11, 
 1828. He was a man of much liberality and 
 amiabihty of character. He was the father of 
 Gulian C. Verplanck, who was born in Fishkill 
 August 6, 1786, and, though most of his life was 
 spent in New York City, is justly deserving of a 
 prominent place among the representative men of 
 this town. He represented New York in the As- 
 sembly from 1820 to 1823; in Congress from 1825 
 to 1833; and in the State Senate from 1838 to 
 1841. 
 
 The Verplanck homestead, situated on a blufi" 
 overlooking the Hudson, about one and one-fourth 
 miles above Fishkill Landing, is rich in historic as- 
 sociations, and is one of the few old houses re- 
 maining in the town. It was built a little before 
 1740, with the exception of an addition to the north 
 end, which is of more modern construction. It is 
 built of stone, and is still in an excellent state of 
 preservation. The roof, which is long and steep, 
 descends to the first story, and is supplied with 
 dormer windows. A winding carriage road leads 
 to it from the highway through a broad and undu- 
 lating lawn, shaded by venerable trees. It was oc- 
 cupied until recently by the widow of Samuel Ver- 
 planck, brother of Gulian C. Verplanck. It is 
 made famous by having been for a time the head- 
 quarters of Baron Steuben during the Revolution, 
 and still more so by the fact that under its roof was 
 organized, in 1783, th^ Society of the Cincinnati, 
 of which Washington was the first president, an 
 office he retained till his death. The meeting 
 for that purpose was held in the large square room 
 on the north side of the passage, which is carefully 
 preserved in its original style; and there, too, a 
 committee consisting of Generals Knox, Hand, 
 Huntington, and Captain Shaw, formulated and 
 adopted its constitution. 
 
 One of the principal tracts of land deeded by 
 the Verplanck's, and, indeed, one which comprised 
 the major portion of their lands in this town north 
 of the Fishkill, was that purchased by Johannes 
 
TOWN OF FISHKILL. 
 
 509 
 
 Coerten VanVoorhees* of Philip Verplanck, of the 
 Manor of Cortlandf, which was deeded June 20, 
 1730. It lies north of and adjoining the lands of 
 Madam Brett, and projects across the north line 
 of the town into the town of Wappinger. 
 
 For many years the progress of settlement was 
 very slow ; and not until about 1720 was there a 
 
 there were only 195 taxable inhabitants in the 
 County, forty-seven of whom were in the South 
 Ward. Among them were the Mousiers, Lassinks, 
 Lownsberrys, Schoutens, Walderns and Dinges. In 
 that year, says Mr. Brinckerhoflf, Jacobus Swart- 
 wout was elected Supervisor; Peter Dubois and 
 Thomas TerBoos, Assessors ; John De Larger and 
 
 (MAP OF THE PURCHASE OF JOHANNES COERTEN VAN VOORHEES— June 20, 1730.) 
 
 blacksmith within the limits of the County, says 
 Mr. Bailey. The nearest blacksmith to the Fish- 
 kill settlers was at Wiltwyck, (Kingston.) In 1723 
 
 * "This name has been variously written VanVoorhes, VanVoorhees, 
 and Van Voorhis, the latter being the form now in use. It is derived by 
 the addition of the former residence of his ancestors to the family name — 
 a practice which was common to the early Dutch settlers of this country 
 —"voor "meaning '■ before," or "in front of," while the terminal 
 portion of the name has reference to the village of Hees or Hies near the 
 town of Kuinen, in the province of Drenthe, in the Netherlands, from 
 whence the family came to this country. For a detailed account of the 
 Van Voorhis family see close of this chapter. 
 
 Jacob Terboos, Overseers of the King's Highway ; 
 John Buys and Garret Van Vliet, Overseers of 
 Fences. In 1730 the number of taxable inhabit- 
 ants had increased to 71. Jacobus De Peyster 
 was then the Supervisor ; Johannes Ter Boss and 
 Jacobus Swart wout. Assessors ; John Brinckerhoff 
 Clerk; Francis Drake, Surveyor of the King's 
 Highway, through the Highlands ; John Schouten, 
 Surveyor along the road from Wappingers to 
 
Sio 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 Madam Brett's mill; and Cornelius Bogardus, 
 Surveyor of Madam Brett's bridge. The period 
 of 1740 was one of much progress and improve- 
 ment. The population increased more rapidly 
 than at any prior time. The names of the follow- 
 ing freeholders attached to a petition Aug. i, i739> 
 to have "the highway that used to run from Wec- 
 opee along the south side of the Fishkill * * * 
 altered and turned over said Fishkill at east end of 
 Judge Ter Bushes' land, in the County road lead- 
 ing along the north side of the Fishkill," are worthy 
 of preservation, as indicating many of the settlers 
 of that period. They are as follows :— 
 
 his 
 
 John X Schouten, 
 
 mark. 
 
 Johannis Wiltsie, 
 
 his 
 
 Jacobus Swartwout, 
 Symon Schouten, 
 
 his 
 
 Johanes X Sorin, 
 
 mark. 
 
 Garret Nooststraud, 
 Phillip Smith, 
 Henerick Rosecrans, 
 Samuel Hallsted, 
 John Montross, 
 
 Francis Brett, 
 
 Hasten Schenck, 
 Jacob Brinckerhoff, 
 
 his 
 
 Wm. X Leston, 
 
 mark. ' 
 
 Johanis Brevort, 
 Wikham Brorwin, 
 Benj. Roe, 
 Willem Suchat, 
 Nathaniel Yeuming, 
 
 his 
 
 Johanis X Young, 
 
 mark. 
 
 Henry Monfort, 
 John Flenwilling, 
 Johannis Roosenkraus, 
 Dirck Hegeman, 
 Isaac Lossing, 
 John Mills, 
 Tunis Schouten, 
 Marc Ostrander. 
 
 We need not reiterate the events succeeding the 
 occupation of New York by the British in 1776, 
 which brought to Fishkill a large number of refu- 
 gees from that city, and made it for a time the seat 
 of the fugitive Legislature, an important depot of 
 military supplies, necessitating its defense by troops 
 arid fortifications for their protection, and to pre- 
 vent a flank movement by the British through the 
 Highland passes on the stronghold at West Point, 
 and which made it a veritable hospital and burial 
 place for the hundreds of patriot soldiers who lan- 
 guished and died here from wounds and disease.* 
 
 • Sec chapter XIV, pages 119 — 141. 
 
 Jarry X Schouten, 
 
 mark. 
 
 Peter Monfoort, 
 William Drake, 
 Theod. Van Wyck, 
 Stephen Ladoae, 
 Jon. Van Vleekeren, 
 
 - his 
 
 Johannis X Middowe, 
 
 mark. 
 
 Geo. Brinckerhoff, 
 Robert Brett, 
 
 Chamas Hauve, 
 
 Aendris Schenten, 
 W. Ver Planck, 
 Hendereck Van Tossell, 
 Tho. Stillwill, 
 Henry Wright, 
 
 his 
 
 Peter X Ostrander, 
 
 mark. 
 
 Joshaway Griffen, 
 Cornelius Hegeman, 
 Joseph Houson, 
 Isaih Dalsen, 
 Jacob De Beysteur, 
 CorneUus Wiltsie, 
 Benj. Hoybrook, 
 
 Here, too, was the retreat for naked soldiers, to 
 which they were sent when their clothing, patched 
 until nearly every substance of originality was lost, 
 was no longer fit for duty; rather when it ceased 
 to provide a decent covering. How little can we 
 imagine the sufferings and privations of those he- 
 roic men, who, wrote Washington, eat at one time 
 every kind of horse-food but hay. The Marquis 
 De Chasteilux bears testimony to the fact that the 
 number occupying this encampment in the woods 
 were counted by hundreds, and that they "were 
 not covered even with rags." He also testifies to 
 their courage and patience. 
 
 The barracks and "huts" occupied by the sol- 
 diers stationed here were located on the level 
 plateau south-east of Fishkill village, between the 
 residence of Isaac E. Cotheal and the mountains. 
 The former were given to the inhabitants at the 
 close of the war, and were taken down and the 
 material used in the construction of dweUings. 
 The soldiers committed many depredations in the 
 neighborhood says Mr. Bailey. " They robbed hen 
 roosts for miles from their barracks, and every fence 
 rail along the highway from Fishkill to Brincker- 
 hoffville they took for fuel. They strippedjthe siding 
 off the old Presbyterian church as high as they 
 could reach, to boil their camp kettles." The offi- 
 cers' quarters were at the " Wharton House," made 
 memorable by its association with the hero of 
 Cooper's story of the Spy, and now the residence 
 of Sidney E. Van Wyck. Washington also quar- 
 tered here, likewise at the house of Mathew V. B. 
 Brinckerhoff. It stands in the angle formed by the 
 old post road and the new road to Fishkill Hook, 
 and care has been taken to preserve as nearly as 
 may be its original appearance. It is one of the 
 few buildings in the town which ante-date the Rev- 
 olution and has been owned by the Van Wyck fam- 
 ily every since its erection. On the opposite side 
 of the road, a little to the south, and near the foot 
 of the mountains, is the soldiers' burying ground, 
 neglected and almost unknown, where moulder the 
 remains of hundreds of patriots, whose devotion 
 and blood secured for us the inestimable boon of 
 liberty. Near it, along the old post-road, is a row 
 of venerable black walnut trees, nearly two feet in 
 diameter, in which, it is said,'"" are iron rings, now 
 buried by successive annual growths, to which re- 
 cusant soldiers were tied while undergoing punish- 
 ment. 
 
 There are various documents extant having ref- 
 erence to the mihtary stores located here, but they 
 are of too fugitive a character to possess miich his- 
 
TOWN OF FISHKILL. 
 
 Sii 
 
 toric interest, except as corroboratory evidence, if 
 that were needed, and do not warrant the devotion 
 of space to their production here. Denning's 
 Point, just north of Duchess Junction, is memora- 
 bly associated with the Revolutionary period, from 
 having been the jilace of residence of Captain 
 William Denning, who was a member of the 
 Provincial Convention of New York, and in that 
 position contributed his influence to those measures 
 which carried forward the operations of the war. 
 In 1780 he was elected one of the Board of Com- 
 missioners of Finance of the United States, and 
 associated with Robert Morris in the management 
 of the public finances. The stately oaks on the 
 Point, known as the Washington oaks, sheltered 
 Washington and his generals, who found a generous 
 hospitality in the Denning mansion. The present 
 residence on the Point, now the property of Homer 
 Ramsdell, was built in 1813, by W. Allen. 
 
 When the British force which destroyed Kings- 
 ton ascended the Hudson they showed their animos- 
 ity by firing a few shots as they passed Fishkill 
 Landing. Some of these it is supposed, have 
 since been found and are now preserved as relics 
 of that period in the Washington Headquarters at 
 Newburgh. We observed there two cannon balls 
 which were discovered in digging the foundation 
 of the Duchess Hat Works at Fishkill Landing in 
 the spring of 1875. One is four inches in diame- 
 ter and weighs eight and a half pounds ; the 
 other is five inches in diameter and weighs eight- 
 een pounds. There also is a grape-shot found in 
 the bank of the river near Fishkill Landing; a 
 spontoon or half-spear used by Lieut. VanWyck 
 in hunting Cow-boys and Skinners in the Fishkill 
 Mountains during the Revolution — a weapon 
 which Gen. Charles Lee regarded as superior to 
 the bayonet in close action ; the sword won by 
 Capt. Abm. Brinckerhoff, one of Fishkill's most 
 gallant sons; an old pocket book which belonged 
 to Col. Abm. Schenck, of Fishkill ; the razor of 
 John O'Neil, father of the late John O'Neil, of 
 Fishkill Landing, who was a camp barber among 
 the Jersey Blues, and is said to have often used it 
 in shaving Washington, LaFayette and other 
 officers, and various other interesting relics from 
 different parts of the county.* 
 
 * Prominent among these we noticed the cannon ball which was fired 
 through the Livingston house below Poughkeepsie by the ship of war 
 Asia, while on her way up the river with the British fleet in October, 
 1777, and another taken from its bed in the slate rock near that house; 
 charred wheat, from a quantity burned by the British at Red Hook on 
 Ihe same expedition ; and two powder-horns made by Samuel Moore, at 
 Poughkeepsie, in 170?, one ■*' May ye nth,'' and engraved with the 
 cities of New York and Albany and other devices. The other has an 
 engraved map of the. villages and forts from New York to Fort 
 Stanwix. . 
 
 We pass over for a little the varied industries 
 and institutions which Fishkill developed during 
 the intervening eighty years to the period when 
 her citizens were called upon to re-assert with the 
 force of arms the principles of liberty and unity, 
 and to perpetuate and amplify the legacy of free- 
 dom. It is to be regretted that, owing to the 
 partial destruction of the town records and the 
 incompleteness of the files of the local papers 
 during that period, we are unable to give as fully 
 and connectedly as might be desired her share in 
 the great rebellion. 
 
 Fishkill's patriotism found expression almost 
 simultaneously with the echo of the first notes of 
 war which reverberated through the land. The 
 Denning Guards of Fishkill Landing offered their 
 services in a body to Gov. Morgan, and measures 
 were instituted to form a volunteer company in 
 that village. At a meeting held April 22, 1861, 
 over which Judge Davis presided, the roll of the 
 Fishkill Landing volunteers was filled, and on the 
 23d the officers were elected. Henry Wiltsie a 
 young lawyer, was chosen captain. On the 25th, 
 $600 had been subscribed for the support of their 
 families. The company left on the cars for Albany 
 on the 26th of April, and became Co. C of the 
 1 8th Regiment, which enUsted for two years. 
 
 About the middle of August the companies of 
 Capt. DeWint and Capt. Samuel Adams each 
 numbered forty-three men. These companies be- 
 came Cos. F and H of then 128th Regt., a history 
 of which has been given.* We give the list of 
 officers of these companies and the names of the 
 privates from Fishkill, which then, it should be 
 remembered, included Wappinger. 
 
 Co. F. — Captain, Arthur DeWint; ist Lieut. 
 John J. Williamson ; 2d Lieut., Charles A. Ander- 
 son ; Sergeants, numbered from ist to sth in the 
 order named, Henry Rotherby, Charles Van Tine, 
 Daniel Warren, David H. Van Amburgh and Fran- 
 cis H. Brett; Corporals, numbered from ist to 8th 
 in the order named, Augustus M. Myers, Joseph 
 Seymour, Samuel Speedling, Lewis Pearshall, Aus- 
 tin H. Terry, Jeremiah Boice, William Bailey and 
 Robert Pickels; Privates, William Games, John 
 Worden, Peter Williams, Alfred J. Smith, David 
 Hawks, George N. Wood, John Matthews, Jr., 
 Jacob Palmer, Augustus Eyth, Henry Gerard, 
 Isaac Sevine, James E. Post, John W. Hughes, 
 Leonard Lawson, WiUiam J. Lester, Delaney L. 
 Meyers, John M. Farrell, John Boone, John Din- 
 geer, Joseph O'Malley, E. Augustus Brett, Isaac P. 
 
 *See pages 148 to iSS of this work. 
 
512 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 Ball, George W. Hauver, Theodore Y. Smith, John 
 Raferty, Sylvester H. Brady, William Agnew, God- 
 frey Lodge, Owen Hall, George V. Hall, Cornelius 
 Ireland, Charles Lawrence, James Rogers, George 
 W. Brower, George H. Pollock, Silas Partington, 
 Solomon Lawson, William Partington, Charles W. 
 Brower and Frederick Schuff. 
 
 Co. H. — Capt-ain, John A. VanKeuren; ist 
 Lieut, Henry H. Sincerbox ; 2d Lieut., Sylvester 
 H. Mase ; Sergeants, Columbus S. Keys, Charles 
 Davidson, Benjamin T. Benson, Caleb S. Hoat- 
 ling, Garrett Dillon ; Corporals, Hiram Rons, Ben- 
 jamin F. Chamberiin, Abner B. Mase, George N. 
 Culver, John S. Fosbay, Mark Sheperdson, 
 Charles S. Wilber, Walter Hicks ; Privates, Francis 
 Marston, Frank Stephens, John Cherry, Edwin H. 
 Bogardus, Thomas Mahan, Joseph Doxey, Joseph 
 Cherry, John F. Keys, S. F. Churchill, George W. 
 Swords, William Conklin, George W. Farrington, 
 George VanVoorhis, Joseph E. Depew, William 
 Odell, Benjamin T. Benson, Charles Weller, Will- 
 iam Althouse, James Hervy, John P. Way, Stephen 
 Yeomans, James E. Munger, Dwight Cotterel, 
 George F. Deacon, William Townsend, George F. 
 Falconer, William Bartley, Valentine VanNostrora, 
 Benjamin Crowther, James Green, Anthony Vin- 
 cent, Stephen Farrington, C. L. Keys, John Ger- 
 mond, Jeremiah D. Wood, James Armstrong, 
 Joseph Ambler, Theodore Bowne, A. B. Hartson, 
 John Stotesburg, Wilder N. Marsh. 
 
 The following named persons in other companies 
 are assigned to Fishkill : Thomas Flinn, Charles 
 A. Smith, W. J. Monfort, J. T. Eckert, H. Vande- 
 water, Cornelius Williams. 
 
 Fishkill issued two hundred and thirty-six County 
 bonds, at $500 each, amounting to $i 18,000. 
 They are being paid off at the rate of $5,000 per 
 annum. The last become due in 1884. 
 
 Fishkill. 
 
 Fishkill, though the oldest, is one of the least 
 populous of the many villages in the town. It is 
 situated northeast of the center of the town, near 
 the creek from which it derives its'name, about five 
 miles from the Landing, with which it is connected 
 by rail and stage. Few villages surpass it in beauty 
 of location ; and while the construction of railroads 
 has detracted from its importance by withdraw- 
 ing its business to other centers, it will ever possess 
 strong attractions as a place of residence to those 
 who desire a retired situation combined with 
 scenic beauty. The historic associations which 
 
 cluster around it will ever give it a prominence in 
 the town's history. 
 
 It is a station on the Newburgh, Duchess & 
 Connecticut Railroad, and the New York & New 
 England Railroad, by which it is distant 5.94 miles 
 from Duchess Junction, and 6.7 miles from Fish- 
 kill Landing. The Newburgh Transfer Co.'s 
 stages connect it with the latter place. It con- 
 tains four churches, (Dutch Reformed, Episcopal, 
 Methodist Episcopal and Catholic,*) a union free 
 school, two hotels, (the Mansion House, kept by 
 I. J. Kern, and Kniffen's Hotel, kept by John L. 
 Kniffen,) a newspaper office, (the Fishkill Journal, 
 George W. Owen, publisher,) the Fishkill Savings 
 Institution, a paper bag manufactory, eight stores, 
 two blacksmith and wagon shops, (kept by J. Wil- 
 ber and John Mitchell,) two shoe shops, (kept by 
 N. Lane and E. B. Allen,) a marble shop, (kept by 
 James E. Dean, who is also the postmaster,) and 
 had in 1880, a population of six hundred and 
 eighty-two. 
 
 During the Revolution it was one of the largest 
 villages in the County, though even then its size 
 must have been very inconsiderable ; for DeChas- 
 tellux tells us that in 1780 there were not more than 
 fifty houses in the space of two miles, while Anbur- 
 ey tells us that in 1777 there were not more than 
 that number in " near three miles." The first settle- 
 ment was made about the beginning of the eighteenth 
 century ; the first house still exists, says Mr. Bailey, 
 in 1874, and is now owned by the Southard family. 
 Zebulon Southard, the grandfather of the present 
 occupant, purchased his farm of Madam Brett, 
 in 1760. It is the first farm east of the creek in 
 the west end of the village. Southard* was the 
 brother of Daniel, Richard and Gilbert Southard, 
 and was the captain of the first company of militia 
 in Rombout Precinct in 1776. 
 
 The first settlers in Fishkill village^ says Mr. 
 Bailey, were Henry Terboss and Henry Rose- 
 krame, but the name of neither appears in the hst 
 of the inhabitants in Duchess County, in 17 14, 
 though both appear in the list of freeholders in 
 1740- Terboss, he says, was an eccentric man, 
 and since he locates him where he else where locates 
 Johannes Terboss, (Terbush,) we are inclined to 
 think he has confounded the two names. The 
 name of Johannes Terboss appears in the list of 
 1714. It is one of varied orthography, and has, 
 says Mr. Brinckerhoflf, who pronounces him one of 
 the first representative men in this part of the 
 
 * The history of this church is given in connection with the Catholic 
 church in Matteawan. 
 
TOWN OF FISHKILL. 
 
 513 
 
 County, either been changed from its original or 
 otherwise has now become extinct among us. He 
 was an" early Justice of the Peace and is spoken of 
 in old manuscripts as being a Judge. He was 
 admitted as a Representative in the Colonial 
 Assembly, May 4, 17 17, on the death of Baltus 
 VanKleeck, and was succeeded at his death by 
 Henry Beekman, August 31, 1725. He owned 
 lands about Fishkill village, including the site of 
 the Dutch Church, which was purchased of him. 
 
 The Wm. Van Wyck place in the west part of the 
 village, came into the possession of AUard Anthony 
 soon after the Revolution, and is now occupied by 
 the widow of Watson W. Andrews. 
 
 East of the old Union Hotel, on the north side 
 of the street, there was only one small house before 
 reaching the Dutch church. It was occupied by 
 Abram Smith, and was recently taken down. East 
 of the church there was but one house on that side 
 of the street till the residence of Mrs. John Van 
 Wyck is reached. The old Van Wyck house, now 
 owned by Sidney E. Van Wyck, was erected in 
 1737 by Cornelius Van Wyck and has been re- 
 ferred to as the headquarters of the officers of that 
 part of the American army stationed here during 
 the Revolution. 
 
 The first settler west of the village was Cornelius 
 Hageman, whose farm of one himdred and thirty 
 acres was purchased April 10, 1739, by John Bailey, 
 (great-grandfather of Henry D. B. Bailey, the 
 historian,) who was born in Westchester county 
 about 1704. Mr, Bailey enlarged the farm by subse- 
 quent purchases to one hundred and ninety-seven 
 acres, and in 17 84 it was sold to Robert Brett, Mr. 
 Bailey having removed to Poughkeepsie in 1778. 
 It now comprises two farms, which are owned by 
 Charles C. Rogers and William M. Baxter. Mr. 
 Bailey was a builder in early life, and took con- 
 tracts for building mills in New Jersey. He came 
 to Fishkill about 1730 or '31. The next settler 
 west was James Husey, whose name appears in 
 the list of 17 14. He died prior to 1739, and the 
 farm, it is supposed, was purchased from his heirs 
 by Hendrick Kip, who was a freeholder in 1740, 
 and built the house still standing, in the front wall 
 of .which is a stone bearing the initials, " H. K." 
 and the date "1753." The house is now owned 
 by the heirs of John Scofield. 
 
 Merchants. — The first merchant of whom we 
 have information was John (Johannes) Swart, who, 
 with his son, was doing business prior to and dur- 
 ing the Revolution, in the building which was after- 
 wards many years the residence of Judge Joseph I. 
 
 Jackson, in the northwest part of the village, which 
 was known for many years as Swart's Corners. He 
 discontinued mercantile business soon after the 
 close of the Revolution. 
 
 Early in the century Cornelius Van Wyck built 
 a store on the vacant site next west of Wakeman's 
 drug store. It was a two story building and was 
 for a long time the largest store in the village. It 
 was afterwards torn down and a fine hall with stores 
 below, erected on its site by James E. Van Steen- 
 bergh. That building was destroyed by the fire of 
 1873, and was not rebuilt. In May, 1827, Henry 
 D. and Samuel A. Hayt, brothers, and natives of 
 Patterson, Putnam county, engaged in business, 
 under the name of H. D. & S. A. Hayt. In 1867, 
 Samuel, who had succeeded to the business, sold 
 out to his son Wm. B. Hayt and F. R. Benjamin, 
 continuing his residence in the village to the pres- 
 ent time. Messrs. Hayt & Benjamin, the former 
 of whom is a native of Fishkill, and the latter of 
 Beekman, dissolved and divided stock in 187 1, 
 both continuing business, Hayt, till the spring of 
 1880, and Benjamin, to the present time, dealing 
 in dry goods, groceries and crockery. 
 
 The present merchants, besides Mr. Benjamin, 
 are : H. F. Walcott, hardware dealer, who is a 
 native of Rhode Island, came herefrom New York 
 City and established himself in the clothing busi- 
 ness in 1845. In 1867, after having kept the 
 Union Hotel for some years, he established his 
 present business. Augustus Hughson, dealer in 
 stoves and tinware, who has done business here 
 since 1846 ; H. B. Rosa, furniture dealer and un- 
 dertaker, who commenced business in i860, suc- 
 ceeding his father, John H. Rosa, who carried on 
 the business from 1827, till his death Sept. 11, 
 i860 ; DeWitt C. Smith, druggist, a native of Fish- 
 kill, who commenced the hardware business in Jan. 
 1864. In the spring of 1866, Mr. Smith purchas- 
 ed of Wm. Pelham the building which occupied 
 the site of the present location, and started the 
 grocery business in company with Mortimer 
 Cooper, whose interest he purchased after about 
 seven months. In 1875, Mr. Smith added drugs 
 to his stock ; Geo. E. Everett, grocer, a native of 
 Wappinger, who commenced business in October, 
 1879 ; Jarvis Washington Cary, grocer, who com- 
 menced inthewinterof i88o-'8i ; and Wm. F. Wake- 
 man, druggist, a native of Poughkeepsie, whence he 
 came to Fishkill in the spring of 1881. 
 
 Physicians.— The earliest physicians in Fishkill, 
 it is believed, were the Osborns, James, Peter and 
 Thomas, three bachelor brothers, anisons of Cor- 
 
SI4 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 nelius Osborn, an Englishman, and likewise a phy- 
 sician. ' Cornelius was born July 13, 1723, and 
 was a surgeon during the Revolution. He died 
 just after peace was assured, Aug. 23, 1782. The 
 Osborn residence was a half mile north of Fishkill 
 village, on what is still known as Osborn Hill. 
 The house was the residence of the late Wm. An- 
 thony. Cornelius Osborn had eight children, five 
 of whom were girls. The three boys were James, 
 born Aug. 13, 1748, Peter, born March 4, 1759, 
 and Thomas, born July 27, 1764. All three were 
 born in this county and practiced medicine in 
 this vicinity. Dr. Hunting was in practice here at 
 the beginning of the century and resided here till 
 his death in advanced years, having retired from 
 practice some time previous. He Uved where 
 Edmund Luyster now resides. John Pinckney was 
 a contemporary practitioner at Low Point. 
 
 Dr. Bartow White, one of the most distinguished 
 physicians in the County, was born in Yorktown, 
 Westchester county, Nov. 7, 1776, and came to 
 Fishkill in 1799. This was his first field of prac- 
 tice, which continued until an attack of epilepsy 
 disqualified him some fifteen years before his death 
 which occurred Dec. 12, 1862. He represented 
 this County in Congress in 1825-7, and was a Pres- 
 idential Elector in 1840. 
 
 Dr. Lewis H. White, a native of Somers, West- 
 chester county, and son of Dr. Ebenezer White, 
 stiidied medicine with his father and his brother, 
 Dr. Bartow F. White. He attended lectures at 
 Yale in 1826-7, and was licensed by the Medical 
 Society of Westchester county, afterwards receiv- 
 ing the degree of M. D. from the University of 
 New York He commenced practice in Johns- 
 ville, in East Fishkill, Nov. 17, 1828, continuing 
 •there nine years, when he removed to and has 
 since practiced in this village. His son, Dr. 
 Howell White, who was bom in this "village 
 in 1856, and studied medicine with his uncle 
 Dr. OHver White, of New York, graduated at 
 Bellevue Hospital, February 27, 1879. In Octo- 
 ber, 1879, he established himself in practice in 
 this village. 
 
 Mr. J. Conklin, who was born in Cornwall, N. 
 Y, in January, 1846, studied medicine with' his 
 father, Dr. Peter E. Conklin, of Cornwall, and after 
 his death with Thomas Heaton, of that place. He 
 graduated at the Medical Department of the Uni- 
 versity of New York in 1870, and established him- 
 self m practice that year in this village. 
 
 Many others have practiced here a few months 
 or years. 
 
 Lawyers. — Joseph I. Jackson was the first law- 
 year in Fishkill village. He was born near New 
 Hackensack, October 24, 1783, and admitted to 
 the bar about 1 805, but did not continue long in 
 the active duties of his profession. Though nomin- 
 ally a farmer, he was always an active public man. 
 He was Master in Chancery ; a Member of As- 
 sembly from this County in i82o-'2i ; and for six- 
 teen years an able Judge of the County Court, 
 first as associate, and afterwards as presiding judge, 
 having been appointed to the latter office in 1840. 
 He died at his residence in this village of heart 
 disease, August 2, 1863. His son, of the same 
 name, was a lawyer in Poughkeepsie. James W. 
 Oppie, from Peekskill, opened an office in Fishkill 
 soon after 1827, and was for many years the only 
 lawyer in the village. He stood high in his pro- 
 fession, and had an extensive practice in this and 
 Putnam counties, continuing till his death, about 
 1862. A man named Waldo practiced here a short 
 time, till his death. John K. Liston practiced 
 several years, and died here about 1853 or '4. 
 Milton A. Fowler, from Claverack, came here im- 
 mediately after the death of Oppie and practiced 
 till 1868, when, having been elected Surrogate in 
 1867, he removed to Poughkeepsie, where he is 
 now a prominent practitioner. Ward Emigh, a 
 native of Union Vale, was in practice from about 
 1858, till his death, Feb. 16, 1869. Wm. R. 
 Thompson, from Newburgh, practiced a few years 
 and went to Poughkeepsie. Gideon Hill, from 
 EUenville, came here first as principal of the Union 
 School in 1867. He opened a law office about 
 1870 and practiced some four or five years. He 
 is now practicing in Newburgh. The present at- 
 torneys are, Wm. E. Dean and Wm. H. Wood. 
 Mr. Dean is a native of Fishkill, and son of James 
 E. Dean, also a native of Fishkill. He was admit- 
 ted at Albany in May, 1880, having graduated the 
 previous day from the Albany Law School. Mr. 
 Wood is a native of Stanford in this County. He 
 was admitted Dec. 12, 1879, and opened an office 
 m Fishkill, forming a law partnership with Frank 
 G. Rikert, of Matteawan, in January, 1880. 
 
 The Fishkill Manufacturing Co., was incorpo- 
 rated May 17, i88i, with a capital of $is,ooo,.for 
 the purpose of making paper bags. The first trus- 
 tees and officers were: James E. Dean, President; 
 James P. Foster, Treasurer; Sidney J. Everett, 
 Secretary. There has been no change. The 
 buildings were erected in April, 1874, by Avery & 
 West, the latter of whom invented the machine 
 with which the bags are made, but died before 
 
TOWN OF FISHKILL. 
 
 51S 
 
 the works were got in operation. Chas. E. Rog- 
 ers afterwards acquired an interest with Mr. Avery, 
 and the business was conducted under the name of 
 T. N. Avery & Co., for a year or two, when it was 
 sold to Chas. Fitts, who soon after sold to N. E. 
 Clark, his bookkeeper and superintendent, who 
 continued it till the spring of 1881, when he sold 
 to the present company, who employ about fifteen 
 persons, two-thirds of whom are females, and make 
 daily about 200,000 bags, mostly manilla, for groc- 
 ers and millers use. 
 
 The Fishkill Savings Institute was incorporated 
 Feb. 25, 1857, with a board of twenty-seven direc- 
 tors, of whom only one — Adolphus Van De water — 
 is now a member. The first ofllicers were : Alex. 
 Hasbrouck, President; James E. VanSteenbergh, 
 Treasurer; Samuel H. Mead, Secretary. Mr. 
 Hasbrouck was President until his removal to 
 Poughkeepsie, about 1 86 1 . He was succeeded by 
 T. V. W. Brinckerhoff, and the latter Jan. 16, 
 1869, by Richard Henry Brinckerhoff, who filled 
 the position till his death, June 12, 1869. Oct. 
 23, 1869, James E. Dean was elected to that office 
 and has since held it. VanSteenbergh was Treas- 
 urer till his death, Dec. 4, 1868. Alex. Bartow 
 was elected to that office Jan. 16, 1869, and held 
 it till January, 1877, when James Dearing, the pres- 
 ent incumbent, was elected. Edward H. Bedford 
 was elected Secretary March 13, 1858, and held 
 the office till his death, Jan. 21, 1872, when Chas. 
 E. Bartow, the present incumbent, was elected. 
 
 The Bank of Fishkill was incorporated June i, 
 1850, with a capital of $120,000; and was con- 
 verted to a national bank April i, 1865, under the 
 name of the National Bank of Fishkill, with a 
 capital of $200,000. Samuel A. Hayt was the 
 first President. He was succeeded by Joseph I. 
 Jackson, whom he succeeded at the expiration of 
 a year. Dr. Lewis H. White succeeded to the 
 office a few years before the suspension in 1877 — 
 at which time Alex. Bartow was the Cashier. He 
 succeeded James E. VanSteenbergh, the first 
 Cashier, at his death in 1868. The failure in- 
 volved the loss of the capital, $200,000, and an 
 additional seventy per cent, of that sum assessed 
 on the stockholders. 
 
 The Press. — The first paper in the town — the 
 first also in the County^ — was The New York 
 Packet, the first number of which was issued in 
 Fishkill, Oct. i, 1776, by Samuel Loudon, a Whig 
 printer, who fied with his press and material from 
 New York when that city came into the possession 
 of the British, and returned there after the close of 
 
 the war. Loudon was State printer until he 
 found a rival in John Holt, (who also fled with 
 his press from New York, first to Kingston and 
 then to Poughkeepsie,) and while here printed the 
 journals of the Legislature, "at a time when no 
 other printer in the State would do them," he says 
 in a petition for the State printing, presented in 
 1784, three days before Holt's death. He also 
 printed the orders for the army while it lay at 
 Newburgh ; and, says Hon. Gulian C. Verplanck, 
 the Constitution of the State of New York, "the 
 first as well as the most important book ever 
 printed in the State," was printed here by him in 
 1777.* Loudon occupied at one time, with his 
 press, the present residence of Mrs. John C. Van- 
 Wyck, and at another, the building now occupied 
 as a grocery by Jarvis W. Cary, which has since 
 been altered and modernized. An " extra " copy 
 of this paper, dated Oct. 21, 1777, announcing 
 the surrender of Burgoyne, is preserved at Wash- 
 ington's Headquarters, in Newburgh ; also a copy 
 dated Thursday Feb. i, 1781, No 200, containing 
 an anecdote of Lieut. Oliver Lawrence. 
 
 The Free Press was started at Fishkill in 1841, 
 by Fred W. Ritter. In 1842 it was removed to 
 Poughkeepsie, where it was changed to The 
 Duchess Free Press and continued until 1844. 
 The Fishkill Journal was started in 1853, by H. 
 A. Guild, and discontinued in 1855. The Ameri- 
 can Banner was started at Poughkeepsie in 1856, 
 by Chas. J. Ackert. In 1857 it was removed to 
 Fishkill and published as The Duchess County 
 Times, by J. Carpenter Mills. Alfred W. Lomas 
 succeeded Mr. Mills and changed the name to 
 The Fishkill Journal. In i860 it passed into the 
 hands of Caleb M. Hotaling ; and in 1862, into 
 those of Chas. S. Wilber, who sold it that year to 
 James E. Dean and Milton A. Fowler, and went 
 to the war. In August, 1865, Messrs. Dean & 
 Fowler were succeeded in its management by 
 Geo. W. Owen, the present publisher, who 
 enlarged it after about a year from a six to a seven 
 column paper, and about a year later to its present 
 size — eight columns, twenty-eight by forty-two 
 inches. In 1865 it was neutral in politics. After 
 pubhshing it about a year Mr. Owen changed it 
 to a Republican paper and has since continued it 
 as such. It is published every Thursday, simul- 
 taneously at Fishkill and Matteawan, and has a 
 circulation of 1,000 copies. It is, with the excep- 
 tion of the Poughkeepsie Eagle, the only Republi- 
 can paper in the County. 
 
 * Lossing's Pictorial Field Book of the Revoluiitm /., 693. 
 
Si6 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 Hotels. — The old time hotel in Fishkill was 
 the Union Hotel, which was kept for many years 
 by Joseph Bogardus, who died Feb. 3, 1859, aged 
 74. It was burned Dec. i, 1873, at which time it 
 was kept by Wm. Jackson, and the site is now 
 vacant. The Mansion House now kept by I. J. 
 Kern, was built in 1825. The Kniffen House 
 was built in 1873-74, by John L. Kniffen, the 
 present proprietor, who had previously kept a 
 saloon on its site, which was burned in 1873. 
 
 Schools. — The first school house was built prior 
 to the Revolution, and stood on the south side of 
 Main street, near the blacksmith shop formerly kept 
 by John Beecher. The well known Van Steenbergh, 
 a celebrated teacher, who fled from New York dur- 
 ing the stormy times of the Revolution, taught the 
 youth of Fishkill during that period. An academy, 
 the first in the County, was in existence nearly 
 midway between Fishkill and Brinckerhoffville, some 
 years prior to the Revolution, and was removed to 
 Poughkeepsie after the close of the war. It was 
 for a time under the supervision of Rev. Chauncey 
 Graham; and previous to and during the Revolu- 
 tion, the Rev. Dr. Isaac Rysdyck taught a classical 
 school in Fishkill, as appears from advertisements 
 published in the paper of that time, and the min- 
 utes of the General Synod of the Dutch church in 
 1772. 
 
 Union Free School No. 6.— Feb. 28, 1866, it was 
 decided by a vote of ninety-seven to eighteen to 
 establish a union free school in district No. 6. In 
 December, 1869, about three acres of land was 
 purchased as a site for a school house, and Decem- 
 ber 7, 1869, it was resolved to levy $8,000 for build- 
 ing a nt^N^ school house, and to apply the proceeds 
 arising from the sale of the old school house and site 
 to furnishing the new building, and the balance, if 
 any, to the building itself. Oct. 11, 1870, an ad- 
 ditional $z,ooo was levied for building a school 
 house, which was begun in 1871 and finished in 
 1872. It is built of brick and is a credit to the 
 village. The number of children of school age 
 residing in the district September 30, 1881, was 
 231; the number who attended district school 
 some portion of the year was 152; the average 
 daily attendance was tl\\\. The number of vol- 
 umes in the district library was 300, valued at $50. 
 The amount expended for school purposes during 
 the year ending Sept. 30, 1881, was $2,063.51, of 
 which $1,439 was paid for teachers' wages. 
 
 Churches._7%^ First Reformed Dutch Church 
 of Fishkill wa.s orgamztd in conjunction with the 
 church at Poughkeepsie in 1716 by Rev. Petrus 
 
 Vas, the fifth pastor of the church of Kingston. The 
 two churches formed a collegiate charge, held 
 property in common, and were served by one pastor 
 until 1772. The consistory of this church as regis- 
 tered April 17, 1730, were: Abraham Brinckerhoff 
 and Hendrick Phillips, deacons, and Peter Duboys 
 and Abraham Buys, elders. The first name of a 
 church member appears under date of Sept. 30, 
 1727; the first marriage recorded, Oct. 7, 1831 ; 
 and the first recorded baptism, Oct. 10, 1731. 
 
 "Although," says Rev. Mr. Kip,* "religious 
 services were without doubt observed as oppor- 
 tunities offered," it was not until 1 73 1 that their 
 first house of worship was erected, as appears from 
 a petition made to Governor John Montgomery, 
 June 28, 1 73 1, by " Piter Du Bois," in " behalf of 
 the elders and deacons and other members of said 
 congregation," for permission to receive gifts from 
 the inhabitants of the Province in aid of its con- 
 struction, and from a bond executed the same 
 year, wherein it is clearly stated, that they had 
 agreed and built a church. 
 
 This church was built of stone, and its walls 
 were pierced in the upper story with port-holes, as 
 a means of defense against Indians. It was 
 quadrangular in shape, (though we have been told 
 that it was octagonal,) and faced the street. It 
 was inclosed with a hip-roof, from the apex of 
 which rose a small cupola, in which the bell was 
 suspended. The window sash were made of metal 
 and the pains of glass were very small. The church 
 was enlarged and rebuilt in its present form in 
 1786, and as much of the old walls as could be 
 were retained. It was not entirely completed, 
 however, until 1795, owing to the poverty of the 
 congregation. Subsequently an additional entrance 
 was made making one on each side of the tower, 
 and this we believe is the only external change 
 which has been made. Various alterations have 
 been, made in the interior of the church at differ- 
 ent times. The church was used as a prison dur- 
 ing the Revolution^ and in it was confined Enoch 
 Crosby, the supposed original of Harvey Birch, 
 the hero of Cooper's Spy. 
 
 About 1763 began to be manifested the ill effects 
 of the unhappy strife between the Coetus and 
 Conferentie parties, to which we alluded in con- 
 nection with the church at Poughkeepsie, and 
 which was not terminated until June 16, 1772, 
 when a plan of union between the two parties was 
 adopted. But not until May 12, r778, did the 
 
 * This sketch is mainly prepared from a dhcmm delivered Sept. 14, 
 1866, at the celebration of the. church's 150th anniversary, by Rev. 
 Francis M. Kip, D. D., who was then the pastor. 
 
TOWN OF FISHKILL. 
 
 517 
 
 agencies at work succeed in harmonizing the con- 
 flicting interests which arose from the division in this 
 congregation by Rev. Solomon FroeUgh, a young 
 man, who came to Fishkill about the commence- 
 ment of the Revolutionary war, gathered around him 
 the members of the old Coetus party, estabUshed 
 separate service, and organized a consistory. 
 
 In 1772, the services, which had hitherto been 
 conducted in the Dutch language, were com- 
 menced to be held alternately in the Dutch and 
 English languages. Some years later, during the 
 pastorate of Rev. Nicholas VanVranken, preach- 
 ing in the Dutch language was wholly relinquished, 
 not only in this church, but also in the churches 
 of New Hackensack and Hopewell, which were, 
 at intervals, for many years, associated with this 
 under one pastorate. This connection was dis- 
 solved by Classis in October, 1805. 
 
 The church at Hopewell was formed from this 
 in 1757; that at Fishkill Landing, in 1822; and 
 that at Glenham, iii 1837. The silver tankard 
 used by the church in celebrating the Lord's Sup- 
 per was presented to it by Samuel Verplanck in 
 January, i8zo, to commemorate Englebert Huff, 
 a Norwegian, who was attached to the Life Guards 
 of the Prince of Orange, afterwards William III. 
 of England, was a member of this church, and 
 died at Hopewell, March 21, 1765, at the age of 
 one hundred and twenty-eight years. It is related 
 of him that at the age of one hundred and twenty- 
 one years he and a young man of twenty-one years 
 were simultaneously paying their addresses to the 
 same young lady. Two massive silver plates used 
 in the same service were presented to the church 
 in 1836, by three ladies, in memory of their sister. 
 Miss Letitia VanWyck, then recently deceased. 
 In Washington's Headquarters at Newburgh are a 
 mahogany oval-leaf table and three chairs, which 
 were brought from Holland by the Verplanck 
 family in 1682, and were formerly the altar furni- 
 ture of this church. 
 
 The present membership of the church is 182 ; 
 the attendance at Sabbath school, of which E. B. 
 DuMond is superintendent, about seventy-six. 
 
 The following is the succession of pastors : — 
 
 Rev. Cornelius VanSchie, Oct. 4, 1731, till 1738. 
 
 Rev. Benjaffiin Meynema, from 1745 till 1755. 
 
 Rev. Jacob' Vantaist; 1758, till 1761. 
 
 Rev. HenricUs Schoonmaker,* Dec. 11, 1763, 
 till 1772. 
 
 Rev. Isaac Rysdyck,t Sept. 1765, till 1789. 
 
 •Called by Coetus -party. ■ ■ 
 
 t Called by the Conferentie party,- and served till within a short period 
 of his death, which occurred at New Hackensack, Nov. 20, 1790. 
 
 Rev. Isaac Blauvelt, Oct. 26, 1783, till 1790. 
 
 Rev. Nicholas Van -Vranken, Nov. 23, 1791, 
 till 1804. 
 
 Rev. Cornelius D. Westbrook, May 9, 1806, till 
 1830. 
 
 Rev. George H. Fisher, Oct. 1830, till 1835. 
 
 Rev. Francis M. Kip, D. D., July 25, 1836, till 
 1870. 
 
 Rev. Peter E. Kip, Aug. 2, 1870, till 1874. 
 
 Rev. Asher Anderson, Aug. 35, 1875, till 1880. 
 
 Rev. M. Bross Thomas, May, 1881. The pres- 
 ent pastor. 
 
 Trinity Church, (Episcopal,) Fishkill. The in- 
 completeness of the early records of this church 
 makes it impossible to determine with absolute cer- 
 tainty when it was organized, or the church edifice 
 built. Mr. Brinckerhoff assigns to the former 
 event the year 1765, and to the latter the year 1760, 
 which, he says, conforms to the opinion of the 
 venerable Rev. Dr. Brown, of Newburgh, and to 
 that of the late Gulian C. Verplanck and others. 
 Mr. Bailey assigns to the latter event the year 
 1770, which is more nearly correct, for among the 
 records and papers now in the possession of Mr. 
 Isaac E. Cotheal, we were shown an instrument 
 bearing date of Sept. 30, 1767, by which Matthew 
 Brett conveyed to James Duncan and Richard 
 Southard two roods and thirty-one perches of land, 
 in trust, in consideration of £2, "for the use of the 
 inhabitants of Rombout Precinct * * * who 
 are members in communion of the Church of Eng- 
 land as by law estabUshed, for a cemetery and 
 church-yard, and for building a church of England 
 thereon, for no other use or purpose whatsoever." 
 This is the plot on which the church stands and in 
 which those who worshipped there lie buried. The 
 church building, which was the first of its denomin- 
 ational character in the State east of the Hudson 
 and north of the Highlands, is one of the oldest 
 church edifices in the State, and older by many 
 years than any other in the County. The State 
 Convention, on taking refuge in Fishkill, first met 
 in this church Sept. 5, 1776, but as it was not in 
 fit condition for use and was destitute of seats or 
 other conveniences, removed to the Dutch church. 
 It was afterwards used as a hospital by the Ameri- 
 can army during the Revolution, and was then in 
 an unfinished condition. 
 
 The church is a plain wooden structure, scarcely 
 evincing its extreme age. A graceful steeple origin- 
 ally towered above the present tower, but being 
 considered unsafe, was taken down in 1803, by 
 Abraham Wetmore, who was then a vestryman of 
 the church. The vane which surmounted it was 
 afterwards placed on the Dutch Reformed church 
 
5i8 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 at Fishkill Landing, and when that building was 
 replaced by the present fine brick structure, was 
 sold to Isaac E. Cotheal, who placed it on the tower 
 of one of his outbuildings, where it still remains. 
 
 The church was incorporated Oct. 30, 1785. 
 Oct. II, 1796, the church was re-incorporated un- 
 der the act of March 17, 1795, and Peter Mesier 
 and James Cooper were named as wardens, and 
 Daniel C. Verplanck, Benjamin Snider, Jno. I. 
 Carmin, Greenleaf Street, Jno. R. Southard, Jere- 
 miah Green, Thomas Poiar, (Foyer), and Robert 
 Mills, vestrymen. 
 
 There is no record of the earUer rectors, but 
 during the period for which the record is wanting, 
 they were, it is believed, the same as officiated at 
 Christ Church, Poughkeepsie. Services were dis- 
 continued during the Revolution. Rev. Henry 
 Van Dyck, was the rector Nov. 10, 1790. Dec. 7, 
 1799, the vestry concurred with the vestry of Christ 
 Church in calling Rev. Philander Chase, afterwards 
 Bishop of Ohio, to the rectorship of the two 
 churches, devoting two-thirds of his time to Pough- 
 keepsie and one -third to Fishkill. Mr. Chase con- 
 tinued until 1805, and was succeeded in 1807 by 
 Rev. Barzillai Buckley, who closed his labors in 
 1809. Sept. 28, 181 2, Rev. John Brown was en- 
 gaged for six months. Sept. 6, 1814, he was called 
 to the rectorship, which he resigned Dec. 6, 1815. 
 Dec. 15, 1816, Rev. Mr. Ten Broeck commenced 
 his labors as rector. Aug. i, 1733, Rev. Robt. B. 
 Van Kleeck was called to the rectorship, which he 
 resigned in 1835. He was succeeded by Rev. Jno, 
 L. Watson Nov. 9, 1835. Rev. Colby A. Foster 
 was called Sept. i, 1837, and Rev. Richard L. 
 Burnham, Feb. i, 1838. Rev. Robt. Shaw was the 
 rector April 12, 1841. June 11, 1843, a call was 
 extended to Rev. Wm. H. Hart. Rev. Christian 
 F. Cruse was the rector April i, 1847, and Rev. F. 
 W. Shelton, Nov. 2, 1852. Rev. Jno. R. Living- 
 ston was called to the rectorship, Aug. 19, 1855, , 
 and continued to officiate as such till his death 
 April II, 1878. May 29, 1879, Rev. Jno. Henry 
 Hobart, D. D., son of the Bishop of that name, ac- 
 cepted the care of the parish, which he still retains. 
 
 The interior of the church was quite extensively 
 repaired and modernized in 1870, but its exterior 
 remains the same as in the Revolution, except that 
 the steeple was removed as before stated. 
 
 Methodist Episcopal Church of Fishkill.— Ktih- 
 odism was introduced into the town of Fishkill 
 between 1785 and 1795. By reference to the life 
 of Rev. Benjamin Abbott we find that he was ap- 
 pointed to the Duchess circuit in 1789. He refers 
 
 to a " brother Tolbert " who preceded him. They 
 had an appointment just over the line in Phillips- 
 town, near Fishkill Hook, where there was a soci- 
 ety of about forty members. 
 
 It is probable that a class was organized in Fish- 
 kill village about 1810 or '12, of which John Purdy 
 was leader. But this organization was not perma- 
 nent. They had preaching for some years in a 
 school house standing in the upper part of the 
 village, about that time, and Rev. Fitch Reed, D. 
 D., preached his first sermon in that school house 
 before this class and congregation in 1815. But 
 the first Methodist sermon in the village, says Mr. 
 Bailey, was preached in the street under a poplar 
 tree, near the Baxter house, in 1794, by a man 
 named Croft, wRo attracted a large crowd. This 
 class subsequently became scattered ; but in 1829, 
 Rev. Marvin Richardson organized a second one, 
 which became the nucleus of the present Society. 
 Meetings were held in private dwellings and the 
 school house until the present church edifice was 
 erected in 1838-9. 
 
 In I^Sept. 1834, a meeting of the members and 
 friends of the Methodist church in this village was 
 called to take steps to secure a lot suitable for a 
 church site and hold the same till the society 
 should be in circumstances to build. The present 
 site was secured, but the church was not completed 
 until 1841. Rev. L. M. Winchell, was then pas- 
 tor. The parsonage was built in 1865, at a cost of 
 $2,344. Thepresent membership (January, 1882,) 
 is one hundred ; the attendance at Sunday School, 
 which is superintended by Thomas Brown, is fifty- 
 eight. 
 
 The following is the succession of pastors since 
 1853, at which time, in conjunction with Mattea- 
 wan, Glenham, Fishkill Landing and Johnsville, it 
 was on the Fishkill circuit :^» 
 
 Rev. Uriah Messeter, 1853 
 
 Rev. Marcus M. Curtis, i8S4-'SS 
 
 Rev. Elijah B. Shurter, i8s6-'57 
 
 Rev. C. W. Lyon 1858 
 
 Rev. T. Lamont, 1859 
 
 Revs. Wm. F. Gould and A. P. Lyon, . .. i860, 
 
 Revs. A. Hunt and A. P. Lyon, 1861 
 
 Rev. William Stevens, 1862 
 
 Rev. H. C. Humphrey, 1863, 
 
 Rev. C. M. Eggleston, i864-'6s 
 
 Rev. A. L. Culver 1866-68 
 
 Rev. E. S. Bishop 1869-71 
 
 Rev. T. Elliott i872-'73 
 
 Rev. C. R. North > ^ . .. 1874, 
 
 Rev. W. F. Brush, i87S-'76, 
 
 Rev. E. S. Bishop i877-'78. 
 
 Rev. E. F. Barlow, i879-'8o, 
 
 Rev. Wm. Stevens, the present pastor,. . 1881-82, 
 
TOWN OF FISHKILL. 
 
 519 
 
 FisHKiLL Landing. 
 
 Fishkill Landing is beautifully situated on the 
 crest and river-slope of the ridge which separates 
 the Fishkill from the Hudson, opposite the beau- 
 tiful and historic city of Newburgh. It is an import- 
 ant station on the Hudson River Railroad, at the 
 river terminus of the New York & New England 
 Railroad, and is distant by the former 58.85 miles 
 from New York, and 83.28 miles from Albany, 
 while it is distant only 11.45 miles from the county 
 seat at Poughkeepsie. The name of the station is 
 Fishkill, while that of the postofRce is Fishkill-on- 
 the-Hudson. The corporate name by which it is 
 commonly known is derived from the fact that it 
 was an early and principal landing place on the 
 river. This gave it an early prominence, but it 
 was long outrivalled by the interior village of Fish- 
 kill, which, for the time being, possessed superior 
 advantages. In 1864, the question of changing 
 the name of the then pretentious village was agi- 
 tated and many names were proposed. At an 
 adjourned meeting held at the Eagle Hotel, Feb. 
 6, 1864, to consider this subject, it was decided by 
 a vote of fifty-three to thirty- five to call it " Bea- 
 conside," and a committe was appointed to corres- 
 pond with the Postmaster-General in regard to the 
 proposed change. A counter petition was, how- 
 ever, sent to that official and secured a change of 
 name to Fishkill-on-the-Hudson. 
 
 The first settlement at this point was made by 
 Peche Dewall, a squatter, who located here, says 
 Mr. Bailey, in the spring of 1688. He cleared 
 about three acres of land and planted corn between 
 the standing stumps, gathering a tolerable crop in 
 the fall. His wife assisted him in tilling the com 
 and clearing the forest. The following winter, not 
 having a team, he built a hand-sled and with it 
 drew home from New York a half bushel of salt 
 and a side of sole leather. The road to New York 
 was then mostly nothing but an Indian trail. In 
 the spring he bought a horse, paying _^3, which 
 was then considered a fair price. Dewall and 
 Nicholas Emigh were until 1700, says Mr. Bailey, 
 almost the only settlers on the Rombout Patent. 
 Dewall apparently did not remain long, for his 
 name disappears from the Ust of inhabitants in 
 1714. 
 
 In 181 1, Fishkill Landing had not acquired suf- 
 ficient importance to merit recognition by SpafTord, 
 but in 1824 that author describes it as a " handsome 
 collection of houses," with a postoffice of the 
 same name. It had a line of packets and a steady 
 
 increasing business. At the upper landing there 
 were six dwelhngs and two storehouses, but three 
 of the former. and one of the latter had then re- 
 cently been purchased by P. H. Schenck, of the 
 Matteawan Co., and made appendages of that 
 prosperous estabhshment. In 1842, Messrs Barber 
 and Howe {Historical Collections of New York) 
 simply mention it as a small village or hamlet. In 
 1850, Messrs Mather & Brockett, {Geographical 
 History of New York,) describe it as "a place of 
 considerable trade," with "much delightful scenery," 
 and a population of about 1,000. In i860, says 
 FrencKs Gazetteer of New York, it had two news- 
 paper offices, two machine shops, four churches 
 and 1,100 inhabitants. In 1866 (Directory of 
 Fishkill of that year) it had three churches, two 
 select and one public school, a national and savings 
 bank, a printing office, one hotel, an armory, "a 
 large number of stores," a machine shop and 
 foundry, and a population of about 1,550. In 1872, 
 says Hough's Gazetteer, it had two banks, two 
 newspaper offices, a machine shop, four churches, 
 "many elegant residences," and a population of 
 2.992. At present it contains three churches, 
 (Dutch Reformed, Methodist Episcopal and Afri- 
 can M. E.,) a district school, a private school, 
 (conducted on the Quincy plan, estabUshed in the 
 spring of 1881, by an association of gentlemen, 
 under the tutelage of Miss Mary Gay, who con- 
 ducted it till her dealth in November, 1881, when 
 she was succeeded by Miss Alice Churchill,) four 
 hotels,* the Fishkill Landing Machine Works, the 
 Duchess Hat Works, a newspaper office, a national 
 bank, savings bank, several stores, a blacksmith 
 shop, kept by John Pollard, two extensive wagon 
 shops, kept by S. & J. Sewall and Peattie Bros., 
 the latter of whom keep an extensive livery stable, 
 two carpenter shops kept by James and Patrick 
 Murray. The population in 1880, was 2,503. 
 
 Fishkill Landing is the only incorporated village 
 in the -town. The application for incorporation 
 shows that the territory — 704 acres — proposed to 
 be incorporated, had a population of 1,536, accord- 
 ing to a census taken Dec. 31, 1863. March 16, 
 1864, Halsey F. Walcott, of Fishkill Village, Dan- 
 iel Brinckerhoff, of the town of Fishkill, and James 
 H. Weeks, of Poug hkeepsie, were appointed Com- 
 
 * The Ml. Gulian Hmtse, which occupies the site of the old Star Inn, 
 was built in iS6o by Charles Pugsley, who kept it several years, and is 
 now kept by C. R. BuUard, who took possession in July lS8i. It was a 
 tavern stand a hundred years ago. The building which was burned 
 shortly before this was built was occupied by Dr. Mase as a water 
 cure for few a years ; the Iniing Houst, kept by Charles Talbott . 
 Flannery's Hotels kept by John Flannery ; and the Newburgh Bay 
 Hotel, kept by Mr. De Groot. The site of the Revere House was a 
 tavern stand during the Revolution, but in 1824 was a peach orchard. 
 
52° 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 missioners by the Court of Sessions of Duchess 
 County, "to fix the boundary line between the pro- 
 posed incorporation of the village of Fishkill Land- 
 ing and Matteawan." Incorporation was authorized 
 by that Court March 17, 1864, and Stephen Mapes, 
 Lewis B. Ferguson and John Place, Inspectors of 
 Elections of Fishkill, were directed to hold an elec- 
 tion "for the purpose of determining whether such 
 territory shall be an incorporated village." Such 
 election was held at the Eagle Hotel, April 16, 1864, 
 and the question was decided affirmatively by a vote 
 of one hundred and thirty-nine to sixty. May 14, 
 1864, the following village officers were elected: 
 Samuel Bogardus, Henry L. Stevens, Charles B. 
 Pugsley, William H. Rogers, Silas G. Smith, Trus- 
 tees; William R. Addington, Stephen Mapes, As- 
 sessors; P. Y. Youmans, Noah Hanson, Commis- 
 sioners; William J. Smith, Collector; John W. 
 Spaight, Treasurer; John Place, Clerk; W. Alex. 
 Van Wagnen, Pound Master. May 2 1, 1864, Sam- 
 uel Bogardus was chosen President. Feb. 26, 
 1878, the corporation voted to incorporate under 
 the general act of 1870, and was so incorporated 
 June 25, 1878. 
 
 The following have been the successive Presi- 
 dents and Clerks of the village since its incorpo- 
 ration : — 
 
 Presidents. Clerks. 
 
 1864. Samuel Bogardus, John Place. 
 
 1865. S. Mapes, F. Van Voorhis. 
 
 1866. H. H. Hustis, do 
 
 1867. H. N. Swift, do 
 
 1868. H. H. Hustis, W. H. Rozell. 
 
 1869. Samuel Underhill, Wm. S. Smith. 
 
 1870. H. H. Hustis, W. H. Rozell. 
 
 187 1. Mile Sage, 
 
 1872. James Mackin, 
 
 1873. H. H. Hustis, 
 
 1874. Armand Miller, 
 
 1875. do 
 
 1876. do 
 
 1877. J. T. Smith, 
 i878-'8i. do 
 
 do 
 
 do 
 
 do 
 
 do 
 Charles Peattie. 
 Wilbur F. Hopper. 
 
 do 
 John F. Schlosser. 
 
 Merchants.— The general hegira from New 
 York in 1776, brought with it to the Landing sev- 
 eral merchants, and made it an active business cen- 
 ter during the Revolution. Here too, was located 
 the storehouse of John Fisher, who, during much 
 of that period was commissary to the American 
 army. Jacob Van Voorhis, Jr., who was after- 
 wards a merchant in New York, had a store at 
 Major Daniel Terbos', in the summer of 1779, and 
 at the house of Mrs. Haightin 1781, in which year, 
 as appears from the New York Packet of Feb. 8, 
 1781, he married "the amiable and agreeable Miss 
 Martha Haight, of Fishkill Landing." In 1782 he 
 
 was doing business here with Abraham Mesier, un- 
 der the name of Mesier & Van Voorhis. Egbert 
 Bogardus was also engaged in mercantile business 
 at the upper landing during the Revolution, in a 
 building which stood near the foot of Main street, 
 and continued there till his death, having been as- 
 sociated after the war with a man named Sturgess. 
 He also was a commissary for the American army. 
 In 1824, William Teller, Jacob Bartley and Will- 
 iam Brett were engaged in mercantile business 
 here. Teller, in 1852, associated with himself as 
 partner WilUam A. Baxter, to whom he sold his in- 
 terest in February, 1871. In the spring of 1871, 
 Mr. Baxter formed a co-partnership with Charles 
 E. Martin, with whom he has since done business 
 under the name of Baxter & Martin. 
 
 John Nelson, who had carried on black smithing 
 at Matteawan, was engaged in mercantile business 
 here some forty-two years ago. He was the father 
 of Hon. Judge Homer A. Nelson, of Pough- 
 keepsie. 
 
 The merchants now doing business here are: 
 Thomas Lester, clothier; Stephen Mapes, druggist; 
 Samuel Underhill, grocer, who is a native of Ulster 
 county, and established himself in business here 
 some thirty years ago, having been associated with 
 his son, Charles C. Underhill, in 1872-73; S. G. 
 & J. T. Smith, dealers in dry goods, carpets and 
 boots and shoes; M. E. Dietrich, jeweler; A. 
 Theodore Moith, chemist and druggist; W. H. 
 Rogers, dealer in hardware and stoves ; Melanch- 
 thon Heroy, boot and shoe dealer; Stotesbury, 
 Bros. & Co., grocers; H. Member & Sons, whole- 
 sale and retail dealers in groceries and dry goods, 
 and dealers in hay, oats and feed; Nicholas Hop- 
 per, furniture dealer; George Root, crockery 
 dealer; and H. Ritter, jeweler. 
 
 Physicians.— The physicians at Fishkill extended 
 their practice to this place at an early day, and 
 probably supplied it for many years of this century. 
 We do not know who was the first physician to lo- 
 cate here. Roderick Royce came from Mon- 
 ticello, Sullivan county, about 1832 or '33, and 
 practiced here some years, when he returned to 
 Monticello. He was the father of William Royce, 
 a dentist in Newburgh. He also kept a drug store 
 in the building now known as the Revere House. 
 Rev. James Harkness, M. D., who was born in 
 Roxburyshire, Scotland, March 3, 1803, graduated 
 at the University of Edinburgh, and^ subsequently 
 studied medicine. He became a Presbyterian 
 minister, and practiced medicine considerably 
 among the members of the churches with which he 
 
TOWN OF FISHKILL. 
 
 S2I 
 
 was connected. He was pastor of the Presbyterian 
 church of Matteawan in 1843-5, ^^^ afterwards 
 founded the Presbyterian church at Fishkill Landing. 
 In 1840 he became a homeopathic physician and 
 soon after located at the Landing, where he prac- 
 ticed several years. James Sykes Rumsey, who was 
 born July 9, 1800, finished his education in France, 
 and married into the Verplanck family, was in prac- 
 tice here in 1846 and continued till his death, Nov. 
 1. 1872. Valentine Vermilyea graduated at the New 
 York Medical College about 1840, and located at 
 Fishkill Landing, where he practiced till about 1850. 
 William P. Bell, who was born in Gettysburg, Penn., 
 Feb. 25, 1822, and had practiced in Ohio, came 
 here about 1850, and practiced till his death, Dec. 
 4, 1869. Dr. Pearson was contemporary with Bell 
 for three or four years. He removed to the western 
 part of the State. 
 
 The present physicians are : Henry Slack, who 
 was born in Albany, June 10, 1831, graduated at 
 Yale in 1848, and at the Albany Medical College in 
 1 85 1, completing his medical studies by a two- 
 years' course in hospital clinics in Paris. He com- 
 menced practice in 1856, in New York, and re- 
 moved thence in 1865 to this village; Chas. M. 
 Kittredge, who was born in Mt. Vernon, N. H.,in 
 1838, graduated at Amherst in 1862, and at Har- 
 vard Medical College in 1867. He was physician 
 in the Insane Asylum in Hartford, Conn., for three 
 years immediately succeeding his graduation, at 
 the expiration of which time he established himself 
 in practice at Hyde Park in this County, removing 
 thence in 1870 to Fishkill Landing, where he estab- 
 lished that year his home (Riverview Home) for 
 nervous invalids, which he has since conducted 
 with gratifying success, extending his practice also 
 to the village patronage, and making a specialty of 
 nervous diseases. Dr. Kittredge purchased the 
 King Chandler property, which he improved and 
 adapted to its present use. It occupies a sightly 
 location, overlooking the Hudson and the city of 
 Newburgh, and has accommodations for four to eight 
 patients. Dr. Kittredge is a pioneer in this speci- 
 alty — the treatment of cases bordering on insani- 
 ty — and his " home" is among the first opened in 
 this country ; JuUus Edgar Moith, who was born 
 in Fishkill Landing in 1857, and graduated at the 
 College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York 
 in 1879; and Walter D. O. K. Strong, who was 
 born in Owasco, N. Y., Aug. 10, 1823, graduated 
 at'Buffalo University April 19, 1849, and removed 
 to this place in the spring of 1880, and engaged in 
 practice with his son, Jacob R. Strong, who was 
 
 bom in Sennett Nov. 22, 1853, studied medicine 
 with his father and Dr. Benj. Lansing, of Rhine- 
 beck, and graduated at the Homeopathic Medical 
 College of New York in the spring of 1880. 
 
 Lawyers. — John Owens, from Westchester 
 county, was in practice herein 1850 and continued 
 four or five years. He went to New York, where 
 he practiced and died. Contemporary with him 
 was Edwin R. Bogardus, a native of the place, and 
 son of Matthew A. Bogardus. He practiced here 
 but a few years. He went to New York about 
 1851 or '52, and was then a young man. A man 
 named Sloan preceded them, and had an office 
 where Dr. Mapes' drug store now is. He was a 
 highly conscientious man, but did not practice 
 more than a year or two. He went to New York 
 about thirty-eight years ago. 
 
 The present attorneys are : Henry H. Hustis, 
 who was born in Cold Spring, N. Y., March 9, 
 1829, educated at Amenia Seminary, read law at 
 Newburgh with Wm. FuUerton, the great criminal 
 lawyer of New York City, Judge Jno. J. Monell 
 and Thomas George, all of Newburgh, and was ad- 
 mitted in September, 1852. He opened an office 
 in this village January 3, 1853, taking the place of 
 John Owens. J. Hervey Cook, a native of War- 
 ren county, N. J., and a lineal descendant of Fran- 
 cis Cook, who came with his son John among the 
 Mayflower passengers, received an academic edu- 
 cation at the Suckasunny Academy and was in- 
 structed in the classics at the Chester Institute. 
 In November, 1865, he entered the Law Depart- 
 ment of the University of Albany and graduated 
 in November, 1866. He opened an office in this 
 village in May, 1867 ; Jno. F. Schlosser, who was 
 born in Poughkeepsie, Aug. 22, 1839, graduated at 
 Union College in 1874, read law with H. H. Hus- 
 tis of this village and E. A. Brewster of Newburgh, 
 was admitted in 1876, opened an office here July 
 5, 1876, and was elected School Commissioner of 
 the I St District, in this County in 1878; George 
 H. Porter, who came here from New Jersey in the 
 summer of 1879 ; and Samuel B. Rogers, a native 
 of Fishkill, son of Wm. H. Rogers, who was edu- 
 cated at Amenia Seminary and spent three years 
 at Union College, graduated at the Albany Law 
 School in 1879, and opened an office in this vil- 
 lage in the spring of 1880. 
 
 Manufactures. — The Fishkill Landing Machine 
 Co., was incorporated Feb. 17, 1853, and its char- 
 ter was renewed at the expiration of twenty years. 
 The original capital was $25,000; it has been in- 
 creased to $35,000. The company was composed 
 
522 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 of some seventeen individuals, mostly residents of 
 Matteawan, who had been employed by the Mat- 
 teawan Co., as iron workers. They first leased and 
 subsequently purchased the building which had 
 been used by the Matteawan Co., for the storage 
 of cotton, which they fitted up and occupied tem- 
 porarily till the present brick structure, one hun- 
 dred and twenty by forty feet, two stories, was 
 erected and ready for use that year — 1853. The 
 old building is still used by them as a storehouse. 
 The company engaged in and still continue the 
 manufacture of stationary and marine engines, 
 besides doing a general machine business. 
 
 The Dutchess Hat Works were established in 
 1874, by Lewis Tompkins, the present proprietor, 
 who erected at that time a building which 
 now forms the southwest portion of the large 
 brick building on the corner of Main and Bank 
 streets. The building has been enlarged nearly 
 every year since to meet the increased demands of 
 the business, and has now about four times its orig- 
 inal capacity. The business employs two hundred 
 and sixty persons, about one hundred of whom are 
 females. Mr. Tompkins is also proprietor of the 
 Hudson Straw Works, on Main and Hudson 
 streets, which were estabUshed by him in the fall 
 of 1880, and employ some one hundred personSj 
 about two-thirds of whom are females, in the man- 
 ufacture of straw hats. 
 
 The First National Bank of Fishkill Landing 
 was organized May 9, 1863, with a capital of $50,- 
 000, which was increased Jan. 16, 1864, to $100,- 
 000, and May i, 1872, to $150,000, the limit 
 allowed by the charter but reduced July i, 1876, to 
 $100,000. The first officers, elected May 18, 
 1864, were: Walter Brett, president; Daniel 
 Brinckerhoff, vice president. Conrad N. Jordan, 
 late cashier of the Third National Bank of New York, 
 and now treasurer of the New York, Ontario & 
 Western Railroad, was chosen cashier July 17, 
 1863. The Bank commenced business August 10, 
 1863, in the building it now occupies, which had 
 previously been used for other purposes, and was 
 purchased by the Bank in April 1880. 
 
 Walter Brett was president until Jan. i, 1870, 
 and was then succeeded by James Mackin, who 
 has since held the office. March 15, r864, William 
 C. Oakley succeeded Mr. Jordan as cashier and 
 filled that position until his death, Oct. 13, 1869. 
 Milton E. Curtiss succeeded him, entering upon 
 the duties of the office Nov. i, 1869; 
 
 The Mechanic^ Savings Bank of Fishhill-on-the- 
 Hudson was .chartered March 5, 1866. The char- 
 
 ter, which was drawn by Henry H. Hustis, whOj 
 with others, believed that the character of the peo- 
 ple, who are largely engaged in manufactures and are 
 transient, favored the success of a rightly conducted 
 savings institution, names twenty-five persons as 
 the first trustees. Ofthat number only seven are still 
 on the board, viz : Walter Brett, James Mackin, 
 Henry H. Hustis, Thomas Aldridge, Lewis B. 
 Ferguson, John T. Smith, William H. Rogers. 
 The first officers were : John Rothery, president; 
 William C. Verplanck, rst vice president ; James 
 Mackin, 2d vice president ; William C. Oakley, 
 treasurer. Mr. Rothery dechned the presidency 
 and Joseph Howland was elected to that office 
 March 24, 1866. The Bank commenced business 
 in 1866 in the building now occupied by the Na- 
 tional Bank, and continued there until the spring 
 of 1874, when it was removed to its present loca- 
 tion, the building having been erected for its 
 accommodation that year by Henry H. Hustis. 
 Joseph Howland resigned as president, Sept. 30, 
 
 1868, and was succeeded at that time by William 
 S. Verplanck. Silas G. Smith succeeded to the 
 presidency, April 7, 1873, and has since held that 
 office. William C. Oakley was treasurer until his 
 death, Oct. 13, 1869, and was succeeded by the 
 present incumbent, Bartow W. Remsen, Dec. i, 
 
 1869. John T. Smith was elected secretary March 
 24, 1866, and has held that office to the present 
 time. 
 
 Press of Fishkill Landing. — The Fishkill 
 ^/a«<2J'(2/'<f was started Aug. 2, 1842, by Wm. R. 
 Addington, who published it until i860, when it 
 passed into the hands of a man named Webster, 
 who published it three months, when it was sold 
 to W. A. VanWagenen and Aaron Vanderwerker, 
 who published it under the name of A. Vander- 
 werker & Co. In October^, 1861, Mr. VanWag- 
 enen sold his interest to Rufus A. Reed, and it 
 was published by Reed & Vanderwerker until 
 February, 1862, when it was purchased by James 
 E. Member, in the interest of John W. Spaight, 
 who became the nominal publisher Jan. i, 1875, 
 having been the actual and sole manager from 
 1862 to the present time. Its size is twenty-eight 
 by forty-two inches, having been increased in 1868 
 from twenty-four by thirty-six inches, or from 
 seven to eight columns. In that year also the 
 office was removed to its present location. The 
 Standard is published every Saturday, and not 
 only takes high rank among the press of the 
 County, but is one of the best rural papers in this 
 State. It is independent in politics. It was first 
 
TOWN OF FISHKILL. 
 
 523 
 
 published as an independent paper by a Whig edi- 
 tor. In 1856 it was published in the interest of 
 the Know Nothing party and after the Kriow 
 Nothing excitement died out, in that of the Repub- 
 lican party until Mr. Spaight took charge and 
 changed it to a local family newspaper. 
 
 The Home Gazette, a literary monthly, was 
 started in 1870 by John B. Gould, who published 
 it until 1872, when he associatedwith himself Wm. 
 N. Anthony, who, after about a year, acquired 
 Mr. Gould's interest, and three or four months 
 later sold it to A. A. Bensel, of Newburgh, who 
 merged it in the Home, Farm and Orchard, pub- 
 lished in that city. About the same time James 
 J. McNally, from Newburgh, started a daily paper, 
 but soon after changed \,t to a tri-weekly. It was 
 discontinued after a few months. The Daily 
 Gazette was started in 1873 by Wm. N. Anthony, 
 but was discontinued after a trial of some four 
 months. It was an evening paper. The Fishkill 
 Daily Telephone was published from Oct. 4, i88o 
 to July 2, 1881, by Frank D. Spaight and Wm. N. 
 Anthony. 
 
 The Fishkill and Matteawan Gas Light Co. 
 was incorporated Nov. 16, 1878, with a capital of 
 $26,000, in which there has been no change. The 
 company purchased under mortgage sale the works 
 of the Fishkill Gas Light Co., organized in 187 1. 
 G. A. Valentine was the first superintendent of 
 the latter company and the works were erected in 
 this village under his supervision in 1871. The 
 manufacture of gas was commenced in January, 
 1872. 
 
 Matteawan and Fishkill Landing originally for 
 many years constituted one appointment, which at 
 first was on the Duchess circuit. For several years 
 prior to 1819 meetings were usually held in the 
 Tillott and Ketchnm neighborhood, a short dis- 
 tance from Matteawan, on the east side of the 
 creek. An old stone house that had been vacated 
 by John Tillott's family when their new dwelling 
 T^as completed, was appropriated to that purpose. 
 Services were generally held there, but occasion- 
 ally on the adjoining premises of Mr. Ketchum, 
 either in his house or barn. In 181 9 the place of 
 meeting was changed to the school house west of 
 the creek and located on the old road, about mid- 
 way between the two villages, which point and its 
 surroundings on the south and west are now occu- 
 pied by the Methodist burying ground. At that 
 time it was changed from a six weeks' to a four 
 weeks' appointment, and services were continued 
 there until 1824, when, the new or main road 
 
 between the two villages having been opened, a 
 favorable opportunity presented itself for the 
 selection of a site for a church edifice. 
 
 March 29, 1824, a meeting was held at the 
 school house and the following trustees were 
 elected: John Tillott, Gerardus DeForest, Jacob 
 Cooper, Henry McDonald and Wm. Doughty. A 
 suitable lot was obtained of the late John P. 
 DeWint, on which a house of worship was built 
 and dedicated in the fall of that year. 
 
 In the spring of 1825 the Society was set off 
 from the circuit and Wm. M. Willett was sent to 
 the charge as stationed minister and was re-ap- 
 pointed the following year ; but for some cause the 
 pulpit was supplied by circuit preachers the two 
 succeeding years. 
 
 In i860 the society divided through non-agree- 
 ment on the location of a new church, and the two 
 societies in Matteawan and Fishkill Landing, were 
 formed. After the division each branch re-organ- 
 ized and proceeded to secure a house for itself. 
 The old edifice, which had from necessity been en- 
 larged once or twice was sold and is to-day known 
 as Swift's Hall, having formerly been known as 
 Mackin or Union Hall. It was the first church in 
 the town of Fishkill erected by the Methodists. 
 The Presbyterian church property at the Landing 
 was then purchased on foreclosure sale by this 
 branch of the society and regular services were 
 soon instituted there. That building is still occu- 
 pied by this society. It has been renovated and 
 provided with new stained windows and in 1875, 
 an addition previously made for a chapel, was en- 
 larged. The church now ( December, 1881,) num- 
 bers about 700 members ; and the Sunday School, 
 of which John W. Spaight is superintendent, has an 
 average attendance of 100. 
 
 The Matteawan branch obtained a lot from J. 
 F. Gerow, which was virtually donated to them, and 
 soon commenced the erection of a church edifice, 
 which was completed in the latter part of 186 1, and 
 dedicated Jan. 16, 1862. Its cost was $7,000. 
 In the course of a few years the ground on which 
 it stood was purchased by the Duchess & Columbia 
 R. R., for a depot. The society then purchased 
 the old Episcopal church, a brick building, which 
 was taken down, and erected on its site their pres- 
 ent church edifice, in 1869. 
 
 The following is the succession of pastors of 
 the Fishkill Landing Church : Wm. M. Willett, 
 i82S-'6; circuit preachers names unknown, i827-'8; 
 Samuel W. Fisher, i829-'30j Valentine Buck, 
 i83i-'2j J. Z. Nichols, i833-'4; Valentine Buck, 
 
524 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 1835-6; Julius Field, 1837-8; Elisha Andrews, 
 1839-40; Jno. M. Pease, 1841-2; Seymour Vaix 
 Dusen, i843-'4; J. W. B. Wood, i84S-'6; C. F. 
 Pelton, 1847-8; B. M. Genung, 1849- '50; Leon- 
 ard M. Vincent, 1851-2; Matthew Van Dusen, 
 1853; Chas. C. Keys, 1854-5; Z. N. Lewis, 
 i856-'7; G. W. Knapp, i858-'9 ; J. Millard, 
 i86o-'i ; D. D. Lindsley, i862-'3 ; Chas. K. 
 True, D. D., 1864; Henry B. Mead, 1865 ; O. V. 
 Amerman, 1866-8; Edmund Lewis, 1869-71; 
 W. G. Browning, 1872-3; Philip Germond, 1874- 
 '5; Alfred Coons, 1876-8; Angels Ostrander, 
 i879-'8i. 
 
 The successive pastors of the Matteawan Church 
 since the division are : E. L. Prentice, A. D. 
 Vail, J. Y. Bates, O. Haviland, T. Lodge, W. E. 
 Clark, C. W. Millard, J. J. Dean, C. R. North and 
 J. P. Heermance, the latter of whom came upon 
 the charge in April, 1881. 
 
 The Reformed ( Dutch ) Church of Fishkill 
 Landing, was an offshoot from the church of Fish- 
 kill, with which it was connected until 1819, and 
 hke it, remained until the close of 1822 under the 
 pastoral care of Rev. Dr. Cornelius D. Westbrook, 
 under whose ministrations it was formed. Their 
 first church edifice was built on the present site 
 in 1 8 13, through the principal agency of Messrs. 
 John P. DeWint and Thomas Lawrence. Rev. 
 Dr. Westbrook was scholarly and much esteemed. 
 He was the father of Hon. Theodore R. West- 
 brook, one of the present Judges of the Supreme 
 Court. 
 
 The next pastor was Rev. William S. Heyer, 
 who was ordained and installed in 1823, and re- 
 mained until 185 1. The third pastor was Rev. 
 Dr. D. M. L. Quackenbush, who commenced his 
 ministrations in 185 1 and closed them in 1855. 
 He was followed by Rev. J. Howard Suydam, who 
 was ordained and installed in 1857. During his 
 ministry, in i860, the present substantial and com- 
 modious edifice was built. His successor was Rev. 
 Dr. Joseph Kimball, who was installed in April, 
 1863, and whose services closed in October, 1865. 
 The sixth pastor was Rev. Martin L. Berger, who 
 came in January 1866, and remained until April, 
 1869 ; Rev. Dr. J. Romeyn Berry was the pastor 
 from 1869 to 1870. The present pastor. Rev. 
 Charles W. Fritts, was installed in 1870. His 
 ministry has been characterized by much talent 
 and a deep earnestness. 
 
 The present officers of the church are : John 
 Van Vliet, Walter Brett, John Plaice, Charles 
 Stotesbury and Milton E. Curtiss, elders ; J. Hervey I 
 
 Cook, William A. Jones, Maurice E. Dietrich, Geo. 
 C. Smith and Charles E. Martin, deacons. 
 
 Zion M. E. Church of Fishkill Landing was or- 
 ganized in 1840, and built their church edifice 
 in 1844.* 
 
 Matteawan. 
 
 Matteawan, by far the most populous village 
 in the town, is situated on the Fishkill, about a 
 mile and a half east of the Landing, and a like dis- 
 tance above the mouth of the creek, whose splendid 
 hydraulic properties have given it its prominence 
 as a manufacturing center. It lies at the foot of 
 the North and South Beacons, two eminences of 
 Fishkill Mountains, which tower above it in lofty 
 grandeur. It is a station on the Newburgh, 
 Duchess & Connecticut, ' and the New York & 
 New England Railroads, and is connected with 
 the Landing and Newburgh by stage, ferry and 
 rail. 
 
 The first settlers, says Mr. Bailey, were Roger 
 Brett and the Pines, the former of whom built the 
 old Teller House before referred to in 17 10. The 
 Pines located east of the village, on the Fishkill 
 road, one on the Birdsdall place, on which the 
 original house is still standing, but sold in 1790 
 and removed to Delaware county; the other on 
 the Boice place, which, says Mr. Bailey, (in 1874,) 
 was sold some sixteen years ago by the Pine family 
 to John Boice, who demolished the old building 
 and erected in its place the present stately 
 mansion. 
 
 The Schencks, though less early, were among the 
 most prominent settlers in .this locality, and the 
 name is still an important one in Matteawan soci- 
 ety. It has been identified with most of the im- 
 portant industries of the village, and some of its 
 earlier members filled important niches as legis- 
 lators. 
 
 In 1872, says Hough, its population was about 
 2,000; while in 1880 it reached 4,411, nearly 
 double that of any other village and nearly half 
 that of the town. It now contains five churches, 
 (Episcopalian, Presbyterian, Methodist.f Baptist 
 and Catholic,) a union free school, a private 
 school— the Duchess Seminary— established in the 
 summer of 1881, of which P. N. Mitchell is prin- 
 cipal, one hotel, the Dibble House, first kept by 
 D. S. Jaycox, afterwards by William Ambler, and 
 at present by W. S. Dibble, who purchased of Mr. 
 Jaycox and remodeled it a few years since; various 
 
 •Promised data relative to this church has not been furnished, 
 t A history of this church is given in connection with that at Fishkill 
 Landing. 
 
TOWN OF FISHKILL. 
 
 52s 
 
 manufacturing establishments and stores, a job 
 printing office, a circulating library, and a wagon 
 and blacksmith shop kept by W. H. Jackson. 
 
 Merchants. — Nathaniel Sackett was probably 
 the first merchant in the vicinity of Matteawan. He 
 was the son of a clergyman and was born at Corn- 
 wall, Orange County, April 10, 1737. 
 
 The oldest and most prominent of the present 
 merchants are : A. & C. F. Brett, natives of the 
 
 (DIBBLE HOUSE— W. S. Dibble, Pkoprietor.) 
 
 place, S. G. &. J. T. Smith, S. A. Colwell, Dewitt 
 C. Rogers, J. T. Yates, John B. Whitson & Co:, A. 
 Townsend, F. Colwell, William R. Brown, Sullivan 
 & Brown, WiUiam H. Brown, H. B. Bevier, B. F. 
 Green. Others are : G. C. Walker, C. H. Hoys- 
 radt. King. & Parsons, E. F. Davis, William B. 
 Meyer, W. Bloomer, W. Warwick, H. Somers, B. 
 J. Hubble, F. Loughran, P. J. Mayen, J. S. Budd 
 & Co., J. M. Davis, G. Jackson, W. Grossman & 
 Co., C. E. McLoud. 
 
 Physicians. — Dr. Bartow White, of Fishkill, was 
 the principal physician through all this section of 
 country for many years. Dr. John P. Schenck was 
 the first physician to locate at Matteawan. He 
 was soon followed by Dr. Daniel D. Annan. Dr. 
 Schenck was born in Matteawap, Feb. 2, 1798, and 
 was the son of Abraham H. Schenck, afterwards 
 President of the Matteawan Co. 
 
 Dr. Annan, who was born in Fishkill, June 11, 
 i79», was the youngest child of John Annan, a na- 
 tive of Scotland, who came to this country at an 
 early age and settled at Baskin Ridge, N. J. He 
 graduated in medicine in New York, and was a 
 surgeon in the war of 181 2. He was highly skilled 
 in that branch of the profession. His practice in 
 
 Matteawan continued until his death, Nov. 23, 
 1834. He married Miss Ann Tiittle, of Orange 
 county, who died young, leaving one child, who is 
 also dead. He afterwards married Margaret, 
 daughter of Theodoras and Mary Brett, who was 
 born March 27, 1794, and died Nov. 14, 1867, 
 leaving four children, all of whom are living: 
 Louisa, widow of S. A. Benson, and EUza A., 
 widow of James W. Andrews, in Matteawan, and 
 two sons, Willam CuUen 
 ind Alexander, the former 
 in New York and the lat- 
 :er in Brooklyn. 
 
 "Asahel Hall, who had 
 practiced several years in 
 Fishkill village, came to 
 Matteawan some forty- 
 five years since, but after 
 a few years removed to 
 Poughkeepsie, where he 
 enjoyed an extensive prac- 
 tice, which continued un- 
 til his death, July 25, 1877, 
 aged eighty-five years. 
 
 The present physicians 
 are : John P. Schenck, 
 Jno. H. Doughty, Henry 
 C. Wilson, J. O. Davis, 
 A. R. Tiel and A. B. Cutler. Dr. Schenck was 
 born in Matteawan, Feb. 13, 1843, and studied 
 medicine with his father of the same name. He 
 graduated at the Medical Department of Col- 
 umbia College in 1863. Entering the army he was 
 detailed as Asst. Surgeon, serving during McClel- 
 lan's Peninsula campaign, when he resigned. May 
 TO, 1864, he entered the navy, as Asst. Surgeon on 
 the receiving ship North Carolina, and the same 
 year estabUshed himself in practice in Matteawan. 
 Dr.Doughty is a native of LaGrange in this County, 
 and graduated atWiUiams College in 1858. He 
 studied medicine with Dr. J. W. Bidwell, of Win- 
 stead, Connecticut, and graduated at the Medical 
 Department of Michigan University in 1863. He 
 entered the army as Asst. Surgeon of volunteers 
 and was assigned to duty as post-surgeon at Wash- 
 ington, N. C, afterwards serving in the same ca- 
 pacity at Newbern, N. C, subsequently as senior 
 medical officer of Foster General Hospital, at 
 Newbern, N. C, and finally as Medical director on 
 Gen. Crook's staff, at Wilmington, N. C, having 
 in 1864 been promoted to Surgeon. He left the 
 service in December, 1865, and commenced prac- 
 tice in Matteawan in the spring of 1866. Dr. Wil- 
 
526 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 son was born in Derby, Vt., in 1837. He entered 
 upon a course of medical studies, but before their 
 completion, in 1861, entered the army as Hospital 
 Steward of the io2d N. Y. Vols. He served till 
 the winter of 1862, when he left the army to re- 
 sume his medical studies. He , graduated at the 
 Medical Department of the University of Vermont 
 in 1863, when he rejoined the army as Acting Asst. 
 Surgeon, and served in that capacity until the close 
 of the war. He established himself in practice in 
 New York in 1865, and removed thence to Mat- 
 teawan in 1867. 
 
 Lawyers. — E. S. Phillips was the first lawyer in 
 Matteawan. He is a native of Fishkill, and was ad- 
 mitted about the close of the war, estabhshing 
 himself in practice here immediately after, and con- 
 tinuing to the present time. Arthur L. Conine, a 
 native of Queens county, entered the law office of 
 Henry H. Hustis, of Fishkill Landing, as a stu- 
 dent, in 1867. He was admitted in 1874, and 
 opened an office in Matteawan in 1875, before he 
 had attained his majority. Though young he ranks 
 high in the profession and has before him a prom- 
 ising future. He is a good office lawyer, careful 
 and cautious, and enjoys the best practice in the 
 village. Frank G. Rikert, a native of Bangall in 
 this County, read law with L. B. Sackett, of Pough- 
 keepsie, and opened an office here in 1875. Henry 
 G. Wolcott, a native of .Fishkill, read law with 
 Cassidy & Brown, of Newburgh, and graduated 
 from Columbia Law School in 1877, in the spring 
 of which year he opened an office in Matteawan. 
 Edward C. Kent, a great-grandson of Chancellor 
 Jas. Kent,(whose remains lie in the Episcopal grave- 
 yard in this village,) read law with E. A. Brewster, 
 of Newburgh, and was admitted in 1878. He 
 opened an office in this village in 1879, forming a 
 law partnership with Henry G. Wolcott, which con- 
 tinues to the present time. Samuel K. Phillips, 
 son of E. S. PhiUips, read law with his father, and 
 was admitted in May, 1879, in which year he 
 opened an office in Matteawan. 
 
 MANUFACTURES.—Matteawan is emphatically 
 the child of its mechanical industries, and has 
 grown with the development of the hydraulic facili- 
 ties of the creek, which, within its borders, has 
 three dams, with an aggregate fall of about fifty- 
 four feet, though the upper dam, known as the Clay 
 mill dam, is not now in use. It formerly supplied 
 the motor for an auger factory owned by John Lee 
 and others, which was burned about i860. The 
 creek, though furnishing an immense power, is in^ 
 constant, and has to be supplemented with steam 
 
 in dry seasons. A grist-mill was in existence here 
 at a very early day and is still in operation. It is 
 owned by the Rothery Bros., and operated by M. 
 E. Clearwater, who took possession in March, 
 1878. It is an old structure, one of the oldest in 
 the County, the last addition to it having been 
 made in 1800. It has erroneously been said to be 
 the identical mill built by Roger Brett in 17 10, 
 familiarly called the Madam Brett mill, which was 
 located at the mouth of the creek, a mile and a 
 half below. It contains three run of stones, 
 operated by water, and is the only grist-mill in the 
 town, except the one at Brinckerlioffville, which is 
 also an old structure, apparently more ancient than 
 this, though dating back only to the Revolutionary 
 period. 
 
 The Matteawan Co., formed in 1814, was the 
 principal agent in developing the manufacturing 
 • interest of Matteawan. Prominent among those 
 who then composed it were Peter A. Schenck and 
 Henry Cowing, the former of whom, though origin- 
 ally a shipping merchant in New York, resided 
 in Fishkill, in the old Blossom house, which he 
 built, now and for some years vacant. In 1814 
 the company erected the stone building now used 
 by the National Felt Works and commenced the 
 manufacture of. cotton goods, soon after calling 
 into requisition the building now used as a store- 
 house by the Fishkill Landing Machine Works, 
 which was also filled with hand looms, both 
 buildings being run to their utmost capacity. 
 
 The operations of the company rapidly increased 
 with the substitution of power looms and self-act- 
 ing mules for the hand looms first used. In 1822 
 they erected the brick building immediately south- 
 east of the stone one for a machine shop and 
 engaged extensively in the manufacture of various 
 kinds of machinery, making a specialty of cotton 
 machiner)', but manufacturing largely for woolen 
 mills and sugar refineries in the South. It is said, 
 though there is reason to doubt it, that the first 
 locomotive used on the Hudson River Rail- 
 road, was built in these shops, the company 
 latterly engaging in the manufacture of loco- 
 motives. At this time the company gave em- 
 ployment to some four hundred persons. A 
 few years later an addition was made to the latter 
 building to enlarge the cotton works, the manu- 
 facture of beavertines, a heavy and expensive cotton 
 goods, having been commenced. , About 1828, 
 their machine "business having so increased as to 
 demand increased accomodations, they erected 
 the main building of the Matteawan Manufactur- 
 
TOWN OF FISHKILL. 
 
 527 
 
 ing Co.'s Works (which has since been raised a 
 story higher,) and removed their machine works to 
 it, occupying the former machine shop with the 
 cotton manufactory, which had been constantly 
 encroaching on the space occupied by the machine 
 works. About the time the machine works were 
 started the company erected a wooden building 
 on the site of Colwell's machine shop for a black- 
 smith shop and foundry. That building was taken 
 down to widen the street, and the semi-circular 
 brick building now occupied by Mr. Colwell was 
 erected and extended into the creek. 
 
 As other estabUshments in different parts of the 
 County with better faciUties sprung into existence 
 the machine business of the company became 
 unremunerative, and at the time of the failure in 
 1850, had dwindled into insignificance. At its 
 failure the entire large property of the company 
 went into the hands of a receiver — John A. C. 
 Gray, a merchant of New York, who sold it to 
 Homer Ramsdell, of Newburgh, for about a fourth 
 of its cost. Abram L. Ackerman carried on the 
 manufacture of Canton cotton goods one year for 
 Mr. Ramsdell. Samuel B. Schenck, who was 
 born in Matteawan Feb. 16, 1806, but spent the 
 early part of his life in Manchester, Mass., soon 
 after acquired the property and leased the cotton 
 works for a term of years to The Seamless Cloth- 
 ing Manufacturing Co., which was incorporated 
 with a capital of $50,000, and failed after doing 
 business a few years. In i860 they employed 
 ninety-five hands and turned out $350,000 of 
 goods annually. John Falconer & Co. succeeded 
 the latter company in the manufacture of felt 
 goods, and were more recently succeeded by Fal- 
 coner, Carroll & Co., who continued the business 
 under the name of the National Felt Works, giv- 
 ing employment when in full operation to about 
 five hundred persons, the major portion of whom 
 are males. 
 
 Samuel B. Schenck occupied the machine works, 
 blacksmith shop and foundry of the Matteawan 
 Co., in the manufacture of the Woodworth planer, 
 removing from Mansfield, Mass., in 185 1, the 
 works established by him in that State in 1832. 
 He continued the business until his death, March 
 25, 1861, when his brothers John B. and T. J. B. 
 Schenck acquired it and continued it until 1870, 
 from 1865 as an incorporated company, but without 
 additional partners. John B. Schenck died Aug. 
 6, 1870, when H. B. Schenck purchased the estab- 
 lishment and has since conducted the business, 
 but occupies only a part of the original works, the 
 
 establishment having been removed from the ma- 
 chine works to, the foundry of the Matteawan Co., 
 in 1864, and from thence to their pi^esent location 
 in February, 1878. Mr. Schenck employs about 
 twenty persons in the manufacture of wood-work- 
 ing machinery of various kinds. 
 
 Rothery's File Works are among the oldest and 
 most important of Matteawan's manufacturing 
 industries. They were estabUshed about 1835 by 
 John Rothery, a native of Sheffield, England, 
 where his father carried on the manufacture of files 
 until his death, after which the latter's wife, with 
 the aid of her sons John and George, continued it 
 till her death, when the two sons named removed 
 to Calais, France, and there established and con- 
 ducted the business six or seven years. Becoming 
 disgusted with the indignities to which the hostile 
 feeling the French then manifested toward the 
 English exposed them, they resolved to leave that 
 country. John established himself temporarily in 
 Paterson, N. J., in 1827. In 1828, at the solicitation 
 of Peter H. Schenck, then a principal factor in the 
 Matteawan Co., he came to this village to re-cut 
 files for that company, continuing until 1835, when 
 he engaged in their manufacture on his own ac- 
 count, leasing power of that company and after- 
 wards of the Wiccopee Cotton Co. About 1853, 
 he erected a portion of the building now occupied 
 by his son for a cutting shop, continuing the busi- 
 ness till his death, April i, 1858, aged 58. His 
 sons John and William succeeded to the business, 
 and in 1868, purchased the old Matteawan grist- 
 mill (now operated by M. E. Clearwater,) and the 
 residence of Abraham Schenck, together with the 
 water privilege, carrying the water thence by means 
 of a race to the file-cutting establishment, the 
 capacity of which has been doubled since 1853. 
 In 1869-70 the large three story building to the 
 east, adjoining the creek, was erected, and the 
 lower floor also occupied by the file-works, the up- 
 per floors having been used as store-rooms until 
 Nov. I, 1881, when they and the attic, and a 
 boiler house and chimney, erected in 1881, were 
 leased to L. H. King & Co., for the manufacture 
 of straw hats, a business, which when in full opera- 
 tion will give employment to about one hundred and 
 fifty persons, some two-thirds of whom will be 
 females. The Messrs. Rothery employ about eighty 
 persons, mostly skilled workmen, only two or 
 three of whom are females. 
 
 The Matteawan Manufacturing Co.'s Works 
 were established in 1864, by the present company, 
 who were incorporated in 1868, with a capital of 
 
S28 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 directors 
 
 are 
 H. 
 
 $150,000. The first and present 
 John C. and Charles R. Henderson, and W. 
 Mase. John C. Henderson has been the President 
 and Treasurer, Charles R: Henderson, the Secre- 
 tary, and W. H. Mase, the Superintendent since 
 the establishment of the works, which occupy the 
 building formerly occupied by the machine works 
 of the Matteawan Co., and subsequently by the 
 establishment of Samuel B. Schenck, after whose 
 death, in 1861, it was sold, together with the black- 
 smith shop and foundry of the Matteawan Co., to 
 Messrs. H. H. Hustis, Wm. H. Rogers, James 
 Mackin and Wm. D. Budd, who sold it in the 
 winter of i863-'4 to John C. Henderson. The 
 Matteawan Manufacturing Co., employ about 350 
 to 37S persons, about 35 per cent, of whom are 
 famales, and manufacture fine wool hats, which 
 are marketed through the store of the company in 
 New York. The product of the works is about 
 2,000 dozen per week. 
 
 Colwell's Machine Works were established in 
 1861, by H. M. Swift. He purchased that year of 
 Messrs. Hustis, Rogers, Mackin and Budd, the 
 building formerly occupied by the Matteawan Co., 
 as a blacksmith shop, and commenced the manu- 
 facture of lawn mowers and hat machinery. 
 About 1873 he leased the establishment to the 
 National Felt Works, and the manufacture of hat 
 machinery and repairing was continued about two 
 years, when, in June, 1876, W. S. Colwell under- 
 took the manufacture of hat machinery and doing 
 general repairing, in which he now employs sixteen 
 men. 
 
 The Matteawan Pantaloon, Overall and Mechan- 
 ic i Jacket J^tfr/i.r were established in June, 1880, 
 by Strain & Drislane, (Robert Strain and W. E. 
 Drislane.) In November 1881, C. W. Rainey 
 acquired Drislane's interest and the business is 
 now conducted by Strain & Rainey, who employ 
 some eighty persons, about nine-tenths of whom 
 are females. The product of the establishment 
 for the year from June, 1881, to June, 1882, will 
 amount to about $200,000. The works first 
 employed twenty-five persons ; the number has 
 gradually increased as the introduction of their 
 goods created a demand for them. They occupy 
 the building, the main part of which was erected in 
 1857, by A. Vanderwater, for the manufacture of 
 leather belting, a business which he has since carried 
 on in a small way, but less extensively now than 
 formerly, when he employed three or four persons 
 in the manufacture of hand-made belting and in 
 tanning hides. 
 
 The Matteawan. Savings Bank was chartered 
 March 21, 1871, with twenty-one trustees, who first 
 met and organized April 5, 1871. The Bank 
 opened for business in April, 1871, in the office of 
 the National Felt Works, where it is still located. 
 Mr. Laurens has been Treasurer to the present 
 time. W. H. Mase is the President ; and Theo. 
 Van Vliet, Secretary. 
 
 Press of MATXEAWAk -Several papers have been 
 started here, but none have survived to the present 
 time. The Matteawan Daily Herald was started 
 June 14, 1869, by Charles G. Coutant, and printed 
 five weeks at the Fishkill Standard office at the 
 Landing, when an office was opened in Matteawan. 
 It was soon after changed to .a weekly paper and 
 passed into the hands of Louis G. Contairini, who 
 published it but a short time. In 1872, James H. 
 Woolhiser started i'Ae Matteawan Enterprise with 
 the same material, which he sold in 1874 to Peter 
 A. Vosburgh, who kept a job office till its destruc- 
 tion by fire, January i, 1875. The Matteawan 
 Observer was started in the fall of 1876, by Peter 
 H. Vosburgh, and published by him fourteen 
 months, when it was sold to George W. Owen, of 
 The Fishkill Journal who discontinued it. Sub- 
 sequently The Matteawan Review, a weekly was 
 published a short time by Louis G. Contairini ; 
 and The Matteawan Chronicle about two months 
 by a Frenchman named Louis Charlouis. 
 
 Highland Hospital was founded May i, 187 1, 
 having been incorporated under the general act in 
 April of that year, its object being "to establish a 
 hospital • * * for the reception of the sick 
 and injured, and for rendering all necessary care, 
 assistance and medical attention." The property 
 consists of a story and a half frame house and a lot 
 pleasantly situated on Washington street, which 
 was purchased by Joseph Howland, a large proper- 
 ty holder in this town, who fitted it for hospital 
 purposes at a cost of $2,000, and presented it to 
 the town, which has since expended $1,500, the 
 contribution of its citizens, in its improvement. 
 
 The Howland Circulating Library was found- 
 ed in 1872, through the munificence of Mr. and 
 Mrs. Joseph Howland, of Fishkill. The erection 
 of the building was commenced in the summer of 
 1871 and completed in the spring of 1872. It is 
 sixty-five by forty feet, with two stories and attic. 
 The building and ground cost about $23,000. The 
 library comprises 4,229 volumes, and these have 
 been purchased and the current expenses met with 
 funds received from stockholders and subscribers. 
 The Matteawan Union Free School was organiz- 
 
TOWN OF FISHKILL. 
 
 529 
 
 ed in 1870, and formed by the union of two com- 
 mon school districts. The present school building, 
 a fine structure of pressed brick, was erected that 
 year, and cost, including the lot and furniture, a 
 little more than $26,000. The school was opened 
 in the fall of 1870, under the principalship of Prof. 
 John G. Murphy, who was succeeded at the ex- 
 piration of a year by E. B. Ro well,. who likewise 
 remained a year. In 1872, W. S. Allen assumed 
 and has since discharged those duties. He has 
 nine assistants. The attendance at school is seven 
 hundred and forty-seven, the average attendance 
 being four hundred and eighty. The school is 
 graded into primary and senior departments, with 
 six classes in the primary and four in the senior 
 department. 
 
 Churches. — The Presbyterian Church ofMattea- 
 wan was organized Aug. 27, 1S33, with twenty- 
 four members, not one of whom is living. 
 Previous to about 1832 the Presbyterians of 
 Matteawan attended the Reformed Church at the 
 Landing. They then obtained and held occa- 
 sional services in the upper part of the old 
 Matteawan store. Rev. Joseph D. Wickham 
 was installed the first pastor November 16, 1834. 
 He was the uncle and tutor of Major Wickham of 
 New York, and became famous as an educator. 
 The second pastor was Rev. S. I. Prime^ senior 
 editor of The New York Observer, who was in- 
 stalled May 23, 1837. He was followed, but only 
 for three months, by Rev. A. B. Van Zandt, who 
 died as professor in the Theological Seminary at 
 New Brunswick, N. J., July 21, 1881. Rev. James 
 Harknesswas called Dec. 12, 1842, and remained 
 until Nov. 19, 1845. He afterwards practiced 
 medicine at the Landing.* After an interval of 
 two years Rev. J. T. M. Davie was installed pastor 
 and remained until the spring of 1855. In July, 
 1855, Rev. F. R. Masters, on whom Union Col- 
 lege afterwards conferred the degree of D. D., was 
 installed and continued the pastoral care until 
 February, 1872, when his health failed and Rev. 
 J. L. Scott became his assistant. He resigned 
 October 8, 1872. Mr. Scott was called to the 
 pastorate Nov. 7, 1872, and ordained and installed 
 Dec. 2, 1872. He has since had the pastoral 
 charge. It is worthy of note that Mr. David 
 Davis of Matteawan, has been an officer of the 
 church over forty years. 
 
 The first church edifice was erected in 1833, 
 and dedicated on July 16, 1834; the present 
 onein 1871-2, at a cost of about $40,000, 
 
 • See page SJo. 
 
 and dedicated July 17, 1872. It is a sightly 
 stone structure, combining the Gothic and Nor- 
 wegian styles of architecture, and is supplied with 
 an organ of rare beauty and power. The audience 
 room seats five hundred persons ; the lecture room, 
 two hundred and eighty. The church numbers 
 about two hundred members. The attendance at 
 Sunday school,'of which Robert J. Halgin is Super- 
 intendent, is about two hundred.* 
 
 St Joachim's Church (Catholic.) — The few 
 Catholics at Fishkill Landing, Low Point, Mattea- 
 wan and Fishkill village before 1850, depended on 
 St. Patrick's Parish, Newburgh, for the services of 
 a priest. Rev. Father Duffy, pastor of that church, 
 attended on both sides of the river in Orange and 
 Duchess counties. In 1850, Rev. George Brophy, 
 then pastor at Channingville, received the pastoral 
 care of these places, and occasionally celebrated 
 mass at the Landing in a school house kept by a 
 lady named Meagher, located at the five corners, 
 and near the present Cliff and Main streets. In 
 September, 1853, Father iBrophy was appointed 
 pastor of St. Paul's church, Harlem, and Rev. 
 Dennis Sheehan took charge of the vacant mission. 
 Finding his congregation rapidly increasing, and 
 the little temporary church inadequate to accom- 
 modate it, he purchased in 1855, from Matthias 
 Toohey, the site of the present church in Mattea- 
 wan, at a cost of $1,200, and immediately began 
 the erection of a house of worship. This location 
 was selected as best suited from its central posi- 
 tion to the surrounding missions. In August, 1857, 
 the building was inclosed, the basement finished 
 with pews, and a neat altar erected. The people 
 assisted the pastor to the extent of their means, 
 and up to 1857 had contributed nearly $8,000. 
 
 In October, i860. Archbishop Hughes consti- 
 tuted Matteawan, Fishkill Landing, Low Point and 
 Fishkill village an independent parish and ap- 
 pointed Rev. James Coyle as first resident pastor. 
 At that time the church was not plastered, con- 
 siderable debt was incurred, and there was no resi- 
 dence for the pastor. Nov. 30, i860. Father 
 Coyle purchased the present parochial residence 
 from Milo Sage for $2,500. In 1862 the chancel 
 and gallery of the church were erected, making 
 the entire cost of the building, as it then stood, 
 about $10,000. 
 
 In September, 1861, Father Coyle purchased a 
 lot in Fishkill village from Mrs. Oppie for $200 
 and set ab out building a church upon it. Octob er 
 
 * A veiy interesting history of the church, prepared by the pastor, was 
 published in The Fishkill Journal, July 7, '88', and gives ftiller de- 
 tails than we can devote space to. 
 
53° 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 17, 1874, that edifice was dedicated by Very Rev. 
 Wm. Starrs, V. G., under the title of St. Mary's. 
 The building, 25 by 30 feet, cost about $1,500. 
 
 In February, 1 865, Father Coyle purchased 6.31 
 acres of land near Matteawan from Everett Smith, 
 for $2,524, four acres of which he laid out for 
 burial purposes and the rest he divided into build- 
 ing lots. It is known as St. Joachim's Cemetery, 
 and was blessed by Very Rev. Wm. Quinn, V. G., 
 October 16, 1877. March 23d, a church organ 
 was purchased from St. Peter's, Jersey City. 
 
 July 8, 1867, Father Coyle was appointed to the 
 pastoral care of Rondout, and Rev. Christopher 
 Farrell took charge of the parish and missions of 
 Matteawan, June II, 1871. Rev. Peter McCourt 
 was appointed pastor of the parish. Father Farrell 
 having retired on account of ill health. In Sep- 
 tember, 1874, the erection of a parochial school 
 was commenced. It is a brick building, 50 by 100 
 feet, two stories high, and is attended by 300 chil- 
 dren, who are instructed by three teachers, one 
 gentleman and two ladies. 
 
 Father McCourt died December 19, 1876, and 
 was interred on the north side of the church. Feb. 
 15 1877, Rev. John C. Henry was appointed 
 pastor, and in May of that year, Rev. A. J. Canary, 
 a fine vocalist, was appointed his assistant. In 
 September, 1878, P'ather Canary was removed to 
 Cornwall, and Rev. T. F. Kelley, now pastor at 
 Hyde Park, was appointed to his place. In Sep- 
 tember, 1880, St. Joachim's Young Men's Literary 
 Society was organized with fifty members. In 
 October, 1880, it was resolved to enlarge and im- 
 prove the church edifice by an addition of 30 by 40 
 feet, and a suitable portico 12 by 15 feet. These 
 improvements were commenced in November 
 1880, and completed in 1881, at a cost of $5,000, 
 all of which was cheerfully paid by the people. 
 
 Nov. 1, 1880, Father Kelley was transferred to 
 St. Reymonds, Westchester, and Rev. John J. Mc- 
 Grath appointed Father Henry's assistant. The 
 church has a present membership of about 2,500. 
 The Sabbath-school is attended by 30 teachers and 
 400 children. St. Joachim's Temperance Benev- 
 olent Society was organized in 1875 and numbers 
 60 members. 
 
 The mission church at Fishkill village has been 
 served by the pastors of this church. Services are 
 held there twice a month. The membership is 
 about 100. 
 
 The First Baptist Church of Matteawan per- 
 fected its legal organization Oct. 26, 1853, at which 
 time Rev. D. W. Sherwood was pastor. The 
 
 , church was erected in i854,but was not completed 
 until 1855. Most of the subscriptions therefor 
 were collected by the pastor. Rev. D. W. Sher- 
 wood. Previous to the erection of the church 
 meetings were held in the district school-house at 
 Matteawan. The pastors who succeeded Mr. 
 Sherwood under this organization were Revs. 
 Frank Fletcher, Hiram Haynes, John B. Pittman, 
 J. L. Benedict, the latter of whom was called Oct. 
 20, 1864, and resigned June 13, i866, and Wm. 
 Jones, who served as late as March, 1869. 
 
 Oct. 26, 1868, the church authorized the trustees 
 " to make over " their church property to the Pil- 
 grim Baptist Church ofMatteawan,^h\ch was organ- 
 ized Oct. 19,1868. yi&xcht,jS()q,ih& First Baptist 
 Church of Matteawan disbanded. Articles of faith 
 were adopted by the newly organized church Sept. 
 7, 1870, and a church covenant Sept. 18, 1870. 
 The church was recognized by a council represent- 
 ing nine churches Sept. 21, 1870, and the same 
 day the edifice, which had been refitted, was re- 
 dedicated. Rev. Thos. S. Rogers was the pastor 
 at this time. He was succeeded by Rev. Jabez 
 B. Marshall, who resigned Dec. 27, 1874. Rev. 
 F. Kratz was called March 21, 1875, and resign- 
 ed Dec. 29, 1875. Rev. Stephen B. Almy was 
 called April 18, 1876, and remained till his death 
 in the fall of 1879. Rev. E. N. Harding was call- 
 ed to the pastorate Jan. 2, 1880, and resigned 
 June 30, 1 88 1, since which time there has been 
 no pastor, though the pulpit has been regularly 
 supplied. The number of members is about seventy- 
 five. The attendance at Sabbath-school, of which 
 Deacon Joe Bently is superintendent, is about 
 seventy-five. 
 
 St. Anne's Church (Episcopal), was incorpo- 
 rated June II, 1833, under the temporary rector- 
 ship of Rev. John Brown. , The first permanent 
 rector was Rev. R. B. VanKIeeck ; the present 
 one is Rev. Edward Bartlett.* The society owns 
 eleven acres of land in the south-east part of the 
 village on which a fine church edifice and parson- 
 age have been erected. 
 
 Glenham. 
 Glenham, early known as Red Rock, from the 
 color of the rock in that vicinity, is situated in a 
 romantic glen in the Fishkill valley, on the New- 
 burgh, Duchess & Connecticut and the New York 
 & New England railroads, by whiclj it is distant 
 two miles north-east of Matteawan. It is the seat 
 of the extensive w oolen manufactory of A. T. 
 
 ♦ We have been unable to obtain ftirther datTrelalive toTliiTchuTdir 
 
TOWN OF FISHKILL. 
 
 531 
 
 Stewart & Co., and contains three churches, 
 (Dutch Reformed, Episcopal and Methodist 
 Episcopal,) a union free school, a large store, 
 known as the Glenham store, a grocery, kept by 
 T. H. Alexander, a stove and tin store, kept by 
 Mark Brierly, a drug store kept by Chas. D. 
 Cooper, a shoe shop kept by Robt. Doyle, a wagon 
 shop kept by Jno. Mosher, a blacksmith shop kept 
 by Geo. Gildersleeve, a meat market kept by Wm. 
 Haight, and a tobacco manufactory, of which the 
 Marsh Bros, are proprietors. In 1880 it had a 
 population of 1,353. R. H. Marsh & Co. have 
 conducted the store here since Mr. Stewart acquir- 
 ed the property. Geo. W. Westcott first engaged 
 in mercantile business here in 1835, and con- 
 tinued it some thirty years. 
 
 About i8ii, McGill, Peter H. Schenck, 
 
 Dr. Bartow White and Benj. Brown, the latter of 
 whom occupied the house next west of the Glen- 
 ham store, established a woolen mill and saw-mill 
 at Glenham, the former of which is still in use, 
 having been several times enlarged, and forms a 
 part of the extensive works of Messrs. Stewart & 
 Co. The woolen mill was built of stone and the 
 saw-mill of wood. The latter is not now in exis- 
 tence. The company continued the business in 
 a modest way until 1826, when they were succeeded 
 by the Glenham Co., formed that year, with a capi- 
 tal of $140,000, and was composed at different 
 times of John Jacob Astor, Peter A. Schenck, 
 PhiUp Hone, Joseph Karnochan, Gardner and 
 Samuel 'Howland, and Russell and Nathan Dart, 
 all except Mr. Schenck, of New York. The com- 
 pany greatly increased the capacity of the works, 
 and in place of Mr. McGill, who had previously 
 superintended the establishment, employed Augus- 
 tus L. Ulrich, a native of Jena, Saxe Weimar, Ger- 
 many, as agent, a position he filled until his death, 
 Sept. 16, 1841. Jirah Stearns, who is still living in 
 Newburgh, was a manager under the Glenham Co., 
 and during his superintendence the business was 
 successful. Russell and Nathan Dart eventually 
 acquired the sole ownership of the property, which 
 at their death, passed into the hands of Wm. and 
 Russell Dart, sons of Nathan, who survived his 
 brother Russell. The Darts still further increased 
 the business, erecting during the war the present 
 extensive buildings, except the storehouse, which 
 was built by Mr. Stewart. " Between the years 
 i860 and 1873," says the New York Herald of 
 April 27, 1876, "over $450,000 were expended for 
 new buildings and the best British machinery." 
 "About six hundred operatives were employed," 
 
 says the same paper, " and the company owned 
 dwellings sufficient to accomodate all the families 
 working for them." 
 
 The mill at Glenham employs some 380 persons 
 in the manufacture of all kinds of woolen fabrics, 
 cassimeres, flannels, blankets, etc. 
 
 Union Free School No. 3 of Glenham, was 
 formed Nov. 13, 1866, by a vote of eighty-four to 
 one, and the following trustees elected : C. Bartow, 
 F. K. Scofield and E. H. Bedford. H. Gaunt was 
 then the principal and continued to serve in that 
 capacity until Oct. i, 1867. His successors have 
 been Wm. Darach, Jno. B. Quick, Geo. W. Pier- 
 son, who closed his services July 18, 1870 ; Derrick 
 Brown, from Aug. 17, 1870, Smith Sherman, in 
 1873, and L. D. Wymbs, who has filled the posi- 
 tion since the fall of 1873. He has four assistants. 
 The school building, a fine brick structure, was 
 erected in 1872, and is valued, with the site, at 
 $9,500. The old school house was sold and con- 
 verted to a dwelling. The number of children of 
 school age in the district Sept. 30, 1881, was 605, 
 of whom only 365 attended school, a large num- 
 ber of children being employed in the mills. The 
 number of volumes in the district library was 793, 
 valued at $1,000. The assessed value of taxable 
 property in the district was $518,386.83. 
 
 Churches.— 7)4^ Dutch Reformed Church of 
 Glenham was organized February 7, 1837, with ten 
 members, who withdrew from the churches at Fish- 
 kill and Fishkill Landing. The early meetings of 
 the church, at the time of the organization, were 
 held at the district school house in Glenham. June 
 II, 1838, the corner-stone of achurchfifty by forty 
 feet was laid by Elder Peter Cromwell. The 
 church was dedicated by Rev. Abraham Polhe- 
 mus, of Hopewell, Feb. 28, 1840. In 1851, a 
 parsonage with three acres of land attached, was 
 purchased, G. Smith contributing $450 towards its 
 payment. 
 
 Owing to its feeble condition, the church, through 
 most of its early existence, received aid from the 
 Board of Missions, and although it resolved in 1853 
 to ^'■henceforward decline that assistance" the effort 
 was successful for only a few years. Not until 
 about 1865, did it free itself from debt. The pres- 
 ent membership comprises forty-five famihes and 
 fifty-two communicants. The Sabbath school is 
 superintended by Sidney Scofield, and has an at- 
 tendance of no. 
 
 The following is the succession of pastors: — 
 
 Rev. J. G. Johnson, a licentiate, Nov. 1839, to 
 Jan., 1846. 
 
532 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 Rev. William A. Miller, May 20, 1846, to Dec, 
 
 1849. 
 Rev. J. F. Pingry, (supply,) Dec, 1849, ^o 
 
 March, 1851. 
 Rev. J. G. Duryee, March, 1851, to Oct., 1852. 
 Rev. J. F. Pingry, (supply,) Oct., 1852, to June 
 
 16, 1853. 
 
 Rev. Jno. H. Bevier, June 16, 1853, to Jan. 9, 
 i860. 
 
 Rev. Edwin Holmes, Feb. i, i860, to Oct. i, 
 
 1865. 
 
 Rev. Francis A, Horton, Oct. i, 1865, to 
 
 1867. 
 
 Rev. Abram N. Wyckoff, Sept. 5, 1867, to 
 
 1871. 
 
 Rev. Joseph Scudder, D. D., February 1872, to 
 March, 13, 1875. 
 
 Rev. Jno. C. VanDeventer, May 19, 1875, to 
 spring of 1879. 
 
 Rev. Wm. W. Schomp, Nov. 11, 1879, present 
 pastor. 
 
 The Methodist Episcopal Church of Glenham 
 was an organized society in 1828, and then had 
 about thirty members. John Reynolds was the 
 circuit preacher. The society worshipped in the 
 district school house, which now stands unoccupied, 
 having been used for a short time as a dwelling 
 after the present school building was erected. It 
 is the building next north of the residence of the 
 late Patrick Murphy, at " Red Rock Corners'." In 
 1842, during the pastoral labors of Rev. Mr. An- 
 drews, the church perfected a legal organization 
 and built a house of worship on the knoll a little 
 north of the old school-house at " Red Rock Cor- 
 ners." In 1872, the building was removed to its 
 present site. The present pastor is Rev. WiUiam 
 Stevens, pastor of the church at Fishkill, with 
 which charge this is connected. The present 
 membership is forty-eight.* 
 
 The Episcopal church of Glenham, rector, Rev. 
 Robert B. Van Kleeck, (who is also the postmaster 
 at Glenham,) was organized in 1855, under the 
 title of Free Church of St. John the Baptist. The 
 church edifice was erected in 1858. 
 
 Groveville. 
 
 Groveville is pleasantly situated on the Fish- 
 kill, .79 mile by rail, below Glenham, through 
 which it enjoys postal facilities. It derives its 
 name from the extensive oak grove which formerly 
 occupied the site of the Stewart carpet works, 
 which, with the dwellings occupied by the employes 
 therem, constitutes all there is of it. There was a 
 grist mill at Groveville from a very early day. It 
 was owned about i82oby Samuel Upton, a Quaker, 
 
 * The records of this church were not accessible at the time of our 
 visit; hence the meagre sketch we give of it. 
 
 who acquired it from Abraham Dubois. Upton 
 tore down the old mill and replaced it with a larger 
 one. He also erected on the opposite side of the 
 race a stone building which he used as a fulling mill. 
 Between 1830 and 1840, Upton sold the property, 
 which also comprised six acres of land, to Peter 
 Cromwell and Epenetus Crosby. Messrs. Crom- 
 well and Crosby sold it to the Glenham Co., who 
 converted it to a woolen mill, and did carding, 
 spinning and weaving. It subsequently passed 
 through the same changes in proprietorship as the 
 Glenham mill property, and like it was purchased 
 by A. T. Stewart, who purchased additional land 
 on the south, making in all about twenty-two acres, 
 all of which formerly belonged to the Rogers farm, 
 and in 1874-75 commenced improvements which 
 have evolved the magnificent and extensive works 
 which employ nearly 700 persons. 
 
 Previous to the improvements inaugurated by 
 Mr. Stewart there were but two or three houses be- 
 sides the woolen mill, on the site of Groveville. 
 In 1880 the population was 379. 
 
 WiCCOPEE. 
 
 Wiccopee, situated a half mile below Matteawan, 
 is the seat of the New York Rubber Co.'s Works, 
 which occupy the site of the old Wiccopee Cotton 
 Mill, which was built in 1845, by Robert G. Rankin 
 and Charles M. Wolcott, was well constructed and 
 supplied with the best of machinery. The New York 
 Rubber Co. was incorporated in 1851, by Benj. F. 
 Lee, Jno. F. Grecian and Charles Porter, to whom 
 Charles Goodyear had previously granted the right 
 to manufacture respectively rubber dolls, balls and 
 toys. In 1 85 1 the company commenced business 
 on Staten Island, removing thence in 1857 to their 
 present location. They purchased the brick build- 
 ing of the Wiccopee Cotton Co., two stories and 
 basement, which has been increased in size by an 
 addition made that year and others subsequently to 
 two hundred and twelve by forty-five feet, with 
 three stories and basement. At first the company 
 employed about seventy-five persons, while they 
 now employ one hundred and twenty-five. The 
 present capital is $300,000, and that, like the me- 
 chanical faciUties for prosecuting the business, has 
 been, largely increased. The business now com- 
 prises the manufacture of belting, hose, and all 
 sorts of rubber articles. The value of the manu- 
 factured product reaches $350,000 to $400,000 per 
 annum. The officers of the company are : Henry 
 A. Alden, President; William H. Acker, Treasurer; 
 
TOWN OF FISHKILL. 
 
 533 
 
 Jno. P. Rider, Secretary, 
 supplied solely by water. 
 
 The motive power is 
 
 Brinckerhoffville. 
 
 Brinckerhofifville (Brinckerhoff Station) is a post 
 station, 1.78 miles by rail above Fishkill, contain- 
 ing a grist mill, store, kept by C. C. Van Voorhis, 
 about a dozen houses and a population of sixty. 
 The first settlement in this locality was made from 
 the Brinckerhoffs, from whom the place derives its 
 name. Earlier members of the Brinckerhoff family 
 were somewhat prominent as military men and 
 Legislators. Abraham, who was a Member of As- 
 sembly from this County in 1784-85, carried on in 
 addition to his extensive farming operations, the 
 mercantile and milling business. He was a mer- 
 chant here during the Revolution. His store stood 
 a little east of the present one, andwasdemohshed 
 a few years ago by Matthew Brinckerhoff, who still 
 occupies a part of the homestead farm at Brinck- 
 erhoffville. He was likewise engaged in the milling 
 business during the same period. His mill and its 
 contents were destroyed by fire, which, it is sup- 
 posed, was accidentally set by soldiers, who imme- 
 diately rebuilt it. That structure has survived to 
 the present day, and, like its predecessor of a hun- 
 dred years ago, is kept busy in grinding the grists 
 of the neighboring farmers. It is known as the 
 " Star Mills," and has been owned for some eight- 
 een years by Alex. H. Dudley. It contains four 
 run of stones, which are propelled by water from 
 the Fishkill, which has a fall at this point of seven 
 and one-half feet. 
 
 The present store was built about 1831, by the 
 widow of Dirck Brinckerhoff, and has been kept 
 by various individuals, mostly for short periods, but 
 not continuously — by the present proprietor since 
 1872. The occupants of the old store, among 
 whom, in addition to Abraham Brinckerhoff, were 
 Garrett Van Voorhis, Coert Du Bois, Thorn Pud- 
 ney, Richard Pudney, Jacob Scofield and Isaac 
 Brinckerhoff, did a much more extensive business 
 than has been done in the new one, which was first 
 occupied by Isaac Brinckerhoff, as this was then 
 the center of a large and fertile section of country 
 with nothing to divert trade from it. The post- 
 office here was established in 1873, and S. A. Van 
 Voorhis, who was then appointed postmaster, has 
 held that office continuously since. 
 
 A Presbyterian church was formerly located 
 here — the first of its denominational character in 
 this County. Tradition says that its original mem- 
 bers were gathered together about 1746, by Rev. 
 
 Elisha Kent, grandfather of the late Chancellor 
 Kent. The frame of the church edifice was 
 raised on the 17th and i8th of Sept. 1747, on an 
 acre of ground given for the purpose by Jacob 
 Terbos, on condition "that the church be organized 
 in accordance with the order of the Kirk of Scot- 
 land." That historic structure was destroyed by 
 fire March i, 1866, andneverrebuilt. Thesociety 
 still maintains its organization and occasional ser- 
 vices are held under its auspices at Johnsville. 
 The church has a most interesting history, but, 
 though we have the materials, we have not the 
 space to give it.* 
 
 Byrnsville. 
 
 Byrnsville, or Tioronda, is a hamlet near the 
 mouth of the Fishkill, about a mile south of Fish- 
 kill Landing, and contains a union free school, 
 which is also-used as a chapel, a small store, kept 
 by Richard J. Horton, and the Tioronda Hat 
 Works. In 1880 it had a population of two hun- 
 dred and seventeen. The union free school build- 
 ing is an elegant structure and was erected some 
 sixteen years since through the liberaUty of Gen. 
 Joseph Rowland. The upper story is open to all 
 denominations for religious purposes. The Hat 
 Works occupy the site of the old cotton-mill at 
 this place, which was built at a comparatively 
 recent date by a stock company, of whom Epene- 
 tus Crosby, George W. Pine and one or two others 
 were members, and run for several years. It was 
 once burned and rebuilt by the same company, 
 who failed before 1850. The building was after- 
 wards used for some years as a white lead factory, 
 and was destroyed by fire Sept. 9, 1862. A grist 
 and saw-mill were subsequently built on the site by 
 
 the late Scofield, and these were torn down 
 
 by Lewis Tompkins in 1878, when the present 
 building was erected. A little below these works 
 is the site of the Madam Brett grist-mill, for which 
 this has been mistaken. 
 
 Duchess Junction. 
 
 Duchess Junction is a post station lying at the 
 intersection of the Newburgh, Duchess & Con- 
 necticut Railroad with the Hudson River Railroad, 
 1.69 miles below Fishkill Landing, and in the midst 
 of extensive brick manufactures. The postoffice 
 was estabUshed in 1876, and James E. Shurter, then 
 agent of the Hudson Rive r Railroad, was ap- 
 
 » The reader will find a very full history of this church prepared by 
 Mr. H. D. B. Bailey, of Johnsville, in The Fishkill ytmrml of Sept. 
 »8, 1876, 
 
S34 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 pointed postmaster. The present postmaster is 
 George Bontticoue, who is also the station agent. 
 
 Baxtertown. 
 
 Baxtertownj situated in the north edge of the 
 town, is a settlement of some dozen families, 
 mostly negroes, with a church, in which regu- 
 lar services are held. The society is denom- 
 inated the African Episcopal Church of Baxter- 
 town. Rev. Mr. Dickinson is the pastor. The 
 church was built in 1848. The place derives its 
 name from Bartholomew Baxter, who built the 
 first house there about 1818. None of the family 
 remain there. The locality is an uninviting one, 
 the ground being low, swampy, broken and stony. 
 At an earlier day it was a prolific guarantee of 
 fever and ague, but cultivation and other improve- 
 ments have removed that objectionable feature. 
 
 Cornwall. 
 
 Cornwall, in the extreme southwest corner of the 
 town, three and one-half miles below Fishkill Land- 
 ing, and at the point where the Hudson River 
 Railroad enters Breakneck Mountain by tunnel 
 from the north, is the station for the village of 
 Cornwall Landing in Orange county, on the oppo- 
 site side of the river. 
 
 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 
 
 VAN VOORHIS FAMILY. 
 
 Among the early 
 settlers of Fishkill, 
 was Johannes Coerte 
 VanVoorhees, son of 
 ^Coert Stevense Van- 
 Voorhees, of Flat- 
 lands, Long Island, 
 and grandson of 
 Steven Coerte Van- 
 Voorhees, of Flat- 
 lands, who emigrated 
 from the town of 
 Hees, in the Province 
 of Drenthe, Holland, 
 in April 1660, the 
 common ancestor of 
 the Van Voorhees 
 family in this country. The father of Steven Coerte 
 VanVoorhees was Coert Alberts of Voorhees, 
 who resided in tha year 1 600, opposite or in front of 
 the town of Hees— " voor" meaning in English be- 
 fore, or in front of. Johannes Coerte VanVoorhees 
 purchased by deed dated June 20th, 1730, from 
 
 lauBlxTxri^ifi, 
 
 Philip Verplanck of the manor of Courtlandt, the 
 following described premises i " All that certain lot 
 of land No. i, situate, lying and being in Diichess 
 County, beginning on the Hudsons River, at the 
 northermost bounds of the land belonging to 
 Mrs. Brett or her assigns, running from thence 
 along said bounds northerly 66° easterly 575 
 chains, thence north 20° westerly 7 chains, 
 thence south 62° westerly 565 chains, to the 
 Hudsons River aforesaid, thence along said 
 River to the place where it began — Containing 
 two thousand seven hundred and ninety acres more 
 or less." This deed is an indentured parchment, 
 and has on its back an acknowledgement by Philip 
 Verplanck of its execution before Judge Jacobus 
 Ter Bos, with a permission to record, and also a 
 receipt signed by the said Philip Verplanck for the 
 consideration money, ;^67o. It was never record- 
 ed and is now in thepossession of Mr. William Henry 
 Van Voorhis of Fishkill- on-the-Hudson, one of the 
 direct descendants of Johannes Coerte Van Voor- 
 hees. H. D. B. Bailey in his history of Fishkill ' 
 says "the first settlers at Fishkill Landing after 
 Peche Dewall, were Roger Brett, the Duboises, 
 the Pines and the Van Voorhises. The Van 
 Voorhises located on the Stony Kill road one 
 mile north of the village of Fishkill Landing. 
 The old dwelling yet stands (1874,) and is located 
 a few rods north of the residence of Mr. William 
 Henry Van Voorhis." The names of Johannes 
 Coerte Van Voorhees and two of his sons, Coerte 
 Van Voorhees and Johannis Van Voorhees Junior, 
 ' appear in the list of the Freeholders of Duchess 
 County made August 28th, 1740. by James 
 Wilson, Sheriff of the County. (Doc. Hist, of N. 
 Y. Vol. 4.) Johannes Coerte Van Voorhees 
 was one of the founders and organizers of 
 the Dutch Church at Fishkill Village, his 
 name being affixed to all the early recorded 
 church papers. The first recorded church paper 
 which is in the Dutch language is a certifica- 
 tion by the consistories of the Poughkeepsie and 
 Fishkill Dutch churches as to the organization of 
 the Fishkill church, and an agreement to call a 
 minister from Holland, resulting in a call to the 
 Rev. Cornelius VanSchie, a fac-simile of the paper 
 with original signatures also, is contained in the 
 earliest record book of the Poughkeepsie church. 
 Appended to the document are the following sig- 
 natures : Peter Du Boys', Leonardus Van Clees, 
 Abraham Brinckerhoff, Abraham Cuys, Johannes 
 VanKleeck, Abraham Brinckerhoff, Elias Van- 
 Benschouten, Johannes Coerten VanVoorhees, 
 Hendrick Phylyrs, Pieter VanKleeck, Hans de 
 Lange, Henry van der Burgh, Jacobus Swartwout, 
 Hendrick Pells. 
 
 The family of Johannes Coerte VanVoorhees and 
 his wife Barbara VanDyck was as follows : i. Jan- 
 netje VanVoorhees married Col. John Brinckerhoff, 
 of Swartwoutville, Duchess Co., and had children — 
 Altje, married Dr. Theodorus VanWyck ; Barbar- 
 etie and Diena, died unmarried; and Dirck, 
 
 married Geertie . 2. Coerte VanVoorhees 
 
 married Catherine Filkin, of Flatbush, L. I., and had 
 
Ig-uy XUDIUil (i.OUaa ±J XldlL^J.'/" OL JN J 
 
 '^ 
 
 
 or TISHKIIi, BITCHES S CO.N.T. 
 
(HOMESTEAD OF JOHANNES COERTE VAN VOORHEES, FXSHKILL-ON-THE-HUDSON, N. Y.— 17)0.) 
 
 (HOMESTEAD OF MAJOR WILLIAM ROE VAN VOORHIS, FISHKILL, N. V— 179»-) 
 
536 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 children — Catherine, married Dr. Hendrick Van 
 Beuren, of Flatbush, L. I.; Barbara, married Richard 
 VanWyck, of Fishkill; Jannetje, married Joseph 
 Horton, of Fishkill; Henry, married Hannah 
 Flageler ; Johannis, married Johanna, daughter of 
 Johannes Rowe, of Duchess Co.; Mary, married 
 ist Peter J. Dubois, and 2d Theodorus Van Wyck ; 
 Cornelius, died unmarried; Magdelena, married 
 Christian Dubois, of Fishkill ; Sarah, married ist 
 Francis, son of Roger and Catherine Brett, of Fish- 
 kill, and 2d Daniel Van Voorhis, of Oyster Bay, 
 L. I. ; Zachariah, married ist Anna Lawrence, 
 and 2d Nancy Springsteen. 3. Johannis Van 
 Voorhees, Junior, married Gerritje, daughter of 
 Elias Van Benschouten, of Poughkeepsie Pre- 
 cinct, and had children — Sara, died in infancy; 
 Barbaretie, married Roelof Phillips, of Fishkill; 
 Katrena, died unmarried; John, married ist Han- 
 nah, daughter of William Roe, of Fishkill, and 2d 
 Ransie Nostrand, and was the father of Major 
 William Roe Van Voorhis, of Fishkill village, 
 who was a prominent man in the a,ffairs of both 
 the town and the Dutch Church in that village 
 up to the time of his death, November 2d, 1828, — 
 he held the commission of Major in the 149th 
 Regiment of Infantry of the State of New York, 
 and was with his Regiment in active service 
 during the war of 181 2; Sarah, married Daniel 
 Southard, of Fishkill; Elias, married Elizabeth,^ 
 daughter of William Roe ; and Jannetje, married 
 Zebulon Southard. 4. Zacharias, died unmarried. 
 5. Gerrit, died unmarried. 6. Maria, married Elias 
 Dubois, of Fishkill, and had children — Johannis ; 
 Abraham ; Sarah, married Duncan Graham ; and 
 Barbara, married Adrian Couenhoven. 7. Hen- 
 drick, died unmarried. 8. Jacob, married ist 
 Catharine, daughter of Peter Meiser of New York 
 City, and 2d Trocy Myer, and 3d Sarah White, 
 of New York City, and had children — Jacob, mar- 
 ried Martha, daughter of Jonathan Haight, of 
 Fishkill; John, married ist Mary McKnight, of 
 New York City, and 2d Catherine Fine, of New 
 York City, and 3d Jane Denniston, of New York 
 City ; Susannah, married Robert Kennon, of New 
 York City ; Catherine ; Jane, married General 
 Samuel Haight; and Gertrude. 
 
 ROBERT BLAIR. 
 
 Rot)ert Blair was born in the town of Newburgh, 
 Orange county, Feb. 22, 181 9, and is of Scotch 
 descent. His grandfather, Robert Blair, was born 
 in Philadelphia, and was a soldier in the Revolution, 
 enlisting at sixteen years of age, and serving six 
 yearsl' His discharge is still in existence and now 
 held by- Sergeant William Blair of New York. 
 After leaving the army he settled in Ulster county 
 where Barnard Blair, the father of Robert, was 
 born. Barnard lived with his parents until his 
 marriage to Sarah Edwards of Orange county, 
 ty whom he had nine children, Robert being the 
 third and only one now living. 
 
 When eight years of age, Robert went to reside 
 with his grandfather in Ulster county, where he 
 remained five years, attending school a greater 
 part of the time, and laying the foundation for his 
 active business life in after years. Soon after 
 leaving school he commenced working by the 
 month at brick making and continued in that busi- 
 ness till forty years of age. During this time Mr. 
 Blair accumulated by prudence and industry, suf- 
 ficient money to enable him to engage in the 
 manufacture of brick, and at the present time em- 
 ploys an average of fifty men. His yard is situated 
 on the Hudson at Haverstraw and was built in 
 1 869, at an expense of twenty thousand dollars. 
 
 In 1875 he purchased his present residence with 
 one hundred acres of excellent land in the town of 
 Fishkill, from which can be seen many miles of the 
 beautiful Hudson river. 
 
 October 15, 1843, Mr. Blair was united in mar- 
 riage with Harriet Van Wart, of Haverstraw, Rock- 
 land county, by whom he had nine children, six of 
 whom are now living, as follows : Phoebe, Hiram, 
 Harriet E., Robert, Abby and Annie. 
 
 CHAPTER XLV. 
 
 History of tjbe Town of East Fishkill. 
 
 WHAT pleasing reminiscences and his- 
 torical associations loom up before us 
 upon the mention of Fishkill ! Whether it be of 
 West or East, how many hundreds of her children 
 who have left the paternal hearthstone and gone 
 forth in the world to battle with the duties of life, 
 turn from their cares and with pleasing remem- 
 brance view in imagination the scenes around "old 
 home,'' with all the familiar faces that clustered 
 around the dearest spot in childhood. How many 
 hundreds of merchants, miners, agriculturists and 
 tradesmen, of near and far oflf sections of our broad 
 country, for nearly a century have fondly reverted 
 to this locaUty, and reiterated to' their children the 
 historical incidents connected with old Fishkill soil, 
 in the Revolutionary struggle, as recounted to them 
 by their fathers and mothers, who were " actors in 
 those scenes," that made the town memorable upon 
 the pages of history. 
 
 West and East Fishkill, without doubt received 
 the first white settlers in the County, the former a 
 few years previous to the latter, although it is not 
 definitely known. 
 
 On the 17th of October, 1685, the lands of 
 East Fishkill were granted by patent from King 
 James II. to Francis Rombout, Jacobi^ Kip and 
 Stephanus Van Courtlandt, and since they made the 
 purchase for speculation, and being men of busi- 
 
^©BKiax B2.^!i:a. 
 
TOWN OF EAST FISHKILL. 
 
 537 
 
 ness tact, it may not be supposed they were dila- 
 tory in causing settlements, as in them was the 
 greater profit on the investment and the sooner 
 realized. 
 
 Rombout, Kip and van Courtlandt were wealthy 
 Hollanders, and their famiUes became connected in 
 after years, by marriage. Rombout died a few 
 years after the purchase and left his portion of the 
 property to his only child, Catherine^ who removed 
 to Fishkill in 17 lo, and lived in queenly style for 
 those days. 
 
 Jacobus Kip married the widow of Gulian Ver 
 Planck, who was interested in the purchase of land 
 of the Wappingers, as will be seen elsewhere, and 
 Van Courtlandt was also connected. But being 
 confined to matters relating to East Fishkill only, 
 we will not refer to the family connection, farther 
 than to say, that in after years, lot number 
 two of the eastern tier, became the property of the 
 Ver Plancks, through Kip, and in 1739 ^^^ ^'st 
 sale was made from it, of two hundred acres to 
 Derick Storm by WiUiam Ver Planck. The greater 
 portion of this town became the property of 
 Catherine, who married Roger Brett. She was 
 famiUarly known as Madam Brett. From time to 
 time she sold the lands off in large and small 
 farms, receiving at the time of her death, rents 
 from but few tenants under lease, in comparison to 
 the number of farms sold, so that by the year 1740 
 East Fishkill territory was dotted here and there 
 with settlers and partially cleared farms, so as to 
 give the assurance of its being permanently settled. 
 Here were found the Van Wycks, Swartwouts, 
 Luysters, Van Vlacks, Emans, Storms, Adrian ces, 
 Carmans, Monforts, Buyces or Boices, Willseys, 
 Van Alsts and a number more whose descendants 
 still reside upon or near the pioneer homes. 
 
 The oldest monument of their faith and energy 
 in the town is the Reformed organization of Hope- 
 well, which dates back to the year 1757. The 
 settlers being principally of that faith, they for 
 many years attended divine service at Fishkill and 
 Poughkeepsie, and as the country became more 
 thickly settled meetings were held in private 
 houses, barns and in the woods, when the weather 
 would permit. Near Hopewell church still stands 
 a barn in which meetings were held before a 
 church edifice was built, and not far off stands a 
 dweUing house in which the grandfathers and great- 
 grandfathers assembled to unite in prayer and song 
 around the humble altar. This organization, in 
 connection with Fishkill and Hackensack, were the 
 recipients of several bequests in early times, to one 
 
 of which we will refer as its manner of expression 
 and consideration is indeed antique. The bequest 
 was ten acres, one quarter and twenty perches of 
 land from Samuel VerPlanck, bearing date the 
 23rd of March, 1779. It reads: — 
 
 " Between Samuel VerPlanck, Merchant, gentle- 
 man citizen of New York,Burghess of Amsterdam, 
 and one of the Governors of Kings College, of the 
 one part, and Arean Brickerhoff, Thomas Storm 
 and Peter Monfoort, all of Rumbout Precinct, in 
 the county of Dutchess, Gentleman, as well for 
 themselves as in trust for others, the Freeholders 
 and Inhabitants, being of, and Belonging to, the 
 Congregation of the Reformed Low Dutch 
 churches of Fishkill, Hopewell and New Hacken- 
 sack, in Rumbout Precinct aforesaid of the other 
 part Witnesseth that the said Samuel VerPlanck 
 for, and in consideration of, the Affection he bears 
 to the old Dutch Church in the city of New York, 
 and the Reformed churches of Rumbout Precinct 
 in Respect to the Memory of his Father Guhan Ver 
 Planck, his Grandfather, Samuel VerPlanck, his 
 Great Grand Father, Gulian VerPlanck the elder, 
 his Great Great Grandfather, Abraham VerPlanck. 
 In gratitude to the memory of Henrica Wessel, the 
 widow of Gulian VerPlanck the elder, and since, 
 the wife of Jacobus Kipp, also out of a tender re- 
 gard to his only son,DanielCiourmeUne VerPlanck, 
 to his only Brother, Guhan VerPlanck, to his 
 cousins, Philip VerPlanck and WiUiam Beekman 
 VerPlanck, Grandsons of Philip VerPlanck, Esq., 
 late of the Manor of Cortlandt Deceased." 
 
 The first church edifice was built in 1764, of 
 wood, and is described by Bailey in his " Local 
 Tales and Historical Sketches" as "an oaken 
 frame of hewn timber taken from the forest near 
 where the church stood. It had a gambrel roof 
 with a tower in front, surmounting the tower was 
 a tapering spire, and upon its apex was a ball upon 
 which was placed a rooster." 
 
 The present edifice is a substantial and fine 
 appearing brick building erected in 1834, and 
 around it is a very neat cemetery which is nearly 
 surrounded by a tall evergreen hedge. 
 
 When the Duchess & Connecticut railroad was 
 completed, a hamlet sprang up near the track 
 under the name of Hopewell, and when the New- 
 England road was built to intersect the Duchess 
 at that point, the hamlet was called Hopewell 
 Junction. As a natural consequence the junction 
 is to be the business center and measures have 
 already been taken to estabhsh the place as such 
 in the building of stores, mechanical shops and 
 other necessary enterprises — such as are usually 
 found in a country village. The change thus 
 brought .about was the death stroke to the general 
 business interest of the old village for a while, but 
 
538 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 upon the completion of the Clove branch, it was 
 not left entirely in the dark, and still struggles on. 
 Still, the junction will inevitably prove the victor 
 in enterprise, but not in pleasant surroundings — 
 historical associations or social hospitality. The 
 first merchant of the new village was Mr. E. C. 
 McCumber who erected a building near the station 
 and stocked it with general merchandise,upon the 
 building of the railroad, and still continues, being the 
 only one of the place. In 1870 L. C. Rapplje 
 built the present hotel which was at once occupied 
 by Edward Lasher, the present owner and pro- 
 prietor. R. C. Horton established a coal and 
 lumber yard in 1869, which is now the property of 
 O. & S. M. Davison, who are doing a prosperous 
 business. It is the only yard in the town and a large 
 territory surrounds it. In addition to the above I. 
 R. Graham is engaged in the tin and hardware 
 trade, George Horton in blacksmithing, and James 
 Ackerman in wagon and sleigh making. These 
 enterprises are driven to their utmost capacity 
 with business and soon will be forced to enlarge 
 or others invited to locate, which will give the 
 place an advance in growth. 
 
 At an early day a gristmill was built at Hope- 
 well by the Stockholm's. It was a small affair at 
 first, but rebuilt, as it stands at the present time, 
 about the year 1770. Charles Stockholm is the 
 present proprietor, succeeding his father and grand- 
 father in its ownership. The building is of ancient 
 architecture, having a gambrel roof, and timbers 
 large enough in the frame for a mill of triple its 
 capacity. There are several other old buildings in 
 the vicinity that mark a great contrast in architect- 
 ure by the side of those of recent date that are to 
 be found near. The old Hopewell store and 
 tavern of a centuries age, to which the inhabitants 
 ' of the surrounding country have taken their barter 
 and cash for family supplies, for a long period of 
 time, still stands, 
 
 Thomas Storm, was for a long time here engaged 
 in trade, and was the leading business man of the 
 vicinity. It is beUeved he was a member of the 
 " Committee of Safety" in 1777, and was elected 
 to the Assembly in i78i-'82-'83 and '84 acting in 
 five sessions. He was an intelligent and active 
 man and belonged to the family bearing the name 
 that settled at the present village of Stormville. 
 
 The Storm family settled at Stormville in 1739. 
 Derick Storm was the first purchaser, and Isaac, 
 George and Thomas soon followed, whose descend- 
 ants are still to be found upon the lands thus early 
 purchased. The Carmans and Arkles settled near 
 
 them about the year 1758, and to the north, Isaac 
 Adriance, "of Nasaw Island, Queens county," 
 purchased two hundred and fifty acres of land in 
 May 1743, and a few months after, George and 
 Abraham Adriance purchased and settled. Mr. 
 John J. Carman of Stormville has several relics of 
 " ye olden time " that are of peculiar interest. He 
 has a marriage license bearing date 1774, given to 
 his grandfather by Governor Trypn. 
 
 But a little to the north of Stormville hamlet, 
 an American force was encamped for a short time 
 during the Revolution. Tradition says it was 
 under Gen. Wayne. But here tradition errs. The 
 force was one of the many that were posted back 
 of the river to oppose the suspected inland march 
 of the British to the upper Hudson. 
 
 One of the most prominent families of the early 
 purchasers of lands in this town was the Van- 
 Wycks who settled at Fishkill Hook. Theodorus 
 Van Wyck was the pioneer and a representative 
 man. He was a true patriot and being greatly 
 molested by Tory neighbors, in 1775 he removed 
 to New York and was elected a delegate to the 
 second Provincial Congress. The patriots becom- 
 ing more bold, outspoken and active throughout 
 the County, he returned to his farm in the early 
 part of 1776 and was again elected to the Congress 
 in that year from Duchess County. During the 
 war he was an active patriot and was elected to 
 the State Convention in 1801. His family have 
 from time to time held many offices of trust 
 and became connected with the leading families of 
 the County. 
 
 Near Johnsville, William Van Wyck settled some 
 time previous to the commencement of the Revo- 
 lutionary hostilities, but we are informed, was dis- 
 tantly related to the family of the " Hook." Will- 
 iam had two sons and three daughters, viz : "Dorus" 
 W., and William. Mrs. Henry Welsh, of Albany ; 
 Mrs. Abraham Van Wyck, and Mrs. Wm. Johnson. 
 " Dorus " followed the father in the possession of 
 the farm, and William was a merchant of New 
 York city from whence he removed to Virginia. 
 The father, and son " Dorus," were in service 
 through the war, and the latter was appointed to 
 the electoral college in 1816. He died without 
 heirs and the farm reverted to his sister, Mrs. 
 William Johnson, the mother of the present owner. 
 Like all the old settlers of the County, Van Wyck 
 owned slaves, and among those born on the place, 
 was Martin Colden, still living at the age of eighty- 
 seven. His mother was reared by the family and 
 died when he was very young. 
 
TOWN OF EAST FISHKILL. 
 
 539 
 
 Martin was always owned by Theodorus W., but 
 often was sent to New York to labor for William, 
 and " enjoyed himself as much as the rest of the 
 boys," having as much to eat and to wear, as they, 
 " only the latter was not quite as fine." He is 
 truly a rare example of longevity as we find him as 
 active and robust as most men of a score of years 
 his junior. 
 
 In Bailey's Historical Sketches, published in 
 1874, are the following facts relating to this part of 
 the town : — 
 
 " Mr. Bailey," says his publisher, " was born at 
 Johnsville on the 27th of December, 1813. He 
 has resided in the County nearly all his life, and is 
 well known to thousands of people. He did not 
 commence his literary labors until in his forty- 
 second year, but since that time has been a valued 
 contributor to the local press, and that which he 
 has written may be relied upon." 
 
 " The first settler of the village of Johnsville, the 
 ancient name of which was Wiccopee, was Johan- 
 nes Swartwout." " He having no money, leased 
 the farm of Madam Brett for three fat fowls a year. 
 The farm being covered with a dense forest, he 
 soon cleared a small spot and erected a log house 
 near an excellent spring of water, and in the year 
 1750 he set out an apple orchard. Many cf the 
 trees still exist, one taken down some twelve years 
 ago was twelve feet around its base and fifty feet 
 high." "After Madam Brett's death this farm by 
 heirship came into possession of Rombout Brett, a 
 grandson of hers, who located on it in the year 
 1770. He sold off six acres to a blacksmith 
 whose name was William Cushman, in 1783. He 
 was the first mechanic in Johnsville." 
 
 We do not intend to controvert Mr. Bailey's 
 information, but the settlement of Swartwout must 
 have been previous to 1740, and the list of inhabi- 
 tants of Duchess County in that year fails to men- 
 tion Johannes Swartwout, but in his stead Jacobus, 
 Rudolphus, Barnardus and Abraham. The family, 
 as nearly all of the Hollanders found in this sec- 
 tion, first settled upon Long Island, and afterwards 
 removed to Orange county, from whence they 
 came to this place. They were a very conspicuous 
 family in the early days of this County in an official 
 point of view. Jacobus was a captain in the 
 French war, and Member of Assembly from 1777 
 to '83, and a member of the council of appoint- 
 ment in 1784 and '86, State Senator from 1784 to 
 1795. "The next settler," Mr. Bailey continues, 
 "was Joseph Wood. His house was located on the 
 precise spot where Mrs. Wood now lives. Like 
 most of the dwellings of the first settlers, it was 
 built only one story, with a long stoop in front. 
 The roof of the house extended over sufficiently 
 to form the roof of the stoop. The windows were 
 
 very small, as glass was very expensive, which made 
 the rooms dark. There was no wall over head and 
 the large timbers were uncovered, and the fire 
 places were large enough to take in wood cord 
 length. The upper part was finished barn fashion, 
 with the shutters made in the gable end to open so 
 as to admit the light. The house was covered with 
 cypress and white wood, and never was painted." 
 
 " The floor was laid with white oak. Wood be- 
 ing located near the mountain he was very much 
 annoyed by beasts of prey, and he drove his sheep 
 and cattle in enclosures nights, and often they 
 would attempt to break through." * * » « 
 
 " This house was taken down in 1830, and the 
 present dwelling was erected by Cornelius Ostran- 
 der, who then owned the farm." 
 
 During the war this locality was infested by 
 bands of plunderers, employed by the British to 
 obtain supplies, and known as " Cow boys." They 
 usually carried on their depredations a short dis- 
 tance back from the river, and paid but little atten- 
 tion to the political sentiment of those who owned 
 such property as they wanted or could sell, provid- 
 ing they could get it. The farmers throughout the 
 country whom the cow boys visited, feared them 
 more than any other adversary, and thought as little 
 of shooting them down as they, did a wild animal 
 or an Indian. In the year 1777, a party of the 
 robbers came in this neighborhood and drove off 
 several cattle and sheep, which aroused the farmers 
 to a defense. One of the party strayed away from 
 his companions and was caught by the infuriated 
 yeomen and immediately hung without judge or 
 jury. In the performance of that execution several 
 tories were present and assisted, as they also had 
 been victims of their lawlessness. Such acts upon 
 their part, however, were exceptions, as some of 
 their clan joined the cow boys and instigated some 
 of the most brutal crimes upon record. 
 
 Another early settlement was made near the 
 present hamlet of Gayhead or East Fishkill post- 
 office. Abram Van Vlack, now beyond four 
 score years, in the vigor of mind and limb, lives 
 upon the farm his grandfather — Aaron — settled, 
 over one hundred and thirty years ago. He also 
 came from Long Island and purchased several hun- 
 dred acres of Madam Brett. He brought with 
 him from Holland a Dutch musket which Mrs. 
 Van Vlack has carefully preserved as an heir-loom. 
 It was originally of such length that the gunner, 
 although tall, was compelled to place the butt at 
 some distance off to load. It was made of such 
 length with the idea the longer the gun the farther it 
 
54° 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 would shoot. Mrs. Phoebe Van Vlack, a relative 
 of Abram Van Vlack, now Kving at the age of 
 seventy-eight, was the daughter of John Miller, of 
 Pine's bridge, a Revolutionary patriot, who was 
 witness to the conflict between the Cow boys and a 
 patriot force at Pine's bridge. 
 
 Tunis Van Vlack, a son of Aaron, built the first 
 mill at Gayhead about the year 1770, and was the 
 first settler of the place. It was a small mill with- 
 out a bolt, but as the country became more thickly 
 settled a larger one with all the then, " modern 
 improvements," was built in its stead. We will 
 here state that all of the mills built previous to the 
 year 1760 were without a "bolting cloth" as they 
 were called. The corn and wheat was ground, and 
 the ingenuity of the housewife was taxed to sepa- 
 rate the flour from the bran, which was done in a 
 new country by either a fine splint sieve or a very 
 coarse cloth, through which the flour was pressed 
 by the hand. 
 
 Near the mill the Luyster family settled at an 
 early day, of whom Peter Luyster is the eldest rep- 
 resentative, now beyond four score years — and one 
 of the unusual large number of aged people found 
 in the southern part of the County. 
 
 But few farming communities present a more pros- 
 perous appearance than around Gayhead, and none 
 show more care and taste in the preservation of 
 antique buildings, and other relics of the historic 
 past, than the people of this town in general- 
 Long years ago speculation was rife in the mining 
 of iron ore found in the hills in the eastern part of 
 the town, but after wasting much time and money, 
 the project was abandoned. A few years after, 
 another effort was made to work them with profit, 
 but it was found the cost of transportation was too 
 great to realize a paying profit, as it had to be done 
 by teams to Fishkill and Poughkeepsie. A fur- 
 nace was built a little to the east of Gayhead to 
 manufacture pig iron from the ore, but for some 
 reason or other much that was melted was brought 
 from Beekman, instead of confining the works to 
 the ore of Shenandoah. The furnace did a fair 
 business, as it manufactured about four hundred 
 tons of iron per annum on an average and gave 
 employment to forty and fifty men. Yet the profit 
 was not found as anticipated and the mines were 
 closed. A company has of late been formed and 
 are at present mining the ore, and drawing the 
 same to the Hopewell station for shipment. Those 
 interested in the ore bed are anticipating a rail- 
 road track to be laid the coming season, from the 
 " Clove Branch " through Stormville to the moun- 
 
 tain, which may better assure the mining enterprise 
 a paying dividend. 
 
 Fishkill Plains was early settled by the Monfort 
 family, who came from Long Island. The name 
 appears in many old documents relating to the 
 town from 1738 to 1760, and is differently spelled, 
 as " Monfoort," "Monfort," "Munfort," "Mufford" 
 and " Muffort." After the latter date it appears 
 Monfort and Monfoort, and very frequently con- 
 nected with the Reformed churches of Hackensack 
 and Hopewell, of which they were prominent and 
 faithful members. The family has been closely 
 identified with the interest of the town and churches, 
 and the hamlet now known as Fishkill Plains 
 should have borne the name of the family, it being 
 the first of the neighborhood, thereby connecting 
 the present with the past in historic associations. 
 The growth of the village has been slow, and the 
 busy hamlets springing up on the line of the 
 railroad will have a tendency to paralyze all 
 business in such places, a few miles back, and draw 
 from them everything that gives to them their hfe 
 and energy. 
 
 Through the election of careful and methodical 
 officials, the records of East Fishkill have been 
 kept in better shape than in most towns. When- 
 ever one person holds the office of clerk for a term 
 of years, we invariably find the records more per- 
 fect, than when the incumbent is annually changed. 
 The present clerk of this town, Mr. John J. Car- 
 man, was elected as will be seen in i8si-'53,-'54-'55, 
 and again in 1866, and has held the office each year 
 since, making twenty years in all. The perfect- 
 ness of records and preservation of loose papers is 
 ample evidence of the wisdom of electing good 
 careful officers and keeping them in service. 
 
 This territory was set off from Rombout Pre- 
 cinct in 1788 as Fishkill, and^on the 29th of Nov., 
 1849, it was taken from Fishkill to form a separate 
 town, by act passed by the Board of Supervisors, 
 under a previous act of the Legislature. The sur- 
 vey of the town was made by Elnathan Hasten of 
 Beekman, and John Ferris, of Pawling. Benj. H. 
 Strang, Jas. A. Emans, Garret Deboise and Has- 
 brook Deboise were chain and flag-bearers. J. 
 Wesley Stark, of Pawling, Wilson B. Sheldon, of 
 Beekman, and Alexander ' Hasbrook, of Fishkill, 
 were Supervisors of the three respective towns as a 
 committee to superintend the survey, which was as 
 follows, copied verbatim : — 
 
 "Commencing on the base line of Putnam county 
 at a hemlock tree south-east of the house of James 
 Besley on the farm now owned by Charles Baster 
 
RESIDENCE OF MRS. ELIZAI 
 
:THP- BARTOW, EAST FISHKILL. N. Y. 
 
TOWN OF EAST FISHKILL. 
 
 S4X 
 
 and runs west 152 chains crossing the farm of said 
 Baster, Seth Hoyt and Mathias Ladue to a stone 
 set in a swamp now owned by said Ladue, then 
 north Seventeen and three-quarters (lyf) degrees 
 east, crossing the lands of Mathias Ladue, Samuel 
 Ladue, Abraham Waldron, Thomas Gary, west 
 side of Snake Hill, William Ladue, Isaac Gary, 
 Charles L. Duboise, Henry D. B. Bailey, Adriance 
 Bogardus, Stephen B. Waldron, Jeremiah GonkUn, 
 two hundred and sixty (260) chains to the east 
 door of the Methodist Ghurch on the South Fish- 
 kill Road, then on the same course Thirty-seven 
 chains 30 links (37,30) to the north bank of 
 the Fishkill creek, near a small Hickory tree, 
 marked. Thence up the said creek to the Sprout 
 creek thirty chains and eighteen links (30,18) on 
 the farm of Alfred Van Wyck, then north along 
 the west bank of said creek as it now runs ninety- 
 six chains (96) to Swartout's bridge. Thirty-six 
 chains and thirty-six hnks (36,36) to Sleeght's 
 bridge. Forty-seven chains and ninety-two links 
 (47,92) to John Schoutin's bridge. Fifty-eight 
 chains and thirty-nine links (58,39) to J. Scofield's 
 bridge. Ninety-nine chains and sixty-seven links, 
 (99,67,) to P. P. Monfort's bridge. Sixty-two chains 
 and seventeen links to R. C. Van Wyck's bridge. 
 One Hundred and nine chains to Chas. Robinson's 
 bridge, One Hundred and twenty-six chains and 
 twenty-eight links, (126,28) to a stake near a large 
 elm on the farm of Bagly, late WiUiam Morforts, 
 Thence south Seventy degrees and twenty-two 
 (70° 22') East two hundred and three chains and 
 sixty-six- links, (203,66) to the corner of the town 
 of Beekman;Thence South twenty-four degrees East, 
 Forty-Eight chains (48) to the Giles road. Ninety- 
 three chains & Sixty-four links, (93,64) to the 
 Poughkeepsie road near the Wiltsey farm. One 
 Hundred and sixty-nine chains and sixty-links, 
 (169,60,) to the North Fishkill road. One Hundred 
 and ninety-three chains, (193,) to the Haxtun 
 road, Two Hundred and thirty-two chains, (232,) 
 to the Fishkill creek. Two Hundred and eighty-six 
 chains and iifty Unks, (286,50,) to the South Fish- 
 kill road. Four Hundred chains (400,) to the Martin 
 road. Four Hundred and eighty (480,) chains to the 
 top of the mountain, five hundred and fifty-two 
 chains and fifty Unks, (552,50,) to the Griffin road. 
 Six hundred and ninety-six chains and ninety-four 
 (696,94,) links, to Putnam county line on the road 
 leading to Joshua White's near a chestnut tree on 
 the north side of a hill, six rods north-east of Rus- 
 sell Burtch house. Then due West on the Putnam 
 county line six hundred and seventeen (6 1 7,) chains 
 to the Hemlock tree, to the place of Beginning 
 containing 35,650 acres of land." 
 
 The act appointed John V. Storm, James B. 
 Montros and Isaac R. Adriance as commissioners, 
 to hold the first town meeting, at the house of 
 Jacob Tompkins, in Stormville, on the last Tues- 
 day of March, 1850, which was accordingly held 
 and the following elected as officers : Supervisor, 
 Benjamin Hopkins ; Clerk, William Hasbrook ; 
 
 Justices, Morgan Emigh, John S. Emans, Rushmore 
 G. Hortoh and William Homan ; Collector, Orry 
 N. Sprague ; Commissioners of highways, John An- 
 derson, Charles Ogden and George VanNostram ; 
 Assessor, Lewis Seaman; Sealer, Jacob Wiltsie- 
 Overseers of poor, Abraham PuUings, Abraham' 
 Adriance; Constables, Daniel Weeks, Jacob Wilt- 
 sie, John Van Vlack: Inspectors of election, David 
 Knapp, Orson H. Tappan, John K. Vermilyea, 
 Peter Adriance, William B. Ashley and Abraham 
 S. Storm. 
 
 The following gentlemen have been elected as 
 supervisors and clerks : — 
 
 Supervisors. Clerks. 
 
 1850. Benj. Hopkins, Wm. Hasbrook. 
 
 1 85 1. do do John J. Carman. 
 
 1852. John V. Storm, Wm. Hasbrook. 
 
 1853. do do John J. Carman. 
 i854-'ss. Nicholas H. Stripple, do do 
 
 1856. Benj. Seaman, Abraham Bowne. 
 
 1857. Edmund Luyster, Orry N. Sprague. 
 
 1858. John V. Storm, do do 
 
 1859. Benj. Hopkins, do do 
 i860. do do John Gildersleeve. 
 
 1861. Lawrence C. Rapalje, do do 
 
 1862. do do Weston Lasher. 
 
 1863. John S. Emans, do do 
 
 1864. do do William R. Kelley. 
 
 1865. Benj. Hopkins, do do 
 1866-67. do do John J. Carman. 
 i868-'69. Nicholas H. Stripple, do do 
 1870. John S. Emans, do do 
 1871-73. Charles W. Horton, do do 
 1874-75. Peter A. Baldwin, do do 
 1876-77. John S. Emans, do do 
 
 1878. Charles W. Horton, do do 
 
 1879. Peter A. Baldwin, do do 
 
 1880. Charles W. Horton, do do 
 
 1881. Storm Emans, do do 
 
 The Hopewell Reformed Church, as before 
 stated, is the oldest organization in the town, 
 dating back to the year 1757. Their meetings 
 were held in barns and private houses until the 
 year 1764, when the edifice was erected of which a 
 description has already been given. The first 
 preacher was Benj. Meinema who supplied the 
 pulpits of Poughkeepsie and Fishkill from 1745 to 
 1758 and preached at Hackensack and Hopewell 
 occasionally as a missionary. He was succeeded 
 by Jacobus VanNiest, or VanNest, in the latter 
 year and remained until his death which occurred 
 in 1 76 1. The year following, the church was built 
 and in 1765 Isaac Rysdyck began his labors which 
 continued till the year 1790. 
 
 During the Revolution regular exercises were a 
 greater part of the time deferred. From 1800 to 
 the present time the church has enjoyed a steady 
 
542 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 prosperity and for long years it was, in connection 
 with that of Hackensack, the church of the County. 
 
 The next oldest organization of the town is the 
 "First Fishkill Baptist Church," of Fishkill Plains, 
 which bears the date of 1782. This being its cen- 
 tennial year a brief history from its records should 
 be given of it, but they were not found by us, except 
 in parts, from which we could gather but little. It 
 appears to have been an offshoot of the Pleasant 
 Valley church, its officers and pastors officiating 
 for several years. About the year 1800 it was a 
 live and earnest working church and remained so 
 for many years, but like all of the old religious 
 organizations, it has seen many discouraging 
 seasons. One reason, perhaps, more than all 
 others for the slowness of growth in this church 
 was that nearly all of the eariiest settled families of 
 this section were strict adherents to the Reformed 
 faith and were connected with the Hopewell or 
 Hackensack churches, and but few new settlers 
 located after the year 1780 for a long term of years. 
 We cannot learn that the society ever supported a 
 pastor alone but in connection with that of Pleas- 
 ant Valley or Beekman. Services are now held 
 once each fortnight by the Rev. Lewis Selleck, of 
 Beekman. The church edifice is a small building 
 without a belfry and was erected about eighty years 
 ago. 
 
 Following the Fishkill Baptist organization after 
 the period of forty-four years ihtjohnsville Metho- 
 dist Church was organized at Johnsville through the 
 labors of James Taylor, William, Samuel, Jacob 
 and Oliver Ladue and CorneUns Ostrander. Long 
 years before, however, the Methodists were not the 
 least in activity in promulgating the Gospel regard- 
 less of the "hold" other denominations had upon 
 the people. Here in Duchess County, as in other 
 sections, when they first appeared they were looked 
 upon as a crazed, excitable people, and were 
 Ustened to as much through curiosity as for spiritual 
 instruction, but through the incessant labors of 
 their " circuit riders " and local preachers, a foot- 
 hold was obtained and the changes that have been 
 made in a moral and spiritual point of view since, 
 are as much due to this denomination as any other 
 especially in temperance, as they were the first to 
 cry aloud against the universal use of intoxicating 
 liquors, by clergy and layman, in the latter part of 
 the last, and fore part of the present century. 
 
 The Johnsville church was organized in 1826 and 
 the following have officiated as pastors as given to us 
 by Rev. Thomas Carter, viz: — Revs. Hunt, Alonzo 
 F. Selleck, Wm. F. Collins, Chalker, L. M. 
 
 Vincent, 
 
 Lull, 
 
 H. Romer, Isaac H. Lent, 
 
 M. Genung, Turner, - 
 
 Bishop, ■— Hearn, 
 
 Stebbins, James 
 
 — Hawkhurst, B. 
 
 Mathews, 
 
 Ashton, 
 
 Daniells, Thomas Lent and the present 
 
 Thomas Carter, D.D., who, in connection with his 
 pastoral duties edits and publishes The Wayside 
 Monthly, a magazine replete with religious and 
 miscellaneous readings, highly commendable in 
 tone of sentiment and purity of expression. 
 
 The history of the Bethel Baptist church we 
 take from the minutes of the " Dutchess Baptist 
 Association" of 1874, as written by the pastor. 
 Rev. Samuel Sprague : — 
 
 The Bethel Baptist Church, of Shenandoah, is 
 one of the most southern, or southwestern. Churches 
 of the Dutchess Baptist Association. It is situated 
 on the direct road leading from Matteawan to Car- 
 mel, and about midway between those places. Its 
 opportunities for growth are few, being surrounded 
 in part, by Churches of other denominations. 
 
 In 1834, a number of brethren and sisters, be- 
 longing to the Kent and FishkiU Churches, of the 
 Union Association, finding it inconvenient to attend 
 the former Churches at a distance of five or six 
 miles, and over a very hilly road, resolved, together 
 with some of their neighbors and piously disposed 
 people of Fishkill-Hook, to erect a meeting house. 
 This was done in the summer of 1834, Deacon 
 Abram Pulling and Isaac Knapp contributing 
 largely, and aiding much in the undertaking. On 
 May 4th, 1835, fifteen brethren and sisters consti- 
 tuted themselves a church, and were recognized by 
 a council called for that purpose. 
 
 The meeting house being built before the Church 
 was constituted, the records of the Church give no 
 account of its erection. Its cost is estimated at 
 $2,500. It was dedicate^ in December, 1835. 
 The Church held its first covenant meeting May 
 23d, 1835. In 1837 the Church was duly incor- 
 porated, and in September it united itself with the 
 Union Association. In 1839 the Church accepted 
 an invitation from the Patterson Church, to unite 
 in forming and holding a yearly meeting in the As- 
 sociation, 
 
 In 1862 the meeting house was repaired and 
 painted. 
 
 In 1870 about a thousand dollars was spent in 
 repairs upon the house of worship, and it was re- 
 dedicated in June, 187 1. 
 
 In the forty years of its history, the Church has 
 received two hundred and sixteen members. 
 
 It has chosen six Deacons: L Charlack, 1835; 
 
TOWN OF EAST FISHKILL. 
 
 543 
 
 A. Pulling, 1838; Abram Seaman, 1840; O. N. 
 Sprague and Wm. H. Pulling, 1858; E. Jewel, 
 1871. 
 
 It has given a license to preach to four of its 
 members: I. Charlack, 1838; Lewis W. Annie, 
 1842; W. B. Knapp, 1842; James Gregory, i860. 
 
 It has ordained two to the Christian ministry. 
 Elder Horton and Elder Sprague. 
 
 Since its constitution, the Church has had ten 
 Pastors: Elder George Horton, 1835 to 1844; E. 
 
 C. Ambler, 1844 to 1845; J. Warren, 1845 to 
 1848; D. W. Sherwood, 1848 to 1852; J. J. Eb- 
 erly, 1852 to 1853; E. Beardsley, 1855 to i860; 
 
 D. Van Fradenburgh, i860 to 1863; I. C. Smally, 
 1863 to 1864; A. Kelly, 1864 to 1871; Samuel 
 Sprague, 187 1. 
 
 East Fishkill in the War of the Rebellion. 
 
 The records relating to the part the town took in 
 the war, are in better condition and more replete 
 than are usually found. The following are the 
 names of those who enlisted from the town, 
 with dates and promotions as near as can be 
 obtained : — 
 
 Henry Surcebox, enlisted Aug. 15, 1862 for three 
 years ; was promoted to captain of Co. E, in the 
 128th Regt., in Aug. 1863 ; was engaged in the 
 battle of Ponchatula, was in the Red River cam- 
 paign and transferred to Sherman's command in 
 Georgia. 
 
 Wm. East, enlisted in Aug. 1862, for three years 
 as private of 128th Regt., and died in camp in 
 Lousianna June 6, 1863. 
 
 Traver Murphy, private 128th, enHsted Aug. 
 18, 1862 ; was killed in action before Port Hud- 
 son, May 27, 1863. 
 
 Smith W. Darling, private enlisted Aug. i8th, 
 1862, and went with 128th from Baltimore to New 
 Orleans in November, 1862; was in battle of Pon- 
 chatula, and through the Red River campaign and 
 afterwards transferred to Sherman's command. 
 
 Sylvester Brown, private, was in siege of Port 
 Hudson, and was killed June 10, 1863. 
 
 Webster Brundage, private, was in seige of Port 
 Hudson, with Gen. Banks on Red River, and with 
 Sherman through Georgia, was discharged July 
 27, 1865, and died Aug. 6, 1865. 
 
 Wm. Henry Bowne, private, served in battle of 
 Ponchatula, Red River and Shenandoah Valley. 
 
 John J. Woodin, private, seirved at New Orleans, 
 Port Hudson, and with Sherman. 
 
 Charles Stansbury, private, deserted at Hudson, 
 Sept. 4, 1862. 
 
 James H. Brown, private, served throughout 
 with 128th, was discharged June 6, 1865. 
 
 Richard Scofield, private, served with Regt., in 
 New Orleans, Red River and with Sherman, dis- 
 charged June 5, 1865. 
 
 Johannes Wilhelm, private, taken prisoner at the 
 battle of Cedar Creek, October 1864, and died of 
 starvation at Salisbury prison, N. C, Dec. 10, 1864. 
 
 Benj. Smalley, private, served at New Orleans, 
 Red River and with Sherman, and was discharged 
 June 6, 1865. 
 
 Valentine VanOstrand, private, was discharged 
 for disability. 
 
 Levi Niver, private, served three years with the 
 Regiment and was discharged in June, 1865. 
 
 Henry S. Hauver, private, served at Ponchatula, 
 Red River, and with Sherman, and was discharged 
 June 6, 1865. 
 
 Wm. Hauver, private, served as above and was 
 discharged June 6, 1865. 
 
 Stephen Yelverton, private, died of typhoid fever 
 at New Orleans, May i, 1864. 
 
 Wm. Spreadbury, private, deserted at Baton 
 Rouge, October 10, 1863. 
 
 Wm. Krouts, private, deserted at Baltimore, 
 September 6, 1862. 
 
 John Dewitt Lent, private, served with Grant in 
 front of Richmond. 
 
 Chas. Bush, private, served in McClellan's cam- 
 paign and was discharged July 27, 1865. 
 
 Caleb Bush, private, served with McClellan and 
 Grant, was discharged July 26, 1865. 
 
 John Dingy, private, died with fever. 
 
 Abraham Harris, private, served on the Potomac. 
 
 Charles Johnson, private, served in Louisanna, 
 and was discharged November, 1864. 
 
 Charles Lent, private, served on Hart's Island, 
 contracted disease and died at home in 1865. 
 
 Martin Root, private, accidentally shot and died 
 on Hart's Island. 
 
 John S. Brundage, private, died in Hospital at 
 Bahimore, July 27, 1864. 
 
 Levi Vredenburgh, private, wounded at battle of 
 Cedar Mountain, August 8, 1872, and was dis- 
 charged November 29, 1862. 
 
 Cornelius B. Dye, sergeant, taken sick on the 
 Peninsula, returned home and rejoined his Regi- 
 ment. 
 
 John Hunter, private, wounded at battle of Fair 
 Oaks, and was honorably discharged. 
 
 John Mullen, private, discharged from disability. 
 
 Frank Green, private, killed at Fair Oaks, May 
 31, 1863. 
 
544 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 Chas. W. King, private, wounded at battle of 
 Petersburgh, and was discharged March 5, 1865. 
 
 George King, private. 
 
 Walter B. Seaman, private, served with the 19th 
 Corps, and mustered out at Savannah, October 
 18, 1865. 
 
 John Thayer, private, served at Port Hudson, 
 Red River and with Sherman, discharged July 27, 
 1865. 
 
 John McGriffin, private, discharged at Fortress 
 Monroe, February g, 1862, for disability. 
 
 Isaac Daniels, private, was an escaped slave and 
 was discharged August 8, 1865. 
 
 Wm. Williams, captain, killed at battle of Fair 
 Oaks, May 31, 1862. 
 
 Harrison Bucher, private, promoted corporal in 
 March, 1 864, and served with Hancock. 
 
 James Gregory, private, served on the Potomac. 
 
 Noah Wixon, private, killed in action. 
 
 John Griffith, Navy, enlisted Jan. 4, 1865. 
 
 Jacob Montross, corporal, served at Petersburgh, 
 and with Sherman in Tennessee, was left at Atlanta 
 in consequence of sickness. 
 
 Richard T. Van Wyck, corporal, promoted to 
 sergeant and served at Gettysburg and with Sher- 
 man in Georgia. 
 
 George Burroughs, corporal, served at Gettys- 
 burg and with Sherman through his campaign. 
 
 Americus G. Mosier, private, served at Gettys- 
 burg and with Sherman. 
 
 Aaron Lockwood, private, served as above and 
 was last seen at Atlanta. 
 
 Jacob Rouk, private, deserted at Baltimore in 
 March, 1863. 
 
 Lorenzo Horton, private, 6th H. A., Sept. 8, 1864, 
 served with Sherman in the Shenandoah Valley. 
 
 Privates. — A. J. Runells, John S. Stoker, Geo. 
 W. DeFriege, John Morehead, Henry Dily, 
 Theodore Anthony, Geo. Anthony, Walter Lait, 
 Martin Kigan, John Kelley, John Peterson, John 
 Ryan and Patrick Mack. 
 
 The war account of this town from April 15, 
 1 86 1 to December 31, 1866, including town boun- 
 ties, recruiting fees and expenses, principal and 
 interest of town loans and other necessary expen- 
 ses was $98,799. 
 
 CHAPTER XLVI. 
 History of the Town of Bekkman. 
 
 THE town of Beekman Kes in the southeast 
 part of the County, one corner extending to 
 the south border. It is bounded on the, north by 
 
 Union Vale ; on the east by Pawling and Dover ; 
 and on the south and west by East Fishkill. 
 
 The town derived its name from Colonel Henry 
 Beekman, of Kingston, Ulster county, who, in 
 1697, obtained a grant of all the land east of Rom- 
 bout's Patent to the Connecticut line, embracing 
 the present towns of Beekman, Union Vale, the 
 northeast half of LaGrange, and all of the towns of 
 Pawling and Dover, except a strip one and three- 
 eighths of a mile wide along the east side of the 
 two latter towns forming a portion of the Oblong, 
 obtained from the State of Connecticut in exchange 
 for a tract of land on and adjacent to Long Island 
 Sound. Beekman being obliged to pay for this 
 grant an annual rental of forty shiUings to the 
 Crown of England, surrendered the patent and 
 obtained a new grant for the same property in 
 1703.* 
 
 Beekman's Precinct was formed December 16, 
 1737. May 20, 1769, an act was passed divid- 
 ing Beekman's Precinct into two precincts, the one 
 to be called Beekman's and the other Pawling's 
 Precinct. The latter included "the towns of Paw- 
 ling and Dover. Nineteen years thereafter, or on 
 March 7, 1788, Beekman was formed as a town. 
 A portion of LaGrange, then known as " Freedom,'' 
 was set off in 1821, and March i, 1827, the 
 greater part of Union Vale was taken from the ter- 
 ritory and, with a portion taken from LaGrange, 
 was erected into a separate township. 
 
 The surface of the town is somewhat hilly and 
 broken. The highest summit is Pleasant Hill, in 
 the northern part. On nearly all of the hills is an 
 outcrop of slate and limestone. The streams are 
 nothing but small creeks, tributaries of the Fishkill 
 which runs through the central part of the town 
 from northeast to southwest. The soil in their 
 vicinity is fertile, forming one of the richest agri- 
 cultural sections in the County! Sylvan Lake, in 
 the western part of the town, is a beautiful body of 
 water of some hundred and twenty acres. It has 
 a depth of one hundred and thirty feet, being, in 
 fact, one vast spring. It is owned by Dr. C. A. 
 Nicholson, and is underlaid by one of the best and 
 most extensive deposits of shell marl known in the 
 State, and is besides well stocked with fish. 
 
 The town also contains quite extensive deposits 
 of iron ore, and several deposits of marble. The 
 marble is mostly of a very good quality, but none 
 of the deposits have ever been worked. 
 
 The Clove Branch Railroad and its extension 
 runs through the center of the town from Clove 
 
 *The Patent was granted June 25, 1703. 
 
TOWN OF BEEKMAN. 
 
 S4S 
 
 Branch Junction, on the Newburgh, Duchess & 
 Connecticut Railroad, to Sylvan Lake, thence to 
 Beekman and Clove Valley. The New York & 
 New England Railroad running from Boston to 
 the Hudson River at Fishkill, has just been fin- 
 ished through the southern part of the town, run- 
 ning east and west near the villages of Poughquag 
 and Green Haven where there are stations. 
 
 It is not definitely known when or by whom set- 
 tlements were first made within the present Umits 
 of the town, as all records relating thereto have 
 been lost or destroyed. It is supposed that settle- 
 ments were begun about the year 1710. A man 
 by the name of DeLong settled here in 17 16, and 
 kept at an early day an inn, whose location is now 
 unknown. James DeLong is found as supervisor 
 of the town in- 1802, probably a descendant of the 
 settler of that name. It is probable that from this 
 family also descended the Japanese diplomatist, ex- 
 minister DeLong, who was a native of Beekman. 
 Among others who were early residents of the town, 
 and who held town offices at an early date, were Mau- 
 rice Pleas, Jesse Oakley, Jonathan Dennis, Gideon 
 Hall, and Ebenezer Cary. Maurice Pleas was for 
 many years town clerk of the precinct and of the 
 town after its formation in 1788. Jonathan Den- 
 nis was the first siipervisor at the erection of Beek- 
 man as a town. Other early settlers were the 
 Cornwalls from Long Island, the Uhls, from Ger- 
 many, the Haxtuns. Sweets, Gardners, Bakers and 
 Brills. 
 
 The records in the town clerk's office give the 
 proceedings of precinct meetings from April 7, 
 1772, to the formation of the town. At that date 
 the following officers were elected : — 
 
 Joshua Carman, Supervisor j Maurice Pleas, 
 Town Clerk ; Samuel Dorland, James Vander- 
 burgh, Assessors ; Simeon Noxon, Constable and 
 Collector; Thomas Clements, Maurice Pleas, In- 
 spectors of intestate estates. 
 
 From that date to 1788 the precinct supervisors 
 and clerks were as follows : — 
 
 Supervisors. Clerks. 
 
 '773-'74- Joshua Carman, Sen., Maurice Pleas. 
 1775-79. James Vanderburgh, do do 
 
 1780-83. Jonathan Dennis, do do 
 
 i784-'86. Ebenezer Cary, do do 
 
 1787. Jonathan Dennis, Jesse Oakley. 
 
 In the following year Beekman was formed as a 
 town. The Supervisors and Clerks from that time 
 to 1882 have been as follows : — 
 
 Supervisors. Clerks. 
 
 1788. Jonathan Dennis, Jesse Oakley. 
 i789-'9r. do do Maurice Pleas. 
 1792-96. Jesse Oakley, do do 
 
 797- 
 798- 
 802- 
 804. 
 805- 
 808- 
 811- 
 814. 
 
 815. 
 816. 
 817- 
 820. 
 821- 
 823. 
 824. 
 825- 
 827- 
 829- 
 832- 
 834. 
 83s- 
 840. 
 841- 
 
 843- 
 844. 
 
 845- 
 846. 
 
 847. 
 
 848- 
 
 850. 
 
 851. 
 
 852. 
 
 853. 
 
 854. 
 
 855- 
 
 856 
 
 858 
 
 860. 
 
 861. 
 
 862- 
 
 866- 
 
 868. 
 
 869. 
 
 870- 
 
 873 
 
 875- 
 
 876 
 
 878, 
 
 879 
 88r, 
 
 '07. 
 '10. 
 '13- 
 
 19. 
 
 Ebenezer Cary, 
 1801. do do 
 '03. do do 
 do do 
 Samuel A. Barker, 
 do do 
 do do 
 Thomas Flagler, 
 Samuel A. Barker, 
 Egbert Cary, 
 do do 
 John Wilkinson, 
 •'22. Egbert Cary, 
 Thomas Lee, 
 do do 
 ■'26. Egbert Cary, 
 ■'28. John Cooper, 
 '31. Egbert Cary, 
 '33. James De Long, 
 
 Egbert Cary, 
 '39. Elnathan Haxtun, 
 Egbert Cary, 
 James H. Denton, 
 Egbert Cary, 
 Gilbert B. Noxon, 
 Joseph C. Doughty, 
 Gilbert B. Noxon, 
 Joseph C. Doughty. 
 Wilson B. Sheldon, 
 Wm. A. Holmes, 
 
 do do 
 
 James F. Dakin, 
 
 do do 
 
 Elnathan Haxtun, 
 
 do do 
 
 Wilson B. Sheldon 
 ■'59. Smith Cronk, 
 De Witt C. Cary, 
 
 Maurice Pleas. 
 Gideon Hall. 
 James DeLong. 
 Gideon Hall, 
 do do 
 John G. Hall. 
 Adam Crouse. 
 John Cooper. 
 Joseph Potter. 
 
 do 
 
 Gilbert B. 
 do 
 do 
 do 
 
 do 
 Noxon. 
 do 
 do 
 do 
 
 James Peters, 
 
 do 
 Elnathan 
 do 
 do 
 do 
 
 do 
 Haxtun. 
 do 
 do 
 do 
 
 '42. 
 
 '49- 
 
 '-'57 
 
 '65- 
 .'67. 
 
 ■72. 
 
 Rob'tM.VanKleeck. 
 Thomas J. Doughty. 
 
 do do 
 
 Joseph T. Lee. 
 Chas. J. Benjamin. 
 
 do do 
 
 do do 
 
 ■ do do 
 
 do do 
 
 do do 
 
 T. J. Doughty, 2nd. 
 
 do do 
 
 Lewis H. Sherman. 
 
 do do 
 
 Smith Cronk. 
 
 do do 
 Dewitt C. Noxon. 
 
 do do 
 
 John Ellison, Jr. 
 
 do do 
 
 , Jeremiah Sheldon, Joseph Dodge, 
 Wm. W. Haxtun, do do 
 
 George Tabor, John S. Van Wyck. 
 Wm. E. Haxtun, Wm. H. Wright. 
 , Geo. T. Doughty, Chas. A! MuUer. 
 -74. James E. Dutcher, Wm. H. Wright. 
 
 David Ludington, Jacob T. Benjamin 
 -'77. John H. Draper, 
 
 E. L. Williams, 
 -'80. Joseph H. Storm, 
 Isaac Vail, 
 
 Chas. A. Miiller. 
 Jacob T. Benjamin. 
 
 do do 
 
 Charles A. Miiller. 
 
 Beekman contains no villages of great import- 
 ance. Green Haven, Beekman Furnace, Pough- 
 quag and Beekmanville are hamlets with but a 
 small population. 
 
 Green Haven, near the south-western border, 
 contains a store, postoffice, grist mill, and some 
 twenty or thirty dwelUngs. The postmaster and 
 merchant is George Lawrence. The grist mill is 
 run by Christopher Brown. 
 
 Beekman Furnace, also called Clove Valley Post- 
 office, near the north line of the town, contains the 
 
546 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 Clove Sp-ing Iron Works, organized in 1873, 
 which consists of one anthracite furnace and one 
 charcoal furnace, the latter being the old " Beek- 
 man Furnace," built by Elisha Sterling & Co., in 
 1 83 1. There is a population here of about two 
 hundred, chiefly in the employ of the company. 
 
 The charcoal furnace has a capacity of about 
 ten to twelve tons per day, and the iron made here 
 is of a very superior quality, the uses to which it is 
 devoted requiring the best iron made in the United 
 States. The anthracite furnace turns out some 
 twenty-five tons per day. 
 
 Poughquag is a pretty Uttle hamlet* in the 
 eastern part of the town, containing two stores, 
 postoffice, a church and a population of some one 
 hundred and fifty. 
 
 The postmaster here is C. F. Rassell, who was 
 appointed in April, 1881. The merchants are 
 John H. Draper, a native of Union Vale, born in 
 1849, who has been in business here nine years; 
 Charles H. Slocum, general merchant, who began 
 business in March, 1881, succeeding Hamilton 
 Colwell; Charles F. Rassell, stoves and general 
 hardware, in business since April, t88i, succeeding 
 F. S. Merwin.f Mr. Rassell was born in Greene 
 county, N. Y., in 1847. 
 
 The Methodist Society was formed here some 
 time previous to 1839. The organization is now 
 known as the "Centenary Methodist Episcopal 
 Church." The edifice of this society stands a little 
 north of the hamlet within the enclosure of a 
 beautiful cemetery. It was erected in 1839. The 
 corner stone was laid on the 24th of July of that 
 year, and the building was dedicated on the isth 
 of January, 1840. 
 
 The society is prosperous, and, like many another 
 of that denomination throughout the County, has 
 never preserved, if it has ever kept, any extended 
 records of its origin and achievements. 
 
 A short distance northeast of this hamlet lived 
 during the Revolution, Col. Vanderburgh, an offi- 
 cer of some prominence in that struggle. He left 
 the comforts of his home to battle for a cause 
 shrouded in darkness, in which there seemed to be 
 more chances for an ignominious death on the 
 scaffold than for the acquisition of fame and for- 
 tune. It is said that Col. Vanderburgh did not 
 falter in his choice, though he had everything to 
 woo him to ease and repose at home. He enjoyed 
 the friendship and confidence of Washington, who, 
 in his diary mentions stopping with him at Pough- 
 
 * The name of this hamlet was derived from '' A-po-qua-gue" — round 
 lake— the Indian name for Sylvan Lake, in the western part of the town. 
 t Now a hardware merchant in Pawling village. 
 
 quag to take dinner, when on a hasty visit to 
 Hartford. 
 
 While the army lay at Fishkill, Col. Vanderburgh 
 was taken ill, and was obliged to return vto his home 
 for nursing and medical treatment. While in this 
 disabled condition Vaughn and his gang concluded 
 it would be an appropriate time to rob and murder 
 him. The house was strongly guarded and forti- 
 fied, and Mrs. Vanderburgh, who had an idea of 
 their intentions, and fearing they might reach her 
 husband through the walls of the house, built a 
 barricade of beds and bedding about her husband's 
 resting place to check the force of the ballets. The 
 robbers came and fired into the house, but without 
 injury to the inmates, and finding the stronghold 
 too impregnable decamped for easier booty. The 
 descendants of Col. Vanderburgh rank among the 
 most prominent citizens of the County. 
 
 Beekmanville has a population of a trifle over a 
 hundred.* The postmaster here is Charles A. 
 Mtiller, who was appointed in 1 868.1 The mer- 
 chants are Charles A. Miiller, who has been in busi- 
 ness here sixteen years, succeeding John S. Van 
 Wyck. He was born in Saxony May 4, 1831, 
 came to America in December, 1849, and to Beek- 
 man in April, 1866 ; Charles F. Benjamin, anative 
 of Fishkill, born in 1836, harness and horse fur- 
 nishing goods, in business here since 1880. 
 
 The only resident physician of the town is Dr. 
 Clark A. Nicholson, who resides here. Dr. Nich- 
 olson was born in the town of South East, Putnam 
 county, December 29, 1821. He graduated from 
 the medical department of the University of New 
 York City in 1847, and on the second of July of 
 that year became a residenjt of Beekman, where he 
 began the practice of his profession. On Jan. i, 
 1849, he married Caroline M. Bryan t,t of Beekman, 
 daughter of Amos J., and Harriet [Hamlin] Bry- 
 ant, by whom he had one son, 'William A., who is 
 a civil and mining engineer and assayer, and super- 
 intendent and manager of a gold mine. Dr. 
 Nicholson has been a member of the State Medi- 
 cal Society since 1861. In addition to the duties 
 of his profession he has been largely interested in 
 the development and sale of iron mines in this and 
 adjoining towns ; and has also turned his attention 
 to agriculture, having in his possession over four 
 hundred acres of land. 
 
 * One hundred and five according to the last census. The population 
 of the town is one thousand five hundred and seventy-eight. 1870— one 
 thousand eight hundred and forty-six ; 1875 — one thousand^ five hundred 
 and forty-eight. 
 
 t Dr. C. A. Nicholson was postmaster here for a number of years. 
 
 J Caroline Bryant Nicholson, died February 13, 1882. She was born 
 June 10, 1825. 
 
TOWN OF BEEKMAN. 
 
 547 
 
 In this place was born Benson J. Lossing, the 
 historian. The house in which he was born, now 
 old and decaying, is still standing, an object of in- 
 terest to the intelligent tourist. 
 
 The Beekman Iron mine, one of the most valu- 
 able in the County, was discovered by W. E. 
 Haxtun in about 1846. It was opened in 1869, 
 by Albert Tower, the present owner. 
 
 The ore unearthed here is that known as the 
 
 fd^^ - 
 
 (BIRTHPLACE OF BENSON J. LOSSING.) 
 
 hematite.* From twenty-six to thirty hands are 
 employed in this industry, The summer residence 
 of Mr. Tower, a sketch of which appears here, 
 was purchased from W. E. Haxtun in 1867-68. 
 
 The hamlet contains one church, the Baptist, 
 which was organized in 1840. The constituent 
 members of this church, previous to the organiza- 
 tion, held their membership with the First Baptist 
 church in Fishkill. The first movement towards 
 the erection of a house of worship in this place 
 originated with some of the prominent citizens, 
 none of whom professed Christianity. In the 
 winter of 1838-39 the residents of Poughquag 
 built in their village a house of worship, which 
 stimulated in the dwellers in Beekmanville a desire 
 to have also in their midst a church edifice. Hav- 
 ing conferred together, they made their wishes 
 known to a few members of the Baptist denomina- 
 tion in the town, promisinggenerous aid in the work. 
 A plan for the prosecution of the work was at once 
 
 * The town contains several hematite ore mines. This of Mr Tower's, 
 and one owned by the Sylvan Lake Ore and Iron Co., being the most 
 extensively worked. Two other mines, not yet fully developed, — one 
 owned by Dr. C. A. Nicholson and the other by the heirs of Wayman 
 Dfidge,— are believed to be quite extensive and-valuable. 
 
 matured, and the title for the site of a church 
 building was secured and held by a committee of 
 trust for a Baptist church thereafter to be organized. 
 The edifice was completed the following autumn, 
 at a cost of $3,000, all paid. The success of the 
 undertaking was largely due to Nicholas German 
 and Abner Osborn. The church was dedicated 
 December 25, 1839, by Rev. Daniel T. Hill. 
 
 On the 1 2th of February, 1840, ten persons were 
 recognized as a regular church by a council con- 
 vened for that purpose. Those constituent mem- 
 bers were as follows :— 
 
 Abner Osborn, Nicholas German, Joseph Ger- 
 man, Robert Seaman, Pamelia German, Mary 
 Osborn, Hannah German, Cornelia Sherman, 
 Malvina Seaman and Carohne Taylor. 
 
 Rev. Daniel T. Hill served as the pastor over 
 this new church three years. He was succeeded 
 1 by Rev. Lewis W. Annan, licentiate of Shenandoah 
 :hurch, who was ordained pastor June 20, 1843. 
 He remained but one year. To him succeeded 
 Rev. A. M. Brown, licentiate, as stated supply for 
 ten months. In August, 1845, Rev. John Warren, 
 Jr., was called to the pastorate, and remained two 
 years, serving the church acceptably. He was suc- 
 ceeded in May, 1847, by Rev. John Lagrange, who 
 labored with the church a year and eight months 
 with marked success, some fifteen being added to 
 the membership during his administration. The 
 pulpit was then for three months supplied by Rev. 
 Joseph I. Grimley. The following November, Rev. 
 Richard Thompson became the pastor, remaining 
 nearly six years when he was dismissed. 
 
 The next pastor was Rev. Samuel T. Patterson, 
 a licentiate of a Poughkeepsie church. It is said 
 he proved to be an impostor, and after about three 
 months service left this church unexpectedly and 
 unceremoniously. Rev. Alexander Smith next 
 ministered to the church as stated supply for one 
 year. In May, 1858, Rev. John Donnelly, a stu- 
 dent from Hamilton, commenced supplying the 
 pulpit, serving the church acceptably for five 
 months. The next regularly installed pastor was 
 the Rev. Sullivan L. Holman, who was ordained 
 to the pastorate February 9, 1859. He remained 
 six years. 
 
 To him succeeded, after six months interval. 
 Rev. German N. Seaman, who labored with suc- 
 cess until his sudden death January 15, 1868. In 
 May, 1868, Rev. William H. Parsons was engaged 
 as stated supply, remaining five months. The fol- 
 lowing April Rev. P. C. Bentley, of Madison Uni- 
 versity, labored here during his six weeks' vaca- 
 
548 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 tion, and was succeeded in November, 1869, by 
 Rev. Charles F. Hall, Of New York city, who was 
 ordained on the ninth of the following month. He 
 remained with the church two years and nine 
 months, and resigned the pastorate to enter upon 
 a course of theological studies. He was followed 
 by Rev. E. D. Noxon, 1875;* Rev. P. C. Bentley, 
 six months, 1876 ; Rev. Daniel T. Hill, 1877 ; and 
 Rev. Lewis Sellick, i878-'8i. 
 
 This church has licensed to preach the gospel, 
 G. N. Seaman and G. W. Holman, May 22, i860; 
 Theodore F. Woodin, Sept. 23, i860; Edward D. 
 Noxon, September 23, 1872. 
 
 The present membership of the church is seven- 
 ty-three. 
 
 At Sylvan Lake, in the west part of the town, is 
 a Roman Catholic church. The structure was 
 originally a select school house in Beekman, from 
 which place it was brought in sections and rebuilt 
 on the present site in about i860. To accommo- 
 date the increasing attendance, Father Sbeehan, 
 the first pastor, added a new portionin 1872. The 
 land on which the church stands was donated by 
 the late Daniel DeLong, who supplemented the 
 gift with about one and three-fourths of an acre of 
 land for a cemetery. Shortly before his death in 
 1875, Father Sheehan severed his connection with 
 the church of St. Denis, and the Rev. Father 
 Healey was appointed in his place, serving at the 
 same time the churches in Pawling and Dover 
 Plains. In the year 1877 another change occurred. 
 Father Healey going to Brewsters, Putnam county, 
 and Father McSwiggan, the present incumbent, 
 taking his place in St. Denis church. Since that 
 time the church edifice and grounds have under- 
 gone extensive repairs, and, to the great delight of 
 the people, nearly the entire debt of $3,000 has been 
 paid. Here, as in other parts of the County, the 
 number of Catholics is rapidly increasing, and in 
 this section does not fall far short of eight hundred 
 persons. 
 
 Beekman in the Rebellion. 
 
 During the war of the Rebellion, Beekman raised 
 and expended nearly $35,000 to volunteers and 
 substitutes. No authentic record was ever kept of 
 the various enlistments, and the appended list of 
 soldiers is, therefore, necessarily meagre.f 
 
 iSojf/J Heg'i., Co. G.— John Sweet, 2nd Lieut, 
 died of typhoid fever in the hospital near Atlanta, 
 Ga., August 13, 1864; Alonzo Sweet, 2nd Ser- 
 
 • Died in i88o. 
 
 t For this account we are indebted to Dr. C. A. Nicliolson, of Beek- 
 manviUe. 
 
 geant; George Bierce, 4th Sergeant; James L. 
 Wood, I St Corporal; Cornelius Peters, died at 
 Alexandria, Va., September 26, 1863, 4th 
 Corporal; James R. De Long, 5th Corporal; 
 Isaac S. Warner, 6th Corporal; Henry Hirtzel, 
 7th Corporal; Zebulon Washburn, 8th Corporal; 
 Privates : Thomas S. Buckley, William E. Burnett, 
 William W. Donaldson, Amos D. Griffith, Harvey 
 Hill, Thomas Rosell, died after returning home ; 
 William H. Simpson, Philip Spencer, John S. War- 
 ner, died after his return home ; Edward WiUiams, 
 died at Beaufort; Warren C. Woodin, William Isaac 
 Woodin, died at Wilmington, N. C. ; Henry A. 
 Wilcox, died from measles, at Baltimore, Md. ; 
 Thomas W. Wright, died at Atlanta, Ga. 
 
 128^^ Jieg't, Co. Z>.— Charles A. Smith, 3d 
 Corporal. 
 
 Co. H. — ^John S. Fgsbay, 5th Corporal; John 
 James Woodin, William Henry Woodin, Isaac 
 Guernsey. 
 
 Scattering. — Isaac Gardner, 16th Reg't, Battery 
 B, Heavy Artillery, died from fever, at Yorktown, 
 Va., January 13, 1864; George Washburne, 90th 
 Reg't., Co. E, died from wounds in the fall of 1864 ; 
 Gilbert F. Morey, first enlisted in Co. C, 57th 
 Reg't, N. Y. Infantry, and re-enlisted in Co. G, 
 i8th Regiment Cavalry; Charles King (colored,) 
 Co. I, 31st U. S. Colored Infantry; George King, 
 (colored,) Co. I, 31st U. S. Colored Infantry. 
 
 Regiments Unknotun. — Peter Davis, died in 
 army; John Davis, John Baker, John D. Baker, 
 John M. Griffin, Philip Davis. 
 
 Besides the above named volunteers, residents 
 of this town, the town also fiurnished all of its reg- 
 ular quota under the different drafts for soldiers — 
 mostly hired as substitutes for those that were— or 
 otherwise would have been — drafted. 
 
 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 
 
 LUMAN B. ODELL. 
 
 Luman B. Odell was born in the town of Union 
 Vale, Feb. 23, 1826. He was a son of Daniel 
 Odell, and spent his early life, until twenty-one 
 years of age, in attending school and assisting his 
 father on the farm, and when of age took charge of 
 the farm and conducted it very successfully for the 
 ten or twelve years following. 
 
 April 21, 1853, he was united in marriage with 
 Mary, daughter of Jacob and Margaret Uhl Able, 
 of Union Vale, by whom he had three children as 
 
MRS. MARY ODELL.. 
 
L.UMAH B. ODEL.L.. 
 
Photo, by Merritt & Myers. 
 
 SAMUEL BROWN, 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 
 
 549 
 
 follows: — Daniel J. born Nov. ii, 1859, now living 
 West"; Wright B., born June 17, 1866 ; and Flora 
 M., born Feb. 7, 1871. Mr. Odell was a farmer 
 of more than ordinary ability, and a man of good 
 habits and great industry. He conducted the 
 farm formerly known as the VerPlanck farm, in 
 East . Fishkill, for about eight years. While 
 attending the raising of a barn owned by Sylvester 
 Haight, of the latter town, he was struck by a 
 falling timber and so severely injured as to cause 
 his death in about an hour. He left many friends 
 who greatly missed him in the daily routine of 
 life, and a great gloom was cast over the commu- 
 nity where he was best known. He'died'May 30, 
 1876. 
 
 Mrs. Odell, with her three children remained on 
 the farm during two years following the death of 
 her husband, when she purchased a farm of Henry 
 C. Brill, in Poughquag where she still resides. Her~ 
 residence which is built of brick, with a mansard- 
 roof, is regarded as the finest in the town of Beek- 
 man. Mr. and Mrs. Odell both united with the 
 Clove Christian church of which Mrs. Odell is still 
 a member. 
 
 SAMUEL BROWN. 
 
 Samuel Brown was born in Centre county, Pa., 
 May 29, 1822, and was son of Geo. W. Brown, a 
 practical mechanic and superintendent of the best 
 furnaces in the County. Samuel spent seven years 
 working under the superintendence of his father, 
 and receiving such instructions in the skill and 
 proper management of a furnace that he was capa- 
 ble, at the expiration of that time of taking charge 
 of any hard or soft coal furnace. When twenty- 
 three years of age he was given charge of a furnace 
 at Mill Hall, Penn., using hard coal; was afterward 
 for six years superintendent of a furnace in Wash- 
 ington, and from there went to the Howard fur- 
 nace. Centre county, Penn., where he remained five 
 years as manager and superintendent. Soon after 
 this Gen. John S. Shultz, now president of the 
 Clove Spring Iron Works, being informed of Mr. 
 Brown's qualifications as master mechanic in the 
 manufacture of pig-iron sent for him to take charge 
 of the works then owned by Brown & Beckley, in 
 the town of Beekman. This position he accepted 
 and in 1871 came with his family, taking charge as 
 superintendent and manager of the mines and fur- 
 nace and conducting them with great credit to him- 
 self and general satisfaction to the company, till 
 his death March 7, 1881. 
 
 Mr. Brown was united in marriage with Sarah 
 Britton of Centre county, Jan. 18, 1845, by whom 
 he had ten children, eight of whom are now living 
 as follows : Geo. W., who married Miss Aman 
 Lewis ; Caroline, wife of Henry McMuUen ; Mar- 
 garet, wife of Solomon Grubb ; John who married 
 Elizabeth Sprague ; Jennie C, wife of Walter E. 
 Purvis"; Mary C, wife of Henry Rudisill; Wharton 
 M., who married Clara A. Purvis, and Sarah, the 
 youngest of the family, wife of William Holman. 
 
 now superintendent of 
 The other- children all 
 
 Wharton M. Brown is 
 the Clove Spring Furnace, 
 reside in Beekman. 
 
 Mr. Brown early embraced the religious views of 
 the M. E. Church, of which he was a consistent 
 and conscientious member, as is proved by the in- 
 dustrious and frugal life he lived. 
 
 PETER A. SKIDMORE. 
 
 Peter Akin Skidmore was born in the town of 
 Beekman, Duchess County, April 14, 1832, in a 
 
 Photo, by Vail, Foughkeepsie 
 
 (PETER A. SKIDMORE.) 
 
 house Standing on a part of the farm now owned 
 by Amos Denton, near the Clove Spring Iron 
 Works. Shortly after his birth his parents removed 
 to near Beekmanville where he now resides. 
 
 He was married Dec. 26, 1856, to Ruth, daugh- 
 ter of Alfred and Charlotte Moore. They had 
 four children born to them, only one of whom is 
 now living, Alfred M. 
 
 Mr. Skidmore has spent most of his hfe on his 
 farm, quietly pursuing his peaceful avocation and 
 not entering into the turmoil of political life except 
 in worthily holding some of the minor offices of 
 his own town, but has always taken a keen interest 
 in the great questions of the hour. 
 
 Jesse Skidmore, his father, married Sarah, 
 .daughter of Peter Akin, by whom he had four 
 .children, but two of whom still survive, Peter A. 
 and Aridrew I. Skidmore. ^^ 
 
 This old and well-known family is of German 
 decent and was originally settled in the northern 
 part of Long Island, at a place called Great Neck. 
 Andrew Skidmore and his wife Judith, great-grand- 
 
5SO 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 parents to the subject of our sketch, came from 
 there about the middle of the last century. Mr. 
 Skidmore, who was a shoe-maker by trade, bought 
 a farm and mill in the town of Union Vale. The 
 mill, which was one of the first built in the Country, 
 was well known as the " Skidmore Mill." Mr. 
 Skidmore died in 1815 and was buried on his 
 farm, the one now owned by his grandson, Zophar 
 Skidmore. He had one brother, a bachelor, who 
 was murdered for a small sum of money in the 
 latter part of the last century. 
 
 Andrew Skidmore, son of the pioneer of the 
 same name, married Elizabeth Clapp, and always 
 Uved in Beekman and the adjoining towns, and 
 now sleeps with his wife and son, Jesse, in the Clove 
 cemetery. 
 
 CHAPTER XL VII. 
 History of the Town of Pawling. 
 
 THE town of PawUng lies in the southeastern 
 part of the County. It is bounded on the 
 north by Dover, on the south by Putnam county, 
 on the east by Connecticut, and on the west by 
 Beekman. A range of mountainous hills flank the 
 eastern and western borders, between which is a 
 broad and beautiful valley. The principal streams 
 are Swamp and Croton rivers, which have their 
 source in this valley. The bodies of water are 
 Whaley, Oblong, and Little Ponds, and Green 
 Mountain Lake. The latter lies near the viUage 
 of Pawling, and derives its name from a mountain 
 crowned by a growth of evergreens. Whaley and 
 Little Ponds, in the western part of the town, form 
 the source of the Fishkill. The former is the larg- 
 est of these ponds, and contains some natural 
 curiosities, in the shape of floating islands, densely 
 covered with verdure. 
 
 On the 20th of May, 1769, an act was passed 
 dividing Beekman's Precinct * into two precincts, 
 the one to be called Beekman's, and the other 
 Pawling's Precinct. The latter included the present 
 towns of Pawling and Dover. Nearly twenty 
 years thereafter, or on the 7 th of March, 1788, 
 PawUng was formed as a town, embracing within 
 its limits the present town of Dover, which was 
 taken off" and erected into a separate township in 
 1807. The town derived its name from the 
 Paulding family. In a history of a member of this 
 family— James K. Paulding— it is stated that the 
 original family name was Pawling, to which ren- 
 dition, so far as is known, custom has always con- 
 formed. 
 
 • Beekman's Precinct was formed Dec. l6, 1737, and embraced the 
 towns of Beekman, Pawling, Dover— except the Oblong—Union Vale 
 ■and a portion of LaGrange. 
 
 The pioneer settler of this town was probably 
 Nathan Birdsall, who located on Quaker Hill in 
 the Autumn of 1728. He was a native of Long 
 Island, born of Quaker parents about the year 
 1700. He received the education of a common 
 school, to which he afterward added surveying. 
 
 At the age of about twenty-six he married Jane 
 Langdon, a young Quakeress, and two years later, 
 their eldest son, John, being then an infant, they 
 collected a few articles of the plainest furniture 
 and some rude implements of agriculture, bade 
 adieu to Long Island, and started in the direction 
 of Quaker Hill. After a tedious journey of some 
 days they arrived in the vicinity of Danbury, Conn., 
 and found that they could proceed no further with 
 a wagon, there being no road but a bridle path. 
 Here, at night, one of their horses made its escape, 
 and was not found until the next spring. Procuring 
 another, and transferring a portion of their luggage 
 to the backs of the horses, they pursued their 
 lonely way, and after a tedious journey arrived 
 safely on the scene of their future labors. Mr. 
 Birdsall purchased his land of the Nine Partners 
 Company, on which, previous to the removal of his 
 family, he had erected a log house and barn, on 
 land since owned by Albro Haines. Mr. Birdsall 
 died at the advanced age of nearly ninety. His 
 wife survived him some years, and died at the same 
 place and at about the same age. Their remains 
 rest in the old burial ground near Haviland Hol- 
 low. His four sons were John, James, Nathan 
 and Benjamin. James married a daughter of Da- 
 vid Akin, the grandfather and great-grandfather of 
 the Akins now living here. He died about the 
 year 1815, at an advanced age. Nathan, probably 
 the first white child bom on Quaker Hill, was a 
 farmer and lived for many years on the place since 
 owned by Abram Hoag, in Dover. Benjamin, or 
 Colonel Ben., as he was callecf, though an orthodox 
 Quaker, abandoned his creed to join the army, 
 received a Colonel's commission and served accept- 
 ably during the war. He died in Chenango county 
 in 1828, aged eighty-five. John died at Unadilla, 
 in the year 1815, aged eighty-eight. Some of his 
 descendants are yet living here.* The Birdsall 
 name is extinct in Pawling. 
 
 The next settler on Quaker Hill was Benjamin 
 Ferris, for many years a preacher in the denomi- 
 nation of Friends. 
 
 Between the years 1730 and 1740, there was a 
 considerable tide of emigration to Quaker Hill. 
 Among those who came at that period were John 
 
 * Nathaniel Pearce is a grandson of John Birdsall. 
 
TOWN OF PAWLING. 
 
 551 
 
 Hoag, Jedediah Wing, David Akin, Moses Bowdy, 
 Jesse Irish and Nehemiah Merritt. They were 
 mostly Quakers. 
 
 Among the Friends of this period was Paul Os- 
 born, Sr., who was born, if report is correct, in 
 Essex county, Mass., — in what year is unknown — 
 and who located on the farm since owned by Will- 
 iam Osborn. He is mentioned as being a contempo- 
 rary of David and Benjamin Ferris, with whom he 
 occasionally traveled on their missionary tours. He 
 accumulated here a considerable property, the 
 bulk of which he, being childless, left to his nephew, 
 Isaac Osborn,* with the proviso that he should al- 
 ways keep a house of entertainment for the benefit 
 of the traveling ministry, and whenever he failed 
 to do so the estate was to revert to the Friends' 
 Society, of Philadelphia. He died about the year 
 1780, and it is said of his descendants that they 
 have scrupulously obeyed the letter and the spirit 
 of his will, both to the Society of Friends and to 
 others. 
 
 David Akin, who came to Quaker Hill with the 
 influx of settlers between 1730 and '40, and settled 
 south of the Birdsall place, was a descendant of 
 John Akin, who emigrated from Scotland to Rhode 
 Island in 1680. At about the same time Elisha 
 Akin and his wife Elizabeth whose first son was 
 born in 1739, emigrated to Quaker Hill. Whether 
 he was brother to David Akin or not is not known, 
 but it is assumed that from these two originated 
 the different families of that name in the town. 
 
 Another of the early pioneers, and a man of con- 
 siderable prominence in his time, was Benjamin 
 Sherman, who was born in New Bedford, Mass., 
 somewhere about the year 1735. He received the 
 limited education which the schools of those days 
 afforded, and at an early age followed the nautical 
 instincts of the New Bedford youth and went to 
 sea, where, on a whaling voyage, he with a boat's 
 crew, lost the ship and for five days suffered all the 
 hardships of the cast-away. On the fifth day he 
 and one or two of his comrades were picked up by 
 a ship — the only survivors of a crew of eight or 
 ten. This closed his nautical career, and in the 
 spring of 1764 he found his way to Quaker Hill, 
 where he began his landsman's life as a journeyman 
 carpenter. In that year was built the present 
 church edifice of the Quakers, on which he 
 worked during the season, and was soon pro- 
 moted to the position -of "boss" carpenter, the 
 former overseer having given dissatisfaction to the 
 
 * Isaac Osborn died June lo, 1839, aged ninety-five years six months. 
 He was the father of Paul Osborn, Jr., who died July 27, '867, aged 
 eighty-four. 
 
 Friends. In the fall of that year he returned to 
 his wife in New Bedford, with whom in the spring 
 of 1765 he came back and purchased a farm at the 
 foot of Quaker Hill, since owned by John Kirby, 
 and now in the possession of Archibald Dodge. 
 Here were born most of his children, nine sons and 
 two daughters. Their names were Jethro, Darius, 
 Benjamin, Abiel, Ezra, William, Shadrach, Michael, 
 Uriel, Sylvia and Deborah. Mr. Sherman estab- 
 lished himself in the business of wagon making as 
 well as in farming, to which occupation his sons 
 were early introduced, and for many years- the 
 "Sherman wagon" enjoyed an enviable popularity 
 throughout this section of the State. 
 
 Settlements were undoubtedly made on Quaker 
 Hill and on the West Mountain, and the land there 
 was probably in quite an advanced state of culti- 
 vation, prior to the settlement of the valley through 
 which runs the Harlem Railroad. It is said that 
 about 1740 there was no house on the post-road, 
 running from Albany to New York, between Mrs. 
 George P. Tabor's and the Alfred Wing place, 
 then known as the Harrington place. In about 
 that year there was a considerable emigration into 
 the valley of Pawling from the east, mainly from 
 Rhode Island. 
 
 Among the settlers who came into the Pawling 
 Valley at about the period mentioned were William 
 and Daniel Hunt, Comfort Shaw, Nathan and 
 Henry Gary, Jeremiah Sabin, Ephraim Nichols, 
 Abraham Slocum, John Salmon, William Hallaway 
 and Nathan Pearce. 
 
 William and Daniel Hunt were brothers, and lo- 
 cated on the place since owned by Samuel H. 
 Adee. That family long since removed from this 
 section and the name has become extinct. 
 
 Gomfort Shaw was a native of the Eastern States, 
 and possessed the enterprising spirit characteristic 
 of the New Englander, but with a love for roving 
 not so frequently found in the denizen of the East. 
 The first that is definitely known of him was when 
 he owned the place now in the possession of Na- 
 thaniel Pearce, where he built a house and barn 
 and set out an orchard, which from its extent and 
 appearance, must have been one of the first in the 
 valley. He married either the daughter or sister 
 of Nathan Gary, the great-grand sire of the Carys 
 who formerly resided here. 
 
 Henry Gary came here about the year 1730, 
 probably from Great Barrington, Mass. He was 
 a graduate of some New England college, and was 
 the first regularly ordained and salaried minister 
 in this town. He located on the West Mountain 
 
552 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 on the place since known as the Amos Wooden 
 farm. He was a Puritan of the most uncompro- 
 mising pattern, and was " after the straitest sect of 
 his religion," a Calvinist. Mr. Gary began his 
 ministerial labors in his own house, where for 
 several years he continued them every Sabbath 
 day, but without witnessing many very promising 
 signs of success. As his membership and congre- 
 gation increased he began to hold services in the 
 houses of his parishioners, who, it would appear, 
 never became prosperous enough to build a house 
 for public worship. In this way his services were 
 continued for many years. 
 
 Jeremiah Sabin was born in Pomfret, Conn., 
 about the year 1720, and came to this town with 
 the influx of settlers from the East, probably about 
 1740. He was a blacksmith by trade, and a man 
 of great physical strength and excellency of char- 
 acter. He built a house on the east side of the 
 turnpike on the land since owned by B. H. Van- 
 derburgh, and afterwards bought of Henry Beek- 
 man, the patentee of the Precinct, a tract of some 
 two thousand acres. 
 
 Ephraira Nichols came from Stratford, Connect- 
 icut, and hid at one time been High Sheriff of 
 that, then. Colony. He came here some years 
 prior to the outbreak of the Revolution, and 
 bought the place since owned by the heirs of D. P. 
 Wooden. He was for a number of years an inn- 
 keeper. He had four sons, John, Joseph, Elijah 
 and Ephraim. 
 
 Another settler, who located on the West Mount- 
 ain, was James Stark, Sr. He married the eldest 
 daughter of Rev. Henry Cary between 1755 and 
 1758, and with her emigrated to the Wyoming 
 Valley. 
 
 In the war of the Revolution the cause of the 
 Colonies found ardent supporters in what is now 
 the town of Pawling. Among those who rendered 
 efficient aid in that struggle for National independ- 
 ence, none are more worthy of honorable mention 
 than the family of Nathan Pearce. This family 
 trace their origin to John Pearce, a Welchman, 
 who, with his three sons, emigrated to this country 
 about the year 1660. The first one of this name 
 of whom anything definite is known, was Nathan 
 Pearce, Sr., a grandson of the John above men- 
 tioned, from whom was descended the family of 
 that name in this town. He was born in Provi- 
 dence, in the Colony of Rhode Island, in the year 
 1706. He first settled in North Kingston, Wash- 
 ington county, Rhode Island, where four of his 
 children were born. From there he went to Pru- 
 
 dence Island where he lived some years, as three 
 of his children were born there. He then removed 
 to Providence where his two youngest children 
 were born. About the year 1760 he came to 
 Pawling, his youngest son. Colonel WiUiam Pearce, 
 being then fifteen years old.* He first located on 
 the place since owned by O. S. Dykeman, and in 
 the year 1767 he purchased the place now owned by 
 Nathaniel Pearce, where he lived through all the 
 turbulous period of the Revolution. 
 
 In 1778, when Pg,wUng was formed as a town, 
 Nathan Pearce, Sr., was elected the first Supervisor, 
 which office he .filled with credit to himself and to 
 the satisfaction of his townsmen. He died in 1790, 
 at the age of eighty-four. 
 
 Captain William Pearce. towards the close of the 
 war, received a Colonel's commission. After the 
 war he held the of&ce of Supervisor, and was a 
 Justice of the Peace from 1785 to 1801. About 
 that time he was elected to the Legislature, where 
 he served two terms. He died in January, 1813. 
 
 The descendants of this family are quite numer- 
 ous in the town, and still rank among its ablest 
 citizens. To Nathaniel Pearce, a grandson of Col. 
 William, we are indebted for much valuable assist- 
 ance in this history of Pawling. A man of letters 
 by nature, he has taken more than an ordinary in- 
 terest in local and general historical events, and 
 the results of his labors, both published and un- 
 published, were kindly placed at our disposal. Mr. 
 Pearce was born in Pawling in 1809, on the farm 
 on which he lives, and which has been in the pos- 
 session of his family since 1767. 
 
 General Washington had for a time his head- 
 quarters in PawUng. In this town was ^so held 
 the trial by courtmartial of General Schuyler on 
 an accusation of cowardice and treason at the 
 loss of Ticonderoga; in the summer of 1777.! 
 The trial was held on the ist of October, 1778, 
 in the house in which Washington at one time 
 had his headquarters, — the "Kirby House," at 
 the foot of Quaker Hill, then owned by Reed 
 Ferris.J 
 
 Schuyler was accused not only of cowardice and 
 treachery, but of using the public money for his 
 private benefit. These charges came at a time 
 when he had placed the invading army of Burgoyne 
 in the most extreme peril, and was prepared to 
 stirike those invaders a crushing blow. 
 
 General Gates, who was Schuyler's enemy, and 
 whose, previous plottings had been disastrous to 
 
 * His other sons were Benoni, Ephraim and Nathan. 
 
 t From a sketch by Benson J Lossing. 
 
 t This house was built by Reed Ferris, in 1771. 
 
THE DUTCHER H^USE, PAWLING, DUTCHES5 
 
iS*. N. Y. (Erected by Hon. John B. Dutcher in i88i.) 
 
TOWN OF PAWLING. 
 
 SS3 
 
 him, was appointed by Congress to the Comnnand 
 of the Northern Department, succeeding Schuyler 
 in August, 1777. Schuyler demanded a court- 
 martial, to which demand Congress for some time 
 paid no attention, and for a year justice was denied 
 him. At length, after frequent appeals to Con- 
 gress to bring him to trial, a courtmartial was 
 convened to try him in the house above named. 
 
 This house is now destroyed. It stood on the 
 site of the present residence of Archibald Dodge, 
 on the more southerly road leading from Pawling 
 Station to Quaker. Hill, and about half way be- 
 tween the two points. It had been occupied by 
 Washington when a portion of the Continental 
 army lay in that vicinity, and at the time of the 
 trial it was the headquarters of General Lincoln, 
 who acted as the President of the Court. 
 
 The records of the town were destroyed by fire 
 on the night of May 4, 1859. By that disaster was 
 lost much valuable matter relating to the early 
 days of the town and precinct. The books now in 
 the clerk's office contain no record of yearly 
 elections previous to 1854. From that date to 
 1881 the succession of Supervisors and Clerks has 
 been as follows : — 
 
 Supervisors. Clerks. 
 
 1854. Sherman Howard, George T. Noble, 
 i^ss- James Craft, Joseph P. Hazelton. 
 
 1856. Sherman Howard, Edward Merritt. 
 
 1857. , William H. Taber, Joseph P. Hazelton. 
 
 1858. , TheroiiM. Green, Albert Woodin. 
 
 1859. James Craft, Henry C. Swords. 
 i860. Asa B. Corbin, Darius Chase. 
 1861-62. Samuel A. Barn um, John Ferris. 
 1863. David R. Gould, Darius Chase. 
 1864-65. do do A. T. Merritt. 
 
 1866. J. Wesley Stark, do do 
 
 1867. John J. Vanderburgh, do do 
 
 1868. do do Theron W. Stark. 
 i869-'7o. J. Wesley Stark, Miah Peck. . 
 i87i-'72. John B. Dutcher, PhiHp H. Smith. 
 
 1873. William B. Ross, John J. Ferris. 
 
 1874. do do Fernando Olmstead. 
 1875-76. JedediahJ.Wanzer,James S. Pearce. 
 
 1877. William J. Merwin, do do 
 
 1878. do do Sewell White. 
 1879-81. Albert W. Corbin, James S. Pearce. 
 
 Pawling. 
 
 The village of Pawling or PawUng Station, as it 
 is more familiarly known, on the line of the Harlem 
 Railroad, is the only important settlement in the 
 town. It contains according to the last census, a 
 population of 580,* and is a shipping point of con- 
 siderable importance. 
 
 • The population of the town is st,oc6. 
 113 foreign, 9 colored. 
 
 1870—1,760, 1875—1,906 ; 
 
 There are three churches, Baptist, Methodist 
 and CathoUc, two hotels, a National Bank and 
 Savings Bank and several stores. 
 
 The age of Pawling village proper does not 
 extend beyond the date of the construction of the 
 Harlem Railroad. Clustered around the site of 
 the present Baptist church, at, and previous to 
 that time, was a small hamlet of some half dozen 
 houses, known as Gorsetown. On the site of the 
 Baptist church stood a public house which was 
 kept for many years by Thomas Howard, and was 
 widely known more than half a century ago as 
 " Tom Howard's Hotel."* It is said that one 
 Bradley Barlow kept a store at this place, but it 
 never amounted to much as a business center. 
 Some eighty rods south from Gorsetown was a 
 store in operation from about, the close of the 
 Revolution. When the Harlem Railroad was 
 completed the locaHty around the station began to 
 develop and has since attained considerable im- 
 portance. 
 
 The hotels here now are the Lee House and 
 the Dutcher House. The former, the oldest house, 
 was built in its original form by Le Grande Hall 
 about i860. The original building was about six- 
 teen by twenty-two feet, and was built for office 
 use. The first to occupy it were Dr. Pearce and 
 Hiram S. Haviland, a lawyer. It was afterwards 
 for a time used for various purposes, mechanical 
 and otherwise. Additions were then made to it, 
 and it was first kept as a hotel by Noah G. Clark 
 and James Crane in 1866. The latter succeeded 
 Clark and conducted it alone until 1869, when he 
 was succeeded by Peter D. Doughty, who kept it 
 till his death in 1872. The property then passed 
 through several hands, and was sold by George 
 Norton in 1880 to the present proprietor, George 
 F. Lee. 
 
 The hotel which occupied the site of the Dutch- 
 er House was built in 1850, and was kept as a 
 public house until it was purchased by John B. 
 Dutcher, who removed the original portion of the 
 structure and converted it into a dweUing house. 
 In 1 88 1 Mr. Dutcher began the construction of 
 the large hotel known as the Dutcher House, one 
 of the finest structures in the County. The build- 
 ing has a north frontage of 172 feet, and an east- 
 ern frontage of 116 feef On the first, or ground 
 floor, are two large stores, and two rooms, one fit- 
 ted up as a Library and Public Reading Room, 
 for the benefit of the citizens of the village, and 
 the other devoted to town uses as a Town Hall. 
 
 • This building was torn down in 1876. 
 
SS4 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 Over these is a large room to be devoted to the 
 uses of a Public Hall or Lecture Room. The 
 hotel contains fifty-six rooms for boarders, besides 
 parlors, dining, and reception rooms. The build- 
 ing is heated by steam and lighted with gas; and 
 is supplied with pure water, which is brought one 
 mile, from the mountains east of the hotel. 
 
 John B. Dutcher, to whose public spirit Pawling 
 owes these and other substantial improvements, 
 was born in Dover, Duchess County, in 1830. 
 His father was David Dutcher, who died in 1852. 
 He was educated in the common schools of his 
 native town, with the exception of one term at a 
 select school in Litchfield county. Conn. In i860 
 he was married to Christina, daughter of Daniel 
 Dodge, of Pawling, by whom he has one child, 
 John G. Dutcher. 
 
 In the fall of i860, he was elected to the Assem- 
 bly by the Republicans of his district, was re- 
 elected in 1 86 1, and in 1863 was elected to the 
 State Senate. He was a delegate to the Republican 
 National Conventions held in Baltimore in 1864, 
 and in Chicago in 1880. After serving his term as 
 Senator he withdrew from politics, and engaged in 
 business in New York. He is a Director of the 
 Harlem Railroad Company, and for several years 
 has had charge of the live stock traffic of the N. Y. 
 C. & H. R. R. R., and the management of its 
 stock yards in Buffalo and Albany. He is Presi- 
 dent of the Union Stock Yard and Market Com- 
 pany in New York; Vice-President of the National 
 Stock Yard Company of East St. Louis, 111. ; and 
 Vice-President of the St. Louis Beef Canning 
 Company. He is also the Vice-President of the 
 National Bank of Pawling, and President of the 
 Mizzen-Top Hotel Company of this town. 
 
 Mr. Dutcher takes much interest in all matters 
 pertaining to the improvement of Pawling, where 
 he retains his residence. He has here a farm of 
 nearly six hundred acres, which embraces the.. 
 Dodge homestead, where his wife was born, and 
 he also owns the Dutcher homestead, in Dover, 
 where he was born, which contains about the same 
 number of acres. Although owning a city residence 
 in New York, where with his family he remains 
 during the winter, Mr. Dutcher-s interest seems 
 centered in his country home and its surround- 
 ings, where he has made extensive improvements. 
 
 The Bank of Pawling was organized in 1849, 
 under the old State laws. The officers were Albert 
 J. Akin, President ; J. W. Bowdish, Cashier. The 
 , bank was changed to the National Bank of Paw- 
 ling, in June, 1865. The officers then remained 
 
 the same. The present Cashier is George W. 
 Chase, J. W. Bowdish having retired. 
 
 The Pawling Savings Bank was chartered and 
 incorporated in 1870, and was opened for deposits 
 in 187 1. The first President was David R. Gould, 
 who figured prominently in its organization, and 
 who died in February, 1873. William J. Merwin 
 was the first Treasurer, and the first Secretary was 
 Jedediah Wanzer. The deposits of this bank in 
 July, 1880, amounted to $82,000. It has now, in 
 1 88 1, a surplus of $5,000. The present officers 
 are : John J. Vanderburgh, President ; W. H. Ta- 
 ber, Vice-President; Jedediah I. Wanzer, Secre- 
 tary ; William J. Merwin,' Treasurer ; Horace D. 
 Hufcut, Attorney. 
 
 Pawling has one newspaper, the Pawling Pioneer, 
 published weekly by Philip H. Smith, who estab- 
 lished it here in 1870. Mr. Smith was born in 
 Kent, Putnam county, N. Y., in June, 1842. His 
 parents were Horace Smith and Ruth Nichols. 
 The earlier years of his life were passed upon the 
 farm of his father, and during that period he 
 received an education in the common schools in 
 which he became a teacher. He early evinced a 
 desire to learn the art of printing, and as soon as 
 an opportunity offered he entered that business in 
 Carmel, Putnam county. In 1870, he began the 
 publication of the Pioneer, in which enterprise he 
 has been measurably successful. About 1875 he 
 conceived the idea of writing a history of Duchess 
 County, and immediately began to collect material 
 for that work. This was a task of no httle magni- 
 tude, involving as it did a considerable expenditure 
 of time, labor and money. To this task he 
 devoted the labor of two years, and the history 
 was presented to the public in 1877. The work 
 was largely illustrated by himself, and may justly 
 be considered a valuable contribution to the histor- 
 ical data of the State. Mr. Smith was married 
 December 4, 1867, to Amarillas Babcock, by whom 
 he has had three children now living— Nellie M., 
 Josephine, and Carrie Belle. 
 
 One of the early merchants here was Archibald 
 Campbell, who conducted business for a num- 
 ber of years, and was succeeded by Gideon Slocum 
 & Sons, who continued until about 1848. When 
 the railroad was completed the business was taken 
 up by William T. Hurd, and subsequently by J. 
 W. Stark, under the firm name of J. W. Stark 
 & Co. Mr. Stark died May 22, 1880. His 
 partners were William J. Merwin and Henry A. 
 Holmes, who at his death succeeded to the business. 
 In this store is kept the postoflSce, W. J. Merwin, 
 
RESIDENCE OF HON. J. B. Dl 
 
'A PAWLING, DUCHESS CO.. N. Y. 
 
TOWN OF PAWLING. 
 
 555 
 
 postmaster, appointed in June, 1880. Mr. Mer- 
 win was born in New Milford, Conn., in 1832. 
 Mr. Holmes is a native of Putnam county, born 
 in Patterson in 1836. The other merchants now 
 engaged in business here are : — 
 
 Hiram W. Chapman, general merchant, in busi- 
 ness five years; G. W. & S. R. Gibney, stoves and 
 house furnishing hardware, in business three years. 
 
 Fernando Olmstead, dealer in boots and shoes, 
 in business here twenty years. He was born in 
 South East, Putnam county, N. Y., in 1838, and 
 became a resident of Pawling in 1858. 
 
 Elmore Ferris, floury feed, coal and lumber 
 dealer, in business here thirteen years. A native 
 of Otsego county, born in Westford, in October, 
 1837, and came to Pawling in November, 1855. 
 
 Edward Peabody, dealer in watches and jewelry, 
 . in business since July 10, 1879. 
 
 Frederick S. Merwin, stoves and general hard- 
 ware, in business here some fifteen years. 
 
 Andrew J. Wheeler, harness and horse furnish- 
 ing goods, in business here three years. 
 
 John McGlasson, dealer in and manufacturer of 
 monuments, etc., in business here eleven years. 
 
 George W. Turner, also a dealer in and manu- 
 facturer of monuments, began the business here 
 ten years ago. 
 
 Henry P^arce & Co., (James S. Pearce) drug- 
 gists, in business here four years. 
 
 Doctor Henry Pearce, was born in Pawling in 
 1833. He graduated from the University of Michi- 
 gan in 1857, and began the practice of medicine 
 in i860. At the breaking out of the Rebellion 
 he entered the United States service as surgeon 
 in the 150th Regiment. 
 
 The only other resident physician is Dr. William 
 B. Linsly, a native of New York city, born in 
 1840, and came to Pawhng in March, 1880. Dur- 
 ing the Rebellion, for one year, he was a medical 
 Cadet in the Sanitary Commission, and for eighteen 
 months thereafter was acting Assistant Surgeon of 
 the U. S. A. 
 
 The lawyers now in practice here are Esquires 
 Tice, Lee and Haviland. William G. Tice was 
 born in New York City in 1857. He studied law 
 with Hackett & Williams, Poughkeepsie, was ad- 
 mitted to the bar in September, 1879, and came 
 to Pawling in 1880. 
 
 William R. Lee, a native of Beekman, N. Y., 
 was born in 1847. He received his legal educa- 
 tion in the office of William L Thorn, Poughkeep- 
 sie, and was admitted to practice in 1867. He be- 
 came a resident of Pawhng in 1871. 
 
 Hiram S. Haviland is a native of Pawling, born 
 October 28, 1830. He studied law with Homer A. 
 Nelson, and was admitted to the bar May, 17, 
 i860. 
 
 TAe Methodist Society was organized here a few 
 years after the beginning of the present century. 
 Meetings were held once in four weeks at the house 
 of Col. Pearce. The first Quarterly Meeting was 
 held in Col. Pearce's orchard, the preacher's stand 
 being under an apple tree. Among the early min- 
 isters were Revs. William Thatcher, Nathan 
 Streathen, Nathan, or John Emory, an Irishman 
 by the name of Moriarity, Billy Hibbard, Elijah 
 Woolsey, and Beardsley Northrop. The first at- 
 tempt to build a house of worship was made in the 
 year 181 2. Col. Pearce headed a subscription list 
 for that purpose, and a church edifice was soon 
 after erected about a quarter of a mile north of 
 the present Pawhng depot. Col. Pearce dying 
 early in the year 1813, the building was not fin- 
 ished j but it served as a house of worship until the 
 completion of the Harlem Railroad, when, at about 
 that time, a small building was erected near the 
 Pawhng depot. This soon being considered too 
 small to accommodate the congregation, was sold 
 to the Catholics, and a subscription was started to 
 build a larger one. Daniel Dodge, father-in-law to 
 John B. Dutcher, superintended the building of 
 both churches, and not only subscribed liberally 
 towards both, but laid the foundations of the last 
 church with his own hands. This, the present 
 building, was raised about the first of September, 
 1864. The membership is now quite large, and is 
 ministered to by the Rev. Mr. Hunt. 
 
 The first tradition regarding the Baptist Cause 
 in Pawling, is of the preaching of the Rev. Henry- 
 Cary, some time previous to 1766. He preached 
 in a log meeting house, which was situated about 
 a mile north of this village, near what was after- 
 wards known as the Camp Meeting Woods. 
 
 Elder John Lawrence began to preach in this 
 town in 1770, and was the first pastor of the church 
 that was organized before the war of the Revolu- 
 tion, in 1775. He is reported to have preached 
 thirteen or fourteen years, and under his ministra- 
 tion the church flourished. He moved away in 
 June, 1785, and his successor was Elder Phineas 
 Clark, who ministered to the congregation about 
 three years, or until 1788. He was succeeded by 
 Elder Nehemiah Johnson. He commenced preach- 
 ing when Elder Clark left, and continued his ser- 
 vices until July, 1841, a period of fifty -three years. 
 The meeting house where he preached most, known 
 
SS6 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 as the Johnson meeting house, was situated on the 
 summit of the west mountain, near the dugway, 
 and near the north line of the town. 
 
 In 1853, a new and comfortable church edifice 
 was built near the south end of Whaley Pond. 
 The First Baptist Church is still prosperous, and is 
 performing a good mission in that part of the 
 town. The pulpit is supplied now by Rev. William 
 B. Harris, of the Ludingtonville * church. The 
 Clerk of the society is Van Ness Denton. 
 
 (THE CENTRAL PAWLING BAPTIST CHURCH,) 
 
 The Central Pawling Baptist Church was or- 
 ganized in 1852. Their first church edifice was 
 erected in 1853 and dedicated that fall. The ded- 
 icatory services were conducted by Rev. Thomas 
 Armitage and Elder Clapp. 
 
 In 1853, Elder Jas. W. Jones resigned his pas- 
 torate. He was succeeded by Rev. A. W. Valen- 
 tine. Rev. A. W. Valentine resigned the pastorate 
 in April, i860, and was succeeded by Rev. S. L. 
 Holman, who preached here and in the Beekman 
 church. 
 
 In the fall of 1864, Elder Holman resigned and 
 
 * Putnam County. 
 
 the church for a season was without regular 
 preaching. 
 
 In January, 1865, D. Van Fradenburg was en- 
 gaged as a supply, remaining until the first of 
 April. On the second Sabbath of that month the 
 church secured the services of Rev. George W. 
 Barnes, of Rosendale. In September of this year 
 Elder Barnes resigned, and Rev. William Parsons 
 was engaged as supply, remaining one year. In 
 September, Rev. D. T. Hill began his labors as 
 pastor. 
 
 In October, 1874, E. D. Stearns, a licentiate of 
 the First Dover Church, began his labors, preached 
 through the winter, and was ordained on the 14th 
 of April following. 
 
 In May, 1876, was begun the work of removing 
 the church edifice to the present site. It was en- 
 larged, remodeled, ajid refurnished during this sea- 
 son, and was re-dedicated on the 21st of Decem- 
 ber, by Rev. J. D. Fulton, D. D. Sabbath school 
 and other meetings were held in the parsonage 
 during the re-construction of the church. 
 
 About $16,000 had been expended in the pur- 
 chase of the new site, and in removing and repair- 
 ing the church building, which, on the evening of 
 June 8, 1879, was destroyed by fire. Most of the 
 furniture was saved, and $4,000 of insurance was 
 obtained. To this the liberal community added 
 so much that the house and lot in the rear was 
 purchased for $1,100, and the present beautiful 
 church edifice was erected, furnished, and paid for 
 within a year. The cost was nearly $8,000. It was 
 dedicated June 16, 1880. The new bell was given by 
 John B. Dutcher. The present membership of the 
 church is ninety, still presided over by Rev. Ches- 
 ter L. VanAUen. * 
 
 The Catholic Society, (St John's Church,) was 
 organized here in i868, by Father P. W. Tandy. 
 Among the early members were John Hopper, 
 James Collier, Martin Gilroy, David Scully. 
 
 Previous to that time the CathoUcs of Pawling 
 were obliged for a number of years to worship in 
 private houses. 
 
 About i860. Rev. Father Slevin was sent by 
 Archbishop Hughes to minister to the CathoUcs 
 from Croton Falls to Boston Four Corners, and, 
 like his predecessors, held services in the houses of 
 his parishioners, for their means were yet too slen- 
 der to erect a church. In 1865, Father Slevin 
 was followed by an Italian, Rev. John Orsinego. 
 The labors of his extensive mission soon proved 
 too much for his constitution, and in i868 he was 
 compelled to yield the northern portion of his par- 
 
TOWN OF PAWLING. 
 
 SS7 
 
 ish to Rev. P. W. Tandy. The old Methodist 
 Church edifice was bought from Alexander Ar- 
 nold, repaired and furnished, and in 1869 was 
 opened for services to the delight of the poor peo- 
 ple who, after many years and at great sacrifices, 
 had at last secured for themselves and for their 
 children a house for divine worship. In 1872 this 
 edifice was destroyed by fire. Sorely tried, but yet 
 not discouraged, the people went to work again 
 and under the able lead of their pastor a new and 
 beautiful edifice was soon erected at a cost of 
 
 Dover Plains. Through the co-operation of the 
 people he has been enabled to reduce the debt so 
 much that all the financial difficulties of the church 
 are settled. In addition to this the people of 
 St. John's Church by united effort have made from 
 an inaccessable waste a beautiful cemetery, which 
 is a credit to themselves and a beauty to the vil- 
 lage. The church edifice has been beautified inside 
 and out, and the ground has been adorned with 
 trees. 
 
 The Catholics in attendance here have increased 
 
 (ST. JOHN'S CHURCH, PAWLING, N. 
 
 nearly $6,000. This, together with the money 
 due on the old church, increased their indebted- 
 ness to nearly $7,500. Father Tandy having on 
 his charge three other churches, gave the church 
 in this place and the one at Dover Plains to Rev. 
 P. I. Healy, who became the first pastor of the 
 new parish of Pawling and Dover. Owing to the 
 hard times of 1873 and subsequent years, and the 
 large indebtedness for so small a place. Father 
 Healy resigned the pastorate, and Father Tandy 
 again assumed the charge. Rev. M. J. Mc Swig- 
 gan, of Poughkeepsie, assistant to Rev. Dr. Mc- 
 Sweeny, was sent to aid Father Tandy, and at the 
 expiration of six months he succeeded to the pas- 
 torate of the churches of Pawling, Beekman and 
 
 y., REV. M. J. McSWIGGAN, PASTOR.) 
 
 from a comparatively few in i860 to about five 
 hundred. 
 
 The Methodist Episcopal Society at Reynoldsville 
 was formed about seventy years ago. There is a 
 lack of authentic records concerning this church. 
 
 The church edifice was built twenty-nine years 
 ago and was dedicated by the Rev. J. B. Wakely, 
 of New Jersey. Previous to this the meetings 
 were held in private houses and in the school 
 house. The present class leaders are Henry 
 Turner, George S. Turner and Silas Abbott. 
 
 There can be given no connected or dated Ust 
 of pastors. The following, however, have been 
 among the ministers who have presided over the 
 society : — 
 
558 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 Revs. John Reynolds, Sellick, Ira Ferriss, Ban- 
 croft, Lent, Dickerson, Culver, Davis, G. Hearn, 
 B. Stebbins, Aaron Hunt, J. Croft, Asa P. Lyon, 
 George Knapp, J. A. Edmonds, Daniels, M. M. 
 Curtis, Ives, V. N. Traver, Scrives, and Robert 
 Hunt. 
 
 Quaker Hill. 
 
 Quaker Hill, the home of the first settlers who 
 located in the town, is an elevated and fertile 
 plateau three miles east of PawHng village. This 
 is one of the most romantic and picturesque 
 regions in the County, whose attractions rival 
 those of the Highlands and the Catskills. From 
 the summit of this plateau, nearly sixteen hundred 
 feet above tide water, and reached by steep and 
 winding roads, a view of unsurpassed beauty is ob- 
 tained, embracing in its scope the rugged peaks of 
 the Catskills, the fertile plains of the valleys below 
 in which nestle prosperous villages, and mile upon 
 mile of rich farming land in the states of New York, 
 Massachusetts and Connecticut. This is the emi- 
 nence heretofore mentioned, whose history in- 
 cludes important reminiscences connected with the 
 Revolution. In this vicinity, where dwelt the 
 pioneers whose labors made possible the present 
 prosperity of the town, encamped Washington and 
 the Revolutionary troops whose valor gave per- 
 manence to existing institutions and homes. Here, 
 in the church^now old and gray, of a denomination 
 whose mission it was to preach "peace on earth 
 good will to men,'' were laid the wounded and dying 
 heroes who shed their blood for the supremacy of 
 the idea that all men were created free and equal. 
 The grim old rafters of that ancient tabernacle 
 resounded to their lamentations and groans, and 
 the oaken floor still bears the crutch marks of the 
 crippled and maimed who sought the shelter of its 
 friendly roof. The encampment with its pomp 
 and circumstance of war has disappeared ; the 
 patriots slumber near by in unremembered graves ; 
 the generation that knew the hopes and fears, the 
 reverses and triumphs of those days has passed 
 away, but the old church still remains, a monument 
 to the patriotism of that trying time. 
 
 This meeting house of the Friends was built in 
 1764, eleven years before the breaking out of the 
 Revolutionary war. It cost in those times, as 
 would appear from the records, the sum of ^2Tfi. 
 The structure is plain and unpretending, but large, 
 roomy and decidedly substantial; with oaken 
 timbers whose massiveness attests its abiUty to 
 stand the storms of another century. This is the 
 
 second meeting house of the Friends in this vicinity. 
 The first stood nearly opposite the present edifice, 
 and was a smaller framed building. When the 
 present house was built it was sold and converted 
 into a barn which has long since passed from 
 existence. It stood on the farm since occupied by 
 Stephen Osborne. 
 
 This hill so rich in historical lore has become a 
 fashionable and popular summer resort. Up these 
 steep and tortuous roads, over which rumbled the 
 artillery of Revolutionary times, now sweeps the 
 pleasure ladened " Tally- Ho," whose musical horn 
 awakes the echoes which once resounded to the 
 bugle-call, the rattling drum, and the stern chal- 
 lenge of the vigilant sentry. 
 
 Mizzen-Top, one of the most healthy and popu- 
 lar hotels in the State, was built through the energy 
 and perseverance of Albert J. Akin, who is the 
 principal stock-holder, and who furnished the greater 
 share of the money for the enterprise. The capital 
 stock was originally $25,000, which has since been 
 increased to $65,000. The building was begun in 
 September, 1880, under the supervision of J. H. 
 Wood, of New York, architect, and was completed 
 in June, i88i. It has a frontage of 342 feet, com- 
 manding an extensive view of mountain and valley 
 scenery, and contains in all 145 rooms, 128 being 
 used as sleeping apartments. The servants de- 
 partments are in a separate building containing 
 sixteen rooms. The interior of the hotel is finished, 
 in the most moderri style, and has all the conven- 
 iences of bath rooms, gas, steam heating appa- 
 ratus, billiard room, bowling alleys, and tele- 
 graphic communication with New York. The pure 
 spring water with which Jihe house is supplied, is 
 derived from the adjacent hills, while that which is 
 used for the fountain and for fire purposes, is forced 
 from a glen some quarter of a mile distant. The 
 officers of the Mizzen-Top Hotel Company are 
 John B. Dutcher, President; Cyrus Swan, Vice- 
 President ; George W. Chase, Secretary and Treas- 
 urer. The house is now conducted by James L. 
 Jones, of New York, a man of much experience in 
 this business. 
 
 A short distance from this resort is a beautiful 
 structure known as Akin Hall, a model of archi- 
 tectural neatness and taste without and within, 
 
 This building in its name memorizes one of the 
 oldiest families in the town. It was erected in 
 1 880, by Hon. Albert J. Akin, by whom it was en- 
 dowed and donated to trustees who are limited to 
 no age, sect or sex. The Hall was opened to the 
 public on the 13 th of July, 1881. 
 
MIZZEN-TOP. SUMMERS HOTE 
 
L, PAWLING, DUCHESS' CO., N. Y. 
 
TOWN OF PAWLING. 
 
 SS9 
 
 Pawling in the War of the Rebellion. 
 
 Pawling's patriotism in the War of the RebelUon 
 was as prompt and generous as that manifested in 
 the Revolution. A record of the various enlist- 
 ments was kept by the town clerk, as required by 
 the law of 1865, from which, although somewhat 
 imperfect in its details, is gleaned the names of 
 those who went to the country's defense in that 
 perilous hour. The enlistments for 1861 were as 
 follows : — 
 
 44/'/^ Regiment, Co. E. — Geo. Washington Ar- 
 nold ; WiUiam M. Banks, born in PawUng, Aug. 5, 
 
 1842, was afterward in the 4th Heavy Artillery, in 
 which he served twenty-two months, now dead; 
 Hiram Banks, born in Pawling, Oct. 23, 1840, 
 served about one year, was then discharged on ac- 
 count of disabiUty, and died at home August 28, 
 1864; George Banks, born in Pawling, Aug. i, 
 
 1843, was wounded in the arm May 27, 1862, and 
 had the limb amputated at Gaines Hill, was dis- 
 charged in September 1862; Cyrus IngersoU; 
 Martin IngersoU ; James S. Pearce, served three 
 years, now town clerk of Pawling, and a druggist 
 in Pawling Village. 
 
 128M Regiment, Co. ^.—Philip Allen, born in 
 PawUng, February 14, 1829, was wounded at Port 
 Hudson, May 27, 1863, died on the 28th of May, 
 and was buried on the field; George Brownell, 
 born in Pawling, April 19, 1844; Milton Brownell; 
 Isaac Brownell, dead ; William H. Beach, born in 
 Pawling, February 26, 1837; Charles S. Dodge, 
 born in Pawling, January 19, 1843, was wounded 
 at the battle of Cedar Creek, October 19, 1864; 
 WiUiam Owen Dennamy, born in PawUng in 1845, 
 served three years ; George H. Dascum ; W. H. 
 Nichols, born in Washington, N. Y., February 20, 
 1834, served one year and one month and died in 
 hospital at Baton Rouge; Jeremiah S. Pearce, 
 born in PawUng, August 28, 1837, was promoted 
 after one year's service to First Lieutenant, and in 
 July, 1864, was promoted to Captain ; Archibald 
 Penney, born in Pawling, January 27, 1846 ; David 
 Sprague, born in PawUng, June 9, 1831, died May 
 5, 1863, at Baton Rouge, La., where he was buried ; 
 Solomon Woodin, born in PawUng, June 29, 
 1843, was discharged on account of disabiUty Feb- 
 ruary 20, 1863 ; Charles Wesley Wilcox, born in 
 Dover, N. Y., February 13, 1835; William H. 
 Millard, after serving about eight months was pro- 
 moted to First Sergeant, which office he held until 
 mustered out. 
 
 Co. i^.— Randolph Meade BrowneU ; Egbert 
 Brill, born in PawUng, June 8, 1832, was dis- 
 
 charged for disability after serving nearly a year ; 
 John J. Evans ; Alexander Jones, born in Dover, 
 N. Y., October 17, 1832, was promoted Corporal 
 in September, 1862 ; Isaac W. Olivitt, born in 
 Pawling, April 5, 1847; was killed by a sheU at 
 Port Hudson, in July, 1863 ; James H. Penney, 
 born in Pawling, September 25, 1843 ; James L. 
 Stephens; Gilbert A. Stephens; Samuel Wilcox, 
 born in Pawling, in October, 1845, died at Baton 
 Rouge, La., in 1863; Jacob Paulis, after serving 
 nearly two and one-half years was taken sick, and 
 after a furlough he was taken prisoner October 9, 
 1864, and died July 8, 1865, in Richmond, Va., — 
 starved to death, — and was there buried. 
 
 Co. /—Albert M. Barker ; Wheeler G. Cronk, 
 bom in Beekman, N. Y., February 26, 1831, was 
 promoted Corporal, and died in Baton Rouge La., 
 October 24, 1863; William Gulliver, born in Paw- 
 Ung, August II, 1843 ; Benjamin P. Worden, was 
 discharged for disability near Fairfax Court House, 
 Va., in February, 1863. 
 
 Companies Unknown. — Benjamin S. Hoag, born 
 in PawUng, December 2, 1834 ; Lorenzo D. OUvitt ; 
 EUhu S. Wing, born in PawUng, November 3, 
 1843, was discharged for disability in November, 
 1862 ; WilUam Bingall, deserted ; Thomas Fur- 
 long, deserted ; Spoffard Millard ; John Richmond, 
 deserted ; Martin Basely ; Robert J. Michael ; W. 
 J. Worden ; WiUiam Henry Mulkin. 
 
 \Zoth Regiment, Co. A— Perry W. Chapman, 
 born in Dover, N. Y., March 27, 1841, pro- 
 moted to Second Lieutenant, September 23, 1862, 
 again in 1864, to First Lieutenant, and again in 
 March, 1865, to Captain by brevet, by order of the 
 Secretary of War, and is now living in PawUng ; 
 Caleb Davis, Jr., born in Pawling, December 3, 
 1841, was transferred to 2d U. S. Cavalry; Merritt 
 Davis, born in PawUng, in 1845, was transferred to 
 2d U. S. Cavalry, January 21, 1863, in which he 
 served the remainder of his time ; Henry Pearce, 
 M. D., was born in PawUng, March i, 1833, re- 
 signed in consequence of injuries received by the 
 fall of his horse, and afterwards served as A. A. 
 Surgeon in the Eastern Department, now a physi- 
 cian in PawUng, N. Y.; Philip Davis, born 
 in PawUng, in 1839, died in Baltimore, in June 
 1863 ; Caleb Davis, Sr., born in PawUng, Octo- 
 ber 10, 181 1 ; WilUam Miller, born in Paw- 
 ling, May 15, 1832; George Miller, born in 
 1833 : John Slocum, deserted in Baltimore; Dan- 
 iel Washburne, died at Point Lookout Hospital, 
 September 20, 1863 ; Denmore Whaley, born in 
 Sherman, Conn., April 29, 1803, still living in Paw- 
 
S6o 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 ling ; William Prout, was discharged for disability 
 June 27, 1863 j George Burhans. 
 
 i^h Heavy Artillery. — James Banks, born in 
 Pawling March 27, 1847, dead; John Banks, 
 born in Pawling, July 10, 1849; John IngersoU, 
 was taken prisoner at Brandy Station and died in 
 Libby Prison ; Charles Mosher, born in Pawling 
 January 12, 1839, served two years and re-enlisted 
 for three years more ; James Morey, born in Fish- 
 kill, N. Y., in 1840, died August 16, 1862 ; Nathan 
 Penney, born in Dover, N. Y., July 7, 1836, served 
 two years and re-enlisted, and remained in service 
 one, year and ten months ; Charles Harris, born in 
 Fishkill, N. Y., November 12, 1821 ; George S. 
 Vanderburgh, born in Pawling, September 10,1842, 
 promoted to Corporal April i, 1864; Myron Jones, 
 born in Dover, N. Y., February 25, 1827 ; Charles 
 Davis, born in Pawling, July 20, 1825, served 
 two years, re-enlisted and served one year and 
 ten months; Norman Davis, born in Pawling 
 April I, 1839, served two years, re-enlisted 
 for three years more and died October i, 
 1864; Ephraim Davis, born in Pawling in 
 1826, died of typhoid fever August 15, 1864, on 
 Davis' Island, where he was buried; Henry 
 Swords, born in Pawling February 22, 183 1; 
 Henry Lawrence, served one year and six months, 
 was wounded in the foot at the battle of the 
 Wilderness, and was discharged July 28, 1865; 
 W. H. Wilcox ; William Worden ; Alonzo Town- 
 send ; Daniel Townsend ; Daniel Callahan ; 
 Silas J. Haviland; Augustus Thomas ; George W. 
 Michael. 
 
 Scattering. — Patrick Curryj died in Suffolk, Va., 
 in 1862 ; Patrick Fannell; Henry Moore, promot- 
 ed to Second Lieutenant in January 1864, pro- 
 moted to First Lieutenant in 1865 ; John V. Moore ; 
 Hiram I. Sherman, born in Pawling April ?i, 1834; 
 Jerome Worden, born in Pawling, October 15, 
 1846; Stephen Worden; George Kirby, went out 
 as Second Lieutenant, promoted to First Lieuten- 
 ant, in September, 1862, promoted to Captain in 
 March 1863 ; Charles Dutcher, born in Dover, 
 N. Y., October 24, 1842, A. A. Paymaster in 
 Navy, entered the service September 26, 1863; 
 John M. Olivitt, born in Pawling, June 27, 1843, 
 served two years and a half and re-enlisted in 
 same regiment; John Ett, born in Dover, N. Y., 
 May 2, 1845, served two years seven months and 
 seventeen days, and died of heart disease at 
 Donaldsonville, July 17, 1864, and was there 
 buried ; Amos Woodin ; George P. Reed ; George 
 W. Mulkin. 
 
 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 
 
 HON. ALBERT J. AKIN. 
 
 The Akin family of which Hon. Albert J. is 
 now (1882) the oldest representative member, has 
 always been one of the most important in Duchess 
 County. Of Scotch origin and Quaker lineage, the 
 second American representative, left New England 
 for its persecutions and settled upon Quaker Hill 
 in the town of Pawling, and there his descendants 
 have made a continued stand for several genera- 
 tions. Sectarian persecutions from which the New 
 England Quakers were sufferers, added largely to 
 the independent and intelligent populatien of 
 Duchess County, but it received no more conspicu- 
 ous advantage .from any source than from the 
 arrival of this Akin refugee. 
 
 John Akin, from whom the American branch of 
 the family descend^, originally came from Aber- 
 deen, Scotland, in the year 1680, and settled at Dart- 
 mouth, Bristol county, Mass. He remained there 
 until June 1746, when he died at the age of eighty- 
 three years. His first wife was Hannah Briggs. 
 After her death he iparried again and by the two 
 wives became the father of fifteen children. 
 
 David, the oldest of these children, was born 
 September 9, 1689, and married Sarah Allen, by 
 whom he had ten children. He was the first of the 
 family to settle at Quaker Hill. David Akin's eld- 
 est son, John, married in 1742, Margaret Hicks 
 and had four children. One of these, John Jr., was 
 born Nov. 11, 1753, and in 1775 was united in 
 marriage with MoUie Ferriss. Six children were 
 the fruits of this marriage, of whom the oldest was 
 Albro, born March 6, 1778. On the i8th of 
 November 1801, Albro was married to Pauline 
 Vanderburgh, daughter of Col. James Vander- 
 burgh, of Beekman, and one of a family of eight- 
 een children. By this and subsequent marriages, 
 Albro became the father of ten children, the eldest 
 of whom by his first wife was Albert John, born 
 August 14, 1803, and the subject of this sketch and 
 the original of the accompanying engraving. 
 
 Hon. Albro Akin, the father of Albert J., was a 
 leading merchant, farmer and Democrat of the 
 County all his life ; representing the County in the 
 General Assembly, and was for a considerable pe- 
 riod one of the County Judges. When he re- 
 signed the latter office his brother, Hon. Daniel D. 
 Akin, succeeded him. Albro died in 1854, at the 
 ripe age of seventy-six. 
 
 At an early age Albert J. attended school in 
 New York City, Southeast Centre, Putnam county, 
 and Red Hook Academy in the successive winters, 
 and assisted in his father's business summers. 
 After leaving school he was wholly occupied by his 
 father's pursuits until 1823, when the mercantile 
 part of the business passed into the hands of his 
 uncle Daniel, and he left for a clerkship in a lead- 
 ing dry goods house in New York City, being then 
 unwilling to confine himself solely to a fanning 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 
 
 life. This clerkship continued until the firm he 
 was with dissolved, and he embarked for himself in 
 a mercantile career in that city. This occupation 
 continued for a few years, until by his application 
 his health entirely failed and obliged him to give 
 up and return to open air life upon his native hills. 
 For several years he remained incapacitated for 
 active pursuits of any kind, but later, about 1834, 
 he was barely able to take up farming once more, 
 which he did upon an extensive scale, and contin- 
 ued it with broken health but great success down 
 to the date of this sketch, (1882.) 
 
 In 1836, he was married to Jane Will- 
 iams, of the city of New York. 
 
 Mr. Akin became interested in the 
 extension of the Harlem Railroad from 
 Croton Falls, northerly through his native 
 town to Dover Plains. He was at that 
 time one of two gentlemen who raised 
 $100,000, which was the condition of that 
 extension, and was so successful that be- 
 fore the close of 1848 that portion of the 
 railroad was complete. The next year 
 he was elected a director of this raikoad, 
 holding the office for fifteen years. 
 
 In 1849, ^^ organized the Pawling 
 Bank which immediately elected him its 
 president, and has continued him in that 
 office ever since. The Bank has been 
 one of the most successful institutions 
 in the State. 
 
 In 1880, he resolved to erect a hall 
 upon Quaker Hill, for the religious and 
 literary use of the neighborhood. This 
 was completed and endowed by him the 
 following year and was opened as "Akin 
 Hall" in July, 1881. This uncommonly 
 tasteful structure and its accompaniments 
 must have involved an expense of not less 
 than $25,000. About the same period he 
 originated the project of a large and 
 elegant summer hotel in the same locality. 
 This has since been completed at a cost 
 of about $100,000, most of which was 
 contributed by Mr. Akin. In this year (1880) he 
 was chosen as one of the presidential electors to 
 his native State on the Republican ticket and was 
 thus entitled to a vote for the martyred President. 
 To these important duties have' been super-added 
 directorship in several prominent incorporated 
 companies in the City of New York, to the success 
 of which his rare judgment has largely contributed. 
 
 If it be considered that Mr. Akin has been dur- 
 ing all these years a confirmed invaHd, his activi- 
 ties, as well as his later conspicuous philanthropy 
 combine to make him a marked man. His clear 
 uprightness of character, his wealth, his success, 
 his enterprise and generosity, will leave him an un- 
 usually honored memory. 
 
 During his entire life his summers have been 
 spent in the attractive high land country where he 
 was born and his winters at his residence in the 
 City of New York. Being without children his 
 home has never been without the attraction of 
 
 ♦ 
 
 S6i 
 
 meces who have brightened hearth and heart and 
 made a marriage which was happy in itself almost 
 mdependent of tl^e vicissitudes of health and cir- 
 cumstance. If such men are not rare then man- 
 hood is in itself more creditable. If they are rare, 
 the more credit to him who has given his fellow- 
 men the attractive force of such an example. 
 
 WILLIAM H. TABER. 
 Thomas Taber was a native of Rhode Island 
 and settled in the town of Dover in 1760, on a 
 
 .^^ 
 
 (WILLIAM H. TABER.) 
 
 tract of land which has been occupied by his de- 
 scendants to the present time. 
 
 William, the son of Jeremiah, and grandson of 
 Thomas Taber, was born December 10, 1796, and 
 died in January 1863. In October, 1822, he 
 was united in marriage with Eliza Sherman, who 
 died February 5, 1841. To them were born four 
 children of whom two are now Hving, viz.: — Wm. 
 Henry, born May 4, 1825, and Walter- F., born 
 October 29, 1830. 
 
 William H. was raised upon the old homestead 
 where he followed the occupation of farming and 
 stock raising and was a dealer in merchandise at 
 Pawling nine years.. In 1852 he was united in 
 marriage with Catharine, daughter of Benjamin 
 F. Flagler, of Beekman, by whom he had two 
 children, Harriet Eliza, born Sept. 26, 1853, and 
 Amelia, born Feb. 10, 1855. Mrs. Taber died 
 September 26, 1855, and in 1858 Mr. Taber was 
 married to Elizabeth Thomas, of Dover, who also 
 
S62 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 died, April 6, 1874, leaving three children, as fol- 
 lows : — George A., born March 21, i86oj Nellie 
 F., born June 6, 1861; and Charles W., born Feb- 
 ruary 21, 1864. 
 
 Mr. Taber is one of the leading representative 
 men of the day. In politics he is a Democrat. 
 He has been Justice of the Peace, Supervisor and 
 Assessor of his town. His farm, which consists of 
 260 acres, borders on the State of Connecticut, the 
 northeast corner of the town of Pawling and Quaker 
 Hill. The residence was erected in 1790, but has 
 been changed and greatly improved by Mr. Taber. 
 Harriet Eliza Taber is now the wife of William H. 
 Osborne, of Pawling. 
 
 "Homestead," the residence of William H. 
 Taber that appears in this work was purchased by 
 
 the great-grandfather of the present owner in 1760. 
 Mr. Taber is the fourth owner of the property 
 since that time; it having remained continually in 
 the family. The name " Homestead " was given 
 it by Mr. Taber, as decidedly appropriate, it being 
 the oldest possessioned piece of property in this 
 County, and we may say in this part of the State j 
 remaining in one family 122 years. There is a family 
 burying ground on the place in which the great- 
 grandfather and father of Mr. Taber are buried. 
 The farm contains 260 acres, and is used by Mr. 
 Taber for stock purposes ; he carries on the 
 butcher business and is an extensive dealer in 
 stock. The place is located in the north-east ■ 
 corner of the town of Pawling, six miles from 
 Pawling station. 
 
Names of Citizens 
 
 WHO ASSISTED AND CONTEIBUTED TOWAED THE PDBLICATIOIf OF THE HISTORY OF DUCHESS 
 
 COUNTY, WITH PERSONAL STATISTICS. 
 
 AMENIA. 
 
 Bartin Mary C, p o City. 
 Barton Lewis B., p o Amenia, 
 
 Bartholomew George, po Amenia, retired gentleman, owns 
 homestead, born In Litchfield county, Conn., settled 
 in county in 1873 ; wife Sarah Wheeler, born in 
 Duchess county, married in 1871. 
 Baylis Frank, p o Amenia, farmer and cream dealer, 332 acres, 
 born in Amenia, Sept. 14, 1816 ; wife Hattie A. Oline, 
 born Jan. 13, 1854 ; married May 16, 1S78 ; one child, 
 Albert A. Bajrlis, born June 10, 1879; was the first to 
 bottle and ship cream to the New York market. Abiah 
 P. Baylis born in Amenia, Jan. 1, 1805, died in 1873 ; 
 married Jane Case, who died loaving two children. 
 He then married Mary Jane Gregory, of Rensselaer 
 ' county, four children now living. William Baylis was 
 one of the oldest settlers. 
 Benjamin C. M., general merchant, born in county in 1832, has been 
 supervisor two terms, town clerk many years and h^ld 
 several other town offices. Daniel Benjamin, bora in 
 Conn., in 1793; came to Duchess countyin 1820 ; died in 
 1857 ; was a prominent member of the firm " Benjamin 
 & Caulkins.^' C M. Benjamin commenced business in 
 1866, purchased store in 1861. 
 Benson Joseph H., p o Wassaic, farmer, 900 acres, born in 
 Dover, in 1815 ; wife Helen Hall, born in Duchess 
 county in 1820, married in 1845; five children— Mary 
 E., Piatt J., Augusta E., Franklin D., and Ella E. 
 Samuel Benson, bom in Dtichess county in 1779, died in 
 1862. 
 Benton Ezra B., born in Amenia, in 1839, owns the old estate of 
 380 acres ; wife Rebecca L. Hitchcock, born in Amenia 
 . in 1811, married in 1865 ;— one child, Lillian M.. born 
 !fil8e6. William A. Benton, born in Guilford, Conn., 
 in 1788 and died in 1865. Homer Hitchcock, born in 
 Sharon, Conn., in 1805, died in 1875; two children- 
 Sarah Hitchcock Chapman, born in 1843, and Steven 
 Hitchcock born in Conn., purchased the farm in 1810 
 afterward died. 
 Bertine Robert, p o City, owns homestead, born in New York 
 or Westchester, in 1804, died in 1877 ; Tvife Mary C. 
 Barnes, born in New York, married in 1835 ; five 
 children — Ann Eliza, Gertrude R., M. Fannie, Jose- 
 phene M.,' Hobert D, 
 Bird Mary C, p o Amenia Union. 
 
 Bird Edwin, p o Amenia Union, owned the homestead, born in 
 Amenia, in 1820, died in 1852 ; wife Hannah Maria 
 Paine, born in Mass., in ISiS, married Oct. 26, 1841 ; 
 four children, three living— Helen M., born in 1846, 
 George H., born in 1848, Mary C, born in 1852. Helen 
 married Henry V. D. Reed, born in Amenia and mar- 
 ried in 1866. 
 Bird Henry, p o Amenia, farmer 260 acres, born in Amenia in 
 1799, died in 1860 ; wife Parnell Parsons, born in Amenia 
 1803, married in 1820; children dne— Milo, born 1828. 
 Joseph Parsons, born in Duchess county, in 1783, died 
 in 1813 
 Case Warren, p o Amenia, retired saddler, born in Newark, N. 
 J., in 1803, settled in county in 1856 ; .wife Abbey A. 
 Reynolds, born in Duchess county in 1813, married in 
 1833. Jonathan P. Reynolds, b.orn in Rhode Island, ia 
 1786, died Feb. 2, 1870. married Sarah Jarvis, of Conn., 
 born in 1791, married in 1819, died May 12, 1880 ; two 
 chiidrdn now living, Abbie A., and Jane Eliza Bartlett, 
 born 1811. 
 
 Caulkms E. G., general merchant in firm of Benjamin & C 
 born in North Bast, Duchess county, in 1821 ; wife 
 Louisa Benjamin, born in Duchess county, married in 
 ■ ;— two children, Piatt B., and Henry M. 
 
 Oaulkins Piatt B., p o Amenia, general merchant, born in 
 Duchess county, in 1853, commenced business in 1880 
 „, „ Enoch G. Caulkins. born in Amenia, Duchess county! 
 Ohaffee Jerome S., p o Leedsville, farmer 290 acres : born in 
 Sharon, Conn,, Dec. 14, 1814, settled in county in 1855 
 assessor for two terms: wife Aritta Stuart, born in 
 Kent, in 1812, married in 1839, died in 1873, leaving one 
 son— James, born in 1847. Jerome then married Adelia 
 Fuller, of Sharon. Conn., in 1876, 
 Chaffee James S,, p o Amenia Uuiiji, farmer, born in 1846, has 
 been highway commissioner of town ; wife Lydia Judd 
 of Conn., born in 1851, married in 1872 ;— four children 
 Jerome S,, Edward J., Aritta, Everett S. ' 
 
 Cline Albert, p o South Amenia, farmer 266 acres, born in 
 Amenia, in 1828 ; wife Eliza Spinks, born in New Haven 
 Conn. ; married in 1854, died in 1872 ;— four children' 
 Albert then married Rebecca Wilson, of Duchess 
 county, born in 1843, and married in .1873 ; children- 
 Harriett A,, Philo R., Chas. A„ and Maria B. Philo 
 Cline born in Amenia, and died in about 1862, married 
 Harriett Swift, of Duchess county In 1830 who died In 
 1S60. 
 Chamberlain O., general mercantile business, born in 
 Amenia in 1818 : wife Charlottte A. Wakeman, born in 
 1824, died in Sept. 1861, married in 1853 ;— one child, 
 Charlotte M., born in 1861 ; married Mary E. Wicks, 
 of Monroe county, in 1863, she was born in 1834 ;— two 
 children, Alexander M., and Chas. W. Commenced 
 business in 1855. 
 Conklin Nathan, p o Amenia, farmer 20 acres, born in Duchess 
 county in 1829; wife Margaret V. Thompson of Duch- 
 ess county, married in 1859; children two — Anna and 
 Amy. John H. Conklin bom In Duchess county in 
 1790, died in 1870; married Eliza Huntington, born In 
 Duchess county in 1800, married in 1818, died in 1868 
 leaving five children, Mumford, Isaac H., Elizabeth, 
 John and Nathan. The grandfather, Nathan Conklin, 
 born in Long Island, settled in county about 1781, and 
 died in 1827. 
 Culver Walter B.. p o Amenia, farmer and dairyman, born in 
 Pine Plains in 1837; wife Hattie Mygatt of Duchess 
 county, married in 1863; children five, MaryE., Laura, 
 Ambrose M,, Dudley D,, and Harry W. Backus Culver 
 bom in Pine Plains in 1806, died in 1870; wife Abbie 
 Drew of Connecticut, born in 1809, married in 1830 and 
 died in 1870: children four, Laura B., VInnie B., Dud- 
 ley G., and Walter B. 
 Flint Augustus, p o Amenia, farmer and dairyman, 280 acres, 
 born In Amenia, Duchess county in 1807; first wife 
 Catherine J. Bockee of Duchess county, bom in 1811, 
 married in 1835, and died April 9, 1843; children three, 
 George, born in 18:)6, died in 1862, Jacob, born in 1838, 
 died in 1841, and Marths, B., bom In 1841; second wife 
 Julia Lord 'of Litchfield county. Conn., born in 1814, 
 married in 1847; children one, Chas. A. Flint, born 
 1847. JabBZ Flint, born in Windham county. Conn., in 
 1756, came to Duchess county in 1782, and died in 1844, 
 farmer; married Elizabeth Merritt, bom In West 
 Chester, and died about 1792; second wife Mary Payne, 
 born in Duchess county in 1770, married in 1793, died 
 in 1843 leaving six children, of whom two are now liv- 
 ing; Jabez Flint was engaged in the Revolution. 
 
HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 Frost Hyatt, p o Amenia, importer of wild animals and farmer, 
 18H acres, born in South East, Putnam county, March 
 4, 1827, settled in Duchess county May 12, 1867; -wife 
 Sarah Halstead, born in Ancram, Columbia county, 
 married Jan. 19, 1864; children two. 
 
 Gould H. J., {general carriage and wagon manuf'r, born in 
 Amenia in 1856; father John Gould, born in Germany 
 in 1814, came to Duchess county in 1848, died in 1864; 
 wife Mary Ring, born in Germanj in 18.30, and married 
 in 1848. 
 
 Guernsey D., M. D., p o Amenia, physician, 500 acres, born in 
 Milan, Duohess county in 1830, surgeon of TJ. S. V. 
 and President Duchess County Medical Society; wife 
 Lydia'A. Reynolds, born in Amenia, married in Octo- 
 ber, 1861; children one. 
 
 Hebard Newton, p o Amenia, cashier of bank, owns 280 acres, 
 born Poughkeepsie October 14, 1837; wife Hattie E. 
 Per Lee, married October 5, 1865. 
 
 Ingraham Geo. W., p o Amenia, farmer and lawyer, 120 acres, 
 born in Duohess county in 1811; wife Electa Hunt. of 
 Connecticut, married in 1834; children four, three liv- 
 ing—Sarah J., Aaron H., Phebe, and George I. Hunt: 
 Aaron H. was First Lieutenant, and was killed at Cold 
 Harbor, Va. 
 
 James Geo. D., p o Amenia, farmer, 265 acres, born in Amenia 
 in 1837; wife May B. Hall, of Chautauqua county, 
 born in 1833, married in 1858; children four— Charles 
 A., Lina V., Richard H., and Carrie H. Samuel R. 
 James, born in Duchess county in 1802, died about 1870, 
 farmer; wife Margaret Force, born in New Jersey in 
 1800, died in 1856. 
 
 Kirby John B., p o Amenia, farmer, 310 acres, born in Pawling 
 in 1833, was town commissioner in 1880: wife Emma J. 
 Barton, born in Duchess county in 1844, married in 
 1863; children two — Georgia B.. born in 1865. and Nel- 
 lie M., born in 1873. Uriah Kirby, born in Pawling in 
 1789, died in 1852. Luther Barton, born in Duchess 
 county 1841; wile Helen Chamberlin, born in Duchess 
 county, married in 1867. died in 1870. 
 
 Leroy Josiah, p o City, farmer, 201 a&res, born in Ulster county 
 in 1800, settled in Duchess county in lb35; wife Julia 
 Mackey, born in Ulster county in 1803, died in 1869, 
 married in 1821; children seven— Leroy, Jeremiah, 
 Daniel, VanAUen, Henry, James, and Aurena L. 
 
 Mabbett R., p o Amenia. 
 
 Mead John F., p o Amenia, owns 300 acres, born in Amenia in 
 1834; wife Mary Mygatt, born in Amenia in 1838, mar- 
 ried in 1858; children three — Emma M., born in 1861, 
 Edward C, born in 1863, Franklin P., born in 1870. 
 John K. Mead, born in Amenia in 1799, died in 1873; 
 wife Jane A. Sutherland, born in Amenia in 1808, and 
 married in 1828; children six. His father John Mead, 
 Jr., bom in Amenia in 1T61, died in 18-^8; the grandfath- 
 er, Capt. Job Mead, served in the Revolution, was born 
 in Connecticut, and came with his father to Duchess 
 county in 1740. 
 
 Murdock H. B., p o Amenia, superintendent of Manhattan Min- 
 ing Company, born in Massachusetts in 1840, settled 
 in Duchess county in 1867. 
 
 Mygatt Abram P., p o Ameniu, farmer 180 acres, born in Amenia 
 in 1811 ; wife Louisa Rundle, born in Duchess county 
 in 1817, married in 1840; children four— Julia, 37 years 
 old, Anna, 35, Henry, 33, and Laura. 30. Thomas My- 
 gatt, burn in Duchess county, and died in 1814. 
 
 Mygatt Ambrose, p o Amenia, retired farmer, 400 acres, born in 
 Amenia io September, 1809, has been supervisor; wife 
 Mary E. Clark, born in North East in 1811, married in 
 1834; children three— Emily C, born in 1837, Mary M., 
 in 1839, and Harriet J., in 1836; the mother died in 
 1865, and the father married May Drew of Connecti- 
 cut; she was born in 1812, and married in 1867. 
 
 Palmer Abiah W., born in Duchees county in 1835; wife Jeanette 
 Yeamans, married in 1873; children two— Rowland S., 
 and an infant. 
 
 Parsons Warren, p o Amenia, farmer and stock raiser, 210 acres, 
 born in Duchess county in 1805; wife Caroline Rowe, 
 born in Duchess county in 1813, married in 1834; chil- 
 dren four— Theron W., Chas. A., and Fannie and Frank 
 (twins) Andrews Rowe, born in Duchess county in 
 1780, and died in 1860. 
 
 Per Lee Walter P., p o Amenia. farmer and dairyman, born in 
 Chenango county in 1813, settled in Duchess county in 
 1813, supervisor two terms, assessor and other town 
 offices; wife Hannah E. Sutherland of Duchess county, 
 born in 1813, married in 1833; children six— Harriet E., 
 Henry P., Sarah S., George B,, Julia E., and Helen C. 
 Walter Per Lee, born in Duchess county in 1800, and 
 died in 1860, farmer; five children now living; his 
 father, Edmond Per Lee,'boru in Duchess county in 
 1750, died about 1820; his father, born in France and 
 an early settler of this town. 
 
 Peters H. W., p o Amenia, farmer, born in Duchess county in 
 1816; wife Caroline Flint of Duchess county. 
 
 Powers Peter B., p o Amenia, farmer, 250 acres, born in Duch- 
 ess county December 82, 1823; wife Elizabeth Wheeler 
 of Duchess county, born in 1837, married in 1871. 
 Chas. W. Powers, born in Duchess county in 1803, died 
 in 1869, married Jane A, Benjamin of Duohess county; 
 children eight— five now living; bis father, Peter 
 Powers, born in Duchess county in 1768, died in 1848; 
 his father, born in Germany, settled in Duohess county 
 at an early day. 
 
 Putnam J. W.. p o Amenia, farmer and stock dealer, 400 acres, 
 born in New Hampshire in 1827, settled in Duchess 
 county in 1866, has been supervisor and assessor sev- 
 eral terms; wife Laura Hall, born in New Hampshire 
 in 1831, married in 1853; children three— Minnie, aged 
 as, Katy V., 23, and Drury W.. 21. 
 
 Pratt Peter, p o Amenia, proprietor Pratt's Hotel, born in Kent, 
 Conn., in 1844, settled in county in 1867 ; wife Julia 
 A. Stone, born in Conn., married in 1865 ; one child- 
 Minnie S. Purchased the old Putnam House'in 1867, 
 erected this house in 1875. Father John M. Pratt born 
 in Conn., in 1809, came to county in 1867 ; wife Charlotte 
 Mills, of Conn. She died in 1846. 
 
 Rundall Henry, p o Amenia, farmer 300 acres, bom in Amenia in 
 Duohess county, in 1881 ; wife Looinda A. Ranson, of 
 Ulster county, born in 1881, married in 1853; six chil- 
 dren-Herbert R , Clarence A., Arthur, Frank D.. Mar- 
 tin K., and Laura J. Henry RundalJ born in Duchess 
 county, in 1799, died, in 1871, married Nancy T. Suther- 
 land, of Amenia, born in 1830, died in 1869, leaving six 
 children, Sarah, Elizabeth, David, Henry, Mary and 
 Katy. Grandfather born in Long Island, settled in 
 county at opening of Revolution, and enlisted as Aide 
 to Col. Barker. Died about 1845. 
 
 Sherman S. W.. general stock-dealer, 260 acres of land, born in 
 Amenia in 1844 ; wife DoraE.Chadwick,ofWayne coun- 
 ty, married in 1866, two children— Cornelia T., born 
 in 1869 and David H. Jr., born in 1878. Father, Walter 
 Sherman, born in Dover, in 1806, died March 12, 1880 • 
 wife Cornelia AUerton, born in 1807, married in 1830; 
 two sons. 
 
 Sherman D. H., stock-raiser and farmer, 378 acres; born in 
 Amenia in 1837 ; wife Secelia Mayer, of Wayne county, 
 married inl 868; two children— Walter A., and Mary 
 0. 
 
 Smith Albert C, p o Amenia, farmer, 800 acres, bom in Colum- 
 bia county, in 1820, settled in county in 1827. Mr. L. 
 Smith, born in Litchfield, Conn., in 1789, came to coun- 
 ty in 1812, died in 1864, farmer ; wife Sally Field, born 
 in Duchess county, in 1789, married in 1816 ; children 
 three— Albert, George G., born in 1823, and Louisa, 
 born in 1839, she married Nathaniel Hewitt, born in 
 Essex county, in 1819; died in 1866, married in 1851 ; 
 children two— May twenty-one years of age, and Al- 
 bertine, now fifteen. 
 
 Smith Nathan, p o South Amenia, farmer, born in Amenia, in 
 1848 ; wife Josephene Hufcut, married in March, 1873, 
 died in 1875, leaving one child, Josephene born in 1875. 
 He then married Sarah C. Barrett, born in Duchess 
 county, in 1847, married in 1877— one child. 
 
 Smith Nathan W., p o South Amenia, farmer, 275 acres, born 
 in Conn., in 1817, settled in county, in 1837 ; wife Ada- 
 line E. Holly, of Columbia county, married in 1846, 
 died in 1848, leaving one child— John H. Second wife 
 Esther Odell, of Jefferson county, born in 1888, mar- 
 ried in 1860. 
 
 Smith John H., general carriage and wagon manufacturer, 
 owns 75 acres of land and th^ homestead, born In 
 Conn., in 1821, settled in county, 1840,- has held several 
 town offices. Justice of Peace in 1879; wife Marie, 
 Reed, born in Amenia, in 1827, married in 1847: chil- 
 dren seven— Nathan, Sarah M., Myron, Belinda 
 Esther M., Edwin D., and John H. 
 
 Swift John M., p o South Amenia, farmer, born in Washington 
 in 181b ; wife Rebecca G. Cochran, born in Duoness 
 county, in 1816, married in 1841. Father Henry Swift 
 born in Amenia, m 1784, died in 1808 ; wife Rebecca 
 Warner, of Duchess county, died in 1858, leaving five 
 children. 
 
 Tanner Dr. W. H., physician and surgeon in army, owns 350 
 acres of land; wife Aohsa M? York, bom in Oxford, 
 Chenango county, married in 1867: children Iwo— 
 James E., born in 1869, and M&ry M., born in 1874. 
 Doctor Tanner was appointed physician and surgeon 
 m the 47th regiment in 1861, and served four years. 
 
 Tftnner James W., p o Wassaic, retired farmer, 350 acres, born 
 in Amenia April 33, 1807; wife Rhoda A. HulDbard, 
 born in Connecticut in 1814, married in 1838; children 
 two— William H., born in 1836, and Anna M., born in 
 1841. William Tanner, born in Duchess county in 1790, 
 died in 1856, farmer. James Tanner died about 1818 
 aged 63 years, one of the early settlers, born in 
 Duchess county. 
 
 Thomas Walter B., p o Lithgow, farmer and general wagon 
 manufacturer, born in Duchess county in 1819, owns 
 115 acres of land; wife Jane McFarlin, born in Duohess 
 county in 1822, married in 1843, died in 1872, leaving 
 three children— John D., born in 1853, Anna E., born 
 in 1855, and Henry J., born in 1867. Charles E. Thomas, 
 born in Duchess county in 1792, died in 1864, a farmer. 
 
 Thompson John R.,p o Amenia, farm and windmills, 80 acres, 
 born in city July 8, 1851, has been justice of the peace 
 and assessor; wife Mary F. Thompson, New Fork city, 
 married October 11, 1877; children two. 
 
 Thompson Robert R., p o City, farmer and insurance agent 180 
 acres, born in Duchess county in 1816, postmaster ten 
 years ; wife Catherine S. Thompson of Duohess county, 
 born in 1824, married in 1841; children four— Ellen C. 
 George S., John R., Edward B. 
 
PERSONAL STATISTICS. 
 
 Tleman Geo. H., farmer, born in Germany in 1856, settled in 
 Duchess county in 1858; wife Nellie Walker, born in 
 England in 1853, married May 8, 1880. John Tleman, 
 born in Germany in 18)^, came to Duchess county in 
 1858. 
 
 Underbill E. B., farmer, 265 acres, born In Putnam county in 
 1836, settled in Duchess county in February, 1874; wife 
 Sarah E. Miller, of Columbia county, married in 1864; 
 children two— Carrie M., and Charles B. Charles H. 
 Underbill, born in Greene county, died in Genesee 
 county in 1866, aged 45; wife Caroline M. Wager, of 
 Columbia county, died in 1878, aged 64 years. 
 
 Van HoTonburg Frank P., p o City, farmer, 165 acres, bom in 
 Duchess county in 1853. John Van Hovenburg, born 
 October 5, 1798, died July 17, 1859, wife Catherine 
 Tompkins, born in Duchess county April 10, 1818, mar- 
 ried March S8, 183^; children six— Jennie, born August 
 U9, 184-, Obas. B., born July 9, 1843, John C, born 
 March 23, 1846, Hester, born January 34, 1847, Cora, 
 born March 17, 1850, and Prank P., born November 15, 
 1853. 
 
 Vincent Egbert, p o Amenia, farmer and lumber dealer, born in 
 Duchess county in 1813; wife Caroline M. Vail, born in 
 Duchess county in 188i, married in 1839; cbildren two 
 — Georgiana, born in 1840, and Albert E., born in 
 1863. Hiram Vail, born in Union Vale, Duchess coun- 
 ty, in 1797, died in 1869; wife Matilda Doughty, born in 
 Beekman, Duchess county, in 1803, married in 1831; 
 children two. Hiram was a carpenter and afterwards 
 a banker. 
 
 Wheeler B. H., p o Amenia, farmer. 300 acres, born in North 
 East in 1813, has held the ofQce of assessor and others; 
 wife Emeline Clark, born in Duchess county in 1816, 
 married in 1849; children four— Mulford, Sarah, Clark 
 D., and Elizabeth, ^Father, Eben Wheeler, born in 
 Duchess county in 1780. died in 1869. Noah Wheeler 
 was one' of the early settlers 
 
 Wheeler Edmund E., p o Amenia, owns 185 acres of land, born 
 in North East in 1830, has been poormaster; wife 
 Laura Bundall, born in Amenia in 1835, died in 1876, 
 married in 1849; children four — Alice R., aged 30 years, 
 Annie E. 38, Fannie 34, Edmund J. aged 13: Jacob 
 Bundall born in Columbia county May 36, 1785, died 
 October 8, 1833, wife Eliza Mills of North East, born in 
 1798; married in 1834; two children now living— Sarah 
 I., DOrn in 1837 and Alice bornin 1834. 
 
 Wheeler C. D., p o Amenia, farmer, 309 acres, born in Amenia, 
 Ducness county, in 1848. 
 
 Wilbur Butledge, p o Amenia, superintendent, owns the home- 
 stead; wife Betsey Merchant, born in Litchfield, 
 Conn., married in 1833. died November 2, 1879; children 
 four- Albert B,, born in 1834, Sarah B , born in 1840, 
 and Ira E. and Ida B. (twins) born in 1846. David Wil- 
 ber, born in Rhode Island in 1770, came to county in 
 1771, died in 1852; shoemaker. ^ 
 
 Winchester Milo F , p o South Amenia, general merchant and 
 postmaster since 1849, owns 76 acres, bom in Amenia 
 in 1833, was justice of peace twenty-six years, super- 
 visor four years; wife Mary Nase, born in Amenia in 
 1826, married In 1847; children two— Henry N., born in 
 1850. Sidney, born in 1857. Father Milo Winchester, 
 born in Duchess county Nov. 30, 1789, died February, 
 1860, was a hatter; his father Amariah Winchester, 
 was one of the first settlers, served in the revolution- 
 ary war. 
 
 BEEKMAN. 
 
 Brill Rowland, p o Green Haven, farmer, .330 acres, born in 
 Beekman November 3, 18J1 ; wife Ann R. Johnson, of 
 Union Vale, married Feb. 19, 1846; children three- 
 George, Caroline and Rowland R.; father Cornell 
 Brill, son of John Brill, a native of county. 
 
 Brill John, p o Green Haven, farmer and miner, 2.300 acres, 
 born In town Sept. 16, 1818; wife Elizabeth Williams of 
 Union Vale, married Jan. 26, 1863; children three- 
 Carrie L., B. Allie, .and William V.; father Daniel 
 Brill, son of John Brill. 
 
 Brill Thomas D., p Poughquag, farmer, 266 acres, born m 
 town Aug. 1, 1838: wife Mary Jane Hurd of Pawling, 
 married Oct. 3, 1861; children five— Stacy C, Geroe D., 
 George, Marv I and Thomas J. ; father Daniel Brill. 
 
 Brill Daniel F.,po Poughquag, farmer and distiller, 20 acres, 
 bom in town Jan. 7, 1809, settled on farm in 1854, has 
 been postmaster and justice of peace; wife Maria Sill 
 of Putnam county, married Dec. 21, 1842; father Henry 
 Brill; mother Elizabeth Dennis. 
 
 Brown Geo. W., p o Clove Valley, farmer and coal dealer, 143 
 acres, born in Pennsylvania Jan. 1, 1845, settled in 
 county in 1872, has been assistant superintendent of 
 iron works: wife Amanda Levis of Pennsylvania, 
 married Feb. 28, 1878; child one— Sarah. Father Samuel 
 Brown, was superintendent of iron works nine years, 
 died in county March 7, 1881; mother Sarah Britten of 
 Pennsylvania. . 
 
 Cooper Ephraim, p o Poughquag, farmer 130 acres, born in Oon- 
 necticut Aug. 24, 1806, settled in county in 1848, has 
 been overseer of poor three years; wife Sarah Ann 
 Roraback of Columbia county, married July 4, 1840; 
 children two— Andrew J. and Frances G.; father 
 William Cooper, son of William, a resident of Dover. 
 
 Cook J. H., p o Poughquag, farmer, 100 acres, born in Pawling 
 Nov. 20, 1820, settled in town in 1857; wife Lydia P. 
 Dodge, married Dec. 14, 1856. died Nov. 22, 1876; lost 
 one child— Joseph ; father B. Cook, son of Darius Cook. 
 
 Dodge Henry, p o Beekman. 
 
 Dodge Joseph, p o Poughquag, farmer and surveyor, 78 acres, 
 born in Pawling Jan. 13, 1830, settled in town in 1834, 
 has been town clerk eight years; wife Emily Benjamin 
 of East Fishkill, married Deo. 15, 1869; children two- 
 John and Amy, Father Wayman Dodge, wast^on of 
 Joseph, who was son of Newell Dodge, one of the early 
 settlers of county. 
 
 Dodge Wayman, p o Beekman, farmer, 195 acres, born in Paw- 
 ling Jan. 20, 1S05, settled in town in 1884, died April 4, 
 1880, was magistrate twelve years; wife Jane Stark of 
 Pawling, married Nov, 9, 1828; ohildien four— Joseph, 
 John, Ransom H, and Henry, 
 
 Doughty Charles, p o Green Haven, farmer, 96 acres, born in 
 town in 1841, has been justice of peace and assistant 
 revenue assessor; wife Mary E, Brown, born in Beek- 
 man, married May 23, 1865; children two — Morton B. 
 and Christopher B. ParentSL^William and Jane 
 (Brock) Donghty; grandfather William Doughty, son 
 of Joseph Doughty. 
 
 Doughty George T., p o Green Haven, farmer, 80 acres, born in 
 Beekman Oct. 16, 1816, has been assessor and super- 
 visor three successive years; wife Elizabeth Van 
 Benschoten, 2d wife Hester Eelley; children six; 
 parents William and Sarah (Van Wyck) Doughty. 
 
 Flagler Edwin, p o Poughquag, farmer, 140 acres, born on farm 
 July 29, 1835, has been assessor three years; wife 
 Madeline Birdsill of Putnam county, married May 9, 
 1859^ children four — Benjamin F,, Mary C, Annie C. 
 and Lillie L, Father, Benjamin Flagler, son of Zach- 
 ariah, son of Philip, son of Zachariah, 
 
 Flagler Theodore, p o Green Haven, farmer, 150 acres, born in 
 Beekman July 31, 1839, was assessor twelve years in 
 succession; wife Helen Jones of East Fishkill, married 
 in September, 1859; oneehild — Helen J,: father Gilbert 
 Flagler, son of Zachariah Flagler, 
 
 Haxton Williitm W,, p o Poughquag, farmer, 480 aoreSj bom in 
 Beekman March 19, 1839, has been supervisor and 
 treasurer and president of the agricultural society 
 twelve years; wife Maria Delong of Beekman, 
 married October 14, 1858; cbildren two— Benjamin 
 and William. Father Benjamin Haxton. was son 
 of Jeremiah Haxton, whose family occupied home- 
 stead for 120 years, 
 
 Jones John, p o Poughquag, farmer, 126 acres, born in Beekman 
 Sept, 19, 1835, settled on present farm in 1871, has been 
 highway commissioner, justice of peace and assessor; 
 wife Charlotte Stedwell of Pawling, married !■ eb. 21, 
 1855: children two— Oscar and Fred B. ; father John 
 R. Jones was son of Isaac R. 
 
 LaDue George E,, p o Stormville, farmer, 1"0 acres, born East 
 Fishkill, Jan, 25, 1838, settled in Beekman in 1863, has 
 been school collector ; wife Charity Horton, married 
 Nov, 39, 1852, died May 11, 1876, children two— Dewitt 
 C,. and Georgie, Father, Daniel was son of John La- 
 Due, of Conn, 
 
 Lawrence George W., p o Green Haven, merchant and post- 
 master, one acre, born in Washington, settled in Beek- 
 man in 1875, dealer in dry goods, groceries and hard- 
 ware. Parents William and Maria Lawrence. 
 
 Ludington Daniel, p o Poughquag, farmer and dairyman 437 
 acres, born in Pawling. Aug. 28. 1828, settled in town 
 in 1873, was supervisor In 1875, wife Elizabeth Corbin 
 of Penn., married Sept. 1*', 1847, children four— Susie 
 E, Thomas, Emma L, Gardiner, Annie L, Rogers, and 
 Henry S. Ludington, Parents Joseph and Susan (Sal- 
 mon) Ludington, 
 
 McCord Garrison C, p o, Beekman, farmer, 82 acres, born in 
 LaGrange, Oct, 27, 1821, settled in Beekman in 1864, 
 has been justice of peace and inspector of schools; 1st 
 wife Mary Townsend, 2d wife, Elizabeth Monfort, 
 married March 30, 1853, children three- William F,, 
 Ellen Eugene, and Sarah £mma. Father, John I, Mc- 
 Cord was son of William, the son of Samuel McCord, a 
 resident of LaGrange. 
 
 Miller Elnathan, p o Poughquag, farmer, 98 acres, born in Beek- 
 man, March 6, 1817, settled on present farm in 1860, has 
 been highway commissioner; wife Olive Cornell, of 
 this town, married March 14, 1860. Father, Nathan 
 Miller, son of Nathan, a former resident of this town. 
 
 Mulligan Owen, p o Beekman, engineer and foreman, one acre, 
 born in Ireland, April 27, 1838, settled In county, in 
 1866, has been foreman of Beekman Ore Mines since 
 1869; wife Jane McCuUy, of Ireland, married June 12, 
 1868; children three— Margaret B,, Peter and Thomas 
 Joseph, Father Pettr Mulligan, of Ireland, son of 
 Peter Mulligan. 
 
 Nicholson Dr. Clark A., p o Beekman, physician, surgeon and 
 farmer, 400 acres, born in South East, Putnam county, 
 settled in county, July 3, 1847, has been post-master, 
 several years; wife Caroline Bryant, of Beekman, 
 married Jan. 1, 1849, one son— William A., who is civil 
 engineer and assayer and Supt. of a gold mine. Dr. 
 Nicholson graduated in 1847 from the medical depart- 
 ment of the University of New York, has been a mem- 
 ber of the State Medical Society since 1868, commenced 
 the practice of medicine in Beekman, in 1847, and has 
 been largely interested in the development and sale 
 of iron mines in his and adjoining towns. 
 
HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 Peters Thomas E., p o Poughquag, farmer, 103 acres, born in 
 Beekman, July as, 1846, settled on tarm in 1876; wife 
 Emma E. Williams, of Beekman, married Oct. 6, 1S69; 
 one child— Carrie. Father, Theodore, son of Hewlett 
 Peters, resident of this town. 
 
 Plass John T., p o Clove Valley, clerk in Clove Spring Iron 
 Works, born in New York city, May 16, 1862, settled 
 in county, August 1, 1873. Parents, John T., and Mary 
 E. Plass, both natives of Hudson, Columbia county. 
 
 Plass Norman T., p o Clove Valley, assistant and president of 
 Clove Spring Iron Works, born in Hudson, Columbia 
 county, settled in Duchess county May 1, 1878; wife 
 Julia Plass, of Ghent, Columbia county, married June 
 13, 1866; children oner-George D. Parents John T. and 
 Mary B. Plass. 
 
 Pray Albert, p o Poughquag, farmer, 125 acres, born in Dover 
 August 18, 1815, settled on farm ic 1870, has been asses- 
 sor; wife Margaret B. Wyman, of Clinton, married 
 October 30, 1M2; children four-Hamilton, Blanch, 
 Andrew and Albertine. Father, Andrew, was son of 
 £phraim Pray, a resident of Dover. 
 
 Redevat Charles, p o Green Haven, trainer of horses, 12 acres, 
 born in Green Haven in 1834; wife Mary Jane QrifSn, 
 of this town, married in August, 1856; children five— 
 William, Frank, Clara G., Jennie and Theodore W. 
 Father, John J. Kedevat. Mother, Ann Clarkson, 
 daughter of Charles Clarkson of this town. 
 
 Reynolds Nathan B., p o Poughquag, farmer, 193 acres, born in 
 Beekman October 26, 1814, has been assessor fifteen 
 years, and overseer of the poor; wife Julia Gleason, 
 of Fulton county, married January 27, 1814; children 
 one— Helen Altana, who died April 21, 1867, aged 19; 
 Father, James, son of GrifBn, son of Benjamin, who 
 was one of the first settlers of Gardner Hollow. 
 
 Skidmore Andrew I , p o Clove Valley, farmer, 168 acres, born 
 in Beekman August 17. 1835, settled on present farm 
 in 1859; wife Fannie Wing, born May 31, 1838, married 
 November 17. 1868. Mother Sarah (Akins) Skidmore, 
 father, Jesse, son of Andrew, son of Andrew Skidmore, 
 of Union Vale. 
 
 Skidmore James C, p o Beekman, farmer, 108 acres, born in 
 Beekman October 27, 1803 settled on present farm in 
 1810; first wife, Mary Cornell, of Clinton; second wife 
 Lauretta Havelin,of Milan. Father, Andrew Skidmore. 
 Mother, Elizabeth Clapp, daughter of Thomas Clapp. 
 
 Skidmore Peter A., p o Beekman, farmer, 138 acres, born in 
 Beekman April 16, 1831, settled on present farm in 
 1833, has been assessor and highway commissioner; 
 wife Kuth N. Moore, of Moore's Mills, -married Decem- 
 ber 26, 1866; children one -Alfred M, Father, Jesse 
 Skidmore. 
 
 Slade C. Aretas. p o Clove Valley, weighmaster in Clove Spring 
 Iron Works, born in Albany county June 28, 1837, set- 
 tled in Duchess county in February, 1869,- has been 
 justice of peace. Parents, S. V. B. and Maryette Slade, 
 residents of Westerlo, Albany county. 
 
 Sterling Henry D , p o Poughquag, farmer, z2 acres, born in 
 CooneC' lent January 10, IBIO, settled in Duchess coun- 
 ty in 1829, has been assessor three years, and school 
 commissioner; wife Amelia Vanderburgh, of Beekman, 
 married November 26, 18.34; children two— Alma Green 
 and George H. Father, Elisha Sterling. Mrs. Sterling 
 is daughter of Geo. Vandej burgh, and grand-daughter 
 of Col. James Vanderburgh, who was an ofBcer of note 
 in the revolution. 
 
 Storm Joseph H., p o Green Haven, farmer and stock raiser, 820 
 acres, born in StormviUe March 36, 1842, settled in 
 town in 1868, has been supervisor in 1879 and 1880; wife 
 Sophie D. Sheldon, born in New York city, married 
 September 4, 1867; children two— Wilson B., and Jean- 
 ette W.; father, John V., son of Abraham, son of Isaac 
 Storm. 
 
 Sheldon Wilson B., p o Beekman, farmer, 560 acres, born in 
 Dover August 3, 1810; wife Hannah M. Doughty, of 
 Beekman, married April 1, 1840; children three. 
 .Williams Edwin L., p o Poughquag, farmer 117 acres, born in 
 Beekman August 12, lS37, has been supervisor, asses, 
 sor and highway commissioner; wife Sophia Emeigh, 
 of Union Vale, married in 1862; children eight; 
 father, John Williams, son of Wm. D. Williams, natives 
 of Duchess county. 
 
 Wright William M., p o Beekman, farmer, wagon manufacturer 
 and undertaker, born in Warwick, Orange county, 
 March 1, 1818, settled in Duchess county in 1839, has 
 been justice of peace and town clerk; wife Eliza 
 Beardsley, of Connecticut, married February 16, 1841; 
 children seven; father, John Wright, son of David, 
 who was a resident of Orange county. 
 
 CLINTON. 
 
 Badgley George, p o Salt Point, farmer, 155 acres, born in 
 Duchess county, Feb. 8, 1791; wife Emma Seeley, born 
 Washington county, in 1794, married Dec. 20, 1815; chil- 
 dren five. ■ 
 
 Bentley Gilbert, p o Bull's Head, farmer, 196 acres, born Pine 
 Plains, Jan. 22, 1810. Has been Member of Assembly 
 
 . in 184S, also supervisor and justice of peace; wife 
 
 Catharine Stewart, of Clinton, married Dec. 12, 1838; 
 children three— Elizabeth, Emma, and Irving. Father 
 was Henry Bentley and his father, Wm. Bentley, came 
 from Rhode Island, and his ancestors from England, 
 
 Barnes Edwin, M. D., p o Pleasant Plains, physician and sur- 
 geon, born in Troy, July 28, 1844, settled in county, in 
 1847; wife Matilda Armstrong, born In Duchess county, 
 mai:ried in 1866 ; two children living— Merta and Percy. 
 Read medicine with Hall, of Burlington Ohio, attended 
 lectures at Union University, Albany, and entered the 
 regular army on the medical staff Feb. 11, 1864. He 
 commenced civil practice Feb. 11, 1866. 
 
 Browning Ethan, p o Crum Elbow, farmer, 134 acres, born in 
 Hancock, Mass., settled in county, in 1846, is elder of 
 the Crum Elbow church; wife Anna P. Clapp, daughter 
 of Thomas and Lydia Clapp, born in Pleasant Valley, 
 married in 1815; children five— James C, Anna G., 
 Charles P.. Theron M., and William J. Son of Jere- 
 miah and Martha Browning, natives of Rhode Island. 
 
 Brusie Dennis, p o Bull's Head, farmer. 230 acres, bom in Mass., 
 Feb. 27, 1819, settled in county, in 1869; wife Phoebe 
 Owen, daughter of Barnet and Betsey Owen, of Penn., 
 married Sept. 30, 1843; one daughter— Ada L. Lost 
 one named Carrie Waltermire. Father, Nicholas I. 
 Brusie who lived 60 years in Mass. 
 
 Butts Seneca, p o Clinton Hollow, farmer, 125 acres, born in 
 Amenia, Sept. 24, 1809, post-master at Clinton Hollow; 
 wife Hester Jane Stone, born in Conn., one child. 
 
 Carman James, p o Hibernia, proprietor of Glen Wood Mills, 
 owns 8 acres of land, born in Milan, Jan 3, 1818, settled 
 in town Feb. 13, 1877; wife Harriett A. Flagler, of La- 
 Grange, daughter of Isaac P. and Rebecca Flagler; 
 have four children- Mary Anna, Sarah B., Wm. P., 
 and. Catharine H. Father, Phineas Carman, a miller 
 at North East, whose father is Richard Carman, a mil- 
 ler in Stanford. 
 
 Clapp Hicks, p a Clinton Ho^ow, farmer, 129 acres, born at 
 Pleasant Valley, March 17, 1818, settled in town in 
 1841, has been town clerk and is justice of the peace; 
 wife Catharine E, Allen, of Clinton, married in 1840; 
 children four — William A., George H., James E., and 
 Charles A. Sarah B. died Dec. 19, 1868, aged 26 years. 
 ' Father, Jas. H. Clapp, was son of James and Phoebe 
 Clapp. 
 
 Cookingham Philip D.. p o Pleasant Plains, farmer and member 
 of the firm of J. Z. Frost & Co., born in Duchess coun- 
 ty, in 1814, owns 165 acres, has been supervisor and 
 is now post-master; wife Lucinda Schultz. of this 
 county, married in 18S7; one daughter— Marietta Frost. 
 Son of Daniel and Margaret Cookingham. 
 
 Gookinham G. W., p o Clinton Hollow, farmer, 80 acres, born 
 in Milan, March SO, 1821, settled in town in 1845; wife 
 Abigail Briggs, born in Stanford, married Dec. 17, 
 1842; children two— .Thomas A. B., and Sarah Jane. 
 Father, David Gookinham was son of George Gook- 
 inham, both natives of this county. 
 
 Cookingham J. Calvin, p o Pleasant Plains. 
 
 Gookinham Jas. L., p o Clinton Hollow, farmer, 168 acres, 
 'born in Rhinebeck Oct. 29, 1826, settled in town in 
 1848; has been commissioner of highways three years 
 and' is assessor; wife Eliza Ann Pink, daughter of 
 John P. Pink, married Oct. 27, 186U; children two- 
 Sarah Catherine and Ella Jane. Father David Gook- 
 inham was son of George Gookinham. 
 
 Grouse Lydia D., p o Clinton Hollow, merchant, owns 16 acres 
 of land, born in Stanford July 31, 1810; wife of Sen- 
 eca Grouse, who was born Aug. 6, 1806, married in 
 1838; children two; husband died Aug. 6, 1872. 
 
 Decker Peter, p o Schultzvllle, farmer, 65 acres, born in Milan 
 Oct. 17, 1832, settled in 1862, has been overseer of the 
 poor two terms; wife Almira Case of Stanford, mar- 
 ' ried Aug. 26, 1852, and is daughter of David Case- 
 
 Father David Decker, born in Columbia county, died 
 in Milan Oct. 11, 1880; mother Elizabeth Decker, died 
 Aug. 30, 1865, aged 68 years. 
 
 Devoe Charles, p o Clinton Hollow, farmer, 80 acres, born in 
 Hyde Park in 1814. settled in tbwn in 1857; wife Mar- 
 garet Marquat; children one — an adopted daughter, 
 Mary Ostrom. Son of David and Anna (Wheeler) De- 
 voe. 
 
 Dbughty. David H., p o Clinton Hollow, farmer 80 acres, born in 
 Pleasant Valley, Feb. 4, 1814; wife Margaret Young, 
 married in 1873; children two. 
 
 Doughty Oliver, p o Schultzvllle. 
 
 Downing John W., p o Bhinebeck, farmer, 146 acres, born in 
 Stamford Aug. 7, 1847, settled in town April 1. 1880; 
 wife Violetta Carroll, married Fob. 13, 1877; children 
 two— Anna May and Richard R. Father Richard S. 
 Downing. 
 
 Fatel Jacob, p o Schultzvllle, farmer, 82 acres, born in province 
 of Bavaria, Germany, in 1818, settled in county in 1841, 
 has been game constable; wife Susannah Heover of 
 Milan, married in 1845; one son- Emerson. Son of 
 Peter and Charlotte Fatel. 
 
 Filkins Jas. A., p o Clinton Hollow, farmer, 85 acres, born in 
 Clinton July 25, 1834; wife Cordelia Smith, born in 
 Hyde Park, married Jan, 6, 1857; one son— Lewis S. 
 Filkins. Father Frederick C. Filkins. 
 
 Frost Jesse, p o Pleasant Plains, retired, owns six acres of land, 
 born on the Odell place in the town, in 1808; wife 
 Anna M. Frost, daughter of Jacob and Catherine 
 Frost, married in 1826. Jesse is son of Mordecai 
 Frost, who is son of Isaac Frost who first settled on 
 the Stringham farm in the town. 
 
PERSONAL STATISTICS. 
 
 Frost J Z., p o Pleasant Plains, custom and merchant miller, 
 born in county in 1843, ow^s 50 acres of land, has been 
 supervisor and town clerk; wife Marietta CookinB- 
 ham. married in 1865: one child—Lillian Frost. Son of 
 Zophar and Prisoilla Frost. 
 Frost Zophar, p o Pleasant Plains, farmer, 138 acres, born m 
 Clinton Nov. 6, 1813, has been highway commissioner; 
 wife Prisoilla Travcr of this town, married in 1834; 
 children two — Catherine Ann and Jacob Z. Father 
 Jaoob Frost, a native of this town, and son of Zophar 
 Frost of Longlsland. 
 Qazley Elnathan, p o Pleasant Plams, farmer and drover, liz 
 acres, born in Pleasant Valley in 1808, settled in the 
 town in 1835, has been supervisor; wife Sarah B. Wil- 
 bur of Hyde Park, married Deo. 35, 1836; children 
 four— George Henry, Alonzo, Orlando and Emily; 
 Father Joseph Gazley of this town. 
 Griflen Jacob, p o Clinton Corners, farmer, 160 acres, born West- 
 chester county, Oct. 10, 1887, settled in county, in 
 April, 1829, has been commissioner three years; wife 
 Alice Wilson, born Duchess county January 10, 1855, 
 married October 10, 1878; children one. - 
 Hadden Ira T., p o Clinton Hollow, farmer, 136 acres, born in 
 Clinton, October 38, 1852; wife Rosa Sheriger of this 
 town, daughter of Edmund Sheriger, married In 1815, 
 children one— Susie May. Father Samuel Hadden 
 son ol Robert Hadden. 
 Haines Ezra B , p o Bull's Head, farm and feed mill, IIJ acres, 
 born in the town in October, 1837, has been overseer 
 of the poor three years; wife Anna Lent of this town, 
 married in 1858: children one— MaryB; Father Wilson 
 a native of Duchess county. 
 Haieht David B., p o Salt Point, farmer, 102 acres, born Duchess 
 county, January 19, 1813, has been clerk of district 
 twenty terms, supervisor three years, and chairman 
 of that board one year, was surveyor twenty-five 
 years. 
 Haieht S J., p o Clinton Hollow, farmer, 105 acres, born Septem- 
 'ber 15, 1815, has been justice of the peace twelve years; 
 first wife Mary Alley, married October 18, 1837; second 
 wife Catharine Lyon, married February 9, 1854; child- 
 ren two. 
 Hicks Frederick, p o Pleasant Plains, mill and general mer- 
 chandise, owns store, house and lot, born in town ot 
 Washington March 17, 1827, settled in this town m 1874, 
 has been supervisor of Union Vale; wife Sarah Boyce 
 daughter of Jas. Boyce, married in 1849; children 
 two— Adelle J., and Morgan. Parents Benjamin and 
 Phoebe (Hami Hicks. 
 HttSted Calvin, p o Salt Point, farmer, 80 ao res, born in town of 
 Wasliingtoii ; wife Amelia Ganse, born in 1837, married 
 in 1859. 
 Hoyt Rev. Sherman, p o Pleasant Plains, retired clergyman, 
 owns 90 acres, born Stamford, Conn., March 21, 1807, 
 settled in county in 1827; served as pastor In Platte- 
 kill, Ulster county, settled there in 1840, and came to 
 Pleasant Plains in 1843, and preached in the Presbyte- 
 rian church in both places; wife Mary Ann Annan of 
 East FIshkill, married October 26, 1840; children two 
 livine— Wm A. Hoyt, station master at Ancram, Co- 
 lumbia county, and Dr Edwin S. Hoyt, of Sohu tzvije; 
 Kev. S. Hoyt was graduated September, 1839, licensed 
 to preach April, 1840, ordained September, 1840, and 
 installed in 1841. 
 Hutchison S. Nye, po Pleasant Plams. minister, owns MO acres 
 of land, born in Augusta, Georgia, December 29, 18«, 
 settled in county in 1854; first wife Abba Page Reed 
 second wife Sarah Matilda Seeley, married February 
 29, 1876; children six. 
 TbwbU John F D o Pleasant Plains, farmer, 147 acres, born in 
 JewellJohni.go±-ieas^ ^^^ 15, 1^16, settled in the town m 
 
 1868- wife Ani Efiza Merrihew, of Ulster county, mar- 
 ried in 1838; children two-Martha and AndrewJewell; 
 Father Henry Jewell is son of Harmon Jewell. 
 
 T.ent Abraham S n o Pleasant Plains, retired farmer, 200 acres, 
 Lent Al'rabam b.,^^o^rie^^ ^^^^^ ^^^ ^g^^^ ^^^^^^^ 
 
 in 1830, has been assessor and overseer of the poor, 
 wife Mary Ann Cookingham; children ten liTmg-of 
 whom Abraham D, is an attorney and counselor at 
 Highland, Ulster county, and the remaining nine live 
 in this town. 
 Lyon Amos, p o Clinton Hollow, farmer, 1.30 acres, born in 
 l.yon ■^'""^•^gggoount July 29,1798; wife Margaret Sohryver, 
 
 born in 1802, married in 1823; children seven. 
 Miller Henrv J O o Pleasant Plains, farmer, 13 acres, born in 
 MillerHenryJ.,? o r^^ 4,1816; wife Nancy Banker of Greene 
 county, malried hi 1838; children one-Geraldine S. 
 OdeU Father John Miller is son of Godfrey Miller one 
 of the early settlers of Pleasant Valley. 
 Olivet Isaac A , p o Clinton Hollow, gardener, 11^ acres, born 
 Olivet Isaac A.^^p° January 29, 1819 has been town 
 
 superintendent; wife Gertrude M. Eipp, born June, 
 1823; children three, 
 oiirort Poiihon D o Bull's Head, farmer and auctioneer, 170 
 Rikert Reuben ^_^o BuU = '^^ ^,^^ fli" i'fsS- S f 
 
 Rachel Petit, of Clinton, married Ootdber 3, 1810, chil- 
 dren nine iiving-Minerva, Rachel M., Azro, George R., 
 Artel?, Farley, Mary, Emory and Irving. Parents 
 George and Margaret Blokert. 
 
 Rymph James, p o Pleasant'Plains, farmer, 311 acres, born in 
 Hyde Park May 88, 1810, has been major of the 84th 
 regiment since July 12, 1834 ; wife Hannah Budd, of 
 Pleasant Valley, married in 1836; children three living 
 — George W., John J., and Albert J. Father, John 
 Rymph, is a son of George Rymph, one of the early 
 settlers ot Hyde Park. 
 Schultz Samuel, p'o Schultzville, farmer, 110 acres, born in 
 Clinton April 22, 1806, is son of Jacob F, Schultz, and 
 he is a son of Frederick Schultz, who is a son of Chris- 
 tian Schultz,lwho emigrated from Saxony and settled 
 in Rhinebeck. Frederick owned a number of farms in 
 this town. 
 Sheriger Edmund, p o Pleasant Plains, farmer and fruit grower, 
 288 acres, also maeon, builder and contractor, born lA 
 Hyde Park February 25, 1822, settled in town in 1855, 
 has been trustee^and elder in the church at Pleasant 
 Plains: wife Eliza Cookin^am, married December 19, 
 1849;'^ children six living. Parents, Andrew and Susan 
 (Myers) Sheriger. 
 Sleight W. H , p o Schultzville, merchant, born in Clinton De- 
 cember 27, 1839, has been town clerk one year, and 
 deputy postmaster eight years; wife'Mary E. Briggs, 
 born in Clinton in 1835, married in 1863; children one. 
 Began business at Schultzville in 1872. 
 Story Elias H., p o Schultzville, farmer, 91 ! acres, born in Milan 
 Julys, 18.30, is deacon of Schultzville church; wife Mary 
 E. Wildey, of Milan, married in 1852; children two- 
 Irving W., and Wm. H. Father. Morris C. Story, of this 
 county. 
 Stoutenburgh Hiram, p o Clinton Hollow, farmer, 55 acres, born 
 in Clinton May 17, 1525, has been assessor and commis- 
 sioner of highways; wife Susan Wood, of Clinton, mar- 
 ried in 1876; children two living— Irving and Sarah. 
 Father, Marshall Stoutenburgh. 
 Thorn Stephen J., p o Bull's Head, farmer, 250acres, born in Mi- 
 lan June 8. 1845; wife LucretiaV. Dnderhill. born Long 
 Island, married June 10, 1868; children three— Sarah 
 Elizabeth, Ida, and Herrick. Son of Herrick and 
 Sarah Ann Thorn. 
 Traver Morgan L., p o Clinton Hollow, farmer, 126 acres, born 
 Clinton Hollow in October, 1812; wife Phoebe Schultz, 
 born April, 1812, married in 1836; children two. 
 Tripp Mrs. 'Mary A., p o Clinton Hollow, retired, born in Clin- 
 ton August 82, 1817, daughter of Isaac S. and Hannah 
 B. Haight; husband George C. Tripp, of Clinton, mar- 
 ried September 1, 1836; children eight— Julia'F., James 
 S., William M., Jacob, Martin F., Leonard I., Hiram 
 M., and Elting B.: lost one daughter, Helen A., who 
 died August 10, 187s, aged thirty-six years. 
 Van Vlack A. W., p o Clinton Corners, farmer 75 acres, born in 
 Fishkill March 8. 1808 ; wife Phoebe Devine, of Pleasant 
 Valley, who died September 27, 1854, married June 4, 
 1831; children three-Martha Ann, Phoebe Jane, and 
 Abram. Father, Andrew Van Vlack, is son of Abram 
 Van Vlack. 
 Van Vliet Lewis, p o Pleasant Plains, farmer, 158 acres, born 
 on the farm March 18, 1827, is jastice of peace and has 
 been highway commiseioner; wife Mary Caswell of 
 Poughkeepsie, married in 1869. Is the son of Levi 
 Van Vliet who is son of Cornelius and Helena G. Van 
 Vliet. 
 Wallace John H., p o Pleasant'Plains, farmer, 189 acres, born 
 
 , on the farm April 4, 1862; wife Irene Van Wagner of 
 
 Hyde Park, married Nov. 27, 1872; one daughter— Em- 
 ma. Father Hiram Wallace of this town. 
 Waltermire John, p o Schultzville, farmer, .32 acfes, born in 
 Stanford, Sept. 10, 1808, has been assessor nine years: 
 wife Jane A. Swartwout, born June, 1869, in Clinton, 
 married June 26, 1828; one child living. 
 Welch Cornelius, p o Bull's Head, farmer, 242 acres, born in 
 Rhinebeck in 1837, has iDeen assessor six years: wife 
 Delilah Tompkins of Pine Plains: two children living 
 —Frank S. and Charles E. Father, Benjamin Welch. 
 
 DOVER. 
 
 Aldrich Andrew J., p o Wing Station, farmer, 235 acres, bom in 
 Duchess county in 1837; wife Antoinette Aldrich, born 
 in 1837, married Deo. 11, 1867; one child— Charles, 
 born in 1872. Seth Aldrich, born in Washington coun- 
 ty in 1799, died in 1866. 
 
 Allis Hiram, p o Wing Station, farmer, 200 acres, born in 
 Dover in 1802; wife Mary G. Hoag, born in Dover in 
 1S08, married in 1838: children two— Phoebe J., born in 
 1640. and Sarah E. born in 1849. David Allis was born 
 in Dover and died in 1842 aged 70 years: Joseph Allis 
 died in 1812 aged 70 years: Cleveland Litus bom in 
 New York in 1813, married S irah E. Allis in 1868: chil- 
 dren two— Joseph A. and Stanley H. 
 
 Banks Willis H.,po Wing Station, farmer, 140 acres, born in 
 Putnam county in 1829, settled in county in 1863; wlte 
 Olive Mathewson, born in Broome county in 1829, 
 married in 1855; children three— William G., aged 23 
 years. Ella G., 14 years, and Merton, 11 years. 
 
 Bates Truman, p o Kent, Conn., farmer and stone mason, 40 
 acres, born in Roxbury, Conn., in 1824, settled in 
 county in 1838; wife Martha Cook, born in Duchess 
 county in 1835, married in 1848: one son— Frederick J., 
 born in 1864. 
 
HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 Belding David L., po Dover Plains, farmer and stock dealer, 240 
 acres, born in Washington in 1816, founder of the Dover 
 bank in 1858; wife Mary McQuoid, born in New York 
 city, married in 18S0; children four— Charles W., John 
 L., Julia and Carrie. 
 
 Benson Joshua B , p o Dover Plains, farmer 86 acres, born in 
 Dover in 18S6; wife Susan Carpenter, born in Duchess 
 county in 1840, married in lB6a; ohlldlen three— Mary 
 Jane, Sarah E. and Alice. 
 
 Benson Darius S , ^ o Dover Plains, farmer 100 acres, born in 
 Dover in m38; wife Polly Jane Dutoher of Dover, born 
 in 1844, married in 1867; children six— Myron D., 
 Charles H., Samuel A., Herbert, George, Carrie. 
 
 Benson Jas. V., p o Dover Plains, farmer, 300 acres, born in 
 Dover in 1823; wife Caroline, of Denmark, Lewis 
 county, married in 1874; children five — Clark H., 
 George V., Mary J., Hattie M., Horatio S. Samuel 
 Benson born in Duchess county in 1781 and died in 
 1763, aged S3 years. 
 
 Benson Willis, p o Wing Station, farmer, 110 acres, born in 
 Dover, January 22, 1885, has been overseer bt poor and 
 inspector of election; wife Mary Ann Dutcher, of 
 DuchePS bounty, born in 1819, married In 1856. Daniel 
 L. Benson born in Duchess county in 1795, died in 1861 ; 
 Joseph Benson born in Duchess county in 1747, died in 
 1812; Ellis Benson born in Duchess county in 1800, 
 died in 1862, married Esther Dutcher, of Dover, born 
 In 1814, married in 1840. 
 
 Berry Cbas. H., p o Dover Plains, physician and surgeon, born 
 in Putnain county in 1844, settled in county in 1868; 
 wife Mary L. Briggs, of Michigan, married in 1869. 
 
 Brant A., p o Dover Plains, assistant superintendent, born in 
 Columbia county, April 15, 1826, settled in county in 
 1849, has been supervisor one term: wife Lydia Oakly, 
 of Columbia county, married in l857; children two- 
 Walter L. and Prank H. ; first wife S5;lvitt Sprague, of 
 Litchfield county. Conn., married in 1846; died in 
 1855, leaving two children, James S. and John; A. 
 Brant enlisted in Co. E, 150th N. Y. Vol., in Oct. 1862, 
 came out disabled in January, 1864; has been in the 
 employ of the Harlem Rail Road since 1849. 
 
 ■ Colman Frederick, p o Wing Station, farmer, 600 acres, born in 
 Litchfield county, Conn., in 1812, settled in county in 
 1869: wife Ann Dutcher, of Dover, married in 1855; 
 children six— Charles, Mason, Frederick, John, Flora 
 and Julia. 
 
 Conkright Kphraim, p o Wing Station, farmer, 130 acres, born in 
 Dover in 1834; wife Helen Southworth, born in 1831, 
 married in 1S66, children one— Geoi;ge H., bornin 1871. 
 Joseph W. Southworth was born in Duchess county in 
 1795, and married Sarah Dennis,born in 1799 in Duchess 
 county, married in 1818, died in 1868. Wrti. Conkright 
 was bom in Dover in 1797, died in 1838; wife Phebe 
 Dutcher, of Duchess county, born January 12, 1801, 
 died October 16, 1875; children three- Abraham. John 
 B. and Maria . 
 
 Cornwell Chas., p o Wing Station, proprietor Wing Station 
 hotel, born in Duchess county in 1S56; wife Belle Bar- 
 ker, born in Kent, Conn., in 1854, married in 1876; 
 children one— Lena. John I. Cornwell was born in 
 DuchesS' county in 1826, died October 4, 1864; wife 
 Emily E. Townsend, of Duchess county, married in 
 1858; children two — Phebe and Charles. 
 
 Cutler William S., po Dover Furnace, farmer, 700 acres, born in 
 
 Dover in 1805_, has held several town offices ; wife Irene 
 
 ^ Brush born in Conn., married May 20, 1858; children 
 
 three— Wm. B., born in 1859, Charles GifEord, born in 
 
 1861, and Hattie, born July 7, 1869. 
 
 Cutler Francis N., p o Dover Furnace, farmer, born in Dover in 
 1832, has been collector and commissioner; wifeEliza- 
 beth Carey, of Conn., married in 1864; children three- 
 George, John and Fred. 
 
 Cutler Calvin, p o Dover Furnace, farmer, 490 acres, born Dover 
 in 1797, assessor in 1849-'50-'51; wife Kezia Varney, 
 born in Dover in 1797, married in 1822, and died in 
 1858; children six living— Elihu and Eleazer (twins) 
 born in 1825, Priscilla born in 1827, Mary V. in 1828, 
 Sarah in 1830, and F. W. born in 1832; Eleazer married 
 Amaranth Eggleston, born in Dover Jflains in 1826, 
 married in 185:i; children three— William Cutler, born 
 in Dover in 1760, died in 1842, aged 82 years. John 
 Oifford was one of the early settlers of the county, 
 settled in Pawling, where he died. 
 
 Denton JereAiiahp o Win^ Station, farmer, bornin Duchess 
 county, in 1825; wife L. M. Ferris, bornin Pawling, in 
 Deo. 1826, married in 1852; children two— Charles F.. 
 aged 26 years, and Frank A., aged 23 years. 
 
 Deuel Obed J., p o Wing Station, farmer and stock dealer, 273 
 acres, born in Dover, in 1839. Has been assessor and 
 member of board of excise, three years. Father, 
 Jacob Deuel, born in Duchess county, in 1797, died Oct. 
 27, 1879, married Charity Gould, of Duchess county 
 in 1829. She was born in 1803; children five— Obed J., 
 Lydia A., Phebe G.. Elias H., and Emily H. Obed 
 Deuel is one of the five generations who have owned 
 the land that was taken from the government in 
 1730-'35, 
 
 Dutcher Allen H., p o Dover Plains, rpvenue collector since Deo. 
 1869; born in Duchess county, in 1819; baa been post- 
 master 16 jrears, was elected assessor in 1880; wife 
 Mary A. Brick, born in England, In 1833, married in 
 1861; one child- Ernest P. FatHer, Belding Dutcher, 
 born in Duchess county, in 1793, died in Jan, 1876. 
 
 Dutcher John Q., p o Wing Station, farmer, 75 acres, born in 
 Dover, in 1830; has been poor-master; wife Ada H. 
 Benson, born in- Dover, in 1834, married in 1852 ; chil- 
 dren five- Mortimer, aged 15 years, Sarah 13, Charles 
 12, Edith 9, Ada C. 7. Wilbur Dutoher, born iu Dover, 
 in 1802, blacksmith. 
 
 Edmonds Samuel, p o Dover Plains, farmer, 435 acres, born in 
 Dover in 1807; wife Caroline Hofgate Knickerbocker, 
 of Duchess county, married in 18^; one child — Myron. 
 Kennedy Edmonds, born in Rhode Island, in 1768, 
 came to county about 1790, died iu 1844. 
 
 Edmonds Myron, p o Dover Plains, farmer and stock-dealer, 
 born in Dover, in 1843. Has been supervisor three 
 terms; wife Sarah A. Delong of St. Lawrence county, 
 married in 1869, died in 1870. 
 
 Fry Albert, p o Dover Plains, farmer and cattle dealer, 150 
 acres, bom. in Dover, Feb. 25, 1834. First wife Sarah 
 Edmonds, of St. Lawrence county; married May 22, 
 1862, died in 1867, leaving one daughter, Carrie E. born 
 in 1863. Second wife Julia £. Styles, bornin ITlster 
 county in 1836, married May 6, 1875. 
 
 Fry James, p o Dover Plains, owns 250 acres of land, born in 
 Dover, in 18^8; wife Elizabeth A. Dutcher, born in 
 Dover in 1826, married in 1862; one son— J. Frank. Wil- 
 liam Fry wae born in Duchess county, in 1800, died 
 Nov. 21, 1874, farmer and tanner. Christopher Fry was 
 born in New York. Was a sailor. Finally settled in 
 Duchess county, was one of the revolutionary soldiers, 
 died about 1846 at the age of 82 years. 
 
 Hansen Richard, p o Wing Station, blacksmith, born in England 
 Dec, 8, 1843, settled iu ceunty in 1871, owns home- 
 stead and shop ; wife Mary Marten, born in England, 
 Oct. 29, 1842, married in 1864; children four— John E., 
 Peter, Wm. T., and Elizabeth. 
 
 Haviland Asahel, p o Wing Station, farmer, 300 acres, born in 
 Pawling, in 1812; wife Phebe E. Preston, bornin Dover 
 in 1813, married in 1834. Her father A. Preston, born 
 in Dover, in 1785, died in 1860, married Elizabeth Ross, 
 born in 1786, married in 1806; children four— two now 
 living— Ebenezer A., born in 1818, and Phebe E. born in 
 1813. Mrs. Preston is now 83 years of age. 
 
 Haviland Park, born in Fairfield county Conn., in 1780, came to 
 Duchess county in 1803, died in 1856, farmer; wife 
 Lydia Irish, born in Duchess county in 1786, married 
 in 1804, died In 1814; children three now living. 
 
 Hoag Philip, p o Wing Station, farmer 225 acres, born iu Duch- 
 ess county in 1818; wife Mary Ward, born in Duchess 
 county in 1820, married in 1842, died in 1854, leaving 
 three children ; second wife Sarah Ward, bom in Duch- 
 ess county in 1838, married in 1865; children by first 
 wife— Noah A., born iu 1844, Martha W., bom in 1847, 
 and Frank P., born in 1853. Roselle Meade, born in 
 Putnam county September 11, 1848, came to Duchess 
 county in 1B7U, married Martha Hoag in 1875. 
 
 Hoag George, p o Wine Station, farmer 37>^ acres, born in Paw- 
 ling in 1819, has been road commissioner five years; 
 wife Marcia Ferris, born in New Milford, Conn., in 
 
 1826, married in 1843, died in 1859; children one— Mat- 
 thew A., bom August 26, 1844; second wife Betsey A. 
 Disbrow, born in Putnam county in 1827, married May 
 4, 1862. Matthew H. Hoag, bom in Dover June IS, 
 1796, died January 14, 1823, farmer; wife Sarah Spauld- 
 ing, born in Duchess county in 1783, married October 
 11, 1818, and died in November, 1872, aged 87 years; 
 children two— Phebe Ann, born in 18il, died in 1850, 
 Fannie Cowle. born in Pawling in 1852, married Octo- 
 ber 21, 1868, to Matthew A. Hoag. 
 
 Hoag Wm. J., p o Wing Station, farmer, 115 acres, born in Dover 
 in 1820; wife Betsey Baldwin, bom in Connecticut in 
 1828, married in 1848, died in 1856; children two— Hiram 
 B., and Florence B ; second wife Phebe Bowman, of 
 Duchess county, married February 6, 1861; children 
 six— Wm. B., Minnie, Mary, Clara, Bertha, Alice. 
 Father, John Hoag, born in Duchess county in 1790, 
 died 1869; children four. 
 
 Hungerford Abner G., p o Wing Station, farmer and harness 
 maker, 132 acres, born in Duchess county iu 1805: wife 
 Maria Sabins, bom in Duchess county in 1804, married 
 in 1829; children one— Mary H., who married Duncan 
 Ross, of Duchess county, born in Dover, March 8. 
 
 1827, married in 1854. 
 
 Hufout Horace D., p o Dover Plains, lawyer and farmer, 200 
 acres, bom in Dover in 1836, has been town clerk and 
 supervisor; wife Alice M. Glidden, of New Castle, 
 Maine, married in 1874; children one. George Hufcut, 
 Jr., born in Duchess county in 1808, died in 1880, farmer 
 and lawyer: George Hufcut, Sr., bom in Duchess 
 county in 1775, died in 1865, lawyer and farmer. 
 
 Eetcham John H., p o Dover Plains, merchant, farmer and 
 marble dealer, born in Dover Plains February 14, 1807, 
 died June 17, 1853, has been member of assembly two 
 terms; wife Eliza A. Stevens, born in Duchess county 
 October 16, 1808, married May 20, 1828; children cine- 
 William S., John H., Maria L., George W., James C. 
 ' (dead,) Ebenezer S., Elizabeth, James andiMorria. 
 
 Ketcham A. J.,p o Dover Plains, banker, born in Amenia, March 
 18, 1819; first wife Sarah Anderson, born in Ulster 
 county; second wife M. F. Cowles, born in Delaware 
 county; four children living, three deceased. 
 
PERSONAL STATISTICS. 
 
 Eetohain Wm. S., p o Dover Plains, farmer and marble dealer, 
 300 acres, born in Dover in 1830, has been supervisor 
 three terms ; wife Emily Litus, born in 183S, married 
 in 1858; children two— Wm. M., born in 1857, and 0. 
 Fred, born in 1863. James Ketcham born in Long 
 
 Island, came to Duchess county , died about 
 
 1869 or 70. 
 Ketcham J. H., p o Dover Plains, 35 acres land, born in Dover 
 Plains, December 21, 1832, has been supervisor, mem- 
 ber of assembly and senator; wife Augusta A. Belden, 
 born in New York city, married February 4, 1858; 
 children three. 
 Lossing Benson J., p o Dover Plains. 
 
 Martin James H., p o Wing Station, farmer, 123 acres, born in 
 Dover In 1833; wife Sarah H. Stevens, born in Duchess 
 county In 1834, married in 1865 ; children two— Eugene 
 H., born in 1856, and Annie, born in 1859. Wing Martin 
 was born in Duchess county in 1798, died in 1874; wife 
 Hannah Whitely, born in Duchess county in 1794, mar- 
 ried in 1823, died in 1834, leaving three children— John 
 J., Ann E., and James H. ; second wife Elizabeth 
 Whitely, born in 1190, married in 1840, died in 18B5; 
 grandfather James Martin born in Duchess county in 
 1772, died in 1827; children four. 
 Myrick Frank, p o Wuig; Station. 
 
 Myrick Thomas, p o Wing Station, farmer, 166 acres, born in 
 Poughkeepsie in 1849, father Thomas Myrick born in 
 Duchess county, died in 1851, merchant. Mary Titus 
 born in Duchess in 1812. 
 Parks, W. J., p o Dover Plains. 
 
 Patrick Rowland, p o Wing Station, farmer, 247 acres, born in 
 Putnam county October 4, 1814, died April 27, 1869; 
 wife Caroline Ijudington, born in Putnam county in 
 1816, married in 1841 ; children five— Lewis S , born in 
 1843, William B., born in 1845, Henry B., in 1847, Susan 
 L,, and Patrick born in 1853. 
 Preston E., p o Dover Plains, hotelproprietor, born in Dover in 
 1860; wife Mrs. Phebe Wheeler of Duchess county, 
 married in 1870, died in 1876, leaving one son; second 
 wife Hattie White, married in 1879. 
 Preston George, p o South Dover, farmer, 190 acres, born in 
 Dover in 1881 ; wife Mary German, born in Dover in 
 1831, married in 1849: children three— Amy G., born in 
 1851, Eate, born in 1854, Annie, in 1863. John Preston 
 born in Duchess county in 1788, died in ,1849, farmer 
 and hotel keeper; children eigh't — two living. 
 Preston Harvey, p o South Dover, farmer 146 acres, born in 
 Dover in 1814: wife Emeline Tabor, born in Dover in 
 1816, married in 1838, died March 8-3, 1876; one son- 
 Charles. 
 Preston Clark, p o Wing Station, farmer and coal dealer, 800 
 acres, born in Dover Nov. 13, 1798, died Oct. 17, 1873, 
 has been assessor for over twenty years and commis- 
 sioner of deeds; wife Luna Lane, born in Connecticut 
 in 18u5, married in 1858: children three — Patty J., now 
 Hufcut, born in 1823, and John T. Preston, born in 
 1839, Maria L., born in 1825, died Jan. 29. 1868. John C. 
 Preston bom in 1839. married Helen A. Tibbetts, born 
 in Connecticut in 1838, married in 1861 ; children two— 
 C. Milton, born in 1864, and Howard L. C, born in 
 1869. 
 Beimer Adolph, p o Dover Plains, general custom miller, born 
 in Germany in 1855, settled in county in 1878, owns saw 
 and flouring mills; wife Catharine Boss of Germany, 
 married in 1875; children two — Minnie, born in 1876, 
 and Dora T., born in 1877. The flouring mill was built 
 by Major Dutcher, in about 1775, purchased in 1878 by 
 Adolph Beimer. 
 Schermerhorn Elon, p o Dover Plains, farmer, born In Dover 
 in 1815, has been collector; wife Ann Cook Warner, 
 born in Duchess county in 181.9, married in 18511; one 
 child- Susan, now the wife of Hiram Austin of Duch- 
 ess county. Sherman F. Warner, born in Duchess 
 county in 1843; Hiram Schermerhorn, born of German 
 descent, settled in the county before the war. 
 Sheldon Wilson B., p o Wing Station, farmer, 125 acres, born in 
 Duchess county in 1846; wife Nellie J. Root, born in 
 Kent, Conn., in 1849, married in 1870; children two- 
 Grace N., born in 1871, and Albro W., born in 1875. 
 Albro Sheldon, born in Dover March 1, 1808, 
 died Oct. 7, 1848, married Eliza Edmunds, born in 
 Duchess county in 1811, married Sept. 24, 1837, died 
 Oct. 31, 1865. 
 Soule John B., p o Dover Plains, retired farmer, born in Dover 
 In 1807, has been assessor for twelve years, overseer 
 of the poor twenty years; wife Jane Taber, born in 
 Dover Feb. 18, 1804, married Nov. 14, 1832 died Nov. 
 9, 1864; one son — William, born Dec. 5, 1834, married 
 Adelia E. White, born in Michigan Oct. 18, 1840, mar- 
 ried in 18fi8; children two — Stella, born in 1864, Marion, 
 born in 1876. Henry Soule was born in Duchess coun- 
 ty in 1783, died in 1866, married Abigail Benson, born 
 in 1789. 
 Sparks W. J, p o Dover Plains, hotel keeper, born iu Bristol, 
 Conn., settled in county July 1, 1878; wife Martha A, 
 Biohards, born in Farmington, Conn., married Jan. 
 S3,, 1865; two sons. 
 Stock Conrad, p o Wing Station, barber and cigar manufactur- 
 er, born in Bavaria, Germany, in 1844, settled in coun- 
 ty in 1860; wife Louise Winder, born in Germany in 
 1837, married in Januar'y 1866; children five — Charles 
 H., aged 14 years, William P., 18, Anne 10, Eliza, 8, and 
 Conrad. 
 
 Stars Cyrus, p o Pawling, farmer and stock dealer, 600 acres, 
 born m Dover Nov. 17, 1882, assessor in 1880 for three 
 years; second term; wife Sarah B. Benson, born in 
 Duchess county in 1S32, married Oct. 89, 1854; children 
 three— Elizabeth R., born in 1855 Charles C , in 1864 
 and Grace, born in 1871. Benoni Stark, bom in 
 Duchess county in 1781, died Sept. 12, 1842, merchant: 
 James Stark was one of the early settlers of the coun- 
 ty and engaged in the revolutionary war, born in 1760 
 died in 1818, ' 
 
 Stevens Thomas Howard, p o Dover Furnace, farmer, 92 acres 
 born in Dover in 1802, has been town clerk. Thomas 
 Stevens, born in Dover in 1756, died in. 1843 ; children 
 a» seven- of whom all except Thomas H. are dead. 
 
 Sturg6sBbenezerH.,p Wing Station, general hardware dealer 
 born in New Fairfield. Conn., in 1843, settled in county 
 in 1867, owns shop and homestead; wife Adaline Cook 
 born in Orange county, ma^Hed in 1866; children 
 four— Edward H., Theodore, Lillie and Ida; com- 
 menced the manufacture of tin ware at Wing Station 
 in 1867; has invented a housekeeper's cooking and 
 pastry safe that costs 83.00. 
 
 Tabor William, p o Dover Plains, farmer, 800 acres, born in 
 Dover September 23, 1820; wife Ann E. Chapman, bom 
 in Dover in 1838, married in 1864; children seven- 
 John, Louisa, Florence, Prank, Jennie, Hattie, and 
 Mary. John Tabor born in Dover in 1778. died January 
 26, 1852; farmer and stock dealer; married Jane Bel- 
 ding, born in Duchess county in 1780, died April 30, 
 1867; three sons now living; Job Tabor born in B. I., 
 settled in county before the Revolution. 
 
 Tompkins Albert, p o Chestnut Bidge, farmer, 180 acres, born in 
 Dover in 1835; wife Mary B. Bogers, born in Duchess 
 county in 1853, married in 1875; children one— Catha- 
 rine L. Beuben Tompkins born in Duchess county in 
 1801; wife Catharine Losee, born in Duchess county 
 in l8lO, married in 1831, died in 1876, leaving four 
 children. » 
 
 Vincent Jason, p o Wing Station, farmer, 350 acres, born in 
 Duchess county in 1825; wife Edith Hoyt, born in Dover 
 in 1834, married in 1865. 
 
 Vincent Cordelia, p o Dover Furnace, farmer, 150 acres, born in 
 Dover in 1822; Phebe Vincent bom in Dover in 1829; 
 her father. Absalom Vincent, born in Duchess county 
 in 1788, married Abbie Duncan, born in Dover in 1798, 
 married in 1810, died about 1830; children eight, five 
 now living— Cordelia, David, Edwin, Jason and Phebe. 
 
 Vincent Edwin, p o Dcver Furnace, farmer, 550 acres, bom In 
 Dover in 1880, supervisor several years: wife Ann 
 Hooker, born in Dover, married in 1848; children four — 
 Ellen, Amelia S., Charles W., and Mary;- Absalom 
 Vincent born in Union. Vale in 1788. died in 1862. 
 
 Waller Homer, p o Dover Plains, farmer, 195 acres, born in Con- 
 necticut in 1823, died In 1876, settlel in 1855; wife 
 Elizabeth Fry, born in Duchess county in 1831, mar- 
 ried in 1860; children three— George S., bom in 1851, 
 Deborah Martha, in 1853, and D. M., who died in 1878. 
 William H. Waller, born in 1855. 
 
 Wellman Geo. M., M, D., p o Dover Plains, physician and sur- 
 geon, born in Springfield, Mass., Feb. -24, 1837, settled 
 in county In 1869; wife Jennie S. Cole of Otsego coun- 
 ty,~ married Sept. 8, 1869; one child — Marlon A., bom 
 Nov. 26, 1871. 
 
 Wheeler Perry, p o South Dover, farmer, 125 acres, bom in 
 Dover in 1819; wife Mary A. Boss, born in Dover in 
 1819, married in 1846; one daughter— Mary Catheriiie, 
 born in 1^50. Henry Wheeler, Dorn in Duchess county, 
 married Catharine Wing of Duchess county. 
 
 Wheeler Theodore, p o Wing Station, cattle dealer and farmer, 
 475 acres, born in Dover in 1837; wife Jane A. Chap- 
 man, born in Duchess county in 18.37, married in 1858: 
 one son — Thomas, born in 1861. 
 
 Wheeler Thomas, p o Wing Station, farmer and drover, 1,000 
 acres, born in Dover In 1814; wife Bhoda Ann Oney of 
 Otsego county, born in 1818, married in 18.37; sons 
 three— Theodore, aged 41 years, Obid, 38, and William, 
 30 years. 
 
 Wheeler A If red, p o Dover Plains, farmer and lime manufactur- 
 er, 150 acres, born in Dover Oct. 24, 1808; wife Mary A. 
 Gary, born in Dover in 1813, married in 1827; children 
 eight. Sebastian Wheelef born in Dover. John B. 
 Wheeler born in Dover, 
 
 Wheeler Henry, p o Dover Plains, farmer and butcher, 150 acres, 
 bom In Dover in 1840; wife Alice Darling, born in 
 Duchess county in 1848, married in 1868; children 
 four— Jennie M., Walter E., Emma and Cora A. 
 
 Whiteley Hiram, p o Wing Station, owns 18 acres, born in 
 Dover, in 18-33; wife Martha Cutler, born in New York 
 city, married in 1876. Jackson A. Whiteley born in 
 Duchess county, in 1830. Doras Whiteley bom in 
 Duchese county, in 1799, died in 1866, married Hannah 
 Bowdish born in Dover, two children. 
 
 Wing Ebbe P., p o Wing Station, farmer and retired hotel 
 keeper, 270 acres, born In Dover in 1806; wife Maria 
 Sheldon, born in Duchess county. May 9, 1812, 
 married in 1829, children two — Hannah M., born 
 in 1831 and Sheldon born in 1833. Jackson Wing, born 
 in Dover in 1771, died in 1848. Thomas Wing, born In 
 Mass., about 1740, died in 1824. 
 
 Wins Obed, p o Chestnut Bidge, farmer, 600 acres, born in 
 Dover, in 1817; wife Phebe A. Vincent, born in Dover, 
 in 1818, married Sept. 10, 1840. 
 
HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 Wing J. S., p o Wing Station, general merchandisek, born in 
 South Dover, in 1858. Has been post-master. 
 
 Wolcott 'William, p o Kent, Conn., farmer and wood and stone 
 dealer, 800 or 900 acres, born in Dover, in 1832; wife 
 ' Mary J. Lee born in Conn., married in 18B3, children 
 
 six — Ida, Sarah, Ada, Charles, OUie, and John. Thomas 
 J. Wolcott, born in'Duohess county, aboutjlSOO, died In 
 1855. 
 
 Wright Wm. Henry, p o Dover Plains, general carriage and 
 wagon manufacturer, born in Beekman in 1841; wife 
 Matilda Wooden, born in Duchess county, in 1843, 
 married in 1864; children three— Walter G., Herbert E. , 
 and Mary E. 
 
 EAST FISHKILL. 
 
 Anderson John, p o BrinterhofCville, farmer, 196 acres, born in 
 East FlshkUl, Feb. 17, 1809, settled on farm in 1842, 
 has been hiaghwy commissioner, 9 years in succession, 
 wife Eliza Maria Butler, or Olintoa, married in 1841; 
 children two — Sarah A. Mathews, of Brooklyn, and A. 
 Butler Anderson. Father, John, son of Peter Anderson. 
 
 Ashby William B., p o Stormville, farmer, 188 acres, bom in 
 Beekman, Sept. 8, 1809, settled in town in April 1836. 
 Has been deacon of Baptist church 33 years; 1st wife 
 Hannah Caldwell, 3d wife Sarah Caldwell, one child — 
 Mary Esther, and one adopted child — Garret Roach. 
 Father, Anthony Ashby Jr., son of Anthony Ashby, 
 who came from Patterson, Putnam county. 
 
 Adrianue Isaac C, p o Stormville, farmer, 144 acres, born in 
 Beekman, M arch 1, 1836, settled in town in 1839, has 
 been commissioner of highways, and is now excise com- 
 missioner; wife Susan Ida Storm, married 'Nov, 9, 
 1859, one son — John "William. Father, Abraham was 
 son of Abaham B., who was son of Rem Adriance. 
 
 Bailey Henry D. B., p o Johnsville, born in Johnsville, Deo. 27, 
 1813. Is author of "Bailey's Local Tales" and "Histori- 
 cal Sketches of Duchess County." Father, John N. 
 Bailey, of Fishkill, born Nov. 11, ITeT, son of Nathan 
 Bailey, who was born in Fishkill, June 32, 1738. Father, 
 John Bailey born in Westchester county, in 1704. 
 
 Barnes Oliver S., p o Johnsville, farmer, 136 acres, born in Put- 
 nam county September 6,, 1838. settled in county in 
 1855; wife Mary E. 'Wilde, married December 24, 1855; 
 children six — Howard, Willis W., Cora, Ida, Richard, 
 and Jane. Parents William and Deborah Barnes. 
 
 Bogardus Adrian M., p'o East Fishkill, farmer, 180 acres, born in 
 town September 16, 1816; wife Clarissa Bragaw of 
 Foughkeepsie, married January 13, 1849; children 
 three— Julia, Henry, and Alfred. Father, Elias, son of 
 Cornelius Bogardus one of the early settlers. Mother 
 Hannah Montfort, daughter of Adrian Montfort, who 
 was one of the early settlers here. 
 
 Bonney Alfred, p o Hopewell Junction, farmer, 150 acres, born 
 in New York city February 17, 1857, settled in county 
 in 187S. Father, Hon. Benjamin West Bonney, ex-judge 
 of supreme court of New York city. 
 
 Brinckerhofl Wm. E., p o Johnsville, farmer and horticulturist, 
 80 acres, born on present farm July 84, 1833 ; wife Sarah 
 Anderson, of East' Fishkill, married January 34, 1854* 
 children three living— Carrie, Elizabeth, and Cornelial 
 Father John D., son of Derrick Brinckerhofl. Mother 
 a descendant of Benjamin Hasbroock. 
 
 Baldwin Peter A., p o Clove Branch Junction, farmer and specu- 
 lator, 840 acres, born in town in September 183ii, has 
 been"> supervisor three years; wife Mary C. Greene 
 of New York city, married October 86, 1859; children 
 three— Charles F., Frank, and Aletta C. Father 
 Lasher S. Baldwin. 
 
 Baxter Seymour, p o Hopewell Junction, farmer, born in town 
 June 87, 1838; wife Martha J. Knapp, married February 
 1, 1861; children four-George B., David H Sarah J 
 and Josie M. Father Charles Baxter. '' 
 
 Bogardus Edward, p o Sylvan Lake, farmer and milk dealer, 110 
 acres, born in Duchess county October 20, 18S7, town 
 auditor; wife Susan M. Strang, born in New York city 
 married in 1849; children three— Chas. S., James W.' 
 and Mary J. Father, James Bogardus, was son of 
 Cornelius Bogardus. 
 
 Cortelyon Jaques, p o Hopewell Junction, farmer, 150 acres 
 born in Brooklyn In 1796, settled In county in 1858, has 
 been director of R. R. and member of Regents of 
 Long Island; wife Ann Maria Fowler of New York 
 city, married in 1830: children three— Adriana, Caro- 
 line Amelia, and Dr. L. V. Cortelyon. Father, Peter 
 Cortelyon, son of Jaques, whose great-sreat-grand- 
 father came from Holland with Lord Wariooe. 
 
 Denton Israel, p o Green Haven, superintendent of Duchess 
 county stock farm, 234 acres, has been a detective in 
 Brooklyn and New York city fourteen years; wife 
 Louisa O'Brien of Watertown; children two— Ada F 
 and Elizabeth H. Father, Israel Denton. 
 Davidson Oliver, p o Hopewell Junction. 
 Davidson Silvanus Miller, p o Hopewell Junction, miller, also 
 coal and lumber dealer, born in New York city Jan 
 18, 1849, settled in county Cot 30, 1875; wife.Angelica 
 Malcolm Ryan, born in Philadelphia Jan. 17 1849 
 married Deo. 30, 1871, In Yokohama, Japan ; one child- 
 Margaret Miller, born in Yokohama, Japan, Sept 34 
 1878. Father, Miorris Miller Davidson, born in l81o'- 
 grandfather Oliver Davidson, born in 1779, 
 
 in 1810 ; 
 
 DuBois Garret, p o Johnsville, farmer, 142 acres, born in East 
 Fishkill Sept. 87, 1838: wife Mary Ida Van Wyck, mar- 
 ried Sept. 4, 1860, died May 36, 1873; three children 
 living — Charles, John Van Wyck, and Kate. Father, 
 Charles L., son of Garret DuBois. whose great-grand- 
 father purchased a tract of land of Henry Beekman in 
 17P7. 
 
 Emans Albert S., p o East Fishkill, farmer and dealer in agri- 
 cultural implements, 500 acres, born on present farm 
 Jan. 30, 1854, has been collector; wile Laura L, 
 Thomas of Fishkill, married March 4, 1880. Father, 
 John S. Emans, was Member of Assembly two years, 
 supervisor several years, justice of sessions two years 
 and justice of peace twenty years. Father, John, was 
 son of James Emans, the first settler on the farm. 
 
 Emans Charles W., p o Johnsville, farmer, 230 acres, bom in 
 town Oct. 8, 1831, settled on^resent farm in 1866, 
 has been justice of peace eight years; wife Julia 
 Purdy of Putnam county, married April 4, 1854; eight 
 children living. Father, John Emans was sou of 
 James Emans. 
 
 Emans Storm, p o East Fishkill, farmer, 500 acres, born on 
 same farm June 12. 1856. has been justice of peace and 
 supervisor in 1881; wife Alice A. Waterbury, of 
 Saratoga Springs, married Jan. 86, 1881. Father, John 
 S. Emans. 
 
 Emans James C, p o Hopewell Junction, dairy farmer, 190 
 acres, settled in town Jan. 8, 1821; wife Cordelia 
 Stockholm; children three— Cornelius J., Theodosia, 
 Charles S. Father, John Emans, son of James Emans 
 who was one of the first settlers at Gayhead. 
 
 Forman James H., p o Hopewell Junction, physician and sur- 
 geon, born in Kent, Putnam county, settled in county 
 in 1877; wife Sarwh Nelson, born in Putnam county, 
 married Oct. 30, 3878. J. H. read medicine with W. B. 
 Dunning, attended lectures at: Long Island College, 
 and at the University -of New York, from which ne 
 was graduated in February, 1877, began practice in 
 May, 1877. 
 
 GenuDg Isaac S., p o Hopewell Junction, farmer and assessor, 
 156 acres, born in town, has been collector; father 
 Joseph Qenung was son of Gabriel Genung of New 
 Jersey, who settled in county about 1800; mother, 
 Charlotte Storm, daughter of Abram Storm. 
 
 Gildereleve Isaac B., p o Johnsville, farmer, 146 acres, bom in 
 Scipio, Cayuga county, April 5, 1838, settled in county 
 in 1830; wife Charlotte A. Miller, of Pennsylvania, 
 married in 1865; children one— Rita A. Father, Solo- 
 mon was son of Nathaniel Gildersleve. 
 
 Hickman John, p o Johnsville, farmer, 100 acres,born in Putnam 
 county February 8, 1834, settled in county in 1866; wife 
 Sarah M. Lownsbury. born in Westchester county in 
 1831, married December 31, 1860; children five living. 
 Father, William, was son of Michael Hickman. 
 
 Homan John Z., p o Stormville, farmer, 100 acres, born in town 
 in 1883 ; wife Antoinette Seaman, of this town, married 
 in 1854; children one— John Homan, Jr. Father, Moses 
 Homan, a native of this town. 
 
 Harpel George M., p o Adriance, farmer and commission dealer, 
 born in New York city July 4, 1827, settled in county, 
 in 1865, owns 3110 acres of land; wife Maria Edgerton, 
 born in New York, married in 1850, children two— 
 Isabelle Storm, and Georgia. Father, Matthew Har- 
 pel, of New York city. 
 
 Hopkins Benjamin, p o Stormville, farmer and auctioneer, 
 290 acres, born in county, April 18, 1820. Has been 
 supervisor nine years, and jnstioe of the, peace 
 since 1855; wives, Jane Manfort and Margaret H. 
 Lasher, five children by first wife and six by second. 
 Father, John Hopkins, was son of Benjamin, who set- 
 tled in county in 1779. 
 
 Horton R. C, p o East Fishkill, retired. Owns 130 acres of 
 land, is post-master: wife, Mary Brown, of Newburgh, 
 married in 1862, children two— Mary B., and Ralph, 
 sou of Jacob and Diana Horton. 
 
 Horton Chas. W., p o Stormville, general merchandise, born in 
 Kent, Putnam county, settled in county, in 1861, is 
 supervisor and postmaster; wives, Mary Ann Fox, and 
 Sarah J . Brevoort, three children living— Mary,Charles, 
 and Grace. Father, Joseph S. Horton. 
 
 Johnston Robert, p o Johnsville, farmer and fruit grower, 220 
 acres born in Putnam county, Sept. 23, 1835, settled 
 in county, in 1828. Father, Wm. H , was son of Judge 
 Robert Johnston. Mother, Susan Van Wyck,was daugh- 
 ter of Theodorus W. Van Wyck. 
 
 Ketohain Dennis W., p o Bast Fishkill, farmer, 100 acres born 
 in Putnam county, Nov. 4, 1824, settled in county in 
 1833 and on present farm in 1855; wife, Hannah Grifdn, 
 of Putnam county, married in 1848, one son— Franklin 
 D. Father, Isaac A Ketoham, was son of Joseph 
 Ketcham a native of Putnam county. 
 Knapp Isaac N., p o Johnsville, farmer 193 acres, born in 
 East Fishkill, Nov. 29, 1814, died Sept. 23, 1880, was 
 highway commissioner; wife Luoretia Jewell, of this 
 town, children five- Alonzo P., Melissa, Victoria, 
 Martin M., and Ira J. Father, Nehemiah Knapp, was 
 resident of this county. « 
 
 Knapp James I., p o East Fishkill, farmer, 200 acres, born in 
 Putnam county, Aug. 19, 1838, settled in East Fishkill, 
 JLi^^V.^i'®' Sarah A. Knapp of this town, married in 
 1854, children seven. Father, Wm. X. Knapp, was son 
 of Moses Knapp, one of the early settlers in county. 
 
PERSONAL STATISTICS. 
 
 IX 
 
 Snapp Wright, p o East Fishkill, farmer, 316 acres, born in 
 Putnam county, July W, 1834, settled in county in 
 1843, has been highway commissioner; wife Jane Wil- 
 sie, born on this farm, married Dec. 19, 1860, children 
 two— Katie B,, and Minnie E. Father, Wm. X. Enapp 
 
 Lasher Edward, p Hopewell Junction, prop, of hotel, born hi 
 Red Hoolc, July 11, 1841, came to town in 1860, owns 
 hotel; wife Mary Elizabeth VanVlack, born Oct. 13 
 1842, married Deo. 9, 1868, children two— Sarah Eliza- 
 beth, Edward H. Father, John Lasher, was son of 
 David. 
 
 LaDue William S., p o Johnsville, farmer and fruit grower 880 
 acres, fourth generation on farm, born July 14 1822- 
 wi:e Mary E. Snook, of Fishkill, married in 1849, chil- 
 dren five. Father, Samuel LaDue, was son of William 
 who bought this tract of land of Brett & Skenck, and 
 was original settler on farm. 
 
 Luyster Peter, p o Hopewell Junction, farmer, 370 acres bom 
 on farm April 14, 1800; wife Permelia Horton, 2d wife 
 Susan Woodin, three daughters living — Sarah A 
 Ha-wea, Arabella and Amelia. Father Peter I was 
 son of John Luyster, from Long Island. 
 
 Lasher H., p o Sylvan Lake. 
 
 Macomber E. C, p o Hopewell Junction, merchant, born in Ot- 
 sego county Nov. 22, 1834, settled in county in 1835- 
 wife S. E. Worthy of this town, married in 1867- chil- 
 dren two— Edwin Q. and Bertha M. Father, Elihu C 
 Macomber. 
 
 Miller David S., p o East Fishkill, farmer, 102 acres, born in 
 town Feb. IS, 1831, has been constable and overseer of 
 poor; wife Phoebe B. Reed, married March 17, I852- 2d 
 wife Abigail Ballard, married Oct. 26, 1870; one daugh- 
 ter— Emerett Qriffln. Parents Henry E. and Charlotte 
 Miller. 
 
 O'Donnell Thomas, p o Hopewell Junction, railroad contractor 
 owns 188 acres of land, born in Canada Oct. 3, 1844' 
 settled in county April 5, 1876; wife Fanny Fogart' 
 born in New York city, married May 13, 1872; children 
 four. Father, William O'Donnell, now residins in 
 Clinton county, N. Y. 
 
 Northrup John, p o East Fishkill, farmer, 121 acres, born in 
 Putnam county June 19. 1811, settled in county in 
 1861 ; wife Catharine Hyatt of Carmel, Putnam county 
 married in 1845; one son— John J., who married Lu- 
 celia Merrick of this town. Father, John Northrup of 
 Putnam county. 
 
 Palen Edward, p o Hopewell Junction, farmer, 213 acres, born 
 in Greene county April 20, 1808, settled in county in 
 1809, has been supervisor five years, postmaster forty 
 years, and assessor; wife, Helen L. Bennett of Litch- 
 field, Conn., married in 1818; children six. Father, 
 Peter E. was son of Ezekiel Palen of LaGrange. " Ed- 
 ward returned to Greene county in 1820, to Sullivan 
 county in 1840, and Duchess county in 1876. ' 
 
 Phillips Joseph W., p o East Fishkill, farmer, 215 acres, born in 
 town May 8, 1835, on farm of 146 acres; wife Caroline 
 Rogers, of Beekman, married Nov. 6, 1856. Father, 
 Elias Phillips, was son of John R. Phillips of Wap- 
 pinger's Falls. 
 
 Polhemus Rev. Cornelius H., p o Hopewell Junction, pastor of 
 Reformed church, born in Middlebnsb, N. J settled 
 in Duchess county in December, 1880; wife Lizzie W. 
 Reed of Cranbury, N. J., married June 3,1808. Educated 
 at Rutger's college and New Brunswick seminary, 
 called to this charge Nov. 24, 1880. 
 
 Quick Floyd, p o Johnsville, farmer and owner of vineyard, 135 
 acres, born in Westchester county Juno 22, 1834, set- 
 tled in Duchess county in 1871; wife Phebe C. Brett, 
 of East Fishkill, married Nov. 23, 1859. Father, Isaac 
 P. Quick, was son of Daniel Quick, who was justice of 
 peace In 1808. 
 
 Rapelje Lawrence C, p o Hopewell Junction, farmer, 320 acres, 
 born in New York city in 1836, settled in Duchess 
 county in 1843, has been supervisor two years, and 
 justice sixteen years; wife Anna M. Horton, of this 
 town, married in 1855; children four— John, civil en- 
 gineer, Lawrence, Jr.., Adrian, and Anna. Father, 
 Daniel L. Rapelje, of New York city. One of the di- 
 rectors and organizers of the Duchess & Columbia R. 
 R., also one of the incorporators and directors of the 
 Poughkeepsle Bridge Co., vice-president of the Nation- 
 al Bank of Fishkill, and director of the Duchess 
 Mutual Insurance Co. 
 
 Richards Jarvis W., p o East Fishkill, farmer, owns house and 
 lot, born in East Fishkill, has been constable and 
 deputy postmaster. Parents, James and Rhuanna 
 Richards. 
 
 Ryndes Morgan L., p o Hopewell Junction, farmer, 150 acres, 
 born in Pleasant valley Jan. 25, 1835, settled in this 
 town in 1850, is excise commissioner; wife Deborah 
 Townsend, of Union Vale; children one -Herbert G. 
 Father, Elias Ryndes, was son of John Ryndes. 
 
 Seaman Job, p o Stormville, farmer, 120 acres, born on same 
 farm Jan. 16, 1806; wife Maria Martin, married Jan. 8, 
 1834, died July 8, 1879. Father, Job Seaman, came 
 from Westchester county and settled here about 1800. 
 
 SpraguB Orry N., p o East Fishkill, farmer, 128 acres, born in 
 Putnam county May 25, 1820, settled in Duchess coun- 
 ty in 1840, has been collector, town clerk, assessor and 
 town auditor; wife Sarah A. Fulling, married Nov. 5, 
 1843: children three— Abram P., Henry C., and O. 
 Daniel. Father, Levi Sprague. 
 
 Sprague Abram P., p o East Fishkill, lawyer, born in town Aug. 
 ^'m „ ' ''''S.Emma, daughter of Wm.H. Ingraham, 
 of Troy, married Oct. 8, 1873. Abram P.was educated 
 »«a o5'^>^ ^"7^1?"?' Hamilton, graduated in 1868, 
 Li?„S*^"*'.f''.^2*''^^"*'"871, has been associate 
 editor of the Albany Law Journal, International Re- 
 view, and other publications, is author of "New Sci- 
 ence of Law and a law dictionary, is secretary of the 
 International Code committee ol America, has been 
 delegate to conferences on law of nations, in Europe, 
 where he received a prize of $1,000 for the best essay 
 on international codification, in a contest with twen- 
 
 04. i A u *y."™°e writers of Europe and America. 
 
 btout Abraham C., p o Johnsville, farmer, 75 acres, born in New 
 • °^o„o'*y December 9, 1833, settled in Duchess county 
 in 1838; wife Elizabeth Pierce, of this towc, married 
 Nov. 27, 1861; children two-Lewis H. and Ettie C. 
 Parents Jacob B. and Martha (Charlock) Stout. 
 
 Seaman Charles, p o Stormville, farmer, 135 acres born in the 
 town Jan. 1, 1821, has been town auditor; wife Louisa 
 Ashby, of D«chess county, married in 1847; children 
 tour— Wm. H., Ann Maria, George M., and Daniel. 
 Jather, Daniel, was son of Robert Seaman, who came 
 from Westchester county. 
 
 Sedore Ira, p o Hopewell Junction, railroad manager, owns 
 house and lot, born in Wappinger's Palls Sept. 19, 
 1851, settled in this town in 1868; wife Catharine Bowns, 
 born in this town, married in 1868. Parents were 
 Charles and Sarah M. Sedore. 
 
 Sherwood Peter M., p o Adriance, civil engineer, owns 40 acres, 
 born in Red Hook; wife Isaphine Storm, married Sept. 
 10, 1879. Parents Joseph and Mary B. Sherwood. 
 
 Storm Charles A., p o Adriance, farmer 23 acres, born in East 
 Fishkill Sept. 18. 1845; wife Elizabeth B. Storm, mar- 
 ried Jan. 24, 18r2. Father, Charles G. Storm, was sou 
 of Col. John Storm. 
 
 Storm A. Adriance, p o Stormville, farmer. 800 acres, bom in 
 Wappinger's Palls Nov. 7, 1837, settled in this town in 
 1847; wife Lavinia Sherwood, born in Fishkill, married 
 1868; childrun one— Diana A. Father, Alfred, was son 
 of Isaac, the son of Isaac, the son of Thomas Storm, 
 from Tarrytown. 
 
 Storm Thomas I., p o Stormville, farmer, 350 acres, born on this 
 farm April 3, 1827, has been town assessor; wife Susan 
 Arthur, of Orange county; children four living-Adri- 
 anna, Dorothy, Arthur and Walter. Father, Theo- 
 doras, who was son of Thomas I , whose father was 
 one of the first settlers here. 
 
 Storm John T., p o Adriance, farmer, 115 acres, born in New 
 Hamburgh May 6, 1818, settled in this town in 1830; 
 wife Susan Storm, married in 1841; children five living 
 —Cornelia D., Isaphine, Zilpha S., Theodora and Cath- 
 arine L. Father, Abram Storm, was son of Thomas 
 G., son of G. Storm, one of the first settlers who came 
 here from Tarrytown. 
 
 Storm Wm. J., p o Stormville, farmer, 300 acres, born on same 
 farm July 9, 1844; wife Isabella M. Harpei, of New 
 York city, married Oct. 9, 1871; children two— G. Har- 
 pei and Ethel Margaret. Father, John V. was son of 
 Abram Storm. 
 
 Storm Wm. Pierre, p o Clove Branch, farmer and retired mer- 
 chant, 190 acres, born in Freedom Plains Oct. 1, 1827; 
 wife Susan M. Storm, married June 21,i 18B4; children 
 . six living— Clarence A.. Walter S., Richard B., Wm. 
 Pierre, Edward and John G. Father, Abraham S., son 
 of Thomas Storm. 
 
 Storm George, p o Clove Branch, farmer, 200 acres, born in this 
 town Aug. 13, 1839; wife Emma Haight, bom in West- 
 chester county, married in 1868; children one— Maria 
 Storm. Father Charles G. Storm, of this town. 
 
 Tompkins James A., p o Parmer's Mills, Putnam county. 
 
 Underhlll Chas., p o Hopewell Junction, agent of N. D. & C. R. 
 R. Co., born in New Haokensack July 28, 1853, Father, 
 Dr. Anthony Underbill, mother, Charlotte Underbill. 
 
 Van Vlack Abraham G., p o East Fishkill, farmer, 395 acres, 
 born on same farm Feb. 24, 1801; wife Susau Anson, of 
 this town, married in 1826, died Aug. 14, 1844; children 
 two— George and Mary Elizabeth. Father, George, 
 was son of Aaron Van vlack. 
 
 Van Wyck James, p o J ohnsville, farmer, 414 acres, born on 
 same farm Sept. 4, 1810; first wife Cornelia Ann 
 Van Wyck, married Noy. 12, 1834; second wife Eliza- 
 beth M! Van Brunt, married Oct. 3, 1849; children two 
 — Abraham and Richard T. Father, Abraham, was 
 son of Dr. Theodoras Van Wyck, who was a member of 
 the second and third provincial congresses, and 
 whose father, Theodorus, was surveyor and original 
 purchaser of a tract of- 900 acres. 
 
 Van Wyck Cornelius S., p o Fishkill Plains, farmer, 118 acres, 
 born in Fishkill March 9, 1821, has been supervisor and 
 assessor; wife Phebe Van Wyck, of East Fishkill, born 
 March 9, 1823, married Oct. 14, 1846: children three- 
 Robert, M., Stephen C. and Frank. Father, Stephen D., 
 was son of Cornelius R. Van Wyck. 
 
 Waldo John B., p o Johnsville, fruit grower, 150 acres, born on 
 same farm June 2, 1846 ; wife Helen Brett, of this town, 
 married in 1872; children five. Father, Wm. B., was 
 son of Dr. Charles Waldo. This farm is said to be the 
 last farm sold by the Indians to the whites. 
 
 Warren Aaron, p o East Fishkill, farmer, born in this town 
 Oct. 21, 1814; wife Cornelia Phillips, of Fishkill, 
 married in 1869; children two— John and Charles. 
 Parents Jonathan and Hetty (Stockholm) Warren. 
 
HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 Weed George B., p o Patterson, Putnam county, farmer, 865 
 acres, born in South Kast Jan. IB, 1836, settled in town 
 in 1856, has been collertor; wife Susan Seaman, mar- 
 ried Oct. 7, 1856; children three— Anna L., Willie G., 
 Ella F. Father, Hendriok Weed. 
 
 Wixon Dearborn, p o East Fishkill, farmer, 118>i acres, born in 
 Putnam county Feb 18, 1844, settled in Duchess county 
 in 1869, has been U. S. deputy census enumerator; wife 
 Lovina Horton, of Putnam county, married April 14, 
 1864; children one living— AUie. Father, Kathaniel 
 Wixon, was a son of John Wixon, 
 
 Wixon Wm. H., p o Bast Fishkill, farmer, 118X acres, born in 
 Putnam county Sept. 8, 1840, settled in Duchess county 
 in 1869; wife Susan Horton, of Putnam county, mar- 
 ried Dec. 14, 1865; children two— Isadore and Addie 
 May. Father, Nathaniel Wixon. 
 
 FISHKILL. 
 
 Aldridge Thomas, farmer and brick manufacturer, 307 acres, 
 born in Orange county in 1818, settled in Duchess 
 county in 1851. has been assessor; wife Amelia A. 
 Bndd, married in 1865; children eight. 
 Andrews James W., p o Matteawan, wool broker, born in Ulster 
 county in 1823. settled in Duchess county in 1844, died 
 in 1879; wife Eliza Annan, married in 1847; children 
 one— James E. Dr. Daniel D. Annan, born in Duchess 
 county in 1792. died in 1834; wife Margaret Brett. 
 Benjamin F. R., p o Fishkill. general merchant, born in Duch- 
 ess county in 18:-l8, owns a store, takes produce in ex- 
 change for goods; wife Helena Van Nostrand, married 
 in 1865; children two— Cora and Frank. 
 Blair Robert, p o Low Point, brick manufacturer and farmer, 
 100 acres, born in Orange county Feb. 28, 1819, settled 
 in Duchess county in 1875; wife Harriet Van Wart, of 
 Rockland county, married in 1843; children six — Phebe, 
 Hiram, Harriet B., Robert, Abbie and Annie. Robert 
 Blair commenced the manufacture of brick in 1859 in 
 Westchester county, anj went to Haverstraw, where 
 his present yard is si tuated, in 1863, and employs an 
 average of forty men. 
 Bogardus Samuel, p o Fishkill-on-the-Hudson, retired builder, 
 born in Fishkill Jan. 16, 1806; wife Phebe A. Schonten, 
 born in 1806, married in 1838; children six living. 
 Abram M. Bogardus, born in Duchess county in 1771, 
 died in 1859; wife Deborah Cook, born in 1774, died in 
 1836; children eight — three now living. Dominie Ever- 
 ardus Bogardus was born in Holland, married and emi- 
 grated to New York, and settled in Duchess county 
 about 1630. 
 Britt Captain Walter, p o Fishkill Landiog. prop, of Fishkill, 
 Newburgh & Albany Steamboat Co., born in Fishkill in 
 1818. was founder and president of the First National 
 Bank of Fishkill in 1862; wife Caroline A. Wiltsie, mar- 
 ried in 1810. Peter Britt and James Wiltsie were both 
 - born in Fishkill. 
 Brundage C. W., p o Fishkill-on-the-Hudson, dealer in coal, 
 cement, lime, hay and feed, born in Fishkill in 
 1830. John Place, of Brundage & Place, was born in 
 tijiion Vale in 1838. C. W. Brundage commenced busi- 
 ness in 1863; present firm was formed in 1868. 
 Cary Isaac, p o Johnsville, retired farmer, 1400 acres, born in 
 Duchess county in 1811; wife Eliza J. Washburn, mar- 
 ried in 1840; children five. John I. Carey, born in 
 Duchess county in 1784, died in 1844. Joseph Carey, 
 born in Rhode Island in 1750, served through the revo- 
 lutionary war; children twenty -one — all of whom grew 
 to maturity. 
 Cary Thomas, p o Fishkill, farmer. 275 acres, born in Fish- 
 kill in 1814; wife Mary J. Morgan, born in 1829, 
 married in 1848; children nine— William M., John 
 T., Emetine,. Jane B., Louisen, Mary L., Howard 
 W., Isaac B.. Bdward W. William Morgan, born in 
 England in 1779, came to Duchess county m 1826, died 
 in 1858; wife Kliza Wiley, born in Duchess county in 
 1801, married in 1887, died in 1857; children three. 
 Cook J . Hervey, p o Fishkill -on- the-Hudson, attorney and coun- 
 selor at law, born in New Jersey, settled in Duchess 
 county in 1867. 
 Davis David, p o Matteawan, born in Hartsrille, Duchess coun- 
 ty in 1808; wife Lydia M. Schenck, born in 1811, married 
 June 15, 1830, died in March 1866; second wife Ann S. 
 White, married in 1867, died in Oct. 1871 ; third wife 
 Sarah M. Brett, married in 1874; children one— Cor- 
 nelia Brett 
 Dean James E., p o Fishkill, marble manufacturer, born in Fish- 
 kill in 1830, has been pos'-.-master and justice of the 
 peace; wife Jerusha P. Hilliker, of Sullivan county, 
 married in 1854; children four. William G. Dean, born 
 in Pawling in 1795, died in 1850, was one of the early 
 settlers. Bphraim Dsan, born in Duchess county in 
 1760, died iu 1806. 
 Dibble W. S., p o Matteawan, prop, of Dibble hotel, born in 
 Litchfield, Conn., in 1848, settled in Duchess county in 
 1874: hotel was built by him in 1877, is situated on 
 Main street, and is in every way a first-class house. 
 Dudfey A. H,, p o Brinkerhoffville, miller, and dealer in flour 
 and feed, born in Putnam county, mill is one of the 
 oldest in the county, and was built by the revolution- 
 ary soldiers. 
 
 Duchess Hat Works, p o Fishkill-on-the-Hudson. 
 DuBois Peter C, p o Fishkill-onthe Hudson, farmer, born in 
 Fishkill in 1783, died iu 1869, held several promment 
 town and county offices; wife Ann Simonton, of Fish- 
 kill, born in 1785, married in 1807, died in 1868; children 
 seven— three living. Father, Peter Du Eois, born in 
 Duchess county, whose family was among the first set- 
 tlers of Fishkill. 
 
 Ha'ght William H., p o Fishkill, farmer. 78 acres, born in Duch- 
 ess county in 1837; wife Caroline Kinney, married in 
 1873; children one— Laura B. 
 
 Haight Jacob, p o Fishkill, farmer and fruit grower, 130 acres, 
 born in Duchess county in 1807; wife Sarah Hustis, of 
 Putnam county, married in 1832; children four -Wil- 
 liam H., Susan A., James L., and Charles G. James 
 Haight, born in Duchess county in 1775, died in 1850, 
 was a farmer. John Haight, born on same farm in 
 1741, died in 1836, was captain in the revolutionary 
 army. 
 
 Haver Jane E., p o Fishkill-on-the-Hudson, owns bakery and ice 
 cream saloon, was formerly Jane B. Yeiverton, of 
 Duchess county, bom in 1829, married in 1849; children 
 four— Alvaretta, Frances F., Dora, and James H. 
 
 Hustis H. H., p o Fishkill-on-the-Hudson, attorney and coun- 
 selor, born in Putnam county, settled in Duchess 
 county in 1853, was justice of the peace from 1859 to 
 1868, and supervisor in 1874. 
 
 Hustis Theodore, p ,o Fishkill, farmer, born in Putnam county 
 Jan. 16, 1805, died Nov. 5, 1853; wife Mary A. Brincker- 
 hofl, born in Fishkill in 180.% married in 1837; children 
 two -Elizabeth and May L. Derrick L BrincKerhoff, 
 born in Duchess county, died in 1818. John Brincker- 
 hoft, born in Duchess county, was among the first set 
 tiers in Hopewell, and a farmer. 
 
 Judson & Hancock, p o Matteawan. 
 
 Judson Roswell S., p o Matteawan, liveryman, born in Connecti- 
 cut, settled in Duchess county in 1861. Judson & Han- 
 cock, proprietors oC livery and sale stables. Cyrus J. 
 Hancock was born in Massachusetts, and came to 
 Duchess county in 1856. 
 
 Kittredge C. M., p o Fishkill-on-the-Hudson, physician and sur- 
 geon, born in New Hampshire, settled in Duchess 
 county in 1870. 
 
 Enapp Du Bois, p o Fishkill, born in Duchess county in 1844, died 
 in 1876, owned six acres in homestead; wife Mima Hop- 
 kins, married in 1866: children four. 
 
 Enapp James H., p o Fishkill, farmer and fruitgrower, 140 acres, 
 born in Duchess county in 1^22; wife Jane E. Shaw, 
 born in Duchess county in 1838, married in 1843; chil- 
 dren eight— H. Du Bois, Emily A., Ueorge B., William 
 A., David I., Jennie A., Howard C, and Herbert C. 
 Beverly Knapp, born in Duchess county in 1781, died 
 in 1858; first wife Mary Nelson; second wife Elizabeth 
 Van Schaick, born in 1799, married in 1820; children 
 six. John Knapp, born in Connecticut, settled in 
 Duchess county, and was engaged in the revolution. 
 
 Luyster Bdnaond, p o Fishkill. retired farmer, 350 acres, born in 
 Fishkill in 1820; wife Catharine Storm, born in 1828, 
 married in 1860; children two— Maggie and John S. 
 John P. Luyster, born in Duchess county in 1794, died 
 in 1872; wife Margaret Myers, born iu Duchess county 
 in 1792, married in 1814, died in 1871; children eight — 
 three now living. Peter I. Luyster, born in Duchess 
 county. Father emigrated from New Town, Long 
 Island. 
 
 Mackin James, p o Fishkill-on-the-Hudson. 
 
 McLaughlin David S., p o Fishkill-on-tbe-Hudson, dealer in 
 cigars and tobacco, born in Orange county in 1833. set- 
 tled in Duchess county in 1854, was appointed post- 
 master in 1869, commenced business in 1858; wife Jane 
 Hunt, of Duchess county, married in 1857; children 
 four— Marvin J , Frank, Augusta, and Walter. 
 
 Martin Charles B., p o Fishkill-on-the-Hudson. born in Duchess 
 county in 1843; partner in business, W. A. Baxter, born 
 in Duchess county in 1848; commenced business in 
 1860. Charles B. Martin entered the firm in 1871; gen- 
 . eral dealers in dry goods, groceries, clothing, boots 
 and shoes, store situated earner of Main and Ferry 
 streets. 
 
 Mead James V., p o Fishkill on-the-Hudson, farmer and brick 
 manufacturer, 97 acres, born in Orange county in 1831, 
 settled in Duchess county in 1870: wife Mary A. Clark, 
 born in Orange county in 1889, married in 1858; chil- 
 dren six — Henrietta, Alvaretta, James A., Harry, 
 Thomas A., and Sebastian. Commenced the manufac- 
 ture of brick in 1866, at Duchess Junction, established 
 at Low Point in 1870, and employs an average of twen- 
 ty-five men. « 
 
 Redman John, p o Fishkill-on-the-Hudson, general plumber and 
 gas-ntter, born in England in 1839, settled in Duchess 
 county in 1864; wife Susan Taylor, born in Yorkshire, 
 Eng. in 1838, married in 1865; children one— Rhoda. 
 
 Robinson Lyman. Matteawan, born in Greene county in 1833, 
 settled in Duchess county in 1861; wife Catharine 
 McArthur, of Scotland, married in 1861 -children three 
 Partner in firm of Falconer, Carroll & Co., of Mattea- 
 wan National Felt Works. Stephen Van Rensselaer 
 Robinson, born in Duchess county in 1794, died in 1848: 
 wife Julia Hinman, of Greene county, married in 1816: 
 children twelve— five now living. Jasper Robinson, 
 born in Massachusetts, settled in Duchess county 
 about 1776, and died in Greene county. 
 
PERSONAL STATISTICS. 
 
 XI 
 
 Rogers Charlea C p o Fishkill, farmer, born in Fishkill in 1829; 
 wife Hattie L. Cook, of Oneida county, married in 1863 ; 
 children one— Charles D. Absalom Bogers, born in 
 Putnam county in 1784, oame to Duchess ia 1800, and 
 died in 1860. He was a farmer. 
 
 Rosa H. B., p o Fishkill, dealer in furniture, and undertaker, 
 bornluDuchessoounty in 1839; wife Sarah B. Sonth- 
 eral. of Duchess county, married in 1853; children 
 three. John H. Rosa, born in Ulster county in 1803, 
 came to Duchess couaty in 18'27, died Sept. 10, 1860, 
 commenced business in 1837. 
 
 Bothery John and William, p o Matteawan, manufacturers of 
 flies, John was born in France in 1821, and settled in 
 Duchess county in 1827. William, born in Matteawan 
 in 1834, commenced business in 1858. John Bothery, 
 born in ShetBeld, Bug., in 1799, oame to Duchess 
 county in 1837. died in 1858; wife Mary Ashorth, of 
 ShefBeld, England, married m 1830 ; children seven 
 —six now living. John commenced business in 1835, 
 giving employment to about forty-flve persons, and 
 ■was original founder of the file company. 
 
 Rozell Harvey, p o Fishkill, farmer and grapery, 93 acres, born 
 in Fishkill in 1883, has been commissioner of highway<i; 
 ■wife Jeanette Hunter, born in Duchess county in 1829, 
 married in 1849; children six. Robert Rozel), born in 
 Duchess county Aug. 16, 1794, died Nov. 10, 1875; wife 
 Phebe Way, of Duchess county, born Jan. 85, 1796, 
 married Oct. 9, 1817, died Jan. 33, 1879; children four. 
 Jeremiah Rozell emigrated from Germany, served un- 
 der Washington in the Bevolution, and settled in 
 Duchess county. 
 
 Sargent Henry W., p o Bishkill-on-the Hudson, retired, born in 
 Boston, Mass.. in 1810, settled in Duchess county in 
 1840; wife Caroline Olmstead. of New York city, mar- 
 ried in 1839; children one— Winthrop, born in 1840. 
 
 Schouten Stephen, p o Fishkill-on-the-Hudson, dealer in under- 
 taking and furnishing goods, born in Duchess county 
 in 1811, commenced' business in 1857; wife Hattie J. 
 Barhyte, of Duchess county, married in 1832. 
 
 Scofleld Miles, p o Fishkill, farmer and fruit grower, 103 acres, 
 born m Fishkill in 1887, has been assessor; wife Mary 
 Vale, of Duchess county, born in I860; children one — 
 Mary L., born in 1865. Ephraim M. Scofield, born in 
 Duchess county in 1797, died in 1878. Miles Scofield, 
 born in Connecticut in 1770, came to Duchess county 
 about 1780. 
 
 Scofleld E E . p o Fishkill, farmer and dairyman, 150 acres, born 
 in Fiflikill Nov. 87, 1836; wife Eliza (J. Baxter, born in 
 Ne^w York city in 1839, married in 1867: children two — 
 Arthur B , born in 1869, and Almira B., born in 1873. 
 E. M. Scofleld, born in Putnam county in 1796, died in 
 1878; wife Catharine Phillip, of Duchess county, born 
 in 1808, married in 1827; children four. 
 
 Seaman George A., p o Fishkill-on-the-Hudson. 
 
 Smith Everett A., p o Matteawan, retired, born in Matteawan in 
 1843; wife Katy Mondar, of Orange county, married in 
 1862, died in 1877; children three; second' wife Violet 
 Gorden, of Scotland, born in 1844, married Oct, 11, 
 1877. Abraham Smith, born in Duchess county in 1806, 
 died in 1858; wife Ruth J. Robinson, born in Duchess 
 county April 15, 1810, married Dec. 8, 1880. Gabriel 
 Smith, born in Duchess county in 1740, died in 1838; 
 children ten— four now living— the oldest about 90 
 years of age. „ „,^ , , 
 
 Storm John V., p o Fishkill, retired farmer, 341 acres, born in 
 Duchess county in 1800, has been assessor, supervisor 
 and justice of the peace; ■wife Jeannette E. Wooley, of 
 Pleasant Valley, married in 1839; children seven. 
 Abraham Storm, born in Duchess county in 1771, died 
 in 1850. Isaac Storm born in Tarrytown. 
 
 Spaight J. W., p o Fishkill. 
 
 Talbot Thomas, p o Fishkill-ori-the-Hudson, dealer in flsh and 
 oysters, born in England in 1844; wife Mary E. Parm- 
 lee of Oneida county, married in 1868; children three 
 Thomas, Walter and Susie. 
 
 Talbot B. M., dealer in general fancy groceries, ■wines, fine 
 brands of liquors, imported and domestic cigars, and 
 tobacco, commenced business in 1866, and in 1876 
 erected a fine two-story house; born in England in 
 1837, settled in Duchess county in 1866; wife Elizabeth 
 Bates, of England, married in 1868; children three— 
 —Frederick, James and Willie. 
 
 Tompkins Solomon, p o Matteawan, retired farmer, born in 
 Duchess county in 1810: wife Betsey Randall, of Dela- 
 ware county, borninl'814, married in 1834; children 
 ten— Le^wis. Charles W., Emory L., William S., Hen- 
 ry B. Frank O., Edward, Arsinoe, Jennie, and Rebec- 
 ca Solomon Tompkins, born in Putnam county in 
 1777, died in 1861 ; wife Elizabeth Hyatt, born in 1776, 
 married in 1800, died in 1853; children nine— three now 
 living. 
 
 Teller James, p o Fishkill-on-the-Hudson. 
 
 Underbill Samuel, p o Fishkill-on-the-Hudson, dealer in grocer- 
 ies and provisions, born in Ulster county in 1820, set- 
 tled in Duchess county in 1841; wife RuthC. Williams, 
 married in 1858; children two. 
 
 Van Amburgh Walter, p o Fishkill-on-tho-Hudson, farmer, 60 
 acres, born in Duchess county in 1830; wife Mary L. 
 Vail, born in 1840, married in 1861; children one— Er- 
 mina Robert Van Amburgh, born in Duchess county 
 in 1774, died in 1850; wife Freelove DuBois, born in 
 1774, died in 1870; children eleven— six now living. 
 
 Van Buren Lorenzo, p o Fishkill, farmer and brick manufactur- 
 er, owns homestead, born in Otsego county in 1811 • 
 settled in Duchess county in 1861; wife Charlotte 
 Compton, born in New Jersey in 1814, married in 1838; 
 children five— Willis, Squire, Lucy, Lorenzo Q , and 
 Mary D. 
 
 Van Voorhis William H., p o Fishkill on-the-Hudson, farmer, 
 born in Duchess county in 1818; wife Ann E. Lester, 
 bom in 1814, married in 1845. John Van Voorhis, born 
 in Duchess county in 1783, died in 1862, was son of 
 Henry Van Voorhis. 
 
 Van Wyck John C, p o Fishkill, born in Duehess county in 1793, 
 died June 2, 1867; wife Delia Griffen, born in Duchess 
 county Aug. 20, 1797, married April 7, 1814; children 
 seven — four now living. Cornelius C. Van Wyck, born in 
 Duchess county April 28, 1763; wife Letitia Adritiance, 
 bom in Duchess county in 1766, married May 3, 1786. 
 Jacob Griffen, bom in Duchess county Sept. 17, 1764, 
 died Dec. 28, 1799; wife Catharine DuBois, bom in 
 Duchess county May 8, 1771, married in 1790, died May 
 7, 1847; children three. 
 
 Verplanck William S., p o Fishkill-on the-Hudson, farmer, bom 
 in New York oity in 1818; wife Hannah B. Newland, 
 married in 18.37; children seven. 
 
 Verplanck Samuel, p o Fishkiil-oc-the-Hudson, farmer, 800 acres, 
 born in Fishkill in 1840; wife Anna Rogers, of New 
 York city, married in 1879, James D. Ver Plank, born 
 in Duchess county in 1805; wife Julia A. Caverly, of 
 Duchess county, married in 1835; children three. 
 
 White Charles D., p o Fishkill, farmer 470 acres, born in Greene 
 county in 1837, settled in Duchess county in 1844; wife 
 Mary A. Haynes, born in Rensselaer county in 18.39, 
 married in 1869; children five- George C, Milo J., An- 
 nie, Charles H., and Albert. George C. White, born in 
 Duchess county in 180:^, died in 1859; wife Annis Yeo- 
 mans, of Greene county, born in I8O1'; children one — 
 Charles D. 
 
 Wood 1. C, p o Fishkill, nurseryman and florist, born in Fish- 
 kill in 1840: wife Emma Moran, born in Ontario coun- 
 ty in 1840, married in 1875. Joseph J. Wood, born in 
 Fishkill in 1828; wife Rebecca Vernol, of Duchess 
 county. 
 
 Wooley Susan S., p o Fishkill. 
 
 HYDE PARK. 
 
 Blauvelt Rev. Cornelius B,. p o Hyde Park, pastor of Reformed 
 church, born in New York city May 6, 1843, settled in 
 this county in Sept. 1880, and is editor of the *^Christian 
 Intelligencer;'^ wife Aurelia Sage, born Nov. 10, 1844, 
 
 ' married April 16. 1868: children two— Addie Aurelia, 
 
 born Feb. 28, 1869, and Mary Sage, born Sept. 24, 1873. 
 Father, -David T. Blauvelt, wife Adeliza Williams. 
 
 Bodenstein Henry, p o Staatsburgh, manufacturer of Ice tools, 
 born in Germany In 1858, settled in Duchess county in 
 1863; wife Antoinette Podrabsky, married in June, 
 1878: children one- Clarence H. Father John H. Bod- 
 enstein. 
 
 Bodenstein J. G.. p Staatsburgh, manufacturer of ice tools, 
 born in Germany in 1850, settled in Duchess county in 
 1863; wife Louisa Hess, born in New York city, married 
 in Nov., 1873; childrtn one— Frederick. Father. John 
 H. Bodenstein. 
 
 Burnett Henry K., p o Poughkeepsie, farmer, 80 acres, born in 
 Clinton Sept. 84, 1837; wife Helen A. Losee, bom in 
 Washington. Father, John Burnett, born in LaGrange, 
 son of John Burnett, whose father, John Burnett, set- 
 tled in LaGrange about 1730. 
 
 Cady Bev. Philander Z., p Hyde Part, rector of St. James 
 parish, born in Cincinnati, O., Oct. 8.3, 1826, settled in 
 Duchess county in Sept. 18B6, and took charge of 
 Christ church in Poughkeepsie, where he continued 
 rector nine years, was graduated from Woodward 
 college, Cincinnati, and from the theological seminary 
 of the Protestant Episcopal church of New York city, 
 was ordained m July, 1880, received degree from 
 Columbia college, has been rector of Grace church. 
 West TroyN. Y., Newark. N. J., and others; wife 
 Helen S. Hamilton, married June 11, 1863; children 
 two. 
 
 Carhart Daniel H., p o East Park, dealer in general merchan- 
 dise, owns 219 acres of land, born in Clinton, is post- 
 . master and first U. S. revenue collector; wife Char- 
 lotte C. Briggs, bom in Clinton, married Oct. B, 1854; 
 children two living— Edward W., and George B. 
 Parents, Richard and Catherine Carhart. 
 
 Carter Israel M., p o Hyde Park, edge tool manufacturer, born 
 in Hyde Park in June, 1829, has been collector, consta- 
 ble, and trustee of Are district ten years; commenced 
 business in 1847. Parents Robert S. and Maria Carter. 
 
 Coxhead John T., p o Hyde Park, manufacturer and dealer in 
 furniture, church furniture a specialty, born in Pough- 
 keepsie in 1858, is county secretary of I. O of G. T., 
 was D. G. W. C. T. in 1873 and 1874. Father John F. 
 Coxhead, of Poughkeepsie, and his five sons are in the 
 same business. 
 
 Cronk Nathaniel T., p o Staatsburgh, farmer, 30 acres, born in 
 Westchester county in 1809, settled in Duchess county 
 in 1811; wife Aurelia Hall, of Union Vale; children 
 seven living. Father, Dennis Cronk. 
 
Xll 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 Cummings Michael, p o Staatsburgli, station and express agent, 
 born in Ireland Sept. l9, 1823, settled in Duchess 
 county in 1847, owns ItiO acres of land, was first station 
 and express agent in the place, commencing Oct. 1, 
 1851; wife Hannah Hale, married in 1853; children six 
 living. Father, Edward Cummings. 
 
 Cudner Barra B., p o Hyde Park, dealer in hard lumber, born in 
 Patterson Jan. 27, 1824, owns 25 acres of land; wife 
 Maria J. Horton, born in Dnion Vale, children eight 
 living— three sons and five daughters. Parents Philip 
 and Maria Cudner, 
 
 Delamater Frederick, p o Hyde Park, wagon manufacturer, 
 born in Hyde Park, is town clerk, manufacturer of aU 
 styles of wagons and sleighs, is'also engaged in gener- 
 al repairing business. Parents'BenjaminE. and Amelia 
 Delamater. 
 
 Finan M. J., p o Pleasant Plains, farmer, 80 acres, born in Ire- 
 land in 1834, settled in Duchess county in 1876; wife 
 Jane Wynn, of Ireland; children six— Joseph, Peter. 
 Mary, Ann, Jane, and Patrick. Parents, Rodger and 
 Mary Finan. * 
 
 Fltchett John W., p o Poughkeepsie, farmer, 150 acres, born in 
 Foughkeepsie in 1815. has been assessor; wife Marietta 
 Frost, born in Pleasant Valley ; married in 1844; chil- 
 dren four — George R., Myers, Sarah Frances, and 
 Anna. Father, James Fltchett, son of Isaac Fitchett. 
 
 Fraleigh Wm., p o Pleasant Plains, born in Bhiuebeck Jan 14, 
 1809, farmer, 58 acres; wife Catherine Sleight, born in 
 Pleasant Plains ; children eleven living. Father, Peter 
 Fraleigh, a native of the town of Rhinebeck. 
 
 Greene Eugene, p o Hyde Park, dealer in stoves, tin, and hard- 
 ware, born in Fishkill in 1848; wife Libbie Valentine, 
 of Poughkeepsie, married in 1872; children one— Grace 
 A. Father, Henry Greene, was a native of Matteawau. 
 
 Haviland Henry Joseph, located in Hyde Park a homestead 
 of 1.33 acres in 1867, born in Beekman Sept. 24, 1829, 
 married Sept. 20, 1856, to Phebe UnderhlU; children 
 two— John J., bcrn Nov. 11, 1858 Benjamin H., born 
 Nov. 11, 1864. Beekman, eon of John, born Oct 9 
 1787, married Oct. 7, 1800, to Elizabeth Sudlow, died 
 Oct. 7, 1874, of Haviland Hollow; son of Thomas, born 
 Oct. 9, 1774, married Tamer Miller in 1765, died March 
 31, 1827, of Bye, Westchester county ; son of Benja- 
 min, bornin 1698, married Charlott Park, grand-daugh- 
 ter of Daniel and Charlott LeStrang, New Rochell, 
 exiled Huguenots from Paris, France, about 1685. 
 Children of Benjamin and Charlott — Benjamin, Roger. 
 Thomas, Daniel, Solomon, Isaac, John. Sophia, Char-^ 
 lott, Abigail, Sarah, Mary, Althea, of Bye. Benjamin 
 Haviland, Jr., purchased in town of Rye 400 acres of 
 land in 1711; five boys— Benjamin, Thomas, Solomon, 
 . Ebenezer, Isaac. Benjamin Haviland, Sr., wife Abi- 
 gail, five childrrn— Benjamin, Adam, John. Abigail 
 and Bathia, of Flushing, L. 1., 1698, one of the pio- 
 neers. Phebe Underbill Haviland born In town of 
 Clinton, March 31, 1829, died Feb. 8, 1860, daughter of 
 David Underbill, bsrn May 25, 1792, married Feb 34 
 1815, to Hannab, daughter of Peter Hatfield, died July 
 1, 1644; son of Jacob, born March 6, 1764, married Oct 
 
 , 19, 17B6, to Anna Cohklin, died May 27, 1829; son of 
 
 Jacob and Amy Hallock; son of Jacob and Mary Un- 
 derbill, died Deo. 35, 1693; son Capt. John Underbill 
 who married Elizabeth, daughter of Robert Field of 
 Flushing, L. I., three eons— Abraham, Isaac, Jacob 
 Landed in Massachusetts in 1630, died in 1672 Ac* 
 cording to M. De Cerville, the distinguished Norman 
 antiquarian, the Haviland family derived its surname 
 from an important Neustrian fortress, so called situ 
 ated on the river Saire, three fiights of an arrow above 
 Saire Point, that is Barfleur in Normandy et a verv 
 remote period. The earliest mention of the castle of 
 Haviland is to be found in the Roman De Ron a chron 
 iole by Robert Waoe, of the Isle of Jersey who wrote 
 in 1150. One of the earliest names recorded is Robert 
 Baron De Haviland in 1130. William Baron De Havi 
 land, from the parish of Golle Ville, Normandy accom- 
 panied Richard Coeur De Lion to Palestine in 1191 
 This family record represents twenty succeeding een^ 
 orations classified from dates on record 
 
 Henderson Oliver S., p o East Park, farmer, 167 acres born in 
 Poughkeepsie Dec. 31, 1827, settled in town' in 1871- 
 wife Laura De Nee, born in Ulster oountv marriprt 
 Deo. 8, 1875; children one-Teressa. Parents" Adam 
 and Maria Henderson. Grandfather, Samuel kender^ 
 
 Herrick Timithy p o Staatsburgh, farmer, born in New Hamp- 
 shire in 1836, settled in this county in April. 1857 w»b 
 supervisor in 1873 and 1874, and auditor five years- 
 TJIJ" ^.'sabeth Muldoon, born in Ireland, married in 
 1858; children five. Father, N. B. Herrick a native of 
 New Hampshire. 
 
 Hughes Miles, p o Staatsburgh, dealer in general merchandlan 
 born in Staatebur^ in 1836, has been justice of the 
 peace; wife Emily Pier, of Red Hook; children three 
 hving. Pier, Edwin, and Emily. Father, Christopher 
 
 Irish A. L., p o Poughkeepsie, farmer, 110 acres, born in BvAo 
 
 v^'n'' ^^h,l^' ^^"' ''"« ''"°« U. Irish, of Pleasant 
 Valley; children one— Amos. Father, Humphrey Irish 
 grandfathers, Philip Irish, and Isaac Wood, ereat- 
 grandfather, Sylvanus Wilber, came from Rhode 
 Island m 1790, and settled, lived and died on the same 
 farm. 
 
 Kendriok Wm. H., p o Staatsburgh, superintendent of Knicker- 
 bocker Ice Co. at Staatsburgh, born In Ulster county 
 June 14, 1830, settled in this county in 1835, and owns 
 75 acres of land; wife Margaret M. Traver, of Hyde 
 Park, married in 1854. Parents Richard and Phebe 
 Eendrick, residents of Ulster and Duchess counties. 
 
 Kipp William A., p o Staatsburgh, farmer, Si5 acres, born in 
 Rhinebeck Dec. 28, 1828; wife Serena £ipp, of Rhine- 
 beck;— children five. Father, Jacob Eipp, son of Cjil- 
 bus Eipp. 
 
 Lamoree Nathaniel, p o Pleasant Plains, farmer, 165 acres, born 
 on present farm Dec. 4, 1810; wife Lorintha Morehouse, 
 born in Milan, married in 1840. Father, John Lam- 
 oree, was a resident on the same farm. 
 
 LattinLount, po Pleasant Plains, farmer and poultry raiser,born 
 in Orleans county May 24, 1842, settled in this county in 
 1869; wifeRositlaMorehouse, of Hyde Park, married in 
 1868; children three — Austin, Bertha, and Ezra. Father. 
 Joseph A. Lattin, a native of Pleasant Valley, and son 
 of Nathaniel, who was son of Benjamin Lattin. 
 
 Marquat Darwin G., p o Hyde Park, custom and merchant 
 miller, born in Clinton in 1817, is excise commissioner; 
 wife Anna Eliza Marquat. Father, John P. Marquat, 
 son of Peter Marquat. 
 
 Marshall John A , p o Hyde Park, farmer, 123 acres, born in 
 Pleasant Valley Nov. 21, J835, has been supervisor of 
 the town two years; wife Almira D. Culver, born in 
 Hyde Park, married Sept. 24, 1862; children five. 
 Father, Isaac P. Marshall, formerly supervisor of 
 Pleasant Valley, where he died in 1870. 
 
 Marshall Edward H., p o Pleasant Plains, farmer, 160 acres, 
 born in Hyde Park in 1836, is supervisor and assessor, 
 and has been highway commissioner; wife Susan Mary 
 Van Wagner, married in 1862; children one— Atherton 
 D., died Nov. 18, 1875. Father, Henry S. Marshall, a 
 native of Hyde Park, died April 16, 1853. 
 
 Marsh Eliott W., p o East Park, farmer and manufacturer of 
 mill-stones, 80 acres, born in Connecticut in 1820, set- 
 tled in this county in 1865, has been justice of the 
 peace: wife Julia H. Fraleigh, of Rhinebeck, married 
 in 1843; children two living— Noble G,, and Jennie. 
 Father, George M Marsh, a native of Connecticut. 
 
 Northrop Chas. W., p o Hyde Park, station agent of N. Y. C. & 
 H. R. R. R. and express agent for American Express 
 Co., born in Stockbridge, Mass., July 22, 1836, settled 
 in this county in 1863, opened first Western Union, 
 and first Atlantic & Pacific telegraph o£9ce at Rtiine- 
 beck, has been vestryman of St. James church; wife 
 Phebe A. Cunningham, of Greene county, married in 
 1861; children seven living. Father, AbelC. Northrop, 
 of Litchfield, Conn. 
 
 Nelson Joel, p o East Park, resident gentleman, owns 208 acres, 
 born In Hyde Park in 1814; wife Martha Turrettin, of 
 Ireland, married in 1837; children one— James H., who 
 waV married to Sarah E. Barr. Father, Hiram Nel- 
 son, was a son of Reuben, the son of Theophilus, the 
 son of Francis, a brother of Polyoarpus Nelson, the 
 original owner of the tract of 1.300 acres. 
 
 Pearsall Samuel H., p o Staatsburgb, farmer, 170 acres, born in 
 New York city in 18lj9, settled in this county In 1859, 
 has been highway commissioner; wife Julia A. Hop- 
 kins; children four living. Father, Henry Peaisall. 
 
 Reynolds James, p o Staatsburgh, gardener, born In Ireland in ' 
 1830, settled in this county in 1860; wife Margaret 
 Riley, died Aug. 5, 1871; children three— Wm. H., John 
 L., and Rosanna. 
 
 Russell James, p o Staatsburgh. merchant and postmaster, 
 owns 8 acres, born in this county June 25, 1825, has 
 been supervisor and assessor; wife Julia Williams; 
 children four. Father, James Russell, a native of 
 Massachusetts. 
 
 Schouten Richard A., p o Staatsburgh, butcher and dealer in 
 meat, born in East Fishkill in 1835, has been collector 
 of this town two terms; wit^aura J. Velic, daughter 
 of Henry Velio, deceased, married in 1857; children 
 five living— Charles H., Alice L., Lora J., Richard Un- 
 derbill, and Sterling Bird. 
 
 Schryver John H., born in Hyde Park, died in 1854, aged 36 
 years; wife Rachel B. Rymph, (daughter of Jonn 
 Rymph) p o Poughkeepsie, married in 1846; children 
 three living— John P , Sarah J. Simpson, and Susie M. 
 
 Schryver David H., p o Staatsburgh, farmer, 118 acres, born on 
 this farm Jan. 22, 1819; wife Margaret E. Streit, of 
 Rhinebeck, married in 1813; children three living- 
 John R., Augustus L., and Hettie A. Father, David 
 D. Schryver. 
 
 Schryver Albert B., p o Hyde Park, manufacturer of boots and 
 shoes, born in Rhinebeck March 31, 1826, has been su- 
 pervisor and town clerk, and is now town auditor: 
 wife Lola Hadden, of Hyde Park, married Deo. 9, 
 1847; children ten living. Parents, Henry B. and 
 Mary Ann Schryver, the former anatlve of KJiinebeok, 
 and the latter of Hyde Park, 
 
 Seaman Wm. H., p o Crum Elbow, farmer, 118 acres, born in 
 town Deo. 6, lls26; wife Jane M. Wixson, daughter of 
 Noah and Alsada Wixson, of Poughkeepsie, married 
 in 1851; children four— Emma E., Trank W., William 
 W., and Chas. H. Parents, Wm. and M%,ry Seaman. 
 
 Seaman Jacob I., p o East Park, farmer, 76 acres, born on pres- 
 ent farm Aprils, 1836; wife Laura A. Wood, daughter 
 of Wm. T. and Hannah S. Wood, married in 1860; chil- 
 dren four— Walter, Edward, William, and Herbert. 
 Parents, William and Mary (Quildersleve) Seaman, 
 
PERSONAL STATISTICS. 
 
 xm 
 
 Sheldon Benjamin T., p o Crum Elbow, farmer, 300 acres, born 
 on present farm, wbioh baa been in possession of tbe 
 family sixty -five y^arsj wife Catherine Ann Sherwood, 
 of Red Hoolc, married in 1859; children seven. Father, 
 Benjamin Sheldon, born in 1794, is now living. 
 Smith Uriah B., p o Poughkeepsie, farmer, 104 acres, born in 
 Hyde Park Oct. 86, 1846; wife Harriett, daughter of 
 Nicholas and Freelove Winne, born Nov. 26, 1846, mar- 
 ried Oct. 7, 18B8; children one- Laura Wiune, born 
 Oct. 10, 1877. Father', James B. Smith, native of Hyde 
 Park, mother, Esther Smith, native of Pleasant Valley. 
 Smith James B., p o Poughkeepsie, farmer, 160 acres, born in 
 Hyde Park Deo. 7, 1818; wife Eether VanWagnen, mar- 
 ried Oct. 18, 3842; children two— Uriah B., and Maturin 
 E. Father, Benjamin L., son of Uriah, son of Jacob, 
 son of Isaac, son of Jacob, son of Isaac, son of Abra- 
 ham, son of William Smith, who came from Glouces- 
 ter, Eng. about 1636, and settled in Boston. Isaac 
 Smith, born Sept. 9, liSJ, settled in Amenia in 1769. 
 Stickel F. E., p o Staatsburgh, blacksmith, born in Otsego coun- 
 ty in 1831, settled in this county in 1835, has been jus^ 
 tice of the peace eight years; wife Margaret Cole, of 
 Khinebeck, married in 1850; children seven — Ave sons 
 and two daughters. Father, John N. Stickel, of Bed 
 Hook. 
 Stoutenburgh Jas. H., p o Poughkeepsie, farmer, born in Ulster 
 county Feb. 2^, 1838, settled in this county in 1857; wife 
 Ellen Budd, married Feb. 3, 1869; children two— Henry 
 L. and Bessie Stoutenburgh. Father, Harmon, son of 
 James Stoutenburgh. 
 Tompkins Rev. Edward, p o Poughkeepsie, owns 180 acres, born 
 on present farm May 30, 1830. preached at Tivoli First 
 Baptist church and others, and supplied for ten years; 
 educated at Madison University, commenced preach- 
 ing July 7, 1857, ordained in 1859; wife Sarah Clark, of 
 Red Hook, married Nov. 30, 18.59. Father, Elias Tomp- 
 kins, was born, and died, on the same farm. He rep- 
 resented his town In the board of supervisors. 
 Uhl Stephen, p o Staatsburgh, Vine Hill vineyard, owns 11 acres, 
 born in Staatsburgh in Nov. 1814, engaged in tbe hard- 
 ware business in Poughkeepsie from 1828 to 1870; wife 
 Hannah Mulford, married in 1837; children one — 
 Erskine Uhl. Father, Frederick Uhl, a native of this 
 county. Farm has been in the family since 1776. 
 Van Wagoner E. G., p o Hyde Park, retired, born in this county 
 in 1807: wife Sarah Humphrey, of Pleasant Valley; 
 children four. Father, Gilbert, son of Evert Van Wag- 
 oner, a native of Pleasant Valley. 
 Wallace David, p o Staatsburgh, farmer, 12 acres, bom in Clin- 
 ton; wife Gertrude Pawling; children four — Carrie, 
 John Alvah, Sarah E., and Lovina. Father, John 
 Wallaee. 
 Westervelt Casper, p o Staatsburgh, fruit farmer, 50 acres, born 
 in Poughkeepsie July 5, 1816, has been deputy assessor 
 of Internal Revenue U. S. A., and is now assessor; wife 
 Hannah Butts, born in Washington, married in 1840; 
 children four living. Father, Cornelius C, son of Cas- 
 per, son of Cornelius Westervelt, from New Jersey, 
 who came to town about 1770. 
 White William A., p o Staatsburgh, supt. of Dr. Lee place, owns 
 87 acres, born in England May 29, 1830, settled in this 
 county in 1870, supt. of place nine years; wife Hester 
 Millard Hutton, born in England, married in 1860; chil- 
 dren two living— Edith Anna and Samuel William. 
 Father, Henry Charles White, of England. 
 W^igg Gerard M;, p o Crura Elbow, farmer and dairyman, 150 
 acres, born in Hyde Park in 1836; first wife Mary Jane 
 Wood, second wife Maria VanKeuren; children two- 
 William Henry and Minerva J. Father, William Henry 
 Wigg, native of Hyde Park. 
 Wilber Henry K., p o East Park, farmer, 280 acres, born on 
 present farm, has been supervisor and highway com- 
 missioner. Father, Oliver Wilber, of this town, died 
 July 24, 1864. 
 Wilbur George, p o Van Wagner, farmer, 200 acres, born in 
 Hyde Park in 1820; wife Mary Dorsey, of Poughkeep- 
 sie; children three living— George, Thomas D. and 
 Grace B. Father, Sylvanus Wilbur, native of Rhode 
 Island. 
 Zeft Jacob, p o Hyde Park, saloon and billiard parlor, born in 
 Province Wertemburgh, Germany, settled in this 
 county jn 1854; wile Wilhelmina Eisel, of New York 
 city, married in 1859; children four— August, Charles, 
 William and Albert Zeft 
 
 LaGRANGE. 
 
 Aokerman Wm. M., p o LaOrangeville, wagdn manufacturer and 
 farmer, 90 acres, born in Paterson, N. J. in 1827, settled 
 in this county in 1853, has been overseer of poor: wife 
 Mary L. Colwell of Duchess county, married in 1863. 
 
 Alley Henry, p o LaGrangeville, farmer, 116 acres, born in this 
 county in 1841. has been assessor; wife Esther A. Haight 
 of Hyde Park, Duchess county, married in 1871 ; children 
 four. Father, James Alleys born in this county in 1805, 
 died in 1872, farmer; wife Martha B. Washburn, born in 
 this county in 1812, married in 1836; children three, 
 
 Barmore Edward, p o Moore's Mills. 
 
 Brown W. H., p o Manchester Bridge. 
 
 Billings Isaac V., p o Bilhngs,' partner of Billings Stove Co., 
 owns homestead, born In Duchess county in 1827; wife 
 Susan Storm of Duchess county, married in 1860 
 Portland I. Billings, born in 1845 Daniel Billings, borh 
 m this county, died in 1872. John Billings was one of 
 • the early and most prominent settlers of the town 
 flrst wife Susan M. Cord, born in this county, married 
 in 1844; children. one; killed in 1856 by falling from a 
 wagon. B ^-"1 o 
 
 Burhans Edwin, p o Pleasant Valley. 
 Burhans G. H., p o Pleasant Valley. 
 
 Clapp Peter B., p o Manchester Bridge, farmer, 1S5 acres, born 
 in this county in 1812, has been assessor and town 
 clerk; wife Sarah E. Pells, born in this county, mar- 
 ried Dec. 13, 1835; children two— Isaac C, born in 1839 
 Mary P., born in 1841. Father, Isaac B. Clapp, born in 
 this county July 1, 1786, died in 18,37; wife Phelie Berry 
 born in this county Aug. 11, 1790, married Nov. 20, 18u9' 
 died May 15, 1861; children six living. Jesse I. Clapp 
 born in Scotland, came to Nova Scotia and from there 
 to Duchess county in 1774 or '5, died in 1822; farmer- 
 children four daughters and one son. 
 Clark Allen M., p o,Moore's Mills. 
 
 Cornell John, p o Pref dom Plains, farmer, 200 acres, born in La 
 Grange in 1817; wife Catharine Baker, born in Beek- 
 man, married in 1842, died in 1877; children three- 
 John, Sarah and Susan A. Father, James Cornell 
 born in LaGrange in 1770, died in 1821. Grandfather! 
 John Cornell. cam3 from Long Island at an earlv dav 
 Dean Mrs. H., p Noxon. j J- 
 
 Divine R. C, p o Pleasant Valley, farmer, 158 acres, born in ' 
 Duchess county in 1840, was elected assessor in 1877; 
 wife Mary E. Ingraham, born in this county in 184.3, 
 married in 1866; children two— Irving and Augusta 
 Dorland W. E., farmer and cattle dealer, 60 acres, born in Duch- 
 ess county in 1824; wife Mary Palmer, born in Duchess 
 county in 1828, married May 12, 1847; children three- 
 Irving P.. born 1855, Charles L., born in Dec, 1848, 
 Frank M., born Oct. 12, 1859. 
 Downing S. L., p o La Grangeville. 
 Dutcher Daniel V., p o Freedom Plains. 
 
 Fink Dr. Austin T , p o Freedom Plains, physician and surgeon, 
 born in Westchester county, Nov. 16, 184,3, settled in 
 this county in 1869; wife Elizabeth Pudnoy, of Duchess 
 county, born in 1849, married Mar. 3, 1875. 
 Flagler Isaac P., p o Poughkeepsie. 
 Flagler P. D., p o Poughkeepsie. 
 
 Genung Joseph V.. p o Freedom Plains, farmer. 111 acres, born 
 In Duchess county in 1845, bas been town clerk; wife 
 Mary D. Gregory, of New York city, married in 1871 ; 
 oue child— Annie M.. born in 1875. Father, Joseph 
 Genung, born in Fishkill in 1812, died in 1663. 
 Gibson RichardH., p o Poughkeepsie. 
 Hart William H., p o Poughkeepsie. 
 Haviland Anna, p o Freedom Plains. 
 Howard James, p o Poughkeepsie. 
 Howard John D., p o Poughkeepsie. 
 Janner, Wm. £., p o Noxon. 
 Johnston Walter, p o Noxon. 
 
 Lauer Philip, p o Noxon, farmer, 79 acres, born in Germany 
 182.3, settled in this county Jan. 10, 1851; wife Catharine 
 E. Dreishman, born in Germany in 1833, married in 
 18.i5; children seven— Mary H., Clara, Catherine L 
 Bertha J., Phillip H,, Augusta A. and Eldora. 
 Lawrence Abram B., p o Poughkeepsie. ' 
 
 Monfort Charles, p o Noxon, farmer, 180 acres, born in Fishkill 
 in 1823; wife Phebe Tompkins of Duchess county, mar- 
 ried in 1850, died in 1872; one child— Richard T. ; second 
 wife Esther Tompkins, married in 1877. Father, Jacob 
 Montfort, born in this county in 1800; died in 1871; 
 farmer. 
 Monfort John A , p o Pleasant Valley. 
 Moore Alfred H., p o Moore's Mills. 
 Pettit James S., p o Freedom Plains. 
 Phillips Sylvanus, p o Pleasant Valley. 
 Phillips Warren, p o Moore's Mills. 
 
 Potter Thomas H., p o Noxon, farmer, 60 acres, born in this 
 county in 1 1 9.3, died Aug. 8, 1859, held several important 
 offices; wife Margaret A. Luyster, born in this county 
 in 1799, married Feb. 14, 1816; children ten, five now 
 living. Amelia M. Potter, born in Duchess county in 
 1823. Harriet H. Potter, born in 1817, is now Mrs. 
 Dean, 
 Potter George, p o Billings, farmer, 270 acres, born in LaGrange 
 in 1820; wife Susan B. Weeks, of Duchess county, 
 married in 1844 ; children two— Joseph, born Dec. 3, 
 1847, was married to Esther Sedgewiek, of Po'keepsie in 
 1877, and Mary Potter, born Oct. 1, 1854. Joseph Pot- 
 ter, born in Rhode Island in 1787, came to this county 
 in 1792, died in 1862; farmer; children two. Was 
 brother of Alonzo and Horatio Potter, now Bishops. 
 Shear Abraham, p o LaGrangeville, farmer, 228 acres, born in 
 Duchess county in 1815, John 0. Shear, born In this 
 county in 1811; wife Catharine Pierce of Duchess 
 county, married in 1876; one child — Anna, born in 1878. 
 Father, John C. Shear, born in Duchess county in 1779. 
 died in 1825; wife Margaret Cornell, of Duchess county, 
 born in 1781, married in 1799. died in 1868; children 
 seven, five now living— Ann, Catharine E., John C, 
 Abraham and Sarah M. Israel Shear, born in Duchess 
 county in 1752, died 1825, farmer. Great-grandfather, 
 John Shear came from Germany, one of tbe first set- 
 tlers in the county. 
 
XIV 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 ShepardW. B., p o Foughkeepsie. 
 Sherman Arthur, p o Foughkeepsie. 
 Skidmore James W.,,p o Moore^s Mills. 
 Sleight Feter B., p o Foughkeepsie. 
 
 Smith Lewis, p o Noxon. • 
 
 Smith BobertH., p o Manchester Bridge, farmer, 133 acres, born 
 in Duchess county in 1843, has been commissioner of 
 highways ; wife Loretta A. Smith, born in Duchess 
 county, married In 1874 ; children four. Father, 
 Thomas H. Smith, born in county in 1813. died in 1876. 
 
 Stringham James A., p o LaGrangeville, farmer, 100 acres, born 
 in LaGrange February 28, 1834, has been supervisor 
 two terms ; wife H. Louisa Vervalin, born in Duchess 
 county, married in 1866 ; children four — Edward B , 
 John T., Anna L., and Mary F. Father, Daniel 
 Stringham, born in Duchess county in 1^*93, died in 
 1844 ; first wife, Elizabeth Barhyte, born in Duchess 
 county in 1797, died in 1828; children four : second 
 wife Jemima Ally of Duchess county, married in 1833, 
 died in 1857 ; children one— James A. 
 
 Storm John W., p o LaGrangevllle, farmer, 183 acres, born in 
 Duchess county in 1836. has been supervisor and 
 assessor ; wife Annis Glapp of Duchess county, 
 married in 1853. Father, William Storm, born in 
 Duchess county in 1798 ; wife Elizabeth Boorem of 
 Long Island, married in 1819 ; children two — ^Abraham 
 and John. Abraham Storm born in LaGrange about 
 1769, died in 1849 ; nis father was one of the early 
 settlers in town from Holland. 
 
 Swade Johnson, p o LaGrangeville, farmer, born in LaGrange, 
 Duchess county. May 21, 1818 ; wife Elma Dean, born 
 in Duchess county, married in 1843 ; three daughters 
 —Annis, born in 1845, Francelia, born in 1849, and 
 Mary Swade, born in"1863. 
 
 Swade Abraham, p o LaGrangeville, farmer, 330 acres, born in 
 LaGrange in 1787, died in 1863 ; wife Sarah Johnson, 
 born in this county in 1794, married in 1817, died in 
 1873 ; children four— Catherine A., Sarah M., Susan, 
 and Johnson. Father, Richard Swade, born in this 
 county in 1761, died November 10, 1833 ; wife Bachael 
 Swade was born in Duchess county in 1778, died in 
 ^ 1872. Peter Swade the great-grandfather was one of 
 the earliest settlers in the town of LaGrange, pur- 
 chased the present farm of Catharine A. and Susan 
 M. in 1789, died in Canada, Homestead has been in 
 the family ninety years. 
 
 Titus Bobert H., p o Foughkeepsie. 
 
 Tanner William K., p o Noxon, farmer, 135 acres, born in 
 Duchess county in 1827 ; wife Caroline H. Tanner of 
 this county, married in 1856 ; one child — Charlie M. 
 Father, JUartin H, Tanner, born in this county in 
 1800, died in 1878 : wife Jane Hagaman, of Duchess 
 county ; children three. William B. Tanner, born In 
 Duchess county in 1794, died in 1849 ; wife Sarah 
 Snyder, born in Duchess county in 1801, married in 
 1825. 
 
 Tompkins Joseph, p o Fleasant Valley. 
 
 Tompkins Brundfige, p o Freedom Plains, farmer, 90 acres, 
 born in Duchess county in 1834 ; wife Elizabeth V. 
 Ackerman, born in Duchess countyiu 1834. married in 
 1864. Father, Richard Tompkins, born in this county 
 in 1798, died in 1872 ; children eight. 
 
 VanBenschoten Henry, p o Freedom Plains, farmer, 214 acres, 
 has been supervisor, clerk, &e.; wife Mary Vervalin, 
 of Duchess county, married in 1867 ; children four- 
 Annie, bom in 1859, Louise, in 1862, Elias T., in 1867, 
 John E., in 1870. Father, Elias T. VanBenschoten, 
 born in this county December 22, 1783, died aged 86 
 years. 
 
 VanBensehoten Elias, p o LaGrangeville, farmer, 155 acres, 
 born in LaGrange in 1826 ; wife Sarah L. F. Wooster, 
 of New Tork city, married in 1875 ; children three- 
 Clara Wooster, Emma L. Wooster, Anna J. Wooster, 
 all adopted. Father, Tennis VanBenschoten, born in 
 Duchess county October 9, 1755, died December 23, 
 1835, farmer. Grandfather, Elias VanBenschoten, 
 born in this county. Old homestead purchased in 
 1748. 
 
 VanEleeck Andrew J., p o Manchester Bridge. 
 
 VanRleek Monfort J., p o Noxon, farmer, 100 acres, born in La- 
 Grange in 1882, has been assessor for several years and 
 collector ; wife Margaret A. Ostrander, born in 
 Duchess county in 1828, married December 31, 1845 ; 
 children eight— Mary E^ Sarah A., Alice O., Kate B., 
 Delia, Emeline, Norah M,, and Cora E. 
 
 Velic James L., p o Freedom Plains. 
 
 Velio Melissa J., p o Freedom Plains. 
 
 Wright Thomas, p o Arthursburgh, farmer, 3.32 acres, born In 
 LaGrange in 1833, has been town superintendent of 
 public schools five years ; wife Phebe Rogers, born in 
 Beekman, married In 1839' ; children eleven. Father, 
 Lewis Wright, born in Duchess county in 1801 j first 
 wife, Maria Vermilyea. born in Duchess county in ISOl, 
 
 , married in 1831, died December 30, 1827 ; two children : 
 
 second wife, Zillah Anderson, born in Duchess county, 
 married in 1838 ; children four, three living. 
 
 Warren W. J., p o Noxon, 
 
 MILAN. 
 
 Ackerman Rev. Jesse, p o Milan, pastor of M. E. Church, bom 
 in Ulster county in 1848, settled in this county in 1880, 
 president of Bible Society; wife Mary A. Falkner, of 
 Ulster county, married in 1873; children three. Father 
 born in Ulster county, mother still living there; has 
 been in ministry eight years. 
 
 Allendorf George, p o Milan, farmer, 160 acres, born in Duchess 
 county June 25, 1815. has been , commissioner and 
 assessor; wife Catharine E. Stall, married in 1835; 
 children six. Father, Nicholas Alendorf, born in 1776 
 in Bed Hook; wife born in 1778. Philip I. Stall born in 
 Milan Sept. 24, 1718. Annie Cookingham born in Milan 
 Nov. 19, 1789. 
 
 Allendorf Peter E., p o Milan, farmer, 85 acres, born in Renss- 
 elaer county March 12, 1850, settled in this county 
 April 1,1859; wife Adella Cookingham, of Bhinebeck, 
 married Feb. 25, 1875; one child 
 
 Case Bensselaer, p o Milan, merchant, owns house and store, 
 born in Clinton in 1811, has been town clerk and justice 
 for twenty years; wife Charity Crapser, of Schoharie, 
 married in 1833. 
 
 Cole Catharine, p o Jackson Corners, merchant, born in Colum- 
 bia county May 1, 1830, settled in this county in 1844, 
 owns 129 acres of' land, married in 1844; children four 
 living; husband, Peter Cole. 
 
 Cookingham Isaac, p o i^ilan, farmer, born in Milan in 1814; 
 wife Phebe White, of Milan, married In 1869; children 
 six by first wife. Father, Daniel G,, son of George 
 Cookingham, born in this county. 
 
 Cornelius Jeptha W. , j) o LaFayetteville, farmer. 120 acres, bom 
 in Stanford ville in 1829; wife Eliza A. Haines, born in 
 ' Milan in 1833, married in 1851; children six living. 
 William Haines, bom in 1807, still living. 
 
 Case SackettL., p. o. LaFayetteville, farmer, 300 acres; born in 
 Milan Nov. 35, 1850, has been commissioner of higlf- 
 ways; wife Ida B. Palmer, of Stanford, married Jan. 
 16, 1872; children three 
 
 Cornelius Alfred M, p o LaFayetteville, farmer, 200 acres, born 
 in Stanfordville Dec. US, 1830, has been assessor six 
 years; wife Louise Bowe, of Milan, married about 
 1859; two daushters. Father, Matthew Cornelius, born 
 in Stanfordville in 1803. Grandfather born in Long 
 Island. 
 
 Feller Henry A., p o Jackson Corners, farmer 267>^ acres, bom 
 in Bed Hook in 1834, has been supervisor and assessor 
 six years, married in 1845; children nine, four boys, 
 five girls. 
 
 Fero Eli, p o Rock City, shoemaker, born in Bed Hook in 1822; 
 wife Eliza M. Camfleld; children three living; first 
 wife Aluira Sickle, married in 1851; children three. 
 Father, Peter Fero, born in Bed Hook in 1788, died in 
 1858. 
 
 FerriSjCharles, p o Pine Plains, farmer, 200 acres, born in Fine 
 Pli.ins in 1853, has been inspector of election two 
 years; wife Minerva Herrick, of Fine Plains, married 
 in 1876; one child— John Herrick, of Fine Plains. 
 
 Fulton Elisha E., p o Uijper Red Hook, farmer, born in Milan in 
 18M, has been inspector of election and justice of the 
 peace; wife Margaret Smith, of Columbia county, 
 married Dec. 16, 1860; children three living. Father, 
 Ephraim Fulton, born in 1781, died in 1856; wife Susan- 
 na Fellow, born in Columbia county in 1782, died in 
 1863. Grandfather, John Fulton, settled on same farm 
 in 1765, died in 1833, aged about 93 years. 
 
 Fulton Isaac, p o Upper Red Hook, farmer, 370 acres, born in 
 Milan April 13, 1819, has been assessor and justice of 
 peace; wife Elizabeth Snider, of Bed Hook, married in 
 1848; one child- Benjamin B. John Fulton, Jr., born 
 in 1776. Father, John Fulton, came from Ireland about 
 1771. 
 
 Huffman, B. A. V., p o Bock City, hotel proprietor, owns two 
 acres, born in Bensselaer county in 1833, settled in this 
 county in 1835; wife Josephine Ham, born in Columbia 
 county in 1843, married in 1863; children four. Father, 
 George N. Huffman, born in 1790; wife born in 1791. 
 
 Hedges J. D., p o Jackson Corners, farmer, 170 acres, born in 
 Milan in 1840, has been commissioner of highways. 
 
 Hicks George, p o Milan, farmer, 116 acres, born in Pine Plains 
 March 1, 1818; wife Cynthia Acker, married Sept. 5, 
 1S41; one child. 
 
 Hicks, C. D., p o Milan. 
 
 Herrick Walter, p o Milan, physician, born in Milan in 1830; wife 
 Ellen Sherwood, of Pine Plains, married in 1856; 
 children two. 
 
 Husted Adelbert L., p o LaFayetteville, farmer, 300 acres, born 
 in Milan in 1844: wife Susan L. Thomson, of Stanford, 
 N. Y., married Oct. 5, 186S; children three. 
 
 Jackson Ferris, p o Milan, farm laborer, born in Milan in 1856. 
 Father, Henry Jackson. 
 
 Link Jeremiah, p o Milan, miller, 23 acres, born in Milan March 
 14, 1834, has been commissioner of highways two terms, 
 assessor one term; wife Catharine N. Hicks, of Milan, 
 married in 1858; one son — Alfred I., aged 19 years. 
 
 Morehouse Ezra L.. p o Bock City, deputy sheriff, born in 
 Milan in 1838, has been justice of peace and constable; 
 wife Phebe Thom, born in 1838. married March 14 
 1860 ; one daughter. Grandfather born in Bridge- 
 port, Conn., came to this county in 1803. 
 
PERSONAL STATISTICS. 
 
 xV 
 
 Pella Alfred, p o [Jackson Corners, farmer, 263 acres, born In 
 Milan in 1831, has been commissioner four terms, is 
 now assessor ; wife Julia Stickel, born in Columbia 
 county in 1841, marrfed October 11, 1862 ; one son, Jere- 
 miah. 
 Philips Jacob, p o Upper Bed Hook, farmer, 180 acres, born in 
 Milan in 1844 ; wife Amelia C, Vosburg, married in 
 1865 ; children two. 
 Reid Eliza C, p o LaFayetteville, farmer, 368 acres, born in 
 Milan in 1806 ; husband, Leonard Rowe, was supervisor 
 one term and justice of peace, married in 1827 : 
 children four. 
 Rowe Horatio, p o Milan, farmer, ISO acres, born in Milan, Jan. 
 
 .3, 1835, has been assessor and supervisor. 
 Rust William, p o Milan, clothier and farmer, HOU acres, born 
 in London, England, in 1806 ; settled in this county in 
 1835 ; wife Ellen Post, born in Kingston, Ulster county, 
 married in 1840. Father and mother died in England 
 before 1835. 
 Scales Catherine H. (Quick,) p o Milan, farmer, 164 acres, born in 
 Rhinebeckin 1836 married in 1844 ; five sons, three liv- 
 ing; husband William Schooler ; one son Congregation- 
 allst minister, one at home, one in Ohio, Settled in this 
 county in 1840 ; settled in Thoradale in 1864, and now 
 owns that village with the exception of a grist mill. 
 Schultz Isaac A., p o Bock City, farmer and miller, born in 
 Milan in November, 18iJ3, married in 1872; children 
 three. Stephen T. Davis, father of wife, born in New 
 York city in 1800. 
 Scobe Frank, p o Milan, larmer, born in Ohio December 2, 1860, 
 settled in this county in 1864 ; wife Mary E. Stall of 
 Milan, married in 187». 
 Shoemaker William B., p o Rock City. 
 Schultz John G., p o Bock City, farmer, born in Milan in 1811 ; 
 
 wife Elizabeth Columbia, married in 1853. 
 Stickle John M., p o Elizavllle, Columbia county, farmer, 100 
 acres, born in Bed Hook in 1824, has been supervisor ; 
 wife 0. Squire of Stamford, Delaware county, married 
 tlune 6, lB'33 ; one daugbter. Father, Peter Stickle, 
 born in Bed Hook. John I. Stickle, bom Feb. 20, 
 1774, subject of King George III, of England. 
 Sweet Pedro, p o LaFayetteville, farmer and peddler, born in 
 Milan December 25, 1845, has been inspector of elec- 
 tion two terms and town clerk, married in 1879 ; 
 children three, by first wife. Father, Jerome Sweet, 
 aged 60 years, farmer, owns 96 acres In Milan. 
 Teator Uriah, p o Upper Bed Hook, farmer, 307 acres, born in 
 Milan in 1835, has been supervisor two terms ; wife 
 Emeline Boice, of Bed Hook, married June 23, 1853 ; 
 children eight. Mrs.' Boice living in Clermont, 
 Columbia county. 
 Tborne John, p o Milan, farmer, 165 acres, born in Milan in 1832. 
 Father, Robert E. Thorne, born in 1798 ; children 
 four — three daughters, one son. Mother living at 
 age of 84 years. 
 Vosburgh Frank, p o Rock City, farmer, 86 acres, born in Bed 
 Hock in 1851. excise commissioner one term ; wife 
 T>elia F. Stall, at Green Bush, married in 1878 ; chil- 
 dren three. F&ther, Martin Vosburgh, died about 
 1870 ; mother living with Charles in Stanford, aged 
 about 82. 
 Witherwax Isaac H., p o Milan, farmer, 83 acres, born in Clinton 
 in 1838; wife Louise J. Hendricks, of Rhinebeck, mar- 
 ried May 24, 1859 ; children two, living. 
 Wilbur Henry, p o LaFayette, farmer, born in Milan in 1806 ; 
 wife Mary Ann Cookingham, of Milan, married in 
 1848 ; children three. Father, Jeptha Wilbur, born in 
 Rhode Island, died at age of 80 years ; wife Elizabeth 
 Mosier. 
 Teomans John, p o LaFayetteville, farmer, born in Milan in 
 1806, has been justice of peace twenty years, and 
 commissioner; wife Margaret Ann Morris, born in 
 Milan in 1808, married in 1828 ; children four living. 
 Father and mother were Scotch. 
 
 NORTH EAST. 
 
 Barton L. L., Colman Station, farmer, 144 acres, born in Colum- 
 bia county in 1834, settled in this county in 1860, has 
 been commissioner; wife Henrietta Pulver, born in 
 1834, married in 1860; children three. 
 
 Beach Nathan C, p o Millerton. merchant, born in this county 
 in 1840; wife Alice Wheeler, born in Sharon, Conn , in 
 in 1852, married in 1869. 
 
 Bryan David, p o Shekomeko, farmer, 400 acrej, born in North 
 East in 1819, has been supervisor, justice of peace, as- 
 sessor, and inspector of election; wife Cornelia Wil- 
 son, born in this town in 1825, married in 1867; first 
 wife Ann L. Sackett, married in 1854, died in 1858. 
 
 Bryan Isaac, p o Shekomeko, farmer, 240 acres, born in North 
 East in 1815, has been commissioner and assessor^ wife 
 Mary Hoffman, born in Pine Plains in 1827, married in 
 October, 1861; children two. Grandfather was among 
 the first settlers in this part of the county. 
 
 Campbell James, p o Iron Junction, merchant and farmer, 200 
 acres, born in Columbia county in 1840. settled in this 
 county in 1856, member of N Y. Stock Exchange; wife 
 Lizzie Parker, of Florida, married in 1869; children six. 
 Mr. Campbell is a member of the N. Y. Mining Ex- 
 change. 
 
 Campbell Eliza, p o Millerton, farmer, 164 acres, born in Colum- 
 bia county in 1813, settled in this county in 1855; hus- 
 
 ,S'Jt^J°}'^ '^S.^Pb^"' "' Massachusetts, married in 
 1885, died in 1866; children five. 
 
 Clark George, p o Millerton, farmer, 700 acres, born in North 
 East in 1818, has been supervisor. 
 
 Clark Hiram, p o Millerton, farmer, 400 acres in old homestead, 
 born m North East in 1824; wife Mary Biter, born in 
 
 „, ; ,, Pine Plains in 1834, married in 1847; children two. 
 
 Uark Henry, p o Millerton, farmer, 280 acres, born in this coun- 
 ty in 1808; wife Betsy Ann Wheeler, born in this town, 
 married in 1836, died in 1870. 
 
 Couch Hattie E., p o Mount Riga. 
 
 Collins Kate, p o Colman Station, farmer, 212 acres, born in 
 Pine Plains in 1835; husband William Collins, married 
 in 1859, died in March 1878; children one. Mrs. Collins 
 now occupies the homestead occupied by his great- 
 grandfather. 
 
 Crum George E., p o Millerton, farmer, 100 acres, born in Litch- 
 field county. Conn., in 1815, settled in this county in 
 1815, is now supervisor and justice of peace; wife 
 Emily A. Clark, bom in town, married in 1839; children 
 five. 
 
 Finch James, p o Millerton, merchant, born in Columbia county 
 in 1827, settled in this county in 1848, has been town 
 clerk two terms. Aug. 8, I8811, the store of Mr. Finch 
 was entered by masked men, himself and Clark bound, 
 and a large amount of valuables taken. 
 
 Frink George S., p o Irondale, manufacturer of pig iron, born in 
 Litchfield county. Conn, in 1845, settled in this county 
 in 1878. 
 
 Grey W. B., p Millerton, merchant, born in Pine Plains in 
 1832, has been postmaster at Millerton; wife Charlotte 
 A, Card, born in Columbia county, married in 1866; 
 children five. 
 
 Guernsey Mrs. L. E., p o Sharon Station, farmer, 200 acres, born 
 in this town in 1841 ; husband Samuel J. Guernsey, of 
 this county, married in 1859, died Dec. 4, 1876; children 
 four. Mrs Guernsey occupies the old homestead oc- 
 cupied by Mr. Guernsey's father. 
 
 Garnsey John S., p o Sharon Station, farmer, 159 acres, born in 
 Duchess county in 18*^2, has been commissioner of 
 highways; wife Julia A. James, born in this county in 
 1835, married in 1843; children four. 
 
 Hamblin Myron, p o Millerton, farmer, 340 acres, born in county 
 in 1808, has been assessor several terms, and commis- 
 sioner; wife Rachel A. Tripp, married in 1844; children 
 four. 
 
 Hamblin David, p o Millerton, farmer, 3.33 acres, born in Colum- 
 bia county in 1844, settled in county in 1858; wife Sarah 
 Rowe, born in Fine Plains in 1847, married in 1872; 
 children three. 
 
 Hamilton J, E., p Shekomeko, wagon manufacturer and farm- 
 er, 130 acres, born in Rhinebeck in 1818; wife Anna 
 Weaver, born in Rhinebeck in 1815, married in 1840; 
 children seven. One son served in last war, and lost 
 an eye in the service. 
 
 Harris Joseph, p o Millerton; merchant tailor, born in Germany 
 Dec. 18, 1853, settled in this county in 1871; wife Lena 
 Kantrourcb, born in Germany in 1860, married in 1879; 
 children one. 
 
 Hawley Cyrus F., p o Millerton, merchant, born in Sharon, 
 Conn, in 1^4, settled in this county in 1869; wife Matty 
 Brown, born in this town in 1856, married in 1873; chii- 
 - drenone. 
 
 Holley Josiah A., p Millerton, retired, owns 6 acres land, born 
 " in Ancram. Columbia county, in 1806, settled in this 
 , county in 1867; wife Isabella Mills, born in this county, 
 married in 1876. 
 
 Kerley J. D., p o Winchells, farmer and physician, over 220 
 acres, born in Red Hook in 1827; wife Sarah E. Card, 
 born in Monroe county, married in 1857; children four. 
 Graduated at University of New York city in 1850, 
 practiced as surgeon at hospital. 
 
 Lloyd H. G. & C. E., p o Boston Corners, teacher and farmer, 
 212 acres, born in this town, C. E. in 1843, H. G. in 1833; 
 latter has been overseer of poor; wife Alida A. Deyo, 
 born in Columbia county in 1837, married in 1861. 
 Wife of C. E., Sarah A. Porter, born in Columbia 
 county in 1856; children one. 
 
 McElwee Daniel B. p o Shekomeko, farmer and drover, 163 
 acres, born in North East in 185T, has been collector 
 for his town. 
 
 McGhee George, p o Shekomeko, farmer, 30 acres, born in Scot- 
 land March 28, 1825, settled in this county in 1848; wife 
 Catherine Eockfeller, born in Columbia county, 
 married in 1851. Mr. McGhee has in his possession a 
 powder-horn which was made in 1763. 
 
 Merwin S. T , p o Colman Station, farmer, 283 acres, born in 
 this county in 1827, has been assessor; wife M. L. 
 Dewey, born in Madison county in 1830, married in 
 1856; children seven. 
 
 Miller Hugh, p o Shekomeko, farmer, 22 acres, born in Ireland 
 in 1825, settled in this county in 1844; wife Anna Wood, 
 born in Ireland, married in 1848. 
 
 Paine J. R., p o Millerton, dealer in hardware, and farmer, born 
 in this county in 1831, owns 243X acres, has been as- 
 sessor; wife Anna M. Friss, born in this town, married 
 in 1872, died Sept. 5. 1879; children four. 
 
 Pulver J. W., p o Millerton, in the bottling business, bom in 
 this county in 1830; wife Abbey Middlebrook, born in 
 this county in 1830, married in 1852; children two. 
 Ancestors were early settlers in the county. 
 
XVI 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 Priohard James L., p o Shekomeko, physician, born in Hyde 
 Park in 1640, has been commissioner of highways, and 
 physician of the board of health. Gra-iuated at the 
 College of physicians in New Yorlr, studied with Dr. 
 Hoosick there. 
 
 Rogers Hiram, p o Boston Corners, farmer, 740 acres, born in 
 North East in 1815, has been supervisor, commissioner 
 of highways, and assessor; wife Catherine Vosburgh, 
 born in Columbia county in 1825, married in 1849; chil- 
 dren three. Hiram occupies the homestead occupied ■ 
 by his father and grandfaiher. 
 
 Bowe W. E., p o MillertoD, farmer, 333 acres, born in this county 
 in 1843; wife Maryette Hamblin, born in Columbia 
 county, married in 1871 ; first wife Eachel M. Webster, 
 married in 1867, died in December 1869. 
 
 Senigo John, p o Boston Corners, farmer, 150 acres, born in 
 Italy in 18 8, settled in this county in 187U; wife Eliza- 
 beth Coon, born in Columbia county, married in 1850, 
 children four. 
 
 Shannon P., p o Shekomeko. farmer, 167 acres, born in Ireland 
 in 1820, settled in this county in 1848, has been excise 
 commissioner; wife Mary Morrison, born in Ireland in 
 1830. married in 1863; children three. 
 
 Sheldon Collins, p o Millerton, lawyer, born in Columbia county 
 In July, 1839, settled in this county in 1863, is now sur- 
 rogate; wife Maria Pnlver, born in this county in 1840, 
 married in 1867; children two. 
 
 Sornborger P., p o Millerton, farmer, 300 acres, bom In North 
 East in 1828; wife Sarah M. Saokett, born in Stanford 
 in 18'1(), married In 1850. Grandfather was among the 
 early settlers of this county. 
 
 Stillman S., p o Millerton, physician, born in Litchfield county. 
 Conn, in 1814, settled in this county in 1847; wife So- 
 phia R, Isham, born in Connecticut in 1813, married in 
 Sept. )839; one daughter. Graduated in Pittsfield, 
 Mass. in 1837, studied with Benj. Welch, of Norfolk. 
 
 •Tripp Hiram, p o Shekomeko, farmer. 221 acres, born in town of 
 Washiagtou inl814. has been justice of the peace; wife 
 Elizabeth Arnold, born in same town in 1821), married 
 in 1847; one son. Grandfather, Samuel Tripp, was 
 among the early settlers, 
 
 Tripp Sylvester, p o Millerton, jeweler and watchmaker, born 
 in Schoharie county iu 1837, settled in this county in 
 1865; wife Charity L. Flinni born in this county, mar- 
 ried iu 1867; children three. Ancestors were early set- 
 tlers. 
 
 Trowbridge Alexander W., p o Millerton, farmer, 700 acres, bcrn 
 in I^orth East in 18U3, has been commissioner of high- 
 ways; wife Sarah Eudd, born in this ccunty in 1815, 
 married in 18(3; children seven; first wife Sarah Clark, 
 married in 18.'4, died in 1843. 
 
 Vroman Clarence E., p o Irondale, farmer, 293 acres, born in this 
 town iu 1858; wife Ellen D. Pierce, born in Connecti- 
 cut, married in 1880. Mr. Vroman's farm is the same 
 as oooupie.d by his father. 
 
 Webster John M., p o Millerton, farmer, 230 acres, born in North 
 East in IS'iS"; wife Sophronia V. Potley, born in Cort- 
 land county, married Jan. 16, 1870; children two. Same 
 homestead as occupied by father. 
 
 Webster Cynthia A., p o Millerton, farmer, 330 acres, born in 
 this town in 1837; husband Ira B. Webster, of North 
 East, married in 1862, died May 18, 1872. 
 
 Willson I. R., p o Colman Station, farmer, 310 acres, born in 
 North East in 1827; wife Elizabeth Conklln. born in 
 North East iu 1835, married in 1852; children two. 
 
 Winegar W., p o Colman Station, wagon manufacturer and 
 farmer, 320 acres, born in this town in 1853; wife Stella 
 Case, born in this town in 1858, married in 1877; one 
 daughter. Great-grandfather was one of the first set- 
 tlers in the oblong valley. 
 
 Winohell H. B., p o Millerton, farmer, 320 acres, born in North 
 East in 1840, has been deacon in Baptist church and 
 supt, of Sunday School; wife Vienna L. Rowley, born 
 in Massachusetts in 1844, married Nov. 4, 1867; children 
 four. 
 
 PAWLING. 
 
 Adams Peter, p o Pawling, retired farmer, 170 acres, born in 
 ^airfield. Conn. Deo. 15, 1784, settled in this county in 
 1794; wife Elizabeth Steadwell. born in Pawling, mar- 
 ried in 1804, died May 28, 1871: children nine, six living 
 — Jane, Elmira, Samantha, John, Elizabeth, George. 
 
 Akin Isaac, p o Pawling, farmer and dairyman, 240 acres, born 
 iu Pawling in 1821 ; wife Sarah E. Haxtun, born iu this 
 county in 1824, married in 1843, died in Sept. 1879; chil- 
 dren two— John J., a^ed 34 years; Charles D., aged 26 
 years. Jonathan Akin, born in this county in 1792 
 died in 1875; wife Harriet Tabor, bora in this county 
 in 1801, married In 1819; children four. Father, Isaac 
 Akin, born in 1750, died in 1844. 
 
 Adams John, born in this county in 1815, owns 155 acres' wife 
 Elizabeth Pepper, born in Putnam county in 1826' mar- 
 ried in 1845; children one— Walter R., born in 1851. 
 *Akin Albert J., p o Quaker Hill, banker and farmer, 500 acres 
 has been president of the national bank, born in Duch- 
 ess county Aug. li, 1608: wife Jane Williams, born iu 
 New York city, married inHec. 1836. 
 
 Allen Horatio M., p o Pawling, retired farmer, 160 acres, born 
 in Pawling in 1800; wife Hannah Allen, bom in this 
 county in 1806, married in 1830; children two— Gideon, 
 
 * and Mary, now Mrs. Asa Corbin. Father, Gideon 
 
 Allen, born in Pawling in 1761, died in 1831. His father, 
 ^pbraim Allen, born in Dartmouth, Mass in 1735, set- 
 tled in this county, in 1750, died before 1800. 
 
 Allen- Gideon, p o Pawling, farmer, 200 acres, born In Pawling 
 in 1829; wife Carrie Haynes, born in this county in 
 1839, married in 1856; children three — May, born in 
 1866 ; Amelia, born m 1869. and Howard, born in 1873. 
 
 Arnold J. J., p o Pawling, farmer, born in Pawling in 1847; wife 
 Ida A. Dodge, born in Pawling in 1846, married m 1870; ' 
 children one — Christiana D,, born in 1872. 
 
 Arnold Thomas J., p o Pawling,^hysician, surgeon anj farmer, 
 300 acres, born in Oneida county in 1844, settled in 
 1846; wife Cornelia Dodge, born in this county in 1843; 
 married in Jan. 1875; children one— Nellie M., born ia 
 1878. 
 
 Arnold A. H., p o Pawling, farmer ^nd stock raiser, 317 acres,, 
 born in this county Sept. 1, 1830; wife Mary J. Cowl, 
 born in this county in 1839, married in 1858; children 
 two — Arthur, aged 21 years; Grace, 18 years. Benja- 
 min F. Arnold, born in this county in 1807, died in 1874, 
 physician, surgeon and farmer. 
 
 Arhold W. H., p o Pawling, farmer, 320 acres, born in Pawling 
 in 1837, has been commissioner of highways. John J. • 
 Arnold, born in Pawling in 1847; wife Ida Dodge, of 
 Pawling, born in 1848, married in 1870; children one — 
 Chrissy D., born in 1872. 
 
 Baker Harry, p o Patterson, Putnam county, farmer, 130 acres, 
 born in Duchess coutity in 1817, has been assessor four- 
 teen years; wife Rebecca Jane Denton, born in Mon- 
 roe county in 1819,*married in 18:38; children five — 
 George, Emery. James H., Leslie, David. 4. 
 
 Baldwin Charles H.. p Patterson, Putnam county, farmer and 
 dairyme.n,' 115 acres, born in Putnam county in 1857, 
 settled in this county in 1878. 
 
 Baldwin J. E., p o Pawling. 
 
 Beach John J., farmer, born in Sullivan county ii; 1841, settled 
 in this county in 1857; wife Phebe Jan3 Ett, born iu 
 this county in 1841, married in 1856; ciildren three — 
 Sarah, Julia A., Ella. 
 
 Banks Charles, p o Pawling, farmer, 77 acres, born in this county 
 in 1855; wife Emma Ogden, born ii 1856, married in 
 1878. Emery Banks, born in Westchester county in 
 1820, came to this county in 1836; wite Sarah Sprague, , 
 born in Pawling in 1821, married iJ 1839; children four- 
 teen. 
 
 Bennett Sinca, p o Pawling, farmer, born in Pawling May 25, 
 1807, died Feb. 6, 1880; wife Rhoda Staples, bom in 
 this county Aug. 12, 1812, married March 18, 1845: chil- 
 dren four — Eliza Jane, born In 1837; Sally Maria, in 
 1839; Catherine Ann, in 1843; Mary D., in 1846. Lavert 
 Baker was born in 18B7. Charles Urownell, born in 
 Pawling in 1834; wife Sarah'M. Bennett. " 
 
 Brownell William, p o Poughquag. borp in Pawling in 1834; wife 
 Polly Van Sooy, born in Pawling Nov. 31, 1838, married 
 in 1859. John J. Prout, born in Pawlini May 5, 18.35; 
 wife Eliza J. Bennett, married in 18B0. William Prout, 
 born in Sharon, Conn, in 1808, died in 1878; wife Caro- 
 line Brownell, born in this county in 1818, married Jan. 
 24, 1884; children five. 
 
 Brownell Sarah, p o Poughquag. 
 
 Campbell Duncan, p o Pawling, owns 300 acres land, born in 
 Pawling in 1806, has been assessor; wife Amanda Fer-. 
 ris, born in Pawling in 1810, married in I8i7, died in 
 1848; children five; Second wife Chloe Allen, born in 
 Pawling in 1817, married in 1850, died in 1869. Archi- 
 bald Campbell, born in this county in 1769, died in 
 1847; children ten. 
 
 Chapman Richard, retired teacher, carpenter and joiner, bom 
 in Dover Jan. 1, 18iO, has been town clerk and supt. of ' 
 schools several years: wife Sarah Wheeler, born in 
 Dover in 1814, married in 1834; children five — Francis, 
 Jane A., Sarah Louisa, Perry W., Emma M. John 
 Chapman, born in 1779, died in 1845; jrite Catherine 
 Gibbs, born in Connecticut in 1785, died in 1860 ; chil- 
 dren four — two now living. 
 
 Chase Elmer, p o Pawling, farmer, 210 acres, bom in Putnam 
 county in 1837, settled in this county in 1840; wife Mal- 
 vina Cummlngs, bom in Connecticut in 1837, married 
 in 1860; children one— Martha E., born in: 1866. Alvln 
 Chase, born in Duchess county In 1779, died in 1853, 
 farmer, and justice of peace for forty years. 
 
 Corbin Asa B., p o Pawling, general carriage and wagon manu- 
 facturer and undertaker, owns 68 acres land, born in 
 Pawling in 1816, was supervisor in 1860; wife Mary 
 Allen, born in Pawling in 1835, married in 1859; ohil- 
 dren one— Grace M., born in 1666. 
 
 Corbin Isaac L., p o Pawling, farmer, born in Duchess county 
 in 1851; has in charge about 800 acres; wife Jennie 
 Sherman, born in Duchess county in 1851, married in 
 1872; children two— Albert, born in 1873, Charles, born 
 in 1876. 
 
 Corbin A. W., p o Pawling, farmer and supt. of ore Bed, born in 
 Putnam county in 1832, has been supervisor two terms; 
 wife Julia Ann Beardsley, born in Connecticut in 1834, 
 married in 1841 ; children two— Isaac L. and Ann Eliza. 
 Isaac Corbin, born in Duchess county in 1794, died iu 
 1878, blacksmith and farmer. 
 
PERSONAL STATISTICS. 
 
 Cowl Orlando J., p o Pawling, farmer, llJi acres, bom in New 
 York city in 1825, settled in this county in 1850; wife 
 Phebe Beardsley, born in Duchess oownty in 1835, mar- 
 ried in 1868. 
 
 Dodge Labon, p o Pawling, farmer, 226 acres, born in Duobess 
 oouniS' !n 1844; wife Eliza Birch, born in Kluga county 
 in 1850, married in 1870. 
 
 Dodge Edwin B., p o Pawling, farmer, 145 acres, born in this 
 county in 1831, has been collector and commissioner 
 of highways; wife Annie E. Corbin, born in 1831, mar- 
 ried in 1874 ; children one— Albert E. John B. Dodge, 
 born in this county in 1819, died in 1861 ; wife Julia 
 Allen, born in 1821, married in 1842. 
 
 Dodge Archibald, p o Pawling, born in Duchess county in 1810, 
 owns 620 acres ; wife Puth Crawford, born in Pawling 
 in 1812. married in 1840, died in 1843 ; one ohlld— Labron ; 
 second wife Maria Haynes, born in this connty in 1819, 
 married in 1845; one child— Cornelia. Father, Newell 
 Dodge, Jr., born in 1784, died in 1873, farmer. 
 
 Dutcher J. B., p o Pawling, born in this county in 1830, has been 
 Si'pervisor, member of assembly and senator; wife 
 Christina Dodge, born in Pawling in 1839, married in 
 1860 ; one child— John G., born in 1865. 
 , Ferguson Isaac V., p o Pawling, farmer, born in Matteawan in 
 1840; wife Phebe Alley, born in this county in 1842, 
 married in 1885; children two— Alice, born in 1867, 
 Irving, born in 1870. Farrington Ferguson, born in 
 this county in 1786, died in 1831; wifeMiasM. Vermyea, 
 born in this county, died in 1841. 
 
 Ferris Elmore, p o Pawling, dealer in grain, flour and feed, born 
 in Otsego county in 1837, settled in this county in 1864; 
 wife Mary Jane Holmes, born in Pawling in 185U, mar- 
 ried in 1869; cbdldren three— Carrie M., born in 1872, 
 Harriet E., born in 1876, James H., born in 1878. 
 
 Ferris Oliver, p o Pawling, farmer, owns 40 acres, hires 230 acres* 
 born in Pawling in 1847; wlfa Mahala A. Slocum, born 
 in Pawling in ISSe, married in 1878 ; children two- 
 Ralph Waldo, born in 1876, Julia Ann, born in 1878. 
 Harmon Ferris, bbrn in Pawling in 1808, died May 10. 
 1871; wife Sarah D. Weed, born In Duchess county in 
 1812, married in 1837; children five— J. William, Mary, 
 Peiry, Oliver, Ophelia A. 
 
 Gould David R., p o Pawling, retired merchant and farmer, 110 
 acres, born in Sharon, Conn., in 1820, settled in this 
 county in 1858, died in 187;1. was supervisor in 1863 and 
 member of Legislature in 1869; wile Frances M. Akin, 
 born in Pawlingin 1825, married in 1850; children two — 
 David B., born in 1858, Beulah F., born in 1860. Wife's 
 father, Daniel D. Akin, born in Pawling in 1796, died in 
 1866; wife Sally Howard, borii in Pawling in 1798; mar- 
 ried in lba4; children two. 
 
 Haynes Albro A., p o Pawling, farmer, 221 acres, born in Duch- 
 ess county in 1813; wife Sarah Ortob, born in Duchess 
 county in 1814, married in 1642; one child, now dead. 
 
 Haynes Richard H., p o Pawling, retired farmer, 131 acres, born 
 in this county in 1812, has been supervisor two terms 
 and collector; wife bophia Jennings, born in Conn, in 
 1817, married in 1835: children four— Caroline, born in 
 1839, Phebe J., born in 1845, Sarah, born in 1860, John 
 L., born in 185.3^ Father, Andrew Haynes, born in Pawl- 
 ing in 1782, died in 1856; his father, born in Pawling in 
 1762, died in 1842, farmer. 
 
 Haight C. J., superintendent of Valley Pond ore mine, born in 
 this county in 1S16; wife Jane E. VanVoorhis, born in 
 FishkiUin 1819, married in 1839; children five- Henry 
 B., aged 29 years, .Abraham V., aged 37 years, Joseph 
 T., aged 33 years; Edward S., aged 27 years. 
 
 Hoag Charles A., p o Pawling, farmer and freight ofScer, 210 
 acres, borh in Pawling in 1822. Sanford Hoag, born in 
 Dover, died Oct. 21, 1868, aged 70 years; wife Mahala, 
 born in Pawling, married Jan. 10, 18s!2, died Jan. 22, 
 1870. Archibald Wilcox, born in this county in 1809, 
 died 1849; wife Rebecca Ann, born in this county in 
 1807, married in 1830; children seven. 
 
 Haran Michael, p o Pawling, 
 
 Holmes Lewis, p o Pawling, farmer, 175 acres, born in West- 
 chester county in 1823 ; wife Margaret Barnes, born 
 in Putnam county in November, 1822, married in De- 
 cember, 1843 ; one child— Phebe C, married to Ran- 
 dolph Acker, of Westchester county, in 1871. Father, 
 John Holmes, Jr , born in Westchester county, April 
 20, 1783, came to Duchess county in 1887, died Jan. 13, 
 1862 ; wife Rachel Scofleld, born in Westchester 
 county. May 13, 1782, married May 2, 1803, died Jan. 
 20, 1863 ; children eight, four now living. 
 
 Holmes Joseph, p 6 Patterson, Putnam county, farmer and 
 dairyman, 270 acres, born in Westchester county in 
 1815, settled in this county in 1827 ; wife Mary K. 
 Weed, born in this county in 1814, married in 1846 ; 
 children three— John, aged 31 ; Ebenezer B., 28 ; 
 Martha A , '^6. Grandfather, John Holmes, born in 
 Westchester county, came to this county in 1827, died 
 in 1836 at the age of 87 years. 
 
 Jacobs R. A., p o Pawling, justice' of the peace, owns home- 
 stead, born in New York in 1842, settled in this county 
 in 1871; wi4e Ophelia P. Morgan, born in Fairfield 
 county. Conn., in 1842 ; married Ja 1862 ; children 
 two— Minnie A-, Eyangeline, 
 
 Kirby Clark, no Quaker Hill, retired farmer, 200 acres, born In 
 Pawling, February 16. 1794 ; wife Charlotte Hunger 
 ford, born in 1813, married in 1833 ; ohildfen tfirle- 
 Carrie A., Helen K., Fannie. Father, George Kirby 
 
 ?°iJ,'"i'.'y'?^®,iS'*"'' '" ™''' oame to thisSountyfn 
 1(80, died in 1831 ; seven children, of whom Clark 
 IS the only one living. 
 
 Leach Lillius C, p o Pawling, housekeeper, born in Ulster 
 county. 
 
 Leach Martin V., p o Pawling, farmer, 160 acres, born in 
 Po°l"™''i°' pointy ,'n 1839; settled, in this county in 
 1842. Father, Mbses W. Leach, born in Leach 
 Hollow. Conn., in 1798, came to this connty in ]88(' 
 died in 1848 ; wife Phebe Abin, born in Duchess 
 county in 1804, married in 1827, died in 1868 ; children 
 fSi^'i^"^ ""'" living— Peter, born in 18S8 ; Lillius, in 
 1840; Martin, in 1839. 
 
 Merwin W. J., p o Pawling, general merchant, in firm of Mer- 
 win & Holmes, born in Connecticut in 1886, settled in 
 this county in -1862, has been supervisor two terms 
 and postmaster in 1880 ; wife E. C. Vanderburg, born 
 in Duchess county, married in 18T3 ; one child- 
 William. 
 
 Miller Alfred, p o Pawling, owns 800 acres of land, born in Paw- 
 ling in 1800 : wife Isabelle Matilda Graham, born in 
 Bridgeport, Conn., in 1804, married in 1838. Her 
 father, George Graham, born in Scotland, emigrated 
 in 1797, settled in Stratford, Conn. ; wife Ann McCay, 
 of Scotland. 
 
 Olmstead P.. p o Pawling, boot and shoe manufacturer, born in 
 18.38, settled in this county in 1859 ; wife Christina 
 Birch, born in Pawling in 1843, married in 1862; 
 children two— Herbert, born in 1863 ; Henry J., in 1876. 
 
 Osborn Robert H., p o Dover Plains, farmer, 70 acres, born in 
 Putnam county in 1824, settled in this county in 1868 ; 
 wife Helen Agard, born in Dover, married in 1862, 
 died in 1878 ; one child— Addie M. 
 
 Osborn Richard, T., p o Pawling, tarmer,",3fl0 acres, born in 
 Pawling in 1817 ; wile Ruby Hoag, born in Dover in 
 1820, married in 1842 : children thiee— Isaac D., born 
 in 1848 ; William H., in 1852 ; Lydia J., in 1856. Father, 
 Paul Osborn, born in this connly in 1788, died in 1867; 
 wife Jemima Titus, born in Long Island in 1780, mar- 
 ried in 1806, died in 1860 ; children two— William and 
 Richard. Grandfather, Isaac Osborn, born in Dan- 
 vers, Mass., In 1763, came to this county in 1774, died 
 in 1849 : wife Mary Irish, born in Pawling. 
 
 Pearoe Nathaniel, p o Pawling, retired farmer, 170 acres, born in 
 Pawling April 6, 18(9, has been assessor; wife Julia A. 
 Ferris, born in Otsego county in 1816. married in 1868. 
 Henry Pearce, born in Pawling Sept. 15, 1768, died Feb. 
 8, 1838. William Pearoe, born in Providence in 1745, 
 came to this county in 1760, died in 1813. 
 
 Pepper Nehemiah, retired farmer, 50 acres, born in Sherman, 
 Conn.. July .5, 1791, settled in this county in'1798; wife 
 Minerva Peet, born in Amenia June 3, 1806, married 
 March 17, 1S28; one child— Ann J. 
 
 Pierce Joseph D.. p o Pawling, farmer, born in Westchester 
 county in 1857, settled in this county in 1859. Father, 
 Joseph Pierce, born in Westchester county in 1826, died 
 in 1869; wife Phebe T. Irish, born in this county in 
 1833, married in 1850; children three— Joseph D., Henry, 
 born in 1859, .'Vnoic S., born in 1855. 
 
 Prout James, p o Ponghquag. 
 
 Slocum Thomas J., p o Pawling, farmer, 270 acres, born in 
 Pawling in 1800, died In 1842, was town clerk several 
 years; wife Elizabeth W. HiUer, born in Duchess Co. 
 in 1809, married in 1839; wife's grandfather was first 
 person married in the Friend's church, on Quaker Hill, 
 built in 1766. 
 
 Stedwell Milan, p o Pawling, farmer, 167 acres, born in Pawling 
 in 1828, has held all town offices and member of board 
 of excise; wife Mary Gardner, born in New Milford, 
 Conn, in 1836. marri-d in 1854; children two-Merton, 
 aged 16 years, Carrie, aged eight years. 
 
 Stevens Baldwin D., p o Pawling, retired farmer, born in Dover 
 in 1829, has been assessor and supervisor; wife Julia 
 Dutcher, born in Dover in 1835, married in 1855; 
 children two— David D., aged 23 years, Ida E., aged 15 
 years. 
 
 Taber George K., p o Pawling, retired farmer, 114 acres, born in 
 Pawling in 1822; wife Charlotte Field, born in Pawling 
 in 1826, married in 1846; children three— Gilbert F., 
 Martha A., Alicia H. Jonathan A. Taber, born in this 
 county in 1799, died in 1869, farmer. William Taber, 
 born in this county m 1761, died about 1835. 
 
 Taber William Henry, farmer, drover and stock dealer, born in 
 this county in 1826, has been supervisor, justice of 
 peace and assessor, elected in 1877; wife Catharine 
 Flagler, born in Beekman in 1827, married in 1863, died 
 in ]856; children two— Eliza, aged 27 years, Amelia, 
 aged 25 years; second wife Elizabeth Thomas, born in 
 this county in 1844, married in 1859, died in 1874; 
 children three- George A., agsd 20 years, Nellie P., 
 aged 19 years and Charles W., aged 16 years. 
 Toffey Egbert M., p o Pawling, farmer, born in Pawling in 1880, 
 has been assessor, elected in 1878; wife Emily chase, 
 born in Putnam County, married in 1862. 
 Toffey George A., p o Quaker Hill, owns 660 acres, born in this 
 county in 1811 ; wife Mary D. Cook, of Po'keepsie, born 
 in 1811, married in 1837, died in 1876; children five. 
 Father, Daniel TofEey, born in Pawling in 1790, died in 
 1863. 
 
HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 Toffey John, Jr., p o Pawling, farmer and merchant, 40 acres, 
 born in Pawling in 1786, died in 1867, was postmaster 
 several years on Quaker Hill; wife Esther H. Akin, 
 born in Pawling in 1797, married in 1814. died in 1879; 
 children three, two now living. Father, John TofEey, 
 Sr., born in Long Island Nov. 11, 1753, died in Feb. 1792. 
 
 Taber Gilbert F., p o Pawling, farmer, 236 acres, born in Paw- 
 ling in 1846; wife Mary B. Allen, born in this county in 
 1849, married in 1868; children three— Harriet A., Han- 
 nah E. and Chatlotte T. 
 
 Taber George P., p o Pawling, farmer, 285 acres, born in Paw- 
 ling in 1787, died Feb. Ib70 ; wife Helen M. Akin, born 
 in Pawling in 1809, married in 1834 ; one son— Phillip 
 F., born in 1840. ' 
 
 Townsend John, born in Putnam county in 1824, settled in this 
 county in 1867 ; wife Sarah E. Dykeman, born in Put- 
 nam county in 1830, married in I860 ; children two— 
 Fannie and George, 
 
 VanScoy Abel, p o Pawling. 
 
 Weed John C, p o Patterson, Putnam county, farmer, 245 
 acres, born in this county in September, 1819 ; wife 
 Sarah M. Burch, born in Ulster county, married in 
 1850 and died ; second wife Sarah A. Merritt, born in 
 Putnam county in 1836, married Nov, 10, 1875. Father, 
 Ebenezer Weed, born in Stamford, Conn., in 1777, 
 came to this county in 1780, died in'1845. 
 
 White Sewell, p o Pawling, manufacturer of farm wagons, and 
 blacksmith, born in Pawling in 1834 ; wife Nancy 
 Amey, born in this county in 1837, married in 1854 ; 
 children three— William H., Sarah and Cora. 
 
 Whittick John 8., p o Pawling, farmer ahd gardener, born in 
 Germany in 1833, settled in this ooyjity in 1834 ; wife 
 Sarab. A. titter^ born in this county in 1823, married in 
 1861 ; children two— Mary B. and John. Abel Van- 
 Scoy, born in this county in 1808; wife Malinda, born 
 in Pawling, August 5, 1813, married in 1833, died May 
 2, 1880; children three— David, born Sept. 15, 1833; 
 Polly, Nov. 31, 1838 ; Phebe J.. Aug. 13, 1848. 
 
 Wing.Daniel, p o Patterson, farmer, 340 acres, born in Pawling 
 in 1809, has been commissioner of highways. Elihu 
 Wing, born in this county, Aug. 20, married in 1806. 
 Abraham Wing, born in Duchess county iu 17i'4, died 
 in 1846 ; wife Ruth Irish, born in 1781, married in 1805, 
 died 1869. 
 
 WingDavid I , p o Quaker Hill, farmer, 125 acres', born in Paw- 
 ling in 1811 ; wife Mary Irish, born in Pawling in 1824, 
 married June 30, 1847 ; children four—Elizabeth. 
 Martha, Phebe P., Carrie. 
 
 Woodiu Daniel P., p o Pawling, farmer, born in Pawling in 
 1813, died in March, 1870 ; wife Mary Jane Klump, 
 born in Duchess county in 1821, married in 1846 ; 
 children four— Isabel, Daniel W., Arvine, Gertie B. 
 
 PINE PLAINS. 
 
 Barton A H., p o Pine Flaina, farmer and speculator, born in 
 Columbia county in 1836. owns 175 acres, settled in this 
 county in 1865; wife Emily M. Sackett, born in this 
 county, married in 1858; cdildren four. 
 
 Bostwick Harriett, p o Pine Plains, born iu this county in 1793; 
 husband Reuben Walker Bostwick, born in Connecti- 
 cut, married in 1823, died in 1864; children two living, 
 
 Bostwick Elizabeth, p o Pine Plains, born in this county in 1887; 
 husband Reuben Bostwick, married in 1848, died in 
 1870: children five. 
 
 Bowman J. S.. p o Pine Plains, druggist, born in Milan in 1842; 
 wife Julia E, Thorne, born in this town in 1866 ; children 
 three. Was'in the late rebellion. 
 
 Case John, p o Pine Plains, farmer, 120 acres, born in Pine 
 Plains in 1810; wile Eliza Oorbin, born in this town, 
 married in 1833, died in Deo. 1868; children three. . 
 Grandparents were among the early settlers in the 
 county. 
 
 Cole Charles B., p o Pine Plains, physician, born in this town In 
 1850 ; wife Clarissa T. Strever, born iu Columbia county, 
 married in 1873; children one. 
 
 Deuel Samuel, p o Bethel Station, farmer, 350 acres, born in this 
 county in 1796, has been assessor; wife Catharine 
 Booker, born in this county, married in 1830; children 
 three— one son died in the rebellion. 
 
 Deuel P. N., p o Bethel. Station, farmer, 120 acres, born in this 
 town in 1830, £as been supervisor and assessor; wife 
 Amelia W. Covey, born in St. Lawrence county, mar- 
 ried in 1870; children two. 
 
 Duxbury Giles H., p o Pine Plains, farmer, 270 acres, born in 
 Ireland in 1821, settled in this county in Nov. 1846, has 
 been justice of peace, school commissioner, and town 
 clerk; wife Julia W. Husted, born in this town, mar- 
 ried in March 1871— children four. 
 
 Eno Frank, p o Pine Plains, attorney, born in this town in 1845. 
 
 Eno W. S., p o Pine Plains, attorney, born in this town Sept. 
 12, 1827, is president of bank; wife Jennie Ellis, born 
 In Derby, Conn., married in 1850; children three. 
 
 Germain James T., p o Pine Plains, farmer and speculator, 318 
 acres, born in this county in 1829. 
 
 Guernsey Clark S., p o Mount Ross, miller and merchant, born 
 in this county in 1840, has been assessor; wife Rebec- 
 ca Wright, born in this county, married in 1865. One 
 daughter. 
 
 Hedges Mrs. Mary, p o Pine Plains, born in this town in 1822; 
 husband Lewis D. Hedges, married in 1844, died in 1857. 
 
 Hensler William p o Pine Plains, wagon manufacturer, born in 
 184a, settled in this county in 1860; wife Julia A. Mor- 
 gan, born in Columbia county, married in 1878; chil- 
 dren one. 
 
 Hiserodt Lavinia, p o Pine Plains, farmer, 200 acres, born in 
 this town in 1820; husband Bryant Hiserodt, married 
 in 1846, died in 1856; children two. 
 
 Hoffman H., p o Pine Plains, farmer, 153 acres, born in. this 
 town in 1829; wife Mary Strever, born in this town in 
 1836, married Jan. 17, 1866; one son. 
 
 Hoag W. M., p o Pine l^lains, station agent and telegraph oper- 
 ator, born in this town in 1858. 
 
 Hoag S. T., p oPine Plains. 
 
 Hoysradt Lyman H,, p o Pine Plains, botanist and teacher of 
 natural science, born in Columbia county in 1849, set- 
 tled in Duchess county in 1849. 
 
 Huntling Edward, p o Pine Plains, farmer, 240 acre^.born in this 
 county in 1797_, has been supervisor; wife Amanda 
 Winans, born in this town, married in 1819; children 
 three. One son was a major in the late rebellion. 
 
 Husted W. W., p o Pine Plains, produce merchant, born in this 
 town in 1824, has been supervisor; wife ^ancyL. Hunt- 
 ing, born in this town, married in 1848;'children two. 
 
 Jordan W. B., p o Pine Plains, farmer, 271 acres, born in this 
 town in 1849, is now supervisor; wife Mary E. Harris, 
 born in Grand Rapids, Mich., married Deo. 28, 1876; 
 children two. 
 
 Lasher Samuel A., p o Pine Plains, farmer, 225 acres, born in 
 Columbia county in 1844, settled in this county in 1874; 
 wife Ella Tinklepaugh, born in Schoharie county, mar- 
 ried in^l870; children two. 
 
 Mattice Abraham, p o Pine Rkiins, teacher, born in Schoharie 
 county in 1833, settled in this county in 1879, clergy- 
 man and principal of academy; wife Martha O. Linds- 
 ley, born in New Jersev, mirried in 1862; children six. 
 
 McCurdy Angus C, p o Pine Plains, station agent and operator, 
 born in New York city in 1844, settled in this county 
 1846. served in late rebellion four years; wife Eliza 
 Bodenstein, born in Germany, married in 1870; chil- 
 dren three. 
 
 More David F., p o Pine Plains, farmer, 420 acres, born in Dela- 
 ware county in 1839, settled in thts county in 1878; wire 
 Sarah HubbeJ, born in Honesdale, Pa., married in 1867; 
 children four. Was in Christian commission in the 
 late rebellion. 
 
 Parker H., p o Fine Plains, post-master, born in New York city 
 in 1807, settled in county in 1833; has been town clerk 
 and collector; wife Jeannette Holley, born in this 
 county, married iu 1837, died in April, 1870; children 
 two. 
 
 Patchin M., p o Pine Plains, miller, born in county in 1818; 
 wife''Oatharine A. Ham, born in this county, married 
 m 1843; one child. 
 
 Piatt Arba, p Q Pine Plains, carriage manafactnrer; born in 
 county in 1806, has been justice of the peace; wife 
 Mahala Green, born iu this coynty, married in 1857; 
 children live, two sons in late rebellion. 
 
 Poole Daniel, p o Pine Plains, farmer, 120 acres, born in county 
 in 1823; wife Julia A. Strever, born in this town, mar- 
 ried in 1872; one child. 
 
 Pulver Herman W., p o Husteds, farmer," 342 acres, born in Col- 
 umbia county in 1824, settled in county in 1888; has been 
 supervisor, justice of peace and assessor ; wife Eliz- 
 abeth Husted, born in Columbia county, married in 
 1861: children five. 
 
 Pulver W. W., p o Pine Plains,, farmer, 181 acres, born in 
 county in 1858; wife Alice Miller, born in Columbia 
 county, married in 1878; one child. 
 
 Pulver Herman, p o Pine Plains, farmer, 367 acres, born in 
 Columbia county in 183S, settled in county in 1850; 
 wife Carrie E. Thompson, born in Connecticut, mar- 
 ried in 1868; children three. ,j 
 
 Rantsteenbergh P. Bt., p o Pine Plains. 
 
 Risedort B. C, p o Pine Plains, farmer, 800 acres, borruin Ulster 
 count* in 1832; settled in county in 1836; wife Eliza- 
 beth M. Myers, born in this town, married in 1864; 
 children three. 
 
 Righter John, p o Pine Plains, farmer, 235 acres, born in this 
 town in 1820: has been supervisor: wife Caroline 
 Ryder, born in county, married in 1850; children five. 
 Grandfather, settled on same farm over 100 years 
 ago. 
 
 Rowe Chauncey, p o Shekomeko, farmer, 100 acres, born in this 
 •town in 1830; has been justice of the peace, town 
 superintendent about nine years, assessor for town 
 three years. House is oldest in town. 
 
 Rowe Orvil, p o Pine Plains, farmer, 1-41 acres, born in town in 
 1828; wife Betsey Pitcher, born in Columbia county, 
 married in 1847; children two. 
 
 Rowe Mary, p o Pine Plains, born in this county in 1823, hus- 
 band Clinton Rowe, married in 1839, died in 1879: 
 children three. 
 
 Rowe Irving W., p o Pine, Plains, merchant, born in county in 
 1850; has been town clerk; wife Eunice Covey born 
 i^®'- Lawrence county, married in 1878; one child. 
 
 Sherwood Daniel S., p o Pine Plains, farmer, 163 a^es, born in 
 this town in 1844; wife Harriet Best, born in county: 
 married in 1871; one child. 
 
 Smith Mrs. J. A., p o Pine Plains, born in this county; husband 
 Charles H. Smith, married in 1840, died in 1854; child- 
 ren two. 1 " "u 
 
PERSONAL STATISTICS. 
 
 XIX 
 
 Smith Caroline, p o Mt. Ross, farmer, 182 acres, born in this 
 county in 1838 ; husband Esek Smith, married in 1860. 
 died Feb. 3, 186B;oDe child. 
 
 Strever Franklin A., j) o Pine Plains, farmer, 188 acres, born in 
 oount;^ in 1867 ; has been inspector of election. 
 
 Spencer Mervin, p o Pine Plains, coal, lumber, marble dealer; 
 born in Columbia county in 1844, settled in county in 
 1871; wife Menia Conklin, born in Columbia county 
 married in 1868; one child. 
 
 Tanner Samuel S., p o Pine Plains, farmer, 203 acres, born in 
 Pine Plains in 1804, has been commiesioner and as- 
 sessor; wife Julia Sheldon, bora in Pine Plains, mar- 
 ried in 1847; fihildren seven. Grandfather located on 
 same farm over 100 years ago. 
 
 Tanner W. H., p o Pine Plains. 
 
 TenEyok John A., p o Pine Plains, farmer, 130 acres, born in 
 Columbia county in 1889, settled in county in 1856; 
 wife Margaret Jones, born in this county, married in 
 1855; children five. 
 
 Thomas Alice L., p o Pine Plains, teacher, born in Pine Plains 
 in 1849. Great-grandparents were among Nine Partners 
 that located this town, and farm has never been out. 
 of family. 
 
 Thompson M. G., p o Pine Plains, farmer„98 acres, born in Pine 
 Plains in 1S27; wife Mariette Smith, born in Columbia 
 county, married in 18B2; one child. 
 
 Thompson John A., p o Pine Plains, farmer, 141 acres, born in 
 Duchess county in 1807: wife Lucy Viele, born in Wash- 
 ington county married in 1855; one child. 
 
 Van Steenbergh P. H., p o Pine Plains, nurseryman. 6 acres, 
 born in county in 1828; wife Sarah Jane Hunt, born in 
 county, married in 1855, died in 1871; children three. 
 
 Vosburg, Goo. B., p o Pine Plains, farmer, 10^ acres, born in 
 Columbia county in 1843, settled in county in 1878; 
 wife Mariette Pelle, bom in county, married in 1870; 
 Her parents were settlers of this county at early day. 
 
 Wheeler Mulford, p o Hosted Station, farmer, 304 acres, born 
 in county in 1840; has been commissioner, auditor, 
 and inspector of election; wife Sarah F. Collins, born 
 in Pine Plains, married in 1867. 
 
 Wiltsie John, p o Hiisted Station, blacksmith, born in Pine 
 Plains ij 1838; wife Emily J. Mills, born in county, 
 married in 1858; children five. Her father was in war 
 of 1812. 
 
 Wilbur.Jeptha S., p o Pine Plains, farmer, S63 acres, born in 
 this town in 1817, is p.8sessor; wife Mary Story, born 
 in this town, married in 1847; children four. 
 
 Wilber Henry C, p o Pine Plains, physician, born in Pine 
 Plains in 1845. 
 
 Wright George L., p o Mt. Boss, merchant and miller, 28 acres, 
 born in county in 1836, is justice of the peace and 
 post-master; wife Mary Ann Guernsey, born in coun- 
 ty, married in I860; children two. 
 
 PLEASANT VALLEY. 
 
 Akerley Frank L., p o Pleasant Valley. 
 
 Barton George, p o Washington Hollow, farmer, and overseer 
 of turnpike, 144^ acres, born in Amenia in^March 1811, 
 has been town auditor; wife Mary Ann Holmes, born 
 in Pleasant Valley in 1812: one child— Milton H., died 
 in 1876. Father, . Joshua Barton, born in Saratoga 
 county. 
 
 Beecher H. T., p o Pleasant Valley, clergyman. 
 
 Briggs Anthony, p o Pleasant valley, farmer. 229 acres, born in 
 Pine Plains in l8;i9, has been justice of peace 13 years, 
 and supervisor one term; wife Hannah White, born in 
 townot Washington in 1830; married in 1852; children 
 two— Davis W., and Homer Everett. 
 
 Brown Egerton, p o Washington, farmer, 96 acres, born in New 
 York city, Jan, 11, 1855, settled in county in 1880. 
 Father, Stewart Brown, of Baltimore, died in New 
 York, Jan. 31, 1880; children nine— seven sons, two 
 daughters. 
 
 Davis T. 1,, p o Pleasant Valley. 
 
 Davis George Fred, p o Foughkeepsie city, teacher of penman- 
 ship, born in England in Jan., 1835. settled in county 
 Nov. 1859; owns 170 acres land; wife Debby L Tobey, 
 born in town of Poughkeepsie, married in Sept. 1867. 
 one son, now twelve years of age; was a miller in 
 Oneida county from 1850 to '59; came to Poughkeepsie 
 with H. G. Eastman, who died in July, 1878. 
 
 Divine Abram, p o Pleasant Valley, farmer, 160 acres, born in 
 same place in 1831, has been assessor six years, and 
 su'pervisor two terms; wife Phoebe W. Drake, born in 
 LaGrange, married April 15, 1857; children four. 
 Father, Jonathan Divine, born in Pleasant Valley in 
 1798. 
 
 DuBois W., p o Crura Elbow. 
 
 Dwan John M., p o Pleasant Valley, physician, born in Orange 
 county in 1833, settled in county in 1861 ; wife Mary B. 
 Wiley, born .in Pleasant Valley, married in 1863 ; one 
 son. Graduated in Albany in 1860; has been practicing 
 in Pleasant Valley for twenty years. - 
 
 Herrick William, p o Salt Point, farmer, 190 acres, born in 
 Milan in 1820, has been assessor and supervisor; wife 
 Elizabeth Brown, born in town of Washington, mar- 
 ried in 1840; children five. 
 
 Lamoree George po Salt Point, farmer, 260 acres, born in 
 rirSLn, *"*y '" ^*',^' ^'^ "^8° J^st'ce °' peace, su- 
 three Rhinebeck, married in 1846; children 
 
 Lawton G«o;;e«Tpo Salt Point, farmer, 116 acres, born in 
 Ohio in 1840, settled m county same year, is justice of 
 peace, has been supervisor several terms. Father, 
 T .. ,1 1^"*° Lawton, born in 18(18. Lawyer 
 Lent F Stockton, p o Pleasant Valley. 
 
 Marshall Albion, p o Crura Elbow, farmer, 107 acres, born on 
 same farm. Father, Isaac P. Marshall, born in Pleas- 
 M. „=!, n SS. **"??' '""s many years supervisor. 
 Marshall Theron R.po Crura Elbow, farmer, 219 acres, born 
 in Pleasant Valley April 1.3, 1831, has been assessor 
 Si ?I«*^'^S^ : Viie, Elizabeth Marshall, married Oct. 
 T ' ,i. Two sons-Israel D., and Robert L. Father, 
 Israel Marshall, born Aug. 14, 1796, died July 13, 1873 
 Mother born m Stanford, March 23, 1799, still living. 
 Masten Calvm B. 0., p o Washington Hollow, f riiit grower Ind 
 farmer, 145 acres, born in Pleasant Valley in 1845, 
 wife Phoebe Van Vleok, born in Washington in 1842 
 married in 1860; children two— Willard P., and Lena 
 ivr„ T o ., Father born in Pleasant Valley in 1785, died in 1864. 
 Mc Leod F., p o Pleasant Valley. 
 
 Pell John p o Washington Hollow, farmer, 73 acres, born in 
 
 New York City in 1820, settled in this county in 1857 
 
 has been assessor two years ; wife Caroline Seake, 
 
 born in New York City.married in 1855; children— four 
 
 Tj ■ V :, 'i7'°S- was grocer before settling in this county. 
 
 Pnohard Rev. A. B., p o Pleasant Valley. 
 
 Eussell Benjamin H., p o Pleasant Valley, farmer, 2.35 acres, 
 born in Fishkill in 1816 ; wife Miss Stoutenbergh, born 
 in Pleasant Valley, married in 1871 ; four sons living 
 William Bussell born in Putnam Co. 
 Shoemaker William E., p o Bock City, farmer and drover, 80 
 acres, born in Bed Hook in 1823; has been supervisor 
 and assessor, held position in custom house three 
 years; wife Phoebe Ostrara, born in Bed Hook, mar- 
 ried in 1845; foursons. 
 Sherons S. W., p o Washington Hollow. 
 
 Stringher Henry, p o Crura Elbow, farmer, 60 acres born in 
 town of Clinton in 1831; wife Kate Briggsi born in 
 Hyde Park, married in 1851; one child— Ida. 
 Van De Water George, p o Salt Point, farmer, 250 acres, born in 
 Hyde Park in 18S1. Has been assessor one term; set- 
 tled on farm in 1844. Wife Elizabeth' Phillips, born in 
 Poughkeepsie, married in 1843. Children, five living- 
 William, Marquis, Wilson A., Carrie B , and Libbie. 
 Father, William Van DeWater, born in Poughkeepsie 
 in 1788, died in 1835. ^ 
 
 Van Wagner Amos M, p o Crura Elbow, farmer, 208 acres; born 
 in Ulster County January 20, 1818, settled in this coun- 
 ty in 1864. Wife Julia A. Lattin, Ijorn in Clinton, mar- 
 ried in 1871. One son— Claude. Parents, Eli and Julia 
 VanWagner. 
 VanWagner Eli A., p o Crura Elbow, farmer, 356 acres; born in 
 Ulster County in 1820, settled in this county in 1863. 
 Wife Julia Lyon, born in Clinton, married in 1844. 
 Three children. 
 Whitaker William, p o Salt Point. 
 Wheeler Danial P., p o Washington Hollow. 
 
 POUGHKEEPSIE. 
 
 Adrianoe Walter, p o Foughkeepsie, retired. 
 
 Avery E. W., p o Poughkeepsie. 
 
 Albro William C, p o Poughkeepsie, counselor at law, born in 
 Genesee Co., August 16, 1848. settled in this county in 
 1854, owns house and lot ; gmduated from Colurabla 
 Law school in 1874, opened ofQce in 1875 ; wife, Theo- 
 dora Bogei's, of Poughquag, married Nov. 3, 1875 ; 
 . children one. 
 
 Allen Henry, p o East Poughkeepsie . 
 
 Beadle E. L., p o Poughkeepsie. 
 
 Barmore Edward, p o Moore's Mills, farmer, 60 acres ; born in 
 Union Vale in 18:^5, has held several town ofSces ; 
 wife, Lucy E. Wanzer, of Conn., married in 1858 ; 
 children 3— Clark, born in 1862 ; Mary E., in 1868 ; Em- 
 ma J., in 1869. Clark C. Barmore, born in West- 
 chester county in 1806, died in 1873; wife, Mary C. 
 Allpy, born in 1812, married in 1832; died in 1880; 
 children seven. 
 
 Baker O. I. M., p o Foughkeepsie. 
 
 Bartrum J. W., p o Wappinger's Falls, lawyer, born in Union 
 Vale, Dec. 25, 1843; wife, Mary E. Eaton, of Bradford, 
 N. H., married June 11, 1867; children two, 
 
 Bayley Guy C, p o Poughkeepsie. 
 
 Beardsley William J., p o Poughkeepsie, manufacturer, born in 
 Poughkeepsie April 14, 1842; wife Louisa McLean, of 
 Foughkeepsie, married Dec. 25, 1864; children two. 
 
 Banks James L., p o New Hamburgh. 
 
 Birdsall T. P., p o Wappinger's Falls, physician, born in Or- 
 ange county in 1855, settled in this county in 1879; 
 wife, Cynthia C. Green; born in Bristol, Vt., married 
 IVIaroh 30, 1878, 
 
 Barratt John W., p o Poughkeepsie, ' 
 
 Bishop S. H., p o Poughkeepsie. 
 
 Bissell George K, p o Poughkeepsie, 
 
HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 Black A. P. , p o Foughkeepsie. hotel proprietor, bom in Salis- 
 bury, Ct., March 20, 1825, settled in this county in 
 188u; owns 336 acres; wife, Sarah C. Black, of Colum- 
 bia county, married Aug,, 20, 1847. 
 Blankenhorn Charles, p o Foughkeepsie. clerk of surrogate 
 court; born in Foughkeepsie Nov. .30, 1848; wife, 
 Mary Blankenhorn, of Foughkeepsie, married Jan. 
 28. 1879. 
 Boshart William F.. p o Foughkeepsie, job printer, born in Phila- 
 delphia, Deo. 3, 1S42, settled in this county in 1844, 
 ■wife Ellen L. Boshart of roi]ghkeepsie,married Nov. 22, 
 1868, children 7. 
 Broas Benjamin S., p o Foughkeepsie. 
 
 Bowne Charles fi., p o Foughkeepsie, merchant, born in Fish- 
 kill June 19, 1818; wife, Mary Haggerty. of New York 
 City, married Dec. 22, 1846; children five. 
 BrinkerhotC C. W., p o VanWagner. 
 Boecher August, p o Foughkeepsie. 
 Bockee Jacob, p o Foughkeepsie. 
 
 Brower W. H., farmer and cider manufacturer, 45 acres; born 
 in LaGrange in 1845; wife, Augusta Tanner, married 
 in 1872; one son— Charles, born in 1878. 
 Bissell H. F., p o Foughkeepsie, marble dealer. 
 Burhans Geoige W., p o Foughkeepsie, farmer, 107 acres, born 
 in Foughkeepsie, Feb. 23. 1843, has been Inspector ol 
 election; wife, Carrie E. Flagler, marritd in 1871; 
 children four. Fatter, Edwin Burhans. born in New 
 York in 1818, came to this county in 1819; wife, Jane 
 VerValine, born in this county in 1815, married in 
 1841; children two. 
 Baker Lewis, p o Foughkeepsie, City Cbamberlin. 
 Burhans George H., p o Pleasart Valley, farmer, 200 acres; 
 born in this county in 1829: wife. Susan Stone, mar- 
 ried in 1846; children 4. William Burhans, born in this 
 county in 1781, died in 18B7; wife. May Smith, married 
 in 1806, died in ]845; children, seven living. John 
 Storm, born in this county in 1801, died in 1879; wife 
 Naomi McDonald, of Putnam County, married in 1819; 
 children six. 
 Butler S. V. H.. p o Foughkeepsie. 
 
 Butts Allipon, p o Foughkeepsie, lawyer, owns house and lot, 
 born in Stanford, 'Oct. 2, 1852; is deputy county clerk; 
 wife, Phebe D. Mosher, of Stanford, married Dec. 16, 
 1876; one child. 
 ' Connelly Thomas, p o Foughkeepsie. * 
 Gary C. G., p o Foughkeepsie. 
 Carpenter B. P., p o Foughkeepsie. 
 Clark Allen M., p o Moore's Mills. 
 
 Churchill D. S., p o Elm Centre, retired merchant, born in 
 Scotland Feb. 29, 18,35, settled in this county Aug. 10, 
 1860, owns 20 acres of land; wife, Bebecoa L. Smith, 
 of Scotland, married Dec. 23, 1859; children five. 
 Campbell C. N., p o Foughkeepsie. 
 Coleman H., p o Foughkeepsie. 
 Carpenter L., p o Foughkeepsie, grocer. 
 
 Gofdn Alexander H., p o Foughkeepsie, retired farmer, born in 
 Washington June 7, lfc('5, has been Member of Assem- 
 bly, Town Clerk, andAssessor; wife, Jane Vincent, born 
 in Washington, married Sept. 2, 1835; children two. 
 Carman John L , p o FouglJkeepsie, liveryman. 
 Congdon Jesse O., p o Moore's Mills, born in LaGrange in 1796, 
 died in 1861; wife, Anna Maria Moore, born in this 
 county in 1799, married in 18a7; one child— Susan M., 
 born in 1830. 
 Caldwell J., p o Foughkeepsie. 
 
 Caire Adam, p o Foughkeepsie, owner of pottery, born in Bava- 
 ria, Germany, April 14, 1834, settled in this county in 
 1840, has been Alderman six years; wife Fannie Caire, 
 of Gloucester, Eng., married Sept. 2, 1855; children, six. 
 Cooper John R..p o Pou^hlieepsie, physician and surgeon, born 
 in Foughkeepsie, Jan. 25, 1834, has been- Supervisor, 
 Alderman and Health Officer; wife, Aletta J. Schenck 
 of Brooklyn, married Feb. 18, 1850; one child. 
 Coutand G. E., p o Foughkeepsie. 
 
 Crumb George W., p o Foughkeepsie, ma'nufacturer, born in 
 England in Sept., 1848, settled in this county in 1849; 
 wife, Sarah W. Dean of Mass,, married Oct. 5, 1860; 
 children three — Chas. L., Jessie D. and George. 
 Colwell C. M.. p Foughkeepsie, carpenter and builder. 
 Gorlies Walter, p o Foughkeepsie, insurance agent. 
 Carpenter S. HI., p o Foughkeepsie. 
 Camack E. W., p o New Hamburgh. 
 Uavibs William A., p o Foughkeepsie, 
 Divine, B. C, p o Pleasant Valley. 
 
 Davis Theodore W., Foughkeepsie, civil engineer, born in Pine 
 Plains June 9, J844; wife, Mary E. Tallman of Great 
 Barrington, Mass., married Oct. 24, 1866; children 
 three. 
 DeGarmo A., p o Foughkeepsie. 
 
 DeLacey William L., p o Foughkeepsie, lawyer and printer, born 
 in Pennsylvania July 10. 1844, settled in this county 
 Nov. 1, 1866. has been Justice of the Peace four years; 
 wife, Weltha A. Wiley of New York city, married 
 March 28, 1868; children three. 
 Dudley James Hervey, p o Foughkeepsie, iron founder; born in 
 Stanford July 14, 1817; has oeen Supervisor four years; 
 wife Charlotte Wlttioe, of Fishkill; married Jan. 4, 
 1842; children four— two living. 
 ^ Dutcher Lawrence W., p o Foughkeepsie, Superintendent of 
 Poor, born in Dover Jan. 14, )820; wife, Mary Quimby 
 of Ulster county; married July 81, 1870, children two. 
 Davis T. W., p o Foughkeepsie, banker. • 
 Dickinson Jonathan, p o Foughkeepsie, 
 
 Doughty Augustus, p o Foughkeepsie. 
 
 Dutcher James E., p o Foughkeepsie, Member of Assembly. 
 
 Dorland I. E , p o Foughkeepsie. 
 
 Downing Henry L., p o Moore's Mills, farmer, 125 acres, born in 
 La Grange In 1831; wife,- Martha A. Van Vlaok, born 
 in this county in 1883, mariied Oct. 19, 1853; one son- 
 George C, born May 17, 1865, father, James L. Down- 
 ing, born in Long Island in 1798, came to this county 
 and died in 186n. 
 
 Dutcher David V., p o Freedom Plains, farmer born in La- 
 Grange iri 1833; wife, Sarah P. Dutcher, born in this 
 county in 1832; married in 1872. Abraham Dutcber, 
 born in this county in 1801, died in 1861; children Ave. 
 Abraham Dutcher, born in this county in 1778; died in 
 18B0. 
 
 DuBois F. W., p o Foughkeepsie. 
 
 DeLamater P , p o Foughkeepsie, prop, of feed store. 
 
 Eastman M. M., p o Foughkeepsie, retired. 
 
 Elting R., p o Foughkeepsie, dealer in pictures, frames and 
 artist's materials, born in tJlster county in 1847, set> 
 tied in this county in 1864. 
 
 .Elsworth E., p o Foughkeepsie. 
 
 Ettinger A., p o Foughkeepsie. 
 
 Fanning W. A., p o Foughkeepsie. 
 
 Farringlon Wm. B., p o Foughkeepsie, importer of china and 
 earthen ware, born in Pleasant Valley, has been director 
 of Foughkeepsie National Bank; wife, Eleanor C. Far- 
 rington, of New York City, married in October, 1863. 
 
 Poster Walden, p o Foughkeepsie. 
 
 Faust Otto, p o Foughkeepsie. 
 
 Flagler Isaac P., p o Foughkeepsie, farmer, 19? acres; born in 
 this county in. 1850, Father Isaac P., born in this 
 county in 1600, died in 1839. Paul Flagler, born in this 
 county in 1770, diedi.in 1854. 
 
 Plad John, p o Foughkeepsie. 
 
 Flagler P. D., p o Foughkeepsie, farmer and Assessor, born in 
 La Grange in 1823; wife, Julia McComber, born in 
 Otsego county; married in 1849; children, six. Rebec- 
 ca D. Flagler, born in this county in 1801, married in 
 1821. died in 1878; children, six. 
 
 Frear William D., p o Foughkeepsie. 
 
 Frost Joseph G., p o Foughkeepsie. undertaker, born in Fough- 
 keepsie, Feb. 6, 1839; has been Collector and Supervis- 
 or; wife, Rebecca C. North of Foughkeepsie ; married 
 June 14, 1865; two daughters and two sons. 
 
 Gerow Elizabeth H., po Foughkeepsie. 
 
 Good Robert, p o Foughkeepsie. 
 
 Gillen Joseph, p o Foughkeepsie, express agent, born in Wood- 
 stock, Ulster county, Aug. 9, 1832, settled in this coun- 
 ty in 1846; wife, Mary, married April 1, 1850; children, 
 four. 
 
 Gill Anna, p o New Hamburgh. 
 
 Gibson Richard H., born in New York city in 1854, settled in 
 this county in 1879; owns 160 acres land. 
 
 Goring Edward M , p o Wappinger's Falls, druggist and general 
 store, born in Manchester, Eng , in 1828. settled in 
 this county in 1836; has been Collector and Member 
 of Assembly: wife J. E. Thompson, of Pleasant Valley, 
 married In 1850; children three— Thompson B., Maria 
 J.. Frescott C. 
 
 Guylee & Millard, p o Foughkeepsie, proprietors of machine 
 shop. 
 
 Guernsey Daniel W., p o Foughkeepsie, attorney, owns 296 
 acres of land, born in Stanford, March 89, 1884; wife 
 ' Emily M. Millard, married June 10, 1870; children 
 four— Eleanor, William, Lydia and Daniel, Jr. 
 
 Hathaway S. V., p o Foughkeepsie. 
 
 Hart Benjamin H., p o Foughlieepsie, farmer, 189 acres, born 
 in Long Island in 1811, settled in this county in 1838. 
 died in 1775 ; wife Elizabeth Hiohols, born in Long 
 Island, married in 3837, children seven. 
 
 Haight A. W., p o Foughkeepsie. 
 
 Harvey Albert B., p o Foughkeepsie, physician, born in Massa- 
 . chusetts March 2, 1817, settled): in .this county in 1844 ; 
 
 wife Mary Phalen, of Vermont, married December 1, 
 1842; children eight. 
 
 Hare George S., p o Foughkeepsie. 
 
 @asbrouck Henry, p o Poughkeepsie, carriage and hardware 
 dealer, born in Ulster county July 23, :850, settled in 
 this county in 1875. 
 
 Hart William H,, p o Foughkeepsie. 
 
 Haviland James, p o Freedom Plains, farmer, 160 acres, born in 
 New York in 1806, came to this county in 1847, died in 
 1877; wife Anna Brown, of LaGrange, married in 1845; 
 one adopted daughter— Sarah, born in 1868. John D. 
 Brown, born in this county in 1789, died in 1875; wife 
 Mary Sleight, born in this county in 1786, married in 
 1811, died in 1857 ; children six. 
 
 Hartley J. P., p o Foughkeepsie. 
 
 Hebard Newton, p o Amenia. cashier of bank, born in Fough- 
 keepsie Oct. 14, 1837, owns 580 acres of land; wife 
 Hattie B. PerLee, of Amenia, married Oct. 5, 1864. 
 
 Henry James, p o Manchester Bridge, farmer and dairyman, 
 200 acres, born in Ireland in 1847, settled in 1860; wife 
 Joanca Hickey, of Ireland, married in 1874 ; one 
 child— James, Jr. Father, James Henry, born in Ire- 
 land in 1818, came to this county in 1860, died )n 1867 ; 
 wife, Martha Neval, pf Ireland, died in isn ; children 
 eight. 
 Hense Nelson, p o Foughkeepsie. 
 Herriok C. B., p o Foughkeepsie. 
 Hodge Thomas A., p o Foughkeepsie. 
 
PERSONAL STATISTICS. 
 
 Haubenstel Wm., p o Poughkeepsie, dealer in boots and shoea. 
 
 Holridge Leason E., p o Poughkeepsie, dealer In crockery, born 
 
 in Northampton, Mass., Sept. 15, 1843. settled in this 
 
 county in 1819, has been alderman ; wife Sarah Parish, 
 
 of New York, married June 20, 1868 ; children two. 
 
 Howard Sherman, p o Manchester Bridge. 
 
 Howard James, p o Foughkeepsie, farmer 465 acres, born in Pawl- 
 ing, in 1804. haybeen Supervisor and Member of Assem- 
 bly; wife Ann Dodge, of Pawling, married in 1827, died 
 in 18$i0;children five— Maria A., Frances H., Caroline A., 
 John D. and Jay. Thomas Howard, born in Pawling. 
 Howard John D., p o Poughkeepsie, farmer, S45 acres, born in 
 this county in September, 1886, has been supervisor 
 two years ; wife Adaline B. Barnes, of Duchess county, 
 married in 1861 ; children seven. 
 Howland Courtland S , Foughkeepsie, under sheriff, born in 
 Washingti)n county, August 18, 1845, settled in this 
 county in 1863 ; wife Henrietta Seaman, born in 
 Foughkeepsie, married J.an. 2, 1866 ; one child. 
 
 Humphrey Abram S., p o Foughkeepsie, druggist, born in 
 Beekman Oct 13, 1848, has been Alderman ; wife Mary 
 I. Vigoes, of Kingston, married Oct. t, 1873. 
 
 Huntington George, p o LaGrangeville, physician and surgeon, . 
 born in Long Island in 1850, settled in this county in 
 1874 ; wife Mary E. Heckard, of Ohio, married in 
 October, 1874 ; children three. 
 
 Hunter Robert H., p o Poughkeepsie, lawyer, born in Fough- 
 keepsie July as, 1846, has been U. S. commissioner and 
 Sostmaster ; wife Emma L., of Foughkeepsie, married 
 anuary 8, 1880. 
 
 Holbrook Mellen R., p o Poughkeepsie, physician and surgeon, 
 born in New Hampshire Ptb. 7, 1824, settled in this 
 county Oct. 20, 1861. has been President of Oswego 
 county medical society and permanent member of 
 New York State medical soCiBty ; wife Mary E. 
 Loddell, married May 8, 1861, died Sept. 23, 1863. 
 
 Ingraham H. G., p o Foughkeepsie, insurance agent. 
 
 Innis George, p o Poughkeepsie. 
 
 Innis'Aaron, p o Poughkeepsie, president of city bank., 
 
 Johnston Walter M., farmer, 48 acres, born in New York city 
 Nov. 22, 1S30, settled in this county in 1855 ; wife 
 Charlotte M. L^Due, married in 1863 ; children three- 
 Mary E., Mattie F. and Lottie. 
 
 Joy W. A.,p o Poughkeepsie. 
 
 Johnson A. W., p o Wappingers Falls, 
 
 Johnscon H. P. C, p o foughkeepsie, proprietor of Buffalo 
 brewery. 
 
 Jewett Mrs. J. B., p o Poughkeepsie. 
 
 Ketcham William M., p o Poughkeepsie, attorney and coun- 
 sellor, born in Dover, 'Apiil 5, 1857. 
 
 Kaess William, p o Foughkeepsie, proprietor of billiard room, 
 born in New York city Aug. 26, 1842, settled in this 
 county in February, . 1866, has been chief of flre 
 department; wife Garoline Kaess, of Germany, mar- 
 ried in December, 1864. 
 
 Knight R. L., p o Poughkeepsie. 
 
 Kimlin John H., p o Poughkeepsie, city alderman. 
 
 Kenvortby Richard, p o Poughkeepsie. 
 
 Kennedy Patrick, p o Poughkeepsie. 
 
 Lamb Joseph T., p o Poughkeepsie, physician, born in New 
 York city July 9, 1836, settled i.T this county Dec. 4, 
 1870 ; wlte Catharine Gibney, of Ireland, married 
 June 18, 1861 ; children five. 
 
 Lawrence Abraham B,, p o Poughkeepsie, farmer, 138 acres, 
 born in this county May 31, i829, has been assessor 
 six years ; wife Margaret A. Barnes, married in 18S5 ; 
 children six— Eugene T., Willet J., Irving G., Theron 
 E., Josephine, and Frpd. C. Jacob Lawrence, born in 
 this county in 1798, died in 1833 ; wile Phebe Badgeley, 
 borain this county in 1802, married in 1821 ; children 
 three. 
 
 Lawson Casper, p o Poughkeepsie, farmer, born, in Poughkeepsie 
 Nov. 32, 1823, has been assessor, is now supervisor, 
 was formerly a boatman on the Hudson and at one 
 time oontroled twenty boats on that river ; wife Eliza 
 Nichols, of Passaic, N. J , born Dec. 12, 1821 ; children 
 living six. 
 
 Lawson George C, p o New Hamburgh, carpenter, born m 
 Poughkeepsie Sept. 17, 181*, has been justice of pf ace 
 and associate judge ; wife Clara Lawson, of New 
 Hamburgh, married June 9, 1868 ; children two. 
 
 ■Lott Christopher I., p o Poughkeepsie, born in Kings county. 
 Long Island, Nov. 9, lt>27, settled in this county June 
 9, 1879 ; wife Lydia Salisbury, married Sept. 28, 1868 ; 
 children t;wo. 
 
 Lindley A. F, p o Poughkeepsie. 
 
 Matthews Samuel, p o New Hamburgn. 
 
 Mansfield S., p o Poughkeepsie. 
 
 Matthews James M., p o Foughkeepsie. ' 
 
 McSwiggan Michael J , p o Poughkeepsie. 
 
 Merritt William T., p o Poughkeepsie. ' 
 
 McWhinnie T-, p o Foughkeepsie, manufacturer, born in Fough- 
 keepsie Mar. 20,-1842 ; wife Fannie Whitwell, of Pough- 
 keepsie, married June 1, 1871 ; children two— Mary E. 
 and Fannie J. 
 
 Mann James H., p o Poughkeepsie, dental surgeon, borp in 
 Ulster county in 1825, settled in this county in 1856, 
 owns about 60 acres ; wife Isabella A. Mann, of 
 Rahway, N. J., married Jan. 1, 1851. 
 
 Mase Sylvester H., p o Poughkeepsie, born in FrattsviUe, 
 Greene county, March 35, 1832; settled in county m 
 18B9, is supervisor and sheriff ; wife Almira Cornell, of 
 Albany county, married in May, 1854 ; children ten. 
 
 Miller J. G., p o Poughkeepsie. 
 
 Marten J. G., p o Poughkeepsie, station a»ent. 
 
 Mary Cyrus, p o Poughkeepsie, editor of Daily Ifews, born in 
 Columbia county Jan. 6, 1825, has been superintendent 
 of public schools ; wife Harriet J. Billings, of Buffalo, 
 married in 1845; children three- Aaron C, Clarence 
 L,, and Cora L., (deceased). 
 
 Marill I., p o Poughkeepsie 
 
 Millard William B , p o New Hamburgh, dealer in building 
 materials of all kinds and coal, born in New Ham- 
 burgh June 10, 1836 ; wife Cordelia A. MilJard, of 
 New York city, married Feb. 8, I860 ; children two. 
 
 Monfort Charles, p o Freedom Plains, farmer, 135 acres, born in 
 Fishkill in 1838 ; wife Mary Yarington, of Orleans 
 county, married Ang. 9, 1869 ; children two — Minnie I., 
 born iu 1870, and Samuel S., in 1873. John J. Monfort, 
 born in this county in 1801, died in 1867, mason and 
 farmer. W. B. Shepherd, born in this county in 1836 ; 
 wife Lucy Bird, of same county ; children two. 
 
 Miller John P., p o Poughkeepsie. 
 
 Miley John, p o Poughkeepsie. 
 
 Miller C. D., p o Foughkeepsie. 
 
 Monfort John A.", p o Pleasaut Valley, farmer, 150 acres, born in 
 Fishkill in 1818 ; wife Julia A. Phillips, married in 1840. 
 Henry A. Monfort, bom in this county in 17^, died 
 in 18.34 ; children three. 
 
 Moon Charles, p o Poughkeepsie, grocer. 
 
 Moore John B., p o New Hamburgh, cooper, born in Bergen 
 county, N. J., Aug. 11, 1848, settled in this county 
 April 1, 1874 ; wife Anna E. Strippel, of East Fishkill, 
 married April 23, 1873 ; children five. 
 
 Moore Alfred H., farmer and miller, 220 acres, born in La 
 Grange in 1843, was appointed postmaster in 1870 ; 
 wife Phebe Willits, of Long Island, married in 1868 ; 
 children three— Herman W., Jacob Willits' and Daniel. 
 
 Myers Francis, p o New Hamburgh. 
 
 Myers George D., p o Poughkeepsie, foreman in Buckeye 
 foundry, born in Foughkeepsie Feb. 7, 1839, has been 
 alderman ; wife CarolinaVirginia, married Oct. 30, 1879. 
 
 Myers Berthold, p o Poughkeepsie. . 
 
 Nelson Reuben W., p o Wappinger's Falls, painter, born in 
 Springfield, N. J., Nov. 16, 1818, owns 3 acres of land, 
 has been justice of peace ; wife Mary A. Phillips, 
 married Feb. 25, 1842 ; children three. 
 
 Nichols Thomas G., p o Poughkeepsie, editor of Sunday Courier^ 
 born in Boston Jan. 8, 183.3, settled in this county in 
 1835. 
 
 Ney A., p o Poughkeepsie. 
 
 Ogden John, p o Poughkeepsie. 
 
 Osborne Edward B., p o Poughkeepsie, editor of Paily^ Pr6H6, 
 bom in Northampton, Aug. 3, 1814, settled in this 
 county Oct. 1, 1853 ; wife Jane Lambert, of Connecticut, 
 married Oct. 7, 1840. 
 
 Otis John C , p Foughkeepsie. 
 
 O'keefe C. M.,p o Foughkeepsie. 
 
 Farrott C. M. E., p o Poughkeepsie. 
 
 Parker Edward H., p o Poughkeepsie, physician and surgeon, 
 born in Boston March 7, 1823, settled in this county 
 Sept. 1, 1868. has been president of medical society of 
 New York ; wife Sarah Olcott Heydrek, of Hanover, 
 N. H., married Dec. 14, 1848 ; children six, four living. 
 
 Fells Michael, p o Poughkeepsie. 
 
 Pettit James S., p o Freedom Plains, farmer, 124 acres, born in 
 LaGrange in 1845, has been town clerk five years ; 
 wife Ella Flagler, married Dec. 29, l875; children 
 three— James H., Florence and Percy H. James 
 Harvey Pettit, born in this county in 1800, farmer and 
 
 Phillips Sylvanus, p o Pleasant Valley, farmer, 100 acres, born 
 m this county in 1828 ; wife Mary A. Drake, married in 
 1849, died in 1871 ; children two. Second wife Augusta 
 Barnes, married in 1877. died in September, 1880. 
 
 Phillips Warren, p o Moore's Mills, farmer, 111 acres, born in 
 LaGrange in 18.i4 ; wife Eugenia Baker, of LaGrarge, 
 married in 1875 ; one son -Warren C, born in 1878, 
 Cornelius Phillips, born in this county in 1821, died in 
 1878 ; wife Eliza Velic, married in 1843 ; children two. 
 
 Perkins J. A., p o Poughkeepsie. 
 
 Pine PerLee, p d Poughkeepsie, physician and surgeon, born in 
 Foughkeepsie. 
 
 Piatt James B., p o Poughkeepsie, publisher of Eagle, born in 
 Poughkeepsie in 1841 ; wife Emma Bartlett, of Pough- 
 keepsie, married in October, 1873 ; children two. 
 
 Forteaus J. G., p o Poughkeepsie, physician and surgeon, born 
 in Moriah, Essex county, N. Y., Jan. 3, 1839, settled 
 in this county in 1880, has been supervisor and mem- 
 ber of assembly ; wife S. F. Wilbur, of Boston, Mass., 
 married in 1865 ; children three. 
 
 Pultz J. I., p o Bast Foughkeepsie. 
 
 Reynolds Livingston, p o Poughkeepsie. 
 
 Reynolds M. L. & Bro.,p o Poughkeepsie. 
 
 Reed George W., p o Poughkeepsie, carriage and livery, born 
 in Poughkeepsie. . 
 
 Bothery Alfred G.. p o Poughkeepsie, foreman, born in Bloom- 
 field, N. Y., Dec. 3,'1835, settled in this county in 1854, 
 owns house and lot, has been alderman four years ; 
 wife Sarah Ellis, of Sheffield, Eng., married January 
 6, 1866 ; children two, living. 
 
 Hooney James A., p Poughkeepsie. . ^, ,^ , ,„. 
 
 Rowland Philander S., p o Foughkeepsie, baker, born in Clin- 
 ton, Deo. 15, 1K8, has been alderman four years ; wife 
 Elizabeth M. Rowland, of Poughkeepsie, married 
 Deo. 3, 1874 ; one child. 
 
HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 Bundall Henry, p o Amenia, farmer, SOS acres^ born in Amenia 
 July 6, 1831 ; wife Lucinda A. Bansoin, ot Ulster 
 county, married July 6. 1853 ; children seven- 
 Roy James L., p o Wappinger's Falls. 
 
 Schrader H. J., p o Poiighkeppsie, carpet dealer. 
 
 Seaman James H., p o Ponghkeepsie, carpenter and builder. 
 
 Seaman William H., p o Poughkfepsie, farmer, 70 acres, born in 
 Poughkeepsie in 1821 ; wife Sarah J. Tillon, married 
 in 1840 ; one daughter— Jane A., born in 1843, married 
 Wm. H. Cramer, ot Pleasant Valley. 
 
 Scott William, p o Poughkeepsie, soap and candle manufac- 
 turer, bom in Poughkeepsie Nov. 23, 1849 ; -wife Anna 
 E. McCall, of Ireland, married Sept. 4, 1862 ; children 
 three. 
 
 Sheldon W. B., p o Poughkeepsie, farmer, 560 acres, born in 
 this county Aug. 3, 1810, has been supervisor and 
 county clerk ; wife Haqnah M. Doughty^ married 
 April 1, 1840 ; three daughters. 
 
 Sheldon Collins, p o Millerton. 
 
 Sheriijan Arthur, p o Poughkeep.=ie. farmer, 83 acres, born in 
 Poughkeepsie in 1843. Garret Sherman, boro in this 
 uounty in 1808, died in 1878; wife Ann M. Barmore, 
 born in this county in 1815, married in 18-33, died in 
 1874 ; chi'dren eight, five now living— Deborah E., 
 Mary J.. Arthur, Carry and Ann H. 
 
 Skidmore James W., p o Moore's Mills, farmer, 154 acres^orn 
 in LaGrange in 1843 ; wife Phebe Tompkins, of West- 
 chester county, married in 1868 ; children three — 
 Andrew T., Herbert J., and Francis J. Andrew J. 
 Skidmore, born in this county in 1709, died in 1865 ; 
 wife Eliza Wanzer, married in 1820 ; children three, 
 two living — James and Jane. 
 
 Sleight Peter R., p o Poughkeepsie, retired agriculturist, 292 
 acres, born in LaGrange in 1804 ; wife Catharine S. 
 Barnes, of Poughkeepsie, married in 1833 ; children 
 four, two living — Sarah A., born in 1835, and Alexander 
 W., in 1841- James Sleight, born in Kingston, Ulster 
 county, in 1751, came to this county in 1765, died in 
 1833 : wife Elsie Dreamer, of New Tork city, married 
 in 1798, died in 1841 ; children five, living two. 
 
 Smith Lewis, p o Noxon, farmer, 140 acres, born in this county 
 in 1818 ; wife Elizabeth Hicks, born in this county in 
 • 1821, married in 1839 ; children three— Mary L , born 
 in 1840, Cassius M., in 1848, and Edwin H., in 1857. 
 David Smith, born in Bhode Island in 1789, came to 
 this county in 179S ; wife Margaret Hatfield, born in 
 1798, married in 1810, died m 1864. 
 
 Shepherd W. B., p o Poughkeepsie. 
 
 Slee Robert, p o Poughkeepsie, banker. 
 
 Swertfager J. H., p o Poughkeepsie, editor of Dttohesa JP'armer, 
 born in Fort Plain, Montgomery county, settled in 
 this county May 8, 1877 ; wife A. C. Swertfager, ot 
 Greene county, married Oct. 24, 1870 ; first wife, mar- 
 ried March 22, 1864 ; children two. 
 
 Smith Andrew, p o Poughkeepsie. 
 
 Smith M.^ o Poughkeepsie. 
 
 Sutcliffe William U-, p o Poughkeepsie- 
 
 Southwick Willet H., p o FoughkeepSie- 
 
 Talk George F., p o Poughkeepsie. .^ 
 
 Tallmah John P. H., p p Poughkeepsie, lawyer, born in this 
 county in 1820, has been master in. chancery and sur- 
 rogate : wile Sarah Anderson, of New York city, mar- 
 ried in 3851 ; children four— Mary B., Augusta C, 
 John Francis and Eatherine E. 
 
 Thorn Edgar, born in Poughkeepsie December 1, 1804, has been 
 surrogate and supervisor ; first wife Jane Thurber, 
 married Feb. 2, 1825 ; second wife, married Nov. 18, 
 18.50 ; children two by first wife, five by second w!fe. 
 
 Thorn A. J., p o Poughkeepsie, lawyer, born in Union Vale 
 Aug. 3, 1838, has been district and city attorn*^ ;■ wife 
 Mary H. Vincent, of Union Vale, married in 1863, died 
 in 1868. 
 
 Titus Bobert H-, p o Poughkeepsie. manufacturer, owns 150 
 acres of land, born in LaGrange in 1835 ; wife Frances 
 Stout, of this county, married in 1864 ; children four — 
 Mary A., Frances A-, Helen L. and Warner H. Elias 
 Titus, born in this county in 1805, died in 1880; wife 
 Mary A. Hoag, born in this county in 1814, married in 
 1831, died in 1867; children seven. 
 
 Titus Richard, born in this county in 1837, enlisted in war; 
 wife Hariett Hopkins, born in this county, married in 
 iSlHi ; children five — Elias, Elizabeth, Florence, Alida, 
 Marion. 
 
 Tompkins Joseph, p o Pleasant Valley, farmer, 127 acres, born 
 in this county in 1810, has been justice of peace 
 twelve years ; wife Deborah Culver, of Hyde Park, 
 married in 1834 ; children eight. 
 
 Tuthill Samuel, p o Poughkeepsie, physician, born in Orange 
 County, April 2, 1811, settled in this county in 1848, 
 has been supervisor ; wife, Sarah 1!^, Kelly, born in 
 Newbiirgh, married Nov. 12, 1833 ; children five — 
 Robert K., Jas, Y., Orphan M.. Sarah E. and Mary Ida. 
 
 Tower Albert, p o Poughkeepsie, born in Paris, Oneida county, 
 Nov. 8, 1817, settled in this county in September, 18.50, 
 owns about 2U0 acres land ; wife .'inn M. Underbill, oi 
 Columbia county, married Sept 11, 1860 ; two sons 
 living. 
 
 Tuthill R. L.. p o Poughkeepsie. 
 
 Tittamer Henry, p o I'oughkeepsie, Druggist! 
 
 Vermilya John V., p o New Hamburgh, freight and commission 
 agent, born in Glenham Oct. 5, 1831 ; wife Catherine' 
 B. Jewell, ot FishklU Plains, married Oct. 5, 1859 ; 
 children four. 
 
 VanNostrom Hobert, p o New Hamburgh. 
 
 VanGieson A- P.. p o Poughkeepsie. . , , 
 
 VanKleeok Andrew J., p o Manchester Bridge, farmer, 94 acres, 
 born in LaGrange in 1829 ; wife Abigail A. Alvereon, of 
 Poughkeepsie. married in 1851 ; children five— Susan 
 E-, John P., Mary J., Gains A- and Charles S- Peter 
 V. VanKleeck,- bom in this county in 1757, died in 1851, 
 farmer: children six. 
 
 Velic James L., p o Freedom Plains, farmer, 161 acres, born in 
 LaGrange in 1843 ; wife Susan E, Cornell, born in this 
 county, married in U77 ; one child. Keltis Velic, born 
 in this county in 1785, died May 25, 1871 ; wife Nancy 
 Losee, born in this county June 27, 1788, married 
 in 1806 ; children fourteen. , Melissa Velio, born in 
 LaGrange March 17, 1889. 
 
 VerValin A. A., p o Poughkeepsie. express agent, born in 
 Poughkeepsie April 25, 1828 ; wife Mary Jane Ver- 
 Valin, of Poughkeepsie, married March 7, 1862; one 
 child. 
 
 VanWagenen P. L., p o Poughkeepsie, wholesale butcher. 
 
 Vassar M. W., p o Poughkeepsie. 
 
 VanWyck B. M., p o Poughkeepsie. 
 
 VanKeurin J. A., p o Poughkeepsie, jeweler. 
 
 VanKleeck Edward, p o Ppu^hkeepsie, dealer in hats. 
 
 Wade H. M, p o Poughkeepsie. 
 
 Wood James G , p o Poughkeepsie. 
 
 Warren William J., p o Poughkeepsie, born in Putnam county 
 in 1844, settled in this county in 1876. owns 118 acres ; 
 wife Elizabeth Nelson, of Putnam county, married in 
 1872 ; children four— Justin N., Sarah M., Mary S. 
 and Cora E. 
 
 Weddle William H., p o Poughkeepsie. 
 
 Webb DeWitt, p o Poughkeepsie, physician, born in Clinton 
 Dec. 19, 1838, has btjten supervisor and member of 
 assembly ; wife .^dele DuBois, of Poughkeepsie, mar- 
 ried June 7, 1865, 
 
 Wheeler S. B., p o Poughkeepsie. 
 
 Wilson J. B.. p Poughkeepsie, physician and surgeon, born in 
 Hobart. Delaware cbunty, Jan. 27, 1846, settled in this 
 county. March 27, 1871. 
 
 Wiltsie Abraham, p o Poughkeepsie, city treasurer. 
 
 Whitney Spring Company, p o Poughkeepsie, manufacturers of 
 side bar springs. 
 
 Wiethan Bros., p o Poughkeepsie. 
 
 White E., p o Poughkeepsie. 
 
 Wright D. G., p o f onghkeepsie. ' 
 
 Wheeler F. B., p o Poughkeepsie. 
 
 Whcaton C, p o Poughkeepsie. 
 
 Yelverton Robert Fleming, p o Poughkeepsie, born in New York 
 city Jan 3, 1840, settled in this county April 1, 1870; 
 wife Madge Emerson, ot Boston, Mass., married Dec. 
 10, 1875. 
 
 Young Henry L., p o Poughkeepsie. 
 
 Ziegenfuss Henry L., p o Poughkeepsie, clergyman ot Episcopal 
 church, born in Monroe county, fa., Nov. 3, 1844, 
 settled in this county in April, 1869. 
 
 RED HOOK. 
 
 AUendorph Peter H., p o Red Hook, farmer, 83 acres, born in 
 Red Hook Feb. 13, 1821; wife Margaret Adams, mar- 
 ried in 1846; one adopted daughter— Mary S. Father, 
 Phillip AUendorph, born in this town. 
 
 Almstead Henry, p o Upper Red Hbbk, oarpen'er, owns 4 acres, 
 born in Columbia county Feb. 14, 1818, settled in this 
 county in 1844, has been overseer of the poor; first 
 ' wife, Amanda Moore ; second, Marilda Shelters; 
 children five. Parents, Peter and Elizabeth Alm- 
 stead. 
 
 Armstrong Col. Henry B., p o Red Hook,«retired, born in New 
 York city May 9, 1792, was,lieutenant-oolonel in war of 
 1812; wife Mary D. Simons, of South Carolina, mar- 
 ried in 1883; children five living. Father, General 
 John Armstrong, secretary of war and minister to 
 France from 18(14 to 1811. 
 
 Ashley Wm J. , p o Upper Red Hook, farmer. 159 acres, born in 
 Columbia county in 1851, settled in this county in 1880; 
 wife Jeaneite Goons, married in February,' 1876. 
 Father, Henry A. Ashley, native of Columbia county. 
 
 Baxter James, p o Red Hook, farmer, 100 acres, born in Ireland 
 in 18-39. settled in this county in 1860, has been over- 
 seer of pogr; wife Ann O'Nell ; children three— 
 William, James, Jr.', and Mary. Father, John llaxter. 
 
 Becker Henry, p o Vpper Red Hook, farmer. 87 acres, born in 
 Milan, ilan- 9, 1815, has been highway commissioner 
 two terms; first wife, BlEe Stickle; si-oond wife, Jane 
 Ann Shook; children three living. Father, William 
 Becker. 
 
 Beokwith Wm. S., po Madelin, farmer, 144 acres, born on same 
 farm in 1820. has been overseer of poor, is assesst r third 
 term; wife Maria Collyer, born in >ing Sing, married 
 in 1848;' children five. Parents, Nathan and Betsey 
 (Gale) Beckwitb. Mother's brother was founder of 
 Galesburgh, 111. ' ^ 
 
 Grouse John S.. p o Red Hook, cashier ot bank, born in the 
 town of Clinton Sept. 26, 1898; wife Hannah D. 
 Kettell, of Connecticut, married in 1862; children 
 three. Father, John Crouse, son ot Jacob Grouse, 
 who settled in Beekman about 1760. 
 
PERSONAL STATISTICS. 
 
 XXIU 
 
 ' Carroll Robert J., p o Red Hook, physioian and surgeon, born 
 in Ohio, settled in this county in 1876, read medicine 
 with Drs. William an'd Thomas Carroll, o( Fbiladelpbia, 
 Pa , and attended lectures at the Jefferson medical 
 college there, was graduated in Marob, 1867, com- 
 menced practice in Red Hook in May. 1876. 
 Chamberlain Wm L., p o Red Hook, retired merchant, 6B0 
 - acres, born in New York cicy in 1831, settled in this 
 county in 1840; wite Mary Remington, born in New 
 York city, married in 1864; children four. Father, 
 Wm. Chamberlain, founder and originator ot First 
 National Bank. 
 
 Clark Rev. James S , p o Tivoli, clergyman. 
 
 Cruger John Church, p o Annandale, retired lawyer, owns 125 
 acres, born in New York city Oet. 13, 1807, settled in 
 this county in 18'^8. died in 1879, has been presidential 
 elector; wife Brphemia W. VanRenselaer, married 
 May 8. 1843; children three living— Stephen V., Cor- 
 nelia, Catherine C. 
 
 Cookingham Harris L., p o Red Hook, physician and surgeon, 
 born in Hyde Park Aug. 21, 1850; wife Mary Jane 
 Nicks, of Rod Hook, married in 1876; cTiildren two. 
 H. L. Cookingham read medicine with Dr. Edwin 
 Barnes, of Pleasant Plains, attended lectures at 
 Albany Medical College, graduated Deo. 26, 1871, com- 
 inenced practice in Staatsburgh, came to Red Hook 
 August a.j, 1873. 
 
 Clark Rev. James Starr, p o Tivoli. rector of Trinity church, 
 born in Connecticut in 182S, settled in this county in 
 1853; wite Caroline S. Hopson, ot Connecticut ; child- 
 ren two; educated at Columbia college of New York 
 city, ordained in 1854, took charge of present church 
 in 1855. , . „ , 
 
 Coopernail W. C. p o Upper Red Hook, farmer, 100 acres, born 
 in Red Hook Nov. I, 1843; wite Elizabeth Tompkins, 
 born in Red Hook, married in 1872; children three- 
 Eliza E., George P. and William I. Parents, George 
 and Althea Coopernail. 
 
 Co'ns Cyrus W., p o Madalin. merchant tailor, born m Columbia 
 county in 1853, settled in this county June 15, 1879. 
 has been town clerk; wife Estella Poucher, of 
 Columbia county, married June 5, 1879; one child- 
 Lottie M. Father, John W. Coons, native ot Columbia 
 county. Father, William 1. Coons. 
 
 DePevster Johnston Livlngrton, p o Tivoli,- owns 24 acres, born 
 in Tivoli June 14, 1846; wife Julia Ann Toler, born m 
 Tivoli, married March 29, 1871 ; children two— Esther 
 Estella, Mary Justine. , . xt ,, , 
 
 DePevster John Watts, p o Tivoli, historian, born in New York, 
 settled in this county in 1841 or '3; wite Estella Liv- 
 ingston, married March 2, 1841 ; children five, two 
 
 Elmendorf'lliomasi p o- Upper Red Hook, farmer and dealer 
 in grain and hay, 250 acres, was supervisor in 1864. 
 Parents, Jacob O. and Gerrettie Elmendort. Grand- 
 father Cornelius built the house now occupied by 
 him in 1791. 
 
 Elseffler J. W., p o Red Hook. 
 
 Fairbairn Rev. Robert B., p o Annandale, warden of St. 
 Stephens College, born in New York city May 27, 1818, 
 settled in this county in 1862, has been rector of 
 several churches; wife Miss Arnold, of Troy, N. Y., 
 married June 28, 1849; children four. . „ , 
 
 Feller John J., p o Red Hook, farmer, 136 acres, born in Red 
 Hook Oct. 21, 1847: wite Carrie A. Asher, of Rhmebeok, 
 married Dec. 5, 1877 : one sister, Delia P. Schmuoker. 
 Parents, Jacob and Sarah Y. Feller. , 
 
 Feller John P., p o Red Hook, farmer, 144 acres, born in this 
 townlVUy 2, 1843; wife Anna S. Teal, bora in Rhine- 
 beck, married Jan. 17, 1877. Father, Col. Peter I. 
 
 Feller Edward,' p o Madalin, merchant, born in Clermont, 
 Columbia county, in 1826 settled in this county in 
 1865, was supervisor in 1874-'75-'76; wife Ma"a S. 
 Washburn, of Connecticut, married Deo. 31, 1868; one 
 child. Father, Henry H., son of Henry Feller, native 
 
 Fraleigh jJbn A.,"p S flld Hook, farmer, 1.34 acres, born on saffle 
 
 ^ farm Oct. 20. 1841; wite Irene Curtis, of Red Hook, 
 
 married in 1871; children three. Father, George W. 
 
 Fraleigh, born here in 1816, died July 15, 1S66;, was son 
 
 of Peter P. Fraleigh, who settled here m 1.90. 
 
 Fraleieh Georae W., p o Red Hook, farmer, 134 acres, born on 
 
 Fraleigh George w.,^y^^^ 1835, died Feb. 20, 1861; wife Helen 
 
 M. Near, born in Red ±ook; one son-Phillip Fraleigh 
 
 Father, Phillip Fraleigh; mother, Anna, daughter ot 
 
 Peter and Jane Bennett. , . , . ice 
 
 Fi-nloioh Tapob W T) o Red Hook, farmer and stock raiser, 166 
 
 Fraleigh Jacob «-„• P ° Xnebeck, Jan 21. 1811.; wife Catherme 
 
 K. Fellows, born in Rhinebeek, married Feb. 11, 1836, 
 
 children five. Parents, George and Catherine Ira- 
 
 leigh, natives of Red Hook. , - , . „ oso 
 
 Gale H C, p o Upper Red Hook, farmer and dairyman, 252 
 
 acres, born in Germantown Columbia county m 
 
 1837. settled in 1875; wite Mary Elting, <>« ^udson, 
 
 married in 1860 ; two daughters-Bertha and Alice. 
 
 Father, Wm, S. Gale, pt Germantown, died in April, 
 
 Green James' B., p o Madalin, farmer, 135 acres, born in Red 
 Hook Nov. 11, 1840, has been census enumerator; wife 
 Helen Hoyt, born in New York city, roamed in 1868 , 
 Children three. Father, Edmund, son ot Bowen Green. 
 
 Gedney B. F., p o Red Hook. 
 
 Ham William R., p o Madalin, agriculturist, 500 acres, born in 
 Red Hook, died Feb. 4, 1879, aged 80 years; two sisters 
 living— Maria and Caroline. Father, Richard C. Ham. 
 
 Hapeman George H., p o Red Hook, farmer, 120 acres, born on 
 same farm in 1840 ; wife Vena Coon, born in Columbia 
 county, married in 1864 ; children four. Father. 
 Phillip Hapeman, native of this town and son of John 
 Hapeman. 
 
 Heyne Carl, p o Red Hook, farmer and sheep raiser, 200 acres, 
 born in Prussia, settled in this county In 1854 ; wite 
 Mary Welch, ot London, married in 1868. Father, 
 John Heyne, native of Germany. Dealer in merino 
 sheep, 
 
 Hoffman T. A., p o Tivoli, dealer in general merchandise, born 
 in Red Hook in 1844, has been postmaster and treas- 
 urer; wife Harriet Saulpaugh, married in 1866: children 
 eight living. Father, Theodore Hoffman, native of 
 this town. 
 
 Hoffman Benjamin B., p o Red Hook, tobacconist and farmer, 
 115 acres, born on same farm March 25, 182i), has been 
 bank director; wife Adaline Fancher, of Fishkill, 
 married in 1842; children four. Father, George C, 
 son of Conrad Hoffman, who emigrated from Ger- 
 many and settled here at an early day. 
 
 Kerly James R . p o Upper Red Hook, farmer, 388 acres, born in 
 Tivoli, Dec. 29, 1829, is United States revenue collector; 
 wife Eliza P. Pritoher, born in this town, married 
 Sept. 27, 1854; children six living. Father, James 
 Kerly, native of this town. 
 
 Knickerbocker Wm. E., p o Upper Bed Hook, retired, born in 
 Madalin. Parents, Edwin and Catharine E. Knicker- 
 bocker, natives of this town.. Father forty years in 
 business in Madalin. 
 
 Lewis John N., p o Annandale, farmer, 280 acres, born on same 
 farm in 1830; wife Christina J. Nelson; married in 
 1855; children four, living Father, Peter Lewis, son 
 ot Thomas Lewis, of Staatsburgh. 
 Livingston Johnston, p o Tivoli, retired, owns 150 acres, born 
 in Tivoli in February, 1818; wife Sylvia M.; married 
 in October, 18.51; two daughters— Caroline, Estella. 
 Father, John Swift Livingston, settled in town in 
 
 Loses John E'.,po Upper Red Hook, physician, born in Wash- 
 ington, September 16, 1826, owns 27 acres land: wife 
 Mary E Knickerbocker, of Madalin; married June 86, 
 186a; children two. 
 
 Livingston Lonis, p o Tivoli. retired, owns 22 acres, born on 
 same place; wife Alice M. Fox, of New York City; 
 married in 1870. Parents, John Switt and Maria M. 
 Livingston. House 'built in 1776, . t> j 
 
 Martin Joseph, attorney and counselor at law, born in Red 
 Hook, February 18, 1814, has been justice of peace 
 twenty years; wite Margaret Barringir, ot same 
 town; married in January, 1837; children eight, 
 living; read law with J. W. Elseffer, and commenced 
 practice in village in 1858. 
 
 Martin Andrew L., p o Upper Red Hook, attorney, counselor 
 and surveyor, born in Stanford in 1825, has been sup- 
 erintendent ot schools; wife Mary G. Benner, of this 
 town; married in i85ll; children six. living; read law 
 with Judge John Rowley, and admitted at the Albany 
 Lawschoolin 1852. ., . ,n, i. xt i- i 
 
 MaaaoHueau R. L,, v o Rpd Hook, president First National 
 
 M.as3QBneau n. i^j_^P.^^^^ Hook. Octobers, 1826; wife Emma 
 
 C Sirobel, ot New York City; married October 27, 
 1859; children four. Father, R. C. Masaonneau. was 
 son of C G. Massonneau, Who came here from France 
 about 1790. , ^, , 
 
 McCarthyCol. E. J., po Red Htink, farmer and retired mer- 
 chant, 50 acres, born in Saratoga county in 1BU7, set- 
 tled in county in 1863, was Assistant Cashier New 
 > ork City Custom House six years; first wife, daugh- 
 ter of Hon. Jeremiah Bussel; and second, daughter ot 
 Hon. Henry Staats; one child living— Russel. Father, 
 Moses McCarthy, soldier of Revolutionary war 
 
 Martin Edward, p o Red Hook, farmer, 140 acres, bprn in Red 
 Hook, February 18. 1811. 
 
 Metzser George Adam, p o Red Hook, farmer, 268 acres, born in 
 
 Metzger 'Jfo^B^^^^ '^^ndgericht, Dinkelsbuhl. Bavaria, Ger- 
 many, December 1.^. 1827, settled in county April 24, 
 1854- wife tredericka Hahn, burn in Bavaria, Nov. », 
 18.14; married in 1869; children tour; purchased farm 
 
 Miller Henry E.,' p o Red Hook, tobacco manuf., born in Red 
 Miller ^»°7^i' I'jjj,g ^ifg Martha VanSteenburgh, of Rhine- 
 beck; one daughter-Emma L. Miller. Father, David 
 Miller ot same town. 
 Moore Clarence L„ p o Madalin, merchant, owns 6 acres, born 
 moore ^'f^'^J^^o,: '/anuary 12, 1846, has been town clerk; wife 
 Carrie G Risedorf; married in 1875; one son-Alfred 
 h. Father, Alfred L., son ot Wm. P., son of Phlbp 
 Moore. 
 Moore Rev. John W., p o Red Hook, rector of Christ phureh, 
 ^"""hOTn in. New York City, February 25, 1825, settled in 
 county April 6, 1861, has been rector of several 
 churches in Westchester. St. Lawrence and Rich- 
 mond counties: wits Frances H. Weber, of Fairfield, 
 Herkimer county, N Y.; married October 10, 1864, 
 children six, living J. W. Moore was a graduate of 
 ColumWaCoUege. New York, and ot Gen. Theological 
 SemSary of the P. E. church and rector ot present 
 parish twenty years. 
 
HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 lUooney Edward, p o Upper Red Hook, portrait painter, bora 
 in New York City, March 25, 1813, settled in count}; in 
 1855; wife Laura A. iJlancbard, of Boston; one child, 
 living— Ella. Vather, 'Win. L. Mooney, ol New York 
 City 
 
 Nelson T. B , p o Upper Red Hook, farmer, 108 acres, born in 
 Red Hook, March 23, 1827; wife Mary Jane Feller, 
 second wife Hannah C Myers; one child— Wm, A. 
 Parents, Samuel and Christina Nelson, natives of 
 Duchess county. 
 
 Nelson Captain Samuel, p o Upper Red Hook, farmer, 208 
 acres, born in Foughkeepsie, died February 4, 1876, 
 was captain in war of 1812; wife Christina Benner of 
 this town; children five, living. 
 
 Ormsbee Frank S., p o Madalin, attorney and counselor at law, 
 born in Ashland, Qreene county, settled in county in 
 ]866, has been clerk of board of supervisors of Greene 
 county, read law with OIney & Mott, of Catskill, at- 
 tended university of law at Albany, graduated from 
 ' there in 1864, and admitted t6 New York bar in 1864; 
 wife Mary C. Wagner, of Columbia county; married 
 in June, 1877. 
 
 Fe elor Philip, p o Madalin, dealer in general merchandise, born 
 in Bed Hook, March 9, 183(1; wife Catharine O. Fingar, 
 of Columbia county; married February 6, 1864; chil- 
 dren five, living. Father, Philip, son of Conrad Feelor 
 who came here and settled after war of Revolution. 
 
 Phillips Theodore, p o Bed Hook, grain and hay farmer and 
 stock raiser, 416 acres, born in Columbia county, Sep- 
 tember 25, 1845, settled in county in 1*46; wife Rachel 
 Link, second wife Matilda Coon; one child, living— 
 Wm. T. Parents, Jacob and Susanna FhiUipB. 
 
 Phillips A. H., p o Nevis, Columbia county, farmer, born in 
 /Milan, November 28, 182U; wife Emma E. Feller, of 
 -Milan: children fi've — Romelia; David F.; Wm. H.; 
 George A. ; Lizzie E. Parents, Jacob and Elizabeth. 
 •Pitcher Andrew K, p o Upper Red Hook, farmer, 80 acres, 
 born in Upper Bed Hook, May 31, 1812, is elder and 
 has been deacon of church; wife Mary Ann Hoffman, 
 of New York City; children five. Father, John W., 
 son of William Pitcher. 
 
 Prister Albert, p o Bed Hook, editor and proprietor " Bed Hook 
 Journal," born in Columbia county, April 4. 1845, set- 
 tled in county April 4, 1860; wife L. B. Allendorf, of 
 Red Hook; married December 11, 1873; one child. 
 
 Flatt Rev. G. Lewis, p o Tivoli, rector of St. Paul's church, 
 born in Washington, Conn Feb. 8, 1819, settled in this 
 county Sept. 1, 1859; first wife Sarah D. Willard, of 
 Greenfield, Mass., married in 1848; children four; sec- 
 ond wife Clara Gibson, of Great Harrington, married 
 in 1856; children five. 
 
 Proper Norman S., p o Bed Hook, farmer and architect, 134 
 acres, born in Livingston, Columbia county, Nov. 9, 
 1834, settled in this county in 1871,' is president of 
 Farmers' Town Mutual Insurance Co.; wife Martha 
 E. Tioklepaugh, of Schoharie county, married March 
 30, 1871. Parents David and Helen Proper, natives of 
 Columbia county.' 
 
 Queen Daniel V., p o Tivoli, overseer for E. A. Livingston, born 
 in Red Hook Jan. 19, 1819, has been president of the 
 village; wife Julia Ann Oakley, of Columbia county,' 
 married June 10, 1042; children six, three living — 
 Montgomery, Frances, Lillie. Has been in same busi- 
 ness twenty-five years. Father Samuel Queen. 
 
 Rockefeller Wm., p o Madalin, restaurant keeper, born in New 
 York city, settled in this county in 1863. Father Wal- 
 ter Rockefeller. 
 
 Rooketellor Peter I., p o Upper Red Hook, farmer. 134 acres, 
 born in Orange couoty in 179 1, settled in this county 
 in 1S'.>6, was in war of 1812. died June 7, 1874; wife 
 Elizabeth Petrie, born in Columbia county in 1800, 
 married in 1817; one daughter, one grand-daughter— 
 Ellen P. Wright, two great-grandchildren— Florence 
 E. and Evert F. Wright. 
 
 St. John Horace W., p o Bed Hook, manufacturer of carriages 
 and wagons, and machine repairer, born in Orange 
 county in 1838, settled in this oounry in 1866; wife 
 Mary T. Lambertson, married in 1868, died April 9, 
 1878 ; children four living. Parents Samuel and Nancy 
 St. John. 
 
 Salpaugh Jonas, p o Madalin, proprietor of Madalin Hotel, 
 born in Germantown, Columbia county, settled in this 
 county in 1860. Father Conrad Saulpaugh. 
 
 Saulpaugh Eugene, p o Tivoli, farmer and fruit grower. 118 
 acres, born in Bed Hook 1854; wife Kva D. Sagendorf, 
 of Germantown, married in 1876; children two. 
 Father, Edward, son of John I. Saulpaugh. 
 
 Saulpaugh Robert, p o Madalin, farmer, 106 acres, born in Bed 
 Hook March 28, 1833, has been highway commissioner; 
 wife Bachel Clum. of Germantown, married Nov 17, 
 1859; children one living— Robert Franklin. Parents, 
 John 1. and Maria (Lasher) Saulpaugh. 
 
 Sands Charles E., p o Annandale, farmer, 80 acres, born in N. 
 Y. city Feb. 27, 1834, settled in tbla county in Novem- 
 ber, 1859, was supervisor In 1878; wife Letitia Camp- 
 bell, of N. Y. city, married in 1857; children six. 
 Soudder Rev. E. -C., p o Upper Red Hook, pastor of St. John's 
 Reforined church, born in Ceylon in 1828, has been 
 missionary in India for twenty years; was educa- 
 ted at Western Reserve college of Hudson, Ohio, 
 ordained in 1855, called to this church in 1877, installed 
 its pastor in 1878 ; wife Sarah Tracy, of Ohio, married 
 in 1855; children seven living. 
 
 Shook Alv.a D. and Edward L.. p o Rock City, grain farmers, 
 born on same farm. Father, John A. Shook, born on 
 this farm, was son of John Shook, who bought same 
 farm when a yoyng man. 
 
 St. Stephen's College, p o Annandale. 
 
 Shook Aaron, p o Bed Hook, farmer, born in Red Hook, Deo. 6, 
 1811, is collector; wife Catharine Maria Cramer, born 
 in this town Nov. 2, 1813, married Deo 14, 183?): chil- 
 dren seven. Parents, John and Cornelia Shook, na- 
 tives of this town. 
 
 Stickle Phillip H., p o Hed Hook, farmer and (supervisor, 250 
 acres, born on this farm Aug. 21, 1842; wife Nellie 
 Ring, of Bhinebpck, married in 1863; children two liv- 
 ing— Alva . and Frank Stickle. Parents, Peter and 
 Sally Stickle. 
 
 Straat George R., p o Annandale, farmer, 200 acres, born in 
 tills town Sept. 7. 18i!2; wife Caroline Clum, of Cler- 
 mont, married in 1849; one daughter— Luella. Father, 
 ■Anthony A. is son of Anthony Wtraat. 
 
 Sturges Hon. Edward, p o Madalin, farmer, assessor and ice 
 dealer, *13 acres, born in Columbia county in 1823, set- 
 tled in this county in 1871^ was member of assembly 
 two years; wife Helen Clum, of Coin mbia county, mar- 
 ried April 2, 1849; children four. Parents, Petfr stur- 
 ges, native of Conn., and Cornelia, of Columbia county. 
 
 Tanner Almelia Staats, p o Madalin, farmer 118 acres, born in 
 Bed Hook; husband Henry Tanner, died March 8, 
 1872, was married May8, 1855; children one— Catharine 
 0. Father, Henry Staats. one of the prominent busi- 
 ness men of the town, died Nov. 9, 1874, 
 
 Teal Andrew E., p o Red Hook, farmer, 110 acres, born in Rhine- 
 beck /^prir26, 183-i; wife Emeline Traver, of Rhinebeck, 
 married June 10, 1856; children two living. Parents, 
 Henry G. and Jujia Ann (Traver) Teal. 
 
 Teator John N., p^o Upper Red Hook, carpenter and joiner, 
 born in Red Hook Feb. 26, 1830, is highway commis- 
 sioner; wife Maggie Hart, of Livingston, Columbia 
 county: children one — Bertha. Parenis Jacob P^ and 
 Catherine Teator, natives of thU county. 
 
 Teator Andrew, p o Upper Red Hook, farmer and fruit grower, 
 182 acres, born on same farm Feb. 19, 1819; wife Butti 
 Monfort, of this county, married in 1854; children two 
 — Alida E. and William S. Father, Henry H.,is son of 
 Henry Teator, who was in the Revolution, 
 
 Ten Broeck Lorenzo, p o Bed Hook, farmer, 111 acres, born in 
 Livingston, Columbia county, Oct, 9, 1843, settled in 
 this county in 1844; wife Susie E, Nelson, of Wappin- 
 eer's Falls, married March 9, 1870; children two— S. 
 Nelpon and Addie. Father, Samuel Ten Broeck, of 
 Bhinebeck. 
 
 Thompson Wm. F. and J. M., p o Red Hook, farmers, 69 acres, 
 born in Bed Hook. Wm. F. is married, and J. M, single. 
 Parents, George and Catherine Thompson, natives of 
 this town. 
 
 Tinklepaugh Edward L., p o Bed Hook, farmer, 140 acres, born 
 in Clermont in February, 1852, settled in this county 
 in 1876; wifeAdaPlntner, married Oct. 10, 1876. Father, 
 Capt E. L. Tinklepaugh, native of Columbia county. 
 
 Tompkins Peter, p o Bed Hook, farmer and grain raiser, 498 
 • acres, born in Milan Jan. 3ii, 1810; wife Eliza C. Lown, 
 of Rhinebeck, married in 1837, died Aug, 31, 1874; chil- 
 dren nine living. Parents, Aristides and Elizabeth 
 (Bice) Tompkins 
 
 Traver Edgar L,, p o Bed Hook, farmer and stock dealer, 260 
 acres, born in Bhinebeck March 'J2, 1829. has been 
 supervisor and assessor: first wife, Anna M. Snyder, 
 second wife Catherine Benedict: cbildreu two. House 
 he now occupies is a stone mansion built 150 years 
 ' Bgo. Father, Evert L, Traver. native of Rhinebeck. 
 
 Vosburgh George S,, farmer, 151 acrrs, born in Red Hook April 
 6, 1814, has been deacon and elder of the church thirty- 
 eight years; wife Maria Proper, of Clermont, married 
 in March, 1846; children eight living. :Pareiits Jacob 
 and Hannah Vosburgh. 
 
 Williams Rev. J. L., p o Madalin, pastor of 1st Baptist church, 
 born in Saugerties June 16, 1842, settled in this county 
 April 1, 1876, was ordained May 24, 1876; wife Emily B. 
 Jones, of Saugerties, married June 19, 1866; children 
 three living. Was educated at Saugerties institute, 
 and engaged in mercantile business until called to 
 pastorate. 
 
 RHINEBECK. 
 
 Aokert D E , p o Bhinebeck. 
 
 Ackert Phillip J,, p o Rook City, farmer, 141 acres, born in 
 
 Rhinebeck in 1832, has been custom house ofBcer in 
 
 New York, is married and has one child, 
 Allen George F., carpenter, born in town in 1857; wife Eva, 
 
 daughter of Wm, E. Worden, 
 Barton R. C , dealer in feed and grain, born in this county in 
 
 1815 
 Barringer Robert L , p o Bhinebeck, cooper, horn in Bed Hook 
 
 in 1849, has been inspector; wife H. Loure, married In 
 
 1870. 
 Bowne I, S, p o Bhinebeck. 
 Brooks E,, p o Bhinebeck, 
 Carroll W. and Son, p o Rhinebeck, 
 Cramer Baronet, farmer, 12i acres, born iu town in 1804; wife 
 
 Catharine Hendricks; children two. 
 
PERSONAL STATISTICS. 
 
 Collins Martin W., p Bhinebeok, school commissioner, born in 
 Pleasant Valley Oct. 14, 1847; wife Emily M. Foster, of 
 Pleasant Valley, married Deo. -SO, 1877; children one. 
 
 Cottiag Frederick, p o Bhinebeck. 
 
 Crandall Gurnsey, farmer, S75 acres, born in Milan in 1835; wife 
 May A. Teal, has been teacher seventeen years. 
 
 Cramer John N., p o Bhlnebeck. 
 
 Cramer Charles J^, farmer and owner of cider mill, born in this 
 county in 1813, has been justice of village; wife K. 
 Van Steenbergh; children two. 
 
 Covert Michael P., principal of public school, born in Charlton, 
 Saratoga county in 1814, settled in this county In 1843. 
 
 Coombe John, p o Bhinebeok. 
 
 De Garmo James M., p o Bhinebeok. 
 
 Eaton Alfred G., p o Bhinebeck, teamster, born in Montgomery 
 county in 1639, settled in this county in 1868; wife Ella 
 Davis, of Albany county, married in 1866; children 
 four. 
 
 Eighmy George, p o Bhinebeok, wagon and carriage manufac- 
 turer, has been collector and assessor; wife Catherine 
 McCarthy. 
 
 Eighmy Alvln, p o Bhinebeck. 
 
 Esselstyn George, p o Bhinebeck, attorney and counsellor, born 
 in Claverack, Columbia county. Sept 37, 1841, settled 
 in this county March 20, 18f)5;. wife Florence Cowles, of 
 Farrington, Conn., married June 17, 1868; children 7. 
 
 Emerson B. B., p o Bhinecliff. 
 
 Elseffer Louis D., p o Bhinebeck. 
 
 Fellows George, p o Bhinebeck, is an agent, born in Bhinebeck 
 in i8:i0. has been assessor; wife Elizabeth Bing. 
 
 Gallagher Charles, farmer, 54 acres, born in Ireland March 17, 
 1806, settled in this county in 1865, is married ; children 
 four. 
 
 Gallagher Herschel, p o Bhinebeck, farmer, 136 acres, born in 
 N. Y, city in 1853, settled in this county in 1864; wife 
 Estelle Williams, of Bhinebeck, married in 1878; chil- 
 dren one. Pioneer family of Williams live near vil- 
 lage of Bhinebeck. 
 
 Gillender Theophilus, p o Bhinebeck, justice of peace, born in 
 N y. city July 31, 1814, settled in this county Jan 1, 
 1832, owns one acre of land; wife Jane Ann Schell, of 
 Bhinebeck, married June 4, 1834; children four. 
 
 Green Bobert M., p o Rhinpbeck, farmer and fruit grower, 137 
 acres, born in Milan in 1827, has been commissioner 
 of highways; wife Ann E. Vail, married in 1851 ; chil- 
 dren seven. 
 
 Greene Walter M., born In town of Bhinebeok in 18.33, owns 135 
 acres; wife Mary J. Town; children two. 
 
 Guilford D. H , p o Bhinebeck, merchant tailor, bom in Man- 
 chester, Eng. in 1833, settled in this county in 1852; wife 
 Julia Mack ; child ren six living ; 1st wife Harriet Myers. 
 
 Grube Andrew, p o Bhinebeck. 
 
 GrifBtb J. G , p o Bhinebeck, clergyman. 
 
 Hammick Joseph T., manufacturer of pianos and organs, born 
 in New Haven, Conn July 26, 1826, settled in this 
 county May 1, 1867: wife S. Emeline Newman, of Bgre- 
 mont, Mass., married Dec. 24, 1855. 
 
 Hermans A. J., born in town of Bed Hook, house built in ITOO. 
 
 Hamling J. C, po Bhinebeck. 
 
 Hutchings Alfred H , p o Bed Hook, farmer, 188 acres, born in 
 Columbia county in 1841, settled in this county in 1860; 
 wife Henrietta Finder, of this county.. 
 
 Hutton George, silversmith, settled in this county in 1817. ■ 
 
 Hill Edwin, p o Bhinebeok, born in Winchester, N. H. Feb. 3, 
 1820, settled in this county in February 18 il; wife Cath- 
 erine Cramer, of Bhinebeck, married Oct. 22, 1845; chil- 
 dren tbree. 
 
 Hager William H.. p o Bhinebeck. 
 
 Heermance Martio, p o Bhinebeck. 
 
 Hester Thomas E.. p o Bhinecliff 
 
 Johnson William 'J., p o Bhinebeck, restaurant, born in town in 
 183!!, has been an organist; first wife Helen Jackson; 
 second wife Jane Cross; one adopted child. 
 
 Judson N. W. tr., p o Bhinebeck. 
 
 Kipp J. H , farmer, 5 acres, born in town of Bhinebeck in 1829, 
 has been supervisor; wife Fannie M. Lewis, of 01ster 
 countv, married Nov 24, 1858; children seven. 
 
 Kip Miss Catherine, p o Bhinebeok, ancestors came in this 
 county about 1688. 
 
 Kip William Bergh, p o Bhinebeck. 
 
 Kiley Thomas, p o Bhinebeok, coachman, born in Ireland in 
 183*. settled in this county in 1855; wife Mary Doran, 
 of Ulster county; children nine. 
 
 Kellye Bobert, n o Bhinebeck. 
 
 Latson H. p o Bhinebeck. 
 
 Lewis William H., p o Bhinebeck, farmer, 3.33 acres, born in 
 Ulster county in 1814, settled in this county in 1837, 
 has been collector and assessor : wife Eleanor Eip, 
 married April 23, 1835 ; children six. 
 
 Lett L. Walter, p o Bhinebeok, pastor of Reformed Church, 
 born in Brooklyn Aug. 12, 1853, settled in this county 
 Sept. 13, 1879. 
 
 Luther Philip, p o Bhinebeok, farmer, born in Bavaria, Ger- 
 many, settled in this county in 1871 ; wife Catherine 
 Schroth, of Germany ; one child. 
 
 Lansing Dr. B., p o Bhinebeck. 
 
 Lowns, William A., p o Bhinebeck. 
 
 McGrath T. Frank, p o Bhinecliff. 
 
 Mendell P. J., born in Germany in 184.5, settled in this county 
 in 1871 ; barber, wife Lovinia Fiex. 
 
 Murch David, farmer, 132^ acres, born in Germany in 1828. 
 settled in this county in 1840 ; wife Maria Deidiick of 
 Bhinebeck ; children three. 
 
 Monfort James A., p o Bhinebeck, dealer in flour and feed, 
 born in town Feb. 2, 1842, has been justice of the 
 peace ; wife Anna Tiaver, married March 2, 1864; 
 children tbree. 
 
 Olmsted A. F., D. D., p o Bhinebeok, minister in Prot. Epis- 
 copal Church, born in East Harttord, Conn., Aug. 22 
 1818, settled in this county Nov. 1, 1866 ; wife Caroline 
 E. Olmstead, of Catskill, Greene county ; married 
 Oct. 3, 1644^ 
 
 O'Brien John, p o Bhinebeok. 
 
 Ostrom John G., p o Bhinebeck. 
 
 Palmer T. G. j o Bhinebeck. 
 
 Pells David HT, p o Bed Hook, farmer, 261 acres, born in Bed 
 Hook in 1821. Is married, children, two. 
 
 Pottenburgh Jacob H., p o Bhinebeck, born in town of Bhine- 
 beck May 15, 1835 ; wife Adda Marshall, married in 
 1860, one child. 
 
 Proper Bobert, p o Bbinebeck, farmer 144 acres, born in Colum- 
 bia county, settled in this county in 1856 ; wife Miss 
 Weatherwax, of Millan, married in 1842 ; children, 
 three living. 
 
 Quick Peter B , p o Bhinebeck, lumber dealer, born in Bhine- 
 beok Oct. 20, 1834 ; wife Isadore J. Thompson, of Bed 
 Hook, married Nov. 6, 1656 ; children, two living. 
 
 Bamsdell Electus, p o Bhinebeck, farmer born in Greene county 
 in 1835, settled in this county in 1874 ; wife Carrie Van 
 Steenbergh. Electus has been teller in the Nat. Bank. 
 
 Bider Lewis, p o Bhinebeck. 
 
 Bobson Walter S , carriage trimmer, born in Poughkeepsie, 
 March 1, 1842, has been constable nine years; wife 
 Susan A. IJeever, of Putnam county. 
 
 Bosenkranz Louis, dealer in tin ware and stoves, born in New 
 York City in 1849, settled in this county in 1868; wife 
 Annie Wade, married July 3, 1869 ; children three. 
 
 Boof, I. H., p o Bbinebeck. 
 
 Bussell Isaac F., born In this county in 1799, has been post- 
 master over twenty years, and supervisor three years. 
 First wife Eliza Briggs, married in 1822. children twelve. 
 Second wife married in 1860. Isaac F. was soldier in 
 the revolutionary war, father Isaac Bussell one of 
 early settlers in the county. 
 
 Bynders Jacob, p o Bhinebeck, dealer in boots and shoes, 
 born in town in 1613 ; wife Charity Bynders. 
 
 Savage Thomas S. p o Bhinecliff, pastor of Church of the As- 
 cension, b'orn in Middletown, Conn., in 1804. settled in 
 this county in 1869, has been foreign missionary, was 
 in Yale College in 1825 and in medical college in 1833. 
 
 Schell William B., p o Bhinebeck, born in Bhinebeck in October 
 1814 ; wife Hannah Schell,of Bhinebeck ; children two. 
 
 Schozver Mrs. G. W. p o Bhinebeck. 
 
 Schultz B. F., p o Bhineclifl, steamboat owner, born in town of 
 Bhinebeck in isn7,has been captain thirty years ; wife 
 Mary Banker, married May 6, 1829 ; children six. 
 
 Shaffer Alonzo B.. p o Bhinebeck, blacksmith, born in town of 
 Bhinebeck in 1845 : wife Martha Eighmy, married in 
 1866; children four. 
 
 Shop Henry, p o Bock City, farmer, 86 acres, born in Bhinebeck 
 in 1808 ; wli'e Ann E. Lown, one child. Shop and 
 Lowns old residents. 
 
 Seooi H. N., p o Bhinebeck. 
 
 Scott Bev. L. Walter, p o Bhinebeck, clergyman. 
 
 Sherwood Isaac, wholesale grocer, born in this county in 1819, 
 has been assessor ; wife May E. Herrick, of Duchess 
 county, married in 1845, one child. 
 
 Sipperly Wm. H., p o Bhinebeck, harness manufacturer, born 
 in Bed Hook in 1812, has been town clerk two years ; 
 wife Lucy M. Bickert, married in 1861, one child. 
 Family were early residents. 
 
 Smith William A., p o Bhinebeck, cigar manufacturer, born in 
 town of Bhinebeck in 1843, has been collector. Father 
 Edward Smith 
 
 Strobel William D. D.D., p o Bhinebeck, clergyman, born in 
 Cbarlestown, S. C, May 17, 1808, settled in this county 
 in 1851 ; wife Abby Anne Engs, of New York City, mar- 
 ried May 7. 1845 /children five living. 
 
 Smith E. M. p o Bhinebeck 
 
 Thorn J. H., p o Bhinebeck, cashier 1st Nat. Bank born in 
 Milan Sept. B, 1839 ; wife Henrietta E. Thorn, of 
 Clinton, married April 23 1868 ; children, two. 
 
 Thorn William H.', p o Bhinebeck, bank clerk, born in Milan 
 July 22. 1864 ; wiloEUen E. Coon, of Bed Hook.married 
 July 22; 1879. 
 
 Tompkins John, p o Bhinebeok, farmer, 126 acres, born In 
 Milan Dec. 13. 1803 ; first wife Amelia Straat, of Bed 
 Hook, one child; second wife Mary Tompkins. 
 
 TenBroeck Walter L , p o Bhinebeck.' 
 
 Traver Alexander, p Bhinebeck, farmer, 145 acres, born in 
 town of Bhinebeck in 1821 ; wife Cornelia Traver, of 
 Bhinebeck, married about 1850; children, three. 
 
 Traver Virgil C, p o Bhinebeok, retired farmer, born in Bbine- 
 beck Nov. 19, 18S9; wife Jane M. Judson,of Bhinebeck, 
 married March 30, 1858. 
 
 Trempor Bros., p o Bhinebeck, 
 
 Traver Alexander S , p Bhinebeck. 
 
 Traver E S., p o Bhinebeck, farmer. 
 
 VanSteenburg Wm., p o Bhinebeck, farmer, 80 acres, born in 
 1618; wife Margaret Benner, of Bed Hook, married 
 June 3, 1852. 
 
 Wells Frank B., p o Bhinebeok. 
 
 Welch Simon, p Bhinebeok. 
 
 Welch Alfred, farmer, 118 acres, born in town in 1811, has been 
 justice of peace; wife Jane V. Eighmy, of Bhinebeok; 
 children, tour. 
 
HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 Way James E., p o Rhinebeok, farmer, 90 acres, born in Colum- 
 bia county in 1832, settled in tbis county in 1847, has 
 been trustee First Pres. cburch ten years; wife 
 Martha Fellows. 
 
 Welch John M., p o Khinebeck, farmer, 120 acres, born in town 
 of Bhlaebeck in 1842; wife Florence A. Holmes, mar- 
 ried April 14, 1874, one child. Holmes family old resi- 
 dents. 
 
 Westfall Frank, butcher, born in town in 1845, has been col- 
 lector; wife Sarah E. Westfall. Frederick Ootting, 
 born in town July 20, 1805, farmer, retired, has been 
 asseseor and town auditor, is married and has two 
 children living. 
 
 Wirtz M. p o Bhinebeck. 
 
 Wygant M, H., p o Rhinebeck. 
 
 STANFORD. 
 
 Allen George L,, p o Willow Brook, farmer, 132 acres, born in 
 this county in 1830: wife Maryetta Smith, of Randolph 
 Vt., married in 1852, two daughters. 
 
 Ambler S. H„ p o Stissing, merchant, born in Connecticut in 
 1824, settled in tliis county in 1840. is postmaster; 
 wife Olive Bois, of county.mnrried in 1P50; children five. • 
 
 Beckwith Qeorge, p o Stissiog, farmer, 180 acres, born in this 
 county in 1814; wife Abby E. Thompson, born in town, 
 married in 1848; children seven. Father was in war of 
 1813, and grandfather in war of Revolution, 
 
 Butts J. W.. p o Mclntyre, farmer and produce agent. 250 acres, 
 born in town in 1835, is now supervisor; wife Tamma 
 A. Humphrey of town, married in*l86I; children three. 
 Grandparents were among early settlers in county. 
 
 Carman Leonard S., p o Bangall, farmer, ICO acres, born in 
 county Jan. 3. 1821; wife Emma J* Preston, born in 
 town . in 1837, married in 1857; children two. Great- 
 grandfather one of first settlers in town of Dover. 
 
 Carpenter Morgan, p o Shekomeko, farmer 30ii acres, born in 
 town in 1854; wife Virginia Bartlett, of Virginia, mar- 
 ried Dec. 14,1876. 
 
 Carpenter T. S., p o Shekomeko, farmer, 1,000 acres, born in 
 town in 1828, has been member of Assembly and super- 
 visor four terms; wife Sarah Wilson, of county, mar- 
 ried in 1860; children six. 
 
 Conklin Mnlford, p o Attlebury, farmer .309 acres, born in 
 coi.nty in 1819, has been supervisor and excise com- 
 missioner; wife Mary E. Husted, born in town, mar- 
 ried in 1844; daughters three. 
 
 Gookingham Piatt V., p o Shunpike, farmer, 83 acres, born in 
 town in 1841, has been inspector of elections; wife 
 Antonette B. Preston, of town married in 1862; chil- 
 dren, four. Grandparents came to county at early day. 
 
 Cornelius Alfred M... p o LaFayetteville, farmer, 200 acres, born 
 in Stanford, Dec. 30, 1S30, has been assessor ,and in- 
 spector of elections; wife Louisa S. Kowe born in 
 Milan, married Sept. 13, 1859; children two. ' 
 
 Cooper Gilbert, p o Bangall, farmer, 255 acres, born in town of 
 Fishkill, March 23, 1820. 
 
 Cornelius F. J, p o Willow Brook, farmer 240 acres; born in 
 county in 1889; wife Bosanna S. Drum, born in county 
 iq 1831, married in 1858; children three. 
 
 Deuell Geo. S., p o Bangall, farmer and apiarian, 145 aeres,born 
 in town in 1830; wife Maria S. Haigbt, born in county, 
 married in 1865; children three. Homestead purchased 
 in 1827. 
 
 Earle Mary E., p o Stanfordville, farmer, 147 acres, born in Con- 
 necticut in 1839, settled in county in 1864; husband 
 Martin Earle, married in 1850, died in 1863; children 
 four. 
 
 Eddy Robert H., p o Amenia City. 
 
 Ferris Miss S. A., p o Bangall; father John Ferris died in 1865. 
 His father and grandfather were among early settlers. 
 
 Fridy Orrin F., p o Stanfordville, farmer, 110 acres, born in Al. 
 bany in 1843, settled in county in 1862; wife Phebe C. 
 Buckmoer. of Indiana, nmfried in 1866; children four. 
 
 Germond H., n o Willow Brook, farmer, 194 acres, born in town 
 in 1S21; wife Emily Adsit, of this county, married in 
 1843; children four. Father among early settlers. 
 
 Getmond S. W., p o StiFSin?. farmer. 200 acres, born in county 
 in 1838, has been supervisor. Father born in county. 
 
 Guernsey Daijiel W., p o Poughkeepsie, attorney, owns lOX 
 acres of land, born in Stanford, March 29, 18.S4; wife 
 Emily Millard, born in Pawling, mariied June 10,1870; 
 children five. 
 
 Haight Thomas 0., p o Bangall, farmer and fru^t grower, born 
 in county in 1809, 143 acres. 
 
 Haight A. V., p o Bangall, farmer, 283 acres, born in town in 
 1828; wife Phebe E, Davis, of county, married in 1851; 
 children five. 
 
 Haight Jas. B„ p o Bangall, miller, born in county in 1838; wife 
 Susan M. Hart, of county, married in 1870; children 
 two; has been in milling business in Bangall since 1873. 
 
 Husted Margaret, p o Attlebury, farmer, 220 acres, born in 
 county in 1841; husband Ebenezer Husted, married 
 in 186u, died in 18T4, two sons. 
 
 Hoag E. B., p Attlebury, farmer, 300 acres, born in county in 
 1807; wife Roxanna Culver, of county, married in 1830: 
 children five; celebrated golden wedding May SO, 1880 
 in home where last forty-eight years of their married 
 
 * life has been spent. 
 
 Knapp Albert, p o Willow Brook, farmer,174 acree,born in town 
 in 1841, has been assessor, was in late war; wife 
 Amelia M. Swift, married in 1868, one adopted child. 
 
 Kinney G. B„ p o Amenia, farmer 630 acres, born in Amenia in 
 1816; wife Elma Tripp, of town of Washington, died 
 Feb. 13, 1860; children three; grandfather obtainefl 
 title to same land from king of England, 
 
 Knapp Amos B., p o Stanfordville. farmer, 460 acres, born in 
 town Sept, 25, 1808, has been supervisor and commis- 
 sioner of school and highways; wife Eliza Smith, of 
 county, married in 1829; children ten; grandf-atber 
 Amos Knapp,wife Mary Brownell, married in 1778. 
 
 Knapp Edgar, p o Stanfordville. farmer, 72 acres, born in town 
 in 1843; wife Hattie Flagler, born in county, married 
 in 1859; two sons, farm was located by grandfather 
 over lOOyears ago. 
 
 Knickerbocker H. J., p o Stanfordville, merchant, born in 
 county in 18^; wife Eliza Fredinburgh, of town, 
 married in 1871; children two, grandfather was one of 
 Little Nine Partners. 
 
 Losee Sarah M., p o Stanfordville. 
 
 Losee Elmore, p o Bangall, physician, born in Saratoga county, 
 May 23, 1821, settled in county in 1849, graduated in 
 Castleton, Vt., in 18^6 and commencec practice in 
 same year; wife Frances E. Merrit, born in Ontario 
 county, married in 1855, one daughter. 
 
 Miller J. H., p o Stanfordville, merchant,born in county in 1842; 
 wife Phebe J. Husted, of county, married In 1862; one 
 child: parents and grandparents were early settlers. 
 
 Palmer Samuel, p o Mclntyre, farmer, 75 acres, born in Con- 
 necticut in 1814, settled in county in 1835, has been 
 deputy sheriff fifteen years and custom house officer 
 four years; wife Lucretia Allen, of Columbia county, 
 married in 1840; children two. ■ 
 
 Pultz M. T., p o Stanfordville, physician, born in county July 
 17, 1843, graduated from college of physicians and suk- 
 geons of New York, a^udied with Dr. VanVleet, of 
 Bhinebeck, and commenced practice inStanfordjJune 
 9. 1868; wife Alice Clark of county,' married Jan. 11, 
 1877; children two. 
 
 Pulver Henry, po Amenia, farmer, 207 acres, born in Pine 
 Plains in 1806; wife Jane E. Cook, born in Amenia in 
 1808, married in 1829, died August 2!, 1880; children five. 
 
 Robinson J. C, p o Stissing, farmer, 3u7 acres, born jn county 
 in 1827, has been auditor and inspector; wife Mary 
 Mosher, of town, married in 1856; children five. 
 
 Robinson C, po Stanfordville, farmer, 273 acres, born in Put- 
 nam county in 1816, setr.led in this county in 1838; has 
 been assessor; wife, Mary Bonell of this county, mar- 
 ried in 1845; children two. 
 
 Sackett SarahE., p o Bangall. 
 
 Sackett P. K., p o Attlebury, farmer 360 acres, born in this town 
 in 1803, has been postmaster seventeen years, wife 
 Eunice M. Gurnsey, married in 1825; children three. 
 
 Sackett Smith J,, p o Attlebury, farmer, 118 acres, born ia this 
 town in 1844; Smith J. & Henry Sackett live on the 
 " Gregory farm." 
 
 Shannon Patrick, p o Shekomeko. 
 
 Stephenson Geo. G., p o Amenia, farmer and miller, 226 acres, 
 born in New York City in 1844, settled in this county 
 in 1866, has been town auditor; wife Mary Bryan of 
 this town, married in 3866; children three; larm is 
 known as the '■ Ezra Bryan " farm. 
 
 Stickle John I., p o Bull's Head, farmer, 385 acres, born in 
 Columbia county, June 20, 1832, settled in this county 
 in 1857,wife Loretta Bentley of this county, married in 
 1856, children six. 
 
 Sutherland Robert, p o Attlebury, farmer, 130 acres, born in 
 Columbia county in 1838, settled in this county in 
 1877, was 1st Lieut, in I8th U. S. Infantry in late war; 
 wife Lucy Ann Mills of Ireland, married in 1866; 
 children three. 
 
 Schultz John F., p o Bull's Head, farmer, 118 acres, born in this 
 county in 1832, has been postmaster and town clerk; 
 wife A. A. C ase, born in this county in 1834, married 
 in 1854; children seven, one living— Anna Amelia. 
 
 Sweet Pedro, p o LaFayetteville, pedler«^orn in this county 
 December 25. 1845, has been inspector of election and 
 town clerk; wife Ella J. Denny, born in this county, 
 married November 22, 1879; children three, 
 
 Truvis David, p o Willow Brook, farmer 190 acres, born in this 
 county in 1807; wife Sarab Robinson of this county, 
 married in 1843: children three. Grandfather settled 
 in this county during the Revolutionary war. 
 
 Tripp John, p o Mclntyre, farmer, lOo acres, born in Columbia 
 county October 17, 1844, settled in this county in 1876, 
 is overseer; wife Sarah Brusie of Columbia county, 
 married in 1867; one son. 
 
 Tripp S. G., p o Bangall, retired, born in this county in 1818; 
 wife Loretta Case, married in 1840, died in 1845; wife 
 Eliza Ann Bowman of this town, married in 1847; one 
 daufihter. 
 
 Tompkins Smith P., p o Hull's Mills, paper manufacturer and 
 miller, 60 acres, born in town of Washington in 1819, 
 is now postmaster and has been since 1860; wife 
 Samantba Sackett, of this town, married in 1839; grand- 
 father came from Westchester county in 1790 and 
 located at Salt Point. ' 
 
 Van Benschoten A. L.. p o Stanfordville, manufacturer of sash, 
 blinds, etc., born in Columbia County in 1857, settled 
 in this county in 18(^0, is builder and contractor; wife 
 Jane M. Warren, married in 1874; one son. 
 
 Vail George, p o Stanfordville, farmer, 114 acres, born in this 
 town in 1833; wife Emily S. Edmonds of countj, mar- 
 ried in 1860, died June 31, 1867; children nine; farm 
 been in family over 100 years. 
 
PERSONAL STATISTICS. 
 
 xxvu 
 
 Warren A C, p o Banisall, farmer, 412 acres, born In this town 
 in 1813, has been onunty clerk; wife Julia Bushnell of 
 this county, married in 1848; children two; wife's 
 great-Rranrt father came from Germany and toolc un 
 flOO acres in Stanford at an early day. 
 
 Winans Seth E., p o Stanfnrdville, teacher and farmer 115 
 acres, born in this county in IBSI; wife Nettie Ro'bin- 
 son of this county, marrii-d in 1875; one daueiiter 
 
 Winans Joel S., p o HanRall, farmer. 830 acres, born in this 
 county in 1820, has been justice of peace !!4 years and 
 justice of sessions three terms; wife Lucy Ann Wright 
 of this county, married in 1850; children two. Grand- 
 tather was in Bevolutioo and father in war of 1812 
 
 UNION VALE. 
 
 Abel John XJ.. p o North Clove, farmer, 145 acres, born in this 
 town in 1821, has been supervisor, town clerk and 
 commissioner of highways ; wife, Esther Odell,'born 
 in this town in 1829, married in 1816, 
 Andrews Kromaline, p o La Granjtevme, farmer, 13(i acres, born 
 in this town is 1855, occupies o )d homestead owned 
 and occupied by his father; vife. Amelia B. Sheldon 
 born in Beekman in 18.50, married in 1879. ' 
 
 Austin Wm. H.. p o Clove, farmer, 120 acres, born in Dover in 
 1836, is Master of Shekomeko Lodge 488, F. & A M ■ 
 wife. Mary E. Denny, born in this town in 1836. mar- 
 ried in 1859. 
 Benedict Albei-t, p o Billings, farmer, 250 acres, born in Conn 
 in 18' 5, settled in this county in 1827; wife, Sabra Hal- 
 lock, born in this town in 1805, married in 1830; chil- 
 dren two; was formerly a carpenter. 
 Brownell S. D., p o Grouse's Store, merchant and farmer, sixty 
 acres, born in this town in 1828, is justice of ihe 
 peace and commissioner of highways; wife, Mary 
 Grouse, born in this town in 1831, married in 1850- 
 children two, 
 Butler Edgar, p o Chestnut Eidge, farmer. 108 acres, born in 
 this county in 1857. Edgar and mother occupy home- 
 stead owned by grandfather, Peter L. Butler, who was 
 an early settler. '* 
 Butts Wesley, p o Billings, farmer, 135 acres, born in Amenia 
 in 1812. has been supervisor, town clerk, and member 
 of Asf^embly in 1849. occupies old homestead purchased 
 by grandfather. Aaron Butts, in 18](J. Wife, Caroline 
 Stone, born in Conn in 1819, married in 1837; one son. 
 Congdon Caroline, jj o Moore's Mills, farmer, 372 acres, born in 
 this town in 1831, occupies old homestead owned and 
 occupied by father and grandfather. 
 CofBn Charles, p o Mansfield, farmer, 125 acres, born in the 
 town of Washington in 1809. has been commissioner 
 of highways; wife. Hannah Lyon, born in Conn, in 
 1812. married in 1835; children seven. Father, Robert 
 OofBn, born in the town of Washington in 1777, died 
 in 1842; children nine, aggregate ages 602 years. 
 Davis Alonzo D . p o Verbank, merehant and farmer, 210 acres, 
 born in this county in 1815, was supervisor in 1878; 
 wife, Julia E, Cook, born in this county in 1817, mar- 
 ried in 1840; children four. 
 Davis Charles E.. p o Verbank, merchant, born in the town of 
 Washington in 1843; wife. Hattie Stephenson, born in 
 Rochester in 1850. married in 1875; children two, 
 Dennis Lewis, p o Pleasant Ridge, farmer. 230 acres, born in 
 this town in 1824, hasbpen constable tweoty-one years; 
 wife, Mary StiUweli, married in 1833, died in 1859: sec- 
 ond wile, Rebpoca S*-illwell. born in this county in 
 1845, married in 1860; children ten. 
 Draper MaritC C. p o Clove. 
 
 Dunkin Isaac H , p o Chestnut Ridge, retired, owns 240 acres, 
 born in this town in 18^6; grandfather was of Scotoli 
 origin, and settled in this county at an early day. 
 Gregory Wra.. p o Grouse's Store, miner and farmer, 500 acres; 
 born in town of Dover in 1830; wife, Lucy J. Lee, born 
 in Dover in 1831. married in 1851; children five. 
 Hall Piatt V. p o Mansfie'd. farmer, 140 acres, born in this town 
 December 2.'>, 1815, has been Assessor and Commis- 
 sioner of highways, and is now postmaster; wife 
 Louisa B. Paul born in Norwich, Chenango county, 
 married in October 1864 died in June 1873, one son. 
 f'latt and John J. Hall occupy the old homestead 
 owned by grand father Wm. Hall, 
 Huestis Egbert, p o North Ciuve, farmer, -210 acres, born in this 
 county iu 1825, wife Maryette Williams born in town 
 in 1830, married in 1850, children three. 
 Husted Edward M , p o Chestnut Ridge, teaeher,owns 104 acres, 
 bom in the town of Stanford in 1843; wife Emily G 
 Doughty, born in Pleasant Valley in 1842, married in 
 1867, children three. Great-grandfather came from 
 England at an early day. 
 Enapp David A,, p o North Clove, physician and surgeon, owns 
 300 acres, born in Connecticut in 182(1, settled in this 
 county in 1845, has been town clerk, graduated in 
 Medical College of New York City, attended lectures 
 there, and studied with Dr, hennett of Danbiiry, 
 Conn ; wife Rebecca Vinson, born in this town in 1828, 
 married in 1846, sons two, 
 Moore Stephen, p o Moore's Mills, farmer 260 acres, born in this 
 town in 18,"j8. has been commissioner of highways and 
 and is now excise commissioner; wife Martha A. 
 Vincent born in this town in 1849, married in 1868, 
 died July 86, 1874, one son. 
 
 Noxon HenrrR p pLaGrangeville, fanner, 159 acres, bom in 
 
 in ifiir° '"','^i''"^ Hattie Barlow.bom in LaGrMge 
 
 n/i=ii A " '®^' niarried in 1847, children two >i»»"bo 
 
 Odell Anna, no North Clove, .armer. 15? icr°es, bom in town 
 
 ried in 1S?4 r^'^®T«™" f °1^"' <" 'Viscounty, mar- 
 K.. J HT \S ° '°'*' °'8d in 1879; daughters two 
 Reed Mary T p Manelleld, farmer, ll? acres born in town of 
 1^ iown'"'^?w 'l*.'' ^"^band Fyler Tr*ver Heed, born 
 npt s ?»««' Washington in 1819. married in 1841, died 
 ?„tw'i^°''""";°""'"'- ^'^^ Reed's great grand- 
 Sh.ffAr i„h 17 ^^^ 5° ^"•'''y ^^t'le"^ 'o tlie county. 
 Shaffer John V p o North Clove, farmer, 218 acres, born is town 
 in IBdS, IS now assessor; wife Emma C. Rozeil, born in 
 this county in 1837, married in 186); one son. Anoes- 
 tors were early settlers in the county. 
 Sherman Leonard B„ p o Verbank, merchant and farmer, born 
 in Saratoga county m 1818. settled In this county in 
 1813, has been justice of peace, justice of sessions, town 
 Clerk, and is now assessor and notary public; wife 
 Maria Jaue Duncan of this town, married in 1812; chil- 
 dren five. ' 
 Swift H. M., p o Chestnut Ridge, farmer, 65 acres, born in 
 Amema in IHlOJias been justice of peace several years; 
 wire Sarah Hofflri. born in town of Washington in 1811 
 married in 1825; children five. Was in latl war, and 
 St,tt„„ w appointed captain of the commissary department, 
 button Franklin, p o Moore's Mills, insurance ageut and farm- 
 er, 118 acres, born in town of Washington in 1843; wife 
 SiJo* 1''.9'''^am, born in this county in 1845, married in 
 IWb2; children two. Agent for the Agricultural and 
 . J^'ortn American Insurance companies, 
 lompkins J. L., p o Verbank. farmer, lOH acres, born in town of 
 La Grange in 18.36, has been overseer of poor and trus- 
 tee of M. E church ; wife Phebe A. Bostwick, of Wash- 
 ington, married in 1860; children two. Has also been 
 deputy postmaster. 
 Townsend Jacob S., p o Moor's Mills, farmer, 135 acres, horn in 
 Seneca county in 1834, came to this county in 1840; wife 
 Cordelia Washborn, of this county, married in 1858- 
 children three. Great-grandfather, Elijah Townsend' 
 rri-i TT '"as among the early settlers in La Grange. ' 
 Uhl Henry W., p o North Clove, farmer, 175 acres, born in town 
 i5„, ^*i ''"* Anna M Divine, born in this county in 
 „ _ 1884, married in 1848; children two. 
 Van Wagner Nicholas, p o Billings, farmer, 175 acres, born in 
 Pleasant Valley in 1H12; wife Rachel Pinckney, born in 
 Putnam county in 1811. married in 1833, died July 15 
 1842; second wife Clarissa Gannng, of Putnam county' 
 _ ,. „ married iu 1813. died Deo. 12, 1872; children two. 
 Velie Rebecca, p o La Grangeville, farmer, 79 acres, born in 
 town of Clinton in 1884; husband Richard B. Velio 
 married in 1845, died July 17, 1870; two daughters- 
 portion of old homestead owned by Miiiard B. Velio 
 Vincent D. D . p o Clove, farmer. 600 acres, born in town Maroli 
 10, 1810, has been supervisor and town clerk in Dover- 
 wife Phebe Preston, born in this county Nov. 3 1817* 
 married in 1839, died Sept 20. 1856; two son's, one 
 daughter. Mis. Moore, died July 20, 1844. 
 Vincent Joseph F., p o Verbank. 
 
 Vincent E. A., p o North Clove, farmer, 187 acres, born in town 
 of Dover in 1821, has been commissioner of highways 
 and is now excise commissioner; wife Louisa Uhl, burn 
 in town in 188,3, married in 1844; children two. 
 Vincent Phebe A,, p o Verbank, farmer. 206 acres, born In town 
 in 1820, resides with her brother on farm owned by 
 grandfather Ichabod Bowerman. 
 Vinson Richard, p o Verbank. retired merchant and farmer,260 
 acres, born in town in 1800, has been supervisor; wife 
 Helen Fowler, born in town in 1810, married in 1828. 
 died in April 1863; children tour. Ancestors were early 
 settlers. 
 Williams Vincent, p o Clove, tnrmer, 200 acres, born in town in 
 1830, occupies homestead owned by grandfather, Wm. 
 
 Yeomans 
 
 *M vAicc-uci uuuuLj' lu lOlVf SCtiLlf U Jll LUIS UUUOLy ID lO^O, 
 
 has been assessor, and is now postmaater; wife Eliza 
 Haight, born iu town of Waahington, married in 1836. 
 
 WASHINGTON. 
 
 Allen William p o Hibernia, farmer, 150 acres, born In Clinton 
 in ISnS; wife. Ellen K»-tcbum of this county, married 
 in 1835, died leaving five children— Ann M., Sarah A., 
 Nicholas. Henry. John Alien. Father, Nicholas Allen, 
 born in 1760, died in i860. 
 
 Barringer JUulford J., p o Millbrook, farmer, 66% acres, bom in 
 Pine Plains in 1835: wife, JerusfaaU. Divine, born in 
 this county in ISlo, married in ls59. Jacob Barringer, 
 born in Columbia county in 1794. settled in this coun- 
 ty iu 1810. died June 9, 1869, blacksmith. 
 
 Bates John, p o Lithgow, farmer, 'HVi acres, born in town of 
 Washington iu 1824: wife Mary Davis of Duchess 
 County, married December 18. 1849; one child— Ella A., 
 bnrn in 1867. Joseph Bates, born in Rhode Island in 
 1781, came to this county In 1797, died in 1863, farmer. 
 
 Buckley Richard, p o Mil'brook, agent and Superintendent, 
 born in Connecticut in iH4i, settled in this county in 
 1861, wife Ellen Hennesy of this county, married in 
 1873; children four— Mary, Ellen, Honora, Eatie. 
 
xxviu 
 
 HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 Belding Lawrenoe.p o Dover Plains, farmer, 911 acres, born in 
 Town of Washington in 180"J, died in 1844, was oommis- 
 siuned officer in ctate Militia; wife LouisaK. Gregory, 
 born in Rensselaer county in 181)4, married in 1834: 
 children three— Charles H , born in 1836; Theodore B., 
 in 1831, Mary A. in 184S. Father, Lawrence Belding, 
 born in this county September 9. 1755. died in 1831; 
 farmer and hotel proprietor. Silas Belding, born in 
 Connecticut November IH, 1717, settled in this county 
 about 1741, died 1786. Ebeneznr Gregory, born in Con- 
 necticut in 1767, came to this county about 1785, died 
 in 1834; shoemaker and tanner. 
 Beuham David S., p o Mabbettsville, farmer, 600 acres, born in 
 this town in December, 1804, has been assessor fifteen 
 years; wife Ruth Wilber, born in this county in 1804, 
 married in 1836; children seven, six now living. 
 David Benbam, born In Connecticut in 1775, came to 
 this county about 1800, died in 1855; tanner and shoe 
 manufacturer. , 
 
 Boice Charles W., p o Hibernia, farmer. 87 acres, born in this 
 county in 1841, enlisted in 138th Regt. Co. D. in 1863, 
 lefi in 1865; wife Mary M. Sharp of Indiana, married 
 In 1866; children four-Charity A, Jane C, Charles 
 W.. Augustus M. 
 Oanfield Philetus S., p o Shunpike, farmer, 147 acres, born m 
 thiscounryin 1850. Father. John Canfleld, born in 
 tnis county In 1831; wife Jane Bunnell, born In this 
 county in 1S19, married in 1847; children three— Mary 
 B. burn in 1848, Philetus, and Sarah J., born in lb53. 
 Carpenter Jacob B,, p o Little Rest, farmer, 200 acres, born in 
 this county in 1836, has been member of Assembly, 
 supervisor, and mayor of Poughbeepsie; wife Sarah 
 B. Thorne, of this county, married in 1860; children 
 two. 
 Carpenter Richard E., p o Millbrook, farmer, 48 acres, and 
 owner of steam cider mill, born in Westchester coun- 
 ty in 1841, settled in this county in 1874; wife Mary W. 
 Titus of Long Island, married in i86(i 
 Champlin John W., p o Millbrook, farmer, 600 acres, born in 
 this county in 1837; wife, Phebe Odeli, of this county, 
 married in 1853; one child— Phebe. Joseph Champlin, 
 born in Conn, in 1788,' came to this couuty in 183U, died 
 in 1861, farmer. 
 Clement John H., p o Millbrook, farmer, two hundred acres, 
 born in the town of Washington in 18^3: wile, Phebe J. 
 Haight, of this county, married in 1858. Frederick I. 
 Clement, born in Saratoga county, about 1800, came 
 to this county, died in 1838 or '39; merchant at Wash- 
 ington Hollow; childre : ftur. Thomas Howard, born 
 in this county in 1797, farmer, SOO acres. 
 CofBn Hezekiah R., p o Mabbettsville, farmer, 135 acres, born 
 in Washington in 1807; has been Justice of the Peace 
 and Justice of Sessions; wife, Mira Barlow, born in 
 Araenia in 1811, married in 1833; children six, four liv- 
 ing. — Lucy B., born in 1835; Cora, in 1837; Magdelena, 
 in 1841; Robert, in 1833. Robert Coffin, born In Wash- 
 ington, died in 1843, a^ed sixty-four years; farmer and 
 representative in Legislature in 18-:il and '33. 
 Coffin Robert, p_ o Mabbettsville, farmer and owner of saw mill, 
 born in county in I8S3; wife Amy D. Lottridge, of 
 Rensselaer county, married in 1873. 
 Cometock John R., p o Millbrook, orchardist, has 3,000 peach 
 trees, born in Washington in 1807; wife Minerva Ingra- 
 ham, of Pleasant Valley, born in 1807, married in 1845. 
 Matthew Conistock, born in Rhode Island in 1773, 
 came to county in 1790, died in 1845, farmer; wife Ruth 
 Russell, of Duchess county, born in 1713, married in 
 179-1, died in 1855; children ten, two now living. 
 Crispell Isaac, p o Little Rest, farmer and stock raiser, 114 
 acres, born in Ulster county In l83ii, settled in county 
 in 1880; wife Elmira Patterson, of Ulster county, 
 married in 1859, died in April 1873; children two — 
 Nancy Eliza Stillings and Georgianna. 
 Curtis Walter W., p o Mabbettsville. farmer born in Neversink 
 in 1793, settled in county in'lSUO, died September 11, 
 1847; uit'e Elizabeth Phillips born in Massachusetts, 
 February 4, 1797, married March 1, 1831; children six 
 three now living — Mary A., bOrn in 1837, William W. in 
 1834, and Plait C. in 1836. William Curtis born in 
 county, machinist and farmer; wife Martina Brett, 
 born in Massachusetts in 1837, married in 1857; chil- 
 dren eight. 
 Cutler Theron, p o Mabbettsville, farmer, 1B5 acres, bom in 
 Washington in 1831; vite Amelia Mitchell, born in 
 Duchess county in 1834, married in 1857; children two, 
 Olive, born in 1860, and Franz, in 1863, Father 
 Stephen Cutler, born in county in 1783, died in li<68. 
 Grandfather, Stephen Cutler, born in county in 1747, 
 died in 1814. Great-grandfather, Jonathan Cutler, 
 born in Long Island, emigrated with wife and two 
 children from there, bringing them and furniture on 
 horseback, the fiax spinning wheel being very promi- 
 nent. 
 Cutler Stephen, p o. Lithgow, farmer, 180 acres, born In Wash- 
 ington, in 1814; wife Louisa Williams born in Union 
 Vale, married in 1854; one child, Stephen H. 
 Davis Henry, p o Washington Hollow, farmer, born in Colum- 
 bia county in 17h9, died in 1854; wife Jane Ann Law- 
 ton, born in this county in 1809, married in 1836; chil- 
 dren two— Esther, born in 1836, and Olville, burn in 
 1830, who married Maria Ahnu of Duchess county in 
 187B; one son— Henry. 
 
 Davis Leonard, p o Little Rest, farmer. 414 acres, boru in Wash- 
 ington in 1814, died in 1866; wife Eleanor Hall, born in 
 Duchess county in 1836, married in 186-.^; children four 
 — Anna B.; Joseph H., born iu 1864; Augustus I., born 
 in 1865, and Leonard. Isaac Hall, born in this county 
 in 1785, died in 1867; wife Mary Rogers, born in this 
 county in 1798, married in 1817; children seven. 
 DeForest James G., p o Dov^^r Plains, farmer, 60 acres, born in 
 Washington in 1817, aied July 14, 1877. was justice of 
 peace several years; wife Dorcas Van Hoesen, born in 
 Greene couuty in I8.i5, married May 37, 1847; children 
 six— John, boru in 1818; Mary E., in 18.50; Frank, in 
 1853; Emeline, in 1854; William, in 1856: and Lincoln, 
 in 1859. Joseph DeForest, born in Connecticut in 
 1779, died March 31, 186.5, tailor and farmer. William 
 DeForest, born in this county in 1856; wife M. Ben- 
 nett, born in Washington in 18j9, married in la78; one 
 child— Mary Lina Bennett, born in 1879. 
 Deuel Stephen S., p o Little Rest, farmer and dealer in blooded 
 stock, boru in this couuty in 18-13; wife Louisa M Al- 
 len, of Duchess county, married in 1869. died in 1864; 
 children one- Isaac N. Father, Isaac JDeuel, born in 
 this county in 1798, died in 1854. farmer and miller. 
 Silas Deuel, born in Rhode Island, came to this county 
 about 1755, farmer. 
 Duncan Cyrus, p o Wassaip, farmer, 110 acres, bom in Wash- 
 ington in 1838, has been inspector of election; wife 
 Ellen Northrup, of this county, married in 1865; chil- 
 dren two— Cora B . born in 1867; Jane T , in 1873. Da- 
 vid Duncan, born in this counry in 1801, died in 1848, 
 carpenter and farmer. 
 Emigh Clinton, p o Little Rest, farmer, 60 acres, born in Union 
 Vale iu 1817; wife Maria L. Haight, bt)rn in Washing- 
 ton in 1817, married in l8-i5. Fathei, Rensselarr Emigh, 
 born in this counts^ in 1785. died m 184(i; wife 
 Eunice Austin, born in Beekman in 1790, married in 
 1813; children seven, four now livipg- Jeremiah Eighmy, 
 of German descent, one of the early settlers of this 
 county. Elijah Haight, born in this county iu 1787, 
 died in 1853, eariiputer and larmer; wife ElectaNorth- 
 rup of this couuty. boru March 11. 1790, married in 
 1816, died in 1866; children seven, four now living. 
 Fitch John O.- p o Lithgow, farmer, 156 acres, bom in Washing- 
 ton iu 1837, has been supervisor; wifr, Julia Dibble, of 
 this county, married in 1868; one child, — John D., born 
 in 1873. Joiln Fitch, born in Norwaik, Coon., iu 1780, 
 came to this county before 18 0, died in 1846. 
 Frazer Milo A., p o Little Rest, farmer, 136.J^ acres born in 
 Stanford in 1820, died Oct. 9. 1876; wife, Eliza May, 
 bom in Piue Plains m 183.'i, married in 18B0; children 
 six: Esther, born in 1854; Arthur, in 1857;,- Battle, in 
 1859; Isaac, in 1861; Jennie, in 1866; Milo A., in 1866. 
 Germond Lewis D., farmer, 174 acres, born in Wasliington in 
 1841, has been assessor; wife, Mary Sherman, born in 
 Union Vale in 1843, married in 187:1; one child,— Caro- 
 line, born in 1875. Father, Smith P. Germond, born in 
 this county in 1808, dieii Nov. 13, 1858. farmer. Grand- 
 father, Isaas Germond, also born in this county. 
 Haight Daniel B., p o Dover Plains farmer, 500 acres, boru in 
 this county in 1815; wife, -Phebe Haight, boru in Wash- 
 ington in 1816, married Oct. 11, 18a7; children six,— 
 Morgan, born in 1841; Mary A., in 1842; Henry J-, in 
 1846; Leonard D.. in 1860: Margaret B., in 1848; Daniel 
 B., in 1859. Jacob X. Haight, born Feb. 2, 1780; wife, 
 Mary Bedell, of this count.v; children §ix, two now 
 living. Nicholas Haight also born in this couuty. 
 Haight Sherman N , p o Mabbettsville, farmer, and stock and 
 fruit raiser, 5:i0 acres, born in v\ ashington in*1841; 
 wife, Elizabeth Sisson, born in this county in 1848, 
 married in 1869; ctiildren tour, — Sarab E.. born in 1870; 
 Anna S., in 1871; Andrew H., in 1874; Sherman D , in 
 1877. Andrew Haight, born in WashingtL'u iu 1806, 
 died Sept. 10, 1877; wife, Sarah N. Sherman, of this 
 county, born in 1804, married About 183>, died April 
 8, 1869- Joslah Sherman, born in this county in 1781, 
 died Feb 9,1860- 
 Haviland Barclay, p o Millbrook, farmer, born in this county 
 Dec. 21, 1812; wife, Susan Treadway, of this county, 
 born in 1816, married in 1846; children three,— Catha- 
 rine A-, Isaac E., and Caroline E Eleazer Havilaud, 
 born in Ccmn. in 1777, came to this county in 1801, died 
 in 1867; wife. Abigail Hiller,born in this county in 1776, 
 married in 1798, died iu 1853. 
 Ham Eugene, p o Verbaiik, farmer, 400 acres, born in this 
 county in 1850. Father, Jonathan Ham, born iu this 
 county Jan 11, 181)6, died in 18d4; wife, ISIary Vincent, 
 bom in this county in 1816, married iu 1849; children 
 three,— Helen, Elizabeth, Eugene. 
 Hart Phillip, born in Rhode Island, settled in this county in 
 Hartsville, which is named for him, about 17.50, cleared 
 and improved a large farm, was the last of a large 
 family, and died in 1880. Mr. Hart was one of the 
 prominent men of the county during his lite-time. 
 Hammond Andrew B , p o Little Rest, farmer, 160 acres, born 
 in this county in 1823, has been supervisor and asses- 
 sor ten years; wife, Sarah E. Conklin, born in this 
 county in 1829. married in 1856; children fpur,-Anna 
 born in 1856; George in 1858; Conklin in 1860; Isaac B 
 in 1863. Benjamin Hammond, born iu this county in 
 1774, died in 1S58. SamiielHammond, one of the early 
 settlers, born in Dartmouth, Mass., settled in this 
 county about 1766. 
 
PERSONAL STATISTICS. 
 
 XXIX 
 
 Haight Sally, p o Coffin Summit, farmer, 364 acres, born on 
 homestead In this county in 1803. Father, Nicholas 
 H. Haight. born in this county in 1777; wife Phebe 
 Skidmore, born in this county in 1784, married in 1802; 
 children five, one living. Nicholas H. Haight, born in 
 this county in 1749, died in 1827. Jacob Haight, born 
 in Long Island, was the first settler in this county. 
 Edmund Butler, born in Ireland in 1838. settled in this 
 county in 1854, married in October 1865; children six. 
 
 Hiiight Heuben, p o Millbroot, retired merchant and farmer, 
 DO"' in Ulster county in 1820, settled in this county in 
 1830, owns fourteen aoresland and homestead. Father, 
 Jonathan H. Haight, born in this county in 1791, died 
 in 1874; wife Sally Clapp, of this county, born in 1789, 
 married in 1817, died in 1860: children six. flve now 
 hving—Henry. born in 1818: Keuben; Elizabeth, in 1824; 
 Mary, in 1886; Phebe, in 1829. 
 
 Haines Clark IV., p o Millbrook, farmer, 150 acres, born in this 
 county in 1837. Father Morehouse Haines, born in 
 V°?°?.<'*''="t 'n 1''99, came to this county in 1810, died 
 in 1857, farmer. 
 
 Haines William, p o Washington Hollow, farmer, lOB acres, born 
 in Red Hook in 18l)7: wife Julia B. Neher, born in this 
 county in 1809. married in 1829. died in 1858; children 
 nine, three living— Emily C, Eliza A., La Resse W. 
 
 Hallook F. W., p o Millbrook, farmer, 140 acres, born in New 
 Jersey in 1853, settled in this county in April 1878; wife 
 ±-lizabeth Collard, of England, married in 1872; chil- 
 dren two - Edward W. and WilliSim A. 
 
 Ham Milton, p o Washington Hollow, retired farmer, 400 acres, 
 born in Washington in 1802; wife Phebe F. Ferris, of 
 Pawling, married in 1855; children three— John M., 
 f *'?'i^^<,?6°''Se C. Conrad Ham, bom on same farm 
 in 1757, died in 1850, aged 93 vears, farmer. Grand- 
 father emigrated from Germany at an early day. 
 
 Hart John, p o Dover Plains, farmer 90 acres, born in Washing- 
 ton in 1842, wife Mary E. Tompkins, burn in this county 
 in 1842, married in 1861 Lewis Tompkins, born in this 
 county in 1805, died in 1865; wife Susan Naose, born in 
 this county in 1814, married in 1841; children seven, 
 three living. 
 
 Heermans John B., p o Millbrook. farmer, 80 acres, born in this 
 county in 1837. Father, John Heermans, born in 
 Ulster county in 1804, settled in this county in 1814, 
 died in September 1876, carpenter and builder. Wil- 
 liam Heermans, born in Ulster county, settled in this 
 county in 1814. 
 
 Hicks John P., p o Shunpike, farmer, 156 acres, born in this 
 county in 1816. Father, Benjamin Hicks, born in 
 Pleasant Valley in 1794, died in I860: children six, three 
 now Jiving— John, Frederick and Margaret. 
 
 Howard Beverly W., p o Mabbettsville, farmer, all acres, bom 
 in Baltimore in 1850, settled in this county in 1874; 
 wife Laura H. Coffin, bom in this county in 1857, mar- 
 ried in 1878; children one— Samuel B. 
 
 Hope John, p o Millbrook, farmer, 400 acres, born in England 
 in 18.30, settled in this county in 1874; wife Marion Lit- 
 tle, born in Scotland in 1832, married in 1856; children 
 six— Joseph L., Marion, John, Margaret J., Dianaj 
 Alexander D. 
 
 Humeston Thomas P., p o Dover Plains, farmer and proprietor 
 of saw-mill, 25 acres, has been excise commissioner; 
 wife Hannah A. Underbill, born in this county in 
 1826, married January 13, 1847. Father, James Humes- 
 ton, born in Dover, died in 1871 aged 76 years, was 
 wagon manufacturer. 
 
 Humeston John J., p o Little Rest, farmer, carpenter and 
 builder, 160 acres, born in Washington in 1835; wife 
 Lydia A. Deuel, born in this county in 1831, married 
 in 1861; ohildren two— May T. born in 1863, Phebe A. 
 in 1866. Jacob Deuel, born in Dover in 1797, died 
 October 27, 1879; wife Charity Gould of this county, 
 married id 18ii9. 
 
 Humphrey Samuel S., p o Shunpike, farmer, 150 acres, born in 
 this county in 1845, was elected assessor in 1878; wife 
 Mary Barton of this county, married in 1867; children 
 two. John Humphrey, born in this county in 1800, 
 died in 1855, farmer and builder. James Humprey, 
 born in this county in 1777, died in 1847. 
 
 Irish Jonathan, p o Dover Plains, farmer, 160 acres, born in 
 Pawling in 1791, died in June, 1876; wife Melissa Cook, 
 born in Dover in 18»7, married in 1862; ohildren two — 
 Charles J. born in 1863. Sarah E. in 1866. Elias Irish 
 •born in this county in 1830. 
 
 Einny Edward R., p o Lithgow, farmer, 174 acres, born in this 
 county in ]8a0; wife Catharine White, born in Wash- 
 ington in 1829, married in 1860; one child — Edwin R. 
 born in 1870. Father, Roswell Kinney, born in this 
 county in 1777, died in 1821. 
 
 Law John G., machine shop and foundry, born in Westchester 
 county, settled in this county in 1853, founder of 
 machine shop in 1845; wife Anna Swift of this county, 
 married in 1852; one daughter. Beriah Swift, born in 
 Massachusetts. 
 
 Losee James H., p o Verbank, farmer, 110 acres, bom in this 
 county January 1, 1816: wife Mary Mott of this county, 
 married October 12, 1842, died July 30 1860; one child- 
 George W., born July 26, 1843; second wife Maria 
 Doughty of this county, married in 1852. James Losee, 
 Jr., born in this county October 23, 1780, died in 1852; 
 wife Mary Vail, born in 1785, married September 12, 
 1802, died 1862. 
 
 Losee Hams, p o Mabbettsville, farmer and drover 90 acres 
 H? 7r^ ^'■^'^"^ ^?"°,'y '" '809, settled in this cSunty 
 i8n7^»T'?^^^'"'^2io^""«- *""" 1" tliis county ta 
 
 ffif^^«. zi5ieT=an»d"ST'.°"^l£rLi 
 s'trk'Serr""""'^ '" '™Miedini850;"iLZe'i°rd 
 Mabbett Solomon, p o Mabbettsville, farmer, 165 acres, born in 
 this county in 1820. Father, Samuel Mabbett born n 
 ,^^?§n''§^°5'^°"?,fi''' irae wife Mary Huestis?bom 
 m.k£°V?'1* "' >^' ebildren five, oni living. Titus 
 
 PhPh ^"'.,^c"' '°, "^^- ^^^^ 1° ^^3; oHildreu two- 
 Phebe and Samuel. 
 
 McCormao Charles N p o, Washington Hollow, farmer and 
 
 1810, settled in this oouuty in 1836, owns homestead 
 and two shops; wife Catharine Simons of this coun- 
 ty, marnHd January 1, 1840, died in 1873; second wife 
 Ameha Edgar, born m Albany county in 1847, came to 
 this county in 1855, married in 167?; one ohild-- 
 Charles E. 
 
 Merritt Stephen H.. p o Mill Brook, farmer, 140 acres, born in 
 this county in 1847; wife Helen Ham of this county, 
 
 iw.. 1** married in 1873; one child-Eugene, died in 1875. 
 
 Merritt Isaac, p o Millbrook, drygoods merchant in New York 
 City, cotton manufacturer and wool speculator, born 
 in this county in 1779. and died here; wife Eliza Hart 
 of this county, married in 1821, died in ]818; children 
 ^'^^IVi^S '* ^ '"'™ '° '822, Philip H., in 1^S5, Alfred 
 J°,^I^J' ^^''I'am H in 1829, Richard P. in IMS, Isaac N. 
 in 18-38, Charles F. in 1844. Second wife Mary Merritt 
 of Pawling, married in 1850; one son— Daniel T., born 
 in 1856. 
 
 Mosher Charles, p o Lithgow, miller. 124 acres, bora in Wash- 
 lopton in 1834. Howard T. Mosher, born in Washington 
 in 1829, farmer. Howland H. Mosher, bom in this coun- 
 ty in 1805, died in 1877, farmer: wife Maria Tompkins, 
 bornm this county in 1806; ohildren five. 
 
 Northrup Homer, p o Washington Hollow, farmer, 245 acres 
 born in this county in 1836; wife Jane A. Greene of 
 this county, married in 1873; one child- Inez. Seneca 
 B. Northrup, born in this county in 1808, died in 1866. 
 
 Reynolds Warren, p o Lithgow, farmer, 177 acres, born in 
 Columbia county in 1821, settled in county in 1P60; 
 wife MaryMorey, born in Washington in 1819, married 
 in 1869; first wife Hannah Carpenter, of Columbia 
 county, married in 1843, died in 1850; children three. 
 
 Rozell William, p o Washington Hollow, farmer, SO acres, born 
 in county in 1805; wife Julia A. Burnet, born in this 
 county in 1805, married in 1880; first wife Sarah 
 Burnet, married in 1830, died in 1848; one child ^arah A. 
 
 Sackett Artemas E , p o Lithgow, retired farmer, 230 acres, has 
 been assessor and held other town offices; wife Laura 
 Hoffman born in county, married in 1823; children 
 four. Father Jehiel Salokett, born in county in 1776, 
 died in 18-30. ' 
 
 Shaw Henry, p o Millbrook, blacksmith, born in town of Wash- 
 ington in 1844; wife Amelia Briggs, of Stanford, born 
 in 1860, married September 2, 1871. Mr. Shaw gave 
 first attention to dry goods business, but not being 
 satisfied afterward learned the trade of blacksmith 
 of Samuel C. Briggs, opened present shop in 1873, and 
 has now the confidence of many. 
 
 Sherrill Jeremiah, p o Washington Hollow, farmer. 83 acres, 
 born in Stanford, in 18c^2; wife Eliza .-Ann Westfall, of 
 county, married in 1853 Father Isaac Sherrill.born in 
 county, in I'lOl, died in 1849. Jeremiah Sherrill bom in 
 Long Island, settled in county at an early day. 
 
 Smith Jesse T., p o Mabbettsville, farmer, 20 acres, born in 
 Washington in 1820. has held office of constable and 
 others; wife Louisa Lyman, burn in couniyin 1831, 
 married In 1850, one child, Jane L. born in 1852. Jos. 
 Smith of county died in 1856 aged about 80 years- 
 Smith Thomas, farmer, 188 acres, born in Washington in 1856; 
 wife Georgia Dates, born in county in 1855, married in 
 1875. Father Thomas Smith, born in county in 1812, 
 died in 1875, farmer; children six. 
 
 Spurr Norman, p o Lithgow, farmer, 220 acres born in Berk- 
 shire county, Massachusetts, in 1815, settled in county 
 in 18711; wife Cornelia Sackett, bom in county in 1820, 
 married in 1878. Stephen Sackett bom in county In 
 1794. died in 1871 ; wife Rachel Barton born in county 
 married in 1816, died in 1875; children eight. Leonard 
 Barton, bom in county in 1767, died in June 1841, 
 physician and surgeon. 
 
 Sisson Lemuel, p o Lithgow, farmer, 200 acres, bom in Wash- 
 ington in 1817; . wife Martha Henry, bom in Nova 
 Scotia, married in 1870. Jacob Sisson born in county 
 in 1792, died in 1874; wife Mary Soul, of county, born 
 in 1800, married in 1815; three children, two living. 
 
 Sweet George, p o Washington Hollow, farmer, 180 acres, born 
 .in Dover in 1821, has been supervisor, assessor and 
 secretary of county agricultural society, is the oldest 
 secretary in the state. Father Stephen Swift, bom in 
 Dover in 1780, died in 1825; his father Stephen Sweet 
 and wife Dorcas Casey were from Rhode Island, and 
 settled in Dover. Stephen Sweet was a mill-wright 
 and erected most of prominent mills of that early day, 
 in county, Stephen Sweet, jr., left three children — 
 Elizabeth, born in 1820, George, in 1821, and Phebe, in 
 1824. Present house is oldest in the county built 
 before 1740; farm was purchased by John Titus, from 
 Long Island in 1798, and by present Mr. Sweet in 1840. 
 
HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY. 
 
 Sutton Aaron, p o Coi&n Summit, farmer 134 ac^es, born in 
 Westchester county in 1793, settled in county in 1833; 
 wife Malisaa Pierce,of Westchester county,married in 
 1816, died in 18S8; childrpn two; second wife Anna 
 Haight, of county, married in 183i, died in 1843; chil- 
 dren four; third wife Hannah Carpenter, married in 
 1845, died in 18T6; children six. 
 Swift Gurdon, p o Millbrook, farmer, 90 acres, born in Wash- 
 ington in 1844; wife Mary Knapp, of county, married 
 in 1870; one child, Albert A., born in 1871. Richard 
 Swift born in Washington in 1858, retired farmer. 
 Swift Nathan G., p Millbrook, farmer, and coal and lumber 
 dealer, 1(10 acres, boru in Washington in 1817; wife 
 Esther Lane, of Westchester county, married in 1841, 
 died in 1876; children four— Henry H , William L,, 
 Albert F., and Edward P. Nathan G. Swift establish- 
 ed the coal and lumber yard in 1869;also machine shop. 
 Lemuel Swift was born on Cape Cod in 1776, camp to 
 county in 1789, died in 1815, larmer and maunfacturer 
 of wagons. Abraham Swift born in Massachusetts, 
 settled in county in 1789 on farm where N. G. Swift 
 now lives. 
 Taber James, p o CoflSn Summit, farmer, 60 acres, born in Wash- 
 ington in 1812, died in October 1874; wife Jane Dennis, 
 born in this county in 1817, married in 1835; children 
 eiKht living— Isaac D , born in 1836, Catherine E., in 
 1839, Mary J., in 1841. Joseph J., in 1843, James E., in 
 1816. Francis E., in 1849, Henry J , in 1852, died in 1866, 
 Carry, born in 1855, and Byron in 1861, 
 Tallman David S , born in this county in 1830. was supervisor in 
 18ril, '63 and '63, and one of committee for building 
 county house in 1864 ; wife Angeline Hall, of this county, 
 married in 1865; children four. 
 Thdrne John C, p o Millbrook, farmer, born in this county in 
 1824; wife Mary Buss, bom in this county in 1824, mar- 
 ried in 1840; children three- Charles H., Florence L. 
 B., Frank. 
 Thorne Edwin, p o Millbrook, 550 acres, born on present farm 
 iu 1826; wife Charlotte F. Pear-sall, of New York, mar- 
 ried in 1857; three sons— Thomas P., Chester, Oakleigh. 
 Jonathan 'Thorne, born in this county in 1801, and 
 Samuel Thorne, born in this county at an early day. 
 Tompkins William C, p o Dover Plains, farmer, 126 acres, born 
 in this county in 1820; wife Catharine Barnes, born in 
 this county in 1835, married in 1870. Moses Tompliins, 
 born in 1773, died in 1841; wife Magdalena Fryover, 
 born in this county in 1780, died in 186.1; children six. 
 Tompkins William H., p o Litt'e Rest, farmer, 375 acres, born 
 in Washington in 1830; wife Abigail Humphrey, bora 
 in this county in 18 .6. married in 1851; children three, 
 two living— Allen D., born in 1873, Jennie M., in 1878. 
 Thomas Tompkins, born in this county in 1780. died in 
 1861: wife Abigail Cutler, of Dover, horn ill 1790, mar- 
 ried in 18^; children two— Enoch and William H. 
 Tompkins George P., p o Millbrook, general merchant, born in 
 Stanford in 18:i9, was supervisor for three years from 
 1876; wife Phebe G Haight. married in 1^53. William 
 E. Smith, born in Pleasant Valley in 1839; wife Mary 
 H De Garmo, of tbiscounty,marriedin 1865; children 
 three. Messrs. Tompkins & Smith were the first men 
 to commence business in Millbruokai the time of the 
 completion of the railroad from Fishkill to Millerton 
 in 1870. They have been very successful, and to-day 
 are the most prominent merchants in town. 
 Tompkins Enoch, p o Lithgow, farmer, 276 acres, born in Wash- 
 ington in 1836. has held ofQce of assessor two' terms, 
 and others; first wife Miss L. Humphrey, of this 
 county, married in 1852; second wife Harriet Lyman, 
 of this county, married in 1865; children four. 
 Tripp Egbert J., p o Millbrook. proprietor of hotel, born in 
 Washington Nov. 12, 1844; wife Lannie L. Lloyd, of 
 North East, married in 1865; children three. 
 Vail Jacob, p o Washington Hollow, farmer, born Inthis county 
 in 1807; yrite, Mary L. Davis, born in this county in 
 18i8; married in 1875; one child,— Willard D. Joseph 
 Vail, born in this county in 1779; died in 1854. 
 Van Cott Oliver, p o Verbank, farmer. 188 acres born in Wash- 
 ington in 1833; wife, Elizabeth Hawxhurst, born in 
 
 Long Island ;n 1835; married in 1857; children two, 
 
 William E., born in 1858; George T,, born in 1860. 
 Stephen Van Cott, born in this county in 1788, died in 
 188B, farmer. John Van Cott, born in Long Island, 
 was one of ihe early settlers in this county, coming 
 in 1790. ^ 
 
 Vanderburgh E. M., p o Lithgow, farmer, 330 acres, born in 
 Columbia county in 1820, settled in this county in 
 1845, has held the ofSce of superintendent of schools 
 two terms, and others; first wife, Hannah Sutherland, 
 of this county, married in 1844. died in 1853; children 
 three— Julia A., Amelia and Henry; second wife, Kate 
 Lockwood, of this county; married in 1871. 
 Welling J. M., p o Hibernia, farmer, 240 acres, born in this 
 county ia 1807, has held ofBoe of justice of peace and 
 others; wife, Susan Vail, of this county, married in 
 1830: children two,— William J, and Caroline C. Will- 
 iam Welling, born in this county in 1784, died April 21, 
 1863. His father, Thomas Welling, was born in 1762 
 died in 1835. 
 
 Wine Miss Marv G., p o Coffin Summit, farmer, 235 acres, born 
 in Dover in 1845; father, Thurston Wing, born in this 
 county Feb, 1, 1809, died in 1875; wife, Sarah A. Tripp 
 of this county, born in 1819, married in 1843, died Aug. 
 6, 1869; children six,— Charles A., born in 1M7; Thurs- 
 ton J., in 1818; EliasB., in 1851; John S., in 1857;George 
 born in 1853, (dead) and Mary T, 
 
 WAPPINGER. 
 
 Armstrong A. W., p o Wappingers Palls, hardware dealer, born 
 in Greene county December 14, 1886, settled in this 
 county in 1835, has been postmaster; wife Lucy A. 
 Rust, born in New York City, married in 1849; child- 
 ren two — Charles H. and Elizabeth R. 
 Akin R, W., p o New Hackensack. 
 Baxter William, p o Wappingers Falls, physician. 
 Blythe William, p o Wappingers Falls, sketcher in print works. 
 Bogle William, p o Wappingers Palls, real estate agent. 
 Brown Elias, p o Wappingers Falls proprietor of comb factory 
 born in Ireland, settled iu this county June 22, i84H, 
 has been supervisor, postmaster and president of vil- 
 lage; wife Esther Taylor of England, married in 1854; 
 children six. 
 Boeoher August, p o Poughkeepsie. 
 
 Brown W. J., p o Wappingers Falls, book-keeper, born in Wap- 
 pingers Falls January 10, 1843, has been treasurer of 
 village; wife Esther Warhurst of Philadelphia, mar- 
 ried January 4, 1871. 
 Brennan John J . p o Wappingers Falls, superintendent of 
 print works. 
 
 Cole Caleb M., p o Wappingers Falls, blacksmith, born in this 
 county in 1811; wife Harriet Colter, married in 1863; 
 children four, three living. 
 
 Collins Joshua, p o Wappingers Falls, retired, 
 
 Oongreve James M., p o Wappingers Falls. 
 
 Cottam M., p o Wappingers Falls, agent for print works, born 
 in England in 1820. settled in this county in 1818; wife 
 Harriet C. Hudson of Scotland, married in April, 1880. 
 
 Cruse Thomas E., physician, bdrn in Baltimore in 1849, settled 
 in this county in 187.5, 
 
 Cornell Isaac M., p o Wappingers Falls, physician, born in 
 Rensselaer county in 1851, settled in this county in 
 1853; wife Kittle E, Darland (deceased), married Octo- 
 ber 30, 1778. 
 
 Du Bois John C , p o Wappingers Palls, general merchant, born 
 in this county in 1858. 
 
 Halliwell, William, p o Wappingers Falls 
 
 Hargreaves Henry, p o Wappingers Falls, designer in print 
 works, born in England, settled in this county July 
 18. 18.i2, has been president of village; wife Eliza Bon- 
 ton, married October 30, 1S49; children eight. 
 
 Hignell C. W., p o Wappingers Fall ', clothier, oom in this 
 county i 1827, has been justice of tne peace and com- 
 missioner of Hiirhways; wife Mary Vantine, born in 
 this county, married in 1861; children two-Ulayand 
 Wilber. 
 
 Homan S H., p o Wappingers Falls, dealer in hardware. 
 
 Hopson F. E., p o New Hackensack. proprietor of store. 
 
 Howell & Coddington. p o Wappingers Falls. 
 
 Hunter John, p o Wappingers Falls. 
 
 McGregor George D , p o Wappingers Falls, marble cntter, 
 born in Kensselaer county in 1846, settled in this 
 county in 1848; wife Emma Osborn of Orange county, 
 married in 1870; children three— Charles, AlUe, and 
 Bertie. * 
 
 Mastin Joseph D., p o New Hackensack, blacksmith. 
 
 O'Dounell James, po Wappingers Palls, sketcher in printworks. 
 
 Peacock William M., p o Wappingers Falls. 
 
 Redfleld J. A., p o Wappingers Palls, undertaker, born In 
 Poughkeepsie MaroTi 29, 1846; wife Lizzie Sewell of 
 Eng.and married October 9, lg66; one child— Cora. 
 
 Reese W. Henry, p o Wappingers Falls, banker, born in Phila- 
 delphia March 9, 1836, settled in this county tn 1870; 
 wife Mary A. Willis, married January 6, 1864; children 
 
 i. four— Margaret N., Alice L., W. Willis, and Maria N. 
 
 Roe Sylvester Jr , p o Wappingers Falls. 
 
 Rowe W., p o New Hackensack. 
 
 Smith George, p o Wappingers Falls, assistant engineer in 
 print works. 
 
 Smith Henry T,, p o Wappingers Falls, engineer of machinery 
 room. ' 
 
 Stoutenburgh William H. H., p o New Hackensack, farmer. 
 
 Schrader John L , p o Wappingers Falls, druggist, born i* 
 Hnghsonville August 28, 1852; wife Elmira L,iPeacock 
 of Wappinger's Falls, married January 18, 1878 
 
 Sweet Clayton E.. p o Wappingers Falls, prop, overalls factory. 
 
 Swezey Ed. G., p o Wappingers Falls.Jeweler. 
 
 Tinney Bernurd J., p o Wappingers Palls, lawyer, born in this 
 county August 12, 1857, has been village clerk; wife 
 Jenny Gregg of Poughkeepsie, married May 8, 1818; 
 one child— Mary Regina 
 
 Underbill Anthony, p o New Hackensack, physician. 
 
 Vanderbelt P B., p o New Hackensack, proprietor of hotel. 
 
 Van Dyne Edraond B., p o New Hackensack, farmer. 
 
 Van Wyck Edmund, p o Wappingers Falls, physjbian, born in 
 this county in 1860; wile Emma McGlenn of New York 
 City, married in 1876. 
 
 Ward Henry, p oNew Hackensack, clergyman. 
 
 Worsley J. F., p o Wappingers Falls, retired. 
 
 Young Louis, p o Wappingers Falls, retired. 
 
i«^fe''ll!&^^^^^^^i^^^K